Room w/a view at Trembling Hills

Yes, Steven J. Lehner always has sage advice.

The first few years of our bareboat charter trips I always wondered why my older cousin took a 10th day of vacation. The end of the trip would come around, and he would always be talking about Monday on the couch. He would joke about checking himself into a room at Trembling Hills. Detox with a view!

Years went by, and I got older. Suddenly I did not enjoy that first day back at work, having just returned at 1 AM in the morning from a solid 9 days of "breakfast cylinders", rum runners, and 2AM beer & a Stuben. In fact, most of my Monday at work revolved around me - face down on the desk - sweating and hoping that I did not get a lot of phone calls. Praying for the day to end so that I could go home and collapse on the couch in the fetal position. I would spend the day wondering why I did not take Monday off - that critical 10th day of recovery.

Here is to you Steven J. Lehner, and the critical 10th day of vacation. I plan to make my reservation for a room w/a view at Trembling Hills in advance of our next trip! Or you can just book it for me when you place your reservations!

Re-visiting Transylvania Ave

Here is evidence of Pete, then Stub and Vinnie, re-visiting our long lost trail.

Swimming with the sharks?

One of my favorite places in the world is The Bitter End Yacht Club. I cannot picture a more perfect resort - anywhere. There is a little for everyone. Sailing, dancing, relaxing, diving, snorkeling, the baths a short distance away, the list goes on. We seem to always end up here whenever in the BVI's for a few days. It is very relaxing, and there is a little island (Saba Rock) that used to be a very cool bar/band area easily reached by a dinghy from the moorings in the bay. We could have dinner at Bitter end, then either catch a band at the yacht club, or motor over to Saba Rock for some fun.

One night after much entertainment at the yacht club, we were headed back to the boat. It had been limbo night, and we were well lubricated to compete in the event. On the way back to the dinghy you pass a shark tank. It has a short little railing all the way around it. Stub thought it would be funny to give the group a scare. He ran up the the rail/fence and mocked jumping in. To his surprise the railing gave was slightly. He rotated over his hip on the railing and was all of a sudden hanging upside down above the tank - feet pointing directly at the moon. Someone grabbed his shoes and pulled him back to earth. I believe that is the only time I have ever seen a look of fear/shock on Stub's face. The guy seems to take almost anything in stride.

It did not take long for the jokes to start rolling in. Mauler was wondering what she would have told her sister if her son had ended up swimming with the sharks. I told Mauler that the nurse sharks would have had a hard time "gumming" him to death. The fall on his head might have done him some good too!

When in the BVI's don't miss O'Malley the black irish entertainment guide!

As authored by Davie Laitsch!



Sorry Slim, somehow this e-mail slipped passed me and I did not respond. My version goes like this,,,,Don, Vollmer, Craig (I think), Toast, Stub and I were in Tortolla. We went to some huge outdoor Reagae/political rally at some soccer complex/park. It was kind of a dud, so we went out for a bite to eat, and after we were walking to our next destination, a bar to drink of course. It started to rain a bit, and we were kinda looking around for a taxi. Two local guys stopped their SUV and asked us if we needed a ride. Don and Vollmer decided to head back in for the night and the young guys were on their own. We were a bit hesitant at first because we had no idea who they were, and they had no "taxi" signs on their vehicle. Their truck was pretty new/nice and they were dressed nice, clean (etc) so we said what the hell and we piled into their truck. They asked us what we wanted to do, and we told them to take us out to some "action in the bars". We never really negotiated any fee's or anything and these two guys took us to a couple bars, and were our personal tour guides. I think I speak for all of us when I say that these guys surprised the hell out of us because they were super cool, and they were buying rounds of drinks, just like they were part of our crew. They were asking us about where we were from, what we were doing and so on. The guys started busting my balls about getting hammered and being left behind in San Juan. They laughed and said I was lucky that I did'nt get killed. Then one of the guys said to me " you probably did'nt get capped beacause you look kind of Puerto Rican. So I said "if I look like I'm Puerto Rican, then you look like you're Irish". I was a bit nervous because he was a "big Brother", but everybdy started cracking up. So then I went on to call him O'Malley and the joke kept rolling on. For the rest of the night he was O'Malley. These guys were the coolest ever!! They drove us around all night drinking, from bar to bar to bar. We even went to a strip bar out in the middle of F..ing NO-WHERE. It had a super high cover charge, and if I recall correct O'Malley negotiated a lower fee, and then paid the cover for us!!! It was awesome, we were having the time of our life. After a thousand more beers, and bars they drove us right back to the pier safe and sound. We asked them how much we owed them,and I belive they said $50. I think we gave them about $85. or so. When we got back we were wondering how we were going to get back to the boat; it was tied up to a "moore"? out in the marina, not on the pier. As we were trying to figure out who was dumb enough to swim out to the boat to get the Dingy, Vollmer pops up out of a Dingy tied to the pier (sleeping and all hammered), and told us that he has been waiting for us!! We hopped into the Dingy and went back to the sailboat!! It was truley one of my favorite nights ever!! So there you have it...my version of the O'Malley story. DL

Captain Don's Surprise

This is our second trip, and we are in our favorite place - Key West. The group heads down to Duval Street and bounce from bar to bar. Lots of fun, dancing and vague memories of late night pizza. Finally we stumble back to the boat at about 4 AM. No one is prepared for "Captain Don's Surprise" ...

Everyone has found a quiet dark corner to crawl into and hide from the impending hangover. It is now 5:30 AM and we are fully passed out and in another dimension. All of a sudden there is a loud cadence throughout the boat "DAAA da ditty da, daa da ditty da, WAKE UP! RISE AND SHINE!" all to the sound of trumpets. The loud won't go away, no matter how long you try to ignore it. After roughly 4 - 5 minutes of this racket, a very angry Stub gets up and starts tearing through the cabin. "Where the !@#$% is that noise coming from!". He starts tearing through the cabinets. Finally, he sticks his head out a port hole in the boat and yells at the top of his voice to the entire harbor "SHUT UP! TURN THAT !@#$ing NOISE OFF!" This from a normally rational and sane adult. I still don't know how he got his large mellon out the relatively small port hole...

About 2 minutes later Pete pulls a cat alarm clock from the cabinet in his bunk.

Captain Don strikes again!

I can still remember him laughing for about 20 minutes that early morning. Relatively proud of your prank - weren't you Captain Don?

I fully believe that Stub is still planning his revenge. That cat will resurface at the old folks home - set to go off every night at 7:30 PM!

Sometimes you stumble upon Paradise

We are on our way back to Granada from the Grenadines. The trip is unfortunately winding to a close. We are all somewhat preparing for the trip back to reality, and not really wanting this slice of heaven to end. As is usual in this latitude, we are running short of ice. Our crew is used to COLD weather this time of year. Temps in the upper 90's and a brutal sun has the crew rapidly drinking cold beverages. No matter how much ice we pack in the ice chest, it always seems to disappear in day.

We are headed South and determine that we will need some ice for our sail to Grenada. Carriacou Island is off the starboard bow and we decide to slip into Tyrrel Bay and pick up some ice at a store in Harvey Vale. As we sail up, there are hardly any boats in the bay. We wonder if there is enough civilization in the bay to produce a store that would carry ice....

We pull up along the Northern shore line and notice all the mangroves. We anchor out near the mangroves and take the dinghy into shore. Once we get there we are surprised. The town is very nice, the locals are enchanting, and there are a lot of stores, bars and restaurants. We proceed to walk down the main street that runs between the beach and the buildings. First a beer at a bar, then a stroll through some stores. We find a liquor store. The prices are fantastic. Most of the crew buy tarrif free liquor for home. I personally buy a bottle of grenadier, and a couple of other long strange looking liquor bottles with tall thin bottle necks. (they never make it back to college - as they are tossed back and forth in the plane they break inside my duffle bag soaking all my clothes with sticky liquor...)

Everyone shops at their own pace, and most of the group split up and see what they want to see. I buy a few beers and anchor myself in front of the main pier watching the world go by. I cannot imagine a more peaceful setting. Candy pulls up as my wing man. We wait for the others. Eventually everyone works their way back to the dinghy pier. We saddle up in the dinghy, head back to the boat, and weigh anchor. I remember thinking - man we really missed out on a great place to stay for a night. Too bad the boat was due back in Grenada this evening.

Oh well, it was a fantastic find, and a wonderful reminder of how easy life could be if we allowed ourselves to slow down and enjoy it!

Oh yeah.....Scope.

So, this is your first bareboat charter. You think you know a lot about sailing, right? Been a sailor for decades, right? This should be a breeze! Then again.....

As the title of this blog states, we are from the midwest. Not real familiar with the idea of tide, or the general nature of the bottom for anchorages in Southern Florida. In Lake Michigan, Tide is not a factor, and it is such a deep lake that you rarely ever anchor out. Go find yourself a marina dude!

So, now you have the primer.

We are all excited as this is our first bareboat charter. The Florida Keys sound like the perfect chain of islands to explore for 10 days. The crew is comprised of Don and Mary Ann (Captain and Cook - also the benefactors of this little vacation), and a bunch of early 20 something kids (Jim, Pete, Lisa, Troy, and Steve.) Most of us have been sailing for decades. We pick up the 42 foot Endeavor - Aeolus (AO-Bus; our nickname as it is not a real competitive sailor) in Miami at Florida Yacht Charters. After a brief introduction and a short test, followed by sea trials, we depart on our journey. Our final destination - Key West. However the goal for the first night - Key Largo. The sail down is great; why wouldn't it be in comparison to winter in Wisconsin. Sailing in Hawks Channel with beer and cocktails beats snowblowing the driveway any day.

As we get close to Key Largo, we begin to look for a place to "drop the hook" for the night. Largo Sound looks like a great place, so we navigate our way in and weave through the ships that have beat us to prime anchorage locations. We finally drop anchor a little North of Transylvania Ave. A crew is quickly dispatched to get fuel for the dinghy and Ice. Little did we know that the closest store is all the way out at US Hwy 1... Not a short walk later we find what we need and then venture back. As we motor back to the boat, night is setting and Mary Ann is ready with dinner. We all are relaxing after dinner, laughing at the table. The wind is picking up outside. We individually notice it I am sure, but no one pays much attention to it. Soon a strange alarm is going off in the cabin. And about the same time we hear some yelling outside the boat. As we run up the steps to the cockpit, we see a group of people on our starboard side yelling at us from their sailboat. "Wake Up! Your adrift!" Sure enough the boat is drifting in the wind at about 5 knots down wind. We quickly fire up the diesel and motor forward. When we set the anchor this time, we leave out a lot of scope (extra line) and hope the anchor holds. It was a long night as we listened to the wind whip through the sound. Always wondering if we were adrift again.

Next morning, we weigh anchor and head out the narrow channel that leads from Largo Sound to Hawks Channel. This was our reminder to check the charts for tide when we depart locations. As we were leaving, we felt the keel touch down in the channel. Thankfully, the prop and rudder are set significantly higher on the AO Bus. The keel only touched down in a few short places, and the 89 hp Turbo Diesel pushed us through these little snags.

So, all in all, Day 1 was full of learning experiences. We became much wiser sailors. However, it will always be remembered for three guys and a few beers at the end of Transylvania Ave.!

What's a Stuben anyway?

Ok,

I realize that most of you know what a "Stuben" is, but this is for the folks that stumble across this blog.

The "Stuben" was invented by Stub. I am willing to stand corrected, but here is my recollection:

In the BVI's, long night of fun at the Bitter End Yacht Club. The crew stumbled back to the dinghy and motored back to the boat. Stub was hungry after a long night of beer and rockets. He looked into the ice chest and found a smorgesboard of leftovers. In typical Stub fashion, this was an opportunity to push the edges and make the crew laugh. He pulled out the bread and stacked it with anything he could find in the ice chest. If I remember correctly it a few of the ingredients were beef jerky and string cheese. Everyone that was up got a chuckle. At first we called it a "Dagwood" but then "Stuben" was thrown out and eventually stuck.

Ever since this day, the group has made a tradition of building Stubens when we get back home from a long night of drinking. The picture attached is from this Spring in Fort Myers Beach after a long night of drinking. Give it a try, you might really enjoy what you create!

Stub vs Mr. Johnson!

We pull into Canouan Island. This had been after a casual night in the Tobago Cays. The group was interested in night life. As we pull into Charles Town, we anxiously look for an anchorage near any bar. Captain Don, as usual, weaves in and out of boats in the bay. He tucks in very close to shore, but actually found an opening for once. We set anchor, test it with one of the two aux engines. All appears ship shape. Everyone piles into the dinghy and we head for shore.

On shore we find a little bar above a restaurant. We are practically the only patrons at this time - early afternoon. It has the slow turning leaf shaped ceiling fans, and tons of wicker furniture. We proceed to order a few rounds and relax the afternoon away. I spent some time walking around the little bar, and exploring. It seems to be in such a remote location in the world. The bartender disappears for long periods of time, basically requiring us to track them down when we need another round. The port is very quiet, and there does not appear to be a whole lot of activity going on. It is early March in 1994 so there is no airport on Canouan Island, or any fancy resorts. Just a very peaceful and tranquil existence.

Eventually, we end up back on the boat. A small sailboat comes in as we are eating dinner, and they are looking for a place to drop anchor. The boat decides that in front of our cat would be the best location, so they drop anchor and drift toward us. A few of us remark that they are cutting it a little close. Oh well, we continue on with our evening and several hours and many laughs later - call it a night.

Now, it has to be 2 AM when I hear the wind pick up outside. I am actually relieved because the boat has been a hot box for the last few days. Nothing like being within the tropic of cancer to turn up the heat on a situation. The wind feels fantastic, and helps to purge the cabin of it's musty smell. (hey I was bunking with Candy...two guys in a little room gets a little ripe!) Shortly after the wind picks up, I start to hear this weird noise. It is a clicking noise. Kind of like a chain running along a......rudder? YIKES! I jump up and stick my head out the hatch. Mark and I are in the front Port cabin. I had pole position for the nights events. The boat in front of us was drifting free of it's anchorage. It was on top of our boat, and the clicking noise was the rudder of the boat in front of us running up and down the bridle (Cat's have a bridle system for the anchor to keep the nose pointed into the wind.) The boat was only 10 feet off of our bow.

Now, at this time I (not so delicately) kick Candy in the head and yell GET UP! I run to the Front Starboard cabin and yell at either Stub or Toast - GET UP! I need your help. Very quickly the entire crew (less Candy) is up and yelling at the boat in front of us. A head sticks out of the companion way. Something is yelled back in French.... Lisa steps forward and tries to communicate. The couple aboard the boat in front of us is obviously new to charter boats as he is fumbling around and clueless. He acts like he is going to start the engine and we all scream at him NO! (his prop would have wrapped up in the anchor chain that is running under his hull!

Stub and I jump in the dinghy. We figure that we are going to have to pull him off of our anchor line. We pull in front of his boat, and he tosses a line to Stub. I start to back up - pulling him forward and away from our boat. At first there does not appear to be any progress, so I start to dial up the throttle. The outboard on this little inflatable dinghy is a 35 HP. Way over sized. I - in my adrenaline rush - decide that if there is no movement at low throttle, then why not just Give 'er! Stub starts to scream "Your pulling my arms off, slow it down!" Later he swears that he almost went swimming as I tried to pull the dinghy out from underneath him. After a few dozen yards, we slow down, and the couple fire up their engine. The sailboat pulls forward and we go back to the cat. We watch the young french couple set their anchor again, and then go down to sleep again.

Next morning as we are all sitting around the big table in the open cockpit, we are discussing the evenings events. Candy actually says "your kidding, I don't remember a thing!". I swear that Mark could sleep through a small nuclear blast ;)

I thought I had heard it all...

I have heard many tall tales in my life, but I think this one took the cake...

We were all sitting around the table after eating dinner. We were on a rather comfortable boat this year (Contango II, 49 foot Hylas). After dinner we were bantering about. Lots of stories were being told, and one focused on "Hot" food. Now to preface this tale, Kelly seemed to have a habit of always having a better story than the one you just told. If you had a fast car, her car was the fastest in the state. If you could eat a one pound hamburger, she once ate a 1-1/2 pound hamburger. You could never get away with finishing your story and having it be done, everyone move on to a new subject. Nope, Kelly had a better story waiting...

So back to the tale. Someone ate something really hot and there was a funny story about it. The best part about this story is that no one will ever remember what the funny story was that started this tale. That is because the "Mine is better than yours" story took the cake. So Kelly starts off something like this. "Well I once flew into Buffalo NY, and on my layover I stopped into THE original Buffalo Wing bar. I ordered the hot wings and took them back to my hotel room. They were SO hot that when I ate them I got a blister on my lip!" Stub bursts out laughing. Pete makes a comment that lands him in the dog house - God bless ya buddy, you were keepin' it real! But to this day, I have never heard a taller tale about hot food!

Laaahlll Laaaahhlll!

That is a direct quote of Pete - and it is done by rolling your tongue inside your mouth. Try it - Laaahlll. It's fun!

Now I suppose you are wondering.....what is this about?

Good question. It was our first trip to the Bahamas on the original Pathfinder! We had sailed through heavy seas to make it to Bimini, but I already re-capped that trip. The next day we sailed out to the Concrete Boat just South of the South island. we spend the afternoon snorkeling around the boat. It is pretty cool, and you are warned that this was a live bombing target for american pilots in the past so be careful what you touch!

Later that day we headed back to Bimini and back to The End of The World bar. Many pain killers later we work our way back to the boat. It is now about 2 AM. Don decides that this would be a great time to start sailing to Nassau. Nassau is not very close to Bimini so we would waste an entire day if we waited until morning. So the reasoning was - why not start now at 2 AM while the majority of the crew is sleeping. This is very compelling reasoning. Especially to a bunch of drunken sailor! So, 2AM we cast off lines and fire up the diesel.....or was it the other way around? Out the channel we go. Around the North End of the North Island and headed East toward what else? The tongue of the ocean! This was when Pete fired off the "Laahlll Laaahll!" He was working on the charts and figuring out our navigation route for the trip when he discovered that we would be sailing into the "Tongue of the Ocean" The next 3 hours in the dark, as we navigated around un-lit channel markers, Pete and I continued to drink beer and shout out the occasional "Laahll Laaahlll!"

Pete and the Jellies!

After my last posting, Pete sent me the following e-mail!

Don’t forget that one time in the Bahamas when we sailed at night and the luminescent jellies where in schools under a full moon. I don’t remember what island, but we never went to shore. I remember there was a big fight on that night and we could hear the yelling coming from a house/shack on shore. Very weird

This sums up our adventures!

Take a chance. All life is chance. The man who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure thing boat never get far from the shore.--Dale Carnegie


We need the picture of Pete in full weather gear eating spaghetti in the open hatch, at night - sailing in Hawks Channel! That would complete this quote.

Unbelievable night sail!

We had decided that a stop in Mustique on our way back from the Tobago Cays would be more of an adventure than just going back to Bequia. We headed North and charted a course to Mustique. This is the island of the rich and famous. Only 100 villas on the entire island. Lots of celebrities are supposed to own property here. As we pull in to Obsidian Bay, we notice a long pier and a bar/restaurant. I (as usual) am concerned about the anchorage. It appears that the boats are not swinging in unison on their anchor chains. A lot of confusion, and not a lot of space. The harbor is relatively full.

Also as usual, Don wants to get the boat in close so that we have a short dinghy ride to shore. The bay is deep, so this is not a bad idea anyway. We drop anchor, make a quick change of clothes and hop in the dinghy to head in to the bar. When we tie up on the pier, we have a bit of a walk to get to the bar. As we are walking along the pier we notice the LARGEST COCKROACH I have ever seen in my life. It had to be 2 inches long, an inch wide and an inch tall. The ladies would not have slept a wink if they had been sleeping on shore! We arrived at Basil's Bar after a short walk. It overhangs the bay, and we all have a great view of the boats in the harbor. Dinner was great, and the drinks were fantastic. I am, however, noticing that the boats are all swinging randomly in the harbor. I am concerned about the boat, and say something to the Don. He does not appear concerned.

After dinner and a few drinks, we all head back to the boat. The group goes to bed, but shortly after midnight I am awakened by Troy. He has been hearing a clunking noise outside his cabin. When we investigate topside, we notice that the boat has drifted stern to stern with another at anchor, and the dinghy of the other boat is banging into our boat. We push the boat away. Minutes later, the same thing occurs. Troy, Stub and I spend the next hour pushing the boats apart. Finally we wake the Don. He takes the issue into consideration and decides, lets just sail to Bequia!

We pull anchor and motor out of the harbor. Once outside the harbor, we set sail and kill the motor. The night is cloudless, and the stars are unreal. I have never seen more stars in my entire life. The waves were washing past the hull, and there was a fantastic warm breeze. Clearly one of the most memorable night sailing experiences of my life. I enjoyed that morning at the helm more that words can describe. Pure joy and relaxation. Beautiful.

Now, would you believe that the name of the vessel we are sailing on is "Stargazer"? Yeah.....really.

The best destination he never saw...

We were on our first cruise to the Abaco's in the Bahamas. The day before had started out at Pete's in Little Harbor. We spent the majority of the day relaxing at the pub. We headed up toward Elbow Cay at the end of the day. It was a protected sail inside the reef. We made it to Hope Town as the day was ending. We found a slip at the Lighthouse Marina. As we had been "tippin'" all day, we grilled out and hung out on the Rumpleteaser that evening. Stub was in the zone and didn't want the evening to end. Eventually we all turned in.

The next day we all woke up late and realized that we were in a picturesque little harbor. There was a candy cane light house above us. We all had some breakfast and coffee and decided to climb up the hill and tour the light house. Steve groaned in the corner and laid back down on his bunk. We took the dinghy into town and strolled the narrow streets buying shirts, hats and knick knacks. There was a really cool little bar overhanging the harbor. We had lunch and a few beers.

Toast found out that there was a band or DJ (can't remember which) playing here this evening. We all piled back into the dinghy and went back to the boat. Steve was still horizontal. He covered his head with a pillow as we waited for evening.

That night we all tried to coax Stub out of his coma. He moaned and sat up. Two minutes later he laid back down. We all piled into the dinghy to go to the little bar hanging over the harbor. There was some good music and lots of cocktails. The harbor was dark with a few lights showing the rippling water. The wind was building, and it was cool. We had a great time that night watching the band and the harbor. After many hours, we all piled into the Dinghy and headed back to the Rumpleteaser.

Next morning we woke up early and headed out to our next destination. Steve had missed the entire stay at Little Harbor in Elbow Cay. I swear this has to qualify for the most incredible place someone visited and never saw or experienced.

Raw (T)ide! - Big Pine Key Style

The boys trip was off to a good start. We all were a little fuzzy this morning from our night on Duval Street. Fat Tuesdays had been a lot of fun, but left a mark. We decided to sail North today to Big Pine key. For cryin' out loud, we rented a sailboat so we better get it out of the harbor! The day started a little late, but we were not in a big hurry. The sail up the chain was relaxing, and we were all lazing about listening to the stereo and having a few cocktails. There was a lot of activity overhead as the fighter jets were preparing for the Gulf. It was cool watching them blaze back and forth. A little strange - we were basking in the ultimate expression of freedom sailing in the keys on a lazy vacation - while they were preparing for war... Glad to be on the boat for more reasons than one.

As usual, the sun was setting as we were pulling in to Big Pine Key. The entrance to the anchorage is very narrow and shallow. We worked our way back very slowly listening to the depth alarm go off constantly. We finally found a great anchorage between Ramrod Key and Little Torch Key. There were a couple other boats in the anchorage, but it was basically empty. We snapped a quick picture of the sunset with the boat next to us drifting at anchor.

At this time the Captain and his mate had decided that they had had enough excitement the first couple nights in Key West. They were going to hang out on the boat and relax. The "boys" decided that we were going to find the night life in this stretch of the keys. We did not have Lisa and her travel book along, so we were going to have to wing it! We quickly showered and jumped into the inflatable dinghy for our trip to shore. The closest island was Ramrod Key. There were a lot of lights over there so we headed in that direction. We found out that the area we were in was extremely shallow. We had the motor tilted up and were using the oars as sounding rods. It took a while (30 minutes) to get close, but we realized that this was all residential lots with no place to tie up. We decided to head East toward Big Pine Key. Again, we ran into trouble with depth. We were putting along constantly sounding with the oars to insure that we did not run aground. It took about an hour to finally find civilization on Big Pine Key.

Now keep in mind that we had taken a 12 pack of beer along, and there was none left at this point. We were all holding the last can as we poured out of the dinghy. The building where we landed looked like a small resort. We were thinking "Where's the bar?" As we looked closer, we discovered that the majority of the people present were kids. An adult noticed us and quickly walked outside. Before we could even ask she blurted out "You can't be here!" We begin to ask where the night life is, but she keeps pushing us toward the dinghy. Craig finally stops and and says "We're leaving but were is the closest bar?" The lady points up the channel. We pile into the dinghy and head up the channel.

As we cross underneath the bridge, we notice a long dock with a bar. We found "The Sand Bar"(Now called Parrotdise Bar). We head in and belly up to the bar. There are not a whole lot of people present, but it is a bar, and they serve cold cocktails. We start talking to the owner. He is a really nice guy and likes our story on how we got here. An old sailor walks in and sits down next to us. He asks the owner if he can tie up to the dock for the night, and all is well. He explained that he sailed down from Key Largo today, and as the night sets in the wind died. He had no outboard on his little sailboat, so he tied a line to the bow and walked the boat the last few miles to The Sand Bar.

About an 1-1/2 hours after arriving the bar empties out and we are the last patrons left. The owner decided to close. We ask where the best night life in the area is? He explains that this would be "Montego Bay" on Big Pine Key. (The Sand Bar is located on Little Torch Key) We ask if we can call a taxi, but the owner offers to drive us instead. BONUS! The old sailor decides to tag along. As we walk out, he explains that he needs to go back to his boat to get his teeth... A few minutes later we pile into the owners car and head to Montego Bay.

Now, little did we know, Montego Bay is a Packers Bar. The wings are fantastic, and the bar is active. We hang out while harassing our waitress (a fiery little cuban who graduated from Key West High School). We also run into a group of young girls and discover that they work at Sea Camp. We proceed to give them a hard time about their hospitality. They all laugh and tell us that we should not have been there (Sea Camp) either.... Several hours later the bar closed down and we catch a taxi back to the Sand Bar. We are all VERY over served at this time and not as concerned about the shallow bay. The dinghy is cracked wide open and we begin singing the theme song to "Raw Hide" as directed by Mark. I swear we were doing great, but I am sure it was well out of key and had many ad lib lyrics.

Next morning, Spanky and Doctor tell us that they could hear the singing from about a mile away ;)

Captain Overboard!

Captain Don loves to fish on our bareboat cruises. His favorite is towing a line behind the boat when we are on our long sails. He has been known to take crew members to South Beach while on layover at Miami Airport just so he can pick up fishing gear from his favorite tackle shop. He has done this more than once! He even rented a car once because it was cheaper than taking a taxi.

We were on a trip from St. Lucia to the Tobago Cays. The second day in to the cruise we were headed South from St. Lucia toward Bequia. Lisa wanted Lobster Pizza from Mac's so our goal was Admiralty Bay by sunset. My guess is that we were roughly 5 hours into the sail when we hooked a nice sized King Fish. Everyone jumped up and we dragged the fish on board. It was kicking and flopping around at first, and as usual we were a little taken off guard. Captain Don knocked the fish out, and asked me to go down below into the galley to get a pail to rinse to cockpit out. The fish was somewhat messy, as Captain Don was beginning to filet the fish.

I was not even to the galley when I heard a shriek up above. Sister Lisa was screaming. When I got back up top, I found out why. Captain Don was about 100 feet behind the boat. Lucky for him he was wearing a red Tee shirt. Lots of things were running through my mind. First - we were under full sail and the boat was on autopilot. I grabbed the wheel and pulled the autopilot release arm. As I spun back around I noticed that Dad was disappearing with each wave. He would only be visible on the crests. He was already about 100 yards back. I asked Troy and Sara to point their finger at him so that I would know where to go. Always point your finger and don't drop your arm (provides a reference when he disappears).

It was about this time that Captain Don realized that he was in the open ocean with a knife in one hand, and a bleeding King fish in the other. He let go of both and watched the mast as it moved away.

Back on the boat Lisa is screaming to drop the sails. I consider this for a fraction of a second and decide that would take WAY to long, we would lose him. Option 2 - come about and head down wind of him. We were on a Southern tack with the wind off the port bow. I came about and headed back North, but ran down wind to the North West (Wind was out of the ESE that day). I kept watching Sara and Troy's arms to know if I was making headway toward the target. My plan was to get directly down wind of him and run straight up wind toward him with the aux engine on. This took about 4 -5 minutes. It seemed like an eternity... Once directly down wind I fired up the diesel and headed up toward him. It was about this time that I realized that this was going to be a little harder than I anticipated.

We were in 6 -8 foot waves and Dad was still disappearing in the troughs of the waves. The wind was moderate, and was creating a lot of luffing of the sails (noise and potential to catch the wind and draw the boat in one direction or another with a wind change). The motor was running, and the bow was diving into the waves. I realized that if I headed directly to him I could either drop on top of him or catch him with the prop. I decided the safest thing was to head slightly downwind in case the wind caught the sails and took me North. As we got closer, Dad was passing to our South, along the Starboard side of the boat.

It was about the time he was perpendicular to us that I realized that I was too far away. He was swimming toward us, but the wind was taking the boat away too quickly, and the waves were pushing him toward the stern. I was thinking I would have to take another pass, or maybe take the sails down so that they could not interfere with the rescue, when Steve grabbed the genoa line and threw it to Dad. It was the perfect throw, and the right length. He grabbed the line and was dragged behind the boat. Sara and Troy were on the step transom. The pulled Captain Don in and little Sara (130 lbs) pulled Dad straight up out of the sea - one arm and single handed.

Now you would think that the story was over.... Wrong! MaryAnn had thrown a seat cushion toward Don when we were floating by him. This was about 20 seconds before Steve brilliantly threw the line. The cushion was blown away faster than Don could swim for it. Now, it was down wind and moving fast. Don decides that the $100 dollar cushion is not worth losing, so he drops the dinghy in and chases it down in the open ocean.... Getting the dinghy back on board proved to be more of a challenge in 6-8 foot seas than we bargained for. Hind sight 20/20 we should have left the cushion go. Oh well, life is an adventure!

The perfect afternoon

The morning had been spent snorkeling out at sand island, and we decided that we were going to go to the BBQ and jump up at Foxy's on Jost Van Dyke. We were close so we thought that we would head in early. As we were sailing up, we noticed a small beach bar in a remote beach West of Foxy's. Everyone voted to stop in and have "one". The boat was anchored, and we all dove in and swam to shore.

As we waded in from the sea, we noticed that the bar was named the "Soggy Dollar". How appropriate. The bar was know for their "Painkillers" so the group ordered a round. The first one tasted so good, we sent several back to the boat to get more Soggy dollars. Another painkiller turned into a few more. As the afternoon wore on, more and more crews began to arrive. A group of six college students arrived in a sport fisherman boat. They found a game in the bar, called the ring game. We ended up playing that game for hours. Check it out! http://www.soggydollar.com/ringgame/

The bar was built on the beach, and the view was fantastic. We continually waded into and out of the water. Sat on loungers. And enjoyed almost 5 hours at the bar killing pain...

Finally, we had to go. Foxy's jump up was calling, and we needed to have a painkiller there to check out which bar served the best one on Jost Van Dyke. Man that was rough duty.... Sign me up to live that day over and over again!

Dinner and a Donkey...

Captain Don decided that this trip to the British Virgin Islands should be different from the last. He wanted to go to Anegada. As we had not gone to Anegada before, the charter company required that we take a captain along for the ride. We picked him up at the North end of Virgin Gorda and headed toward Anegada. The day was very calm, so the sailing was slow. The mood on the boat was strange, because captain Don did not want another captain on the boat and we had done enough bare boat charters that we really didn't need a captain along. This was our seventh bareboat trip as a group. Oh well, more beer!

The hired Captain directed us to the very West end of the Island, then we proceeded East inside the reefs to a secluded beach. We were the only boat anchored in the bay. Lisa - true to form - was reading in the travel guide. She found a restaurant in the bay and discovered that you needed to radio in before 4 PM to let them know if you were going to have dinner. Seemed odd, but we followed directions. Later that night we figured out why. We were the only patrons at the restaurant that night....

About 6 pm we rolled off the boat into the dinghy and headed in to the restaurant. It was a very cool little building. It was open through the middle (basically just a roof over the top, and the kitchen was on the West end of the building. A small bar was built into the East side of the building wall. We ordered dinner, and then settled into cocktails. Our crew drifted in and out of the bar as the sun set. It was a hot evening, with a very warm breeze. Some sat inside with easy access to the bar, others in beach chairs out by the beach. This restaurant was literally ON the beach, which was very cool. It was also about the only building in the bay at all. We are talking about hundreds of yards of pristine beach with maybe one other building along it. A very....very....very relaxed and remote setting.

Dinner arrived and we had all sat down to eat. everyone was having a great time. The sun had set, and it was early dusk. The only light in the area was coming from inside the restaurant where we were eating. Remember - open in the middle on both sides (North - South). This was providing a great breeze. It must have smelled great outside the restaurant as we were eating. Everyone was laughing and carrying on. All of a sudden we realized that there were 9 of us (instead of the eight that came to shore). It wasn't staff at the restaurant either... A Donkey had walked in to the restaurant from the North (inland side) and was slowly meandering through the building. Absolute silence. I swear everyone was thinking at the same time "am I halucinating?" Out the Donkey walked on to the beach... Everyone breaks into laughter. First time I ever ate dinner with a Donkey.

We finished up dinner and headed in to "The Settlement" looking for night life. Not a lot was found, but we already had our story for the evening!

Calling you guys out!

Ok,

I need some help here.

I need someone (Dave, Craigr, Troy, or Vinkman) to tell the "O'Malley" the Irish Taxi driver story

I need someone (Candy, Craigr, Troy) to tell the "Rawhide" - Sea Camp Story, or the 6 intelligent men story

Any other stories would be appreciated Greatly!

Vinnie

Vinkman Down

We had just finished snorkeling and the sun was setting off of Salt Island. Captain Don decided that he wanted more night life. He thought that Salt Island would be boring for the group so with almost no sun left in the day we decided to head to Norman Island. The "Caves" were there for adventure tomorrow, and maybe there would be some night life

As we got closer, night was falling. We pulled in just in time to find a mooring and discover the "Willie T". After grilling out and enjoying dinner, the group decided to clean up and head over to the Willie T for entertainment. The "Willie T" is a boat anchored in the harbor that operates as a pub and grub. When we first got there the night life was a little slow. We thought that we were in for a sleeper. However as the night wore on, more of the crew members from the fleet in the bay began to arrive. Next thing we know, the music is cranking and the back deck becomes a dance floor.

Now imagine this. The deck is not flat, as it is toward the back of the ship and angles up at about 15 degrees. It is the ship's "Poop" deck - for lack of a better description. By this time, the group has been steadily drinking for hours. Vinkman is "rockin'" he is jumping up and down in our little "mosh" pit. Next think we know, DOWN goes Vink. He slipped on the angled deck, probably due to all the spilled drinks that were running toward the bar. No worse for wear.

Next morning we all admired his "deck rash".

If you ever get to Norman Island, don't skip a trip to the "Willie T" Lots of good memories!

CAN DO attitude taken to the EXTREME!

It was to be our first trip to the Bahama's. We had chartered a Hunter passage from Florida Yacht Charters. The charter company told us the night before (when we arrived) that the weather was looking rough for our first day, and they would not allow us to cross if the winds were over 20 knots. We got up in the morning, went through the dreaded "Check out" on the boat, and checked the weather. The wind was 19 knots. Captain Don was very specific when he talked to the charter company "it is 19 knot winds, that is less than 20." They relented, but not until after they informed us about a German gentleman that was driven by his schedule. He sailed regardless of the weather, anchored out one night in the Bahama's and was washed up onto the reef. Lost the whole boat. Specifically because he HAD to make his destinations according to schedule. (there was a moral in this story, but it was conveniently ignored by Captain Don - another man of German decent ;)

We headed out of Miami East toward Bimini. As we started, the sun was out, and the entire crew was basking in the sun. The waves were about 10 -12 footers. The boat was riding rather nicely in the seas. As the day wore on, the weather blew in. As the front rolled past, the clouds came in. It grew very dark grey. The wind picked up - averaging about 25 knots actual (a little over 30 kts apparent). We reefed the main sail, and rolled in the Genoa to roughly a king size blanket. Slowly but surly the crew disappeared below to hide. The seas grew to about 20 - 25 footers. You would lose sight of the horizon as you dropped into the troughs. Just walls of waves on either quarter. To add to the fun, the seas were confused due to the change in wind direction from the front that rolled in. This would provide rogue waves every so often as the two waves combined and multiplied their height.

I was in full weather gear. Actually having a really good time. I felt like Luitentant Dan in "Forest Gump". I was hootin' and hollerin'. I felt very secure as the boat was handling the seas fantastically. Just enough sail to have strong control of the helm, but not too much so as to create weather helm. It was a solid boat, and felt very secure. Winged keels really help stabilize a boat in serious weather.

My sister and her friend Laurie came out to join me in full weather gear. They were getting sick below and wanted to see the horizon. When the made it out into the cockpit, they both stood in front of me facing back toward the stern. They held tight to the helm. Me spinning the wheel, and they watched and looked shocked. About 15 minutes after they came up, we hit a rogue wave. They were watching me, I was looking forward. It appeared on the port quarter, and they saw my eyes go WIDE. They braced for the impact. It slapped hard against the hull and sent a sheet of water half way between the first and second spreaders on the mast. (About 25 feet above the cockpit) the wall of water collapsed into the cockpit. Filled it with about 2 feet of water, pushing the girls against the helm. That was enough for them, back into the cabin. I had a good chuckle. After about 3 hours of this rough passage, we entered into the shelter of Bimini Islands. The seas calmed down dramatically as the wind was out of the NE and you enter the harbor through the reef to the West of the Islands. This entrance is interesting. You pass through a reef, and then run between the reef and the beach (100 yards only between the two) until you pass between the islands and into the harbor. I was glad the wind and waves were from the right direction for that entrance. If the weather was from another direction we would have never been able to make it into that harbor. Especially the first time into the harbor.

Beer tasted really good that night at "The End of the World Bar". I will never forget that sail. Never.

Another top 5 sail.

Want Adventure? Sail with Captain Don...

The day started out cloudy and cold. Don was on the radio listening to the weather forecast. The weather was ok today, but was supposed to get worse tomorrow. We had spend the night in Bullock's Harbor in The Berry Islands (Bahamas). The sail in the night before had been strange. It was very shallow, and we were watching our speed by shining a flashlight at the sea bottom and watching our movement over past the rocks, grass, and fish... When we finally got into the Harbor we could hear all the local residents whooping it up at the bars watching the Superbowl. This island was rather remote, and the Don did not want to get stuck here for several nights if the weather turned bad. As such he made the executive decision to head out toward the Abacos.

The sail was a little cool, but the weather held. The problem was our arrival time. We ended up off the south end of the Abacos at about 10 PM in the dark. We had never been here before, and as such were not familiar with the island and all it's harbor's or entrances. By the time we made it up the east side of the island it was about midnight. That was when we discovered that the entrance to Little Harbor was not lit with markers. This is probably because NO ONE in their right mind decides to enter through a reef at night. My last visual sighting was several hours ago off the south end of the island. I had to trust the GPS and my map cross references. To add to the fun was the fact that we were in 6 foot seas in the open Atlantic. The entrance was between exposed reef and rock, less than 100 yards wide. Did I mention that it was dark?

I have not told many people, but serious fear tastes like copper in your mouth. We creep closer. You can hear the waves breaking on the beach. I can taste stomach acid... We work close in, all the music is off, everyone is silent. Most of the crew is forward looking for markers.

Finally Steve finds a marker. It matches the chart. We get a little closer. We see the other side. Now I breather a little easier. We work our way through the entrance. Once inside the barrier reef, we head South toward Little Harbor. I have never been happier to drop anchor and lay down to bed. When we wake up, we discover a tiki bar just South of us in Little Harbor. After breakfast we all head in for an attitude adjustment. The view from over the rise looking out at the Atlantic makes Captain Don's decision appear very wise. The seas are building and there are white caps everywhere. We definitely would have been stuck in the Berry Islands. Looks like a good day to spend some time at Pete's! The trip to the North toward Hope Town is mostly protected, so no worries!

Life is an adventure, get out there and live it!

Oh Yeah.... beware the cow catcher!

We left the hotel that evening for dinner and a last night out on the town before heading home. Sara and I were having a great time, and did not want the evening to end, so we decided that we would stay out together. After a few more drinks (maybe one too many) and a dance, we headed back to the hotel. The taxi ride went fast, probably because we were nodding off on each other. When we got back to the hotel, the taxi dropped us off outside on the street instead of driving into the entrance. Sara and I paid the driver and headed in to go to bed. That was when Sara discovered the animal protection system for the entrance of the hotel.... Ever tried to cross a cow catcher when you are half in the bag? Doesn't go very well.... She went down hard onto her shin. All her weight on the steel tubes - focused on the shin bone.

By the time we got her to the hotel room there was a softball on her shin. We almost went out in search of a clinic at 3 AM. I don't think she screamed that loud when she was in labor - for all three of our kids!

Make sure you look down before entering a hotel in the US Virgin Islands. You may find out the hard way what a Cow Catcher is...

a SERIOUS Pizza craving!

Have you ever known anyone that would go out of their way for a specific restaurant. In college, I remember driving with my roommate from Ames Iowa to East Dubuque Illinois to have a foot long chili dog. I thought Gretch was nuts, but that was one seriously good chili dog - or was I just drunk??? Oh well, it was worth the 3 hour drive one way to get there...

My sister on the other hand has a freakish pizza jones. Here is what she endured:
* 20 minute drive to the airport
* 3 hour flight to Puerto Rico Airport
* 2 hour layover in Puerto Rico
* 2 hour flight to St Lucia
* 1 hour bus ride to marina to pick up sailboat
* 24 hours of sailing to make it to Admiralty Bay - Bequia.
* 5 minute dinghy ride to shore and a short walk to Mac's

WHAT POSSIBLY CAN BE WORTH ALL THIS YOU ASK???

Lobster Pizza!

Eat up - it is fantastic!

Year two - Day 2

Day two was a full day sail from Marathon key to Key West. Everyone was feeling good. Even Pete - who was short his wallet. Dawn was calm and the sunrise brought the ever present "dingle don" bird, who rummages through the kitchen banging all the pots and pans together. When we all had coffee and a stop at the marina, we headed out into hawks channel. The day was perfect, calm seas in the channel, and a warm - steady breeze for the trip down. The wind was just enough to sail most of the time, and power sail the rest.

This was the first year of the step transom Hunter Passage! Everyone loved hanging out on the step transom while we were sailing. Beer in hand, and legs dragging in the warm currents of the gulf stream. when the engine is off, the feeling is the next best thing to heaven! Warm sun, swish of the waves, music drifting over the water from the stereo. Close your eyes, and it takes you back. Can't you just hear"Tempted" playing in the background.

That is a sail that I would like to do over again, and again, and again. Perfect.

But not the best sail ever. It ranks about 5th on my list. Lets see if someone can pick a few of the others.

Jim

Calling all authors!

Just a friendly reminder, everyone that who receives this blog has author capability on the blog. Please feel free to log on and post your own stories for all to enjoy. If you have pictures, forward them to voigtfam@gmail.com and I will post them on the blog for all to see.

One goal would be to have a picture of every boat we chartered. Quite a list, but I am sure that we can fill in the blanks!

I'll get us started

Year one: Aeolus (AO Bus)

Latest Photo's!

Check out the latest photo's on Picaso!

http://picasaweb.google.com/voigtfam/SailingPicS

Union Island Evidence!

I now have definitive proof that we poured Don into the dinghy after dinner at Union Island!

Cat-like Reflexes!

Ever been to Jost Van Dyke? The quintessential beach bar exists here. Foxy's!

We anchored out in the bay, took the dinghy in to the beach. After tying the dinghy up, we entered the bar for dinner. This happened to be BBQ night. Lots of boats for the evening in the bay. Dinner was good, the drinks were better. After dinner the bar had a band for the evening. The crew was really winding up to full speed at this time. Captain had a few "glow in the dark" goggles, and a few blinking "I'm Horny" buttons. As the evening progressed, no one noticed that the wind was picking up. We were all standing in a group. Mauler, Don, Lisa, Troy, Me, Pete, Kelly and Steve (Dad, check your picture on the wall at the office, do I have the right crew?). Anyway, out of nowhere, a guy sticks his head in to the center of our group and asks "are you the crew of the _____________"? We respond "Yes". Well you better run, your boat is drifting in the harbor...

Four men running - instantly - Pete, Jim, Steve and Troy. We jump in the dinghy, toss off the line, and hit the gas! Oh yeah, 5 hp... We find the boat adrift, and thankfully still off the beach or the reef. Apparently it only grazed off one boat with little to no damage.

The wind was strong, and the desirable anchorage locations already taken, so it was impossible to leave the boat untended. Troy and I stay on board and babysit the boat. Everyone else finishes the evening at Foxy's.