Seafood Festival

They all want to be Amber Leigh when they grow up.





Amber Leigh Band rocking the Marathon Seafood festival. She plays violin & mandolin and performed several original songs. That's Dad on guitar.

Still Hangin' in Boot Key - Pictorial Update

Today, the artists gathered under the Tiki Hut to create. Stacey's underwater scene is looking awesome.

As usual, the ruffians played in the mangroves. Only the girls agreed to be photographed.

Jerry called from Panama City. He and Debbie are checking the weather. Looks pretty good this time. (Better than last!)

We clambered back into the dingy for the ride home.

Sailing Date Finally Arrived At.

Czech N Mate sets sail tomorrow for Isla Mujeres, Mexico. She's come a long way since the picture below.

A couple of years ago, Randall and I were walking the dock to our boat and passed a boat with a hailing port of Drumright, OK. Her owners, Jerry and Debby Brichacek, were trying to get the farm in order so they could sail south. We swapped “How a couple of Okies got here,” stories. We soon discovered we had similar plans - a Gulf crossing hopefully to Mexico and beyond. The inevitable “Maybe we could leave together” came up and we both hoped that we had found a buddy boat to sail with.
Then Ike tossed Czech N Mate up by the Watergate Marina bathrooms. Overnight, the question went from “when to leave” to “will she float?” Throughout that September, hundreds of boat owners struggled with the salvage vs scrap dilemma. The cost and extent of repairs varied greatly from boat to boat but were, to all, demoralizing. Jerry was eager to Czech and Mate back in the water. He decided to truck her home to Drumright for the work. So began the trip to Oklahoma where, between the plowing and planting, boat work could proceed.
Rigging was replaced. Parts were hunted done including a hard-to-replace Hylas toe rail. The chunk from the keel was repaired. Scratches were sanded and coat after coat of paint went on. Jerry took a break from the activity last June to crew for our Houston to Pensacola passage. Finally, he is leaving too.
Fair winds, Czech N Mate! You’ve got a great crew. I’m sure they’ll do anything you ask. However, you might consider announcing ten lashes for the first mate to whine about the cold. Randall seems to think sailing is a March – September sport. And provision a little extra on account of Michelle. She’ll also want lots of baggies so that no left-overs go uneaten.
Have fun!

Thin-Blooded Floridians Unable to Withstand 30 Degree Temps

Yes. We are suffering with the rest of the nation. The wind chills have dipped down to –58 in Des Moines, Iowa! We in Florida aren’t able to post such shocking numbers but hear this. Iguanas are falling out of trees. According to local reports, Iguanas can’t maintain a good grip on palm branches when the temp is low. They lose circulation and fall. We would like to tramp around today and get a picture of an actual falling iguana. However, this would require bundling up, getting in the dinghy (probably getting wet) and being quick with the camera. Sounds unlikely. In fact, my own gripping ability may be compromised. I can see myself losing my grip from the boat rail and falling into the water rather then the dinghy. To avoid this danger, I am posting a picture of some cute, unidentified lizard I took a picture of last month who could, at this very moment, be falling from a tree. Hang On, Lizzie! We may sit tight on the boat, bundled in our coats, until this passes. We don’t have a heat source on Capricious other than the stove so we are cooking a lot, making tea in between and reading reports from the higher latitudes. Miami, about one degree North, may actually freeze tonight. Last night, we went to bed about the time the sun went down and didn’t emerge from the pile of blankets until the sun was high. Tonight will be another long stretch of waiting for sunshine. Aren’t we glad to be in Florida where iguanas fall instead of snow!

Heading Home

We’re back, sitting on a mooring in Boot Key Harbor, Florida. The picture above is actually from No Name Harbor in Biscayne Bay when we first arrived back. Since then, we've made our way halfway down the Keys and plan to stay here for at least a month working on the boat and driving home for Christmas.
Thanksgiving week was the decision-maker. Jacob was finishing up his persuasive essay, “Why teens shouldn’t be homeschooled.” There was no pumpkin pie or large, loud family gatherings. There was a trip to the beach that ended in Jacob’s second injury of the trip, a broken finger. The run-the-business-from-the-boat plan had a few clitches. It was decided, on the Friday after Thanksgiving, to point Capricious’ bow in the general direction of Texas.
We made the three day passage back through Bahama blue water almost glassy this time. The easy sail gave us lots of talking time. We talked about how, a month from now, we’ll only remember all the fun and beauty and excitement. We wished we’d taken more pictures. We talked about chips and salsa and favorite League City restaurants. We discussed the pros and cons of the various Clear Lake marinas. We occasionally thought we were doing the wrong thing and we told ourselves it was definitely the right thing. We called the grandparents upon arrival. They lauded Jacob’s views on public schooling. They hoped we’d be home by Christmas.
We meant to stay out a year but six months of adventure will last us quite a while. Will we itch for a distant shore sooner than we expected? Will the convenience of daily showers, well stocked grocery stores and floors that don’t move lull us into tightly tied docklines?
Now it is Dec 15. We've had two weeks back in the United States and are still tossing around questions. Live on the boat until Jacob graduates and then set sail again? Move back to 200 Pecan Drive?
You can only see as far as the horizon, no matter where you are.

'Til next time, Toni

Toni's at the helm during the Gulf Stream crossing. She's probably thinking, "I used my vacation days for this??" The crossing was wet and a little wild. Randall kept telling me not to get off course or the current would shoot us past Freeport and then we'd be back to Brunswick. We pulled into Nassau Harbor with another boat which left Florida about the same time. We commented on how light the boat traffic was on both the Gulf Stream and the Exuma passage but it was not until today that we overheard at the local beach bar that there are 12 boats sitting in Lake Worth, FL still waiting on calm enough weather to cross. Toni left us yesterday to go back to the world of daily showers, fresh fruit and veggies and flooring which does not move. Before she left, we had several days of sand castle building, island hiking and a couple of Bahama's Kalik's. Keep us in mind every morning, Toni, as you pour the coffee. If you ever get tired of the cup just sitting there without moving while you pour, come on back.

George Town Arrival

Jacob has a dream. He has even drawn it up on paper.
A driftwood lean-to with a hammock underneath. A fire pit would be nice and he’ll also need our collapsible water bag. He’s also hoping to come across an abandoned ice chest. Then, he’ll pack his bags and be outta here.
We’ve told him that there might not be land available for beach bum style squatting but site selection goes on as we make the run down Stocking Island looking for an anchorage by George Town. Monument Hill looks good to him. Anything on land looks good to him. He is ok with us visiting but we have to bring the food, lots of it.
I think the closeness is getting to him. Thank goodness we’ve made it to George Town where we can pile off the boat and put each other at arm’s length.
We anchor right next to Chat N Chill. The white sandy beach feels great after three days of pitching up and down. We play a short game of two-on-two volleyball until we can’t ignore the smell of Chat N Chill’s food. Ok, really our volleyball limit is 30 minutes but it’s nice to have a tantalizing excuse. The conch burgers are delicious and Jacob, always happy in front of good food, notes calmly that there is not another person under 40 in sight and that cole slaw isn’t bad on conch burgers. If he weren’t critiquing food, this observation would have been so calmly made.
“They get here in December,” is our reply. “We’re early.”
“I’m not so sure,” he says.
Randall and I look at each other. We can’t buy him ten conch burgers a day to keep peace. The situation looks a little serious.
“I bet some of these 40 year olds are really immature,” we try.
Today we plan to see the town. We have lots to do. Randall is tracking down a part for the battery regulator which melted down during the trip making for a tense ten minutes of searching out the source of smoke. I want to check out the grocery store to see what we’ll be eating a lot of here. Toni wants to take in the local sights and see how to get to the airport on Friday. Lily wants to see if there is ice cream. But Jacob will be scouring for building supplies. If you build it, they will come. If they don’t, his friend, Murrey, is planning on a December visit. Pictures to come as soon as I get my camera battery charged (battery regulator problem has us on power conservation mode). Hopefully, there will not be one of Jake camped out on shore.