Mates Thoughts

Donald Stevens… just had his 29th birthday… a kind face… endless expressions… gestures to match… friendly…funny… thoughtful… hungry for someone to listen… hungry from someone to talk to…voiceless. We first met Donald in the pizza place on a Friday night while we were still on the hard, he was friendly and seemed to appreciate that I was trying to talk to him. He wanted me to know where he lived and how old he was… he had so much to say that he could not voice. He was very funny while trying to tell me that white guys can’t hold their liquor and that beer makes them so tired they just go to sleep. (We were all headed to Junkanoo that night.)

Most folks seem to think he can’t hear or isn’t very smart… they are wrong. Donald just can’t speak… he can make noises and say a couple of words or parts of words. He was not taught sign language but uses consistent facial expressions and gestures for his communication. The doctors here in the Bahamas don’t know why he can’t speak so they can’t help him. I wish I knew if he could be helped in the states.

I see Donald just about every time I go to town, no matter what part of town I am in. He hollers at me if I am far, he hides from me if I have not seen him but will be walking by, he always comes up to greet me with a warm hug or a kiss on the hand. I cannot help but ask myself why do I keep running into him… why do I see him everywhere…why is he so excited to see me… and what can I offer him… I am compelled to offer him something… not a “something” that is a thing or even all that tangible… but the intangible “things” that he, like the rest of us need…love… a listening ear… a kind word… friendship….

Donald seems so hungry for these basic human needs that I wonder what his world is like. I watch the awkwardness of people who don’t understand so are uncomfortable around him… I see no bitterness in Donald only openness. He is often spoken to as though he is ignorant but he is not, he can read and write… and I see no resentment in him… how has Donald stayed so innocent... I don’t know, but I pray it continues.

I hope we keep running into Donald while we are still here… he challenges me… he challenges my ability to love, to communicate and to be comfortable with the unfamiliar… I need and welcome this challenge for I know it will cause me to grow… to look past myself… and to see the needs that are before me daily, not only in Donald but every person I pass on the street. We are one family called to love one another.

Love is an action word… requiring something of us… is never passive… and a need in every one of us.

Wishing I was better at it, Lisa

Mates Log 3.18.2009 Dragging Anchor

Well we did it… we dragged anchor. Imagine you parked your car in the driveway, you have left with friends for dinner and when you return home you find that your car has rolled out of the driveway and is now across the street in the neighbor’s yard and stopped just short of hitting their house. This is what it is like when you drag an anchor in a crowded harbour. Obviously this is not a good thing but it is something that we hear happens to everyone and more than once. We hope to be the exception and never have it happen again but what are the chances of that! We do have an anchor alarm but when you aren’t on the boat to hear it going off it’s not all that great…

Last night we went out to dinner with some friends, as we were leaving the restaurant some other friends came walking up looking for us to let us know our anchor had been dragging and that SongBird was headed towards the dinghy dock and other boats (they kept thinking about our new paint job!). I can’t tell you what went on while we weren’t on the boat but I guess SongBird was getting hailed like crazy until someone radioed that we were out to dinner. (Our dinghy was still at the boat since we got a lift with our friends) Well we all hurried back to the boat and sure enough SongBird was not where we had left her but she was no longer moving towards the other boats. Fortunately our friends stuck around to lend a hand. We missed our first attempt at re-anchoring (those pesky motors are SO unreliable… and oh and did I mention that it was stormy out, of course it was that’s why the anchor dragged!) anyway we became precariously close to another boat… our friends used their dinghy as a tug boat and big fender to stop us from hitting the other boat (you gotta love those inflatable’s at times like these!) Get this, the other boat captain was so laid back about the whole thing he offered to let us raft up for the night and deal with it in the morning when it would be light out! We all wondered later what was in his water! We finally got the anchor reset and everyone was relieved. Again yet another reason cruisers drink so much! We settled in and watched the movie Captain Ron; things no longer looked so bad!

I want to mention here that it was quite interesting to see how the other cruisers responded. All were ready to help and all were being respectful of what the captain wanted or didn’t want. You could tell they had all been in that same kind of a circumstance themselves… you know the one we all love and dream about… the husband and the wife are in a situation where they will have to work together in a way they have never encountered before, the stress level is high and danger lurks around the corner and it never turns out pretty?

When you are not being observed the conversation may sound something like this:

Husband: Go start the engines.
Husband: I said start the engines now!
Wife: I’m trying to but these stupid things keep dying!
Husband: Put port in gear now!... Stop!!!... Now Starboard
The engines die again and the wife tries to let her husband know but the wind is howling in her face while her husband is forward of her so he can’t hear a thing.
Husband: I said starboard now #@%*!! What are you doing back there?!!!
Wife: I am trying to keep these stupid engines running! Now… what do you want!?
Husband: I told you I wanted starboard!!!
Wife: Sure you do…but I am not going to do it because we will hit that other boat don’t you see it!!?? Would you please look where we are first before you just start yelling at me?!!
Husband: This is not working!!!... #@%*

(Actually we don’t cuss at each other like this but it can get testy at times)

Here is the same conversation when you are being observed:

Husband: Honey would you please start the engines?
Husband: Honey have you started the engines?
Wife: Oh honey, I keep trying but they keep dying.
Husband: Well sweetheart can you give me some on the port engine? Stop… now starboard… good!
Wife: Honey I’m doing my best but these engine just are not staying on.
Husband: OK sweetheart, but can you try and give me some more starboard?
Wife: Oh honey there’s a boat too close so I’m going to change our position is that OK?
Husband: Sure dear just do what you think is best.
Wife: How’s that?
Husband: Perfect.
Wife: Oh honey, didn’t that go well!

At time like this you are very thankful for an audience… and last night we had an audience. J

Carey was reminded of

The Hot Rodders Prayer:

Now lay me down to sleep
I parked my Hot Rod in the street
If it should roll before I wake
I pray the Lord will pull the brake

Our changes:

The Cruisers Prayer

Now I lay me down to sleep
I anchored my boat in the deep
If it should drag before I wake
I pray the Lord will make it retake
(Well there wasn’t a lot to work with!)

I have posted some pictures of what we were able to see of the space shuttle launch. The first is the trail from the initial launch and the second picture of the cloud looking thing is the second stage. It was great being able to watch this take place! The pictures of course are not very good at all and can never reflect the changes of colors and the intensity we saw. The whole bay was hootin’, hollerin’ and clappin’.

That’s all for now folks!!

Mates Log 3.18.2009 Dragging Anchor

Well we did it… we dragged anchor. Imagine you parked your car in the driveway, you have left with friends for dinner and when you return home you find that your car has rolled out of the driveway and is now across the street in the neighbor’s yard and stopped just short of hitting their house. This is what it is like when you drag an anchor in a crowded harbour. Obviously this is not a good thing but it is something that we hear happens to everyone and more than once. We hope to be the exception and never have it happen again but what are the chances of that! We do have an anchor alarm but when you aren’t on the boat to hear it going off it’s not all that great…

Last night we went out to dinner with some friends, as we were leaving the restaurant some other friends came walking up looking for us to let us know our anchor had been dragging and that SongBird was headed towards the dinghy dock and other boats (they kept thinking about our new paint job!). I can’t tell you what went on while we weren’t on the boat but I guess SongBird was getting hailed like crazy until someone radioed that we were out to dinner. (Our dinghy was still at the boat since we got a lift with our friends) Well we all hurried back to the boat and sure enough SongBird was not where we had left her but she was no longer moving towards the other boats. Fortunately our friends stuck around to lend a hand. We missed our first attempt at re-anchoring (those pesky motors are SO unreliable… and oh and did I mention that it was stormy out, of course it was that’s why the anchor dragged!) anyway we became precariously close to another boat… our friends used their dinghy as a tug boat and big fender to stop us from hitting the other boat (you gotta love those inflatable’s at times like these!) Get this, the other boat captain was so laid back about the whole thing he offered to let us raft up for the night and deal with it in the morning when it would be light out! We all wondered later what was in his water! We finally got the anchor reset and everyone was relieved. Again yet another reason cruisers drink so much! We settled in and watched the movie Captain Ron; things no longer looked so bad!

I want to mention here that it was quite interesting to see how the other cruisers responded. All were ready to help and all were being respectful of what the captain wanted or didn’t want. You could tell they had all been in that same kind of a circumstance themselves… you know the one we all love and dream about… the husband and the wife are in a situation where they will have to work together in a way they have never encountered before, the stress level is high and danger lurks around the corner and it never turns out pretty?

When you are not being observed the conversation may sound something like this:

Husband: Go start the engines.
Husband: I said start the engines now!
Wife: I’m trying to but these stupid things keep dying!
Husband: Put port in gear now!... Stop!!!... Now Starboard
The engines die again and the wife tries to let her husband know but the wind is howling in her face while her husband is forward of her so he can’t hear a thing.
Husband: I said starboard now #@%*!! What are you doing back there?!!!
Wife: I am trying to keep these stupid engines running! Now… what do you want!?
Husband: I told you I wanted starboard!!!
Wife: Sure you do…but I am not going to do it because we will hit that other boat don’t you see it!!?? Would you please look where we are first before you just start yelling at me?!!
Husband: This is not working!!!... #@%*

(Actually we don’t cuss at each other like this but it can get testy at times)

Here is the same conversation when you are being observed:

Husband: Honey would you please start the engines?
Husband: Honey have you started the engines?
Wife: Oh honey, I keep trying but they keep dying.
Husband: Well sweetheart can you give me some on the port engine? Stop… now starboard… good!
Wife: Honey I’m doing my best but these engine just are not staying on.
Husband: OK sweetheart, but can you try and give me some more starboard?
Wife: Oh honey there’s a boat too close so I’m going to change our position is that OK?
Husband: Sure dear just do what you think is best.
Wife: How’s that?
Husband: Perfect.
Wife: Oh honey, didn’t that go well!

At time like this you are very thankful for an audience… and last night we had an audience. J

Carey was reminded of

The Hot Rodders Prayer:

Now lay me down to sleep
I parked my Hot Rod in the street
If it should roll before I wake
I pray the Lord will pull the brake

Our changes:

The Cruisers Prayer

Now I lay me down to sleep
I anchored my boat in the deep
If it should drag before I wake
I pray the Lord will make it retake
(Well there wasn’t a lot to work with!)

I have posted some pictures of what we were able to see of the space shuttle launch. The first is the trail from the initial launch and the second picture of the cloud looking thing is the second stage. It was great being able to watch this take place! The pictures of course are not very good at all and can never reflect the changes of colors and the intensity we saw. The whole bay was hootin’, hollerin’ and clappin’.

That’s all for now folks!!

Mates Log 3.15.2009 Guana Cay

Guana Cay is a great place, we can picture ourselves living here. This place has a great feel to it, and reminds me of the small mountain town of Crested Butte, Colorado where I used to live years ago, before the streets were paved. Most of the streets in this quaint place are made of sand and it’s an easy walk from the Sea of Abaco to the Atlantic Ocean, where you may find a raging sea or a nice calm for a snorkel on the reef. There is a weekly potluck, bocce ball tournaments, live music, and beach cleanup, just to name a few things. You can call the states for free from each of the three local bars and there is free internet. There are a few small trucks on this quaint island, but the normal mode of transportation is golf cart, which may be named and brightly painted.

The cruising community is really very small and it doesn’t take long before you run into someone who knows someone, or something about you or your boat. Last week Jeff stopped by in his dinghy with his two boys. He had heard us (SongBird) hailing another boat on the radio earlier in the day. He had to come by and check us out, to see if we were the same SongBird that used to belong to his friends… sure enough we were or more accurately she (SongBird) was. Jeff took pictures so he could pass them on to the previous owners to see what we had done to her, and how she was looking. We have since been in touch with them.

Yesterday we went with a small group to clean up a beach. Well it doesn’t take long before you wonder when or how they will stop producing plastics, or think of some way to deal with this enormous problem. Every piece of trash we picked up was plastic. The impact on our environment is horrific. I could not help recalling the dead baby Gooney birds out on Midway Island that had died from starvation because so much of the “food” that the parents brought back was plastic. After they would die and their feathery bodies had decomposed, there would be left, a pile of plastic. I have seen many birds wrapped in those six pack rings. Seeing the shiny plastic glimmering in the sun, thinking it was food, swooping down trying to pick it up, only to get caught around their necks, unable to ever get the constriction off. Depending on its location they may live the rest of their lives with the constriction, or die of starvation due to the impediment. I know this is depressing, but at some point the reality has to be faced and addressed… not sure how or if that will ever happen, but it sure needs to.

The weather has been sunny and warm, the winds are going the wrong direction for us to head south and the seas are too big in the Big Pond, so we are waiting. We finally started up our water maker. This is the most amazing thing we have on the boat! This contraption, which is a series of long cylinders, takes seawater, of most any condition, (does not have to be clean sea water) and turns it into the sweetest water I have ever tasted! It makes about 15 gallons of water an hour! Of course we would never rely on this mechanical contraption for our water, but we will make as much of our water as possible since it tastes so much better.

Next stop Norman’s Cay: we will be meeting Jared, Ruthie, Jeff and friends of Jared’s and Ruthie’s whom we have not yet met. Jared and Ruthie have left FL and are sailing that way, they are currently waiting for a weather window at Chub Cay. They will be picking up Jeff and their friends in Nassau then head to Norman’s. We will then all head down to the Land and Sea Park in the Exumas and spend some time exploring the sea life, and doing some volunteer work. We hear there is some of the best snorkeling down there, the water will be warmer and they say it is even more spectacular then what we have grown accustomed to here in the Abacos.

That’s it for now. Love and sun, Carey and Lisa


Observations and notices:

The bank in Hope Town is open one day a week: Tuesday’s from 10-2.

Notice in Dr’s office: Please turn off all cell phones and VHF radios.

Closed for inventory: Mon, Tues and Wed.

The distance on a map to local sites is determined from the one stop light in town.

When riding the bus you will probably stop for gas along the way but no worries they don’t turn off the engine so no time is lost… it’s all Bahamian time anyway.

When it rains there is a good chance the streets will flood so wear shorts and old shoes.

Carry a stern anchor when going to the public dock with your dinghy; you will be required to use it.

No worries if your dinghy doesn’t have running lights for night use… no one else does either. Forget lifejackets or any safety equipment for that matter.

The liquor store will open your bottle for you if you don’t have an opener on you.

When you live on a boat you never know who may stop by and say hi just to get to know you or ask about your boat.

The local black Bahamian will generally be dressed looking like an American (gansta, hoodie, gang banger, you pick a word you like) but will flash you a huge smile, wave and offer you a ride.

Most cruisers are older than us, although not all… they are a wild, energetic, eclectic, individualist, friendly, free group of folks whom we enjoying getting to know.

Before Paint Pictures

We have included some before pictures of SongBird so you can appreciate how she now looks. It was not an easy job as you can see.

Mates Log 3.8.09

When we came into Hope Town the other day, we saw a mooring ball we wanted to pick up. You remember mooring ball adventures from a previous posting… Well, all was going perfect! Then the starboard engine died! We thought Carey had taken care of the problem with the engines dyeing, but evidently it didn't stick. This is the point where everything falls apart. We can’t pick up the ball because we don’t have the steering control that is needed. Carey is trying to start the engine but we are gaining on other moored boats. At this point I decide I better try and start the engine while he watches where we are going so we don’t hit anything… it’s almost too late… Carey keeps repeating, sweetheart, sweetheart… the repetitiveness of these words is really a cry for help, but nothing else was coming from him... just sweetheart, sweetheart……. I started to look around to see if I could figure out what was going on… and sure enough there was a boat, a big catamaran right next to us, Carey is trying to negotiate a turn, things are not going well.

I had no fender out to grab and run with. So I ran forward empty handed and cruised the deck waiting to see if and where we would hit this other big boat... We missed her just as Carey gunned SongBirds one working engine… oh saved again!!! Good job captain!

 I occupied myself with trying to start the one failed engine, the harbour here is packed with boats and I was not sure I wanted to watch as our hero maneuvered a 25’ wide newly painted boat among such a cluster. I peeked over once in a while to make sure he was still breathing. I gave up on the engine and helped where I could with water depth and hiding mooring balls. We came around again to the mooring ball we wanted, Carey offset our approach to account for current and tide so I was able to snag the mooring and bring it up. Perfect! He did it! Nothing hit, nothing damaged and no one died (except for that darn engine!).

Honey I think we need to buy for wine if our engines are going to keep dying like this.

Today we went aground in our dinghy. Of course it was much easier getting it off the bottom then a 40’ catamaran. As soon as Carey got out of the boat we started to float. But, we enjoyed the adventure and the simplicity of it… and the lack of stress it created!!

We have included a couple of pictures of a traditional Abaco sailing and sculling dinghy. Weiner Malone is the primary builder of these boats and is now 80 years old. Rumor has it he never admires boats (since today most of them are fiberglass) but was admiring our dinghy and was glad to hear that we had built it ourselves. He really liked her lines and thought her quite lovely. I felt proud.

We are not going to be able to head south yet. Our weather window closed in on us, so we are going to head north for some exploration. Once we see a window opening we’ll head south down to Staniel Cay. It sounds like we will meet up with Jared and Ruthie, who will be sailing in from FL. We will hang out in Staniel Cay until April 1st or so when Jeff will fly out and hook up with all of us. We are then off to the Land and Sea Park in Exuma.

Lesson Learned

Never think you have any problems resolved, they are only in a state of suspension until further notice.

When in small places or if there are any boats anywhere near… get out a fender to carry around just in case you need to fend off another boat, or something worse.

Buy more wine or take up drinking beer, it’s cheaper!

Tattoos

Relieve your fears all. The captain does not plan on getting a tattoo of the Bahamas. Captains always talk big, big stories, big boats, big fish and big tattoos. SongBird's captain has always threatened to get a tattoo (the details change monthly). So have no fears when we send you pictures of the Captains latest tattoo, at least not until you see the Captain included.

Mates Log 3.5.09

We did it!! We’re done!! If we could we would invite all of you over for a celebration party!

After 8 long weeks, I would like to take this time to be reflective, pass on scholarly wisdom gained from our time, and recreate the profound lessons learned… but frankly it was a lot of blood, sweat and tears, dirt, grit, bad chemicals, achy muscles, and incredible pain that got us to this point. The wisdom we gained was more along the lines of what type of pain reliever to use for what ache and how to get out of bed in the morning when movement would not come and body parts were seized up. No great wisdom is needed to know that the boat interior needs wiping down so we don’t keep living in all the cuprous oxide of the highly toxic copper bottom paint.

We cannot express how glad we are to be back in the water and no longer on the hard. If we had to write a song about our last 8 weeks on the hard it would go something like this to the tune of “Sittin on the Dock of the Bay”.

Sandin in the morning sun
Be paintin when the evenin comes
Rollin and tippin this cat
Then we’ll do it all over again

Workin on the boat all day
Grindin and scrapin away
Workin on the boat all day
Sandin all the time

Left our home in SoCal
Headed for the life of fun
All we found was hard work
Dude, will this boat ever be done

Sandin in the morning sun
Be paintin when the evening comes
Workin on the boat all day
Sandin all the time

Dude, will this paint ever be done
Every day it’s more of the same
Have ten gallons of paint to apply
So let’s “roll and tip” again today

So I’ll struggle gettin out of bed
And my body will keep feeling dead
Will we be able to move again
And Advil remains my friend

We’re sittin here resting our bones
And this tiredness won’t leave us alone
Three thousand miles we roamed
Just to make this boatyard home?

Sandin in the morning sun
Be paintin when the evenin comes
Sandin in the morning sun
Sandin all the time

Sandin in the morning sun
Be paintin when the evenin comes
Sandin in the morning sun
Sandin all the time

Carey is convinced I can now only see the color green (the color of the old nasty bottom paint and salon sides). I do think he has most of the green out of his beard and eyebrows, but you should see his feet and knees!! I think it will take some time to get all the green out of Carey.

We are currently anchored in Marsh Harbour and, it is good. The winds are blowing like crazy so we are waiting until tomorrow to leave here. We will head south to Little Harbour also on Abaco and hopefully meet up with friends we met while on the hard. We will stay there for a few days and do nothing but snorkel and relax. At least that is the plan but we all know that can change at any given moment.

I cannot tell you all that has happened, well I suppose I could but I doubt I could keep your attention and interest. Anyway, we were invited to a comedy show by the guy who sells bootleg videos out of the back of his truck (all videos that we have seen here, even in stores are bootlegged, so this is not unusual). Well, Frankie drove miles out of his way to give us a ride, and show us around on our way to the place, the show was held at a church. Once we were seated I kept hearing… Lisa, Lisa. Well I thought surely that would not be Lisa me since we hardly know anyone here, being stuck in the boat yard and all. But sure enough… it was me. Victor and his family (the ones who invited us over for a shower and tubby) were at the show with friends!

Once the show was over we waited outside for Frankie (he did not go because he had to work) to come and pick us up. Well… a couple came up to us and asked us if we needed a ride back to town, since they were going that way. Of course we took it so Frankie wouldn’t have to take us back. so far out of his way. As I have mentioned before everyone is SO nice and helpful here.

Sunday we were offered a truck to use (a guy next to us working on his boat) so we could go do all of our laundry and re-provision for our departure. This was huge! We would have been making many trips to the store in the dinghy and it would have taken us 2 days to accomplish it all.

Monday morning SongBird went back in the water without incident other then the “windicator” getting snapped off by the travel lift. Carey made an easy fix of it so no problems there. Once floating we tied up to the boatyard dock, bought ice and invited Captain Morgan for a bit of celebration. We actually sat in the cockpit, cushions out, drinks in hand and pupu’s for a moment of thanks. We had never done this before, and if we had we could not remember ever feeling that relaxed.

Water and gas were the chores of the next morning and then we were off to Marsh Harbour. Wish I could say we had a great sail but we were headed close to weather so we motored all the way. We went into town to drop off some books that we were done with, and ran into Russ, who we had met at Junkanoo. It ends up that they are anchored right next to us. For being on the hard, not getting to town much, and rarely being able to socialize it has been amazing how many people we now know, and how many we run into while out. This is life in a small town, although Marsh Harbour is larger than most in the Bahamas. We do like it here and it is a nice size place, a lot smaller and nicer than Nassau, but big enough for its own airport.

We are getting ready to leave tomorrow for Little Harbour, hang for a few days until the weather suits us, and then off to Eluthera. Not sure how long that will take, not sure if we have to or need to stop along the way and not sure when we will get there… oh yeah, not sure how long we will stay. Shawn from the boatyard wants us to look up his mother while we are in Eluthera. From there we are headed to the Land and Sea Park at Exuma Cay. If you volunteer you get your mooring for free. Russ told us that everyone volunteers, which is funny because you work like you are on a chain gang for 8 hours, saving a $15 mooring fee. Cruisers are a weird lot.

We may head down to Georgetown once we leave the park. This will depend on the date. We have to start heading north in April/May so we can be in N Carolina by June for hurricane season. We will then hook up somewhere with Jared, Ruthie and Jeff. Jeff may come down to help us get back north but it’s too early to tell what will happen.

Well, that’s the short of it. Check out SongBirds new eyes and paint. I’m not sure when or where we can get online again so if you don’t hear from us for awhile, it’s OK.

Cheers and love… Carey and Lisa

Lessons Learned
If you are old, pay someone to paint your boat (start saving now)
Take Advil with your vitamins (don’t wait until you think you will need it… you WILL need it!)
Do not paint in 25 knot winds no matter what your time schedule is
Install a sling to help you get out of bed in the morning
Take seasick pills after having been on land for 2 months
Put your glasses on when trying to get the green off your body