Pipe Dream’s May 2008 Newsletter

A Rum Soaked Princess Visits Pipe Dream!

Yes, the crew of Pipe Dream is sailing back to Florida but only for a short period of time. We will be storing Pipe Dream on the hard in Fernandina Beach, Florida, for the Summer Hurricane Season. For you land lubbers “putting her on the hard” is pulling Pipe Dream out of the water and leaving her in dry dock. We have our fingers crossed about hurricanes. The last time we left her in Florida for the summer, Hurricanes Jean and Francis went right over her in Fort Pierce.
To give you a little recap: In the last newsletter we had just finished the Georgetown Cruisers Regatta and the Bahamanian International Music Festival. Jutta had finally got her head out of the clouds after her “You Tube” performance and things had gone back to normal, or as normal as normal can get on Pipe Dream. For the month of April we remained in Georgetown, Bahamas, looking forward to entertaining two more sets of guests and the Family Island Sailing Regatta.
The first April visitors were Brandon, Jutta’s eldest son, and his girl friend Susan. This was Susan’s first visit to the boat. We showed her all the sights around Elizabeth Harbor which included a stop at the “Chat’n Chill”, the local island bar on Stocking Island. Susan had her first introduction to a “Gombay Smash” which is an umbrella drink made with rum, rum and a little more rum and coconut rum. I think there is also a little pineapple juice in it for fill and some orange slices. After four or five Smashes, contrary to rumors, I can assure you there was no slurring of words or dancing on the tables at Pipe Dream. You know you can trust me. I have an honest face!!! We got to see another side of Susan. Yipes, welcome to the family! It took some time for Susan to dry out. While visiting Pipe Dream Brandon proposed to Susan on a moon lit night on the bow of the boat (that’s the pointy end) and slid the Hope Diamond on her finger. Susan needs to go to the gym so she can learn to keep her left finger up. I proposed to Jutta six years ago and gave her a rubber “O” ring for an engagement ring. She holds her finger up at me all the time but I think it’s a different finger!! Brandon should have talked to me first; he has started a bad precedence!! Another night we dinghied across the harbor to the local fish fry and witnessed Brandon and Susan’s musical talents at karaoke. Susan worked on her tan the entire visit to Pipe Dream. It seems she had been taking an antibiotic before she came to the boat and her tan turned into a mass of bumps. You should have been there, it was very attractive. After ten days of playing on Pipe Dream Brandon and Susan caught a flight back to reality and Jutta and I started provisioning for our last guests of the season.
Don and Jacque, my sister and brother-in-law arrived just after tax season. Their visit coincided with the Bahamian Family Island Regatta. We spent the week watching the Bahamians racing their traditional boats and sipping rum drinks. We also sailed to Emerald Bay because Don invited me to play golf with him at the Four Seasons Resort. I gave up golf eight years ago but I said I would give it a try. At Four Seasons’ prices, after eighteen holes, I lost fifty dollars worth of golf balls, which amounts to about a dozen. I think it’s time to retire the golf clubs again. Still, we had a wonderful time with them and it was nice to get to know my sister all over again.
Jacque and Don left at the end of April and Jutta and I packed up Pipe Dream and headed back to reality. We checked into the United States at Fort Pierce which is a real treat. We all know how “Homeland Security” has made our shores safe from subversive groups. I’m sure we pay billions of tax dollars for the service they provide. For those of you none boaters here is the procedure: First you buy a yearly $25.00 customs sticker for your boat (just another tax.) When you leave the country you don’t need to tell anyone, you just sail away. When you re-enter a US port you have to call the 800 US Customs number. After you are on hold for at least one to two hours a live person actually answers. The person who answered my call had such a thick accent, maybe East Indian, Iraqi, or something, I could hardly understand him. He asked for my customs sticker number and about ten minutes worth of other questions to prove I was Me. Then the big security questions came. Do you have any meat, produce, or fruit products in your refrigerator? Of course I don’t, what do I sound like, a food smuggler? Do you have over $10,000.00 dollars in cash on your boat? Of course not, being a good American I count out $9,999.99 of my cash and throw the rest over board. He then gave me about a twenty digit number to take to the local Immigration Office within the next 24 hours. This usually involves a costly cab ride. Fortunately, some boating friends gave us a ride. Upon arrival I handed over my 20 digit number and I was done. Last year I arrived in the US on Memorial Weekend. When I called customs the answering service told me they were closed for the three day weekend. I was told not to worry about check in until next week!!! I hope those of you reading this will sleep better tonight knowing Homeland Security powered by your tax dollars is protecting us from imported produce and meat.
We fly back to Arizona on the 4th and I am worried about security taking away my cologne or toenail clippers! What’s wrong with this picture?
Well, that about sums it up for this cruising season. Pipe Dream is put to bed in the shipyard and Jutta and I are off to Mexico by car for some house hunting. We have had to tighten our purse strings since donations for the “Help Ferdy Cruising Fund” have been a little slow. The high price of gasoline is also causing us worry, but Jutta, being German, has volunteered to push our car around Mexico to stay in shape while I steer. Keep Jutta off the roads and send you dollars today.

From the decks of Pipe Dream

Ferdy and Jutta

Bahama Music Festival and Cruiser Raft Up in Georgetown, Bahamas

For any of our readers who would like to see more of the Cruiser's Raft Up in Georgetown, Bahamas, go to YouTube, then colinbilge, then look for the following videos:
Folks on Boats RnR Raftup
Folks on Boats RnR Raftup2
Eddie's Edgewater by Folks on Boats
Folks on Boats at the Bahamian Music and Heritage Festival

Newsletter March/2008

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 7^th through the 18^th. 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

Bahama Music Festival

Pipe Dream’s
February 2008 Newsletter
Or
This cruising life can be dangerous!

Yes, we are back again with a Pipe Dream whacky newsletter. Things finally settled down after the holidays and we got some rest. In the last newsletter we had sailed to Georgetown, Bahamas, for Christmas and New Years Eve. A great time was had by all. We’ve decided to spend another cruising season in the Bahamas. This place is hard to leave!
Duey and Nan, our good friends and past cruisers from Hollister, California, joined us on Pipe Dream for about three weeks. We provisioned the “tuna schooner” with food and rum and we were off for Long Island and the Jumentos. The Jumentos Island Group lies south of the Exuma Islands and south of the Tropic of Cancer. These islands are virtually uninhabited. There is little protection from the wind blowing from the west or north. Naturally, two days into our trip the wind turned north and we were blown out of the islands. Back to Georgetown to re-provision. Two days later we were off to the Jumentos once again. This time we had a wonderful stay, snorkeling, fishing, swimming, hiking, and kayaking. While diving for “bugs” (lobster) a black tip shark came in also looking for an easy meal. A few days later we fished at Water Cay. We had a tough time getting the fish into the boat. The sharks were grabbing them off of our line faster than we could reel them in. Needless to say, we cancelled the swimming that afternoon. I guess, we cheated death one more time. After a week we pulled up the anchor and headed for Long Island and a little civilization.
Jutta and I are constantly being asked if we are ever worried about pirates in all our
travels. Our answer, up to now, has always been “no”. On our return to Long Island we encountered a situation which could have really gotten out of hand and got me into a lot of trouble. A new beach bar “Parrots of the Caribbean” had opened up in Thompson Bay with three dollar beers, great rum drinks, and good food. Our friend Duey and several other cruisers brought their guitars and we had a wonderful jam session. Of course, somebody had to support the new business enterprise and it was my job to man a bar stool for the afternoon. It’s a rough job but someone has to do it!
Duey and Nan had to go back to reality. We sure enjoyed their visit. Jutta and I are back to doing yogert (yoga) on the beach three time a week and we play volleyball almost daily. With beach walks, snorkeling for lobster, cocktail gatherings, dances under the stars, and socializing we hardly have time for anything. And I wonder why I am always so tired. Next on the agenda will be the week-long Cruisers’ Regatta with lots of activities. Some day, when I retire, I will take it easy!!!!
Looks like this newsletter is going to be a short one. This is what happens when we don’t do much for a while. Don’t forget to keep sending those dollars to the “Help Ferdy Cruising Fund”. “Parrots of the Caribbean” won’t take my IOU’s any more and I gave up on getting drinks on my good looks???.

From the Decks of Pipe Dream

Ferdy and Jutta

Newsletter Xmas 2007

“That Fickle Couple ain’t got no stinking Direction in Life”

To expand on my perfect English above, we don’t know where in the world we’re going from day to day. In the last newsletter we told you we were headed for the Caribbean. We had arrived in Fort Lauderdale from the Chesapeake in mid November and stayed as always at Bruno’s Zoo (our eight boat marina hideaway in Ft Lauderdale.) Our good friends Bruno, Dano, and Brit were waiting at the dock when we arrived. We figured we would be there for about two weeks waiting for a weather window to cross the Gulf Stream and sail on to the Bahama Bank. Tuesday we worked on the boat getting her ready and found an internet connection for the marine weather forecast. The weather report called for the north winds to abate on Thursday, Turkey Day. That was all the good news we needed. Tuesday afternoon we rented a car and provisioned for our trip which included fuel, boat parts, diving stuff, etc., a twelve hour marathon. On Wednesday we stowed the provisions (for those of you in Yuma Arizona, “stowed” is putting the grub in the wagon or boat in our case) and got the “ole tuna schooner” ready to go to sea. Our bags were packed, the boat was provisioned with beer, wine and rum, and we even remembered to take a little food for the trip.
Early Thanksgiving Day, while most of you were waller’n in turkey and dressing, the mighty crew of Pipe Dream sailed out of Fort Lauderdale. We traveled overnight to arrive in Nassau, Bahamas, 30 hours later, about 165 miles. How’s that for speed? We checked in with customs and paid our $300 cruising fee. (Remember the “Help Ferdy Cruising Fund?”) After a couple of days in Nassau we sailed off to the Exumas (one of the island chains) and into paradise.
Jutta and I are back in our element playing in the islands. We have spent a lot of time on the eastern sea board of the United States and really enjoyed it, but it is very expensive. Now that we are in the islands, things have changed. We can try to live off of the land experiencing the true pioneer spirit, like Christopher Columbus, Sir Francis Drake, etc.? .You probably can imagine how sick and tired we get of eating lobster dipped in garlic butter all the time; and garlic butter is so expensive!! There goes the budget.
The crew of Pipe Dream has landed in Georgetown, Bahamas, and we have planted our anchor for a while. On the Friday before Christmas we sailed out of Georgetown bound for Long Island and on to the Southern Caribbean. The seas were perfect, the wind amassing, and the day beautiful. We had planned to spend Christmas in the Dominican Republic or the Turks and Caicos Islands. On the northern end of Long Island after six hours of perfect sailing we had a discussion and decided to turn around and head back for Christmas and maybe another season in the Bahamas. (What are those two thinking??) In another month there should be close to three hundred boats in Georgetown. We’ll have many playmates there.
A cruisers’ Christmas Eve was spent on the beach with caroling and a bonfire. It ended about 10pm. Us cruisers got nothing to prove when it comes to staying up late! Christmas Day we attended a potluck for about a hundred people. Everyone made a dish and the Turkey and Ham was provided for $5.00 a head. I thought the budget was blown again but I won a bottle of wine on the raffle. What a stroke of luck! After dinner Jutta and I hit the hay about 8:00PM. We had to get up at 2:00AM to go to Junkanoo. Junkanoo is a festival held on Boxing Day (Dec.26), started during slavery by the blacks to honor their customs, traditions, heritage, and emancipation. It’s a parade starting at 2:00AM and ending about 9:00 or 10:00 in the morning. There are brass bands, lots of drums, cow bells and whistles, the noise is incredible, the costumes and floats are breathtaking and everyone is dancing and partying. White folks could learn a thing or two about partying from the Bahamians. The mighty Pipe Dream party animals gave out at about 8:00 AM and returned to the boat for a little sleep. This getting old is not for sissies! You need to keep in mind we are just a few days away from a New Years Eve party and need to pace ourselves.
News Years came in with a bang. The Saint Francis Resort right around the corner from our anchorage hosted a New Years Eve Party for all the cruisers in the harbor. John on the sailing Catamaran “Free Bird” supplied 5 hours’ worth of dancing music and we danced until our feet were sore. By 2:00 AM the party cleared out and it was time to return to Pipe Dream and a little sleep. After all, we had to be fit to watch the local New Years’ Day boat races.
Well, that about wraps up 2007 and another year of Pipe Dream Adventures. We sure have a lot to be thankful for and we are eagerly looking forward to 2008.
We wish you all a wonderful New Year, remember to keep us in your thoughts and it wouldn’t hurt to keep us in your pocket books!

From the Decks of Pipe Dream

Ferdy and Jutta