THERE IS NOTHING MORE BEAUTIFUL...........

There really is nothing more beautiful or more perfect than any of God's creations, be it a sunset, a perfect wave, a magnificent valley or an awesome flower. Takes this orchid as a classic example. So beautiful and so perfect. Along the coastal highway we found some succulents in full bloom. Miles of them in fact amidst the palm and sea grapes on the dune fringe. We have escaped again for the weekend to southern Florida and Vero Beach. This winter is turning out to be the coldest in the last six years.

At Cocoa Beach we drove past the RON JON Emporium, what must surely be the world's largest Surf Shop together with original and modern "woodies" parked in front. the buildings run from right to left. It took two photos to give you an idea and the "woodies" don't even show in the pics.



Within two weeks the new owners of "SVEA" will arrive to begin their journey back to Southport, Queensland Australia. Let the adventures finally begin.
Double-click on the little picture of "SVEA" and you will see what a beautiful classic she really is.

HONEY, CAN WE FIT THIS IN.........

The exquisite palm stem with the colored seed pods in the photo on the right is to give some contrast to the color co-ordinated "slick biker chick" on the left. Just look at the symmetry of the fuel tank with its duel filler caps.

When all the selected stuff and equipment was loaded onto ARITA we were pretty deep in the water, but with our delayed departure both of us have continued to add things without ever taking anything off. This situation needs urgent attention. As mentioned earlier in our postings, if anyone left the toilet pump in the open position it would fill the bowl to within an inch of the top (always assuming the boat sat level). Well, those days are well and truly gone. If the pump is now left in the open position the water level would be an inch over the top of the bowl. Now I know that an inch is not very much................but. We've been lucky so far.
O.K., so much for head etiquette



We are counting the days again to departure and continueing to do modifications and changes. In many ways our extended stay on board in the Marina has provided some advantages in coming to grips with the extended living on board. There are new ways of passing each other in the passage. Equipment has been extensively checked. The on-board generator has been changed out for a "wait-for-it"......a LIGHTER MODEL. New snorkel gear has been purchased. There is a new spot light on board. 17 million candlepower. When you stand it up on end it will do three eggs, sunny side up with bacon at the same time. The BBQ grill too has been tested for both fish and steak. Full marks.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

The New Year is here. We saw the huge fireworks in SYDNEY on the little screen in the front cabin. Wow..... Shameful to say, but we spent New Year's eve snuggled up in bed watching a most awesome DVD on an "Underwater Journey through Papua New Guinea" by Joni Hildal. That's the videographic genius right there in the photo below. The lady on the right however, is Laurie, the "Queen of Florida" (as if you didn't know that by now). Yoga meditation is great in the morning in mid-winter. What a contrast of poses. Laurie, motionless and poised on the dock with the railway bridge, also poised and motionless in the background. All hell breaks lose when a mile-long train comes rumbling through heralded first by this archealogical monstrocity slowly coming down. We are used to the noise now that we have turned the boat around and facing away from the railway.



We have been fortunate to see the fireworks in Jacksonville many times on New Year's Eve, so that we really didn't miss it one bit and certainly no-one in Florida has the right to complain about the cold, not when you see the tons of snow and blizzard conditions throughout the rest of the country, even though some of the tropical flowers are a little the worse for wear.



Joni and Ken in the photo below, have an incredible 50ft Catamaran, a showstopper fully fitted out for extended cruising and diving and are heading through the Caribbean to the Pacific. It was invigorating to spend time with them during the week at Ponce Inlet, not only in hearing their wonderful stories of a life well lived, but in planning to make our cruise so much more rewarding. While in Bali (Indonesia) they had some door portals carved in teak. Art beyond art. These handcrafted pieces have to be seen to be believed. Be our guest and double-click on them. Their catamaran's name is "Dancing Walrus" the centrepiece above the door. The mermaid is an extra for good measure. Ken and Joni are two delightful people on the water. They are impressive in their vision, their practical approach towards cruising and in their choices about what really matters in life.



KEN and JONI on DANCING WALRUS at Ponce Inlet, Florida. One of the few inlets without bridges. Their mast height prevents them from entering in many other areas of inland Florida or the Intracoastal waterway.

The chess set and inlaid carved table also has to be seen to be believed. Each piece is an exquisite masterpiece. Collectors items. Playing with pieces like that would lead you to lose all concentration on the game, just in seeing the artistry of the carving. We are looking forward to crossing tracks with them again real soon.

PEACE ON EARTH

Christmas Eve 2008. 8pm EST JACKSONVILLE Florida. There is peace on the water and we wish that the whole world would choose peace. We are in the middle of the trio of lighted yachts. Snug, warm and happy.
We wish all those sharing this journey with us and all of our extended families the very best wishes for the season. Please use the comment box at the end of each entry to let us know that you're out there.

NEXT TIME AROUND

It may take a little more money but this is how it should be done. Five star or maybe ten star luxury in the staterooms, all the amenities you can dream of, and on the aft deck, your easily launched sailing yacht for arriving in port as though you have just crossed the ocean. Then when no-one is looking you hoist it back on board and away you go again.................naw, I wouldn't have it for a month of Sundays. Where is the fun in all that..

The megayacht "LE GRAND BLUE" in Nassau

NOW THAT"S A PORTHOLE

With temperatures plummeting in Jacksonville FL, we are forced to look for an alternative. We find it at "I-WANT-A-CRUISE.COM". A five-day cruise to the Bahamas for $280.00 per person with all you can eat included. It should have been sold as " THE GLUT-BUCKET CRUISE". A breakfast to die for, lunch buffet till you can't take any more and then a beautiful five-course dinner and a very slow walk back to your cabin to find your bed made and turned down and a walrus in it. Next to the towel animals every night are mint chocolates as if there is space to put it. For those with space, there is a continuous buffet on the afterdeck 24 hours a day. Next morning its time to check the dock lines before going to town in Nassau. We see the sights and do some Christmas shopping for the grandkids, Rebekah, Zac and Ella and buy some more bottles of 'Ricardo's Mango Rum' for the bonded journey back to America.



We took the ferry to Paradise Island to visit the magnificent hotel "ATLANTIS" with its wrap-around aquarium filled with every type of fish, large and small and even Manta rays and of course the "QUEEN's" royal throne. The Casino has breath-taking glass sculptures by Chihuly and the marina has million dollar powerboats with jacuzzis on the aft deck. The gardens and flowers match the architecture. Inspiring to say the least.



We set sail as the sun was setting, we cruised all night through the Bahama islands past Eleuthera to arrive at dawn at the island of 'Little San Salvador' and the bay called "Half-Moon Cay". It doesn't get any better unless you are at the Whitsundays on the Great Barrier Reef. The crew offloaded more food by barge and put on a BBQ for two and a half thousand people on the beach. We took a very long walk to escape the multitude. In late February we should be anchored in this same bay and perhaps by then we will be hungry again. The Queen did suggest I leave her there and pick her up at that time, but even she would get sick of BBQ being served every couple of days.




The crew are forever working on maintenance including this guy further down, sanding the stairs and re-varnishing the brightwork. He should be finished with the stairs by the end of the month. Since 9/11 the bridge is off limits and even the crew and staff communicate with the officers by email. We made a special request to visit the bridge and when it was eventually granted we were escorted by three guards. The view and the technology is awesome. We learned a lot from them in terms of how they perceive people in small yachts. Our vessel next to this liner would look like a floating sea-gull and very difficult to observe on radar. The only thing we had in common was the size of the binoculars.



A smooth sail back to Jacksonville, clear customs, back in the car and home to ARITA which somehow just doesn't look or feel the same. It's just as well that I made the QUEEN sign a declaration stating..... " Being of sound mind and body I hereby declare that I will not demand turned down beds, endless food, constant runnnnnning hot and cold showers........music performed by orchestras.....



A wonderful birthday present for Laurie. The cake was inscribed with "27" since she certainly looks half her age. Feel free to double click on any of the photos. The next cruise leaves from Jacksonville tomorrow and if you're hungry......

VIEW THROUGH THE PORTHOLE

When the tide goes out we can't see a thing through the porthole except the side of the dock. So that answers than one. But all is not lost. Our Christmas cactus in a bowl on the saloon table is bursting into bloom in the middle of the winter. Life re-born. The Queen went for a long walk yesterday and discovered many things in bloom. FlORIDA is wonderful in the winter while NEW YORK, CHICAGO and beyond are in blizzards, snow and ice.



The day was warm enough for ice-cream desert. Take a spoon, put it in the cordless drill, take some ice-cream from the container, add some chocolate oreo cookies (biscuits) from the packet and stir them up to make some delicious " Mc-ARITAS ". Real cool, literally.



Marina life is something else. It's like living in the floating suburbs with the city in the distance. The yachts come and go, get hauled out, repainted, renovated and face-lifted, saggy bottoms are taken care of, colours are changed, gear is added or removed and each day is a whole new spectacle.



You can see the colourful sail covers of "SVEA" (red) and of "ARITA" (Persian green) in the photos. That's almost the same as looking for "Wally". From the bridge the view is way better than at dock level, and certainly a lot better than at water-level. Trust me on that one. I took one extra step on(off) the dock last week while cleaning the dinghy and found out the hard barnacle way. Floating around in very cold water beneath the dock was...... well ... not gooooood. A rare occasion when I did not have my cellphone (mobile) in my pocket. Not that I could have used it call anyone...... while thrashing around like a plucked duck. You can see the dinghy on the end of the dock on the right.