All posts by Barry

2004 April Fools Cruise #1 (Offshore and ICW with Brian on Cayenne)

Does this mean we average running aground once a day in the ICW?

I was driving the boat down the Intracoastal Waterway (All the East Coast boaters just call it the “ICW” or “the ditch”) today. Since it wasn’t a weekend this time, there was some traffic, but it was pretty reasonable. Sunday it reminded me of the Lake Washington Ship Canal on an equally sunny day, just after the large locks had opened. Except that the traffic didn’t seem to slow down between lockings.

Back to today, a Monday. One of the larger powerboats was coming up behind us, and was nice enough to slow down. They were no longer moving much faster than we did, so I slowed down and went over to the right side of the channel to let them around us. When the had finished passing us, I was a little distracted by something, and then noticed that the depth was decreasing pretty rapidly, so I backed the throttle off a little more and turned back toward the center of the channel. Too late. We were aground. I was acting a little unsure, so Brian took the wheel, throttled up and pushed us through a little mud or sand, and back into the “deep” part of the channel. We were back on our way, and no damage was done.

That was when I said “Does this mean we average running aground once a day in the ICW?” I’m not sure exactly what the depth is supposed to be in the channel, but I’ve usually been seeing 10-12 feet around here, occasionally under 8 feet, but so far, never under 7 feet inside the channel. Cayenne draws six and a half feet, so this really doesn’t leave a whole lot of margin. By the time we were anchored tonight, everybody aboard except the cat had run us aground! I’m not sure I’ve done the math correctly, but this assessment is way too close for Brian to want to stay “inside” much longer. In fact, we’re all looking forward to the nice easy navigation on a passage once out of sight of land and in enough water that the depth sounder can’t find bottom.

2004 April Fools Cruise #1 (Offshore and ICW with Brian on Cayenne)

Day 2: Everybody took a nap

Our first day started in the familiar waters of Lake Ponchartrain, and we eventually made it to our bouncy anchorage in the lee of Ship Island. At first light Meps, Brian and Kem got up and prepared the boat. This must have included taking down the now dry sheet Prussia had barfed on, removing sail covers, and raising the anchor. I stayed in bed and on and off slept through the process, and got up later to find us sailing with a double reef in each sail.

After breakfast Kem took some dramamine and then she took the first in a series of naps throughout the day.

We were still sailing through a series of marked dredged channels through the shallow parts of the Gulf of Mexico, but the depths were gradually increasing, and the navigation became a bit easier, so the skipper went down below and took one of his quick “power naps.” With Meps steering or watching auto I started to feel like dozing in the sun. By the time I decided to get a better pillow, the skipper was back up, so I decided to go below and hit the bunk again for another nice long nap. This time I had a good excuse–I was expecting to take an early night watch, and didn’t want to be sleepy….

After lunch Meps took her nap. I think Prussia got a lot of napping in as usual, but I’m not sure–She spent the whole day hiding out in the bottom of a hanging locker in our cabin, and every time I looked in I saw two wide eyes looking back out at me.

By dinner time the wind had picked up again and we were sailing with a single reef in each sail, still making good progress. After dinner, Brian and Meps turned in, and Kem and I were on watch, sailing along with distant oil platforms and not much else. After midnight Brian got up, and we set our new course to Clearwater Florida, 275 miles away.

Since it was bedtime I just slept rather than napping again!

Journeys by Land

The Last Roadtrip?

On our way here, we took a month driving from Seattle to New Orleans, which was nearly long enough to see some interesting stuff between there and here.

Tomorrow, we’ll hit the road to Seattle one last time for a very different trip: Three to four days, tops. That’s because Brian is letting us drive his van back, and the quicker we get there, the more time we have to see friends and family! After a very short visit, we’ll fly back here with our fourth crew member, Prussia the cat.

A kind friend has agreed to buy Peepcar when we return, so we’ll all be without wheels. Who knows when (or even if) we will will do another roadtrip of this scale–if we’re on a road, it will mostly be shoes under us.

2004 April Fools Cruise #1 (Offshore and ICW with Brian on Cayenne), Guest Verse, Limericks

#19 (From Margaret’s Uncle and secret poet, Roy Branson)

Quoth the Raven, “enough already”

We had hoped to be, upon the sea,
Not on the rocks but not on blocks.
But there we are and much too far,
From a flush toilet, with our eyes set
on a shower, our eyes red, our bodies sour

In and out, up and down, the further we must go,
The boat won’t sink and we won’t drown, we’re still on blocks, although
We be at sea (or up the creek). Avast, thar she blows, no pirates, no leak,
No transmission, no go, we’re up on blocks, you know.

We’ll sail round the world, but it will take longer.
While we’re on the blocks, and the odor stronger.
But at least, I think, though we may stink, we won’t sink
We’er still on blocks, with rocks in our head, and we’re fed
Up with the sailing, and failing to go but not on rocks still on blocks

And quoth the rabbit, “cut the crap!”

Family Tales, Friends Along the Way, Journeys by Land

Turkey Cheese Pie

From New Orleans, we drove to Florida for the Seven Seas Cruising Association’s annual meeting. We got our fill of speakers and exhibitors and hanging around with sailors. There were many sessions on HF radio communications that we hope to use when we’re at sea or in remote places. Nearly everything we might want is available on both SSB Marine band (not free, but can be used for business purposes) and HAM (free, but does not permit commercial use) radio channels. Fortunately, there are now good radios that can operate on both types.

The good part is that once it all works, we should be able to get information about weather and destinations, and, even more importantly, should be able to get email at sea. The bad part is that the email will be painfully slow�maybe a half hour for sending/receiving email, and that doesn�t include big attachments…OK, I’m really not sure exactly how slow it will be, but I’m sure it will be way slower than dial-up internet at its worst. The other bad(?) good(?) part is that all three of us now have to study for HAM licenses.

We also learned about sailing with cats and dogs, how to keep your boat smelling nice, cruising the Caribbean, French and Spanish for cruisers, and snorkeling or scuba for fun and food. Diana Jessie, who writes for 48 North, was great in person, and we enjoyed a refresher course on weather with our NOAA guru, Lee Chesneau.

One real highlight was a chance to visit with Meps� Dad and hang out in Florida. He hosted us in his tiny rental apartment, which seemed like a palace to us. We saw his new townhouse (under construction), swam, went to the beach, and even took a short hike.

Best of all was that Meps and her Dad used the recently unearthed recipe for the late Esther’s Turkey Cheese Pie. It was wonderful, and well worth the effort. I cannot say for myself, but those who had eaten the original claimed this was just as good.
Hank and Margaret with their prized Turkey-Cheese Pie

TURKEY CHEESE PIE (including the original typos and comments)

3 medium onions
1-1/2 cup buttery cracker crumbs
1-1/4 cup cooked turkey pieces
1/3 cup butter
1-1/2 tablespoons shortening
1 cup milk
3 eggs
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 cups grated chedder cheese

Set oven 350 degrees. Cut onions to thin slices to make 2 cups. Roll about 44 but. tas. crackeres into crumbs to make 1-1/2 cups crumbs. Cut turkey into small pieces. Melt butter. Add to cracker crumbs stirring until all dry pieces are moist. Pat crumbs firmly onto sides of a 9 inch pie plate with spoon. Chill for 30 min. Melt shortening. Add onions and cook until tender but not browned. Heat milk until a film forms across the top. Beat eggs until bubbly. Stir milk salt, pepper and cheese into eggs. Put turkey over bottom of cracker crumbs crust. Top with onion rings. Pour over egg cheese mixture. Bake for 30 minutes and garnish with pinsheel made of halved crackers and pimento slices. This pie will serve 6. Which is not enough.

Friends Along the Way, Journeys by Land

On the road again

Less than two weeks after we arrived in New Orleans on Cayenne we�re off for another road trip. This time it is a bit different�now there are three of us (Brian joined us), and we�re in Brian�s van, which is far more comfortable than peepcar, and since we�re in a hurry and have three people to drive, we�re making a 13-hour drive in one day. We�re driving to Melbourne, Florida for the Seven Seas Cruising Association annual meeting (or was that party?)

So since we aren�t yet ready to go sailing (See the latest on the Log of Cayenne) we�re off to a sailing club meeting where we get to hang out with sailors and talk about cruising and communications and all sorts of stuff. Of course some of the folks at the meeting will be here on their boats and dinghy ashore for the meeting instead of this driving stuff. We’re at least enjoying a brief vacation from scrambling into and out of small grungy parts of Cayenne, with the wonderful bonus of staying with Meps’ Dad in Vero Beach!

2003 Peepcar's Last Big Adventure (Roundabout Seattle to New Orleans)

Makin’ Hay: The Sawtooth Mountain Loop

Last week we drove through the Sawtooth Mountains, and it made quite an impression on us. (This is dated for when we were there, not when I actually wrote it)

We started out driving to Boise, Idaho on the interstate and headed up the marked scenic route 21 on our road atlas. We went past a reservoir that must supply much of Boise, and up a fairly winding road into the dry dusty red hills North of town.

As we drove up the into the hills, with the road going up alongside a creek, we started to notice the sunset. The sun was going down, and the hills opposite were getting a beautiful golden-red at the top, making two tiers, a darker, lower mountain ridgeline that was the shadow of the other side and higher, glowing ridgeline in the direct sunlight. I couldn’t stop taking pictures.

As we continued to wind up the road we started seeing more trees and it got steeper….and darker. We started worrying about whether we would find our campsite, and actually turned back, got directions at a beer oasis, then discovered it was only a mile past where we had turned around. We set up our tent, made dinner, and had a nice but cold night.

The next morning we continued up the river valley, which twisted and turned and got steeper. We stopped at a ranger station and got more information about the Sawtooth National Wilderness Reserve from a nice young woman. It was distracting, talking with her, because she looked like a twin of Sharonne, our former housemate!

After a brief argument with Peepcar (don’t worry, it’s fine now) we got going again and went up … and up … and up …. and finally over a pass. On the other side were huge burned areas, including the remains of homes. Suddenly, we were in a very broad, very flat valley with mostly pasture land. There were split-rail fences of a type I hadn’t seen before, that zig-zagged along and had two vertical posts wired together to hold them in place. We continued down this valley to the town of Lowman, and were now really getting into the Sawtooth Range.

The peaks are jagged, like the teeth of a saw. I took loads of pictures of them too as we were going in! I hope I can find some of my pictures that do it justice because my words wouldn’t.

Continuing through this broad valley we found more ranching, and then passed through the tiny town of Stanley, up in this valley right below the Sawtooth Range. Since Meps’ ankle was doing better, we selected a nice little hike up Fishhook creek on the advice of another ranger (who didn’t look like anyone we knew).

The trail went up a hillside away from the creek for a little and we were able to appreciate the aspens with white bark and yellow and orange leaves right next to the sagebrush (and other sage colored plants I’m sure) on the hillside. (Yes, we took even more pictures along here) Along the creek, we saw the river plain with golden dried grasses and red-gold turning willows among the trees. At the end of our trail, we found a meadow, where we had an breathtaking view of the peaks of the Sawtooth range, a little shrouded with distant high clouds and mist.

Back in Peepcar, we started down Route 75 again and found ourselves climbing back up … and up … and up … twisting and turning again to Galena Summit. We could look back over the entire valley leading up toward Stanley, and further.

As we were going along, I asked Meps “Can we go check out Sun Valley?” It’s a famous ski resort just two miles off the road. She wasn’t enthused, but agreed. We weren’t likely to be back nearby for many years and our Lets Go guide mentioned it as a world-class ski area.

Going down this beautiful river valley, we started seeing signs of civilization. Once in Ketchum, we were amazed. Everywhere were expensive-looking shops and restaurants and cars. After a full day in the wilderness and several days camping, it was a shock. How similar rich resorty areas are! (we have visited others before). And here, where water was limited (at least in the summer), everyplace had a close-cropped bright green lawn. We found more of the same in Sun Valley–Condos or time-shares, with huge parking lots (mostly hidden tastefully from the road behind rows of trees).

As we headed out of town, the road looked much wider and busier–obviously to allow throngs of people to head into Sun Valley. A few miles down the road was Hailey, which seems to accept all the things that aren’t quite “perfect” enough for Ketchum and Sun Valley–the auto repair shops and suppliers, the cheaper motels for folks who want to ski but can barely afford the lift ticket. And the housing for workers in the resorts, perhaps? Not screened tastefully from the road!

Finally, we started getting back into ranching country–it was a relief and much more suited to us than the resort we had just passed through. Suddenly, we passed something so cool we had to make a U-turn and check it out: A large group of scupltures called “Makin’ Hay” by Tom Otterness. It had three 25-foot figures made of huge cylindrical hay bales and iron. Whimsical art like this was just what we needed to restore our spirits! We continued on our way to Craters of the Moon National Monument, back on quiet roads and heading east.