Passages

Today is the last day of a seven day passage from Bermuda to Antigua. I hate passages a lot.

    One of the reasons I hate passages is that I get seasick. Imagine if your house was tilting and flying up and down side to side, you wouldn't feel too good either. Not only does the motion make you seasick but it also makes it incredibly hard to do stuff, like go to the bathroom and sleep.

    The second reason I hate passages is that I need a change of scenery and people. I you were stuck on a 37' boat with 5 people for a couple of weeks, you'd know what I mean.

    Another reason I hate passages is that it's really stuffy in the boat. We couldn't open the hatches or vent because water might get in, the aft cabin is especially stuffy because the engine is right next to it and it is really blocked off from the rest off the boat. A couple days ago Dad let us open the hatch and vent in the aft cabin because the dingy was covering them. Dad also said that we had enough power so we got to turn on the fans so it isn't as stuffy anymore

    The last in reason I hate passage is that this passage is really hot. A couple days ago (on Sterling's birthday and Thanksgiving) it was in the 90's. For all those people back in the states with snow on the ground, YES, I said 90° on Thanksgiving! The heat would be fine if all the other things that I hate about passages were gone, but they're not and I'm not fine with the heat either.

    There is also two things I like about passages. The first one is seeing dolphins, they jump around our bow and leap out of the water really fast. We have seen 2 pods so far. I think seeing dolphins out here is cooler than going to a park to see them because it is guaranteed if you go to a dolphin park but when you are in the middle of the ocean it's not guaranteed, but when you see them it's so cool. Can you guess what the second thing I like about passages is? If you guessed watching Sterl trying unsuccessfully to catch a fish you guessed correctly! Sterl hasn't caught 1 fish on the passage yet and we have gone almost 1500 nautical miles! He has lost 3 lures and numerous hooks from snapping 50 pound line. He now has 100 lb. line but the hook keeps breaking. Oh well, maybe not a fish on this passage.

NOW WE ARE IN ANTIGUA!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 It feels so good to be here. Yesterday Remi, Mom and I hung out a pool while Dad and Sterling were at the bar. Oh, and Sterling caught a fish three hours before we reached Antigua! It was a small tuna, so he says we we will have sushi for breakfast since Mom brought sushi rice and wasabi just in case. It is a really cool place and it's almost worth the passage. We wouldn't think that the Caribbean was as cool if we flew there because after a passage we really appreciate things. This is such a cool place and the passage wasn't too bad but, I wouldn't want to do it again.

I made kites out of old grocery bags.

We found a pool in Antigua, Remi really likes it when I  throw her up in the air.

Sterling's GIANT fish.

The beach was really fun.

Here is a poem about the things that I missed on the passage.

What I would do for a bag of Doritos
Oh My, Oh My, Oh My,
I'd laugh and play all through the day
Oh My, Oh My, Oh My,

What I would do for a brownie
Oh My, Oh My, Oh My,
I'd scream and shout for it's all about
Oh My, Oh My, Oh My

What I would do for a taco
Oh My, Oh My, Oh My,
Id jump around right off the ground
Oh My, Oh My, Oh My

What I would do for some ice cream
Oh My, Oh My, Oh My,
I'd swim and swim until the sun dimmed
Oh My, Oh My, Oh My,

-MIA-

Bermuda

Well here we are, on the second day of our passage. We are in the Gulf Stream right now and I seem to be enjoying it a lot more than I expected. Maybe that's because I have been watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 most of the time. Today a tiny bird I call Fiddlesticks came out of nowhere and landed right smack in the middle of Sterling's lap. This fearless bird really likes Sterling, he even slept with him! We have a hard time walking around when the boat is heeling and it takes a lot of energy to go to the bathroom. I also don't like sleeping on the upper tack because I keep falling out of bed.

Now we are in Bermuda, after a six day passage. We didn't plan to come here so we didn't have paper charts or a courtsay flag. We say that we got sucked into Bermuda because the currents and the winds were favored to go towards Bermuda and on the day before we came here we found out their was a low pressure zone developing in the Caribbean, and Bermuda was a convenient place to sit it out. We thought the passage was pretty hard but our friends on Skylark have a dog, imagine how hard it would be for a dog on a passage. Dogs already have hard enough time going to the bathroom but when the boat is heeling and they have to go on the aft deck wearing a life jacket! Bermuda is a really cool place, I especially like the blue water. Bermuda is known for its pink sand and brightly colored houses, I will post some pictures of the houses but we haven't gone to the beach yet so I will post some pictures of the beach as soon as I go there.

The Passage

We are going on the passage to the Caribbean in a couple days. A passage is when you go out in the middle of the ocean and sail for days without stopping. The passage we are doing is about two weeks long so we will be out of contact for about two weeks because their is no wi-fi out in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. We will do shifts.  Being on shift is when you are in charge of steering the boat. The trip is about two weeks long, but we might get there faster if there are good winds and it might take longer if there isn't that much wind. My uncle, Sterling is coming tonight to crew for us. He is going to sleep in the v-berth while Mom, Dad, and Remi sleep in the big bed in the aft cabin and I get the little bed in the aft cabin. I am going to get a lot of school work done so I don't have to do that much when we are in the Caribbean. We'll probably fish, read, watch movies, play games, and eat a lot to keep busy.

Remi's thoughts about the passage:
I think we'll see whales and dolphins on the trip.  And we might see some big ships.  And I plan to make a project about what I see.  When we get there it will be hot and I will play on the white sand beach.