'ADIOS' TO SALINAS, PUERTO RICO .............................

AFTER MORE THAN A MONTH IN SALINAS, IT IS TIME TO MOVE .............. NOW THAT THE LAST HURRICANE, NAMED OTTO, HAS MOVED ON......... The day before we left SALINAS, we had 12 inches (300mm) of rain in 24 hours ............... Twice we had to empty the new dinghy, for fear of drowning it, and beneath the cockpit cushions we had found rotten wood, caused by the constant moisture ....... The 'pleasure' of owning a wooden yacht ............. Not that we are complaining, for ARITA is beautifully crafted, as the historical photos taken during construction in 1958 will show ............. And that's some 52 years ago .....

It took 12 hours of motor sailing into slight headwinds, along a beautiful mountainous coastline to reach FAJARDO and ISLETA MARINA, where we will haul-out to clean and repaint the bottom ............... 12 hours of dragging a whole bunch of barnacles to somewhere they might not have wanted to go ............. Dolphins joined us on the way, to do a bottom inspection, and then finally turned off in absolute disgust .............. Can't blame them one bit ............ Bottom cleaning is long overdue.



Looking at people is so much more interesting than looking at 'rotten wood' ........ This was a belated birthday dinner for Marjorie at Dwight's nightclub "VIBRA" in San Juan..... Before the patrons all arrived ............ And the chef really knows what he is doing .....Food to die for..............



Never ceases to amaze us that we were able to get hold of these historical photos of ARITA under construction, inside the boat shed in RUSSELL, New Zealand .............. That's the builder, Mr Dick McIlvride leaning against the wall on the right ...............



Almost all boat-owners in PUERTO RICO keep their vessels inside marinas, enclosed by huge breakwaters ................ And pay for that privilege with an extra credit card ............ The hurricanes take care of those that don't ........And see, we did replace the teak planks in the cockpit seat ............

Fiberglass doesn't last as long as steel after a hurricane has wiped you out ....... The barge with the crane almost made it ashore, and won't ever move again...... And to make doubly sure he has put his anchor out as well .....



And for the week that ARITA will be 'high & dry' we will move into the door furthest on the left .............. Behind which, is a luxury room measuring 8 ft x 7 ft, with an annex shower and an AC .............With a 3 ft balcony out front, thrown in ........... Now who could ask for more ............ Laurie is already drinking 'nuts' with the 'local boys club', just to get the feel of the neighborhood ......... And the balcony view looks over the water at this wreck below of an old trawler, with the island of ISLETA behind it......... WE CAN DO THIS ...... For we take the ferry to ISLETA each morning and return at night, exhausted, dirty and DEAD................



And each morning, as we leave on the free ferry to ISLETA MARINA and look back at our petite one-room "residencia" on the mainland, we are 'checked out' by this cormorant that sits on top of the mast of that sunken trawler ...............



But much more interesting was the satellite dish on this ship-wreck ............. Talk about not wanting to miss an episode on TV as the ship goes down in a hurricane ..............
Actually it was put up by a sailor living on a yacht nearby that 'swings in the wind' on a mooring, and so he mounted the dish on a fixture and runs the cables to it under water ............ Now is that 'ingenious' or what?

Then again, with another serious hurricane, his floating yacht could join the fixed satellite dish on top of the wreck, and both would be sort of permanently 'fixed' .......... If you follow my drift ..................

And now for some miracle news .............. Glenn Miller's son SPENSER, of the Yacht "TREEHOUSE", was operated on in an 18-hour marathon session by three neuro-surgeons, to remove tumors from his brain, that had totally encapsulated his optic and auditory nerves ............. This operation has been twelve months in the planning, and today SPENSER is up and about, though still groggy, and has all his faculties, .............. A MIRACLE OF MODERN MEDICINE ............... Meantime GLENN is over the moon, or somewhere on the other side ............. So count your blessings, look at the night sky, and if you see 'A man in the Moon'....... That would be GLENN .........The same GLENN who a year ago, turned his yacht around in the BAHAMAS and sailed all the way back to upper-state NEW YORK, to be with his twenty-year old son...............