Final Stage – St Lucia – Puerto Rico

   March 13, Arrival in Fajardo, Puerto Rico 

 

boy, do I need a haircut – this is how I look when abandoned by my person for the better part of eight months.

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).

Stone Crabs in Tobago Cays, courtesy of Capt. Neil (lower left)
Steve, Woody Jack and Marge (Woody’s second mother) enjoying a cool one with my person – once again I am nowhere to be found in the photo
Woody and Marge enjoying a healthy beverage (she looks pretty good for an elderly woman)
Seen in a store window in St. Barts where pretty much everyone has a bigger boat than my person
Terminal 2, San Juan Airport – the captain mistakenly tried to checkin at this bar, thinking it was a new airline he was not familiar with but would take him somewhere fun.
Steve trying to coax the barracuda off the hook. Catch and release for all fish with sharp teeth.
Very cool square rigger – somewhere in the Caribbean
The captain, doing what he does best.
River bank in Dominica
Kelly, Patty, Jameium and Gene enjoying a rest in a tree, Dominica
There are three types of renewable energy shown in this photo, can you name them? Send your answers to jwatgeo@yahoo.com along with a $10 entry fee for a chance to win a big prize(include front and back pic of your credit card).
The same Hurricane (Maria) that sunk the captain’s previous boat, Batubara, also was responsible for extensive damage in Dominica. (notice the captain’s fingers in the photo). SS3 delivered relief supplies purchased in Martinique for the relief effort.
Celebrating the Atlantic crossing with new friends in St Lucia (the lady on his left joined the photo only after Steve promised to pick up her bar tab and not ask for her number).
Steve and the captain found a bar showing the super bowl in Martinique (not an easy task as the French are not big football fans). The game was broadcast entirely in French with very enthusiastic announcers but no commercials were shown (the commercials were the best part of the game).
Another photo designed to make the reader envious of the old man (he’s such an idiot sometimes).
New friends Trevor and Deb from cold, snowy Michigan – sailing their fast cat from the islands to Florida, lots of laughs with them (they knew the captain as “Mr. Fabulous” – it’s a long story…)

Pretty flowers and plants
Another beautiful sailing ship
House Band in a Bequia assisted living facility – the captain put his name on the waiting list.
Joyce (my new favorite person) at Annapolis Maritime Museum Sock burning Party – it looks cold and it was cold!
Active volcano just outside of Soufriere, St. Lucia – my person gets very excited to see geology in action.

 

Mr Fabulous eating his giant lobster – twice the size of all other lobsters consumed that night on Tobago Cay and he didn’t share (just ask Deb and Trevor).

 

Noah and Lilly on a beach in Hawaii, Christmas 2005. You can see the love they had for each other in this photo…they continue to inspire my person to live a full life, they will live with him always, may they rest in peace.

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

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