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.