In the Caribbean again! Smuggling!

I have been ashore for months, but this blog is not about that.

Dana and I are visiting our cruising friends Dawn and Lauri Corbett on Cat Tails. Cat Tails is a Fountaine Pajot 35 catamaran (it is obligatory to have a feline reference in your name if you have a cat), one of my favorites is Feline Good).

The flight down was somewhat less dramatic than our last passage, there were no mutineys on USAIR flight 1969, no aviary pirates, no flare sightings. In fact, we were bumped to first class, and spent the time doing Sudoku puzzles and napping.

There was some intrigue to keep us occupied, we were smuggling in a whole beef tenderloin in the middle of our luggage. Good beef is very hard to find down here, even the French offer a poor substitute. Dana and I rehearsed our lines; she packed that bag, and I filled out the customs forms not knowing that she had included the illicit beef...

When our time in the breech came, the customs officer had just opened and searched the baggage of the person ahead of us, and it was looking dangerous. As we put our bags up on the counter, I started acting like I did not want him to search the very large kiteboard bag (marked pro golf, so the airlines won't charge board fees). The bag was our saving grace, it was large and strange enough that it distracted him from the contraband, and he insisted on searching it instead of discovering the bovine infraction right under his nose.

In truth, we would not have felt bad at all if he had confiscated it, as we sspected strongly that it would have introduced the locals to a very good quality of beef at one of their cookouts, and they might open their borders to USDA Filet Mignon.

The flight from San Juan to St Vincent was more interesting, flying over the Spanish, US and Brititsh Virgins, then Saba, Statia, St Kitts, Nevis and Montserrat. As we flew over each, I was pasted to the window, remebering passages and tours associated with each spot.
then it was on to Terra Incognita - Guadeloupe, the Saints, Dominica, Martinique, St Lucia, and into St Vincents.

When we got to the docks via cab, we could see Cat tails right there at a mooring, and right next to it, Unabated, the sister ship to Madness belonging to Alan, who crewed with me to Bermuda.

ttyl

No matter where you go, there you are

Some people have asked "Do you recommend cruising?

As a fun thing to do for weeks or months, YES. No doubt. See my last post.

As a longer term lifestyle it is more complicated. A few years back therewas an attempt at a cult movie named something along the lines of Buckaroo Bonsai. As I recall, no cult formed. But Buckaroo Bonsai was fond of this catch phrase: "No matter where you go, there you are!" and it came to mind several times during the trip. Even though you were sitting there in a paradise, your inclination to find fault in a situation will eventually find its way to the surface in spite of your nearly ideal situation. You can see it in my posts - as the novelty diminished a little over time and the islands began to hold fewer surprises, I got bored from time to time, and said so. So regardless of where you travel, you bring yourself and therefore your baggage with you.

So if you are a person who already finds delight in a perfectly ripened tomato, or finding a good parking space, long term cruising is for you. There are so many of these little delights to be found, and many of the things you take for granted (like good beef, good produce, easy access to
fuel, machines that do your laundry and dishes) become delights when you find them. Of course, if you are that person, you are finding delight in ordinary things every day, and probably have no need to cruise to be delighted.

If you are a malcontent, and wondering if there is a better way out there, long term cruising may not be for you, since you will revert to being discontented after the novelty wears off. Paradoxically you are the person who needs the stimulation and change.

The truth seems to be in between. The change of scenery and exposure to other cultures has been helpful in putting minor irritants into perspective. I know that the experience has helped me appreciate all we have here in the states, and all I enjoy in my overly blessed life. But the new cruiser would be wrong to expect cruising to be a panacea.

Ttyl

Are you glad you did it?

A number of people have written to remind me that the adventure is never
over, and a few have pointed out that they would/do not expect life lessons
from a trip like this, it is just something fun to do. This is at least
partially true, but when you spend seven months away from your normal mode
of living I think it only natural that some observations about your way of
living will come to light. So, bear with me when I search for deeper
meaning, and remember that I almost always write tongue-in-cheek.

On a lighter note - A couple of people have asked: "Are you glad you did
it?"

Yes, without a doubt. It was a lot of fun, not outrageously expensive
(unless I can't find/tolerate a job because of it), nobody got hurt, and
even the boat survived. There was real challenge in planning and executing.
There was real danger (primarily from mother nature). I made new friends and
strengthened old bonds.

It should be noted that I had a fantastic crews. NO problem people at all;
this is remarkable when you put as many as 5 people in a 42 foot ship
(bottle) and shake vigorously for days. (Oh, here is a bad thought - maybe I
was the problem person!) I expect that character flaws are revealed in that
environment more than most, and without some humility and forgiveness,
things could get raw between shipmates.

It should also be noted that the ship held together remarkably well, with
perhaps the exception of the first two days. I think I might have different
observations had the diesel needed replacement in some remote island. Also,
I am lucky that I have some good sense on jury-rigging and repairs. We had a
few failures that might have been a real problem for others who didn't have
the mechanical ability.

It was enormous fun, and the rhythm of moving from island to island, the
balance of challenge and ease is hard to beat. Another benefit is meeting
so many people living lives that are so far removed from corporate America,
and so full of adventure (remember Michael and Ursula? Yoyo? Ira?) Having
Dana visit instead of quitting her job and putting our stuff in storage was
nearly perfect - We had income, benefits, avoided the trauma of closing our
household, and Dana got to do only the parts she wanted, with no transits.
It would have been better for Dana if it had been shorter, so that she could
have participated in a higher percentage of the trip. The seasons dictated
the length. It is also good to have another dimension (like kiting, surfing,
scuba diving, learning local cooking, volunteer work, etc) to keep your
cocktail hour from encroaching too deeply into your afternoons.

Next: Do you recommend cruising?

ttyl

Epilogue

Well, it is over now, and I am struggling to put a bow on it and call it
finished. My brother told me recently that the blog just sort of trailed
off, and he is right.

I am tempted to sermonize in the manner of those silly, self important
protagonists of popular TV sitcoms. You know the lessons, they come in the
form of a voice-over at the end of the program that neatly knits up the
three subplots into a meaningful half-hour life experience. Perhaps this is
to convince you that you did not actually waste your time watching, that
there was something to learn if you paid attention.

Sorry, but I have bad news for you.

You may have wasted your time reading my blog. I can't think of a single
life lesson that will tie it up into a bundle and make it whole. There are a
few observations though, and I will give in to the temptation to share them.
They are too numerous and lengthy to impose on you poor abused readers, so I
will break them out into individual entries over the next couple of weeks.

Next: "Do you recommend cruising?"

ttyl

Home again

At 23:30 May 19th, SV Madness slipped by the breakwater of Padanaram's
harbor, and came to rest at her mooring, ending a sail of over 5100 miles.

I will summarize in a few days. Right now I will go take a shower.

Big day in the Big Apple

Well, my repatriation is more or less complete. Martin and I spent yesterday
walking and eating our way through New York. The boat is anchored in a
little cove behind the statue of Liberty. The anchorage is a great find, and
we would never have heard of it except for the good crew of SV Sayonara.

The first night. Martin and I hit a Japanese restaurant that featured a lot
of rules on the menu, like "No fighting, having sex or throwing food in the
main dining room", "The restaurant cannot be held responsible for injury to
patrons due to fighting between other patrons" "Patrons that drink
excessively and vomit in the main dining room will be charged $25 for the
clean up and for the displeasure if the other patrons".

Yesterday, we had a walking and eating tour of the city, from Wall Street to
Broadway up near Lexington and back, favoring as many city parks as
possible. New York is really a pleasant place on a spring morning. We ate
Tex Mex, over the top chocolates from a specialty store, street vendor
candied nuts, and finished the evening by meeting his sister Mimi and her
friend Jackie for drinks and Tapas. We had a great time with those two. I
think that they were greatly amused by the story of the naked St Martin
giant, which I don't think I ever wrote up in the blog because it is just
too odd. Ask me about that one when we are face to face.

I made no bones about being a tourist, because that is exactly what I am. I
stopped in middle of the sidewalk to look up at the skyscrapers, took
pictures of fountains and sculptures and generally made a nuisance of myself
to those hustling to work. The New Yorkers were very friendly in spite of my
behavior. It seems to be a truism that anything you can get anywhere else,
you can get in New York (except a sweep of Baseball, Football and
Basketball champions...you get to go to Boston for that). The pastries here
are just as good as those in St Martin, except that those serving them
aren't speaking French. I am sure that if I look for reggae here, it will be
as good as what we found in the islands. It is a bittersweet realization.
Good in that any major metropolitan area in the US has so much to offer, and
bad that the work has become so small that adventure and discovery are
diminished.

Today I am headed back to the city, then East to Boston in a couple of days;
home by Memorial day with luck.

ttyl

No good deed goes unpunished

After a perfectly enjoyable visit in the DC area (highlighted by my friend
Joe finally coming out of the closet; well not overtly, but his effeminate
protestations at not having been mentioned in the blog left little doubt), I
headed off for NYC. (There, Joe, now you have been mentioned;-)

I got no further than 100 yards (100 yards!) from the dock near Ben and
Jen's house before I strayed a couple of feet (a couple of feet!) off of the
fairway and was quickly hard aground (Hard Aground!...OK, I'll stop that
now). This being the Chesapeake, that is no big deal, since the bottom is
almost all sand and mud. This spot was no different. In spite of just barely
being on time to make my appointment with a fair tide in the C&D canal, I
remained uncharacteristically cool, betraying my experience with this
condition. I would get free of the sand bar soon enough, and if not, well...

A big power boat came by and this time I hoped and asked for him to make a
big wake to dislodge me. Normally I am cursing under my breath when they are
throwing big wakes because they slowed down for the no wake area. He
obliged, to no avail. Then he volunteered to pull me off, which I had not
asked for, and was a little worried about since I did not know his level of
seamanship. In not time at all, he was aground as well through a series of
mistakes that I will spare you of. I proceeded to lower the dinghy to pull
the poserboat off, then resume my self rescue. He managed to get free before
I was launched, and went on his way with my thanks.

The dinghy got Madness off the bar in short order, and I was on my way, but
late. I did make the tide, but had to motor most of yesterday.

Today I came down the Delaware, and was spared the awful ride the forecast
promised. I did not get the 25 kt gusts that were forecast, but instead got
no wind at all until after 1400, at which time it came up light from the SE.
This is good for me, as I had made Cape May, and was headed NNE to Atlantic
City.

Martin is on his way to join me there for the run to NYC, and Walter Sidor
is looking into joining me in NYC for the run East to Padanaram.

Right now, Madness is making 6.5 - 7 knots close reaching in light air with
all sails up. The sea is so flat in this new wind that it is relaxing to sit
and read while making better time than she can make under power. Nice. I
think the seas are under 1'.

Ttyl