0657 - Just off St Marteen Good morning all! It is a beautiful day here in the Caribbean! Its mostly sunny out, 77F, with slight seas (amazing how calm the seas are) and an 8 mph wind off the port beam. We are steaming along (I know there is no steam involved, but that is the right term) at a leisurely 17 knots. Here is the morning view from our cabin. Well yesterday was a nice relaxed day. We slept in to the point that it was noon as we walked out of the cabin (I know this because the Captain got on the PA system to tell us what the weather was like, and where we were - although I am not sure how having the longitude and latitude really tells passengers much). So we went up and had some lunch. Then we were wandering around the ship a bit. We poked our head into the auction - didn't stay because they really don't have much that we like there - and we sought out the Molecular Bar where they are supposed to use some cool chemistry to make interesting drinks. We had looked for it the other night when we ended up in the Martini Bar, but hadn't found it. I figured knowing where it was would be handy later int he cruise when we went looking for it again. After we found it and were watching some live music (there is alot of that here) we went and checked out a place called Bistro on 5. It is one of the specialty restaurants onboard, offering crepes - I mean, at this point we hadn't eaten for a few hours, and you know how the food on cruiseships are - they condition you to eat every 20 minutes or so, so we were overdue! The thought was to have a snack, since we had reservations for the Tuscan Grill (one of the high end specialty restaurants) at 8pm, so this would work out okay. They way this place works is that there is an upcharge of $5 per person, but once you are in, you can order whatever you want, pretty much, how much you want, and it is all covered by the $5 cover. I think the guy waiting on us was disappointed that we didn't eat a 6 course meal - which was possible, since besides crepes (both sweet and savory) they have soups, paninis, sandwiches, and salads - slong with other desserts. So we had a savory crepe each, and a dessert crepe, and like I said, the waiter was disappointed. That is a great little eatery, which we will have to go back to for a proper meal. And maybe take some pictures of the plates - the presentations are quite nice. Then we were just hanging out - again listening to some music - when Dru, the Cruise Director came on the PA system with an important announcement. Now, I mentioned that there were quite a few Cannuks onboard, and they were all quite upset about not being able to get to see the Gold Metal Finals in Ice Hockey, featuring the Canadians and the Americans going head to head. The announcement was that they got permission to grab an internet feed and show the game in the main theater of the ship. You could hear cheering throughout the ship, and people immediately started heading to the theater (even though it wouldn't even open for 15 minutes, and the game didn't start for 30!) just to get a good seat. Well, we like a good hockey game - probably more than the average Yank, but certainly not as much as the Cannuks! - so we went to the theater, too. It was great! All they needed was a popcorn machine. People were showing up with buckets of beers, wearing jerseys, waving flags - again, mostly Canadian flags - and jerseys too. How the Cruise Director ended up with a Canadian Olympic jersey, I have no idea - but he is Canadian, after all. The turnout here was as good as any evening show. Here is an idea what it looked like. What a great game. It was insane. Its a shame we lost, but couldn't ask for a better showing. When we went into overtime, it looked like we might actually have to postpone the early show, which featured an musician who was kind enough to play both national anthems before the game for us - and everyone sang! It was funny to have people wandering into the theater dressed for the evening, wondering if they had missed the start of the show, and then trying to figure out what all these roudy people were cheering about (especially when we scored a last minute goal to even it up, and put us into overtime). Like I said, what a great game. Then it was time to hustle back to the room, get changed for dinner, and meet the Milster and Joe up at the Tuscan Grill. The Tuscan Grill was amazing. The food was fabulous, the service over the top. I think we disappointed them when we didn't order a bottle of wine for dinner, but otherwise, we were their favorite clients for the night. And yes, there were other clients. We did alot of sharing of food - appetizers family style, desserts that got passed around the table - we even got a sample of mac and cheese they make (we were talking about it, and so I asked the waiter if we could try some - it is the side dish that comes with blackened rib eye, but none of us had ordered it). It was to die (or kill) for. It was amazing. It will take me years to replicate it. The ship's executive chef came out to say hello, which was nice (of course my mother didn't think it was really him, but when she asked the restaurant manager if it was (later, of course), he confirmed that yes indeed, that was the man). And yes, I will start taking my camera to dinner and shooting some of the food for you. After dinner, we went to the late comedy show. Same comedian. Pretty much the same routine, but to a standing room only crowd - and that made it different somehow. Of course, he feeds off the audience, so the routine gets a little twisted. Even more interesting is when it comes apart entirely - like when my mother decided he was sweating so much that he needed a hankerchief, and she walked up, while he was doing his thing, to give him one. That got him started on how she must be a mother, to which she replied that she was, and that her eldest was here with her! I am going "he didn't ask you where your kids were!" and I am waiting to get dragged into this. Luckily, it went more in the direction of where she was from (when she said the Villages, it got a loud response form 2 of the audience members on the other side of the audience, which was funny. That started the whole coupon clipping that old people in Florida do. That led to the concept of going out for the early bird special, which led to the comedian learning that the Florida State Bird was indeed the Early Bird. That cracked him up - as in doubled over laughing - and him declaring that he was going to use that in his routine! It was a good show. So now, of course, its midnight, and time to catch some shut eye before pulling into St Marteen. Speaking of which, while I was typing this, we arrived. Here is the view. That's my next boat! She is the Pelorus. I am going to have to Google that baby.....! Well, time to get some breakfast before heading off to do a little America's Cup Yacht Racing! I always wanted to do that, and today is the day! See you later! 1538 - St Marteen Well, back from the races. And from shopping. For those of you who know me well, you know that half the reason (and this is the story I am going with) I cruise is to get to St Marteen and get some new tee shirts form my favorite tee shirt shop - Last Mango in Paradise. Well, I am sad to report that my shop is no longer there. Heck, the building isn't even there! Now, I did find a place called Piranah Joe's that might be the new shirts for me (we shall see - not bad stuff, but not as colorful or creative as the stuff I used to get from Last Mango), and the owner there said that Last Mango had gone out of business because of mismanagement. A woman we ran into at the shop told us that they were coming back after they rebuilt the building the store was in. I guess we shall see. And I can always buy the Caribbean Soul shirts on the internet (although they will lack that cute little St Marteen West Indies stamp on the sleeve). So, now that I have cried (for the moment, anyway), let me tell you about yacht racing! First of all, I should mention that the Serenade of the Seas is here in Phillipsburg with us. So when you come out on the pier looking to hook up with your group, you are in a steel canyon with quite a few fellow cruisers. We found our group leader, who was a Cannuk who was hoarse from singing Oh Canada a few times, and from screaming during the hockey game. You'd never realize back home how far this game had gone! This is the sight as you are in the canyon, and when you are out past the pier. Yacht racing, and specifically the America's Cup series, has a long a storied history. And if you want to know more about it, Google it. The boats that they have here are single hull (recent years have seen catamaran and tri-hull designs) aluminum 12 metre boats. All have either raced for, won, or were in contention for the America's Cup (apparently the fastest boat they have never raced for the Cup - they ran out of money building it, and never finished rigging it until it was aquired by the company that let's you race these beautiful boats). Because of how many people we had, there were three yachts racing in our heat (they do this 3 times a day) - Canada II, True North (another Canadian entry), and the Stars & Stripes (which actually won the Cup sailed by Dennis Connor). Our yacht, this day, was the True North. Now, everyone on the boat has to have a job. Carol's was of great importance - she was the bartender. There were 2 bartenders on this racing team - one for the forward crew, one for the aft. My job was a Main Grinder. Now, there are two types of grinders (meatball, and chicken parm...) - Main and Primary. Grinders are the guys who turn the handles that tighten the lines - either the mainsail line, or the jibe line. There are at least 4 Primary Grinders and 2 Main Grinders per crew. Of the two, the Primary Grinders work hardest, I think, but there are more of them, and they have replacements (at least on our crew they did). There were only two Main Grinders, so it was me and a guy named Shane who got to do it all. The race consists of 5 legs, three against the wind, and two with the wind. They have a running start across the starting line, so timing is a factor. Also, while in the race, insults are yelled back and forth between the competitors (right up my alley!). From the word go, Stars and Stripes was never really in contention, so it was a battle between Canada II and us. Here are some shots during the race (yes, there are some down times). During the entire race, we did really well, and were leading for most of it. The winds were really light, and you couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to do this on a windier day. They said that they rarely don't go out, and that only if it is lightning & thundering before they leave will they cancel a race. As they said, they had been out in some hairy stuff in the past. This is a shot of the crew from the boat, and from a chase boat. In the end, we lost by about 10 feet or so - which is pretty close for a race that lasted an hour or more. So, we gave the traditional three cheers before we gave them the traditional bird....! It was a good time, and I would love to do it again sometime. The grinding wasn't as bad as we all thought it might be, although I am sure I will feel my wrists and shoulders tonite or tomorrow morning. After the race, we walked thru town, found out about the tee shirt shop, and then headed back to the ship for some lunch and a drink. There wasn't much more time left in the day when we got back, since we had a 4pm pull out (we have just pulled away from the pier, and are letting the pilot off as I type). Dinner tonite is slated to be at 6pm with that couple, Mike and Debbie, that we met the other night. My mother got to ride a boat to another part of the island, but didn't get in the water like she wanted (we saw her while we ate lunch). I have no idea what the show is, or what else we might be doing tonite, but I am sure it will be fun. All in all a good day. I should open the mail bag and answer a couple of questions (play the Mr Rodgers theme music in your heads, or something). Spot is doing great - she is at the house with Joe. Okay, maybe just one question. But now I have one for you all - was there much snow at home? We have heard about over a foot of snow in NYC, but nothing more specific (my father talked about 8" at his place, but that doesn't mean that we got any - especially the way this year has gone). Just wondering, since Joe didn't tell me when I texted him earlier today. Anyway, hope all is well with you - we really do wish you were here with us. It really would be fun to walk into the yacht race with your own crew! So, until next time, I bid you a fond a'dueux (or something like that)! Keep Smiling!!! Your Intrepid Servant, the Timethief Beachbum

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