Teaching of Value Premises

We have a lot of teachers and teaching life experiences during our life. When we are young we spend a lot of time working with teachers. First there are your parents, but very quickly there are professional teachers and structured school. What I have found is there are a few bad teachers that do not offer much, most teachers try their best offering you an average learning experience and there are a few teachers that are truly great and offer a huge learning experience. 

The truly great teachers do not fill a bucket but build a fire and the learning you get from them lasts a lifetime. These exceptional teachers teach you how to teach yourself.  

You will probably not identify which teachers changed your life until years pass by and you reflect back on what you have learned, accomplished and why.

I was lucky to have my mother’s sister, my aunt Jean, who was a PHD Microbiology Professor at Rutgers University, took a struggling second grade math student and turned me into a straight A math student. I struggled with English class, making mostly C’s until a first year teacher, 4 years my senior when I was a Senior in High School, inspired me to make my first A. Later at Sam Houston State University an English professor, Jewel Gibson who is also an author, inspired me to write. An atomic scientist university professor decided to teach Physics at my high school. He taught me to use math as a scientific method to measure and understand how things and events in our world and universe work.

At Sam Houston State University I had 2 goals, to become a doctor and play football. As it turned out I could not do both. The time it took to study and attend long lab sessions ate into my training time to be a football player. Since I was on full scholarship my coach  called me to his office and said that I had to choose between studying to be a doctor and playing football. I decided to switch to Business Administration and play football. This lasted one year and other than being on a national championship team it did not make me happy. Lucky for me I met Donna, fell in love and decided to give up football and get married, enroll at the University of Houston majoring in Math and minoring in Management.

I love math, but the engineering math courses became boring and uninteresting. I switched to theoretical math and started taking courses from a professor writing the first text book for the point set theory course. This learning experience taught me how to start with next to nothing and build something complex and beautiful using the scientific method.

My minor, management of people, led me to an amazing learning experience under a very capable teacher. He spent his first career as a Catholic Priest and left the priesthood when his values came into conflict with the Catholic Church. He developed and pioneered a new course offered by The University of Houston. The course was Value Premises. The purpose of the course in the management curriculum was to teach you to understand how different cultures and religions structured values that lead people to think and behave the way they do. Then as a manager of people I would become better able to understand and motivate people to be as productive as possible while still meeting the values they desired to live by. As a manager I always wanted a win win relationship with everyone I came into contact with. This included not only employees but customers, partners, stockholders and everyone I had to deal with.

The Value Premises course had us study the Catholic and Protestant Bible as well as the Jewish Torah, Muslim Koran, the Hindu Vedas and the Taoism Tao Te Ching (Laozi). Then we discussed the values that the various cultures practicing these various religions followed.

Every human being has a set of values that guides everything they do in their everyday life. Studying Value Premises gave me a basic understanding for values used by most of the world peoples working to support their lives.

The fire that this one teacher built in me caused me to explore many different Christian faiths. After several years I landed in the Unitarian Church. I came to the conclusion that while there are differences between all Christian religions the values by which I live day to day could be essentially met by any/all of them. I also found a lot of commonality between Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Taoism. However, day to day I found Christianity the only way I could live a happy value driven life. I think that even if you don’t study value premises you should commit your day to day life based on one of the available faiths.

I think one of the problems the world has today is too many people live their day to day life based on a set of values they have decided are best for them. These people have not studied the various value premises that have developed over thousands of years of human evolution. They have not committed themselves to the values held by one or more of the faiths. They have defined their values on their own or in collaboration with their friends on Twitter, Facebook or some other social media. Value systems developed this way always develop according to nihilism and narcissism, in other words the world revolves around what you and your friends want. 

If you are not living a life based on values developed over thousands of years by the people that came before us, you may well be living an invaluable life.

Value Yourself and Pass on What You Believe to be Fact, not Propaganda.

I have missed writing a blog entry. I did it every day while at sea on Bella Donna crossing the South Pacific. It was easy to stay focused on thoughts and then setting aside the few hours required to write something each day. Bella Donna is a very small island in a very large sea. While standing watch or watching a fishing line you have time to think. I have not been on any recent long passages and I do find it very challenging to think and write at the same time dealing with daily life. 

So, I want to commit some time to reflect on my thoughts that are stimulated by what is in the news each morning. I want to do this every day. We will see how this works for me.

I find that things happen in the world that touch me and remind me of lessons that life has taught me. I want to write some of this down so it may be used by others.  I especially want my grandchildren, when they enter early adulthood to know what their grandfather thought in hopes it helps them to make good life decisions.

Life has been very good to me. People have asked me to write about how to live successful life. There is this huge pile of experiences, lessons, thoughts, values and facts; it could take forever to write it all down. So we will try to do a little every day as the morning news stimulates my memory.

What struck me this week is how people make decisions. As a young boy I totally got 2 things, faith (values) and scientific method. My mother would take me every Sunday to the Methodist Church at the end of the block we lived on where she sang in the choir and I got instructed on how to live a Christian Life; i.e. values and using a moral compass. My father would stay home to mow the lawn, drink a beer and start the traditional Sunday Texas Family BarBQ. I thought my dad did not share the church values. It wasn't until years later that I learned the strength and level of commitment my dad had to values. You see he was a thirty-second degree Mason, a man of great spiritual values which he practiced by giving time to handling the finances for the Shrine Circus every year to raise money for the Shriner's Children's Hospital. He also ran the finances for the Houston Fat Stock Show and Rodeo to raise money for charity. It wasn't until I grew up, got married and moved to California that I learned how hurt my father was that I did not ask about how to become a Mason. You see a Mason can not talk about his Masonry until a son or daughter asks.  

As a young boy I was introduced to the Scientific Method of making decisions.  This means that I would not accept any fact that would be important to my life decisions until I was convinced by proof over an acceptable time period. To this day I do a ridiculous amount of research before purchasing almost anything. For example, I spent 6 months analyzing the Apple Watch before buying one. I did not buy an Apple Watch for a show of style; I bought it for its functionality. Have I made mistakes and resented purchasing something I researched ? Yes, but it happens rarely and when it does I learn from my mistake.

We live is a world flooded with marketing messages, social media, political correctness, propaganda and lots of exercise of freedom of speech. The vast majority of this flood of information does not pass through the Scientific Process. this information would all be interesting, if true. The truth is today, more so than when I grew up, people start with a fact they want to be true and go about collecting only the information that supports their “fact”. Then they flood the news and electronic social media making a marketing/propaganda case to convince as many people as possible. 

My experience is if you allow yourself to make important life decisions based on this marketing/propaganda which definitely forms opinions held by many, you will be unhappy and certainly NOT SUCCESSFUL.  

You are an individual, be a leader of one making your life decisions based on facts you know scientifically to be true. This is why we have our Freedom. Do not become a human robot in the forwarding of marketing/propaganda to others. Take your time to research and verify before giving into social pressure. Feel that what you pass on has value.

A little short for today, i will do better as I get into this.

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Sunday April 1, 2012
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Monday April 2, 2012

The only way we are going to get a good/any suitable anchorage at Soggy Dollar (SD) we must leave early. We leave the dock at 7 AM and find one tight spot at Soggy Dollar just before 9 AM. There is just not that much room in the anchorage for a yacht the size of BD. Sunday is usually a big day at SD, there a lot of small boats loaded with people coming for the day. As they arrive they anchor stern to the beach with a second stern anchor.

The day starts slow, it is Sunday after all. Sometime just before noon the 20 to 30 foot boats start to arrive. One boat is full of swim suit beauties with matching officer caps. Think Gilligan's Island. They say they spent the previous day doing a swim suit fashion shoot for a friend. Today they are looking to be noticed at SD. They were.

The average age for the assembled crowd was young, but there are people of all ages including a lot of families with young children on spring Easter break. A less than 20 foot arrives with an older group, 50 to 60, that is definitely in party mode. If they are seeking Rum Pain Killers, things will get interesting.

Sunday is definitely the day to be at Soggy Dollar. There is another boat of mostly young females. Clearly the single females outnumber the single males here today. There is a cruise ship sending boatloads of people to the beach.

The wind is strong so I should sail but everyone wants to go to our favorite table under the thatch umbrella in front of SD for lunch. The dinghy needs a rest so everyone decides to swim, this calls for water proof containers for iPhones and anything else that can not get wet.

The beach is a steep climb through soft sand with the sea swells engulfing you then breaking over you throwing you off balance. This is when I am glad I did not use one of the BladeFish, Lithium-ion Powered SeaJets (a scooter); they are neutral buoyant and a real assist in the water, but they become a dead body ounce standing and struggling onto dry land. Even once you are on dry land walking in the soft beach sand takes effort. Who wants a Pain Killer?

Of course, someone is at our favorite table; it is the swim suit models. Well we can just sit at the next table consume Pain Killers and wait, after all it is early.

After 2 or 3 Pain Killers and the live music, one beach combing guitarist, the beauties and their male protectors start the get noticed mingle. We descend and take claim to our now vacant favorite table. We welcomed burgers, fish & chips, chicken burgers and fries. This leads to a wonderful afternoon on the beach. We do not leave until the musician stops, it turns a little cool and most of the crowd leaves. We are not the last to leave. There is on young lady left on the beach by mistake by her friends. Also the older people who were among the first to arrive this morning are trying to dance their way into their dinghy. Once aboard it is clear this party is on the move. I think they are heading for Foxy's; I hope they make it to their destination before the party get out of hand.

Lets just say the next day was slow and quiet on BD. As it turned out a Day of Pain Killers in the sun does take its toll. I did enjoy my book and my naps on a quiet Monday. Hobo did not make it out as the wind was 4 knots most of the day and only reached 7 knots at the peak.

God Bless Bella Donna
Sent from my iPad

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Friday March 30, 2012

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Saturday March 31, 2012

The morning starts calm and humid, but as the sun rises so does the trade winds. We are departing for Scrub Island. Barely outside the approach channel keeping green buoys to right we raise the main fully, no reef. We then set a course for Scrub and raise the Code Zero (spinnaker), fully. The apparent wind is  at about 75-80 degrees port of our course. The sea state is very easy on BD so we are able to get maximum boat speed. We glide effortlessly through the blue sea at 10.5 knots. I really like how well BD with the new sails.

We are passing every boat ahead of us. It seems in no time at all we are passing the Dogs heading directly for Scrub. This time we pass on the windward side and sail directly down channel where our dock is located. Like a jet jockey, we do a sail by instead of a fly by. Emerging again in the open water between Scrub and Marina Kay, we lower the hard working sails and proceed to our waiting dock. We are back at Scrub following a memorable adventure. The only thing making this a challenge in such familiar place is the strong wind that blows BD toward the dock. When docking in addition to any current you must also worry about the wind as a big boat will catch the wind and sail. John quickly positions the port stern close to the dock so the dock hand can secure the line. The wind will move us to the dock and with a little forward throttle BD presumes the correct position on the dock protected by the new inflatable bumpers.

Some are hungry for the hot tub, pools and of course the ever present pool bar. Some want to swim off the back to the beach. There is also the really nice gym just 100 yards away. I decide to take Hobo, my Hobie Adventure Island Trimaran out for a spin. It takes some, no more than that, work to get the little guy out of its cradle on the port side and to the beach where we can assemble all the parts. The same wind that hastened our passage from Anegada is still blowing. However, it is swirling where we are. Hobo has three means of propulsion - paddle, special foot powered fins and sails. It is like having a belt, suspenders and a tie string on your pants. You will always get home without anxiety. 

It takes a while to tack in the fluky wind toward the open space where we had dropped BD's sails earlier. Often in frustration I peddle to assist the sails to go where I want. Reaching the open water the wind is strong and constant but it is still a series of tacks first port then to starboard required to reach into the ever turbulent sea. Finally I am past the reef that extends behind Marina Kay. How far should I go, is always an interesting question. I look at my watch and there is enough time for almost anything. I continue to tack into the wind. Even though the wind is strong enough to drive Hobo at top speed the now big sea is slowing her as her bow and outer hulls plunge into the sea and through hug volumes of sea water over me. Several tacks later I am tiring of the delightful punishment being handed me. I start to consider the what ifs and I think about the cords holding the boat together and how they had been punished by ultraviolet sun rays for a year. When is enough enough? Ok, lets go downwind home. After the thrills  of up hill sailing going with the wind and sea was delightful. Hobo and the wind reached that harmony where the boat goes fast enough running away from the wind that the wind seams to almost stop; it is very quiet. Just as you think you can't go any faster, a large sea swell lifts you up, suspends you and if you steer just right the boat SURFS DOWN the face of the swell like a surfboard. What a thrill, over and over again Hobo slides down the side of the succeeding swells. In no time at all I am back turning right into the Scrub Island channel where the ride ends and the wind returns to fluky.

Saturday the wind is mild and even where the swells were yesterday the seas are flat. What a difference. A lazy day except for the gym workout and shower ashore where you don't worry about using precious reverse osmosis water on board. Little floating, little beach and little pool bar. 

We end the day taking advantage of the buffet seafood dinner in the restaurant. I think I rank it a 9, the best I have ever had; I reserve 10 for the best that is impossible to ever experience. Lets just say we all overate.

God Bless Bella Donna

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Thursday March 29, 2012

Wow the wind really blu last night. Walking to the head, bathroom, in the dark was an acrobatic act last night. John tied the rigging to keep it from singing, but its vocals could not be completely suppressed. This morning the wind is blowing strong and the sea is wiped up. The boys decide to go ashore to Pam's Kitchen and Bakery for some breakfast treats. It is a wet ride; its a good thing my iPhone got put into a zip lock bag. The silt is also affecting where the dinghy can approach the dock. After several passes we find the right spot. Tied to the dock is the lobster storage cages that are populated with some probably unhappy large lobsters. Pam's is a short walk from the dock. The building is a weathered brightly colored shack that reminds me of the Texas small country town bakery from my childhood. Through the screen door we enter the combined sales counter followed by the kitchen and pantry all in one large room. The sales counter is piled high with sticky buns, loaves of bread, small carrot cakes and blueberry muffins. We order a little of each which in total is a lot. Taking our booty back to the dock we pass the tables and a row of oil drum Bar-B-Q pits where the lobsters will meet their fate most probably tonight.

With full bellies we set off to shore to begin the pilgrimage from one watering hole to another; we have our favorite sights. While the girls are doing a pilgrimage of their own through the limited number of boutiques all colorful shacks not unlike Pam's Bakery. One is completely purple and is appropriately named The Purple Place. The shop owners are so nice, you just feel like buying something to show how much you appreciate them. However, there is nothing you want enough to try and cram it into your suitcase. Many of the items are hand made locally, but some are the standard Made in China.

The pickup truck with the bench seats in the back that we prepaid for yesterday was rented out by mistake this morning. This is a common thing that happens in the BVI; businesses are run haphazardly. The nice Florida educated West Indian feels genuinely sorry about this and offers us 2 small SUVs one of which he offer to drive. In typical BVI slow your roll fashion we find a way to get all 7 of us in, like sardines in the can. After the first watering hole all will be easier.

The first stop is Flash of Beauty Beach. It shares the same beach with Loblolly on Loblolly Bay. Three of us elect to walk the beach to Loblolly where we plan to eat lunch. I did not have the right shoes so myself and the other 3 ordered a beer and got back in the SUV. It is hot and a cold beer sounds good and they have Presidente Beer from the Dominican Republic. One sip and I was back on Luperon Bay in the Dominican Republic.

It is 1 PM and high time for lunch. Loblolly is the best on Island for lunch. They have shrimp, fish, lobster, chicken and ribs. All are served with Caribbean potato salad, steamed carrots and raisin rice. The potato salad is the healthiest I have had, almost no mayonnaise mostly potatos, spices and vegetables. We reordered the rice; it was almost like a fried rice with raisins and other tasty things in it. Loblolly is mostly a food serving pavilion and a unique driftwood bar, yes the small bar is constructed from driftwood from the beach. A grove of I guess loblollies provides shade and support for 3 or 4 hammocks just bar side of the beach. The beach has woden chairs and thatch covered umbrella sized shade makers. If you have your camera there are some beautiful shots available.

Our next stop is Cow Wreck Beach. The big attraction here is the bar where all the boater gather early for a sundowner and share lies. Its name originates because a ship loaded with cattle wrecked on the reef in a storm.  The skeletons of the dead cattle washed up on the beach. The West Indian woman, Mama, who lives next to and runs the bar has used the skulls on the bar to carry the story. When we first started coming here,16 years ago, there was a heap of cow skulls and bones piled where the new covered concrete dance floor now stands. The only problem the nice smooth surface of the dance floor is now ruff and pitted with the foot prints of cows. It seems some of the cattle from that ship survived and built a colony that runs free on the island. Soon after the concrete was poured and smoothed they decided to make a tribute to their ancestors in agreement with the bar's name. It will be interesting to see what this becomes. Maybe, Cow Wreck Rock You dance floor.

Mama has equipped the bar with plenty of Caribbean sports bar games. There is the Soggy Dollar Ring Toss, darts, basketball hoop and a new pool table. Today there is a Spring Break crowd. This means the place is taking on the rural Texas family watering hole look. The adults are having their sun downers while telling stories / some say lies and the non drinking younger ones are busy burning lots of energy playing the games.

A few people are on the beach or in the more risky water, a sign at the bar brings your attention to the potential for dangerous rip tides and undertow. A conflicting sign also at the bar is in the shape of a finger pointing towards the beach offering a free bath, a Caribbean tourist humor I guess.

God Bless Bella Donna

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Wednesday March 28, 2012

It is time to leave this resort and visit the most remote island in the BVI, well the most remote regularly visited by charter yachts. I guess Soggy Dollar is at one end and Anegada is at the other. The Scrub early morning routine is becoming way too predictable. First there is coffee and tigger bites in the quiet calm of the first light. As the sun rises a gentle breeze begins to blow; it will build to a 16 to 20 knot trade wind by 10 AM. I help Deborah thread the sun screen into the track on the cockpit roof. Without it the sun is too hot and burning. John and Don have taken the dinghy to Road Town to fetch an air conditioning system sensor; one of our units is not shutting down the water chiller before the emergency freeze sensor shuts it off.

We finish breakfast and shortly there after the dinghy arrives back to BD. After an hour or so the dinghy is hoisted with the boom crane and we are preparing to leave the dock. The Scrub dock hands are the friendliest and efficient we have encountered in the BVI. 

We pass Scrub Island on the lee side to allow us to secure the new inflatable bumpers and coil the dock lines. We will not need them as we must anchor at Anegada. The usual passage to Anegada is go to Biter End and spend the night and get up early the next morning and set sail. This way you can get to Anegada if the trades are blowing from the usual direction. 

Today the trades are blowing from the northeast which probably means we can not make Anegada sailing without at least on tack, probably more than one. We do our best to sail close to the wind and through The Dogs, a place where diving is popular. We end up tacking a few times to clear Dogs and dive boats. Somewhere outside the entrance to Bitter End we make out tack to starboard and lay a line as close to the wind as possible without sacrificing boat speed. Our best SOG, speed over ground measured by GPS, is 9.5 knots. The sea state is surprisingly flatter than expected.

Less than an hour later Anegada is visible on the horizon. The highest land on the Island is probably 14 feet above sea level. The Island is just some sand on top of a coral reef. The highest point on the Island is one of the now many structures. Our current tack is taking us to the west end of the Island; our goal is to anchor near the Anegada Reef Hotel, Lowell's place. At the point we judge it is better to tack than continue we tack to port. It is always a little disappointing when after trimming the sails on the new tack you are instead of heading for your destination you are head too far the other side. As a result, we tack several more times before trying to lay a line through the narrow crooked channel marked with red and green buoys. This time the wins gods do not cooperate and we have to lower our sails and motor in.

Hurricanes over the last several years have deposited more and more sand into the anchorage. Closer to shore is better as you can get out of the strong trade winds, but where it used to be over 6 feet, it is now 5 feet. Our keel needs 6+ feet. Compounding the task today there are a lot of boats here already. We motor around trying to find an appropriate hole where we do not run aground. Success we think; we made it into a satisfactory hole. After several attempts and failures to set an anchor, John dives to take a look and try to set the anchor by hand. Hard to believe, but the sand is not deep enough over the hard slippery coral to set the anchor. We fall back to a usable position far out in the anchorage. The wind is howling and the sea is bouncy, but the anchor sets the first try. John dives it to satisfy himself as he is already wet.

It has been a long day; we drink to the sunset and enjoy one of Deborah's delicious dinners.

God Bless Bella Donna

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Sunday March 25, 2012

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Tuesday March 27, 2012

Its Sunday and Scrub Island is a lot busier this year than last. It seems have become one of the top mega yacht places to go. The traffic has picked up on the dock and both pools are in use by lots of people. It is still raining, but less and everyone is in bathing suits, so getting a little wet from time to time is fine. 

The girls leave for the pool by 10 AM and do not return for lunch. Trying to text them does not get a response. Finally around 4 PM we go looking for them. The hot tub is hot, but the pool is colder than the sea; however, it is refreshing after the hot tub. We end the first day taking advantage of the resort. We end the day back on the BD for drinks in the flybridge and dinner at the big table in the cockpit.

Monday, yesterday we changed to our favorite dock, a side tie backing to the best water to swim off the back of BD and easily swim to the beach. The girls spend most of the day in the water. Sun burn is going to be a big problem. Scrub has new toys on the beach this year; they have added standup paddle boards. It is like a big surfboard that you stand up on with some difficulty (takes practice) and then paddle on one side and the the other. 

BD has new toys as well. She has 4 new water scooters, BladeFish 5000, the ones we demoed last year at Scrub. I have not yet tried the new improved design. It looks like a 16" floor fan in a shell with 2 handles with thumb throttles. It says it is good to 130 feet. I am anxious to give them a try but I will keep it to the less than 10 feet.

We wanted to go see Eric Stone perform over at Marina Kay; however, he only performs Sunday through Thursday and this week he took a few days off to attend some car show.

We wanted to schedule a dinner at the famous chef's, Davaday's, house. He has some sort of mutual arrangement with the Scrub Island Resort whereby guests can schedule a private dinner of their choosing to be served at his unique house on the other side of the island. We decide we will go to Anegada on Wednesday and return on Thursday for a Davaday dinner on Friday.

Tuesday, our last day at Scrub for now. It is pretty hard to not love this place. Besides the pools, beach, floating off BD they have a great gym with all the torture devices you could ask for. I have been working out in the familiar gym aboard BD, but you have to spend more time setting up the equipment for each exercise on BD. The limited space dose not allow you to move quickly from one to the next.

God Bless Bella Donna

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Saturday March 24, 2012

Work done for now, it is time for fun. The breakfast discussion is all about maybe sailing to Saint Marrten if Dutch and Saint Martin if French. Its the same island but roughly half is French and half is Dutch. Years ago to settle a boundry dispute a Dutchman and a Frenchman started walking each in a different direction on the coast around the island. Where they started and where they met determined the end points of the line dividing the island.

Our destination would be the lagoon on the Dutch side. It is a passage getting there which is up hill. This means the wind and the sea state are against you; the passage can take 14 hours with mild discomfort when you wait for the weather window. It is best to take it over night as lying in your bed is the best place to be with the motion of Bella Donna. Of course, you could take a flight from Virgin Gorda and just meet BD; the airport is next to the lagoon in Saint Marrten. Coming back to BVI is a downhill ride, with wind and sea, taking about 10 hours; this can be enjoyed by everyone. We decide to decide at our next destination, Scrub Island. This is without a doubt Donna's, truth is all of us's, favorite. The resort is now marketed by Marriott and consists of marina, vacation condos for rent, 2 pools with slide, hot tub, outside patio bar, restaurant, gym, dive shop, grocery shop, boutiques, shuttle boat 5 minutes to Tortola airport, dinner with Davaday (more later) and a beach house with pool on the other side of the island.

We leave just after lunch for Scrub Island. We plan to sail there by making 2 big tacks as going straight there is into the trade winds. The wind is pretty steady about 20 knots and we fly the main and the genoa. The main has one reef but the genoa is 100% deployed, a big sail. We are sailing close as we can to the wind as we can so as to clear the south end of Virgin Gorda. Our speed over ground is averaging 9.5 knots, a little less if we pinch it, sail even closer to the wind. Just after we tack to lay a line to Scrub we are hit by an invisible squall with gusts of wind exceeding 36 knots. The squall was invisible because there was no change in the sea surface to warn us. We got caught trimming a now way too big genoa; we had just completed our tack and I was sitting on the flybridge floor so I could see the top of the genoa so I could trim it perfectly. John made an urgent plea for help reducing the sail. Now I do not get off the ground very fast nowadays. I did the best I could. Meanwhile John increased the throttle and steered close to the gusting wind so the wind would spill from the big genoa. He started furling the now flogging genoa. I loosened and carefully started letting out on the genoa sheet. The loads on the sheet were radical due to the flogging and the new sheets behaved differently from the old. Finally we reduce the genoa to a manageable size leaving us sailing on mostly the reefed main. We still were experiencing gusts to 36 knots. John steered BD is a direction that was safe and did not fill the main with too much wind until the gusting wind returned to the steady 20 knot level. We motored to Scrub with the main up, but the desire to sail was satisfied until a future day.

One last challenge; someone is on the dock we like so we take a slip that large enough, but tight for BD.

Tied up finally at Marriott Scrub Island Resort, we retire to the flybridge and do sundowners. 

God Bless Bella Donna

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Friday March 23, 2012

Today is a work day. The dodger work gets done and is now complete except for a few needed tweaks. The wonderful news is the flybridge will be much more protected from the weather and apparent wind that always moves forward the faster we go. The new dodger was triggered when a block of ice fell from the mast out of New York in a huge snow storm. Bella Donna likes the tropical weather, winter is hard on her. However, after seeing the clear view looking through the dodger we realize it was needed more than we realized. 

We find we need a new port alternator and thermostat on the port hot water heater. No worries, these are not critical because there is plenty of hot water whenever the port engine is run. The port battery will live on a charger when not running. We can put off the repairs. Bella Donna is showing her age; I like to view it as character, but it does keep John busy.

God Bless Bella Donna

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Thursday March 22, 2012

The forecast is for rain every day through Saturday and it is raining now. We take in the lines and leave the dock; it is almost 11 AM. John is all alone  in the flybridge at the helm. He is having to wear a rain slicker due to the continuous rain. With the dodger sides not yet installed, heading into the wind and sea and the persistent rain John is getting very wet. We are motoring so we can go directly to Soper's Hole on the near side of Tortola to check into the BVI. 

We are still receiving the AT&T phone signal which we will not loose until shortly before we anchor in Soper's Hole. We lost the internet signal as soon as we left the dock; however, it has only been working between 10 PM and 6 AM anyway. The Yacht Haven Marina gave us free internet, but it value is like sleeves on a vest if you want to sleep at night. So those who have iPads or iPhones with AT&T data can get internet for most of the passage. 

The checkin goes fine except Deborah's passport is full, there is no more room to stamp it. This is a huge long term problem as she must return to London to either get a new one or have pages added. I suddenly realize my passport only has 1 blank page left. The US will accept you even if your passport is full because they are 100% on computers. The problem other countries will want room to stamp and even the US wants to see the stamps. Bummer. 

Off to Village Key so we can get dodger sides installed tomorrow.

God Bless Bella Donna

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Wednesday March 21, 2012

Having only their carryon, the new arrivals can only dress in their travel attire. We have been told the bags are in Miami, but they are not in the American Airlines database, so we are not sure. The lady at the counter last night said sometimes they scan the luggage and sometimes they don't. It is easy to start loosing confidence in American. I hear that Jet Blue is coming in to compete soon. Anyway, it looks like the bags will arrive on a flight at 12:05 PM.

The cruise dock we are on has room for up to 3 ships and by 8 AM the dock is full. Today, the Disney Cruise Ship is one of them. We hope to catch its departure just before sunset as they play "When you wish upon a star" so that everyone on shore can hear.

The luggage did not arrive on the 12:05 flight from Miami. We become concerned the luggage is in fact lost. After a lengthy call to check for all 5 bags, we are assured all 5 bags are on the 3:35 flight. I am worried because Donna was bringing my new iPad to me in one of her bags. Looks like we are here overnight; it would not be possible to leave and clear customs in the BVI. This problem is an opportunity to celebrate John and Deborah's Anniversary; they have been married 15 years. We have dinner reservations at Grande Cru Restaurant and Wine Bar at an outside table at 7:30. 

 Yeah, the luggage arrived as promised and the iPad is still in its shipping box. Its good to see everyone wearing something more appropriate to Caribbean life on Bella Donna. 

The celebration starts on Bella Donna in the flybridge and flows slowly ashore and down the seawall a few hundred yards. One long table accommodates all of us. They have Rombauer Chardonnay, a good thing. Event though it rained a little, a good time was had by all. The restaurant had us under an awning and they just dropped the sides for the brief time the downpour occurred. 

God Bless Bella Donna

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Tuesday March 20, 2012

Up early, it is crunch day, Donna and the others are landing at 8 PM tonight. A little after 8 AM Deborah and I leave for the supermarkets. First K-Mart, then Cost U Less and finally The Food Center. Deborah has her clip board with her meal plans and required shopping list. Provisioning day is always difficult due to the planning, the search for items taking you to more than one store and the sheer volume. We always fill up 2 or more shopping carts at one of our stops. The volume of the rental car becomes an issue. Today we will fill up the trunk first and then the back seat. When you are buying food enough for 9 people for 2 weeks, you are talking about a non trivial volume of food. Add to this the likes, dislikes and food allergies of the group and you can see how big a problem it can be.

Checkout again reminds us of the need to slow our roll. Unlike Costco on the US mainland, the checkers must not have a quota to meet. With 2 baskets of groceries and a line behind us it seems to take forever. The checker stops to carry on conversation with the customer ahead of us while I fill the checkout stand and stand with 2 hands full of items with the first basket still not empty. 

We had to restrain ourselves from buying more items at The Food Center as there is no more room in the rental car. There is so much food that the trunk is crammed full. The back seat is crammed so full our front seats are moved forward so much our knees are touching the dash, even the seat back is leaning forward. At the marina we fill up a golf cart equipped with a pickup truck like rear and an attached trailer about the same size. Having a half dozen of us load and unload at Bella Donna, we were under cover before the next rain shower - maybe thanks to the heads up penny. At least that is what I think. Luckily the duration of any one shower is less than 15 minutes. At one stop I found a heads up penny and this I am convinced bought us good luck to miss a shower or two. If we had thought to bring umbrellas it would not have helped us as the intensity of the rain was 9 out of 10. The groceries would be ruined.

The flight from Miami is early. I see Donna pulling her carry on towards the luggage, my heart skips a beat; it has only been a week and I missed her. We all stand waiting for the checked luggage. One after another of the fellow passengers pick up their bags. There are now only a dozen or two left staring at the hole out of which the bags flow. Finally there is a red cone like police use in the streets laying on its side coming towards us. Something is written on it. I read allowed "Lost Bag" but the fellow next to me says no it says "Last Bag", either way the message starts to sink in. All the stranded disbelievers stand and stare at the cone as it makes several trips around the belt. One by one we make our way to the baggage claim counter.

Tonight will be a late night, we still have the traditional arrival party.

God Bless Bella Donna

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Monday March 19, 2012

It is 6:30 AM and I am up but still just lying in bed. I hear the engines start. Right, we have to go back to Road Town to check out with BVI immigration and customs and to the fuel dock to top off Bella Donna's fuel tanks with duty free diesel; it is much cheaper to do it this way. Anyway, it is a short trip. We arrive and drop anchor. As John enters the dinghy he says he should return shortly unless there is a West Indian delay.

More than an hour later John returns. The office was open but the one official person needed did not get to work on time. We have an expression in Hawaii, Island Time; it seems when one is scheduled to be somewhere at a certain time, one is always late. The most common advice given is to slow your roll. Whatever, we are off to the fuel dock.

What, the fuel dock is closed! Yes, all the employees are in a meeting. We have to be in Yacht Haven Grand Marina in Saint Thomas and depending on the conditions it could take up to 3 hours to get there. Tick-tock, tick-tock    here they come. We need to fuel fast and get on our way. We take the floor boards up in the port and starboard hulls above the fuel tanks. There is an opening in the top of each fuel tank where you can stick your finger in and feel diesel when the tank is full. Deborah is real good at it. She yells to Luci and Luci yells to John to stop the fuel hose. Did I mention that you never trust a fuel gauge. 

We arrive at 1:40 PM, a little under the 3 hours as John just put the throttle down a little bit. We squeeze into a narrow but wide enough slip on the opposite side of the dock to cruise ships dock on. We all have to run for the 2:00 PM immigration and customs checkin. The US, unlike the BVI, want to see all persons entering and how they compare to their passports. What should have taken 15 minutes take over an hour due to an immigration computer crashing several times. This could be due to the poor power control on the island which surges, sinks and fails often. 

The ever efficient Caption John already has maintenance people on the boat to fix what needs fixing and clean what needs cleaning.

After the log day we walk into town and eat at Shipwreck a kind of Caribbean sports bar with a really good hamburgers.

God Bless Bella Donna

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Sunday March 18, 2012

Beautiful day! Sunday morning coffee and Captain Cabbage drops by to share with us. He seems so relaxed and satisfied. The Italians managed to place third without breaking more equipment. Racing means you push your vessel. On a 120 foot yacht like Billy Bud II, it is not uncommon to break rigging that can cost $10,000 or more to replace.

After Captain Cabbage has to leave, we decide to take a dinghy ride in our new Nautica, tender to (T/T Bella Donna). We first head to the Costa Smeralda Yacht Club where are the mega yachts are preparing to leave. There goes Billy Bud II, good bye Captain Cabbage. Next we swing by the Bitter End fuel dock to top off our fuel tank. You never trust a fuel gauge on anything that floats or flies. While fueling we discuss Charles Branson's large catamaran, Necker Bell, that is anchored nearby. Branson owns Necker Island which is just north of Bitter End.

Next we take the channel to Oil Nut Bay (ONB) which is on the other side, east side, of Bitter End. ONB is a gated community (88 lots on 200 acres), marina (88 slips), private white sand beaches and Beach Club. Lots start at 1 million dollars and the most expensive is 10 million dollars.  ONB just finished construction last year and not too many houses have started yet. We stop and ask permission to come ashore and look around. It turns out it is only us and 2 sales people. You can imagine how it went. Although they had a huge party Saturday night for the mega yacht regatta, the bar and restaurant were closed. Too bad, we wanted to try it out. We did bring home a brochure and business cards.

We are at the end of the BVI and Tuesday night we need to collect the rest of our party in Saint Thomas at the other end, a distance of about 40 miles. We are on our way to Marina Kay which is right next to Scrub Island and Beef Island which houses the Tortola airport. The reason for this destination is to catch Eric Stone's, www.boatstongs.com, show at the bar at the top of the Island. Eric has a good crowd for a Sunday night, but as he says the 1 bottle was not as big as the 2 bottles of complementary Pusser's Rum shots he served last Thursday night. On a table next to the stage Eric has placed a bottle of Pusser's, some shot glasses, a large tip/donation jar and various CDs and stuff. 

Arriving back at Bella Donna, we decide to eat tapas in the flybridge. Nice warm breezes, music and conversation - a perfect night.

God Bless Bella Donna

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Saturday March 17, 2012

The mega sailing yachts are racing out of the new Costa Smeralda Yacht Club at the Bitter End, named because it is the east end of the BVI. Our friend Captain Clive, aka Captain Cabbage, of Billy Bud II, an Italian owned smaller mega yacht, 120 feet, is racing in the event. Clive was tagged Captain Cabbage because one day Deborah was trying to text him and the autocompletion feature kept completing Captain as Cabbage. After several failed attempts Debora said aw heck with it and just completed the text to Captain Cabbage. So that the rest of the story.

We We plan to sail to the Bitter End to catch some of the last day of racing. There is not too much wind today and our course is going to take us almost directly into the little wind that there is. So we elect to just motor to the Bitter End. 

As we approach our destination the huge mega yacht sails tower into the sky. We have caught the last 2 legs of the race; the 5 mega yachts are to make one last mark and turn for the finish line where the race committee is waiting aboard a large catamaran sail boat to witness the order of finish.

Our timing is perfect. We motor along parallel to the race course and cross perpendicular to the finish line at the same time as the 3rd and 4th place mega yachts. Captain Cabbage and his Italian crew comes in third. 

We anchored right next to the largest cruising catamaran in the world, the 145 foot Hemisphere. Gavin, the Hemisphere captain, met John and Deborah years ago when he had a look at Bella Donna. He drops by after dinner to sit and talk. It is fun to just sit and listen as both John and Gavin take joking jabs at each other. Gavin is a single male who likes motorcycles, sports cars and fast women; so its easy to have fun kidding him. 

Early to bed, early to rise makes a person healthy, wealthy and wise.

God Bless Bella Donna

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Friday March 16, 2012

Up early and off to Road Town. The Winter Wins are blowing very early and very strong. John is loving the new sail; we are doing 10.5 knots and make it quickly to Village Key Marina in Road Town, Tortola. We have a 10 AM appointment with people finishing work on the new dodger, the "wind shields" are done but the sides are being fitted to curve around the wenches and accommodate the lines controlling the sails. The welder on the work crew, Andy who is 49 years old, tells us he is playing in a rugby game tonight in the stadium next to the marina. Saturday is St. Patrick's Day so we start making our plans to see the game at around 6 PM.

We also spent most of the day fighting with a failing internet service. This is high season and BVI gets limited bandwidth from Puerto Rico. There is also a mega yacht race at the Bitter End this weekend. If the Italians are there, and they are, the bandwidth is being consumed sending documentation of their exploits back home. After trying to connect 20 times, you finally get an extremely slow connection that only works for a minute or two before timing out. Thus my blog waited until today to be updated. 

At 6 PM we head off to the rugby match. We can see the field lights from Bella Donna but the entrance to the field is not obvious. We enter on the wrong side of the field, have to crawl under a broken chain link fence, and walk around the track and field artificial surface (the best quality I have ever seen) to the home side stands on the far side. It is a mix of rugby loving locals mostly much younger than ourselves. There is the delicious smell of cooking burgers and dogs. We grab a Heineken beer and settle into the stands to view what is my first live rugby game. The BVI team was playing a team the announcer is calling George Washington. Andy who came too late to play, and a obviously having had a few beers, says it is Washington State, but we think they are from Saint Louis. Anyway, the BVI team is awesome, the final score is 72 to 0.

It looks like the fans and the players are about to party big, but we need to move on the The Watering Hole back in Village Kay.  This is a daytime coffee shop and nighttime South African bar that is one of our favorites. Since tomorrow is Saint Patricks's Day and we are leaving we have to make room for Watering Hole tonight. It is just next door to the marina on the water you have to know the place is there, but it is hard to miss if you look north. There is some seating outside and some inside surrounded by wine racks. You walk in and either order by the glass over the bar or grab a bottle from the rack each marked with a bottle price. We order 3 ciders, a vodka and one red wine, yes that we me. As always John wants to make sure we enjoy ourselves so he grabs a bottle of ClipPort, Clippy's, and 5 shot glasses. Clippy's is a brandy from South Africa. In fact I think most all the alcohol at The Watering Hole is South African. In fact the owners, Graeme and Bridgit Maccallum, are the main importer of South African alcohol in the Virgin Islands. The atmosphere, quality and variety always amazes me. I see more visits in the future.

We finish the evening with a different Deborah recipe for ceviche; I love ceviche and especially Deborah's.

God Bless Bella Donna

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Thursday March 15, 2012

Morning was a little slow, I knew this would happen. After a light breakfast we are off the dock, leaving Saint Thomas and heading to Peter Island for the night. We immediately raise the new mainsail and the Genoa headsail. The Christmas winds seem to still be blowing, unusual for this late in the year. Midday the temperature is quite warm in the sun, but the cool Caribbean winds combine to make it extremely pleasant. 

Moving at 9.5 knots at times we arrive at Peter Island quickly. We secure an anchorage right in the vortex of wind coming over the isthmus where Conrad, a BVI homeless person sits and depends on whatever he can sell or talk the tourists out of. The locals noticed when he received alcohol from visiting tourists he would become quite obnoxious and no fun to be around. So finally someone hung signs in the trees saying "Please DO NOT give Conrad ANY Alcohol". It seems to have worked and everyone says he is now the nicest person. He still tries in his low key way to collect toll from passing tourists or sell them one of his used post cards for $5. 

Tonight will be an early night. We enjoy some delicious Chilean Sea Bass and vegetables, a very healthy dinner.

God Bless Bella Donna

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Wednesday March 14, 2012

The plan for today, rise up at 3:30 AM to dress, finish packing and  throw down a cup of coffee before Don and Nancy pick me up at 4:15. My mental notes to myself before falling to sleep were OMG you forgot you are  going to Houston after Bella Donna not straight home and you will be gone for over a month. So as the iPhone rings at 3:30, as my usual dream/nightmare where I am facing something impossible to solve, my first thought is to pack for Houston, a task I think I can handle. It's 5 after 4 and my bags are ready and I have 10 minutes to finish my coffee and remove all the metal from my body to get through airport security. Let's see, Casio watch, myRoadID, and the silver necklace Lauren gave to me a few years ago.

I picked her up at school one day and she said she had a present for me. Thinking it was something she made in school. I unwrapped it, one, two, three, four, five and even more Kleenexes. Finally the well protected silver necklace. My jaw dropped, not what I expected. Upon questioning it she said it was her dad's but he did not want it anymore and she decided I should have it. The only time I take it off is for airport security; it means a lot to me. I hang 3 rings on it: my wedding ring, my Bella Donna ring and my OSI ring.

Off we go in the rain catching all the traffic lights between Douglas Ranch and Highway 80. Wearing a Hawaiian shirt (with t-shirt underneath to be shed later), cargo pants, crocks and my Galveston Island hat to protect my dermatologist damaged face from the Caribbean sun. Can you believe we are the only car pulling up to the American Airlines curbside check-in. Soon their are other passengers, but non wearing a big sun hat. I must look just as out of place as the  business travelers in blue suits look to me. Oh I remember the days. I am retired, this is as dressed up as I get.

First stop Dallas; every seat is taken. Don draws an interesting seat next to, I think, a business man our age and soon they are having a spirited conversation. I get to sit next to an older lady, probably my age. She has a 5 pound, 7 year old Terrier dog named Big Man in a small cloth cage. I think of Bently, the kids new 2 pound and less than 3 months old Terrier. Big Man desperately wants out of its flimsy cloth cage and is barking, quite loud for such a small dog. The stewardess asks if the lady, "Weren't you supposed to give that dog drugs to keep it calm ?". Proclaiming that she had done as instructed, she later told me she was fearful of giving such a small dog drugs. Big Man did not look sedated to me.

First to Dallas, then to Miami and finally to Saint Thomas. It is a lot better flying the big jets, a lot more leg room and creature comfort. The Caribbean does not go on daylight savings time to we gain 3 hours, not 4. Our touchdown was just after 8 PM and we scan the crowd awaiting passengers for John's face. There he is. 

A short rental car ride later, Deborah meets us at the dock. Luci, our third crew is on deck. A warm "you are home" like feeling comes pver me; it has been a year since I have seen Bella Donna. She looks like a new boat especially with the new dinghy and trampoline. Any hope of getting to bed early vanishes as we sit and catch up with each other over the most wonderful ceviche and scotch.

God Bless Bella Donna

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Tuesday March 13 2012

Stay tuned, I leave tomorrow for Bella Donna. I will post my views on life in the Caribbean.