Pipe Dream’s
March 2008 Newsletter
Or
We be hav’n Island Time Fun
Yep, we’re back with the exciting adventures from the crew of Pipe Dream. I n the last newsletter our good friends Duey and Nan had been visiting on Pipe Dream for three weeks. We had been traveling to some of the remote islands in the Bahamas and having a wonderful time. Much to our chagrin Duey and Nan had to return to reality.
As you can probably guess, after our guests departed, it was time to re-provision Pipe Dream. We checked the bilge for our food and drink stocks and found them to be a little light. The rum was dangerously low, what a sailor’s crisis!!! We had to get ready for Regatta.
The Georgetown Cruisers’ Regatta took place from March 7th through the 18th. There were about 300 cruising boats in Georgetown for the festivities. Jutta and I signed up for several events, the first being the coconut harvest. In this event, a four member team has to paddle out using one swim fin each in a dinghy without the outboard motor. The officials then release about 400 coconuts and each team has to gather as many coconuts as possible. We were allowed to have one bucket in the boat to try to swamp the other dinghies and have their coconuts wash out of their boats so we could steal them. There were about 25 dinghies competing and I can’t tell you how much we laughed. After the coconut collection we had two-man coconut carrying races for most of the afternoon. The crew of Pipe Dream missed the winner circle by about 10 places. Oops!
Another event was the Stocking Island sailboat race. Jutta and I crewed on a very large catamaran with three other couples. Luckily they held last place open for us. Oh well, we had a good time anyway.
I signed up for beach golf which was a nine hole (pardon me, nine bucket) course on the beach played with one club, one ball and a tee for every shot. When your ball landed on a sloped sand beach and rolled into the surf you had to get it out of the surf with the club or take a penalty stroke. I was pretty wet at the end of the game. In case you were wondering I didn’t win any rum in that event either. There were activities going on every day during the 10 days of the regatta including several dances on the beach under the stars.
The last weekend of the regatta just happened to coincide with the “Bahamian National Music Festival” held in Georgetown. This is a three-day event downtown Georgetown with many music groups from the Exumas and other Bahamian Islands. Two years ago, the cruisers in the harbor put a band together and showed off some of their talents. The tourist bureau asked the cruisers to attend again this year and the “White Folks on Boats” group scrambled to put a few songs together for the festival. Jutta was asked to play percussion in the group. The day before the performance, the group did their dress rehearsal on the catamaran “Freebird” in front of a dinghy raft-up in the middle of the harbor. Needless to say, everyone involved had a great time.
The “White Folks on Boats” were the opening act for the Bahamian headliners on Saturday night. They did a great job and had the crowd of 1500 screaming for more when they finished playing. Songs like “Johnny Be Good”, and Santana’s “Black Magic Woman” were just a few they played. If any of you are interested in seeing them on the internet, google “Folks on Boats” and see what comes up.
During the regatta Jutta’s friend Pamela and her daughter Alice arrived from England. Jutta hadn’t seen her in 15 years. They were roommates living together in London while they were working as flight attendants. I promised not to tell you the year but Charles Lindberg had just finished his trans-Atlantic solo flight (I’ll pay for that one). They both had a wonderful time and Pamela has the distinction of being the first person visiting Pipe Dream who can’t swim. Her getting in and out of the dinghy was a sight to behold. One evening we took Pam out to Eddies Edgewater Bar and Restaurant to experience real Bahamian music. As the evening rolled on several Bahamian “Rasta Men” latched on to Pamela on the dance floor and she danced the night away. Remember, the British once owned the Bahamas and it was sort of like hands across the water, or international relations???
It probably isn’t any surprise Jutta and I are still in the Bahamas playing! You have got to remember this is our vacation. This Bahamas portion will only last for 6 months the other portion lasts for 6 more months. After we leave the boat somewhere during hurricane season we usually become a burden to our friends as we travel through the States and Canada. You better look out, that next knock on your door could be Jutta and good old Captain Ferdy look’n for a bed, free meal, and a hand out!!! Send your dollars to the “Help Ferdy Cruising Fund” and keep Ferdy and Jutta off your door step. Remember, “A Dollar a Day Will Keep Ferdy Away”.
From the Decks of Pipe Dream
Ferdy and Jutta
