Drunken Dinghy Fest...

So, here I am at last back in beautiful Grenada, at the fabulous Le Phare Bleu Marina and Resort. I thought I was coming back to varnish Daisy's toe rail. It wasn't until I was on board that Bob informed that the entire boat's interior needed varnishing. And I have only two and a half weeks to do it. This is a job that could easily take a month maybe two. Fortunately, realizing it was more work than even I (the varnishing queen) could manage, Bob enlisted the help of a local to do the sanding on the toe rail.

Photo of Le Phare Bleu... I had decided to take it all the way back to the bare wood, but after an hour of serious sanding I'd only finished about five feet of rail and there's at least one hundred and thirty feet, at that rate I'd never get the rail finished in time, let alone all the woodwork throughout the boat. So, the hired help was gratefully received. We managed to finish our days work at a respectable hour (before dark). The resort was hosting a dinghy fest in the next bay. There was a floating platform with a bar, reefed to a barge, and Dieter's Swan (sail boat) was anchored and reefed alongside the barge. Along with about 50 dinghy's all filled with all the yachties that are anchored in the bay.

Crazy Dinghy Fest... It was a crazy sight, this huge conglomerate of people all gathered in the middle of the bay, singing, dancing and generally acting like idiot teenagers.

Our launch dropped us off and we grabbed a couple of beers and joined the drunken group, as with everything in our lives we were among the last to arrive. The live band were hyping up the atmosphere and everyone was dancing, waving their arms in the air and singing along. To my surprise even Bob started to dance! There was a real carnival spirit. Having only arrived in Grenada two days ago I was seriously pale, and next to all the deeply tanned sailors I looked a little out of place, not that any of the drunken sailors cared. The party continued until dusk.

Bob on anchor duty, on the Swan... Instead of taking the launch back to the marina we made the return trip on Dieter's swan. It was a quiet sail under a full moon and totally amazing, the sea was really calm, the breeze was like silk on my skin, it was wonderful,although sadly too short. But then all good things come to an end. Back at Le Phare Bleu we headed to the restaurant for Pizza night. The restaurant was filled with the noisy group from the dinghy fest. Fortunately we found a table outside by the pool where we ate really delicious pizza's under a moonlit sky next to the ocean. Days or rather nights like this don't happen often enough.

Back to Daisy, Almost!

So, Sunday Bob and I were supposed to be flying back to Grenada to Daisy. However, as so often is the case with our travel plans, both Mother Nature and American Airlines had other ideas. Hurricane Isaac was making its way past Florida, bringing everything to a standstill, our flight out, being one of those things. As it happened, this wasn't a total disaster. Bob has had so many boat parts and equipment delivered over the last few weeks, that I was no longer able to even put my car in the garage. All these things needed to somehow, either travel with us, or be shipped out. Had we left for the airport Sunday morning with all the boxes we would possibly have been turned away, as apparently there's an embargo on boxes until September first… SIGH… typical airline crap… Anyway, I've not complained about spending a few extra days on land, although I do have so much varnishing to do while I'm there, I'm now worried that I won't have enough time to get it all done… Hopefully we will be able to fly out on Wednesday, please keep your fingers crossed for us. Cheers Daisy :o)

The Mile High Club!

I'm sure most people are familiar with the "mile high club" but if not, let me enlighten you, I'm trying to think of an unoffensive way of putting this, basically it's having sex in a plane during flight. For those of you out there who may be curious, no, I'm not a member. However, I may have been exposed recently to a couple who quite possibly are. My flight back from Columbus this week was a morning flight. I was seated in first class (having been upgraded by a very nice attendant on the check in desk) next to a very nice young lady. The couple sitting opposite us were about my age, I've never been very good at guessing the age of people. The woman, and I say woman in preference to 'lady' was dripping in fake diamonds and dressed in shorts so short there was little left to the imagination, quite inappropriate to my way of thinking, for someone of her age, or in fact any age. She wore a skimpy, loosely knitted top, without a bra. I became aware of this because her nipples stood out like corks through the top. Not that I'm in the habit of looking at women's breasts, but when she stood up in the isle in front of me it was hard to miss. She had blond 'just fucked' hair, which hung in a tangled straggly mess down her back, a sorry attempt I felt, to look like Pamela Anderson in her hay day. Maybe she was one of "The Real Housewives," the show that exposes the very spoilt, quite old, stretched face brigade, who are married to even older, very wealthy guys. For the entire flight the two of them were making out, and not discretely, the guy was practically climbing on top of her, putting his hands places one should never put hands on another, while in public. They both showed little regard for the other passengers on the plane who were subjected to witnessing their public display of affection. I was amazed that the flight attendants didn't say something. This all sounds very prudish, very Mrs Bennett of me. However, I do feel that there's a time and a place. And, while first class gives one much more room to move around, I really don't think the extra space was designed for sexual activity... Airline travel (sigh) never a dull moment!

This is Why!

I felt I had to post this, it's two e-mails received from my husband, Bob. Yet more evidence of the stresses and strains inflicted upon one through airline travel. This is by no means an unusual occurrence for my poor husband, and easily explains why he's usually stressed when traveling… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..... E-mail sent Saturday 25th August: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Hi Heather, So the plane flies us into London on the big British Summer Holiday weekend. The August Bank Holiday weekend. Down thru the clouds, out of the clear blue skies and sunshine. Down thru the clouds Down thru the clouds Down thru the clouds ................The clouds don't stop until the plane is 50ft off the ground! It’s dark, grey, overcast and drizzling. Miserable! Oh well, this is the English summer holidays. So the world and his wife, their 3 cousins, and their dog, are all at Heathrow airport... Along with the entire world contingent of wheel chair warriors, all crowding in to take part in the Paraplegic Olympic games (that I also timed my travel to co-inside with) I'm in awe of these amazing people and their incredible talents, I just really didn't need to be traveling through the airport the same time that they were ALL arriving... So I have plenty of time to one finger this update into my blackberry as I stand waiting in the long winding line. That every so often the prison guards come to extract anyone who is within 1 hour of boarding time. The rest can expect many fun-filled hours stood in these regimented ranks of the downtrodden, under the watchful eyes of the warders. Oh well I will keep waiting, and people watching. See you later, Luv Bob, …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...... Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Hi Heather, So... after an hour or so. A prison guard stands in front of the drill yard and calls out that all the prisoners who had been told to stand in line to await their sentence, if it was for the crime of wanting a boarding card, then you had received an incorrect sentence. We should have been sent to another prison So after waiting in another line. Finally I got my boarding pass. Less than 90 seconds. Great now I have been moved to a new line, where we wait to be let ride up escalators, where you wait in another line to be let ride down escalators. To wait in a line to…! (I think this must be a modern version of Chinese water torture, but I won't crack). Occasionally another prisoner can't take it, and breaks ranks to makes a break for the plane. hmmmm.... But the warders are to good for that. And they were only looking for an excuse to make an example of him. I am keeping low profile waiting my chance to slip away un-noticed, into the sanctuary of the frequent flyer lounge. (I hope I don't have to wait for the cover of darkness to provide cover, I would miss my plane) I only have 8 hours to plan and execute my escape before the last rescue plane gives up and leaves at 15:00 hrs. PS, if you get this message, send food and a file for the bars. Luv Bob, ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Daisy's Book

So, I thought it only fair, to let you all know that my book will not be published until the end of the year. I've stumbled, clumsily across so many complications of late. There's so much more to publishing a book than just writing it. The writing of a book truly is the easiest part of the whole process. That being said, I don't think the problems with my book launch will particularly interest anyone, so I won't elaborate on it any further. I do, however, realize that this will be a huge disappointment to the millions of you out there counting the days until my book is released… just kidding… I wish! Meanwhile, as the finishing touches are applied for the publishing process to begin, I'm working about 20 hours a day on the second book. Needless to say, the consequences of this are the need for a larger pant size. Sitting for hours and hours do not favor a slim figure!

Thank God for my beautiful horses, without them I don't think I would leave the house.

I'm beginning to understand why so many writers become hermits. It's so easy to live in your writing. In my case, my book is non-fiction, so I'm basically living in my past, I'm not sure how healthy that is either, especially when I'm writing about so many of my dumb blunders at sea. A life at sea will test you in every way possible, I believe that I failed so many of those tests. Fortunately I'm able to laugh at myself, and make fun of much of my stupidity. However, I'm not slow at making fun of others either. People do some really dumb stuff on boats, there's little you can get away with, without witnesses when you're living the watery life! :o)

Happy Days :o)

Daisy I'm Coming Back

As Bob makes all his preparations for his circumnavigation, I have to do my bit, even though I'm not doing the trip, there are still several jobs for me to do. In 21 days I fly out to Grenada for 3 weeks, I'm going to be varnishing, don't forget I am, the varnishing queen! At least I am to to Captain Bob. According to Captain Bob no one can varnish as well as me :o). I'll also be packing up as much of my "stuff" on the boat, as I'm allowed to carry back with me. This will be a huge relief for Captain Bob and my brother Paul, who was astonished by the amount of crap I had on the boat. It took me 5 years to completely fill every single little space on Daisy, and I'm going to have just one trip to empty it. I may be giving the Islanders a lot of things. But one thing is for sure, when I'm done Daisy will be a lot lighter, and sit much higher in the water, LOL I haven't been on Daisy since January of this year, it's going to be strange to go back, but I'm really looking forward to my time at Le Phare Bleu with Bob. We barely see each other these days, and we're not going to see much of each other over the next 2 years. I'm really quite happy living in Atlanta now. My days are so stress free, I barely know what to do with myself. I've had so much stress for so long I'm still adjusting to my easy going lifestyle. Apart from taking care of the horses which I love, and running all over Atlanta with my camera, photographing butterflies and plants, I spend my days mostly working on my writing. If everything goes to plan my first book will be published by the end of this month. I'm already half way through the second book, and I have plans for a third. So, while Captain Bob is making his watery way around the globe I'll be busy writing, marketing and shamelessly promoting my books. My first book is titled "No Fixed Address, Tales from a Reluctant Sailor" and will be available on Amazon and at Barns & Noble. My web site is currently being built, details will follow, and Nic and Robert are helping me plan a book launch party at their studio in October. So much happening, and so far all of it good. I'm hoping to find other fun

things to write about when I'm in Grenada, so watch this space :o) Back soon...

Reptile's in Atlanta

What is one to do for entertainment in Atlanta on a day when the heat's soaring to over 100 degrees?  Well I would think that it's obvious really, take a drive outside the city with Nic and her friend Holly, to a Reptile exhibit, where there were a million heat lamps burning brightly in a room filled with hundreds of every kind of reptile and critter not to mention some of the scariest looking people, and the heat inside exceeded the heat outside…  I really didn't think that was possible.

The heat in the exhibit soared as more and more people came in,  and when I say it was hot, I really mean hot.  If we were slightly sweaty before we entered the exhibition, we were soaking when we left.

The experience was bittersweet for me, because I love gecko's, snakes, lizards etc, but I'm terrified of spiders, and there were lots and lots of them in the exhibit, thankfully for me (but not so much for the spiders) they were all safely contained,  but I have to add that I really don't like seeing anything in a cramped plastic box where it barely has room to move, even if it is a spider.

The exhibit had so many incredible gecko's, some of them were really friendly and cute, whereas some of them were freaking out poor things, there were some amazing and colorful snakes, from tiny little worm size things to huge 15 + foot long Boa's.

 People were walking around wearing their pet snakes around their necks like jewelry,  I wasn't impressed, I felt as though they were exploiting the defenceless creatures, and I couldn't help but feel so very sorry for them, but that's just me, I love all creatures, but I also believe that most would be happier being left in their natural environment instead of being draped around someone's neck.  Truthfully though I have to say I don't know what scared me the most the people or or the tarantulas?

Nic's friend Holly who has several vivariums and critter tanks, bought a beautiful little gecko, rescuing it ( I felt) from further exhibits and road trips.

Nic and I resisted the temptation to set up a vivarium ourselves, we both loved the Gecko's, but weren't sure we could deal with the insects required for feeding them.
Then we saw the beautiful little rain forest frogs, so colorful and so tiny, tiny, tiny, unbeliveably cute, no wonder Bob and I were never able to spot them in the jungles of Panama, no matter how hard we looked, they're about the size of my fingernail, you would almost need x-ray vision to spot them.  We also loved the baby bull frogs, so colorful, fat, and adorable,  we actually very nearly came home with some, but thankfully sensibility took hold and we left the exhibit empty handed.

It was a hot sweaty way to spend a Saturday afternoon, but a really fun and different one,  I'm so glad I went.  Holly's little gecko is now called Gunther, I'll see if I can post a picture of him…

Life in Atlanta is turning out very different to how I imagined it would, but I'm loving the change.