Never Done... (Chapter Ten)

As I have been penning these "Never Done" entries, I realized that I tend to get on a finite topic and never offer much more... So, today I offer a "day in the life" aboard the family, world cruising, sailing yacht: "Firebird":

7:00am (or so): Sam and Dollie (the 2 dogs) are crossing their legs and really want to go ashore to do their business. One of us (4 boys) has the dog duty and pulls up "Firewood" (our dinghy/tender) along side to take the dogs to the beach.

8:00am: Breakfast for all, usually simple with seafood, eggs and/or canned meat.

9:00am to Noon or 1:00pm: Studying, we all had different things (subjects) we were working on, so the questions to our parents were numerous and very diverse.

Lunch followed: seafood and/or sandwiches.

After lunch: We all had chores, diving for the next meal, heading to the local market for fresh items, baking breads for later consumption, along with cleaning, laundry, scrubbing, painting and varnishing... (Not sure that I mentioned, but "Firebird" had lots of beautiful African mahogany as trim, hatches, skylights and rails). Additionally she had Teak decks, all of which required constant attention.

Dinner followed the afternoon/evening happenings. One of the things my mom has always boasted about, was her ability (read: inability) to cook... We often had the most interesting meals. The word "Interesting" was always used when it turned out somewhat different/less flavorful/less appetizing looking than she expected... Curried Conch was one of these meals... Mom didn't realize that when you use curry, you have to add a tomato product for color... We ate the curried conch (green as it was) until it was gone... Mom also had a long standing philosophy: If you feed them late enough, they will eat anything...

Amazingly enough, Mom is a terrific cook today!

After dinner (at whatever time that was): The dogs got a final ferry ride to shore and we all turned in to read or listen to the radio or whatever...

Synopsis of the majority of our days: Mom, Dad, and the four of us boys, all relied on our own special talents at this point. Once a week I baked bread (for lunches and dinners) for the following week. Mom was (and still is) the "Glue" that held us all together, my brothers were the divers and fishermen, and of course, Dad made it possible (through his teachings, knowledge, and ability to work for money) for us all to do the things we did...

More to come... I'm sure!

Over and "Out" from my weekend in Portsmouth, VA

ps: if you have never visited her site, go check out Bossy. She is on her whirlwind "No Book Tour" across America, and has a recent post about traversing Donner Pass and continues to list me as her "Featured Gay" because "Bossy's gays brighten every day"...

Happy Birthday!

Worth a click...



I say nothing more other than Over and "Out" from Portsmouth, VA

Never Done... (Chapter Nine)

As I've said before, the waters surrounding the islands of the Bahamas (and most elsewhere in the Caribbean) are, without exception, the most spectacular colors and hues of blue, green, and turquoise one could ever see. Once you venture out ten or so feet from the beach the water is also as clear as any swimming pool.

The beaches on most of the out islands are the most beautiful in the world (as I know it) and while most of our time was spent on or in the water, fishing, diving and sailing, Mom and I loved to comb the undisturbed beaches in search of treasures. Mind you a treasure to us was probably more like trash to others, yet to this day (some 40 years later), we both still have some of them. Mom was most interested in finding a blob of ambergris (whale vomit) which is used in many of the more expensive perfumes; a single chunk of the stuff was worth thousands of dollars. As we would walk the beaches, Mom always picked up a stick or broken branch so that she could poke things that closely resembled what (she read) ambergris should look like. I remember well, one of the times she couldn't locate a stick or twig, she decided to put her big toe into a chunk of what looked familiar, only to severely burn it in a blob of oil... I really felt for her, it blistered up and looked like it hurt for days. I'm sure she remembers the burn more vividly than I...

A little history of the Bahamas:

Like many areas in the Caribbean, the hundreds of islands and cays that make up the Bahamas were "discovered" and claimed by European explorers in the late 1400s. The road back to independence and self rule was long but relatively peaceful.

The history of the Bahamas between the time that the islands were settled and the centuries that passed before independence explains why the culture and people of the Bahamas are rich with native Caribbean, European and African influences.

The first settlers on many of the islands, thought to be predominantly the Arawak speaking Lucayan or Taino people but also included the Ciboney and the Carib people, arrived from South America sometime in the 9th Century. For hundreds of years the indigenous culture thrived and spread from island to island.

Columbus landed at San Salvador claimed the Caribbean islands for the Spanish on his first journey to the Americas in 1492. The word Bahamas is thought to come from the Arawak name for the islands, but some historians believe it comes from the Spanish, "Baja Mar," which means "shallow sea."

During the time that Spain controlled the islands, African slaves were brought to work in the plantation fields or in the homes of the plantation owners, government officials and other wealthy Spaniards. Most of the original population was destroyed through fighting and diseases brought to the islands by the new African and Spanish inhabitants.

The Dutch gained control of the islands of the Bahamas (as they did the US Virgin Islands, hence the windmills/sugar cane mills in the VI's) for a short time, but lost them to the English. The Islands were claimed by the English in 1670. The Bahamas remained mainly under British rule for the next 300 years. A brief — one year — return to Spanish rule in 1782 ended with the Bahamas once again British colonies.

Slavery was officially abolished in the Bahamas in 1838 long after the Ameican revolution, and the loyalist's migration to the islands (circa: Wind from the Carolinas). Many former slaves remained on the land and eventually became land owners themselves. Although all residents of the Bahamas were free, the Islands remained a colony of the United Kingdom. The House of Assembly was established in 1729. This meant that much of the government of the country was actually based in the Bahamas. This history was a major factor that led to a peaceful negotiation for Bahama's Independence.

In 1964, after decades of debate and legal maneuvering, Great Britain granted The Islands Of The Bahamas limited self-government. The Bahamas became a British Commonwealth in 1969 ending the colonial rule, but not the British flavor of the islands.

The Islands became a nation on July 10, 1973, which is the date celebrated today as Bahamian Independence Day. This July 10th celebration of the beginning of Home Rule is an island party not to be missed.

Oddly enough, my eldest was born on July 10th, just a few years later, my personal reminder of that summer of 1973 when the fireworks started in the Bahamas...

Over and "Out" from Portsmouth, VA (the other P-Town)...

Clash of the Decades...

I watched this movie when it first came out and again many times since...

Then I wached this movie last night with Michael and Alex at the Commodore:

The word "cheezy" comes to mind for both (less so for the latter). The special effects really sucked in the first one and I did miss "Bobo" the owl's pivital performance from it, although he did at least get a cameo in the remake...  Sam Worthington or Harry Hamlin?  Both are still "Must See's" in my book!

Over and clashingly "Out" from Portsmouth, VA

Never Done... (Chapter Eight)

JGA Design #0449 Christened "Mattakeeset" (Later renamed "Firebird")

Dateline: Great Exuma Island, Bahamas, 1970

The Exuma chain of "Out Islands" ran from near New Providence (Nassau) for about 50-60 miles south before you reach Great Exuma... There are many privately owned islands in this chain but there are also settlements and historical places which required immediate exploration. One of the books my mother talked me into reading before we started back out, was a book by Robert Wilder, "Wind from the Carolinas". Without getting into a lengthy synopsis, the book followed a Loyalist Family from the Carolinas on their multi-generational relocation to the Islands of the Bahamas, rebuilding the plantations that were once rebuilt in the south from bricks and belongings carried from Great Britain...

The book was awesome, even more so were some of the ruins we found just south of Stocking Island (the barrier island that protects George Town harbor in Great Exuma). I remember visualizing the Cameron plantation sitting high on the hilltop of this small Cay (possibly Pigeon or Hog Cay, I can't remember the name) and also reenacting the memories I had of the beaches surrounding the island as written by Wilder.

We faced some of the same challenges as the Cameron family...One of the common things was, there was never enough fresh water (on Firebird). That is, water you could drink (with only a 120 gallon fresh water capacity located below the cabin soles for 6 people, 2 cats and 2 dogs, it was challenging)... We did have a full set of awnings/canopies that shaded the deck while at anchor for more than a couple of days... These canvas awnings were designed with canvas funnels built into them to catch rain water during the predictable afternoon rain squalls and divert it into the fresh water tanks. As a result of this constant shortage, we had faucets in both the galley (kitchen) and the head (bathroom) that, rather than delivering hot and cold water (as most of us are used to), delivered fresh and seawater. The cold side of the faucet was fresh, and the hot side was sea, as we had no real hot water while cruising... We washed dishes in sea water, we took showers in sea water, and we even brushed our teeth in sea water... Please remember that the sea water in the Bahamas is as clear as the water in your favorite pool... It's just salty... And today, it's one of my least favorite things... Lemon Fresh Joy (LFJ) was the only product at the time that would produce suds in salt water. So we did dishes in LFJ, we took showers with LFJ, we washed the dogs with LFJ, and today can you guess what is under my sink??? I guarantee you it's not LFJ... I use DAWN!

Enough for today, Over and "Out" from Portsmouth, VA

Never Done... (Chapter Seven)

One of my first "official" dates happened while we were anchored in the harbor off Morgan’s Bluff. Now mind you, while I had an interest in other boys (and their "pieces/parts") at this time, the words Gay or Homosexual were not a part of my vocabulary. I had certainly heard the words, but I had no real comprehension of what they really meant. Coming from a family of four boys there were always "moments" or more so "experiments" as we grew up. To me (and us) I suppose it was, at the time, just a different form of entertaining ourselves and learning...

My "date" was with a really nice girl that lived in the nearby Nicholls Town. For the life of me, I cannot remember her name, and it really doesn't matter... We had a great afternoon. We walked along the beach in front of the only hotel (really just a guest house) in the town; we went and had an ice cream, then ducked in behind the building for some kissing. It was grand, I really liked her, but also knew it wasn't right for some reason...

As Dad's contract with the developer came to a close, we made plans to visit a few other "out" islands before heading back to Miami for re-provisioning... We carried basic necessities for about 6 months, and augmented those supplies with fresh items from the local markets where-ever we went... Dinner Key Marina, directly behind Miami City Hall, was the place they chose to stay during this process...

Ahhhh, Pier 2, Dinner Key Marina, Coconut Grove, Florida... Many friendships built during the years that we stayed, left, and came back... I think we all had girlfriends (also living on boats) during these times. On and off I actually think some of us had one girlfriend, that later became another's... "Live-Aboard" families were always so easy to get along with... Some went to the local public schools, and others (like us) were doing correspondence school or home schooled... Even the parents of these other kids were very cool. I often think about the risks my parents took to do this, and hope they got to enjoy some of the benefits too. I don't think I could have done it with four kids...

After about 2-3 months back in the states we headed back out... This time cruising in earnest with plans to head further south in the islands of the Bahamas...

Firebird, while comfortable for us, was actually designed as a racing schooner, with some of the same details of the Malabar series of racing schooners John Alden designed...

One exception is that she had a centerboard. For those that have never sailed before, centerboards or dagger boards are quite common on smaller day sailers... They allow for easy transport, yet still offer stability under sail (the power of the wind against the sails could flip a boat over if there is not enough headway and a deep draft (something under water that compensates for the height of the masts and sails). Most of the Malabars were designed with a deep keel (8 or 9 feet) and either iron or lead ballast to compensate. Firebird only drew 6' of water (that is, from the waterline to the bottom of the iron keel, was only 6 feet) which allowed us to venture into some very shallow harbors and coves. With her 6' of draft, she also had a 3' centerboard that helped when "pointing up" into the wind... Allowing us to sail closer to the direction the wind was coming from... There are no words that can describe sailing a 60' boat, with no noise of engines at 10-12 knots, roughly 13-14 mph... It's an awesome experience and feeling...

My honey calls me to get off this thing and help him plant some flowers, do the laundry and start dinner...

Over and "Out" from a beautiful Spring Day Off, here in Portsmouth, VA

**Reposted 4/22 with plans for "Firebird" and link

Stuck in my Head...

I heard this song for the first time a few weeks ago.  This video had to be filmed in the Caribbean somewhere, it reminds me very much of the USVI's:

Now it's stuck in my head...

Over and "Out" from Portsmouth, VA