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Last updated

23 Sep 2007

 

 

         

 

 

 

 

SHIP'S LOG YEAR 2000

JANUARY 

1st -  Today we are back home and recovering from a wonderful Y2K party! Scarlet and Al, friends we met in Venezuela, invited us to the party on “Don Penguino” their 63’ power yacht berthed at Pier 66 in Ft. Lauderdale. The marina  was as glittery and sparkling as a high budget movie set and what a location for the wonderful festivities! The decorations, favors, food and company combined to create a party extraordinaire! We rate it a 12 on a scale of 10! The new year's eve of 2001 is really going to have to go some to beat it!

8th -  Life-long friends John, Sally and their grown "kids" Mike and Kristi arrive for two weeks of fun sightseeing and doing the theme parks. The grand finale is an airboat ride through the swamps and a lunch of  “gator tail” which "tasted just like chicken!" Well, slightly fishy chicken. Before they leave we drive to Ft. Lauderdale and tour through “Sher-joy” a 104’ motorsailer and an 83,’ state of the art, trawler. Trawler potential is beginning to interest us as the thrill of long range cruising wanes. Priced at $4MM this trawler is out of the range of the "homeless and unemployed" but we are thinking there may be one out there that will suit us.  

FEBRUARY

4th - We are busy below decks when the doorbell rings. On the dock is Ted (sans Melody his wife) from “Fre-n-eze”. They are our good pals last seen in Venezuela in January 1999 when we went our separate ways. We learn that while they were anchored in Simpson’s Bay Lagoon on St. Martin in the Caribbean their beautiful boat was lost in Hurricane Floyd. They barely got off the boat and to a shelter before she was picked up and slammed centermost down upon a concrete piling. It is a total and tragic loss but they are amazingly undaunted and have already purchased a Gulfstar 50’ ketch which they will move aboard and continue cruising. Their positive cheerfulness and determination is downright inspiring.

8th - Since TC likes nothing better than claiming my senior discounts wherever possible, he is especially happy to go with me to get my monthly Social Security checks started! Although I like the income, I deeply resent being a member of this group. Heck, that office was just full of OLD people!!

9th – I’m off to Milliganville, the family ranch just outside Dallas TX, to allow the Texas family some freedom from the daily demand of looking after our father who is 91. They do a fantastic job of caring for him. They always include him all the activities of a busy and close family, but will be happy to take a little jaunt for  some fun in Jamaica. TC will follow me shortly to take charge of about 200 acres with its inherent chores, equipment, livestock and pets while they are away. He is a city boy born and bred and is not sure just what to expect, but he is looking forward to it. He is especially excited about trying his hand on the machinery.

MARCH

14th – TC returns to the boat convinced that while a ranch is a fun diversion he is not quite cut out to be a rancher. (Check out the photos) He brings home with him an added responsibility. Our new 10 week old “wildchild” who is full of a lot more energy than we remembered a puppy to have. “ “Salty Dog” is mostly white with pale beige spots and ears. She is a Bichon Frisee/Cockapoo mix and looks eerily like our prior dog “Oggi”, and of course, we are crazy about her. We are trying to learn our "training" as fast as we can in order to earn her praise and affection!.

23rd – We are very surprised to get another email from China. Sand River Golf Club (hereinafter “SRGC”) querying whether we might have any interest in returning to the project. We respond with “What is on your minds?” and so the adventure re-opens.

27th – I return from TX and assume puppy maintenance as she patiently trains us to her liking. While we work on the preparations for our cruise to the Bahamas we speculate as to what SRGC wants and ponder what exactly do WE want to do about it!!

APRIL

1st - We learn that four other boat friends from the yacht club are also going to cruise  Bahamas and  we make plans to rendezvous with them when they get their vacations. Some are first-time cruisers and their excitement is wonderfully infectious. We admit to being pretty jaded after 15 years of cruising. 

 

The numerous log entries for the month note the monotonous maintenance and provisioning that can often dissipate any excitement and anticipation we may conjure up. Certainly, no casual observer could discern from our activities that we are about to embark on an exciting adventure, one that many only dream of!! But the work is a just a fact of the cruising life. In the meantime we are still awaiting SRGC’s reply.  

 

MAY

7th – 0845: We cast off the yacht club dock and are underway for the first time in six months and wondering whether we will still like it and whether “Salty” will be a sea dog. We are ecstatic when she is completely relaxed, calmly ignoring all the boat motion and noise. She more than lives up to the optimistic moniker R hung on her when he first saw her and is a real "salt". Although we must motorsail to hold the heading to our first stop at Ft. Pierce, our first passage is perfect, warm, sunny and not too rough.  After an early dinner we all sleep like babes in the calm anchorage.

8th – 0810: We weigh anchor for Palm Beach, the last US port before the crossing. Then we are delayed for two days while R rebuilds the fresh water pump on the starboard generator  and repairs the air conditioning salt pump, both with parts he is organized enough to keep in inventory!

10th – 0300: R has carefully studied and planned this early, dark departure to get us across the Gulf Stream and through the shallow pass at Memory Rock at high tide. We are bound for Walkers Cay in the Abacos, the northernmost group of the Bahamian Islands. Most of the Bahamas islands sit on a shallow bank and so from now on the tides will rule our passages and anchorages. We draw 6.5 feet and must always double and triple check that at low tide we will still be afloat! Added to the excitement of a new landfall, is hooking 3 small Sierra on our way in and just before we drop anchor right on Tic's schedule. Fish eaten within hours of being caught is so delicious it is positively addicting. We are so spoiled that we can barely tolerate the fish which is normally sold, unless it is a rare source of extremely fresh product. 

To our surprise, the Abacos turn out to be just wonderful, though we had not expected to be so delighted. They are beautiful and interesting, each with it’s own personality and geography. We spend the next month contentedly poking around the numerous anchorages and little harbors, happy with our own company. Occasionally we hook up with old or even new friends just for social diversion. When we are able to find a working phone we call home and pick up our email messages. We exchange several with SRGC asking us to come to work, but we counter with a request for them to foot the bill for R go there for research into whether it might hold any possibilities for us.

JUNE 

8th - Our flotilla of friends from the yacht club arrive from Cocoa Beach Yacht Club. From then on everything is collective and it was a nice change, one we are ready for . Together we explore, snorkel, SCUBA, spear-fish and dive for the plentiful conch. At the end of each fun filled day we gather for sundowners and jubilantly devour our deliciously fresh catch on one boat or another. We celebrate three birthdays and our own  30th anniversary with parties. Some boats, including Good Grief, have visitors and that adds diversion to our usual company. Even after six weeks we are still not bored with the ever-changing destinations nor with the close company.

  The only unpleasant times were the not infrequent thunder and lightning storms that roll over the islands like a tank during this time of year. Until the end of June the worst of the trauma is apprehension, but on the 27th we took a lightning strike on our main mast. It fried the VHF antenna and took out much of the electronics but luckily left us with the satellite navigation (GPS) and autopilot. With those working the trip home was not horrible,  just a very rough but rapid run in 18-25 knot winds. 

JULY

7th - We are back in our slip at the yacht club, very tired but very happy and relaxed. By email SRGC agrees to foot the bill for all expenses and a travel date of August 16th is set. The rest of July is spent repairing, replacing and reactivating our electronics. I really am bragging, but TC does such an amazing job that I  didn’t even mind when he purchased a new (our fourth) computer, an IBM Aptiva. It is a desktop and will be ever so much better for us than the laptops, or so he says. He begins to spend most of his days in “geekdom” getting our network up and running to suit him and re-booting and reinstalling when we have our not infrequent crashes.

10th – WE BUY A CAR!! Our second one in fourteen years. A couple on a yacht departing the USA offers us a deal we can’t refuse on a small size 1985 Ford Ranger pickup truck with a camper shell. R completes the deal and does some fixing up before I see it, so I ask him what color it is and he replies “Beige and rust”. “Oh,” I exclaim, “that’s a nice combination!” and he says, “No, I mean the truck is beige on whatever part isn’t rusty!” That part is all too true, but it is so nice to have transportation that we are glad to have it, rust and all. It does say something that we purchased our first ever bumper sticker. It reads, ”HONK IF PARTS FALL OFF!”

22nd – We get a phone call from nephew Robert. He and his and family are close by and are we up for company? They have driven from Dallas in their huge and beautiful motor home and are on their way to Myrtle Beach. We spend two terrific days together including one interrupted cruise into the Atlantic. We spy a distant  thunderstorm approaching and run for home but don’t quite make it back into our slip before it hits. We tie up temporarily and then proceed to our slip after the downpour ceases. After observing all that it takes to accomplish this, Robert observes that he thinks the ideal situation is to have a relative with a nice boat like this and he will be the happy guest. A very astute guy our nephew!

AUGUST

1st - This turns out to be a travel and medical  month for the GG crew. First, we move the boat from CBYC to Harbortown Marina and get settled in for the hurricane season. Shortly thereafter Salty and her playmate Kayla, a feisty black Schipperke her same age, both go in for spaying. Mid-month I develop an ailment (twice misdiagnosed) that is CAT scanned and colonoscopied and finally diagnosed as ischemic colitis. Basically it is arterial disease limiting blood to the colon and causing a host of unpleasant symptoms. It wouldn’t have been so dramatic without the two mistaken diagnoses and treatments. With all the delay I was sick for a month. It is status quo for now.

16th - SRGC agrees to foot the expenses and R. travels to China to meet with them and do the necessary research. After two weeks he returns to San Francisco to visit his mother and undergo a prearranged orthoscopic surgery on a torn meniscus in his knee. The recovery is almost immediate and he is able to travel in less than a week. Well, even though our collective medical expenses in one month added up to more than the last 15 years put together, we are not all that unhappy. We realize again how blessed we are to have so very few medical problems.

SEPTEMBER

6th -  R. returns to the boat. His  SRGC research revealed that although it will be a monumental challenge, and really hard going, we can probably salvage and reactivate the membership sales as well as be justifiably compensated for the effort. All that remains is for us to agree upon the terms of the consulting agreement. He sets to work drafting the preliminary proposals for the consulting agreement and marketing plan.

 

7th – I leave for a family gathering at the Texas ranch we call "Milliganville" to celebrate my father’s 92nd birthday. Since I am not feeling 100% it will be only a short five-day trip and knowing my family we will try to pack a years worth of fun into it...and we do. The new Milliganville “Playhouse”, a communal recreation center , is jam packed with electronics of all kinds, big screen TV, video games, shuffleboard, air hockey and foosball and even exercise equipment and a tanning bed. Outdoors is the swimming pool, Jacuzzi and all the ponds stocked with fish and frogs to catch. There are horses to ride and if you like power there are golf carts, motorcycles and trucks to drive. It doesn't take much to get my brother Pat excited about a hayride in the old wagon pulled by Bob and Bill the two enormous Belgians and maybe after dark a big bonfire to roast hot dogs and marshmallows. On the last Fourth of July the Milliganville fireworks were the biggest attraction for miles. The place should be called the Milliganville Dude Ranch and Resort. I’m pretty sure we all had more fun on my father’s birthday than even he did.

11th – I am back aboard GG.. and glad to be. After a few days of recuperation I am feeling almost normal. We finish spit-shining the marketing agreement for SRGC, send it off and continue along in our normal routine. We don’t care whether we go or not, a nice place to be!

19th – We get a call from Yolanda, a dear friend from Venezuela. She is just passing through, and has a 4-hour layover at the Orlando airport. We are glad to have the chance for a visit and off we go. As we walked along, I was so engrossed in our conversation that I entertained both her and R, as well as assembled passers -by,  with a classic Three Stooges tumble off the end of the moving sidewalk. I was unhurt and we all laughed until our sides hurt. We had so much fun catching up on mutual friends and other news that she was actually a little late getting to the gate for her departure. SRGC emails that they now want R. to return to discuss the proposal we sent and if we can agree on expenses R is willing to go listen and  certainly negotiate.

OCTOBER

1st – ALREADY??? Where has this year gone and what were we so busy doing???? One condition of staying in Florida which made things seem more hectic was the periodic watches as hurricanes moved around the Atlantic and Caribbean Seas. There were 12 named hurricanes and although many were formidable storms none threatened out little outpost, thank God!! After seeing the astonishing destruction they leave behind we know for sure it is one thing we don’t need to experience.  

 

The negotiations with SRGC finally break down over a disagreement on the payment of expenses so, not terribly disappointed, we set about producing the second part of our agreement with them, a comprehensive marketing plan which they will attempt to carry out on their own. We extended the offer of unlimited long- distance consultation should they desire it and as it is said, "that is that!"

NOVEMBER 

1st - On the first of November the hurricane season is officially over until next June. We are now free to move about as we please. Unfortunately we don't feel able to make any real plans until we learn exactly how my condition is going to develop. What compromises that will entail are still unknown. In addition we have grown quite fond of the conveniences a marina base provides.

6th - To comply with the marinas bureaucratic requirements, we head out to anchor in the Banana River for a week.. then we can return in keeping with their transient policies...it's a complicated world!! Actually it is quite pleasant and we enjoy the solitude. TC dives to scrape all the barnacles off the propellers and check how the bottom paint is holding up.  We had an engine problem on the way out and he also has to repair the injector pump on the starboard diesel engine. For fun we took Salty to tiny Ski Island for a run. Very shortly three other dog owners showed up and a running,  riotous time was had by all. 

After five days the weather took a turn for the worse so we petitioned for and were granted an early return by the very nice management of the marina. Just as TC was maneuvering into the narrow entrance channel the starboard engine quit cold and the boat is terribly awkward with just one engine. We drifted with the current a minute considering the options. Looked like we would have to return to the river and anchor. Then we heat a shout and "Sea Dove" was on deck asking if we needed  assistance with their dinghy. TC yelled a hearty "Yes" and as they were coming out to us they were joined by a second dinghy from "Lite Chop". They pushed and pulled and finally  worked us into our space and returned to their boats while we secured ourselves and re-established land connections. We hope they will accept our offer of a thank you  grog the next time they are in the neighborhood. We could not have done it without them. Little did they know they were rendering his reward for TC's having assisted and rescued  dozens of victims during our 14 year cruising history. This was the FIRST time we were in need!   

23rd - Thanksgiving Day finds us at the Cocoa Beach Yacht Club Potluck Dinner for the second time. Last years dinner was wonderful and the company is always good so we were glad to be included as guests. I really thought the turkey prepared by Roni on "Antigone" last year was the best I had ever tasted but while it did not surpass it,  our first time to experience "deep fried turkey" did equal it! Bill and Brenda who live on "Judy" did a terrific job. We agreed that if we ever live on land again we would own a deep fryer. (It was almost as good as my son Jay's barbecued steak and I have yet to taste my son Jef's barbecued turkey so the taste test jury is still out!) We had a very nice day and it was easy to remember a prayer of thankfulness, for we have so very much to be thankful for!!  

DECEMBER

8th - Wonder of wonders we receive a warm email from SRGC saying they would so much like for R to return and discuss business arrangements to work out details of the marketing of the memberships. Since R does not intend to pay the expenses of another trip and neither does SRGC, I expect this will wither and die. But who knows!

After another couple of trips out to Dragon Point we make a somewhat weak offer and it is rejected. Since we do not wish to offer what the owner thinks it is worth I assume this will also wither and die. But...you never know. 

13th  - TC was able to persuade the management to allow us to stay a little longer even though they do not accept live-aboards any more due to some obscure legislation. We do like it here just fine. It is attractive and well organized and except for the week-enders, very quiet. On three sides of our berth we see lush green vegetation and an amazing variety of birds. They roost in the Casuarina trees that line the marina channel we are docked in and in the mornings they fish the channel beside the boat. At dusk it is fun to watch them haggle over their favorite roosting branches. AT this time of year the migrating birds from the north are added to the resident population and I enjoy watching the changing sizes and types.   

We are continually considering our options and are thinking that perhaps an easy cruise down the Florida Keys might be fun. Even though we cannot cruise the inland waterway because of our 74 foot mast height, we can take the outside route and try to find enough ports with entrances deep enough to accommodate our 7 foot draft. If that works out well, we might then jump the 90 miles across to Cuba and then work our way up through the Bahamas before returning to the east coast to settle in next season's hurricane hole. 

Because of the uncertainty health-wise and the intermittent occurrences of three or four day "brown-outs" when I don't feel well at all, we have scrapped tentative plans to go to California and Idaho to visit kids and grandkids. It is apparent that I will have to undergo more testing pretty soon and maybe even the surgery..  so for the time being, that must be the prevailing priority. Maybe we can go afterward or in June when we are land-bound again. I hope so .. I am having withdrawals just thinking of all I am missing!!

Sooo.... lacking any potential visits from family our Christmas will be with Florida friends and going out from here are our heart felt thoughts and prayers that  each one of you will have a wonder-full  holiday season.          

May God grant you the desires of your heart and bless you "pressed down, shaken together and running over" as He says He will!

Merry Christmas. Happy New Year and as Tiny Tim woud say "God bless us every one!"

Lotsa smushy holiday sentiments and affection from,

Roger, Samantha and Salty the Superdog  

PS: Don’t forget to check the web site now and then and do let us know what is going on in your life and times. Take care, God bless!

  The end. . . . for now...

 

 

 

    Prior Ship's Logs will appear here at a later date....