It may sound like I'm really behind on my blog because if all the the islands I've listed but we only went to each island for a couple nights each. Believe it or not It's only been 3 weeks since my last post.
After St. Lucia we went to Bequia, part of the Grenadines. Most of the islands I'll talk about are part of the Grenadines. They are known for their model boats. We (Julia, Remi, and I) made our own out of coconut shells that we found cracked open and ate. (We spent 3 nights there)
Mystic was a pleasant place where we spent Remi's birthday. (3 nights)
Then we went to Canouan, which was a really rolly anchorage. When we are in a rolly anchorage we have a hard time walking around and doing stuff. We didn't get on land at all. (1 night)
We went to Mayreao and we found a swimming pool that was next to a bar. Adults were lounging on floats in the pool with their drinks so we couldn't spash at all until they got out. (1 night)
After that met up with S/V Dilly Dally and Giamar in the Tobago Cays. We spent our time snorkeling in a turtle sanctuary. We went to a beach BBQ were someeelse grilled and Julia, Madeline, Wyatt, Remi, and I played freeze tag on the beach. (3 nights)
Then we went to Union, the last island in the Grenadines. They had really good fruit. There was bananas, mango, pineapples, starfruit, papaya, and my favorite, passion fruit.(2 nights).
Then we went to Carricou and we anchored of a beach that has a little saltwater pond on it. When I say pond, I mean it is still clear and the only thing separating the ocean from the pond is a wall of huge pieces of dead coral. It is excellent snorkeling in the pond, which is as deep as a shallow baby pool. It suddenly drops of at the end with coral, rocks, fish, sea urchins and other amazing sea life. It is really cool to lie on the edge and look over at the ‘guard fish’ and coral. The ‘guard fish’ are fish that come at you strait on, only diverting when their fear of us overcomes them. We made a crab house, like a fairy house except for crabs, on the beach with our friend, Julia. (5 nights)
Now we are in Grenada, the spice island, and have been enjoying it emensly. We are in a marina and they have a pool. Now, not only have we been playing with Germans now we are playing with Finns and some French kids!
Thanks for reading my blog! Here is the next chapter of my story.
Skipchaser
The rowing boat was leaking and water was pouring in. The rim of the boat was two inches above the water and my shins were submerged, too. I had learned about density in school and I knew that if the boat filled up any more, it would sink. I franticly waved my arms in the air hoping that the three masted boat would see me. It did, and it turned, its sails fluttering like a seagull and then slowly but steadily settled on the other side of the ship. I quickly turned and started bailing out the dingy. The boat came closer and closer and I only stopped bailing out when I could see the Canadian colors flying behind the boat. Soon after that I could read the name of the vessel -Skipchaser- stood out bold, like a sliver of the night sky lying on pure white, shimmering snow. Someone on the boat, which was pure white and shimmering, threw me a rope ladder that I caught with the greatest difficulty.
"Have her come up on the port stern." someone yelled from the ship.
"Roger that, Captain." said a girl about my age. "Did you you hear the Captain? Come up on our port aft."
''What does 'port aft' mean?" I yelled back to her.
"Great" she mumbled sarcastically to herself "A non-sailor." then said to me "Port means the left of the boat and aft means back, so come up on the left side of the back."
"But didn't the Captain" I said proud of my small knowledge of sailing slang. "Say to come up on the port stern?" I asked.
"Yah, aft and stern mean the same thing. Now, enough chit-chat, just come on up here!" she said getting impatient. "The bitter end of the rope ladder is made fast to a cleat."
"What?" I said. I would have to get used to this natical way of talking.
"Just come up!" she urged. I scooted up the rope ladder stopping halfway up to make sure I hadn't left anything in the rowboat. Oh, no! I had left the orange sea glass in the digny, that was drifting away. Then I felt a burning sensation and felt the necklace around my neck, there was defiantly something mysterious about the sea glass.
"Hi, I'm Desiree" the girl said "What are you doing out here in the middle of the ocean?"
"We can't be that far away from land." I replied.
"Only 10 miles." Desiree said. "What's your story?"
"I quickly made up a story, knowing that no one would believe the truth about magic sea glass and tiny birds.
"My mom sent me here from Maine while she went to a vacation to Italy. I was playing on the beach in that boat and I drifted away."
"Well, we'll be going to Maine but not for six months. Maybe, you can come with us, if that's not too late." Desiree said.
"Perfect, that's when she's expecting me." I replied.
"We're gonna tack." the Captain yelled.
"Duck!" Desiree told me.
"Why?" I asked confused.
"No questions, just duck."
I did, but not soon enough. Something hit me square in the head. I fell over but quickly regained my balance, hand to head.
"What was that?" I asked bewildered.
"It was the boom of the mizzenmast." Desiree replied running towards me. I had a lot to learn in these six months of sailing.
From,
Mia
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Shing, Shang, Shong
Hello Everyone,
I'm sorry that I haven't blogged in awhile. I have a perfect explanation for this though, I've been spending all of my time doing schoolwork. Just kidding, I'm not that perfect. I've really been exploring the islands, swimming, playing on the beach, and doing other fun stuff (though I have been doing schoolwork too). Anyway, the last time I blogged was in Les Saints so I have a lot of catching up to do. When we left Les Saints we went to Dominica, the island were the Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed. We took a tour around the island with our friends from Canada and a family from Germany. In the German family was a 6 year old girl that spoke very little English. By the end of the trip we learned some German and Julia learned some more English. We also learned a German version of 'Rock, Paper, Scissors'. You say Shing, Shang, Shong (the name of the game) and swing your hand back and forth. Then you make the rock, paper, scissors, or well sign with your hand. To do 'well' you cup your hands. The only thing that beats 'well' is 'paper' because 'paper' can't go down the 'well'. The tour was very fun, and included a plunge into a freezing 75° waterfall, brrr.
After we left Doninica we went to Martinique, another french country. More fresh French bread and cheese. We met up with Julia and her family on the boat Arwen in every single harbor we went to in Martinique. We spent New Year with Julia and her parents on our boat. This was the first year I stayed up until midnight on New Year and Julia did it too, but we were a little disappointed when not much happened. Five minutes after they went back to thier boat we were all asleep. When we were in the town of Le Marin we could completely talk to Julia using hand signals and a few words from each others languages. Le Marin was a huge city to our standards after being in some pretty remote places. It was a lot more urban to us than a lot of the places we've been in the Caribbean. It even had fully stocked chanderlies and great groceries stores almost as big as the ones at home, with easy acess via a dingy dock right at the store. After we provisioned and fit as much food and boat parts as we could on the boat, we went to St. Lucia.
Now we are in St. Lucia, anchored right off a beautiful beach that has two resorts on it. Yesterday we went to a mall, yes an actual mall, with a real Burger King! This morning we took the bus to the fruit market and got fresh mangos, avocados, and papaya. Then, as an early birthday present to Remi, we rented some local horses and Remi and Dad rode with Julia and her mom. At the end they went swimming on the horse. Dad decided he didn't want to go in the water. Who do you think got the chance to ride in the water? Yes, I got to ride a horse! This was the first time I got to ride a horse, except for some carnivals where you just walk a couple of feet in a tiny fenced in area. I was a little wobbly on the horse until I got in the water. I also had a hard time getting him to go, but for the first time on a horse, I think I did a pretty good job. Today we went and ate at the Burger King. It was the greasiest food we've eaten on this trip.
Well, I'm sure your dying to hear the next chapter of my story (at least I hope so) so here is chapter 4.
The Ocean
The ground was swaying and my feet were engulfed in water. Suddenly my head was drenched, too. My jaw dropped and a tiny drop of water fell in my mouth. It was salty! My eyes jolted open. A blue landscape was all around me. Except for the clouds everything was blue. I sat down in the little rowing dingy (which was more like half of a barrel) and stared at the beautiful scene before me. The fish, flying fish is what they call them I think, were flying in and out, in and out of the magnificent-...
My thought was interrupted by a sudden wave that got a lot of water in the dingy. Another filled up the boat more and completely brought me back to my senses. I looked around hopefully for some sign of land. There was none. I had never been in a boat before, except for the time I was on a large ferry going from Maine to Nova Scotia. What was I doing in the middle of the ocean? Then I remembered, Fiddlesticks had said something about a journey. Maybe this was the journey. If it was, I wasn't liking it that much.
"Fiddlesticks, Fiddlesticks, I want to go back now!" I yelled hoping that the queer little bird would hear me and come back. My orange sea was glowing. I grabbed it and it burnt me again. Then I tapped it three times, remembering the scene in my bedroom. Fiddlesticks flew out.
"Oh there you are, I was so worried. Where am I? Can you take me home now?" I blurted out.
The little bird looked at the ground and said:
"There are two reasons why I can't bring you back. The first is that I don't have any more magic left. The second is that you are on a little bit of a schedule."
"What do you mean a schedule?" I inquired a little hotly.
"Well when I brought you here I also brought you back in time. You have exactly 6 months to get back to your home or you will be captured in a time-warp."
"Why did you even take me on this so called journey?" I asked, still a little mad.
"The only way to pass this exam and get my magic is to do this to someone. That is why I have no magic to get you back. I was only given a small amount for this journey." He said.
"Okay I get it, but where am I?"
"Look off in the distance to your right and you will soon find out." Fiddlesticks explained as he flew back into the sea glass.
"Why can't you tell me now?" I asked but the little bird was already gone.
I looked to my right and saw the faint image of a boat in the distance. I stood up and started waving my arms as a little sliver of hope stirred inside me.
I'm sorry that I haven't blogged in awhile. I have a perfect explanation for this though, I've been spending all of my time doing schoolwork. Just kidding, I'm not that perfect. I've really been exploring the islands, swimming, playing on the beach, and doing other fun stuff (though I have been doing schoolwork too). Anyway, the last time I blogged was in Les Saints so I have a lot of catching up to do. When we left Les Saints we went to Dominica, the island were the Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed. We took a tour around the island with our friends from Canada and a family from Germany. In the German family was a 6 year old girl that spoke very little English. By the end of the trip we learned some German and Julia learned some more English. We also learned a German version of 'Rock, Paper, Scissors'. You say Shing, Shang, Shong (the name of the game) and swing your hand back and forth. Then you make the rock, paper, scissors, or well sign with your hand. To do 'well' you cup your hands. The only thing that beats 'well' is 'paper' because 'paper' can't go down the 'well'. The tour was very fun, and included a plunge into a freezing 75° waterfall, brrr.
After we left Doninica we went to Martinique, another french country. More fresh French bread and cheese. We met up with Julia and her family on the boat Arwen in every single harbor we went to in Martinique. We spent New Year with Julia and her parents on our boat. This was the first year I stayed up until midnight on New Year and Julia did it too, but we were a little disappointed when not much happened. Five minutes after they went back to thier boat we were all asleep. When we were in the town of Le Marin we could completely talk to Julia using hand signals and a few words from each others languages. Le Marin was a huge city to our standards after being in some pretty remote places. It was a lot more urban to us than a lot of the places we've been in the Caribbean. It even had fully stocked chanderlies and great groceries stores almost as big as the ones at home, with easy acess via a dingy dock right at the store. After we provisioned and fit as much food and boat parts as we could on the boat, we went to St. Lucia.
Now we are in St. Lucia, anchored right off a beautiful beach that has two resorts on it. Yesterday we went to a mall, yes an actual mall, with a real Burger King! This morning we took the bus to the fruit market and got fresh mangos, avocados, and papaya. Then, as an early birthday present to Remi, we rented some local horses and Remi and Dad rode with Julia and her mom. At the end they went swimming on the horse. Dad decided he didn't want to go in the water. Who do you think got the chance to ride in the water? Yes, I got to ride a horse! This was the first time I got to ride a horse, except for some carnivals where you just walk a couple of feet in a tiny fenced in area. I was a little wobbly on the horse until I got in the water. I also had a hard time getting him to go, but for the first time on a horse, I think I did a pretty good job. Today we went and ate at the Burger King. It was the greasiest food we've eaten on this trip.
 |
| I'M ACTUALLY ON A HORSE!!! |
Well, I'm sure your dying to hear the next chapter of my story (at least I hope so) so here is chapter 4.
The Ocean
The ground was swaying and my feet were engulfed in water. Suddenly my head was drenched, too. My jaw dropped and a tiny drop of water fell in my mouth. It was salty! My eyes jolted open. A blue landscape was all around me. Except for the clouds everything was blue. I sat down in the little rowing dingy (which was more like half of a barrel) and stared at the beautiful scene before me. The fish, flying fish is what they call them I think, were flying in and out, in and out of the magnificent-...
My thought was interrupted by a sudden wave that got a lot of water in the dingy. Another filled up the boat more and completely brought me back to my senses. I looked around hopefully for some sign of land. There was none. I had never been in a boat before, except for the time I was on a large ferry going from Maine to Nova Scotia. What was I doing in the middle of the ocean? Then I remembered, Fiddlesticks had said something about a journey. Maybe this was the journey. If it was, I wasn't liking it that much.
"Fiddlesticks, Fiddlesticks, I want to go back now!" I yelled hoping that the queer little bird would hear me and come back. My orange sea was glowing. I grabbed it and it burnt me again. Then I tapped it three times, remembering the scene in my bedroom. Fiddlesticks flew out.
"Oh there you are, I was so worried. Where am I? Can you take me home now?" I blurted out.
The little bird looked at the ground and said:
"There are two reasons why I can't bring you back. The first is that I don't have any more magic left. The second is that you are on a little bit of a schedule."
"What do you mean a schedule?" I inquired a little hotly.
"Well when I brought you here I also brought you back in time. You have exactly 6 months to get back to your home or you will be captured in a time-warp."
"Why did you even take me on this so called journey?" I asked, still a little mad.
"The only way to pass this exam and get my magic is to do this to someone. That is why I have no magic to get you back. I was only given a small amount for this journey." He said.
"Okay I get it, but where am I?"
"Look off in the distance to your right and you will soon find out." Fiddlesticks explained as he flew back into the sea glass.
"Why can't you tell me now?" I asked but the little bird was already gone.
I looked to my right and saw the faint image of a boat in the distance. I stood up and started waving my arms as a little sliver of hope stirred inside me.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Joyuex Noël
Now we are in Les Saints, Guadeloupe. The locals make excellent crepes and really good bread that is delivered right to the boat. The only problem is we usually don't know what the people, that are selling us the crepes and the bread, are saying. That is because they speak French! Otherwise everything here is really cool. Since Christmas is just around the corner (just 2 more days to be exact) all the local kids are off of school, even though I'm not. Anyway they are had a Christmas celebration yesterday and the door steps of people's houses are decorated in Joyuex Noël posters. Joyuex Noël if you haven't guessed already, means Merry Christmas in French. Christmas in 90° weather just doesn't feel right and we heard a song about sweaty Santa Claus a couple days ago. Even though Santa and his reindeer might be sweaty, Christmas is definitely in the air (as well as firecrackers) and we are getting used to not knowing what people are saying. For those people who are waiting to read the third chapter of my story here it is:
The Voices
I woke up in the morning to the sound of a voice saying "Come over here, tap me three times". I groggily got out of bed, yawned and walked to my closet. I threw open the door, picked out a shirt and put on some jeans, as the voice kept repeating. I opened my door and yelled
"Lucy, I know you're there and you're not scaring-" I stepped out of my room and realized that no one was in the hall. I marched over to Lucy's room grabbed the handle and pulled with all my might while the voice was still yammering on in my head. I gave the handle another jerk.
Locked!
The voice was seriously annoying me now so I ran to the bathroom, yanked open a drawer, grabbed a bobby pin, and ran back to Lucy's room. I picked the lock and barged into her room.
"Lucy stop it!" I yelled. Lucy turned around, she was on the floor playing with her barbies.
"Stop what?" she demanded.
"Uh, nothing. Did you hear something?" I asked.
"No, did you?" Lucy inquired suspiciously.
"No" I lied. The voice was still repeating in my head.
"Come to me. Tap me three times." It said.
"I was just wondering" I told Lucy.
"Can you go now? Lucy said abruptly
"O.K." I said heading for the door. I walked to my room and sat down. The voice started saying something else.
"Come to me. I'm on your window sill. Tap me three times." my eyes wandered to the window sill. The orange sea glass was moving! I went over and picked it up.
"Ouch!" It burnt me.
"Tap me three times" I tapped it three times, it didn't burn me, instead a tiny brown bird flew out.
"Phew" the bird said "It feels good to be out of the sea glass."
I was so surprised I fell on my bed.
"Eliza I'm going to go to the grocery store, take care of your sister" yelled my mom from downstairs, momentarily taking me out of my surprised state.
"O.K" I yelled back and then turned toward the bird "What's happening?"
"I'm taking you on an adventure. My name's Fiddlesticks. You always have to keep the sea glass with you at all times" the bird chirped a-mile-a-minute.
"What kind of adventures? I'm Eliza, I don't have pockets. How do I keep the sea glass?" I thought out loud.
"Oh yeah, I'll make you a necklace." Fiddlesticks found some wire and string and soon had a necklace. I slipped it over my head and the bird landed on my shoulder. "Close your eyes, you'll be on your adventure soon" he said. With that I left my room for a very long journey.
JOYUEX NOËL!!!!!!
- MIA
The Voices
I woke up in the morning to the sound of a voice saying "Come over here, tap me three times". I groggily got out of bed, yawned and walked to my closet. I threw open the door, picked out a shirt and put on some jeans, as the voice kept repeating. I opened my door and yelled
"Lucy, I know you're there and you're not scaring-" I stepped out of my room and realized that no one was in the hall. I marched over to Lucy's room grabbed the handle and pulled with all my might while the voice was still yammering on in my head. I gave the handle another jerk.
Locked!
The voice was seriously annoying me now so I ran to the bathroom, yanked open a drawer, grabbed a bobby pin, and ran back to Lucy's room. I picked the lock and barged into her room.
"Lucy stop it!" I yelled. Lucy turned around, she was on the floor playing with her barbies.
"Stop what?" she demanded.
"Uh, nothing. Did you hear something?" I asked.
"No, did you?" Lucy inquired suspiciously.
"No" I lied. The voice was still repeating in my head.
"Come to me. Tap me three times." It said.
"I was just wondering" I told Lucy.
"Can you go now? Lucy said abruptly
"O.K." I said heading for the door. I walked to my room and sat down. The voice started saying something else.
"Come to me. I'm on your window sill. Tap me three times." my eyes wandered to the window sill. The orange sea glass was moving! I went over and picked it up.
"Ouch!" It burnt me.
"Tap me three times" I tapped it three times, it didn't burn me, instead a tiny brown bird flew out.
"Phew" the bird said "It feels good to be out of the sea glass."
I was so surprised I fell on my bed.
"Eliza I'm going to go to the grocery store, take care of your sister" yelled my mom from downstairs, momentarily taking me out of my surprised state.
"O.K" I yelled back and then turned toward the bird "What's happening?"
"I'm taking you on an adventure. My name's Fiddlesticks. You always have to keep the sea glass with you at all times" the bird chirped a-mile-a-minute.
"What kind of adventures? I'm Eliza, I don't have pockets. How do I keep the sea glass?" I thought out loud.
"Oh yeah, I'll make you a necklace." Fiddlesticks found some wire and string and soon had a necklace. I slipped it over my head and the bird landed on my shoulder. "Close your eyes, you'll be on your adventure soon" he said. With that I left my room for a very long journey.
JOYUEX NOËL!!!!!!
- MIA
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Mia Surfing
Hello Everybody,
We went snorkeling near Great Bird Island. There were some really cool coral and sea anemones. I like snorkeling a lot because of all the pretty (and ugly) sea life. We moved to Barbuda. The guide book says it has a wonderful "pink" beach, but no matter how much you squint it just isn't pink. Any beach is a good one though and this one is super awesome! There are big waves that Remi and I 'Mia surf' on. Mia surfing is when I body surf with my head underwater and Remi sits on my back and enjoys the ride. We also like to sit in the breaking zone or where the waves break and let the waves tumble us around. In Barbuda we learned how NOT to beach a dingy. We accidentally almost capsized the dingy. Dad fell out and everything flew everywhere. It wasn't what you would call a successfully dingy landing. Anyway, nobody was hurt and we all had a fun time on the beach. Now we are back in Antigua and yesterday was Hero's Day here, which is just like our Veteran's Day. All the local kids got the day off and a bunch of them hung out on a beach, that we were anchored near. We spent the afternoon playing in the sand and swimming with them. It felt good to have 'kid time' again because the last time we spoke with kids was almost a month ago. It was a fun way to see how locals spend a day at the beach. They caught a bunch of fish including a stingray when they were spearfishing! They grilled and had fun in the water. We made sand balls together, which the local kids called snowballs. When we asked if they had ever made actual snowballs out of snow, they said that they have never even seen snow! Well, for all those people held in suspense from my story here is the second chapter.
I woke up to the sound of muffled cries that I couldn't make out. As I tried to hear what they were saying, I realized that I was still underwater. Thousands of questions buzzed in my head. How did I get underwater? Why was I underwater? How long was I underwater? Unfortunately I didn't know the answers to any of my questions. I kicked hard until my head popped out. I heard that the the muffled cries were talking to me.
"Eliza, where are you, Eliza?" the voices cried. I turned around and there on shore was my family. I swam fast towards them.
"Where were you? We looked for the top of your snorkel but, we couldn't find it. I was so worried." my mother said frantically.
"I was right there." I said pointing to the place I was. "I was just underwater."
"For half an hour?" Lucy my 6 year old sister said.
"Really? It was that short I thought it was longer." my mom said to no one in particular and then turned towards me and said "Eliza, you couldn't have been underwater for half an hour. Where were you?"
"I don't know." I replied. Lucy snickered.
"Well, what do you have in your hand then?" she asked. I slowly uncurled my fingers to reveal a piece of sea glass that looked exactly like the sun. All the memories came rushing back. The dive under, the burning pain, the black out.
What had happened down there? I wondered and so badly wanted to say. Instead I turned towards Lucy and said "It is just some sea glass, I'll probably throw it back." I knew the sea glass had some hidden mystery that my body was just aching to find out. I also knew how valuable orange sea glass is. All the reasons why I shouldn't throw it back swirled around in my water logged head and my gut feeling, throwing it back because it might be dangerous, was over powered by the curious part of me. I held on to it the whole ride home and then put it on my window sill.
We went snorkeling near Great Bird Island. There were some really cool coral and sea anemones. I like snorkeling a lot because of all the pretty (and ugly) sea life. We moved to Barbuda. The guide book says it has a wonderful "pink" beach, but no matter how much you squint it just isn't pink. Any beach is a good one though and this one is super awesome! There are big waves that Remi and I 'Mia surf' on. Mia surfing is when I body surf with my head underwater and Remi sits on my back and enjoys the ride. We also like to sit in the breaking zone or where the waves break and let the waves tumble us around. In Barbuda we learned how NOT to beach a dingy. We accidentally almost capsized the dingy. Dad fell out and everything flew everywhere. It wasn't what you would call a successfully dingy landing. Anyway, nobody was hurt and we all had a fun time on the beach. Now we are back in Antigua and yesterday was Hero's Day here, which is just like our Veteran's Day. All the local kids got the day off and a bunch of them hung out on a beach, that we were anchored near. We spent the afternoon playing in the sand and swimming with them. It felt good to have 'kid time' again because the last time we spoke with kids was almost a month ago. It was a fun way to see how locals spend a day at the beach. They caught a bunch of fish including a stingray when they were spearfishing! They grilled and had fun in the water. We made sand balls together, which the local kids called snowballs. When we asked if they had ever made actual snowballs out of snow, they said that they have never even seen snow! Well, for all those people held in suspense from my story here is the second chapter.
Passed Out
I woke up to the sound of muffled cries that I couldn't make out. As I tried to hear what they were saying, I realized that I was still underwater. Thousands of questions buzzed in my head. How did I get underwater? Why was I underwater? How long was I underwater? Unfortunately I didn't know the answers to any of my questions. I kicked hard until my head popped out. I heard that the the muffled cries were talking to me.
"Eliza, where are you, Eliza?" the voices cried. I turned around and there on shore was my family. I swam fast towards them.
"Where were you? We looked for the top of your snorkel but, we couldn't find it. I was so worried." my mother said frantically.
"I was right there." I said pointing to the place I was. "I was just underwater."
"For half an hour?" Lucy my 6 year old sister said.
"Really? It was that short I thought it was longer." my mom said to no one in particular and then turned towards me and said "Eliza, you couldn't have been underwater for half an hour. Where were you?"
"I don't know." I replied. Lucy snickered.
"Well, what do you have in your hand then?" she asked. I slowly uncurled my fingers to reveal a piece of sea glass that looked exactly like the sun. All the memories came rushing back. The dive under, the burning pain, the black out.
What had happened down there? I wondered and so badly wanted to say. Instead I turned towards Lucy and said "It is just some sea glass, I'll probably throw it back." I knew the sea glass had some hidden mystery that my body was just aching to find out. I also knew how valuable orange sea glass is. All the reasons why I shouldn't throw it back swirled around in my water logged head and my gut feeling, throwing it back because it might be dangerous, was over powered by the curious part of me. I held on to it the whole ride home and then put it on my window sill.
 |
| I love snorkeling! |
 |
| The local girls were really cool. |
 |
| A lizard on Great Bird Island. |
Friday, December 2, 2011
Skip Chaser
Hi Everyone,
Now that were in the Caribbean life isn't that bad. Yesterday Sterling flew back to Panama and we moved to a really cool anchorage. The water is super clear so, we went snorkeling. We saw the anchor in the sand, sea cucumbers, and starfish. Then we went to the beach and played in the sand for a while, when we swam back it felt like swim practice because Mom had me do breaststroke and head high crawl. It's really relaxing here and I started writing a story called "Skip Chaser" the sailing adventure of an 11 year old girl. Here is the first chapter.
White sand, beautiful white sand, rocks, and shells was what I saw. Something caught my eye, a shimmery orange glint. I focused on the bottom of the ocean, a orange piece of sea glass about the size of a quarter, lay beneath me. I gasped and then realized I shouldn't have, as my mask fogged up when I did. I knew that if I went to a place where I could touch the bottom to de-fog my mask, I would lose the sea glass. I started treading water, closed my eyes, and pulled off my mask. I carefully tried to stay in the same spot so I wouldn't loose the sea glass and smeared spit in the inside of my mask. I put it back on and looked for the sea glass once again. There it was, an orange glimmer. I took one last breath and dove down as the top of my snorkel submerged. I kicked hard with my right arm outstretched reaching for the sea glass. Almost there and I grabbed it. A shock of electricity hit me. I lifted my hand away from the glass instinctively, but the glass stuck to me. The pain became unbearable and the world went black.
I'll post the second and third chapter on the next blog.
Now that were in the Caribbean life isn't that bad. Yesterday Sterling flew back to Panama and we moved to a really cool anchorage. The water is super clear so, we went snorkeling. We saw the anchor in the sand, sea cucumbers, and starfish. Then we went to the beach and played in the sand for a while, when we swam back it felt like swim practice because Mom had me do breaststroke and head high crawl. It's really relaxing here and I started writing a story called "Skip Chaser" the sailing adventure of an 11 year old girl. Here is the first chapter.
Orange Sea Glass
White sand, beautiful white sand, rocks, and shells was what I saw. Something caught my eye, a shimmery orange glint. I focused on the bottom of the ocean, a orange piece of sea glass about the size of a quarter, lay beneath me. I gasped and then realized I shouldn't have, as my mask fogged up when I did. I knew that if I went to a place where I could touch the bottom to de-fog my mask, I would lose the sea glass. I started treading water, closed my eyes, and pulled off my mask. I carefully tried to stay in the same spot so I wouldn't loose the sea glass and smeared spit in the inside of my mask. I put it back on and looked for the sea glass once again. There it was, an orange glimmer. I took one last breath and dove down as the top of my snorkel submerged. I kicked hard with my right arm outstretched reaching for the sea glass. Almost there and I grabbed it. A shock of electricity hit me. I lifted my hand away from the glass instinctively, but the glass stuck to me. The pain became unbearable and the world went black.
I'll post the second and third chapter on the next blog.
Monday, November 28, 2011
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.
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,
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-
Friday, November 18, 2011
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.
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.
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