So anyhow, we have done this 4 times and are about to do this our fifth time. Our first time was in the Florida Keys. I believe we found a boat in Marathon, the Pagan Star, a piece of junk, cockroach infested boat with an old fat grouchy owner. I mention the owner being fat and grouchy, only because, over the years, I have gotten fatter and grouchier myself, at the time it struck me as funny, and now here I am. My wife had once mentioned, she remembered when we first met, I had broad shoulders, big arms and a six pack, and that was what caught her eye. My response, "how's that working out for you now baby?" Anyhow, boating for much of the time is uneventful, with a few memorable moments, and the Pagan Star did not disappoint.
We were just off the coast of Key West, moored at Pelican Shoals for the night. Pelican Shoals is a small spit of land no bigger than half the size of a football field, but it had a mooring (a buoy anchored to the ocean floor you can tie your boat to) so it seemed like a safe place to spend the night, considering the rough seas. We all went to bed, and later that night I woke to get some water or something, and saw lights outside our window. I didn't think much of it, maybe it was the Coast Guard checking on us to see if we were alright, I went back to bed without giving it another thought. Well wouldn't you know it, we woke up the next morning to find 50 or more Cubans on Pelican Shoals! Apparently if you are a refugee and make it to American soil, even if it is just Pelican Shoals, you cannot be deported without due process, if you are still in a boat, out you go. That is the difference between "feet wet" or "feet dry." So, we enjoyed our breakfast to the sights and sounds of the Coast Guard picking up 50 or more Cuban refugees from Pelican Shoals, personally, I hope they are all still here, enjoying the freedoms we all take for granted.
After the Keys, a trip to the BVI's, the Bahamas and back to the BVI's the following years.
I believe this is our boat from 2008 BVI trip, "My Last Penny."
So, there is a little on bare boating, I will have more on bare boating in August! In an effort to entice my friends to join us on our trip to the BVI's this year, I wrote this on an events page on Facebook, maybe it will entice you:
Fellow Pirates of the Caribbean, the British Virgin Islands and all its' bounty, waits to be plundered and pillaged by the motliest crew of discontents and zealots ever to be had. By day, we will discover and explore secluded sun kissed beaches, until our nearly naked bodies are the color of bronze and the scent of exotic oils. At night, our crew of Buccaneers will eat and drink grog at The Willy T, Foxys and The Soggy Dollar until we are fat and happy. A world class spa awaits the Wenches at Peter Island, for a chance to pamper yourselves, as you so richly deserve. We will sail the same waters, explore the same islands as our predecessors, Capt. Norman, Sir Francis Drake, Capt. William Kidd and "Black Sam" Bellamy once did. Who amongst us can say "no" to such adventure, surely not me, and I believe not you. So, let us gather once again as friends, and the great whore that is the British Virgin Islands, will suckle us, until we are fat and happy and can suckle no more. The Trade winds are speaking to us my friends, and they are saying, "Adventure is worthwhile in itself." (to much???)
Try it, you'll like it. Happy boating!
No comments:
Post a Comment