Leaf Well Enough Alone

This is my entry and I'm stickin with it.

Phew!

Now, Let's Go!!!!!!

Low Key NJ Sailing Club II

I happened to be driving down rt. 31 today, coming home from

camp pick-up in the Poconos, when I saw a sign for Spruce Run

State Park and Recreation Area.  I immediately thought of a sail-

blogger with whom I am familiar, who said he used to sail Sunfish 

and Lasers there a few years back.  There was no clubhouse, no 

trophy room, no carriage house, nobody walking around in navy 

blazers and white slacks, no clay tennis courts.  Just a shed that 

housed all the necessary items to hold races and functions that a 

group of fun-seeking sailors would need.  No dining room 

minimum, no dress code, no dockmaster, no transient slip fees.  

Just  five bucks to enter the park and a ramp fee if you need to 

roll your boat into the water.  Granted, the annual dues are a bit 

steep at more than double those of my club, but they're still a 

bargain and who's to judge what price to pay for happiness?  

I had windsurfed there a few times in the early nineties, although

the wind never managed to blow hard enough to get me planing.

I thought it was a nice place nevertheless, and agreed that to sail

a boat there could be an enjoyable and satisfying way to spend the 

day.  Today, however, I felt as though I was treading on hallowed

ground.  After reading about the racing, the pizza and beer

get-togethers following the races, and the mystery Sunfish sailor guy

 who showed up one day, I felt as if I could have fit right in.

The mystery guy, I instantly realized, was an old friend and

skipper of mine from the mid seventies.  This blogger had struck 

so many chords of mine in so few words that I felt a natural

connection to him, one that to this day draws me to him and his 

site several times a day.  Without getting too mushy, his was 

without a doubt the blog that convinced me to jump into the

 blogosphere head first and not look back.  At least not too often.  

This scene is one that the blogger has probably seen at least a

hundred times.  On the hottest day of the year, I was happy to

feel a decent breeze coming out of the West with this little cabin 

sloop heeling back and forth with the puffs.  I felt the blogger 

behind me, rolling his Laser dolly down the poured concrete ramp.

Just up the hill from Spruce Run, I couldn't resist snapping this

photo.  I wondered if my blogger ever saw this lonely Laser

sitting by the roadside, hoping that some optimistic up-and-coming

sailor would rescue her and dig the potting soil from her cockpit.

I've seen boats in worse shape.  At least the mast step is intact! 

How creative are You?

The Tall Oaks Yacht Club in Forked River, NJ

is looking for a new burgee design.  They have

petitioned their members to get creative and 

send in their entries by August 1st.  I have a

few ideas in mind, and only members can

participate, but I thought it would be fun if I

asked my readers (both of them) to join in on

the fun and send me their ideas via email.  Of

course they cannot be submitted as entries

(unless you print out the membership form and

send your $40 to Paul along with the entry). 

I will, however, post any designs sent back to

me (like anyone would actually do it) and they

would of course be open for comments.  Just

 take a look at the club's site, get a feel for the 

club and the kind of folks that we are.  Then,

download the instructions and template.  When

you've finished your masterpiece, scan it and 

email it to me.  If you actually have time to do

something as frivolous as this.

By the way, the burgee at the top is from some

other low-key boat club that's been around

for a few years.

Corner of a Triangle

The view of New York Harbor from the pool deck of the Explorer

of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean cruise ship.  We were about to

embark on a six day cruise to Bermuda, leaving from Bayonne,

New Jersey.  Oil tankers, cargo ships, ferries, barges of every shape 

and size, tugboats, schooners, racing and cruising sailboats, and 

another cruise ship leaving the pier from the west side of 

Manhattan gave Lady Liberty something to look at this typically 

warm and windy Saturday afternoon.

I was amazed at how fast the Staten Island ferry was.  And how

relatively small it was compared to the floating city atop of 

which I was standing.   

For a time there I wasn't sure we would clear the Verrazano, but

we did and once past the ceremonial start of the cruise, everyone

cheered and ordered another drink.  The bartenders and wait staff 

were immediately at full speed and they barely slowed down

for the next six days.   

Having never been far enough offshore so there's no land in sight,

I was able to line up the horizon with the railing and really get a good

sense of the curvature of the earth.  Also, the color of the water out

there is a spectacular deep blue.  There was a nice stiff wind and 

the sea was relatively flat, perfect conditions I thought, for sailing

across the ocean.    

Not only did my girls refuse sherpas, but they went up without

bottled oxygen.  I told them if they ran into anyone in trouble

up there, give them your chocolate bar but keep pressing on.

Self-preservation is key - don't be a hero.  Plus, our sit-down

dinner time is 6:00 and they still need to shower and do their hair.

The dark and stormy proved to be my favorite cocktail.  Gosling's 

dark rum and ginger beer.  Ginger ale just wouldn't cut it.  At $5.75,

it was one of the bargain drinks on the ship.  Bermuda itself is quite

expensive on the other hand.  We played many hands of "bullshit", 

which my younger daughter enjoyed shouting out at any opportunity.

The sometimes result of shouting bullshit too many times.

The first morning we were in Bermuda, we arrived in Somerset 

too early for our boat rental.  So we sort of trespassed on this resort

 beach where kids under 16 are not welcome.  We kept telling

Olivia to shut up and quit acting her age.  Nobody seemed to

notice our Royal Caribbean towels on the beach chairs.  

We had lunch beachside at the cafe, where we were reminded

by the server that children under 16 are not supposed to be on

the grounds.  I'm not quite sure what came over me but I looked

that guy right square in the face and swore that my daughter

was 16.  And the other was 18 (which she is) and she'd like a 

banana daiquiri.  There were no more concerns; three

of us ordered $16 club sandwiches.  

It was hard to beat the view from our table.

Weeks before, I had reserved an O'Day daysailer for us to sail 

around the different beaches and lagoons and snorkel from.  Due

to the absence of wind, we decided to rent a small motorboat

instead.  That way, we could go far beyond our rental boundary

and get virtually lost in less than half the time.   

We finally found the elusive "World's smallest drawbridge" after

making a mildly concerned cell phone call back to the rental

office regarding the multitude of reefs we were dodging that weren't

mentioned in the pre-three hour tour pep talk. 

The bridge doesn't appear to actually draw open any more, but

they claim that sailboat masts can fit through the 18" gap when the 

board that fills it is removed.  Provided they don't have sidestays,

I guess.  Lasers and Sunfish maybe. 

The Royal Naval Dockyard at the west end of the island.  The

pier can accommodate 2 cruise ships so this area is always buzzing.

A cab ride east to Hamilton, the main city on the island, 

would probably cost $25-30 easily.  We chose to take the

ferry across the sound.  A fifteen minute ride with the wind

in your hair for 4 bucks a head.  

The Explorer of the Seas, left, is a massive ship with 3000 

passengers and 1200 crewmembers.  An impressive operation.

The second day on the island we chose to go to the famous pink

beaches.  They weren't necessarily pink but the sand did have 

some pink grains in it.  We brought a ziplock, of course.  My 

daughter bought a tubular bracelet that could be filled with that 

famous sand and my wife took the rest home and poured it

between a few patio slabs. 

Not just BBQ flavored

What we thought was more interesting than wading in the waves

was snorkeling and just plain floating around in this little lagoon

adjacent to the beach.  The water surged in and out making it

feel like you were in a washing machine sort of.  What I found

cool was that there were no barnacles, and you could hang out in

the water in the shade of the rock walls.

Near the ferry dock in Hamilton is the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club.

Lunchtime for the junior sailors.  I assumed that a club launch

would drive them out and drop them at their Optis.

Now why would I think that?

There are 180 cooks on the ship, 3 eight hour shifts of 60, prepping

and cooking food 24 hours a day.  Very possibly the cleanest kitchen

I've ever been in.  After some pretty well-publicized health issues

aboard cruise ships in the past decade or two, no chances are taken

and the sanitary codes are some of the toughest in the world. 

I just thought this looked cool.

The Captain said he would be honored if I came and took the helm

for a few hours, and I would have if there wasn't karaoke in the

Maharaja lounge at 9.  I did ask if he could arrange for the entire

kitchen and service crew to come out in the dining room and take 

a bow.  He was quite a sport, and in a few minutes, there they were!

For being on the ship an average of seven months at a time, 

virtually every crewmember appeared happy and pleasant at any

given moment.  We were made to feel welcome and appreciated

and the whole trip was an experience we'll never forget.  

I heard that just for our particular cruise, the crew planned

a flash-singalong.  I was amazed at how in tune they all were.

Now, where's my dessert?

P.S. - On a serious note,  I would like to thank my

Mother and Father in law for taking us on this wonderful

cruise.  Their generosity is extraordinary and we 

love them with all of our hearts.