MUTUAL FUN - A SAILING ODYSSEY

May 4, 2001

Welcome to the Saintes! We had a rather obnoxious motor sail over here but we survived. We left Deshaies, Guadeloupe, a nice calm anchorage, if a bit blowy, for Pigeon Island, right across from the Cousteau Underwater Park. We hoped to do some major snorkeling but when we got to the anchorage, it was so rolly that I had to take a Bonine just to go below. We were hungry and neither of us wanted to fix dinner and we certainly didn't want to go through all of the work to put the dinghy together so we compromised. Bob got all of the food out and I fixed cold tuna salad, cut up tomatoes and cucumbers, bread and butter and juice (cherry-orange; yum!) We managed to stay in our bunks overnight but we both woke up many times to catch ourselves from rolling away. The early morning decision was to get the dinghy all put together and go snorkel for 45 minutes, take it all back apart or to get the heck out of there. We were sailing with new friends, Geoff and Sue and their son Oliver (19), (British) from "Free Spirit" and they offered to taxi us to the park but in the end we decided to boogy.

We tuned in to VHF 16 and heard other boats trying to get to The Saintes and they were all talking of how rough it was and we couldn't figure it out because our anchorage was open to the direction we were headed and it seemed quite calm. Well, being "Mutual Fun", off we went. We had a wonderful motor sail and I was even fishing when all of the sudden the waves hit the fan, so to speak. The wind piped up to 32k and shifted and the sail was flapping and the waves were kicked up. After one attempt at a tack, Bob made the call to take the sail down and motor into it. It was so weird. One minute I was sitting on the deck in my comfy chair, reading a book and watching for fish pots (they're so nasty when they wrap around the prop) and the next I was dragging the chair like a teddy bear and throwing everything into the cockpit, leaving the fish pots to look after themselves. We were now motoring at 2.5k into 6ft. seas and at this rate, we would be lucky to make it in by dark. We both got a little edgy and we took turns hand-steering. We decided to go a little closer into land and see if the wind might be a little weaker there. Good move! It was and we were up to 3.2k. Not making any records but we could make it in by dark. As soon as we cleared the tip of Guadeloupe, the wind steadied to 20-25k, but on the nose. The first mate made the call to sail off a bit and raise the staysail, which the captain was too tired to veto and now we were up to 4.5k. The drama ends there. We made it into Terre D'en Haut by 3:00pm watching through the binoculars for the red and black buoys that show us where the shallows are. We never found the buoys but we sure found the shallows. Fortunately, the sun showed us the way and we were anchored by 3:30pm.

Now, you have to understand the captain's motivation for pizza. We had that dinghy put together, showered, dressed and were on land by 5:30pm. I was tired and yawning as we walked the town (very cute town) and looked for a restaurant. Nothing was open and we figured they open at 7:00pm. I was so tired that I told him to pick the restaurant and he knew if he didn't pick one quick, I would want to go back to the boat and have soup. Bob picked a pizza place (big surprise) and we sat down with one of the few menus written in English. The problem was no one spoke English and when I asked what white pudding was, I could make out it was some sort of fish stew in Creole sauce but the black pudding they told me was blood. I pointed to my vein in my arm and they nodded and smiled that I understood. Well, not particularly wanting to eat blood, especially after the huge dead cockroach I had just seen in the street, with a team of ants feasting on it, and not liking Creole sauce, and being just a little put off by a rib eye steak (about $4), I decided to be safe and go with the pizza. How can you ruin a pizza? Well, yuk! There was hardly any sauce and the cheese came off in huge, cholesterol-ridden hunks, the ham might have been ham but the crust tasted like a combination of matzos and cardboard. I ate half because I was starving and then we rolled back to our dinghy and our sweet home. Maybe we'll try the Chinese restaurant soon. We've seen a couple of real skinny cats running around. Leaves one to imagine, doesn't it?

The Saintes have much to offer and I think we'll rent scooters here and tour the main island. It's quite pretty; the natives all French and are part of Guadeloupe.

May 9, 2001

We rented scooters with Sue, Geoff and Oliver on "Free Spirit." This we did in repayment to Geoff, who dove with air and completely, cleaned our bottom. Oh, it was gross! It was caked with these wormy, spongy, black things and obviously really slowed us down. Bob and I scraped to the best of our ability; over 2 days but you can only get so much without an oxygen tank.

Scooter day was excellent. Oliver didn't have a driver's license so he doubled up with Bob. Sue didn't feel confident enough to handle one on her own so she and Geoff rode together and I got to go with the wind, on my own. The bikes are kind of heavy and there were a couple of times the guys had to help me over some rocks or to back up. We started our tour with fresh croissants and coffee (or in my case, a mini quiche and apple juice) and then went to explore Fort Napoleon. This fort has been kept up and is open to the public, for a small fee. The view is panoramic and we could see that the seas and winds were pretty kicked up; we were glad to be safe and sound in our anchorage. I was just telling everyone that I thing there are iguanas here when I started off down a path on my own. There were stone walls on either side of me when I noticed this leathery-looking thing with a huge tail about 2 inches from me sitting on the wall. I screamed and went running back to Bob. They all got a big hoot out of that.

Next stop, one of the 5 or 6 beaches that we would hit that day. The windward beaches, if unprotected, were quite fearsome. We swam at one that was slightly protected from the rough seas, but only after watching Oliver having so much fun playing in the waves. Then, only the girls went in; the guys were chicken, I guess. We stopped for liquid refreshment about 11:00am at the so-called yacht club. There's nothing there but a house, which turns into a restaurant for lunch and a cute little outside bar. Geoff and Oliver used the Internet service there and it took so long that we noticed we were into the lunch hour. We scootered our way to "Mike's hamburgs" where I had a cheese omelet, salad and fries for 35F or about $5. Our next beach was quite a hike to get to, after parking the bikes and we were rewarded with calm, flat water. The next 2 beaches were deemed "unswimmable" with the force of the waves hitting the beach equal to a Mack truck slamming into a person. Oliver wanted to swim but he was restrained by all of us. We turned in our bikes, walked to the grocery and somehow made our way back to our dinghies and home. We were so tired from the swimming, hiking and the sun, we could barely make dinner and fell asleep, exhausted but 9:00pm. Oliver's birthday was yesterday (19), so I took over a CD of games and Leo burned a copy for me to give to Oliver. They made him a card on their computer and bought him snicker bars. This, of course, entailed yet another cocktail hour. I'm so glad I don't really like to drink all that much. I would be a blimp! I found a barber yesterday so Sue and I will be going to get our hair wacked off in an hour. We both look like mops but my hair, being so thick, literally could be used to swab the deck if Bob chose to turn me up side down and dump me in a bucket. He's threatened a couple of times but I have gotten quite a bit stronger out here and I think he's afraid of me now. Or maybe it's just my grand imagination.

Today is Wednesday and I would like to stay until Sunday so I can call my mom for Mother's Day. The rates do not exceed the insanity mark here, as they do in the British islands so I could actually talk more than 3 minutes without having to rob a bank. They so don't like that here. All of you out there that have moms still with you, be sure to treat them as a queen on Sunday. I know I would do that if I were there. Maybe next year, mom! Maybe next year, Florence!

May 12, 2001

Bob and I went into town for various errands. I needed to get some prescriptions filled, which is a very easy thing to do in most of these islands. I just take the bottle in and they don�t check refills or expiration dates. They didn�t have my exact thyroid prescription and they wanted to substitute something else so this entailed me emailing my mom, she calling my doctor, emailing back and then returning to the pharmacy. I lucked out with this pharmacist because she can speak a few words of English. In any case, I will fill all of my scripts for about � the price it would cost in the States. I don�t have any insurance anyhow so it really works out fine.

Another errand was to the hardware so Bob could buy some screwdrivers. Inevitably, every time we go down to clean the thru-hulls, for which we use a flathead screwdriver to dig in the holes, Bob drops one. Where we are anchored this time is 35ft. deep; no recovery possible. He�s lost so many screwdrivers that he doesn�t even buy the good stainless steel ones, anymore.

Just a little aside here: for those knowing Bob, I�m sure you would be utterly surprised to know that he doesn�t actually collect screwdrivers, he actually uses them. When we first started this venture, I was lucky to get him to change a light bulb, which on a boat requires a screwdriver. As does everything else. Bob has watched and learned much about boat repairs over the last year and a half. He has fixed and replaced pumps, wired, soldered, added switches, plumbed in a new toilet, changed spark plugs and the list goes on. He still doesn�t enjoy the big jobs in small spaces, and puts them off until he can, but he does them.

Now, with that said, in case you think he�s lost his sense of humor in all of this, you would be wrong. We�re sitting at a table in Mike�s Hamburgers with Ginny and John on �Wind Shepherd� after our lunch and Bob is perusing John�s English-French dictionary. It�s a dictionary for travelers and so includes many phrases in addition to words. He�s trying out his French (quite bad) on us by completely abusing the language, and then telling us what he said in English. He turns to the cook and waitress and utters in terrible French; �I seem to have forgotten my wallet.� These two gals speak hardly any English and are able to make out what he says and so they give him a small smile and say something back to him in French. Probably something along the lines of, �you better know how to use an ATM machine.� Then, when he thinks they are no longer interested in our conversation, he mumbles a phrase, which translates to, �is it possible for you to fix my dentures?� We, at our table get a hoot out of that, which apparently draws attention back to our table and then Bob comes out with the kicker, completely unaware that the 2 girls are tuned back in to us. In his extremely poor French he blurts out, �I haven�t had my period in over 3 months.� We are laughing hysterically before we notice the waitress and cook are, too. Bob looks over at them and turns a deep shade of red. We�re laughing so hard that Bob turns even redder and has to wipe his face off from embarrassment. What a nut case.

The day before, the four of us were sitting up in the cyber caf�, having a cold drink and taking turns using the Internet and using the telephone. The computer is completely frustrating because, of course, it�s all in French so you have to figure out how to �Save as� in French, etc. Also, the keyboard is all different and the letters are not in the same place nor are the symbols. For instance, the @ button which is above our 2 is gotten to by the shift, where their @ button is above the 8 and you need to CTRL, ALT and then hit 8. Meanwhile, I have to keep calling the girl over and she�s busy serving drinks and I�m paying 20F for 10 minutes (about $3). It ended up costing me 60F (about $9) to get nothing more accomplished than receiving 5 emails. Forget sending out the text and pictures for the web page.

Meanwhile, Bob is trying desperately to get his phone card to work so he can call our boat insurance company and find out where we have to be and by when, for hurricane season. He keeps coming back up to the cyber caf� with a total look of defeat and frustration. John finally asks him just exactly what he�s doing. Bob goes through the steps with him: punch in 3677, the phone card number, the country code and then �N.� Bob says after every time he punches in �N�, the phone disconnects. John asks, way too kindly why he�s pushing �N�. Bob says those are the instructions. We�re all laughing at Bob and he doesn�t know why. We suggest to him that �N� means the NUMBER he�s trying to call. Bob goes back down and tries again and ends up with a satisfied smile.

Our friends on �Nightwinds� called us last night, as we were having a wonderful meal aboard �Wind Shepherd�. They are in Nevis and will be catching up soon. We haven�t seen them since Annapolis, last year.

May 15, 2001

We had a very boisterous sail to Portsmouth, Dominica. The wind was perfect, about 18-23K but the seas were kicked up and every once in awhile, the occasional 12 footer would hit us square on the beam and knock water into the cockpit. It was quite hot and so I turned my body towards the waves and was happy for the occasional splash. We met our friends, Bryan and Mike on �Nightwinds� and some new friends, Dan and Jan on �Sojourner.� We all went out for dinner at a restaurant that we needed reservations for. Bryan and Mike picked us up in their super-duper dinghy with a steering wheel and 50hp engine. The 6 of us weren�t even squished and that baby was still going 25mph. We walked a mile or so from the dinghy dock and then had drinks while they prepared freshly caught dolphin for us. Our meal was served on huge banana leaves, first the side dishes, which were a mystery but tasty. The fish was served whole, including eye sockets. We got the head half and the table next to us must have got the hind end. The fish was delicious and the side dishes were�a mystery. Some was good and some�mysterious.

We left that anchorage about 10:00am for another anchorage in Dominica, about 20 miles south. The winds were light and we motor-sailed with full main and staysail. The seas were extremely calm and I got to jump around the boat like I used to. No fishing is allowed off the coast of Dominica but a school of dolphin came to visit. Actually, 3 dolphin broke off from the school and came and swam under our bow as we whistled and shouted to them. One was really big, maybe 6 or 7 feet; he must have been the daddy. We think the elders came and made the babies stay behind. We haven�t seen dolphin in a long time and it sure was fun. We got here in time to pick up the last mooring ball, about 2:00pm. The anchorage isn�t really a good anchorage because the water is very deep all the way to the shore. Others here had to anchor close to shore and then tie their stern to a tree or in one case, to a house. Boat boys motor out in their small, wooden boats with big engines when we are still about a mile out. They offer their services which include: helping you anchor, shopping for you and delivery to your boat, finding you a tour guide or taxi and misc. other services. Once you have a boat boy, no one else will bother you if you tell him your boat boy�s name. We didn�t want to get our dinghy put together so we had our boat boy buy us tomatoes, bread, apples and bananas. He also took a bus to the gas station and purchased us 5 gals. of diesel. He tried to rip us off but I got mad and then he got mad so he didn�t rip us off too badly, I think. Tomorrow we have a long day. We sail to Martinique, about 45 miles away. �Free Spirit� just called us on SSB radio. They are at the northern tip of Martinique and we will radio them as we pass by, or if we�re tired, we�ll stop in.

May 18, 2001

Anse Mitan, Martinique. It�s quite nice here. There�s a dinghy dock, which dumps you into a restaurant, and then up a hill there are shops, supermarket, laundry and more restaurants. We took a ferry across the bay to Fort de France with �Free Spirit�. Fort de France is the main city here and very busy and pretty stinky. All the buildings are old and mildewy but that doesn�t make one lose their appetite for the wonderful pastries. We walked the streets until we were so hot and uncomfortable that we ditched into a restaurant for a cold drink, and you�ll never guess which restaurant. McDonald�s, of all places. I just couldn�t bring myself to eat a burger and fries in the heat but Bob had a salad and Oliver, the son, ate for all of us. We stopped at a market and a fruit stand and took the ferry back. When we presented our round-trip ticket to the guy, � of the way back, he told Bob that our tickets were for another ferry company. So Bob said, �well, take us back then.� The guy could hardly argue with that and he let us return for no additional money.

I checked with a travel agent and found a decent rate back so I figure I�ll be coming to visit early July. Many people to see and many doctor appointments so it will be a busy time. I look forward to it. It�s getting very hot down here and people are wearing less and less in the privacy of their own boats. Well, actually, it�s not really all that private. When we�re below decks, we don�t even bother with clothing and as soon as we get home from someplace, that�s the first thing to go. When we leave the boat we have to close all of the hatches and windows and upon our return, it�s got to be upwards of 100 degrees in here. In the sun it is, as well so swimming is called for everyday. The French islands are very liberal and topless is the way to go and I have found that I have lost all modesty as the mercury climbs. Cockpit showers are also the way to go as we use much less water and most cockpits are open to one degree or another. It�s actually a pleasant way to live and nobody is uptight about it. Of course, if one of our friends popped over during this time, we would be scurrying below pretty fast. Many times friends drop by and sometimes before I pop up to see who it is, I forget I need to put something on. So far I�ve been lucky and it�s always been a woman.

Our Sailmail unit isn�t working well for us and I have disconnected it but I can still get messages via POP3 in Hotmail. That means we�ll have to be spending more money in the cyber cafes but it�s worth it to hear from you all. Keep writing at the Sailmail address or russellmona@hotmail.com. We love hearing from everyone. Cocktail hour is in 40 minutes, aboard Mutual Fun so I better hustle. The boat is all cleaned, as is the cockpit, the dip is made, the popcorn is popped but I don�t think I should be serving drinks dressed like this.

May 20, 2001

Yet ANOTHER cocktail hour aboard "Free Spirit" with Leo and Ann Marie aboard "Vitrain." The bad news is I'm growing quite accustomed to rum and tonic, with a slice of lime. The good news is I drink them very weak. Lots of laughs and a good time.

At the end of the night, Bob told his story on how he quit smoking. It involves two separate incidents; the first being a friend of his whom found out he had cancer and was dead within 3 weeks. He left a wife and several children. The second incident was when he was sitting at a bar, having a beer and the man next to him asked him to put out his cigarette, it was really bothering him. Bob's first thought was to move but he put it out, anyway. The man turned his back to Bob and continued talking with someone else. After 5 minutes or so, he turned back and explained to Bob that he was in town for radiation or chemo treatments and then he was traveling to Alaska to see the northern lights before he died. He sincerely and earnestly asked Bob to go with him. Bob was so touched that he thought about these two incidents for a couple of weeks and then threw away his cigarettes, for the last time. That was 16 years ago, right before I met Bob. Well, Geoff was as touched as Bob by this story and got very quiet. The next thing we knew, he had gone inside his boat and returned with a partial pack and an unopened pack of cigarettes and pitched them overboard. He said, "that was the last cigarette I am going to smoke." We wish him strength and success.

"Passagio" is only 2 days behind us and they'll probably catch us here in Martinique. Tomorrow the laundry and then I'll be pretty much ready to move on. Can't dawdle in paradise.

May 25, 2001

We left Anse Mitan (I love that name. Remember Eggonmogin Reach in Maine?) this morning at 8:00am. Quite early after a big dinner party aboard "Vitrain" the night before. Ann Marie spent all day making a wonderful meal, let me say that again, two meals, one for everyone and a different meal for Leo and myself. We had barbecue chicken, baked potatoes and peas and carrots and they (also "Free Spirit") had curry chicken, rice and cold vegies. Ann Marie is a wonderful cook but the chicken was bad. Leo set his aside and I tried with a knife and fork for awhile and then got down to fingers. You could just picture one of these scrawny, old roosters that run around the islands. Ann Marie was a great sport and laughed so hard she had tears running down her face. We were all quite full anyhow, what with the 3 or 4 different appetizers and the goody desserts I bought from the bakery.

Anyway, we had a great sail over to Rodney Bay, St. Lucia. We were going 7-7.5k most of the way with all 3 sails out. Once again, I didn't catch a fish but as soon as we left, we saw a bunch of dolphin a ways out and called them over. There were several babies and they jumped so high out of the water, probably because they didn't weigh much and had baby energy. The parents were also playful and fun. A little further out, we spotted a mess (pod?) of pilot whales but they weren't interested in playing with us. The dolphin are so responsive. If you call to them, they'll come over and play with you.

We got our anchor down, next to "Passagio" and "About Time", who we haven't seen since Antigua. "Nightwinds" and "Sojourner" are here as well. As Bob and I were dinghing in to clear customs, we ran into "Nightwinds" and so we all had a drink and then a bunch of others joined us. I had an incredible sweet tooth so after my pina colada and fish fingers, I went to the bakery and got 4 brownies. Nobody wanted any so Bob had 1 and I ate 3. More sit-ups for me. I think we'll stay about a week here and get some things done. Propane is in dire need of being refilled and we can't get it done in the French islands. We got duty-free fuel yesterday, after Bob cleared us out of Martinique (saved $1.5F per liter. Try figuring that out!) and a whole tank of water. Big showers, clean shower stall and clean floors coming up!

May 26, 2001

Propane is empty. It's Saturday. No coffee, toast, no cooking all weekend. Bob's in trouble because I asked him to fill up in Antigua and he didn't so he has to be really nice to me all weekend. How fun!

May 28, 2001

We've had 2 days straight full of rain and winds. It's been quite fun, actually. It hadn't rained in a couple of months for more than 60 seconds and our little boat smiled for the shower. Being that our water-maker is not working, we can't afford to wash the boat down with fresh water and she gets so salty. Everywhere you touch or sit is salt ridden. Now I feel like I should do some more teak work since she's all clean. Well, too bad. We're leaving for the Pitons in the morning and she'll get all salty again.

Bryan and Mike on "Nightwinds" have been working for 2 days trying to get our Sailmail up and running, with no success. We are going to order a new cable and have it sent to me when I go home. Which, by the way, I made my reservations today. I'll be arriving July6th and returning to Trinidad on July 20th. Anyone wishing to call and say hello, please call (419) 841-2234 between those dates.

Our generator is down AGAIN, our dinghy motor is not working at 100% and therefor we feel like our old selves again. All we would need to feel completely normal is 30ft. seas and 35 knot winds. Knock on teak, our sailing has been very nice lately.

After we spend 24 hours in the Pitons (that's all customs will grant), we'll have to get up really early the next morning for our long sail to Bequia. We are going to skip St. Vincent since we have heard security problems there. Bequia is about 50 miles from the Pitons and will require a full day's sail. I tried to talk Bob into an overnighter but he wasn't buying it. It would be cooler and I miss the sea at night. This will probably be a 12-hour day and in the intense heat, we'll be toasted. We keep our bimini (canvas cockpit roof) up full-time now but it's still hot. Well, maybe I'll catch a big ole fish and it'll be worth it.

May 30, 2001

Yesterday we decided to stay in Rodney's Bay for an extra day. One, to let the seas die down from 7-9ft to 6-8ft and two, because "Free Spirit" was coming in and we missed them They got in before noon and we went over to welcome them and then met them on the beach later for swimming and paddle ball. Bob and I cleaned our dinghy bottom beforehand so we treated ourselves to 2for1 at the local bar. Then we all went back to our boats, showered and met aboard Mutual Fun for cabbage and noodles, hot dogs and applesauce. Dinner was topped off with a wonderful, fresh pineapple and top-notch chocolate, provided by Geoff and Sue.

Bob checked us out of customs at 8:00am and we were underway by 8:45. Only 15 miles to the Pitons; we were anchored about 2 � hours later with a perfect beam reach sail. Bob saw as high as 9.2k but we averaged about 6k, really good for us. We sailed with "Nightwinds" and "Cocapelli." There are only 8 mooring balls here so I was a little nervous about getting here early. The water is extremely deep right up to the shore so anchoring is impossible. The Pitons are beautiful. We are moored right smack between both of them. There are a couple of small hotels and a beautiful beach. We did some snorkeling and swimming and now we need to get to bed early and rest up for tomorrow. It will be a long, hot day but I think the sail will be good.

May 31, 2001

Up at 5:00am, off the mooring ball at 5:30am and reanchored in Bequia at 2:30pm. Not bad! It was one of those boisterous sails, combined with squalls, fluky winds and showers. In other words, not the most pleasant. Bequia looks pretty cute. We were met about 3-4 miles out by a guy in a dinghy, harnessed to his small craft, blowing a whistle. We were warned of him so we knew he was a photographer, taking pictures of the boats as they came in. He has to go way out that far because any closer and most crew start taking their sails down. I guess we'll hear from him eventually and see if we want to buy a picture under sail. Pretty clever entrepreneur. Most of these guys try to sell you fruit, vegetables or "a little smoke." We've heard there's quite a racket with the "little smoke." It goes something like this: First they sell you the pot and make their money on that, then they turn you into the authorities and get a commission and then they impound your boat, making them even more money and then they get their pot back and start all over again. Tricky, eh? Well, I'm hungry and tired so that's all for today.

- MORE TO FOLLOW -