Where WAS Brick House...The First Eight Years

Some of the buildings on the island of Bikini Island were intended for housing SCUBA diving tourists. They could arrive but could not always leave on schedule.

Nowhere in the Pacific or Bahamas have I seen so many grouper. Obviously they had no recognition of a human hunter. With a little stealth and a slow casual manner, they were easy to approach to a double arms distance. One fish, called a Sheep Head had to be forty pounds. Three gray reef sharks followed me as I drifted, hanging onto the dinghy painter. The largest shark was nearly as large as me. Each took its turn moving in to get a sense of my reaction. They would not, however, come close enough for me to poke them with my sharpened poker. As I drifted out of their territory into 30 feet of water they stayed behind. Even in the deeper water the large grouper were curious. These fish would come come out of their holes to either guard their territory or they were simply curious and wanted to inspect the odd newcomer.

At night, at low tide, on the reef off the end of the runway, bright flashlights in hand, we only picked up 2 lobsters. Our friends who visited the same reef 3 weeks before picked up 8 lobsters in calf deep water. This was disappointing since we easily captured 22 lobsters at low tide two months earlier on the uninhabited Rongerick Atoll. All the natives throughout the various atolls have their differing, and sometimes agreeing, theories about the best time of night to walk the reefs for lobsters. I am starting to think, rather than a lunar influence, lobsters appear on the shallow reefs in response to seasonal mating. No matter where in the Pacific we have been, we found more lobsters at night on the shallow reefs when they were carrying eggs.

Vessel Name:	Brick House
Vessel Make/Model:	Valiant 40 #134
Hailing Port:	Middletown, RI USA
Crew:	Patrick and Rebecca Childress
Extra:	Patrick completed a solo-circumnavigation on Juggernaut, a Catalina 27 in his younger days. He has been published in most U.S. and many foreign sailing magazines, for both his writing and photography. He co-authored a book titled "The Cruising Guide to Narragansett Bay and the South Coast of [...] Massachusetts". He holds his 500 Ton Masters Captains License, and is an active delivery captain and instructor. Ham license is a General. Patrick owned a home improvement business in Newport, RI but retired in June 2007 to cruise a second time around the world on Brick House. He is also, most importantly, Captain of Brick House, AND married to Rebecca! (July 4, 2007) Rebecca Childress (formerly Rebecca Taft) is an accomplished sailor as well. She has owned many boats ranging from a 17' MacGregor, a Catalina 27' and a 36' Catalina, and now the Valiant 40 that she purchased a few years before meeting Patrick. Before they head out on their circumnavigation, she had completed numerous blue water passages between Rhode Island and the Caribbean and passages across the Gulf of Mexico. Cruising has included the Bahama Islands, New England, Nova Scotia, the Florida coast all in preparation for the day she could circumnavigate. Rebecca holds her 50 Ton Masters Captains License with towing and sailing endorsements. She is also a General Licensed Ham Radio Operator. She met Patrick on her first NARC Rally from Newport to Bermuda. She had always dreamed of sailing around the world, and knew that a passage to Bermuda in November would teach her more about heavy weather sailing since it is usually rough that time of year. Several years later when Patrick and Rebecca got together, they set their sites on earning enough money to cruise around the world together! Three years later, they had saved their money and were ready to move aboard! Rebecca was a very successful Realtor in Newport, RI, and has an extensive list of Computer Certifications and experience as well. Together now, they make a great team to take their home around the world for several years! More
Home Page:	http://www.whereisbrickhouse.com
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Where WAS Brick House...The First Eight Years

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