tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91640463766698909752024-03-12T20:01:05.433-04:00Finally Fun!Adventures
Aboard the Motor Vessel Finally FunSharon Fellows Larrison Stepniewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09962977355812944714noreply@blogger.comBlogger102125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164046376669890975.post-69559410470505247642012-04-29T11:02:00.000-04:002012-04-30T02:25:31.348-04:00Good News Bad News - Back in the USA<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nearly 5,000 nautical miles under our hull!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Granddaughter Makenna welcoming Grandpa Andy back</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #120739;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I find myself dealing with an unexpected mixed bag of emotions. I’m delighted to be back home in the USA and able to reconnect more often with friends and family. However, a part of my soul is sadden to have left the chain of lovely, enchanting islands. <span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I now clearly understand why some boaters arrive in the Caribbean and never leave! A piece of our hearts will remain there forever. We cherish our memories of those wonderful islands and the even more delightful and friendly individuals we met in the islands and along the way. It is actually bittersweet to be back.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We made it back before Baby #3 was born!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Makenna & Picket on Finally Fun</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy Flags from the various countries we visited that we flew on Finally Fun</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Andy and I have been reminiscing about our trip and talking about things we’ll need to do as we settle back into the USA after 14 months away.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Practice driving our car before heading out into traffic. Both the car and the boat have a wheel, BUT.....</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andy driving with wheel on the right</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Remember that in the USA, we’ll need to drive on the RIGHT....and not on the LEFT as we had to do the few times we did rent a car.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Remember to look carefully before stepping out to cross a street. We’ve been looking mostly in the OPPOSITE direction as drivers are on the left for much of where we've been, even in the US Virgin Islands. The thought of Splat Like a Bug on a Windshield has haunted me the entire time in the islands and now that thought will continue until we adapt totally and consistently.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This guy is quite the talker!</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Decipher all the changes relating to How to Communicate. We need cell phones, with new phone numbers, new carriers and new contracts. How does all that overlap into computer wifi time? Ugh, how to get started and figure it all out with all the new technology and new toys seems overwhelming. Guess I’ll ask the grandkids...they ‘get’ it.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Our satellite TV faded out once we got out of range at Long Island in the Bahamas a year ago. We’ve continue to be able to pick up satellite radio and news, so it is not like we’ve been living in a cave... Do we even </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">want</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> TV back with its mindless stream of reality shows, daytime soaps and the like? </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carnival- Better live than on any TV!</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Ugggg, Style Matters in the USA. I’ve been digging in the back of our closets to find more than the T-shirts and shorts we’ve been living in for the past 14 months. Now, we’ve got to also remember to </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">change</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> those t-shirts and shorts more often....boaters get away with the tattered, stained look more often than not.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We've gotten hair cuts since arriving in the USA</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sharon's idea of Dress Shoes</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Learn to wear SHOES much more often. Dressing for dinner aboard another boat means taking a shower and putting on clean clothes. Shoes are not necessary. There is no need for them just to hop into our dingy, traverse a short distance to the other boat where we always have to promptly take our shoes OFF to enter the new boat. (Non-boaters -- the flooring on most boats is soft teak. Shoes scuff and scratch, even if ‘boat shoes’.) If I do wear shoes just for ‘show’, I often forget I had them on, necessitating a return trip the next day to retrieve them!! <b> </b></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Selling fruits & vegs boat to boat</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Get ready for the physical effect of overstimulation of sights, smells and choices. <b> </b>Grocery shopping in the USA has already proven to be overwhelming - huge stores, shelves ladened with goods, fresh meats and fresh milk. Prices are more reasonable than what we’ve paid over the past 14 months. A few islands, especially the large French islands do have large stores with many goods, but many many of the products are from the USA or other countries and are, therefore, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">imported goods</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> which translates into Expensive. <b> </b></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN0BlEK09sHlN0VdA4y6Nx5Tl5i3OXzRSYaLaNMYb1qeyNqVbT5_EadEYiGaxMo6pcyKaFz93PQztT5QGR82yJlMywEuQ-MsK4wHPDokPs3pwK0DpHPSd3jd5WttlbICvKFIkLd8bOBuYJ/s1600/IMG_3725.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN0BlEK09sHlN0VdA4y6Nx5Tl5i3OXzRSYaLaNMYb1qeyNqVbT5_EadEYiGaxMo6pcyKaFz93PQztT5QGR82yJlMywEuQ-MsK4wHPDokPs3pwK0DpHPSd3jd5WttlbICvKFIkLd8bOBuYJ/s320/IMG_3725.JPG" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Prepare for disappointment when standing in the same fancy USA grocery store aisles. I will so miss the island markets teeming with locals selling fresh fruits and produce picked off their land that morning. No Picked Green Many Months Too Early stuff there! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTfRC1UD7-nzIe_VW1u0V8xuW97YrSRL1qtIGMoIT73sYfO6kfnBJVbTnADZMnwXGVlzUAbU4_DiorvB98AfL9O2eHguJwoZeGJbeHE2D_qCcdpfCEUjyKVRKlv7RnUBiLgKeYv-WUj9ZP/s1600/IMG_3724.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTfRC1UD7-nzIe_VW1u0V8xuW97YrSRL1qtIGMoIT73sYfO6kfnBJVbTnADZMnwXGVlzUAbU4_DiorvB98AfL9O2eHguJwoZeGJbeHE2D_qCcdpfCEUjyKVRKlv7RnUBiLgKeYv-WUj9ZP/s320/IMG_3724.JPG" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I already miss the fresh papaya (Paw Paw it’s called down island); mangos of every variety large and small; limes and tiny Key Limes; bananas, especially the Fig Banana, a tiny one a little larger than a fat man’s thumb, that tastes like a blend of banana and lime; pineapples that are so very sweet and passion fruit. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No need for 'Organic' labels...it is naturally so</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I’ll have to watch my language in the grocery stores.....Cilantro was known as “Shadow Benny”, basil looks and tastes different in the islands, green beans are more than two feet long and on and on it goes. No American will be able to 'translate' for me!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fishermen patiently answer my questions</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I think we will always remember to smile & greet every store employee, taxi or bus driver, or actually everyone and anyone we encounter. It’s considered RUDE everywhere in the islands to just walk in and ask for what you want or ask a question or try to pay for something. EVERY transaction, every encounter in the islands should start with something friendly along the lines of “Hello, How are you?” </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">And waiting for the answer is important!!! </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> Then, and only then, should one segue into the transaction. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Martin teaching us how to prepare conch</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I’ll also so miss the friendly banter with locals selling their wares in the markets. Always answering my questions with smiles and sometimes laughter when I’d ask “What IS this?” or “How do I PREPARE this?” or “How do we EAT this?”, the islanders were patient. I probably <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>made their day and they definitely made mine at every encounter....even when I suspected or KNEW I was overcharged just because I was NOT a local!!</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bus station in Grenada</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I hate the thought of having to utilize our car much more often to run errands and to shop. I’ve loved catching the efficient local island buses for $1 or so as my mode of transportation when the distances were too great for our two feet. Grocery bags instead of the backpacks will be the norm now, too. Somehow, I think the islands have it right! </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Thank, Thoreau, for the inspiration...."Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! <b>Live the life</b> you've imagined.:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">And on the very positive side, we’ve accomplished our dream, learned a lot about ourselves and about other countries, strengthened our boating skills and truly learned that the world doesn't have to move at the light speed of the USA. Bigger is not better..... </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Maybe, just maybe, a tiny bit of that ‘no worry mon - we get it done’ (which translates to </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i>Whenever</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">) has rubbed off on me, the Type A....That is the Good News part!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Double rainbows are common in the islands</td></tr>
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A REMINDER TO STOP TO SMELL THE FLOWERS EACH AND EVERY DAY<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>Sharon Fellows Larrison Stepniewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09962977355812944714noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164046376669890975.post-24858710347049548972012-04-26T07:26:00.000-04:002012-04-28T11:42:40.064-04:00On a Mission - through the Keys to St. Petersburg, FL<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;">April 21 to April 26, 2012</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See FinallyFun in the middle of these storms & lightening</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC61LjUfFvIiOaElfe2hmqIR6q38Hfw-tm5UKN5vzoduq-jA90Xpz92G39mKvXXH6SwXR-SV9_qQvvMilU9rYP4YOQzEK-4XPVCBPMhr0BW0NPGhFmsnnMgfmy4jA8X8SdmSd2xOET9BL0/s1600/IMGP1242.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC61LjUfFvIiOaElfe2hmqIR6q38Hfw-tm5UKN5vzoduq-jA90Xpz92G39mKvXXH6SwXR-SV9_qQvvMilU9rYP4YOQzEK-4XPVCBPMhr0BW0NPGhFmsnnMgfmy4jA8X8SdmSd2xOET9BL0/s320/IMGP1242.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Gray and overcast</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">After an uneventful cruise from No Name Harbor south of Miami to Boot Harbor, Marathon, in the Florida Keys, we were forced to sit out another few days of bad weather before being able to cross under the 7 Mile Bridge dividing the North Atlantic</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">from Florida Bay and the Gulf </span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">of Mexico and continue on to St. Petersburg. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Too windy and too stormy to get off the boat for two of the three days, we just piddled around. The high winds finally stopped and with the sun shining, we lowered the dingy so we could stretch our legs on shore and look around. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiivF5ch1vRJZeIT12a7cO8MzXca_90gK4xWX1fo1McPvLVtTK954mo1RUyoXjlrJ-JTG7cUJ7OzDo8DkMtkYXDSVQrZto5GxahmOMxdjuL0jfBtWcEvyiguWDRXndw6adaLEE5lpfLQfUJ/s1600/IMGP1245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiivF5ch1vRJZeIT12a7cO8MzXca_90gK4xWX1fo1McPvLVtTK954mo1RUyoXjlrJ-JTG7cUJ7OzDo8DkMtkYXDSVQrZto5GxahmOMxdjuL0jfBtWcEvyiguWDRXndw6adaLEE5lpfLQfUJ/s400/IMGP1245.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Tumble down boat slips in Boot Cay</td></tr>
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</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTVNR_CrOO17PC-yrp-BLO2gKX0RKQOcqOSBgtbsHQHg5vt4xEpxbIPX8fub7_UaA2I95FNc3Si8Foh_kTS-I5XNDpgZQOej2rQTEr7AoTAT37S2U0-kLX8ASuxB2lQs40DKkB0iqTo0d-/s1600/IMGP1256.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTVNR_CrOO17PC-yrp-BLO2gKX0RKQOcqOSBgtbsHQHg5vt4xEpxbIPX8fub7_UaA2I95FNc3Si8Foh_kTS-I5XNDpgZQOej2rQTEr7AoTAT37S2U0-kLX8ASuxB2lQs40DKkB0iqTo0d-/s320/IMGP1256.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On Marathon Key</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSPc0yX3AVUoWsGwrfLZ91HLeK8O6UmAQIRxLo1fKfJTyMHx4h8YVkIQo_RHEI_b6xSd4b_5qVqUQ5UyyFcKmRh2FGIVD7wDL4YlYU3W3xubbhbwQWCVfrzGdr10taOYfXexCIcrbBiT-9/s1600/IMGP1257.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSPc0yX3AVUoWsGwrfLZ91HLeK8O6UmAQIRxLo1fKfJTyMHx4h8YVkIQo_RHEI_b6xSd4b_5qVqUQ5UyyFcKmRh2FGIVD7wDL4YlYU3W3xubbhbwQWCVfrzGdr10taOYfXexCIcrbBiT-9/s320/IMGP1257.JPG" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">First thing out of Andy’s mouth....”Let’s walk to West Marine”.....the man needed His Fix....I left him salivating in the aisles for a bit of time before finally dragging him out to a hot dog stand for a late lunch. Ah, a </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">real hot dog</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> with spicy mustard and sauerkraut. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Onlookers must have thought we were pigs or deprived or depraved....smacking our lips, mustard and juice running down our arms, grinning from ear to ear as we inhaled the first hot dogs we've had in over a year....lordie that was GOOD. What a welcome back to the USA!!!!</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrbPwElr4VZGk1DdTi8gPalE1ogroJcaR6q5rMjgb34kET59_vqkBRwfpm0Rbea_RE0QEwzcS8bDdGC_LYQWiOSWN2LoQ0Rgr09s1jfpE3xSv47TR0oRfRbiSXA3OPF_qAb_vhSz8jVMFL/s1600/IMGP1259.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrbPwElr4VZGk1DdTi8gPalE1ogroJcaR6q5rMjgb34kET59_vqkBRwfpm0Rbea_RE0QEwzcS8bDdGC_LYQWiOSWN2LoQ0Rgr09s1jfpE3xSv47TR0oRfRbiSXA3OPF_qAb_vhSz8jVMFL/s400/IMGP1259.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise out of Boot Cay</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The weather cleared a day sooner than predicted, but still marginal. We left anyway, with Marco Island as our destination, some 80+ miles and approximately 11 hours away. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Oops, not too long after departure, the port engine continued it’s upward temperature creep. We’ve been watching this phenomena for a few days and Andy’s troubleshooting has turned up Nothing, Nadda. The temp doesn’t exceed the ‘normal’ range, but the port engine temp is higher than the starboard engine. We suspect the heat exchanger is giving us the problem, clogged with perhaps parts of old zincs or the mushy stuff left over from decaying seaweed, etc. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We had this problem before after spending 4 months in Key West a couple of years ago. Mushy decayed stuff turned out to be the problem. We had a metal rod made to ‘bore’ out that yuck one little hole at a time, whixh takes a LOT of patience and a great deal of time. Andy is not willing to take any more things apart to get at that exchanger until we are settled in a marina in St. Pete. We’ll simply keep the RPMS lower and just go slower...no big deal.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7lwMMkDnJZkN5sGQxIUBKd-237L-NeM7O4NCkpJh_b4-mmfZMHzakPtGaGfyrDBMs93grb5K-blHETN4IY3OyVdZtEQ2JBwLhVrl6DJnwmtsyArxPyt4on6KvnPhE-Yuz50yfjAaBjRSQ/s1600/IMGP1266.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7lwMMkDnJZkN5sGQxIUBKd-237L-NeM7O4NCkpJh_b4-mmfZMHzakPtGaGfyrDBMs93grb5K-blHETN4IY3OyVdZtEQ2JBwLhVrl6DJnwmtsyArxPyt4on6KvnPhE-Yuz50yfjAaBjRSQ/s400/IMGP1266.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See Finally Fun headed for Little Shark River</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsEo6G4l8pAodf4Z-u5YyND89ArOOzIPNJgXVP3tYx0UDFeIrFakeUh6PS-MnaAcC3U8B7iFd7yRyex6eglHfr_dZKHPB4EnJtWAiYO_4ivtiRFs5e5T6fKahEK9fLjNeg7Ef1m1Ewpr3V/s1600/IMGP1267.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsEo6G4l8pAodf4Z-u5YyND89ArOOzIPNJgXVP3tYx0UDFeIrFakeUh6PS-MnaAcC3U8B7iFd7yRyex6eglHfr_dZKHPB4EnJtWAiYO_4ivtiRFs5e5T6fKahEK9fLjNeg7Ef1m1Ewpr3V/s320/IMGP1267.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entrance into Little Shark River - muddy!</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Quick calculations confirmed our thinking.....at the slower speeds, we were not going to make Naples before dark. Love the Just in Time mentality and the Boy Scout/Girl Scout mantra of “Be Prepared”. </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> We reset our course for the Little Shark River, off Ponce de Leon Bay. Located at the tip of the Florida peninsula, the river is a gateway into the primitive and remote mangrove islands of the Florida Everglades. I was excited that we were going to be there after all! </span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB57r8s4Ww0rkQOkkp0lx7ktq0KFxNoVr44TgcW2NUiG-y3P8RWG3heX5BP9wNt4GhIom38UhMo3Rkah0GBC0pgBAYrHw5iQR1Ys7XBMyvSAj_FMxfT9U8AScvxndQfKw0i4wkoJJKbGxU/s1600/IMGP1261.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB57r8s4Ww0rkQOkkp0lx7ktq0KFxNoVr44TgcW2NUiG-y3P8RWG3heX5BP9wNt4GhIom38UhMo3Rkah0GBC0pgBAYrHw5iQR1Ys7XBMyvSAj_FMxfT9U8AScvxndQfKw0i4wkoJJKbGxU/s320/IMGP1261.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fish Pot </td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisO-eYz8S7QHKETy_EO27u9q8aH4_9F0_cIIDxjz3iG6fBNsqp86GoAgjBhuW1il6SNlypDe_O_6luv2P8E56rsp6mXeMeYUmOb4uYaI16U3rhi2KZ34Z20sH8gQQwzfpG3Qrtg74s2JGN/s1600/IMGP1265.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisO-eYz8S7QHKETy_EO27u9q8aH4_9F0_cIIDxjz3iG6fBNsqp86GoAgjBhuW1il6SNlypDe_O_6luv2P8E56rsp6mXeMeYUmOb4uYaI16U3rhi2KZ34Z20sH8gQQwzfpG3Qrtg74s2JGN/s320/IMGP1265.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Camera doesn't capture the color of Poo Water</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Bouncing along for 7 hours, with cold winds keeping us in jackets (this is APRIL 24 in SOUTH FLORIDA......what is this!) I felt as though I was riding a galloping horse all day. Up, down, same cadence -- only my butt didn’t end up hurting, thanks to the helm chair vs a saddle. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">There were hundreds of fish pots, in strings of 15-20+ each, forcing us to be more than alert constantly and forcing us to move left or right more often than not. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Unlike the beautiful aqua water we’ve grown so accustom to cruising in, the water here, due to several days of high winds, is a strange shade of yellow brown, reminding me of new born baby poo. Disgusting, actually. </span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWvryofNkDBVW9PfszoryRWRuCa6skrOufE4QhGjCasMzSDxlEYCOZsDtoPLGnqfRnK8frHs0JhmEJzjyVygxi3KvkX4wVkyCsX_YxAtp8jywCWVGC2HKgx38YSFA0zimRDvvyOZHmQsaB/s1600/IMGP1268.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWvryofNkDBVW9PfszoryRWRuCa6skrOufE4QhGjCasMzSDxlEYCOZsDtoPLGnqfRnK8frHs0JhmEJzjyVygxi3KvkX4wVkyCsX_YxAtp8jywCWVGC2HKgx38YSFA0zimRDvvyOZHmQsaB/s320/IMGP1268.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little Shark River </td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Dropping the anchor at the mouth of Little Shark River, we lowered the dingy and took off to explore, being very careful to pay close attention to where we were and how to get back! One does NOT want to be lost in the Everglades! </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Y5DBrVl-1kQbwvP5W_N3dLa30TV8sjQq_ZoDnkFW2L8yGhso6BX1dQVik_Ctv3PWa6jdyfighOIHyczsP5jAbY7fRFkAaBk_pTbpPK_GYORslOk5ygzj3OsZbmviQ7vRtxLuwNOHPPtl/s1600/IMGP1291.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Y5DBrVl-1kQbwvP5W_N3dLa30TV8sjQq_ZoDnkFW2L8yGhso6BX1dQVik_Ctv3PWa6jdyfighOIHyczsP5jAbY7fRFkAaBk_pTbpPK_GYORslOk5ygzj3OsZbmviQ7vRtxLuwNOHPPtl/s320/IMGP1291.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Up into the Little Shark River</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This River is full of channels off the main channel and channels off the little channels. We only took left turns in the dingy, so we could have some sense of how to get back!!</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy8Uibgp5kPjwozZoK1Hi5kcFyjtvlZeqY66IuBGpR3YgfIjaNpDLf_bkPb-fYSo0kavcSgvW3a3u07MuGaDVNSNidHeY4ywdgtadc2GWSMYvgWf39LETxkegJIOpsnODo0yLpuMwjKT5g/s1600/IMGP1284.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy8Uibgp5kPjwozZoK1Hi5kcFyjtvlZeqY66IuBGpR3YgfIjaNpDLf_bkPb-fYSo0kavcSgvW3a3u07MuGaDVNSNidHeY4ywdgtadc2GWSMYvgWf39LETxkegJIOpsnODo0yLpuMwjKT5g/s320/IMGP1284.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mangroves galore!</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv9yydgdN3urBd09vL3eQzkcWPJ1iOvWGKR4mTbYaJzu5soBfT-ckb7k5abUYww0AZ1NT2XlcitALIlKjMrcX8nb3Doo-J8kHzNbRWyH9jZMqjsK3DK_I41z7ZcDIxU8SjFFGfyVWSBasS/s1600/IMGP1289.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv9yydgdN3urBd09vL3eQzkcWPJ1iOvWGKR4mTbYaJzu5soBfT-ckb7k5abUYww0AZ1NT2XlcitALIlKjMrcX8nb3Doo-J8kHzNbRWyH9jZMqjsK3DK_I41z7ZcDIxU8SjFFGfyVWSBasS/s320/IMGP1289.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I was disappointed to see virtually no wildlife after two </span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">hours in the dingy cruising up </span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">and down and around in the scenic twisting and turning River. I was so hoping to spot an alligator, which having lived in Florida for many years, I’m pretty good at spotting and co-existing with. Crocs live here too, a bit of trivia I'd not known </span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">until reading the Guidebooks a couple of years ago. No matter, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a gator and a croc and have no desire to get close enough to even try! Our Grand Total: 1 Pelican; 2 Herons; 1 Hawk with Fish in Mouth; One boat with 2 Fishermen. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5orHv_1Qtn__ZH9xDYa4DBjpjTynIvs0gfKev8dzTuUbNAzBUbDJd3lZ1EACZyRT2rq6yTUQJPDrjJB6yTpfSj-SQ9sflmkN-gxT5617Adt8CDMf0dWnoDFWbHBRU0vRWv3NHYvlZwFAU/s1600/IMGP1282.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5orHv_1Qtn__ZH9xDYa4DBjpjTynIvs0gfKev8dzTuUbNAzBUbDJd3lZ1EACZyRT2rq6yTUQJPDrjJB6yTpfSj-SQ9sflmkN-gxT5617Adt8CDMf0dWnoDFWbHBRU0vRWv3NHYvlZwFAU/s320/IMGP1282.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pelican</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> At least we didn’t get eaten alive with mosquitoes and big black flies. The cold front and high winds are keeping those critters away!! </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcAAEP0J-DCYxGgLVZhuyI5cU-oT_WRcg8fBfzfMIxzZbMnwuA-j72G0U0EPWdKMP0fnpu7_VKDW0etfT9ZHKeS6JItw6tfs_9LnL5nUCCVXClab2Hn25sRpRYWfU2P1Lh1mZbH6wpl3wt/s1600/IMGP1322.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcAAEP0J-DCYxGgLVZhuyI5cU-oT_WRcg8fBfzfMIxzZbMnwuA-j72G0U0EPWdKMP0fnpu7_VKDW0etfT9ZHKeS6JItw6tfs_9LnL5nUCCVXClab2Hn25sRpRYWfU2P1Lh1mZbH6wpl3wt/s320/IMGP1322.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Note bent metal rod holding anchor roller</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Now what!?? Pulling the anchor at first light in Shark River, the anchor suddenly did not seem to be coming up correctly at the last 35 feet, squealing and moving up too slowly. How in the world the large steel pin holding the anchor roller bent, coming apart out of the housing is beyond us. We always use a bridle and have not experienced any hard pounding, etc. that would put additional strain on the parts. Heart in my mouth, I finally got the anchor all the way up, tying it up with line to the railing in an attempt to keep some of the weight off the housing. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcEYYHb12bGkPP4BH3Wqo0LMhU5NJM-EPQtsihyphenhyphenYkwQzGTO55As_Ba0P_-10_eagn3fiXd3m4Qp0aMFkog2HWjzY91MFreqGlGQifHToCMCoZPMMBGWwCMoWWsIUf93DVlUr9wXwbwJqXL/s1600/IMGP1323.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcEYYHb12bGkPP4BH3Wqo0LMhU5NJM-EPQtsihyphenhyphenYkwQzGTO55As_Ba0P_-10_eagn3fiXd3m4Qp0aMFkog2HWjzY91MFreqGlGQifHToCMCoZPMMBGWwCMoWWsIUf93DVlUr9wXwbwJqXL/s400/IMGP1323.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Note the hole where the rod holding the anchor rollers should be and is not!</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">With an inability now to anchor, we decided to pull another all nighter and just keep going until we reached the marina in St. Pete. The bouncing horsey ride continued until about noon before the wave action settled down into a pretty calm, gentle up down. This Gulf Coast, however, has more pots than does the Chesapeake Bay. It is also very shallow, with numerous shoals extending nearly ten miles out (Romano Shoals for instance). When we finally reached water 50 feet deep beneath our keel, we stopped seeing the pots - 15 miles offshore. No matter, we did not want to cruise in the black of night, hooking pots all along the way!</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHGyajTPrgbKevLOvAryb4j9jFsTE3kZT5Akh5msgbjcCrSun46zjP0V01LRZRcS__xeCpKKZccKwEo7Ziu6csSlU63DxyLR0bjKRlj7mMcp5aK4uc2NnIGZvHi30CPwVPomLJUHP7bL79/s1600/IMGP1293.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHGyajTPrgbKevLOvAryb4j9jFsTE3kZT5Akh5msgbjcCrSun46zjP0V01LRZRcS__xeCpKKZccKwEo7Ziu6csSlU63DxyLR0bjKRlj7mMcp5aK4uc2NnIGZvHi30CPwVPomLJUHP7bL79/s320/IMGP1293.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Another uneventful night passage, seeing nothing but the occasional shooting star and hearing virtually nothing on theVHF all night long. </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Wrapped in a blanket, wearing fleece shoes and a fleece jacket, nodding off was not a problem. I stayed too busy trying to keep warm. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">These long night passages might be the only time Andy’s thrilled I’m the night owl.....he gets to sleep more than I do. We are both quite content with the arrangement.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXEeAVTc4h4Im_2faJ1qGyvQOMgJqSgDwYV_dSuYVTfL19MvgmWHEuhfJc0qHenE77N7McTspEFRys2kK4dsWaq0wSta9F-zx6vdexONwoXzQsY4jP_WUmTgT80jGztrO44RRCr3kvp3FN/s1600/IMGP1303.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXEeAVTc4h4Im_2faJ1qGyvQOMgJqSgDwYV_dSuYVTfL19MvgmWHEuhfJc0qHenE77N7McTspEFRys2kK4dsWaq0wSta9F-zx6vdexONwoXzQsY4jP_WUmTgT80jGztrO44RRCr3kvp3FN/s400/IMGP1303.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">No Green Flash with this sunset in the Gulf of Mexico</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy9mKXDGNeqneZr-tIZaOQDDVupm1LqQYr6uokLskTP41XqRdk0b_mA87vqARk8RA_0VjTEVwR4NtwCXq9srsjJn5gTQgZ2txPCJVPeg1lp8FnIYaG5jYoAibuGLZ7b_7uQQQ_L_aC98YA/s1600/IMGP1294.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy9mKXDGNeqneZr-tIZaOQDDVupm1LqQYr6uokLskTP41XqRdk0b_mA87vqARk8RA_0VjTEVwR4NtwCXq9srsjJn5gTQgZ2txPCJVPeg1lp8FnIYaG5jYoAibuGLZ7b_7uQQQ_L_aC98YA/s400/IMGP1294.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Going, Going, Gone is the sun & our light</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS5duHAw0C_aRuVS_pdsP8zzfocWsfoEXBfNX67n6SKBVdKNvQWJxKl-ybaMZ2WkzXMz2wKpXuRQc7VYmhyphenhyphenV18w7Hv4MFyDSrGwK-XmO8XHiYA79-PDx8R_7LGWfJc-IgyyZY0nnQz7NTc/s1600/IMGP1305.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS5duHAw0C_aRuVS_pdsP8zzfocWsfoEXBfNX67n6SKBVdKNvQWJxKl-ybaMZ2WkzXMz2wKpXuRQc7VYmhyphenhyphenV18w7Hv4MFyDSrGwK-XmO8XHiYA79-PDx8R_7LGWfJc-IgyyZY0nnQz7NTc/s320/IMGP1305.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the channel, off Egmont Key</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Cruising into Egmont Channel, after a few circles, waiting for first light so visibility would be better, I truly felt as though we’d really arrived HOME. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEzNvBnhrih4_VDUQtLXah0zeB7dJF_THdwGdUz0HhKiP7x7eXjogSLqQ6cCMEm0S_Zh6nfDcD1WWODIc0hSLNLAyTAxzTGFFhU4g59JckUbmIHywZEoHA_hpyjv6yBXjHhctTwXJKQa2x/s1600/IMGP1309.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEzNvBnhrih4_VDUQtLXah0zeB7dJF_THdwGdUz0HhKiP7x7eXjogSLqQ6cCMEm0S_Zh6nfDcD1WWODIc0hSLNLAyTAxzTGFFhU4g59JckUbmIHywZEoHA_hpyjv6yBXjHhctTwXJKQa2x/s320/IMGP1309.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sharing Egmont Channel with the big boys</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Coming up to and under the huge Skyway Bridge brought back memories of cruising these waters 35+ years ago when I lived here before. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Ox4R0VXKuovO8sxQb-oZ4YfwvsvLPb-vUzfBMfeakQLYNEzY0PzKL_ZpYAv0L4TVPsMZxztNg-4wM5n73FL6QcKpaGhF_Osra2TOTPt7RoIoEA17oiyE6capBSTkoU7VRaTH_cy_OVUU/s1600/IMGP1313.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Ox4R0VXKuovO8sxQb-oZ4YfwvsvLPb-vUzfBMfeakQLYNEzY0PzKL_ZpYAv0L4TVPsMZxztNg-4wM5n73FL6QcKpaGhF_Osra2TOTPt7RoIoEA17oiyE6capBSTkoU7VRaTH_cy_OVUU/s400/IMGP1313.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Huge Skyway Bridge btween St. Pete & Sarasota </td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">A troubling memory from the late 70‘s that still makes me shudder, came alive in my </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">head as I watched cars and trucks traverse the bridge above us. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSdJcAxcPhKJGvUGrP2tSYy5WqFI_bZWkF8a1Ap-koFq8xaiEz9GX-zjFgWJKrhfGdsiXl5HyVLaoqtLmya3BW2t1u3eNmaYz33p6pjFE9HrAB8OnbAPJ0jWtODoaZS4NwR-BPpJthP679/s1600/IMGP1314.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSdJcAxcPhKJGvUGrP2tSYy5WqFI_bZWkF8a1Ap-koFq8xaiEz9GX-zjFgWJKrhfGdsiXl5HyVLaoqtLmya3BW2t1u3eNmaYz33p6pjFE9HrAB8OnbAPJ0jWtODoaZS4NwR-BPpJthP679/s400/IMGP1314.JPG" width="400" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I lived not far from this Bridge, in Pinellas Point, and remember vividly an early morning squall that darkened the sky and pelted our house with high winds & </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">rain. </span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">That squall pushed a barge off its course, into a bridge piling, knocking the bridge down in seconds. Many died that morning, falling a long way into the water, still strapped in their cars. A Greyhound bus filled with people also went over and down. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbgSDbKksKnxDwmv7hFwhCqpLMVcA9RBq5JiW9lZMNGKpYazke5JGdym1jOC7BoFd8XfUxrQUfFbnRdkgODbEIn99Uuu1O-KOrs5NIU85m7hUz1h3yYpIGclgitu1eqjZtJT-IZ592auJa/s1600/IMGP1317.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbgSDbKksKnxDwmv7hFwhCqpLMVcA9RBq5JiW9lZMNGKpYazke5JGdym1jOC7BoFd8XfUxrQUfFbnRdkgODbEIn99Uuu1O-KOrs5NIU85m7hUz1h3yYpIGclgitu1eqjZtJT-IZ592auJa/s320/IMGP1317.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The rocks are also around the pilings nearest to the Channel</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Traversing under the new bridge, I noticed a large number of impressive reinforcements around the pilings the entire length of the bridge. In the 70’s, the pilings simply had little wooden fenders around them....no match for a heavy barge.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We pulled into Harborage Marina at Bayboro, in South St. Pete, past a US Coast Guard station and past University of South Florida buildings and boats. Tossing our lines to Bart Franey, who was standing on the dock to welcome us in, we settled into our slip next to his DeFever 49 - <b style="font-style: italic;">Dewlap. </b> Frank said, "I know you! I've been following your blog and your travels!" Wow.</span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> Ah, it’s good to be home! </span></span></div>Sharon Fellows Larrison Stepniewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09962977355812944714noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164046376669890975.post-21742710471715542402012-04-20T22:39:00.000-04:002012-04-21T23:35:23.750-04:00Nassau to Miami<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivcMzRnRfiU-VINDlVKfpUH-PwgxeonvKorifqQuJKnIbemd51fBUSpai_c4UrfWEHOwTr1T7i5FLVWWrKBxuAJMA55e93FxdYgCn-_jbVNyy9F_CticaZevVpTJKhQ7YRtgV1sEW_s1T6/s1600/2012+04+14+nassau+defever+rendez+aboard_resize.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivcMzRnRfiU-VINDlVKfpUH-PwgxeonvKorifqQuJKnIbemd51fBUSpai_c4UrfWEHOwTr1T7i5FLVWWrKBxuAJMA55e93FxdYgCn-_jbVNyy9F_CticaZevVpTJKhQ7YRtgV1sEW_s1T6/s400/2012+04+14+nassau+defever+rendez+aboard_resize.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dinner aboard Adventures while in Nassau</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;">Finally! The weather cleared! Departing Nassau on Tuesday the 17th, we cruised 5 hours through the deep deep Tongue of the Ocean to Frazier Hog Cay. We grabbed a mooring ball after attempting to anchor in the swift current and knowing the holding is considered 'poor' in this area because there is too much grass. We quickly settled in, getting ready for the long haul the next day. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b;"></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leaving Nassau in our wake</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRydAS32lNmefnJebgcOBm7jTQOGbBv5vA4spMXQDWPAU275NAAl9wf4_BZzrYcAc-Gd4Dw4P2G97kQBgAtWtbNBLrqwxNoGyzSuZ7EwKltBhCGPRzzEpdB5Cs6mV0ayoxFFIIu9kGLkRX/s1600/IMGP1215.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRydAS32lNmefnJebgcOBm7jTQOGbBv5vA4spMXQDWPAU275NAAl9wf4_BZzrYcAc-Gd4Dw4P2G97kQBgAtWtbNBLrqwxNoGyzSuZ7EwKltBhCGPRzzEpdB5Cs6mV0ayoxFFIIu9kGLkRX/s400/IMGP1215.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise off Chubb Cay</td></tr>
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;">Up before first light, we pulled out on Wednesday as the sun rose behind us. Cruising through the much more shallow, northern part of the Great Bahama Bank, (10 - 20 feet), I gave up trying to fish and focused instead on the beautiful water. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b;"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnoU8Qm3jKIFEPg5bfxJYvq8p6PFS8IIDY_EfQHvKrBYBus9NNLImI03wSITH8bpqk0gXnS1wWQJXGjrdKJZ7WRr-rBR2gFPM4DRFpjwWg3-5vHo_UqHcRmcyiurA1r2jUfAQGJnpKqbrU/s1600/IMGP1209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnoU8Qm3jKIFEPg5bfxJYvq8p6PFS8IIDY_EfQHvKrBYBus9NNLImI03wSITH8bpqk0gXnS1wWQJXGjrdKJZ7WRr-rBR2gFPM4DRFpjwWg3-5vHo_UqHcRmcyiurA1r2jUfAQGJnpKqbrU/s400/IMGP1209.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Deep water (dark) and then shallow (light color)</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;">Twelve hours later and very tired, we pulled into Bimini Sands Marina for another night of peaceful sleep.....We could not find good places to anchor...... so we pay the going rates...Which are actually not bad at $1 per foot.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b;"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYnVbRElkTiLqQfsGPG4Z2ZzD6MyeZDETEPIPNrjUUmjCaY9bMl3azCBtM_Go1N9cWlWZaofQdlKeM2HDI11KVYW3Pn4BMDyXUbiEnTpXvwD0deQMu2PUJu7mrCbfBKc7UU-LCTe4YJjW6/s1600/IMGP1216.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYnVbRElkTiLqQfsGPG4Z2ZzD6MyeZDETEPIPNrjUUmjCaY9bMl3azCBtM_Go1N9cWlWZaofQdlKeM2HDI11KVYW3Pn4BMDyXUbiEnTpXvwD0deQMu2PUJu7mrCbfBKc7UU-LCTe4YJjW6/s400/IMGP1216.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The USA is in sight! Miami Beach just ahead of us!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjDXW6YbryCheXcq2ytDrSgp9D-w1CxEcN5-EOayU_kxOpE_zB1tHQXrvUXVxSqZHRa2WgMQiEg5qbTezj1Dz9XnuVJg-HpZXGeKrfESIY2UFaPsDetQ_37-Cl6BXVFVq5ZhuD3cwKDNXI/s1600/IMGP1219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjDXW6YbryCheXcq2ytDrSgp9D-w1CxEcN5-EOayU_kxOpE_zB1tHQXrvUXVxSqZHRa2WgMQiEg5qbTezj1Dz9XnuVJg-HpZXGeKrfESIY2UFaPsDetQ_37-Cl6BXVFVq5ZhuD3cwKDNXI/s400/IMGP1219.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ugh, sharing the channel with big freighters & barges at Miami</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8d7DZkhG7tHatWHB4eoygDrTMJzrq0L3K_2KA2yUOu5qpl9nsnK7e0vmK4cZ_62imdbli7vl7Zqm0_vdDjAQsRh_c4lkBlx7pADHuKwKv1LK2Lstfx-7arzogw6PZY9Jr4SIug9wteely/s1600/IMGP1226.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8d7DZkhG7tHatWHB4eoygDrTMJzrq0L3K_2KA2yUOu5qpl9nsnK7e0vmK4cZ_62imdbli7vl7Zqm0_vdDjAQsRh_c4lkBlx7pADHuKwKv1LK2Lstfx-7arzogw6PZY9Jr4SIug9wteely/s320/IMGP1226.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Departing Govt' Cut in the early AM</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV5ql01swaPhg_Z2UlEGogPjSFmAKwrzB14cN7iPaWziMAJzxYZZ1sJK0fcTRbje3m1EpEfNpto3troWNgBObIwRwACARQwiqF4Q62aAhdiNiSk-6yve8QtQA4t2TuNKC1YiQjnfkrAr4E/s1600/IMGP1223.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV5ql01swaPhg_Z2UlEGogPjSFmAKwrzB14cN7iPaWziMAJzxYZZ1sJK0fcTRbje3m1EpEfNpto3troWNgBObIwRwACARQwiqF4Q62aAhdiNiSk-6yve8QtQA4t2TuNKC1YiQjnfkrAr4E/s320/IMGP1223.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seaplane came in behind us at the fuel dock! </td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;">Thursday, up at dawn again, another long day, this time in the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;">Straits of Florida in the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;">North Atlantic Ocean. After crossing the Gulf Stream, </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;">we dropped the anchor below Miami Beach in Government Cut, outside of No Name Harbor. We paused only to fuel up at Admiral Oil’s dock (off Rickenbacker Marina off the Rickenbacker Causeway) where a fuel truck with a VERY LONG hose pumped the diesel into our boat. Imagine getting excited at $4.17 a gallon! Taking in 759 gallons, we actually smiled at the bill.......after having to pay over $6 a couple of times (and NO, we never filled Finally Fun at those rates!!) No matter, it is still an OUCH. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZxeZ05UmpE6Px3lIrQEiZsGsyC-teiEgbz72d7nOz2G4OkuwXS-O1DilNrlTIS6LqahTBlAEUR8s41nziQwyUWTKW1HHwf6x-mqYMQ7OGpxmX6RsveQbHwbizmdBL4o8B3ehZV1Qm9U9W/s1600/IMGP1228.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZxeZ05UmpE6Px3lIrQEiZsGsyC-teiEgbz72d7nOz2G4OkuwXS-O1DilNrlTIS6LqahTBlAEUR8s41nziQwyUWTKW1HHwf6x-mqYMQ7OGpxmX6RsveQbHwbizmdBL4o8B3ehZV1Qm9U9W/s400/IMGP1228.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lighthouse in the early morning light at Government Cut, heading out to Marathon</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil7UalFbYYX-2aW0YOVB3LYl4tOwYwrmTqe0LuBjwfrv2Bu8SgIRPOl0a1QBSTLzma4nhoLsUO7Hk57F-bC9O9H9gQg12WIC5avWtjtZ6FNJtCXYQfASxe6S_oPreDOZXX6pi6EGTlDqBZ/s1600/IMGP1229.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil7UalFbYYX-2aW0YOVB3LYl4tOwYwrmTqe0LuBjwfrv2Bu8SgIRPOl0a1QBSTLzma4nhoLsUO7Hk57F-bC9O9H9gQg12WIC5avWtjtZ6FNJtCXYQfASxe6S_oPreDOZXX6pi6EGTlDqBZ/s320/IMGP1229.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lighthouse is beautiful as we get closer and closer!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiobYvHS0mHrJlzFvXN9l271Ao1F2m5eOrC78hl6xzqvM6O7I_Dyh-ERG05Rhpp-Fss4_COXwHuQ4Pnc0QNY_LxLsHx-TJu2InsEg-bCOHO59sZTFfrTw9yOpY-mOof1WHfdYzlWdjrphn1/s1600/IMGP1232.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiobYvHS0mHrJlzFvXN9l271Ao1F2m5eOrC78hl6xzqvM6O7I_Dyh-ERG05Rhpp-Fss4_COXwHuQ4Pnc0QNY_LxLsHx-TJu2InsEg-bCOHO59sZTFfrTw9yOpY-mOof1WHfdYzlWdjrphn1/s320/IMGP1232.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are houses out in the water on stilts off Miami</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Our phone call to the USA Customs and Immigration, requesting clearance back into the USA for us and for Finally Fun went smoothly...gotta love the Local Boater Option (LBO) process. The couple of hours we spent filling out paperwork was so worth it before we cruised out of USA waters to the Bahamas in 2009. We had to pass a background check and appear in person before a US Immigration Officer in Miami before being granted LBO clearance. All of Finally Fun’s documents were also examined carefully. So, now instead of having to appear personally in front of US Customs & Immigration offices (usually TWO different places!) which means finding a marina to tuck into and then a taxi or rental car and a LOT of time, we only have to make a phone call. All documents are on file and we have specific ID numbers for each of us and one for the boat. </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This LBO worked for us as we cleared back into the USA from Canada, from the Bahamas twice and into Puerto Rico, the Spanish Virgin Islands and numerous times as we cruised back and forth between the British Virgin Islands into the US Virgin Islands. Can’t image the hassle without the LBO!</span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9vD_uGPauNz4c1BhxyJI6RwcRCzGTOKIixeYlTheijhLMPG8VnLbxm1EVORat9X_hkm9KCRG1mAywJXWfee9rZ1z6qsnSulAfNC4WyPxgRXDFnX_C97t-SmikiQo5NSr1q_a6mk5l6_od/s1600/IMGP1233.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9vD_uGPauNz4c1BhxyJI6RwcRCzGTOKIixeYlTheijhLMPG8VnLbxm1EVORat9X_hkm9KCRG1mAywJXWfee9rZ1z6qsnSulAfNC4WyPxgRXDFnX_C97t-SmikiQo5NSr1q_a6mk5l6_od/s400/IMGP1233.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Secure at Marathon Key. Only thing we caught along the way was a fish pot & buoy which got trapped on our stabilizer til we fished it out</td></tr>
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</span>Sharon Fellows Larrison Stepniewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09962977355812944714noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164046376669890975.post-90276722108324998882012-04-13T23:56:00.000-04:002012-04-14T10:05:11.341-04:00Goofing Off in Nassau<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0AolHRoUke-g9I3sNAOH25a59Y8bGRHhPqgKGPS6kxmGGR2tUis00khyn4ERa30WlsZZ3v3xsoF1l3IGL1JQUZBPp1LYlgqgkMM478KCngV4BnZsYugkRgSBmxNHfGYMuLlmspF0it1ff/s1600/IMGP1148.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0AolHRoUke-g9I3sNAOH25a59Y8bGRHhPqgKGPS6kxmGGR2tUis00khyn4ERa30WlsZZ3v3xsoF1l3IGL1JQUZBPp1LYlgqgkMM478KCngV4BnZsYugkRgSBmxNHfGYMuLlmspF0it1ff/s400/IMGP1148.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nassau celebrating the Queen of England</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-family: Times; font-size: large;">Disappointed in not being able to get to the USA, but making the best of being stuck in Nassau due to adverse weather, I grabbed the guidebooks and local tourist information, scouring them carefully for Where to Go and What to Do. I know - some of you reading this blog must think we are crazy, complaining about being STUCK in the Bahamas and in the big tourist town of Nassau - a dream come true for many! </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj24WZctcWS3QjFylg-ddgC2aWjGuNufFjb0G0Eaqtc_czR6RZIyAGG5IDQW_2WXpA0dwK-O98YDAG3FjIxPibnKMMVdv3Bdh3y-FsVxoMlx4vE3i1ppy6evnY3hhZeHQRYzNf8BtdJ610R/s1600/IMGP1149.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj24WZctcWS3QjFylg-ddgC2aWjGuNufFjb0G0Eaqtc_czR6RZIyAGG5IDQW_2WXpA0dwK-O98YDAG3FjIxPibnKMMVdv3Bdh3y-FsVxoMlx4vE3i1ppy6evnY3hhZeHQRYzNf8BtdJ610R/s400/IMGP1149.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More of the Queen of England</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-family: Times; font-size: large;">With Robin & Jim from the DeFever <b><i>Adventures</i></b> as playmates, off we went, map in hand, to see what we could see. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-family: Times; font-size: large;">OMG we walked and walked for two days, just looking around, til the blisters got the best of some of us. Walking from our marina, we went up East Street, and all around the ‘interior’, not seeing much. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifAhqSc3Ny-egqNIWK2ZcpcgElivM7Gt0NuZSygIzIwY-D6TBzOGuQ99tmWot4OBs7xzlfkI_YK1Twyqsi8PPMhNOVvQIB0EjdFfRblN_KIco97vhRqI3-7ug_47q_MLVKVTZVe5mHxPDB/s1600/IMGP1150.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifAhqSc3Ny-egqNIWK2ZcpcgElivM7Gt0NuZSygIzIwY-D6TBzOGuQ99tmWot4OBs7xzlfkI_YK1Twyqsi8PPMhNOVvQIB0EjdFfRblN_KIco97vhRqI3-7ug_47q_MLVKVTZVe5mHxPDB/s400/IMGP1150.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Government Building</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;">The</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;"> second day, we walked for godzillion miles it seemed, from the marina down East Bay Street to West Bay Street all the way to the Historic Fish Fry section. Many, many miles! </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJSAX5WQ133LsCHO6TZmLecK0zQBavBSDlLjVs0N039_0y9pzjknWSknL0ZX2aebzhYw-DeyoTZLulcB0U1pq82Vz6QGz3QCHgHKGdGDay-tN36yShKlcY6q-YzIvhtBX7o9M5nTcwHiv4/s1600/IMGP1122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJSAX5WQ133LsCHO6TZmLecK0zQBavBSDlLjVs0N039_0y9pzjknWSknL0ZX2aebzhYw-DeyoTZLulcB0U1pq82Vz6QGz3QCHgHKGdGDay-tN36yShKlcY6q-YzIvhtBX7o9M5nTcwHiv4/s400/IMGP1122.JPG" width="400" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-family: Times; font-size: large;">We stopped at Potter’s Cay, a tiny slice of land under the Paradise Island Bridge. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-family: Times; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-family: Times; font-size: large;">Ah, my kind of place....the locals hang here and work here. The real deal, not the cruise ship crowds and crap. Rag tag shanties, lined up side by side, are manned by locals peddling their wares to other locals.....fresh fish, cold beers, fruits, vegetables and stuff. The mail boats come in here, tugs and trawlers hauling goods tie up here and workmen pound away making repairs to the work horse ships.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrMQbUklUYj9XtI1ZzlDjb-eZXlU0hyMioWHAS3ufsiZGNB5MEgGpZH1gYgodMaXxcbomNFSmRKiWicgKuQ_8vT-ZNnQBHGruwAf3BDoDIXobPfGulqDckoElvdS5nFPXFAKxxVZoRZyeh/s1600/IMGP1125.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrMQbUklUYj9XtI1ZzlDjb-eZXlU0hyMioWHAS3ufsiZGNB5MEgGpZH1gYgodMaXxcbomNFSmRKiWicgKuQ_8vT-ZNnQBHGruwAf3BDoDIXobPfGulqDckoElvdS5nFPXFAKxxVZoRZyeh/s400/IMGP1125.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dried conch for sale- we passed on this<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">W</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">e stood for nearly an hour, in awe, as we watched men loading a huge engine onto one of the boats.</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-wJRdgEn22BW8bqO7hCto8ZjZpbiyQdWetc3fksgebShrnfU6GWDlsfSGaMO0VAgrp9nPJZ3MkXY6iqrS703uC_4OQ3C8o1ASEMOKYhSrLh4apJcL0s-Q7jjARq0c3wLtzTVxMdO3deZ-/s1600/IMGP1131.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-wJRdgEn22BW8bqO7hCto8ZjZpbiyQdWetc3fksgebShrnfU6GWDlsfSGaMO0VAgrp9nPJZ3MkXY6iqrS703uC_4OQ3C8o1ASEMOKYhSrLh4apJcL0s-Q7jjARq0c3wLtzTVxMdO3deZ-/s400/IMGP1131.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying to squeeze that boat in between these other two boats</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiayiF-J6Uj394wW5noZKLZKKQwE3sfhZhmq2bncKCJlLGwNBAWvon2ZR48RI2HMgbcf5TB7JO5ajTXJkUMe8-JLo4mhnFdiJncmc0Qtx1kuEdsy9TVn6PnWXjU8CH4hYDxC_pKYe-Dgje/s1600/IMGP1137.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiayiF-J6Uj394wW5noZKLZKKQwE3sfhZhmq2bncKCJlLGwNBAWvon2ZR48RI2HMgbcf5TB7JO5ajTXJkUMe8-JLo4mhnFdiJncmc0Qtx1kuEdsy9TVn6PnWXjU8CH4hYDxC_pKYe-Dgje/s400/IMGP1137.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Engine swinging over everyone's head!</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">They had to climb aboard a huge unoccupied barge, untying it partially and swinging it out into the harbor to make room for the boat that was to pick up the engine. </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7CXWOyH_JO0cLgYw1A5hUs54FpexNTUyrmvqB3I_061DpgvRbT71nP_1uH62Cvth7HwBWY6N1ZJ51eTO_Yq_JLVVTCskxjSFdTvEvy0Oyq2uIUAEbYTQullCcEzXATjTqQUUA9S-HnZiR/s1600/IMGP1139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7CXWOyH_JO0cLgYw1A5hUs54FpexNTUyrmvqB3I_061DpgvRbT71nP_1uH62Cvth7HwBWY6N1ZJ51eTO_Yq_JLVVTCskxjSFdTvEvy0Oyq2uIUAEbYTQullCcEzXATjTqQUUA9S-HnZiR/s400/IMGP1139.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crane operator</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">THEN, the exciting part as they tried to pick up the engine with the cable and swing it over onto and into the boat. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-size: small;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Scary stuff. No OSCHA nor any work rules here...Note my photos of the cable - rusted and already partially broken through. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjHjQcqmCOZOQ6dgcH3C0g2Srzcu0IvvBNMSE5Cw2JwaX75bEyctWjsOykUpLyD8tS0_bYRpcu6lmhE7Qvq7GKIEVVbeYYwHzFa8p5xhig70ckJIisYIpmlUkr4Wl8XGZlNho6kxci6nwo/s1600/IMGP1133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjHjQcqmCOZOQ6dgcH3C0g2Srzcu0IvvBNMSE5Cw2JwaX75bEyctWjsOykUpLyD8tS0_bYRpcu6lmhE7Qvq7GKIEVVbeYYwHzFa8p5xhig70ckJIisYIpmlUkr4Wl8XGZlNho6kxci6nwo/s400/IMGP1133.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Note the fraying steel cable, also rusty</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghYtpAtM6vgb37lw119GTzBgaIi6kf3TqKdmFSdtS-bAxxTYv520lUp_aVAc2bzxCVu9_wAO36cAjhqW5aOU0mOQ9N94APugBGj_Dq5sRbVg7AGtP8tgQrrzQPxF1WCPD3SRqlRzGlYvqj/s1600/IMGP1142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghYtpAtM6vgb37lw119GTzBgaIi6kf3TqKdmFSdtS-bAxxTYv520lUp_aVAc2bzxCVu9_wAO36cAjhqW5aOU0mOQ9N94APugBGj_Dq5sRbVg7AGtP8tgQrrzQPxF1WCPD3SRqlRzGlYvqj/s400/IMGP1142.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look - the pin is only partially through!</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">THEN, note the shackle holding it - note the pin is only partially through. We feared for their lives should it snap. We also stayed well out of the way!!! </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4K1EbabxRQ0ThHd_FoABR6jeKld2JTHdW0uXt1y6mG_77GI-0aqDbu5IqTKJZKB9hg1KfgduUwY5KRfPg-WiyTLgwMyL_dTdWWPOoAzLHl93OMh43KLhYtq2_BZF5y8lNsYQ4j7QCA1f9/s1600/IMGP1123.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4K1EbabxRQ0ThHd_FoABR6jeKld2JTHdW0uXt1y6mG_77GI-0aqDbu5IqTKJZKB9hg1KfgduUwY5KRfPg-WiyTLgwMyL_dTdWWPOoAzLHl93OMh43KLhYtq2_BZF5y8lNsYQ4j7QCA1f9/s400/IMGP1123.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Market at Potters Cay</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzpL_-Cq9Q8Poqs0jrnYOBB-z0kSEe9n1MXA6OF05bQpiLUTUrF-VA4NkTXhXIK3AoU5cVCWh-tCO-HojCxEDE7wmKkKeS4CGLxCDhRx9Qf8Cci3drg3T2Skr1ntQ52P4gvPwbD3iRNVCt/s1600/IMGP1126.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzpL_-Cq9Q8Poqs0jrnYOBB-z0kSEe9n1MXA6OF05bQpiLUTUrF-VA4NkTXhXIK3AoU5cVCWh-tCO-HojCxEDE7wmKkKeS4CGLxCDhRx9Qf8Cci3drg3T2Skr1ntQ52P4gvPwbD3iRNVCt/s400/IMGP1126.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRE2ezeSv3uZXfSfS_3gOAi6BLPWZ1aQ0jFojGnRbCRwNcKKDC96-KwKyILLIF7akLGJHiB6uWYvY8j-WiK9xKRfyVhq-iMR3TIHi5SVbyt0TqVkXCc1X-zC1HJ_fm7QsDqbftqozat_q2/s1600/IMGP1127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">My favorite - the vegetable markets. A darling little boy excitedly showed us his Mother or Grandmother’s vegetables and proudly displayed the land crabs for sale. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-size: small;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Of course, as we passed back through the area, we purchased from him. He struggled mightily to get the math right, counting my bananas twice, while Mom or Grandma patiently helped him. She made him make change for me. I loved every moment of this experience and loved this child! These are the experiences I will treasure forever.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-size: small;"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRE2ezeSv3uZXfSfS_3gOAi6BLPWZ1aQ0jFojGnRbCRwNcKKDC96-KwKyILLIF7akLGJHiB6uWYvY8j-WiK9xKRfyVhq-iMR3TIHi5SVbyt0TqVkXCc1X-zC1HJ_fm7QsDqbftqozat_q2/s1600/IMGP1127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRE2ezeSv3uZXfSfS_3gOAi6BLPWZ1aQ0jFojGnRbCRwNcKKDC96-KwKyILLIF7akLGJHiB6uWYvY8j-WiK9xKRfyVhq-iMR3TIHi5SVbyt0TqVkXCc1X-zC1HJ_fm7QsDqbftqozat_q2/s400/IMGP1127.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at the face & eyes on this crab!</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Limping a bit, we blew past the shops Built for the Cruise Ship Crowds and the Straw Market loaded with trinkets and I swear, stuff Made in China, stopping finally for cokes at some restaurant overlooking the madness of the cruise ship crowds frantically trying to purchase Duty Free Stuff. Amazing how one can salivate when one thinks they are getting ‘a deal’. Makes me sick. Every place that has a cruise ship coming in has the very same stores and the very same spiels --Come In Come In Very Good Deal...Yeah, one better know what one is shopping for and how much it really costs!! </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">We can spot the cruise ship crowd easily ---- pasty white skins or lobster red over top of the pasty white. No one tries to entice us into the stores anymore. I think we are too tanned to be mistaken for a Cruise Ship Big Spender. We are clearly Boaters On A Budget, tanned, but with sun bleached hair that is too straggly long. At least we don’t wear SOCKS with </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">our</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> sandals.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andy, Sharon, Jim & Robin</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Ending up at the Historic Fish Fry area, we enjoyed a great meal and especially relished the sitting down part. Wishing for the famous PainKiller of the British Virgin Islands, we instead settled for beer and wine to numb our feet. Taxi back to the marina!!!</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goofing off</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXFCcdBol1MmRsEuz4gxasVYZz3pVNJHefViHJtRqzoLWD3bTVvMupE_6FisPY_Ld5v7hx9HnjXJWlSI7ydtoSxFw8hUupaXVEUa9JXrrxYs3YT9gRCHjQcSdqQKxgnfFQ60rMSaxEdowN/s1600/IMGP1160.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXFCcdBol1MmRsEuz4gxasVYZz3pVNJHefViHJtRqzoLWD3bTVvMupE_6FisPY_Ld5v7hx9HnjXJWlSI7ydtoSxFw8hUupaXVEUa9JXrrxYs3YT9gRCHjQcSdqQKxgnfFQ60rMSaxEdowN/s320/IMGP1160.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NOT our idea of fun</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmJ1SUjLnhj1tQZ0ncq7waSO72qg-WQLNk-8GMR28geikq_ERv6NW8EQ9XhhifQuAWHqB16qMp4HhyphenhyphengpnFaiC0cYGIezEL0y94qiKUCXTRvUwOak1HXAHuvXZyIStieQX6Oj_qyn-7NwN2/s1600/IMGP1196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Love it. Robin and Jim are game for anything. Day Three of Being Stuck in Nassau, we, now MUCH smarter, taking a taxi over to Paradise Island to the famous Atlantis Resort to check it out. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Andy & I </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">spent a number of days at this unbelievable resort, thanks to Novartis and sales award meetings, but the place never ceases to amaze! Security is tight and one can't go many places without paying $40 - $125 or so for various tickets to get you in. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The casino is open to everyone and so is the Marina Village, where we wandered for hours, checking out the mega yachts and grabbing a burger for lunch while the rains came. We snuck around where we could without paying, gawking just like the cruise ship passengers.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Huge blue and white sphere</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;">There are a number of fabulous blown glass fixtures throughout the resort done by Dale Chihuly. If one has never seen his work, make it a mission. Distinctive and ever so beautiful. Funny, Robin and I both thought that all his works of art could use a little dusting......</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Always my favorite</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wow and more Wow</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of some of the mega yachts at the marina </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Longer view into the Atlantis Marina</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jim and Andy on an ice cream bench - their favorite spot</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is why we ate a burger at Johnnie Rockets - $$$$ bad enough</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The place is amazing - a Must See</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peeking between two mega yachts</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some have to work while owners play here. He could get a job washing windows in NYC.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Over at the interior beach area - little bar and grill</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andy & Jim watching the crowds pass by</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of main building from the rear</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcSruwRnDzeYPlN04oHdMPXhFJk1rky4l3ctzIrU9DveiTIEwG8XusiBT3mIUARfqrkWaG7dnhbVTXB0yLm1tUeiOisWyJWMeoNZtt-M8tV5ujHaIiyd3hJcFZY9Fmo7EW-68QhAYEWL22/s1600/IMGP1198.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcSruwRnDzeYPlN04oHdMPXhFJk1rky4l3ctzIrU9DveiTIEwG8XusiBT3mIUARfqrkWaG7dnhbVTXB0yLm1tUeiOisWyJWMeoNZtt-M8tV5ujHaIiyd3hJcFZY9Fmo7EW-68QhAYEWL22/s400/IMGP1198.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nice!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhloBxCCGUwriFQSTpprFxq2SK_ZH0dRY3xbegknT0VOuX6JCx5ioWJ0nNvehjrYihFNHjXD4fqd5f9zhvlaxToyfkKaBqAnFy0eC4K9eCqiNfHCbri9ox5g1r00RMhfhV6q66UWFteCB_N/s1600/IMGP1200.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhloBxCCGUwriFQSTpprFxq2SK_ZH0dRY3xbegknT0VOuX6JCx5ioWJ0nNvehjrYihFNHjXD4fqd5f9zhvlaxToyfkKaBqAnFy0eC4K9eCqiNfHCbri9ox5g1r00RMhfhV6q66UWFteCB_N/s320/IMGP1200.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Suitable for framing! A wall hanging.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGo49gong7XnSlTekkYCVV0io6vUAtCDRRTuTZZr0T8LCntDUzvYv_edzbHaQjmlY8uKHXiV3-W7UsS_GhO2ickZObD-gmwEWFd1WKzZ5sfXZ86TPuGmM98cvLW0tgu9F1PR2kEWH9b9bn/s1600/IMGP1199.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGo49gong7XnSlTekkYCVV0io6vUAtCDRRTuTZZr0T8LCntDUzvYv_edzbHaQjmlY8uKHXiV3-W7UsS_GhO2ickZObD-gmwEWFd1WKzZ5sfXZ86TPuGmM98cvLW0tgu9F1PR2kEWH9b9bn/s320/IMGP1199.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">LOVE all the decor!! </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the taxi/limo parking area.</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;">Tired, we headed back to the boats to rest up for another day. Weather is such that there is no way we can depart until this coming Tuesday, four days from now. </span></div>
</div>Sharon Fellows Larrison Stepniewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09962977355812944714noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164046376669890975.post-18421886368916545152012-04-11T22:48:00.000-04:002012-04-13T23:04:19.854-04:00Nassau, New Providence Island, Bahamas<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoVSlxTIUbuqTbfRfFAu8ZUsA2z7itNz_J7h-vmNtdv1lFwgJMhF4yP9QvyiVMomEOg-54rNWXGknp3ZvfQyLsYYTAlVVHsMFf3BSjvjOwDG7VMO0Ox5fmc7og7nd_a7FuICfgtayrUcLw/s1600/IMGP1108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoVSlxTIUbuqTbfRfFAu8ZUsA2z7itNz_J7h-vmNtdv1lFwgJMhF4yP9QvyiVMomEOg-54rNWXGknp3ZvfQyLsYYTAlVVHsMFf3BSjvjOwDG7VMO0Ox5fmc7og7nd_a7FuICfgtayrUcLw/s320/IMGP1108.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">14 feet of water - so clear underway</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Up at 6:00 on Wednesday, April 11, excited to be underway to Nassau, we had to piddle around for a couple of hours or more, waiting for the sun to rise higher in the sky so we could pick our way back out through the rocks and coral heads to deeper safer water. The waters here are beautiful because it is so shallow!!! </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxgYXrj6WKiR7YpiwgrzI8lFmKk6l3O8e2TPReOEnMn-8mwHdTVO1TlJSwdlSrlBHj0YhPEgy1ySDu-G1yO-QuZ_E_2MczrPOemBKjIjn9F3hKytHu_8SmPHeEJdTY0G1OppcW3a9FvnNG/s1600/IMGP1115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxgYXrj6WKiR7YpiwgrzI8lFmKk6l3O8e2TPReOEnMn-8mwHdTVO1TlJSwdlSrlBHj0YhPEgy1ySDu-G1yO-QuZ_E_2MczrPOemBKjIjn9F3hKytHu_8SmPHeEJdTY0G1OppcW3a9FvnNG/s400/IMGP1115.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view all day long underway - photo taken from the flybridge!!!!</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The water is also very still today, no wind nor waves, making it so easy to see to the bottom. We never saw any sign of life while underway - just spotty soft corals gently waving under the water and as we got closer to Nassau, began seeing those puffy coral colored starfish I love so much.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvJX-tSLWsPz7D1bamQUDOanHDHoZZMAlhc5LHmV89bmaTGIPBJJxacPTyour2_VJEE-ncjqSeMuz42CLWtZD_GkV9CHZloBtI8B5nhspWSVhEEm-K-0LA4BWC2c4FsyNupTaspljJ2gHW/s1600/IMGP1119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvJX-tSLWsPz7D1bamQUDOanHDHoZZMAlhc5LHmV89bmaTGIPBJJxacPTyour2_VJEE-ncjqSeMuz42CLWtZD_GkV9CHZloBtI8B5nhspWSVhEEm-K-0LA4BWC2c4FsyNupTaspljJ2gHW/s320/IMGP1119.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cruising through Nassau Harbor</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Pulling into Nassau in the late afternoon was uneventful, as was getting into a slip at the Nassau Yacht Haven Marina. This harbor is crowded, busy, has strong currents and anchoring is not advised as holding is terrible....hence, the marina choice....Not much choice!</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Surprise! Who knocked on our hull shortly after we tied up but Jim & Robin Roberts from Adventures, a DeFever 49 that we’d met at Warderick Cay. We had a good time catching up and discussing the Not So Good weather headed our way.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcwL9p3pDiVVI_4fyQNkkG8R5fH38JTt8YcTL6JqZ860CD6GB9uTuH5qratj8MkNJ9MNWmiPJ7SB0Tzggt1OT1cdcBJHCLivFXl8aNoYP4Ye7oNzhOdllXFDFQh3QAAOFmpP38D4QO7PkV/s1600/IMGP1121.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcwL9p3pDiVVI_4fyQNkkG8R5fH38JTt8YcTL6JqZ860CD6GB9uTuH5qratj8MkNJ9MNWmiPJ7SB0Tzggt1OT1cdcBJHCLivFXl8aNoYP4Ye7oNzhOdllXFDFQh3QAAOFmpP38D4QO7PkV/s320/IMGP1121.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finally Fun is in this mess off to the left</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Stuck now in Nassau it appears we’ll be here nearly a week as the winds howl and seas build to far higher than we want to tackle. We really tried to rationalize trying to make it to Bimini - a two day trip from here - and hunkering down there for a few days while this front passes through. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRW42qQTFvg6PNJXxJ6pFmcwZThklSSGKQkSGLoYd2IjnCdlnLXfzW2CPdhKMAUMt013ZQsPaoLFTygckJehs5GqzPxoarSEn10GrDVVfsehQ5oHDwxbdPqAKJPDZRtCiJUf3MvLQ51RZ5/s1600/IMGP1120.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRW42qQTFvg6PNJXxJ6pFmcwZThklSSGKQkSGLoYd2IjnCdlnLXfzW2CPdhKMAUMt013ZQsPaoLFTygckJehs5GqzPxoarSEn10GrDVVfsehQ5oHDwxbdPqAKJPDZRtCiJUf3MvLQ51RZ5/s400/IMGP1120.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Atlantis Resort in the background</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">As much as we want to be home, and feeling very much like the horse that sees the barn, we finally decided we were taking a chance and a risk if we did attempt ‘to beat the storm’. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Departing here, we’d have to travel 40 (5 hours) nautical miles to Chubb Cay, another dot of an island out in the middle of the Great Bahama Bank --- all in very very shallow water. The winds adversely affect the Bank, driving big waves and making the water even more shallow as it blows the water across the Bank. We’d have to anchor or perhaps be lucky enough to grab a mooring ball at Chubb Cay, risking getting stuck there for a week if the weather arrived only a few hours early. Given the weather and with so many boats traversing to/from Florida this time of year, I was also concerned that once we arrived at Chubb, we might find ourselves with ‘no room at the inn‘ -- a over crowded anchorage in really bad bad blowing weather is not where we’d want to be. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">From Chubb, it is another 80-90 NM (10 to 12 hours underway) to Bimini, continuing across the Bank. We’d face the strong possibility that we’d get hit by the weather rolling in a bit early with no place to hunker down out of it and/or get stuck out in the dark squalls, a very bad thing with all the shallows and reefs. The race across the Banks to beat the storms could become very uncomfortable and potentially dangerous if the weather arrived a bit early or arrived stronger than predicted. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Time to play Chicken....pooooo.</span></span></div>Sharon Fellows Larrison Stepniewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09962977355812944714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164046376669890975.post-72602671331877885972012-04-10T23:13:00.000-04:002012-04-13T08:54:33.993-04:00Shroud Cay & Norman Cay -- Still in the Exumas<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb9VV_whO5JjJmhQCO0HrNc8_YDCt1E1pzM7pDTdzYgtKbzZalK0I8k_HcC7QN-JW8nOlQ5nfFqzAq8tlzj8ghnGdEkVhdj-U6rGrhbxYJR7HaUsjY9Dv75aRyci-1bDHotbsVWg9qL-f5/s1600/IMGP1055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb9VV_whO5JjJmhQCO0HrNc8_YDCt1E1pzM7pDTdzYgtKbzZalK0I8k_HcC7QN-JW8nOlQ5nfFqzAq8tlzj8ghnGdEkVhdj-U6rGrhbxYJR7HaUsjY9Dv75aRyci-1bDHotbsVWg9qL-f5/s320/IMGP1055.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andy pumping up the dinghy for our adventure</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">On a mission to take our dingy up the scenic winding northern creek on Shroud Cay, we departed Warderick Wells about 9:00 am. This Creek remained on my “To Do” list from our trip down. We’d tried to enter it then, but were blocked by sandbars everywhere! I’d missed the fine print that states one must enter at high tide and not linger, or one would be trapped inside until the next high tide! Phew, the Gods were with us then -- because we would have been entering on a falling tide and certainly would have gotten stuck!!! Grabbing a mooring ball on Shroud Cay about 10:30 am, we were in the dinghy within 5 minutes, headed off for the Creek. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvUWjnmIrEdUytOF1omy64rg-TOCs-iQIMwvEBFEQd0hOvKOcMyoX6VknTczmqgcPl4R2c8_rJ_sOHOY0LsEv2vnx1HXuJWEy9JvBoagG8pncXln-kaffv6EXwOs41EW24dgMCPtrwARVx/s1600/IMGP1058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvUWjnmIrEdUytOF1omy64rg-TOCs-iQIMwvEBFEQd0hOvKOcMyoX6VknTczmqgcPl4R2c8_rJ_sOHOY0LsEv2vnx1HXuJWEy9JvBoagG8pncXln-kaffv6EXwOs41EW24dgMCPtrwARVx/s400/IMGP1058.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Entering the creek </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgF_zsPu6pUHdYktFD7ghyphenhyphen6hJueI9OCPxvzTqIv4VXYVdapyQ-wB9Mx2BkXIBOgtNlaOIkzqWkNGuT3E9O1A83mPx7teetvNvsvqYlH5ncD4DC3eSH8_LCcz-pMUbBNt2O1nPz6THLBi43/s1600/IMGP1060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgF_zsPu6pUHdYktFD7ghyphenhyphen6hJueI9OCPxvzTqIv4VXYVdapyQ-wB9Mx2BkXIBOgtNlaOIkzqWkNGuT3E9O1A83mPx7teetvNvsvqYlH5ncD4DC3eSH8_LCcz-pMUbBNt2O1nPz6THLBi43/s400/IMGP1060.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mangroves </td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Ah, it was so pretty inside, winding around and around with mangroves on either side of us, skinny water mixed with deep channels, BUT no wildlife of any kind, except for a few small sting rays we’d see from time to time sliding past our dink. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Every shade of aqua</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View looking from creek to the Atlantic Ocean</td></tr>
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We never saw a bird of any kind, nor any fish swimming. If we’d been in this creek in Florida, we would have seen a zillion alligators!!<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We followed the Creek all the way to where it connects with the ocean, but decided to not beach the dingy on the tiny beach just before the rocks, sandbar and whatever else might be lurking there. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Winding our way back to Finally Fun<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Back at Finally Fun by noon, we released from the mooring ball, heading further north to Norman Cay, a short trip of a little over an hour. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ruins from the Carlos Leder compound</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We’d skipped this island on the way down and I was very interested in hiking about to check out the ruins left from the days of Carlos Leder, a big time Columbian drug runner, who is now spending his days in a US prison cell. Seems Leder ran his operation from the southern tip of the island, via air and boat. When unsuspecting cruisers got too close, he simply murdered them and that is what got the attention of the US Feds, who infiltrated his gang, finally nailing him and his gang of thugs.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Leder's houses in the trees - bullet holes and decay</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We dinked around to the east side of the island, from where we were at anchor off Skipjack Point, checking out the dilapidated dock and bullet ridden houses from the water. We never saw the sunken plane that is reputed to be here, as the weather is so cool I didn't want to snorkel. Nor did we see the wall that protected this compound, not wanting to linger as the tide was falling and it is shallow, shallow, shallow here, even at higher tide. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leder's compound, closer view</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Welcome to Norman Cay - the tiny landing strip</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Beaching our dingy back on the west side of the island, near the two houses, again at the southern end off Skipjack Point, we found a Pirate Flag flying, advertising MacDuff’s Bar and Grill. We assume this is the old Norman’s Cay Beach Club referenced in the guidebooks as there is nothing else around. </span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ7m5ChInAiTYOqQH3XB2u9GOcdb1R0cQ213RORy9w1g4vwzBXXsJPCumaU3N6PtDRL3ZSjzltKKx5pnmDD7nBh_CqW2ZlRNEInrgzQuLhOjZVB6foFqHvyCHTCYjV4YG9vdPL7ai4gZIU/s1600/IMGP1105.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ7m5ChInAiTYOqQH3XB2u9GOcdb1R0cQ213RORy9w1g4vwzBXXsJPCumaU3N6PtDRL3ZSjzltKKx5pnmDD7nBh_CqW2ZlRNEInrgzQuLhOjZVB6foFqHvyCHTCYjV4YG9vdPL7ai4gZIU/s320/IMGP1105.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Hiking down a sandy path toward the runway, with beautiful wispy pine trees overhead, providing shade, we found the Bar & Grill. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Hungry and ready for the hamburgers mentioned in the guidebook, we stepped into the place about 3:30 PM and were promptly stared at by one blonde surfer type guy and three locals, sipping beer around the bar. Cute place, clean, but definitely no warm welcome here! The sign on the door did say Lunch 12-3 and Dinner 5-8. We asked if they by chance were serving anything now. ‘No’. “Ok, no problem, we will wait til dinner at 5:00” NO, was the reply. “You have to make your reservation by 3:00 if you want to eat dinner here.” </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outta here, back to the beach and boat</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Huh, this dude so reminded me of those arrogant, patronizing buggers who hold the red velvet ropes outside of the fancy places in NYC, looking you up and down to determine if you are ‘worthy’ of entering their joint. This blonde dude was non-communicative, staring rudely. Both Andy & I felt creepy in the place and did not even ask about the wifi touted in the guidebooks that was a main reason for coming to this Bar & Grill. Talking later, we each wanted OUT of there. Hackles and hairs standing on end....bad vibes.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Contrast that to another island we were on that was not open for dinner for another couple of hours....but showing up with 6 or 8 of us boaters and inquiring, the owner quickly called in some staff and fixed us a great meal! Business is business...she didn’t want to lose potential customers!</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I watched the shoreline all evening closely. Of the 10 boats at anchor here, not ONE boat/dingy went to shore after 4:00 PM, meaning this blonde dude had absolutely no one for dinner from the anchorage. As basically no one lives on the island, I wonder about a lot of things.....(a) Did he not want to take our reservation as he had no one else to serve and it would not be worth his time to cook for only two for dinner? (b) Is he getting a lot of business from the two houses on the beach or perhaps from folks coming from Wax Cay around on the other side? Frankly, I can’t imagine anyone wanting to cross from Wax Cay to Norman Cay via the cut in the dark </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">with its shallows, reefs and strong current</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">....and <u>then</u> hiking in the dark with no path to the Bar and Grill. or (c) With my imagination, is this place a front for something else????? Leder resurrected....???</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We will never come back here.......</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bye Bye Norman Cay </td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">UPDATE: Two days later, in Nassau, we bumped into boaters we've met previously. In a random conversation about the various islands, I mentioned our experience at the MacDuff Bar and Grill on Norman Cay and the rude, Not So Interested In Serving You dude. Weird, these boaters had basically the same experience, saying it was clear that they were not welcome in the place; that they did not want to serve them food; didn't ask them to sit down, have a beer, etc. Just stared at......Creepy place.</span></span></div>Sharon Fellows Larrison Stepniewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09962977355812944714noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164046376669890975.post-5955583783942087352012-04-08T23:11:00.000-04:002012-04-12T09:27:05.933-04:00Warderick Wells Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">North mooring field @ Warderick Cay</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> As </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">nothing special was happening in celebration of Easter on Staniel Cay and a bit bored with it all, we headed for the Exuma Land and Sea Park Headquarters at Warderick Wells. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Ah ha! While underway, we heard over the VHF a notice to boaters that there was a Pot Luck Easter Dinner at the Park Headquarters at 1:00 PM. I got so excited! We get to celebrate a holiday with others! And, we’ve been cruising for over a week now, pretty much alone, and party animals that we are, beginning to miss people and conversations.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sperm Whale @ Warderick Cay</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Panic. What can I cook that will be ready in a little over an hour to bring to the Pot Luck? Rummaging around in all the tiny hiding places on the boat, checking to see what items were remaining in our dwindling ship’s stores, trying to figure out how to make Something Out of Nothing, I settled on whipping up a batch of brownies....Not just ordinary brownies, but Nieman Marcus Brownies, made from a Butter Pecan cake mix, cream cheese, 2 sticks of butter and covered in pecans. Rich, delicious and loaded with calories, they baked while we cruised toward the Park. </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Taking turns while underway, we showered and made ourselves presentable, making the dinner just in time, hot brownies in hand! What a feast! Turkey, hams, about 30 side dishes and 20 desserts! Fabulous food and fun company as we again met boaters from all over! </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DeFevers at Warderick Cay</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We were stunned to see so many trawlers tied to mooring balls as we entered the anchorage. I don’t think we’ve seen that many trawlers before except at a Trawler Fest! Amazingly, about 11 of the boats were DeFevers! And they just happened to be there, each on his own - no planned rendezvous! Aloha Friday; Lucky Stars; Adventures; Tides In’; Maya; September Song; Conched Out Too and Miss Grace were the only names I could catch on the DeFevers, but there were several others at the northern and southern end of the Cay. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">DeFever owners on Easter Sunday at Warderick Cay Exuma Park</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy Hour for DeFever owners on the beach</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We had fun chatting with the DeFever owners and matching people names to boat names that we were somewhat familiar with. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mangroves abound here in the Park</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Exuma Land and Sea Park rates as one of my most favorite places in all the islands and is certainly one of the most beautiful places ever. I've raved about it in my blog entries when we were here last year. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click to enlarge to read the legend of BooBoo Hill</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Hiking back up BooBoo Hill, we searched and searched, finally finding the sign we’d left there last year. We understand Hurricane Irene rearranged the signs -- ours was at the opposite end we’d placed it on, but it was there!!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia5dCl4SdOuZMrloNe59YdAdi3blyhFfT4rKvXNOaXPuXlHerExqvDMdtZdib9h19om0KwWo7VT3DCkxOTa6gh49NDeSSA4_ryX1P0RvSS0_IJK9dwi5Lsutm7RMztBA_aOzfIqHwuql62/s1600/IMGP1040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia5dCl4SdOuZMrloNe59YdAdi3blyhFfT4rKvXNOaXPuXlHerExqvDMdtZdib9h19om0KwWo7VT3DCkxOTa6gh49NDeSSA4_ryX1P0RvSS0_IJK9dwi5Lsutm7RMztBA_aOzfIqHwuql62/s400/IMGP1040.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Notice the trees are stripped of every leaf....hurricane damage?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BooBoo Hill is up there, at the top</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Signs with boat names left on BooBoo Hill</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUH-qWjda2kdokVdfnkb6J7khZBYIkX0v4lrueIDsHzaIXuPMJZ9RdgalaPlRRYVIa12zG78esvbzyeCy3SDLDYuBHgCxPQQQfeGjhTvOxSRPZjNKcTjgo2qFBoRd_Lb-DYQroRVXNxWzH/s1600/IMGP1043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUH-qWjda2kdokVdfnkb6J7khZBYIkX0v4lrueIDsHzaIXuPMJZ9RdgalaPlRRYVIa12zG78esvbzyeCy3SDLDYuBHgCxPQQQfeGjhTvOxSRPZjNKcTjgo2qFBoRd_Lb-DYQroRVXNxWzH/s400/IMGP1043.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Okay, so where IS our sign we left last year??? !!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FOUND! Finally Fun's sign was now on the opposite end of the pile</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGVfkin8CNME2llX8_b-Rm8nCnNrgwUuBdHLIjkRDZxx5OGCOmKTK-exjIRYqN4F-2jL-w4esIhfOWzL6frS3IVZjrU_972NSRo1GgTnTgNqSOGMj8dKEjsHBYB_o9VRPZL4ADaIs60cWi/s1600/IMGP1044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGVfkin8CNME2llX8_b-Rm8nCnNrgwUuBdHLIjkRDZxx5OGCOmKTK-exjIRYqN4F-2jL-w4esIhfOWzL6frS3IVZjrU_972NSRo1GgTnTgNqSOGMj8dKEjsHBYB_o9VRPZL4ADaIs60cWi/s400/IMGP1044.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sign has held up well with just slightly faded lettering</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div>Sharon Fellows Larrison Stepniewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09962977355812944714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164046376669890975.post-54882980540009558902012-04-06T23:04:00.000-04:002012-04-12T08:04:37.343-04:00Great Guana Cay, Black Point Settlement & Staniel Cay<div style="font: 14.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That line of waves is a large reef! Beware!!</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Pulling out of Georgetown about 9:00 am on the 5th, we picked our way carefully through the reefs, one eye on reading the water, looking for dark patches that signal things that might be sticking up, tearing our hull and the other eye on the Chart Plotter and Depth Sounder. We finally got out into open water. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turned gloomy underway</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The weather forecasts and discussions we’re hearing via VHF are a bit alarming. As we cruised in the bright sunshine, calm seas and light winds, we’re hearing of thunderstorms, 60 mph winds headed our way. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gotta get thru that cut - Dothan Cut near Black Point</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The radar shows a horrific cloud full of thunderstorms NW of us, but still far away. Bahamian weather is making no mention of any looming bad weather, but other forecasts do. Seven hours later, we dropped the hook off Black Point Settlement, putting out nearly a 7 to 1 ratio on the anchor chain, hoping to ‘stick’ us more firmly in case of high winds.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In Dothan Cut - note the strong current</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Strange, only 5 other boats here and about 5 more came in through the evening. Plenty of room to drag is the bright side of things, I guess. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andy's 'done' with the lines</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We busied ourselves with patching up our lines. I’ve learned the technique of whipping the lines (Thanks, Internet!) and we’ve cut and whipped two lines that were badly chaffed when we fueled up in Road Town, Tortolla, BVIs. They are looking good - just shorter than before.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Camera just can't truly capture the scene!</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This potentially bad weather did, however, create perhaps the MOST BEAUTIFUL sunset we’ve seen. Sitting on the aft deck, watching the clouds turn streaky orange in the brilliant blue sky, with the sun a huge magnificent orange, we watched it sink, hoping for the Green Flash. No flash, but breathtakingly beautiful. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big boat anchored behind us in Staniel Cay</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watching nurse sharks at Staniel Cay</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> Up at 5:00 am, rocking and rolling, waves slapping loudly on the hull, keeping me awake, I feel like a ‘sitting duck’. We are unable to get wifi, which means no updated weather. Is that squall line headed our way or not? Sky is overcast, winds picked up but now have dropped a bit. Guess we’ll sit here, hunkered down to Wait And See. The boat is rocking so badly we’re holding on. We can’t lower the dingy due to the severe rolling, so we are truly stuck. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of baby pigs this time!!</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Finally bored to death, we pulled anchor and cruised over to the next anchorage off Staniel Cay, at Big Major. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> Not much going on here either -- the pigs still swim out to greet boaters and the ‘Yacht Club’ was busy and pretty full of the tourists that arrived by air to stay in the little houses along the beach. Same, same as before but not as much fun, as we didn’t meet anyone new or fun.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking for a handout of carrots</td></tr>
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Rich folks off Fowl Cay Resort</div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div>Sharon Fellows Larrison Stepniewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09962977355812944714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164046376669890975.post-48920148398902124702012-04-04T08:12:00.000-04:002012-04-12T21:55:42.244-04:00Georgetown, Exumas, Bahamas<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beach off Georgetown, Exumas, Bahamas</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Large sting ray</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The saying is, “Its Better In The Bahamas”. I’m not certain what is better, but the water in the Exumas that I’ve raved about as we cruised southward through these waters, seems even prettier this time. In 54 feet of water, I could see the blades of grass on the bottom! </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Dropping the hook in 15 feet of water off Sand Dollar Beach in Georgetown on Monday afternoon, I watched a large sting ray swim up to check us out, as did two large sea turtles. Again, I can see individual blades of grass on the bottom through the clear, sparkling aqua water. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Funky popular place - The Chat & Chill</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ummmm, so many choices......Where to Go Next!</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We are surprised at how few boats are actually here -- this is THE place to hunker down for the winter....guess they have gone on OR the recession has also hit Georgetown hard. </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not so many boats at anchor this year</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We’ve spent a couple of lazy days here, catching up on domestic chores and exploring in the dingy - slowly -- as we have to break in the engine. We’ve walked the beaches looking for those Sand Dollars that this beach is named for....Just like the rest of the guidebooks - nope - nothing - nada. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5SGtHKzYQtpodb8iVkhjatmQyJuaexYtkeVbuGc4RbIIbYpwtfvQ79p-49oRp_LLeC-MM8CczI_IyV0sK7IYsO5uFYa5qPQGs4UwitqBlefmpdJeX2b6v6_Nyjwha3XN4SECHSrpb1wA9/s1600/IMGP0968.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Ouch, shopping for fruit and produce at the local grocery is a painful reminder of how expensive food is here in the Bahamas....from 20% to 100% higher for items here. One red pepper, weighing in at 1.09 pounds was $5.50; yellow squash at $3.50 a pound and 1 pound of ordinary carrots was 99 cents. The local paper has an article discussing the efforts to grow food here in the islands, showing a photo of a new tractor just delivered to the Exumas to help them in their efforts. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sting ray searching for a loose piece of conch from the pile of discarded conch shells</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In an earlier blog, I mentioned how some Bahamians proudly talked about the fact that they are not farmers - as though that were demeaning. Now, these islands are waking up and quoting the Food & Agriculture Organization of the UN’s warning of a ‘major food crisis’. These islands IMPORT everything! They send “ $500 million a year out of the country each year to purchase goods and service that we can easily provide ourselves right here in our Bahamas”. They discussed how many tomatoes (which seem to be about the only thing grown in any quantity around here) they throw away every year, while, at the same time, IMPORTING ketchup, diced tomatoes in cans, etc. etc. etc. The islands are now encouraging green house technology, plastic coverings for plants and certain fertilization techniques. Humm, maybe sometime, it won’t be so expensive to shop here and maybe someday, the produce we do purchase will actually be FRESH.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doesn't get any prettier than this!</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Now, if someone on these islands can figure out how to fix the beer problems.....$50 a CASE is the price for the cheapest beers! Let’s show them how to make homebrew....or maybe it would be faster to make homebrew on a BOAT.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div>Sharon Fellows Larrison Stepniewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09962977355812944714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164046376669890975.post-77847905590746133792012-04-01T08:11:00.000-04:002012-04-12T21:56:11.690-04:00Back in the Bahamas<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">After waving Good-Bye to all our new friends at South Side Marina on Friday, March 30, we departed on the high tide for nearby Sapadillo Bay in order to get an early start the next morning. We’ve learned....we came into this marina on a rising tide the other day, but less than 2 hours from high. We stuck Finally Fun in the sand for a few moments or two, till we could get her off and absolutely into the middle of that channel! Last time, we waited in Sapadillo Bay until the high tide....Shoulda, woulda....</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beach off W. Planya Cay - Big cruising boat w guests set up the chairs</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The two long 10 hour days cruising in the North Atlantic were uneventful. We dropped the hook the first night off West Planya Cay, a tiny tiny dot of a mostly uninhabited island, settling in quickly and hitting the sack, pooped. How can one be so tired when one sits on their fanny all day? Amazing. Must be the fresh air....</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sharon reeling, reeling</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andy taking over reeling one in</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We arrived in Clarencetown, Long Island, Bahamas about 5:30 PM on Day Two. The only excitement today was catching THREE fish, as we trolled along the way! A black fin tuna and a cero mackerel got beheaded and gutted very quickly. </span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cero Mackerel</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> Just as I finished chumming the water with the yucky parts, zing - out went the line again! This time, a cagey fish fought me for a bit, then headed straight for the boat, blasting up alongside the starboard side, hooked a sharp turn and aimed right for us. The lure with the hook - snapped out of whatever it was - aimed skyward and splashed back into the ocean. Never saw the fish.. At the marina, professional captains told me it sounded like I’d hooked a Wahoo.. Ah, someday. No matter. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cleaning fish aboard Finally Fun - Messy Messy</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The nice Captain gave me a few pointers on cleaning my fish as I whacked away on the marina’s fish table. I managed to salvage quite a bit. Fresh raw fish (using both) with sushi rice and stir fry vegs made a great meal. I froze the remainder, after making tuna tartare for tomorrow. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shark moving in for my chum</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwdJP8YyBBp02nBdh1qwVI4NpdaaJEP6SA7IslqUl-2xWqTS1l9pX4TRF3_eg9VPMUSg__4tkTea5TV_a4lg2nof6YuK6McvlQSAAt1LaBTEKlmuDyql3nmEjXR0KkupVnKFj91Kwx7Knh/s1600/IMG_6556.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwdJP8YyBBp02nBdh1qwVI4NpdaaJEP6SA7IslqUl-2xWqTS1l9pX4TRF3_eg9VPMUSg__4tkTea5TV_a4lg2nof6YuK6McvlQSAAt1LaBTEKlmuDyql3nmEjXR0KkupVnKFj91Kwx7Knh/s320/IMG_6556.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">What a place. Remind me to NEVER fall in the water at the Flying Fish Marina. As we were tying up at the outside fuel dock, a lemon shark (pale tan color) swam past, fin straight up in the water - about 15 feet long. Right behind him, a large sting ray. Then, while I was cleaning my fish, a feeding frenzy ensued when I tossed my fish bones and skin into the water. Four large sharks - regular looking sharks -- NOT the tamer nurse sharks -- were there in a flash, as were lots of other big fish, all fighting for a scrap of fish parts. Scary sight!</span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Off the dock in about 6 feet of water</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset off the bow of Finally Fun @ Flying Fish Marina</td></tr>
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</span></div>Sharon Fellows Larrison Stepniewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09962977355812944714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164046376669890975.post-38033773018825535522012-03-30T20:47:00.002-04:002012-03-30T20:56:37.011-04:00South Side Marina, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">South Side Marina</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Youch. The Turks & Caicos have changed their Customs & Immigration fees since we were here last year. Instead of $15 to enter the country it is now $50 and then $300 for a 'cruising permit' if you stay more than 7 days. They hit you again for another $50 upon checkout! I'm told that if the weather is raging and you are on the 7th day, trying to check out, they give you a bit of leeway so as to not send you out in the storm....But...that is not written anywhere.... The island needs more money (who doesn’t!) but this has potential to backlash. This is a small area of islands that one could decide to simply cruise straight through, going on to Dominican Republic or northward to the Bahamas. That translates into no money spent here in these islands. In my opinion, there is not much here anyway except diving...and there is diving up and down the Caribbean chain....</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boaters sharing cooking the meal for all</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Here we sit, at South Side Marina, awaiting another weather window so we can depart for the Bahamas - another long passage to get into that island chain - but feeling very much ‘at home’. </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This is the greatest marina EVER. Small, tucked in off the south side of Providenciales, near Sapodillo Bay, nothing fancy, but oh, the friends one makes here. Bob and his small staff go well Above and Beyond for boaters. Regular runs to the grocery store, any other shopping need? Just ask and hop in the car! Need to go to the airport? Right away -- 6:00 AM departure? No Problem. Hop in the car with Bob or Charlyn at the wheel. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making new friends at Happy Hour </td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We LOVE the 5:00 PM Happy Hour every day under the gazebo where all boaters and Bob and Charlyn mix and mingle, sharing BYOB and a dish. On Thursday’s Bob hosts a BBQ - BYOB and your own meat and a dish to share. Bob provides the ice cream dessert. These evenings go well into the night, with boaters sharing funny stories, helpful tips on where to anchor, where to go, what to do, and later seen helping each other out with an always present “boat task”. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We made new friends last year here that we’re still keeping in touch with and crossing wakes with from time to time as we cruise. This year, a new batch of boaters from all around the world expands our circle of friendship. Gathered around the table in the gazebo, or out to lunch as a group at the Conch Shack, (Thanks to Bob & Charlyn for setting it up and transporting us there!) chatting away, mostly in English, were sailors from Portugal, Belgium, the UK, Australia, Poland, along with us and two other couples from the USA.....All three American couples arrived in DeFever trawlers!</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Izzy & Jeff -- DeFever Izzy R</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mo & Pollie -- DeFever Motivator</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Another reminder the world </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">is</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> small. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">IzzyR, a DeFever 49 from California, pulled in on Tuesday, shortly after we did, with Izzy, Jeff and friendly dog, Ben, aboard. Buddy boating with them was Motivator, with Pollie and Mo from Washington, DC at the helm of their DeFever 49. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We’d met Jeff & Izzy last year in Staniel Cay, Exumas and boom - here we meet again! Via email and each other’s blogs, we’d kept in touch over the year. They’d told us months ago they decided to cruise to Grenada after reading our blog. Humm, does that mean that they thought, “Well, if THOSE TWO can do it, so can we!” Grin </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It was quite a sight to see the three large DeFever trawlers at the dock! We were the only Americans and the only power boaters...wonder what message </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">that</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> sent to the foreigners?</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNqAtaLdC5wqYc2_vdz4c8pLCI14W9WCxOOF_P4JG7aBIymiAMU5FxxBaMyaJ2zOhGmvI36YKz_AhxZK7HR619swSjQdBR9UsrJcnXwNF7F02nsZs3HZDNhvODX01SaBGtLKnsHj6zYI-p/s1600/IMGP0934.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNqAtaLdC5wqYc2_vdz4c8pLCI14W9WCxOOF_P4JG7aBIymiAMU5FxxBaMyaJ2zOhGmvI36YKz_AhxZK7HR619swSjQdBR9UsrJcnXwNF7F02nsZs3HZDNhvODX01SaBGtLKnsHj6zYI-p/s320/IMGP0934.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Brrr. The couple from Belgium’s story of sinking quickly off the coast of Portugal a few years ago was a scary tale and a reminder of how quickly life can change. In a STEEL hulled sailboat, at night, they hit what was believed to be a large container or container platform that had fallen off of a freighter....a much more common occurrence than one would think! BOOM! JOLT! Quickly running below, they found themselves already almost knee deep in water! Immediately sending out MayDay, MayDay calls, giving their position in the black of the cold night they donned their survival drysuits with the claw like fingers on them. Lumbering about, like two Telly Tubbies, they tucked passports & what little cash they had on hand into their survival suits, turned on every light in the boat and then heaved the life raft into the ocean. Climbing into that life raft was a very sobering moment they said. Watching the sailboat sink below the water, lights ablaze was astounding they also said. The Sea Gods were kind. A Russian freighter heard their MayDay and chugged to their position, plucking them from the ocean and taking them to Portugal. Their tale of clambering up a net thrown over the side of the enormous freighter, still in the black of night, was terrifying. Wearing those survival suits, with the claw like fingers and bulky boots, they finally each made it to the top of the freighter. One slip, one miss of the net and it is doubtful they would have survived the fall into the water -- and under the hull of the freighter. Andy and I were thankful we heard that story AFTER we’d completed our 54 hours, 2 nights at sea....</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rum Punch @ The Conch Shack</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New friends sharing lunch at The Conch Shack</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">More fun times, telling stories and pouring over charts together with suggestions freely given of where to go and what to see and who to contact by those that had already ‘been there/done that’. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Departing the Turks & Caicos . Ah, THE MOST beautiful water ever! Note the coral heads!</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div>Sharon Fellows Larrison Stepniewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09962977355812944714noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164046376669890975.post-33946854646274849682012-03-28T13:24:00.002-04:002012-03-30T08:55:47.680-04:00Two Nights at Sea: Puerto Rico to the Turks & Caicos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We spent our last night putting into our new dinghy replacement items for those things that had been stolen, such as life jackets, anchor, etc. I double checked the contents of our ever present Ditch Bag. For you non-boaters, this brightly colored bag is full of life saving items and can be grabbed in a second if one is forced to abandon ship....a frightful thought. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our stuffed Ditch Bat</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I spent some time exchanging out water bottles, checking all batteries in the various things that take batteries, such as our hand held GPS, the strobe lights on our life jackets to be certain all are in working order and that spares have not expired. In the ditch bag is our EPIRB, the personal locator beacon that when activated, sends up a signal to the satellites in the sky, providing our ID# and our position - new invention that has saved thousands of lives at sea. Also included is a first aid kit, spare glasses & RX sunglasses for me (I am legally blind without glasses!) 50 block sunscreen; space heating blankets; rain ponchos, knife, all kinds of USCG flares that hopefully would attract a LOT of attention, copies of our boat information, insurance info, passports, medical info and contact info...a horrific thought. Other stuff is in there, such as some cash. This time, given 2 nights at sea (Sunday thru Tuesday afternoon), I’ve pulled our dive suits out (</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">hypothermia is an issue no matter where one is) </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">placing them next to the ditch bag. Everything has been placed on the flybridge, ready to be grabbed -</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our EPIRB</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I feel like a Girl Scout....Be Prepared. Our SPOT is set to signal our position every six hours. The kids have our float plan and instructions to contact South Side Marina and the Authorities if they have not heard from us by Tuesday afternoon. Andy keeps shaking his head....too much of a reminder that he </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">Does Not Like</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> Large Open Bodies of Ocean.</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Pulling out at 6:22 AM, we topped off our tanks (1,100 gallons in total via the 4 tanks on board) for the 400+ mile trip to the Turks & Caicos from Puerto Rico. Note to Boaters: This marina has good fuel prices $4.19 a gallon - when others are over $5 and is a high volume marina. (News flash: Fuel in Turks & Caicos is $6.36 a gallon due to their high taxation!)</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Ugh, a rainy day, with following seas surfing us along all day after we left Puerto del Ray Marina in Farjado til we dropped the hook off Isla Caja de Muertos, known as Coffin Island in English. This island, resembling a coffin (duh!) from the air, was once home to a small rum manufacturing plant, producing only a case or two a month - but, legend has it that the rum was fabulous - better than DonQ, Puerto Rico’s national drink. An uneventful night & an early to bed (no problem after a long long day at sea) in preparation for another early start in the morning.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Puerto Rico on the right up to Turks & Caicos, top left</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Pulling anchor at barely first light, we headed off for what would become a 54 hour, non-stop cruise to Provinciales, Turks & Caicos. Do the math - that is two nights underway at sea, another first for us! Andy is a bit apprehensive as he needs more sleep than I and he’s worried he’ll be ‘fuzzy’ at the wrong moment. We are, however, in agreement that we’ll save potentially a couple of weeks of cruising by drawing a line straight form Puerto Rico to the Turks & Caicos, bypassing the Dominica Republic and missing the most treacherous part of the dreaded Mona Passage. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A welcome sunrise</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">For you non-boaters, it is not the distance that creates the longer passage of time, but weather. One seems to always get a few days of good weather -- a “weather window” followed by another long batch of days where the winds and seas are far higher than one wants to travel in safely or comfortably. Therefore, to cruise around the coast of the DR is to have to hop from marina to marina or anchorage to anchorage (No good anchorages around the DR that are safe from wind, waves.) and thereby get ‘stuck’ for a few days due to weather not conducive to safe cruising. Couple that with the fact that we’d still have to do one overnight passage anyway, and the decision became easy...Go For It...One Shot Across the North Atlantic Ocean from Puerto Rico to Turks & Caicos. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Squalls followed us</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Hum, what happened to our good weather forecast?! We rocked, we rolled, we tried to dodge rain squalls to no avail. Every time we’d watch our boat position via the radar - in the middle of the squall -- and CHANGE position in an attempt to get out of the squall, the dang squall would just follow us as though stuck to our antennas. As the night darkened the sky, with the tiny sliver of moon disappearing, we rocked & rolled in the dark. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">A bit nervous, as we could not see the waves coming at us, we held on....every so often in a pattern of one, two, three, four, five, </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">SIX -- Bang The Big One</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">, would hit us. Disconcerting not to see it coming. I do have one long, black bruise on my leg for missing the count, getting out of my helm chair at the wrong moment, being thrown into the table and then falling onto the port seating area. Ouch. Without the fancy expensive stabilizers we added just for our cruise through the Caribbean and the long ocean passages, I can’t image how bad this night might have been! </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andy napping</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In spite of our fancy, expensive stabilizers, Andy again turned Puke Green. (Remember my earlier blog in 2010 regarding our ‘discussions’ as to whether or not to purchase these at $50,000....My argument was “Do you KNOW how many sea sick pills you could purchase for $50,000!!) He finally agreed to put on a seasick patch - “It’s too late to put it on.” “No, it is not - we have another 46 hours at sea.” </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">He slept much of the night (thanks Patch) while I, the Night Owl, kept watch. I did, however, clip my little tiny kitchen timer to my shirt - setting it every 20 minutes. It would “beep beep beep beep” on schedule, waking me up should I inadvertently doze off. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Former photo - not this trip</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmglodsuecVowZdBF9oasujMCT1bdsUMwkCMTuIkO1ofeXdw4ms-dZC8-v1mplAYXPkyPU2sT-EJl2Go7vV2xezwPvwhO0oJcUtoWY3tsVSMe5O9tgrhgTE4b5mdQAOtrJSS2VWtecUM87/s1600/IMG_4697.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmglodsuecVowZdBF9oasujMCT1bdsUMwkCMTuIkO1ofeXdw4ms-dZC8-v1mplAYXPkyPU2sT-EJl2Go7vV2xezwPvwhO0oJcUtoWY3tsVSMe5O9tgrhgTE4b5mdQAOtrJSS2VWtecUM87/s400/IMG_4697.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo taken prior to our crossing - not our headings</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Huh... On Watch. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">That means W<u>atch the Instruments</u> - making certain our autopilot holds the course we set, making certain no engine overheats or some other part decides to malfunction. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">It also means keeping your eye on the radar and on the seas, meaning <u>Watch the Ocean for Something Coming Your Way.</u> Other boats, tankers & the like are running with lights on, as are we. It's those <u>Things That Go Bump In The Night </u>with NO lights that worry us. We could be sunk - literally and figuratively - if we hit a container off a ship or some other such object bobbing around in the ocean waters! With two nights at sea, we saw only ONE tanker and did alter course, getting out of his path....Saw and Heard Nothing the entire 54 hours! Amazing. A sober reminder of how small the world is....we were certainly a dot in the vast blue ocean.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caught a fish & ate him for dinner as we cruised</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Life aboard over this 54 hour passage settled into a routine - much like any other passage. With no hint of seasickness, I’m able to go below, piddle around, cook a meal, clean up, take a shower, read, whatever. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I did, however, prepare meals in advance. Homemade beef stew, hot and hearty was easily served in bowls. The meal planned for Night #2 was left in the refrig when we hauled in some kind of fish, having finally hooked one as we cruised. Why is it that the fish I catch are NEVER in my fish ID book? I whacked it up in the cockpit of Finally Fun, again chumming the water behind us as I cleaned it. Whatever it was, it was good, with tender white flesh. </span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I finally got to see bioluminescence, watching the tiny bits of microscopic plankton (called dinoflagellates) , disturbed by our hull cutting through the water, light up & sparkle as it flipped and flopped over our bow and stern waves during the dark of night. Beautiful. The sight kept me occupied for hours. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We listened to a book on tape -- would you believe this book, "11/22/63" by Stephen King has 30 discs! This is a long long story about time travel and the Kennedy assassination and is all tangled up with numerous side stories. In our two days (we didn’t listen at night as one would be napping), we only made it to Tape #14! I told Andy we needed some more long long passages so we could finish ‘the book’. He’d didn’t even crack a smile. Sometimes I think he'd like to hammer me! grin.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bob's dog standing watch on the roof as we pulled in</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Pulling into SouthSide Marina, we were warmly greeted by Bob, the owner, who remembered us from last year. We stayed awake til the 5:00 PM Happy Hour in his gazabo, meeting the other boaters and sharing food and stories. Ah, a great group of folks, as always. Asleep by 9:00 PM, we snored til 8:30 AM the next day, awakening refreshed. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span></div>Sharon Fellows Larrison Stepniewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09962977355812944714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164046376669890975.post-62137785233197189532012-03-24T09:49:00.000-04:002012-03-28T11:49:01.642-04:00Small World - Still in Puerto Rico<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Our unplanned stop in Puerto Rico this week had a couple of bright spots and provided yet another reminder that the world is indeed small.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Parrots in the Marina</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Who should pull into the slip beside us here in the Puerto del Ray Marina in Farjardo but Second Hand Rose with Lou and Lydia aboard. Lou was the boater who heard our plea for help via the VHF the night the dink was stolen in Vieques and came to our rescue that night and provided our transportation to/from the Police yet again the next day! We’ve enjoyed their company here in the Marina and the great conversations that ensue when one makes a new friend!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sam & Olga aboard Finally Fun last year</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This unplanned stop gave me the opportunity to call Olga, my friend from Novartis with the news, “We are here! We are in San Juan in a rental car!” Ah, a great reunion at their home, with Sam cooking dinner for us. Over wine, we caught up on the past year, chatted with their girls and about the upcoming wedding plans for May. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sam, Master Chef!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John & Kathy at one of the parties in Grenada</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The unplanned stop also gave us a chance to catch up with John & Kathy, aboard Oceania, friends from our days at Port Louis Marina in Grenada. Sharing their rental car, we headed off to dinner at a special restaurant Kathy had heard about. Same frustrations we’ve always experienced in Puerto Rico..... GPS and printed Map in Hand translated into hours spent driving in circles trying to find the place. This time, however, after going thru the same traffic light once East, once West, once North and once South, all to no avail, we found two Policemen on motorcycles. Asking directions, with yet another tourist pulling over to ask his How To Get To... question, the police threw up their hands. It was obvious we didn’t understand a thing they were telling us. The cops said, “Follow Us”. We had a police escort to the restaurant with the other tourist trailing behind, waiting to get to his place of confusion!!!!! Super - we laughed all the way. Wonder if anyone thought we were important!! I guess not - we never got a table any quicker..</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij8lIWu5kke7yyBwBk5PXDcKY_zIjeg3seF8r7_uQtUgCRxkIbiU8jJRVeCLQ62LuoHOoSit6p2ky3OO3x-iPa4zPkwmyN9aW4Y7t-3P0OaRJgFksbxDTv8nYACGMN_p8OHFsGxIB8N49o/s1600/IMG_6534.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij8lIWu5kke7yyBwBk5PXDcKY_zIjeg3seF8r7_uQtUgCRxkIbiU8jJRVeCLQ62LuoHOoSit6p2ky3OO3x-iPa4zPkwmyN9aW4Y7t-3P0OaRJgFksbxDTv8nYACGMN_p8OHFsGxIB8N49o/s320/IMG_6534.JPG" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Such a treat! We spotted a family of manatee residing in the marina. One has a baby, always tucked UNDER her body as she swims along. Once in a while, as they all do, Baby took off on his or her own. Mama swam immediately over, tucking Baby back under!!! A great sight to see, but failed to have my camera out in time! </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Manatee drinking from fresh water hose</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So ugly, she's Beautiful</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She drank forever it seemed!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwFeycyWozzpjMcQhmUjH8M7RxJm-4P32u2A4JbijAY57Dg-aNhyphenhyphenJWBJRX0v4_Z7Psj2IdlkSFyuG5JaYyHoQnukpfPfR9PTYR25FNTMfUc3b9cA-GvESRiaEJ82rt_rwJ8EyvlL5_9KIu/s1600/IMG_6553.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwFeycyWozzpjMcQhmUjH8M7RxJm-4P32u2A4JbijAY57Dg-aNhyphenhyphenJWBJRX0v4_Z7Psj2IdlkSFyuG5JaYyHoQnukpfPfR9PTYR25FNTMfUc3b9cA-GvESRiaEJ82rt_rwJ8EyvlL5_9KIu/s320/IMG_6553.jpg" width="174" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">One more time, our little Go Phone rang. Another call (LOVE being able to have a cell phone now that we are in USA waters), this time from from Jenn & Greg with little 6 year old Quinn in hand. Our friends off Mirasol were just down the coast in the next marina! Another fun afternoon aboard Finally Fun as we caught up with each other’s news! The conversations extended into the evening at our marina restaurant before they headed back to their marina to tuck in little Quinn. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">It never ceases to amaze me how many friends we’ve made along the waterways over our four years and how often after that our paths cross again and again. With the internet via emails and via FaceBook, we keep in touch. Sometimes the world is so small we hear a call coming over our VHF radio, “This is xxxx”. Not hailing us, but hailing a marina or whatever. A voice from our past yet again, in the water, somewhere nearby. A quick call to them via our VHF, a quick change in direction or schedule and boom, another fun evening of rapport, of gossip, of information exchanged on Where to Go and How to Go or How to Fix......</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The cruising lifestyle is one of ever friendly cruisers, of firm friendships made, of one stopping to help another in need and never feeling lonely, ever. This is quite the social environment, comprised of folks from all around the world, with a common love of the sea, of adventure and a thirst for knowledge about it all and about their fellow cruisers. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I shall so very much miss all this when we decide someday to become land based, or life’s events decide that FOR US! I absolutely DREAD the thought of purchasing a house somewhere, making a mistake, finding ourselves in a neighborhood of folks going about their routines and not reaching out to the newcomer! That was our experience during our 12 years in Atlanta - an experience I’d never had before from neighborhoods.....Makes me want to kinda live aboard forever rather than risk boredom....and folks focused only on themselves. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">So pretty So LOUD</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">After a false start yesterday - we actually checked OUT of the marina but before casting off the lines, got delayed helping a delightful French (yes! helping a French couple - after all the fun poked at the French) family who pulled in next to us. In the interim, the weather turned squally so we decided to stay put for another night. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sharon's idea of dress shoes</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We used our ‘extra’ gift of time wisely, hitching a ride to West Marine one more time. West Marine is the addictive shopping spree of choice for us and all other boaters -- beats shopping for clothes or shoes!!</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Ah, I’m going to have such a tough time adapting to life on land.... </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div>Sharon Fellows Larrison Stepniewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09962977355812944714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164046376669890975.post-59755481879620762932012-03-22T03:15:00.001-04:002012-03-22T03:31:41.079-04:00Dinghy Shopping in Puerto Rico<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Take two frustrated cruisers; put them into a rental car with a terrible map and a GPS that doesn’t register any address put into it...at least not the way we kept trying to input.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Keep stirring the mix with a language foreign to the frustrated boaters, including how to figure out an address....”Is this word a street or a town??”</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And keep up the scenario for hours and hours in traffic and no street signs. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Stop for directions from the warm and friendly locals. Smile. Get back into the car. “I don’t know what the hell he said.” </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Increase the frustration level.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXcK9xCjniHbK9_M_fLT52YdKa3JgM-F5bLbYYI8LxAgDpEoOHV3-DADEoxgJ0_DGg1Bbp_SCR4rVhui6znlfcoJF_Y_xqUJHLZfyb9AGkJpV-TUETTB8a0KwYVHlJ6rK8Tdcqds1KhFbf/s1600/IMGP0196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXcK9xCjniHbK9_M_fLT52YdKa3JgM-F5bLbYYI8LxAgDpEoOHV3-DADEoxgJ0_DGg1Bbp_SCR4rVhui6znlfcoJF_Y_xqUJHLZfyb9AGkJpV-TUETTB8a0KwYVHlJ6rK8Tdcqds1KhFbf/s400/IMGP0196.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">OMG. If we didn’t need a dinghy so badly, we would have given up!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">To you non-cruisers, our dinghy is our mode of transportation 90% of the time. We usually anchor out as marinas are few and far between AND cost a bunch of money AND are never as pretty as an anchorage. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Therefore, the only way to get to shore for mundane tasks such as shopping or to sight see, is to get into the dinghy and head in. We are careful and always LOCK our dinghy with a heavy chain and padlock -- even locking it to the boat at night if we leave it in the water (rather than pull it up on top of the boat via a davit). We can’t believe we got robbed. Ugh.<br /><br />Thank Goodness we are in “USA” here at the Marina Puerto del Ray in Farjado, Puerto Rico. The little Go Phone works and wifi is available. Hours spent on the computer and on the phone, trying to locate a 12” AB inflatable and a Mercury 4 stroke, 15 HP engine to replace ours, was a trial of perseverance and patience. Half the places in the books and computer listings are no longer in business. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There is no “For English Press 1”.<br /><br />There has not been a Mercury dealer in PR for about a year and there are NO 15 HP Mercury engines on the island, period. We’re getting a Yamaha, but it is more expensive.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Luck prevailed or either the Gods in the Sky decided we’d had all we could take. We finally found a 12’ AB Inflatable Dink that had been sitting in a store for a year. We checked it out & grabbed it. No other brand of dinghy was the same length/beam and most likely would not have fit properly on our aft deck roof mountings, creating another expensive problem in moving the mountings around....drilling holes in the roof..<br /><br />Island time prevails. Sitting and waiting for delivery of the dinghy was OK. The engine delivery, however, was like waiting for the Police in Viequez....15 more minutes. Hours later......</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We clearly are not departing Puerto Rico tomorrow as planned as the two items are not both here nor put together nor tested in the water. <br /><br />Ugh...The weather window is good <u>for now</u> to get to the Turks & Caicos - a 2 night overnight trip.... <br /><br /><br />The frustrated boaters are mixing cocktails.....</span></div>
</div>Sharon Fellows Larrison Stepniewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09962977355812944714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164046376669890975.post-24789178368469803982012-03-15T02:34:00.000-04:002012-03-22T03:31:57.389-04:00ROBBED in Viequez, Spanish Virgin Islands<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Our trip to this beautiful island was RUINED when a thief or thieves stole our dinghy off the beach in Ensenada Sun Bay. The lock had been busted and the heavy chain we'd wrapped around a log was gone. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our hole dug out for the chain</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> Our secondary line, the painter, was cut, lying across the log. We were stranded on the beach after dark with a sick feeling. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cut painter line</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Found the busted lock in the sand at the water's edge</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We had beached the dinghy and walked over to the Bioluminescent Bay to swim in it after dark. That is another disappointment - the place is totally commercial. We could not access the Bay via our boat or dink, so we thought we could walk there & swim. Impossible. One needs to pay $40 pp to take a kayak or electric boat. We could find no place to access the water except at the commercial loading area....not to be. After checking out the place, we caught a ride with one of the tour buses back to the beach. We were barely an hour AND there is a security guard patrolling that beach. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful Ensanada Sun Bay</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">At the last moment, I'd gone back into the locked boat to retrieve our portable VHF as we were departing - thank goodness! At about 10:00 PM, o</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">ne boater at anchor in the Bay finally responded to our numerous calls for help via the VHF, and gave us a dingy ride to our boat. We thought we’d be sleeping on the beach that night! Finally Fun out in the anchorage, too far to swim.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Island Time Reigns. Each time we called the local police station, we were always informed, “Be right there”. Two hours later...... After the initial response and oral reporting, we made arrangements to meet the Police again on the beach at 8:00 AM the next morning to fill out all the paperwork. Yup....almost two hour wait again. We are so grateful to Lou, aboard the S/V Second Hand Rose, who’d come to our rescue that evening AND took us to and from shore again the next morning! </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Little did we know this was one of our last rides aboard our dinghy!</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Upon reporting the theft, we were informed that dinghy theft is a common occurrence in the area, both in the day and night. We were also told to not leave our boat unattended and to be careful. They told us they have a big drug problem on the Island, in spite of efforts underway via ICE and DEA. Great, how about posting some signs...yeah, I know...bad publicity. <br /><br />I was stunned when we arrived in Puerto Rico to attempt to purchase a new dinghy. Numerous people, including the marina staff, have all said, “Yes, we know...there is a big problem on Vieques with lots of stealing going on. Most folks don’t go there anymore from here.” Too bad this information is not published where we can find it!!! We would not, obviously, have gone there.<br /><br />One would think that honest folks living on the island know who is doing this and speak up, making a strong effort to rid their island of these thieves as they will be ultimately hurt by a reduction in visitors. I cite St. Vincent, further down the Caribbean as a great example. I've met so many boaters during the year we've been down here and each say the same thing...."Don't go to St. Vincent due to high number of thefts and worse." No one goes.<br /><br />We, after our experience within the first few hours of our arrival, did not (a) purchase groceries (b) eat in the local Vieques restaurants (c) shop in the shops (d) take any tours to the bioluminescent bays (e) catch the local bus or take a taxi across the island to visit the town of Isabel Sequnda and repeat all of the above. Not a penny spent on the island. <br /><br />We had intended to spend about a week cruising around Vieques and also cruise over to Culerbra, the neighboring island in the Spanish Virgins. No more...we’re pretty down on the place obviously. I am angry that the theft rate is high from all we've been told, yet no one ‘catches’ anyone. The island is so small I don’t understand why there isn’t a stake out or some such thing and pull these thieves in.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span>Sharon Fellows Larrison Stepniewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09962977355812944714noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164046376669890975.post-20024722143873520322012-03-12T22:25:00.000-04:002012-03-30T06:07:57.689-04:00Spanish Virgin Islands<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh92R1EduoB1BUW5I-oZw-9FT4MvbVBOK3NH68s_XyIJfc7aJ0hZ3hpqhwlyICEEyLDwLeNWc82_sdnsFO0x4YwNIX8R_TlkzqTipi0BJIZYdPpb0HoWuR4xWFQSfelZ8ZGymSeTBLCxsR7/s1600/IMGP0736.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh92R1EduoB1BUW5I-oZw-9FT4MvbVBOK3NH68s_XyIJfc7aJ0hZ3hpqhwlyICEEyLDwLeNWc82_sdnsFO0x4YwNIX8R_TlkzqTipi0BJIZYdPpb0HoWuR4xWFQSfelZ8ZGymSeTBLCxsR7/s400/IMGP0736.JPG" width="400" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Teaming up with Rich and Margaret aboard Dance Aweigh, we pulled out of Brewer’s Bay, St. Thomas, for the leisurely 24 mile trip to Isla De Vieques, in the Spanish Virgin Islands between the USVI and Puerto Rico. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinJ6Xj5SWdi-L4sCci5uaNV72Lbr35ZuHAp4ozh1vVNj2s3bZEJDFUDMp8bjVNx36ywcYPpNsldraCvjILiTQ4H99hgokbhFn8ku8aBPOJEQi-vRDKf1_0cayb2nVXLFV7mrl4z_G4OHEJ/s1600/IMGP0729.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinJ6Xj5SWdi-L4sCci5uaNV72Lbr35ZuHAp4ozh1vVNj2s3bZEJDFUDMp8bjVNx36ywcYPpNsldraCvjILiTQ4H99hgokbhFn8ku8aBPOJEQi-vRDKf1_0cayb2nVXLFV7mrl4z_G4OHEJ/s320/IMGP0729.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coming in thru the reefs</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQijrAi1ChcJSm7mrX4928E1oWZTshrnxaUZX32Bo0CUw_wepIyvWD3x2rywbYKsGLpAierAutekoOoEvAkyPOFhawXYmls8yrLouk1p7A4_I1nOWvi17M5t5-Mu5B62WDA-ceAr7RjOo7/s1600/IMGP0730.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQijrAi1ChcJSm7mrX4928E1oWZTshrnxaUZX32Bo0CUw_wepIyvWD3x2rywbYKsGLpAierAutekoOoEvAkyPOFhawXYmls8yrLouk1p7A4_I1nOWvi17M5t5-Mu5B62WDA-ceAr7RjOo7/s400/IMGP0730.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I’m so ‘over’ the bar scene in the BVi’s, tired of crowded anchorages and the occasional marina stay, I can’t wait to play in isolation, away from the crowds. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Spanish Virgins ‘belong’ to Puerto Rico & were discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1493. Spain colonized Puerto Rico for centuries but after disputes over ownership, finally ceded all of the islands to the USA via the Treaty of Paris in 1898. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finally Fun & Dance Aweigh at anchor</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Isolated with lovely pristine snow white beaches, empty anchorages, quaint towns (one or two per island) that I’m looking forward to seeing, rocky cliffs and extensive coral reefs are everywhere in these 400 square miles encompassing the islands of Vieques, Culebra and La Cordillera. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dragging Dance Aweigh's dinghie to the NO Trespassing beach, Bahia Salina del Sur</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Amazing how the threat of bombs negatively impacts any development! For nearly 100 years, our US Navy and NATO used the east end of Vieques for weapons training, practicing with live shells. My out of date cruising guide makes reference to “DO NOT go inshore when visiting the beaches” due to the fear of tourists finding live bombs, coming to harm’s way. </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqE-iL22_uOxJdA2Iz-XyNjKB0Sl9qdOYb5vJDNgj5P_oZXgwDfgchU5sbgcTWgzIypG_J6iKlkproLPOCYNvHr7hUBUKG0nMJXJszDCKIPZQZWuM01gJSfRwqMZxRjLojBSEgm80OFtG/s1600/IMGP0741.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqE-iL22_uOxJdA2Iz-XyNjKB0Sl9qdOYb5vJDNgj5P_oZXgwDfgchU5sbgcTWgzIypG_J6iKlkproLPOCYNvHr7hUBUKG0nMJXJszDCKIPZQZWuM01gJSfRwqMZxRjLojBSEgm80OFtG/s400/IMGP0741.JPG" width="362" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">These islands no longer are part of any training and have been cleaned up extensively over the years. There are, however, still some areas where anchoring is forbidden, for fear of hooking one of those perhaps still live rounds! </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Humm, sticking the umbrella in the sand made me nervous</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Ah, Vieques (vee AYE case) is so unspoiled. Our first stop, Salinas Del Sur, was a huge reminder of the all the bombings! </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Large signs every few hundred yards along the beautiful sandy beach warned us to stay off the beach due to potential danger of live shells. Finally Fun and Dance Aweigh were the only boats in this large anchorage, so we took advantage. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old parts of a boat? on the ocean bottom</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Rich and I snorkeled all over the place, in high hopes of finding an old bomb. What we did find, however, could make the basis for some good stories told over cold beers. Rich finally determined that what we were looking at - in several different locations, were sunken ships. Humm, did they sink because they hit an old bomb? Were these boats target practice? We wonder...........</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWKPk0RDfE6vOKJzX7FVkCLU1yY0X1qG3sM4QINd59MeAnFK-iV6r5kQnpTizhHC-E1cRHpclkCYD_4rSKdUsJerxcb2o9_i7UkJE0T15QkQL-Vfb1FEOmFijDYuJmcCc2MfML6jT1E1Lt/s1600/IMGP0747.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWKPk0RDfE6vOKJzX7FVkCLU1yY0X1qG3sM4QINd59MeAnFK-iV6r5kQnpTizhHC-E1cRHpclkCYD_4rSKdUsJerxcb2o9_i7UkJE0T15QkQL-Vfb1FEOmFijDYuJmcCc2MfML6jT1E1Lt/s400/IMGP0747.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clearly been here a long time - look at the growth!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A conch crawling along the bottom of the ocean</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dinner aboard Dance Aweigh - Andy & Rich</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">After rocking and rolling for two nights, we gave it up, moving onward to Ensenada Honda, another unspoiled and secluded anchorage not far away. Lined with mangroves, we had a fun time poking about in the dingy, trying to see how far up the ‘river‘ we could get. For all the beauty, we spotted no wildlife, except a couple of fish AND two spotted rays swimming rapidly away from us. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sharon in the mangroves</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">With a ‘schedule‘ of sorts (remember that granddaughter due at the end of May?), we pulled out, eager to see the remainder of Viequez, especially the bioluminescent bays - cited as the second largest in the world.....Don’t have any idea what #1 is.., but I want to jump in the water, in the dark of night and watch the water turn into a zillion tiny lights fizzling all over me and around me as I move about and even after I get out of the water. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset over Viequez</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>Sharon Fellows Larrison Stepniewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09962977355812944714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164046376669890975.post-83821414459487480592012-03-12T13:08:00.000-04:002012-03-19T09:05:01.423-04:00More fun in the USVI & BVI<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">March 11, 2012</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">Busy, busy, busy few weeks aboard Finally Fun. I flew back to the USA to visit my 89 year old Mom for a week. Leslie & Lindsay with my four grandchildren visited over the weekend so I had a great ‘family fix’. Andy & I are so ready to be back home to spend more time with family. This long trip has been the accomplishment of a goal and a dream and will provide memories for the rest of our lives....BUT, we are beginning to feel like the horse who sees the barn door ahead and picks up the pace! Our ETA is by the 3rd week of May to St Pete, FL, in time for the birth of a sister for Makenna and Pickett and Granddaughter for us!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daughters Leslie & Lindsay w Sharon; RobertE, Makenna, Riley holding Pickett & Mom</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A trip to the Jacksonville Zoo was fun for all</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wonder who put who to sleep? Special Moments for me, Grammie</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">Humm, wonder what Andy ate while I was gone? Same left overs in the frig, nothing touched. He looks the same - clearly didn’t starve. Grin. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">Reminds me of when we first married, blending his twin boys and my youngest. I’d have to travel with my job and would cook like a crazed chef before departing. “Andy, red bowls are Monday; blue bowls are Tuesday’s meal and so on. “ Why it took me so long to finally decide “Screw that”, I’ll never know except that I am perfectionist Type A and felt the need to be the perfect wife/mom. Returning from each business trip I’d thrown out the red bowls full of food, the blue bowls full of food and so on. Seems pizza and take out ruled while I was gone. Some men never change....</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">Upon my return, pulling out of American Yacht Harbor, Red Hook, St. Thomas, early the next morning, admiring all the boat work Andy completed while I was gone (maybe he was too tired to eat?) we headed to Charlotte Amalie Harbor to reprovision and to pick up Maria & Lisa, friends from my days at Novartis Pharmaceuticals, who would be staying for about 5 days or so.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lisa & Maria arriving aboard Finally Fun</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maria</td></tr>
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<div style="font: 14.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> Lisa</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">More fun times with guests aboard! Delighted to reconnect with old friends, we hit some of the high spots in the BVI’s, introducing the gals to Foxie and some of our other favorite haunts. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span> </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Happy Arrring" @ Leverick Bay, BVI watching Michael Bean</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Michael Bean's Happy Arring - Fun Fun Fun!</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Callwood Rum Distillery in Cane Garden Bay, Tortolla, is hundreds of years old. Twenty five gallons of white and gold rum is made every day exactly as it was done in the past. The equipment looks it too!!! Tiny, dirty but very interesting. The rum is produced from sugar cane grown all around the distillery.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The motor that runs the sugar cane crusher</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This machine crushes the sugar cane into juice</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We tasted the 4-5 rums produced here - one tasted like moonshine - ugh. Andy liked the one labeled "Panty Remover"....which he purchased. This bottle will stir up quite the conversations...Me, I'm not drinking it!!!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goofing off while tasting the rum made here</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fire pit</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo op with the famous Foxy of "Foxy's" on Jost Van Dyke</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Glass blowing on Cane Garden Bay </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Always something happening somewhere - boaters know how to party<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Dropping the gals off at West End for their ferry back to the USVI and their flight home, we eventually cruised back into the USVI to St. John’s. However, of interest to boaters following our blog, after checking out of the BVI’s, with clearance paperwork in hand, we fueled up for $3.80 a gallon (vs $4.50 for the cheapest fuel in the USVI) at Delta Petroleum in Baugher’s Bay, Road Town, Tortolla. That is big time good information when one’s tanks hold 1,100 gallons. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linda & Chris aboard Finally Fun</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">Needing good internet to complete our “To Do” lists such as compiling our tax package for the CPA, obtaining new boat insurance for the USA and other mundane tasks, we dropped the hook in Francis Bay USVI for a little R&R , housekeeping and the paperwork. We were surprised to hear someone shouting at us as we dinked to shore...That small world again - Linda and Chris aboard Troubadour actually <i>recognized</i> us as we passed by! We’d met them in the Turks and Caicos on our way down - 10 months ago! Another conversation filled Happy Hour ensued aboard as we caught up with each other’s cruising stories. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chris & Linda on Francis Bay, St. John's</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">Francis Bay is pretty - sharing the shoreline with Maho Bay, Cinnamon Bay and Trunk Bay - all very popular beaches and camp grounds for the land lubbers. Beaching the dingy, we poked about on shore, visiting the unusual campground with it’s cabins made of canvas tucked up and down the mountainsides. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">The Art Shop was of particular interest as they use glass recycled from the trash there to make beautiful works of blown glass. Beautiful works of art, but a bit expensive. I ultimately bought a small pitcher from the glass blowing operation at Cane Garden Bay for far less that reminds me of the sea with it’s dark blue wave along the bottom of the pitcher.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All made from recycled glass</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linda, aboard Finally Fun, trying to blow the conch shell, signaling sundown</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset over Francis Bay, St John's USVI</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andy, my snorkle buddy</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Ah! A shark sighting while snorkeling - only a nurse shark - but about 10 feet long swam past me, but ahead of me! My first such sighting after about 30 years of diving and snorkeling! AND I missed my camera shot trying to get Andy’s attention first!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">Cruising around to Leinster Bay, we sought more solitude and the opportunity to snorkel Waterlemon Cay, a tiny dot of an island at the edge of the anchorage. We liked this little Bay so much we’ve been here now a couple of times. The snorkeling is best at the NW edge of the Cay and this is one of the only places that has the large orangish cushion sea stars - or starfish as I call them.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sea Urchins - don't touch!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A big manta ray</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My favorite starfish! Big & Fat! He is crawling along.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This nurse shark was asleep & was there the next day too!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So many many fat starfish along the ocean floor!</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Killing time, awaiting a better weather window to cross from the USVI to the Spanish Virgin Islands, we met up for the second or third time in the USVI waters with Rich and Margaret aboard Dance Aweigh. I can’t say it enough...small, small, smaller boater’s world! </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div>Sharon Fellows Larrison Stepniewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09962977355812944714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164046376669890975.post-53987424793337365652012-03-11T22:11:00.000-04:002012-03-22T03:32:31.028-04:00Lionfish in the USVI<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">March 11, 2012 </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Times; letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Ah, a lionfish sighting in the USVI! Rich & I, snorkeling off Brewer’s Bay near the airport, spotted this beautiful, but</span></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">extremely predatory lionfish. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgctB1mPSDZjw62p-cxl4Ubqy1iuL09_IDjaNuHT69xuO8UnM-8Pqmv5I_jkmhszx5tQ-twWmOemKmJzxQsoc7nABixlA9TsOEjI20lBR59sFC_2ppqsPBWBIvdb0DZ3WKdx_wfooLglIt2/s1600/lionfish04tfk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgctB1mPSDZjw62p-cxl4Ubqy1iuL09_IDjaNuHT69xuO8UnM-8Pqmv5I_jkmhszx5tQ-twWmOemKmJzxQsoc7nABixlA9TsOEjI20lBR59sFC_2ppqsPBWBIvdb0DZ3WKdx_wfooLglIt2/s320/lionfish04tfk.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo from Internet</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVDYKyogHhZ_lnVPW9ony2nZfAdq-p4-gSs-r0HasTtJg-tk4h5Uz8GOkmDIAkUiQu57Aw_6Vwc-Z-u8Bu3Avqc4zlzUrlMcwviy6LN4NWrs6izWs4NWpTB6BE29CAD8B9NDwD_kiifL6y/s1600/thumbnail.aspx.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVDYKyogHhZ_lnVPW9ony2nZfAdq-p4-gSs-r0HasTtJg-tk4h5Uz8GOkmDIAkUiQu57Aw_6Vwc-Z-u8Bu3Avqc4zlzUrlMcwviy6LN4NWrs6izWs4NWpTB6BE29CAD8B9NDwD_kiifL6y/s400/thumbnail.aspx.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Internet Photo</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Released into US waters from home aquariums in the early 1900’s, these fish are multiplying and spreading throughout the Atlantic & Caribbean Sea, and have become a major threat to coral reef ecosystems. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCauRhbCz_7TAmEttsFjTR_WbDTUBECOHEnXP6K8jeKLNowmOf-qzUpYXpvvsAoCHAAIfrklzreOAHN8PGYFosJvUahSbRLYUt6817rY5Twfd9N3YIksuFZ7Lea0I98b5FAKdq619kP3vb/s1600/IMGP0713.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCauRhbCz_7TAmEttsFjTR_WbDTUBECOHEnXP6K8jeKLNowmOf-qzUpYXpvvsAoCHAAIfrklzreOAHN8PGYFosJvUahSbRLYUt6817rY5Twfd9N3YIksuFZ7Lea0I98b5FAKdq619kP3vb/s320/IMGP0713.JPG" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Voracious, these fish eat other species of fish constantly. It’s been found that within a short period after the entry of lionfish into an area, other reef fish are depleted by about 80 percent. Once that happens, the delicate ecological balance of life is ‘off’, and the coral reef begins to die. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">These fish have no known predator; they eat other fish up to 2/3 their size and have been seen eating up to 20 small fish within 30 minutes. Multiply that....they never stop eating! AND they multiply like crazy too. AND no one knows how to manage this species or how to get rid of them. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rich, from Dance Aweigh, searching for more lionfish</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">The sharp spines on the fish contain a poison that is extremely painful and can be fatal to humans if one has heart problems or an allergy to the toxin. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">I'm always excited to spot a new fish underwater while snorkeling, but not this time. I experienced an overwhelming saddness when I spotted this one. The reefs and fish I love so much here now face the potential to be totally destroyed. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div>Sharon Fellows Larrison Stepniewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09962977355812944714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164046376669890975.post-12905027350931717772012-02-17T11:13:00.002-05:002012-02-20T17:10:29.243-05:00Idyllic Days in the Virgin Islands (US and BVIs)<div style="color: #2f083b; font: 14.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_JSc4Fd-IckDAXFEY5HDR01L5sRsRQjS-mTXjSKVKljmuQ-Tb2QsP-_oMw2hGd4z86-2vCdOEMwfd0EU89d6tD5i2WGU5TMVrGJC6WA0_o92yVym4lrH6xQN6nQldNJ1pGS1mqjqMa448/s1600/vgnewz.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_JSc4Fd-IckDAXFEY5HDR01L5sRsRQjS-mTXjSKVKljmuQ-Tb2QsP-_oMw2hGd4z86-2vCdOEMwfd0EU89d6tD5i2WGU5TMVrGJC6WA0_o92yVym4lrH6xQN6nQldNJ1pGS1mqjqMa448/s320/vgnewz.gif" width="292" /></a><span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">Time flies as we cruise between the USVI and the BVI, watching the calendar so we don’t spend more than 30 days in the BVIs. If we do, we’ll have to pay a tax of several hundred dollars to ‘import’ the boat for a year. We’ll not be here long enough to make that our worth our while, so we count days as we await 3 groups of guests arriving between now and mid-March.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jill & Hal</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Jill and Hal, along with Cindy and Jim, relatives from Florida, joined us first for a week of cruising in the BVI’s. My cousin, Douglas and his wife, Margie, joined us from Tennessee the following week.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andy, Margie & my cousin, Douglas</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jim & Cindy<br />
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Bar tenders see us coming & are READY!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pain Killers - the national drink of the BVI's </td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">With beautiful weather and easy cruising in these islands, we’ve spent our time visiting the Must See haunts: </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Douglas & Margie @ Soggy Dollar Bar</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">First stop is over to the tiny (3 square mile) western island of Jose Van Dyke, with its population of not much over 200 people, to clear in with Customs and Immigration at Great Harbor. Once 'legal' in the BVI's, a quick dingy ride over to the adjacent White Bay to the Soggy Dollar Bar introduced our guests to the original PainKiller drink. Soggy Dollar Bar is aptly named - that’s what happens to the money in your pocket when you dingy anywhere...soggy bottoms & soggy dollars.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Foxy's is Adult Only</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">Party time that evening at the infamous Foxy’s on Jost Van Dyke was lively, even without Foxy’s performances anymore. He’s retired, but hangs out in the daytime here. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sharon, Andy & the famous Foxy</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;"> Meeting him on this trip, and never before during the 4 previous trips here as we always came in the summer, which is Low Season, we had the opportunity to chat. I was absolutely shocked at his comments about people, about race, & frankly, about everything. I also do not shock easily! I didn’t find him funny, even though we have a CD of his, purchased years ago that I did find funny. I intend to play it again, to see if I’ve become more sensitive or he’s become more insulting. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dancing the night away @ Foxy's</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andy's idea of pole dancing<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from Foxy's Taboo</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b;">Between guests, Andy & I cruised into the Manchioneel Bay area and the island of Little Jost Van Dyke. This quickly became a favorite place - somewhat isolated, but with lots to see. Almost everywhere in the BVI's it's required to take a mooring ball rather than drop the anchor off. Doing so protects the coral, saves the bottom of the ocean floor and saves everyone from inexperienced boaters trying to get an anchor to stick! Foxy’s Taboo, a charming open air restaurant/bar is owned by Foxy’s daughter and is delightful. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sandy Spit - obviously named & this is high tide</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">Taking the dingy, we explored Sandy Cay, but due to rough wave action and swells, we decided to NOT risk life and limb in an attempt to beach the dingy, so we departed, sadly watching the beautiful beach get further away. We checked out Sandy Spit and Green Cay - all ever so beautiful with the waves of the Atlantic pounding on one side and so protected on the other, with the shallow waters glistening in the hues of blue, aqua and greens, but we gave up trying to get out of the dingy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">Exploring on foot later, on the mainland of Jost Van Dyke, we climbed the small hill along the shoreline away from Foxy’s Taboo, locating the ‘Bubbly Pool’. This natural pool formed by rocks at the ocean’s edge is a lot of fun as the waves come crashing between rocks, creating a small bubbling tidel wave in a natural pool of rocks -- very suitable even with children - in life jackets.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bubbling pool - the waves get really large & fun</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Now I know what to do with old snorkel fins!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jim, Cindy, Andy, Sharon, Hal, Jill & our guide - Virgin Gorda</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;">A trip to Virgin Gorda (means Fat Virgin in Spanish) so named because this nearly 10 x 2 mile island looks from the sea like a fat woman lying on her back. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;">There, the Baths top the Must See list - an very odd and unique formation of mamouth granite rocks piled up on the beach looking like some giant had hurled them there - but which were formed by ancient volcanic activity. Remember, all these islands were/are volcanic, rising up out of the sea. Grabbing a Park mooring ball, (absolutely no anchoring allowed here) we took off in the dingy, tying it to the dingy line provided by the Park. Phew, it was much further to the beach than we’d thought, swimming, swimming, swimming. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">The Baths - Swimming in from the dingy in the distance</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;">Oops, some were not used to that level of activity and had a difficult time of it. Actually, it was scary for them and for us. Next time, we beach the dingy, drop off our passengers and return the dingy to the line......strongest swimmer gets that job! </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beginning our hike thru the Baths<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;">Climbing and wading through the maze of passages formed by boulders overhead, some with ropes provided and some with rudimentary ladders built into the rock, we peeked into caves and crannies formed by the wave action.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Think Cindy will fit???</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Climb, hike, swim through The Baths</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Bright white splotches of sand provide resting places along the way and the scenery looking from the boulders out into North Sound is breathtakingly beautiful. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finally Fun outside The Baths</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuIThroMbPQV83nzpz5IY3KbsRHLIqIQ4T7jrQ-Wc5MxY6IK5nTiqov0Ve9aaclo6eK6BfbXlVyOBfHAq2wkJh2KaIQrGHa1RouuU_b4AEmHki5d9E3LrqXdJVlWsgU2HdvVtO-Vm3AaTP/s1600/IMGP0268.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuIThroMbPQV83nzpz5IY3KbsRHLIqIQ4T7jrQ-Wc5MxY6IK5nTiqov0Ve9aaclo6eK6BfbXlVyOBfHAq2wkJh2KaIQrGHa1RouuU_b4AEmHki5d9E3LrqXdJVlWsgU2HdvVtO-Vm3AaTP/s400/IMGP0268.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Baths (click to enlarge to read)</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b;">Still on Virgin Gorda, we marked our travel schedule to hit Leverick Bay Resort & Marina on Friday night to catch their beach BBQ with live music and the Mocko Jumbies stilt dancers. Any boater reading this blog should ask for the Travel Talk on Line special - you’ll get the marina slip for $30 + $20 for electric and all the water you want + a bag of ice. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b;"> Sweet deal & no long wet dingy ride in the dark after all the dinner and dancing!</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mocko Jumbies Stilt Dances wowing the crowd</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Audience got really involved - music is great</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxFM8Q8mI29L-rYqZJpJAJmreT_YCRS3mG4EZMzm0PL6C_W5n-L7ml-ImuRPkTYB3eVzaUnkfMhoV-tnRwhOAdEKhrjSV9V0hLbB8rwgflJZiS0S1FWnQkY0mF43mvctyt91SMW7rUTtx9/s1600/IMG_6472.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxFM8Q8mI29L-rYqZJpJAJmreT_YCRS3mG4EZMzm0PL6C_W5n-L7ml-ImuRPkTYB3eVzaUnkfMhoV-tnRwhOAdEKhrjSV9V0hLbB8rwgflJZiS0S1FWnQkY0mF43mvctyt91SMW7rUTtx9/s320/IMG_6472.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">High Fiving</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT-zrFlgXM7_BP7xjYo48zBcs6eX0jv9D8gRZGc96uuAu1Lo9nLAYNoZJe2-FJkE5GJuWvpzuO2a0ZjAiBGjpQq-1nJj7VeVqfwxS5dhyPU6p3ExN1pSQ6LzcTlXE9y1Aqed6FwA8zaSHs/s1600/IMG_6489.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT-zrFlgXM7_BP7xjYo48zBcs6eX0jv9D8gRZGc96uuAu1Lo9nLAYNoZJe2-FJkE5GJuWvpzuO2a0ZjAiBGjpQq-1nJj7VeVqfwxS5dhyPU6p3ExN1pSQ6LzcTlXE9y1Aqed6FwA8zaSHs/s400/IMG_6489.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I saw tennis shoes nailed to a platform on the stilts</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin4I0eCT0PqZbBnQnVGMpkAfy3Tpc50bz6BAn_QzefMjmhjZXLlOdBZqxx2numpciBW1XZAOy887-tSiTmKnqVtHbRYPc1O8z0VFXhXETkUH3CJmBLbxcCLyeDaaqhM9vtnThAfkCgv8OB/s1600/IMG_6491.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin4I0eCT0PqZbBnQnVGMpkAfy3Tpc50bz6BAn_QzefMjmhjZXLlOdBZqxx2numpciBW1XZAOy887-tSiTmKnqVtHbRYPc1O8z0VFXhXETkUH3CJmBLbxcCLyeDaaqhM9vtnThAfkCgv8OB/s400/IMG_6491.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How these dancers don't get tripped up is amazing!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0EgqUGszUmVLsrqVFcD2LyZT08LNJs8UOpHbkAvATnaL3BNpgPWwW56k0FoPjZ86RJmBGunwLD41JsOcpE6agbF5ghBINOp5OCh4V2OCQey_gmhxqmY-D38gfLkdZzvIlQm79_on3hlFd/s1600/IMGP0427.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0EgqUGszUmVLsrqVFcD2LyZT08LNJs8UOpHbkAvATnaL3BNpgPWwW56k0FoPjZ86RJmBGunwLD41JsOcpE6agbF5ghBINOp5OCh4V2OCQey_gmhxqmY-D38gfLkdZzvIlQm79_on3hlFd/s320/IMGP0427.JPG" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-size: small;"></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;">Cruising on down to the Bitter End and tiny Saba Rock at the tip of Virgin Gorda, we dropped the hook off Prickly Pear Island at the edge of the mooring field. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;">Passing Necker Island on the way, home to Sir Richard Branson. Look closely & you'll see the burned ruins of this fabulous vacation spot that costs about $100,000 a night to stay on! It caught fire this year...so sad.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyvogxwBnJHyUBxoXFC1c2sQ4FPUynTCyCjYx8bbNHVV2piAc4Z9h-24n8vTXTl0v28dT5mNQfcqKZGTahYP32fhpTGv0dPVOT1qHJbFztnRVqaKwHoLdIziEPXDuKlyUaUKP1tqBOXbJe/s1600/IMGP0391.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyvogxwBnJHyUBxoXFC1c2sQ4FPUynTCyCjYx8bbNHVV2piAc4Z9h-24n8vTXTl0v28dT5mNQfcqKZGTahYP32fhpTGv0dPVOT1qHJbFztnRVqaKwHoLdIziEPXDuKlyUaUKP1tqBOXbJe/s400/IMGP0391.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Necker Island- Private playground for the very rich</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBzzXXelCfkUYqIZiHnKHnF2QDH5J6I9w-LkalUh3Sr6p-d_iwwW_qmFP06Mxla0DVQU4ZCxVSvNaZuXx2nOV_GUGop1mI3zSpDsSwjb9sKBYNeF2wT7r4qI00a4vgS_Kqgi-TKlrxu5a_/s1600/IMGP0431.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBzzXXelCfkUYqIZiHnKHnF2QDH5J6I9w-LkalUh3Sr6p-d_iwwW_qmFP06Mxla0DVQU4ZCxVSvNaZuXx2nOV_GUGop1mI3zSpDsSwjb9sKBYNeF2wT7r4qI00a4vgS_Kqgi-TKlrxu5a_/s400/IMGP0431.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Off the deck of Finally Fun, at the Bitter End </td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;">Viewing sunsets anywhere in these islands is always spectacular. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyVsdjsA6psMkUCf8DU1Z-dZLJ3ytthDNQB_yVixxZJmeJSySouYgCGTtXHriIUwd85jM8FpLa_mTDQP6sa8lK7tKTLkmsHdkmy3vwmluzK9GVHFqr0-3Ehw8dEpmpXY7PjZ6ZNT7mB0zD/s1600/IMGP0403.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyVsdjsA6psMkUCf8DU1Z-dZLJ3ytthDNQB_yVixxZJmeJSySouYgCGTtXHriIUwd85jM8FpLa_mTDQP6sa8lK7tKTLkmsHdkmy3vwmluzK9GVHFqr0-3Ehw8dEpmpXY7PjZ6ZNT7mB0zD/s320/IMGP0403.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Margie, at the Gift Shop at Bitter End</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSUIWRLacltbXDvyZZ4thDiBOWdnBxwyxJl5MYKdVDNbV5ceKAQ5fEGzLU8yi3QhGpXxJzlnS2q_QnGj0R_C775BB3qcDVbNbaRot8cR6mqUcV7D68afZFDF3UE_gQ-LRFY2V8icHGzGpH/s1600/IMGP0399.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSUIWRLacltbXDvyZZ4thDiBOWdnBxwyxJl5MYKdVDNbV5ceKAQ5fEGzLU8yi3QhGpXxJzlnS2q_QnGj0R_C775BB3qcDVbNbaRot8cR6mqUcV7D68afZFDF3UE_gQ-LRFY2V8icHGzGpH/s320/IMGP0399.JPG" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;">Both these resorts are upscale, and encourage boaters to wander about, check out the happy hours, the restaurants and the happening events and participate. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;">Exploring by dingy with Douglas and Margie, we discovered nearby Biras Creek - a very very upscale private resort loaded with activities for guests, including all the water toys and even horses! </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid7vAxbpYAAgFTFzXQ-rOm46nofXoRIL668Tn5cgp5MlpEXSEijbsftwObNdgb0tLbwd682om2cppNCfvr2PymP0uqMOsBVrPCdIZqclNlIs_Ek4Q1FP1dh4WopbiTsvbneVtIjD3ccqaW/s1600/IMGP0396.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid7vAxbpYAAgFTFzXQ-rOm46nofXoRIL668Tn5cgp5MlpEXSEijbsftwObNdgb0tLbwd682om2cppNCfvr2PymP0uqMOsBVrPCdIZqclNlIs_Ek4Q1FP1dh4WopbiTsvbneVtIjD3ccqaW/s320/IMGP0396.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This iguana never took his eyes off us, but never moved.</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;"> Resting up, we dinked over to the beach at the Sand Box on Vixen Point/Prickly Pear Island, utilizing their facilities to swim and to cool off with a cold beer, sitting under their beach umbrellas. Tough life, I know.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;">The Bitter End & Saba Rock quickly became the favorite place. The Bitter End Resort is at the end of the island chain. The very end of a rope, or line, as it's called if that piece of rope is on a boat, is called the Bitter End....the meaning coming from when that line pulls out of your hands and it's gone....bitter bitter moment when the end of the rope leaves your hands and you are not secured!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGvytyuMRg4cAel0w2qdHfak7JhS_lj7FV_sb9exI-AcQy9tYDXGVsZEtTgsopqlOnr6aedeZPpYT-VjlS43Qlas1fyYO1jroAjFLdOMUpcYLLH6_G6RUEZco7AUvbE5agqRwG7y5MTkDA/s1600/IMGP0271.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGvytyuMRg4cAel0w2qdHfak7JhS_lj7FV_sb9exI-AcQy9tYDXGVsZEtTgsopqlOnr6aedeZPpYT-VjlS43Qlas1fyYO1jroAjFLdOMUpcYLLH6_G6RUEZco7AUvbE5agqRwG7y5MTkDA/s320/IMGP0271.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andy, Jill, Cindy & Jim enjoying Copper Island Resort</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;">Cooper Island is worthy always of a stop over, taking a mooring ball as the bottom is mostly sea grass, with very poor holding. The beach is wonderful, the gift shop nice and the bar/restaurant, with its outdoor sofas, umbrellas, makes for wonderful ambiance. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;">Humm, we, as a group, got ‘picked up’ by a gal, Christine, probably in her 40’s, as we sat around sipping our umbrella drinks. Before most of us knew what was happening, she was part of the group; inviting some back to her rented cottage AND then suddenly she was having dinner aboard. No problem, mon. BUT she brought her illegal substances with her....she was a hoot. Funny, what one does or does not remember............</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgE5bpyZg13USLw5ePSU09m1NSn2hyhxsJEYxOdjCbvI02dePrzSdmr6VrIC_27YuL_cwe_DPdT1HGKKGqnei0Q01Ivxg31YOit2vdJrAl5GJincLjZ25DoboMC7mfezN2JBoUFuQlbQJD/s1600/IMGP0289.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgE5bpyZg13USLw5ePSU09m1NSn2hyhxsJEYxOdjCbvI02dePrzSdmr6VrIC_27YuL_cwe_DPdT1HGKKGqnei0Q01Ivxg31YOit2vdJrAl5GJincLjZ25DoboMC7mfezN2JBoUFuQlbQJD/s320/IMGP0289.JPG" width="240" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;">Another Must Do is a stop at Norman’s Island - the most famous pirate island of all. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;"> Robert Louis Stevenson wrote Treasure Island, using Norman Island as the basis for the tale. Numerous legends abound as this WAS Pirate territory. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the entrance to a cave</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;">Snorkeling the 3-4 caves where treasure was rumored to be hidden is a lot of fun. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2f083b; font-size: large;">The Bight where we are moored on Norman Island has the Willy T pirate ship permanently moored and is always the scene for many a raucous evening of fun. It’s claim to fame used to be that if one jumped off the top of the Willy T naked, one got a Willy T t-shirt - hence the crowds, awaiting the action. Last time we were through here, Andy tried to get a t-shirt, willing to jump naked. The bartender, in charge of it all, said, “Mon, you crazy asshole. This is for WOMEN only!” No shirt that day. Jumping is no longer allowed. The lawyers from the USA must have gotten to them somehow. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset at Norman Island</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what happens when you have too much fun!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andy & Sharon - Absolutely all 'fun ed' out</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jim can't handle the fun</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Douglas can't take the fun either</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This unnamed sailor can't take the fun either, but he provided a lot of laughs for us as he tried to take a nap & kept crashing down to the deck in a hammock he hung up!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sharon racing to grab the mooring ball first!</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I must say, I do prefer these islands in the off season as compared to this High Season. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Charter boats abound, crowding the favorite spots, fighting over any remaining mooring balls. “I saw that FIRST!” was screamed at us as I hooked the last ball at Foxy’s. Too bad - “I GOT HERE first!” was my reply. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Scary later, however, as that charter boat tried for 1.5 HOURS to drop the anchor. They had no clue how to anchor - they put two people into the water with snorkel gear to ‘help’.. doing what I have no idea. They continued to drop the anchor to the bottom, straight down, with limited rode (that is line out into the water which should be a ratio of 3-5 feet per foot of water under you + each foot of boat out of the water) and wondered why the anchor never set. We only kept hoping they would remain well </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">behind </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">us, so they would not drag into us during the night. </span></span><br />
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Add poorly trained Charter People to the list!</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Now, in hindsight and realizing how much we’ve learned about boating since moving onto our own boat four years ago, I think the charter companies should require a ‘test’ of the basics, such as how to drop an anchor, what makes a safe anchorage and the Rules of the Road before turning over the boat. Charter companies do give a test run, taking one out to make sure you can handle the boat, but they never question those basics I mentioned. I also recall how we ‘exaggerated’ our boating skills resume when we applied to charter a boat and know most others do likewise! </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyvoxfsGdJ3POnT_5McUCe4hzP-QypUR5c_LNcZ8tadaKw67UsQaGcDHgMrA3Pb5lYJJt5Hn7HQlxXgj9RcFucNDp19bOcaEWRdYT1T4vwx_Qevjg-4-DU0xwZtVfVBisB8GoYgtAvGqTB/s1600/IMGP0202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyvoxfsGdJ3POnT_5McUCe4hzP-QypUR5c_LNcZ8tadaKw67UsQaGcDHgMrA3Pb5lYJJt5Hn7HQlxXgj9RcFucNDp19bOcaEWRdYT1T4vwx_Qevjg-4-DU0xwZtVfVBisB8GoYgtAvGqTB/s320/IMGP0202.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charter folks pay more attention to these signs</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">We laughed (but it wasn’t really funny due to the potential accident waiting to happen the other day) at an angry exchange on Channel 16 as one sailor screamed at another “I had the right of way!” The other boater replied, “No, you do not. You are a sailboat UNDER POWER and are therefore treated as a power boat. I had the right of way and you nearly hit me.” Two other boaters chimed in, explaining the Rules of the Road over the airwaves....all on Channel 16 - another No No. They should have switched channels to talk, leaving 16 for emergency traffic (MayDay!), for the US Coast Guard announcements and for hailing another boat only. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Brits DO have a sense of humor!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">I keep driving Andy crazy with ‘Do you see that boat?” “Get further away from this guy” and those type comments. I’m leery of being around these charter boats as one cannot anticipate their next action. So many, as we were back in the day, are inexperienced, unaware and do stupid things such as tacking right in front of us, suddenly and unexpectedly....humm, they have the Right of Way they think. One of these days one of these boaters might be DEAD RIGHT and truly dead....sobering thought.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">It reminds me of a joke - a guy called the Charter Company on day 4 of his cruise asking where the rest of the anchors were on the boat. He’d been out 3 days and used up the 3 anchors he found and now he needed the rest to finish out his week.......ahhhh. Stupid, but you get my point.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Do boys ever tire of being boys? Knockers Up @ Bitter End</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">More charter happenings: We watched a charter boat cut to closely in front of another boat minding its own business, gently swinging on a mooring ball in Marina Cay. The boat chopped the line to the mooring, freeing the unoccupied boat. Thank goodness for other boaters and some help from marina personnel, who re-secured the unoccupied boat while the hapless charter boat crew, red faced, quietly cruised out of the area.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doug, Andy, Sharon Joanne, George & Margie @ Bitter End</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">More ‘old friend’ encounters. Hearing RomantaSea hailing on the VHF, we connected with George & Joanne from our Port Louis Marina days. Meeting up with them at Marina Cay and onward to the Bitter End, we spent several days poking about together with our guests and with their two. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">George & Joanne dancing the night away</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Bite Me! Damn charter boat </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">hit us </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">today, cracking some gelcoat and scratching our paint. THEN the guy tried to blame us! Tied to a mooring in West End/Soper’s Hole on Tortola, having just dropped off my cousin, Douglas and his wife, Margie, to catch the Ferry to St. Thomas and their flight back to the USA, we were down below when I saw a catamaran right on us. Racing topside, but not in time to grab a fender or anything, I watched the cat, who was now parallel to us, swing his aft end into Finally Fun. He had been moored behind us on another ball, departed, and managed to run over his mooring ball, which I could see now stuck under him. He was maneuvering close to us -- trying to free themselves from the ball and line - and clipped us. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I shouted that he’d hit us. He shouted back - “It is your fault. You have too much line out front of your mooring ball.” Ummmm, “Captain, I am tied to a mooring ball. You are UNDERWAY, at power.” Bottom line, I got him to give us a check for $150 to cover potential cost to repair the gelcoat and promised him I’d send him any left over $$ - in June, when we could get it repaired when we returned to the USA. I think his pride took a beating as he had guests on board.......</span></span></div>
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</div>Sharon Fellows Larrison Stepniewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09962977355812944714noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164046376669890975.post-2164866917126849082012-01-27T11:10:00.003-05:002012-02-20T06:52:56.962-05:00Arriving in the British Virgin Islands (BVI)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Puerto Rico, the Spanish Virgins, the US Virgins & the British Virgin Islands</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">Chatting excitedly about the tapes being rewound in our heads - all those memories from the four years of chartering boats in these waters - we pointed out islands and shared ‘Remember When’ as we cruised from the BVIs to St. John, on the US Virgin Island side. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My favorite snorkeling spot - The Indians, BV</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">Frustrated - We have our Frequent Boater Option card and all we’d need to do is make a phone call into Customs/Immigration to clear in, BUT we have no working phone! </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cruz Bay, USVI</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">Ah. Grabbing a mooring ball in Caneel Bay, just around the corner from Cruz Bay, our port of entry & clearance, we hopped into the dingy and took off to complete the necessary paperwork. Taking one’s boat into the very busy Cruz Bay is a pain & a challenge, as it is crowded with commercial vessels, a private mooring field and tourists zipping about on the numerous ferries. There is limited room on one side to anchor while clearing in - hence the choice to stop in Caneel Bay. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">Two thirds of St. John’s is a US National Park, including nearly 13,000 acres of submerged land around the island. Mooring balls abound at $15 a night ($7.50 for us old folks, who have a US National Park Senior Citizen Pass), protecting the underwater reefs and sea beds from the thousands of boats who would otherwise be dropping their anchors every year, thereby destroying it all. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">The island is quaint, beautiful and the really only happening place is Cruz Bay, a colorful town loaded with shops and restaurants and bars for all the tourists. We wandered about, on a mission to get our Go Phone up and running with a new SIM card and more minutes so we could call freely to the USA, within the US Virgins and Puerto Rico. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Successful in finding a phone store, we headed back to the boat. Ten minutes back on board and a quick decision was made to “get outta here’. This anchorage rocks and rolls from numerous ferry wakes, rattling our bones and our teeth.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Heading around the island, toward Coral Bay, where our friends Mark and Lee live aboard their boat, we heard friends from our Port Louis Marina days on theVHF. Butting into their conversations, we quickly made plans to catch up with Brandon & Carrin of Sol Mate, David & Diane on Blue Moment and Kevin, Deena & young Conner aboard </span>Sabatticus, as well as Barbara and Stewart aboard LaLuna. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little Lameshur & Great Lameshur Bays</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">Tucking into Great Lameshur Bay about 4:30 pm where the group was anchored, we invited all for cocktails aboard at 5:30. It’s such fun to catch up on the ‘Top This’ cruising stories and to see old friends. I’m always amazed at how small our cruising world is, in spite of so many miles, so much water and so many anchorages to choose from. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">With our Happy Hour extending until well past boater’s midnight (usually 9:30!), the group headed to our cockpit and swim platform to board their dingies for their return to their boats. An absolute amazing sight greeted us all - we had our own personal, well stocked AQUARIUM off the back of Finally Fun. We’d been lit like a house ablaze for hours, attracting two huge sea turtles, several manta rays, a number of large tarpon, as well as numerous other smaller fish, all swimming around and around in our pool of light. Incredible!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">David, Carrin, Brandon, Deena & Kevin</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">With young Conner scrubbing nearly 3 months of marine growth off our hull underwater and Andy as ‘supervisor’, the rest of us took off for a 6 mile hike to find the </span>ancient rock drawings and carvings. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Same crowd with Sharon in the middle</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> <span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Seeing more than we planned as we took a wrong turn or </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">two, no one cared. The trail was great, up and down, past a mongoose (my first sighting ever) brought to these islands to rid them of snakes hundreds of years ago. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful everywhere we looked from the trails</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">These ferret looking rodents abound and there are virtually no snakes on any island, anywhere. Curious deer approached, getting an ear rub from David - so much for wild animals. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Wild donkeys also abound, wandering the roads looking for any little open air taxi loaded with tourists to stop and feed them anything. Well trained they are and a hazard to the unwary driver on these twisting little roads.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ruins of an old sugar plantation</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More of the same ruins</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carved between 900-1500 AD by pre-Columbian Taino indians</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The water makes for a mirror effect, signifying the duality of the spiritual & living worlds</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lee</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Onward to Coral Bay, hooking up with Mark and Lee, the British friends we’ve cruised off and on with and whom we’ve spent time in this Bay with on our trip down islands, we caught up with all the news, shared a beer or two and attended a fun filled evening of entertainment at Skinny Legs, the very popular bar here in Coral Harbor. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mark </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lee's part time pet </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The neck is so very soft to touch, but the feet are something else</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eating a papaya<br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_91563472"></span><span id="goog_91563473"></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dick Solberg & The Sun Mountain Band @ Skinny Legs</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hiking to the sugar mill on St. John's</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ah, so many pretty islands all around</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Exploring the sugar plantation</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A furnace</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slavery made these plantations possible & profitable</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click to enlarge to read how sugar is made from the cane juice</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amazing how rum is made from sugar (click to enlarge to read)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje3ijhm48uiR34zUZttfKpvov0pnWvn0JivM6EzWJk_SfQVRR2PNNh6x2CFZyCRjIP9t9W4wGEP-z1KsSvLGw4pSGwWc9kKQY_sssNBtlgiFWHnK0aVYYOVsXm_UUJOaLh6js9b_hQ44wk/s1600/IMGP0194.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje3ijhm48uiR34zUZttfKpvov0pnWvn0JivM6EzWJk_SfQVRR2PNNh6x2CFZyCRjIP9t9W4wGEP-z1KsSvLGw4pSGwWc9kKQY_sssNBtlgiFWHnK0aVYYOVsXm_UUJOaLh6js9b_hQ44wk/s320/IMGP0194.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andy struggling to get out of the dink w the groceries</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Leaving St. John's we dropped the anchor in</span></span> <span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">St. Thomas Harbor, near Blue Moment, we accompanied David via bus to the Home Depot and Cost U Less Cosco-like grocery store. Ah, simple pleasures -- drooling at all the US goods and foods I’d not see much of for a year, I shopped quickly (those guys were waiting!). Nearly $800 later, we a store employee offered to give us a ride back to the marina. We absolutely packed his van to the roof full of our stuff, with the overflow on our laps! At the end, he charged us $40 - a royal rip.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heavy, Heavier & Bouncing</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We are now reprovisioned for our long trip back to the USA. Coffee, milk (Parmalot boxed milk - fresh milk is very rare in these islands) and meat topped the list of Things I Must Buy. Andy purchased his 3rd Wet/Dry vacuum cleaner of the year - he rips through those things in nothing flat and it is frustrating they don’t last longer. These water suckers are indispensable in the engine room and bilges when things go ‘oops’. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Thomas</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGyflpZbsmpdLEBaqQnHlwrJ5yWcoXsxGmjP3rwRwYx2wxrKBMrIaAoGq-3d2IIf3LKERQpcE7Dt9W6RzVrVrYgYIgryNG0zY8Wsp7kge0iSXaBNrCy1y-kV2bsdLYARtx0k-NVu6ht8rp/s1600/IMGP0192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGyflpZbsmpdLEBaqQnHlwrJ5yWcoXsxGmjP3rwRwYx2wxrKBMrIaAoGq-3d2IIf3LKERQpcE7Dt9W6RzVrVrYgYIgryNG0zY8Wsp7kge0iSXaBNrCy1y-kV2bsdLYARtx0k-NVu6ht8rp/s320/IMGP0192.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Thomas vendor market on the street</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Huge mistake. </span>We spent two nights at Crown Bay Marina, wanting to wash the boat and fill our water tanks. Beautiful marina, nice amenities, including a small horrifically expensive grocery store - those mega yacht folks don’t care what they pay - therefore, the pri<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">ce is set high because they buy! However, this marina shares space with a commercial container shipping company. Bright lights, pounding pounding pounding noises and horrific head splitting fumes waifed over Finally Fun, keeping us awake off and on both nights. That evening, at the restaurant I asked our waiter about the noise, lights and smell and when did it quit. “It doesn’t. It goes 24/7. Sometimes it gets so bad our patrons get up and leave without eating their meal.” </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsGi3MOwa7Bw0svDnDLzSJFpbbqJMUqGxpf5iP3u6UPZMiIDs9GY6u_KgORsTiFLl3FpQHJYAm5ghpTruR8tD8W168iHtrULWDwV842y7kgd9JuawIUyB1Lpq0d7ujqxVCk9stliItkopD/s1600/DSCF0125.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsGi3MOwa7Bw0svDnDLzSJFpbbqJMUqGxpf5iP3u6UPZMiIDs9GY6u_KgORsTiFLl3FpQHJYAm5ghpTruR8tD8W168iHtrULWDwV842y7kgd9JuawIUyB1Lpq0d7ujqxVCk9stliItkopD/s400/DSCF0125.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Departing Crown Bay Marina - see container ships on the right</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">None of that is found in their ads I must say!! We washed the boat only to wake up to FF absolutely covered in black dust. We washed her again just before our guests arrived the next afternoon. To add insult to injury as that old saying goes, the marina charges 16 cents a gallon for the water... for the privilege of washing <i>their</i> dirt off <i>our boat</i>. Bah. I wrote up a very unfavorable review on Active Captain.....be forewarned my boating friends. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Update: We learned from other boaters later that the water in Crown Bay Marina is 'iffy'. We are struggling with rusty looking water - drained our tanks already and remade water, to no avail. It seems this Marina has the water shut off more often than not for a numer of reasons. When we arrived there, we were told an accident had caused a pipe to break, therefore no water. When the water was turned back on, it was rusty and Andy did not notice til too late, in spite of using a filter on our hose into the tanks. Our boater friends tell us this is a very often occurrance at this Marina and they then use cistern water and other suspect water. We are heading back into another Marina to drain the tanks, this time totally from the inside of the engine room and start all over - at 16 cents a gallon for another 350 gallons plus. I'm furious at Crown Marina for not being upfront and forthcoming.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Thomas - Shopping Mecca</td></tr>
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</span></div>Sharon Fellows Larrison Stepniewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09962977355812944714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164046376669890975.post-67927721817856844132012-01-26T11:09:00.031-05:002012-02-20T05:36:00.279-05:00St. Martin to British Virgin Islands & U.S. Virgin Islands<div style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: Times; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px;">
<span style="font-size: large;">A brief weather window - time to haul anchor after two weeks on St. Martin! Our friends are arriving in St. Thomas on February 1 - we now have a schedule to keep. This is the time of year that it seems one gets a weather window only every 7-10 days due to the Christmas Winds and squalls making their way from way up north. For you non-boaters, the weather on the island is great, never hampering any activities. Those squalls and winds I referenced, however, kick up the seas and the Atlantic Ocean, making for HUGE waves, sometimes very closely spaced. The norm has been 20 foot waves this week out there where we need to go - NOT what we want to bounce up and down on! </span> </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What Sharon will miss in St. Martin</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6P3LJlGJ3rvPOwR9YgF4DhLov2YwybwAmmA5Id_doPalNAxyQcBXsDgUjcvzOU7rDV8X-bZxSK9WVQybom0tXHZEq7q4XbHhpPQfv41zm5raG0vrc8IrqTnhrKAOpoQ0ueV-eiXKYpYol/s1600/IMGP0072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6P3LJlGJ3rvPOwR9YgF4DhLov2YwybwAmmA5Id_doPalNAxyQcBXsDgUjcvzOU7rDV8X-bZxSK9WVQybom0tXHZEq7q4XbHhpPQfv41zm5raG0vrc8IrqTnhrKAOpoQ0ueV-eiXKYpYol/s400/IMGP0072.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What Andy will miss in St. Martin</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We cruised through the narrow bridge on the French side from the Lagoon to Baie de Marigot at the 2:30 pm opening so we’d be in position to get an early start toward the US Virgin Islands the next morning. Small world again, we dropped our hook a bit behind Elaine and Bob, aboard Mar Azul, who was out there making water. Another excuse for a party!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ2cdYeD_A7c64IYmY0lq-ryhX4ZmKMSJAkDWwSup7ugdykXb-4PWsS6W_5JIFZ9V30GRyHQnQgQ4S1hyphenhyphenPM4qHyRVOyeIFb9HzT5aN6qOBgKeam1avbdajjV-1M8__4VBmub86Tga7QBSc/s1600/IMGP0091.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ2cdYeD_A7c64IYmY0lq-ryhX4ZmKMSJAkDWwSup7ugdykXb-4PWsS6W_5JIFZ9V30GRyHQnQgQ4S1hyphenhyphenPM4qHyRVOyeIFb9HzT5aN6qOBgKeam1avbdajjV-1M8__4VBmub86Tga7QBSc/s320/IMGP0091.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Someone had a very bad day outside the French bridge</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU5hz8bzA8NiObwX0Uo_4Zopt_HhD2iQOiwP-TCpbv4J3PdOoAr8DVIOBdHXMQKFKVllZqhNvxlwEwglXymNsera99m4M-6QcYV1cJqFYYxh77zi9AVzXuJrQSwNULGo9fwWGJnmZrDoMh/s1600/IMGP0093.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU5hz8bzA8NiObwX0Uo_4Zopt_HhD2iQOiwP-TCpbv4J3PdOoAr8DVIOBdHXMQKFKVllZqhNvxlwEwglXymNsera99m4M-6QcYV1cJqFYYxh77zi9AVzXuJrQSwNULGo9fwWGJnmZrDoMh/s400/IMGP0093.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Witch's Tit on the French side. Look closely.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scary. Looks so narrow!!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijmL_Tegmu5uX1j2bS3yAMpGxTg9zt2gwnpC5SqHQKBlSKF1_RA-JJMfwkqQAT7Pdko21LoKM1Q1kRojDrfljc8AO_GIEIanPmqx8fzpIXtOACgG632i4ieICU3RpQAh80Ofs3-v7I4Wdw/s1600/IMGP0095.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijmL_Tegmu5uX1j2bS3yAMpGxTg9zt2gwnpC5SqHQKBlSKF1_RA-JJMfwkqQAT7Pdko21LoKM1Q1kRojDrfljc8AO_GIEIanPmqx8fzpIXtOACgG632i4ieICU3RpQAh80Ofs3-v7I4Wdw/s320/IMGP0095.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here comes Finally Fun, ready or NOT</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfhRlkEYqvHmZYLK9RVC0bvKqrwgL2Rfl-vmLnuQi9Rbiduqfd_NowEBFXNVQ4b0rx0cEUlHef1-z9p0lJ1Gw4kYVyvVo-qEKUut7lx17CM6145M1uizJPIqxZF1WNL9EerU2e3VglGM6-/s1600/IMGP0096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfhRlkEYqvHmZYLK9RVC0bvKqrwgL2Rfl-vmLnuQi9Rbiduqfd_NowEBFXNVQ4b0rx0cEUlHef1-z9p0lJ1Gw4kYVyvVo-qEKUut7lx17CM6145M1uizJPIqxZF1WNL9EerU2e3VglGM6-/s400/IMGP0096.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Made it thru the narrow bridge into Margot Bay!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crap, Now the rocks and reef to squeeze past!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daybreak over Margot Bay</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Up at 4:00 am, with a planned departure for 5:00 am, we found ourselves squinting, trying to see in the pitch black night. No moon, no stars - only a few anchor lights in Margot Bay providing some faint illumination. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Not wanting to risk picking our way out of the anchorage in the dark as many boats have no lights on at all and not wanting to shine our spotlight all about, waking boaters as the light would flash into their cabins, we settled in to wait. Finally, a bit of light at 6:00 am and off we went. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Got a little rough out with big swells</span></span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Six to eight foot swells, almost beam to us, rolled us all day. Thank goodness for the stabilizers. Andy was a pale shade of green throughout the 9+ hour cruise and I know he hates it when I sit there reading a book! The only company we had along this long route were a pod of small dolphins who played in our bow wake for half an hour, providing much needed entertainment. </span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Ah, we missed our chance to make water all day and we are really low. Once out, there was NO WAY Andy was going below to turn on the water maker in that hot rolly engine room. I was useless. I could not remember how to do it & Andy’s oral instructions just glazed my eyes over....Missed opportunity and another key learning. This one - Turn on the watermaker just as one clears an anchorage, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">well before</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> getting out into the unprotected seas!!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">Pulling into Key Cay on the western side of Peter Island, British Virgin Islands, we dropped the hook in this beautiful, isolated anchorage and hunkered down, yellow Q flag flying. This is ‘out of the way’ as we didn’t intend to clear in and out, planning to depart early for the USVI where we’ll spend a week til our first guests arrive and we head back to the BVI.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div>Sharon Fellows Larrison Stepniewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09962977355812944714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164046376669890975.post-6966629902922860312012-01-15T07:03:00.301-05:002012-02-20T05:35:20.163-05:00One Island - Two Countries - Saint Martin & Sint Maarten<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Pulling anchor at first light, we were outta Statia - wanting to be long gone before Customs & Immigration ‘woke up’. Another uneventful cruising day, but with weather looming that would lock us down for a few days - we cruised the approximately 30 miles into Simpson Bay on the Dutch side, nearly 4 hours after we pulled anchor.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dutch Bridge Simpson Bay</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Treading water for almost an hour, waiting for the 11:30 bridge to open, we watched about 15 vessels doing the same. Busy busy place this time of year - far different from when we were here in the Spring. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">As this is our second time on this 37 square mile island of two different countries (Dutch & French), read our blog dated May 17, 2011 with some history and some photos - I won’t be redundant!</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andy checking us in at Immigration</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Cruising through the Bridge, with the Bridge Tender yelling his usual, HURRY HURRY, we continued on to the French side. We are getting better - locals told us one CAN go thru the Dutch side without PAYING the huge fee and go on to the French side -- rather than go around the island and come through the French bridge to anchor on the French side. We </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">are</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> smarter this time....it is free to anchor on the French side and the Dutch charge big bucks to do so. No matter, we are comfortably tucked behind Grand Illet in Simpson Bay Lagoon on the French side with plenty of room and good holding. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Yachts moored Med style - aft in to a dock, mooring line in front</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Whoa! Things have clearly changed since we were here in May. Every marina is full of mega yachts - really big, huge, expensive yachts....billions of dollars in inventory is tied up all along the Dutch side!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crew washing the hull - never quit; always washing</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Amazing - helicopters & fancy ‘dingies’, wave runners and other water toys are visible on these boats. Some of these dingies qualify in my mind as a go fast boat to aspire to -- fancy, fast and very very expensive!! Ahhhh, the money! We also watched many a private jet taking off and landing at the nearby airport. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Someone always has a bigger boat</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Now, on shore, I’ve never seen a ‘rich and famous’....probably because I would not recognize anyone, never having made friends with many of those....</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRFVA1430rAQ_0sZACny7Ogb7ryURr1uC15MjzqsmFNbzExkeH8UixcqhFgQ3zyg37ADWlqPYGeLYnMhtNFxhQvmsP9AQsrrIY2AO3-5oLuC5hXSRlMXPAX4XU8MGuDGHshQeiKEHPgo4w/s1600/IMG_6390.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRFVA1430rAQ_0sZACny7Ogb7ryURr1uC15MjzqsmFNbzExkeH8UixcqhFgQ3zyg37ADWlqPYGeLYnMhtNFxhQvmsP9AQsrrIY2AO3-5oLuC5hXSRlMXPAX4XU8MGuDGHshQeiKEHPgo4w/s320/IMG_6390.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carolyn, Joanne & Bill aboard Finally Fun</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">We’ve caught up with friends from Port Louis Marina in Grenada, Bill & JoAnne of Ultra and got</span> to meet folks we’ve been communicating with via email and blogs for some time. Mandy & Scott aboard<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> Three Little Birds, who followed our waterway path </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bob, Elain, Andy & Sharon aboard Mar Azul</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">through the Dominica Republic</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> via our blog, are here with their 3 young sons, as are Elaine & Bob Ebaugh aboard Mar Azul, members of our DeFever Club! Add to the mix, Carolyn & Paul of Catamania that we met while shopping in Budget Marine on shore, and we’ve developed quite a party crowd! </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Our two weeks in St. Maarten went quickly with a dinner party aboard Finally Fun for the crowd one night, cocktails aboard other boats and lots of shore time, wandering about. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beach at Philipsburg</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Catching the bus with Bill and JoAnne to Philipsburg, we wandered about taking in the sights and the shops. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Philipsburg is a major duty free zone, the capital of Sint Maarten and the port for the enormous cruise ships that arrive here on a daily basis during the high season. It is somewhat quaint, charming and busy! </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Philipsburg street off the beach</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglRrES4-o-4R9g0p6k4I4p4gMmL6-3O3883GiacDRHvsOSZ5dedeX5LJF23sLk_xyDlwmSXbHMR2d05Qc6d9pLM_WmwzFmfODuhBwdvuh9tFcrsmfPJvyn6nDgGag8ZYT25fVU7LXdVAV1/s1600/IMG_6395.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglRrES4-o-4R9g0p6k4I4p4gMmL6-3O3883GiacDRHvsOSZ5dedeX5LJF23sLk_xyDlwmSXbHMR2d05Qc6d9pLM_WmwzFmfODuhBwdvuh9tFcrsmfPJvyn6nDgGag8ZYT25fVU7LXdVAV1/s320/IMG_6395.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Get a massage, right on the beach!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hummm</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Birds eating sugar </td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">On a mission, Andy & I did find the camera we’d been researching. Our shop keeper, unlike the one in a duty free zone on another island, dealt fairly with us. He matched </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Amazon.com’s price for the Pentax waterproof camera and threw in a chip, a case and a floating wristband. Remember, the other duty free store I wrote about was trying to charge us $250 MORE for the same camera than the Amazon price! Buyer always beware! </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting sand blasted!</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">A highlight! AND the guide books make NO MENTION of this --- Maho Beach, just off the airport, is the site of all those videos and photos of folks being blasted by sand and getting knocked over by the blast of the jet engines as the plane takes off. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB0dWxSumTTpKwayOMow7QT1TayPFN4ntM9TUGbJiDh5fcm16Efs9sosvmxWe2Hl94T61W9uMCZUv-ZtoPx4tJYfEQEBeAzF-8-CuE5ITkcMlNleoGbsRzy0X5J-FMels1PkP6A6uP5TXw/s1600/IMGP0047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB0dWxSumTTpKwayOMow7QT1TayPFN4ntM9TUGbJiDh5fcm16Efs9sosvmxWe2Hl94T61W9uMCZUv-ZtoPx4tJYfEQEBeAzF-8-CuE5ITkcMlNleoGbsRzy0X5J-FMels1PkP6A6uP5TXw/s200/IMGP0047.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just overhead</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">With Bill and JoAnne, we hopped a bus, heading off to get exfoliated! Exfoliated we did! Standing on the beach, waving at the jets as they passed right over our heads to land, I was struck by how much fun it would be to simply FLASH the pilots and wondered why no one did THAT? Perhaps jail time?? </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> As soon as one jet landed, another made ready to take OFF. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sharon & Joanne, full throttle </td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqRoSRdPmxXlHRkT-O9sGXyWe74XoaQiwN1j3Ee9hAZxq71A5YzFzPRkgmymWlZiHxU1FHIRBIDdrPNbeKfMNQHis4WIgvZHnyZG0IimbVMsFAJSM7HKJxLnq8ci5pwNYE2y9GaBTE1smW/s1600/IMGP0055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">As the planes pulled into position at the end of the runway, engines screaming, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">the heat blasting our faces and bodies, we hunkered down, ready to RUN! </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> As the jet pulls forward, engines full throttle, the blast is incredible! Sand painfully whips into one’s skin, hair and eyes! As I turned, looking toward the water, waves, made from the blast, were frothing their way halfway across the little Bay and swimmers were diving under. A somewhat painfully fun experience! </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sand is adhering to my head as I run!</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">That night, scratching my head, I realized I had sand stuck all over my scalp, about 1/4 inch thick!!!! That sand did not ‘shake’ out either...lots of shampoo, scrubbing and a hard rinse - </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">several times</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> - got most of it out! Phew! </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Wandering off the beach, we climbed our way up to a fancy resort, trying to find our way out up to the street and to Maho Village, a fancy casino area. Stopped by a guard, we talked our way in with promises to stop at the Bar for a drink. Money talks. We did stop as the Guard watched us all the way!! Ordering drinks in this very fancy place, we learned (a) No </span>Tanguara<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> gin (b) No limes to go in the bar brand gin and tonics (c) No painkillers - a de rigueor item on every bar menu (d) Not much of anything. We finally figured out that this very fancy resort is an ‘all inclusive’! Their bar was bare bones. I guess one gets what they pay for! This resort must not be spending Big Bucks on their guests. Profit Margin seems to be high on the priority list! Another Buyer Beware - Live and learn and READ the content of any contract when signing up for a vacation! </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pricy pizza w Bill & Joanne</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Stopping in Maho Village for a 2 for 1 pizza and 2 for 1 beer and wine, and two small salads, we were shocked to see the bill at $120 total for the 4 of us. Ugh...outta here too!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stunning bar</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Wandering about the Village (all modern, for the cruise ship trippers and mega yacht people), we found a Bar on top of a building that was jaw dropping. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">On this rooftop, covered in sand & greenery, were big sand balls holding real fire. Other flames and lights with flames flickering, umbrellas, very comfortable couchs and even a BED or two for seating were everywhere. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fabulous views & ambiance!</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> It was lovely to stand there taking it all in and to see the sea and the town lights twinkling all around, down below. At 9:00 PM, however, there were NO customers. We did not sit down to enjoy the ambiance, fearful of what the price would be after our pizza experience, but what a place!</span> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieaoGmyVKLIKy-4Xk3P1SjTbpMmXxDMu0KzU8fq3c2-8fKGZrOi7yMCWOLmjVG6nWif-5WNm3P-sJoBwyhVVA8yvEk01KYhcLS8p6mmj82zVS5MttIA1CmLa4ZtvF9NXpVRyoTOqD94NgD/s1600/IMG_6340.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieaoGmyVKLIKy-4Xk3P1SjTbpMmXxDMu0KzU8fq3c2-8fKGZrOi7yMCWOLmjVG6nWif-5WNm3P-sJoBwyhVVA8yvEk01KYhcLS8p6mmj82zVS5MttIA1CmLa4ZtvF9NXpVRyoTOqD94NgD/s320/IMG_6340.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making crepes on the sidewalk</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglTxW-AtTUejnft-fnm4JFRAfwnQ9mOmRy8fcrSrZinkVspU9AIrhMxFhZO97zDsEikUun-qH9F-nHt0zkXd2O6RGqd5xcERkCikYU9lqDeW74uuMcCaZ7b7a9Zwkq6us0QBSeCCP-5wsB/s1600/IMG_6337.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglTxW-AtTUejnft-fnm4JFRAfwnQ9mOmRy8fcrSrZinkVspU9AIrhMxFhZO97zDsEikUun-qH9F-nHt0zkXd2O6RGqd5xcERkCikYU9lqDeW74uuMcCaZ7b7a9Zwkq6us0QBSeCCP-5wsB/s320/IMG_6337.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Imprompteu dancing in the street</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The little town of Grand Case is not to be missed on a Tuesday night! </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTahrt4LJz-Ovf_FaXpYshI1A4JPghBPJxowCjV2Lx8cUiCLYV-5OGR6llAMC9WgKT2xd3AqakJKg6PgOEvGBmxaDG8tX5Vyoikhkvb2gLVclXnRNiySzSY82iZCWpFD3EmDHuCYXQS9aV/s1600/IMG_6348.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTahrt4LJz-Ovf_FaXpYshI1A4JPghBPJxowCjV2Lx8cUiCLYV-5OGR6llAMC9WgKT2xd3AqakJKg6PgOEvGBmxaDG8tX5Vyoikhkvb2gLVclXnRNiySzSY82iZCWpFD3EmDHuCYXQS9aV/s400/IMG_6348.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Local color & talent dancing in the streets</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Y-WjblnbvOBhAIVW1RF0m7mKYfOuYS-GwTqjOrprTJ4kCuQWZPZN6k-JFOPBDH7WqviHclthazxzmRje5f8ISUp_xAt7kr7jl4TAH7rL2wyKCNkM_FcIT_lr35Cv_eBIRYMrXjOKAgJR/s1600/IMG_6352.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Y-WjblnbvOBhAIVW1RF0m7mKYfOuYS-GwTqjOrprTJ4kCuQWZPZN6k-JFOPBDH7WqviHclthazxzmRje5f8ISUp_xAt7kr7jl4TAH7rL2wyKCNkM_FcIT_lr35Cv_eBIRYMrXjOKAgJR/s320/IMG_6352.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-BWMTM3hk_6mMRv0PrAHbw50LViMZEEdjUHSZAYyWTCMzFQ6XoeCifoQ5Pf79hPoR3-zvLRUCo1Qe9ZQNu_7fplCKG8a35HZr2u2QIGUHrSgeGSmQnQurJiszI05ACW-xd-r7kqy839M/s1600/IMG_6356.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-BWMTM3hk_6mMRv0PrAHbw50LViMZEEdjUHSZAYyWTCMzFQ6XoeCifoQ5Pf79hPoR3-zvLRUCo1Qe9ZQNu_7fplCKG8a35HZr2u2QIGUHrSgeGSmQnQurJiszI05ACW-xd-r7kqy839M/s320/IMG_6356.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The music makers marching down the street</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Negotiating a round trip deal with </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">a taxi driver ($10 per couple), our little crowd headed there for an evening of fun and “harmony night” as the locals call it. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The streets are closed off, vendors set up their displays of home made rums, home made foods, jewelry and all the rest of the typical island trinkets on tables lining the streets and the entire town becomes a party. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I found a beautifully carved wooden bowl and made a purchase. I’d eyed these bowls even in the USA but this one was beautiful and far far less than any price I’d every seen before....my own ‘work of art’ as a remembrance. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWvepUB8zkVUxfdMT65NVgLu7ZtlQ9iSzuMzYFT0kM7HfIERHF_Jq04HmEGQZxLVxXNCjDNFVJYk_cMoYJ1FG2U31kTD5xJYc9DP3_NO5-PH1ex1jnLT-OTlKegdgcNh141k_MzNgN8D1-/s1600/IMG_6334.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWvepUB8zkVUxfdMT65NVgLu7ZtlQ9iSzuMzYFT0kM7HfIERHF_Jq04HmEGQZxLVxXNCjDNFVJYk_cMoYJ1FG2U31kTD5xJYc9DP3_NO5-PH1ex1jnLT-OTlKegdgcNh141k_MzNgN8D1-/s320/IMG_6334.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bill & Paul sampling home made rums</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">We grazed our way up and down the streets, sampling the rums, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">chatting with the locals and eating where the locals eat, at the end of the closed off streets, on picnic tables with foods cooked on grills right there. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPzTKmaD5bWNPiR5ujfivJDbKsDkK4698qnDRxDzctC5_tR6nzFO0V8g9jLfnCYX2mTYrJCn9kn6XR-FKVL3Kyq4gq6rEZbU1IG05qiy04bTLo44zjhAIVIwPFGRD0FAXNE32GkQy0zt2V/s1600/IMG_6362.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPzTKmaD5bWNPiR5ujfivJDbKsDkK4698qnDRxDzctC5_tR6nzFO0V8g9jLfnCYX2mTYrJCn9kn6XR-FKVL3Kyq4gq6rEZbU1IG05qiy04bTLo44zjhAIVIwPFGRD0FAXNE32GkQy0zt2V/s400/IMG_6362.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our fun group enjoying BBQ in the street</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDcDN_OZTwCUL1KN06Ybbwa06UNQf-cska8T7NAB69dCbfP-Gvr3MYW7GvSXSmtcRTSDn8MvZFc3iD1j8repOIaG5APStMHDVl2lWhSx2aY-SPNAqmXzo6wTEw9dm_6vagtTl-bkp3wNeA/s1600/IMG_6365.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDcDN_OZTwCUL1KN06Ybbwa06UNQf-cska8T7NAB69dCbfP-Gvr3MYW7GvSXSmtcRTSDn8MvZFc3iD1j8repOIaG5APStMHDVl2lWhSx2aY-SPNAqmXzo6wTEw9dm_6vagtTl-bkp3wNeA/s320/IMG_6365.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outdoor BBQs</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix3ZICenTt8pMHdaOcDFCMykbPe__bfX0fAnqN-c_6ysaTqA6OwZd1sBB7qYU8fA_cXH48st46s8yfSLocRGbX5LXb2XRULtpOOv27kJE21SBm8u39jdsE_lEBzPzEUeADZe47E0LgTair/s1600/IMG_6375.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix3ZICenTt8pMHdaOcDFCMykbPe__bfX0fAnqN-c_6ysaTqA6OwZd1sBB7qYU8fA_cXH48st46s8yfSLocRGbX5LXb2XRULtpOOv27kJE21SBm8u39jdsE_lEBzPzEUeADZe47E0LgTair/s320/IMG_6375.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnDmbzr11hDi3qa61SNxIU3V-t1FlNioj_AQqbMOlR_W5dcheRYr7xJHPwWU8DG48WlryBD1i3SUXgrNP5_dm25o4vdwsX8bKPVTT_jBRJcZWB2E1RvYbb_Bw6_3girM4jhR2XJv89qY2P/s1600/IMG_6379.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnDmbzr11hDi3qa61SNxIU3V-t1FlNioj_AQqbMOlR_W5dcheRYr7xJHPwWU8DG48WlryBD1i3SUXgrNP5_dm25o4vdwsX8bKPVTT_jBRJcZWB2E1RvYbb_Bw6_3girM4jhR2XJv89qY2P/s320/IMG_6379.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Note the large tattoo</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Life is all about Timing! In the right place at the right time, we watched history in the making. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeEhPKuDl9zW7apBBf8bdzAtNY5Ordlu1tu6QqcbRgJsKpB_amp5WsI_OS6YwolAGYrIegq4N4kkfm0nFDKV5J1awcyP91l2ehQM8eKmf3qNVkJalASbotTXd1pVD5iztKv5g54Pwx5cA4/s1600/IMGP0011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeEhPKuDl9zW7apBBf8bdzAtNY5Ordlu1tu6QqcbRgJsKpB_amp5WsI_OS6YwolAGYrIegq4N4kkfm0nFDKV5J1awcyP91l2ehQM8eKmf3qNVkJalASbotTXd1pVD5iztKv5g54Pwx5cA4/s400/IMGP0011.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laura's parents & family awaiting her arrival in Simpson Bay</td></tr>
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<div style="font: 14.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 14px;">It was so exciting to watch Laura </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 14px;">Dekker, the youngest person to</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 14px;">circumnavigate the world ALONE, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">complete </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 14px;">her voyage here in St.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 14px;">Maarten in the Leeward Islands, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 14px;">after 500 days at sea. It was </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">heartwarming to watch her sail in through the Dutch Bridge aboard </span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">her 38 foot sailboat, Guppy, with the mega yachts blasting their </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">horns & the crowd cheering. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZm0fv-fbFqLeE4JF5oJgKNHg5qR3m39jjDdxpTVOp1vbuiOo35jg-dMsfBUDBVtRgyaBYcsKEKkmdnngjVMD4E0xjIVpeP5dNAtrkN5ai8pv0IyAX24_086-VJVvqi1uY2xtzjyzoJ3Gi/s1600/IMGP0015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZm0fv-fbFqLeE4JF5oJgKNHg5qR3m39jjDdxpTVOp1vbuiOo35jg-dMsfBUDBVtRgyaBYcsKEKkmdnngjVMD4E0xjIVpeP5dNAtrkN5ai8pv0IyAX24_086-VJVvqi1uY2xtzjyzoJ3Gi/s320/IMGP0015.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The red sailboat in the background is Guppy</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVZ6AihURVMZzjKqheCJHd5vFeTk0EF8xX3s7OowTMrtIaw98WM8UY7K-qdJ41so_t287oUZaPGoZpiehPyiGWEI7CPLw5vZBJQUTJ_z3W0-3fIPxLtGkl6aYhKhU0Dm1wXZOzrSTM6tZG/s1600/IMGP0019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVZ6AihURVMZzjKqheCJHd5vFeTk0EF8xX3s7OowTMrtIaw98WM8UY7K-qdJ41so_t287oUZaPGoZpiehPyiGWEI7CPLw5vZBJQUTJ_z3W0-3fIPxLtGkl6aYhKhU0Dm1wXZOzrSTM6tZG/s320/IMGP0019.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guppy & Laura arriving at the St. Martin Yacht Club</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiEeC5Tk67fxwHjv3U8NYin6Vd2b7kCb3nHTfTkZLGQkSJLoc1tdM3VzS3Winognk9xZyu64tzS6r4L32C7mQUZTGuuNTzYO4t86Z1LF5x_3QJ3Jy7uRAnPKVDod_idX7VJ1rXLIHzht88/s1600/IMGP0026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiEeC5Tk67fxwHjv3U8NYin6Vd2b7kCb3nHTfTkZLGQkSJLoc1tdM3VzS3Winognk9xZyu64tzS6r4L32C7mQUZTGuuNTzYO4t86Z1LF5x_3QJ3Jy7uRAnPKVDod_idX7VJ1rXLIHzht88/s400/IMGP0026.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mega yachts in the background, Laura standing there by her boat</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoIWKHLk9oITiCEUPWppsa8JfIFryeQ_Fqrzpkcn-QUBAgikSpcpoervUOiaV5kgbwc649c5BlLwvuxZD2ym6dUAfINdp-efabMSPBrSXd93N7rtXO8D0s78LT5vOK_PBBYYZCXjOqgH78/s1600/IMGP0028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoIWKHLk9oITiCEUPWppsa8JfIFryeQ_Fqrzpkcn-QUBAgikSpcpoervUOiaV5kgbwc649c5BlLwvuxZD2ym6dUAfINdp-efabMSPBrSXd93N7rtXO8D0s78LT5vOK_PBBYYZCXjOqgH78/s400/IMGP0028.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Her hull</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4cEYkf3B1FVIu87vY1luUCJ8xZyFRtl4Thc9lfG5cjFxrMxLYLBH3rJvcS5m_z-pQUfCrBtnLwa-JqxNCmIPVb-3Dqhbzwh0XG6BzluZTZCCOycAbNpVvK6qjV_AiulywfZEgOaGTPFMe/s1600/IMGP0031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4cEYkf3B1FVIu87vY1luUCJ8xZyFRtl4Thc9lfG5cjFxrMxLYLBH3rJvcS5m_z-pQUfCrBtnLwa-JqxNCmIPVb-3Dqhbzwh0XG6BzluZTZCCOycAbNpVvK6qjV_AiulywfZEgOaGTPFMe/s400/IMGP0031.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An amazing accomplishment for one so young!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBydf5xZKu7ULA1IkfUh5f58KDX2nI8wyhuuJzZrUZlqcIqRt1O3UbxP-qlp1U0uhJjnGVNkyyaqy9UAqAmr-nnE5n5tFYV2Oy1iA_1sjBKpvoA6TKshMJpOIad4MrQytKJJDNhfftJi5Z/s1600/IMGP0021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBydf5xZKu7ULA1IkfUh5f58KDX2nI8wyhuuJzZrUZlqcIqRt1O3UbxP-qlp1U0uhJjnGVNkyyaqy9UAqAmr-nnE5n5tFYV2Oy1iA_1sjBKpvoA6TKshMJpOIad4MrQytKJJDNhfftJi5Z/s320/IMGP0021.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laura's family greeting her at the dock</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">Remember, the Dutch courts tried to </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 14px;">stop her, saying she was too</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 14px;">young. Her father sailed with her to St. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 14px;">Martin, where she began </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 14px;">her actual journey, in spite of the court </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 14px;">ruling. She was 14 when</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 14px;">she left and is now 16 years, 4 months old.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We decided to head directly to the British Virgin Islands and the US Virgin Islands, skipping St. Bart’s and Anguilla. We’d heard from every boater how expensive both places were - both to check in and out and to simply exist there. We are not interested in $100 hamburger meals! I’m tired of duty free shopping zones loaded with fancy watches, designer clothing and the like...Not My Thing. I want isolated anchorages, peace and quiet for a few days.</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Ah, dirty Andy says this island of St. Martin/Sint Maarten is NOT Same Shit, Different Island. He loved our time here.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAHpaI_P1HNYq2TZlI2E6LBP89Oo9f4PoSMIcDl4Oc_rDKBka1NpGkTVB0Lw_uQHFfL-SIoqYU6nhT9tbp5J8FUrfApgTgvebb_N59VdFeGgaJNKOwDFrui2ar0Ev-4pt-kxDRgjzWpVy3/s1600/IMG_6397.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAHpaI_P1HNYq2TZlI2E6LBP89Oo9f4PoSMIcDl4Oc_rDKBka1NpGkTVB0Lw_uQHFfL-SIoqYU6nhT9tbp5J8FUrfApgTgvebb_N59VdFeGgaJNKOwDFrui2ar0Ev-4pt-kxDRgjzWpVy3/s400/IMG_6397.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
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Fun loving, smut minded Andy</div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><i></i></span></div>Sharon Fellows Larrison Stepniewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09962977355812944714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164046376669890975.post-29222146533907805122012-01-12T09:46:00.003-05:002012-02-19T09:09:08.562-05:00Sint Eustatius - ‘Statia‘ - The Golden Rock<span style="font-size: large;">Up at first light, we quickly made ready to pull out of St. Kitt's for the long day cruise to St. Martin....Not To Be. Finally Fun’s starboard engine would not start. When we smelled rubber burning, we figured OOPS. Long story short, the bearings in a tension pulley on a belt on the engine had seized up and the pulley wasn’t turning. Andy finally got a mechanic after he was unable to release the belt. A couple of hundred dollars and many hours (mostly waiting for the mechanic) later, we pulled out of the Marina, headed a few hours away to Statia to break up the trip and get us out of St. Kitts. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLjH5m3QH4lUsl4V67JoMHYYpbx_KBkesme34w0GuxauzUEbiV_p6ck1Qsuh7CCdHC7sAefOp6GoBH6GHkCSb8KNrSZm59FxmHMz1fpRlnSVeRJorCgEAylqmPtcp8qRKyZnCg6lMGnY0y/s1600/IMG_6318.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLjH5m3QH4lUsl4V67JoMHYYpbx_KBkesme34w0GuxauzUEbiV_p6ck1Qsuh7CCdHC7sAefOp6GoBH6GHkCSb8KNrSZm59FxmHMz1fpRlnSVeRJorCgEAylqmPtcp8qRKyZnCg6lMGnY0y/s320/IMG_6318.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This bird pooped on the decks, window & dingy. He kept aiming.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Our clearance paperwork had expired in the afternoon and we didn’t want to have to go back to check back INTO the country and then back OUT. Besides that, weather is coming. We certainly don’t want to be stuck in St. Kitts, one of our least favorite places....Shopper’s Mecca and not much else for us..</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sint Eustatius - 'Statia"</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Arriving in Statia after a few hours of uneventful cruising with domestic debates still raging as to whether to continue on to Saba with an ETA arrival at dusk/dark or drop the hook at Statia, right in front of the Customs & Immigration dock...the only anchorage on the island. We were nervous about staying in Statis as we were not planning to clear Customs/Immigration. I hated to so flagrantly thumb my nose at them - we are so visible. We were not going ashore & would depart at first light for St. Martin, so we hoped technically we would be ‘legal’...but who knows. No one can answer that question for us....clear in to spend the night only, never going ashore??? </span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGVUP89kGvU8OLTQ_dCricWJtybiESyVYp65MWwHgzdB2JZM8N_HarT9gplz0Ko9JW8pgLTs91PEgGRwnfpRA70OUfYfSdXOvUwPZ7jZBiSEEHBniCCUV1VLL5f83OhcsKMzAMvlhdyVwP/s1600/IMG_6315.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGVUP89kGvU8OLTQ_dCricWJtybiESyVYp65MWwHgzdB2JZM8N_HarT9gplz0Ko9JW8pgLTs91PEgGRwnfpRA70OUfYfSdXOvUwPZ7jZBiSEEHBniCCUV1VLL5f83OhcsKMzAMvlhdyVwP/s320/IMG_6315.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coming into the anchorage - Saba in background</td></tr>
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For you boaters following our blog, the guidebooks show the only safe anchorage at Oranje Baai and then only if settled weather. The books/charts show actual anchoring by the breakwater, with moorings at the more northern end. No - don’t drop the hook at the southern end in spite of what you read. The dockmaster hailed us on the radio, requesting that we move to the northern end of the anchorage, saying we would be safer there. The mooring balls are rated at only 30 tons & are $10 a night, part of the Park ‘fee’ when you check in. We passed on the mooring option as we are 38 tons net weight and also because we didn’t plan to go ashore to pay. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZrb6kWon8FuOcM2u94vZu4-gP7k-cxR7Nf4nnbbz0nRgDXT_nREdekEBDPc1lWQ7DsbJvceE-DYa-PSWnHaTi_INWfvRJtQ45M-e8reVDRbdqTdgDMStNf7jQY5ePf1l_jXVqIZL86MRD/s1600/IMG_6309.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZrb6kWon8FuOcM2u94vZu4-gP7k-cxR7Nf4nnbbz0nRgDXT_nREdekEBDPc1lWQ7DsbJvceE-DYa-PSWnHaTi_INWfvRJtQ45M-e8reVDRbdqTdgDMStNf7jQY5ePf1l_jXVqIZL86MRD/s400/IMG_6309.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></a></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Statia</div></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD768gI-PAY9lLowQY9zDZ-RMn0eOtfFLSV0GimCTAXrf1KNpBKitpr_w717G2J9nGE4WrL_4lBSILgR6sgVY8KspglIu4T2Jtpkpno-IFRna2XQXiYGwV1pe4eDXXUpqlgGYNEsqeOO4y/s1600/IMG_6314.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD768gI-PAY9lLowQY9zDZ-RMn0eOtfFLSV0GimCTAXrf1KNpBKitpr_w717G2J9nGE4WrL_4lBSILgR6sgVY8KspglIu4T2Jtpkpno-IFRna2XQXiYGwV1pe4eDXXUpqlgGYNEsqeOO4y/s320/IMG_6314.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So many huge tankers & freighters</td></tr>
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Ugh, not a place I’d recommend. This anchorage is rolly - the breakwater isn’t long enough! This island is also a fueling station for freighters and tankers right next to this only anchorage. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiln0-ghnqnMQk_Pq3Td1kaYkr6_-HKZWJK0FzJCoZLwdnBQNN0exqXx_2gCiBfPmgINV4PK5lCIdDuIzK0OTqpAD_0G9ALYZcDSwiWYSH_pUWCV0cyPN44UHI0Sv-DtzmlmJ-di3DXzToT/s1600/IMG_6308.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiln0-ghnqnMQk_Pq3Td1kaYkr6_-HKZWJK0FzJCoZLwdnBQNN0exqXx_2gCiBfPmgINV4PK5lCIdDuIzK0OTqpAD_0G9ALYZcDSwiWYSH_pUWCV0cyPN44UHI0Sv-DtzmlmJ-di3DXzToT/s320/IMG_6308.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lights of all the tankers & freighters around us</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"> I counted 12 huge ocean going vessels around us which kept the area brightly lit all night long, reminding me of the Hudson River in NYC.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The radio continually sprang to life throughout the night long with bored tug boat captains and freighters chatting away. We don't dare turn the VHF off in case there is something we need to know or we need help quickly!</span><br />
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Dropping the hook, we were suddenly hailed by “Hello Big Boat”. We saw nothing til we spotted two young (21ish) girls swimming by our bow. One Canadian and one Brit, these interns at the Statia Natl Park for six months, were most curious about Finally Fun & thrilled to be invited aboard for a cold beer. I laughed when they told us they swam out nearly every day in high hopes of having someone invite them aboard to take a ‘look see’. The gals regaled us with stories of the island, almost making me want to stay to see some of the Park and hike up to the dead volcano for myself. Almost, but not quite! </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFo_Zyjs2iKb3Qt_F5KSOvhrat5eaeY7BSHJSUF-4U98I2mkcTx9lQxRz0XMNs20xOWTN7Nfwd7ySv650jCd13j8xdJX195Fwf7izGOvJr3azBikWhUcO1rp9yh3x4pgJt5GAO5eXnkXj7/s1600/IMG_6316.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFo_Zyjs2iKb3Qt_F5KSOvhrat5eaeY7BSHJSUF-4U98I2mkcTx9lQxRz0XMNs20xOWTN7Nfwd7ySv650jCd13j8xdJX195Fwf7izGOvJr3azBikWhUcO1rp9yh3x4pgJt5GAO5eXnkXj7/s400/IMG_6316.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Departing Statia at first light- See the volcano at the right side</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This tiny volcanic island of Sint Eustatius or 'Statia' as locals call it, is Dutch and about 30 miles from our destination of St. Martin. This island, once known as The Golden Rock, is a long way way now from its heyday in the 1700’s when it was the trade capital of the Caribbean. </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #474747; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;"> </span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">While all the European countries were fighting each other (Statia changed hands 22 times between the English, Dutch and French) and putting up embargos, the more enlightened Dutch made Statia a free port. International merchant ships thus ran zillions of goods such as silver, silks, sugar and guns through here. As the political climate eased and wars subsided, this free port became moot. Statia fell on hard times, declining in population and popularity. Today, it is off the beaten path with only about 3,400 inhabitants. Both Dutch and English are, however, spoken here.</span><br />
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</div>Sharon Fellows Larrison Stepniewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09962977355812944714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164046376669890975.post-19347475682616334352012-01-11T10:48:00.178-05:002012-01-16T09:55:54.319-05:00St. Kitts (St. Christopher) - Maybe there is something to Same Shit, Different Island<div style="font: 14.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">St. Kitts January 11, 2012</span></span></div><div style="font: 14.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLDlGd0B6A09u0PAylHzutPNMvMvR-1TtTuXxTk-BhMc8AcQxYjn2xAXYhg-FuibL1d_UPR2OZjD7rYDgAu2rsj8zkeWXvTFwAMcs11Q99MdGPlWNv6kF7G4K4Yo9dmiL75ngeFu_Ix9lU/s1600/-18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLDlGd0B6A09u0PAylHzutPNMvMvR-1TtTuXxTk-BhMc8AcQxYjn2xAXYhg-FuibL1d_UPR2OZjD7rYDgAu2rsj8zkeWXvTFwAMcs11Q99MdGPlWNv6kF7G4K4Yo9dmiL75ngeFu_Ix9lU/s400/-18.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Umm, I think I may be falling into that “Same Shit, Different Island” mentality of Andy’s.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">St. Kitts is less than impressive to me. My take away is that this island is just one big shopping area for the cruise ships that dock here. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWSa8zPEl20XdMMNiHNIcC_ayCLPSI4RwZ35NMq48chmYm6jv7WOEg-o0IVxGgx1DDMGO4xqX7D4w8jJ5qGUAODJWs4ikWmZvse1oPJ3EyOnzjHb-WDhrPRtYSwjcFwsr-nnv6lS_oamRf/s1600/IMG_6294.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWSa8zPEl20XdMMNiHNIcC_ayCLPSI4RwZ35NMq48chmYm6jv7WOEg-o0IVxGgx1DDMGO4xqX7D4w8jJ5qGUAODJWs4ikWmZvse1oPJ3EyOnzjHb-WDhrPRtYSwjcFwsr-nnv6lS_oamRf/s400/IMG_6294.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Christopher Columbus didn’t stop here in 1492, but cruising past, named the island, “St. Christopher”. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv1BWX8u_KcIHeg2LfTajvwEzhen3bCAgLRE7f0bl88x98nfQ9JmEdcb2zEE8EAW5hYuATm9Ar-y5MRdVs188XwV9XQoHN6tMH3kgzfHL4bNYiZpig83d6uvgqzLgPaiSKoUXVL1eD35u7/s1600/IMG_6260.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv1BWX8u_KcIHeg2LfTajvwEzhen3bCAgLRE7f0bl88x98nfQ9JmEdcb2zEE8EAW5hYuATm9Ar-y5MRdVs188XwV9XQoHN6tMH3kgzfHL4bNYiZpig83d6uvgqzLgPaiSKoUXVL1eD35u7/s320/IMG_6260.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKvBbvAeXnl2KwVMZUnyu50Ii4-2o7pabmo6CW5gZUbDbIsB_etMYNsyRNeP2vc1Gq_VJALfbQ3rJF38cp9md5o9h-LLKe2s1cjJWpu1ShtHM9QQyiawapdjvhrkLYtBigJclRIN76B3x_/s1600/IMG_1285.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKvBbvAeXnl2KwVMZUnyu50Ii4-2o7pabmo6CW5gZUbDbIsB_etMYNsyRNeP2vc1Gq_VJALfbQ3rJF38cp9md5o9h-LLKe2s1cjJWpu1ShtHM9QQyiawapdjvhrkLYtBigJclRIN76B3x_/s320/IMG_1285.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brimstone Hill Fortress at the northern end of St. Kitts</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font: 14.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The history of St. Kitts is much like the others, with raging battles for ownership, particularly between the French and the British. </span></div><div style="font: 14.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Brimstone Hill Fortress known as the “Gibraltar of the West Indies” rises 800’ feet above the coast and is the largest fort I recall seeing thus far. Constructed over a 100 year period, beginning in about 1690 by the Brits, this fort sprawls over 40 acres, up and down and has 11 different areas. Built of volcanic rock and local limestone & fortified with 49 huge cannons, the fort was considered impenetrable. Not to be...in 1782 8,000 French attacked the fort, laying siege for over 30 days. The 1,000 Brits fought the good battle til the French finally breached the walls. The Brits surrendered but got the Island back a year later via the Treaty of Versailles. The Brits finally abandoned the fort in 1852, believing Peace At Last. Restoration began in 1965. It's now a World Heritage Site, one of over 200 on St. Kitts alone!</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG02Z6IvBSFA7QXxhRcikQcuLXCSXyVulvoVk5teHZhj5Tiz0cn3VzBz4o0mwOY9d_PyHKol3eB0QIn7d9R8zvwF-qFiwvjiApRoskiX29P3U3pzcmCjO6dIBtU3qNcmTGDtBKswUvcMe0/s1600/IMG_3624.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG02Z6IvBSFA7QXxhRcikQcuLXCSXyVulvoVk5teHZhj5Tiz0cn3VzBz4o0mwOY9d_PyHKol3eB0QIn7d9R8zvwF-qFiwvjiApRoskiX29P3U3pzcmCjO6dIBtU3qNcmTGDtBKswUvcMe0/s320/IMG_3624.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andy catching up on the history of St. Kitts while underway</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Times; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In Basseterre, the capital & site of the original French settlement, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Port Zante Marina is about the best place to stay, particularly if weather conditions are not exactly perfect. At 75 cents a foot and $15 for all the water you can use, we spent most of our first day there scrubbing Finally Fun top to bottom. Ah, she looks good! </span></span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3-fzclYEymHBXC6ygkIYF74acXp66ytxPjrf_3dgg-F0EQVKAS2HiJfKKCqE_fLa0BQEnotgF93FoIsFoIaGacSvqYQf15uxlsu9SOUnsOmUrPHbJD4yZpVunmRyp3C6B_R1Q_zjWIHoB/s1600/IMG_6268.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3-fzclYEymHBXC6ygkIYF74acXp66ytxPjrf_3dgg-F0EQVKAS2HiJfKKCqE_fLa0BQEnotgF93FoIsFoIaGacSvqYQf15uxlsu9SOUnsOmUrPHbJD4yZpVunmRyp3C6B_R1Q_zjWIHoB/s320/IMG_6268.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">National Museum</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Times; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In two hours we’d seen the entire old town which is a mix of British and French architecture. My take away is that St. Kitts is just a huge cruise ship destination with the obligatory ‘duty free’ shops absolutely everywhere. </span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJAi9h1E9HXVCdACHzFA78jZk7OwiGDkn3tq7dDHMxVl9Im8CjFaK91TiV0cxkWnwJBuRcA1Fj3EblNoHAEHdhpq5OEcTrO2WilH052B8kIX_hwAL9X8zBTDANNy3a5lsgRi2CrMOvfhfF/s1600/IMG_6286.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJAi9h1E9HXVCdACHzFA78jZk7OwiGDkn3tq7dDHMxVl9Im8CjFaK91TiV0cxkWnwJBuRcA1Fj3EblNoHAEHdhpq5OEcTrO2WilH052B8kIX_hwAL9X8zBTDANNy3a5lsgRi2CrMOvfhfF/s320/IMG_6286.jpg" width="180" /></a> </td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love the music & dancing in the streets</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Times; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> Playing tourist, wandering about both the cruise ship section and the old town, we watched locals dance for the crowds. The National Museum of St. Kitts is the entry way into the cruise ship area from the old town. </span></div><br />
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<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjED5tr84kQvQ4fv35AVclr1pKdXNoodRURFfUgfp5p6pO_T1MQHBJITqaFvswEL_Nv3gpNZqQix9jM_RzksCZQJDzVHUyNB0D7oK0LAYw8addkrvDbh_OpBiV3Ygycsc96KL4syS19Bflr/s1600/IMG_6269.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjED5tr84kQvQ4fv35AVclr1pKdXNoodRURFfUgfp5p6pO_T1MQHBJITqaFvswEL_Nv3gpNZqQix9jM_RzksCZQJDzVHUyNB0D7oK0LAYw8addkrvDbh_OpBiV3Ygycsc96KL4syS19Bflr/s320/IMG_6269.jpg" width="180" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I'd read about the English styled Picadilly Circus located in the center of the historic district. Oops, way below my expectations....it's a clock in the middle of a roundabout. Called Berkeley Memorial in honor of some old gent......bah. My bubble popped....I was looking forward to I don't know what, but this didn't cut it.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_kD_SO95XRkwE56GDrsD2CMUBsX1Fiwq_mb5JvVPO537zn8DpUuYteSpXRF9DAIwAJV9PJmSZwGymRR9R92NG5-QX2Oi2ydIrCmcyPS0s7TvjfrvpGRXxKELPKd08BOkWE1UjVaHmBQyO/s1600/IMG_6270.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_kD_SO95XRkwE56GDrsD2CMUBsX1Fiwq_mb5JvVPO537zn8DpUuYteSpXRF9DAIwAJV9PJmSZwGymRR9R92NG5-QX2Oi2ydIrCmcyPS0s7TvjfrvpGRXxKELPKd08BOkWE1UjVaHmBQyO/s320/IMG_6270.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This old tree witnessed much history</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> Wandering through Independence Square, an attractive park just at the edge of town, we realized that this was built in 1790 for slave auctions and town hall type meetings. The Park was renamed Independence Square in 1983 in recognition of the independence of St. Kitts & Nevis, (the sister island) from Great Britain.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBBjXhrQyMgO0LffhBOAK6p7bxML89yT8g30GNszTHsttEAEajkTcVgawTgkQw77UV_4kNl5FACz3x2JG5AEDEDcMaJBsy2L9H5thIGBEAGNmu1KzlMK_zN4ydtEAEsM6Y-6r_xHMivR5P/s1600/IMG_6271.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBBjXhrQyMgO0LffhBOAK6p7bxML89yT8g30GNszTHsttEAEajkTcVgawTgkQw77UV_4kNl5FACz3x2JG5AEDEDcMaJBsy2L9H5thIGBEAGNmu1KzlMK_zN4ydtEAEsM6Y-6r_xHMivR5P/s400/IMG_6271.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fountain in the middle of Independence Park</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIRnZgKl6Db45LIvlMVb4q3PHviAVuHpU7-9xt91NFxBVO2npyq2sOJtu7dS5cWUp1NLsJZvAsgPknacjt4Ig_fLHLia2as_qMzr07oy8sVUbliZNvZ2hfJSvtkNUfweRdO17My7GyFGrT/s1600/IMG_6273.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIRnZgKl6Db45LIvlMVb4q3PHviAVuHpU7-9xt91NFxBVO2npyq2sOJtu7dS5cWUp1NLsJZvAsgPknacjt4Ig_fLHLia2as_qMzr07oy8sVUbliZNvZ2hfJSvtkNUfweRdO17My7GyFGrT/s400/IMG_6273.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> The Catholic Church at the edge of the Park is undergoing renovation</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnLrLo5bjwMrUTbGHK7veLifAgTa0slbQHK1cBXIxUJXYPM1_3dmIplvl2FENRSuUpeJ2CdJmgR05RGFusxcQXb6xI4NXPmDwE04wg5-lr-Gxclxc6uxlKP2j3IhbStLlxytwmrl5ggimS/s1600/IMG_6274.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnLrLo5bjwMrUTbGHK7veLifAgTa0slbQHK1cBXIxUJXYPM1_3dmIplvl2FENRSuUpeJ2CdJmgR05RGFusxcQXb6xI4NXPmDwE04wg5-lr-Gxclxc6uxlKP2j3IhbStLlxytwmrl5ggimS/s320/IMG_6274.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colorful Caribbean buildings abound</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I wanted to see the little green monkeys, called Green or Vervet Monkeys that are so plentiful on this island. These monkeys were brought over from Africa with French settlers & their slaves. I got my wish, but not in the manner I'd wished. Ugh. Locals wander about with 2-3 monkeys (and they are tiny!) monkeys crawling all over them. These locals will place the monkeys on the shoulders and head of an unsuspecting tourist (the monkeys are wearing Pampers sized for a premie). Cameras snap away and THEN, that guy or a Partner in Crime, hits up all those who took photos for $10 US per photo! I noticed several heated arguments between the tourists and these locals. I did not dare to pull out my camera, never liking to feel ripped off, so I missed my photo opportunity! These little monkeys are so very cute, however and really tiny!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu1PbObXj4BVD7BMvRLJuJ0wzUqUwfJaxWHyO1_kJQBMP-jCR8759FRsB-j9cypoxo_mTm-4wzHst011iwl9v5eiFXY1LFBld033Taf8XbrnJkLl-0YSG_W0bEVzANbKL6aeicdIjyeULf/s1600/IMG_6277.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu1PbObXj4BVD7BMvRLJuJ0wzUqUwfJaxWHyO1_kJQBMP-jCR8759FRsB-j9cypoxo_mTm-4wzHst011iwl9v5eiFXY1LFBld033Taf8XbrnJkLl-0YSG_W0bEVzANbKL6aeicdIjyeULf/s320/IMG_6277.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLMYb1XHKXmonGeT5hqd4NhzSK6C3DwGWCUg-zjJiJeTBhkg2g1SOsGbbM4clx7tGU53jv8pOhlSPXQfY_sL1dJvLUGLevmw1ymzWzuXn0PzZs84KAQmJ21-pPjsS4-tjP_cUdPy2xc14j/s1600/IMG_6278.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLMYb1XHKXmonGeT5hqd4NhzSK6C3DwGWCUg-zjJiJeTBhkg2g1SOsGbbM4clx7tGU53jv8pOhlSPXQfY_sL1dJvLUGLevmw1ymzWzuXn0PzZs84KAQmJ21-pPjsS4-tjP_cUdPy2xc14j/s320/IMG_6278.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Many dancers are children</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzBCN2jMOaNLnrn1XhA6h_k1mjBjBWaMa9THctLkM2Fb8maMvZIojmmPZ0HMosAe43T_XeT97QKkZLSV7TrKwvwclFqh7BhU9oCUdlwTZiBI_beXFJFnlEjZ63w82zVebvKdDTscvrtTuo/s1600/IMG_6267.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzBCN2jMOaNLnrn1XhA6h_k1mjBjBWaMa9THctLkM2Fb8maMvZIojmmPZ0HMosAe43T_XeT97QKkZLSV7TrKwvwclFqh7BhU9oCUdlwTZiBI_beXFJFnlEjZ63w82zVebvKdDTscvrtTuo/s320/IMG_6267.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ah, the pirates!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> We passed on an island tour of any kind - feeling ‘been there/done that’. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We also skipped Nevis, the sister island to St. Kitts and only two miles away. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">One more sugar plantation or rum factory & I will croak. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Just maybe........Same Shit, Different Island mentality.....is working its way into my psyche.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">At last count, however, we have dropped anchor in one way or another at 44 islands since leaving Florida in February 2011. That is a LOT of islands! Maybe I'm getting jaded and ready to be home again.....</span><br />
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<div style="font: 14.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span></div>Sharon Fellows Larrison Stepniewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09962977355812944714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164046376669890975.post-21452965400927243692012-01-09T08:17:00.004-05:002012-01-15T10:48:10.384-05:00Antigua: Historic English Harbor, Falmouth Harbor & St. John's<div style="font: 14.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px; min-height: 18.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Antigua January 4, 2012 </span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4LNhxE8EhMFwzWWfyDKCdC281AKZAZebjQaa2bPfVF-pfZDy5p9W7UVB_-dQly-bSZhquxpFEhX5pOKgtvR0o_JQeGCDvWVH0Qq3W7HCrL92T5YEBKSg9e2xNaF91hMDuHa88czLFfOZ5/s1600/IMG_6142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4LNhxE8EhMFwzWWfyDKCdC281AKZAZebjQaa2bPfVF-pfZDy5p9W7UVB_-dQly-bSZhquxpFEhX5pOKgtvR0o_JQeGCDvWVH0Qq3W7HCrL92T5YEBKSg9e2xNaF91hMDuHa88czLFfOZ5/s320/IMG_6142.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coming into English Harbor</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font: 14.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px; min-height: 18.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Crossing the Guadeloupe Channel in the Atlantic Ocean to Antigua was a delight on this sunny beautiful day after so much rain off and on for the past week. Five hours later, bobbing up and down in easy 6 foot rolling seas, we arrived in English Harbor, which according to the guide book, was ‘the’ place to be and prettier than it’s neighbor, Falmouth Harbor. </span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe7Cj-NBQHOdpbuU-1RJmP6aAAALpm5POqa19-sxUvUQzYdp94yPpc4jpSgnPqtPgOs7WXRMS0r-FXU_vYsZJS6wKabPK_w6SJpS1J4uQMehQ4c0KpSANsqfFvOZYViLqY2HWAXFVFTjTB/s1600/IMG_6200.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe7Cj-NBQHOdpbuU-1RJmP6aAAALpm5POqa19-sxUvUQzYdp94yPpc4jpSgnPqtPgOs7WXRMS0r-FXU_vYsZJS6wKabPK_w6SJpS1J4uQMehQ4c0KpSANsqfFvOZYViLqY2HWAXFVFTjTB/s400/IMG_6200.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">English Harbor with two small anchorages above the main harbor & Falmouth Harbor at north end of photo</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font: 14.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px; min-height: 18.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="font: 14.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px; min-height: 18.0px;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisVoFBmTYKvJVXhgSvk5ebGrcTOpAvYr2u9S1_CS4ZJJMNZKtBgtLj9eckF_CGdWvH6OzBE9R-0PCn0G9O0wCPIRt8cSe1KdK4MDQ6fubQ_6Xf5xj0Ii0cZ2QxtcZJIdw5P6e9vbih_HM8/s1600/IMG_6146.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisVoFBmTYKvJVXhgSvk5ebGrcTOpAvYr2u9S1_CS4ZJJMNZKtBgtLj9eckF_CGdWvH6OzBE9R-0PCn0G9O0wCPIRt8cSe1KdK4MDQ6fubQ_6Xf5xj0Ii0cZ2QxtcZJIdw5P6e9vbih_HM8/s400/IMG_6146.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">English Harbor Marina - Dockyard</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Slowly making our way into the harbor, which has three separate anchoring areas, we found no room for Finally Fun anywhere. A dingy from the marina came out to assist, telling us that we’d be better off in Falmouth Harbor, just around the corner. </span></div><div style="font: 14.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px; min-height: 18.0px;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-bottom: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimGCiI3klb3yB4aa9-gsgibeFHgQSW3sGchNpXSr1iiiJ0JBqiLnWNiASppQQ7WQMpeAwqfrxakJUkWnbAAmt5Ewt2SuIKKEWvmQJilbJ-72Qj9fGCyzb_230Z-gzj6OdNlxQY6lL85Ay6/s1600/IMG_6144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimGCiI3klb3yB4aa9-gsgibeFHgQSW3sGchNpXSr1iiiJ0JBqiLnWNiASppQQ7WQMpeAwqfrxakJUkWnbAAmt5Ewt2SuIKKEWvmQJilbJ-72Qj9fGCyzb_230Z-gzj6OdNlxQY6lL85Ay6/s320/IMG_6144.JPG" width="320" /></a></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Ft. Berkely guarding entrance to English Harbor</div></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Cruising slowly back out of this quaint and historic harbor that was first developed in 1742 by the Brits, we oogled the old fort and the old dockyard, relishing the time we would spend exploring all this.</span></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUIVqGrd8ld02GzMffMw_ytP6B9Y0gVRjWzrrDdM8L49E0uUDgHu2j1zC1ybKEqJy2VY_jgWMwMgdoAFQcOzDcgg0kChyphenhyphenUbBa5W9h1hLm1u7_r4gopOzUu3X8MS7Hr_eAXYGUOHaldSZUa/s1600/IMG_6148.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUIVqGrd8ld02GzMffMw_ytP6B9Y0gVRjWzrrDdM8L49E0uUDgHu2j1zC1ybKEqJy2VY_jgWMwMgdoAFQcOzDcgg0kChyphenhyphenUbBa5W9h1hLm1u7_r4gopOzUu3X8MS7Hr_eAXYGUOHaldSZUa/s320/IMG_6148.JPG" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Making our way into Falmouth Harbor, just around ‘the corner’ we found this anchorage fairly crowded also. Remember it is ‘The Season’. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The place is loaded with mega yachts, both power and sail. Bill Gates' yacht is here and is certainly not the largest one! Gates does, however, have a helicopter on his yacht, as do several others. Must be nice....the crew spends all day, every day, washing those big boats!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">What empty space is available is dominated by mooring balls. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWgeU98qC-uLc36eWL-giLbTXuAk-2olNq7qMsP6oTAdmO21Dx32Z-zU64GpXJCMlvF3Kby8C582_PRqvWFBmC1soZCC26pveVIOvd4wTOblQYIhczYWjWzzpd6jzKLTeLTtJYvy1fb3gB/s1600/IMG_6147.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWgeU98qC-uLc36eWL-giLbTXuAk-2olNq7qMsP6oTAdmO21Dx32Z-zU64GpXJCMlvF3Kby8C582_PRqvWFBmC1soZCC26pveVIOvd4wTOblQYIhczYWjWzzpd6jzKLTeLTtJYvy1fb3gB/s320/IMG_6147.JPG" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We finally gave up and in frustration grabbed the $20 US a night mooring. These are the most expensive (aside from Mustique) that we’ve found in our travels in the Caribbean. Hooking up quickly, we lowered the dingy & set off to find the dingy dock so we could walk 10 minutes back into English Harbor to clear customs and immigration before they closed.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhri2V1wWAIp_wiySUMTDXWO68yoNmbRPUwLNd5P6O5QfVijCzdQ35H2G5BWJoRPJ2NQEVWyDD0oFfCqa-ZhYrE1B5sRiG447r83SbQH_h49tzj9bwdvdS5Wcqq0A6Lt8tREIesJpVI1gNn/s1600/IMG_6165.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhri2V1wWAIp_wiySUMTDXWO68yoNmbRPUwLNd5P6O5QfVijCzdQ35H2G5BWJoRPJ2NQEVWyDD0oFfCqa-ZhYrE1B5sRiG447r83SbQH_h49tzj9bwdvdS5Wcqq0A6Lt8tREIesJpVI1gNn/s320/IMG_6165.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old gate into Nelson's Dockyard</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Humm, seems expensive to check in here....$16 US + port charges of $3 per day $4 per person for entering the dockyard; $1 a day for garbage. Nickel and dime you to death. BUT we don’t have to pay at the gate for entering the dockyard each time, as the tourists on a bus or not on a boat do...</span></div><div style="font: 14.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px; min-height: 18.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ytioMkrnXx2oIlENfiDGK7Ldff-WM_lIuLf_dpDzMC-IlL_67PhyphenhyphenJrmKkL23sEhLssTR-wYGbEhvPdEHthkrTrsMAwTErh5HANGfMQgMJ5xY9JUuPrQKlED5X0lz5BK23smD-5ZfnNFE/s1600/IMG_6162.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ytioMkrnXx2oIlENfiDGK7Ldff-WM_lIuLf_dpDzMC-IlL_67PhyphenhyphenJrmKkL23sEhLssTR-wYGbEhvPdEHthkrTrsMAwTErh5HANGfMQgMJ5xY9JUuPrQKlED5X0lz5BK23smD-5ZfnNFE/s320/IMG_6162.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></span></div><div style="font: 14.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px; min-height: 18.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Ah, historic Nelsons Dockyard is a delight! This natural harbor was a major player starting in about 1725, becoming England’s main naval base in the Caribbean. It was fortified to fend off the pirates who wanted to steal the valuable sugar & other products being sent to Europe from these islands. They also fought to fend off other countries who wanted to become the owner of the island, ie Ruler of the Land.<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 14.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px; min-height: 18.0px;"><br />
</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNx6apDsPWMisjlO3KtJRfYycmJWB4EVZJ7zZNIQo1paQ09B38RUxOXQmyyDpW-MjMAyHMCp6MpTtwTO6-RaBNFtJL-7UUxhIXzVqUlpVwn3ol1UvP5CtRN-Fca5_8r0JRDpwYIRy24ceT/s1600/IMG_6150.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNx6apDsPWMisjlO3KtJRfYycmJWB4EVZJ7zZNIQo1paQ09B38RUxOXQmyyDpW-MjMAyHMCp6MpTtwTO6-RaBNFtJL-7UUxhIXzVqUlpVwn3ol1UvP5CtRN-Fca5_8r0JRDpwYIRy24ceT/s400/IMG_6150.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The round 'things' were used to careen boats on their sides, while in the water, to clean/repair the hull</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font: 14.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px; min-height: 18.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Harbor was (and still is) a natural hurricane hole and well laid out to be able to careen (lay on the side in order to clean and repair the hull) the large ships. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">With all this at hand, England could keep a large fleet of ships here, never having to go back to England for repairs - thus keeping a large fleet ready for anything.</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvBNiElucN1T7ielR_IjwL06fuhN-j8oxcxa4AnSzmGoLB3VxWxOh8ecRN-0kFR2mrXHf1bvNMg6hQv1x-0g5ppUDI5oy35BMfi2wOdNl4r-0NIhQ-KrTZA5Tw8orUsZ_wS495uXB1waQI/s1600/IMG_6149.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvBNiElucN1T7ielR_IjwL06fuhN-j8oxcxa4AnSzmGoLB3VxWxOh8ecRN-0kFR2mrXHf1bvNMg6hQv1x-0g5ppUDI5oy35BMfi2wOdNl4r-0NIhQ-KrTZA5Tw8orUsZ_wS495uXB1waQI/s400/IMG_6149.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close up of the careening 'instrument'. A fiddler sat on top while men pushed the poles round & round, twisting line tight to careen the ship onto its side at low tide so they could clean the hull & make repairs</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font: 14.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px; min-height: 18.0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHiDcB-D271bAo3E0uxL6C_w2RohHZDySFqN70gjeB-k67TqXbB4h8Y2KLOuERmK69jCM2UVRfLq2fl7zQCRjKUkbFFdKR2iDkRtoiZ7LjM17aUaUu9LtLTrTs0iKai_HlAt7xKKhpYlBW/s1600/IMG_6151.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHiDcB-D271bAo3E0uxL6C_w2RohHZDySFqN70gjeB-k67TqXbB4h8Y2KLOuERmK69jCM2UVRfLq2fl7zQCRjKUkbFFdKR2iDkRtoiZ7LjM17aUaUu9LtLTrTs0iKai_HlAt7xKKhpYlBW/s320/IMG_6151.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 14.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px; min-height: 18.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We enjoyed wandering around this historic area that has been restored to much of its former glory.</span></div><div style="font: 14.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px; min-height: 18.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The buildings and land are used today much like they were used hundreds of years ago, except that the boats worked on and docked here are modern yachts and not the sailing vessels of 300+ years ago. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1SlWoChLLsDbzyIbuDFrvrcnhG7Zz9BCO-wVxcd6-RJg8ry3-wzkLf_toqFw0Ko2V4NcDoiFeloVD7gJ03DPzOMWA7WYOOMEG4oow-SExQ5azJMojASt8IDWyZvXTI_Vr9oc8dfmUuxGM/s1600/IMG_6152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1SlWoChLLsDbzyIbuDFrvrcnhG7Zz9BCO-wVxcd6-RJg8ry3-wzkLf_toqFw0Ko2V4NcDoiFeloVD7gJ03DPzOMWA7WYOOMEG4oow-SExQ5azJMojASt8IDWyZvXTI_Vr9oc8dfmUuxGM/s400/IMG_6152.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir_REJBXkvxVX-GcLMXpAkc49ZZ-cSqregUJkUrhKWerXIWT1hfeGQSx3KND1L3oZCEnukCnzv8d4X96ozEjupFxxbAk2PFfX14rV1gfCi5vnDO75Fgg1gS7LkhaUvBhqx3yYzFzxvCJke/s1600/IMG_6154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir_REJBXkvxVX-GcLMXpAkc49ZZ-cSqregUJkUrhKWerXIWT1hfeGQSx3KND1L3oZCEnukCnzv8d4X96ozEjupFxxbAk2PFfX14rV1gfCi5vnDO75Fgg1gS7LkhaUvBhqx3yYzFzxvCJke/s320/IMG_6154.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Now a hotel & restaurant with an inside courtyard</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQyeDRTdRltb9CKGBPRdXcfiDg9iEBQTQd3iJoAFqYuCp62-NKZYs5wHx8zVUFkOHJFmiAb0pKiEB_guSHkUmLjzUEijEICasmGKnW0u2TW9iIbOa3cNnU6xH4o7KZgOckkdKv6QVp4ybS/s1600/IMG_6185.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQyeDRTdRltb9CKGBPRdXcfiDg9iEBQTQd3iJoAFqYuCp62-NKZYs5wHx8zVUFkOHJFmiAb0pKiEB_guSHkUmLjzUEijEICasmGKnW0u2TW9iIbOa3cNnU6xH4o7KZgOckkdKv6QVp4ybS/s400/IMG_6185.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">My favorite - the Courtyard inside which is now a hotel/restaurant</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIDiP4A1_hqzVtfa8fd-SwU_omIoEsQxPoCEbJJogYg4Km3wH37OsaeP6oOUH2gJKH5FQwjW9CHmJfcgUC9D8KMn6QqsZmENwPOqAETEoOOqBoR6O84rFN4syZqWk2_i5IOh8e534NuhPc/s1600/IMG_6156.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIDiP4A1_hqzVtfa8fd-SwU_omIoEsQxPoCEbJJogYg4Km3wH37OsaeP6oOUH2gJKH5FQwjW9CHmJfcgUC9D8KMn6QqsZmENwPOqAETEoOOqBoR6O84rFN4syZqWk2_i5IOh8e534NuhPc/s400/IMG_6156.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUlq133KiX6lg24a4TRscxN97Hcp9HDoBk-M_uO-Lhvs7xThL2gujdcqWzj8aBiXD1Q73pJV7GgFrzk9b5Xn_pOGfP6Ucv8Byjz2Y6ZyNN9rbZs9MmT6NbLfH0RcM4GMV9rjJuJj4x2iUv/s1600/IMG_6157.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUlq133KiX6lg24a4TRscxN97Hcp9HDoBk-M_uO-Lhvs7xThL2gujdcqWzj8aBiXD1Q73pJV7GgFrzk9b5Xn_pOGfP6Ucv8Byjz2Y6ZyNN9rbZs9MmT6NbLfH0RcM4GMV9rjJuJj4x2iUv/s320/IMG_6157.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOxw-Y8D3KVZsY7SpbsxOK8EERbNsLMjlCitDurmBpPOe_iEuyTUKnjjUDLgNAOxMQDatCP8sDiJrtC3KCx92JRWX1aT7vT_CsGxxfah9DF21HL3L5f2VxJ1wbpGoKLuuBp048cJWIrrjE/s1600/IMG_6158.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOxw-Y8D3KVZsY7SpbsxOK8EERbNsLMjlCitDurmBpPOe_iEuyTUKnjjUDLgNAOxMQDatCP8sDiJrtC3KCx92JRWX1aT7vT_CsGxxfah9DF21HL3L5f2VxJ1wbpGoKLuuBp048cJWIrrjE/s320/IMG_6158.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ox5RSe07Qy7VdKp-ylIyQaYGqYW5zcGZAF2__4HiEMpTZ-Q7RthyphenhyphentICyx7KZZYkcQviSfNjFDEWqzkR6RUdbYILcPjeQIRd9tu904c5hZfmdHsivVpxZ_eXZbLvGtMSFvIqveYY0DWPJ/s1600/IMG_6160.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ox5RSe07Qy7VdKp-ylIyQaYGqYW5zcGZAF2__4HiEMpTZ-Q7RthyphenhyphentICyx7KZZYkcQviSfNjFDEWqzkR6RUdbYILcPjeQIRd9tu904c5hZfmdHsivVpxZ_eXZbLvGtMSFvIqveYY0DWPJ/s320/IMG_6160.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The old kitchen, now a working bakery. These are cisterns.</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHgsiJLqTfdoWKnp0yX2F9kFo9fO5gE8YT0Z29lFBAK649gBGlxx7R9wmGRMwxxs_ylDeW2PhwYT3I000O_yC1I6rmHf9NaHbCqSE3-fzqG6FFutRTX2tbKZgNxiPSs_wILdgKvT-fCqJ6/s1600/IMG_6161.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHgsiJLqTfdoWKnp0yX2F9kFo9fO5gE8YT0Z29lFBAK649gBGlxx7R9wmGRMwxxs_ylDeW2PhwYT3I000O_yC1I6rmHf9NaHbCqSE3-fzqG6FFutRTX2tbKZgNxiPSs_wILdgKvT-fCqJ6/s400/IMG_6161.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Z8mYmQQYI4PiKgT3_-wHuVvyARoHJsH5VA5NzHCfcIUO0-SE3Hx4mVGIHUuBg-zfEiS-sL4ZKw_1YhhzquBxxQt8UaqQE8Zogg_ZXzw6egGDoAGMqPZrnBKbehAUyZnCwpKBhlqnXCh9/s1600/IMG_6164.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Z8mYmQQYI4PiKgT3_-wHuVvyARoHJsH5VA5NzHCfcIUO0-SE3Hx4mVGIHUuBg-zfEiS-sL4ZKw_1YhhzquBxxQt8UaqQE8Zogg_ZXzw6egGDoAGMqPZrnBKbehAUyZnCwpKBhlqnXCh9/s320/IMG_6164.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixx7kOx3HCrCzhBwjdYqaDBCNwzSsNDZ20ZGJaq3afr6WtfOXBJSkVSNzAg0PU3xkxn7LRl7Xn9zv5A-4lVVd_pIsscc5BGFqJy8RkrjFcU4ifbHL1_UBYJvQrHXwUn0eAA1QGTBPmUx84/s1600/IMG_6163.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixx7kOx3HCrCzhBwjdYqaDBCNwzSsNDZ20ZGJaq3afr6WtfOXBJSkVSNzAg0PU3xkxn7LRl7Xn9zv5A-4lVVd_pIsscc5BGFqJy8RkrjFcU4ifbHL1_UBYJvQrHXwUn0eAA1QGTBPmUx84/s400/IMG_6163.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Note the Rules!!!! I think they were afraid of 'loose' women!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiybpmC3Ef4o3lqiZFhyiHrDlWM08wQT5ALBn-aPe4OTOvXau2aL1nowVH5BxvFVPU8wK3wleigKzJvJXL2_e3jiPug8n1pcf1_7IXC4b42DdddJA7FGVCK9r0u6x4HOFxagrawXFGkA4-/s1600/IMG_6183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiybpmC3Ef4o3lqiZFhyiHrDlWM08wQT5ALBn-aPe4OTOvXau2aL1nowVH5BxvFVPU8wK3wleigKzJvJXL2_e3jiPug8n1pcf1_7IXC4b42DdddJA7FGVCK9r0u6x4HOFxagrawXFGkA4-/s400/IMG_6183.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgGqhG6yuTkYBkRaqN6SzT_rQg1oPLJLnC2GTDlu8aq5k71soR6aNg1_lmcUp-V9YywpNeF-2KiB_qxZHgIKhPJvSAVgsxG86MMHnvPl4ZRmT2VE5h7fFoq8GAXfKv3euL_sMCifqpTqyz/s1600/IMG_6176.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgGqhG6yuTkYBkRaqN6SzT_rQg1oPLJLnC2GTDlu8aq5k71soR6aNg1_lmcUp-V9YywpNeF-2KiB_qxZHgIKhPJvSAVgsxG86MMHnvPl4ZRmT2VE5h7fFoq8GAXfKv3euL_sMCifqpTqyz/s320/IMG_6176.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Model of HMS Victory, Admiral Nelson's battleship</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkZzJ4cu9el1eEPmnq1oWuTBZlDwIlD1EFcxEi8By8Rr4EI6r5tB7jxxP4jUFpXjM3ABPidmwbqOgejoqgQC2nLOrBCDqp8n1sp_EedWQIrmiHIXGp_AD9lfxocKKQTFOr5Pq4aj4HCQwQ/s1600/IMG_6177.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkZzJ4cu9el1eEPmnq1oWuTBZlDwIlD1EFcxEi8By8Rr4EI6r5tB7jxxP4jUFpXjM3ABPidmwbqOgejoqgQC2nLOrBCDqp8n1sp_EedWQIrmiHIXGp_AD9lfxocKKQTFOr5Pq4aj4HCQwQ/s320/IMG_6177.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUglNjcJJuqg2RqIGV7i5THCfnwW69c7-0b_jJQxg9HP41FRxvNIoxFxoQiTq0Ud5JQM8EjiVO3rvcNUDrCrBTLTIg-mABg1PvVqV5j-QMBRVkJifXYdv6LcN-87fjWgmtcWxRuHL0pbna/s1600/IMG_6179.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUglNjcJJuqg2RqIGV7i5THCfnwW69c7-0b_jJQxg9HP41FRxvNIoxFxoQiTq0Ud5JQM8EjiVO3rvcNUDrCrBTLTIg-mABg1PvVqV5j-QMBRVkJifXYdv6LcN-87fjWgmtcWxRuHL0pbna/s320/IMG_6179.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andy as Admiral Nelson</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhre7cvviTUjYoK-xmiFLaPOU5cyF2JkrLDhQr1C_h4lWkae7RQo6R3HXuM_FY9QzCl20b_sdMCt3W1hijeVFEDIZuhP_j6otWh3t1FWH8IzWymZQb7ssOZH5liHxCTAwOIshuP_sNcn7lv/s1600/IMG_6181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhre7cvviTUjYoK-xmiFLaPOU5cyF2JkrLDhQr1C_h4lWkae7RQo6R3HXuM_FY9QzCl20b_sdMCt3W1hijeVFEDIZuhP_j6otWh3t1FWH8IzWymZQb7ssOZH5liHxCTAwOIshuP_sNcn7lv/s320/IMG_6181.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Signal Flags See what is spelled out in the message below</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA8pUUPsC1kLteHPDV8dHygJe25HRCqgEwuKmviuKVCIsCaml57Qz4Vd7GsxlEvOMsVS1qH_F16E4pJBjeqRVcQrjAIuPbDzU73cOlTKJuDC-ue2Y6-XqB046qRhO_PPi0Bgi8MboqcG65/s1600/IMG_6182.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA8pUUPsC1kLteHPDV8dHygJe25HRCqgEwuKmviuKVCIsCaml57Qz4Vd7GsxlEvOMsVS1qH_F16E4pJBjeqRVcQrjAIuPbDzU73cOlTKJuDC-ue2Y6-XqB046qRhO_PPi0Bgi8MboqcG65/s400/IMG_6182.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what the signal flags spelled out. Thank God for modern communications!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Finally finding the trail, we hiked up to to Ft. Berkely Point overlooking the entrance to English Harbor, passing goats, lots of century plants and cactus. Every island has a fort or forts. (Remember all that history I've been talking about and all the fighting that went on for 200+ years!!) One boater we met has a goal of visiting every single fort along her way. Phew...</span></div><div style="font: 14.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj7BcqzRjsaGBZoW86jp7XxUz1bQAdapv6jtvgMN_JBcpPScLyCE76mZQ61zd9Qoz19c19GZsXrXUiEnwOimMBzZhkFINDs3vm4pxVu0Vvhohvkso5zKvFysC-xo1163vu1mRWPhcK3K_T/s1600/IMG_6241.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj7BcqzRjsaGBZoW86jp7XxUz1bQAdapv6jtvgMN_JBcpPScLyCE76mZQ61zd9Qoz19c19GZsXrXUiEnwOimMBzZhkFINDs3vm4pxVu0Vvhohvkso5zKvFysC-xo1163vu1mRWPhcK3K_T/s320/IMG_6241.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wish I'd see goat on a menu. What DO theydo with so many?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizhdWVDaScdVy0ynMcoW3-hy0NamUVkxx0OEDIblfZ3cmxN7yTxwnRwX7I5W8Ts1zl49zy-u5RSNgzXpV1J5RNOeMg06bzCtEt3iygCa2QOGsr-jWrTak9rlOj7zpDPvrjPPQUKcYo0hXd/s1600/IMG_6243.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizhdWVDaScdVy0ynMcoW3-hy0NamUVkxx0OEDIblfZ3cmxN7yTxwnRwX7I5W8Ts1zl49zy-u5RSNgzXpV1J5RNOeMg06bzCtEt3iygCa2QOGsr-jWrTak9rlOj7zpDPvrjPPQUKcYo0hXd/s400/IMG_6243.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peeking into English Harbor</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm3Yn2IU9JzQcwqZjh1FnbtUMORRfbHqsLD0JTMmm8BoisWocxHSbGFHN7vOaiBo1ybA6hnrXg4bVGo-viAa-xJJKcVk7oF_JY4ImrO6J6p1nKTNZl_kqyiuMnNw1WhqoZeUTFhYRKt5xB/s1600/IMG_6244.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm3Yn2IU9JzQcwqZjh1FnbtUMORRfbHqsLD0JTMmm8BoisWocxHSbGFHN7vOaiBo1ybA6hnrXg4bVGo-viAa-xJJKcVk7oF_JY4ImrO6J6p1nKTNZl_kqyiuMnNw1WhqoZeUTFhYRKt5xB/s400/IMG_6244.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love the plant life</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXdZEPKffA13a5-wQj0mdx22Wh3EqER_rsawXO66nhar14D-iRbc_Mp1-V94x6PrPuvL5HsaA3mhpNr6WtCRVW3wiOnh7bNRy4xcvAUj6AM1dwtUXxHE9AbT9rqQr_uG50XTkGae_geTVR/s1600/IMG_6245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXdZEPKffA13a5-wQj0mdx22Wh3EqER_rsawXO66nhar14D-iRbc_Mp1-V94x6PrPuvL5HsaA3mhpNr6WtCRVW3wiOnh7bNRy4xcvAUj6AM1dwtUXxHE9AbT9rqQr_uG50XTkGae_geTVR/s320/IMG_6245.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caribbean Sea near English Harbor entrance</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitNP26sN8Ko3sa6pF6J4NUV2J4eIgKeWKngchrlIdkxosJETt-dozrYdBVRgdBqtjYJXuRCaVLgoqjDwviBWxEbC1K_IfEc9ZTEjHDql9Sb1Hzs-VexYlHGEmL_d4zWNaR5legFDI6klnO/s1600/IMG_6247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitNP26sN8Ko3sa6pF6J4NUV2J4eIgKeWKngchrlIdkxosJETt-dozrYdBVRgdBqtjYJXuRCaVLgoqjDwviBWxEbC1K_IfEc9ZTEjHDql9Sb1Hzs-VexYlHGEmL_d4zWNaR5legFDI6klnO/s320/IMG_6247.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2nCszpVzBkHK9picFavn9a21uVjM0f1j5a8mNUJ9Ovp8WesxdalbQ339tnwaXP50amFvcnRh7dD6JxYf3yiZATNoR5R0Mx0ZKoI7IE1yv0E9uKV_CV5HkCbYRmltK0dgWRLOBj1jRkWk0/s1600/IMG_6248.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2nCszpVzBkHK9picFavn9a21uVjM0f1j5a8mNUJ9Ovp8WesxdalbQ339tnwaXP50amFvcnRh7dD6JxYf3yiZATNoR5R0Mx0ZKoI7IE1yv0E9uKV_CV5HkCbYRmltK0dgWRLOBj1jRkWk0/s400/IMG_6248.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ft. Berkley overlooking English Harbor</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6IQBq6ldtx9PUry8Rs2Cm-pZpU3rrW9wLx-n9jzx-WODko_uZJPXobrbVvOgiKuHmd2Vspli4VeKVbPOKzRARXa4EjejpA77f_iCwjU_bTiVN1f4h0aCqqgzAqRMnT3tqV0A7_95GoLdp/s1600/IMG_6250.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6IQBq6ldtx9PUry8Rs2Cm-pZpU3rrW9wLx-n9jzx-WODko_uZJPXobrbVvOgiKuHmd2Vspli4VeKVbPOKzRARXa4EjejpA77f_iCwjU_bTiVN1f4h0aCqqgzAqRMnT3tqV0A7_95GoLdp/s400/IMG_6250.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Powder House where ammunition was kept</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJgodb1vthWfhtmygXnn78XzSyRzG6B13usdZKM_63947jFkeiGRiKtz4WUPsiYMSvFeF6IixSG5-GgeojUhWKVMloJbGEkI5cs2mrKUFk1xJXPzM5895i6GAEt6D8SuTzOvnx87RbTd2y/s1600/IMG_6252.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJgodb1vthWfhtmygXnn78XzSyRzG6B13usdZKM_63947jFkeiGRiKtz4WUPsiYMSvFeF6IixSG5-GgeojUhWKVMloJbGEkI5cs2mrKUFk1xJXPzM5895i6GAEt6D8SuTzOvnx87RbTd2y/s320/IMG_6252.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Powder House entrance door</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdzLCISpV4asuIHq41-cqXzpYYQGKl74wmpNswIibfM51qX6PxCrLRJQF5ro1SBZRsOITk6hjOn48wOTL4KFTl5tljo2VEBzPIwslLBAPMdrdfyJ4Va0G6JcMN-99RtMSgiixxH2P8GMIw/s1600/IMG_6255.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdzLCISpV4asuIHq41-cqXzpYYQGKl74wmpNswIibfM51qX6PxCrLRJQF5ro1SBZRsOITk6hjOn48wOTL4KFTl5tljo2VEBzPIwslLBAPMdrdfyJ4Va0G6JcMN-99RtMSgiixxH2P8GMIw/s400/IMG_6255.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ft. Berkley protecting English Harbor</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0rZIXVBnfu4YHmuBOHmEW5Rtao4lq0RQoz6bKyuWUuhXP8hRJaCsuGs3H3flqkeqCxDycTsyRtmoQVkV45V9-rBKbYYchY5Rbms2zxfUNMZayMtaOZAIX2Dh5OiUa594fUjoKLEYf_eif/s1600/IMG_6256.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0rZIXVBnfu4YHmuBOHmEW5Rtao4lq0RQoz6bKyuWUuhXP8hRJaCsuGs3H3flqkeqCxDycTsyRtmoQVkV45V9-rBKbYYchY5Rbms2zxfUNMZayMtaOZAIX2Dh5OiUa594fUjoKLEYf_eif/s400/IMG_6256.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioHymfTMRNy02NP2qGuZFvS2bb-3th7a0Da9KtbvY4XiUQWngBB7nLzDZBC-Nh6X60Xg7B0wANuzkrnx2p3PX2VtZ8Do8_etVdpohShWsT1zfe4pBD8bqeSFoTP_flJSNqU3xxdQpi3GT-/s1600/IMG_6257.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioHymfTMRNy02NP2qGuZFvS2bb-3th7a0Da9KtbvY4XiUQWngBB7nLzDZBC-Nh6X60Xg7B0wANuzkrnx2p3PX2VtZ8Do8_etVdpohShWsT1zfe4pBD8bqeSFoTP_flJSNqU3xxdQpi3GT-/s320/IMG_6257.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">British seal on every cannon on most islands</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">A hot hot killer walk in the sun....I thought the hike to the Dow Hill Interpretive Center was 15 minutes away from Falmouth Harbor. NOT.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Five times that, up a long mountain road, we arrived, hot and sweaty, to find them nearly closing. The staff felt sorry for us, ran the 15 minute movie about the history of the island AND then drove us in their car to the top (another hour hike, straight up), showing us the ruins of the officer’s quarters and the old cemetery along the way. </span></div><div style="font: 14.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxi8RX5ns3wnJMmM33qikzWqxZkWTdy8Zpzp9R9uQgNAhq92tsD9ZDu9qvkSqQ-8fy6RL0JSSYTorjIEgmBDz_ZNS0-1aI_3a8D3wSU3XF_Cs4gznF4ZWNzvVz1so_I99kATAToXn8dmNv/s1600/IMG_6190.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxi8RX5ns3wnJMmM33qikzWqxZkWTdy8Zpzp9R9uQgNAhq92tsD9ZDu9qvkSqQ-8fy6RL0JSSYTorjIEgmBDz_ZNS0-1aI_3a8D3wSU3XF_Cs4gznF4ZWNzvVz1so_I99kATAToXn8dmNv/s320/IMG_6190.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the Atlantic side, up near Shirley Heights</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5w-AaWN2d421NPq4LbhPZR7IqtYage-4WTwjlM-BYU57R57J5ygHhmk1GogEZ9IPnNah3VYGmqMUS1PiA9kLBQGzF79rH8mSQ09LtWk-pE1miBjEXBnFfP4DUEt_IWjVG7bA4As33P72-/s1600/IMG_6191.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5w-AaWN2d421NPq4LbhPZR7IqtYage-4WTwjlM-BYU57R57J5ygHhmk1GogEZ9IPnNah3VYGmqMUS1PiA9kLBQGzF79rH8mSQ09LtWk-pE1miBjEXBnFfP4DUEt_IWjVG7bA4As33P72-/s320/IMG_6191.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Atlantic Side</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh37hhvW4SaRsqPQCKswsZad2-k3toGlbYbP9RW4WtQpV1ABlhJPp_vhX486amYhbHBrGLrxQw2NzIGRhZIXhCtSCZ65moBOUFMb53xMzUMxpXvoUD6u3rn00WxiSvKm2vjfnTvrZKC-14T/s1600/IMG_6195.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh37hhvW4SaRsqPQCKswsZad2-k3toGlbYbP9RW4WtQpV1ABlhJPp_vhX486amYhbHBrGLrxQw2NzIGRhZIXhCtSCZ65moBOUFMb53xMzUMxpXvoUD6u3rn00WxiSvKm2vjfnTvrZKC-14T/s400/IMG_6195.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At Dow Hill Interpretive Center</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrlWH0MIXSBYLFBEDmg5Sg3x-wIPtFLHVJXU197yQ6YMp9hi3wrHQDtfq3ej7vFCa9p8l4Bkg2lk8JCu0_94lAXN6jUCGC8DodI97PotKX-V-p4iM6s0-l8K30rdj-XKxV6U4C_4-OP8Xa/s1600/IMG_6196.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrlWH0MIXSBYLFBEDmg5Sg3x-wIPtFLHVJXU197yQ6YMp9hi3wrHQDtfq3ej7vFCa9p8l4Bkg2lk8JCu0_94lAXN6jUCGC8DodI97PotKX-V-p4iM6s0-l8K30rdj-XKxV6U4C_4-OP8Xa/s320/IMG_6196.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cemetery </td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWp0NUsRN2pXBUz9XZHZrHpEAgH86SvqDFlgocdmC318j4muA7-A02JxF-wsUHt3LdHymtlaXg7ZRIHonOMhXlcnPfO71KhwYeCetkfjsdgqSjXSzX5jD5FI_2TyqtRYUfx-ocSIpOHIXb/s1600/IMG_6199.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWp0NUsRN2pXBUz9XZHZrHpEAgH86SvqDFlgocdmC318j4muA7-A02JxF-wsUHt3LdHymtlaXg7ZRIHonOMhXlcnPfO71KhwYeCetkfjsdgqSjXSzX5jD5FI_2TyqtRYUfx-ocSIpOHIXb/s320/IMG_6199.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of 4 graves remaining intact</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSWMcTUDXvVd82Cd6qqUzm9i7df9n8f-NLwBl1SrHNRfvo7ZhhkI1IckEcJbD_FO4F3-Tcd9SknrHNUxQbtjE0JfJ4YdqRfBz7xJdCK5BCv-mR-wUyMJGo6QlTYNr17KV3rrjWOpQA79f_/s1600/IMG_6200.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSWMcTUDXvVd82Cd6qqUzm9i7df9n8f-NLwBl1SrHNRfvo7ZhhkI1IckEcJbD_FO4F3-Tcd9SknrHNUxQbtjE0JfJ4YdqRfBz7xJdCK5BCv-mR-wUyMJGo6QlTYNr17KV3rrjWOpQA79f_/s400/IMG_6200.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Shirley Heights - English Harbor & Falmouth Harbor in background</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihkVkyunbh5OL0EPknjOcVC90ZPNWqATUJdAm5Dm8tkZeeIKflcDCPJUzOsOAUG0XfKGw2523M03SuwsNJCsA90P8GxapzCcPaJKlkV0VhfKBBzvJm7ZnmkRUWpcffjXCzz2zPdjr_KUPD/s1600/IMG_6201.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihkVkyunbh5OL0EPknjOcVC90ZPNWqATUJdAm5Dm8tkZeeIKflcDCPJUzOsOAUG0XfKGw2523M03SuwsNJCsA90P8GxapzCcPaJKlkV0VhfKBBzvJm7ZnmkRUWpcffjXCzz2zPdjr_KUPD/s400/IMG_6201.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See Finally Fun in Falmouth Harbor??</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7JhLHkuS0azggkL9cpTVYzQvunPTPiEeYTcEmvdV4jLFmVxIy2yMxtXut633vowUyf0C4P-KrFtiYJwRkk-4SO9Y7qJnEXnz9R3H2sF8e7Hop2V2eVRG-ehFhOMtvmov8a2bpuCjwK91l/s1600/IMG_6202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7JhLHkuS0azggkL9cpTVYzQvunPTPiEeYTcEmvdV4jLFmVxIy2yMxtXut633vowUyf0C4P-KrFtiYJwRkk-4SO9Y7qJnEXnz9R3H2sF8e7Hop2V2eVRG-ehFhOMtvmov8a2bpuCjwK91l/s320/IMG_6202.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steel drums @ Shirley Heights</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjylsOFfoDpIRSIUvQI115UtEekGHkAlP7uUxG8QbxtU5mqPBWRNhbu9kuYy5x8Uy9FCmYhsJa7lkLJTu6QcJd0Sd1-q3ep1AJH1uiXLVaZERCJtTXwTJ9JCwdjULbs2tfgjiw2pY-Jg4pv/s1600/IMG_6213.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjylsOFfoDpIRSIUvQI115UtEekGHkAlP7uUxG8QbxtU5mqPBWRNhbu9kuYy5x8Uy9FCmYhsJa7lkLJTu6QcJd0Sd1-q3ep1AJH1uiXLVaZERCJtTXwTJ9JCwdjULbs2tfgjiw2pY-Jg4pv/s320/IMG_6213.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Enjoying the view</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Arriving at the top, at Shirley Heights, we watched the steel drum band play for two hours while we took in the view, the sunset and a cold drink. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">(The bands are just Thursday & Sunday nights for you cruisers following this blog behind us!) </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Luck of all luck, we hitched a ride back with a family from the UK with a big van!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpCBFy-VTxEUDYwsVUxI_89dHXidPrHQi9XHl1u5qHPXvMiY1A5RBwiTWIDMdG6uPAdAIVcRC5N16t2gec6CpVB5-djPBhvncP5tnTSCNTaSzFeed0ASzKuDBo_WULl52SKZkZGskLRSJP/s1600/IMG_6216.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpCBFy-VTxEUDYwsVUxI_89dHXidPrHQi9XHl1u5qHPXvMiY1A5RBwiTWIDMdG6uPAdAIVcRC5N16t2gec6CpVB5-djPBhvncP5tnTSCNTaSzFeed0ASzKuDBo_WULl52SKZkZGskLRSJP/s320/IMG_6216.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">God, the shoes? Why??</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The next day</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> I got so excited (Andy says I'm easy to please). Catching a local bus (#17) from Falmouth Harbor to St. John’s and then transferring to another local bus (Woods) at the bus station (we are getting GOOD at figuring out the transportation systems!), we finally arrived at The Epicurean Grocery Store at Woods, a shopping mall. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE0bC8kH5yS6XAoS28J114RBhJFNXNF0JO9FSYGaWxq3JiW5RxbVDtOQ5Kl6U8iQp3FRKzh0vNCmyARkc9dyUjOLANSFFv0b6NeV5XxEjl7aWkjYkoc74itK0AkteEPd8afvx-PZ06n_jK/s1600/IMG_6232.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE0bC8kH5yS6XAoS28J114RBhJFNXNF0JO9FSYGaWxq3JiW5RxbVDtOQ5Kl6U8iQp3FRKzh0vNCmyARkc9dyUjOLANSFFv0b6NeV5XxEjl7aWkjYkoc74itK0AkteEPd8afvx-PZ06n_jK/s320/IMG_6232.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pirates everywhere</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">Wow! Haven’t seen a store like that in months and months, with so many choices and many of the goods from the USA. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">The disappointment came, however, when I realized I could only purchase what we could CARRY. Bags loaded, backs bent, we made our way back via two crowded buses to Finally Fun. Huh -- folks wonder what we do to stay busy....grocery shopping took about 5 hours. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2r4JXgzltdCFKbYtAewli9w3jxr-mqqkLQe4nf2v61mCLgCHHJs1s4s5Z3ZbimT1pa3xWp-sltEwIQy7xKUhl_vjNxIaVgPJKpG7_DUT8gfKVB3nwUuzoZEaGGH8u3ZxeYPSkoU9Na6D8/s1600/IMG_6233.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2r4JXgzltdCFKbYtAewli9w3jxr-mqqkLQe4nf2v61mCLgCHHJs1s4s5Z3ZbimT1pa3xWp-sltEwIQy7xKUhl_vjNxIaVgPJKpG7_DUT8gfKVB3nwUuzoZEaGGH8u3ZxeYPSkoU9Na6D8/s400/IMG_6233.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. John's</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtEEABLQZLnrEgcsc-cMG-9O09T9BzdSltgYsEjGQZESCpqlxsnegiv0DLeW418kwjLGOPysO3a43Bu3GbCOCatlZ92Bp7lmM-WNiAP9U4IGSX9bokrSAOiEksVNGMo5vdYwyJLAv8mUut/s1600/IMG_6234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtEEABLQZLnrEgcsc-cMG-9O09T9BzdSltgYsEjGQZESCpqlxsnegiv0DLeW418kwjLGOPysO3a43Bu3GbCOCatlZ92Bp7lmM-WNiAP9U4IGSX9bokrSAOiEksVNGMo5vdYwyJLAv8mUut/s320/IMG_6234.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old churchs abound</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYKI_Aud4EhXuLkLfZPmCxUiGM5M7XydohyTBs4_isu9ppUqqw4w-ZbLSGPz8c-oo3ODb8eKe7MPlFrCF1v8vrJeq8xEq9ePE5EUqqMMQLFNrqpFk_iiQGAA5hBYwVvc93KO5sUt1cmsBt/s1600/IMG_6235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYKI_Aud4EhXuLkLfZPmCxUiGM5M7XydohyTBs4_isu9ppUqqw4w-ZbLSGPz8c-oo3ODb8eKe7MPlFrCF1v8vrJeq8xEq9ePE5EUqqMMQLFNrqpFk_iiQGAA5hBYwVvc93KO5sUt1cmsBt/s320/IMG_6235.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Someone is a cool dude</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> Before changing buses, we wandered through Redcliffe Quay, the old section of St. John’s. Disappointing, as it is truly just a mega ‘quaint' shopping area for the cruise ships that come in daily in the winter months. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The typical vendor stalls are here, loaded with t-shirts, shell jewelry & junk called island art.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicMS9u_Z3APLwezx8sDb21vl_w64YY8ODHN9qfmEt-imYZ08w4uu98ctygS5A52okNK0XDpAp266Q6XeddssGv291dwKD22o0jT1GbnaLh0lg_Q7JaWFlj60OqqbZmgh-JXmOmUy0pjKd0/s1600/IMG_6236.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicMS9u_Z3APLwezx8sDb21vl_w64YY8ODHN9qfmEt-imYZ08w4uu98ctygS5A52okNK0XDpAp266Q6XeddssGv291dwKD22o0jT1GbnaLh0lg_Q7JaWFlj60OqqbZmgh-JXmOmUy0pjKd0/s400/IMG_6236.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love the colorful buildings - St. John's</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-zMm5MQbk27ttI1AdV4hX2OD5VciZwGKeWUjcg0i3asi9cea8xhrwqXTEUnRwNnQoTDId4I7SZX6imMlkWION4PIaXWPfZP4Klo6lgM6x5Mxw8Bd6wUWrw3mK9ygiFcqjWZZOuHacXo1-/s1600/IMG_6237.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-zMm5MQbk27ttI1AdV4hX2OD5VciZwGKeWUjcg0i3asi9cea8xhrwqXTEUnRwNnQoTDId4I7SZX6imMlkWION4PIaXWPfZP4Klo6lgM6x5Mxw8Bd6wUWrw3mK9ygiFcqjWZZOuHacXo1-/s320/IMG_6237.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Redcliffe Quay</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih_kBzWR3YlRtxTzaXzTbTKzC-4c65cxBWCRhLfRGtXeyB54xjWcr6RI2CJhmidit1aZNhLI9R-OtVREMtNZEECslKrx_P83wouvmCHxZsS_qH4fEJ4ndtIkSPGA6sE9MGNF_WvU4MIO4f/s1600/IMG_6238.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih_kBzWR3YlRtxTzaXzTbTKzC-4c65cxBWCRhLfRGtXeyB54xjWcr6RI2CJhmidit1aZNhLI9R-OtVREMtNZEECslKrx_P83wouvmCHxZsS_qH4fEJ4ndtIkSPGA6sE9MGNF_WvU4MIO4f/s320/IMG_6238.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Redcliffe Quay Historic Building</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span></div><div style="font: 14.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">Andy didn’t say NO forcefully enough. Suddenly he found himself being escorted upstairs to a shop that had every single size T Shirt, in every color known to man AND every iron on patch available. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">There was no getting out of buying a t-shirt....his objections were overcome! He quickly picked out his size, selected his color & iron on patch and in 1 minute had a new t-shirt & a lighter wallet. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">Heritage Quay, just 10 steps to the north, is another modern shopping mall - ‘duty free’ for the cruise ships. Ugh, HATE all this! We did, however, price a new camera for $450 US. Back on Finally Fun, we looked it up & found it on Amazon for $250! Shopper beware!!!! </span></div><div style="font: 14.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The guide books describe anchoring in St. John’s Harbor. Oddly, we saw not ONE cruiser boat of any kind here in the two days we visited! We saw no dingy dock or anything to make it attractive to a boater and were happy with our decision to stay on the mooring in Falmouth Harbor and take the bus to St. John’s! We learned that some boaters will clear Customs/Immigration here & cruise on to Falmouth & English Harbor, thereby avoiding the fees...hummm...</span> </span></div><div style="font: 14.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhEteVnYywo21FfyN9d00ZjUIynjm_kkFH5eT-t-KU5w4qbonC7wAbC3VxQx83ewc7E5nBv0P5-4CMLU5-9l0FuEPpIvmpEnQ3hmEv_Cwz7D2ioydNuf7w7HeA4E0Byb6ifQ5CGPeGdzJW/s1600/IMG_6187.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhEteVnYywo21FfyN9d00ZjUIynjm_kkFH5eT-t-KU5w4qbonC7wAbC3VxQx83ewc7E5nBv0P5-4CMLU5-9l0FuEPpIvmpEnQ3hmEv_Cwz7D2ioydNuf7w7HeA4E0Byb6ifQ5CGPeGdzJW/s400/IMG_6187.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The same cactus as on Turks & Caicos - Turks were named after this one</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgivgafZhLLlSOxeGg5B2pSEdEG0bA27dgjQiT00gzOva2jDE0Gw6a3gT6s94gmkPcTMTppQ-PtOuCxZVsPqjuPGzbIwRszYLzJ_fuV9RPU45kEZZtkXlfZN-TMSQxHmusGg3ws9x7uGjCl/s1600/IMG_6230.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgivgafZhLLlSOxeGg5B2pSEdEG0bA27dgjQiT00gzOva2jDE0Gw6a3gT6s94gmkPcTMTppQ-PtOuCxZVsPqjuPGzbIwRszYLzJ_fuV9RPU45kEZZtkXlfZN-TMSQxHmusGg3ws9x7uGjCl/s320/IMG_6230.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mega yachts cruised past us day and night in Falmouth Harbor</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I missed a photo op! Sitting in Mongoose Bar to cool off and get a cold drink, a local ordered a drink To Go beside me. I wasn’t paying much attention, until I noticed he rode off, drink in hand, on a donkey!! Ah, love the local color!</span><br />
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</span></div>Sharon Fellows Larrison Stepniewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09962977355812944714noreply@blogger.com0