Spokes

Alone, none of them can turn the wheel. A village of spokes. Equal. Indistinguishable. Steady as a watch on a schooner. In turn, each spoke hangs from the rim and holds the wheel for a millisecond until the next spoke … Read More

A Tale of Two Stacked Ladies

Jack Dawson, I’m calling you out. 1961. The first photo I ever took, long before the selfie craze. My photo op was dramatic only to me. Steaming across the Atlantic,  the Queen Mary’s three smokestacks poured a layer of smoke … Read More

My First Tropical Storm

And now, no wiser, I found myself in another bad situation. I had no idea that the winds outside were approaching 200 miles an hour, a nascar made of wind. With debris smacking the outside of the cabin, I slunk … Read More

When the Big Wave Washes Us Away

It was a windy day, like today. As I sit in my sun room and watch gale force winds sweep dead leaves from the trees, I think back to another wind that took a close friend. The grand roster of … Read More

Run Aground

Nearing the end of a grueling day at sea, I crawled into a lifeboat to rest, and must’ve lost consciousness, fell asleep near some treacherous shoals. When I awoke, the ocean had flung the boat onto shore. Oh well, they … Read More

Red Sky at Night

It was a good omen on the evening before we set sail from the Bermuda Triangle through the Bahamas and across the Gulf Stream.

Rat Stew

A sailing acquaintance reported rats on our sailboat. Significant damage to food containers, sundries and stores. To help make lemonade out of these rat lemons, I share my one-of-a-kind recipe for rat stew: Ingredients: 1 mouse trap 6 oz sharp … Read More

Our Neighbors

We docked near an ocean beach doubling as a nursery. The eggs hatch at night and the turtlings crawl to the sea under cover of darkness. Our guests saw three turtlings early one sunrise, making a daylight run for the … Read More