Check out the video of the dolphins here.
And you can see Carolyn enjoying St. Maarten's Carnival here.
Monday, May 22, 2006
Catalina Journey
The boys, Dennis, Steve and I, took our maiden voyage to Catalina this weekend and returned to tell the tale. I met the Hughes at the boat a little before 6 on Saturday morning and we quickly loaded our gear and enough snacks to last us at least half way to Hawaii if we missed Avalon. It was overcast but the seas were quite calm with no wind.
Leaving the slip around 6:10 we began the six hour, thirty-six mile motor-cruise following our GPS as Catalina wasn't visible until we were about ten miles away. The engine ran smoothly until about 2/3rds of the way there, when we heard a small thump and we were only running on three cylinders. We eased off a little on the speed, and even though the engine vibrated more, there were no indications that we'd blown a head gasket or seriously damaged the motor.
Steve at the Helm
In mid-channel, I noticed some activity a hundred or so yards to our north. It was a huge pod of dolphins! We changed our course to get closer and suddenly we had dozens riding around our bow wake! It was fantastic as they easily swan by and under our bow. Now all I have to do is figure out how to post the video I shot!
Dolphin Pod
After a mile or so, they decided it was time to join the main pod and they disappeared as quickly as the had arrived. It was too cool!
As we neared Catalina, the overcast skies began to clear and when we arrived at noon, we had sun and blue skies. We called out on channel 12 asking about moorings and were told to switch to channel 9 which we did. We met the Harbor Patrol at the entry where they assigned us to mooring 71 after taking our $22 per night fee. Steve was at the helm as we wound our way through the narrow channels to our mooring which we handled with apparent ease.
Moored in Avalon
After eating lunch that we had brought, we called for the shore boat and waited about twenty minutes to be picked up. After going ashore at the cost of $4.75 per person each way, we decided an inflatable should be among our first new purchases.
Steve's company provides internet service to the entire island and he frequently flies over to the island via helicopter to handle ISP problems. So he has a contact on the island who set us up with some free tours. We toured the Casino (Italian for a place of meeting or entertainment) which was built by Wrigley in the late 20's and has a great movie theatre and a huge dance ballroom which is the equivalent of ten stories above. Then later we squeezed on to a "submarine" to view the fish and kelp beds in the preserve adjacent to the harbor.
Fish Frenzy
After walking around Avalon a bit more, we had dinner at Antonio's, Italian food with peanut shells on the floor, before heading back to the boat. Being cheap, we went over to the dinghy dock and hitched a ride with another boater aboard his dinghy thus saving $14.25. Meanwhile, we found that he has an older dinghy for sale which we may buy. Since we had all gotten up rather early, we hit our respect berths just before ten and I was able to get to sleep first, thus starting the snoring contest. Dennis was in the V-berth and didn't contribute much, but Steve and I battled each other through the night for the title of most annoying.
It rained several times through the night, but by morning it had stopped so Steve donned his wetsuit to go overboard to clean the kelp off the prop and do some general scrubbing. After encouraging me that this would be clearest place for me to see the underside of the boat, I jumped in with my trunks and mask for the underwater viewing. It was brisk! I think I was in the water for about a minute and half until I struggled up our improvised rope ladder (a swim ladder now being added to our wish list of boating options).
By nine (check out time), we had our gear stowed and had dried off enough to head on home. For that early, the wind was pretty strong and it strengthened throughout the day. Coming from the southwest, we were able to set our GPS and set our course for a single, long tack of 36 miles straight to the Dana harbor. After getting out of the lee of Catalina, we averaged about 7 mph and arrived about 3:30. We came home sunburned, safe, and satisfied at our first Catalina adventure.
Leaving Catalina
More pictures here.
Leaving the slip around 6:10 we began the six hour, thirty-six mile motor-cruise following our GPS as Catalina wasn't visible until we were about ten miles away. The engine ran smoothly until about 2/3rds of the way there, when we heard a small thump and we were only running on three cylinders. We eased off a little on the speed, and even though the engine vibrated more, there were no indications that we'd blown a head gasket or seriously damaged the motor.
Steve at the Helm
In mid-channel, I noticed some activity a hundred or so yards to our north. It was a huge pod of dolphins! We changed our course to get closer and suddenly we had dozens riding around our bow wake! It was fantastic as they easily swan by and under our bow. Now all I have to do is figure out how to post the video I shot!
Dolphin Pod
After a mile or so, they decided it was time to join the main pod and they disappeared as quickly as the had arrived. It was too cool!
As we neared Catalina, the overcast skies began to clear and when we arrived at noon, we had sun and blue skies. We called out on channel 12 asking about moorings and were told to switch to channel 9 which we did. We met the Harbor Patrol at the entry where they assigned us to mooring 71 after taking our $22 per night fee. Steve was at the helm as we wound our way through the narrow channels to our mooring which we handled with apparent ease.
Moored in Avalon
After eating lunch that we had brought, we called for the shore boat and waited about twenty minutes to be picked up. After going ashore at the cost of $4.75 per person each way, we decided an inflatable should be among our first new purchases.
Steve's company provides internet service to the entire island and he frequently flies over to the island via helicopter to handle ISP problems. So he has a contact on the island who set us up with some free tours. We toured the Casino (Italian for a place of meeting or entertainment) which was built by Wrigley in the late 20's and has a great movie theatre and a huge dance ballroom which is the equivalent of ten stories above. Then later we squeezed on to a "submarine" to view the fish and kelp beds in the preserve adjacent to the harbor.
Fish Frenzy
After walking around Avalon a bit more, we had dinner at Antonio's, Italian food with peanut shells on the floor, before heading back to the boat. Being cheap, we went over to the dinghy dock and hitched a ride with another boater aboard his dinghy thus saving $14.25. Meanwhile, we found that he has an older dinghy for sale which we may buy. Since we had all gotten up rather early, we hit our respect berths just before ten and I was able to get to sleep first, thus starting the snoring contest. Dennis was in the V-berth and didn't contribute much, but Steve and I battled each other through the night for the title of most annoying.
It rained several times through the night, but by morning it had stopped so Steve donned his wetsuit to go overboard to clean the kelp off the prop and do some general scrubbing. After encouraging me that this would be clearest place for me to see the underside of the boat, I jumped in with my trunks and mask for the underwater viewing. It was brisk! I think I was in the water for about a minute and half until I struggled up our improvised rope ladder (a swim ladder now being added to our wish list of boating options).
By nine (check out time), we had our gear stowed and had dried off enough to head on home. For that early, the wind was pretty strong and it strengthened throughout the day. Coming from the southwest, we were able to set our GPS and set our course for a single, long tack of 36 miles straight to the Dana harbor. After getting out of the lee of Catalina, we averaged about 7 mph and arrived about 3:30. We came home sunburned, safe, and satisfied at our first Catalina adventure.
Leaving Catalina
More pictures here.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
St Maarten/St Martin
A week away in the Caribbean began on Friday night, April 28, as we flew the red-eye on Delta from LAX thru Atlanta with a four hour layover before our flight to the Dutch/French island of St. Maarten or St. Martin.
We deplaned the old fashioned way on a rolling stairway and walked across the tarmac to a small building where we quickly passed through customs but then had to wait quite a while for both of our bags. Then it was off to get our tiny KIA car from Thrifty and we headed out to find our way via mostly unmarked streets to find the Divi Little Bay Resort. We had just arrived at the outdoor (but covered) reception area when the skies opened up and the warm rain poured down for ten or fifteen minutes. By the time the skies cleared, the two bellmen were nowhere to be found so we trudged our bags down to the end of the peninsula to our first floor one-bedroom condo. Our view was across the bay to the city of Phillipsburg and the area where up to three cruise ships would dock.
Sunday, we walked into town to check out the Carnival which brings groups representing various islands into town to dance through the streets to the rhythms of bands that preceded them on tractor trailer rigs. After several hours of dancing, they finished up going down the one-way, one-lane Front Street as the music played from concert style speakers and reverberated off the buildings that line the street. Let's just say that most island women have no body-issue concerns and anorexia isn't a cultural problem. It was quite an experience and when the music began to ring in our heads a little too much, we headed over to boardwalk for some barbecued ribs and either beers or rum drinks.
Tuesday, we drove around the island - two countries, no border control - as we enjoyed scenic outlooks over beautiful turquoise shaded waters. We stopped at Orient Beach, a long crescent shaped beach, for a few hours of sunning and lunch. We avoided the far end of the beach which houses a 'naturalist' resort and paid our $14 for two beach chairs, an umbrella, and two drinks. Being on the French side, there were a few topless women including two who sat beside Carolyn which meant I never looked at Carolyn when I talked to her! After a good lunch, we continued our roundtrip.
Wednesday started off a lot cloudier than the previous days, but we headed out for a half day catamaran snorkeling trip on the Golden Eagle IV. After being the lone passengers boarding at Bobby's Marina, we picked up a full compliment of passengers from the three cruise ships docked in the harbor. Meanwhile, we made friends with two of the crew members, Kars, a tall, curly haired blond from Amsterdam spending six months working after finishing high school, and Billy, a Scottish lad from the Borders south of Glasgow who was spending a month trying to figure out his next move which was probably the Navy. The snorkeling was OK off a tiny island, but as we walked along the beach a boat from the 'naturalist' resort arrived with a group of unclothed passengers. Let me assure you, none of these people were models, and we cut short our stroll along the shore. On the way back from the island, it began to rain rather heavily. Our seats along with quite a few others was not covered so we got fairly soaked!
The following day we tried another type of boat - a 12 meter. I was a backstay grinder and Carolyn was a winch wench as we sailed aboard US 56 against a Canadian boat in a short race. We were beaten to the starting line but after rounding the second mark we had taken a one boat length lead. However, by the time we closed in on the finish line, a slight wind shift required us to go to the far side of the finish line and we lost by about a boat length. As we cruised back into the harbor, they let me take the helm. I wished for a little more wind than we had, but it was a good experience and a good workout. I can't imagine how exhausting a four or five hour actual race would be.
Our final full day on St. Maarten, we headed around the island again, stopping at the French capital of Marigot where we wandered through the marketplace and purchased a memory water color, and then drove to the ferry for Penel Island. Penel can only be reached by boat and has two competing beach managers and two restaurants. We perched on the Yellow beach, but Carolyn soon shifted 15 feet to the Blue beach at whose restaurant we ate. Carolyn had a huge barbecued lobster while I tried the pork ribs. At four, we took the final ferry back to our car and headed home to Divi.
Saturday, we had to pack it up and fly out, however, a baggage handler decided to drive his baggage ramp under the right engine and wedged it under the engine cowling. We ended up sitting on the plane for four and half hours (at least we had AC and a movie) while we waited for a replacement plane to be flown in from Puerto Rico. By the time we got to Atlanta and passed through customs, we had missed our connecting flight by several hours so Delta put us up at the 'glorious' Holiday Inn North. Since we had only had crackers and cheese since noon, we were fairly hungry and the only place open at 1:00 am was the Waffle House. Evidently, a Southern staple, it comes across as a low rent IHOP which would not receive an "A" from any Health Dept., but we were hungry. To bed around 2 am and up at 6 am, it was back to the airport and then on to LA.
Other than the plane problems, we had a great, relaxing trip with beautiful beaches, fun activities and good food.
We deplaned the old fashioned way on a rolling stairway and walked across the tarmac to a small building where we quickly passed through customs but then had to wait quite a while for both of our bags. Then it was off to get our tiny KIA car from Thrifty and we headed out to find our way via mostly unmarked streets to find the Divi Little Bay Resort. We had just arrived at the outdoor (but covered) reception area when the skies opened up and the warm rain poured down for ten or fifteen minutes. By the time the skies cleared, the two bellmen were nowhere to be found so we trudged our bags down to the end of the peninsula to our first floor one-bedroom condo. Our view was across the bay to the city of Phillipsburg and the area where up to three cruise ships would dock.
Sunday, we walked into town to check out the Carnival which brings groups representing various islands into town to dance through the streets to the rhythms of bands that preceded them on tractor trailer rigs. After several hours of dancing, they finished up going down the one-way, one-lane Front Street as the music played from concert style speakers and reverberated off the buildings that line the street. Let's just say that most island women have no body-issue concerns and anorexia isn't a cultural problem. It was quite an experience and when the music began to ring in our heads a little too much, we headed over to boardwalk for some barbecued ribs and either beers or rum drinks.
Tuesday, we drove around the island - two countries, no border control - as we enjoyed scenic outlooks over beautiful turquoise shaded waters. We stopped at Orient Beach, a long crescent shaped beach, for a few hours of sunning and lunch. We avoided the far end of the beach which houses a 'naturalist' resort and paid our $14 for two beach chairs, an umbrella, and two drinks. Being on the French side, there were a few topless women including two who sat beside Carolyn which meant I never looked at Carolyn when I talked to her! After a good lunch, we continued our roundtrip.
Wednesday started off a lot cloudier than the previous days, but we headed out for a half day catamaran snorkeling trip on the Golden Eagle IV. After being the lone passengers boarding at Bobby's Marina, we picked up a full compliment of passengers from the three cruise ships docked in the harbor. Meanwhile, we made friends with two of the crew members, Kars, a tall, curly haired blond from Amsterdam spending six months working after finishing high school, and Billy, a Scottish lad from the Borders south of Glasgow who was spending a month trying to figure out his next move which was probably the Navy. The snorkeling was OK off a tiny island, but as we walked along the beach a boat from the 'naturalist' resort arrived with a group of unclothed passengers. Let me assure you, none of these people were models, and we cut short our stroll along the shore. On the way back from the island, it began to rain rather heavily. Our seats along with quite a few others was not covered so we got fairly soaked!
The following day we tried another type of boat - a 12 meter. I was a backstay grinder and Carolyn was a winch wench as we sailed aboard US 56 against a Canadian boat in a short race. We were beaten to the starting line but after rounding the second mark we had taken a one boat length lead. However, by the time we closed in on the finish line, a slight wind shift required us to go to the far side of the finish line and we lost by about a boat length. As we cruised back into the harbor, they let me take the helm. I wished for a little more wind than we had, but it was a good experience and a good workout. I can't imagine how exhausting a four or five hour actual race would be.
Our final full day on St. Maarten, we headed around the island again, stopping at the French capital of Marigot where we wandered through the marketplace and purchased a memory water color, and then drove to the ferry for Penel Island. Penel can only be reached by boat and has two competing beach managers and two restaurants. We perched on the Yellow beach, but Carolyn soon shifted 15 feet to the Blue beach at whose restaurant we ate. Carolyn had a huge barbecued lobster while I tried the pork ribs. At four, we took the final ferry back to our car and headed home to Divi.
Saturday, we had to pack it up and fly out, however, a baggage handler decided to drive his baggage ramp under the right engine and wedged it under the engine cowling. We ended up sitting on the plane for four and half hours (at least we had AC and a movie) while we waited for a replacement plane to be flown in from Puerto Rico. By the time we got to Atlanta and passed through customs, we had missed our connecting flight by several hours so Delta put us up at the 'glorious' Holiday Inn North. Since we had only had crackers and cheese since noon, we were fairly hungry and the only place open at 1:00 am was the Waffle House. Evidently, a Southern staple, it comes across as a low rent IHOP which would not receive an "A" from any Health Dept., but we were hungry. To bed around 2 am and up at 6 am, it was back to the airport and then on to LA.
Other than the plane problems, we had a great, relaxing trip with beautiful beaches, fun activities and good food.
Monday, May 08, 2006
St Maarten Pics Posted
Check on the Flickr image and check out some of the pictures I've uploaded from our trip. Trip details to follow.
UPDATE: I guess if you use Firefox which I don't at work, the Flickr image doesn't appear below the archive list. So click here.
UPDATE: I guess if you use Firefox which I don't at work, the Flickr image doesn't appear below the archive list. So click here.
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