Travels with The Rayman

This is view this a.m. at sunrise.  Pretty place, uh?

Last nite the wind died.  Now I understand when they write about this in books.  Not only can’t you sail, everything is hot and sticky and stinky.  The wind is your friend on the sea.  Of course, too much wind (read Cayucos in spring) can drive you to drink…there is a happy medium…but everyone can’t live in San Diego!

So, I sit here on the deck listening to the birds caw and scratching my mosquito bites.  I covered up everything last night despite the heat and still the mosquitos found me.

Today we will snorkel, eat dinner off the boat and sail.  Nice relaxing day in store for us.  The only beaking that will occur will be me beaking at Ray to wear his life vest to snorkel.  We’ll see how that goes over!!

 

Before I go on any longer, the readers of the blog need to know the cast of characters on this adventure.  So here goes.

The Captain is Brian.  He is very cautious and knows his business.  Here’s a picture of El Capitan and first mate, Michel.  So far, we have had to be reminded that he is the captain and we should not be delegating to him.  It isn’t supposed to work that way.  But the crew is frisky and we keep delegating to him.   He isn’t all hung up with nautical terms.  The round thingy was a description he used.  Thingy being a technical term.  Actually in his defense, he has four neophytes and he has to resort to ducky and bunny language so we know what’s he talking about.

First mate Michel acts as back up to the captain.  She also subs as a dinghy back up.  She is a 76 year old cancer survivor who exercises every day.  She is a role model for everyone who knows her.   Michel doesn’t mind sharing her past.  We know a lot about Michel which will go unmentioned here.  I can tell you that she has two cats and four children.  She really knows how to sail and that is very important for all of us that have never done this before.

Then there is Ruth and Tom.   Tom is the dinghy captain but he has not been able to do his job because he bent over on the second day and hurt his back and now he finds himself living on valium, alleve, painkillers, wine and rum.  He jumps in the water in the morning and hangs from various ropes to stretch himself out.  He has not been happy in the a.m. but once cocktail time starts, he gets looser and looser and forgets about his back because he can’t feel it…and then he becomes very funny.  He’s a retired L.A.P.D. detective but you’d never, ever know it.  Tom is an experienced sailor and a good barbecuer.  He should write a book on how to save a buck.  Somehow he paid less than everyone else for his air travel and hotel in San Juan.  Also, we have nicknamed him Mr. Nautilus because virtually every shirt he wears has Nautilus printed on it…and that is probably because he bought them on sale.

Ruthie is the organizer.  She took charge of the food purchasing, organizing the food on board.  She was a surgical nurse so she can cut up a chicken!!  She is also a great cook and an experienced sailor.  She can wash dishes in a spoonful of water and she always looks like a million bucks when it’s time to go ashore.

Pat and Richard are neophyte sailors.  This is their virgin voyage.  He’s a retired banker.  Pat does it all.  She just jumps in and does everything.  She’s learned how to tie knots, conserve water, manage trash, secure a mooring.  You name it.  She is completely unphased about most things.  Richard is more cautious but also eager to learn and do stuff.   Richard loves vodka and OJ.  To the point were if he doesn’t get the brand he likes, there might be grumbling.  He is the best golfer of the group.  He has a fabulous game of golf but it doesn’t do him any good on board the Caty Wampus.

Then there is us.  You all know us so I’ll just leave it as I am deck fluff and Ray is eager beaver.  Tomorrow though I am going to learn to tie knots.  It’s my birthday so I’m sure everyone will let me have my way if my requests are reasonable!!

So.  What happened today?  We sailed to the Dogs.  It was an island with good snorkeling.  That’s where we saw jelly fish, squid, cuttlefish, and a turtle!!!  Right after snorkeling, a big motor boat race went by.  Cigarette boats mostly.  They were loud and fast.  Put on quite a show.  We ate lunch then took off for the Bitter End.  It’s a harbor and it is fabulous.  Went to the Saba Bar which is a building that sits on a very small island.  It took about 5 minutes to walk around the island.  Ray and I sat in a hammock and looked out to sea.  The island also has a small hotel, just a few rooms.  Picture below.  Then we returned to the boat and Tom barbecued chicken and Ruthie made potato salad, asparagus, black bean salad.  Dinner was fabulous.  Now we have about 4 pounds of chicken left over for another day.

Please note the helicopter in the picture on the right.  We just missed photographing the entire thing.  It was really moving out and we were really rocking from the wakes of the boats.

Boating is stinky.  Our cabin is starting to stink…so Ray bought a can of Glade air freshener today at the market at Bitter End.  It now smells better!!

So one of the running conversations on board is water.  The boat holds only so much water for bathing and cooking and cleaning.  So, everyone is told to be judicious about using it.  This drives Ray wild because if you use it non-judiciously, you can get more at any number of harbors.  Why not just use it and refill it?  The group has sailed together before and they have always managed it the way they manage it…which is judiciously.   So we talk a lot about water.  We tease each other about how they are using the water.  Ray said tonight that he would personally buy the next tank of water for the boat….that way he could take a long shower.  We’ll see how that goes.  In the meantime, it is a hoot.

Pat making sandwiches for lunch.  Ruthie’s chicken dinner with all the trimmings.  (missing pictures)

 

 

 

Today, we swabbed the deck, did laundry and generally cleaned the place up.  And we sailed!!  There was wind!!  It didn’t last too long, the sailing as we were low on water and needed to go to a port that sold water and gas and other necessities.  The terrible picture of us above is me trying to figure out the self-timer function on the camera.

We also watched the wooden boat regatta.  This is a race that has been going on annually for 41 years.  There were quite a few old wooden boats participating and it was fun to see them.  So we circled around and observed and then retired the sail and motored to the port at ?  There we went ashore using the dinghy and had lunch at Sydney’s.  Ray and I split a lobster sandwich with fries.  Yummy!!

Then it was off to the port with the stuff we needed.  Once we got our provisions, we pulled up to a mooring ball and Ray and I cooked a pasta dinner.  We barbecued the veggies and it turned out swell.

Then we yucked it up and went to bed.  Tired and spent.

 

 

Mosquitos are a bane to our existence, aren’t they?  They bite, they suck, and they buzz.  And live everywhere it is warm.  And they often times results in welts that itch.  Blast it anyway.

Today, we didn’t do anything much except move from one harbor to the next harbor (about 2 miles) and secure another mooring.  This was because tomorrow is the wooden boat regatta that is held once a year and emanates from this particular harbor.  It is sponsored by Foxy’s, another very old bar that is famous in these parts.  So, here we are waiting for the excitement.

The only really excitement today was getting Tom on the dinghy.  With a bad back, it is difficult to walk let alone board a small rubber craft.  But he managed and we all went to shore to shop, drink, people watch, search for ice, eat ice cream on a cone.  Then we schlepted back to the boat, jumped in and out of the water to stay cool, had a frito tostada for lunch on the boat, read, napped, and gained weight.  Tonight it’s Foxy’s for barbecue and if it doesn’t rain, Ray and I will attempt to sleep outside on the bow.

Here are some pictures for your enjoyment.

Above is Foxy.  He started this island business back in 1968 and boy does it flourish today.  World famous.  We met Foxy.  We were admiring his dog.  Ruthie said something like, “How old is your lab?”.  Foxy said, “That’s not a lab.  That’s an island dog.  He is an island dog because 1.  he sits around all day 2. he doesn’t know how many puppies he has  3. he doesn’t know who is daddy is  4.  he is unemployed  5.  he’s black  6. …well, there was a 6th item but I can’t remember what it was.  That’s Foxy.  Anyway, we had dinner there and danced.  Great band, good grub…great time.

Picture of a rock.  See how beautiful the color of the ocean is?  and from the same place, a picture looking out rather than down.

 

Soper’s Hole was our next all-night stop but there was much fun to be had before we stopped for the night.  Problem is, I can’t remember what we did.  Was it the wine?  We bought 9 big bottles of wine and 3 small bottles and it’s Thursday and there are only a few left.  OMG.

Besides drinking, we snorkeled and drank and cooked and ate and napped and drank and laughed…

Yesterday the captain gave us sailing lessons.  We lifted the main sail and tried to sail but there wasn’t any wind.  No wind means no big waves so secretly that was okay with moi.  But disappointment did rule the day with some of the others.

This boat is big but it also very small.  It’s easy to trip over each other.  I’ll be illustrating this thru adventures at sea.  The dinghy is even smaller.  It barely holds 8 along with it’s motor.  A good place not to sit is next to Tom who flails away while starting the motor.  I know.  I got punched once.  Anyway there are rules for dinghy use.  Don’t step on the rounded part of the dinghy.  You are supposed to step into the dinghy which on several occasions resulted in passengers falling into the dinghy.  On one occasion, Pat fell but the drink in her hand was saved.  Quite a feat.  This is also a sign of priorities!!  So, the dinghy is a hoot.  Yesterday, we had a training exercise to see if we could each individually, get into the dinghy from the water.  This is a lot harder than it sounds.  There is a rope ladder on the side of the dinghy.   You need a boost so that means that the last person in has to be really, really strong…and he hurt his back this a.m. so I’m not sure what will happen this p.m. when we go ashore to have a drink.  There is no dinghy dock so we have to get in the hard way.  Oh, well,  time will tell.

We went snorkeling today at Sandy Spit.  Ray and I were told to stay by each other which was fine until we got close to the coral.  At this point Ray gets a big cramp and and starts panicking.  I said, “Ray, stand up… the water is about 3 feet deep.”  Well, standing up is fine until the wave comes in and pushes us over and knocks us into the coral.  Bumping and grinding takes on a whole new meaning…and it doesn’t feel good either.  We managed to get on the sand on the spit and I told Ray he should only snorkel with his life vest on.  He took great exception.  I did a reenactment of From Here to Eternity.

Tom didn’t snorkel because he hurt his back bending over.  And Richard cut himself, Ruth’s heels were rubbed raw yesterday when we hiked to Bubbly Hole and back at K. Van Dyke Bay.  This meant about 50% of everyone on board was injured in some fashion.  What a group.  Below are pictures of one of the places we snorkeled (The Caves), the dinghy dock, all of us at the Bubbly Hole, sign of Foxey’s Taboo bar, us playing at the Bubbly Hole and a drink that was ordered by moi.

OMG.  I can’t believe it’s Friday, May 27th today.  Well is the time going?  I’m getting behind on my stories too.  The picture at the top of this entry is a picture of Pat and Richard choosing a dessert.  One of the cleverest ever menu ideas.  They brought us these vu-finders and on it was pictures of the various desserts available.  So much more interesting than just a plain old menu.  We got key lime pie.  That’s a standard item on everyone’s menu in these parts.  Yummy!!

So far, we have eaten out in a restaurant twice since setting sail.  And both meals have been very good.  I am quite surprised as you really are a sitting duck in a way.

Okay, the quote “I stubbed my toe on the ceiling” hails from Ruthie.  She announced that over coffee one morning.  Richard went below to see if that was possible.  He came back and said it was impossible.  Ruth begged to differ and the subject was dropped.  Does make you wonder though, doesn’t it?

So, yesterday we were in need of a drink on shore at the Soggy Dollar Bar, a place our friends have been coming to for years.  There were a lot of young people there having quite a time.  Turns out they were MIT grads from Boston and on a graduation trip before getting on with careers.  Some serious IQ’s were all around us.

Michel spotted one guy sitting at a table by himself.  She asked if the other seats were taken.  He said no, please come and sit.  Ends up it was the owner,  Jerry.  Quite a guy, that Jerry.  A lawyer, turned land developer from D.C.  Bought the place several years back, lives on St. John, so commutes 5 miles to work.  And he had the stories about celebrities and rum.  We had such a good time visiting with him and his wife, Tish.  We spent the entire afternoon there drinking and swapping stories.  And I was so happy to be on shore as we had moored in a shallow harbor and it was a bit windy and the ocean was rocking and rolling.

In these parts every bar offers a Painkiller.  Well, Jerry explained that the painkiller name was derived from the painkiller bush.  He picked a leaf and fruit from the bush.  We brought it back and broke up the leaf and applied it to Tom’s back.  Alleve works better.  But…hey, you never know!!  Below is a picture of the painkiller stuff and owner’s Jerry and Tish!!

We finally managed to get back to the boat and it was time for dinner.  Tonight was hamburgers and chili and all the trimmings which meant it was time to fire up the barbecue.  Very cool to barbecue on-board.  While we were waiting for the  fire to start, we discussed the meaning of the confederate flag which was flying on the boat next to us.  This resulted in the captain moving to the bow (the pointy end) because he doesn’t like yelling.

The other thing about sailing is that there aren’t many places to go to get away from the other people.  Or flies.  When the wind doesn’t blow, the flies and mosquitos become noticeably pesky.  When the sun is shining, it becomes extremely hot.  When the wind blows to hard, the waves get big causing the boat to rock and roll.  The only thing that is perfect is when there is a cloud cover with a breeze and that combination is hard to come by.  And when you don’t like yelling, there aren’t too many places to escape!!  So, if you ever do this sort of thing, make sure you are compatible…which we are and so it works and is fun.  However, if you weren’t compatible…life on a boat would be “le miserable”.

Pictures above are Pat cooking dinner and Tom guarding the barbecue!!

Picture of Tom off the stern, in the water…before dinner.

Our friends arrived on three different times on three different planes.  And we immediately went to a restaurant and had sangria and tapas.

The Hotel Contento in Old San Juan is very pretty and quite expensive. What could possibly go wrong?  Well, it starts when we get into the room and turn off the air and threw open the french windows.  When we returned from dinner (another story), we had wet floors and a wet ceiling.  Ray and I had words as I am the one with the inability to sleep with air on.  Well, ours clothes that were sitting around were soaked.  Drops of water were falling from the ceiling onto the furniture, us, everything.  I’ll be writing a letter to the hotel when I get back.  There were no warnings posted re: things not to do.  Of course I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to observe Ray snapping a towel toward the ceiling while jumping on the bed (did I mention the ceilings were high?) with nothing on but a t-shirt!!  No pictures here.  However in retrospect. it was funny.

The next morning (Monday), we caught a flight to Tortola, British Virgin Islands (aka West Indies).    As soon as we landed and cleared customs, we had to get to our boat.  Then three of us went provisions shopping and emerged from the grocery stores about $800 lighter.  Since we are sailing for 12 days, there was much food needed.  Back to the boat and then we set out into the Caribbean to our first stop at the Bight by Norman Island.   We had drinks and appetizers before I radioed the restaurant, Willie T’s, and secured a reservation.  “Willie T, Willie T, this is Caty Wampus.  Over”.  When Willie T called back I asked him if they delivered pizza.  Got a chuckle out of him.  “Nope.”  Well then I made our reservations and off we went in the dinghy to Willie T’s.  Great food, great atmosphere.  Barely busy.  Fable has it that if you jump off the deck of the restaurant nude, they will give you a free t-shirt.  No one jumped.  When we got back to the boat, we all went to the bow and laid under a star-filled sky and marveled at it all.  Then to bed.  Long, long day.  Looked forward to today (Tuesday).

Besides the pictures of us, there is a photo of our sunset and a picture os our first snorkeling adventure.  Saw lots of fish today but I don’t have an underwater camera so I can’t show you.  Oh, well, tomorrow is another day!!