Ameliorated pickles for Santa

They said this was the wreckage of a submarine, but we can't see it.



What sunsets look like off our friend Chris's boat "Koan."



The new mascot. David's ceramic devil served us well, but disappeared in the Ragged Islands in the weather.




Ruth's old man honking his horn

Peppers and sunsets

THE CULPRIT, and other photos

THIS IS THE PAN. THE HATED, HATED PAN. THIS IS THE PAN THAT BURNED MY WIFE. THIS IS THE PAN THAT MUST NOW DIE. DIE PAN, DIE! DIE, DIE, DIE! HATE! KILL! CRUSH! DESTROY!

DEATH TO PAN.

PAN DEAD NOW.

Sleep now. Before KILLING MORE PANS...



What really happened to the S.S. Minnow



The Minnow's big brother. These two were actually about 100 feet apart down in Long Island.





The hot laptop I slave over so that you can read this blog. (and express my burning contempt for pans, pots, cookware in general)





This is the view out of our backdoor at night. I have some nice sunset ones coming up of this too. That's a lighthouse ruins on the corner there, and there's the ruins of a restaurant further down the beach. We're in this awesome little cove, no other sailboat can fit in, and we had to come in at high tide to wait out this cold front. We've been here on Long Island for almost a month now, and about ready to leave, and we'll try again in the a.m. It will be our fourth attempt to get past the big waves up at the top of the island. Next is Cat Island, which is supposed to be awesome.

A HEARTY WELCOME

Ruth and I have been thinking. This Bahamas stuff is great and all, but what's missing? Something ain't right. Something... Something... Something...

You, dear reader. The answer is you.

We made this blog for our family and friends, so that they can not only know we didn't drown, and get swept off to a watery grave in Davy Jone's Locker, but so that you can enjoy what we're lucky enough to be seeing. But it's still not enough. This place is amazing.

The scenery.
The customs.
The food.
The peace.
The people.
It really is like a paradise. It just underscores how short life is, how valuable every moment is.

So, we kept thinking- maybe one of these ruins could be bought cheap, and we could fix it up, put a padlock on it, and give all of you guys the combination. That was one idea. We haven't totally given up on that yet, but we came up with something else. We're going to leave the boat here. Probably Georgetown, and leave it anchored, with three anchors out, battened down, locked up, floating. waiting for someone to come down who knows the combination.

We want to come back here sometime when we have a week off, or a long weekend, or however long, and we don't want to have to drive the boat down on a trailer, and all the rest. It just isn't practical. And for the amount this boat cost, it's worth the risk to leave it here where people of this community will keep an eye on it. And then the added benefit of that is, that you can come down and enjoy it too.

If you want to get away for a week, or however long, and just have a place to hang your hat while you stay and soak it up, we'll give you the combination. If you want to come down and hoist the sails and sail around, we'll leave detailed instructions on how to do that too. (remember, we just figured it out as we went along. You can too.)

If you want to see the Exumas, Thunderball Cove, dive the reefs or plane wrecks, or go conching, deep sea fishing, or whatever, and you don't think you'd feel comfortable tearing out of here on your own, then come down when we're here. There's beaches you can camp on, or stay on the boat. We'll be down periodically.

The only thing that would make our return better is if we brought you with us. You know who you are. Yes, you.

The only thing that would make us feel more comfortable about leaving our boat here for a year at a time, or more, without seeing it is if you checked on it for us, drank a beer on it, and watched a couple sunsets on it to make sure they're still here. Sure, maybe noone will take us up on it. And we'll always have to wonder- did they just not believe we were serious? And the boat will just sit there. Boy, that would be a real tragedy. So think if it's something that might be fun for you.

Please let us know. This is the most sincere of sincere invitations. Please, some of you, all of you, take us up on it. It's our way of thanking you for all you've done to help us get here in the first place, and for being special to us. So let us do that and express our gratitude.

We're waiting to see who will be the first one to trust that we're not joking.

Your friends,

Jack and Ruth

Ruth's post, March 3rd

Hey hey,
Today we're sitting in the tv/library room of the Cape Santa Maria resort on Long Island. We're gonna spend some time online and spend some time making music using our computers. I'm drinking a diet coke, the sun is shining bright, the sky super blue with beautiful clouds, but it is still pretty windy, 20-30 knots. We are forced to sit anchored until the wind dies, and only then can we make our move north to our next stop: Cat Island. Our original plan was to sail 30 miles east to Rum Cay, hit up Conception Island which is 17 miles northwest of Rum, and then continue on to Cat, but we are afraid we will get stuck in those places due to the weather. We've been in Long Island for about a month due to weather and my burn situation. We're ansy to get out, but since we want to see all we can while we're down here we've decided going to Cat right away is best. It is a long island and will provide much shelter and protection from wind and rough seas when moving north. From Cat we are going to keep going north/northwest to The Eleuthras, a chain of beautiful islands similar to The Exumas, but shorter in length.
My birthday was very VERY nice! Even though it landed in the middle of a cold front (dark skies, rain, heavy wind) the sun came out exactly on my birthday and it remained sunny for the entire day! Even the day after was cloudy and rainy. I felt special. Jack and I borrowed kayaks from the nearby resort and took them across the bay where we are anchored to check out these big caves on the opposite side. We spent some time at the resort using the internet and calling family. It MADE my birthday to hear my dad play the piano while he, my brother, and mom sang "Happy Birthday" and then "Sto Lat" !!!! (The polish birthday song "may you live 100 years").
Everyone at the resort was very nice and concerned about what had happened to me. We met so many wonderful, outgoing people that day! That night we had dinner there and I ordered Grouper and had ice cream for dessert! Then just as we got up to leave, the staff brought me a BIG piece of chocolate cake and everyone in the room started singing "Happy Birthday!" It turns out, John and Laura-Lee from Alabama (the sweet couple who let us stay with them at their villa the first night when the weather was really bad) bought it for me! They are SOOO NICE!! I had a wonderful time with Jack. We had so many great conversations throughout the day and the night. When we got back to the boat we ate the cake and watched a documentary called "Rush to War."
The best part of my birthday was the cake Jack baked for me! He made it from scratch using ingredients around the boat, and baked it in a pot placed IN A POT on our camping burner! He is so innovative! He put cocoa in the batter and melted sugar and water for the frosting, then on top sprinkled Craisons and small pieces of Starburst that he cut up! We ate a piece everyday for three days straight! MMMM! He also is in the process of writing a song for me using GarageBand, and it has lyrics too! I can't wait to hear it!
We are so EAGER to keep moving! Until that glorious day comes, we'll be reading A LOT, writing music, watching movies, fixing up this n' that on the boat, using the internets, and chillin on the beach. I WOULD write swimming/snorkeling but i can't do that until my back heals up a bit more! Right now I am in a VERY VERY ITCHY phase!!! (which is, of course, a great thing because it means my back is scabbing up)....I am still experiencing some pain but I am much MUCH more bothered by the constant aggravation of THE ITCH AAAALLL OVER. I totally empathize with Jack about his skin problems...I am so lucky that I will recover from this! I can't imagine what i would do with myself if I had to feel this way everyday (like him) with no end in sight! He is on predisone and antihistamines and they barely do a thing for him! Allergists and dermatologists can't figure out what the problem is. One allergist recently theorized that Jack is allergic to himself! The doctor tested this theory by injecting jack with his own blood, and where the injection took place, his skin had a reaction.
We have decided we will leave the boat in the Bahamas and fly back to the states. That way, we can fly down anytime we'd like to vacation on the boat! It will be easier to bring friends and family along with us too! Also, it cuts out a lot of the time and money we would spend getting back to the states or back to the Bahamas. Yay Yay!