Scared of Pirates?

Now that's what I call a sword.

Yes, you are the Captain.

Yes, Capt'n, right away Capt'n

Haircut - Lost in translation

Need I say more?

The Long Journey – a diary

Dec 15th
2:30 - 5am Shift
Bloody hell, I can't even stand up or go to the bathroom - it's that rough out. Trying to get ready for my shift was near impossible, and yeah, it's still raining. I'm over it.
Last night was worst than going through the straits, traffic wise. I had to deal with about 12 tankers/container ships, in the dark no less. It was extremely stressful.
I'm cold.

The Long Journey – a diary

Dec 15th
2:30 - 5 am Shift
These giant black shadows pass by you and it is so creepy, like a ghost just went by. I am standing at the helm, and it's dark. I am alone. These dark waves with no phytoplankton in them, no sound, are exactly like the sinister shadows from the movie Ghost. These waves pass by you, sending a shiver down your spine. It is very surreal.
Oh, and it's raining. Maybe that accounts for my melancholy. I'm feeling very much like a black cat.

Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays and all that. We wish everyone the best that this magical season can bring - family, friends, health & happiness.

Here's just some great stuff other people have been sending me, that I just wanted to pass on. I hope you enjoy!
An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck.
One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.
At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.
For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.
Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.
But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream.
'I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.'
The old woman smiled, 'Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?'
'That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them.'
'For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table.
Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.'
Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.
You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.
SO, to all of my crackpot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!
______________________________________________________

"An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets. He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head."

Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;
None but ourselves can free our minds. Bob Marley

The Long Journey – a diary

Dec 14th
7- 9:30pm Shift
We had been hoping for real wind for days now and right before I was due to go on shift, Capt'n issued the command, "raise the the sails, I think we have some wind". Great, we all thought. Well, be careful for what you wish for...
We got wind alright, and lots of it to. I was steering in 30's (knots), no wait make that 45's, no wait, make that 55 knots of wind - strong gale strength. Okay, dokay, I was FREAKING OUT! I didn't sign up for this sh*t. What did Goldie Hawn say in that movie, Private Benjamin? - Where are all the resorts, you know the ones the army recruiter promised with the pool, and the spa, and the recreation lessons, and nature hikes? Well, something like that, you get my drift. I felt conned!
I am definitely a fair weather sailor, and if I keep saying this affirmation, maybe it'll come true, Toto. No place like home, no place like home. I just can't believe I have loads of winter sailing experience.

Yours truly - the unwilling winter sailor

The Long Journey – a diary

Dec 13th
5:3oam - 8am
We have crossed over! That is, we are officially going EAST. Translation we have gone from a westerly longitude to a easterly one. Bring on the warm weather please. Now if only we could go more south?
This was a very stressful shift for me due to the abundance of rather large tankers & container ships, that I had to dodge. However, I didn't have to do circles to avoid them this time. I count that as a small blessing.
Pre-dawn light appeared at 7:30am, but I was denied a sunrise, again - ugh! Too many clouds. This might be an ominous sign - Red sky morning sailor take warning, and all that crap. Hmmmmm.....
So just days after I swore that I would never eat or drink again (remember puke a ramo), well, Carl cooked this irresistible vegetarian, Thai curry dish, that I couldn't help but eat. Two servings worth, to be exact. I knew it was wrong, but hey, I was hungry.
Anyhow, yeah, I was sea sick again. Luckily, this time without the throwing up part, but slept with "the bucket" just in case.
This whole sailing thing would be so much more fun if I didn't get so sea sick!

The Long Journey – a diary

Dec 11th
A puke free day - hooray! Got some sleep finally. Changed medications to Strugeon in the wee hours of the morning and it started to kick in. Wow, what a relief!
11:30pm - 2:30am Shift
This is a shoot-a-rama night, as in shooting stars and I have never seen so many, that I lost count! Wicked cool. I also managed to find Orien's belt, & the big dipper. Or was that the little one? Hard to tell really, but it was definitely a dipper.
Their are so many stars, so many more than one would ever see in the city, or the burbs for that matter. The water was dead calm, eerie really, so much so that the stars reflected off the water like moonlight on a river. It was starlight ocean!
Dec 12th
7 - 9:30am
No glorious sunrise this time around, only a dolphin entourage! Dolphins, are a sailors best friend / great company, and so comforting to me. They are like little ambassadors of the sea.
10pm - 12:30am
Ooo, lots of boat traffic tonight. I had to do 2 full, wide circles because of large tankers being way to close for comfort. That's the scariest thing, I think, about sailing is traffic at night. One is definitely a little fish in a big fish ocean, if you know what I mean! You feel like you can't be seen, and sometimes you aren't wrong in that feeling. I had to use the light strobe - this blinding, blinking thing to announce our presence. Now that's a strong cup of wake you up, I'm here.

The Long Journey – a diary

Dec 10th
Totally sea sick, like couldn’t hold up my head, really puke-a-rama sick! I had to drink water so I had something to throw up. My throat hurts. I couldn’t do my (night) shift. Very tired.
On my first shift, asked for a bucket and held a course in between throwing up. I wanted to die. I wanted to go home. I took Dramamine? It didn’t work! Obviously. It was the worst ever sea sickness since we left the US. Then, lying in the cockpit trying to help Brian who was doing a double (his + my shift- 5 hours at the wheel - yikes), a wave picked us up and I levitated off the bench, then the boat rocked, like boats do, and I met it with my face & knee as it came up to greet me, & I came down smack on the floor of the cockpit. I bashed my temple on the threshold of the companionway. Yeah, it hurt, bad. As much as I would like to say that I toughed it out, well, I didn’t. I just started ralfing and crying.

Morocco Photo's

I forgot to add the link to all our photo's on flicker. Here it is:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/katnbrian/sets/72157623037801226/

Enjoy!

Our day trip to Morocco

This trip was a dream come true for me, as I have wanted to visit Morocco since 1990, when I traveled through Europe, but was to timid in my youth to do so back then. Now, with easy entrance from Ceuta, just a short bus ride to the border, and walk over, it seemed welcoming. From the moment we got off the bus, we were greeted by very nice and very helpful people. No doubt plants, to drum up tourist business, but none the less, very cool indeed and we needed the help.
After navigating the boarder, which was a very unique experience indeed- as in no signs to direct you- we were immediately introduced to our guide and whisked into a taxi, Mercedes of course. The town we were to visit was 45 minutes away from the boarder and had a traditional Medina (market place). As luck would have it, we were arriving on a day where the Berber people came down from the mountainsides to sell their wares – homegrown veggies & homemade crafts.
As we zipped along the modern and in very good shape roads, Aziz- our guide, pointed out some places of interest. One being the new president's summer palace. This was nothing what I thought Morocco was to look like, but then again, it was early in the trip. We did pass some camels on the side of the road, so that accounts for something!

Once inside the city, we were left by the taxi and continued on foot. First, we asked to go to the post office. We hope you all have received your Holiday cards by now. The stamp is the picture of the new, young, president, Mohammad the sixth. Anyhow, thank goodness for Aziz because we would have been at a totally lost there. After licking eighty some stamps, we of course needed something to drink. Right. Well for a beer, it would have to be outside of the medina, as the Arab, Muslin culture does not drink alcohol. Dup.
After a cold one for Bri, and a wine for me, which is only sold in ½ bottles and never by the glass, we made our way to the medina – the heart and soul of the city.

This was exactly how I pictured Morocco. It was so cool and following our quiet, tall, guide through the maze of tiny walkways, bulging with goods and foods, it was a true treat. Of course, we were treated to the tourist act and taken to a bunch of “set up” places. That’s okay I told Brian, because there would have been no way we would have stumbled across anything as cool on our own. So we had to sit through a “hard sell” at the carpet co-op but man, it was so worth it.

Speaking of carpets, these were some of the most amazing and beautiful things around. We got the spiel on how they are made, how to tell the authenticity, the fabric, you name it. Plus, they rolled out all the carpets for us to see. What a treat since they all were one of a kind design. We even were served some delicious mint tea. The whole experience was grand. Alas, we just couldn’t afford anything! Disappointed we ventured on.
Next was the herbal / spice house. Here we could afford some items and I purchased some Cumin, and some blended oil for the face and skin. We got to touch and smell all kinds of good stuff.

Our guide Aziz in the background!

Next, we wondered around the medina, taking it all in. The food looked so good and we sampled some of the flat breads that were in abundance. We then walked by one of the 75 mosques in the medina and stopped to peer in & have a lecture. They pray five times a day. There are separate entrances for men and women. You take your shoes off before entering. Then you wash before going into prey. First you wash your hands 3 times, then your face 3 times, then your head once, and then your feet 3 times – or something like that. Aziz joked that they don’t have time to be dirty with all the washing they do. Also, in the medina are 1 Catholic Church and 4 synigogs. Oh, and he said they are welcoming to all cultures and peoples. Translation – I didn’t have to wear a head scarf.

Bri in front of one of the many Mosques

Lastly, we had to do some shopping, and of course, Aziz’s knew the spot. It was super fun looking at all the trinkets, and camel purses, and the shoes!

As it was getting late, we popped into a recommended traditional restaurant for some dinner. We had couscous of course, and it was delicious. Aziz’s fetched us a cab and we were transported back to the border in record time. As we crossed, with specific instructions on what to do, we paused to hunt down a stamp for our passports! Got one! All in all a very successful & enjoyable trip!

Their new, young president

Ceuta

Our first glimpse of this city

Interesting thing about this city, Ceuta, on the coast of North Africa in Morocco – it’s a Spanish enclave. This means Spanish is spoken here and the Euro is accepted. Even though it is on a peninsula, and attached, it feels like an island!
Oh well, no headwear required for me and bring on the shorts! Okay, wishful thinking as it was cold. Average temperatures this time of year ranged between 15 – 17 C, or like SF weather. This city has a long, long history and has been around since the 5th century B.C., settled by the Phoenicians and finally given to Spain as a present to King Carlos from the Portguese King in 1668. Anyhow with that said, we really didn’t do much tourist exploring here. We had a list of chores and items to do for the boat, as well as to wait on some needed boat documents (Registration papers).

Going to the Beach!

Tis the season! In the spirit of things we walked around this modern city looking at all the decorations and holiday lights. It made me a bit homesick, but then again, we might make it to Israel for the Holidays. That would be something. We’ll see.

Holiday lights - so festive

Despite not doing much, I did manage to take a bunch of photos. Click here to view: http://www.flickr.com/photos/katnbrian/sets/72157622842431623/

More Quotable Moments- Portuguese style!

"Don't worry, I'm already distrubed!" (In reponse to Carl not wanting to distrub me working on the computer, but needed to get in a cabinet under the seat I was in.) - Kat


"Portuguesse sounds like Spanish, but with a russian accent." - Brian


"English did sound whinny to me before I understood it." -Carl


"It took 2 days of whine up, not wind up, to get her to go running. -Brian


"I'm waiting for this cabinet to dry. Yeah, I'm waiting for the paint to dry. Are you guys kidding me, that's like watching the pot boil. " -Brian, then Carl, and lastly Kat

"I got that on video, no really, you can watch it if you want. -Carl "I got everything on video" Mosoca

Straits of Gibraltar, finally!

I can now say that we sailed through the straits of Gibraltar! One of the gateways of the world. However, mind you, not when we were planning to and with all the delays, but no more excuses, it’s done! Finally. We started off in June planning to make it through in early July – like the 8th! Now, six months later, and I can’t believe it is December (!), we have accomplished this goal.

Proof baby!

It was a beautiful day, and calm waters. We left early in the morning, with all the fishing boats, and as Brian put it – “you know you are leaving at the right time when all the fisherman are leaving too”. I only had to play dodge boat (yes, 8 tankers/ferries at once) for about 45 minutes. The only really eventful thing to the whole journey was the bottle of Champagne (OK, it was sparking wine from Spain) Brian popped upon us docking and setting foot on North Africa! Six continents down for Bri, one to go, and 4 down for me! However, I don’t plan on going to Antarctica so only 2 more to go for me – Australia and South America.

Early morning coneheads! Yeah, it was alittle chilly!

We knew it was going to be a good day, when Carl caught the first fish of the trip!

Dinner... yummm (kitty likes the fishy:)

That's Africa in the Background!!!
All Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/katnbrian/sets/72157622816065085/

Barbate - Another Spainish Port

We could see the straits and North Africa from here, additionally, we were informed that the marina was free – schweet, schweet. Alas, it was not so! They even charged us an extra meter (for a total of 11 m length), and the boat is 10.23m! Wow, tight, and yeah, we wouldn’t be staying for long. Oh, they assigned us a berth that didn’t exist and we tied up to the wrong dock, just as well, nothing in this life is free.

Anyhow, there were a couple of very cool things to this place. Like hot showers, and kitty cats everywhere! Now seriously, there was the large anchor graveyard within the marina, as evident with all the pictures we took of them. I just hadn’t seen a big boat anchor like that up close, not to mention like 100’s of them! Brian took his usual early morning walk and found the hardware store and fish market. Anyhoo, we didn’t really get to explore the town except for a sunset beach walk Brian and I took the evening before we left. Another thing about this village is it’s ringed by pine trees and all of the pine trees are trimmed high and tight. They look like heads of broccoli. Imagine a whole 1000 acre forest trimmed up.

Now that's a cool socccer pitch!

Pine tree heads of broccoli

Portimao, Portugal

Meow, mew, mao! No, Portimao! Port of kitties! (Just kidding) This was just a quick stop on our way to the strait, of Gibraltar. We really didn’t spend much time here. We just recovered from the 48 hour trip down and around the corner (Cape ) from Nazare. Looking at the weather window, we left Portimao 1 day early to catch the “good” wind. The first day of the trip, Thanksgiving, was brutal. The swell was “supposedly” dying down, but I still puked my brains out most of the evening. Yeah, that’s right, so instead of stuffing my face and gaining the dreaded, big 5, holiday pounds, I suffered all day, downing Dramamine and Sturgeon, and then hurled! and there was no pumpkin pie either. Come to think of it, I believe I only managed a peanut butter sando. On Brian’s watch we hit 12.5 knots surfing down a wave and then, just minutes later, sailing wing on wing got rounded up in a 54 knot puff which caused the main to gybe. It tore out a stanchion and an eyelet rated at 4 tons which were tied to the preventer (its suppose to keep the boom from swinging across the deck like Death’s scythe). The wind held at 40+ for 30 minutes and then repeated many times. Kat sailed a 49 knot blow for 20 minutes. Anyhow, the motion of the ocean and the wind both died on the second day. However, we did manage 4 knots in an 8 knot breeze. Wow – this boat goes; He-haw! And, we totally lucked out by being able to motor around the cape (kind of had to since we had zero wind at that point but as always , very strong current ) - always a treacherous sailing zone.

We were in Portimao such a short time that we didn’t even make it to town. Brian and I had a great dinner at a marina restaurant but then, just to the mini market for some fresh supplies, grabbed a shower, fixed a couple of items, and off we went. Looked pretty though!

Next stop, Barbate (back in Spain again), for a weather & tide check. A must for any prudent sailor before going through the straits. Plus, we didn’t want to get caught going through the straits at night.

All Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/katnbrian/sets/72157622940499986/

La Coruna, Spain - Photos!

I can't believe we spent an entire month (almost- 3 weeks) here. Anyhow, here are the pictures. Enjoy!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/katnbrian/sets/72157622816154155/

Nazare, Portugal

Nazare is listed as the second best place you just have to visit. It was the original weekend spot for the Lisbon crowd to get away from it all. Only an hour and a half away, it's like a cross between Capitola (beachy), and Lisbon (old world with stone streets), and a fishing village, and is where the boat we decided to jump on was located.

Carl & Brian checking things out

The local market

the "boat maker"- so cute!

Due to weather, and other boat guests, the plan to start sailing would be no sooner than Monday. Great, time to explore another place. It would also give us time to get settled and prepared for our journey south.

We arrived late Friday night from Lisbon and were actually picked up from the bus stop (schweet!), in a car no less! Good thing since our baggage seems to mysteriously grow & grow. Brian left with 4 pairs of shorts and now has 14. I guess carrying around a soccer ball isn't the smartest, most prudent, packing decision either, but I just couldn't part with it! It is orange, an Umbro, and was given to me. Anyhow, going from a 65' boat to a 33' boat was shocking. I mean, I knew it would be smaller, but wow, it is small. The Westerly 33 is huge boat for its short length, and luckily has easily swallowed our baggage - Good thing. The best part is I can actually stand up straight in the Galley. Moving on, we got settled and Carl, the boat owner, cooked everyone a great dinner.

A traditional local lady selling fish

The next day we went about exploring the town. Of course, it was just pouring rain and we spent most of the time in the cafe, drinking coffee, and getting to know Carl and his friend. Okay by me, I love the Portuguese coffee and sweet breads. Anyhow, not on point. This town was beautiful. It had this gorgeous, long beach, and old world charm to it. The women still wore the traditional 7 layer dresses with scarf head dresses, black if they had lost a loved one to the sea. There was a lot of black. There were fish drying racks right out on the beach to dry the daily catch. Vendors lined the walkways selling fresh roasted nuts, and other assorted goods. The city was actually divided (sort of), with part of it down along the beach and the other up on the cliff side overlooking the sea.

Fishing boats

Fish drying racks on the beach

The upper district of the town is where the main square with the cathedral was located. Legend had it that a nobleman was hunting elk and his prey bolted off this huge cliff (500ft) with his horse in full pursuit. He screamed a quick prayer to the virgin Mary who then appeared before him and spooked the horse to a stop just before tumbling over the edge after the elk. we have included the following visual aid for your reference:

The harbor sits on the edge of a huge underwater canyon like Monterey and is looked after by a retired Welshman known as "God", but signs his checks, Mike. He keeps his harbor open when all others are closed. Carl was one of the lucky ones to reap this benefit when he came into the small harbor in 20 ft seas, blowing 40 knots.

Anyhow, due to weather and equipment procurement issues, we ended up leaving (early, not butt crack though) on Thanksgiving morning. Well, I know what I am Thankful for!

Happy Sailing.

Nazare at night from above

Nazare as we sailed away.....

See all the Nazare photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/katnbrian/sets/72157622939670284/

Lisbon Photos

So here's those photos that we promised! To see all 350 pictures, click here (Mom): http://www.flickr.com/photos/katnbrian/sets/72157622801262765/

No, it's not the Golden Gate! 25th of April Bridge

the Pepper Cathedral

In the Tower of Belem

Monument to Explorers

Gondola ride - '98 Expo site

Classic streetcar in an old town district

Castle St. Jorge

The quintessential shot of Lisbon

Cool tile with kitties - double Whammy!