Sailing

Hey guys,
Day before yesterday I was on my way with three girls (Misa,Petra and Martina)to Cape Hatteras area in North Carolina.We had really nice trip around the eastest most point in US.We travel acrooss two islands on ferry.At the evening we got to small town called Morehead city .I met there my new friend Geert from Holland.He is sailing guy and he has been on trip for couple of month from Cuba.He has lot of interesting story from his sailing trip he had shared with me.Today we sail from Morehead city to Oriental.We saw dolphines on our way.He let me ride his 30 feet long boath all the way to Oriental.It was exciting to ride boat by your self.In Oriental we pick up another crew membrer Bob from Baltimore.Tommorow we will sail all day to Belhaven(NC)
I forget to mention that Geert's culinary galley(food skills) are great.Today we had mexican specialty.
Michal Michlo

Pushing on

Two new crew members, Michael Michlo and Bob Mayo, are arriving today and tomorrow. If the weather holds, we'll make the Chesapeake by next weekend. Dick Teachout, a seasoned 'Sea Scout' veteran (Bermuda, Newfoundland), may be able to join us in Norfolk next week. So, with luck, we'll get home after all.

In North Carolina

Sea Scout is in Morehead City, NC. Next stop is Oriental, NC, and the plan is to reach Norfolk, VA next week-end, after transiting through the Great Dismal Swamp.

Almost there 2

The weather is holding, and the forecast good. Rather than leave the boat now, we decided to push on as far as we can. We hope to reach Beaufort this weekend. From there it's only 200 miles to Norfolk on the south end of the Chesapeake Bay. If I can find one more crew member, we can make it. If you're interested, please call the boat's cell (202-491-7136) or Olina in Washington (202-237-7375 or 202-473-4655).

Almost there - by Geert

We motored north on the Intra Coastal Waterway to Savannah, where Dancker left to go home, and Tony came on board. Winds were fair in the beginning of the week, so we went offshore immedaiately. We reached Cape Fear in North Carolina after two clear, beautiful days at sea, accompanied by dolphins and, at night, an occasional shrimper. We are now in the resort and nature preserve of Bald Head Island. Tony and I are both running out of time. We have to get back to Washington. The plan is to leave 'Sea Scout' in North Carolina (Wilmington area.) I will come back next month or in the summer to sail the boat to its mooring in the Chesapeake Bay. It should be a lovely trip: offshore from Masonboro Inlet to Beaufort, up the Neuse and Pamilco rivers, through the Dismal Swamp Canal, and finally up the Chesapeake. Interested in sailing? Send me an email and we'll talk about dates and logistics.

Greetings from Panama - by David

Hey Geert,

I hope all is well and the staysail can be repaired. I wish we had Danker on board with us the whole time! Anyway lifes a party here and everyone is in Panama. I saw Gregoir and Morgan the french couple we met in Haiti, of course Barry and Chris are here as well. In addition we have met some amazing people that you would have really liked. Most interesting perhaps is the 27 year-old Hundarian named Aaron. He is sailing alone around the world in his 19 foor sailboat. You would have loved talking to this guy who by the way has a beard that goes pretty much down to his chest. He was so funny when Nathan Maggie and I had him over for dinner. We asked him if he believed in God and he replied ¨Of course!! My boat is very small and I need all the help I can get!

Anyway there was a huge backlog for sailboats going through the canal so we got to meet a lot of cool boats and as it is with cruisers, exchanged cards and made plans to see each other down in the galapagos. We finaly got through the canal last monday and it was just about all it was cracked up to be. Unbelievable how much work went into that canal and how many people died. Also i forgot to mention that while we were waiting to transit we decided against the San Blas as the weather was pretty bad and instead went up inland towards Costa Rica and spend 5 days hiking the mountains and volcanos of western Panama.

We are off tomorrow morning and are having a farewell dinner with Barry and Chris and their two friends who came to join them. They are leaving tomorrow as well but I think the Swan 60 will outpace us. (Even though as Nathan says, Barry´s sailing strategy is to put the Raymarine on, turn on the radar alarm and go to sleep. When you hear the turtles on the beach your there mate)!!

Ok well just thought id check in with you and Danker to make sure Sea Scout is still in one piece. Safe sailing Geert and reef early! Take it easy and watch out for those Floridians, they are a nasty bunch.

Due North

We had some rough sailing outside the reef between Key West and Key Largo and ripped the staysail, but we made very good progress. We flew by Miami and Palm Beach and are now docked in Titusville. We can see the Kennedy Space Center from the cockpit. We plan to continue north on the Intracoastal Waterway. As soon as we have a two or three day weather window, we'll go offshore again.

Dancker fussed endlessly with the malfunctioning self steering vane, and got the thing working again. His next project is the rigging, which, he says, is tuned all wrong. It's a delight to have an experienced sailor on board.

Fort Pierce

Sea Scout is in a marina about 10 miles south of Vero Beach. It's raining. They hope to leave to sail further north on Thursday.

Key West!

We arrived at noon yesterday after a marvelous moonlit passage from Havana. In the federal building we raised many a border agent's eyebrow and had to listen to some threatening words ("There is no direct traffic between Cuba and the US!" "Boy, are you in trouble!" "You face deportation!"). After many questions and paperwork we (they) got things straight, thanks to Dancker's visa, my status as a writer and Sea Scoout's Dutch papers. There may very well be a federal follow-up in Washington, but we'll cross that river when we get there. For now we are happily back in the country and the boat has a cruising permit for a whole year.

Dick, thanks so much for the pictures. They are great!

Cuban pictures (II and last) by Dick

Cubans are by nature very friendly and open minded. I enjoyed them, their meals, their way of trying to make the best of it.
Compared to Haiti Cuba is very clean. One reason is that Cubans do not have anything to spill. Another is the regime. It is everywhere.
Sometimes this regime looks funny (where in the world can you find oil tanks with the text: 'For my country I will die' or billboards especially made for Americans within the 'special interest section' of the USA at the Malecon in Havana?). Then it's intimidating: when soldiers guard embarking ships with their guns loaded.

And the black flags? Their original goal is to 'cover' an LED-screen with newsflashes 'from the free world' on the one and only American office in Havana. But the sign below it says it is to honour the victims of a battle with the Americans in 1868...

Cuba is however changing. In Havana western luxury is more visible than five years ago. But it still is a very thin 'varnish'.

May be this is what I like about it: the crew of Sea Scout did not always understand my sense of humor. The 'Dick joke' became a household word. Do you understand the humor of 'Fidel, 80 years more'? I do.

Pictures from Cuba (I)

I split the Cuban selection in two: 'pictures made at sea' and those 'made on the land'.
The nice thing about being at sea is that what you see is constantly changing: the light, the colours, the waves (or no waves at all), sometimes there are clouds, at night you can see the moon and the stars (& planets). Anything is always or seems moving.
Sometimes you see other life, mainly animal life: birds, dolphins, we caught and ate a barracuda, bought and ate lobster and a red snapper from fishermen.
During my seven weeks in total we spotted five commercial vessels, about fifteen fishing boats and a few yachts. Ideal circumstances to train my 'sitting to sit'. I am very good at that now.
It's harder to make photos of what I just described. And when you realise the most important thing about navigation is that you constantly look for things you cannot see...
I tried however to give you an idea.
And, when David will be back on the log the contest for 'the best sunset' will open officially.

Dick

Ile a Vache

On Ile a Vache (pop. 15.000) the highway is a footpath. The only traffic are pedestrians (and as rumour goes drug traffickers). We spent app. 10 days there. Geert found lots of plots for new books and we went sailing twice with local fisherman in their handmade, but very fast sailing boats. Gratien (see picture at end) was not only a fisherman but also a pastor... He named his vessel Ebenezer (= Kreol for Eben Haezer (1 Samuel 7:12). The stone of help or 'This is where the Lord brought us'.)
I was also very impressed by the work of Soeur Flora and the mailman from Quebec. She led the orphanage in Madame Bernard (the main village) for more than 25 years and he helps her six months a year by providing the most handicapped children a bath in the sea. The pedal boat you see is the orphanages washing machine (there is no electricity).