I thought you might be interested in this background information on bama, sent to me from Chris Mello one of my cruising mentors.
From: Cjmelo@aol.com [mailto:Cjmelo@aol.com]
Sent: Thursday, November 13, 2008 9:44 AM
To: walterpiescik@comcast.net
Subject: Re: I knew you'd figure it out
good to hear alabama is still kickin. he's been the town halfwhit for some time. used to be an accomplished runner. some say booze simplified him, others say drugs. he was more agile and active in 04. got taken to task for going in unlocked backdoors and raiding neighborhood refrigerators for leftovers i think it was. but overall he's a good example of small town welfare programs at work. just keep greeting him enthusiastically from a distance - sort of like he just won a big road race- and he'll warm up to you. there was also a small old white bearded guy named paul who lived on a 28' blue double ender, but he's probably sailed on to greener pastures by now.
have a good run south. when you get to STM, phillipsburg is an easy sail in and anchor if needed and is cheap as they are not on the euro. marigot is easy too, if a bit rolly, but costly with the exchange rate. in 04 there were no anchoring fees and minimal clearance fees in philipsburg, but not so in the lagoon on the dutch side.
Christopher J. Melo
Naval Architect & Marine Engineer
