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)
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Latest Photo's!
Check out the latest photo's on Picaso!
http://picasaweb.google.com/voigtfam/SailingPicS
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!
Saturday, May 24, 2008
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.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Cane Garden Bay pancake syrup
As we drop the anchor, everyone scrambles to get to shore. I have been to many beaches, but this one has to be the most picturesque in all the caribbean. Half moon shaped, facing South for the perfect afternoon sun. The palm trees angle out over the sand beach toward the sea. In my book this is THE beach.
After a few hours "cookin'" on the beach, a few of us head in to a beach bar to re-hydrate. As we work our way through the afternoon at the bar, we start talking to the locals. A few of us are having "run runners", and they taste FANTASTIC. The bottle of rum the bar tender is using looks different. We ask him what it is, and he tells us that it is a local rum made up the hill. The reason it tastes so good is because it is so sweet. One of the locals at the bar tells us "It's great on pancakes in the morning mahn!"
Next day we take a walk up the hill and pick up some pancake syrup.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Dinner - Union Island Style
So, we pull in to the Harbor East of Union Island. As we motor around looking for a mooring, we find one we think would be perfect. The boat we are on is a catamaran. I like driving it like a catapillar dozer!
Hooking a mooring with a catamaran can be interesting in high wind. I over shot the mooring, throw the engines in reverse and one engine cuts out quickly! The good news....we are securely moored. The bad news, the mooring line is wrapped around the Port prop shaft... Nothing Steven J Lehner and a dive knife - courtesy of Troy Swanson - could not solve. After about a dozen dives and a lot of carving, we were free of our backward position. A few minutes later Captain Don has us safely moored, at a different location.
A few beers later, we decide to all load into the dinghy and head in to the island and both explore and find dinner. The island had one restaurant! On our way there, we walked across the air field. There was an entire heard of livestock grazing in the middle of the strip!
Once in the restaurant, we are quickly seated and ask for the "menu". The locals look at us funny, and pull up a small wooden plank. On the plank are many pictures of animals. Fish, Lobster, Cow, Pig, Lamb, Chicken... As we begin to order, we ask how is the pig cooked? "Fried". How is the chicken cooked? "Fried". How is the lobster cooked? "Fried". You get the picture.
By now, most of us are nervous about dinner... We decide to order cocktails. A few later dinner arrives. The food is prepared "family" style. Many bowls full of the sides. Fried potatoes, vegetables, bread, and of course: Fried main course. The food was very satisfying, and actually very good. On our way back to the dinghy, we walked across the air strip again, and past tomorrows dinner (cow, chicken and sheep).
I cannot remember, did we have to carry Don back to the boat this night? Can someone help with my recollection?
Vin
Hooking a mooring with a catamaran can be interesting in high wind. I over shot the mooring, throw the engines in reverse and one engine cuts out quickly! The good news....we are securely moored. The bad news, the mooring line is wrapped around the Port prop shaft... Nothing Steven J Lehner and a dive knife - courtesy of Troy Swanson - could not solve. After about a dozen dives and a lot of carving, we were free of our backward position. A few minutes later Captain Don has us safely moored, at a different location.
A few beers later, we decide to all load into the dinghy and head in to the island and both explore and find dinner. The island had one restaurant! On our way there, we walked across the air field. There was an entire heard of livestock grazing in the middle of the strip!
Once in the restaurant, we are quickly seated and ask for the "menu". The locals look at us funny, and pull up a small wooden plank. On the plank are many pictures of animals. Fish, Lobster, Cow, Pig, Lamb, Chicken... As we begin to order, we ask how is the pig cooked? "Fried". How is the chicken cooked? "Fried". How is the lobster cooked? "Fried". You get the picture.
By now, most of us are nervous about dinner... We decide to order cocktails. A few later dinner arrives. The food is prepared "family" style. Many bowls full of the sides. Fried potatoes, vegetables, bread, and of course: Fried main course. The food was very satisfying, and actually very good. On our way back to the dinghy, we walked across the air strip again, and past tomorrows dinner (cow, chicken and sheep).
I cannot remember, did we have to carry Don back to the boat this night? Can someone help with my recollection?
Vin
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Franklin & Jackson Departed!
On our second charter, second night, we sailed into Dockside Marina on Marathon key. Pete was lovin' the ship to shore located on the helm. We tied up in the marina that night.
On our way out to the bars that night, we walked by a carnival. As we were roughly 10 cocktails into the day, we all thought a few rides would be fun before the bars. The last ride we went on was a centrifuge that spins around for a few minutes pinning you to the wall. After this particular ride we walked a few blocks to the closest bar. As we were being ID'd at the door, Pete realized that he did not have his wallet. We ran back to the carnival. Upon checking at the office we were thrilled to discover that the wallet had been found and delivered to the "lost and found". Unfortunately it was much lighter. Franklin and Jackson had decided to go on their own separate vacation from Pete. Apparently there was a second revenue stream generated by the centrifuge...
Oh well, we had Pete's ID and a few beers later we were enjoying vacation just fine without Mr. Jackson and Franklin.
On our way out to the bars that night, we walked by a carnival. As we were roughly 10 cocktails into the day, we all thought a few rides would be fun before the bars. The last ride we went on was a centrifuge that spins around for a few minutes pinning you to the wall. After this particular ride we walked a few blocks to the closest bar. As we were being ID'd at the door, Pete realized that he did not have his wallet. We ran back to the carnival. Upon checking at the office we were thrilled to discover that the wallet had been found and delivered to the "lost and found". Unfortunately it was much lighter. Franklin and Jackson had decided to go on their own separate vacation from Pete. Apparently there was a second revenue stream generated by the centrifuge...
Oh well, we had Pete's ID and a few beers later we were enjoying vacation just fine without Mr. Jackson and Franklin.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Toilet Duty
I seem to recall an episode with the head - more than one -but I digress.....when we had this Hunter 54 or so....and Peter seemed to have the most empathy - maybe he was the guilty party.
In any case, the macerator was plugged with unmentionables and - after some flushing and washing - all was good....and, we headed to bars in downtown Key West....Where was that bar that had friends...two friends....and, I know that Steven knows the famous quote on my tee shirt....
The doctor.....
Beer & Hefty Bag
I missed this trip but I can recall a similiar trip with most of you guys out of Miami where I had a few beers and than fell in love with a Hefty bag. Anyone recall that nightmare of a Sail? It was probably my worst Sail encounter with a water borne hospital that I can ever remember. As I recall there were allot of laughing nurses and only one Doctor on board and he even could not help but said as I recall maybe if you have only one more??
Thankful that hefty made strong bags.
Thankful that hefty made strong bags.
Stosh
Friday, May 9, 2008
Blackbeard Salvage...
Never believe a man who tells you that you can run all week on a tank of fuel...
Our sailing adventure began as most, the charter company providing the typical walk through. During this time, they show you how everything works, and what to expect. Standard walk through lasts about an hour. We were relatively new to bare boat charters (our second trip) so we asked a lot of questions. One was; "How far can this boat travel on a tank of fuel?". The answer was; "Don't worry, you can go all week on this fuel tank - no problem!" Our first mistake was believing him...
About an hour later we cast lines and headed out into Hawks Channel from Key Largo, waving goodbye to Coconuts!
Fast forward 7 days. We are returning from Key West, after a fantastic trip and lots of fun. It is late (typical for this group). We had decided to sail straight through from Key West to Key Largo. We had left very early in the morning, and we were in sight of Key Largo. For the last 6 hours we had been motor sailing, as the wind was coming straight down Hawks Channel. Key Largo was about 6 miles away. The end was in sight. Tie up, run to Coconuts, and enjoy the rest of the evening. Suddenly the engine starts to cough... Then silence. Wait, didn't they tell us that we could run all week on a tank of fuel "NO PROBLEM?" Open the hatch, stare at the tank gauge, "E".
Plan B; Sail it in. We begin tacking back and forth toward our destination. Tide is headed out. We get about half way to our destination and the boat touches down in the shallow channel. It is very sandy and shallow. We cannot get the boat off the sand bar... Don decides to call for help. We are relayed on channel 16 to Black Beard Salvage. They sound angry to be called out to assist, but agree to give us a hand. When they arrive they ask us to tie their line to our boat. I fasten the line to the bow cleat, and the salvage captain (Black Beard?) takes up the slack. Once the line is taut, to my surprise he hammers the throttles home (WOT). The sailboat we are on noses down into the water as the keel is dragging in the sand. I start yelling frantically for him to cease and desist, but he cannot hear me over the drone of his wide open diesels. The boat pulls free and then begins to bounce over every sand bar between where we grounded and the entrance to key largo marina. I swear that we bounced over about 100 sand bars on our way to the marina. To this day I am not sure how the bow cleat did not pull straight out of the fiberglass.
Once in the marina, we tied up, and Don went to settle with "Black Beard" As we were making the lines secure to shore, I decided that it would be a good idea to trip and test the water temperature. It was nice and warm, but full of diesel fuel. It was so thick with diesel fuel, that I ended up throwing out the rugby shirt I fell in with. I took a quick shower, and met the crew at Coconuts.
The moral of the story, when in doubt - call Black Beard out! AND Always check your fuel gauge regardless what the charter company tells you.
Our sailing adventure began as most, the charter company providing the typical walk through. During this time, they show you how everything works, and what to expect. Standard walk through lasts about an hour. We were relatively new to bare boat charters (our second trip) so we asked a lot of questions. One was; "How far can this boat travel on a tank of fuel?". The answer was; "Don't worry, you can go all week on this fuel tank - no problem!" Our first mistake was believing him...
About an hour later we cast lines and headed out into Hawks Channel from Key Largo, waving goodbye to Coconuts!
Fast forward 7 days. We are returning from Key West, after a fantastic trip and lots of fun. It is late (typical for this group). We had decided to sail straight through from Key West to Key Largo. We had left very early in the morning, and we were in sight of Key Largo. For the last 6 hours we had been motor sailing, as the wind was coming straight down Hawks Channel. Key Largo was about 6 miles away. The end was in sight. Tie up, run to Coconuts, and enjoy the rest of the evening. Suddenly the engine starts to cough... Then silence. Wait, didn't they tell us that we could run all week on a tank of fuel "NO PROBLEM?" Open the hatch, stare at the tank gauge, "E".
Plan B; Sail it in. We begin tacking back and forth toward our destination. Tide is headed out. We get about half way to our destination and the boat touches down in the shallow channel. It is very sandy and shallow. We cannot get the boat off the sand bar... Don decides to call for help. We are relayed on channel 16 to Black Beard Salvage. They sound angry to be called out to assist, but agree to give us a hand. When they arrive they ask us to tie their line to our boat. I fasten the line to the bow cleat, and the salvage captain (Black Beard?) takes up the slack. Once the line is taut, to my surprise he hammers the throttles home (WOT). The sailboat we are on noses down into the water as the keel is dragging in the sand. I start yelling frantically for him to cease and desist, but he cannot hear me over the drone of his wide open diesels. The boat pulls free and then begins to bounce over every sand bar between where we grounded and the entrance to key largo marina. I swear that we bounced over about 100 sand bars on our way to the marina. To this day I am not sure how the bow cleat did not pull straight out of the fiberglass.
Once in the marina, we tied up, and Don went to settle with "Black Beard" As we were making the lines secure to shore, I decided that it would be a good idea to trip and test the water temperature. It was nice and warm, but full of diesel fuel. It was so thick with diesel fuel, that I ended up throwing out the rugby shirt I fell in with. I took a quick shower, and met the crew at Coconuts.
The moral of the story, when in doubt - call Black Beard out! AND Always check your fuel gauge regardless what the charter company tells you.
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