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Dear Friends, Yes, here we are, late again with the annual recap of what the Two Captains were up to in 2006. It¡¯s reading the holiday newsletters that have flooded in from all our friends this past month that makes me realize how nice ��C even how important ��C it is, given our amorphous, floating community, that we keep track of one another! And those of you we haven¡¯t heard from yet? Well, hit the keys and sends us your news! I am writing you from our new home base in Crystal River, Florida. Last spring, during our RV rambling around Florida, we stumbled upon Nature Coast Landings Resort, an ownership RV park conceived to afford its residents easy access to all the recreational attractions of the area: boating, kayaking, cycling, hiking, etc. This part of Florida is still relatively rural, thanks to some 50% of the land being preserved wetlands, and it is famous for its seven spring-fed rivers where manatees take refuge in the winter. The Gulf is a mere five miles away by bike or boat, and by golly it¡¯s actually dark at night! The lots here are spacious (about 40¡¯ x 100¡��) affording the elbow room we could no longer find in the Clearwater area, the atmosphere is laid-back, and our neighbors are mostly newly-retired baby-boomers with compatible appetites for activity. We bought our lot in March, put in a deck and a shed, and, upon our return this year added some trees and shrubs and a fireplace. Owning a piece of dirt was a big step for these two gypsies, but this seems like just the right-sized bite of stability that our newly-divided identity as six-months on/ six-months-off cruisers needed. It¡¯s a little farther from the kids (2 hours) than we might have liked, but since we are still mobile, we are able to cycle our home right back down to the family ¡��compound¡�� whenever we want. I say ¡��compound¡�� because we¡¯ve discovered that the RV fits neatly backed in between the kids¡¯ house and the house of Tiffer¡¯s Mom who lives right next door. Plus, they can pack up their bikes and scooters and escape up here for a weekend in the ¡��country.¡�� Being grandparents to Kai is still the main reason for our return to the US at all, and it continues to be a joy. Now two and talking a blue streak, he is a happy active toddler with a definite knack for any play involving balls ��C football, golf, and hockey being the favorites and he¡¯s a whiz on his scooter. He also enjoys books, painting, cooking and Elmo, as well as anything having to do with tools. Best of all, he adapts to our popping in and out of his life with aplomb: instant warmth and joy when Popaw and Gz show up; a shrug when we disappear. Make no mistake, we have not given up the sailing life, albeit this past cruising season was unexpectedly short. We flew back to Tonga in May, where we found Tackless II in fine condition thanks to the daily attentions of Larry and Sheri of the Ark Gallery. Tonga had come to feel so much like home, with so many friends, that we felt no urge to rush onward, spending another three, content months there. The highlight of this time was a one-month cruise among Tonga¡¯s remote Ha¡¯apai Islands. Because the Ha¡¯apai are most often visited by cruisers transiting through them to and from New Zealand, during our month there in July we had them practically to ourselves. Except for the weather systems which kept us on our toes, it is probably the most relaxing cruising time we¡¯ve spent since leaving the Sea of Cortez. By the time August was drawing to a close, we found ourselves actually considering whether we might leave T2 in Tonga a second year. Whether motivated by the embarrassment over our snail-like pace or the fact that our return ticket to the US was once again booked out of Fiji, we finally tore ourselves away and sailed on to Fiji, clearing in at the friendly port of entry in Savu Savu on Vanua Levu Island. We weren¡¯t there a week when we got an email from Don¡¯s 81-year-old Dad about imminent knee-replacement surgery. We¡¯d gotten some inkling that this was in the offing and were both agreed we would not be comfortable being so far away; we just hadn¡¯t quite expected such short notice. It was just good fortune that we happened to be in such a convenient place to leave the boat. So we made arrangements for a cyclone mooring at the Copra Shed, stripped the boat yet again for storm season, and left her this time in the care of Curly Carswell of Savu Savu¡¯s Bosun Locker. We flew back to Tampa, grabbed the RV, and drove north to Indiana, arriving a day and a half before Jim¡¯s surgery! The surgery went well, but recovery, as you might expect for someone his age, was not quick. Everyone was glad that we, and most especially Don, could be on hand. We spent a total of six weeks in Indiana, departing for a leisurely drive back to Florida via my sister in North Carolina¡¯s Blue Ridge Mountains at the height of the foliage season. And so here we were back in the US again, only four months after we left! But, even here in the US, we don¡¯t leave cruising all that far behind. I¡¯ve continued to work the boat show circuit for Sea Tech Systems ��C Miami last February, Oakland last April, St. Pete this November, and the SSCA Gam a week later in Melbourne, where Don made a good connection with a Florida Spectra dealer. So this coming year, while I fly to Philadelphia next week, Don will work the Trawlerfest in Stuart, FL, and we both will work Miami in Feb. Writing still takes a big part of my time thanks to my new gig as a columnist for Latitudes & Attitudes Magazine. The column, called the Admiral¡¯s Angle, started in September and features monthly pieces on subjects of concern to women cruisers. I have a coterie of experienced women cruisers who contribute their perspectives, and I knit it all together. I also had a couple of pieces in Cruising World this year, a Shoreline piece on Suwarrow and a Passage Notes feature on Tonga. All this is taking a back seat these days to our newest hobby: motorcycling. It¡¯s all our neighbors¡¯ fault. They have a Harley Trike, and their rumblings out the driveway set Don¡¯s dormant juices flowing. In November he went to school for his motorcycle endorsement, thinking we would occasionally rent from the local Harley dealer. In December we met another neighbor with an old Honda Goldwing for sale. Don made a deal to rent it on a monthly basis, which allowed us to fan the flames with daily rides along the forested highways to the north. Then, the day before Kai¡¯s birthday (or the day after Christmas!) while killing some time before dinner with some friends, we stumbled on one of those deals you can¡¯t refuse. We¡¯d just stopped to see if a Harley had more leg room for Don than the Goldwing, and not only was the Harley Electra-Glide just right for him AND me, they had a previously-owned bike that had just come in on trade that took our breath away. Previously owned by the president of the local Harley Owners Group, the bike had a lot of miles for its age, but it was perfectly maintained and all tricked-out with chrome and accessories. And it was teal, one of our favorite colors. We took it for a test drive the next day and exercised great restraint in not bringing it home to upstage Kai¡¯s second birthday party. We DID bring it home to Crystal River a couple of days later, and have been riding it nearly every day since. I never really saw myself as a motorcycle mama, but the fact is it is the closest thing to sailing or maybe scuba diving that I have found on land. The ¡��fad¡�� is spreading throughout our little group of friends here at NCLR, so in addition to the pleasure of solo rides, there is also a social aspect to it. So as you see our life is fuller than ever! And we hope it stays that way. I hesitate to make any predictions about our plans for 2007, except to say that we will pack the bike away and head back to Tackless II and Fiji in the spring, probably in April, after the austral cyclone season winds down. After that who knows? We have yet to see anything of Fijian waters beyond Savu Savu. Perhaps we¡¯ll be as addicted to Fiji as we were to Tonga. Perhaps we¡¯ll move on. It¡¯s too soon to tell. Just remember you can always get the details on our doings on our website www.thetwocaptains.com (okay,¡ it IS a little behind, but I¡¯ll be catching it up soon!) or keep in touch with us directly wherever we (or YOU!) are by email to either tacklessii@gmn-usa.com or svtacklessii@yahoo.com. We¡¯ve crossed paths with many old friends this year both in the States and on the waters of the Coconut Milk Run, and that can only happen when we all stay linked! In the meantime, may all your lives be as full as ours! Best wishes for a Happy 2007! Gwen Hamlin & Don Wilson Snail mail: c/o Eberhart, 1724 Linwood Circle, Clearwater, FL 33755 |
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