March 13, Arrival in Fajardo, Puerto Rico
It looks like the old man finally got off his increasingly lazy rear end and has once again begun to perform his editing duties in support of my blog (the least he can do since I am writing so much about his travels). As you must know by now, I’m a dog writing a blog and can’t be expected to execute menial human tasks such as spell check, grammar check and any other check that enables me to update this blog. I leave these very simple tasks to my person and he consistently fails to keep up with my ability to catalogue his activities, as he is too busy having all the fun.
My last post found the captain and crew of SS3 freshly arrived in St Lucia after enduring 21 days of eating, drinking (very limited drinking [well, this is what they say]) and laughing their way across the Atlantic Ocean. As most of the laughing was at the expense of the captain, landfall in the new world could not come soon enough for him.
One of the most rewarding aspects of the voyage, according to the captain, was the lack of internet access; no news of the outside world (and what a wonderful, screwed-up world it is) was received during the course of the Atlantic crossing. Imagine, 21 days without hearing or seeing the word “Trump” or “Bernie”; it was sheer bliss.
For all of you sports geeks who love statistics, here are some numbers pertaining to the voyage:
Duration (Days)……………………………………….…………………………………238
Sea miles………………………………………………………………………………..…5,958
Average speed of Starsplitter III……………….……………………………..…6.2 kt
Number of bad storms encountered……….………………………………………0
Highest wind speed encountered………………….42kt (short duration squall)
Number of countries and territories visited……………………….………………19
Number of crew serving the captain and doing most of the work………….24
Number of new friends…………………………………………………………………..…32
Number of islands visited………………………………………………………………………….16
Favorite islands……………………….…………Culebrita, Tobago Cays, Les Saintes
Least favorite port………………………………..Rabat (night arrival, complicated entrance and docking, sniffer dogs)
Number of beach bars visited………….> 36, but I lost count in Martinique
Number of times “Don’t Worry, be Happy” listened to at beach bars….> 95
Number of dance floors abused by the captan……. see beach bars and add 3
Number of good eyes belonging to the captain ……………………………….……1
Number of heroic livers belonging to the captain.…………………………………1
Number of happy feet belonging to the captain…………………………………….2
Following is a list of the people he encountered on and around SS3 during his eight-month voyage. As usual, first names only to protect the captain from adverse legal action. (crew/passengers designated by *):
Aden*, Anderia, Andy, Andy, Anina, Anne*, Ann, Bill, Billy*, Brett*, Charles, Clent*, Clyde*, Deb, Emily*, Fiona, Gary, Gene*, Glen, Harper, Isabelle*, Izzy, Jack*, Jameium*, James*, James, Jessica*, Jim*, Jim, Jonathan*, Joyce*, Julie, Kay, Keith, Kelly*, Laura, Linda, Lori*, Margaret, Marge*, Marina, Mark, Maury*, Megan*, Megan*, Miguel, Mike, Nadine, Patty*, Penny*, Shannon*, Shar, Steve*, Trevor, Tony, Warren* and Woody*.
The captain and Joyce are busy organizing and packing all the boat stuff so that it will be ready for the next adventure. They return home this weekend where battery of doctor visits awaits the captain. I too am looking forward to seeing my person as he has promised to take me out west again this year for more mountain adventures.
March 20, 2019 (the Spring Solstice), Annapolis, MD
The captain’s retina surgeon had good news and bad news for him today; his retina is looking good and she will take the oil out on April 10; the bad news – after three surgeries he has developed cataracts and another surgery is require for their removal. If all goes well he will be operating with two good eyes by mid-May.
I will be updating this blog with additional details and photos of SS3’s island adventures over the next week. Please remember – for all your pet supply needs shop at Pet Smart and be sure to tell them Coach sent you (I get free treats for every referral).
If you have enjoyed reading my blog please consider a small donation to The Parent Project for Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD) as several new drugs are in human trial stages that could lead to a cure of this terrible disease.
www.parentprojectmd.org/goto/noah.watkins