http://www.sailblogs.com/member/scappatella Copyright 2009 SailBlogs.com Sat, 09 May 2009 14:16:02 -0500 720 Sat, 09 May 2009 14:16:02 -0500 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss en support@sailblogs.com support@sailblogs.com http://www.sailblogs.com/images/sb_rss_icon.gif http://www.sailblogs.com/ 88 31 Weblogs for Sailors and Sailing http://www.sailblogs.com/member/scappatella?xjMsgID=88384 Well, we can't put it off any longer - it's time to head back to the boatyard to put Scappatella away for the season. Before taking off we met up with our kiteboard instructors for an espresso and emptied our bank accounts buying some kiting gear. (Holy crap, this is an expensive sport!) We left Antigua with moderate winds and seas, but by that night the wind had completely died. We were out in the middle of the ocean with no land in sight, yet the Caribbean Sea was as smooth as glass - we've never seen it like this! The next afternoon we stopped along the way for a swim, cooling ourselves off from the sweltering heat. I jumped in first, before our momentum had completely stopped. What a strange feeling watching Scappatella continue on without me, no land in sight...anywhere. Later that afternoon, we were joined by 2 pods of dolphins playing on our bow wake - very cool! That evening we barbequed up some pork ribs for dinner as we slowly and gently made our way to Curacao. So far this has been a pretty incredible - albeit slow - downwind sail! (Continued...) Sat, 09 May 2009 14:00:24 -0500 http://www.sailblogs.com/member/scappatella?xjMsgID=88384 http://www.sailblogs.com/member/scappatella?xjMsgID=88364 One of our last nights on Green Island was spent eating, drinking and laughing with our friends from "Oti Mai". We originally met Gary and his wife Jean at a café a few weeks ago. Gary was eying my empendada, I offered him a bite, and the beginning of a new friendship was formed. Their daughter Nina (far right in the photo above) joined them a few days later and the 5 of us have shared many fun days and evenings learning to kiteboard, sharing stories, and laughing a LOT.  (Continued...) Wed, 29 Apr 2009 07:19:56 -0500 http://www.sailblogs.com/member/scappatella?xjMsgID=88364 17.0773 -61.6716 http://www.sailblogs.com/member/scappatella?xjMsgID=88233 Well, we finished our kiteboarding classes and are now "certified beginners" (although many think we're certifiable by learning a sport in which there's videos of people accidentally flying into buildings & stuff!) I think modern equipment and good instruction are particularly important in this sport. Fortunately, we've had both at "40 Knots" Kiteboarding School on Green Island (how's that for a shameless plug!) (Continued...) Tue, 28 Apr 2009 09:52:20 -0500 http://www.sailblogs.com/member/scappatella?xjMsgID=88233 17.0773 -61.6716