THE BOATYARD BLUES........................

The time has come to pull "ARITA" out of the water once more to clean and repaint the bottom, add some new skin fittings, and generally tidy things up before heading for the Caribbean. (Assuming that we can find a new owner for "SVEA") It is such a shame that such a beautiful Classic yacht, that has sailed twice around the world has not yet found a new owner. It is either the depth of the recession or people are fearful of work, for the most common question asked is " Does it take a lot of work"?....... Our suggestion is pretty much the same for getting married....... IT DOES TAKE WORK... but the rewards are worth it. Lauren's daughter came down to see us for Thanksgiving and together they caught the photos of these huge white pelicans at SEBASTION, Florida.



The grey pelicans are also around but these white ones were probably in Florida for a winter conference. Fishing is "BIG" here, and the crab-trap Christmas tree reflects that. Double click on it and you will see the lights and ornaments. Couldn't help but notice the creativeness of the driftwood fence........



With "ARITA" finally out of the water at Cracker Boy Boatyard in Ft. Pierce, Florida, the bottom is cleaned with a pressure washer and then the sanding and repainting can begin......... This is when the BOATYARD BLUES are at their worst. This is when every conceivable bit of dirt and grime finds its way into every pore of your body. This is the time when you need to remember the beauty of the blue water and the white sand and palm trees. This is when........................never mind......



And this is Lauren-Anne and Tony, who are soon to be married in Hope Town, in the Bahamas, and will be staying at this idyllic cottage in the photo above. In order to make sure that Tony would always be able to find his beautiful bride, he gave Lauren- Anne this wonderful watch with a built-in GPS........ smooth move Tony....... We wish them a wonderful marriage, a glorious wedding..............and bountiful happiness and maybe just a little bit of work.

ART FOR ART'S SAKE..........................

Received a wonderful comment from STL on the last entry wanting more of the art work. Some people are really nice when they know you are down a little bit............Thanks STL. That painting is screwed to the bulkhead, but here is the good news...... Once we get going there is going to be a little factory on board doing lots of oil paintings as the mood strikes and production will be stepped up when the money looks like running out. Each of them will be posted on the blog and then they will all be available to our faithful followers and mailed from the nearest 'Port-o-Call' in the Caribbean. Artwork can take many forms like this birthday card to my daughter in Darwin, Australia. I mean,......... is there a way to say it better?............ Oh, and the photo above is "ARITA" sailing in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand back in the sixties and that's almost fifty years ago..............Do a double-click on the photo and see how "ARITA" has changed.



The reef-line in the painting above is the outer reef at Green Island in Antigua while the other painting in oils on the right, hangs in the head and one gets a better chance to study the landscape on this one,......... if you follow my drift. It is a beach in Martinique where the French consider the island as another province of France and so bread, groceries and postage stamps are the same price as anywhere else in France. Great idea for shopping.............. Viva la Martinique..............



The best artist of all is "Mother Nature" for who else can get such a great living symmetry and balance out of a single plant like this aptly named "Traveller's Palm", that is 20 ft tall and then repeat the pattern in another 'Cabbage" palm stem right alongside it.

LOVERS COME AND GO

We very happily reported in one of our previous entries that the beautiful yacht "SVEA" has a new lover, well................................... sadly, that deal did not go through. We met with the prospective couple, kicked some tires and they spent the night on board, but in the end it was not to be. With all due respect, they are great people and we respect their decision ...................... So "SVEA" goes back on the market with time slowly running out for our eminent departure for the Caribbean and Australia on our other yacht "ARITA". What is equally concerning is that the longer we stay, the more we become entrenched in urban lifestyles again. Caught the "Queen of Florida and the Bahamas" in a moment of "How does this look?".........Well a really smart guy, and a southern gentleman, who knows which way his bread is buttered, would obviously say.......... "Why that looks just dandy...... Honey!" The feather weight fluff bundle in the bag is Duchess Dana's (Laurie's sister) new play mate. It is small enough to warrant its own GPS tracking device and please don't use the shop-vac in the house........................



So in our " IN SEARCH OF PALMS" mood, we continue to herald the first of the winter fronts while planning to take ARITA to Ft. PIERCE to do a haul-out to clean the bottom and install some new thru-hull fittings. We definitely are ready to go sailing. "BLUE WATER IS CALLING AND WE MUST GO". We are loaded with oil paints and easel, thinners and rags, so that we can supplement the kitty by resuming the creation of artworks in oils. Here is a remnant from the past that hangs in our front cabin. Photos are wonderful memories but oil paintings capture the emotions and the sand that flew in the air at the time................. you know how it is..................... We have kept the dinghy in the water at VERO BEACH Marina in the event of having to put both yachts in the mangroves if a hurricane should come along. Well..................oysters and barnacles, anyone?



So may we once again call on all those whom we thanked so profusely, to lend a hand and get the word out about "BEAUTIFUL CLASSIC YACHT SVEA WHICH IS AGAIN FOR SALE AND LISTED ON EBAY"

YOU REMEMBER THAT STORY........................

At least we hope you remember that story about the pirates in the Indian Ocean off Somalia some time ago, who boarded the MAERSK ALABAMA, a huge container ship and then launched the ship's lifeboat, after Captain Phillips allowed himself to be the solitary hostage. The U.S. Navy 'SEALS' then organised a rescue attempt and successfully recaptured the lifeboat, disrespectfully dealt with the pirates and freed the Captain. ............................ Here is the actual lifeboat, now on display in the grounds of the NAVY SEALS MUSEUM, just south of VERO BEACH, FLORIDA. We went to visit the place on a day when thousands of others did also. Veterans Memorial Day celebration. Recruiters were out in full, as were the veterans wearing their numerous badges and insignias. The "SEALS" and their U.D.T. capabilities represent a strike force that truly lives 'on-the-edge' as depicted in the mural shown below. You couldn't help but notice that the car-park was pretty full of Harley-Davidson motorbikes which ties in with living on the edge.



The "Queen of Florida" stands beside a former mini-submarine. Not quite sure if the frogmen had to be inside or if it was battery powered and driven, or if they actually lived inside without their breathing apparatus, or whether it was just one huge torpedo. Should have read the plaque I guess.............. Either way, this little steel capsule would make the strongest men do some serious sinking, I mean THINKING............ These UDT men were certainly one of a kind............. Also, one of a kind are our fabulous hosts, Richard and Lynette, whose dock we are tied to with ARITA in VERO BEACH. This trip in their speedboat was not a 'pirate intervention' as much as a 'let's-go-get-something-to-eat' excursion.



More historic underwater demolition team (U.D.T.) stuff. Lethal looking and no doubt packed with explosives. This stuff is dangerous which is why even the helicopter is placed high up and off the ground............. I told the "Queen" not to try to climb into it, but you know what these photographers are like.......................



A modern helicopter took off carrying four marines in full gear dangling on a rope and returned with them about 30 minutes later after taking them for a "joy" ride over the ocean. Now the down wash from the prop-blades, when the chopper was idling on the ground, made it difficult to stand upright. Needless to say dangling on a rope like that is no joke. Couldn't help but think that flying over the ocean I was looking at the original "human dipstick".................... and the huge welded steel canister to the right, was the original splash-down capsules from the GEMINI and APPOLLO space missions, which required the "SEALS" teams to attach flotation rings to the module, then release the hatches and provide some fresh air and a smile to the Astranauts. This was the training module. Technology has certainly advanced since then. ................ Interesting stuff.................Double click on some of the pics to enlarge them.

JUST HAVE TO SHARE THIS.......................

Early this morning,the "QUEEN OF FLORIDA AND THE BAHAMAS" left to do some shopping at the local farmer's market in VERO BEACH, FL. It is held weekly on Saturday morning in a local park, and these photos are what she came back to "ARITA with,.........Oh, and also some fresh lettuce and bean sprouts........... Now I would call that "BRILLIANT SHOPPING". Almost no money spent and visuals to die for. Feasting for the eyes... These are definitely DOUBLE-CLICKABLES . Every one of them a screen-saver. Email us and we will send you copies......... The farmer's market is held on 'Orchid Island' and surely this is living proof of that. Take a close look at the orchid with the Japanese writing on it or perhaps it is some other heiroglyphics on the petals............. and the 'Dancing Ladies' orchid, .......... just plain awesome.

And here is the reason: ..... while the rest of the country is already having blizzards, snow, ice, floods, tornadoes, or whatever, here in VERO BEACH, FL, we wake up to 88 degrees and brilliant sunshine. Now that is surely embarrassing...............and we continue to whole-heartedly love our embarrassment .....................



Meantime 'back at the ranch', the construction of the executive golf-cart residence is now complete, together with wooden shakes on the roof, (above) as is the window installation and some other jobs. Next week there will be another challenging project of 'kitchen modification'................ The distance between the job and the boat is ten yards........................... Needless to say there is no need to apply for travel-allowance ................and once again we are embarrassed for all those that sit in traffic for hours. Yes, ............ we shamelessly love our embarrassment.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN....... GO SCARE THE HELL OUT OF A PUMPKIN

YOUNG " SVEA" HAS A NEW LOVER............A BITTERSWEET MOMENT......

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We have had an army of people searching the country far and wide looking for the right person to take-over the ownership of the beautiful yacht "SVEA", our classic Scandinavian double-ender that has twice circled the Globe. I owe many thanks to those people and I raise my glasses to you ............. now where did I put my glasses, ....... Oh, YES .......... HERE'S TO YOU ALL, and MY SINCEREST THANKS TO YOU ALL. WE APPRECIATE ALL THAT YOU HAVE DONE AND IN ALL THE WAYS YOU HAVE HELPED..... "SVEA" will shortly be heading to her new home in CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS.

We have been fortunate in finding someone who not only loves her but has great future plans for her, and to top it off, is a retired ship-wright with lots of Coast Guard experience. "SVEA" will sail again and in doing so, she will live again. I must have been shaking when I took these two blurry pictures of the inside bow sections, showing the burnished planking, the massive oak frames, and the copper rivets. For once I can say "DON'T DOUBLE-CLICK ON THESE", although you can do so on this beautiful orchid flower that is one of thousands on a giant orchid tree in John & Dotty Noble's garden in VERO BEACH.





So here's a last look at the beveled glass portholes, that magnificent teak interior with the solid teak bulkheads, cabinets and doors. I'm guessing 'veneers' had not yet been invented back in 1939. On her last circumnavigation, the author SUE MOESLY wrote about the wild seas they experienced in the Indian Ocean, and how a can of food went flying out of the rack from one side of the cabin and hitting the other, just missing her head. We went to look for the dent, and sure enough we found it ................ As far as dents go...... it was a 'good' dent ........ Here also is another head, the "HEAD", small but very useful, with vanity basin and a mirror to give you a scare, particularly in the morning, just after watching the sun rise, as in the photo below, with "SVEA" gliding over the seas.



It has been a memorable journey for us and "SVEA" thus far, blending the new with the old as in a modern autopilot steering a historic vessel and the satellite GPS lighting the way across the timeless ocean. Who would have thought that such changes would unfold when the keel of this vessel was laid in DENMARK, back in 1938/39 with the country under German occupation in a world gone mad. And who would have named this ship ..........."SVEA", which means 'sweet', or 'sweetie', at a time of sheer insanity. The builder and architect hid the vessel in a shed, so we found out, and thus kept it from destruction and theft. I bet even he had no idea "SVEA" would end up in CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas..............Then again, you never know, perhaps the new owners may decide they need to sail around the world..........at least "SVEA" will know the way......................with or without GPS.









And as "SVEA" heads for the Keys and TEXAS, so we, on "ARITA", will be on our way to the Caribbean, sailing first through the Bahamas and then past Cuba and Windward Passage and onto the Dominican Republic, before going to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.....................lots to see, flowers to smell, walks to walk, and sunsets to drool over......................STAY CONNECTED ............we might just go on the western side of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, just for good measure.

Captain "Global" Glenn Miller on the yacht "TREEHOUSE" will be joining us for more of the same blue water and sunshine, (assuming he escapes from the frozen ice in upper state NY............. But right now, I need to finish construction on this Royal Residence that will house the dock-owner's golfcart, change out a window, do a few other repairs........ you know, keeping my hand in................. before it gets to be as young as "SVEA".