How High’s the Water, Mama? Three feet high and rising!
That evening on the mountain top we celebrated finding the flower with fire-roasted lentils, corn, cheese, and passionfruit under a blanket of stars until a downpour put out the fire. We ran for shelter, already soaked, while the sporadic rains slowly penetrated my 25-dollar tent. The night was wet and cold, and the bed of […]
Hope for the Planet?
I’d searched all over for the sacred flower on the top of the mountain during my birthday camping trip–to no avail. After descending back to sea level, I’d spoken with Mama Rosette, the enormous Tahitian grandmother who sat at her fruit stand alongside the road near the boatyard. “Before,” she told me in a mix […]
Could have heard a fish sneeze: Near disaster at the finish line!
Then came my most dreaded part–tight maneuvering amongst a bay of expensive yachts. The wind fell to a whisper as we entered the deep horseshoe cove. Swell glided in on our leftover momentum. Unsure of where to go, my crewmate scanned with the binoculars, spotting a herd of sailors on a boat across from a […]
Upwind showdown: Swell versus ‘Birdy’
Overcome with the rush of competition, we trimmed the sails and urged Swell on as we approached the middle of the fleet. But as the boats ahead of us rounded the upwind buoy, a rainbow of spinnakers sprouted across the lagoon. Just two weeks before, I had traded my only spinnaker (which I had not […]
Practice makes perfect: the T-Cup Regatta
Chat about the T-Cup Regatta had buzzed around all week. It was a yearly, just for fun, local regatta, but still up to my gills with projects, I ignored the other sailors’ taunting and tempting. I had no intention of putting the extra work on my plate for some silly race. I explained that I […]
If a pamplemousse falls in a forest…?
Swell performed well on her first sea trial!…but I gotta catch up on a few stories from the last month, so here goes the first: I threw my bike in the bushes and slowly felt my way toward the barbed wire fence. The full moon had yet to rise, but I knew the fruit-laden pamplemousse […]
Helmut goes to the ‘Supermarket’: Reduce, reuse, recycle!
…Helmut emerged, a bit confused as to why I was there. “Yes?” He asked. “Um. Hi. Yeah, I was just wondering if you needed some help coming into the marina? You know about the cyclone right?” “Yes.” He replied. “I’ve been listening to the weather on the radio every hour. I don’t want to go […]
Helmut the Hermit
Helmut is the grouchiest man on earth besides Kirby at Transpac Marine in Santa Barbara. He lives alone on his 30-foot, sun beaten sloop, ‘Einhorn’ moored just outside the boatyard. The old man comes out of his boat ‘cave’ at dawn and dusk. His little tin rowboat is already ashore when I wake up. Then […]
Parting Gift from the Boatyard!?!
My scalp was unusually itchy. Even on the mountain top I had tried to ignore it, but finally there was no denying that something was wrong. The constant itching was driving me mad!? I stood scratching my head one afternoon, chatting with one of my Tahitian friends. “Poux?” He asked, pointing to my head. “Poo?” […]
