The Morning Report

"This is the morning report, gives you the long and the short,
Every rip, roar, and snort, not a tale I distort,
of the morning report."



I got a call this morning from our beloved Captain Duct Tape via unreliable satellite phone. They have been quite depressed, as I would have imagined, but the story is not as bleak as I thought it was. Mango Lattitudes, the boat WAY out front and supposedly winning the race (according to the website), has a bunch of wimps on board: the cranked the engine yesterday. Losers!!! This means a DQ for them, or more accurately that they quit the race. So did Spindra. Wimps wimps wimps, all of 'em. But there are not any wimps aboard Southern Cross!!! No sir, there will be no 'pushing of the button' until the race is over. (For the uninitiated, pushing the button is how you crank the engine on a boat) So, the long and short of it, as I 'sang' to you above, is that they boys are still in the race and have as good a chance as anyone left. It's unclear as to who is still in the race, but I did tell Ryan that they were in LAST place and they better get it together. He said the winds were picking up along with their spirits. I'll wait for the proverbial fat lady before I make any more predictions!

In other news, love is in the air. In an alarming turn of events, Maggie (Kurt and Denise's dog, whom I'm dogsitting) has taken up with the dog next door. This is alarming because my dog, Julie, and Maggie have bonded in the past over their disdain for ALL other dogs. Julie cannot understand Maggie's turncoat ways, and is quite distraught. Maggie is an old dog on her last leg, yet when Brown Dog, Zachary's name for the chocolate lab next door, comes over Maggie has a new bounce and spring in her step. I tell ya, those two are in love. Even my two year old can see it, he said they look like Lady and the Tramp. Julie's so upset, Maggie was her BFF and now she's moved on. On a side note, I cannot for the life of me understand why all neighborhood dogs must wander into my yard. We must be the "cool" yard for the dogs. It's a little annoying running through the grass with Zachary dodging the land mines all these dogs leave. Geez.

That's all for now. It's a beautiful Sunday morning and Zachary and I must simply get outside. I think we'll go to the beach today.

Not looking so good . . .

Okay, for Michele, and any of you others having difficulty reading the link to the race, click on Leaderboard for a listing of all the boats and what place they are in.

Southern Cross, as of this writing, is not looking so good. They are in last place in True Cruising A (TCA), their division, and 24th overall (out of 28 boats). This pretty much sucks. I don't know what's going on and why the other boats are so far ahead of them. I can only hope that ole Captain Duct Tape, and his master navigator Kurt, have something up their sleeves. Perhaps they are trying to utilize the Gulf Stream better and will race past the other boats in the 11th hour. Doubtful, but I'm trying to remain positive.

Papa San and one other boat are "support" boats. Yes, Michele, they motored there and are already enjoying Margaritas at La Pena, the island's legendary bar. Mango Lattitudes is usually Southern Cross's biggest competition, and they are currently first overall. I think someone is going to be really grumpy when I talk to him again. I'll keep you posted!!

Regata del Sol al Sol

The race starts tomorrow. Ryan is psyched. The weather predicted is light winds, but that could be changing. We'll see. The coolest thing, however, is that ALL the boats can be tracked via transponder. Check out this website for tracking:

http://charthorizon.com/races/2007_tampa_islamujeres/htdocs/

You can track all the progress of the boats. Due to classifications some boats have to give "time" to other boats, so the boat in "first place" according to the tracking may not actually be in first place. I'll keep everyone posted on their progress.

Southern Cross Update

Sorry to be MIA again, but it's been a little busy around here.

Ryan and Kurt left for St. Pete Saturday afternoon. Despite what they thought were going to be bad conditions, they left Carrabelle safely and headed south. Around midnight, as usual, the winds and seas kicked up; it was 25-30 knots with 4-5 ft seas right on the nose. They were quite uncomfortable until 6 a.m. when the wind turned to the stern 1/4 and they sailed all day with 3-4 ft. following seas. Then, as they turned into Tampa Bay channel, the winds kicked up to 20 knots right on the nose again, with a strong outgoing tide. Their speed was around 7 knots, but the VMG (velocity made good, or speed over ground) was only around 3 knots. Oh, and 6 foot seas on Tampa Bay! They thought they would be at the St. Pete Yacht Club around 8:00 p.m., yet didn't get in until around midnight. That was the worst part, according to my trusty captain.

This week the boys rest up, take in the sights, and get ready to race. The race starts Friday.

Meanwhile, Zachary continues to be the genius child, and I'm working hard teaching and being a temporarily single mom.

Carabelle

We got up this morning, untied in heavy winds, and motored our way to Carabelle. We were hoping to sail, but couldn't get the wind at the right angle for sailing. I must say the people at this marina are incredibly nice and helpful, however, there is very little within walking distance. They do have a courtesy car, but Ryan and I opted not to bring the carseat (it'll be here tomorrow with Kurt in my car). In hindsight that was quite foolish!

So here we are, hoping to get Zachary some exercise, looking for a park with playground equipment. Well, as my trusty Captain is known to say, "a good sailor makes do." So Zachary made do with one of his favorite things:

He loves to jump on and run around the drainage gates. They are lots of them in the marina. Then we spotted the cou de gras:

The red marker!!! Zachary learned to talk on the ICW last year pointing out red and green markers. He used to call them "garkers" but now he uses an "m." My little boy is growing up.

Who needs playground equipment anyway? My little sailor/monkey can make do!

Once again the weather has changed our plans. Kurt was coming over tomorrow night in my car, hoping to spend the night on the boat to get his sea legs. Then Sunday morning the boys were heading south to St. Pete, and I was heading west to go home. But the weather has deemed it necessary for the guys to leave a little earlier. So Kurt's coming over in the morning, we'll have lunch together, then we all part ways for a while.

Stay tuned here for updates on the Regata del Sol al Sol. I won't do my usual mass e-mail, just blog here. It should be exciting. Everyone start doing a weather dance, the race starts one week from today. We want a little heavy weather. Those other boats can beat Southern Cross in light winds, because she is so heavy and sea worthy. In heavy weather, however, our sweet boat hums along happily. So send us your heavy weather from out West!!

It's Raining, It's Pouring

We left Port St. Joe Marina this morning around 9:30 a.m. I wasn't sure why we were in such a hurry, but ole Captain Duct Tape was rushing me! He later confessed he wanted to beat the possible thunderstorms to Appalachicola. Huh? Possible thunderstorms? I didn't sign up for this, I wanted the week of sunshine and relaxation. Oh well.

As we went under the St. Joe bridge into the "ditch" the weather was cloudy and overcast. It wasn't long before it began to drizzle. Then it rained. And it rained. Did I mention it rained? Holy cow did it ever rain. It stopped shortly after we tied up at Miller Marine. Fortunately it never did thunderstorm, so I guess I should look on the bright side! I also got to use my heavier set of foul weather gear I purchased last year at the Sailboat show, so that's another positive. It's just so darn cold (okay not really, but it's relatively cold) that I don't feel very positive.

Ah, but tomorrow is another day. One full of shopping, since I haven't had enough of that lately (yeah right), and searching out a wonderful place for lunch. Tonight we had dinner at Boss Oyster Bar, and once again we had a wonderful meal. Appalachicola is such a quaint little town, with wonderful shops to explore and picturesque scenery. The marina we're staying in is a half a block from town and supposedly has great shower facilities.

The shower and/or restroom facilities are something you don't learn about to you are travelling by boat. Because of holding tank and fresh water limitations, we habitually use the facilities at the marina if they are passable. Some are quite nice, some are frightening. The nicest I've ever been to was Conch Harbour Marina in Key West, although the A/C was set to 32 degrees F, and the worst (and this one truly was awful) was Pancho's Marina in Marathon. It had no A/C, but it had one helluva water pressure in the shower.

I didn't get to Bellydance tonight, the teacher is on hiatus. It's a bummer, since I could really use the exercise. I have slipped into sloth mode, making up for the sleep deprivation of the last couple of years. It's fun, but I'm starting to feel useless. Okay, that's not a bad thing, as I yawn sleepily at 6:30 p.m. central time. I'm sure that yawn is just a food coma!

Tomorrow I shop, Friday we head to Carabelle. Ryan remarked at dinner that we're finally going to get to Carabelle, we've been trying for a couple of years and something has always come up. Now I'm concerned we'll never get there after that proclamation! We'll see!

Fair Winds and Following Seas

This morning we pushed Southern Cross from her berth at Bay Point Marina and began our adventure. Ok, it's been shortened quite a bit for me, but it's all good. We came through the pass and headed East, and after a little washing machine action my trusty captain got the sails set and we turned off the engine. Woosh. 12-15 knots off the starboard stern rail (or right rear quarter panel, for you NASCAR fans), 2-3 foot following seas. It was a great sail. We passed Crooked Island, the wind dropped and picked up again. Right as we were approaching Cape San Blas and the St. Joe Bay to turn into Port St. Joe, the wind kicked up, along with the seas. Ooohh, mercifully we only had a short time with that before we were in the lee of Cape San Blas. About that time we heard the announcement on the VHF that Tyndall was launching drones off Crooked and boats would need to head 13 miles out to sea, instead of the usual 4. At this point we are thanking our lucky stars we left when we did, otherwise we'd be out there in the (supposedly) unforecasted high winds and gigantic waves. Ah, but all is well that ends well, isn't that how the saying goes? We are now tied up at Port St. Joe Marina. The wind is just shy of howling, the stays make that bang bang sound that's so annoying, but it's starting to lay down. The good news is that the remainder of the trip for me will be inside the ICW (intracoastal waterway), which means the wind and waves in the Gulf will not affect us.

Zachary had a swell time opening and closing the companion way doors 4,376 times.

Tonight we went to a nearby park on the way to dinner. Zachary had fun swinging with Daddy!

We had a nice dinner at the Sunset Grill, or something like that. I was pleased that Zachary behaved himself (it was a little nicer of a restaurant than we usually take him to).

Ok, tomorrow we go to Appalachicola. We now have reservations in a marina. Yesterday they didn't have room for us, there's a fishing tournament going on this week. Today they have room, which is a very good thing because it's much easier than anchoring out. It's nice and peaceful to anchor out, but it's easier to get on and off the boat with a toddler if we are in a marina.

Bloody Mess

Zachary is now officially a little boy. He's no longer a baby. He's no longer cautious and careful, he's now a wild monkey climbing on everything - just looking for another reason to bleed. So last night we had Stef and D-Day over for dinner. While the adults were all enjoying the last of the wine, my little darling was jumping on and off the chair in the den. Of course, you all can guess by now that he fell. So I went to my screaming child to comfort him, holding him close to me. A few seconds later I look down and there is blood all over my shirt! I know better than to freak out, and I figured out quickly where the blood was coming from - but it was a brand new shirt!!! Why does this kid always bleed right after I've been shopping??? So anyway, poor little Z had his first bloody nose. He's okay now, but it was a little traumatic (for both of us).

A side note: during my Cabaret hiatus we had to put my aging cat down. The day after we had the carpets cleaned (my poor kitty had lost his ability to make it to the litter box). Zachary was running from the still wet rug onto the tile and slipped - chipping his front tooth. That is a sound that will haunt me for the rest of my life! The impact was sickening and his poor little tooth remains were on the floor. Fortunately it didn't make it to the pulp of the tooth, so no intervening dentistry was necessary. I just wanted another example to support my theory on my sweet baby turning into a wild monkey. Good thing he's still so adorable!

Prior to the bloody nose, we went to the seafood festival with Kurt and Denise. Zachary loves the big slide!

He took turns going dow with everyone, then the brothers and Denise/Z had a race . . .

Uncle Kurt won, but it's unclear whether he had an unfair advantage. He is a scientist, you know.

After all that sliding Zachary went fishing.

His efforts yielded him stuffed red dog. Oh, and it cost us $5. But he had fun, and that's all that's really important!!

Our growing-shorter-by-the-minute trip got postponed another day. The wind and weather have been strange, and the Gulf is a wrath of wind and waves at the moment. Therefore we have decided (okay, I suggested, but Ryan decided) that we'll leave Tuesday for Port St. Joe. We'll stay there one night, then on to Appalachicola for Wednesday and Thursday nights, then Friday and Saturday in Carabelle. The boys will take Southern Cross south on Sunday (there's a cold front coming, which means good North winds) and should make St. Pete by midday Monday. Of course all that is still subject to change!

Denise is heading to London tomorrow for a meeting (it's tough to be the jet-set top-of-her-field geologist) then on to Aberdeen to work for a couple of weeks. I originally thought Aberdeen was in Texas and couldn't figure out why she made such a big deal out of going to Texas, she used to live there for heaven's sake. Then I learned that it's actually in Scotland. Geography was never my strong point! I did help outfit her for the big dinner after her big presentation, complete with walking lessons. Being from Alabama occasionally has it's benefits - we Southern Belles know how to walk, when it counts. Also, rarely a little girl grows up in the South without being some sort of beauty queen. It's not that hard, there are thousands of beauty pageants. It's a numbers game, with enough persistence any girl can win. Ack, I must stop this train wreck of a stroll down memory lane. It's time to go to bed!

Change of Plans

Shocking, for those of you who know, but the weather is not cooperating for a timely departure of our trip. We are not in Crooked Island tonight, but at home. I am not complaining - the cold front coming through tomorrow will yield highs in the low 60's on Sunday - very cold on the water. I am quite comfy in my big bed now blogging!

The new plan is to leave Monday and work our way leisurely to Carabelle. That means nothing but day trips, so no seasickness battles for me. Hooray! Although I'm bummed about not making it to St. Petersburg. There is such excitement surrounding the race and it's fun to be around all of it. We'll stay Monday at Crooked Island, or perhaps we'll go all the way to Port St. Joe (if Tyndall is launching drones - remember, Leslie?). Then we'll go to Appalachicola for a couple of days, then mosey on to Carabelle. For those of you charting our progress on a map, yes we're only going a couple of hours away from home, but it doesn't matter. It's always more interesting to see places by sea than by car. Anyone can go to Carabelle by car.

Today was such a good day. Denise and I took advantage of our departure delay and went shopping. I took her to the finest boutique in town, then we stopped for a fabulous lunch with some friends of mine, then on to the finest shoe shop in town. I, of course, bought lots of great stuff. Denise, on the other hand, showed much more restraint. How does that happen? Shopping was her idea!! This afternoon, after Zachary woke from his nap, Kurt, Denise, Ryan, Zachary, and I went on an afternoon/evening cruise around the Bay on Southern Cross. It was very nice. The Gulf is quite rough right now, but the Bay was nice and smooth. We anchored at this wonderful little hideaway and I made fajitas for everyone. The only problem was I forgot chips for the guacamole. Oh, and ice too. However, as ole Capt. Duct Tape is known to say, a good sailor makes do. We sailed her back into the marina just as the sun was setting. It was a very good sail.

Big Plans

Oh my oh my. I have been away too long, once again. I'm not really sure what happened, it's just that somewhere along the line I got out of my routine of blogging regularly. I'll try to make amends. Maybe.

First of all, we had a great Easter. I hosted the annual Easter Egg Hunt at Bay Point and, despite quite chilly temperatures, we had a great turnout. My mom, Joanne, Kurt, and Denise were all here to help out. Ryan, on the other hand, was playing golf in Dothan. Hmm. But he did return late Saturday night in time for the family Easter festivities. I should have pictures to post by the end of the week, I have to transpose them from another camera to a CD, then to my computer - it's complicated!

Now, on to our big plans. It's time for our annual sailing trip. This year Zachary and I will accompany Ryan to St. Petersburg where he'll be joined by 5 other crazy men for the Regata al sol del Sol, the race to Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Ryan and crew have raced our boat, Southern Cross, in this regatta 3 previous times. They've finished first in class twice, and first overall once (unheard of by a cruising boat). This year Ryan's already talking smack. They are going to win, ladies and gentlemen. You heard it here first.

So, Z and I will take the leisurely sail around the big bend, catching all those places we missed on last year's trip. We are leaving Friday (the 13th!!) for Crooked Island. Kurt and Denise are sailing there with us, and Fox III will meet us there for the weekend. The plan is to head for Appalachicola on Sunday, dropping off Kurt and Denise there. Then Ryan, Zachary, and I will head to Carabelle, Cedar Key, Clearwater, and finally St. Pete. I have to return on the 23rd, and this is an ambitious sail plan for only 10 days. We'll see what Mother Nature has in store for us!

In other news, Zachary now announces when he needs his diaper changed. So I suppose it's time to stop procrastinating and start teaching him to use the potty. I am ready, or so it seems. We have a potty, we have pull ups, we have big boy underwear. I have lots of laundry detergent. Yet the thought of actually beginning this is, well, quite terrifying. Why does this frighten me so?

I am as busy as I want to be with belly dance. I've added another Intermediate class on Mondays, and it's going well. Attendance is actually better in my intermediate classes than in my beginning classes. My dancers are asking me to add another class on Wednesdays, but I'm not quite ready for that yet. I am starting a beginning class on Tuesday nights for some ladies out here on the beach. The good news about this class is that it's not at the health club where I normally teach, so minus a little overhead I'll get paid per student. This means more money for me!