Our Beloved Dinghy

On board the WTP we have everything we need to eat, sleep, work, and go to the bathroom. But when we get cabin fever and want to travel ashore to explore the local town market or culture, we need a dinghy! Why? because the sailboat cannot sail in water any shallower than 6 feet (which means if you don't carry a smaller boat with you, you are going to be swimming to shore).

---STORY TIME----
"The day we almost lost the Dinghy" (lets hope its the last)
Date: Jan 16th 2010
Time: around 6:00pm (after sunset)

We had sailed all day from sunup to sundown upwind. The boat was heeled most of the day and we had tacked a number of times while keeping a close watch for coral heads (to make sure we avoided them) while crossing Sapodilla bay. It was blowing around 18 knots and we had one reef in the mainsail. We were making good progress, but the sun was setting and we were about 5 miles from our anchorage. On our next tack (around 5pm) we dropped the headsail and the mizzen and motor-sailed (sailing with the motor on) the last stretch to make it through a narrow deeper section into the anchorage. I had jumped into the dinghy that was being towed behind us and bailed out the water that had splashed into it while we were sailing. The dinghy was secure.

Sunset was at 5:25pm. At around 5:45, the sun was under the horizon and there was just a hint of yellow orange glow behind us illuminating a small island to our south. Adam looked back instinctively like checking your rear view mirror while driving and something was a little off.
"ALAN! Where is the Dinghy"? He shouted into the wind (where I was keeping watch on the bow at the time). "You mean it's gone"? i asked. It was pretty unbelievable. I had seen the line secured to the cleat not more than 45 minutes before and it had been secure almost all day long. We immediately made an about face and headed back toward the dying glow of the sunset. Adam carefully backtracked over our same GPS track to give us the best chance of spotting our beloved dinghy. In that 45 minutes we had gone about 3 and a half miles. We just hoped we could spot it in the darkness.

Trevor and I went quickly down below and gathered the binoculars and night-vision scope. We started scanning the horizon from the bow. It was getting very dark and hard to see and we were still 3 miles from where we made the turn and the last point at which we know we still had the dinghy attached. It had to be somewhere between here and there. We figured it had drifted downwind too and were looking mostly in that direction. About 20min went by (although it felt like an hour following our track). It was just plain dark now. No moon, only starlight. We were sure it had to be close. We were all very engaged in the search, but in the backs of our minds we were thinking, 'man where in the world are we going to find another dinghy? this stinks.' Then all I could think about was how our poor little dinghy was just bobbing out there in the cold and what an awful feeling he must have had as he lost his grip and watched us motor away without even noticing. It must have been like that feeling you get when you miss your bus ride home from school and think that there is no way for you to get home. "What is That"!? shouted Adam over the wind. I turned to light it up with the spotlight and sure enough, there was our little dinghy sitting there, sadly hoping we would come back for him. He was floating just yards from our track but we almost motored right past him in the dark since we were all looking far off in the distance.

We motored close and hooked the bow line, I led it back and reattached the tow line with the most secure knot I know. Relieved, we congratulated each other on a job well done and headed back for the anchorage. What a relief it was too. Without a dinghy, we are "boat locked" and unable to get to shore. Thank you dinghy for patiently waiting for us to return and collect you - and don't do that again!
-THE END

More about our dinghy:
Our dinghy is about 8 feet long and quite seaworthy in all but the nastiest choppy sea. It can be rowed with oars (which we use mostly) or sailed with a small sailing rig. It can hold 3 people + gear max or 4 people very carefully and only in flat water. We usually store the dinghy on-deck in mounts made specifically for it. When we are at a destination or just making small day hops in relatively calm protected water (not offshore) we tow the dinghy with a tow line.

When we go to shore, we lock the dinghy to something permanent like a tree or dock cleat with a bicycle cable lock so that it is sure to be there when we return. We also keep a bailer made out of a gatorade bottle in the dinghy for bailing it out if we ever get some water over the side.

Things we use the dinghy for:
Most importantly, traveling from shore to the boat. It carries: our laundry, our computer, our water jugs, our shower sprayer, our food from the market, our bicycles, our scooters, and us but not all at the same time so many times more than one trip is necessary.

Our dinghy is also well suited for snorkeling and diving. You can throw your gear in and row out to a coral head and drop a small anchor. The dinghy will wait right there for you while you enjoy the underwater wildlife. If you see a shark you can jump back into the dinghy! And no, I have not seen a shark yet.

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Food from the Sea

While my lobster dinner is still eluding me, there are other food items that the sea has been providing the eye crew recently. We have been catching fish at least once every time we sail over an underwater "shelf" (a spot where the water depth changes significantly).

On a more recent snorkeling (hunter-gathering) expedition, I found a large Caribbean King Crab that we boiled for our first crab dinner. Today I brought back 3 large conch (which are legal for harvesting in the Turks and Caicos, long as they are 7 inches long and weigh at least 8 ounces). Conch are more difficult to clean than lobster, crab, or fish in my opinion, and can be an acquired taste. The raw meat (yes, I tried it raw) tastes a little like chewy, under-cooked chicken meat. However, fried and tenderized it's quite good.

Trevor told me that he thinks I am forming a deep bond with the sea and the animals I have been catching, preparing, and eating. Maybe so; maybe I'm just hungry; maybe both. I hope the sea continues to be so generous ... and that I catch some lobster soon.

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Alan's Birthday

Last friday was my birthday the big 24. I think that if 5 years ago you told me that I would be living on a boat in George Town, Bahamas on my 24th birthday I would say you were crazy but here I am.

We have a Birthday Banner aboard that I brought from home and that we used for Liz's birthday party in New Bern, NC and I slipped it to Trevor on Thursday for him to put up so that I wouldn't have to decorate for my own birthday. He did and we had a great time on Stocking island across from Georgetown hanging out with local cruisers and playing some volleyball. Then we cooked a huge dinner of pasta and chicken cheese steak and Adam even baked a cake for the occasion. It was technically a pineapple right-side-up cake and it was delicious. We even had eggs to put into the cake (a real treat). We didn't have any candles aboard but a few matches stuck in the top and of course the birthday song made it as good a birthday as ever. We also enjoyed the company of a new friend Doug and his girlfriend who are also headed south to Panama. Doug has lived in Panama for quite a few years and we had plenty to talk about. I hope we run into them again somewhere down south.

So what did i get for my birthday? I was finally able to open the birthday gifts given to me in Hampton, VA that I have kept under my bunk (thanks Mom and Dad) A tin of chocolates, a new quick drying long sleeve sun shirt, and a harmonica! And of course thanks to my girlfriend, a BANJO! That's right, a shiny new banjo. We have been having some impromptu band practices on the boat and I am catching up with the banjo parts. Seems like we could have a pretty good run as a bluegrass band after all.

We have been waiting out a front that blew though on Sat. and plan to leave tomorrow morning for Turks and Caicos when the winds and seas are forecasted to die down.

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Alan's Lobster Hunt

In my college days, I took a scuba class where we learned how to skin dive first i.e mask fins and snorkel before we learned how to scuba dive and we practiced a lot. Now that we are in the Bahamas around all these tropical islands I am getting back into skin diving and have been doing as much as possible lately and also mainly in search of a big juicy LOBSTER! MAN i want a lobster so bad.

Yesterday after we left Great Harbor Cay we went and anchored in "Slaughter Harbor" and as soon as we anchored I jumped in my wetsuit and went looking for a lobster after checking to make sure our anchor was set well. I swam about a 1/3 mile to the rocky shore all about 15 feet deep and saw a sting ray, lots of conch (smaller ones) and a beach chair on the bottom. As soon as i got to the rocks i found a huge conch and lots of small reef fish and star fish all over the place. Sea urchins and anemones and sponges. Then i saw the antenna of a lobster! a big looking one with thick antennas. I mentally prepared and went for his antenna and right as i grabbed hold he slipped away pulling hard through my fingers back under his big rock. i couldn't believe it. I dove all around the shore looking for another one with no luck coming back to the first rock to see if he had re-emerged but nothing. I couldn't lift the rock so i had to let it go. The crew almost didn't believe me so i can't wait to bring back a lobster and prove IT.

So lobster around there have to have at least a 6" tail in order to be harvested legally. They don't want everyone taking all the baby lobster. So today has been my third attempt at lobster hunting. We anchored in between Hoffmann and Devils Cay and Trevor, Deb and Adam went south to Devils Cay to try and find a blue hole that is somewhere in the middle of the island. They say they saw it but couldn't get there due to the dense plant growth and lack of trails.

Meanwhile I proceeded to dive the entire cove we were anchored in looking for a big fat lobster for dinner. I saw... two large sea turtles one right under the boat and one hiding in the coral, more fish than ever some red, some blue, some tiny yellow and black and some very pointy with huge black eyes. Sea Urchins are all over the place too hiding in the rocks and you have to be very careful if you are walking on the bottom.

I took a rest on a small island with a beach and walked up the hill to take some pictures and there were hermit crabs everywhere just like in the pet store only all over the ground so that you had to be careful where you stepped or you might crush one. I also found some garbage on the little island unfortunately. Some bottles, an old fire pit, a broken pair of shoes and some plastic stuff. I didn't see any trash in the harbor however which was nice.

So the hunt for a lobster continues...stay tuned.

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Ham Radio Email Update

Hello everyone. We are having a rainy day here on the WTP waiting for the weather to change around in our favor so we can cross the gulf stream and get over to the Bahamas. Meanwhile, I have been working on setting up our capability to send emails over the ham radio! This is a test of that system. This journal post was sent completely over ham radio from south Florida. No, blackberry, no internet. That means that this post could have been made while in the middle of the ocean! I for one am exited to have this system working.

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A Trip to the Everglades

Here are some pictures I took from our trip to the Florida Everglades. Enjoy

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Alan is Alive!

Thats right, i'm here and kicking. Here is an update for all of you Alan fans out there.

Life on board the WTP has been very exiting over the past month since leaving Virginia. Every day there has been something that needs doing from the to-do list and there is always something new to see or learn about. I have always loved building things and working with my hands. So far living on the boat has been like living in an Alan playground of electronics, mechanical systems AND it's also a sailboat!

Working on the electrical system is very rewarding. Especially when I can watch us use energy to power lights and recharge laptops and then during the day watch the solar panels and wind generator just charge the batteries back up again. It gives a lot of satisfaction seeing that we are essentially a zero energy home meaning that we use only the energy that we produce ourselves! This is something that is pretty difficult to do on land in a "normal" home. And not only energy but water too. Since we have a water maker on board we are that much more self sufficient at sea.

Eating on board is also very interesting and can be exiting depending on who is doing the cooking. Everyone has their own style of cooking. Trevor cooks with love, Adam cooks by the seat of his pants (which actually works a surprisingly large part of the time) and I just try to make it taste good and sometimes employ Trevor when in doubt. Overall I would say we have been eating much better than I ever did living in Raleigh in an apartment since we are forced to make a meal more often than we can just go to McDonalds or Wendy’s although we still enjoy a good burger and fries of course. We are all looking forward to catching more seafood once we get moving.

Everyone we have met and told about Eye of the World has been very impressed, intrigued and interested in the website and following us along which has made us very hopeful that the program will continue to grow and more schools and classrooms will tune in. Much thanks to those of you who are already following and emailing us regularly. You keep us on our toes and we love getting emails from you!

Of course I miss my friends and loved ones in North Carolina and I am very thank full to have such great support from them for something that takes me away from home for such a long time.

-Capitan Alan

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