Feeding Frenzy

I watch from the dinghy as Liam the 12 year old boy on Gromit proudly waves his speared lobster in the air and swims quickly to his dinghy to secure his catch. I have noticed a shiny gleam in his eyes ever since we started out this afternoon. He seems different, more focused and excited with the spear gun in hand. It must be totally thrilling to chase after the fish and successfully snare one. I imagine it to be even more exciting than when we catch a fish off the stern of Salty Ginger.

I am happy to sit in the dinghy with the girls sunbathing and catching a small taste of the excitement from the sidelines. Liam has just come up with a nice size parrot fish and we are all hooting and hollering. He is so determined as he hunts. I watch him as he stays in one spot diving down and back up and down again. I asked him after what was happening and it was a battle between him and three lobsters. Luckily he won one!

Graham swims over to the dinghy and tells us there is a huge 8 foot shark swimming about. He points it out and we can see it over the side of the boat. Liam is off a ways and continues to spear fish. I feel the intensity of the situation dial up to high. As a fish is speared and blood spills into the water I worry. Finally much to Liam's disappointment Mike calls it. The shark is just way to interested in us....time to move on. Lucky for Liam the bay is huge and there are plenty of hunting spots to continue his adventure.

I feel a bit bad for Graham that he doesn't have Alex here to fish with. Amelia and I aren't huge fish eaters and Graham doesn't want to take more than we need from the sea. For today he seems content to be a spectator and snorkel about watching the show.

Over the past few days we have all had run-ins with the sharks. At Gromit one shark was standing guard at their swim ladder so they had to shoo it away with their flippers to climb aboard.

Today as the girls were trying to teach me to wind surf we drifted back to this area where we have been dumping our food scraps and we got a bit of a fright to see our familiar friend under us again. We towed the wind surfer back up wind and began again. Made the process even more exciting.

Yesterday as Amelia was helping Graham tighten the self steering at the back of the boat she was leaned way over the back transom holding herself on with the ladder that was folded up. Unfortunately though the ladder wasn't tied on and she made a big splash and fell in. She quickly got back on board and Graham said it wasn't moments later that a barracuda and sting ray showed up to see if the splash was food.

All of this is very exciting but the truth is that sharks, barracudas and sting rays don't want to eat people. There have only been a few minor attacks over the years in the Bahamas and they usually only occur during a feeding frenzy but it is so hard to remember this as we look down at them in this crystal clear shallow water swimming about.

Oh and speaking of feeding frenzies, the Gromit have been sharing their spoils. They have hosted two fabulous lunches. One with a variety of baked fish and another with trevally sushi and sashimi.

Right now we are 5 miles out from arriving at the Abacos in the Bahamas after a three night passage. The sail has been wonderful. Highlights were dolphins, cinnamon buns, daal and meeting up with our other buddy boat Tahina at sea!a

We arrived in the Bahamas

We arrived yesterday morning after a glorious 4 day sail! It was the kind of sailing that makes me remember why I love it. Beautiful downwind, calm seas and clear skies. I am currently sitting on the stoup of a small building on a very tiny island where they have wifi, so no time for a long post but below is a pic of the boys staring out at the wonder at the beautiful crystal clear waters of Mayaquana, Bahama. oh and they had no idea I was snapping a shot of them! They were matching though all tanned and shirtless ;-).

My Shell has Gotten Soft

I have been wanting to write this blog for a while but have been struggling with how to paint the picture. Being on the sea and living on a boat, your time is purely focused on the basics of life which also includes reflection. I find that in the city I am way too busy with running the race that reflection is so often overlooked. Back home I feel like the “water of life” is so murky that I can ignore what is just below the surface because I can’t see it. Out here the water is crystal clear and you can see pretty much everything floating around you. Life seems a bit more emotionally charged and sometimes a bit draining. We all tend to fire off our emotions both good and bad at the HIGH setting on the spectrum. I also become brutally self-aware and often a day will start with me thinking of the things I want to do differently.

The past few weeks we have been travelling with a number of other boats and cockpit parties and beach get togethers are abundant. They are so much fun and give us all a time to bond and discuss many of the same things we are all going through. Of course this is usually just the woman…. ;-).  One of the ladies the other night mentioned that back home she has her defenses up and “behaves emotionally appropriate.” Meaning that she considers her actions before acting. Each move and discussion is more deliberate. She said that out here her “Shell has gotten soft.” This so resonated with me. This perfectly describes how I feel. Everything is out there and exposed, you can’t really hide anything. It makes people really authentic and I think this is why we all become such fast friends out at sea. What you see is what you get. The good, the bad and the ugly. Anyone who knows me, knows that my emotions are usually always out there on my sleeve. If you call yourself my friend or my family, you have seen me on many occasions with tears in my eyes…..so now imagine me in this environment. Yup a bit of a mess ;-). I guess I could consider this trip a 6 month retreat! Look forward to the new improved Julie on my return.

We are currently in the USVI’s and plan on departing tomorrow for a 4 to 5 day passage to the Bahamas. This is the longest we have been out at sea on this trip so I am feeling a bit apprehensive. We also no longer have Alex to share the shifts with so this will mean less sleep for the three of us. The sail should all be downwind though so this is a huge positive. We won’t be leaned way over with the wind and splash in our face. Downwind is my favorite point of sail. We are also going to be sailing with Gromit which is always fun. We radio each other and compare speeds, etc. Nice to have another pair of eyes out there to.

One more thing I should mention is that yesterday for Mother’s day I awoke to a very unique surprise. On the counter was a face made out of oranges, paper towel and a banana. On the Banana Amelia had written Happy Mother’s Day and a nice message. It was pretty cool and reflected how unique she is. She also wrote me a really nice song. Right now for mother daughter bonding time we are at a very busy laundromat sitting on the dirty floor next to a wall outlet so we can plug in and charge our laptops! Shockingly we are both really happy to not be hand washing and to be getting free power ;-). There is even this nice OCD man who keeps folding and refolding our laundry.

Hope you all had a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend. My mom is off in Vegas living the life I am so happy she is able to! Love you mom.

Radio Star

Ever since I can remember Amelia has been singing. For Graham and me it is her health barometer both physical and emotional. When the singing stops we know we have a problem. Everything turns so quiet. Luckily these times are few and far between.

On the boat we have a ukulele and a guitar and singing continues to be a major part of our life. At each port we look for karaoke or open mic nights. Well two nights ago we were successful in our quest and found an open mic night at Lagoonies Pub.

We invited all our new and old cruiser friends…Gromits, Tahina, Cedar, La Luna and Blue Heeler and it was such a fun night. We laughed and mingled and thoroughly enjoyed getting to know everyone. Finally the live band took a break and they came to get Amelia for her performance. All her cruiser groupies gathered at the front by the stage and she sat perched on a bar stool with her guitar on her lap. The sound guy mic’d her and the guitar and she looked so beautiful, calm and confident. Didn’t seem nervous at all.

Finally it was time and she began to strum on her guitar. There was still chatter in the pub at this point and then she began to sing and the room automatically quieted and I looked around and people were enthralled. I still get enthralled. I had goose bumps listening to her. She finished and the crowd called for an encore and she delivered! As she left the stage a fellow from the island radio station came up and gave her his card and asked if she would like to sing live on the radio. She of course said “YES!”

A couple of days later we trekked over to the station in the extreme heat with guitar in hand. The station was just like you would imagine, a broadcast room with an extra stool for guests and a sound/recording room which looks into it.  The sound room even had the red light so you would know when they were on the air. It was the coolest experience ever. The station manager and radio host “Dr Soc” was in the middle of the morning show but during the songs he brought her into the studio. Graham and I let her go in on her own and we listened from Dr. Soc’s cat filled office. I was so nervous for her but she sounded like a total professional.

When it came time for her to sing I could hardly contain myself. She was AMAZING. She finished and you could tell that Dr. Soc was blown away. He was such a great guy, along with his fantastic co-host who was also a cruiser kid when she was young! This was such a unique experience, so different from any other cruiser experience we have had and I hope we have more ;-). Amelia is seeking out her next venue and I am dreaming of being her manager lol.

Below is a link to the live recording. Enjoy: http://pjil.streamon.fm/amelia-perry-performs-live-on-island-92-pl-1478#.VUDiV_PMl4A.gmail

Empty Room – Goodbye to Alex

As many of you know Alex has taken a gap year before beginning University in September. He has been accepted into the Environmental Studies program at Waterloo. We were thrilled that he was excited to come with us on yet another sailing adventure and we knew that eventually he would need to return home for the summer and find work to save for his expenses in September. The timeline regarding his departure was always up in the air a bit. After plenty of discussion Alex let us know that he was anxious to get back to Toronto, find work and start making his way in preparation for September. Beginning of May is when the university students will also be on the job market so he thought it best to get back end of April and get himself set up and job searching.

For me this is a huge turning point. As a parent you prepare your kids to not need you but when the point actually comes to let go it is harder than I ever imagined. Not because I don’t think he is capable but because I will miss this stage with him. There are still times that I miss little Alex. I know there are plenty of great stages ahead of us but moving on is hard. I love having him on the boat. He is mostly light and sunshine. He puts people at ease and his smile seems to be contagious. He doesn't complain and Graham has come to rely on him for help with sailing and any heavy lifting. He knows how to lighten the mood when things get dicey and is a great brother and friend to Amelia. He still makes plenty of questionable decisions and sometimes has to be reminded to wipe toothpaste off his face but these things will come. I am sad, happy and excited for him all at once.

We decided that he would jump ship in Antigua and fly home to Toronto. For our last sail together Liam from Gromit joined us and it was picture perfect. We trailed two fishing lines, laughed and sailed Salty Ginger fast! As we sailed closer and closer to the island my heart was in my throat. Then as each day passed and he began to pack and we made plans for his return back home and planned his goodbye beach party……my heart hurt. I knew he was leaving but maybe I just didn't believe it.

On his last day Alex and I spent the afternoon together. We kayaked to the beach and walked into the marina. We swam and laughed and remembered good times. He mentioned to me that he is looking forward to me shifting from parenting to advising. He makes me laugh. He also said that he will not entertain text messages which read "Where are you?" I really enjoyed that afternoon.

The night before he flew out we had a big beach barbecue with the Gromits and our friends Tanner and Shari and their boys. It was the perfect evening. Liam even fired off his last few fireworks in honor of Alex’s goodbye.

Now his room is empty…..I miss him. Life is different without him. I still have moments where I buy four of something or mention to someone I have two kid on board….then I remember :-(. Amelia has totally stepped in and has taken on Alex’s sailing responsibilities and our 4 night dinner making rotation is now a 3 night rotation.  I know she misses him, especially at night since Graham and I crash so early. We are so lucky to have 3 wonderful Gromit kids nearby to fill our lonely hearts.

I spoke to Alex and asked him how he was doing and he said that the only word to sum it all up was "happy." This made me feel better. Time for me to move on and assume my new role as "Advisor."

Oh and hey on the plus side we have an empty room now for visitors and I have a ton of new cupboard space ;-).