Heineken Regatta 2009: Anchoring Antics

I admit that we have had our "Days of Shame" and we'll probably have a few more, no doubt, but watching people anchor can be quite entertaining, as long as nobody gets hurt.


This boat seems to have a great deal of trouble anchoring. They have 4 or 5 people up on the bow and they drop maybe 15 ft of chain (just enough to touch the bottom). Then they power back without letting out any more chain until they back up about 25 feet then the person in charge of the windlass control lets go of about another 10 feet of chain while they are motoring back at quite a speed, then a tad more chain. They feel like the anchor hasn't properly set, so they then retrieve their anchor and try again... and again... and again. Actually I only saw them do it 3 times on this occasion (maybe they were practice runs?) and they decided the 4th time was good enough. They are off to our starboard but the wind could always shift so that they'll be in front of us... Oh no!

The other day there was a boat (might have been them) that did a dozen tries in a similar fashion, and then they tried another location and were happy after 5 tries there. Perhaps they are better at racing :)


While that fiasco was winding up, we had another boat (Moorings) anchoring to the port side of us. I took pictures in case of there being an interesting cock-up but they did OK. Good show! But just as they were tidying up and settling in, a Sunsail boat came directly in front of them and was going to place their anchor smack dab on top of theirs.... Duh!


The Moorings boat got their attention and said something and made gestures, so they abandoned that idea. It then seemed like they were going to do a little parallel parking maneuver directly behind the Moorings boat but then the wind shifted and changed the overall scheme of things and they moved on.


The couple on a non-racing boat that anchored behind us a bit this morning came out while the first boat I mentioned got a bit too close to them (with 7 or 8 people on the boat, at least one person should be looking in the direction the boat is travelling!) and stayed outside to enjoy the shenanigans.

Later, Dash... remember Dash? They returned the other day to find someone who was not at home squatting on their buoyed anchor... Well, they came by in a dinghy asking us if we had seen their fender which was attached to the anchor they left. I had noticed a small boat that was in their general vicinity that had a rope to their bow.


In fact, I was/am going to post their photo because I liked that they had so many fenders tied to both sides of their boat for protection. I quickly looked at the morning's pictures in iPhoto and told them the name of the boat who might have been the culprit. Hope they find their anchor.

Everyone play nice :)

Photos by Paradise Connections ©2009 - Please do not use without permission.

Heineken Regatta 2009: Blow out sale... uh sail

This is actually kind of sad and I hope it never happens to us, but...

At least he can say "It's not my boat!"

It was a bit breezy today (Saturday) and we heard that there were quite a few mishaps with sails.

Heineken Regatta 2009: More Stuff, this and that

I must say, just to prove that I'm really not a grouch, that I was impressed with Carib Kiss yesterday. When they hauled up their anchor yesterday morning, they got quite close to us, but because they knew at that point that there was not much chain left down, they put their boat in reverse and dragged their anchor away from us. When they were well in the clear, they proceeded to pull up their anchor. So nice to see some COMMON SENSE! Thanks, guys!

Buffy keeps watch

Later that afternoon, a Bendy-Toy 50 or similar bareboat was attempting to anchor somewhere to starboard of us. We weren't aware of it until the view of their transom completely filled our salon windows. What???!!! Bob jumped out in the cockpit and was ready to deploy a fender. There were 7 or 8 crew on board but nobody was looking in the direction that the boat was actually going. When about 2 feet from T-boning us, the man at the wheel looked over his shoulder and seem surprised that we were in his way... He told Bob that he was under control... no "oops", no "pardon", no class :)

Fenders are a necessary part of your racing inventory

Here's some news from the Heineken Regatta that we've heard about, plus you can check out their Press Release for Day 1. Here are some excerpts:

It was not a day for the meek of heart or the weak of hull. For after a brief series of morning squalls, a northerly breeze packing gusts over 30-knots swept in with a vengeance, and the steady, pumping winds that accompanied them generated gear-busting seas of 8-10 feet and more. Torn sails, bruised sailors, broken equipment—as well as a dismasting, numerous collisions, and a near sinking—soon followed.

The carnage began after the respective racing, cruising and bareboat classes came hard on the freshening breeze off Plum Point on the island’s western flank in the early stages of the day’s traditional round-the-island race, a 30-nautical mile course for the all-out racing divisions, and a slightly shortened 25-miler for the non-spinnaker and charter fleets...

Before all was said and done, at least two other crews would be thanking their lucky stars that the serious mishaps that befell them weren’t even more disastrous. The first was the team aboard the Melges 24, French Connection, who lost their mast off Point Blanche in the final stretch of the race, which ended nearby in Philipsburg’s Great Bay. The second was the crew of the Beneteau 47.7, Yo Yo, which was holed in a collision off Tintamarre, and with the boat beginning to flounder, made it to safe haven and the travel lift at Bobby’s Marina in Philipsburg in the nick of time.

“We jibed with another boat and right afterwards there was a collision,” said a Yo Yo crewman soon after the boat was safely in the slings of the boatyard hoist. “Their stanchion pierced our hull. We tried to plug the hole but as quick as we could get it out, it was coming right back in. We all put on lifejackets immediately and bailed as quickly as possible, but we couldn’t get ahead of it.” While French Connection and Yo Yo may have suffered the worst mishaps, there were countless other misadventures, as well. “There were some spectacular t-bones in the bareboat class, right at the windward mark,” said David De Vries, who had a ringside seat aboard Ian Hope-Ross’s Beneteau 36.7, Kick ‘em Jenny. “Then a squall came through and you could see all these spinnakers tearing and popping. It was wild.

“We clocked 32 knots of wind in the Anguilla Channel and 34 knots in the squall,” he added. “The waves were great with this enormous swell.”

Of course, it wasn’t all gloom and doom; in fact, amidst the fray, there was some tremendous sailing and boathandling. “We had a helluva ride,” said Billy Burke, a crew aboard the Newport, Rhode Island-based canting-keeled Cookson 50, Privateer. “Down the coast, we were surfing at 16-19 knots in a 4-6 foot swell, which we rode pretty well. It was a pretty spectacular spinnaker run.”

But even Privateer had their trials and tribulations, breaking their boom vang after the kite wrapped in a jibe just a few miles from the finish.

We saw quite a few boats returning early to the anchorage. Better safe than sorry.

Due to a forecast of continued heavy winds and swell, the Heineken Regatta race organizers have rescheduled racing on Saturday and Sunday for safety concerns. Courses will now be set off Simpson Bay.

Saturday’s party and entertainment schedule in Marigot will continue as previously planned. A water taxi from the St. Maarten Yacht Club to Port Royale Marina will be running between 5pm and 1:00am. Regatta participants can catch a water taxi from their anchored yacht into the Yacht Club and transfer to the Marigot Party Water Taxi.


Here's the beginning of the race from our vantage point...



Quite a ways in the distance but a nice sight!



So we hope everyone has a great time and returns back safely.

UPDATE: We heard that today's catamaran & Gunboat races have been cancelled.

More Heineken Regatta 2009 Bits & Pieces

More bits & pieces about what's happening around us in Simpson Bay and the Heineken Regatta 2009...

Here's a picture I took last night of Buffy out on patrol to keep an eye on the crowd of boats that are around us.



Buffy is still doing crowd control this morning. She is very outgoing and always says hello to people who stop by. Willow is a bit freaked out by all this activity though :)

.

Yesterday, Dash came back after racing to find that someone is squatting on their moored anchor. The thieves were not aboard, of course, and were still not back several hours later. Come on guys, this just isn't on. What are you thinking? We're going to keep an eye out today to make sure that doesn't happen again.


Dash & Squatter

Boats this morning ended up a bit close to each other. This tends to happen when everyone is bunched up and the wind and swell shifts.

.

We just heard on Island 92 radio that there was a report of a dismasting off of Pelican. Hope that's just a rumour, but we did see a few dismastings last year.

We did have a pretty rainbow this morning just after the boats started to head out. We've had a few squalls since then.



Photos by Paradise Connections ©2009 - Please do not use without permission.

Have fun, everyone. Be safe!

Heineken Regatta 2009: Gunboat sightings

Here's a couple of photos of Gunboat catamarans heading into the Lagoon.
March 5, 2009 - Simpson Bay, St Maarten - Heineken Regatta


Gunboat catamaran, Sugar Daddy - Photo by Paradise Connections ©2009


Gunboat catamaran, Safari - Photo by Paradise Connections ©2009

Remember, Safari is a charter yacht. If you are interested in chartering Safari, contact us for more info.

Heineken Regatta 2009 Stuff: Special BRIDGE TIMES etc St. Maarten

This and that about the Heineken Regatta 2009...

• There are special Dutch-side St Maarten bridge openings during the Heineken Regatta (March 5-8, 2009):

Here are the opening times:

• 7:30 am - Special Heineken opening
• 9:00 am - Outbound
• 9:30 am - Inbound
• 11:00 am - Outbound
• 11:30 am - Inbound
• 3:00 pm - Special Heineken opening
• 3:45 pm - Special Heineken opening
• 4:30 pm - Outbound
• 5:30 pm - Inbound

• Lots of boats out in Simpson Bay. A bit too close for my comfort. Please don't pee off your boat in my direction when you are 15 feet in front of me. That's just not polite when we are having cocktails on the foredeck.
  
  

• Due to expected high winds and swell, the Saturday course has been altered and will not be ending in Marigot, yet the party Saturday evening will take place as scheduled on the Marigot Waterfront. There will be special water taxi services available to take people there, and of course you can dinghy over there.

• Kudos to the practicing Bareboat Racers (Team Extreme SxPack) who rescued passengers from a downed helicopter just off Cupecoy on Wednesday. READ THE STORY HERE.

Photos by Paradise Connections ©2009 - Please do not use without permission.

Team GoldenDog in Heineken Regatta 2009

UPDATE: Team GoldenDog won 1st place in their class at the St Maarten 2009 Heineken Regatta. Congratulations!

Once again, Team GoldenDog will be participating in the Bareboat Division of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta.

Team GoldenDog's goal is to help homeless animals the world over find their forever homes. They participate in events such as this to raise awareness of the plight of homeless, needy and abused animals. The net proceeds of their fundraising efforts go directly to worthy organizations who provide for animals in need.

You can hear Chairman, Jeff Sochrin's alter-ego "SOC" on St. Maarten's Island 92 FM radio station.

Just heard that SOC will be broadcasting LIVE today (Tuesday) at 11am until 2pm from the Team Goldendog sailboat which is docked at Halsey's restaurant on Airport road/ Simpson Bay Lagoon. Tune in!

• View Team GoldenDog's website: CLICK HERE

Best of luck and keep up the good work!

Time Out Boat Yard March 2009 Flea Market Postponed

Today we stopped by the Time Out Boat Yard which is located near the Sandy Ground bridge on the French side of St. Martin.

Dominique told us that the Marine Flea Market / Boat Jumble which is normally held on the first Saturday of every month from December to May or June, was to be postponed due to the Heineken Regatta.

It will be held on the 2nd Saturday this month, March 14, 2009. It begins at 8am, and vendors should arrive a bit earlier to get things set up. There is no charge for vendors or visitors.

So, check it out! We'll be there with a few things to sell.

Hope to see you there!

Gunboat Catamarans in St Maarten just prior to Heineken Regatta 2009

There are a few Gunboat catamarans currently in St. Maarten and we expect to see a few more in the lead up to the Heineken Regatta, March 5-8, 2009.

Here's a bit from the local St. Maarten newspaper The Daily Herald, January 22, 2009:

SIMPSON BAY--Gunboats have returned to St. Maarten. This year the fleet is bigger and includes the newly launched 66 series. A new breed of racing cruiser catamaran, the Gunboat was designed to hold provisions for up to six months of cruising and still able to race with all carbon spars and Kevlar shrouds. The Gunboat, named for the fact they win or take the gun at so many finish lines, consists of composite construction of vacuumbagged, epoxy foam sandwich and Aramid Honeycomb Nomex with carbon fiber inner skins & Kevlar outer skins for impact resistance. The fast 48 foot version, capable of speeds in the mid 20’s, will be sailing the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta the first weekend of March. “Gunboat is excited to have one, and maybe two of our latest series, the Gunboat 66, at the regatta,” said Chandler Collins from Gunboat. “This new 66 embodies luxury, comfort, and SPEED! The 66 was launched this winter in Cape Town, and she has just completed her maiden voyage across the Atlantic to Saint Maarten.” Also expected to race Heineken, like last year, are Gunboat 48s and 62s.

We went and took a few photos of the Gunboat catamarans that are currently in Simpson Bay and in the Lagoon in St. Maarten: Looking for Elvis (Gunboat 62), Kanaloa (Gunboat 66), and Safari (Gunboat 62).


Looking For Elvis - Feb. 25, 2009 - Simpson Bay, SXM
(Photo by ParadiseConnections.com ©2009)


Looking For Elvis - Feb. 25, 2009 - Simpson Bay, SXM
(Photo by ParadiseConnections.com ©2009)


Kanaloa - Feb. 25, 2009 - Simpson Bay Lagoon, SXM
(Photo by ParadiseConnections.com ©2009)


Safari - Feb. 25, 2009 - Simpson Bay, SXM
(Photo by ParadiseConnections.com ©2009)


Safari - Feb. 25, 2009 - Simpson Bay, SXM
(Photo by ParadiseConnections.com ©2009)

Safari is available for crewed yacht charters. Contact Paradise Connections for more info.

We looked at the entries listed on the Heineken web site and for the Catamaran Class it shows the Gunboats Cream, Safari, and Sugar Daddy. They only show a total of 175 entries but in a recent newspaper article they said that had 200-some, so their website probably hasn't been updated yet.

Looking For Elvis - Gunboats in St. Maarten

This morning we went looking for Looking For Elvis, a 62-foot Gunboat. They've changed the graphic for their boat name since the time I showed it here on the All About Boats blog in 2006.


Then (2006)


Now (2009)

I like both.

The home port on the transom is LAS VEGAS :)

Today in Simpson Bay, St Maarten 2x3 masts

This morning we have two 3-masters in Simpson Bay, St. Maarten.



We expect the anchorage to be filling up soon with boats for the Heineken Regatta.

I'll have to remember to take the camera with us when we run some errands (must buy kitter litter!). We saw the Gunboat "Looking for Elvis" dinghy yesterday. Visitors to this blog seem to like photos of the Gunboats so we'll see what we can do.

More soon come, mon!

A couple of interesting posts

A couple of recent blog posts that I've found interesting:

• Stinky Soy Goo Could Fight Alzheimer's

This looks like a tasty way to keep Alzheimer's at bay :)

"Natto is a soybean product that is sticky, slimy and smelly, but it might be able to ward off Alzheimer's disease. Once a theme ingredient on Iron Chef, natto contains an enzyme called nattokinase that can shred brain plaque, and chemists think it could become a game-changing medication."

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/02/nattobeans.html

• Won't find these on AMAZON.com: Vicodin Earrings

One of our favorite TV shows is HOUSE MD. Having lived in Europe for over a decade we became big Hugh Laurie fans and we were intially shocked to see him as an American super-doc as opposed to the foppish English aristocrat in BLACK ADDER. House is not known to see his patients unless in extreme circumstances but this will get him running to the bedside... Vicodin earrings. See this post on how to make your own!

http://www.boingboing.net/2009/02/23/vicodin-earrings.html

They're Back... Maltese Falcon in St Maarten

Got up this morning to make coffee and saw that the Maltese Falcon is back in St. Maarten.



Maybe they're here for the Heineken Regatta which starts soonish.

Speaking of the Heineken...



We were happy to hear that the big band for the final night's party (March 8, 2009) will be The Wailers. Yes, as in Bob Marly and the Wailers, although there is only one original member but still, it will be a good time! Visit the Heineken Regatta's website. Click for MUSIC BY THE WAILERS.

I was lucky a few years ago when they had the big party on my birthday and JIMMY CLIFF was the big act... How cool was that???!!!

Name change for Antigua Sailing Week

From their web site http://www.sailingweek.com/v2/index.php

23-02-2009 11:06:30
Stanford no longer sponsor of Antigua Sailing Week

With Stanford International Bank title sponsors of Antigua Sailing Week for the last two years now in receivership, the bank will no longer be a sponsor of this year’s event. As such the event will be dropping the Stanford name with immediate effect and will revert to simply Antigua Sailing Week.

Once more we would like to reassure everyone that the event will be going ahead as planned. The racing will not be compromised in any way and we will ensure that the 2009 edition of this great event will be as enjoyable and as memorable as the years gone by.


It's amazing how this one man has affected so many...

Pressure Cooker Walnut Bread Recipe

Bob sent me a link to the SIMPLY SPICY Indian Spices and Spicy Recipes Blog for a wonderful looking recipe for Walnut Bread that is steamed cooked in a pressure cooker.

Besides being tasty, this recipe looks EASY to make in the galley.

I'm definitely going to try it this week!

Here's the link to the Walnut Bread recipe: CLICK HERE

ENJOY!

WiFi in St. Maarten, Netherland Antilles

Many places now have FREE wifi. Be sure to carry your computer in something watertight as sometimes a dinghy ride in the Simpson Bay Lagoon can be quite wet depending upon your dinghy and weather.

Here's a few places accessible from Simpson Bay:

• MacDonalds near Simpson Bay Bridge (use Palapa dinghy dock)
• Bubble Tea in same building as MacDonalds (use Palapa dinghy dock)
• Ric's Sports Bar near Simpson Bay Bridge (has dinghy dock)
• Taco Macho - next to Texaco station (might be allowed to tie up behind gas station at Texaco dock, or use Palapa dock and walk towards airport, or use Portofino marina behind Gourmet Marche and walk just beyond the Shell station in the direction of the bridge)
• Blue Martini, ex-Fathoms, (between Bobby's Boatyard and Turtle Pier) has dinghy dock
  
• Jimbo's Mesquite Grill at the Simpson Bay Marina - use marina dinghy dock
• Cappuccino Diner Bar & Restaurant (across from FedEx & Domino's Pizza) - use dock behind FedEx?
• Turtle Pier restaurant at Turtle Pier Hotel (Airport road) & Marina (dinghy dock in the lagoon) Happy hour, too!

Here's some NOT-FREE options, but it's worth it to us to have 24/7 internet access aboard the boat:

• Smart Wifi: Web site We did use Smart WiFi a few times last year, but we were not able to get it on the boat outside in Simpson Bay. We used it at Lagoonies and also at the Pasta Restaurant at Palapa.
  
• Netstar: Can't find any info about this service and I haven't known anyone who has used it.
  
• Scarlet: Web site We are currently using Scarlet. It was very good in January and the first bit of February, but their service has been very slow for the last week to 10 days. We've heard this from other users as well. Scarlet is not WiFi. You use their unit (omnidirectional, inside the boat, 110V) for a $150 refundable deposit. They let us test the unit on board before signing up which was very nice. FEB.23rd 2009 UPDATE: They listened to us! Their service has improved over the past few days and we received a reply to the email we sent today saying that they have made changes and that they are still working to improve the situation. THANKS GUYS! It didn't last long... Service has too many people on it so it is SLOW. It has picked up a bit since Easter because all of the charter boats are gone and fewer tourists, i.e. more bandwidth. Price went up to about $105/month.
  
• CaribServe: Web site I haven't been able to access CaribServe in a long time. Can acquire the HotSpot but cannot get web page or login screen. We've heard other people having similar stories, and also it being slow, and another one accessed the payment page and paid and then couldn't get service...
  

IDL is no longer in existence.

We've recently heard that there is good WiFi in Deshaies Guadeloupe.

And we've also heard that Hot Hot Hot Spot in Falmouth Antigua is NOT SO HOT.

So it goes...

Valentine Cat Photo

Here's a cat with interesting markings. Happy Valentine's Day!



Bob found this picture at http://icanhascheezburger.com/2008/11/23/funny-pictures-i-heart-you/

Our first ship's cat, Wacka, had a Star Trek Enterprise insignia on her back. Unfortunately, we don't have any pictures as this was in the days before digital cameras and we didn't take many photos when we lived in France.

Then again, most of the few photos we do have were ruined when our office was flooded by the apartment above us in St. Maarten. My most missed photo is a picture of Bob with very long, curly hair that was taken during the winter that we stayed in the marina at Carrières-sous-Poissy on the Seine, west of Paris.



Here's me & Wacka (circa 1987?) on the Marne river in Meaux France aboard our first Loose Moose.

Have a good one!

FREE Marvin Gaye song from Amazon.com

Something good for Friday the 13th...

THIS OFFER HAS EXPIRED. HOPE YOU WERE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT

Amazon.com sent us an email this morning to let us know that they are offering a FREE download of the quintessential Valentine’s Day song, “Let’s Get It On” by Marvin Gaye. This offer is only good for today, Friday, Feb.13, 2009 and tomorrow Valentine's Day 2009.

I've already taken advantage of this fantastic special. After it downloaded it automatically started playing and both cats came in from outside in the cockpit to listen. Buffy was sitting on the table (naughty girl) right behind the laptop screen. I think she's a BIG Marvin Gaye fan so now we'll have to download a couple more of his songs :) It is so easy to do and pretty cheap (that's me!)

Click for MP3 Music Downloads

Happy shopping!

WiFi Detector T-Shirt - Clothing to Anchor In

Here is the perfect attire to wear when anchoring... a WiFi detector T-shirt. Who anchors according to the depth anymore... Where's my WiFi :)

I just happened across this while surfing the net and just had to share it.

How COOL is this??? Check it out!

Here's the Amazon link: CLICK HERE FOR WIFI SHIRT

Have fun!

Unlocking cell phones RANT

WARNING: This is a customer service rant.

My St. Maarten UTS Chippie cell phone is not in the best shape, and since I have 3 other cell phones from AT&T/Cingular, I decided to look into getting one of them unlocked so I can use them here in the Caribbean.

Saturday, I did a search and found a company that would sell me the unlock code for my Sony Ericsson z300a for about $15. But, there was a Google Ad that gave a price at £4.99 or about $7. I went to look at them. In their dropdown menu for Sony Ericsson phones they listed my model. You fill out their order form and click on the "agree to terms & conditions". I quickly read the terms and conditions which stated that if you couldn't unlock this phone you'd get a credit to do another. No problem, I thought, because it was listed in their dropdown menu... I paid via PayPal and didn't log into our account. I just used the PayPal pay by credit card option. The order was accepted and it said I'd have the code in 4 hours.

Well, I received an email saying they couldn't unlock this phone and to check their terms & conditions and I'd see that the phone was not listed on this page but I could get a credit to unlock another phone. I was a bit miffed... why was it listed in their dropdown menu then?

But not to worry as I have another phone... a Nokia 2610 that I got in St. Thomas in November. In the form I filled out it asked for the PayPal receipt number, order number, the phone's IMEI serial number (which I assumed was for the 1st phone so they could check my account record). Then in the message area below I put the new phone information with its IMEI serial number.

I received a reply with the unlock code but by the way the email was written, I was worried that they didn't use the correct serial number to generate the code, so I send another message and ask them to verify that they used the correct one and gave it to them again.

I received another reply with a different unlock code. It starts with PW+ and I can't get my phone to enter "P" it just displays 7, so I ask how to do that. In the meantime I find the answer on a different web site. I then understand how to enter the unlock code and do so. It doesn't work. I try it again and it doesn't work. I read on the internet that you can only do this 5 times.

I write to the unlock data company again saying that it doesn't work. They said they were sorry and that they have modified my account giving me credit to unlock yet another phone. How many phones do they think I have? I told them I was unhappy and I would contact PayPal or they could give me a refund.

I wrote to PayPal. Gave them my receipt number, the name of the company, and the amount charged. I told them I'd like a refund for services not rendered. Gave them a very short account of how they claimed they could unlock my cell phone but failed twice. I mentioned that I had felt safe to puchase this via PayPal.

I'm sure this scammy company (UK) makes most of their money by not delivering product in the full knowledge that their customers will just go "oh well, it was only $7 and I should have known better". I felt this way, too, but I didn't want them to get away with this yet again.

The next time I checked my email I had a nice message from PayPal saying that the company had given me a refund! Hooray! Thank you PayPal for your help.

I don't know how many hours I've wasted with this. At least 6 over the past couple of days.

Oh, by the way... I called AT&T yesterday and they'll give out the unlock code for their phones (FREE) but you need to have had it for at least 6 months. That was a nice surprise. Thanks!

I think I'll just look into buying a new phone in the meantime :)

GROUNDHOG DAY... again!

Happy Groundhog Day 2009!

Well, according to Punxsutawney Phil, there will be another SIX weeks of winter!

Any of you fancy a sailing vacation in the warm, blue waters of the Caribbean? Check out Paradise Connections Yacht Charters (had to give ourselves a plug!)

You can see the official declaration at http://www.groundhog.org/

Take a look at the pictures here (scroll down a bit)... Reminds me of a Jimmy Buffett concert!

Jeff Masters at Wunderground explains how this crazy tradition started:

It all started in Europe, centuries ago, when February 2 was a holiday called Candlemas. On Candlemas, people prayed for mild weather for the remainder of winter. The superstition arose that if a hibernating badger woke up and saw its shadow on Candlemas, there would be six more weeks of severe winter weather. When Europeans settled the New World, they didn't find any badgers. So, instead of building wooden badgers, they decided to use native groundhogs (aka the woodchuck, land beaver, or whistlepig) as their prognosticating rodent.

I've always enjoyed this holiday. Does Hallmark make cards for it?

AMAZON Valentines Day Gift Ideas

Today is February 1st. The first month of the year is gone. Wow, what it month it was...

This morning I received an email from Amazon.com to remind me about gifts for Valentine's Day. How thoughtful :) It gave links for Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, or the one I really liked.. GIFTS FOR ME!

One of the items they displayed for ME was Bacon Air Freshener.... What? How bizarre is that??? Well, it is cheap at $1.69, though it doesn't seem all that romantic... Different strokes for different folks, I guess :)

Here's a link for their Gifts Central page.

Here's another Amazon link for Save $10 on Select Intimate Apparel

Amazon is an especially great place for cruisers like us who are outside of the US Postal system to buy gifts for those back in the US. We used to have hassels using a credit card and sending a gift to another address which was not our cc billing address. We now buy an Amazon Gift Certificate and have that sent to our email and then we make our Amazon order and use the gift certificate to pay for it. No problem. Life is easy :)

Try it!