In Bequia

Yah, still here (Bequia) but not for long. We really like it here. Calm anchorage. Boats coming and going. Enough store stuff on shore but not too much. Probably even better during the busy season as some places are totally closed.

Sue went to the local hospital yesterday for an annoying rash that has been bothering her. They told her to keep up with the cream she has been putting on, gave her a shot of antihistamine, and told her to limit sun exposure. Nice people. Total cost including the shot? Zero. As is not unusual. They do take donations and we were glad to offer up a small one of our own.

We’ve been plagued with propane bottle problems for months. We replaced one steel one with a plastic/carbon fiber one in St. Maarten. I replaced the other steel one here with another steel one. I think the bottle itself and the valve have become terminally rusted so it was time. Have to keep an eye on this steel one and sand and paint it on occasion as the sea air does it’s thing.

We’ll probably shop for some food items today (Saturday) and then go around the corner and anchor on the southern shore tomorrow in Friendship Bay. We think that location will give a good view of the islands to the south.

Sailing Again. . .

Tuesday 8/12

Miracle and the outboard starts. Now we’re really ready to go. We make a quick trip into shore for weather check and to fire off some e-mails. Back to Enee and we make final preparations for the 100 miles south to Bequia.

Around 1030 we are off. As we set our course (~195o) we find the perfect Enee wind. About 10-15 knots just abaft the beam. We are making 6+ knots in about a 2 foot chop under full sail. We decide to take short, 1 hour stints at the helm as the sun is blazing. We have an open cockpit which is unusual for boats down here. Most people have a full bimini to cover the entire cockpit. While we considered that way back in Ft. Lauderdale we decided to not go that way for two reasons. 1. I couldn’t stand under it at the helm. This boat has a step right behind the wheel that puts my head about 1 inch under the boom. 2. We like to see all around - see our sails and see overhead at night. So the trade off is to drink lots of water, wear long sleeve shirt (only need one unlike bottles of sun block), get out of the sun often. This works fine for us. Oh, and if it rains. . . Well you get a little wet don’t you!

You can’t actually lay the entrance to Bequia from Martinique as it is hidden behind St. Vincent. You do have a choice to make as to whether to pass St. Vincent on the east or west side. In the light winds we are experiencing we don’t see a big difference either way and pick the west coast. Once we reach the south west corner of St. Vincent we can alter course to about 175o to lay Bequia and this wind should easily allow that.

Southwest coast of St. Lucia with Grande and Pitite Pitons.

Night comes and we are still sailing. So great to feel and hear the rush of water under our keel. The sun sets and the waxing gibbous moon is already up making it very bright on the water. We are really noticing the difference between sunset here and in Chicago. The sun sets on a line almost perpendicular to the horizon here so when it goes down, it is GONE and dark. Up north the sun sets at more of an angle to the horizon making evening time last longer.

Mismo threw up her lunch about a hour into the sail but seems to be coming around. She sits with us in the cockpit. Around 2100 hours Mismo is acting weird. Like she sees something on deck and is going to pounce. We don’t want her pouncing around deck at night. Beatings don’t help. I think she is looking at the shadow of our flag halyard as that moves across the deck but that isn’t all that interesting to the cat usually. Then Sue sees it - Dolphins are swimming right along with us off the port side! I go to look and there are a half dozen or so swimming off our side and playing just in front of the bow! They are gorgeous in the moonlight! They swim up from the depths making them seem to just appear as if by magic. They do that porpoiseing thing and we can hear their strangely human sounding breathing. We take turns at the helm so each of us can run forward and watch the show off the bow. Get this. . . They stay with us for over an hour! We must have been going the way they wanted to go anyway so they swim along with us. I think they get a little push by swimming in our bow wave and so take advantage. Around 2230 or so the wind started to crap out and so did our speed. We are languishing down under 4 knots now. The dolphins went on without us. Then, one came back and swam around Enee one more time as if to say, “What the hell? Let’s keep up!”.

As we continued south we could see the outline of St. Vincent in the moonlight. Suddenly we could also smell the dirt. What a strong, earthy scent that lingered the entire sail down the coast. It smelled healthy and fragrant. Last year when we approached the shore of the Dominican Republic we could smell the land as we were told we would. But this blast of soil infused air really took us by surprise. What are they growing on this island?

We did our usual 3 hours shifts through the night. Our earlier good speed has us arriving a little early in Bequia as arrival in new ports at night isn’t all that fun. Around 0400 Sue throttles down and we chug slowly the last 7 miles into Bequia just as it is getting light.

Arrival 13 00 N 61 16 W

Bequia and Admiralty Bay where we are anchoring is beautiful even in this half light. Moon is down and the sky is barely lit and yet as I release the anchor I can watch it descend all 5 meters (500 centimeters) to the sandy bottom. Reminds us of the Bahamas with the crazy clear water. Nothing to do now but have our ‘nothing broke and nobody died’ toast with a couple of cold Lorraines we brought from Martinique. By the way, as you know we have gone without refrigeration now for about a year and will probably never go back. But, for long overnighters it is good to have ice in the ice chest for cold water and juice and the celebratory beer at the end.

After naps we plan to go ashore. Man is it freaking HOT! I know, DUH! But it is extra hot as there is not a breath of wind and that is rare down here. Mismo is a black and white puddle. Sue and I both swim and try to cool off but it doesn’t really last. Reluctantly we rig the dinghy and go ashore to check in to customs. That was simple and we find a wi-fi place (The Gingerbread House) to check e-mail and weather (and Cubs’ scores!). Well it’s August isn’t it. Man is everything laid back. I imagine a hundred boats in this harbor during the busy season but right now there are about 20. Some charters though so probably get the good discount this time of year. I wonder where they are chartering out of?

Bequia has a history of whaling as it turns out. In fact the settlers were whalers from north america, Scotland, France and, of course, Africa. They still have a little whaling going on here. They are allowed to catch 4 per year between Feb and April. This is done in open sailing boats with hand thrown harpoons although there are only a few left with the skills (and the spheres!) to do this. If they get one they do take it to a small rendering plant on the south shore and get it down to whale oil and other whale goodies I guess. I’d like to see the chase sometime but not the rendering.

We’ll stay here a couple of days and then work our way through the Grenadines on our way to Grenada. Having just spent two months in Chicago (our favorite city) it is taking a little while to slip back into our cruising persona. Feels right though - making 2-3 day plans but no more. Sitting and watching the pretty water. Reading and napping. Our training is slowly coming back!

Now for those who have lost track of where we are, here is a progression of charts to get you back on track. As usual, clicking on the images will make them bigger and perhaps HUGE. Don't ask me!

Hurry and Wait

What a day! On monday we did get Enee launched, took on fuel and water, and gasoline. We motored out to the anchorage and dropped the hook. Nice. So great to be floating again on good old Enee Marie. We wanted to not leave until we could get a detailed weather prediction from Chris Parker on Tuesday morning. So, how about going ashore to call my daughter (new PhD and new Job!) and get some dinner. Good plan except. . .dum dum dum. . . The out board won't start! DAMN! Of course in all the confusion of getting Sue Mismo and I north back in June we neglected to run the fuel out of the engine. Now it's jammed up apparently.

We think of even worse scenarios now. What if storms develope and we CAN'T get ashore. Hmmmm. Well, solutions will present themselves tomorrow so Sue makes a wonderful soup and we crash.

Tuesday morning a miracle happened. The outboard started! Yes. Didn't run well but better and better as it cleaned out its own jets I guess. Weather report from Chris is all clear with no wind wednesday thursday and maybe some on Friday. But today, Tuesday, is probably the best day to sail the 100 miles south to Bequia.

Here are the current projected tracks of some Atlantic disturbances from weatherunderground.

Did I mention that my daughter got her PhD in Physics?

Mismo seems to be much happier (doesn't bite us as much) now that she is back on board. She is back crawling inside the sail cover and climbing the foresail.

Like our friends say, all plans are chipped in Jell-O! Next report from Bequia. . . .maybe.

Adventures in International Travel

Yes, we are back in Martinique after a harrowing and bizarre day of air travel. We flew from Chicago to San Juan on Friday. That flight went well but Mismo screamed for the first 2 hours of a 4 hour flight. There was no consoling here so we just shoved her in her little bag under the seat in front of us. MEOW. Finally she gave up and slept the rest of the way. We went back to the ‘pet friendly’ Sheraton hotel in Old San Juan. Neat location and a pretty view.

On Saturday it was back to the airport for the 2 hour flight to Martinique. We get our turn in the check in line and the lady asks when we are returning. I say that we are not and that our confusing trips all began in Martinique and now we are returning. She says but you have to have a return ticket. “To where?” I respond. “We live on our boat and we are returning to it and then sailing away”. She says, NO. She cannot let me proceed without a return ticket to somewhere and that if she did she her self would be subject to huge fines and we would find ourselves in a big mess when we reached Martinique.

I said, “Let me get this straight. We can’t fly into Martinique without a ticket that shows that we are going to fly out again even if we have no intension of flying out again?”
“Right!”, she says. “Otherwise people would just be flying where ever they wanted and you’d have - “FREEDOM”? I interject.

So, I said there’s no way I’m buying a ticket that I’m not going to use and I’ll need to speak to your superior. She tried to keep talking to me but I just turned away and ignored her. She tried to call immigration in Martinique but it being August and all they weren’t answering the phone. She talked with her superior on the phone and then told me that they had come up with a solution.

We simply buy two full fare tickets from Martinique to San Juan and then, since they are full fare, just ask for our money back after you get there. Are you nuts? Why don’t we all just SAY I did that and skip all this and move along. No. Well time was not on our side (yeah we were the annoying people taking up a whole counter person for 20 minutes) so we agreed. We purchased two full fare ticktes as described (>$1000) and got on the plane.

We no sooner got on the plane (actually a large human oven) when the pilot got on and told us that we would be staying put for about an hour! Mismo is crying it is so hot. I am whimpering. Finally we take off and have a pleasant if cramped flight to Martinique.

Martinique Immigration: Sure enough the nice man there asked us when and how we were returning out of Martinique. We showed him our return tickets (we’ll never use them) and he was happy. While waiting for our bags it began to really bug me. I wanted to know what happens if I sail out of Martinique and never use the tickets that he asked to see. I went back and tried to ask him that but his english was so weak that I could not make myself understood. He managed to tell me to ask at customs. Since that was our next stop I was ok with that.

Now comes another sphincter squeezing moment. We had researched and researched all the conflicting rules about pets and countries and air travel. As a result Sue had Mismo get a series of shots, an electronic chip in her neck, AND her own passport before leaving Martinique. Now to see if that all works. We approach the customs desk and follow the people in front of us through a door into. . . . The airport! No Customs . . IT’S August! So we spent many hundreds of dollars on Mismo making her travel ready and no one ever asked for any of it. EVER! In fact we paid $100 to American Airlines each way for the right to take Mismo on board with us. But if you didn’t pay and just took her on as carry-on as we did there is no one to ask if you paid. Mismo doesn’t get a boarding pass. So much for the honor system! More like the chump system. Some chumps will cough up $100 for their pet so that’s all to the good for the airlines.

I searched for the American Eagle desk at the airport to cash in my tickets but they don’t have an office in Martinique. They just fly in and out about 100 times a day but no office. Someday I will find an American Eagle desk though and get our 1k back! How stupid.

Original plan was to launch Enee upon our arrival. Since a Saturday launch costs and extra 70 EU (~$105) we called the guy and told him to wait until Monday if that was ok and it was. Predictions are for no exciting weather for quite awhile so we’ll get away still Monday as planned or possibly Tuesday. Looks like we’ll knock off 100 miles on the first sail and head south (and little WEST!) to Bequia at the northern end of the Grenadines and thereby skip St Lucia (too close to us) and St. Vincent (too many outlaws - nobody goes there any more). So, we’ll leave around 1000 looking to arrive the following morning sometime. Should be a nice beam reach all the way. Yea! That will leave about 60 miles to Grenada. From there, another 80 or so to Trinidad if we go there. Still undecided about that.

Good to be back on the boat even if she ain’t floating yet. My batteries are all nearly dead and I am hoping the wind generator will put enough charge in before Monday so that I can start the engine. In the mean time no lamps, no fans, no Nuttin!. . . And LIKE it!

HAPPY AUGUST BIRTHDAYS TO: RJ and Will on the 2nd as well as the weddingpaloosa of Chris and Suzy and Brian T birthday on the 10th.

Back to the Islands!

OK, it's for real. The crew of Enee Marie will be heading back to the islands on Aug 8-9. As I'm sure you all remember, Enee is on the hard in Martinique. We'll have the yard put the boat in on the day we arrive and we'll put the sails on and make ready for sea the next day. Then, weather permitting, we'll be off to Grenada and maybe Trinidad where several of our friends are. We fly to San Juan, spend the night, and then on to Martinique. We'll stay at Mismo's favorite hotel. This will be Mismo's last visit to America by the way. Between airline fees, pet friendly hotels, and veteranarian visits her trip cost about the same as ours! Good thing we love her! (little bitch. . . )

It's has been a great stay in Chicago. We worked on maybe staying through December but apparently I am un-hireable so it's much easier to be poor in the islands than in Chicago. Still, Chicago in the summer is about the best place in the world to be. This weekend alone there was the Lincoln Ave. Street fair (yummy corn dog!), The Newberry Library book fair, Cubs baseball(still in first!), and the Venetian Night boat parade. Best of all is all the really fun and 'quality' time spent with daughter Leah and her husband Jason. Since I've arrived Leah has finished up her thesis, prepared her talk (to be given later this week!), found a very exciting job downtown Chicago, and found a new and very slick apartment near the lake and the ball park. Fun times. Too bad we'll miss the actual move (right!!!)

So, stay tuned for more sailing stories from hurricane season in the islands. Supposed to be great sailing this time of year . . . . when there's no hurricane.

Enee Strapped Down

As we bask in the glow of maybe the best Cub season EVER we received a picture from the nice people Carenantilles Marina in Martinique. See, the nice straps tied to the concrete blocks holding Enee down to the earth.

We have a Doctoral Thesis defense lecture to attend (daughter Leah. . . nice going!) and a wedding at the end of July. After that we are pretty much done up north and probably heading back to Enee. I know, hurricane season will be peaking. But we are only about 30 hours from Grenada if we need to run south which we will probably do. We are only 2-3 days from Puerto Rico as well and Salinas makes a nice hurricane hole as well. In any case you get a LOT of warning these days about coming storms so we should be able to plan accordingly. So to our loyal readers who have been looking for the continued adventures of Enee Marie thanks for waiting. We should have much to report in a few weeks. In the meantime sit back and enjoy the Chicago Cubs kicking the hell out of the rest of the national league.

For those who like to track hurricane development here's an excellent site: weatherunderground.

Summer in the City

.....back of my neck gettin' dirty and gritty.....

Lots of fun in the city happening over the past month. Here are a few pictures that tell the story:

The Bean

- a very interactive sculpture at Millennium Park near Lake Shore Drive projects a unique perspective of the city.









But wait -- this is even better! This is one of two 'facing' very tall fountains where kids of all ages play. Also at Millennium Park these fountains change how the water flows.


Look -- it's now a waterfall coming off the top and . . . . . .















It's lots of fun!












Chicago is a town full of summer festivals.

For example the Old Town Art Fair where Jason, Leah, and Andrea bought some very unique artifacts. If you look close you can see Andrea's new blue earrings.








And of course the ever popular Taste of Chicago -
where you can sample food from butter soaked corn on the cob to rainbow sherbet ice cream with every ethnic dish you can think of in-between.

Including of course - BEER!















Yes there are also many parades including the ever popular Gay Pride Parade.
Everybody is so happy this day. The dancing is quite spectacular. The floats are flamboyant. The crowd is ecstatic. And the beverages are ever so plentiful. Especially outside Monsignor Murphy's on Broadway.

Scott and Jason have discovered that pink lemonade with a 'twist' is the perfect beverage for the event.















Glad to report that Burnham Harbor is still one of the best harbors of the world. Or at least on Lake Michigan. We were able to visit with several of our Chicago sailing buddies including Chuck and Marybeth and Larry and Pat - pictured above.


The 4th of July weekend was spent at the lake house in Indiana. We had a great time with Scott's sister's family. Even though we had a few rainy days, water sports - fireworks - 'pit' and hearts card games - a thousand piece puzzle - hot tubbing - and never ending amazing meals made for a fantastic weekend. Thanks Teyemas!














So we begin July with a bang. Cubs are still in first place and won 2 out of 3 from the dreaded Cardinals. We have 3 family birthdays to celebrate this month: Erika T, Scott W. (otherwise known as captain snappy), and Jason (aka Dr. J). Happy Birthday to all.

Finally our token Mismo photos - just because she's the wonder cat!