Family, Friends and Florida (May 3-10, 2015)

[My irascible laptop has been behaving badly and was with an IT tech so today is the first day I’ve had it in a while].

The boys have not had Legos in almost six months. I tell them they can spend their money on some big sets

The boys have not had Legos in almost six months. I tell them they can spend their money on some big sets

The boys and I are enjoying time with my sister and her family. The twins are adorable and the boys are having fun with their two cousins. We are in the downstairs suite and it feels heavenly. I continue to revel in land’s luxuries: dishwashers, a Vitamix, ice cubes, hot showers, laundry in a house, a queen size bed with multiple pillows (absolute heaven).

Signs of spring

Signs of spring

Matt, in the meantime, is working on getting the boat ready. The crew arrive Thursday and Friday. The plan is to get the boat to Annapolis where we’ll do repairs and aesthetics on it and get it ready to sell. Because our Cleveland place won’t be ready until July 5th or so, we look into renting in Annapolis for 6 weeks. It’s been chaotic with all the kids and babies so Matt does some legwork. He sends me a link to a condo. It looks nice but, when I try to scroll through the pictures, my iPad crashes. The next morning he calls and

My friend Susan and the boys collecting rocks

My friend Susan and the boys collecting rocks

asks me what I think. I’m hesitant because it doesn’t have a garage where we can unload stuff and my iPad crashed when I tried to view it. I weigh this against having some certainty about where we’ll be and tell Matt to just book it and pay so we can have one thing off our list. He calls me later that day and says that after he filled out all the information and was about to hit ‘submit’ his laptop crashed. Weird – a sign from the Universe? We decide not to book it and instead wait until we get to Annapolis.

Joshua with the rock

Joshua with the rock

On Thursday, the boys and I head back up to Burlington, VT to see a friend and visit the town again. I love it here. We go to several parks, do some hiking, and get green shakes at a great café. My friend takes us to the edge of Lake Champlain where we spend time building cairns and collecting rocks. She finds a cool one she decides to send to a friend. On the way out, she drops it. Then drops it again. I start laughing because it seems the rock doesn’t want to leave. She picks it up and realizes it split in half. It takes us a while to find the other

The heart in the tree

The heart in the tree

half. When we do, we realize it split in two identical halves – black with a band of white quartz. She sees Joshua eyeing it and asks if he wants it. He nods. I know immediately what he’s thinking. He has been looking for something special to leave on Caleb’s headstone. “I’ll keep the other half with me,” he says quietly. A few minutes later, Malachi points to a tree where a sawed-off branch has left the shape of a heart. We all pause to take this in. We leave the park, uplifted in a different kind of way.

The Earth Clock in Burlington, VT

The Earth Clock in Burlington, VT

On Saturday we drive back to NH. En route, Matt calls and says the storm that has been hanging off the east coast is finally moving. Tashtego and crew are leaving in two hours. It’s a quick phone call – just enough time to say we love you and good luck. I tell him, no matter what, to listen to his intuition during the passage and not be swayed by anyone else on the boat.

[I just saw Matt posted the news on Facebook. I’ll let you know the details tomorrow].

Going Our Separate Ways (April 26-May 2, 2015)

Spanish moss

Spanish moss

We move the boat up to St. Augustine on Tuesday afternoon, an easy half day in the ICW, and dock at a marina. We have an afternoon and a day until the boys and I fly to NH. I tell the boys I want them to shower before we leave on our trip. Malachi wants to walk up to the marina and shower before breakfast. I say the rule is that he has to have a buddy. He asks Joshua to go but Joshua wants breakfast first. “I can’t wait until I’m a teenager,” Malachi complains. “Then I won’t need a buddy and I can go places on my own.”

Part of the pirate ship

Part of the pirate ship

Joshua nods and says, “It’s better that way. Because if you get taken when you’re a teenager [abducted is what he means], Mom and Dad will already have had enough time with you.” Hmmm…. seven-year-olds have interesting logic. Probably the reason they are not allowed to run for public office. The boys and I spend hours packing things up, clearing out the boys’ berths and re-organizing provisions for Matt and the new crew. Joshua wants to know why he can’t go on this passage. Matt tells him he can be a stowaway and then has to explain what the word means. Later, as we finish packing, Joshua asks if I can help him find a place to hide on the boat. No is the simple response to that request.

Wearing their crowns at the May Day Festival

Wearing their crowns at the May Day Festival

On Wednesday morning we walk two miles into St. Augustine to see our Annapolis friends Dan and Jaye. They are part-time pirates on a replica of a Spanish cargo ship and Jaye gives us a tour. In the evening they come to our marina and meet us for dinner. I get the boys to bed a little early because we have to wake up at 4:15 am for our flight to NH. It’s an uneventful flight and we arrive in NH at 11:30 am. My sister picks us up, sans children. The

Dancing around the May Pole

Dancing around the May Pole

older two (4, 7) are in school and the 8-month-old twins are with the nanny. We immediately jump into the organized chaos of family life.

On Saturday, we attend the May Day Festival at the high school version of their Waldorf School. Think granola, hemp fabrics, communes and lots of Birkenstocks. Most of the boys have hair longer than mine. Even among this eclectic bunch, there are a few who have distinguished themselves further by adopting a Sikh lifestyle, changing their names, and wearing turbans. The boys make May Day crowns and adorn them with ribbons and flowers. There is a

Joshua, in royal attire

Joshua, in royal attire

parade and a ceremony with the high schoolers dancing and singing around the May pole, accompanied by a woman on an accordion. I later tell my sister it is one of the few high schools in the US where it is perfectly acceptable for 17-year-old males to prance around barefoot with flowers in their hair and bells on their ankles, waving scarves in the air. My sister’s husband doesn’t attend. When I tell him about the afternoon, he rolls his eyes. I’d love my boys to attend that kind of school. I would guess that if more schools had that type of curriculum, there’d probably be fewer wars.

As for Matt, he is still down in St. Augustine making progress toward the upcoming passage. Alexander the Great has committed as did one other person. The crew arrives either Thursday or Friday. Matt

Malachi holds up his stick sword in a menacing manner, perhaps not realizing that the three flowers in his hair detract from his fierceness.

Malachi holds up his stick sword in a menacing manner, perhaps not realizing that the three flowers in his hair detract from his fierceness.

was able to sell the kayak we bought used in St. John for only $50 less than we paid. Let’s hope selling the boat follows a similar trend.

Heading North in the ICW (April 21-26, 2015)

Lionfish for our celebratory back-to-the States meal

Lionfish for our celebratory back-to-the States meal

We stay at the Ocean Club Marina in Port Canaveral for two nights. The plan was originally for just one but it was so nice and the boys wanted to stay an extra day so we agreed. Hours after we arrive, I’m walking down the dock hearing that song ‘proud to be an American’ playing in my head. I can’t even describe how wonderful it feels to be back in the States. We rent a car and, after the whole customs thing, we go to the grocery store. We

Even in the ICW, there are islands ...

Even in the ICW, there are islands …

don’t even need that much, but I want to see if a grocery store is really is as great as I remember. It is. It clinches the feeling of ‘we’re home.’ If it feels this good just to be in FL, I can only imagine how wonderful it will feel once we’re back on familiar streets and seeing familiar faces.

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Overnight Passage: West End, Bahamas to Florida (April 19-20, 2015)

IMG_5696The reason the agriculture agent from the U. S. Customs & Border Control Office is sitting in our boat is simple: border-crossing fruit. Or, more specifically, oranges. She has come to confiscate them. What happened was this … after arriving at Port Canaveral and docking at the Ocean Club Marina around lunchtime, we eat lunch and shower. Then we rent a car to check in at the customs office and do some other errands. After arriving at customs, I begin walking to the counter with our passports and boat documents. Matt elbows me aside and whispers, “Can you please just sit down and let me handle this?” Aye, aye, Captain. The boys and I take a seat. Matt goes through our paperwork with the official and answers questions. Continue reading

Grand Bahama Island (April 16-19, 2015)

Lucaya Marina

Lucaya Marina

Matt and I do our night watches completely differently. I usually pack him a bag of snacks before I go to bed. He sets his alarm for every 15 minutes and catches catnaps lying down in the cockpit. I never try to sleep on my watch. For one thing, I’m too paranoid something will happen while I’m at the helm. For another, the nights are too magical to sleep and I’m usually not tired until the end of it. I’d much prefer to watch the stars and the phosphorescence. I have my iPod and play the song Cool Change by The Little River Band. My favorite line is “It’s kind of a special feeling; out there on the sea alone. Staring at the full moon like a lover.” It is special out here and I will miss this part of sailing. The vastness and all of the possibilities the Universe

Dolphin, small whale? It's at least 14 feet long.

A marine biologist said this was a rare sighting of a beaked whale

represents. I’m thinking, as I stare up at the stars, that the world has gotten bigger. Not the physical world, but rather my perception of my world. I think that as one chooses certain paths in life and, as one travels further down a path and invests more and more time and energy in that path, it can sometimes seem that there are fewer and fewer opportunities to take other paths and that the only option is to keep going deeper down the same path (career or otherwise). It’s not true, it’s not true, whisper the stars.  The truth of some things actually becomes clearer in the dark of the night. Continue reading

Atlantis & Beyond (April 12-15, 2015)

Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas

Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas

The lost city … Atlantis. It really is like a small self-contained city – tons of shopping, a massive casino, 29 restaurants, multiple huge towers of rooms, pools, etc. I was hoping for a more gradual re-entry into society. This feels like a hard shove. After the solitude and quiet of the Exuma Islands, the mass consumption and commerce makes me want to leave. Our first afternoon here, I tell Matt I’m going to walk the property while he and the boys go to the water park (Aquaventure). I am not quite ready to be among the hordes of visitors yet. When the crew returns to the boat for dinner, I ask him how the water slides were. “There is just enough height and speed to scare the hell out of you,” he says. “You’d love it,” he adds. Continue reading

Leaving the Exumas, Arriving in Nassau (April 10-12, 2015)

Picture-perfect island near Norman Cay

Picture-perfect island near Norman Cay

In the morning, Matt and Malachi swim again while Joshua and I kayak to a nearby beach. We leave at 10:30 am and anchor off of Norman Cay at noon. There is another, larger plane wreck here that I want to snorkel. We go over in the dinghy but I’m the only one who snorkels. It’s a fairly large plane and I keep wondering if a shark has taken up residence within. The wrecks are disconcerting. People likely died here and now the only inhabitants are finned ones who nonchalantly swim

Half of the plane wreck

Half of the plane wreck

in and out of the windows. We leave at 1 pm and anchor at our destination, Allan’s Cay, at 4 pm. The only inhabitants of this beautiful island are iguanas. While anchoring, we see at least 5 of them on the beach. Matt and Malachi swim over; Joshua and I kayak over with a bag of grapes and wood skewers (we’ve heard they can be ill-mannered and may bite). We show up on the beach and at least 20 of them tramp out to greet us. We hold out grapes on the ends of the skewers. They race forward to grab them and then run away, watching from a distance to see if there will be more. The shy ones lose out to their more courageous brethren. Joshua, the tender-hearted animal lover, takes pity and throws some grapes to those on the sidelines. Continue reading

Warderwick Wells, Exumas (April 8-9, 2015)

DSC00204We leave O’Brien’s Cay Wednesday morning and at noon moor at Warderick Wells. This is the headquarters of the National Land & Sea Park, a 22 x 4-mile nature reserve that encompasses numerous islands. The entire Bahamas are visually stunning but some places are just over-the-top. This is one of those places.

Tashtego at Warderick Wells, Exumas

Tashtego at Warderick Wells, Exumas

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Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, Bahamas (April 6-7, 2015)

Coral Garden Reef, O'Brien's Cay, Exumas

Coral Garden Reef, O’Brien’s Cay, Exumas

It’s time to get home. This is a feeling that arises more frequently now and it manifests differently for everyone. For the Norwegians, it was mounting frustration with the inefficiency of things. For the boys, it’s increased chatter about Cleveland (and Legos). For me, it was us spending an entire day trying to do laundry (closed in the morning) and buy some groceries (one tiny market was closed with no posted hours; the other, still closed at 2:25 pm had a sign saying it opened at 2 pm), resulting in traversing the island for most of the day. For Matt, it is a sporadic general frustration with everyone and everything. After telling the boys to do their jobs for the nth time, Matt barks, “Do your damn jobs!” Joshua, with his dimpled cheeks, looks at Matt with a mock serious expression and chirps, “What’s my damn job?” Malachi and I burst out laughing. Matt stomps up the

Johnny Depp's island

Johnny Depp’s island

companionway. In the afternoon, the frustration gets aimed at me. I’ve either overdone or underdone something. “Geez!” Matt shouts, “Sometimes dealing with you is like dealing with The Rain Man.” Somehow I sense this is not a compliment. So … upon departing Staniel Cay Monday morning, we decide to make progress northwest toward Nassau but to see what we can on the way. In the afternoon, we anchor off of O’Brien’s Cay near Little Halls Pond Cay (an island owned by Johnny Depp).

DSC00083We leave to snorkel the Coral Garden Reef and a plane wreck that is only 50 yards from our boat. When we return, we find another boat has irritatingly anchored right near us, despite all of the space. The captain Matt hired in Newport said he played his music really loud and walked around topside naked when it looked as if another boat was going to anchor near his. Interesting tactic. Perhaps we should try this. Perhaps not.DSC00090

Matt, the more sociable of the two of us, gets into many conversations with fellow sailors about where they’ve been and what they’ve seen. This has resulted in great advice on places to visit that are not listed in the guide books. One such place is Jeep Reef. The Aussie who told Matt about it said it’s some of the best snorkeling in the world. We have a rough idea of where it is and, on Tuesday morning, we dinghy around until we find it. There

On the banks, Exumas

On the banks, Exumas

is a small buoy above the reef where we can tie up. Towering coral columns and tons of sea life exist in these 20-30 feet of water. We float over the reef and see the remnants of a Jeep down below. A barracuda eyes us menacingly (this is the only look they sport). After a while, we head back to the boat. We are only a few yards away when we see our first shark while snorkeling. It’s only about 4

Shark #1 at Jeep Reef

Shark #1 at Jeep Reef

feet long. I go after it but it disappears. Right before getting into the dinghy, I peer under the water one last time. A sting ray is zooming up from the bottom and headed straight at me. I get a little freaked at this enthusiastic greeting. About ten feet from me, it appears startled and heads back down. Perhaps he mistook me for someone else? Then, just past it, I see the one creature I’ve been wanting to see but haven’t. A lobster scuttles from one coral cave to another down on the sandy floor. I’m ecstatic but he disappears before anyone else can see DSC00086him. After snorkeling, we dinghy to yet one more deserted beach and drink hot chocolate to warm up.

In the afternoon, Matt and I dinghy back to the Coral Garden and then snorkel the plane wreck again, which is only 50 yards off our boat. One of my favorite things is watching and listening to the fish eat coral. I remember first seeing this while solo-snorkeling off of St. John. I was floating above a large

The plane wreck

The plane wreck

parrot fish and realized the crunching I was hearing coincided with it appearing to gnaw on coral. I captured it on video and played it for the family when I returned to the boat. I was astonished that fish eat coral (and that it’s so noisy). Matt looked at me in surprise. “Everyone knows that fish eat coral,” he says. Well, everyone except The Rain Man.DCIM100GOPRO

Staniel Cay, The Exuma Islands, Bahamas (April 1-5, 2015)

IMG_5595It’s April Fool’s Day. We briefly consider playing a joke on the Norwegians – rowing up to their boat in the early morning and depositing the boys on it with a note that says “We’ll meet you in Staniel Cay this afternoon to reclaim our progeny.” Trond and Karolina are in their early 30’s and dated six months before setting off on a year-long sail together. Trond likes risks. He once rowed across the Atlantic in 60 days with a friend in one of those pod-like water crafts. This might be funny … until Malachi throws up. We decide against it, unsure if they even know the significance of April 1st. Continue reading