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".

HUNTING FOR TREASURE

Hunting for "TREASURE" takes many forms. Alongside is our home base "ARITA", from which we 'adventure' out each day to explore. It still amazes us what we find. Now that the dock-owners have returned from Europe, we have attended a number of highlights with them and while they have a very beautiful house it can only be described as "a badly-designed yacht that is permanently anchored". They are great people though, and we are all having fun, which is more than we can say for this monsterous snake found in the suburbs in Florida. Highly poisonous and at least 9ft long. The police were called who in turn called 'the wildlife people' but they took too long to come and the fear of it escaping into someone's house........... Well that too, would have been hunting for a different kind of treasure............... That's a six-inch (150mm) knife blade holding its mouth and fangs open. Bouganvillea are out in bloom again signalling that we've been here way too long.................... We did those last year.



Seeing snakes is kind of rare, but seeing squirrels is common-place. Cutest things you ever saw. They hide on the back side of a tree and then quickly move around to face you.................... "Just checking if you saw me!"...........



We took a little trip to visit a treasure hunter's museum at SEBASTION, FL 15 miles north of VERO BEACH. This is owned by MEL FISHER who is probably the most famous and definitely the richest treasure hunter in America. His really big museum is in KEY WEST, but this one gave us a good taste. The Spanish plunder from South America as well as the riches from the Phillipines were not only sought after by the Caribbean pirates, but they fell victim to the seasonal hurricanes over the Gulf Stream. These Spanish caravels, while solid and functional were slow, barnacle-ridden and at the mercy of the weather, with little or no ability to sail to windward. The entire Spanish treasure fleet that sailed from the Caribbean in 1715 was wrecked on the Florida coast and its contents (or that which hasn't been found) remain spread along the coast for some 200 miles. Jewelery, gemstones, silver, gold and ornaments regularly wash ashore after storms and hurricanes. Recently a lady found the largest emerald ever, at the high tide mark without realising what it was (at least at first, now she has quit her job)............... You definitely need to double-click on each of these photos and then check out that little gold filigree door set, which we could have purchased at the front counter by leaving a genuine check (cheque) for US $ 375,000...............................Regrettably we had left the checkbook on board. It measures about 4" by 4" (100mmm x 100mm) The photo in no way does it justice. An incredible piece of exquisite jewelery.



Incredible history, shameful plundering and unforgiveable brutality if you get into the annals of South American history, or history of almost anywhere for that matter. Today's "gold" is liquid and black and just as precious............. Not that in today's modern world anyone would want to steal someone else's............ maybe best not to go there........................ for fear of sending mixed signals, like the TOYOTA we were following in the photo below (double-click on it for a real good laugh)..................We will just continue with our project of plundering the salty Ocean and making fresh water from it, and sewing more covers to keep the brutal Sun out............. then again, if someone has a spare metal detector that can be used underwater, well, there's still plenty of GOLD to be found and MEL FISHER's legal underwater leases in Florida to be plundered............................ Could be fun.....




So far our "TREASURE" stands at one frisbee, one used lightbulb, one plastic jar and a large pine cone, a real cone not the other kind and a shoe-less sole........... Then again we managed to get a bunch of sanderlings to help us 'dig' for buried treasure..................maybe.................we'll get lucky.

SOME PICTURES NEED FEW WORDS......................

Very few words are actually needed. Everyone of these photos is worthy of a double-click, especially this one on the right. Nature's perfection. This was our visit to McKEE GARDENS in Vero Beach. IT"S WHAT YOU DO WHEN YOU ARE NOT SAILING. The closer you look, the more you find, and this hidden pearl on the TREASURE COAST was the best treasure yet. We are going back to do it all again next weekend. A 12-acre piece of paradise sculptured out of the natural Florida bushland. It used to be 80 acres and part of a zoo, until the new freeway (I-95) was built, and Orlando and DisneyWorld took the people away. Orchids and water-lillies are everywhere and the species of palms left us breathless, some from as far away as Madagascar. There were pink bananas from Asia and at least ten different varieties of bamboo.. Even a whole building made of bamboo...... and who knew you would find a sausage tree......



My two daughters in Darwin,N.T., AUSTRALIA love flowers also. One of them is a full time florist................need I say more.....



And if this wasn't enough, then we found tucked away in one of the natural log buildings, the world's largest single slab table. A huge piece of sanded and varnished mahogany, about four inches thick, six feet across and at least as long as a sleep-less night. The table is supported on some swamp cypress knees. One wonders if there are still 'Giants of Men' around who devote themselves to such preservation for all of us to see...............................