LLCOOLJ was right... pudding IS delicious

Bahamian license plate
Feeding the pigs at big majors- they swim to your boat!
Shady tree
Palm at Warderick Wells
Otis and the whalebones on Warderick Wells beach

More ugly sunsets
Ours is the boat on the left
$82 worth of groceries. No I'm not kidding.
Ruth on a palm.

RUTH Dec. 30, JANUARY 4, 2008

Dec. 30th
Soooooooooo, we are in Staniel Cay right now and will
be celebrating the New Year here. It is jam-packed
full of richies on their huge three story yachts.
Yikes. They are tolerable, but the other cruisers
anchored out and the locals are very cool. Jack saw a
nurse for his skin issues and the office visit plus
five bottles prescription cream, one bottle
prescription shampoo, and prescription antihistamine
was altogether 48 bucks! Chris put it well when he
said something like “Back at home, you can’t even see
the receptionist for that much!” On the other hand, a
can of corn is three bucks. Or was it 3.50? Either
way, corn is good.
We’ve been at Staniel for only three days but it feels
like one week! We’ve done so much and met so many
great people! Friday night we were anchored in this
large anchorage on the west side of Big Majors Cay.
That is the island where the pigs live. They come out
on the beach to be fed by intrigued cruisers and they
will even get in the water. We’ve also heard reports
of them swimming and actually trying to climb into
people’s dinghies! On Friday we caught a dinghy ride
with Conrad and Sally to Staniel to see Nurse Gray and
check out the territory. It is really really beautiful
around here. The Bougainvilleas are vivid and
colorful. The island is surrounded with scattered
reefs. There are a couple small grocery stores, a
clinic, a hardware, the works. Pickin’s are slim. The
marina is for big shots but its got a nicely
overpriced bar and restaurant that is a good hangout.
We shot back to our boat on Barry and Susan’s dinghy
and that night everybody and their mom got together on
a nearby beach for heavy hors d’oevres and drinks. Dan
and Morning Glory gave us a ride to the party on their
dinghy. In anchorages like this, people are constantly
scooting around on their dinghy visiting other boats.
We’ve met more people this way than on land. We didn’t
realize that when we bought our dinghy, which is
inflatable and oar-powered. Oar Power! We only
thought we would need it to row into shore from time
to time. Everybody’s been great though. We’ve been
offered rides so many times, and its been invaluable
when we wanted to get into shore during a strong wind
or current, or when we desired to join the rest of the
big kids snorkeling. In fact, tomorrow we are getting
a ride from our French Canadian friends, Sebastian and
M.C., out to some of the nearby reefs for some lobster
grabbing! Today we went out, but we followed them in
our boat (since we can get so shallow), but we were
consequently restricted to one area whereas they were
hittin’ up multiple spots.
Anyway, the get-together on the beach was a huge
success and, like last time at Warderick Wells, we
were the last ones on the beach with Dan and Morning
Glory. The party don’t stop till the break of dawn
bitchezzz!!!
Saturday was a super fantastic fun day! It started
with us practically beaching our boat on the pig
beach! There are only three pigs – one honkin’ big
brown male and two big pink females. I call them
Pinkie and Priscilla. While we were there, only Pinkie
and Priscilla came out and Jack fed them moldy bread
(and a dead body we had been stashing away). There
was a big sloppy pile of, well, slop, on the beach
that the pig mamas crammed their face in! It was
pretty gross and awesome at the same time. What a
unique thing to witness! Afterwards we went for a swim
and I am so buoyant in the salt water that I can swim
a fairly far distance by merely kicking my feet,
keeping my hands at my side – no fins! I can’t get
over swimming around in the crystal clear. It’s such a
wonderful feeling! Especially in the N to the U to the
D to the Eeeeee!!!!
After that super adventure, we motored around the
corner till we almost reached the shore of Staniel
Cay. LOVE having a small draft! We can go anywhere! We
anchored so close we can practically leap onto shore!
It’s a real short dinghy ride and it’s nice to have
the land so accessible. We anchored around 1 o’clock,
just in time to fly onto the beach and catch the local
cookout! Mac n’ cheese if you please, chicken lickin
keeps on tickin, beans n’ rice, oh so nice. Afterwards
we went to the Isles General store to round out our
hardware supply…Dan gave us a 30 gallon water bladder
that he didn’t need anymore!!! What a gift! Jack and I
put it in last night (although J did 99 doin’ fine
percent of the work). We continued our journey through
this small town by hitting up the Pink grocery store
(haha, there is a Pink Grocery and a Blue Grocery –
awesome). We bought a small amount of goods. The food
and hardware are on the expensive side, as always.
Last night was the Staniel Cay Yacht Club’s Pirate
Party. Those who knew of it beforehand came dressed up
and there were winners at the end of the night for the
best male/female costume. Beforehand, we invited Dan
and Morning Glory over to chill. They really enjoyed
our Velcro System, in which every G.D. thing that will
fit is velcroed on the wall or ceiling! Haha, I guess
it never occurred to me how ridiculous it looks – or
what a sweet method it is! Go Jack! We received a
surprise visit from a couple anchored nearby who
wanted to check out our boat. Martha and David were
their names and David is from Australia. CRICKEY! He
ACTUALLY said it. And I told him it made my night.
That was my first authentic Crickey experience and
boy, was it golden.
After awhile, we moseyed on over to the yacht club’s
bar & grill for the Pirate Party. It was packed!
Bahamian music was blaring. There was a little
drinking, a lot of dancing, and a lot of introducing
and meeting new people. It was a lot of fun! Even
better though was when a local told us about the bar
and disco down the street called Happy People, where
the local DJ was spinning, the locals were hanging out
playing pool and dancing. We quickly waltzed on over
to it and proceeded to dance the night away to the
sweet and succulent Bahamian tunes!
Jack just informed me that him and I were both picked
from a drawing to be a part of the sloop races! These
are traditional New Year’s sailing races that have
been going on since the 70’s. We are going to get to
ride on authentic Bahamian sloops with expert Bahamian
speed sailors!! The only downside to it is that we
were picked to ride on separate boats but the good
part is we are performing in the same race! I will be
on the sloop “Termite” and Jack will be on “It’s
Magic.” This will go down tomorrow morning at 10:30! I
can’t wait! It is supposed to be a really intense race
where you are advised to wear shoes and gloves. I am
so grateful that Dave mailed me those sailing gloves
right before we left for Miami! SO GRATEFUL! Thank you
Dave!!! The gloves will be put to real good use!
To sum up my entry, I would just like to say that when
we were out snorkeling today I turned from my intended
direction to check out a dark coral head. The water
became a little deeper and as I got closer I noticed a
species of fish I had never seen before in the coral.
I couldn’t believe my eyes! It was flounder-shaped but
with really big eyes and thin, intricate designs of
different colors delicately scattered around its body.
Its color was a mix of shiny but soft pastels. One of
the most interesting and beautiful fish I’ve seen yet
on this trip! Just as I was turning my head to bring
myself out of the water and call to Jack to have a
look, I saw out of the corner of my vision a big dark
shape of a fish along the outskirts of the coral,
about 50 feet away. I thought it was a shark!!! When I
focused my eyes on it, I realized it was a barracuda!
And I thought the one I saw in Warderick was big!
This was, no doubt in my mind, about six feet long.
Picture Jack swimming under water…this fish was as
long as Jack. I wasn’t as nervous as if it had been a
shark, but I was alarmed because they are extremely
attracted to shiny things and Jack had earrings on as
well as a long, shiny Hawaiian sling! I told him about
it and we turned around and swam away with both of us
holding the sling out of the water as we left. I
didn’t leave before getting a few more good looks at
it. It had big black spots all over and looked pretty
intimidating. Fascinating though!!! It was a fairly
lengthy swim back to the boat, but we were going with
the current so we moved right along. My job was to
swim behind Jack and check behind us every so often to
make sure it wasn’t following along. Yikes!! Hahaha! I
LOVE the Bahamas!!!
JAN 4TH, 2008
Wow, can’t believe it is the big 0h-Eight! Never
thought this year would come. Let me start by giving
updates on the most recent of the recent events:
Update #1: THE RACE! The C-Class Bahamian Sloop Race
(as it is called) was one of the highlights of this
trip!!! Basically, Jack and I, along with other
sailors who signed up, were selected from a drawing to
sail with two expert Bahamian sailors and three other
regular cronies in a race against five other sloops.
Jack and I were selected to be on different boats.
Fortunate for me, I happened to choose to sail on the
quickest and nicest boat. These sloops are a slender
18 ft with a MASSIVE sail and three pry-boards. For
those who don’t know, the pry-boards slide back and
forth perpendicular to the boat so that when the boat
starts to heel, or lean, as it sweeps across the
water, the four cronies can throw the boards out and
scoot their butts high up so that the boat doesn’t tip
over. (We are trying to upload a video of the
experience, so hopefully you will be able to check
that out if the picture isn’t clear enough).
The race was EXCITING!! There were three tacks
throughout the course, which means the boat had to
turn either into or away from the wind in order to
maneuver around the buoys. Right before the tacks, the
Bahamian sailor who was controlling the main sheet
(the line that controls the direction of the main
sail) would count to three and on “three” we would
have to push the heavy wooden pry-boards to the other
side of the boat while we crawling under the boom (the
metal pole parallel to the length of the boat that the
main sail is attached to and rests upon). Then we’d
have to turn around, position ourselves on the boards
and pull them all the way out with a rope that is
attached to them while we scooted back as far and as
high as we could. All this had to take place in a mere
few seconds or else the boat would have tipped! During
the race, one boat actually DID tip and I saw its mast
dip into the water! The crew eventually got themselves
upright. Another boat actually SUNK during the race
because it was in such poor condition! The boat Jack
was on actually rammed into another sloop because the
other sloop didn’t give them the proper right of way.
Everyone was fine though. The boat I was on won a
tight first place! We had a really fantastic captain
and helmsman, and a great crew!
The entire race was a battle of balance, and depending
on the heel of the boat and the strength of the wind,
we would ride either the highest and tallest points of
the planks or quickly push them in and balance
ourselves in the center of the sloop. There were
three boards on the sloop I was on – the other crew
members were two to a board and I had to manage a
board on my own! It was a very athletic workout! When
I was on the tip of my board, my feet didn’t even
touch the boat – that’s how high I was in the air.
Imagine a slender boat with a huge sail, riding the
water practically on it’s side, and me lying flat on a
board that’s hanging over the edge of the boat, trying
my hardest to keep my balance while forcing my weight
against the board so that the boat doesn’t tip! It was
soooo much fun!! The morning of the race I had run
four miles, stretched for awhile and ate a carb-loaded
meal of cheerios mixed with grapes, honey, and
applesauce. I was grateful to have had such a
refreshing start to the day because I had not known
what to expect of this race and I happened to come
physically and mentally prepared! One of the
crewmembers on my sloop (which was named Termites) was
a contributor of the Explorer Chart Books, which
practically every cruiser down here has and which we,
ourselves, use to navigate around the Bahamas. A
little side note: He complimented me at the end of the
race telling me that I did a great job getting a hang
on the balancing! Yay, I felt proud J
I owe a huge chunk of my performance to my brother,
Dave, for giving me the sailing gloves! In order to
keep yourself on the pry-boards, you are supposed to
hold onto the board with one hand and hold onto this
rope that runs along the top with the other. If it
weren’t for the gloves I would have had one hell of a
time holding on! I would have definitely chaffed my
hands too! Thanks Dave!!!

Update #2: THE COOKOUTS. All weekend, New Year’s eve,
and New Year’s day the local community put together
cookouts on the beach right in front of our anchorage.
Ribs, chicken, macaroni, beans n’ rice, veggies,
burgers, you name it. Although Jack and I eat very
well on the boat, it was nice to celebrate the holiday
by splurging a little at these get-togethers. We
certainly can’t get ribs and macaroni any day on the
boat. It was nice to support the local community too.
People are very very relaxed and extremely welcoming
and friendly here. Plenty of both locals and cruisers
attended the cookouts, and Bahamian music blared
through big stereo speakers. Twas a joyous time.

Update #3: THE STORM. Throughout the past week, we
kept hearing about the cold front that would be moving
in. We were constantly asked where we’d be anchoring,
if we’d be moving south to a better anchorage or tuck
in around the corner? Many people told us that they
would move south to find better hiding spots to get
away from the storm. The wind was predicted to start
from the NW clocking N then to NE and would blow at 30
mph with gusts up to 40! Jack and I were surrounded on
three sides by land at our old anchorage, the open
water being to the west. We were very close to staying
put but were advised by many others (with bigger boats
of course, that couldn’t tuck as far inland as we
could) to move. We took their advice and moved a bit
northeast of where we were before, and anchored
between Big Majors and Little Majors islands. We
prepared by throwing out two anchors off the bow (and
Jack eventually threw out an additional anchor off the
stern). After spending some time positioning the
anchors correctly and securely, we took down the jib
because the strong wind we endured in Michigan at the
Elk Rapids marina in September was so forceful it tore
our jib loose from the forestay. The jib flapped about
so hard and fast that it ripped, the tear being about
8 feet long. We still have the same jib (we both taped
and sewed it back together), but we were not willing
to take the risk. We also prepared by making sure we
had easily accessible water and food inside the cabin.
Jack made a huge pot full of bean and vegetable soup
and another big pot full of beans and rice with
hamburger. Mmm! The next two days were spent holed up
inside the cabin while the winds howled and the rain
sprayed off and on. There was no lightening or
thunder, and there never is. It is the strong winds
and the confused water that the wind churns up that we
needed to stay protected from. We spent the entire
second day in bed! That worked for me because I had
come down with something sickly that I wanted to sleep
off. We just read, listened to music, and slept a lot.
It’s very easy to get in hibernation mode when it is
dark, cold, and cloudy outside and the winds are
blowing hard and LOUD. The boat barely moved except
for during the night when the strong opposing current
rushed through the wide channel we were anchored. Then
it got a bit rocky, but for the most part the boat did
VERY WELL because of the anchor system we set up
(Jack’s design so he gets credit!)
Update #4: THE DOCKAGE. As I am typing, we have made
out way back to Staniel Cay and are docked at their
expensive marina. The catch is we came here earlier
to charge our batteries and since we had to pay $20
for it, Carl who works at the marina told us we could
stay for 20 hours, which is extremely nice of him.
They would normally charge us an additional $50 just
to stay. So now we are plugged into electricity and
the batteries can charge, the fridge can get super
cold, all the electronics on the boat can charge and
we can use our computers endlessly to type blogs, work
on music, watch movies, or do whatever else we’d like!
J Yay!
The cold front continues, but has died down a lot. On
this side of the island we can barely feel it. As it
turns out, the wind didn’t come out of the west at all
and we could have kept our old anchorage. Ah well,
best to take the precaution.
Right now we are surrounded by HUGE yachts like you
wouldn’t BELIEVE. I could compare some of these boats
to houses in Grosse Pointe. Some of the boats are
three-story, at least 200 feet long (which means $400
A DAY at the marina), most have huge flat screen TVs
in the “living room” near the back of the boat, and it
wouldn’t surprise me if there were about seven more of
them throughout the boat itself. Some of these yachts
are big enough for four families (at least) to travel
on together. Haha, I took a picture tonight that makes
Fiberglass Vengeance look like an ant compared to
these monsters. Despicable! (and I mean its despicable
to have such a big boat!!) I LOOOOVE our boat so much
its unbelievable!!! Yay Johnny!!!!
Last but far, far, far from least: I just want to
mention that while we were holed up in our cabin
during the front, Jack and I studied the Explorer
Charts for the south half of the Exumas and wrote up
an itinerary. It covers what we’d like to do here in
Staniel Cay and everything in between here and
Georgetown. We are giving it all the time in the
world, but we have numbered it according to region.
It’s a REALLY cool itinerary and rather than explain
it, I will just jot it down for you:

1) Staniel Cay –
a. fill up on water, gas, work online/post blogs/check
email, stock up a bit on food
b. snorkel Thunderball Grotto (where the James Bond
movie with Sean Connery “Thunderball” was shot, along
with other Hollywood flicks), snorkel the plane wreck
nearby, possibly go lobstering along the surrounding
reefs
2) Black Point –
a. Snorkel caves on the way sailing down
b. Snorkel submerged wreck at beach near Black Point
marina
c. Hike the trails past Dotham Point to the White
Horses cliffs (cliffs that are said to resemble white
horses)
d. Log onto internet at local café to post blogs of
our amazing experiences!
3) Jack’s Bay –
a. Snorkel submerged wreck and coral heads near beach
b. Spear Fish Baby! Hawaiian Sling it uP!

4) Lil’ Farmers Cay –
a. Water, internet, grocery, electricity 1.25/ft, many
amenities

5) Sail South
a. Snorkel cave south of Big Galliot Cay, snorkel
submerged wreck by Marina at Cave Cay, snorkel plane
wreck near Little Lansing Cay

6) Sail South
a. Check out plane wreck @ Tea Table Rock 23, 48
b. Lobster and fish between Prime & Bock Cays 23, 49
(plenty of coral heads and reefs)

7) Lee Stocking Island –
a. Hike Perry’s Peak, the tallest point in the Exumas
b. Snorkel wrecks at 76,06 and 76, 03

8) Barrataria –
a. Ice-cream, boat building, produce, H2O, gas, wreck
off of Little Hog Cay 23, 42

9) Georgetown

JANUARY 4, 2008 I feel so good I can hardly stand it!

Another hideous sunset
Cottages at Staniel
Cottages at Staniel 2
Sunset reflected in the water
Warderick Wells anchorage

(Editor’s note: because we’ve had such trouble getting online, we are posting sometimes several blog entries at a time, as we’re able. So make sure you check the archives of recent entries, since most likely only the very most recent one will show up in front of you.)

JANUARY 4, 2008
I’m the richest man in the world. I have, in my possession, the following:
9 Histal antihistamine tablets
3 tubes of skin cream
a solar shower FULL of 2 ½ gallons of water
30 gallons of water on the boat (not saltwater, either)
20 gallons of gas
16 oz. bag of potato chips marked “not for individual sale”
16 oz. of fudge ripple iced cream in my belly, along with a large hamburger and fries
one bag of oreos with some strange and different, yet wonderful middle filling
a battery bank full of power, 330 amp hours, more or less
a computer to use, compliments of Thomas J. Deater (the “J” stands for quality)
a full battery in that computer
a charged ipod, playing Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros “Johnny Appleseed”
the possibility of my candidate winning the next election
a cold fridge, including several Schweppes tonic waters
over half a fifth of Bombay Sapphire gin
the smallest boat in the harbor, parked next to boats a hundred times as large
a summer to look forward to of seeing you all
a computer full of pictures to upload and show you guys
several blogs to offer you all
sails, wind, solar panels, and all we need to move about
a new gas valve so we can actually use our propane (whoo-hoo!)
an empty porta potty, and neither of us even has to go
some books to read
a fishing pole
a ukelele
a clarinet
two steaks in the freezer, four cans of corn in the can bin
good weather in the forecast for several days
beautiful sunsets, one after the other, after the other. Maybe sunrises too. Who knows? Not bloody me, matey, that’s for sure.
dogs safe at home, smiling, all knowing, loving, forgiving
all kinds of new acquaintances, not a dud in the bunch
family and old, good friends who love us and read our silly blogs
family and friends who love us even though they don’t like reading blogs
a loving wife who has a hoody with stars all over it, blogging away across the table from me, looking deadly serious but will crack up over nothing. And who gives me kisses, always.

As I mentioned, I’m the richest man in the world. I miss you all. I hope I get a signal soon so you can read what I’m saying to you. Come visit somewhere if you can. Get near here, and we’ll come find you.

XOX,
Jack

JANUARY 3, 2008

Anchors
Cuban cigars, five bucks
Guinness 7.5%
Ruth and the Giant Pineapple, the new book
whole fish on a plate=Delicious

JANUARY 3, 2008
Jack here. Wow, it’s hard to believe it’s 2008. After people said Nostradamus said it would end in 1994, I’m still getting over the shock of still being here. I’m kidding, of course. It’s weird to see that number though. 2008. It’s odd every time. I didn’t even get used to the last… dozen or so year numbers. Anyway. How are ya? Huh?
Fine, be secretive. Ruth and I are outside of Staniel Cay, tucked up around the south side of the neighboring islands, Little Majors in particular. You could probably find it “on-line,” if you have the “internets,” they tell me. Basically, the deal is that this here cold front has been causing some fright of a wind, and besides blowin’ about sumpin’ fierce, it’s got the localfolk half bugaboo, scurryin’ about, like some chicken what been deprived of their hat racks. It come from yon’ northerly horizon yesterday abouts, and has been whuppin’ n’ hollerin’ to beat the band since. 20-30 mph winds, or 30-40, depending who you talk to, for two days, or five, depending again, on your company. We came up in here yesterday morning, running the engine trying to get some power, and basically ended up eating about $30 in gas, with little progress, trying to keep cold about $8 in food. We had a deal with Chubby to pay about $10 to charge the batteries at the dock for a few hours, but couldn’t get in, because the winds had started blowing already. We hadn’t even felt it, or the waves, because we were pretty sheltered there by the beach, except for two things, neither of which was the weather.
The first was the New Year’s fireworks, which looked like the intensity of those over the Detroit River, just smaller, and the bottom side being about 15 feet above our mast. But all’s well that ends swell, they say.
The second was when the barbecuers on the beach got done showing the races that we were in on video while they served a $15 dinner, and then afterward burning all the trash. And I mean, ALL the trash. Food, paper, Styrofoam, plastic, the trash bags, everything. We were immediately downwind of this, but don’t get jealous, because it’ll reach everyone sooner or later. That’s my number one bitch about this place: they don’t have trash disposal, so even at the dump, they just SET FIRE to all of it. It’s nuts. The club charges $5.00 a large bag, and $2.50 a small bag to dispose of your stuff, and you throw it in their trailer, and when they have a few thousand dollars worth, they drive it to the dump and set it on fire. Shit, I could have done that.
My only other complaint is that polluting the planet costs so much here. At home in Detroit, it’s FREE to burn garbage and wreck the environment. Hot bargain, that.
I suppose that’s typical human behavior though. Never knowing how good we have it and that it can get so much worse. I guess we’ll all know how much worse in good time.
Anyway, enough of such lighthearted chitter chatter. Ruth and I are holed up here, for another 1-4 days, with water, canned food, and a few books. And I’m trying to sift through the documents of what State Farm (really Hammerman and Gainer) owes me. We soaked beans for a few days in saltwater, and then made beans, burger and rice with them after cooking and tenderizing them a godawfully long time. We then took the salty bean runoff and made bean soup, just by adding a can of vegetables and some beans, burger and rice.
Ruth started to read “the Story of O,” but she says it’s a pretty miserable affair all around, so we’re going to play cards and read “the Old Man and the Sea” to each other later. We’ve both read it, but it’s a great book, with such good rhythm and focus. Some of Hemingway’s other stuff (“For Whom the Bell Tolls,” most notably) I couldn’t care less about, but I though this one was quite an achievement.
Anyway, battery power is precious, and you’ve just eaten up 9 of my 32% remaining. I must run now. Fiddledee dee, and all that rot.
XOX,
The JL

Happy New Year's

Above: Clean water after I rinsed three shirts
the view from Alan's Cay
Yet another Bahamian sunset
Bougainvillea on Staniel
Rub a dub dub, dammit


JANUARY 1, 2008
Jack here. Hard to believe it’s 08. I’m here at the marina trying vainly to get online, and so I thought I’d write my new blog. Basically, I’m sitting here watching the signal strength show full strength, and no pages will load. There’s no-see-ums biting me, flying in my ears and around my eyes particularly. They’re kind of, um, driving me, um, nuts. I can’t go in because this is the only socket around. We are trying to get online and post, because there’s a cold front coming, which means 30 mph winds, and gusts to 40. That’s more than what ripped our jib sail to shreds this summer, so we expect to jet out of here, go around the corner where it’s sheltered and will probably be inside the boat for up to 4 days, depending on how severe it is, and if it lets up.
The bugs are crazy today. Usually, there’s none. And the weather is something I’ve forgotten to really report on. Pretty much 70-75 degrees every day, and 65 at night. Water temp almost always 75 or so.
The big news here is the New Year’s Eve races. I’ll keep it brief since Ruth will most likely write too. The highlights were as follows. Ruth and I both got picked to help crew Bahamian Class C racing sailboats in the small regatta. I heard one of the two boats was a good boat, so we drew straws and Ruth picked. She went on Termite, and I went on It’s Magic. It was a trip. There were six of us, three Bahamians, Magic, Kenny, and Sidney. Bruce, an older cruiser who had raced before, and a lady whose name I didn’t get.
Before the race, we got to the starting line and our sailhead ripped free from the sail. The cats I was with grabbed twine (loosely defined) and we tied it back together. It looked horrible, and weak, and like it was about to fail. “That’ll work, mon,” says Kenny.
The Bahamians did all the talking, and the accent is so thick you are lucky if you can understand one word in ten, literally. Especially once we started because they’re shouting, half angrily at each other the whole time, a million miles an hour.
“Sail the boat, man! Sail the boat!”
“I yam, mon, whot the fuck you think I’m doin?”
“Sail the boat mon!”
“I’m sailin’ it mon, watch the point! Fix thot prybar, mon!”
”I’m the bowmon, what the fuck you think I’m doin, mon?”
”Sail the boat, mon!”
etc.
Basically, my job, and two of the others was to be ballast, full time. One other was ballast, full time, and handled lines. The boat had two pry bars, 2x10, about 8 feet long, hooked under the rails, and we crawled out to the end as fast as we could to keep the boat from tipping, two on a board, feet up in the air, to be as much leverage on the board as possible, to keep the boat from tipping because they carry a lot of sail for a small boat, and I am not sure if there even is a keel. And when the wind blew hard, we would scramble to the end. When it eased, we scrambed back in, or halfway, or whatever it called for, while Magic and Kenny screamed incoherent Bahamian at each other and the other boats.
The boat was leaking like a sieve, and Bruce got enlisted to put his feet over the large holes to slow the water coming in, while the lady (I didn’t catch her name) bailed as fast as she could.
I’m running in and out on the pryboards, and Magic is at the tiller. All was fine till we swung around a tack and hit another boat that refused to surrender the right of way.
“STARBOARD BOAT, MON, STARBOARD BOAT!”
“WHWHWHWHWHHAHSAJSJSJAHAJJSJSJAJJA!!!!!”
“STARBOARD BOAT MON! WHOT THE FUCK YOU DOIN? OH, fuck. STARBOARD BOAT!!!”
BOOM!
The other boat was coming from our portside, at a 90 degree angle to us, and both of us going fast for the same point. We swing to the starboard at the last moment, they swing to theirs, and it’s not enough. Their guys are out on the pryboards, and as those sweep across our bow, they dive into the boat, and the pryboards clothesline our decks, hitting everything in their path, and our rigging.
We right ourselves, everyone is screaming at each other, or just in general, the lady is bailing (I didn’t catch her name), Bruce is holding the water out of the cracks as best he can, even as the rails dip below the water, I’m sliding up and down the board and Reggie is making blood oaths at the other boat.
Minutes later, he tightens the halyard on the sail and rips the top off it.
Everyone screams at each other, and we come in third.
Ruth’s boat won. I have no idea how we didn’t, with such a winning formula, but I guess that uncertainty is what makes it fun.
One boat sank. I think it’s still out there.
We had a great New Year’s. The first one ever where I didn’t talk to my Mom on New Year’s. That was a bit of a drag.
Okay, I have flies around my eyes like I’m a Biafran kid in a Bob Dylan song.
Gotta run.

Hope you see this soon. If you don’t, don’t blame me. I wish you all could see Staniel. It’s awesome. They have amazing food, if expensive (pumpkin bread as big as my hand for $7.50 that you would actually say was WORTH IT). Bahamian music playing constantly, nice people, good snorkeling, including Thunderball cave, I guess where they shot part of the James Bond movie of the same name. It’s a big grotto that you snorkel into at low tide (and out too, or you won’t get out) that’s supposed to have amazing fish. We haven’t seen it yet. We’ll letcha know.

XOX,
Jack

December 30, 2007

DECEMBER 30, 2007
Captain’s log, stardate as noted above. We’re in Staniel Cay. I think this is the best place we’ve been to so far. It’s bustling with sailors, cruisers, and the like, but they’re really all laid back drunks. Cool all around, generally. There’s only 83 people that live on this island, but probably fifty boats out there. We already know a few of the locals, and a lot of the boaters, since pcople are so friendly. Like everything else, this place is crazy expensive. Like $8.00 for a gallon of milk. $3.00 for a can of corn. Etc. So it’s cool that we’re floating for free, with solar power, solar shower, and that’s that. On the flipside, I saw a nurse for my skin, who put me on Histal, and gave me special shampoo, four tubes of skin cream that’s precscription, I think, all for $48.00 Including her fee. She works out of her house, and worked on me while wearing an oversize “Jamaica” t-shirt and bare feet. I went in and thought I had got her up from a nap on her day off. Super cool though. Met her, this cat Kenny that was trying (vainly) to teach me how to dance like a Bahamian, Brenda and Rhonda that cook on the beach and make awesome food, Chubby, a guy who drives a golf cart, Berky, the guy who owns the general store, and was up on a ladder painting when we got there even though he only has one arm.
We’re in the right place for the holidays, these people on the boats are super festive. Like Jim and Nancy who turned their mast and shrouds into one huge Christmas tree. There’s also a cruising regatta (race) for all the sailboats out here. We’re entering. It should be good for a laugh.
Our friends Dan and Morningglory, and Chris have all been here. Besides Jim and Nancy, Barry and Susan, Hilda and Simon, Conrad and Sally, Roger and Bonnie, Charlie and Shirley, John and Michelle, Kate and Steve, and many others whose names I can’t remember. This is great other than the fact that I can’t remember names, and I’m meeting more people every day than I ever have. Oh yeah, and today, we went lobstering (to no avail) with Sebastian and MC, who are French Canadian. Jake just walked up behind me and asked if we heard them calling us on the radio this morning. Apparently they misunderstood the name of our boat to be “Fiberglass Virgins.” So a lot of people had a good laugh at that, I suppose. Hrumph.
The community (it really is that) look out for each other, trade, share, and are super interwoven. It’s pretty cool. Most everyone is doing the same thing, going to the same “next destination,” on the same trajectory. Like most of the people we’re seeing here were at Warderick Wells with us, Alan’s Cay before that, Norman’s, all the way up to Nassau. From here to Black Point, then Georgetown eventually. I guess they play volley ball every day there, 7 days a week, starting at two everyday. I like that a lot. There’s all kinds of levels too, like retired people, competitive, non competitive, etc. Anyway, where was I?
Oh, so anyway. Dan and Morningglory were here, and they’re super cool. They jetted last night in the middle of the party, to head to Georgetown so she could fly out and get back home helping homeless people. Good people, big hearts. Dan just replaced the water tank on his boat, and so he gave us the old 35 gallon water bladder, and we spent yesterday afternoon installing it in our bilge, and running hoses up to the water pump and to the thru-hull fitting in the cockpit that we now use to fill it. We can only fill it up to 20 gallons because of the spot it’s in is only so big, but that’s more than we did have, and NO MORE JUGS. Nice.
Sure, there’s a couple people that are abrasive (okay, just one) who gets really drunk and announces how much she owns, and there was a local dude yesterday that told Ruth to come sit on his lap, and then told me to shut up when I straightened him out. We got into a bit of a pissing match, but whatever. He’s an old drunk. Good carver though. Makes really nice wood pieces. Maybe we can patch things up one day.
Staniel Cay is awesome though. Big Majors is directly to the north, maybe a quarter mile off Staniel, and there’s pigs and goats there. The pigs swim in the water, and you can feed em. It’s awesome. I guess kids here at the dark were handfeeding nurse sharks but I didn’t see that. From the dock you could see another big ol’ 6 foot stingray glide by. And today Ruth spotted a 6 foot barracuda. We split at that point because they like shiny things, and I had a spear and silver earrings on. MC (Mary Claude) got five lobster today, and a scrill, which is a delicious red fish. The rest of us got a big goose egg (read: zero), so tomorrow Ruth and I are going again and are going to learn her secrets.
Other nice things about Staniel: has everything. The Blue Store, and the Pink Store are the two groceries. Two bars, once church, one hardware, 83 residents, and one very tired hooker. They have cottages though to rent, and I think Ruth mentioned all the beautiful bouganvillea already, because she asked me how to spell it. I pretended I knew, so the joke’s on her. Ha ha ha.
She’s next to me here on the deck of the marina restaurant, we’re plugged in, and there’s free internet. But the restaurant is expensive. $12 burgers, etc. Conch $28 I think. Water is still a good deal at $.40 a gallon, and very clean, and gas is $5. Not bad, actually. We haven’t hardly used anything but water and canned food in days. But then we blow $100 at the hardware store. Beer is $4 apiece at the grocery, but liquor is more affordable. Nobody cares though, and I think in a crowd of 40 when we walked up the dock, every single one had a Kalik bottle. Kalik is the Bahamian beer, named for the sound of the cowbells everybody beats on at Junkanoo, which is on Boxing day. Don’t ask me what Boxing Day is, I forget, and don’t ask what Junkanoo means, I never knew. One day though, my friend, one day. Then I’ll forget it again. So it goes.
I sure miss you all. It feels hard to be putting more miles between us and you all, and us and the dogs. Even though it’s immaterial, really. It will be nice one day to be pointing toward you all instead of away.
On that note though, we are wondering what our next stop will be. Most people stop at Georgetown and head north again, but Chris is going to keep on, and Dan hopes to make it to Panama. I guess it’s crazy cheap there, and really nice. If we have time, we probably will think about such madness. It’s a long sail home too though. Who knows. This is pretty damned nice right here. If I would have known this existed, I would have been here 20 years ago. I will DEFINITELY be back. Maybe the best spot I’ve ever visited. No shit. Just gorgeous. Wow. The only word that works.
And of ALL the boats, the big ones, little ones, million dollar ones, fifty grand ones, all the way down to our little clunker, with the wooden solar panels, and waterjugs hanging off the side, devil on the motor, and a timeless five gallon bucket of dirty dishes, of ALL of them, we have the best anchorage in the whole place. 90% have to stay on the other side of Big Majors, in a huge mooring field of a hundred boats, and the rest are paying $1.50/a foot/a night at the dock. So for us that would be like $37.50 a night. Our whole budget, basically. Anyway, of all these people, and their million dollar yachts, we are about 30 feet from shore in two feet of water. You can’t beat it. We’re the envy of the place. And of all of these people, none of them care about how little our boat is, or anything else. Everyone is positive, everyone is equal, everyone is cool. Amazing. It’s like, if I had to describe what the one uniting factor of everyone here that is more striking than any other, it would be first: that everyone is cool. And second, the afterthought, is that everyone is on a boat.
Two updates. Martha just walked up and told us we were picked for the cruising Regatta and will race on a class C Bahamian boat (these are a big deal here, and of renown), Ruth will be on one, and me on the other, not racing OUR boat like I thought. So, hell yeah. That should be sweet.
The other update is that Jake just came up and invited us to his boat for a drink. Sooooo… gotta go!

DECEMBER 26, 2007

ABOVE:
What the GPS showed after being anchored at night in the current
Our friend Hilda at Christmas
The plane wreck from the surface-if only I could get the pix from below. Watch out for blowfish and stingrays
the water heater I put in at Warderick Wells
The map to the shipwreck


Jack
Today we hiked all over the island (Warderick Wells), and then we went for a snorkel. We have to swim out at the right time, and always watch the current here, because as the tide goes in and out, up and down plus or minus three feet, the current is really intense. Like, as fast as you can swim with fins on, you just barely stay in place, but can’t go past it. Anyway, so we choose our times. Today, the highlight was a reef where we saw lobsters that were around three feet long, by other people’s estimates. I would say that would include the antennas, but either way, that sucker was HUGE. There were a few of them, actually. Pesky nature preserves and their no-giant-lobster-eating rules. Shoot. This was the first day in a while I spent any time in the water, because I’ve been kind of terrified of rubbing salt in my wounds, since my skin has still been a mess, and I regularly scratch it all up still. My latest is that I might be allergic to milk, which I sorely hope is true. If I am, that could mean the end of all this scabby madness. Dare I dream? Never thought I’d be so excited to not drink milk. Anyway, I’m waiting and seeing. And for now, snorkeling. So I’m pretty happy. It’s not gone, but better the last few days. Anyhow. I’m gonna run and go post this. I’ve been online for four hours trying to get Skype to work so I could call the family for Christmas, or December 26th, and Laura’s birthday to no avail. But then, the nice people I just met next to me let me call there, and David too. Pretty nice people around here.

Catching up at Christmas

DECEMBER 25
Jack here. Merry Christmas, y’all. It’s been a few days since I wrote, and I suppose I feel guilty for not having documented the things that have happened since I last wrote, but I’ve been so busy, and no online service. Unfortunately, with my memory, a lot of that detail is probably gone now.

What’s been up? Well, I’ll reiterate the last week if possible, and hope that I’m not rewriting something you’ve read. We left Nassau and headed for Alan’s Cay. We came in in strong winds from the east, and since it was very dark and no moon, we decided it was too dangerous to head in with all the rocks around our anchorage. So we threw anchor outside of the protected shelter of Alan’s. After a time though, it was so rough, we decided we would try to head in very slowly and try to make it. Well, we snuck in, threw anchor again and enjoyed the calm. In the morning we were shocked to see the treacherous surroundings we had barely missed. And had we gone any further before throwing anchor, we would have driven straight into some really nasty rocks too. A narrow miss for old Fiberglass Vengeance. Whew.
We went ashore and took some pictures, walked the island, and explored some ruins. The real highlight though was the iguanas that had taken over. They were EVERYwhere. And not shy either. They bite, I’m told but luckily didn’t experience it. You supposedly get a wicked infection from a bite. There was a house there built of cement that had bad structure supporting the roof, so it caved in. It was tempting to imagine coming back with a few materials on a big raft and fixing it back up. It would be pretty easy, and you’d have this amazing house in this most awesomely picturesque harbor. Except Warderick Wells, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
Next we snorkeled at Norman’s which is a bit south. That was another treacherous ride coming in. On the west side of the island, no waves, nice wind, full sail. To enter the harbor though, you have to sail around and enter from the east. Well, in the space of 50 feet the waves grew to about 4 feet. Shortly later, they were 8 or ten feet. Quite exciting, and difficult, but not impossible to maneuver in. They didn’t spook me like they did coming into Bimini. Maybe because I’m more confident, or maybe they just weren’t as confused of seas. Anyway, we were comfortable enough to take a detour out of our way to see another shipwreck we spotted in the distance wrecked on a reef.
Then into the harbor, which was scary because we were counting on these charts with our asses on the line. We ended up finding the opening to the harbor, not more than fifteen feet wide between jagged lava rocks to sailf through. And then: total calm. Pretty cool. Bless the hearts of the people that made the Explorer charts. Without them, we’d be wrecked out on that reef too.
We snorkeled about there, got conch, made conch salad, and then stayed the night. The following day we went to an airplane wreck and snorkeled it. Circled by barracuda, I was glad that I had been putting tape over my earrings, because they’re attracted to shiny things.
The airplane was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. We heard that it was basically all gone, but oh, no. It was a big old double engine prop plane that had maybe seven or ten rows of seats. Through a hole in the roof we snorkeled through to the tail Pretty fat. I took one or two underwater shots, till out of film, but I was absolutely kicking myself for not getting more shots of it. It was AMAZING. And underneath, big ol’ red snapper and a couple big grouper. Maybe two feet. So I go get the Hawaiian sling, kind of a poor man’s speargun, and go fishing. Chase off the barracuda, and try to get over under the wing to take the shot. My wet suit is so buoyant though, and the current crazy strong from the tide coming in that I just couldn’t get under that wing for more than a second before letting go, and floating to the top, missing the shot. SO, I look around for something to hold onto to keep under water for a few seconds. I reach for what I think is a piece of plane structure on the bottom, and happen to notice a pattern in the sand nearby. I realized that what I reached for, and almost grabbed was the tail of an eagle ray about six feet long. OKAY, I guess I won’t grab that. So I dive down, get under the wing, putting my shoulder to it to stay down, and pull back my sling at this big grouper.
BOOM. I shot that sucker, and it puffs up HUGE. What I thought was a grouper was a big, big blowfish, and now it’s racing around under this wing with a spear through it. It’s going crazy, the eagle ray goes crazy, and I’m backpedaling like a madman, and Ruth behind me.
Whew. A minute later, grab my spear that it dislodged, and split. That was exciting. On the way out, I grab a window of the plane that is loose on the sea floor. Cool stuff. It’s on the boat now. I’ll try to post a picture.
Next was Warderick Wells, which is the most beautiful harbor imaginable. A huge sweeping crescent of electric blue water with a wrapping curve of white sand inside it. And the people here: Amazingly cool. Ruth and I have so many new friends, that we’ve made so quickly.
One of them, Chris, we met in Nassau and were hoping to see here. He’s a dog and cat lover and superfunny and cool. He’s got a boat that is an absolute work of art. It is incredible. Three stories, fifty feet long, all wood inside. Picture a wooden socket cover over a socket that is in the corner of a curved wall. Cut just so to fit in the corner perfectly. Everything on this boat is like that. Just incredible. Like a Henderson Castle on the water, but modern.
Anyway, Chris is here with us, and our friend Dan just got in last night. We had a big Christmas feast on the beach with everyone bringing a dish. Amazing stuff. A blast with all of these cool people. It’s weird. It’s not like I’m used to, where out of a hundred people you meet, a few you might pick as friends, and some that you just find to be a royal pain in the ass. Here, the rule is none are a pain in the ass, and most you would pick as friends. Maybe boating just attracts the most laid back, positive, giving people into one place. Like our friend Dan. He just offers to give us a 30 gallon water bladder. (editor’s note: he dropped it off before leaving. I can’t wait to put it in the boat. I don’t know what it costs, but it’s not free. Nice guy. The day we met him, he cooked us pizza, gave us wine, books, and a CD. It’s like everyone’s trying to pay it forward, as they say.
I just found out that Chris is willing to let me give him a circular saw, so I finally get to do something for someone else. I gave him a big hug after he let us use his computer to get a skype call out to my pore ol’ mother. He TOTALLY saved the day, and saved Christmas for me. All I wanted for Christmas was to touch base at home, and I got my wish. I talked to my mom for 20 minutes, and got to tell her to let everyone know I love them. I feel very lucky. Thanks to him, and all of you guys for making me feel that way so much. We’re here now, and Chris just gave me a beer, and we’re going to watch a Sopranos DVD that another set of cool friends lent us. The same people that sent over soy milk when they overheard my complaints of cornflakes with water because I’m exploring a possible dairy allergy.
Oh, and I forgot. Dan and Morningglory stopped by last night with a box of wine and chips and salsa. And then he announced he’s giving us the water bladder. Amazing.

Ruth-xmas in the Exumas

We are staying on this island that is the center of the Exuma National
Sea Park. It is a large area of land and water where it is against the
law to fish or take anything from the land...thus the sea, coral, and
plant life are PHENOM!!!! The other day I went out for a run on their
trails...and I quickly found out these trails are TRAILS. Like,
hardcore steep coral rock, swamp areas, way overgrown paths, beaches,
ruins from 1780, and routes under dark shady palms! I ended up
hiking/jogging (I could barely jog because the trails were so intense) and
I was out there by myself for over 3 hours! Oh my god, it was the
fucking BEST! I totally got lost in it. I'm taking Jack out there
again for Christmas and I am SO bringing the camera. On the hike I saw
numerous native birds, a fucking crazy amount of lizards and iguanas
(like over a hundred literally, darting constantly out of my path), a
snake, and a couple times I spotted
the only mammal native to the Bahamas, whose home is on this island.
It's called a Hutia. It sort of looks like an overgrown
hamster/rat. But still, cool. OH, and I also saw four stingrays when I
was walking over this small "bridge." I watched them swim around and
bury themselves in the sand. It was so sweet! So beautiful, and so relaxing.

Yesterday, while Jack napped, I went snorkeling with two other couples.
They picked me up on their dingy and we sped across the sound into
certain cuts that have a lot of coral heads (and thus a lot of marine
life). I saw the most GORGEOUS coral and the most BEAUTIFUL fish. Some
highlights: I saw a big nassau grouper, a huge redtail snapper, and a
big BARACUDA --those are scary, very very curious fish that give you a
steady creepy stare and follow you around. They have jagged, sharp
teeth...look up some pics of these fish and you can see what I saw!

Every mooring on this anchorage will be taken by the time christmas
arrives. It is filling up fast, and everyone here is wonderful!
Everyone is so laid back and so nice, with great sense of humors and a
great sense of giving and sharing. On Christmas, at around 2 o'clock,
everyone will have a potluck on the beach. Although I will miss my
family and friends greatly, it will still be a joyous time. In a sense
we will still be having a white christmas --the sand here is pure
white!

Before arriving in the Exuma sea park, we spent some time in Allen,
Highborne, and Norman Cays anchored out. Some highlights:
At Allen we saw prehistoric iguanas on one of the islands. They are
very large (few feet in length) and not at all shy...super fast and
they will charge at you! It was sweet. We also enjoyed "sundowners"
(basically cocktails and snacks) with four other couples on one of
their boats.

At Highborne we anchored out of a cold front and fueled up. The next
day we motored down to Norman's Pond - an area I wanted to see because
it had caves in the rocky coral walls. We cut through to the east side
of the islands and endured an INTENSE east wind that had churned up
the waves hardcore. Most of them were literally ten feet, yet they
were still manageable (at least Jack was able to manage them..)
because although steep, they were rolling and far enough apart that we
could ride them. It was like being on a mini rollarcoaster for four
miles!

At Norman's Cay we tucked into a shallow area called Norman's Pond,
which was extremely beautiful. As Jack said, it looked like Gilligan's
Island. The day after arriving, we snorkeled the caves and I walked
inside one. It would take hours to describe how beautiful it was. The
reflection of the sun on the glistening water flickered along the cave
walls like a softly glowing candle. The shapes, textures, colors,
light and shadows were among the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen. I
didn't have a camera -- not that I think a camera would catch what I
was seeing-- but I will never ever forget the picture I have in my
mind of those moments. I spent about 15 minutes in one little area
just taking it all in.

The following day, we tucked into a small anchorage at the south of
Norman's cay, where we planned on snorkeling a plane wreck. This one
was just as awesome, if not better, than the first. The plane was
almost entirely intact. The body was partially sticking out of the
water, but the ceiling of the body had eroded so that you could
snorkel THROUGH the body of the plane. That was an amazing experience.
It brought me so close to the fish inside. They were swimming all
around me and some of them even began nibbling on my fingers (I was
wearing diving gloves). The two engine propellars were also intact.
The marine life was extraordinary! The fish were not shy at all. At
one point I had --no question --at LEAST thirty fish swirling all
around me...below me and to all sides of me!
Underneath one of the wings of the wreck, we spotted a couple
groupers and Jack saw a snapper too. So he went back to the boat and
busted out the new Hawiian sling we just bought in Nasseau, hooked it
up, and swam back out to spear some fish! Mmmm dinner! But get this:
first of all, the current was getting stronger by the minute, so he
was having a hard time staying still in the water and getting the
sling to shoot where he was aiming. So in order to improve his balance
he leaned down toward something that looked like a long rod of
steal...part of the wreckage. But as his eyes followed the "rod," he
noticed a certain pattern in the sand and realized it was an eagle
ray! Like, a HUGE eagle ray!!! This thing was at about four feet
across...it could have totally wrapped its "wings" around my body in a
big eagle ray hug. It was just huge. And Jack was THAT close to
grabbing its tail! ( P.S. The tail of the stingray is its "weapon" to
ward off predators or stun prey). Yeah.
That's not all though- Jack eventually finds some stability by
grabbing onto the wing of the plane and aims the sling, pulls back and
BAM! No, POOF! A big, -- i mean BIG --BLOWFISH puffs itself up. It
starts wriggling around with the spear still stuck in it. big and
spikey, churning up sand, and the large eagle ray gets up too ...it
was one of those "GO! GO! GO!" situations where we swam fast as hell
to get out of there! But at the same time, I was sooo fascinated by
the sight, I couldn't bring myself to swim my fastest. Although, trust
me, I swam away fast. Obviously, Jack didn't mean to hit a
BLOWFISH...so we figured it was a bust and went back to the boat.
Fucking inSANE though!!! :) :) :) :)

Poor Blowey :( :( :( :(

The next day we sailed about 15 miles south. We started the motor so
that we could plow through the bigger seas on the east side of the
islands so that we could check out a wreck. During this procedure, we
almost became a wreck ourselves! Bascially, the wreck we saw had
crashed right upon these hard reefs and on our way over there we had
to maneuver around the rocks ourselves, mostly by bottom reading.
There was one point where we had just taken down the sail and as I
hopped back into the cockpit from the bow, I looked out in front of us
and noticed a thick and sharp rock head sticking out of the water
RIGHT IN FRONT OF US. I just started screaming over the sound of the
wind and the water "GO STARBOARD! GO STARBOARD! GO PORT! GO
ANYWHERE!!" I just wanted to holler. Jack was quick in his movements
and he immediately slowed the motor and turned to starboard just in
time to miss it. Wow, that was a close one!

We anchored outside the harbor that night, but on our way in we saw
our first shark! (Discounting the 10 or so Nurse Sharks, which are
harmful bottom feeding sharks, that we saw in Great Harbor). With this
shark, I spotted his fin sticking out of the water, maybe 100 feet
from the boat. It looked TOTAL Jaws-like. The fin submerged and then
appeared again. It was a dark blue, gleaming, very sharp,
threatening-looking fin! It was so cool!!!

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!