Lemonaide from Lemons

I was excited Saturday night when I went to bed, as I had been invited to join Bernard and his friend Claire, who were taking Alain to a small island's beach for swimming and lunch Sunday, IF Saturday's rains ceased. But through the night, with a hard roll, howling winds, and drops of rain blowin in the barely cracked open hatches, I didn't think that we would get to go. I did not sleep well, and was up frequently, to look around to see if any other boats were drifting my way. Bernard called me about 8am to say that the trip had been cancelled for sure, due to the continuing showers, but that a new plan had been developed. We were going to have a glass of Champagne with Claire, and then go out to lunch. Be there by 11 am.

When I arrived at Bernard's, it occurred to me that I had never taken any pictures of his picnic table, where so many wonderful meals have been eaten, and so many good hours of conversation and more than a couple beers and glasses of wine had been consumed. So while waiting for Claire to arrive, I snapped this, with Alain's back turned. The table is right on the water's edge inside the Lagoon.

When Claire arrived, I took another to give perspective of how simple a life Bernard lives, with this table tucked almost beneath the bow of his boat, Narvalo.

Claire and Alain posed for a quick shot. I have met her twice, and she always is wearing beautiful blouses, that look so "island" to me.And I had to act the fool, and have mine taken as well. Oh, I miss a woman's skin! From the look on Claire's face, perhaps I am squeezing a bit too hard - definitely past her comfort zone! But by the end of the day, we had become friends. Claire came here on a sailboat, too, and has sailed to Tahiti and back. Now, she is a pharmacist on the French side.
New haircut (Paul cut both Alain's and Bernard's hair the day before) combed and nice clean shirt on, Bernard says he is ready to go! While enjoying a bottle of champagne at the picnic table, they discussed Claire's new project. She is hoping that a deal made on Ebay falls through, so that she can step in and buy a sailboat, which is on the hard at Bernard's boat yard. The seller failed to set a reserve, and is now obligated to sell it to the 3 lowest bidders, or have his Ebay reputation ruined for backing out of a contract.

When the bottle was dry, (in France, the person who drinks the last of a bottle of champagne, is predicted to be married or dead by the end of the year. I won't tell you who had the last drop poured into their glass.) we departed in Claire's car and headed out to a nice restaurant on the beach. It looks out onto Marigot Bay and somewhere in this photo is Annah Foster, at anchor.

Claire and Alain ate steak tartar and Bernard and I ordered a rib of pork, smothered in delicious mushrooms. It has been a long time since I had potatoes au gratin, which came with the dish and were delicious.Several weeks ago, I rode the dink around the perimeter of the bay, and saw this place, but did not recognize it as a restaurant. There is a long stretch of beach to the north which leads to an abandoned resort, damaged in a hurricane, and I have often thought it would be nice to beach the dink there and swim and lay out on the empty beach.

At lunch, it was decided that Claire would give Alain a tour of the island, so we hopped back into her car and headed out to circumnavigate all of St Martin.

St Martin is very famous for its airport. The runway terminates within feet of the road which is right up on the beach. So, when an airplane lands, it is actually just a few feet above the heads of anyone on the beach, or driving along the one lane road. The road is pinched there and squeezed between an eroding beach, and the airport fence. Signs on both sides warn of the blast you will receive when a plane departs. There is the obligatory bar/restaurant on either end of the road, as the tourists have made it a great place to hangout. It happens that Sundays are the best day, as the Air France and KLM 747's land and depart, exchanging big loads of tourists for their week's vacation, so parking was hard to find, as was a table at the restaurant.

If you Google St Martin airport (SXM), there are a lot of great photos and videos posted on the internet of planes landing just feet above the heads of people frolicking on the beach. Also, when a departure occurs, some brave, or foolish folks, stand directly behind the plane, clinging to the chain link fence, getting sandblasted by the jet exhaust, and apparently, often are lifted off the ground by it. If their grip fails, they are then sent tumbling across the sand, and must end up with some great road rash.

Here was an approaching 737, we think. I did not zoom or change the camera settings at all here.
And it passes right over the folks on the beach.

A private helicopter waits for clearance to land, hovering just over the water, whipping up a great mist of seawater. I wonder if that is Britney Spears in there? Wave hi, Britney!
We had timed the stop almost perfectly, as here comes the 2nd 747 that lands each Sunday. We missed the Air France landing. I was lucky to get this shot, as they come past so fast, it is hard to choose when to push the camera's button. Then, a big KLM 747 taxied out to the end of the runway. Can you make out the blue and white nose under the Heineken umbrella?
She turned and lined up for departure, and eventually ran up the engines, and departed, blasting the folks on the fence and beach with tons of thrust.
You can barely make out the sand blasting across the beach in this one.

We continued our tour, driving all the way to Phillipsburg. Then on, making several stops, including Orient Bay, and a marina which is home to all the big Caribbean boat charter companies. Bernard and I walked the docks admiring some of the beautiful boats.

At dusk, we stopped and picked up a pizza and shared it long into the evening, back again, at the picnic table. Late last night I received an email from her, thanking ME for making the 'journey' so nice. As I see it, she turned the rainy day into a fun one - making lemonaide out of life's lemons.

I have another new friend here. Life is good.

Dîner Avec Mes Amis

When I met Jean and Josianne in Bermuda, (Gee - how many months ago has it been now?) they invited me to dine aboard Kurika several times, and met me with huge smiles and open arms the day I arrived in Marigot. Jean is all charm with that big long mustache and Josieanne is a sweet and petite doll. They whisked me off immediately to their friend, Bernard's place at the Time Out Boat Yard, where I ate my first meal here. Two days later, I was loaded into their friend, Peggy's car and we all drove up into the hills, where I enjoyed my Christmas dinner - an afternoon of good food and laughter - even if I did not understand what was being said much of the time. Peggy's husband, Paul, was in France, taking care of some family matters, but, when he returned to St. Martin, he met me with a big smile and open heart. He is one of those people who has sparkling eyes and an infectious smile that no one can refuse to return. Alain, to me, is such an interesting man, who lives an extraordinary life, and I only wish that I could speak French properly so that we could talk together more. He is also an interesting face to photograph, as is my friend Jean - quite a character study. And, of course, Bernard has since welcomed me to his table for dozens of meals, I think, as well as more than a few Heinekins in the shade of his covered picnic table. It was long overdue for me to offer to feed them, as a way to say thank you for all of their kindnesses and hospitality.

So, I planned a menu several times in my mind. What can I prepare for FRENCH people (the folks who have refined cooking to its highest level and make an evening meal last all evening), which I could make in my tiny galley, transport easily in the dink, and would be an "All American" meal? How does Spanish gazpacho, Italian lasagna, and French crepes sound? Not too American, but, in truth is ALL American, since our dishes are sourced from so many regions of the world. I happen to love my sister-in-law Patty's recipe for Pennsylvania Dutch pasta salad, so I planned a batch of it as well, to stretch the meal should it not be enough for 7 people. So, there was something American served. Jean and Josianne depart Saturday for a week or 10 days away, visiting with a friend of Josianne, who is vacationing near by, so Friday was set for dinner.

I shopped Tuesday, and Wednesday, taking Alain along to see the Dutch side on one trip, and worked for 2 days solid at peeling and chopping vegetables, boiling pasta, and cooking. It was fun, but tedious and hot, as I am not so "at home" in a kitchen, and now, with a tiny galley, it would be a challenge to learn how to work in such a small space. Bernard hosted at his wonderful picnic table which sits almost under the bow of his boat on the hard, Norvalo, and agreed to bake the lasagna for me. We dined slowly, in courses as the French do. Alain had agreed to show me how to make crepes as my test batch were rubbery and thick but we decided that they were going to be too much, so we finished with baguette and fromage. Paul brought along a BIG bottle of his home-made rum punch which was my preferred drink of the night and Bernard added a few bottles of wine, and we had a great meal, laughing and talking together. They tease me, as Paul and Joyce do, about how long it will take me to repair my hydraulics and so, can depart! I always answer the same - "Tomorrow. Always Tomorrow!"

When I dropped off the lasagna in the afternoon, I found Alain putting the 2nd coat of primer paint on Norvalo. She is going to be beautiful, I think.

Alain - taking a break..............while Bernard mixed the paint and watched. We, of course, enjoyed the obligatory beer in the shade while Alain rolled paint. Oh, and we also moved the scaffolding, as well. Tough work, eh?!Cheers!
They are all so kind to stop and translate for me what is being said or laughed at. Josieanne has the best English, but Jean's and Bernard's is very good as well.And even Peggy speaks to me in English, which is a lot better than my French. Upon learning that my birthday is approaching, Paul and Peggy have invited us all back for a meal next Friday to celebrate it.
Bernard has begun to insist that I plan a visit soon, to France, so that he can show me his home, and country - the south of France. He really liked the gazpacho and grows a garden at home with all of the ingredients, so I have copied the recipe for him. The invitation has now taken on a more serious note, when dinner was paused last night, while Bernard translated Alain's rather emphatic and insistant invitation to a feast he is planning at his chateau in Caderousse, in May. But, he added that I might have to do some work "around the house" while visiting. I told him that my secret to get out of the work, is to do BAD work, and then I will get fired!

We looked at Alain's castle from space on Google Earth, and I showed Bernard my former home on Google Street, which intrigued him, so we put in his mother's address in France, and he was amazed to find that he can now take a drive down her street, from half way around the world.

It might be best, that today, I return at noon, and Alain, and Bernard, and I will eat the leftovers, and perhaps Alain will show me how to make the crepes, as well. Such wonderful people.

Cheers to my new friends! or rather - Cheers à mes nouveaux amis!

Face Paint, French Villas and Cuban Cigars

Ellie, the owner of Lagoonies, threw a Valentine's Day party for single folk Sunday night. Everyone there had a blast, I think. Early on, my new German friend, Michael came back to the table with some face paint on, and I asked him who had done it. It was a friend he had made in Turkey. One of two Israeli sisters. So, I found her, and had mine done, just because it is so out of character for the old me.

While having it done, the best outboard guy on the island, Gary, came in, and looked down at me and laughed, and I said, "Don't say ANYTHING!" He laughed again and shook his head. He was joined by Graham's mate, Dave, from England (Gonna go have a Jimmy! ) and I snapped a pic of them. Then Gary was nice enough to take the pics of me, but laughing and shaking his head in amazement the whole time.

At my table, was Angie, a German friend who Michael has known for years as they have crossed paths while sailing the Med, Bob an out of work airplane mechanic who is spending major bucks re-doing his sailboat at the rigger's yard here and who went out nightclubbing with Christine and me a few weeks ago, Michael, my new German buddy, and a married Canadian lady who's husband has returned to Canada to take care of some business.
Michael, Canadian lady, Me, and Bob. The horns are courtesy of the crazy Italian, who MC'ed and played the dance music for the night. Damn. We had fun.
My friend Jean introduced me to Bernard when I arrived before Christmas, and he has introduced me to Alain, who is a 'boat guest' for a while, giving Bernard some help sanding and painting his hull. Alain owns a villa in the south of France, which he bought in ruins about 25 years ago. He said it had been empty for years, and no one wanted it. He quit his job in advertising, and devoted the next 20 years re-building this stone mansion., and did it all himself, with no outside tradesmen, including putting in the pool and planting all of the trees and gardens. I have finally figured out how to take a screenshot of the video of pictures of it, so am including some here. Can you imagine - 20 years to re-build it! He says it is still ongoing. But he rents it out now 'in the season' for about $5000 a week. Contact me if you are interested in a couple months, and I will pass your name on to him.
I guess when the weather is perfect nearly all of the time, you can have your kitchen outside.
And you can eat outside, too.Or inside.Nice digs, huh?

Joined Michael and Bob for all-u-can-eat ribs at Lady C's and a few drinks afterwards. There was a man and 2 women at the bar who were in need of a ride back to the boat they had just delivered from Cuba. (Ferro-Cement! Geesh!) It was on my way home, so I dropped them off. As reward, the captain gave me his copy of Calder's Cuba Cruising Guide, a Cruising Guide for the Dominican Republic on CD, and 2 Cuban cigars. Tonight, I shall enjoy a glass of wine on deck, along with one of the 2 cigars. It will be my first ever Cuban.

Jean just stopped by to say that Josieanne is returning from France today at 3, so I must clean up for supper at Bernard's to welcome her back.

Here we go again..........Life is good.

Trivia, or as Thomas Sowell says - Random Thoughts

Nothing to report, but it has been such a long while since my last post, I thought I would just write to report nothing.

I have a new type of internet on the boat for the weekend for a tryout, and can sit and write, with no distractions. (Unless you consider the swell lifting AF about 6 feet with each passing wave, distracting. It was pretty distracting last night when they were 8 feet, so I slept in the cockpit, to be ready should the anchor have dragged, until a rain shower chased me below. )

Would have loved to get pictures of the breaking surf that I had to transit just to get back to the boat yesterday, but was too busy driving to take pictures. Seeing an 8 foot wave, with white water on the crest, spray spewing in the winds, coming at you in an 11 foot dink (low on fuel, by the way), with another following behind it, is a bit upsetting the first time. Is all about learning, though, and turned out to not be such a big deal. Climb up and over one, slowly, then hit the gas and rush to the next one, and up and over slowly, and on like that. But the sight sort of floored me at first.

This internet goes through the Dutch side of the island and I had to figure out exactly what "Gebruikersnaam : Wachtwoord: (?) " meant to log in to my blog.

Clever me. I finally remembered to stop at a store to buy some post cards to mail to Anna and Andrew back home. Why do I always think of things like this the day that every man on the island is in the card store buying a Valentine's Day card? Could go ANY day and there would be no line, but not me. And is it even legal in the US to mail a post card with a picture of a topless woman posing on the beach on it? Didn't buy that one for the kids anyway, but wondered.

The other day at the French grocery, I found a bottle of wine. Baron Philippe De Rothschild Mouton Cadet - 2005. Bordeaux. I have heard this name for years as a top shelf wine, the sort that James Bond would have ordered correctly, with the right vintage, and served properly to compliment the meal. You know me. I don't know wines, so I bought it and hope it is something special. If it is 8 Euro vinegar, I shall be very disappointed in Monsieur de Rothschild.

Have you scrolled down to the bottom of this page and looked at all of the flags, marking the country of each visitor? I am amazed! Latest is 2 views from Israel. Reminds me that I met a really nice Israeli girl the other day, visiting with my German buddy, Michael. They met while cruising in Turkey. What a small world.

Had to say goodbye to old friend, Cordelia, at Ric's this morning. She was our waitress at Ric's in November '08 when I crewed with Paul and Joyce, on Lady H. (Some days, she wears a black long haired wig, and I always call her Britney Spears.) The new owner's have done away with the wifi. The husband told me that 'they were becoming an internet cafe' and he didn't like it. I have felt since arriving that they did not appreciate people coming in and eating and drinking and using their wifi, and it is confirmed now. Will have to find a new place to hang out. They have seen the last of my money.

Pork and beans, French style is Lentils and Sausages, which are like hotdogs, but - what? - not so firm, with thin skins and squishy. Getting to like them, though. And have also learned how to steam real rice, not 'minute' rice, but the kind our grandmothers cooked with, that turns to starch on the bottom of the pan, if you are not careful.

Took a ride around the bay the other day, just putt-ing along slowly, looking at other's solar and wind installations. Crept up unintentionally on a woman nekked, perhaps drying off after a swim or shower, and sort of startled her, although I looked away so she didn't know I had seen her. Looked over my shoulder for one last peek and she was hustling down the companionway steps wrapped in her towel.

I had another great email from friend, Mike, back in PA. He is so interesting, and takes the time to write such nice long, newsy emails. He has a farm and raises a special breed of cattle for beef called Scottish Highland cattle. He told me a lot of interesting things about this particular breed that seem so unusual, like how they will defend the herd and each other, and even baby sit another's calf. He has had to hand carry hay to some of his herd in this snow, because his one tractor doesn't have chains for snow. So, he bought a pair. Only $475. So it is not just boat stuff that is expensive.

The swells have died enough now that I can work on the steering, just at sunset. Great timing.

Had a great talk on Gmail with Joyce and Paul. They caught me up on their cruising schedule, and Paul told me he has found one thing good about Colon, Panama. Cheap, box wine.

After Davina showed me the benefits of it, I advertised for a female crew on a website called 7knots, and have received some interesting replies. I don't really know what to say to these women, because I really don't know what I want, to begin with. Love, ultimately. But, in the mean time, a friend and companion would be nice. Today, I got an extra special reply. First of all, the lady has been reading this blog for a while, so she at least knows something about who I am, my skills level, and where I have come from. And, she included some photos of herself (very nice looking, BTW), which is nice, so I don't have to ask. But what made it most special was the picture she included of her deck, with a potted palm tree, with snow on it, from Florida, yesterday! I can understand her desire to get out of there.

Also heard from friend John, in Carnegie, with more tales of woe about the snow. Sorry, John. Could lend you one my snow shovels out of my spares locker but you would have to come get it.

I have moved to Plan D, or perhaps it is E, for the steering repair. After flaring and cutting copper, getting it attached at the easy end, and run to it's other end, I started to wonder which was left and which was right on the autopilot ports. So I downloaded the Installation Manual, and amongst other things, read that "you should use flexible hose where ever possible' in the installation. Decided to ride over to the Dutch hydraulic place and see what they had other than big, heavy, black rubber hose. Ended up buying 6 hoses, with the ends on them and will use it instead of the copper (now removed, again). )(Add 2 more days to the job.) So, back to work on that problem.

Tomorrow there is a Valentine's Day party at Lagoonie's, and red and white are required attire. Will have to dig out something to wear, and I don't mean the pink underwear that I washed with the red shirt, although I suspect a couple of guys I know might do just that!

To all of my loves at home - Happy Valentine's Day. (Well, we all know there are none, but it felt good when I typed it.)

But, life is good.

Front Yards

I received a couple emails today, with photos of the snow storm back home. Below is the house that is next door to the one I was raised in, courtesy of Bob, a long time friend, and, now, former neighbor. He wrote that he measured 21" of snow, I think. Looks like he really busted his butt to get his drive cleared, and with a bad knee, too.

And this photo was sent to me by my brother's friend, John, who now lives in Carnegie, PA, which neighbors my community. John has become an avid follower of My Last Adventure, and emails me often with encouragement and news from home. It measured 19", I think.
And this is my front yard, today. Which do YOU prefer?
And while I am at it, here is my back yard.

Yesterday, after placing a post for Anna and Andrew back home, I looked out on my bow, and saw a big bird sitting there. So I grabbed the camera and took these photos, before he flew away. I hope that Anna and Andrew will see them. He is a Cormorant. Cormorants can fly and also swim underwater. They fly above the water until they see some fish, and dive straight in, and, using their wings as paddles, swim after the fish.But he was not scared at all of me, and even though I leaned way out of the cockpit to take some pictures, he didn't seem to care at all.

He even yawned at me, like he was sleepy or bored. And this morning, I rode over to new friend, Ellison's boat, and as we were preparing to depart, he looked down in the water, and saw this rather large fish (we think trumpet fish) sort of hanging around my outboard propeller. He did not want to leave, and even let Ellison pet him. That is Ellisons hand in the photo, with one finger pointed out, petting him. The fish even turned on his side for his rub. We had to shooo him away before we could start the engine up.
Ellison has sailed across the Atlantic and back again, twice, one time single handing, on his 32 foot boat. He works now, to build up the sailing kitty as a mechanic for a sailboat charter company. He offered to come and look at my hydraulic situation in exchange for my help, getting his boat to a boatyard dock to fill the water tanks. I used my dinghy as a tug boat to push him in closer to the concrete dock, as he has a full keel and his boat is not so easy to steer in close like that. We had to thread a needle to squeeze him in between several other boats tied up there. It worked perfectly, and I pushed his bow around and lined him up for a straight shot to depart. Afterwards, he came to AF and we enjoyed a nice afternoon talking, and sharing experiences at sea. He is a native of some Caribbean country, but served in the US Army, in Iraq, so has an interesting perspective on the world, and politics. He is a much deeper thinker than his dredlocks and necklace might indicate.

Two nights ago, I was in a yacht club bar with some friends for a departure party for a young lady leaving the island yesterday, and as we were departing, I found myself standing at the stern of this modern looking yacht. The staircases were lighted and shining in the dark - all chrome and glass - and we stood and discussed the design. I was with a fellow who says he has a degree in naval design and architecture who raised the level of conversation a lot. So, this morning, I looked out and it was anchored near me, so I rode out and took a couple pics for you. I do not think it is a handsome boat but a pretty unusual design, and the owner must have wanted something that looked different. He sure got it.
It is hard to judge the length of the boat, but I would guess 150-180 feet. You can get some idea looking at the rows of steps on the stern.
When I arrived this evening at the Dutch side, to post these pictures, I discovered it is Super Bowl Sunday. I DID know it was Sunday, but have lost track with this kind of event. Is my new life, and I am so happy to be living without a calendar, so to speak.

I am blessed. Life is good.