Richard Henry Dana, Jr.

I’ve been banished. Exiled to the forepeak. Two years before the mast. 

And it’s my own fault.

Back in Vero Beach I had a brilliant idea for a birthday present for Ellen. The problem with planning surprises on a 36’ boat is that there is not a lot of space for secrecy. So when we arrived in Vero and Ellen went to the Dockmaster’s Office to pay for the mooring and fuel, I quickly made a phone call to order the gift. Ellen came back too soon, saw me on the phone and heard me repeating the credit card number. She’s no dummy: the jig was up.

The issue here is we agreed, months before starting this trip, that we don’t have the organizational skills to choose, collect, and hide birthday, Groundhog Day, anniversary, Columbus Day, Flag Day, Black Friday, etc. gifts for the year. Far easier to say the adventure is the gift and leave it at that. (Side note: Moss is happy with a couple of cans of olives for her birthday. If we can also find some sea-glass for her collection, she ought to be more than satisfied.)

But years ago Ellen mentioned that the builder’s plate on Cupcake looked shabby. The plate is a cracked and warped piece of crummy 1980s plastic. (Landlubbers: a builder’s plate is pretty much what it sounds like – a plate with the boat manufacturer’s name embossed on it and the boat’s hull number stamped into it.) Our builder’s plate is mounted right at the companionway…the front door. Makes a bad impression. A shiny new one would help distract attention from Cupcake’s many other dings and scrapes.

For some reason, back in early November I remembered out of the blue that a company in Rhode Island makes reproduction builder’s plates in bronze. So what I was up to in Vero Beach was placing an order. The owner of Bristol Bronze is a big Pearson fan and a great old-boat guy. We had a nice conversation and I was assured the plate would be shipped to the in-law’s place in Florida well before our arrival there for Thanksgiving so I would have it in plenty of time before Ellen’s birthday in February. He was even going to stamp our number, 90, on the plate and include two shiny bronze screws for attaching the plate.

But the girls figured out I had a surprise up my sleeve and panicked about my birthday (which is tomorrow, incidentally). So they are putting together some surprise for me. They have been diligently working on it since we got to Hollywood, but need this morning and the space in the cabin to complete things. That’s why I am banished to the v-berth.

Adding insult to injury, the plate never arrived in Florida. When I called Bristol Bronze last week to ask what happened, the owner told me he would be mailing the plate out soon. I told him he missed the window of opportunity for Florida, that it needed to go to D.C. so Simon can bring it to us when he comes next week. “No problem” I was told. But he asked me to send an email order to him, just to be safe.

“No problem,” I said back. But to be sure there was no misunderstanding, in the email order I asked him to reply when he got the order and to make sure the plate was shipped to D.C. in time for arrival no later than the 17th of December. A day later he replied, “Your e-mail/order came through fine. I will get your Builder’s Plate out to your son in time for Christmas.” Argh! Emailed back that the 17th was the cut off, haven’t heard back.

The best laid plans…

Speaking of mice, we had a terrifying experience yesterday afternoon.

Sea biscuit.

Took Mr. Flowerpot out for a little exploration. Wanted to sound the depth of the channel we would be taking as we exit the super shallow Little Harbour anchorage when we depart (more on that topic in a minute). Also wanted to check out Lizard Cay and the ruins of a burned mansion reported to be on the cay. As we were getting out of the dinghy on the Lizard Cay beach, Ellen spotted an enormous cockroach IN THE DINGHY among our jumbled gear. I got the better of my fear and mashed the bug with a Croc. (Side note: Zoë, Crocs are truly the best, most versatile footwear under the sun.)

One of our two biggest fears has been realized. The first is lice, but that’s mostly an Ellen phobia. (It’s not mine. If you look at the picture I posted yesterday of me in the water with Moss it’s clear there’s a burgeoning bald spot and I may just shave my head soon anyway.)

The second phobia is dock monsters: cockroaches. We take extreme measures to keep bugs off the boat, so the big guy in the dinghy freaked us out. It’s unlikely any DMs are hiding aboard the mother ship though. Ellen cleaned the head yesterday morning and saw none. At the same time, I vacuumed the bilges and floors and washed the floors yesterday and saw none. But still. High alert.

On a more pleasant note, we did some of our finest work as cruisers this morning. The wind has shifted out of the WNW as predicted. It’s blowing hard and is actually kind of chilly. The plan was to depart the anchorage on this morning’s high tide, anchor down near Cabbage Cay for the day and night, then ride the NE wind down to Nassau tomorrow. Birthday sail on the deep blue sea!

Pathway to nowhere on Lizard Cay.

But the wind was so strong this morning, we weren’t sure we could raise the two anchors, turn the boat, and safely make our way out the very shallow water without some catastrophic mishap.

Cupcake anchored in some very thin water.

The excellent cruiser work? We scuttled the plan to move and decided to stick here in the Berries until later in the week. Our schedule has the unfortunate feature of an actual time commitment: we need to pick the boys up at Nassau on the afternoon of December 18th. But we’ve baked in so much extra time there is room to change plans to keep us safe and sound.

So today we will pass the time reading, napping, making water and electricity, and perhaps fixing the odd thing or two.

Our revised schedule gives us space for at least another day or two in the Berries. Tomorrow morning the wind is predicted to be much more mild. We will take the opportunity to up anchor in the calm winds and then sail maybe five miles south and check out Alder Cay. The guidebook says the snorkeling at that anchorage is sublime. That sounds like a fine way to spend my 51st birthday.

Look at the long legs on that little mermaid!

Saw this strange mound in the foundation of the burned house. Any idea what it is? Termites? Aliens?

A little blurry, a little nutty, a little unwashed, here’s Ellie about to bake an apple pie. She made a delicious pepperoni pizza for dinner last night. The pie is just a warm-up for birthday cake tomorrow. We are fortunate to have an Ellen aboard.