Jack's Budweister & Clamato (not bad, but not Ruth's drink of choice by far...)
Palms in Miami at sunset
Ruth steady clownin' (with laundry hangin in the background)
Sunrise Key Largo
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
11-18/21 Still alive and well!
11-18-07
Well, we just left Bimini. I wished I could have had email signal (coming in free from the Big Game Club often) before we left so I could send a farewell to the family, at least for a week or so. When we went to leave, the engine, she’s a no-start. She’s a cruel mistress, the engine. It sucked because we were going to leave with two other boats, really cool cats too. Had an amazing lobster/fish/redbeans n rice/potato feast with ‘em all last night. Oh yeah, and some vodka. Good times, they tell me.
It turns out after some playing around that the saltwater had made it’s way into the engine compartment and seized up the starter, but I got that sucker working by and by. It’s crazy how the salt made it’s way in here. It was through the boat, as I’ve documented, but tools that never got “wet” still seized from all the mist, and thus, corrosion.
My skin is still royally fucked up. I hoped leaving our beloved beasts might bring some relief, but alas, not yet. I think I’m in a vicious cycle where it can’t heal because I tear the hell out of it in my sleep from getting hot on whatever side’s down. I wake up, and tear it up.
‘
Saw the wreck of the Sibona, and a boat from Belize today. Beautiful tragedy, that. The Sibona is a ferrocement boat, which has a cement hull that the Japanese started building in WWII, the later. Anyway, the thing sank. Turns out cement is heavy. (just kidding, it’s not).
Ruth is at the helm, and it’s time to take the sails down. Gotta run.
XOX
Big J
11-21-07
Hi, I’m back. We’re trying like hell to get an internet or phone connection around here. We’re at Chub Cay, at a marina that’s like $112 a night to dock… I don’t think so, buster. We were in a litte river though, and decided to poke around in the dinghy looking for conch and checking out this boat that sank hitting something we hit too (but didn’t sink), and while there, we see two kayaks going out into the gulf, floating with the current. We haul ass, paddle like hell to ‘em, get one, I jump in it and get the other, Ruth jumps in it, we paddle against the current to shore, and saved someone their kayaks. Probably they beached ‘em and the tide came in and they floated out. So the owner’s dad said the son was out lobstering, and “he’ll be so grateful he’ll give you his bucket of lobsters,” blah blah. “He’ll come by your boat and thank you,” etc. Son pokes around, never does stop by to say thanks, and eventually we decide to come in and try to use the internet, and buy bread. We land our dinghy on a posted, private beach, right in front of the guy’s house, and he’s out on the porch. We ask if we can keep the dinghy there for a few and he hems and haws, after all that. His son is there, and not until I say “did you find your paddle?” does he say “yeah, thanks.” Nice guy. And polite! Wow. The dad’s name was Bill, by the way.
So we leave our dinghy there, and walk into the spendy marina, and the whole place is some bummed out ghost town. Half built. No progress recently. Overstaffed, and still empty. Few, if any, guests. But strangely enough, they let us use their internet and gave us the password and everything. We told them we were friends of Bill’s. So here we are in the sales office of this place waiting to get kicked out. Wondering if our dinghy will go out with the tide, we pulled it up on shore, where Bill said it was okay, but forgot to tie it, and we’re just hoping to get a cell signal to tell everyone why we’re not writing or an internet signal for the same purpose. We’re pretty much underneath a giant cell tower, but… no signal.
This sales office is SUPER bummed out. It’s all these nicely lit posters of what this place would look like one day if they hadn’t run out of money. I feel bad for the owners.
Anyway, again, I just wanted to apologize for leaving Bimini without telling people where we were going, and why they weren’t hearing from us. That’s the bulk of my purpose in writing at the moment. While I’m on the subject, I should probably say that the next plan is to swing around to Fraser’s Hog Key, really the other side of this island, and then maybe at some point down to Providence/Nassau to buy skin cream, propane, a car stereo, bread, etc. And hopefully, to write to everyone, and maybe even call. After that, possibly up to the Bight of Abaco (supposed to be good fishing), and then maybe to the Exumas. We really don’t know where we’re going. We just know it’s beautiful, relatively untouched, and no internet. No bread. Oh, and tomorrow, we’re going fishing.
I’m going to abruptly say this, before we lose signal, or get thrown out… Please know we are safe, hanging in calm waters, sheltered harbors, nice weather, beautiful scenery, and can’t write home. Please pass the word, we are fine, but can’t communicate often. We hope to write online maybe once a week if we’re lucky, and I imagine there are stretches of the Bahamas where there will be no internet for weeks. I hope you understand, and have faith that we are fine and love you all very much. I guess I have a birthday coming up, so if that comes up, maybe at like a prescribed time, let’s say, 9pm, Eastern Time, November 25, you raise your glass to me, and know that somewhere, I’m raising my glass to you, and that’ll be my birthday present. If you are reading this, you know that I love you very much. Okay, less typing, time to send this!
Your pal,
Jack
Well, we just left Bimini. I wished I could have had email signal (coming in free from the Big Game Club often) before we left so I could send a farewell to the family, at least for a week or so. When we went to leave, the engine, she’s a no-start. She’s a cruel mistress, the engine. It sucked because we were going to leave with two other boats, really cool cats too. Had an amazing lobster/fish/redbeans n rice/potato feast with ‘em all last night. Oh yeah, and some vodka. Good times, they tell me.
It turns out after some playing around that the saltwater had made it’s way into the engine compartment and seized up the starter, but I got that sucker working by and by. It’s crazy how the salt made it’s way in here. It was through the boat, as I’ve documented, but tools that never got “wet” still seized from all the mist, and thus, corrosion.
My skin is still royally fucked up. I hoped leaving our beloved beasts might bring some relief, but alas, not yet. I think I’m in a vicious cycle where it can’t heal because I tear the hell out of it in my sleep from getting hot on whatever side’s down. I wake up, and tear it up.
‘
Saw the wreck of the Sibona, and a boat from Belize today. Beautiful tragedy, that. The Sibona is a ferrocement boat, which has a cement hull that the Japanese started building in WWII, the later. Anyway, the thing sank. Turns out cement is heavy. (just kidding, it’s not).
Ruth is at the helm, and it’s time to take the sails down. Gotta run.
XOX
Big J
11-21-07
Hi, I’m back. We’re trying like hell to get an internet or phone connection around here. We’re at Chub Cay, at a marina that’s like $112 a night to dock… I don’t think so, buster. We were in a litte river though, and decided to poke around in the dinghy looking for conch and checking out this boat that sank hitting something we hit too (but didn’t sink), and while there, we see two kayaks going out into the gulf, floating with the current. We haul ass, paddle like hell to ‘em, get one, I jump in it and get the other, Ruth jumps in it, we paddle against the current to shore, and saved someone their kayaks. Probably they beached ‘em and the tide came in and they floated out. So the owner’s dad said the son was out lobstering, and “he’ll be so grateful he’ll give you his bucket of lobsters,” blah blah. “He’ll come by your boat and thank you,” etc. Son pokes around, never does stop by to say thanks, and eventually we decide to come in and try to use the internet, and buy bread. We land our dinghy on a posted, private beach, right in front of the guy’s house, and he’s out on the porch. We ask if we can keep the dinghy there for a few and he hems and haws, after all that. His son is there, and not until I say “did you find your paddle?” does he say “yeah, thanks.” Nice guy. And polite! Wow. The dad’s name was Bill, by the way.
So we leave our dinghy there, and walk into the spendy marina, and the whole place is some bummed out ghost town. Half built. No progress recently. Overstaffed, and still empty. Few, if any, guests. But strangely enough, they let us use their internet and gave us the password and everything. We told them we were friends of Bill’s. So here we are in the sales office of this place waiting to get kicked out. Wondering if our dinghy will go out with the tide, we pulled it up on shore, where Bill said it was okay, but forgot to tie it, and we’re just hoping to get a cell signal to tell everyone why we’re not writing or an internet signal for the same purpose. We’re pretty much underneath a giant cell tower, but… no signal.
This sales office is SUPER bummed out. It’s all these nicely lit posters of what this place would look like one day if they hadn’t run out of money. I feel bad for the owners.
Anyway, again, I just wanted to apologize for leaving Bimini without telling people where we were going, and why they weren’t hearing from us. That’s the bulk of my purpose in writing at the moment. While I’m on the subject, I should probably say that the next plan is to swing around to Fraser’s Hog Key, really the other side of this island, and then maybe at some point down to Providence/Nassau to buy skin cream, propane, a car stereo, bread, etc. And hopefully, to write to everyone, and maybe even call. After that, possibly up to the Bight of Abaco (supposed to be good fishing), and then maybe to the Exumas. We really don’t know where we’re going. We just know it’s beautiful, relatively untouched, and no internet. No bread. Oh, and tomorrow, we’re going fishing.
I’m going to abruptly say this, before we lose signal, or get thrown out… Please know we are safe, hanging in calm waters, sheltered harbors, nice weather, beautiful scenery, and can’t write home. Please pass the word, we are fine, but can’t communicate often. We hope to write online maybe once a week if we’re lucky, and I imagine there are stretches of the Bahamas where there will be no internet for weeks. I hope you understand, and have faith that we are fine and love you all very much. I guess I have a birthday coming up, so if that comes up, maybe at like a prescribed time, let’s say, 9pm, Eastern Time, November 25, you raise your glass to me, and know that somewhere, I’m raising my glass to you, and that’ll be my birthday present. If you are reading this, you know that I love you very much. Okay, less typing, time to send this!
Your pal,
Jack
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