Newsletter December 2005

"A major lawsuit could break us!"


Greetings and Happy Holidays from the zany crew of Pipe Dream. It’s December 8 and Jutta and I are sitting in a marina in St Marys, Georgia. The wind is howling around the boat and it’s been raining cats and dogs. Why did we ever leave the Tropics?? In a few days we will be vacating the boat and heading out to visit family for the holidays. Jutta will be flying to Germany to visit family, and I will go to Phoenix, yes, sunny warm Phoenix, for a couple of weeks.
Before I go any further with the Holiday Newsletter I must straighten out something in the last newsletter to prevent the possibility of legal problems for the crew of Pipe Dream. I think the newspaper industry calls this a retraction. In October, a week before the Annapolis Boat Show, Jutta’s son Brandon and his girlfriend Alison came to visit the crew of Pipe Dream. We sailed to Saint Michaels, spent the night, and returned to Annapolis. Alison, a Chicago city slicker, was terrified of “Jaws” attacking the boat and devouring the crew of Pipe Dream. You have probably read many accounts of shark attacks in a semi fresh water environment, 130 miles up the Chesapeake Bay??? Brandon just enjoyed the water and had a few beers. We had a wonderful visit with Brandon and Alison but with all the euphoria about our new engine we totally forgot to include their visit in our last newsletter. They were very disappointed for not getting honorable mention and turned in a complaint. So here is our apology. Brandon is one of those “ATTORNEYS” and we don’t want to make any of them mad!!!!!
In the last newsletter we left you with Pipe Dream’s crew looking for a free turkey dinner at a homeless shelter. Well, Jutta and I could not find a free meal so we opted for a home cooked dinner on the boat hoping not to replicate the disastrous turkey dinner five years ago in La Paz, Mexico. I can still visualize my kids, Jody and Ryan, politely trying to eat a turkey that must have been frozen since the last ice age. We nearly caused a fish kill at the anchorage after tossing what tasted like old cardboard over the side. While shopping for a turkey we overheard conversations in the poultry department like, ”do we want a 20 or 22 lb. turkey this year”, or “we need leftovers for how many to take home this Thursday?”. Jutta and I walked right up to the cooler with our heads held high, reached into our backpack and pulled out a tape measure. I grabbed a perfect turkey, put it into our shopping cart and measured. There was a chilling silence before the high fives and hoo-rahs excited the crowd of onlookers. The turkey was 11 ½ inches high. It would just fit in our oven. Kwel! Our dinner was a success, we pulled it off, and we had a scrumptious Thanksgiving aboard Pipe Dream.
The morning after Thanksgiving we cut the dock lines in South Carolina and headed south down the Intra Coastal Waterway toward Georgia. We usually try to make about 50 miles a day before dropping the anchor for the night. Keep in mind we travel at only 6 to 7 miles (or knots) per hour. Along the way, we met new and old cruising friends, did some “dredging” through the shallow mud banks of Jekyll Creek, explored the wild expanses of Cumberland Island, bicycled and picnicked at Fort Clinch and enjoyed the small town atmosphere of St. Marys and Fernandina Beach. Don’t underestimate our tourist mentality or us being out of character, we always look for the local watering hole to “slam down a couple of beers” during Happy Hour after a long bike ride.
Our plans for January are to travel down the coast of Florida a fast as we can, then wait for a weather window to sail to the Bahamas for another wild and zany season in the Islands. I have already started polishing up my thong bathing suits for “Island Time”. Isn’t that a scary thought!!!
The zany crew of Pipe Dream would like to wish everyone a wonderful and safe Holiday season. Keep in mind, when you remember the hurricane victims, the crew of Pipe Dream barely escaped those storms and could use a few bucks also.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

From the Decks of Pipe Dream,
Ferdy and Jutta