my favorite waterfall - 1 block from Swan Song

Literally thousands of Americans protested the war in Iraq, in major cities, on March 20 - the 4th anniversary of the war. Why was none of this reported in American papers? It was reported in most of the foreign press - "The Americans got what they wanted and now they don't want it." It is so sad to me that the day after 9/11 the entire world was behind America and now all call us war-mongers -

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No longer seeking to know the truth
nor trying to understand with words,
I only sit
and listen to the sound of wind in the trees
and watch the shadows of the evening lengthen into night.

  ~ Blue Iris Sangha
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NONVIOLENCE, PERSONAL AND GLOBAL - scroll down please

Nonviolence belongs to a continuum from the personal to the global, and from the global to the personal. One of the most significant Buddhist interpretations of nonviolence concerns the application of this ideal to daily life. Nonviolence is not some exalted regimen that can be practiced only by a monk or a master; it also pertains to the way one interacts with a child, vacuums a carpet, or waits in line. Besides the more obvious forms of violence, whenever we separate ourselves from a given situation (for example, through inattentiveness, negative judgments, or impatience), we kill something valuable. However subtle it may be, such violence actually leaves victims in its wake: people, things, one's own composure, the moment itself. According to the Buddhist reckoning, these small-scale incidences of violence accumulate relentlessly, are multiplied on a social level, and become a source of the large-scale violence that can sweep down upon us so suddenly. One need not wait until war is declared and bullets are flying to work for peace, Buddhism teaches. A more constant and equally urgent battle must be waged each day against the forces of one's own anger, carelessness and self-absorption. --Kenneth Kraft, Inner Peace, World Peace

Near Enemies

The near enemies are qualities that arise in the mind and masquerade as genuine spiritual realization, when in fact they are only an imitation, serving to separate us from true feeling rather than connecting us to it.

The near enemy of loving-kindness is attachment. At first, attachment may feel like love, but as it grows it becomes more clearly the opposite, characterized by clinging, controlling and fear.

The near enemy of compassion is pity, and this also separates us. Pity feels sorry for that poor person over here, as if he were somehow different from us.

The near enemy of sympathetic joy (the joy in the happiness of others) is comparison, which looks to see if we have more of, the same as, or less than another.

The near enemy of equanimity is indifference. True equanimity is balance in the midst of experience, whereas indifference is withdrawal and not caring, based on fear.

If we do not recognize and understand the near enemies, they will deaden our spiritual practice. The compartments they make cannot shield us for long from the pain and unpredictability of life, but they will surely stifle the joy and open connectedness of true relationships.

--Jack Kornfield, in A Path with Heart
from Everyday Mind, edited by Jean Smith,
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx The Pilgrims' 1621 Thanksgiving

The tradition of the Pilgrims' first Thanksgiving is steeped in myth and legend. Few people realize that the Pilgrims did not celebrate Thanksgiving the next year, or any year thereafter, though some of their descendants later made a "Forefather's Day" that usually occurred on December 21 or 22. Several Presidents, including George Washington, made one-time Thanksgiving holidays. In 1827, Mrs. Sarah Josepha Hale began lobbying several Presidents for the instatement of Thanksgiving as a national holiday, but her lobbying was unsuccessful until 1863 when Abraham Lincoln finally made it a national holiday with his 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation.

Today, our Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday of November. This was set by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939 (approved by Congress in 1941), who changed it from Abraham Lincoln's designation as the last Thursday in November (which could occasionally end up being the fifth Thursday and hence too close to Christmas for businesses). But the Pilgrims' first Thanksgiving began at some unknown date between September 21 and November 9, most likely in very early October. The date of Thanksgiving was probably set by Lincoln to somewhat correlate with the anchoring of the Mayflower at Cape Cod, which occurred on November 21, 1620 (by our modern Gregorian calendar--it was November 11 to the Pilgrims who used the Julian calendar).

There are only two contemporary accounts of the 1621 Thanksgiving: First is Edward Winslow's account, which he wrote in a letter dated December 12, 1621. The complete letter was first published in 1622, and is chapter 6 of Mourt's Relation: A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth.

Our corn [i.e. wheat] did prove well, and God be praised, we had a good increase of Indian corn, and our barley indifferent good, but our peas not worth the gathering, for we feared they were too late sown. They came up very well, and blossomed, but the sun parched them in the blossom. Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our feast.

The second description was written about twenty years after the fact by William Bradford in his History Of Plymouth Plantation. Bradford's History was rediscovered in 1854 after having been taken by British looters during the Revolutionary War. Its discovery prompted a greater American interest in the history of the Pilgrims, which eventually led to Lincoln's decision to make Thanksgiving a holiday. It is also in this account that the Thanksgiving turkey tradition is founded.

They began now to gather in the small harvest they had, and to fit up their houses and dwellings against winter, being all well recovered in health and strength and had all things in good plenty. For as some were thus employed in affairs abroad, others were exercising in fishing, about cod and bass and other fish, of which they took good store, of which every family had their portion. All the summer there was no want; and now began to come in store of fowl, as winter approached, of which this place did abound when they came first (but afterward decreased by degrees). And besides waterfowl there was great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many, besides venison, etc. Besides they had about a peck of meal a week to a person, or now since harvest, Indian corn to that proportion. Which made many afterwards write so largely of their plenty here to their friends in England, which were not feigned but true reports.

The following is a fairly complete list of the foods available to the Pilgrims during the three-day Thanksgiving harvest celebration. As can be seen in the above two quotations, the only foods specifically mentioned by the Pilgrims are: "corn" (wheat, by the Pilgrims usage of the word), Indian corn, barley, peas (if any where spared), "fowl" (Bradford says "waterfowl"), five deer, fish (namely bass and cod), and wild turkey.

The Plimoth Plantation Museum has a nice recipe page that includes a number of modernized recipes to closely simulate the actual foods likely eaten by the Pilgrims during this harvest festival.

Foods Available to the Pilgrims for their 1621 Thanksgiving

FISH: cod, bass, herring, shad, bluefish, and lots of eel.

SEAFOOD: clams, lobsters, mussels, and very small quantities of oysters

BIRDS: wild turkey, goose, duck, crane, swan, partridge, and other miscellaneous waterfowl; they were also known to have occasionally eaten eagles (which "tasted like mutton" according to Winslow in 1623.)

OTHER MEAT: venison (deer), possibly some salt pork or chicken.

GRAIN: wheat flour, Indian corn and corn meal; barley (mainly for beer-making).

FRUITS: raspberries, strawberries, grapes, plums, cherries, blueberries, gooseberries (these would have been dried, as none would have been in season).

VEGETABLES: small quantity of peas, squashes (including pumpkins), beans

NUTS: walnuts, chestnuts, acorns, hickory nuts, ground nuts

HERBS and SEASONINGS: onions, leeks, strawberry leaves, currants, sorrel, yarrow, carvel, brooklime, liverwort, watercress, and flax; from England they brought seeds and probably planted radishes, lettuce, carrots, onions, and cabbage. Olive oil in small quantities may have been brought over, though the Pilgrims had to sell most of their oil and butter before sailing, in order to stay on budget.

OTHER: maple syrup, honey; small quantities of butter, Holland cheese; and eggs.

Some perhaps startling omissions from the authentic Thanksgiving menu

Ham. (The Pilgrims most likely did not have pigs with them).

Sweet Potatoes-Potatoes-Yams. (These had not yet been introduced to New England).

Corn on the cob. (Indian corn was only good for making cornmeal, not eating on the cob).

Popcorn. (Contrary to popular folklore, popcorn was not introduced at the 1621 Thanksgiving. Indian corn could only be half-popped, and this wouldn't have tasted very good.)

Cranberry sauce. (Cranberries were available, but sugar was not.)

Pumpkin Pie: (They probably made a pumpkin pudding of sorts, sweetened by honey or syrup, which would be like the filling of a pumpkin pie, but there would be no crust or whipped topping.)

one of many of our favorite sea views

Below - WAIKIKI BEACH DURING THE DAY AND AT NIGHT = WE LOVE LIVING HERE !!

MY JOURNAL - PASSAGE FROM VENEZUELA TO NETHERLANDS ANTILLIES - BONAIRE, CURACOA, ARUBA, COLOMBIA, SAN BLAS ISLANDS & PANAMA - - - (please scroll down with the left arrow)
FOXY TRANSITS THE PANAMA CANAL WITH SWAN SONG - One of the world's most famous Calypso artists, Foxy Callwood from Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands, was our guest (along with his lovely wife Tessa and British Airways Captain Pete, our navigator) to transit the canal with us. Foxy, who just turned 70 and has been awarded the Prestigious "Member of the British Empire" by Queen Elizabeth II for his humanitarian services - had transiting the canal on his "Bucket List" Foxy and Tessa are good friends so we all enjoyed this glorious experience together. Above - our crew at anchor with the Bridge of the Americas in the background. Below is Dave's Log - Pictures of the event are on the left under "Cruising to Hawaii - Panama Canal"

FROM DAVE'S LOG - PLEASE SCROLL DOWN ON THE LEFT ARROW
Buena Dias, Swan Song and her crew are now in the Pacific Ocean moored at the Balboa Yacht Club in Panama. What an experience leaving Colon, transiting the Canal and arriving in Balboa. The Caribbean’s famous Calypso artist, Foxy Callwood, and his lovely wife Tessa are with us – along with my mate and navigator, Capt. Pete. Transiting the Panama Canal was high on Foxy’s “Bucket List” so we invited him to come along. Our line-handlers – David, Brian and Iris have also arrived so we are ready to transit the canal.
We pick up a pilot in an area called The Flats. The VHF soon comes alive directing us to the canal’s entrance. There are six locks total in the canal; heading into the first lock there is lots of turbulence, with the fresh and salt water trying to mix. We tie up to Daytripper, a 100’ tourist ferry. The lock doors close and we are in a big cement cavern with steel doors dead astern and the steel transom of a 700 foot cargo ship ahead. The top of the lock is 30’ up and hard to see as it is 20:00 and we are looking up into huge lights lining the lock walls. We see the swirl of water, as they start to flood the lock, lifting us up 25’ to the full lock level where we can see the operating machinery. Foxy is busy recording all of this action with his video camera.
The doors to the lock in front of the ship open and “mules” drag him forward. The pilot directs us to drop out dock-lines to the Daytripper and move off from him so he can go ahead to the next lock as the big ship has already started moving. Wow! As soon as we are free the ship’s prop wash hits us and we are in a whirl of water that makes it difficult to keep Swan Song aligned with the lock. Then Daytripper nails his props to get off the walls and adds to the wash that we have to fight. Finally the pilot lets us move ahead so that Swan Song is much easier to control once underway.
We continue this process twice more until we have transited the first three locks. The pilot is picked up and leaves for the night. After anchoring in Gatun Lake and a brief surprise birthday party (yep, it is mine) we all bed down for the night. At 0600 - It is dead calm and Foxy is contemplating a swim around the boat; a few alligators are looking at his red Foxy’s hat which seems to dim his enthusiasm. I count bodies. Brian & Iris are atop the pilothouse, David in the hammock, Peter in the saloon, Foxy/Tessa in the guest stateroom and Nancy in the forward stateroom….good I have the right number.
By 0730 we are up with a new pilot aboard who advises to head to Banana Cut at 8 kts. Foxy is first to see that the first lock is empty. The Lake side lock door opens so we enter forward to the next lock door. Once there we tie to the lock wall as we are a “sidewall tie”. 50 ft forward of the bow is the lock wall and ahead of that a drop of 25 ft to the lock below. Two catamarans rafted together and a 500’ cargo ship then enter. We repeat the locking process of the night before. As soon as the Cargo ship is in the doors shut and this time the plug is pulled and the “bathtub” drains; we go from a view of the lock, and surrounding area, to the bottom of the lock in about 5 minutes. Once down we wait for the lock doors to start to open, sound our horn and the lock line handlers toss our lines free.
Soon we are heading into Pedro Miguel Lake on our way to the Mira Flores locks. The process is repeated only we are on the other side of the lock so our crew must change all of the fenders and dock-lines. Whew!! Down, down we go with the Pilot reading the paper and my hand on the eject button. Finally we’re at the bottom and nothing happens but the suspense builds. 1 minute, 2 minutes and then the Pilot looks over casually and says sound your horn. As I do our lines are dropped from above and the crew gets them aboard. I use the thruster sparingly to move the bow off the wall so I can go thru the lock doors ASAP. There are two doors that meet in the middle so they swing open from the walls. The opening is 5’, then 8’ then 10’ then 12’ and you can see the water rushing from our lock to the next with a lot of turbulence. Finally we get to 15’ and he Pilot says OK.
Pushing Swan Sang with a 16’ beam thru a 18’ hole of steel in a set of rapids sets us off. Foxy & the crew are scared shitless as those steel doors fly by on either side and whoosh we are on the wave riding into the next lock under a nice blue sky in perfect alignment with the lock. The Visitor’s Center is lined ten deep with people who must have come to see Foxy transiting the Canal.
We are now in the last lock riding the fresh water wave and the last lock doors are coming up fast; we go from about 12 kts to 4 in 50’ so I just need a bit of reverse to slow for the lines once again to go on the bollards and voila, we’re tied in the last lock looking down at the Pacific Ocean 25’ below. The doors open and here we are …damn it all to hell we’ve done it, mates!
Soon we are under the Bridge of the Americas & moored at the Balboa Yacht Club. Foxy looks at me with a big grin on his face and announces, “I wouldn’t have missed this for the world - Mission Accomplished!”
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SHELTER BAY MARINA, PANAMA CANAL - OUR HOME FOR JANUARY '09 - We arrived on Xmas Eve and proceeded to renew friendships with old friends we had met in Venezuela. The meal we ate in the restaurant, one hour after arrival, I met Celine Dion (friend from BRM) and she introduced me to her Texas Train Dominoes Group (The Dominatrix) From that time on I had a ball - we swam, ate, drank, played dominoes and had my 69th birthday celebration. Poor Dave all he did was work.
PICTURES FROM MY BIRTHDAY PARTY AND SHELTER BAY MARINA PANAMA ARE UNDER "CRUISING TO HAWAII" ON THE LEFT)

SAN BLAS ISLANDS – KUNA NATION - PLEASE SCROLL DOWN ON THE LEFT

The San Blas Islands are a total contradiction in terms of human value vs. natural beauty. The beauty of the area is unmistakable, reminding me much more of the Pacific South Sea islands than anywhere in the Caribbean. The mountain ranges are deep and go back many ridges with variegated colors – a painters dream. Entering the Kuna Nation from the eastern waterway, cruising west towards Panama City and the canal, the situation was as any anthropologist would have thought.

Those communities that are the furthest away are the most pure and I found much cleaner than those lying more towards modern “civilization”. Our first anchorage was Isla Tintipan. An old elder came out to great us requesting $5 U.S. as a fee for staying in their waters. He also handed us a two page explanation telling of their strict environmental laws. The pages were very light indicating that they were either low on ink or their copy machine, like the one I had teaching school in 1961, had used up all of its carbon.

He was sweet and polite – with my spattering of Spanish and his limited knowledge of English we got along quite well. The ulu canoes that they use were dug out by hand, probably by their fathers, with large flat paddles. They had no signs of electricity, motors or any other modern conveniences. Since they were on the outskirts of the nation, a long way from either Cartagena or Panama City, I assume they were pretty much left alone and the peacefulness of this showed in their faces. They were curious about Swan Song and cheerfully waved as they paddled by. We saw few sailing ulus although they are all outfitted for sailing as when they were built the hole for the mast was included in each of their bows.

The landscape is as beautiful as any I have seen – anywhere; miles and miles of untouched beauty. The seas, however, are a different matter. The cruising has been extremely rough with high seas, difficult swells, winds nearing 20 with stronger gusts and generally uncomfortable as hell. Because of this our days cause our bodies to be so tired from isometrics that we are exhausted upon arrival.

Peter and Dave have formed a real team. The reefs and shoals make the Bahamas look like a piece of cake. This area is largely uncharted and Peter, our master navigator, has four books, with sketchy charts, in front of him trying to ascertain where a safe heading would be. Because of the waves and swells, Dave is helming by hand without the use of the auto helm. He is a master at taking us over. When we started out everything landed on the floor so for me this has been a great lesson in how to stow. I have redone all of the bookshelves, cupboards, cabinets, etc.

The second village we came to, Ustupu, was much like the first but had a few modern buildings and many flags on top of their thatched roofs. An election is coming up in January with ten candidates running so each hut flies a flag, representing their choice of candidate, on top of their thatch. As soon as we arrived boat people started coming out to sell us items – however, they were not brought along. We hired a guide, Garcia, who told us to meet him the next day at 7:30 in the morning. That evening we were amazed as there was a loud party, with terrible modern music, going on until midnight or so. We learned the next day that it was to celebrate the last day of the school year (Dec 18). Considering that the individual huts barely have water or electricity, I found this odd.

There are 14,000 adults living in two sections of this area which is divided by a small river with a modern bridge crossing it. Some of the ulus had sails and there were a few outboards. When Peter and I went in the next day we observed that most women passed 30 were dressed in the traditional costume, the only bit of color in an otherwise brown environment – brown dirt, brown huts, brown skin – everything but the women was muted. The younger women, girls and males wore old modern clothing.

Garcia led us through his section of town where I observed that no one had any personal space at all, quite a contradiction as there is so very much geographic space – the islands are vast with few being inhabited. We were treated as guests by his family. His wife made us plantain which was delicious. There had to be ten children, living within his compound, hanging around – each beautiful but dirty with uncombed hair. They were dressed in modern underpants and nothing else.

As I had requested to see molas, his wife, aunt and sister brought out their personal molas to sell. You could tell that they were personal as they were sewed onto the front and back of material that was made into a blouse like the ones they each wear. His wife put a string of twenty layers of small beads on my ankle that formed into a beautiful pattern, much like oriental Ikat, when they were through. I loved them and thought they were a gift – my mistake.

I chose five absolutely gorgeous molas at $20 each – gifts for my family in Hawaii. When I thought about how long it takes to make one, guilt set in but then when Garcia told me that they sell them commercially for $5 each, not nearly as beautiful as mine, I could see that they were being totally exploited by the outside world.

We then went to the store, a dim and dirty place, where I bought some evaporated milk for morning coffee, four tins of mixed vegetables and some sandwich rolls. The women were all wearing native apparel which was again the only colorful thing around.

The Kuna people are very shy but friendly. I bowed to them as I do when meeting those from other cultures and they responded with huge smiles. The leaders of their nation have told them not to have anything to do with strangers and the outside world so they do not talk to us at all. The children are a different matter however; they all crowded around both Peter and me with hands on and were generally delightful.

Garcia then took us to check in where the papers etc. amounted to $8 U.S. While he was upstairs doing the paperwork and Peter was milling around, I went over to speak to the Panamanian soldiers who were there – very large men, dressed in fatigues with no weapons and definitely no smiles. I bowed to them, telling them in Spanish how beautiful I think their country is, and they each warmly grinned.

After we returned to Swan Song several ulus came out with items to sell. Two young ladies, who had come by the night before, returned with a framed mola in a tacky gold frame, which I did not buy, and a small clay sugar and creamer, which I only bought for $5 after seeing the disappointment on her face. As this was their second trip out I had to tell them “No mas, par favor” meaning please don’t return.

Upon their leaving an older man, Yankee, who had visited us the day before, rowed out with his grandson, an eight year old dressed in a western T-shirt and shorts. Yankee brought a huge bunch of bananas, which I had requested the day before, along with a lovely small Mola purse that I purchased for my granddaughter, Lauren. Dave, Peter and I had been told not to invite anyone aboard as it creates “desires” in them – if they see what others have that they do not. As television, radio, etc. are not allowed in the villages, they have little knowledge of the outside world.

There were several ferries coming into and departing from this village as well as a small airport with a dirt runway serviced by both a single engine plane as well as an Air Panama smaller twin engine plane.

After an eight hour passage the next day, which was a little calmer than the day before, we arrived at our third anchorage, El Tigre, which was 25 miles closer to Panama. This was a real shock to me. Gone were the traditional thatched huts, crowded together in a neat arrangement. Gone was the traditional dress of the native women. A few dilapidated buildings stood before us with shacks in the most deplorable condition – real, unadultlurated poverty; however, their ulus had sails and outboards. We are talking filth here - conditions comparable to the most impoverished barrios in Venezuela. To me the residents looked more Negro than Kuna but then I only saw a few.

There men came out to greet us and charge the $5 fee for anchoring. One was a young Kuna, well dressed and speaking English. He was quite lovely and informed us that he was a guide, should we need one, and that he had learned English in Panama. Had I had my wits about me I would have made an appointment to interview him. Alas!

We lowered the anchor and sat in the cockpit for an hour or so. Then Dave returned to his station in the pilot house while Peter and I watched a movie. Some cute comedy with Kate Hudson –“You, Me and Dupree”. We went to bed early but I had real trouble falling asleep so I stayed up until midnight writing. Not having any electricity, the village all was dark so the stars were out – knockdown gorgeous – and a bowl of the moon was full.

The next morning we left for a lovely three day sojourn in the Lemmon Cays. Here we slept, swam & snorkeled, bought even more molas & children’s masks, and had a delicious meal of fresh fish from the catch of Ruben and his 10 year old son. I also cleaned out my cabinets and took two huge sacks full of clothes to the 2 ladies that had befriended me with molas. Peter took me to their home on a very small island in the dinghy. Later we went over to the local resort where we had a beer with some of the cruisers in this anchorage. That was fun – nice people and also going through the canal.

We left on Dec. 22 and headed for Naluneua where we officially checked in and out and slept the entire afternoon as it was raining. On the 23rd we headed for Panama itself. We have completely missed the hullabaloo of xmas and not a one of us misses it.

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DEC. 2008 - CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA
We have been in Cartagena for a week now and absolutely love it. I could stay here for 6 months, all that you are allowed, and am wondering now why we didn't come here last year instead of going back to VZ. The old town is so charming and reminds me a lot of the French Quarter where I had a Creole Cottage, as a get-away, for ten years '76 - '86.

The anchorage is rolly with lots of boats as it is hard to get a slip at this time of year. There have to be at least 300 cruisers here - from all over the world but also a lot of Americans. Everyone is so thrilled with Obama so they are really friendly to us once more. This is very encouraging.

The restaurants here are fabulous and inexpensive. Peter is still with us and is delightful company. The three of us eat out every noon and have a gourmet lunch. As you know, we go to bed early and don't eat dinner as it puts on the weight and makes us lethargic.

We leave on Friday, Dec. 11th, for the San Blas Islands and hope to arrive at Shelter Bay Marina in Panama on Christmas Day. We will be there several weeks as there is a line-up to get through the Panama Canal.

My knee is just hell right now - why in the world I didn't have Dr. Dibbs do a total knee operation on me in VZ I will never know. I bought a full knee brace, a huge thing, which helps a lot and I am wearing my short brace on the other knee, which is giving out because of the stress placed on. I also have to use a cane when I leave the boat so getting my knee fixed will be my first priority when we reach Hawaii - if I can last that long - there aren't many options left and I could shoot myself for being such a Pollyanna about it.

Swan Song has her aches and pains but is generally the great seafaring vessel that we have always known she is. We love her.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO FAMILY AND FRIENDS. WE LOVE YOU ALL AND HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT HOLIDAY SEASON AND 2009

NANCY

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G’day all, we are in Columbia in a place called Santa Marta. It’s a mini Waikiki Beach for the Columbians. Our passage from Curacao has been about what we expected with lots of followings seas and wind. Some a bit more than we wanted, 10’ and some 35 kts, but Swan Song handled it all well.

We had a bit of a surprise this AM when I heard something on the foredeck and found a young man opening our forward hatch. As it goes down into the forepeak and there is no exit I let him go down and then closed the hatch. Once I was ready I opened it and he had a bit of life in him till I whacked him over the head with the windlass handle a couple of times.

Our lack of a mutual language didn’t help his cause. However after a bit I did offer him a means to depart back over the bow and swim back ashore. He will have a scar on his forehead and a bit of a knob on his head but maybe it knocked a bit of sense into him. The fact that he came up the anchor rode indicates to me that this wasn’t his first boarding but hopefully his last, at least for awhile.

I contemplated holding him for the Guardia Costa but then the prospect of being stuck here for a few weeks or months with depositions, etc prompted our “catch, tag and release program”.

 Nancy and Peter didn’t enjoy the rude awaking. Peter said he was “leaving the dream” as he dashed on deck to help out ;-)

So all is well, never mundane and we’ll be leaving here about midnight to cross the dreaded Rio Magdalena river. The forecast isn’t as good as I’d like but after Sunday it deteriorates even more. Being stuck here for a week might have been an alternative until this AM but I’d get tired of whacking all the thief’s by then! It about 100 miles to the next anchorage and then only 15 more to Cartagena so we should be there by Sun PM, Pearl Harbor Day

No worries as the good ship Swan Song and her crew explore the seldom visited Columbian coast J

Love to all

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Nov. 29 –
Thursday was Thanksgiving – I made a delicious seafood stir-fry with a salad and wine. Yummy !After spending 17 days in the marina, we finally accomplished what we came for the crane and life raft had arrived and were delivered after spending 10 days in customs. Ah!! The good ole island life. Dave and Peter installed the crane but did not make the bridle for the dinghy so we will do that elsewhere. The day before we left, the 28th, I had a delightful lunch at Willamienas in Willemsted with Gail, from Another Road; Vicki from True Companion and Linda from Rainbow Rider. It was so good to be with the girls again and we had a delicious lunch. Then that evening Curacao Marina was celebrating their 10th anniversary with a great party right outside of our boat, which has the slip next to the parking lot. They set up white tents, with champagne, white clothed tables with covered chairs, many hot hor d’uerves . The music was terrific with two different entertainers performing great sets. It started at six and was over by 11:30 so that was good. Dave was exhausted but Peter and I had a blast.

We got up this morning early and were out by 8:30. We had to wait an hour for the bridge to open but that was fun because we took a lot of pictures and Willemsted is gorgeous – like a painting of a Caribbean Amsterdam. When we finally got underway we cruised for 38 hours before reaching our anchorage for the night in Capo de Vela in Colombia on the northern coast. I cooked homemade macaroni and cheese, with sausage, which the guys loved. Peter and I had a good swim and we napped for awhile. We are leaving at ten for an overnight passage to Bahia de Tres (Three Bays) which they say is gorgeous.

Dec. 3
We anchored in Bahia de Tres on the 1st and have been enraptured ever since – the surrounding hillside must contain at least a hundred shades of green. From the deck of Swan Song they diminish in color as each ridgeline recedes – very beautiful to say the least. The farthest mountains are then seen in a light grey blending beautifully into the blue of the sky so that the horizon is muted. There are ten other yachts here with us, enjoying the most idealic scenery we have seen, with the exception of Occulto Bay in Mochima, in years. The bay is wide and open with six individual mountain ridges in the background. There is a lovely small beach dotted with the homes of fishermen as well as second homes for Colombians. The light is soft and pale and the snorkeling is excellent. When we first arrived Roxanne and Jim from Dawn Dancer came over and invited us for sundowners. Naturally, we accepted and left even though it was raining. We had not yet reset our watches from Venezuela time and were early but it didn’t seem to matter in the least. Another couple joined us, David and Sydney on Hannah Day, and we settled in on their cockpit while the rain came down in torrents around us.

The next morning we were up bright and early to watch the sun rise over the mountains – most beautiful and serene, indeed. The fishermen are out and waved to us as they passed – very friendly. After a great breakfast of cereal with fresh fruit we went on a harbor tour and snorkeled for several hours. I had lunch cooking in the slow cooker as we eat our main meal in the middle of the day as I have the most energy then and we have hours in which to work off the calories. Both Peter and I enjoyed a few hours each in the hammock while Dave took a nap and then went for a swim. We went to bed early – again it was raining, the reason for the abundance of green and the variation of colors.

An adorable couple Scott and Kim from Detroit are beside us on a steel boat that they restored (both are welders) named Anthyllide,after a small flower growing in the Alps. As their boat was originally built in France, I found the name most appropriate and have decided to write an article on them.

Dec. 4 – We left Bahia de Tres around 7:30 in winds that were close to 20 with high and rolly seas, which surprised me as Dave never does this, However, after an hour it settled down to a lovely cruise. We passed Santa Marta and then were boarded by the Colombian Coast Guard – three young men who were most polite and wanted to know why we were not flying the Colombian flag – we don’t have one as you cannot buy them except in Colombia – so they asked us to fly the quarantine yellow flag, which we did. The officer spoke rather good English which amazed us all as none of the Venezuelan Navy or Coast Guard speaks English. They left after a brief inspection and we continued on to the anchorage, a resort area that resembled a mini Waikiki or Margarita Island. Dave took us in to the beach where Peter and I disembarked and walked to the closest resort to pay for WiFi for the rest of the day – expensive at $11 or 25,000 pesos for 12 hours. I am having real problems with my knee as it is starting to “buckle” when I walk which causes a lot of pain. We then were able to check our e-mail and Dave got the weather for tomorrow.
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NOVEMBER 1 2008 – Bon Voyage Party at the Bahia Redonda Marina Restaurant
Our dock and friends gave us a really special sendoff the night before we departed. Knowing that we wanted to get off early the next day they invited everyone for 5:30 ON Saturday evening. We had six tables pushed together and over forty friends and fellow cruisers who came to wish us well and drink toasts to our voyage. The restaurant even donated goodies and several bottles of wine. The pictures that I took were just great showing many happy, yet sad, friends. Dave wore his bright pink pants and his wild shirt that Nancy Burke made for him. I wore a low cut yellow top with matching sweater. We had a great time with everyone going home before nine, which was just perfect. As Dave had left early, Steve walked me back to the boat.

NOV. 2 - MOCHIMA NATIONAL PARK- OCCULTO BAY
What a send-off. Twenty cruisers armed with horns and “shouters” lined our dock, took off our lines and gave us a rousing send-off at 11:30 on Sunday morning. While we were working to get last minute things done they were at the bar having Bloody Mary’s. Steve and Bill drove their dinghy out to help us get through the moorings. We all had tears in our eyes upon saying good-by. We are especially going to miss Steve as he has been a very special friend to both of us.

Well underway, we headed out for Occulto Bay in Mochima, our most favorite anchorage and one that we have visited well over 30 times during out 2+ years in Venezuela. I had made chicken loaf in the slow cooker, with new potatoes, so we had an enjoyable trip out averaging 6.8 knots. Several pods of Dolphins came to escort us which is not unusual at all as they love our boat speed and swim with us daily on cruises. We arrived at Occulto about 1:30 and settled in. I swam while Dave cleaned the dock lines and the bottom of the dinghy (Leda). We watched a gorgeous sunset and saw the stars come up from the new chairs on our bow. It was a beautiful site and one that we have enjoyed many times. It is sad for me to think that this is our last visit to this spiritual spot as we have had so many good times here.
 
NOV 3 – OCCULTO BAY AND CUMANA FOR FUEL
We were both up at 5 as we wanted to watch the sun come up over the eastern mountain range where the vista is five tiers deep. I had my Argentine tea and Dave his coffee. There were lots of different bird calls and the morning was calm and relaxing. As much as we love all of our special friends we are cruisers at heart and it is a wonderful feeling indeed to awaken to nature with nothing manmade in sight – how we love this. Of course they, as cruisers, feel exactly the same way.

We left by 8 and headed out for Cumana to fill up in diesel. We were able to purchase 2,700 litres for a little over $100 US – now we have all tanks on full, including the dinghy jerry jugs and the four extra 60 litre jugs that Dave purchased for extra fuel. We had no problems at the dock. Dave saw a huge humpback whale jump out of the water upon leaving which made the trip special. We arrived back at Mochima in time for lunch, a swim and a siesta. After enjoying a glass of wine and another swim, Dave had his customary evening ice cream treat and we again went to bed early after watching the stars come up spotting several of the constellations including what we think is the Southern Cross. ”I began reading the stories of Flannery O’Conner “The Complete Stories” She is one of my favorite southern writers.

NOV. 4 – TORTUGA – election day in the US.
Of all of the miserable luck, Dave awoke with a terrible cold and had coughing and sniffles all day. I tried to let him nap as much as possible during the cruise to Tortuga. Isla de Tortuga is 40 miles north of Mochima and the ride was lovely. Dozens of pods of dolphins accompanied us throughout the trip with others coming in to meet us as we arrived. I cooked chicken halves in the slow cooker with mushrooms and Jasmine rice which was delicious. I also made homemade bread which Dave enjoys. The trip was restful and we enjoyed the coastline of this island chain, which reminds us so much of Anegada, BVI. At only 120 feet high it is full of scrub but lovely clear water. We entered on the southeastern corner having averaged 7.5 knots. We passed Oriental Point and Laguna el Carenero to starboard. The southern side features the highest points of the island with many lovely beaches backed by ledges full of scrub. We anchored before Point Arenas although we went around the point, and the reef break, to the other side to explore before doing so. There are many green mangroves with mucho mozzies – so much so that we had to eat indoors behind our screens. I have several whelts on my arms. It is weird as it feels like March or April. I wonder who won the election? I guess we’ll find out manana although I did try and get some news over NPR on the SSB.

NOV. 5 – TORTUGA & LOS ROQUES – OBAMA WINS THE ELECTION
Dave took the midnight shift as we pulled up anchor at Tortuga. He was worried about the shoals so he stayed on watch until 5:30 or so when he came to get me. As I slept in our master stateroom, because of the air-conditioning, I had a fair rest but not deep sleep. It takes us both a few days to get used to the sea after being at a marina. I fixed café latte with my great Venezuelan coffee and was soon awake listening to Eric Clapton’s album “Me & Mr. Johnson” – great Southern blues; with a peaceful azure sea, clear blue skies and mild 10 knot winds – what a great way to start the day. At 8 am I was able to get NPR on the SSB to learn that Obama had the most sweeping Democratic election since the 1930s. Had McCain won I think we all would have given up on our beautiful America. Maybe we will now have a constitution once again!

Los Roques is a national park that belongs to Venezuela and is famed for its 80 species of birds as well as the many variations of fish – a true snorkeling paradise. We entered on the southeastern side near Boca de Sebastopol where the water is at least ten different shades of aqua/turquoise water – a gorgeous paradise. We anchored about a half mile inland on the channel in some of the most beautiful water I have ever seen. I went swimming immediately and then fixed Dave a good sautéed steak dinner with fresh veggies and bread. Afterwards, I went up on the bow with my I-pod and great new headphones where I enjoyed a Sundowner or two and sang to the Universe for several hours, watching the stars come out until the sky was one continuous blanket of twinkles. No one was around so I just sang until bedtime. Naturally, I had a fantastic night’s sleep just filled with interesting dreams.

NOV.6 – LOS ROQUES
I got up about 5 and let Dave sleep. I made a pot of tea and went out on the bow where I watched the sun come up over the sea – with all of the various coral around the colors were fantastic. I then worked on the computer for several hours, went swimming and maude a huge breakfast for us both of scrambled eggs and diet burritos. I then straightened up the cockpit and read for awhile. We left around 10 am and headed up the southern coastline to Elbert Cay on the Western side . Along the way we passed Cayo Bal, where the salt ponds are located; Pelona and dos Mosquitos (which we perilously avoided. Los Roques is home to some of the world’s best bone-fishing – we passed several tourists who were trying their hand – along nothing but mile after mile of white sandy beaches, while listening to James Taylor. I will write an article on this for next month’s All At Sea. The island really looks like Anegada in everyway except on the south side it is totally uninhabited. There are numerous islands that compose Lose Roques – some have guessed as many as 100. They form a circle around a large uncharted, unsurveyed and restricted area of flats that shimmer a light aqua blue through to the low-lying areas.

We also passed a Turtle Hatchery, which is on one of the furthermost islands. They get the turtle eggs, raise them for a year and then release them so that they have a much higher survival rate. We anchored at Elbert Cay and took a lovely harbour tour in Leda. The water is gorgeous with many various colors of blue. We were not able to go ashore to explore due to the surge at the water’s edge. We went back to the boat and watched a gorgeous sunset. Then the dreaded mosquitos came out so we had to go inside and close up the boat. I worked on several articles and then was in bed by 7:30 and read for awhile.

NOV. 7 – DADDY DIED 41 YEARS AGO TODAY – THE AVES
I always sad on this day but it quickly wore off as I had morning tea to an early morning sunrise around 5:15. Much to my dismay the dreaded mozzies were still around so when Dave awoke he wanted to leave for the Aves, which we did. As we were arriving a group/pod of about 30 dolphins came out to greet us – they swam with us for at least 35 minutes and had a delightful time. They were not used to boats like the dolphins from Mochima.

Also along the way we had a VHF call from Mabel and our friends Elena & Andres, who are Italian but whom we met in PLC. I wrote an article on Elena as she is a fabulous jeweler and I have collected many of her pieces for family members. We passed them and anchored on the smallest of the Aves on the western side. After anchoring Dave took a nap and I went snorkeling. I discovered a great reef about 200 yards from the boat and had a super snorkel. The fish obviously are not used to swimmers as they would come right up to me. Saw a wonderful puffer fish.

As I headed back to the boat I noticed that something was arwy with the dinghy lines. Upon further examination I discovered that somehow the bridle had become wrapped around our prop – a serious thing indeed. When Dave awoke he dove on it – untangling it took close to an hour to completely free all of the lines. It totally exhausted him. The only other time this has happened was when we were north of Los Testigos and Peter had to dive on the lines

I then hooked up my new VCR and recorded Great Expectations onto my hard drive. I had a sundowner and watched the sunset – we saw another GREEN FLASH – the first one of this trip.

NOV. 8 – BONAIRE- WHALE WATCHING
We both woke up at 5 and watched the sun come up on the front deck – lovely. We attached Leda and were underway by 7:30. Within two hours we were greeted by a huge whale that was just napping on top of the water blowing water out of his spout. Our boat did not seem to alarm him and he just continued to snooze. For five minutes or so. Dave got pictures – he looked like a giant log just floating on top of the water so he must have been a Humpback. We arrived in Bonaire's main harbour at 1:00 and there were no moorings available. We couldn't believe it - as no anchoring is allowed in these waters we set out once more for the open sea and Curacao. Unfortunately, there was no way at all to make this passage in daylight so we did something we rarely do. We tied everthing securely, turned off the engine and just drifted for the night. We had all of our lights on so noone would hit us and we had turned on all of our alarms to warn us of visitors.

All in all it was a delightful night with plenty of rest. When we awoke in the morning we had drifted ten miles north so we had an extra hour or two ahead of us once we got underway.

NOV. 10 – SPANISH WATERS/CURACOA BOAT YARD
We knew that we would be leaving Spanish Waters around 11 to go down to the boat yard where we would be having our crane installed. Old friend, John Smith from Maid or Curacao, came over for coffee and we really enjoyed seeing him again. He has been cruising the Caribbean for over 40 years and is also a writer. We had many things to talk about and totally enjoyed his visit. We then left Spanish Waters and cruised down to Willemstad, the capital, where we waited for almost an hour for the bridge to open. Upon opening we ventured through a long canal and came to the boat yard – they had no room for us so we anchored outside. We then left SS and checked in with customs. While Dave was doing that I walked down to the Tourist Information Booth and got a map, etc. so that I can plan what I want to do for the next week. We went back to the boat and spent the rest of the day in our stateroom, which is the only air-conditioned room on the boat – this is the hottest place we have been but at least there are no mosquitoes.

NOV. 11 – BOAT YARD – STILL ANCHORED
Boy is this place disorganized. Even though Dave has been e-mailing the dock for several months they still don’t have a place for us. Not only that – they do not have a VHF (can you imagine living in such Dark Ages – nor WiFi) so we are completely on our own, anchored out, wasting a day in the heat – and I mean it is hot. We did go into Immigration (they were closed yesterday) and checked in. Terry and Jerry from Canada were there so we chatted with them. Then Dave took me to the market in the dinghy and I shopped for eggs and veggies. They have a wonderful market – very large and thorough rather like the big one in Martinique so I found some real buys. My knee is hurting me so we came back to SS and spent the afternoon reading in the air-conditioned stateroom. I am also taping my old VCR videos onto my hard drive so that is emptying the boat of lots of no longer needed items.

NOV 12 – 16 - BOAT YARD WORK
We worked on the boat for these four days but the crane has still not been released from customs so the real work has yet to be begun. I did go out one evening with the girls to see “Bee Season” which was really good. I also did a lot of shopping so that we will have provisions when Peter arrives.

NOV 17 - 24 - - PETER ARRIVES & BOAT YARD WORK
Peter Ratcliff, our good British Airways friend from the BVI who helped us take Swan Song to Venezuela three years ago, arrived for a month's stay with us. He is a great guy and is assisting Dave where I cannot. They are busy building a cradle for the crane (which arrived after sitting for ten days in customs) and getting ready, in general, for a long cruise. Peter and I usually venture into Willemsted yesterday afternoon for a beer and visit. He loves sitting alongside the boardwalk in one of the many outdoor cafes. I drew a street scene of what was behind us (my interptetation of course) which is shown below. I also go to the market several times a week and feast on European delights. The shopping here is just great. It has rained off and on for days, but then it is the rainy season - this doesn't help the mosquito problem though and Dave's paint jobs.

MORE LATER
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NEWS -
Dave and I have decided to take our trawler, Swan Song, to Hawaii so that we can spend much more time with my sons Michael and Greg and their families. We will leave in early November and cruise Los Roches & The Aves in Venezuela, Bonaire, Curaco and Aruba. We will spend the Christmas season in Cartagena, Colombia. We will then cruise to the San Blas Islands and go through the Panama Canal. More on this later ---
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MOCHIMA NATIONAL PARK AND 300 SPLASHING DOLPHINS - We love Mochima and have made many trips there in the past years. Among the best were 3 separate trips of 10 days of fantastic snorkeling and dolphins with Brit friend Peter Ratcliff and Elaine Larkin & Teri Wright. Another with Diane Sousa and many others alone. Look under "Venezuela Fun" on the left then under "Fun in Mochima"
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AMAZON JUNGLE AND ANGEL FALLS One of my life's dreams has been a trip to the Amazon and Angel Falls, the largest waterfall in the world. My dream came true when BVI friends Nels & Linda Hagenson along with Paul & Judy Carrell flew down to see us in Nels' plane. We had a marvelous trip to the falls and the Amazon is even more spectacular than I ever could have imagined. Please look under The Amazon, etc. on the upper left.

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GREAT NEWS FOR US ALL -
Reuters - Tue Oct 16, 9:21 AM ET Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama will receive the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor Congress can bestow, on Wednesday. As a follower of the Dalai Lama for almost a decade I salute the fact that our congress is making this award.
See PEACE PLEASE ABOVE

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MARIA ELEANA'S WEDDING -
We all had a wonderful time at friend Maria Eleana's all white wedding. All of our old friends from 2006 in the marina in Venezuela were thereand a very good time was had by all. For pictures please go toWEDDING under VENEZUELA. Thank you

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TRIP TO CARACAS AND THE GERMAN VILLAGE OF TOVAR -

Opportunities happen every day if one is awake to them. Dave had some work to do on the boat and I discovered that Jaimie, from Venezuela Travel, was taking a group of sailors to Caracas and Tovar for four days. I asked if they had an empty seat and was warmly welcomed aboard. What a great time we had - a really cordial group and such fun. I was totally delighted by the beauty of both Venezuela's capital city and Tovar. For pictures and more information please visit the Venezuela section and look under Caracas and Tovar. Enjoy!

FESTIVAL OF THE VIRGIN
Saturday was much fun in Puerto la Cruz. They have a yearly festival here entitled the "Festival of the Virgin" which is very much like the "Blessing of the Fleet" in New Orleans, Biloxi, and other shrimping ports. We took friends and went out to join the parade of boats, each decorated to the hilt. This year was different from last in that each boat had it's own statue of the Virgin, always clothed in a long satin cloak with a large golden crown on her head. There were literally hundreds of boats that joined the 20 mile parade ending on the beach for a huge 24 hour party - filled with great Latino food and teriffic live music. A wonderful time was had by all. When we returned to the boat, I put up our hammock and crashed for a long nap. Pictures can be seen under Venezuela - Please look under the Virgin Festival. Thanks.
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We are now settled nicely into our marina here and as much as we miss going to a different Caribbean island each week, are ajusting nicely to marina life. Nancy has Spanish lessons three times a week and complains bitterly about the verb forms - it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks (her words exactly)!

Check out http://www.dj.com.ve/ on occasion for updates. They have an interesting mix of news about Latin America.

It is the rainy season and we are delighted that we had our enclosure for the cockpit installed before we left Venezuela last year. It is really doing the trick. In fact, Nancy has all of her Kilm Rugs from the Middle East covering the cockpit floor. It is all dry and cozy.

Nancy enjoys her afternoons in the pool, as she loves to swim, and is also updating her art and writings by putting them all in folders - there is so darned much organization needed on a yacht. Everything has a place.

We’re hauling Swan Song out the 1st of October and splash back in the 12th Oct. Then we have our friends who are flying down from the BVI in their plane for a week. We hope to fly around the interior and get to Angel Falls but his Spanish may not meet the requirement of the Air Traffic Control once you are in the interior. English is the international language but only on international routes! “Hey Gringo we shoot you down ‘cause you no talk to us” wouldn’t be the best thing to here from a Russian escort fighter!!

Our love to all of our family and friends out there - do let us hear from you.

Nancy & Dave
M/V Swan Song
Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela

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AUGUST 2007
Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela
Lat 10 12.480
Lon 64 39.799
Logged 28.9 km

We left Mochima National Park with mixed emotions early in the month and traveled thru many pods of dolphins, which was delightful with Nancy videoing the entire 20 minutes + At one time we had at least a dozen under our bow with hundreds all around. One group stayed with us under the bow for at least 15 minutes.....a splendid "welcome back" as we were one night away from the "dock", our fall home away from hurricanes - just in time too as we see Hurricane Dean already heading for the upper eastern Caribbean.
 Swan song will enjoy the "rest" but I'm not sure Nancy and I will. We've had more fun and have surprised ourselves in living 24/7 with each other with very little outside contact except in anchorages. We're both good at self entertaining, give each other space and yet spend some very good quality time together. She is always busy with her art, writing, reading or listening to books on her ipod. I am usually doing boat maintance and writing also.

After 6 months and 2 days we have arrived back at our starting point in Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela

Some of our statistics are as follows -

2052.6 nautical miles 11.4 NM/day 5.8 kts avg speed
353.7 engine hours 1.97 hrs/day
1280 genset hours 7.1 hrs/day ~768 gallons used

1875 gallons of diesel 10.4 GPD ~1107 gal net to engine
1.85 NM/gal $1785 fuel cost $1.12/NM or $1.05/gal

Note that if we had of had larger tanks(~2200 gal vs. the 1275 gal) the
total fuel cost would have been ~$100.00 vs. the $1885 as we would have used only Venezuelan purchased fuel. Even so the ~$1.05/gal average isn't bad these days ;-)

We did one oil change on the Detroit Diesel with filter and 3 on the genset
one with filter. Three raw water impellors on the genset, none on the main Two Gulf Coast F1 filter changes and one Racor 1100 2 micron change.

Cleaned the raw water screen for the air-conditioning/water maker intake
once. Never had to touch the engine intake one yet in a year and ~550 hours

Replaced the exhaust overheat sensor on the genset that failed. The ER engine start switch went bad and caused a momentary fright but that was just by passed.

We had no outside labor other than two bottom scrapes, one in St Vincent for $100 EC or US$37 and one in St Lucia for EC$100.

One overnight haul out to tighten the stern bearing box, pressure wash,
clean the prop and zinc replacement at Nanny Cay Tortola, BVI at $950.00..ouch!! That was about it.

We have seen many wonderful places mostly old haunts but a lot of new ones also. Met many cruisers along the way from all over the world. Don't just dream it get out there and do it!

Overall it been a very good trip and Swan Song has performed above my
expectation throughout. A good little ship :-) She now deserves a rest, some improvements and a nice fresh bottom over the next couple of months. We are looking forward to our haul-out as paying the bill should be a pleasure. Our friends with the 56' steel trawler, Cheshire Too, just splashed after 8 days in the yard. They supplied the bottom paint and the yard furnished all else
including the labor.....US$500.00 total! Fred was very happy with the
quality and they splashed him on the day they said they would...can't ask
for more, IMO.

We still have the great sunsets/sunrises where we are docked but will miss the feel of the ocean swell. OTOH we have many old friends here and will make some nice new ones.

I know you have all grown tied of my diatribes on our cruise so you can all
breathe a sigh of relief...they're over.....for now ;-)

You can see some of the pictures if you scroll down on the left. She has divided our travels into three parts
1. The Virgin Islands
2. The Leeward Islands
3. The Windward Islands

Cheers to all and enjoy. We will be reporting our activities in South AMerica in this space so please check back. Thanks and Ciao :-)

Dave & Nancy
Swan Song
Roughwater 58

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AUGUST 10, 2007 - VENEZUELA
 
El Oculto, Mochima National Park, Sucre, Venezuela
Lat 10 21.989
Lon 64 22.671
Logged 28.5 km

After leaving Isla de Margarita, we had a nice cruise down to Mochima National Park on the mainland of Venezuela. This is Nancy's most favorite anchorage and is where we spent Christmas of 2006 with best friends Glenda Hilty and Dave Robbins.

As soon as we arrived we totally chained gears and went into relax mode. Nancy donned snorkle gear and I took her out to the pristine coral, which is still in its virginal state in this anchorage.

After a couple of days of deep chill out, without anything or anyone to
disturb us except ourselves, it was time to leave Bahia Matacual and head back east 11 miles to Cumana.

Cumana is the home of the easy on/off fuel dock that sells the fuel to us "foreigners" at the local price. We had not heard if it was still the case
but figured it was worth a try. We set
Swan Song up with just two fenders. Round 42" balls one forward and one aft. A bow, spring and stern line and zingo we're on the dock.

My best Spanish, "uno mill liter", gets us the fill hose and as we have
direct 2" fills we can take full throttle from his pump...not a high speed
fuel system as in Marigot Bay or back in Road Harbor but OK. We received 1,000 litres for $13.50 - not bad and only one of the reasons we adore Venezuela.

This all took place in the course of one hour and under the watchful eye of the Guardia National officer who was standing on the dock looking us over closely but never asked for papers or anything. We tipped the fuel attendant 20% of the bill....10,000 B's. He was very happy.

Guess this means that fuel is still cheap here if you're willing to travel a
couple of hours for it. Plan ahead and save the difference between the
"international price" of close to $2 or get the "family" price of $.05 a litre.

We left the dock and headed back west to El Oculto which is a bay in Mochima Park that could take 10-15 boats.......NONE again. The waters like a mirror, the afternoon rumbles are in the distance and Swan Song has been feed twice in one week. She's happy and so are we :-)

The sunsets there were the most spectacular we have seen - brilliant patches of pink, lavendar, orange, yellow and gold. They absolutely take your breath away.

A real treat was a 30 minute ride with a pod of wild dolphins which Nancy caught on Video. They love Swan Song and her cruising speed of 6.5 knots and swam with us for several miles crossing and cris-crossing in front of the bow.

Upon leaving, several days later, we met up with Cheshire Too, Fred & Linda - former dock mates and Buddy Boaters from 2006. Our rendezvous point was El Faro, Chimina Segunda which is near Puerto La Cruz. A small bay busy with locals on weekends but usually empty mid week. Only five miles from downtown PLC! We had a lot of catching up to do
with Fred & Linda because they've been up and down the islands from here to Curacao & Bonaire this winter/spring. Our plan for the fall and winter..we think. They looked great, had many tales to tell and treated us to a great dinner and conversation.

Our AIS has a parade of boats just offshore of the coast. Nice to know they are there if one did need assistance and having their name, etc from the AIS certainly will get their attention calling by name on the VHF. Another good use for it...plus they know where we are as we have the Class B transponder not just a receiver so are continually broadcasting out details.

Dave & Nancy
Swan Song
Roughwater 58
Caribbean Cruise '07

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JULY 31, 2007 - WINDWARD ISLANDS GRENADA

Lat 12 02.496
Lon 61 45.477
Logged 31.9 NM

We had a very eventful trip down from Carriacou. Dolphins swam with us for much of the way, we had a double rainbow and also saw a blue-billed boobie. We are now ready for Wild Kingdom.

We also had to drive around the exclusion zone of the active underwater volcano called Kick 'em Jenny as it was directly on the rhumb line. There is a 5 KM zone that is closed to commercial traffic and a smaller 1.5 KM zone for non commercial. Seems to me if that baby were to burp we'd all be in a
heap of trouble that close! It has been about 30 years since it erupted and they do keep a watchful eye on it as it has the potential of causing a tsunami in the whole Caribbean if it does erupt. Meanwhile lots of whirlpools and some strange currents around it so we gave it the "commercial" wide berth ;-)

Anchored in 20' of crystal clear water just outside of St George's Harbor.
St George's lagoon is the site of one of the largest of the new marinas. Port Louis, that are being constructed in the Eastern Caribbean. 300 slips when its all done for up to 12 250' megayachts and one superyacht berth that's 350' with 30' depth at it!

A couple of billion EC$ before it all done...phase one will open in December they say but they'd better start working a lot faster than we have seen the last two days! Another cruiser's hangout gone as no more anchoring in the lagoon...filled with slips soon!

A good farmers market at 0630 this AM and we're stocked with fresh veggie's from the Spice Island ...always a treat to hit the Saturday markets on most of the islands. What they grow is there, has names that you couldn't pronounce for something you really don't know what it could be. You buy it and discover it is delightful so want more in the next market but it has a new name.....how about looking for Basil, the herb not the person!? In Grenada "basil' draws a blank stare, but if you ask for "poor man's poke" you find "basil" in many stalls. Part of the delight of cruising and shopping "local".

Nancy spent the day visiting waterfalls and painting on the sites - something she really enjoys doing. Her abstracts are really colourful and she does enjoy her art and photography. Meanwhile, I am in the engine room. :-)

We have a delightful gift for tomorrow, Sunday. A forecast for 0-15 kts of breeze on out trial with 2-4 ft seas also on our tail with a current of 1 to 3 kts from the rear quarter AND a full moon to help get us started at 0300.

Its 92 miles from where we are anchored to the Los Testigos group of
islands. We took 16 hours coming from there to Grenada and hope with the "force" with us going back will be a bit closer to 12-13 hours. Making
landfall in Los Testigos after dark is not something to be done. Two many
hazards from fishing gear...nets, floats etc that are unmarked and stretch all over the place, to unlit boats anchored or drifting, to finding the anchorage too full to get a good look at where you might fit using the
searchlights....which piss off the fishermen who can make your already
uncomfortable life even more so! Nope arriving well before 1500 and being anchored by sunset is my choice :-)

It will be great to get back into South American waters. This will be our first entry in Venezuela but as they have no clearing facility we only report to the Coasta Guardia that we are there. They give permission for up to a 3 day stay. We'll hang there with the fishermen for a couple of days and then do the 50 miles to Porlamar, Isla Margarita, Venezuela where we will need to clear in for the first of several times to Venezuela. Venezuela, as many countries, has port to port clearance. So one needs to make sure the Port Captains know where we are.

No internet till we get there in 4 days or so. Still life is good :-)

Cheers

Dave & Nancy
Swan Song
Roughwater 58
Caribbean Cruise '07

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JULY 16, 2007
Pitons, Soufriere, St Lucia
Lat 13 49.323
Lon 61 03.930
Logged 69.2 NM

Last report we were looking at a possible Tropical Depression forming to our east. All the models had the track basically straight over St Lucia so being the potential kingpin in the alley wasn't what I had in mind.

We moved down to Marigot Bay, St Lucia which is one of the old hurricane holes for the merchant ships of yesteryear. Turning into the Bay it was not quite recognizable. Last there in the early 80's as a sleepy little bay where Dr Doolittle was filmed with Rex Harrison, Samantha Eggers and the famous pink snail it has metamorphosed into a 5 star resort, DISCOVERY HOTEL, with the Mooring Charter company as a tenant and 1st class grounds. Gone are the mosquitoes and early evening no-seeums that used to thrive here.
Nancy totally enjoyed being there and took full advantage of the pool, having a massage and being invited to all of the welcome parties. We scrubbed down the boat from bow to stern and settled in for a nice week at the dock - our first since we left Venezuela in January. She also wrote several stories about the area.

Margot is also home, for some reason, to the cheapest fuel in this part of the Caribbean. Once I
spied the fuel dock I could see why. 30 ft long at right angles to the
tradewinds with zero depth ahead of it and a stone jetty 20' to leeward.
Hmmmmm the fuel is cheap as they must be running a salvage business here on the side, was my first thought. We went past and checked it out and then went back out the narrow channel to rig our fenders and lines. Came back in made
a pass just as we got a 25+ kts blast on the side moving the bow rapidly
toward the concrete Jetty. A bit of hard reverse and we went back out the channel for a second time.
Coming back in I noticed that our first two passes into the harbor had drawn a spectator crowd and as it was lunchtime there were plenty to gather. The customs/immigration folks were all on the second story with a few others.

Most of the staff from the various shops were there along with the mooring staff. I thought I noticed some money changing hands and a tally board but I might have been mistake. I had briefed the dock attendant as to which lines went where and when on the VHF. Spring first on the aft dock cleat, bow next on the forward dock cleat and stern on the aft dock cleat.

Now remember that Swan Song is a dry stack and can be a bit throaty if she's being worked. She will also over
fuel and blow some black smoke just to get a person attention ;-) We came up at a sharp angle to the dock and Nancy handed the bow and spring
lines to the two guys who seemed to each head in the wrong direction...no
worries as nearly head to wind even in 25 kts Swan Song can be held up away from the concrete dock. They final quit running helter skelter and dropped the lines on the correct bollards. Guess they weren't the same guy that was on the VHF ;-)

As we turned to bring her up on the spring the land kept getting awfully
close up front but some working her fore and aft with the exhaust rapping
and the smoke sure gave those folks a noontime show. Taking the slack on the spring we were finally secure and had 20 ft of boat outside the dock to the rear and about 1 ft of water under the bow!! A couple of more lines and we could take her out of gear and relax.

We wanted 300 gallons so they gave us the hose which ironically is a high
speed fueling hose. Wonder who they expect to fuel with such a difficult
fuel dock?? It can run at 30 GPM on an open line and 50 GPM with the screwed in fittings. Enough to blow the average tank apart. 300 gallons later the meter read $2,650 EC...glup..... Nancy! what's that conversion rate to US$ again!! Oh yea 2.67 to one. So we were just under a US$1000.

Then the guy says.....and by the way those are imperial gallons...so we really got 360 gallons at US$2.75/gal.....lots better than the $6.50 back up the road 50 miles in Martinique. But never as cheap as Venezuela.

Given that we'd provided such good noontime entertainment we were offered a dock at the marina for pittance. Remember this is a 5 star resort. We were planning on two days to allow the TD or whatever to pass and ended up staying 5 days.....all for $150 total plus the fuel. A very good...no make that an outstanding deal, IMHO. Free WiFi, cocktail parties with the land
guests, use of the pool, Nancy had a wonderful massage......I actually had
to pry her hands free of the dock to leave :-)

Ran back up to Rodney Bay, 10 miles, to get some provisions and hit the
Marine store for the last time before Grenada. When we left Marigot it was
blowing 5 kts at the slip, halfway to Rodney Bay it was a steady 25-30 and
we had a few gusts topping 35kt. This long after the Tropical wave had
passed.

Spent the night anchored off the beach in Rodney Bay with free WiFi and this AM started the engine from the engine room and there was a slight noise I couldn't identify. Sounded like the air compressor on the top deck for the air horns was running. Went up top and it wasn't but the sound was faint. I could here it also in the pilothouse faintly. Went back down and around the engine and it was something but I really couldn't put my finger on it.

Decided to shut the engine down and it wouldn't shut down. Put my hand near the starter and it was hot. Shut off the Engine main start switch and the engine stopped! Checked the starter and it was hot but the solenoid was hotter. A quick check with the IR gun showed it was really hot....165 degrees. I turned the battery main back on and the engine started!. A quick check showed that the engine room start switch was not releasing. So we just banged it a couple of times, turned the battery switch back on and it works.

Decided to still start the engine with it but disconnect it as soon as it
starts. We always have the pilothouse switch to use if we need to. I think this is a very good reason to always be up close and personal while the engine(s) are fired up. If this happened while started it from the pilothouse I doubt if I'd have really heard the sound and checked it. The first thing I would have noticed if we had gotten underway was smoke and bits of the starter going into orbit. By our start up procedures we overted a major bummer. This whole thing delayed us only 30 minutes vs. a week or more if the starter had of remained engaged.

Rest of the day went well and we are now right under the awesome Pitons.
Looking straight up at the twin peaks rising out of the water is really
special. Not so high, 2500 & 2600' just vertical. The water is several
hundred feet deep 200 ft from shore. We used to anchor stern to the rocks
but the Marine Parks has put mooring in now. A bit shaky but we tug on them at 1500 in reverse to make sure we got a good one.....another maneuver that gets peoples attention.

So a few good shots for the help and tourists this week, a very big sigh of
relief that the possible TD didn't develop, a few more miles south and a new marina for Nancy to covet ;-)

Cheers
 

Dave & Nancy
Swan Song
Roughwater 58
Caribbean Cruise '07

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WINDWARD ISLANDS - ST LUCIA
JULY 7th
Rodney Bay, St Lucia
Lat N14 04.603
Lon W61 57.501
Logged 118.70

We did a few quick miles as we need to get down to St Lucia for some fuel
and also make more miles south. Hurricane season is starting to roll and Swan Song can't outrun one so we need to be proactive about mitigating the risks.....while still being in the alley enjoying the scenery.

We stopped in Roseau, Dominica on Sunday Night...picked up a mooring. No more stern to the beach as in the old days. The boat "helpers" have taken all the good spots and installed mooringS and "staked" their territory. So we hung on a mooring and listened to it bump all night as the swell and the wind couldn't agree where we should be.

An early start across Nancy's most unfavorite piece of water, The Martinique Passage was pleasant...till we broke the lee of Dominica and then it turned really nasty. The forecast of 4-5 into a mogul filed of 6-8 from everyway but the west. We
never rolled more than 10 degrees nor pitched over 20 but the wave periods were 2 secs at times and the boat was trying to move in 6 directions at once. Sort of like bulldozer soccer and we were the ball.

After 5 hours of that we were across and in the lee of Martinique. A planned stop at St Pierre was bypassed as the winds were from the southwest and it is an open harbor to the west. Anchoring is on a small shelf that drops off quickly to the depths or comes up to the beach. With a SW breeze the rudder would be in the surf line. Normally with winds from the east you are in deep
water with the anchor on the shelf. So this visit is postponed till the next
time.

We continued on to Anse Mitan which is an anchorage across the large harbor of Fort de France, Martinique. We cleared in/out at the Le Pontoon, Nancy did a little shopping and a couple of paintings while I played on my maintenance chores. We are down to 250 gals of diesel and my nervous muscle is starting to twitch. If we need to make a run from an impending storm our reserves are to low, IMHO.

Tuesday, today, we left Anse Mitan for Rodney Bay St Lucia. Arrived here at 1200 after an interesting occurrence about 1/2 way between the two countries. The normal 3-5' seas were coming from the NE to SE and the wind was about 15 kts. Our speed was 7.0 at 1200 rpm. The depth was 6500 ft according to the chart. Ahead one could see some rougher waves similar to an
increase in wind speed. Then we noticed a current line and a significant increase in wave height. Lots of flotsam in the line. When we hit it the speed dropped 1/2 kt and the sea was really churning. We're used to seeing this kind of thing in water of a few hundred feet deep, in the gulf stream or around underwater obstacles but never in water this deep. Just shows how nature is always trying to add to your knowledge base ;-) This lasted about
1 1/2 miles and then returned to as it was before.

We are now anchored in Rodney Bay and have cleared in. Checked the fuel
prices here and they are US$1/gal more than down the way in Marigot Bay. So looks like we are off to another anchorage.

........Break Break....the first Tropical Depression may be forming at 9N35W
today. Gulp. The current model tracks are in agreement that it will come thru the Eastern Caribbean but at what Lat they are in disagreement. Two of
the model runs have it passing directly over us as a Tropical Storm. Others as a TD and others have it as a normal Tropical Wave. Here's where the knowledge of all the pundits and historical track gets brought out and
dusted off. For us we'll take a look today and tomorrow - get our 300 gallons of diesel and hole up in Marigot Bay if we need to, then get out and continue our cruise south. After all these things are just a couple of days of tough sledding in the way of great cruising......if your heart can stand the suspense ;-)

As always

Dave & Nancy
Swan Song
Roughwater 58
Caribbean Cruise 2007
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June 30, 2007
Portsmouth, Dominica
N15 34.894
W061 27.861
Logged 21.9 KM from Ile des Saintes

Back in Prince Rupert Bay, Portsmouth, Dominica. This is one of our most favorite countries in the Caribbean. Great people and unbelievable geography. Many
springs, waterfalls, bubbling hot and COLD mud ponds, 80 odd different
species of orchids, birds found nowhere else, fruits and vegetables growing wild and cultivated everywhere along with lush rain forests of ancient trees. All in
all a nature lovers paradise that's easy to get to yet still remains
"undiscovered" by the majority of the tourism industry. Not a lot of
infrastructure here to support it which is good, IMHO.

Off to visit some of our friends and the boat building in the Carib Indian
village. Try http://www.aragornsstudio.com/CaribCanoeProj.htm to see what
the real early seafarers used for transportation, fishing and trade in the Caribbean before Columbus.

The Caribs were known for their fierce fighting and were the last of the indigenous tribes to be subdued by the European invaders, whoops I mean discoverers, of this region. Dominica is the last remaining location where they have remained as an indigenous group.

Our weather forecasters keeps going from good to bad and bad to good.
Yesterday the forecast for Friday night thru Sunday in the Martinique area was 25+ and 10-12 ft seas. Today the forecast for the same period is 20 kts and 8' seas for a short period. We really don't see that they can get it even close which is why we use the time tested method of looking out the window :-) If we see the elephants on the horizon we stay. If we don't see them then we go....pretty simple, eh!! Of course if the glass is dropping they we need to run or hunker down this time of year.

Next stop, if all goes according to plan is St Pierre, Martinique. If you
recall your history in 1903 this city was the center of activity in the French West Indies. The mayor was up for reelection and wanted to make sure he won so encouraged the citizens to stick around to vote. The other candidate followed suite so the city remained populated when it should have been evacuated as warnings had been given that the volcano was about ready to erupt.

 Unfortunately, Mt Pelee decided to blow and wiped the city out.
Out of the dozen or so ships in the harbor only one managed to get away all the rest were overwhelmed by the pyroclastic flow and hot gases. 2 people survived on land and they were both in prison under ground !!!

Well give a good report when we get there :-)
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Dave & Nancy
Swan Song
Roughwater 58
Caribbean Cruise '07
Thu, 21 Jun 2007 16:19:20 -0400
 
Ile des Saintes - Guadaloupe, French West Indies
N15.52.047
W061 35.159
Logged 79.5 km from Jolly Harbor Antigua

Bonjour, we left Jolly Harbor for Deshaies on a marginal weather window that just opened yesterday. It was forecasted to be under 20 and seas 6-8 on the nose or just to Port of our nose.

Deshaies, Guadaloupe, is 45 miles and a nice stop but not a place to be if the wind pipes up as the longer forecast was predicting. However we do need to get south of the main alley that those bowling balls use from the east so time is not on our side setting at 17 degrees as we were...12 degrees is a better latitude
for my attitude ;-)

For the first time in a long time the nowcast was better than the
forecast...so much so that we pushed on with a 100 rpm increase at 10 AM to make it all the way to the Saintes vs. stopping in Deshaies and then onward on the next day which had a forecast that I was less interested in traveling in. This made a long day to get into the Saintes before sunset which we just managed to do. We had the anchor down just in time to turn on the anchor light.

We had a potentially serious issue at around 10 AM. The fuel mileage on the Navman 3200 fuel instrument dropped to .1 NM/gal. Scanning the engine instruments all was well but the fuel pressure was down to 10 lbs from its normal 40-60. No loss of RPM or other indication of a problem from the engine.

A quick trip to the ER showed that the vacuum gauge was pegged off scale.Hmmmmm that's strange as the fuel is picked up from the 300 gal day tank which only has pre-filtered and polished fuel in it. A plugged filter? A
quick turn of two valves and the back-up Racor 1000 was put on line....still
the vacuum gauge was pegged. Flip a couple more valves and put the Port main tank on-line to the engine/genset. Voila the gauge dropped to normal. Went back to the pilothouse and the NM/gal is back to normal and as is the fuel pressure. I went back down and repeated the cycle and the daytank pegs the
gauge whenever it is on suction. So left the system on the main tank.

I've not yet dove into the problem but it must be that there is an obstruction in the Day tank pick-up which is on the bottom of the tank in a sump. This sump was drained and was clean 100 hours ago before we left the BVI. What and where this obstruction has come from I don't know but will figure it out in the next day or so and report on it. The fuel line is 100% new ( 2 years old) copper from the pick-up to the common manifold....strange gremlin at works, me thinks.

Many folks ask us about the foolishness of going to sea with a single engine. We don't share this view as our Detroit Diesel is taken care of as well as possible. The whole system from the front pulley to the prop is as robust as we could make it. The single gives us a full standup walk around ER to look at every nook and cranny of it every pre-check I do. It is started from the ER so you have to be close and personal every start-up. We note the climb-up of the engine & transmission oil pressure, the belts on the alternator, the climb up of the voltage on the batteries as the alternator ramps up, the fuel pressure and vacuum. All this before we leave to head to the pilothouse every time it starts. We can start it from the pilothouse if we had to in an emergency ;-)

A failure like we had on the fuel system would shut down as many engines as you had (twins, wing, genset, electric diesel, etc) if we didn't have the work-around already plumbed in place.

So a single is better, IMO, as you have much better access to it....no
hidden things that can go bump in the night........

So a few days of fresh French pastry, a little ice cream and some walks down the old streets. The summer is here and the tourists are gone. Many shops are closed and it more like the days back in the late 70's and early 80's when I was here last. Tranquil and pleasant :-)

As always YMMV, ours did on this trip ;-)

Cheers

Dave & Nancy
Swan Song
Roughwater 58
Caribbean Cruise '07

June 16, 2007
Jolly Harbor - Antigua
N17 04.522
W61 53.576
Logged 91.5 nm

Anchored in 8' of nice sand outside the entrance to Jolly Harbor
10-20 wind and seas 4-8" :-)

Left St Maarten yesterday at 0015 after making the decision to head for Antigua vs. Statia, St. Kitts/Nevis/Montserrat. Weather is forecasted to be 20 knot + for the next 5-6 days with seas running at 7-9 ft with a SE swell. In SE swells, as there are no harbors in any of the 3 above places, one is exposed to a SE swell. If you are close enough to anchor in shallow
water...i.e. 50' or less then you will be in the break line when the wind comes in from the west at night. You need 300-400' of rode out to insure that your not swept off the shelf which will put you in the breakers with an onshore breeze! Not a good choice of spots, IMO.

So Antigua & Jolly Harbor won out.
Forecasted wind..max of 14kts for the 24 hour period. Actual avg of about 20 with a high of 26. Forecasted seas 3-5' from the East. Average was 6-9 with a couple of deeper holes and higher crests. Also very confused in spots with waves running
anywhere from just north of east to south.....lumpy is the word best used.

The roll tank kept us smooth as possible with no roll more than 5 degrees all day. However the highest pitch was 22 degrees, which is a damn steep
hill. We had just dropped the bow to bury it (11') and the wave was of the right length/duration/wave period to sky the bow and have nothing to support the stern....ugly! We were at about 5-5.5 kts at this time. A few fore and aft things slid open and shut in the blink of an eye. I swear a few items jumped form one space to another...sort of a peanut and shell operation ;-)

These seas are cause by all the deep water that is interspersed with
seamounts in this and other of these inter-island passages. The Atlantic Ocean is trying to get into the Caribbean Basin and vice versa. So we have currents that are quite unpredictable that swirl and well up from the ocean.

On the rare very flat no swell days that occur you can see these when making
these same passages. If you watch your track it will shift left/right and you pickup some speed or drop it. You can see these effects on the sea surface in the calms. We've had a 10 degree heading shift in a few seconds
i
n 1000' of water between Grenada and Carriacou near Kick em Jenny. Add some
swell, wind wave and you have the ideal recipe for a mix master.

We had more spray that we've had in 2000 miles. This is the first time that we've had to wash the pilothouse windows before entering a harbor. Swan Song seldom wets its windows ;-)

Other than those minor things the trip was uneventful, we're off to clear in.....whoops the battery is dead on the tender which, as you may recall we tow, was busy pumping the water from the spray. I think this battery is on it's way out also as the bilge pump should run about 16 hours straight on a group deep cycle 27 battery. Rule Automatic (no float switch) 600 at 3 amps X 16 hrs = 48 amps hrs. It might have run 1 or 2!! Bilge was dry and all the connections are clean/tight......

Oh well, we have several days in a quiet anchorage to sort out the issues.
Nancy's in the water right now enjoying herself. Life is good :-) Good thing we don't gamble as there are a couple of casinos right off the beach! Hmmm, I wonder what I could get for 16 old golf cart batteries ...then hit the tables and parley that into a fortune.......

I have a friend who has his Hatteras 48LRC, Slainte, stored in the yard here
for hurricane season so I'll check up on that for him. They are supposed to be doing a lot of work on it for him.....nothing like an inspection to see where the money has been spent ;-)

From here we expect to be going to Guadeloupe but only mother ocean knows
for sure :-)

As always

Dave & Nancy
Swan Song
Roughwater 58
Caribbean Cruise '07

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DAVE'S REPORT AS OF JUNE 12
Lat 17 54.339
Lon 062 51.509
Sea water temp 85.8F

Puffy clouds, 10-15 SSE wind, 2-3' waves from SSE, 3-4'swell from the south.

Anchored outside the Port of Gustavia in St. Barths which is still crowded especially for this time of year. The dock walls are empty except for 2 mega yachts but the
anchorage is fairly full. In the winter there will be as many as 50 of the large mega yachts stern to the quays here and another like number anchored out as there draft or size exceeds the limits of the inner harbor...50 meters in length and 5 meters in draft.

With a south swell and wind we are giving the roll tank another good
workout. The boats around us are rolling madly about. We are moving perhaps 5 degrees on occasion but not enough to have to hold onto the coffee cups.

Gustavia is for the rich and famous and those that must be seen. The stores are like walking the streets of St Tropez. Prices would make Paris, The place not the person, blush - especially when you think of how much we Americans lose when converting to Euros, which at the time of this writing is 1.47.

However, the island itself is still the same old piece of fascinating rock. Nancy had an interesting interview for an article she is writing on the Sailing Youth of St. Barths. Afterwards, we made a circumnavigation in our tender this AM which lets you get up close and personal with the shore as long as you stay out of the breakers. Lots better than doing so with Swan Song with the sweat pouring off me as we cruise just outside the break line.

A little volcanic activity visible from the past but mostly sedimentary and up thrust. Raw layers of history starring you in the face. Shows you the violent development/history of sometime in the distant past.

One of the spots clearly shows breaks in the earths crust coming up out of the sea to the top of the land. The layers are broken and shifted vertically many feet. Directly on top of this bluff are 3 multi-million dollar villas. One even is bridging one of the faults. We couldn't believe that someone
would be allowed to build on something like this...then again what's a few million here or there if you have a $50 million villa??

Free WiFi courtesy of the Port Captain's office. We are still a bit worried about the cost of clearing in and out as they...believe this or not...run a tab!!!. When you check in you fill out all the forms and give them along with your boat papers. When you are ready to leave you go back and they figure out what you owe and you pay accordingly. They have fees for so many things that they'd rather do it this way than up front. What a pleasant way
to deal with Customs/Immigration/Port Fees.

The last time I was here in 1985 the Port Captain took all the information and starting running his calculator...the paper tape just kept flying out of the machine while I looked on. He'd ask a question about this or that and then punch some more numbers. In the end he looked up and said...Franc's or
dollars? I said "dollars" and the machine spewed another inch of paper. I felt like a trip to the boat to get more cash was coming up quickly. And the total was something like $9.71!!

We don't see the adding machine any more nor the hot steamy office of the past. It's replaced by an air conditioned area which looks more like a hotel lobby with the officials behind the counter with computers. I did catch a glimpse of the old log book ledger however so maybe this is all for show ;-)

Ah ha! Checkout this AM after a few quick moves of the mouse and a click here and there was a mere E16 or US$21. cheaper than many but not as cheap as Martinique which is free.

Uh Oh!! The genset has shut down with a fault!! High exhaust temp. However the exhaust hose is the nominal under 100 degrees at the elbow. Remove wire from sensor...genset runs...check sensor which should be a NO contact till
175 degrees...closed at 90 degrees...remove sensor which is burned thru....looks like a trip back to St Martin (15 miles) more later....... :-(

Ciao

Dave & Nancy
Swan Song
Roughwater 58
Caribbean Cruise '07

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6/1/07: Anchored in Simpson Bay Lagoon, Sint Maarten, Dutch West Indies or Netherland Antilles
N 18 02.434
W 063 05.615
Overcast, winds from the east at 0-5kts

We're back underway south now....1st of June and the beginning of the weather forecasters defined "hurricane season" for the Atlantic.

We had a delightful trip over from the British Virgin Islands on the Blue Moon. Swell was 4-5 ft at times and the wind waves were 1 to 6 inches!! It has been an unusual period of calms at this latitude. About 10-14 days with a couple of maybe 15 kts but mostly 0-10.

There was a huge dust storm that
came off the African coast around May 9th and arrived in the Lesser Antilles a week later. This dust seemed to have really suppressed the tradewinds. We also had periods of less than 5 miles of visibility which is very unusual
down here.

In any case we had a great trip over of the 80 odd miles. Dodged a few big thunderheads that were basically stationary and we didn't see any water spouts which are common when the tradewinds go slack with the very warm sea
water we have - 88.1 degrees where we are anchored right now. Mostly in the mid 80's on the passage.

Our trip south to Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela will take us to St Barts, Saba, Saint Eustatia, St Kitts, Nevis, Antigua, Guadaloupe/Illes De Saintes, Dominica, Martinique, St Lucia, St Vincent, Bequia Grenadines, Grenada, Los Testigoes, Isla Margarita and on to the Venezuelan coast. We plan many stops in associated islands and anchorages on the way.

One thing to keep in mind is that we have to clear in/out of everyone of these countries. This process ranges from an hour or so and free to half a day and better than $100! Coming up the cost of clearing in/out was better than $500 and many many hours of bureaucracy and red tape. Dress well keep a
cool mental attitude and grovel when required and the process will be as quick and painless as possible. Have an attitude and you'll see more forms than you thought possible needing to be filled out in 6 parts and they have
no carbon paper or copying machines ;-) Life has changed from the old days of either not needing to clear in/out or just stopping a local constable and letting him know that you're the new boat in the harbor!

We'll keep the updates coming and provide a few details of our voyage south. IF we see a storm coming from the east then we may have to make southing faster than planned.
We are self insured, otherwise we couldn't be "in the box doing this" so we need to use all available data to keep out of harms way.

The ironic part is this is the best time of year to cruise the
Eastern Caribbean, warm water, calmer seas and crystal clear water with visibilities of 100', empty anchorages and a host of other positive things. The only negative is those damn bowling balls from the east that come thru
the island chain on an unpredictable schedule.

We took on 300 gals of diesel in the BVI duty free @ US2.55/gal. Cheapest in the area!! Hopefully this will tide us over till we back to the land of almost free (US$.25/gal) fuel in Margarita and then Cumana where it is US$.05/gal!

Swan Song is running well and has a new Class B AIS transponder which we just installed and have confirmed with one ship that he saw the AIS signal but haven't got other reports yet. We have tweaked the genset auto start parameters so it is only running about 12 hours a day keeping the AC units humming and the boat comfortable. 95 degrees, 90+ % humidity and no
tradewinds require AC 100% of the time. So there is 8-10 gals/day fuel usage underway or not.

As always YMMV as ours does ;-)

Cheers

Dave & Nancy
Swan Song
Roughwater 58
Caribbean Cruise '07

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DAVE'S REPORT AS OF MAY 20
N 18 23.858 W 064 38.180

Hi all, we haven't sailed off the edge yet! We have been enjoying some time in the expensive British Virgin Islands which has been our home port for a couple of decades. Lots of great anchorages away
from the charter boats if you know where to go with super clear warm water for fish watching. We've seen some near record Tarpon in the lights at night....4 1/2 to 5' and really thick bellied. Got to be close to 200 lbs!! Where are they during the day when the fly rod is out?

Soon it will be time to travel South again. Swan Song was hauled for an overnight in the slings to clean the bottom...4 years on the bottom paint but it's "dead" now (major haul-out planned for Venezuela in Octoberish), change some zincs, clean and polish the prop and fix the leak on the stern bearing that developed after we hit something last February on the overnight
passage from Los Testigos to Grenada. We found a small ding on one blade and a tooth missing on our line cutter. Tightened the 4 bolts, put some SikaFlex on it and that was it. Ohhh, $900.00 for the short lift & wash!!!

The reward is that the bow thruster moves the boat smartly again and when the engine goes into gear the boat "surges" forward. A little growth on the props really does make a huge difference. Remember this as the price of fuel
keeps climbing this season!

Looks like we'll need some fuel here before we start back. Our 1300 gallons is down to about 400. The temp here has been such that we have 2 of our 4 AC's running most of the time. Ego the genset is on 10-12 hours a day at the 8KW or so level. So 8-10 gallons of diesel a day times the 45 or so days uses a lot of fuel....even though it is the under $.10/gal Venezuelan variety. The BVI has the cheapest duty free fuel, other than St Croix, until
we get back to Venezuela. We'll take on 300 gallons here which will run about $2.50/gal....not much different from the US and way cheaper than the $6.50/gal in Martinique!!

So don't sit on the edge of your seats for another cruising report....heck
most of you should be back out on the water now enjoying your own boats.... our next report should be from St Martin around the 1st or 2nd of June if all goes well :-)

Cheers

Dave & Nancy
Swan Song
Roughwater 58
Caribbean Cruise '07

Peace does not mean an absence of conflicts; differences will always be there. Peace means solving these differences through peaceful means; through dialogue, education, knowledge; and through humane ways.

~ His Holiness the Dalai Lama

DAILY DHARMA
Becoming

Becoming, which results from clinging, involves the idea of having or being something more satisfying than at present. We want to become a very good meditator, or we want to become spiritual, or more learned. We have all sorts of ideas but are all bound up with wanting to become, because we are not satisfied with what we are. Often we do not even pay attention to what we are now, but just know that something is lacking. Instead of trying to realize what we are and investigating where the difficulty actually lies, we just dream of becoming something else. When we have become something or someone else, we can be just as dissatisfied as before.

-Ayya Khema, When the Iron Eagle Flies
from Everyday Mind, edited by Jean Smith, a Tricycle book
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Clinging is a Stressful State

The moment we want happiness, we start to cling to it in our mind. First, we cling to our own idea of happiness. We relate to the outside world as a source of satisfaction and look outward for the things we normally associate with happiness--accumulating wealth, success, fame or power. As soon as we become attached to any idea--happiness, success or whatever--there is already some stress. Clinging is itself a stressful state, and everything that derives from it is also stressful. For example, try to clench your hand to make a fist. As soon as you start to clench your hand, you have to use energy to keep your fingers clenched tightly. When you let go of the clenching, your hand is free again. So it is with the mind. When it is in such a state of clenching, it can never be free. It can never experience peace or happiness, even if one has all the wealth, fame and power in the world.

-Thynn Thynn, Living Meditation, Living Insight
from Everyday Mind, edited by Jean Smith,

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Ten Wholesome Qualities In Our Minds

In the broadest conception of the path, in the vast context of spiritual practice, we cultivate and nourish certain qualities that support and propel us forward into freedom. The Pali word parami refers to ten wholsome qualities in our minds and the accumulated power they bring to us: generosity, morality, renunciation, wisdom, energy, patience, truthfulness, resolve, lovingkindness, and equanimity. . . . Parami does not come from some being outside ourselves; rather, it comes from our own gradually accumulated purity. A Buddhist understanding of reliance on a higher power would not necessarily involve reliance on some supernatural being. It is, rather, a reliance on those forces of purity in ourselves that are outside our small, constricted sense of I, and that constitute the source of grace in our lives.

--Joseph Goldstein, Insight Meditation from Everyday Mind, edited by Jean Smith,
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A Peaceful World
BY H.H. THE XIITH GYALWANG DRUKPA

To begin with, we need to forget about world peace and concentrate on our own individual peace. If we don't have individual peace, how can we create world peace which is so much further from us? To create peace in the world, we have to know individual peace.
So, how do we create this peace in our own mind? What is the first step to take in our practice? It is only after finding individual peace that we will be in the right position to pray for collective peace.

The acquirement of peace depends on your realization. If you realize that the source of peace is the nature of your own mind, the purity of yourself, then you realize that you are already in a state of peace. However, if you don't realize the basic state that you are in (a state of peace), as long as you continue to struggle in ignorance, you won't be able to experience peace.

To illustrate, this is like a very poor person who has a great treasure hidden just underneath his bed, but who doesn't know that this treasure is there. Suppose some smart person comes along and tells him, "You have a great treasure under your floor." As soon as the poor man finds the treasure, he will realize that he has this great wealth and will feel tremendous gratitude and happiness. Similarly, we have a great peace in our mind, but we don't realize it. That is the reason why we struggle in this world, and why we see everything around us as destructive. Cars, money, houses and everything else appear destructive. Nothing may be left in this world that is not destructive.

Ultimate peace fully depends on your realization. You have to realize your own nature. Once you are able to do this, then you need not depend on a meal, or on the weather, or on going to a conference or meeting. Let's put it like this: peace does not depend on a piece of paper and some ink, with somebody coming to you and saying, "Now let's make this pact and agree to sign it!"

True peace does not depend on these external things; it fully depends on the mind. For instance, if I am in a very peaceful state, then I can at least share this state with my friends and family members. If I myself am not in peace, I can't share it with anybody else. Furthermore, nobody else will probably like me, because they will not feel a peaceful vibration coming from me because of my inner anger, restlessness or destructiveness. Even if I pretend to be relaxed, people will feel a strange kind of vibration coming from me and will definitely not be able to relax in my company.

This is because of my restless nature and the fact that there's something wrong inside. The reflection of my inner state will be revealed in my face, my body and my actions. However, if I am in a state of peace then I can automatically share this peace with at least two or three people. In this way, if you have a great peace within yourself, you can share it with a great number of people. This fully depends on your mind. It fully depends on how much you can move yourself into a state of peace; a state that is totally the opposite of anger.

We have to pray for peace within ourselves and then collective peace will be there. Otherwise, if there is no individual peace, how can we create collective peace? There is no way! It's like making a pile of rice; you can only make it by adding one grain of rice on top of the other. Similarly, we have to understand that individual peace is very important in order to create collective peace.

Actually, you have to understand that peace is something that cannot go together with anger. Anger is the exact opposite of the peace. This is why we have to demolish our anger. Secondly, you need to develop an understanding about each other and demolish any misunderstanding you have towards yourself and the society in which you live. For example, you may have to understand the other members of your family and develop the skill of how to deal with your anger. You will then be in a position to share peace with each member of your family.
However, if you don't understand each other you may complain that your brother is doing something wrong to you, which causes you to quarrel with him. He then won't understand your point of view, leading to a rift between you both. Then, the same rift will form between you and your sister-in-law, and peace in this little family will be lost. How will we then experience the most important issue; the peace within ourselves? It is this individual peace that we have to pray for.

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A Choice Between Outer Pleasure and Inner Freedom

If we had to make a choice between outer pleasure, comfort, and peace, and inner freedom and ultimate happiness, we should choose inner peace. If we could find that within, then the outer would take care of itself. Even when we have a comfortable and pleasant life externally, if our inner peace is shattered, or disturbed, we are not able to enjoy all that we have in our outer life. To make that transformation we find--when we think only of ourselves, and hold on to things, consider ourselves and our happiness as the most important thing--that it is the ego and its clinging that disturbs both the outer and the inner happiness. Even if we have a well-organized outer life, it can be very difficult for us to find inner happiness because we can never be satisfied so long as we have not cut the attachments due to ego. There is no end to it--it wants more and more--without any limit. The ego is insatiable.

--Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, Spring 1993

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Bangladesh bankers to the poor win Nobel Peace Prize
By John Acher
Fri Oct 13,
 
Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank he founded won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for grassroots work to lift millions out of poverty that earned him the nickname "banker to the poor."

Yunus, 66, set up a new kind of bank in 1976 to lend to the neediest, particularly women, in Bangladesh, enabling them to start up small businesses without collateral.

In doing so, he pioneered microcredit, a system copied in more than 100 nations from the United States to Uganda. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, presidents and prime ministers hailed the award, the first Nobel Peace Prize to a Bangladeshi.

"Eradication of poverty can give you real peace," Yunus told reporters at his home in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, after he won from a field of 191 candidates.

"Now the war against poverty will be further intensified across the world. It will consolidate the struggle against poverty through microcredit in most of the countries," he said. "There should be no poverty, anywhere."

In awarding a prize more traditionally given to those who sign treaties to end wars or fight for human rights, the secretive five-member Norwegian Nobel Committee said eliminating poverty was a path to peace and democracy.

"Lasting peace cannot be achieved unless large population groups find ways in which to break out of poverty. Microcredit is one such means. Development from below also serves to advance democracy and human rights," the committee added.

The academic and his bank were surprise winners of the 10 million Swedish crown ($1.36 million) award to be presented on December 10 in Oslo.

SHOCKED BY FAMINE

Returning from a Fulbright scholarship in the United States, Yunus was shaken by the 1974 Bangladesh famine and headed out into the villages to see what he could do.

He found the region's women in severe debt to extortionate moneylenders. His initial goal was simply to persuade a local bank manager to give villagers regular credit, but the banker said that was impossible without a guarantee.

Yunus set out to prove him wrong and never looked back. Grameen -- the word means "village" or "rural" in the Bangla language -- has lent $5.72 billion since it began. Of this, $5.07 billion has been repaid.

The bank, which has turned a profit in all but three years, lends to 6.6 million people, 96 percent of them women, and has not received donor funds in eight years. It counts beggars among its members, giving them interest-free loans and life insurance.

Members are not required to give up begging, but encouraged to work. Today the bank is 94 percent owned by the rural poor it serves and 6 percent by the state. Yunus is managing director.

Nobel Committee Chairman Ole Danbolt Mjoes told Reuters: "This idea was generated in a mostly Muslim country and then fantastically spread to the whole world in a positive way."

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia said the award would "play a great role to uplift the image of the country."

Annan, himself a Nobel peace laureate, hailed Yunus and Grameen Bank as "long-standing allies of the United Nations in the cause of development and the empowerment of women."

The Dalai Lama, prize winner in 1989, told reporters in Rome: "(Bangladesh) has a lot of problems and a lot of poor people. It is very good that there is a prize for individuals who are really dedicated to poor people."

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour hailed Yunus and his bank as being ahead of their time. "Happily, the links that he made between development and human rights are now part of the international discourse," she said.

WIDENING NOTION OF PEACE

First awarded in 1901, the peace prize has evolved to include the defense of human rights and the environment.

The 2004 award went to Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai for a campaign to plant trees in Africa. Last year's choice of the International Atomic Energy Agency and its Egyptian head Mohamed ElBaradei was more in line with dynamite millionaire Alfred Nobel's original intent of disarmament.

Not all observers have appreciated the apparent shift.

"This should be a prize for peace, or for encouragement to stay the course -- as it was in my case, when it put more wind in my sails," 1983 Nobel peace laureate Lech Walesa told Polish television. "Perhaps the name of the prize should be changed to those who work to eliminate (economic) differences?"

(Additional reporting by Alister Doyle, Sarah Edmonds, Marianne Fronsdal and Wojciech Moskwa in Oslo, Paul Taylor in Brussels, Nizam Ahmed and Anis Ahmed in Dhaka, Pawel Kozlowski in Warsaw, Sophie Louet in Paris, Kamil Zaheer in New Delhi, Stephen Brown in Rome)

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DAILY DHARMA - DEEP AWARENESS

The secret of beginning a life of deep awareness and sensitivity lies in our willingness to pay attention. Our growth as conscious, awake human beings is marked not so much by grand gestures and visible renunciations as by extending loving attention to the minutest particulars of our lives. Every relationship, every thought, every gesture is blessed with meaning through the wholehearted attention we bring to it. In the complexities of our minds and lives we easily forget the power of attention, yet without attention we live only on the surface of existence. It is just simple attention that allows us truly to listen to the song of a bird, to see deeply the glory of an autumn leaf, to touch the heart of another and be touched. We need to be fully present in order to love a single thing wholeheartedly. We need to be fully awake in this moment if we are to receive and respond to the learning inherent in it.

--Christina Feldman and Jack Kornfield, in Stories of the Spirit, Stories of the Heart
from Everyday Mind, edited by Jean Smith

Why won't the Bush administration talk bilaterally and substantively with NK, as the Brits (and eventually the US) did with Libya? Because the Bush administration sees diplomacy as something to be engaged in with another country as a reward for that country's good behavior. They seem not to see diplomacy as a tool to be used with antagonistic countries or parties, that might bring about an improvement in the behaviour of such entities, and a resolution to the issues that trouble us. Thus we do not talk to Iran, Syria, Hizballah or North Korea. We only talk to our friends -- a huge mistake.

says Donald Gregg, a CIA official since 1951 and a liaison to President Carter's National Security Council and, National Security Advisor to Vice President George H.W. Bush and U.S. ambassador to South Korea from 1989 to 1993. He's now chairman of the board of the Korea Society
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DAILY DHARMA
Meditation calms mind, helps heal body
By Harry Jackson Jr., ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, Oct 8, 2006

St. Louis, MO (USA) -- Jim McLaughlin has lived his life as a practical man. He's a business consultant who served 10 years in the U.S. Navy, has never used illegal drugs, has been married 32 years and has two children, both professionals.
Buddhist meditation wasn't on his radar when he started trying to tame some of the chaos in his mind. But in his late 50s, he was diagnosed with attention-deficit disorder.
"I've had it all my life. I just never realized it," he says. "It's why I needed to flit like a butterfly from thing to thing to thing.
"I needed something to quiet all those voices in my head. I was having problems keeping my business going. There were feelings of unworthiness …"
Three years ago, he heard a scientist, Daniel Goleman, on a public radio talk show discussing a practice called mindfulness meditation. He spoke not in religious terms, but like a scientist talking about a new discovery. McLaughlin read Goleman's book "Destructive Emotions" and decided to try meditation.
Today, three years after joining the St. Louis Insight Meditation Group, Goleman says meditation has changed his life. He practices meditation about 30 minutes a day, four to five days a week.
"It's not a religion," he says. "I'm Episcopalian and have no reason to change my belief in Jesus Christ. I just wanted to control the noise in my head."
Modern meditation
Meditation, the practice of controlling your focus to feel better, has been a mystic art since before recorded history. Every culture in the world has practiced some form of meditation and still does.
But in the past 40 years, meditation has inched its way into Western mainstream health care, and for good reason.
Research shows that it counteracts chronic stress, a condition many scientists believe underlies most illnesses. Federally supported studies are looking into meditation as a means to improve heart health, relieve symptoms of diseases and improve the brain's long- and short-term health.
The National Centers for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), a division of the National Institutes of Health, reports that more than 15.3 million people practiced some form of meditation in 2002 as a means to ease some form of illness. Others practice for simple relaxation.
And that number is rising.
The reason is simple, says Stephen Bodian, author of "Meditation for Dummies," a bestseller in its second edition. Meditation helps people who feel bad to feel good, and people who feel good to feel better.
"The goal is happiness," Bodian says. "What kind of a therapeutic effect does happiness have? Isn't that what we go to therapy for? Happiness is the ultimate cure."
Bodian points to research showing that meditation can change the brain for the better. That includes increasing the emotional set point -- that natural mood that people wrestle with all of their lives. Some people are naturally down; some are naturally up. Meditation can improve that permanently, Bodian says.
Well-being brought on by meditation, he adds, is shown to lower blood pressure, improve the immune system and promote intense relaxation.
The science
The most telling research comes from the Keck Laboratory for Functional Brain Imaging and Behavior in Wisconsin. A team led by neuroscientist Richard Davidson performed brain scans on a master meditator and found that his brain activity surpassed that of a professional athlete during intense competition.
While scientists still don't know exactly how meditation works, the research shows that it does work and can change the brain for the better.
For one thing, meditation appears to generate a biochemical anti-stress reaction that counteracts the biochemical stress reaction.
During meditation, the body produces nitric oxide, the chemical used by pharmaceutical companies to lower blood pressure. (That's not to be confused with nitrous oxide, which dentists use as an anesthetic or revelers use to liven up parties.) Nitric oxide lowers blood pressure by dilating blood vessels to take pressure off the heart.
"That's been shown … that when you meditate, or do yoga or tai chi or other methods, they actually reduce the blood pressure," says Jeffrey Dusek, a psychobiologist who teaches at Harvard Medical School and an associate research director at the Mind/Body Institute in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
"Meditation, relaxation response training, may be doing the same thing the pharmaceuticals are doing, changing the body's capacity to release nitric oxide. So we think we're onto the biological mechanism of how (meditation) is working."
NCCAM-sponsored research recognizes two major forms of meditation -- mindfulness meditation, in which one focuses by becoming aware of the moment, and Transcendental Meditation, in which a mantra is repeated.
Which form to use is a matter of choice, Dusek says. Researchers found no vast difference between the results of mindfulness or TM.
"But it's something everyone should do over their lives," he says.
The human stress reaction evolved to help our caveman ancestors survive life-threatening situations. Nowadays, modern people react to administrative stress the same way they did to toothy, four-legged predators.
"In our day, the mind is perceiving threats where there
aren't any," says Bridget Rolens, who teaches mindfulness meditation with the St. Louis Insight Meditation Group. "So the mind perceives the way my supervisor acts as a threat to my security.
"My body tenses up. But fighting or fleeing doesn't get rid of my boss's personality, so the threat is never gone. We end up with chronic stress, and chronic stress is a factor in (numerous diseases)."
The mainstream
Ryan Niemiec, a clinical psychologist and behavioral health consultant with the St. Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute, uses mindfulness meditation in his practice. He also works with physicians to help integrate meditation into their treatments.
"Since mindfulness is about bringing one's awareness to your present experiences -- sensations, thoughts, emotions, health and health habits -- it brings an approach for people working with themselves, becoming more aware of problems occurring in the body or in the mind," he says.
Mindfulness first teaches them how much they're not paying attention to, he says.
"Become aware of the opposite first, become aware of … what some practitioners call automatic pilot, to go through the motions of life, where we move like automatons, not aware of what's going on," he says.
"Then show people they can make a shift in whatever they're doing -- driving, eating, talking, eating, getting ready for sleep -- if they can bring their attention fully into the moment with the sensory experience, with their thoughts, with their feelings, so they can be wherever they are.
"It's all about being rather than doing."
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A simple mindfulness meditation
• Find a quiet and comfortable place to sit.
• Use good posture; don't slump.
• Close your eyes and inhale deeply, letting the air fill the whole of your lungs. Some call this belly breathing.
• Focus on your breathing. As your mind wanders, bring it back by focusing on your breathing. Be gentle with yourself. Your mind will wander to the past and try to
predict the future. That's natural. Simply bring your focus back to your breathing.
• As you breathe, let your mind check your shoulders, one or both, to detect tension. Release the tension and continue your breathing.
• Do the same with your arms, your chest, your stomach, your legs.
• Return your mind to your breathing and run through the breathing and body parts again.
• After five to 30 minutes, open your eyes, take a few deep breaths and return to your day.

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The True Nature of Happiness

Lack of understanding of the true nature of happiness, it seems to me, is the principal reason why people inflict sufferings on others. They think either that the other's pain may somehow be a cause of happiness for themselves or that their own happiness is more important, regardless of what pain it may cause.
But this is shortsighted: no one truly benefits from causing harm to another sentient being. Whatever immediate advantage is gained at the expense of someone else is shortlived. In the long run, causing others misery and infringing their rights to peace and happiness result in anxiety, fear, and suspicion within oneself. Such feelings undermine the peace of mind and contentment which are the marks of happiness.

True happiness comes not from a limited concern for one's own well-being, or that of those one feels close to, but from developing love and compassion for all sentient beings. Here, love means wishing that all sentient beings should find happiness, and compassion means wishing that they should all be free of suffering. The development of this attitude gives rise to a sense of openness and trust that provides the basis for peace.
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Because we all share this planet earth, we have to learn to live in harmony and peace with each other and with nature. That is not just a dream, but a necessity. We are dependent on each other in so many ways that we can no longer live in isolated communities and ignore what is happening outside those communities.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
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A Life Beyond Problems
One characteristic of a life lived from a thoroughly nondualistic perspective is that we no longer have any problems. That is, we no longer divide our life into the good parts and the problematic parts; there is simply life, one moment after another. Problems don't disappear from our life, they disappear INTO our life.

-Barry Magid in Ordinary Mind
 edited by Josh Bartok, Wisdom Publications
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DHARMA PRECEPTS
The basic precepts are not passive. They can actively express a compassionate heart in our life.
1. Not killing can grow into a reverence for life, a protective caring for all sentient beings who share life with us.
2. Not stealing can become the basis for a wise ecology, honoring the limited resources of the earth and actively seeking ways to live and work that share our blessings worldwide. From this spirit can come a life of natural and healing simplicity.
3. Out of not lying we can develop our voice to speak for compassion, understanding, and justice.
4. Out of nonharming sexuality, our most intimate relations can also become expressions of love, joy, and tenderness.
5. Out of not abusing intoxicants or becoming heedless, we can develop a spirit that seeks to live in the most awake and conscious manner in all circumstances.

At first, precepts are a practice. Then they become a necessity, and finally they become a joy. When our heart is awakened, they spontaneously illuminate our way in the world.

Jack Kornfield, in A Path with Heart
from Everyday Mind, edited by Jean Smith,
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Death Will Come Naturally to Our Enemies

There is really no reason to kill our ordinary enemies; death will come to them naturally in the future anyway. Despite this fact there are some soldiers who engage in fearsome battles, willing to fight even though their enemies have superior weapons. They ignore the pains of battle and continue to fight until they are victorious. If there are people who are willing to expend such great effort in order to kill an ordinary enemy, then why do we not strive unceasingly to destroy the worst enemy of all: the delusion that is the cause of all of our suffering? To overcome such a powerful foe we must certainly expect to experience great hardships, but is there any need to mention the absolute necessity of attacking this enemy diligently?

-Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, in Meaningful to Behold
from Everyday Mind, edited by Jean Smith,

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Nothing and Everything

The great Indian teacher Nisargadatta Maharaj once said, "Wisdom tells me I am nothing. Love tells me I am everything. Between the two my life flows." "I am nothing" does not mean that there is a bleak wasteland within. It does mean that with awareness we open to a clear, unimpeded space, without center or periphery--nothing separate. If we are nothing, there is nothing at all to serve as a barrier to our boundless _expression of love. Being nothing in this way, we are also, inevitably, everything. "Everything" does not mean self-aggrandizement, but a decisive recognition of interconnection; we are not separate. Both the clear, open space of "nothing" and the interconnectedness of "everything" awaken us to our true nature. This is the truth we contact when we meditate, a sense of unity beyond suffering. It is always present; we merely need to be able to access it.

--Sharon Salzberg, Lovingkindness

NOTES FROM DAVE -
  Swan Song is taking us to Hawaii !! Yup, she sprang the news on us when we returned from our trip. We were flabbergasted as we had no idea that she really wanted to go.
  So the days around here as being spent getting her ready for the long and adventuresome trip. She has given both of us a long list of what we need to do to make her and our lives a bit more comfortable on such a long journey. New crane for putting the tender up on the boat deck out of harms way, new SSB with full email capability to keep in contact as we make passage, new deck box to store things out of the way of the weather and seas….on and on.
  Exciting times as she is looking forward to tying up in her new slip in Hawaii, not many private boats her size around Ala Wai Marina and few of them power boats, so she will standout.
  She gave me her route and plan (Cartagena for Christmas) so I’ve been cranking out the details, waypoints, weather considerations, Canal details, fuel locations where the price won’t kill us, etc, etc.
  So we’ll soon be saying hasta luego to Venezuela, Chavez and his cheap diesel. Aloha Honolulu and your $5/gal diesel!
  Rough plans are; Exit VE Nov 1; Bonaire, Curacao and Aruba in November, Cartagena in December, San Blas in Jan, Canal the end of Jan, Panama west side & Costa Rica in Feb, maybe a bit of Nicaragua, San Salvador, Guatemala in March, Mexico in April, And on to California to be there by mid May. Then an all system check and set off for the long leg to Hawaii to arrive by the 1st or middle of July at the latest.
  I assume "we be weathered" in here and there and then skip something but 8 months still leaves us some time to see a bit as we anchor along the way.
  I always knew Swan Song had it in her but, wow, now we know!!
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DAVE'S PLANS FOR 2008
We’ll be staying in the far southern Caribbean this year. SO many Islands off the coast of Venezuela (~1000) from little pieces of sand to Margarita (10 miles by 40 miles). Each is different, some are inhabited, some have small temporary fishing huts and others are void of any human life forms. Some, like the Los Testigos group of 12, aren’t even on Google Earth! All are south of 12 degrees and lay between 63 and 68 west. It is a whole area that see very little cruising activity as unless folks stumble into it on their way west you’d likely not find it.

There are those who do come here to avoid the hurricane season and others that found it a long time ago and just keep coming back. I was first here in 80 or 81 for a day and thought it would be nice. In 65/86 I came again and said that I’d return someday. Then in 91 again I delivered a boat here. Same kind of feeling. Finally when we broke the bonds of Nanny Cay it was our intention to spend hurricane season here in Puerto La Cruz. Since then we have never looked back. Our trip up and back to the BVI last years was more than likely our last.

Traveling to Venezuela from the states is easier than getting to the BVI as there is non-stop service to Barcelona ( this is the airport that serves Puerto La Cruz…20 minutes from the marina to the airport) from Miami. Plenty of places to keep your boat but Bahia Redonda is the best. People to look after it and excellent security 24/7. We find it a fascinating place. Also a trip to Angle Falls, highest in the world and many other incredible spots. Like up into the mountains to play in the snow at the equator. All good stuff. A little Spanish helps but if I can do it anybody can!!

We expect to do as many of Venezuela’s islands and coast over the next 6 months. Then we’ll be back here in Puerto La Cruz and fly to Hawaii for the month of August to see Nancy’s sons and their families and to scope out the marinas/boating scene there. Our long term plan is to be there with Swan Song in 3-4 years. We are on the waiting list at Ala Wai Marina in Honolulu and have been for a few years. They think by 2012 we’ll be at the top of the list…maybe sooner. It’s a long way to travel to find a “no room at the inn” sign posted!!

So from here we’ll be heading west to the ABC’s next November/December and then do some cruising down the coast of Columbia which recently has been getting good reviews from cruisers re safety/security. Then on to Cartagena maybe by Christmas ’09. If concerns over security in the SW corner of Columbia/Panama are OK then we’ll cruise that coast/islands on the way to the San Blas Islands.

We need to be somewhere to leave the boat again for a trip to Maine/NH to visit my family and attend my granddaughter’s graduation from college the end of May ‘09. This puts us in a bit of a bad spot for hurricane season ‘09 as it will be starting when we return. I need to work thru this little issue so our plans might change yet again…they always seem to. Then again when you are as footloose and fancy free as we are why not? We only have another 10 years at the most to be doing this!

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Here’s an interesting piece by someone who could be in America or Venezuela. This was written in response to Chavez’s press conference last week when he called the Venezuela people “shit and “Idiots”. Doesn’t seem like the way to win the hearts and minds of the voters! Funny but unfortunately too true!

The Idiot (Anonymous)

Not anyone is an idiot Sir. You need vocation and training. No matter what the packaging. Because there are different classes of idiots: The invisible ones and the flashy ones. Those that are odorless and those that stink. The tasteless ones and the ones too rich to eat. There are idiots with cap and gown and idiots with boots. There are idiots of recent harvest and aged idiots. There are idiots by conviction and idiots of convenience.

Any idiot, however has his basic equipment: a series of peculiar features, which define them and separate them from the rest of the species. The typical idiot, for example, does not distinguish colors or shades. He sees the world in black and white. He fills his speeches with dichotomies. Poor and rich. Patriots and lackeys of the empire. Good and bad. Capitalism and socialism. Bush and the other one. The idiot practices self-denial. He thinks he manipulates others and others use him. They put him up, for example, to insult the gringo in a far away land, while the host turns his crossed eyes to wash his hands. Or an illiterate President, stuffed in his poncho, organizes for him an act of adulation to empty his purse while he speaks.

The idiot does not know what he is saying. He uses his tongue, but not his brain. He pays homage to slogans. He calls to create one, two, three Vietnams, without remembering the suffering that one Vietnam gave the world. Or he shouts with all his lungs: “Fatherland, Socialism or Death” as alternative options for the future. Like a threat waved at the four winds, that leaves no room for those that believe in humanity, freedom and life.

The idiot does not know arithmetic. He looks at himself in the mirror and shouts: There are two of us! The idiot, in fact, associates his country with three small and poor countries and believes the Empire is trembling. Venezuelan, Cuba, Bolivia and Nicaragua have embarked in that little adventure called ALBA. Together they add up to 50 million inhabitants. Half of what Mexico has. A fourth of Brazil’s the sixth part of the population f the Empire. Bush has not even noticed that ALBA breathes.

The idiot does not know that others can see. He chases the man of his dreams (if Bush did not exist, he would invent him) throughout Latin America and later says it is the other one that is looking for him. He stages a show in a Buenos Aires barrio and then goes to sleep at the Sheraton.

The idiot does not have political identity. In Argentina he proclaimed he was Bolivar‘s, San Martin’s and Tupac Amaru’s, Che Guevara’s and Peron’s son. In Peru Velasco’s. In Nicaragua, Sandino’s son. In China Mao’s. That mixture of such dissimilar parents is perhaps responsible for the ideological disorder that the poor idiot carries between wart and forehead.

The idiot prefers uniform things. He is afraid of diversity. That is why he wants a unique party where everyone pleases his every whim. And a unique thinking that avoids the itching of dissidence. And a unique and eternal leader, whose finger will decided the course of the country. The idiot assumes no responsibilities. It is always someone else’s fault. Of neoliberalism. Of the oligarchy. Of the media. Even of his Ministers. He is an expert on washing his hands.

The idiot thinks he is great because others applaud him. The idiot things he is a steel tiger. The idiot does not know that steel also melts.

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DEC. 3, 2007 - VENEZUELA IS IN A STATE OF QUIET CELEBRATION OVER THEIR "NO" VICTORY AS TO CHAVEZ'S CHANGING THEIR CONSTITUTION -

Although people are not dancing in the streets (he is still in power) I have never seen such broad smiles as those that are being worn this morning. Even my vegetable lady was aglow. Everyone, especially the women, are more joyous than ever. Power is very macho in this Latin country so the woman's vote may have been the deciding factor. Whatever it was, the atmosphere is cleansed. However, they still have four more years of Chevaz's presidency - we will just have to wait and see.

CRUISERS NOW LOVE VENEZUELA MORE THAN EVER !!

We will continue to use Bahia Redonda Marina as our base as we cruise these lovely islands.

CHAVEZ LOSES CONSTITUTIONAL VOTE
By FRANK BAJAK, Associated Press Writer

 Humbled by his first electoral defeat ever, President Hugo Chavez said Monday he may have been too ambitious in asking voters to let him stand indefinitely for re-election and endorse a huge leap to a socialist state.

"I understand and accept that the proposal I made was quite profound and intense," he said after voters narrowly rejected the sweeping constitutional reforms by 51 percent to 49 percent.

Opposition activists were ecstatic as the results were announced shortly after midnight — with 88 percent of the vote counted, the trend was declared irreversible by elections council chief Tibisay Lucena.

Some shed tears. Others began chanting: "And now he's going away!"

Foes of the reform effort — including Roman Catholic leaders, media freedom groups, human rights groups and prominent business leaders — said it would have granted Chavez unchecked power and imperiled basic rights.

Chavez told reporters at the presidential palace that the outcome of Sunday's balloting had taught him that "Venezuelan democracy is maturing." His respect for the verdict, he asserted, proves he is a true democratic leader.

"From this moment on, let's be calm," he proposed, asking for no more street violence like the clashes that marred pre-vote protests. "There is no dictatorship here."

A senior U.S. official hailed Chavez's referendum defeat Monday as a victory for the country's citizens who want to preserve democracy and prevent Chavez from having unchecked power.

"We felt that this referendum would make Chavez president for life, and that's not ever a welcome development," U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns told reporters in Singapore. "In a country that wants to be a democracy, the people spoke, and the people spoke for democracy and against unlimited power."

Chavez, who was briefly ousted in a failed 2002 coup, blamed the loss on low turnout among the very supporters who re-elected him a year ago with 63 percent of the vote.

Seven in 10 eligible voters cast ballots then. This time it was just 56 percent.

The defeated reform package would have created new types of communal property, let Chavez handpick local leaders under a redrawn political map and suspended civil liberties during extended states of emergency. Without the overhaul, Chavez will be barred from running again in 2012.

Other changes would have shortened the workday from eight hours to six, created a social security fund for millions of informal laborers and promoted communal councils where residents decide how to spend government funds.

Nelly Hernandez, a 37-year-old street vendor, cried as she wandered outside the presidential palace early Monday amid broken beer bottles as government workers took apart a stage mounted earlier for a victory fete.

"It's difficult to accept this, but Chavez has not abandoned us, he'll still be there for us," she said between sobs.

A close ally of Cuba's Fidel Castro, Chavez has redistributed more oil wealth than past Venezuelan leaders, and also has aided Latin American allies — including Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua — that have followed Venezuela's turn to the left.

"He is a man who feels for the people, a man who has suffered, a man who comes from below," Carlos Orlando Vega, a 47-year-old carpenter's assistant, said outside a polling station in a Caracas slum on Sunday.

Vega is among tens of thousands of Venezuelans who, under Chavez, have new government-provided homes.

Chavez urged calm and restraint after his Sunday setback.

"I wouldn't have wanted that Pyrrhic victory," he said, suggesting a small margin wouldn't have been enough of a mandate.

Tensions surged in the weeks ahead of Sunday's vote, with university students leading protests and occasionally clashing with police and Chavista groups.

Chavez had warned opponents against inciting violence before the vote, and threatened to cut off oil exports to the United States if the Bush administration interfered.

Chavez, 53, also suffered some high-profile defections by political allies, including former defense minister Gen. Raul Baduel.

Early Monday, Baduel reminded fellow Venezuelans that Chavez still wields special decree powers thanks to a pliant National Assembly packed with his supporters.

"These results can't be recognized as a victory," Baduel told reporters,

Baduel, who as defense minister helped Chavez turn back the 2002 putsch, said Venezuela can only be properly united by convening a popularly elected assembly to rewrite its constitution.

Chavez has progressively steamrolled a fractured opposition since he was first elected in 1998, and his allies now control most elected posts.

At opposition headquarters in an affluent east Caracas district, jubilant Chavez foes sang the national anthem.

"This reform was about democracy or totalitarian socialism, and democracy won," said opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez said.

"At least now we have the guarantee that Chavez will leave power," said Valeria Aguirre, a 22-year-old student who had braved tear gas during street protests.

Lucena, the electoral agency chief, called the vote "the calmest we've had in the last 10 years."

All was reported calm during Sunday's voting but 45 people were detained, most for committing ballot-related crimes like "destroying electoral materials," said Gen. Jesus Gonzalez, chief of a military command overseeing security.

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DAVE'S NOTES -

Things are beginning to heat up as the date for the “constitutional reform” vote approaches. It is currently scheduled for Dec 2nd but might be slipped till after the new year. It started out as 33 changes aka “reforms” to the current 359 article constitution but has grown to a 69 article “reform”. If you read the old constitution one wouldn’t think that this many changes can be done legally in the format and process that is being used. However Hugo has things pretty much his own way since he was given the power to rule by decree by the Legislature in Feb. So he is already acting in the manner that the reforms will make permanent if passed.

Inflation looks to be close to 20%/year right now so the Venezuelans are having to tighten up there belts as the wages aren’t increasing at that rate. In addition if the reform passes then the work week will be 30 hours aka 6 per day! The $ to B is still 2150 to 1 officially but is at 6500 to 1 in Caracas and 55-5700 to 1 here on the parallel market. Many think that 7000 + is right around the corner. Its an absurd thing as our dockage is now closer to $200 than the $400 of last year.

We actually don’t have much trouble buying what we want. Sometimes we need to go to 2 or 3 places or wait a few days but it shows up. We can always buy from the lady on the corner anything we need. She sells what she wants and isn’t “price controlled” as the stores are. Chicken is 2000 B’s/Kilo. That’s about $.15/lb so if we can’t get them at the store then for $.20’lb we can get them from her. Etc for anything else you need.

 As the US and the UK found out long ago price controls don’t work, period. Why Chavez thinks he can make them work is beyond me!
There is a huge fuel problem here currently. Venezuela doesn’t have enough refinery capacity for its own domestic consumption and has to import refined products like gas and diesel. He pays the international price of $1.50 or so per gallon and then sells it on the domestic market for 3 ½ cents/gal. A pretty expensive program if you ask me! In addition he is now sending a tanker a week of refined products to Iran as part of a deal with them…..but he has to buy these products back fro his US operations and then export them to Iran. Smart or what??
If he messes with the price of fuel for domestic use he will have riots. If he doesn’t his business practices will bankrupt the country in a short time. A bit of a sticky wicket I’d say.

2 weeks back there wasn’t any gas to be had at any marina in this area but they did have some diesel in the Marina in PLC. Still no gas this week and no diesel in Cumana when we stopped there on Tuesday. None for locals and none for foreign flagged vessels either. So we see this all starting to come unglued sooner rather than later. Just hope it isn’t to dramatic and painful for the Venezuelans. We still have 700 gallons and will try to get another 265 gallons next week as we go by Cumana again on a short cruise.

Swan Song has been keeping me busy with her needs. Always something here or there that needs attention.

We are planning on being in the area for the next 2 or 3 months before we head up to Bonaire and some of the other more distant and remote islands in the area.

Dave