Marsh Habour ...

Friday the 13^th.  It’s supposed to be a day of “bad luck” and perhaps it is for those people who experience some unfortunate event on this day.  But, for me, it is not.  Sitting on Alizee, my sweet Cabo Rico 36, sitting in Marsh Harbour, Abaco, Bahama, listening to good music and watching the sun slowly set in the west …. I ask you, could it be better?  I’m not sure ….

Bonding with Alizee has taken time.  These past two days, cleaning her after her passage from Oriental,  North Carolina via Beaufort (also North Carolina) to the Abacos, a total of 487 nautical miles over six days and nights – five of those at sea – well, it’s been special. 

The trip with my friends from the Encinal Yacht Club in Alameda, California – Rob and Keith – was great fun, perhaps not as unique as the experiences shared the memoir Three Guys in a Boat, but a special experience nonetheless.  There is something about three guys on a boat that only the guys seem to really understand.  We probably drank too much, but we were on a mill pond for most of the crossing with weather predictions that said only the same for the entire trip.  Had it been otherwise, as skipper I would have cut the rum  ration (not to mention Scotch, Bourbon, Vodka, Gin, and beer).  Maybe that would have been a good thing anyway, but I suppose that’s a lesson this skipper has learned for future crossings.  That one of the crew decided to quit smoking half way through the offshore passage added a bit of tension.  A good thing for him, and I hope he sticks to it, but it proved too volatile in the end for the three guys to really be able to celebrate a good time. 

But, now here, now settled and awaiting my love, Penelope, to arrive in a day or so, now cleaning this special boat, I have found a wonderful space in the universe.   And, I’m thinking of dear friends and family….

“Mitch” Mitchell, who has followed this voyage of mine even before it started, for he did it himself many years ago, incredibly also jumping offshore from Beaufort, North Carolina , and spending time at anchor in Marsh Harbour, where I am now.  You are with me in spirit, and if you decide to jump on a plane between now and mid-May, come ahead … and do please bring Kim, who I love as much as you.  By the way, I’m crossing back to Fort Pierce, Florida (or somewhere on the eastern seaboard) in mid-May.  Wanna crew? 

And, hey, Mike P. – what a great time on the Napa River.  You and Ina have a standing invitation, too. 

Tony Kay and Lin Hullen … I miss you two more than you’ll ever imagine.  I got my piano out a couple of nights with Keith and played the blues and more … Keith’s a great lover of music and has a wonderful sense of rhythm.  We need to share several more bottles of Malbec, and my invitation stands for you to come down here as well.

Here at Marsh Harbour (the proper English spelling, you’ll recognize, since the Bahamas still have that recent connection to the Mother Land), the bars and the boutiques remind me a lot of the Caribbean.  Deborah, my dear friend, I think of you often for all the wonderful times we shared.  And I think of the great Encinal Cruise to the BVIs with Rodney and Jane Pimentel, Tony and Michelle Shaffer, and Steve and Claire Waterloo … not to mention a bunch of great kids.  Was that fun, or what??

And, how about it Bruce.  Don’t you and Gail want to come to the Bahamas?  I’m here, buddy!  Come sailing.

I have some very special friends, Ruth and Neil Cowan, staying in my townhouse in Mountain View … they made my transition so much easier by being there … and they are come hear the first week of April.  Really looking forward to seeing them.

Lisa (my daughter) and her husband Matt , Sandi, Bob and Laura … I’d better stop because I can’t name all the really special people in my life … just think ICOHTEC, SHOT, EYC, CCPH, PiKA, UO, UCSB, NCPH (I hope your recognize one of those acronyms) … and a special call out there to Ben and Julie.

Time for a second martini.  The sun’s just setting and it’s Friday night in the Bahamas….

When I figure how I can stay connected on the internet long enough, I’ll upload some photos.