Merry Christmas with Darlene Love

This week we watched "20 Feet From Stardom" on Netflix. Loved it and will watch it again soon. It is a documentary about backup singers and features such greats as Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, Sheryl Crow, Táta Vega, and many more...

Darlene Love has been singing "Christmas Baby Please Come Home" annually on the David Letterman show since 1986. This year, 2014, is the last time Darlene will be performing it on "The Late Show" because David will be retiring in May 2015.

Enjoy...


Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays ... Make It So

This compilation from Star Trek The Next Generation brought a smile to my face.

Enjoy...



So it goes!

It's finally here

This is it. The day we've been looking forward to all summer. The last day of H-season.

It looks like it may become a gloomy day. It's a bit overcast and we've had a few sprinkles but nothing to complain about.

Thankful for a relatively calm summer :)

So it goes!

Donate to Donna Romasco's Medical Fund

Many of you may know Donna Romasco who lives aboard in Tortola BVI with her husband Dave, and dog Trixie. She works at Regency Charter Services. Donna is a super person to work with and we love her efficiency and attention to detail.

 

Donna is seriously ill right now due to contracting dengue hemorrhagic fever (the worst form of dengue) shortly after returning home from hospital for a total hip replacement which has since become acutely infected. To top it off, Dave came down with Chikungunya virus.

Our good friend Kerry of the charter yacht Promenade has set up a fund raiser page to help with Donna's unexpected medical costs.

The GoFundMe site is: http://www.gofundme.com/donna-regency. You can find more details about her condition there.

Donations of any amount will be appreciated but it will also be a great morale booster for Donna to know that so many people care.

Get well soon, Donna

Amazon Kindle Stuff

Over a month ago, our Kindle (keyboard model) started having issues. I must contact Amazon as perhaps it is an easy fix but I still haven't done so.

Kindle Paperwhite

A couple of days later we decided to buy the Kindle Paperwhite. We have been wanting one for awhile and now we had the perfect excuse to actually purchase one. We prefer the e-ink Kindles as opposed to the Kindle Fires because we only want to use them to read books. We have other tablets to surf the internet, use as chart plotters, mp3 players, etc.

The e-ink Kindles display perfectly when reading outdoors in sunlight. Nice for when you have a few minutes and want to carry on a bit further in your current book. The Paperwhite has an integral light so you can read in the dark. Perfect!

New Kindle Touch

I have a discontinued 6" Kindle with the buttons on the bottom and the page turning buttons on both sides. It has been replaced by the new improved Kindle Touch which has a faster processor, more storage space, and some new features.

To protect our new Paperwhite we bought a sleeve that we are very happy with. It fits snug and is easy to find (it is purple) and use.

Our Kindle Touch doesn't have its own light but I found an inexpensive case with a built-in light which works well.

Lighted e-ink Kindles are great for night reading because you don't need to disturb anyone else with the cabin light.

Are you a Dortmunder fan? The Hot Rock was (and still is) one of my favorite movies. Dortmunder was played by Robert Redford. This book, Thieves Dozen by Donald E. Westlake, has 11 Dortmunder short stories. Great for light bedtime reading.

In the plus column, Kindles are excellent as they can hold lots of books, thus reducing weight aboard and recovering some shelf space. Yes, I worry about something happening and losing access to our books but we have several Kindles so they shouldn't all go down at once. We do have paper books that we must keep such as guitar music, boatbuilding books with plans, other reference books, plus some paperback favorites. Can't be too careful :)

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The terns were right

We were worried about TS/Hurricane Gonzalo even though the royal terns were back in town. We prepared our boat and put out two more anchors.

The first few projected tracks had the little TS symbol right on top of us but fortunately, Hurricane Gonzalo stayed about 100 miles away to the northeast.

The terns were right.

90L is TS Gonzolo

GONZOLO, great name for a storm. Makes me think of a Marx Brother movie.  But as cool as his name might be (we experienced Omar a few years ago), we really don't want him passing through here.

The Hurricane Hunters flew through Invest 90L earlier today and found out that it was a Tropical Storm... didn't even mess with the Tropical Depression phase.

They predict it will be an H-thing when it gets to Puerto Rico.

So, guess you know what we'll be busy with... best to be prepared.

Hope the GFS model (red line in above image) is accurate and it will pass quite aways from us.

Here's a bit from Advisory #1 - 130 PM AST SUN OCT 12 2014

DISCUSSION AND 48-HOUR OUTLOOK
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AT 130 PM AST...1730 UTC...THE CENTER OF TROPICAL STORM GONZALO WAS
LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 16.4 NORTH...LONGITUDE 58.4 WEST. GONZALO IS
MOVING TOWARD THE WEST NEAR 10 MPH...17 KM/H...AND THIS GENERAL
MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH TUESDAY...FOLLOWED BY A TURN
TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST TUESDAY NIGHT. ON THE FORECAST TRACK...
GONZALO IS EXPECTED TO MOVE THROUGH THE LEEWARD ISLANDS BY EARLY
MONDAY MORNING.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 40 MPH...65 KM/H...WITH HIGHER
GUSTS.  STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS.

TROPICAL-STORM-FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 45 MILES...75 KM
FROM THE CENTER.

THE ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 1009 MB...29.80 INCHES.

So it goes

What the heck? Invest 90L !!!

I've been meaning to put the ground tackle away that has been sitting on deck since the last storm threat. In fact, today seemed like a good day to do so until I went to look at weatherunderground.com

Invest 90L - Saturday, October 11 2014, 08:00am

I'm hoping the return of the Royal Terns and the increased population of Pelicans was not premature.

I was going to check out Amazon's Halloween costumes for pets but I'm sort of put off of frivolity right now... except, this is one I haven't seen before...

Animal Planet Peacock Dog Costume

So it goes...

More on herding cats

Most everyone has seen the EDS commercial shown during the Superbowl many years ago about herding cats. It is such a classic and always makes me smile. If you haven't seen it lately, take a moment and click on the video below.


Today, I came across an interesting video on YouTube which explores the concept of herding cats, Mythbusters (season 13, episode 6) broadcast on the Discovery Channel.


Hmmm... maybe they should have tried treats. Would be a bit impractical if you're herding a group (collectively called chowder, clutter, or glaring of cats) across the plains on horseback though :)

Enjoy !

They're back...

We would like to welcome back the Royal Terns... Salut!

Yesterday afternoon while having a sundowner tot of rum along with some quality time with the cats, two Royal Terns made a low pass over the deck. Wow, are we glad to see them. To us, it means the end of H-season in our neck of the woods.

Weather guru Dr. Jeff Masters at wunderground.com pretty much said the same thing a couple of days ago but his statement has now been validated by our fine feathered friends.

Good news weather-wise (fingers crossed)

I just read Dr. Jeff Master's (wunderground.com) blog post dated today at 15:28 GMT and titled "The Tropics Go Quiet World-Wide". Here's a choice bit of it:

"...there are now no named tropical cyclones anywhere in the world--an unusual situation for what is traditionally one of the busiest days of the Northern Hemisphere's tropical cyclone season. This quiet period appears likely to extend though the weekend, as I don't expect any new named storms to form anywhere in the world through Sunday."

This is much preferred than this same week in 2005. Today is the 9th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina which hit Mississippi on August 29, 2005.

Savouring the peace and quiet of our anchorage today.

So it goes!

97L is up on deck

Well, the last possible storm wasn't much out of the ordinary spot of funky weather we occasionally have (I am NOT complaining). I think the weather dudes were just excited about having something to talk about. It did become a named storm (Cristobal) so that's another one off the list...

But now we have Invest 97L out there. Here are the 2:00am models from wunderground.com

I think we will leave our storm anchors down for the moment :)

So it goes...

Invest 96L = OK

Hurray! The storm passed through with hardly a notice. We had a couple of very short-lived squalls during the night. When I got up at 3am to check the weather Willow jumped down from her bookshelf and growled at the lightning. Very distant lightning and no thunder.

Here's the 8:00am (2014/08/22) models and you can see that 96L is now placed north of the islands.

It has been raining solid for about an hour now. Hoping for a lull so we can bail out the dinghy without getting too wet.

We plan to pick up one of our storm anchors today and leave the other down through the weekend.

It's quiet now.... Hmmmmm... should I go outside or finish my coffee?

So it goes...

Yet another disturbance... 96L (updated)

Well, fortunately the previous possible storm, 94L, just fizzled out due to dry air and wind shear.

But now there is 96L.  Doesn't look like it will cause us any harm but we will still be placing two extra anchors today because you just never know what the butterflies will do...

The models have been creeping northwards and we hope this trend continues. Here's the 8am models (8/21/2014) from wunderground.com

2 pm update:  Both cats came outside while we were setting out our storm anchors. Willow seemed very anxious. She is very sensitive about storms. I'm hoping that her actions were not saying "big storm soon come" but instead "there is a can of tuna on the table... open it... feed me".

It's summer... So it goes...

Another Interesting Disturbance

We have another tropical disturbance of interest, Invest 94L...

Yesterday's opinion was that it should enter the Caribbean on Saturday. It is a long ways away so who knows? It is definitely something to keep an eye on... again :)

Monday, 11 August 2014, 2:00am

Tropical Storm Bertha was a big disappointment to many people on the island as they were hoping to catch some rain to fill up their cisterns. We did get enough to make the land green again.

So it goes...

Depression today?

Shucky darn... Still an "invest" but expected to become a depression later today or tomorrow. It is quite far away (1600 miles) so a bit early to start fretting but it is definitely worth keeping an eye on.

The 8am (29/07/2014) from the National Hurricane Center

Above is the 2am models (I like the GFS) reported by Wunderground.com... Looking forward to the 8am updates.

So it goes...

New Supermarket in Christiansted, St Croix

Sea Side Market, the new grocery store in Christiansted, St Croix has finally opened. It has replaced Schooner Bay Market which closed several months ago.

It is basically across the street from the Canegata Ballpark, just down from the laundramat, short walk from ACE/Gallows Bay Hardware.

Prices vary. Many things are higher than Pueblo but a some are similar or lower. Even if we buy something that costs a bit more, we save on the time that it would have taken walking up to Pueblo in Golden Rock.

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Bastille Day - 14 juillet

Today, the 14th July, is the French National Holiday (la fête nationale française), which we call Bastille Day.

Here's a video of the fireworks display in Carcassonne 2012.



It is very good footage (only 2 minutes to give you a taste) but nothing like being there in person with the beautiful colors, the sounds of the rockets taking off, the percussion of the soundwaves striking your body, the oohs and ahs of the crowd... Good stuff. The French can really put on a show :)

We will definitely be having Pastis for our sundowner this evening.

So it goes... Whoosh... Whee... Bang... Pop-a-dee-pop-a-dee-pop... Vive La France!

That's the way I like it

I have www.wunderground.com (tropical weather) as my Firefox homepage and I was so happy to read Dr Jeff Master's headline tease to his blog this afternoon...

Quiet... No threat... I want to read more of the same over the summer months!

So it's going :)

Wishing everyone a happy summer

Yes, I know that the first day of summer is not for a couple of weeks but today is the first day of what I like to call the "summer season" in order to avoid the "H" word.

The various forecasts for tropical storms seem to be lower than recent years and I hope that the few disturbances predicted will be a long ways away.

I have just modified my Firefox browser to have http://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/ as my homepage.

Be prepared & stay safe.

So It Goes...

PFDs - Inflatable Life Jacket Testing Video

Check out Boat Bits. It has a very interesting video by Voile, a French sailing magazine, where they test inflatable PFDs with the test subject staying in the water until the life jacket inflates.

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Easter Weekend

The cats have stationed themselves behind their specially-modified duck blind and donned their Steve Martin bunny ears to fool the little chicks; luring them into their trap...

Taste just like Peeps :)

Whale sightings - Catamaran Mango

The charter catamaran Mango sent us a few photos of whales they saw frolicking about last month.  The whales are kind of small in the photos because they were seen at a distance, but then again, you don't want to be too close :)

See more and read about catamaran Mango on the All About Yacht Charters blog HERE.

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Leaping Lizards... Uh... WHALES!

Yesterday when we were having a cup of coffee outside around noon, we saw a couple of big splashes offshore. Could that have been a giant ray? No... It kept happening and then we saw TAILS.

HOW COOL

Sorry, but no pictures. I wasn't going to miss out on the action while going to fetch my camera. Besides, it would probably have been too small to see anything.

So it goes...

New Steve Martin DVD/CD

I received an email from Amazon.com this morning announcing Steve Martin's new album/ video that was just released on March 11, 2014. Click on the link or image below and you can watch a full length video track of Steve and the Rangers performing "Pretty Little One".

Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers featuring Edie Brickell Live [CD+DVD]

EDITORIAL REVIEW (from Amazon.com):

Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers, featuring Edie Brickell, will release their first ever live concert CD/DVD package capturing their extraordinary performance at the historic Fox Performing Arts Center in Riverside California last fall. The live performance was recorded for PBS Great Performances and features material from Martin and Brickells Grammy-nominated album Love Has Come For You, as well as music from Martins Grammy nominated collaboration with The Steep Canyon Rangers, Rare Bird Alert, and his Grammy Award winning album The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo. This special live CD/DVD features Martins unique blend of comedy and bluegrass and is a first class evening of excellent entertainment.

Disc one has 19 tracks and disc two has 21 tracks. That's a lot of entertainment for around $16.

One of my favorite skits from long ago is Steve's "Cat Handcuffs" routine but it is no longer available on their mp3 store. Good thing I already have it.

But, while looking for "Cat Handcuffs", I saw a song off Steve Martin's Red Bird Alert album with Paul McCartney singing "Best Love" (click here for sample).

Enjoy!

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Happy Mardi Gras

What a wonderful day for Mardi Gras

Enjoy!

Trans-Atlantic Passage Opportunity

I just wanted to pass along this fantastic opportunity to make a transatlantic passage with a very experienced crew and well-founded yacht.

TransAtlantic Crossing Charter: Yacht ANAHITA May-June 2014
Cross the Atlantic Ocean with Charter Yacht Anahita this Spring

The charter yacht ANAHITA, a 62-foot Dynamique sloop, has an opening for two paying crew on their 6th eastbound trans-Atlantic crossing. This is an excellent opportunity to get some sea miles and a unique adventure. Join Captain Bijan and Chef Roseanne in St. Thomas, USVI for the May 1st departure.

Read more HERE...

Testing...Tsunami Warning

This morning while having morning coffee in bed, there was a series of amplified tones coming from the shore. We could hear the warning tones but didn't catch the message until the third time that it was a test (and only a test) of the tsunami warning system.

Tsunami sign on St Croix, USVI

Our cats heeded the message, headed to the high ground of a cabinet, and were anxiously looking about waiting for us to do something.

Boat Bits has an interesting link to an article titled: Deadly Caribbean Tsunami Risk Overlooked

Actually, we have been having tsunami-size wakes from the mini-cigarette boats all morning as this is a holiday and also the last day of the St Croix Ag Fest.

W O W... Did we just get tossed about! It was one of those dump everything that's not bolted down onto the floor type of wakes. I grabbed on to the computers while Bob tried to control the knocked over coffee pot and other stuff (a hurtling cabbage is quite a scarey thing).

After basic damage control I ran outside and it appears that it was one of the ferries that are transporting people over from St Thomas to the Ag Fest. Fortunately, it only happens once a year and this is its last day.

Here comes another one... Battle stations :)

So it goes...

A Caturday Photo

Here's a picture I like of "The Slayer"

Happy Caturday!

Happy Valentine's Day

My goodness... it's the middle of February already... and it is 2014 (I keep typing 2012).

But that's OK because it is Valentine's Day and we also have a 3-day weekend with Monday being President's Day.

Hope you are having a good one, too!

Hmmm... it's too quiet today... Might listen to some HEART

Round Reef, St Croix - Boat grounding, continued

There was an article in the St Croix Source about the recent grounding of a ship on Round Reef, St Croix, USVI...

Ship Grounding Tore Gash in Coral Reef
BY SOURCE STAFF - FEBRUARY 7, 2014


I think that an improved marker buoy would be nice... Maybe a billboard?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Rowan Atkinson

Rowan Atkinson

Yesterday I watched a fun video on YouTube (more about that below) and looked up Rowan Atkinson on imdb to see who the woman was in this video (I'm sure she's the daughter from Ab Fab) and discovered that his birthday is TODAY, January 6th (Epiphany or Three Kings' Day). He was born in 1955.

In my opinion, I think that Atkinson is a very skilled comedian, actor, and writer. I love Black Adder and watched the Black Adder's Christmas Carol over the holidays. His Mr. Bean character is difficult for me to watch as he makes me nervous, though I do enjoy Mr. Bean's Holiday with him bumbling through France.

I didn't realize that he participated in The Secret Policeman's Balls. We used to have this on VHS and will have to get the DVD. Another blast from the past that I'd like to have is The Best of Not the 9 O'Clock News. We loved the comedy shows on BBC Radio 4 that would later become TV shows (such as Yes, Minister).

Perhaps you received an Amazon Gift Certificate that you'd like to redeem or, if not, just plonk down your plastic to get one of these :)

Click on an image to go to its Amazon DVD page

Here's the YouTube video I watched yesterday. It is a brilliant spoof of Doctor Who performed for a Comic Relief Red Nose Day telecast in 1999, Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death. Starring: Rowan Atkinson, Richard E. Grant, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Grant, Julia Sawalha, Jonathan Pryce, and, must not leave out Roy Skelton who is the voice of the various Daleks.


There is a wikipedia page about it HERE.

Have a great day!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

HAPPY NEW YEAR

BONNE ANNEE

Wishing you and yours a wonderful new year.... healthy, prosperous, safe and FUN!

and So It Goes !