BIG BUGS ON LAND

First we had Japanese scientists knock on our door... very nice chaps who wanted to collect Cicada bugs from our garden. Jin Yoshimura, Ph.D. from the Shizuoka University. Then I caught Blu playing with a Cicada and shot a quick video.



I must admit... I'm not used to all of the bugs after being bug free on a boat for 3 years. But watching our crazy dog amuse himself is a lot of fun.

STUCK IN JACKSONVILLE

We're stuck again... while sailing up from Palm Beach and during the night, the radio was buzzing with other boats caught in storms off the north Florida coast. Fortunately, we only had one squall off Cape Canaveral and tacked back and forth between shallower water and a freighter for an hour or so until it moved out easterly across the ocean. 30 nautical miles to our north east we could see a huge storm constantly flashing with lightning and with so much energy it wasn't going to dissipate in the same way as the smaller squalls. We had lucked out by staying on the western edge of the gulf stream as opposed to the conventional thinking of getting into it to gain the speed of the north flowing currents.

Entering a new and unknown port is always nerve racking, but Jacksonville is several miles up a very wide river with lot's of deep water and well marked channels. We motored up three miles and turned into Clapboard Anchorage. We found it with Google Earth (our new tool to find out where everyone anchors). To our surprise Periplous (a sailboat that we briefly met in Palm Beach) was anchored and we felt confident again. Gordon and Pam live on Periplous and have sailed further than most have dreamed, they are in their 70's and have more life and spirit than many landlubbers we know who are half their age.

There aren't any facilities near the anchorage, but we did find Clapboard Creek Fish Camp just under the bridge and David the manager. It's so nice to be in the real south... David could provide ice and immediately offered to drive us up to the supermarket a few miles away.

The anchorage was lovely... quiet and serene, I can recommend it as a safe, deep and secure place to stop for a day or two.

We have become very good friends with Gordon and Pam aboard Periplous, learn't a lot and when they suggested that we come with them up river to downtown Jacksonville for a few days while we waited for the bad weather to pass. we jumped at the opportunity. We can take on fuel and water and of course food and services are readily available downtown, the kids might actually find something to do and it provides some good shelter.

The bridges are spectacular and we enjoyed a night of calm water and a barrage of questions from the tourists enjoying their time on River Walk.

The forecasted storms and wind arrived this morning, so the once calm dock is now pitching and it's a bit sloppy onboard. It's a mad dash to do laundry and get supplies so that we can move back down river a couple of miles to a small protected anchorage or back to Clapboard Creek to wait until the weekend when the weather is forecast to turn in our favor allowing us to run up to Charleston, South Carolina.

NY seems a long way with over 1000 nautical miles left to go, but the allure of Long Island Sound, the big city and a home for the summer is compelling. Sailing and living aboard in the USA is very different than the Caribbean Islands... far more difficult and lonely with very few cruisers attempting to run the full length of the east coast. Ah... but if it wasn't a challenge then it wouldn't be worth doing.

OUR DREAM BOAT

ok... we're very behind on our blog. It's been a wild and crazy ride over the past few months, with unexpected delays, tense moments in Haiti, huge seas in both the Mona Passage and the Cuba Passage and a month with no access to basic food and rationing water. 2000 miles without an auto pilot and getting marooned on a tiny rock 100 miles south of Guantanamo, really makes you stop and smell the roses when you get to a place like the Cayman Islands. We're holding here while we instal a new auto pilot and swim in the clearest water we've ever seen. It's time to take stock and plan out the next few months, catch up on the blog posts. So in the meantime here's a video clip we did of our dream yacht... she was anchored with us under the shadow of Mt. Pelle in Martinique.

Dominica and her people

We had the privilege of meeting a sharp witted young man named Tom.

He owns a tiny restaurant on the beach named Zam Zam Cafe.

We were just walking down the street and he greeted us with a kind hello and asked if we wanted help finding a good restaurant for dinner. We talked for a little bit and realized that Tom was an up and up chap.

Following him down to Zam Zams Cafe we discovered that he not only owns the place, but also built it himself and was carving out a home in this wonderful place for his family. His wife is mexican and it was in Mexico that learned a special building process to guard against hurricanes and earthquakes.

We also found out Tom was a new daddy and met his lovely wife and daughter at the restaurant. The food was very well prepared and the flavors dream like, obviously with love and a passion for life. We left fat and happy and slept well that night.

The boys enjoy a game of dominos. They asked for a cigar and a whisky,.. please.

The back of Zam Zams opens up to a spectacular view.

Tom hard at work making mexican cuisine melt in your mouth.

Tom was kind to take time to meet and greet all his guest. You feel like one of the family.

Allan and I came across Anchorage Hotel were they had a real whale skeleton. I was not aware that the whales swim close to the shore because of the deep water 100 yards off the beach. This whale passed away from old age and washed ashore. So crazy Allan and I thought it was funny to be in a whales belly.

Allan checks for cavities.

Dominica is a very special place... our hope is that it stays this way for a while, resisting the allure of quick money from tourists and focusing on it's unique resources, the people and nature.

Sell Up And Sail

OK... some rationale,.. well there isn’t any. It’s a lifelong dream to be independent which has been amplified by the insane goings on in the world over recent years. After 4 years of searching for the right boat and NOT having over a million dollars to buy new, we finally found a hull that is special.

She was built by a crazy marine engineer who took a famous Piver design and created a vessel of exacting standards. She’s very custom and built to handle typhoon conditions and to provide maximum safety at sea. 

The original owner passed away before she was completely ready to sail and a second owner purchased her. Another engineer went to work on her, again with engineering and safety in big water in mind. He added an Iveco 145 hp engine, amazing drive and steering systems, custom fuel tanks and fuel system.

We made some good progress over the winter, and needless to say taking the plunge with a road trip across the US during the Christmas Holidays, and finding a temporary home in a new place was quite an adventure in itself... we’ve enjoyed every minute and made some great new friends.

We’ve completed the pilot house doors, roof, some deck work, added a 12v/120v fridge and freezer, most of the water management systems, shower room and head, and learnt a lot about our use of resources. It’s amazing when you really figuring out what a family needs in terms of water, power and creature comforts... we don’t NEED much really, but we take so much for granted in a house on the grid and to be honest, we could be very comfortable using a tenth of the water and electricity used by the average home.

She doesn’t need much to launch as a motor vessel, 3 or 4 months of hard work and we’ll have a very comfortable home. We have a sailing rig available in Santa Barbara just north of LA, so if all goes well, we’ll be motoring south to add the mast and rigging next year.