Some helpful advice for 1st time sailors

Hi Guys....In response to your many questions I have taken it upon myself to help you in your planned vacation down to the islands... Being your first time down and aboard I thought I would go into some details concerning a sailing vacation......As far as the weather is concerned you can expect temperatures to soar to the early 90's during the daytime and plummet to 78 after sunset....lots of sun block and hats are almost mandatory....a hat with a wide brim, though they look really cool, are also recommended....try not to embarrass me in front of my friends with your sense of style....I keep a complete set of towels onboard and more can be easily obtained if needed....I may need the room they would take up in your luggage to bring in contraband.....You may or may not, it depends upon circumstances and the person involved be subjected to a thorough search before coming aboard, so try to keep that in mind.....remember Mi Boata es su Boata! but that doesn't mean I am going to slave hand and foot getting you this and getting you that....Now for those of you that have never spent time on a sailboat a few things you should know.....When under way, when the wind is crossing our course from a certain angle and dependant upon that angle and the velocity of the wind a certain amount of heeling will result....Heeling is when a boat begins to lean to one side or the other, seldom reaching more than 45 degrees.....This is normal and sailboats are designed for this....It is just a requirement if we are to ever reach our destination within a reasonable time and is nothing I can do anything about….So keep this in mind when setting down half full drinks....or putting something on a shelf......I only discuss this for anyone with little or no experience with sailing.....
It will be very warm on deck during the daytime, there is nothing I can do about it so don't ask.....I usually suggest a plunge off the swim step....although the water is usually only a few degrees cooler than the air temp, it is refreshing....it is also very salty which is something else I can't do anything about, so don't ask.....We will be doing our primary sailing and passage making in the morning with land insight at all times, in fact most of our sailing will be within a short swim of the shore so the first time you decide to give the skipper some lip you might think about that....After the tragedy of Christmas, 2002, I will not be sailing after dark....We don't need to discuss that same tragedy nor is it necessary to use it in any arguments that may or may not, at times arise over this or that remark you may take as more of a command than as a request.... If you have something, and this includes body parts that you do not want the world to see you can forget it.....it doesn't exist on boats although you can sleep in privacy in your own quarters....it's the door marked Storage/Crew....and the boat has two bathrooms with showers which will from now on be known as heads..... you will have very little privacy which once again is something I can do nothing about so don't ask....The heads operate by simply moving a lever and hand pumping the bowel clean, then returning the switch to it's original position and pumping it dry....Water does not grow on trees! Use the fresh water sparingly! ..
When first boarding I will acquaint you with the parts of the boat and the proper nautical terms…The bathrooms as I said earlier are known as heads, the front of the boat is the bow, not the pointy part, the mast is not the tall stick that the sails hang from, the galley is not the kitchen, the big pillow, bumper things are known as fenders, but more about this subject when you come aboard…
Boats move, they rock back and forth and from side to side, as well as up and down, in all kinds of directions....depends on the sea conditions, the wind directions and how big a passing boat's wake is, again all things I cannot do anything about.... Pack light....mostly swimsuits and something to show respect to the locals when going to the market and walking around their towns, as well as going to the restaurant kind of change of cloths....the material should be something that dries quickly as you will get wet from time to time….depending on the guest onboard clingy, tight clothing is allowed, but must be approved by the skipper first….shoes should consist of sandals and flip flops....Nothing with black soles they mark up the decks.....
I'm not a flogging Captain, but can be forced to when petty offenses warrant them or they are just begging for it....one can't flinch from his duty when confronted with the difficult crew member....God help you if I hear as much as one little whine....Think about sun, beaches, and ugly little islands filled with human waste, social outsiders, too much booze, great music, unfriendly locals, great food, frizzy hair, sweaty, hot humid days swatting at no see ums, fighting mosquitoes and ugly lizards, well maybe not so ugly when you really think about it.....remember one thing and one thing well, I rule my deck with a very keen eye and won't be corrected or allowed to suffer any kind of insolence such as this or that was my fault kind of thing, and maybe and only maybe might I not have to suffer my disappointment and thus once again with a flogging attended at the mast....a scene which can easily become all to common as has been my experience.....I am getting back into my skipper with too much free time on his hands at times, sometimes finds himself in "situations" kinda frame of mind because he didn't display the right kind of, some would say, maybe not the best judgment at times, but to be totally frank, I believe it is rooted in under disciplined, surely, ungrateful crew....
I have over 500 albums as well as dozens of movies onboard.....if you can't find something to entertain yourself try reading something.....but bring your own as I don't keep books onboard....they weigh too much and are a source for disease.....don't expect the skipper to build a complete itinerary around your visit....nor will I be putting on a Bozo the Clown rubber nose and entertain you if you get bored.....Feel free to bring along any past times you may wish to bring such as needle point, rug weaving, coloring books etc.... There is plenty to do and we won't possibly be able to do them all in the time you will be down, something else I can't do anything about.....And one last word to ponder, "Bug Repellant".....okay make that 2....
Welcome aboard!
Marv
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Crew Applicant Questionaire

I have written the following questions hoping it will, if the need arises, help me in an evaluation of any applicants I might seek out for crew. There are no right or wrong answers, no grading will be applied in my evaluation as to our compatibility, something of supreme importance when isolated from the world on basically an uncomfortable, rocking, floating island 39 feet long. The questions are not of a technical sailing nature, nor do they get into any navigation, they simply help me evaluate your decision making skills, which ultimately can mean the difference between life and death at sea. All questions are taken from real life sailing scenarios to help me judge your level of skills that will result in a fun and safe cruise. So just have fun with it..

Scenario 1
Quick, you notice the skipper is suffering a massive hangover and your departure time, in high winds and choppy sea conditions is fast approaching... what do you do?
a. Let the bastard get underway on his own if he really wants to get underway, you are too hung over to care..
b. Make the bastard get up and leave you alone until he has made your coffee just the way you like it.
c. You have already been up for two hours and decided to scrub down the waterline as well as prepare a large breakfast, you know the food will help make your miserable existence on board a little more tolerable for the skipper…
Although the above question really has no right or wrong answers It will be used to help in my selection of crew….
Scenario 2
Quick, you notice the skipper is suffering a massive hangover and the anchor, somehow in the 65 knot winds managed to come loose, and now are heading towards other boats, dragging your anchor over their ground tackle… it is 3 AM and there is no moon….what do you do?
a. Let the bastard get up and figure it out if he really wants too, you are too hung over to care.
b. You wake up raising a clenched fist to the moonless night yelling “Oh Thank you soooooo much! You couldn’t do this at ten in the morning??? After we have a nice, leisurely wake up, a nice breakfast, lots of hot coffee???? Nooooo, you have to do this at three in the morning!!!”, I hate this, I hate this, I hate this!!!!…..
c. You position yourself strategically on deck waiting to throw yourself over the side using your body as a large fender (also known as a cushion) if needed to protect the finish on CHOICES from being damaged when colliding with other boats in the anchorage.
Again there are no right or wrong answers, just simple guidelines being used by the skipper in making his choices for crew….
Scenario 3
Quick, you notice the skipper is suffering a massive hangover and somehow managed to make his way up on the forward deck in the middle of the night. He is presently passed out with his head hanging over the side and somehow managed to pull his shorts down around his ankles. Fast approaching the dock is a large group of tourist and will soon be passing the boat…what do you do?
a. Let the bastard figure it out himself, you have a massive hangover and are too sore all over from sleeping face first on the cockpit floor to care….
b. Get up and find the camera so you can preserve the moment…
c. Quickly find a blanket and cover the skipper thus saving any self respect he may have remaining after the “events” from the night before…
Again, I cannot emphasize enough to all, that there are no right or wrong answers and are only a loose guideline to help me decide who is best suited to crew. I have chosen many true life situations as examples, thus ensuring
Next we will do some simple true or false questions. Again, there are no right or wrong, just guide posts…
1.True or False You notice the skipper is suffering a massive hangover and everything he told you the night before is the “honest-to-God, this-is-no-shit” truth ….
2.True or False. The skipper appreciates and encourages having any navigation errors brought to his attention, especially when they have already been discussed to some length…

3. True or False. The skipper, although suffering a massive hangover, appreciates your timely suggestions on sail adjustments, and general sailing trim…

4. True or False. Anything that the skipper says during moments of panic should not be taken to heart…he is only trying to motivate the crew into quicker action, and you should ignore any unclear or conflicting orders coming from the helm….

5. True or False: The skipper totally appreciates your expertise in tying macramé knots and that while getting supplies you decided he has been kinda grumpy and so bought decaffeinated coffee for the long passage and forgot to tell him until the 2nd day out.

Wasn’t so bad now was it? I eagerly look forward to the next phase where I give you 1 hour to make five different dishes utilizing a secret ingredient, The hard part is you have to do it in the galley where you only have two pans. Remember taste is most important but not everything there are points for presentation and originality as well. .

Sailors and Wanabees

There are sailors and those that live the eternal dream of actually leaving the dock and not coming back. These dreamers are what is known as the 5 year plan, get the boat ready, get their personal affairs handled and leave. Of course almost all of these future cruisers are into the 8th year or even the 14th year of their five year plan. It is far more important to have the dream and work towards it as a goal than to not have a dream at all. In my years of living aboard I have found there are certain characteristics that are common among people who have been at sea in storms and it can be found in their boats, their lifeboats of sanity, but more importantly their homes. I found on my extended visits to the States that I really missed my home and was always happy to return to her.
In judging a sailing craft it's not how young she is or how big she is, every sailor knows it is how well she is maintained that is a measure of the skipper aboard her. This is especially true of docklines, and painters on your tender. Sailors see past the lipstick and judge a boat by her lines and how well she can perform and at what angle they can do it at. Every person who has owned a sea going craft develop a real sense of affection for their boat that many famous people have tried to explain. I felt it the strongest when she was showing me what she could do and that she could do it well, sails up and making 6.5 knots. She was like a dancer, doing her ballet on the water the rythym of nature's music playing in her ears.
Even now, crossing an empty bay in my dinghy to my boat, anchored and completely alone off a uninhabited island, and having that island to roam about freely is a dream I lived and I sometimes think my reality on things has taken a whole new meaning. It is impossible to not be changed by the experience. It is sobering to make a long passage on a boat you essentially did all the maintenance work on, including replacing all the rigging yourself and to know the whole while that even the smallest failure could lead to disaster. You think about that and a whole host of other possibilities that could befall you, but as scared as I was, I left and sailed to Florida. Any sailor that isn't scared is either inexperienced or lacks imagination. What is amazing is the worse part is the departure, once finally underway it subsides. Even in foul weather, except for the rare sudden rush of sdrenaline, you really are too busy to think about it and prove only too true.
I arranged for her haul out in a Florida boatyard where I buffed her big, wide, flat bottom and gave my attentions to some small blemishes here and there. It was foul, dirty work and seemed to go on forever. I am sure, without the least doubt that hell resembles a boatyard. 2 weeks later she was ready for the water, newly buffed and painted bottom, shiny topsides and new boot strip.

My Evening at the Lord Mayor's Banquet

I went to a banquet at the Lord Mayor of London's Mansion House as a guest of my dear friend Tony George who I traveled with through England, Sctland, Spain, Morocco and Gibraltar. When I entered the dining room a gentleman in a 17th Century frock, wig, silk stockings and tails, stamped the floor with a large standard and announced me, Mr Melvin Benoit. It seems my friend Douglas, a retired British Army Major, former commander of the Ghurka Rifles, a man on whom I had pinned his military ribbons to the lapel of his Tuxedo, with whom I became acquainted in St Thomas, USVI's, and with whom I had enjoyed a great evening of conversation in a very nice restaurant over a wonderful meal, got my name wrong so now all my mementos of that evening are under the name of Melvin.
We began the evening with cocktails at the Savoy, then, leaving their wives to fend for themselves at the Savoy, next to the theater district, we went our separate ways as this was a men's only function. I shared a cab with 3 retired British Army Majors for our trip to a small church next to the Tower of London that was first erected in 1100 AD and celebrated a mass given by the Archbishop of Canterbury. After the service we got on a private bus to Mansion House. The evening began with a Champagne reception, at which I was introduced to the Lord Major and several gentlemen who were all keen to ask me on my political opinions, I was obviously the first Republican from California they had ever met, I was amazed how many came up to me and said "here, here", I thought that stuff only happened in movies. As each course was served our wine glasses were taken away and the glass next to it refilled with the next pairing. I was seated next to a retired Professor of genetics and the London University. When he found out I was a Californian, we entered into what could be described as a very lively discussion. Across from me was a Irishman who owned a castle on a small island in the middle of a lake, but who lived in New Jersey and was involved with waste disposal. After the meal we did a "passing of the loving cup ceremony at which we would take the large silver chalice from the man facing us, take a sip , carefully wipe the rim, turn around and hand it to the man behind me who had turned to face me. Later that evening Douglas taught me how to drink good Scotch Malt and that is all I remember of the evening, awaking the next morning in his son's bed (who was out of town for christsakes!) with one of the worst hangovers of my life. Douglas had cooked a wonderful English breakfast and all I could handle was some hot coffee. I would suffer a far worse hangover anytime to share an evening in the company of so many fine men, even the retired professor about whom I could safely say doesn't care for Yanks too much anyway so my mocking his opinions, and using my best arrogant Yankee ways sarcastically laughed in his face all of which probably only reinforced his bias, especially for Republicans from California.

Back in the States

In April, while anchored off Esperanza, Vieques, Spanish Virgin Islands I decided I would sail back to Florida and spend some time with my daughters before heading North. I left early on a clear Monday morning with my first stop planned for an anchorage off Fajardo, Puerto Rico where I would complete any last minute re-supply and say goodbye to friends I have made there. On Wednesday morning, freshly supplied I raised anchor and heading North where I turned Northwest once past the light. I raised sails and once clear of the anchorage shut down the diesel, not to use it again until Florida, determined not to use it unless in an emergency. The course I set would not change until I reached my first waypoint just Northeast of San Salvador (where Columbus made his firt landing) approximately 600 miles from the starting point. My first day and night went smoothly, the weather was perfect and the boat was averaging 6.5 kts under sail. On Thursday night the weather started turning rougher being driven my a low that was centered over the Atlantic, creating growing seas and gust which were gradually increasing in strength and frequency. This weather pattern continued increasing as my route took me over the Puerto Rican Trench, the deepest part of the Atlantic Ocean at 29,000 feet, so deep Mount Everest would be totally submerged in it. This continued bad weather kept me in the cockpit and after 4 days of wet hard sailing in this weather I had only had four hours sleep taken in the form of short catnaps. I was beginning to hear voices on the water, just as clear as if they were standing on the dock right next to the boat. Unfortunately I couldn't understand a thing they were saying and knew this was a sure sign of sleep deprevation. Finally, in heavy 15 foot seas and frequent squalls with wind speed in excess of 40 mph I felt it was becoming crucial for safeties' sake to go below and try to get some sleep. I set my kitchen timer for 30 minutes and while sitting at the nav station got some much needed sleep in short 30 minute stretches. When the timer would go off I would go out into the cockpit, check my course and the horizon for any lights, returning below after everything checked clear.
Before sleeping My foulies, showing their age, were not real effective in keeping me dry and I spent my days and nights in wet clothing until I finally sailed into better weather 4 days later. I know this sounds like I am just complaining but one problem I ran into was no fly in my bib foul weeather pants, and can't begin to describe having to go to the bathroom and the hassles of stripping off soaking wet foulies and clothing on a rocking deck, heeled over at 35 degrees in the middle of the night.
During the passage my autohelm started acting up, turning itself off due to a low battery alarm. Checking my batteries I found them to be testing okay but the alarm continued. Starting the diesel to charge the batteries I found the alternator to be putting out a low charge, requiring me to run the engine to keep the batteries charged for a long time. I checked my battery system and tried making some tempory fixes as I still had over 400 miles to travel and did not want to do it by hand steering, which would have required me to stay at the wheel continuously for the next 3 or 4 days and nights. Climbing under the pile of containers that had shifted in the rough weather I was able to remove a circuit charging relay on my forward windlass battery and reconnect it to my main batteries from the starter battery but had the same results, thus eliminating my special electronic charge separator which I rewired back into service. Still getting low battery alarms on the autohelm and puzzeled over why my alternator had stopped charging as it was designed to, I checked the alternator belt and decided to change it as the old one was looking somewhat worn and bingo! full charge now! With the batteries now fully charged I was still getting low battery alarms and shutdowns. By now I was finally getting some clear weather and calm enough seas to start checking the wiring on the autohelm itself. I found the waterproof on-off switch in the cockpit had gotten some corrosion in it and was causing my problems. The reason why my alternator was not putting out the amperage was because the batteries had a full charge and didn't need anymore.
Sailing into the NW Providence Passage just South of Grand Bahama, I passed through the south end of Abacos and Spanish Wells. I was hit with 25-30 waves where the seas were being generated in the Atlantic and where stacking up through the narrow passage and the quickly shoaling bottom. Surfing in a 40 foot sailboat down these waves keeps a person at the helm very busy. As the waves were not organized I had to keep the boat headed directly down the face of these monsters or risk broaching the boat in a trough which would have resulted in a nasty knockdown at the least and going fully turtle as the worst case scenario. Once through the passage I headed NW to get into the Lee of the island Great Bahama and calmer conditions. For the first time in 4 days I was finally in calmer conditions and could finally relax some.
After eight days and 1100 miles, many with total isolation, not even a plane of a ship to be seen I got my first glimpse of land in the distance. Dropping anchor in West Palm Beach harbor I made a few calls to my friends and family, tidied up Choices, snubbed off the anchor, launched my dinghy and attached the motor. went over to the Riviera Beach Marina docks where my daughter Ginger was waiting, bought some chicken on the way to her house, took a shower and basically crashed for the next two days. After a long off shore solo passage a certain feeling of accomplishment comes with it, it empowers you, something I have heard from all my single-handed, solo circumnavigators, I have had the privilege to know and become friends with, have said. They are better for the experience but a lot humbler because we all knew people who didn't make their destination and were never seen again. The best part of my life is the people I meet along the way and become friends with. Of course there are those that lurk around the waterfront and make life pretty entertaining, but there are some amazing people, with some real accomplishments living on boats and have some amazing stories to tell. It teaches you to be a good listener, if you are smart enough. This is the best part of living aboard and cruising. The hardest and most painful part is saying good-bye to people you have grown to love. I left Puerto Rico to spend sometime with my daughters and left behind many amazing and wonderful friends, the kind of people who live life on their terms. If you are smart you are humbled by the experience.

A passing moment

Last week while spending some time onshore, opting to take a break from the rollers that had been going on for the past week.. Generally it was just a normal back and forth rolling motion with some pitching, but every once and a while a roller of some significance would come through the anchorage… These rollers will dump any loose stuff on the countertops, throw me off my balance, but I am getting better, roll me back and forth on the 24 inch wide bunk all night… I chose to sleep in the main salon while at anchorage, especially in bad weather … It is located mid-ship and has the least motion, but primarily I sleep there because of it’s close proximity to my anchor watch alarm I have set on the GPS unit, at the navigation station, at all times while at anchor where I am able to more easily hear it should my anchor start dragging, which is not a good thing, especially in the middle of the night…
While standing on the Malecon, looking out to sea Stuart pointed out some Humpback whales out at sea rising up out of the water and crashing back into the sea… Now that woulda been a picture!!
The weather is not forecasted to be very pleasant over the next few days, and I may assemble my Fortress anchor and set it up for quick deployment off the bow should my primary decide to skip…

Letter from Esperanza, March 5, 2009

It is into the second day of a front coming through… Yesterday I went ashore and began work on some graphics for Stuart and Natalya’s new bar and pizza restaurant , Lazy Jack’s… We cut the plywood as part of this project and primed it, but could go no further when the primer was still tacky… Instead Stuart started on the next phase needed before selling pizzas, actually figuring out how to make a pizza and actually making one… The most important part of any good pizza is it’s crust and Stuart was insisting on a crispy thin crust… The first batch of dough, using yeast and proofing was less than successful, although the pizza was beautiful it was firmly stuck to the pan and the dough wasn’t acceptable… We tried various fixes and finally Stuart tossed it and started a non leavened dough, adding spices to the dough, not following any recipe, deleting the yeast and Voila! A very good pizza, the crust wafer thin and nice and crisp… By the time he had finished his 6th or 7th pizza, each one going faster in prep and quality, The weather had started going weird and the boats, including mine, were pointed to the West, the winds has shifted 180 degrees and was now coming from the direction of a front heading east towards us… This helped explain the dead air and high humidity, which normally proceeds an incoming front … We are forecasted for several days of rain, which is great, my decks need a fresh water rinse and hopefully I will be able to gather some water in my tanks… When it started a light drizzle I decided time to head back to the boat while I still had a chance of getting there somewhat dry… As the winds were now coming from the West my dinghy had been blown under the dock, as my dinghy’s anchor was in my hands, just recently recovered after being stolen a few days ago, kids on the docks can’t help themselves I am told… Of course my dinghy, now under the dock would be more like Stuart’s dinghy next to me, well away from the dock with a stern anchor, which I now held in my hand along with a heavy rucksack full of groceries… Sitting down and removing my backpack, which I placed next to the anchor on the dock and started trying to pull the dinghy from under the dock in the twilight hours, just after sunset with rain… As I was to find out there was a concrete footing running parallel with the dock just under the surface as the tide was out… Pulling on the dinghy, against the wind and waves I managed to get the bow out from under the dock far enough to try and step down into the dinghy… Although I have done it under all conditions countless times, once committed to dropping down into the dinghy there is not a second try… Landing on the boat I gained my balance just as a wave surged under me kicking the dinghy under the dock and, not being prepared was hit by the dock in the chest and knocked backwards over the side into the water… I hit my back on the concrete footing just under the surface, which would become more painful later that night , but was hardly even noticed as I now had the dinghy on top of me , with my dock line and cable I lock the boat and motor with tangled around my right foot keeping me from getting out from under the dinghy that was rocking and rolling over the top of me in the surging water… I could see the tangle and was able to release it with little trouble and get out from under the dinghy, while in the water I pulled it out from under the dock, the job complicated by the surge, and the concrete footing just under the surface which was allowing the hull, but not the motor to pass over it, I waded under the dock and worked the boat out and away from the dock… Once clear, I pulled myself up into the dinghy, fumbling with the outboard motors key I finally started the motor just as I was heading back under the dock and was able to catch the dock long enough to clear my dock lines and hold the dinghy off, but was too far away from my backpack and anchor to grab them… I backed away and around from the dock, reproaching slowly, cutting the engine and sliding towards the dock stopping the dinghy from going under the dock and now able to reach my bag and anchor from the dock…., running back to the motor and backing away before another surge, pushing me towards the dock… So much for staying dry, being cautious I always carry my phone, wallet and camera inside a zip lock plastic bag to protect them from saltwater, just in case… Rinsing off with my swim platform shower and hanging my wet cloths to a lifeline so they will get the salt rinsed out of them when it rains, I went below and put on another dry swimsuit… It was an interesting day…

Passing thoughts in Vieques 2009 Vol. 3

A Mile In My Flip Flops

Today I awoke at about 3:30 AM to the refrigeration short cycling on and off, attempting to ignore it, I tried to go back to sleep telling myself way to early…. At 3:45 AM I decided I wasn’t going back to sleep and crawled out of my bunk to a gently rolling boat with very light Trades out of the NE… I checked my batteries and the power meter told me everything should be okay, however the recycling refrigeration was telling me otherwise… I plugged in the power cord which is plugged into my battery charging system and started my portable generator, problem solved… I gotta quit spending so much time on the computer, but needed it for some graphics I have been doing… Going below I rinsed out the old coffee grounds out of my coffee press/carafe… I use water I have made from seawater using my onboard reverse osmosis water maker I installed a few years ago for cooking and drinking water as it is cleaner than bottled water sold in stores and makes delicious coffee…. I have been making about 2 gals a day stretching out my onboard storage tanks… Of course I have started painting again requiring me to make even more… I have an on deck catchments system using a garden hose , but we have had very little rain, just windy not wet…
Getting back out of the marina has been a period of many adjustments to the changes which must be adjusted to… There is the constant rocking back and forth… This can be accompanied with some short periods of increased rolling… This is accompanied with the constant background of groans and creaks which come with any vessel… This background noise remains in the background and generally goes unnoticed until something unusual happens and a noise out of the ordinary happens, immediately getting my attention… I have been on cruises and it would drive my mates crazy with how I could tell, when even in the deepest sleep and how quickly I was awake and climbing out of my bunk and coming up on deck for whatever was causing this change… More than a few times I have come on deck to a owner leaning into his wheel as though pulling it hard against its rudder stop is going to miraculously cause the back-filled genoa powered bow to go against the laws of physics and wind and turn in the course he was trying to take… When coming on deck I was generally told “It’s okay, I got it”, or “The wind shifted”, once “Marvin I don’t know what happened” which was the worse and of course a couple of times to his being sound asleep… One moonless night I was greeted with “The wind keeps shifting” and after looking at the compass I replied, “if you are trying to sail back to Puerto Rico then you have it on a perfect course…..”
I remember watching a couple motoring out to their boat in a very rough anchorage next to me… The dinghy was expertly motored up to the swim step across the stern of the boat, drifting to a stop under difficult conditions… He stepped past his companion and expertly stepped up on the bow tube and stepping across open water onto the sailboat, almost with the grace of a ballet star, without looking back went forward and down below… His crew however, who was holding the dinghy, was now finding herself slowly being stretched between the sailboat, firmly in her grip and her feet which were now securely planted onto the dinghy bow and was slowly being stretched out over open, rocking water… She finally gave up and let go… Of course he had tied off the painter so there was no chance of the dinghy drifting away…
The hardest part of adjusting is the physical part, easier to adjust to far fewer showers or a clean change of clothes everyday… You learn to become self balancing on the constant motion of the boat… If you see someone rocking back and forth while standing they live on a boat… Part of life aboard, besides always having to climb up and down a ladder every time I go up to the cockpit, is getting in and out of the dinghy… I will refer to the process of getting in and out of the dinghy as “mounting the tender” or “popping the tube”… Tying your dinghy to the dock can test your balancing skills… Pulling into a dock with the waves surging past and hitting the shore nearby, slowing down going forward and tying off the dock line all while standing on the raised deck as the surge raised me and pushed me with equal force sideways trying to slide under the dock… Once secured throwing out an anchor line from the stern to keep the boat from banging on the dock, tying it off to the stern, finally I use a special cable I had made up to lock the motor, and gas can to the dock… Now, with trash bags tossed up on the dock, backpack and anything else I am taking with me ashore I climb up on the bow tube and grip onto the dock waiting for the wave to lift the dinghy so I can hopefully exit my dinghy and pull myself ashore without making it look to awkward… To get into the dinghy, usually under reduced conditions at night with no moon, same surge, a wee bit too much to drink… and most importantly no one around to watch the graceful ease I exhibit climbing down/falling/jumping into the dinghy from above, undoing all the tangle of lines resulting from the dinghy’s swinging/me drinking… After finally unlocking the lock while standing in the dinghy then pulling up the anchor all the while the surge rocking you back and forth in a sweeping circular motion in all directions, finally untying and passing on the temptation to smite it with my rigging knife while at the same time swearing oaths to the skies above, the mystery knot I so expertly tied in daylight/sober… Under the massive power of my 5 hp outboard I head out into the dark seas directed by my anchor light which I thought to turn on most of the time when I am leaving the boat to go ashore, knowing how easily I can be corrupted and how short trips to buy a couple of things and quickly check up on Stuart and Natalya can turn into after dark often late at night dinghy trips back to the boat, tying the dinghy securely to the transom then tossing any bags of stuff I picked up onboard, then hopefully step across the dinghy bow to swim step without any mishaps, in other words, going below in dry clothes… At least at night you have less of a chance being seen..
I have been staying on the boat working on a couple of postcard size paintings… I can apply the same skills learned on larger paintings, with all the same challenges but done quicker and looser… The rocking and rolling aboard with the weather we have been getting has forced me to keep it loose, especially with the smaller format…That has been a fault of mine on much of my artwork, too much control… What a surprise,,, Painting in a smaller scale will become my method of choosing which I might want to do in a bit larger scale… I am thinking of having the ones I am happiest with printed into Geeclee post card 5”X7” prints and sold in Vieques Yacht Club… I don’t know I might be really shooting for the stars on this one… If you are interested in seeing them I posted them on my website so click here then go to the bottom of the page to see the postcards… Tomorrow I will go ashore with camera in hand.. The coastline west of the Malecon has some fairly unusual rock formations along the reef and around the rocky point is some uninhabited beach full of palm trees, should get me something interesting there to paint, scout it out for some outdoor painting… The problems with painting outdoors is that people keep stopping and wanting to talk to you… Once while in Puerto Vallarta on the beach front watching several fishermen on the spray washed rocks fishing the surf I took some watercolors, that I had taken with me on my walk that day and sat down to paint it… I had been working around 15 minutes when for some reason I turned around towards the street behind me.. Standing there was about 15-18 Mexicans standing very quietly watching me work, never saying a word… When I turned I kinda jumped back when I saw all the people which, in turn, got mostly a smile from the people when they saw my reaction… It wasn’t a very good painting…
It is now Sunday morning and I am charging batteries and making water while updating… Being the 1st of the month I will go through my monthly maintenance routine which includes exercising the through hull sea cocks, running the diesel for 20 minutes or so, walking around deck and check stuff… Always something to be done…
I have decided to start eating Puerto Rican cuisine for all my onboard meals prepared in my galley, all 4 square feet of deck slace and 6 square feet of cluttered countertop… My reasons are simple, it is what is mostly available in the markets… I have some chicken which I will be making into a Arroz con Pollo a big favorite in Central and South America, including the Caribbean, especially the parts that were once Spanish… It will be my Sunday dinner, made in my pressure cooker, uses far less fuel and really turns out moist chicken and rice…. Of course I am pretty sure I will really be sick and tired of it by the time I get to the bottom of the pot… The markets (2) are little stores with a really poor selection of food but you won’t starve, however their ice cream selection is absolutely superb as is their pastries which include Honey Buns…
More Later….

Letter from Esperanza, Isla Vieques, Feb 22,2009

I am trying very hard to not carry my bitter dark hatred for Bill Gates into anything ugly… I was inspired yesterday morning, while sitting on the boat, high winds howling through the rigging, and a heavy rolling motion caused by reflected rollers hitting me sideways, resulting in a most uncomfortable ride… This has been going on for a week and is starting to get somewhat tiresome… I spent 2 hours typing out a new post for my blog when all of a sudden, out of nowhere, pops up a dialogue box informing me Windows Explorer was closing this program and was sorry for any inconvenient … Inconvenient??? I just spent 2 hours digging deep and really putting it on paper and it just vanished before my eyes, completely helpless to stop it… It was almost as if I was watching it in slow motion… Kind of like when you first let go of something and are now facing a very long drop, either from a bridge or an airplane… Seeing it slip away and saying to yourself, “boy is this screwed”… How many millions, probably billions of hours of precious irretrievable time has been stolen by the soul robber, Mr. Gates… But they are sorry, something to be said for that… Thank God Bill Gates is not black, then I wouldn’t be able to hate him, at least not without the guilt..
With this heavy weather I only made it ashore one day this past week and restocked a few stores onboard from a small local market… Not much of a choice, but got the basics without any of the healthy stuff like fruit or vegetables, I will have to wait for the roadside market to open when he gets a shipment…. Thank God I still have a ready supply of cold beer, ice cream and Hostess cup cakes… I do have a 4 or 5 cheese selection to choose from… Makes it tough deciding between American singles or a 5 lb bag of shredded “Italian Style” cheese like product… Sounds almost too good to be true… Vegs are not totally absent, there arte like 2 or 3 frozen vegs and potatoes and onions… If you want fruit you have to get it from a frozen fruit bar, which isn’t nearly as horrible as it sounds…
When I make it ashore I have some great beaches to include in my daily walks (when possible) that recently became open to the public after the bombing range was closed and is slowly being cleared of munitions… They set of a explosion every Thursday at Noon, but haven’t in a while as they are finding fewer and fewer munitions, opening up larger areas of the island for hiking through… It is now a part of the US Park system as a wildlife preserve and sanctuary with no development of any kind… This means hiking through the island and bays which are much as they have been since they formed… The best part is I get to enjoy them without any crowds, maybe a dozen or so other lucky souls… Sitting in a beach chair, paints in hand and a beautiful beach to paint… When it is possible to get ashore… Everyone tells me they have never seen weather like this, just like me to bring it with me… This is definitely “staying put” weather… The anchor has not once skipped since arriving… I originally had trouble setting the anchor in the sea grass that covers the bottom of the bay… My friend Stuart has told me I have free reign of any of his moorings when they get them done, which requires time which is in very short supply at the moment for him and his wife Natalya…
As I was sitting here thinking of what to write next I looked down and contemplated the floor and then my foot, specifically my right foot… It was the result of living in nothing but flip flops since 2002 with the characteristic tan lines running diagonally across the top of my foot... I now have one badly jammed middle tow and two bruised outside toes on my right foot... These injuries were the result of running up on deck and severly testing how well the thru deck fittings are doing their job... I can say with certainty that I have never found any wanting... I am now quite used to the rolling motion of the boat and for the most part am not even aware of it... Every once in a while she still likes to give me a "what for" and catch me off my guard, the result of which is a string of badly put together curses and oaths being spoken in as annoyed manner as can muster, which has been my opinion that this has little effect on anything, which just fuels it... It is times like these that I am glad I live alone... I can turn and stare at the offender and shke my tightly held fist at it... Doesn't do any good but does give me somthing to laugh at later, when the throbbing pain is finally subsiding...
When rough weather prevails, I sleep in the main salon under my Navigation station GPS unit which is set on anchor watch monitoring that I am essentially staying in one wide sweeping area and letting me know when I am not... I sleep in the main salon so that I can clearly hear the alarm as well as monitor any noises that shouldn't be happening... These noises have to be picked out of the background of a whole chorus of noises made by a boat in rough conditions... There is the occasional hanging thing which swings back and forth tapping, the bulkheads creak and groan, the rigging sings and assorted pieces of sailing hardware and lines add to the noise... This noise is accompanied by a rough, dark moonless night... And usually happens around 2:30 in the morning... My neighbor's boat from Canada, drug his anchor last night and moved in a little closer to the island, and of course he is directly upwind of me as they blow at the moment... If he drags under these conditions he will be on top of me in a matter of a few frantic moments, or in the middle of the night when both boats are awoken at 2:30 in the morning to the boat upwind dragging his anchor and drifing into the boat downwind (me)... I will keep him closely monitored although he appears to be an able sailor...
One of the reasons I have not been going ashore is the dinghy ride from my boat to the dock isabout a half mile to the fishermen's dock where we are allowed to tie up our dinghys, provided we keep them out of the restricted area reserved for the fishermen... I decided when I got here I would use my Mercury outboard and run a tank of gas through it... It is 5 hp and although a gfine motor it is slow and makes for a wetter ride than when I use my older and more powerfjul outboard... It is twice the hp and probably twice the speed and a whole lot more fun... I believe under the right circumstances I could become airborn and at the least turn my inflatable inside out... The 5 hp on the other hand is dependable and economical as well as haf the weight of the bigger outboard... The weight becomes a factor when launching the dinghy and having to lower the outboard onto a wildly swinging transom, and before I got my outboard lift, had to do it myself, lifting it off the mount on the stern rail and lowering it to the stern on the dinghy which was usually bouncing and wildly jerking... The bigger weights in close to 90 lbs, and after several years of putting myself through this effort I bought an engine lift which is like a small crane only more expensive but worth every dollar... Well the smaller outboard is living up to the economy part as I have only used about a half a gallon of gasoline in the past 2 weeks which is about 6 trips to and from shore or about another month or so to use up all 3 gals of fuel in the gas tank... Yes not commuting to a job I hate, in traffic I hate can rob you of your soul... Better to live without all the stuff holding you to the ground and flying free above all the turmoil taking place in the world... All my stuff is packed into a nice 16,900 displacement, 39' long by 12.6 ft wide at her widest point, and might I say one of her more attractive features floating RV... She has all kinds of hidden and odd shaped little knocs and crannies in which to hide stuff... I am able to produce most of my normal electrical needs with a wind generator and solar panel and when this isn't enough I can suppliment it with my very easy to start, quiet, economical Honda generator which I also use when using my compressor and diving gear to clean the bottom of the boat which usually takes a full day... At present time I am running my watermaker filling a one gallon jug for drinking, coffee, rice with recycled, desalienated sea water which is cleaner than the bottled water I buy and a whole lot better than the tap water in Puerto Rico... I have been living on the same 35 gallon tank I filled in Puerto Rico... I have added another 20 gals since then... For bathing there is the swimstep and an easy dive into beautiful, clear water... Swim around a bit, climb out, soap up, dive in again (even warmer the second time) swim around till you are well rinsed off then climb up the swim ladder onto the swimstep and rinse off with some fresh water collected during the last rain, something we have been short of with all this wind... It is somewaht more dificult keeping at the same level of hygene as on land and accounts for our more "laid back" look... Usually some worn flip flops, baggy worn shorts and a really sun bleached t=shirt topped off with a really disgusting well worn baseball cap... You can also spot many of the new cruisers passing through as well... They are older guys with guts wearing the remaining hair they have growing in a circle above their ears into qa ponytail... They also are generally on a huge catamqaran or 60 ft. schooner with crew...

My Passage to Panama with Ramon, December 2008

The passage to Panama was a great experience for me and I learned a lot... For one thing I will never consider sailing with another owner... Ramon is a very sweet guy and we are very close friends but he greatly exaggerated his sailing experience and I was left to primarily "single hand" the boat with incompetent crew, who knew very little... I only managed 4 hours of sleep on one 48 period because of problems created on deck while I was off watch, forcing me out of my bunk and getting the boat back on course, the whole time Ramon telling me he could handle it, even though he had a back filled Genoa and was trying to steer the boat into the wind, instead of letting the wind carry it back around and resetting his course...

One night he called down to me and when I came on deck the mainsail was flogging in the wind with the control line that controls it (main sheet) completely torn away by an accidental gybe... He was in a panic mode and didn't know what to do... I told him to bring the boat into the wind so I could go forward and secure the boom which was swinging back and forth across the deck completely out of control... He was having trouble finding the wind as he was not obviously looking at his very expensive wind direction indicator instrument right in front of him at the wheel and I had to come back and bring it into the wind... While forward, with him at the wheel steering, the boat once again started to come around and the boom slammed into me, knocking me backwards across the deck... As I was falling backwards I was sure I was going overboard, in heavy seas, the middle of a dark moonless night, 400 miles from the nearest landfall, with Ramon at the wheel... At that point I really felt I was a goner and thought to myself it’s over, but lucky for me I landed just short of going overboard and slammed against the lifelines and seriously bruised my kidney on a spare fuel tank that was secured to the toe rail of the boat... I had to lay there for a few minutes getting my breath back and waiting for the pain to subside all the while listening to Ramon frantically asking me if I was okay and to get up... I managed to crawl back into the cockpit and get the boat facing into the wind again, started the engine and set the autopilot with very firm instructions for him not to touch anything... After finally securing the boom and lowering the main sail, I unfurled the Genoa and got back underway... Needless to say I got very little sleep that night but was very happy that things didn't turn out worse...

Before we had departed Ramon had told me he would be doing the cooking, even though I had suggested we take mostly finger foods and avoid cooking as much as possible, as it could be very difficult under normal sea conditions... He assured me I would be surprised by his cooking and truer words have never been spoken... When we provisioned I thought many easily prepared side dishes (i.e. instant mashed potatoes, etc) would be easier so we stocked up on these items... He bought ham steaks and ham slices for his favorite meal which was ham and cheese wrapped in a tortilla which became our main staple on this voyage, that and instant cup of noodles. H only had a huge frying pan in which to prepare foods and neglected to tell me he didn't have any normal cooking pots or pans on board...

Ramon is very eager to learn the tricks of living aboard, and I tried to help him whenever the opportunity presented itself. As an example during the night while on watch Ramon enjoyed a bowl of tortilla chips. Unfortunately the bowl was ceramic and on one of my frequent trips on deck to the sound of flogging sails and the boat smashing into steep seas, this dish went flying and broke into many sharp pieces on the cockpit soul. Of course this presented a problem for anyone in bare feet, trying to maintain a balance on a rough twisting deck in the middle of the night. After picking up the pieces I explained he needed to return the bowl when finished to the galley to avoid this happening again as a broken piece of pottery could cause serious injury, especially 400 miles from the nearest landfall. The very next night on another “visit” on deck, under similar circumstances another bowl went bouncing across the deck, fortunately it stayed intact and once again I lectured him on how dangerous this could be, and he assured me he understood. This understanding on his part was short lived as again the following night a bowl went sliding across the cockpit table and I was able to catch it before it went flying. This time I took the bowl and with Ramon looking on, threw it overboard. Lesson learned, finally. Just one of many, including using the cup holder instead of sitting full cans of beer on a rolling tabletop, after spilling a couple of cans of beer in his lap. Life onboard a sailboat underway is very different from life on land. Cooking, as he found out can be very difficult when the pan goes sliding around the stove top let alone trying to maintain your balance on a rolling deck inside a boat which can bring on real nausea, unrelated to his cooking skills.
For the most part the weather cooperated and we managed to sail at an average speed of 6.7 knots... There were a few days that storms hit but we managed to ride them out without to many difficulties... Ramon managed to rip out several of the sail slugs on the new mainsail when he used one of the deck top winches to pull in the 1st reefing out haul, thus rendering the mainsail unusable for the rest of the passage... We finally made it into Colon after 8 days and brought the boat into the Panama Canal Yacht Club until we could get passage booked for transit thru the canal... We spent the time, while waiting, repairing the auto pilot which had stopped working in the middle of the night (guess who's watch?) and which I was able to temporarily repair using his $49 tool set and no spare parts, as well as taking the main sail into a local sail maker who was able to repair the tears and damage...

His friends from Chile had arrived before we got there and were there to greet us... They are helping him sail the boat from Panama to Chile and I hope Ramon's angel continues to sit next to him on the journey... Of course nobody but Ramon spoke both English (kinda) and Spanish, so I spent the week unable to communicate with the new crew except through gestures and sign language... Of course there were other problems that had to be overcome, but I would be redundant in describing them as they involved Ramon...
The Atlantic side of Panama, in Colon, is a big stinking pile of garbage and open sewers, suffering under a very high crime rate... It stinks, and is dangerous, especially for wealthy looking Gringos... I was glad to get underway again through the Canal, which I have always wanted to see and to transit... Panama, once out of Colon, is a beautiful, sparsely populated country with massive rain forests and jungles full of many unique species... I awoke in the morning on Gakin Lake, to the sounds of monkeys in the trees of the jungle along the edge of the lake... This beautiful lake has several hundred islands, containing many species of animals found no place else on earth, and are protected... Once through the Canal, on the Pacific side, it was cooler and totally different from the Atlantic side... Panama City is a large, modern, clean city full of beautiful parks and efficient highways... Needless to say, when I boarded the plane to fly back to Puerto Rico, a great feeling of relief overtook me...

I am now in the Spanish Virgins aboard my own boat, enjoying my quiet solitude..

P.S. Ramon and I are still very good friends and he wants me to come to Chile for a visit... He is halfway now between Panama and Chile at present and I hope his guardian angel continues to look after him..