"sailing family"

Vessel Name: Island Spirit
Vessel Make/Model: 2005 Fontaine Pajot Bahia
Hailing Port: St Thomas,crown bay
Crew: Tom, Rhonda, Savannah, Slugger, Lexie & Beetlejuice
About:
On 12/27/10 the truck loaded 750 lbs. of things we thought we could not live without. (we'll see) And today is my last official day of work! On 01/07/11 we will arrive in St. Thomas, VI, take the ferry to Roadtown, Tortola & spend the first night in our new home, "Island Spirit. [...]
Extra:
The crew.. Tom & I are in our early 40's (very young!) and Savannah is our beautiful 7 yr. old daughter. Slugger, Lexie & Beetlejuice are the furrier side of the family I refuse to leave behind. We love the ocean, sun & sailing. Quite simply, we are a family that is in need of a change so we [...]
13 May 2011
12 May 2011
10 May 2011 | from Dry Tortugas
02 May 2011 | Louisville, Ky.
24 April 2011
23 April 2011
15 April 2011
04 April 2011 | Water Island, USVI
21 March 2011 | bvi's
15 March 2011
07 March 2011
02 March 2011
26 February 2011
26 February 2011
23 February 2011
20 February 2011
18 February 2011 | Culebrita, Puerto Rico
15 February 2011 | Water Island, USVI
10 February 2011
Recent Blog Posts
13 May 2011

May 13, 2011

12 May 2011

May 12, 2011

10 May 2011 | from Dry Tortugas

May 10, 2011

07 May 2011

Key West here we come!!

May 6, 2011

02 May 2011 | Louisville, Ky.

May 2, 2011

24 April 2011

Happy Easter

April 24, 2011

07 March 2011
March 7, 2011
Monday

Hi All,

Today is the day of, “Memaw Linda withdrawal.” Mom left yesterday on an afternoon flight. Tom chauffeured us via dinghy to Lindbergh Bay located literally right at the airport. Savannah & I walked mom into the airport and gave her big hugs good-bye. I thought Savannah or mom would cry, but it was me who boo-hooed like a baby. Following our dream is wonderful but there is a price to be paid and that is being away from our family & friends.

After we left the airport we dinghied a bay over to Crown Bay Marina for a trip to the grocery store. We docked our dinghy then walked about three city blocks to the Pueblo. Not only were we in need of a few things, but I think we just needed something to distract us from being sad. Pueblo is like a Kroger; well, kind of. Let’s just say it’s the closest thing St. Thomas has to offer that resembles a full size grocery. I never really enjoy going there because it looks dirty to me. Maybe it’s better described as not astatically pleasing. No thunder & lightening display in the veggie section, nothing arranged so that it will catch your eye, just aisles of typical grocery items, very overpriced (for what we are used to in the states) and a very limited selection. Also, for example they were out of eggs. All there was, was a big open space in the refrigerated section where they “were.”

Anyway, as our cart was getting full I was wondering how we were going to get it all back from the store to the dinghy; which is always something to keep in mind these days. Now there are taxi drivers perched outside the doors of the grocery for just this issue and on my last trip to the grocery I paid a driver
$ 5.00 to drive me three blocks. The guy must have been feeling sorry for me or maybe just a good Samaritan because he then helped me carry the groceries through the dock & loaded them in the dinghy. Maybe it’s just a man thing, but when I suggested to Tom we do the same he said, “No, we’ll just carry it. I’ll carry the heavy stuff.”

So we left the Pueblo and the three of us hiked back in our flip-flops, t-shirts and shorts. Tom carrying a case of beer, a 12 pack of Diet Coke, two gallons of water and an extra bag of whatever. I had about four plastic bags and Savannah did her part and carried one too. It was kind of one of those moments for whatever reason, will forever be etched in my mind. We made it without incident to the dinghy and then back to Island Spirit in time to Skype with Granny and Tom’s parents.

Tom has taken up a new sport, besides playing horseshoes with Jethro. One of our neighbors offered to teach Tom how to snorkel for conch. As Michael was picking up Tom in his dinghy I suggested to Tom he take his gloves only to be informed that Caribbean lobsters don’t have claws. Who’d have thought. The guys returned about an hour or so later; Tom with about 5-6 large conch shells. He loaded them onto the boat, put them in a plastic bag and froze them in our freezer! Burr.. Then this morning Tom and Michael took their stash (not sure what Michael had) to the beach and plucked the conch out of their shells with a knife. Apparently, if the conch is frozen first it will pop out easier and the shell won’t have to be broken. So now the conch is marinating in fresh lemon juice and hopefully tomorrow we will make Ceviche. (seafood cooked in the citrus from lemon or lime juice with onion, cilantro, etc.)

Last night as the five of us (Tom, Savannah, the dogs and myself) were returning in the dinghy from Honeymoon Beach I pulled a dumb one. As we arrived at the back of our boat where we transfer from the dinghy, I reached and grabbed the boat, but then something happened. I’m not sure exactly how or what, but the next thing I knew I was head first in the water between the two boats. Somehow I managed not to hit either boat and when I came up for air Savannah was already laughing and saying, “Can I come in and swim with you?” And I think I heard Tom mumbling something about wishing he had a video camera. It’s just things like this that make living aboard so much fun!

Today after schoolwork Savannah and I decided to spend the afternoon together and shop at the K-Mart. The two of us dinghied into Crown Bay Marina (about a 10 minute ride) then caught the $ 1.00 bus into town where we had lunch at Wendy’s. This is the first we have had fast food since we have gotten here; two months ago today! Now that’s a family record!

After chicken nuggets and with a Frosty in hand, we again caught the bus which took us to the front door of K-Mart. We wandered around the store for more than an hour picking up needed items like extra strong insect repellant (for evenings on the beach.) Savannah spent her allowance on pretend fingernails and when we headed to the book section she asked if I would buy her a book. Well of course, who can say no to something educational. Little did I know the book she chose corresponds to what she has been asking about lately…. Boys and boyfriends!! The book was no Harlequin Romance, but the summary on the back cover (which she read) is a story about a sixth grade girl and boy and how they like one another and then eventually kiss! More gray hair for mommy!

Over the years as the idea of living aboard has been brought up I always joked about doing this when Savannah was a teenager; so she couldn’t date till she was 30! I’m not sure what I thought about in 2nd grade, but I’m pretty sure I thought boys still had cooties. So maybe we’ll live aboard longer than we planned and those deserted islands are looking better and better
Comments

About & Links

SailBlogs Groups