Old Friends re-contact me. 5.24.09

I got an email yesterday from Wil and Rachel Edmonds, a cute couple i met in December 2002. They had both saved money (~$8,000US ea) for a one year holiday to travel around the world... they were on month ten when i met them. From England, they had started in the Pacific - Thailand and worked their way around to Belize, where i met them. We were in San Ignacio Belize, ~seven miles from Guatemala.

i was travelling through Belize, Guatemala and scuba diving. Wil and Rachel were on their way north through Mexico and then around the USA before flying back home. i enjoyed visiting with them and hearing their story.

It was great to get an email from them after so long. I'll update here if i get further word and hear the rest of their story.

- pirates everywhere.... Skip

4.20 LA Quake!

I was there! i felt it. a real live earthquake.

now, i am told by locals that they have 'much larger' quakes, but this one was big enough for me. i can die in peace and not worry about having to check that little item off the list....

it started as a 'vibration' like someone walking behind you and pushing your chair, or the kid in the seat behind you on the flight kicking your chair. then the entire room sort of 'rolled.' it wasn't a massive up and down bounce or side to side shake. more like being on a boat and having a small swell of ocean waves lift you and set you back down. this 'wave effect' happened several times and we all looked at each other - at dinner saying "we're having an earthquake!" then pretty soon it was over. we laughed and talked about 'the big one.' it wasn't scary. (it didn't go on long enough or wasn't violent enough.) i'm lucky that way.

-skip the pirate

.from near the epicenter

___________________________________________________________

Quake near LAX is felt across wide area
By Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
10:32 PM PDT, May 17, 2009

A 4.7 earthquake struck southeast of Los Angeles International Airport this evening, causing significant shaking across Southern California.The temblor hit about 8:40 p.m. near the South Bay community of Lennox. A 3.0 aftershock occurred a few minutes later near Lennox.

The temblor started about 8.4 miles below the surface, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Residents in the Lennox area said china fell off shelves, but there were no reports of more serious damage.

"It was pretty strong but over in about 15 seconds." -Los Angeles County Sheriff's

The earthquake was "a bit deep," said U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Susan Hough. "That tends to make it less sharp – less of a jerky, abrupt motion," Hough said. As a result, most of the region felt the quake largely as a rolling motion.

5.17 Anaheim CA for CDA

Anaheim CA with the Cal Dental Show.

28,573 dental hygienists and a few dentist... we are literally across the street from Disneyland. when i step outside i can hear the clack, clack, clack of the roller coaster.... then the screams & laughter of kids wearing stupid hats with mouse ears! the sad part of that is that i never get to step outside while it's daytime. i arrive 5:30am and depart 7:30pm. (is this why i make the 'big bucks?') i did slip out yesterday to pick up lunch and enjoyed 30 minutes in the sunshine. sunny southern california... ahhhhhhhhhhh.

Angela is right, we need to post more food photos. *note: when you are on show site, dont get the Indian food buffet for lunch the first day of the load-in. if you forget, the food will remind you!

I cant wait to get back to my sailboat Prodigal and start work getting it 'ship shape' like Craig and Angela on s/v Hakuna Matata. i've got more work before i'm ready to attack the Caribbean.

back on land, Pirate Skip

5.8.9 Home Boat - Kemah Texas

A special warm hello to all my new sailing friends i met along the way: Larue and Susan, John Pierre and Denise, Terry and Barb, Jim and Renata, Bill on s/v Turn the Page, Dodd and Dennis, Sim and Rosie, Ross and Fran, Don and Kitty, Marcel and Lise.

LUPERON SHOTS.

Well i finally made it home to my own sailboat -Prodigal. i sure had fun visiting / sailing with Craig and Angela on their s/v Hakuna Matata on our voyage from the Bahamas down to the Dominican Republic and then across to Puerto Rico. We did a total of about 600 miles and made it across the Mona Passage.
Ross & Fran of s/v Pacific Quest. (we buddy sailed from Luperon to Puerto Rico with them.) ages: 27 & 25 from Australia and New Zealand. cute couple. they met working on a 200' super yacht in the Med, part of crew 16ppl.

SAMANA SHOTS

From Luperon we sailed over to Boqueron, Puerto Rico. (it took us several days. we sailed nights and spent an extra day in Samana DR to rest) We got in at about 6:30pm after a VERY FAST 24 hour sail from Samana, Republic of Dominica. It was an easy motor sail over the Mona Passage as we caught a rare ‘fold’ in the weather with calm seas and light winds.

MONA PASSAGE

For two weeks we had been anchored in Luperon, Dominican Republic waiting on a weather window to cross the Mona Passage. (the small 140 mile body of water between DR and PR) it turns out the Mona Passage has a reputation for it’s weather… the entire Northern Atlantic currents, winds and waves rush south through 10,000 foot deep water then it all crashes together into the narrow ‘Mona Passage’ including the ‘hour glass shoals’ where the water comes up to only 200 feet deep. So all this stuff is squeezed together and the strong trade winds help to pile up huge waves and rough seas… something to truly fear. (like riding a toothpick through a toilet bowl flushing) but we flew through with little wind and tiny rolling swells about 4 ft high.

How did we know when to go? every morning Craig listens to weather. At 6:30am Chris Parker is on the SSB radio with a weather report for the Caribbean. (http://www.caribwx.com/ssb.html ) It’s a pay service for cruisers, if you want to inquire about a specific route. (i.e. ‘how is the weather today between Luperon DR to Puerto Rico over the Mona passage?’) Chris answers questions from callers, “sponsors” or members to his Caribbean Weather Net. They pay $200 per year for this service. For this they can call chris and ask about weather from Columbia, Panama Canal and around all the way up to the Chesapeake.
Craig is not a member so we listen in (it’s a radio program) for news about where we want to go. Some mornings we get exactly the info we seek and other days we get nothing useful. (one day a ship in our harbor asks about exactly where we want to sail – we have our answer) other days boats only sailing a few miles ask lots of questions and waste all the time.

It was a great adventure for me. Lots of fun and learning.

(the pirates dream: coconut cream pie)
Thanks craig and angela for sharing.

-pirate skip