Life's Good on Our Boat

It has been one heck of a journey. I know there have been lots of people asking where this year went and telling me how it flies by so fast but there has never been a longer year in my life. As many of you know we have not been on our boat for the last nine months. Leaving the boat and not knowing when we would be back or if we could go back with COVID restrictions was not easy for me. Love & Luck has been my home for the last four years and leaving with unclear return plans was a challenge. I wish I could tell you that we have some plans to go back now but I can’t. This year was not easy on me and I write this not as a sob story but as an 18 year old wanting to share her story. Here is briefly what 2021 looked like for me. 

I began this year looking like a chipmunk. I got my wisdom teeth removed in Mexico on the 30th of December so New Years Day was a swollen mess. I knew my face was going to be puffy, I’ve got some pretty chubby cheeks to begin with, but I was not prepared for the face I had for a solid week. It was pretty bad/hilarious. 

My next big life step and one of my proudest moments of the year was earning my Eagle Award. To finalize the rank of Eagle, Scouts must sit in front of a board and answer questions about their project and reflect on their journey to this rank. It is meant to be a celebration of all that you have accomplished and a review of all that has been done in Scouting. The board members that you are speaking to are pretty high ranked Scout people and so there are obviously some nerves. I was the last of my sisters to get to my Board of Review so I had an idea of what was coming my way. I was prepared to answer questions like, “what was the hardest part of your project?”, “what do you think was your greatest success?” or even “what change did you make?” However, being in the first class of female Eagle scouts presenting a social justice project I was met with opposition and judgement. I spent an hour and a half (a normal review is about 45 minutes) arguing with BSA leaders that my project was worthy and did make a difference in my community. I attempted to explain that I could not fix discrimination and prejudice in a 30 minute video but it was a starting point for some. I did earn the rank of Eagle that night, but it was not the celebration I expected. I am disappointed with my Board of Review and I hope that I can continue to make change for other females making progress in this world. I know we still have a long way to go. I know I rightfully earned my Eagle Award and I wear my badge with honor and pride. I will continue fighting for females in Scouting and social justice in our country and world. We can do better and I hope to make a difference in this movement. 

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As COVID did not settle down after January my family decided that we needed more than another entire year in Mexico. French Polynesia and the Pacific was still not open to us as travelers so heading back to the states was our option. As crushed as I was to head in the opposite direction I wanted to go, I do believe we made the right call. That all being said, I miss the boat daily and hope to return soon. 

We made our way back to the States in April. We celebrated Lucy’s birthday a few days before our boat was hauled out of the water and cleaned to be left in Mexico for an undetermined amount of time. We packed our things, bought a car, got the first dose of Pfizer in our systems and then began our three night camping adventure to Oma and Opa’s house in Florida. We made a quick stop to see Grammie before she flew back to Connecticut and then finished our drive. Living on a boat is hard for a lot of reasons but not being able to easily visit family is one of if not the hardest. 

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In Florida I graduated high school (yay!) and began working on earning college credit. I worked through CLEP exams and made progress in my work to earn an Elementary Education and Psychology degree. I celebrated my 18th birthday and got to see Fenton for the first time in over a year since his return to the states. Mom worked teaching swimming lessons, Dad continued his consulting work and Lucy, Sally and I worked on finishing up our school year and getting ahead on the next one. After about a month and a half of living in Florida we packed up again and headed to Connecticut to spend some time with Grammie. 

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We spent a fun couple weeks at Grammie’s before we headed off. We had plans to work at a summer camp in Maine. All of us except for Lucy (who had other plans to work at a BSA camp in Rhode Island with our cousin Ruthie) packed up yet again and made the trip to Maine. Maine is my favorite state in the US and I was super excited to be back. I was planning on working with Dad to run a sailing program at this camp but we quickly realized that it wasn’t the right fit for us. We quit after day 3 of training. It was a major disappointment as it was part of the plan since we were on the boat but we knew it wasn’t going to work. We headed back to Grammie’s and tried to figure out the next step. Thankfully, Lucy’s camp was/is fantastic and worked out perfectly. We ended up finding jobs in Connecticut for the summer and stayed with Grammie the whole time. Sally worked at a couple hour long day camp with 5 and 6 year olds and was quickly a favorite counselor for those even not in her group. She was recognized every time we took Willie on a walk and it was easy to tell she did a fantastic job with her kiddos. Mom started up more swimming lessons and her little swimmers’ Christmas cards are on our fridge now. Dad took up a full time job that he can do virtually anywhere as long as the internet is good enough. As I write this he is on a call with the same company and everything seems to be going smoothly for him. I worked at a day camp through the town. I made a couple good friends with my coworkers and learned that I love working with 5th and 6th graders. While it was not the summer we had imagined or planned it worked out for us. 

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We got to see all of our cousins at a family reunion in August. It was a highlight of the year to see everyone and even though the weather wasn’t fantastic I had a blast. COVID has and continues to make seeing loved ones difficult so I feel very fortunate we were able to meet in a safe and fun way. 

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After that we had another big move. We packed up again and made the trip to Sugarloaf, Maine. We found a spot to rent and made the move. I was in for a bit of a shock when we got there. We were in the middle of nowhere. The nearest Walmart was an hour and a half away. That being said, I really loved it there. I began my college classes online through a college in Florida which kept me busy most of the day. The other time was spent hiking. We got to spend fall there and the leaves were incredible. After 4 years of hot hot hot, fall was amazing. It is easily the best season and I would not have wanted to spend it anywhere else. We got to see a moose and hike part of the Appalachian Trail and go apple picking and shop at the general store in town. It was like nothing I had ever lived in before and I really loved the scenery I got to see every day. Unfortunately, the middle of nowhere does not have good internet. Dad was working online and I had all of my college classes to do so we realized we needed to move.

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So we moved again. We are currently in Camden, Maine. We found a beautiful spot to live with an ocean view from our kitchen table. This move brought the biggest change and it has taken the longest to adjust. We moved here on a Saturday and Lucy and Sally were in public school that Monday. After being homeschooled for 5 years you can imagine how hard this transition would be. Moving to an unfamiliar location in the middle of the school year is tricky on its own. Lucy and Sally are still in public school, doing great in all of their classes, and are rockstars on their highschool’s swim team. I continued to do my online school and some hikes with Mom and Willie around town. We got kind of busy after that with school and swimming and homework each day. 

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We spent Thanksgiving with Grammie in Connecticut and got to see cousins shortly after. The break at Thanksgiving was nice and it was good to have everyone together again. 

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I got to see my best bud in early December which was an amazing visit. Tristan made the journey here and we got to explore Christmas in Camden with a quick trip to NYC before he made his way back to the other side of the world. Online school can get lonely occasionally so having a friend around was a highlight.

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Our family had our own small Christmas here in Maine. It was the first white Christmas I have ever had which was exciting. We had a fun morning with presents and yummy food before hiking up Mount Battie in town. It began snowing on our way which felt like a Christmas movie, we watch a lot of REALLY bad cheesy Christmas movies and love them every year. We watched 2 of them on Christmas day. 

And now we’re here. I wish I had an idea of where we’re going. I don’t. I applied and got accepted into the University of Maine Farmington. With COVID I am not sure what the plan will be. I’m considering returning to online school for the semester. We are thinking about fixing up the boat next month. To sail or to sell her we are not yet sure. If you know me you know I hate uncertainty. This year has been full of just that. We’ve had lots of moves and changes this year and to be perfectly honest it’s been hard. I truly have no idea what is going to happen next which is slightly terrifying. This year has taught me to let go of the past and to do my very best to embrace the future, even if it was not the initial hope or plan. 

2021 has been a journey. A really crazy, challenging, different one. I have no idea what 2022 is going to look like but I guess that’s all part of the adventure. I know that whatever happens will lead to new experiences and more stories to tell. 

Wishing you a happy, healthy New Year full of much Love & Luck. I cannot wait to see what 2022 will bring. 

-Heidi

Feliz Navidad, once again from Mexico!

We have (mostly) enjoyed another year on the water filled with family and friends.  We have unintentionally spent the entire year in Mexico—except for a few short, recent visits to Phoenix.  We hope you have experienced more highs than lows during this incredibly tumultuous year and that you and your family are happy and healthy.  Our brightest news for 2020 is that on December 17th Lucy earned her Eagle Rank and will be part of the inaugural class of female Eagles!  To give you the recap…

Last January, we were beginning the final preparations of our boat for a trip across the Pacific. We were preparing our brains and bodies for a 25 day passage—it kind of feels like marathon training.  In February, we were very excited for a last minute visit from Oma and Opa. In March, we were all ready to go—boat, brains, and bodies.  Then, for us, like everyone else in the world, life halted when Covid entered the arena and decided to stick around for a while.

So, in March, we decided to wait and see what would happen in the Pacific.  The borders began to close.  Fenton decided to leave the boat and returned home—a common theme among friends.  Should we stay or should we go? We chose to remain in Mexico, on our boat (which is really now our home), and try to make the best of the situation.  Ports were closing all around us, so we remade this decision again and again throughout March, April, May, and even into June…Luckily for us, two friend boats, who we were planning to cross the Pacific with, also chose to hide out in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez.  It turned out to be a great hideout—deserted beaches, fishing to your hearts content (plus some), beach barbecues, swimming, snorkeling, and hiking for the beginning of summer.  And, our homeschool remained the same—no major adjustments necessary.

As summer came, months became hotter.  Mexico’s Sea of Cortez is situated in a desert, so with the heat and dryness, the bees came out in droves (think hundreds at a time in our boat).  The inside boat temperature would cool down to a mere 100 degrees by 10pm, Willie (our dog) couldn’t seem to stay healthy, and the uncertainty of future plans was really trying.  By this point, hurricane season was upon us, so we had to accept that we would be here until at least December.  Again, luckily, we had our boat friends.

As fall settled into the Baja, we once again enjoyed the wonders of the North Sea of Cortez:  swimming with whale sharks, swimming with sea lions, warm days and cool nights, long beach walks with Willie, camping on beautiful beaches, roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, and an occasional taco or ice cream when we were in town wearing our homemade masks. Through it all, we have all been amazingly busy with all kinds of stuff…school, scouting, cooking, work, researching new places to visit, bees, etc.  Here are our blurbs:

Hello all! This is Heidi at 17(!?!). I have been working very hard this year on my Eagle journey and my senior year of high school. My Eagle is being all wrapped up, for my project I created a library program to share what I’ve learned traveling with some social justice ideas. I am doing my best to educate myself as to how to be the best person I can be in this changing world. My photography has improved greatly and I’ve seen some amazing animals. Some of the highlights have been whale sharks and sea lions. While 2020 was not what I had imagined at all I have learned to choose the ‘least bad option’ and make the most of the weirdest situations. I am beyond thankful to have shared this year with some of my closest buddies. I don’t know how I would’ve made it through 2020 without friends and Taylor Swift’s new albums. Surviving a summer in the desert of the Sea of Cortez during a global pandemic is no easy task and sharing these times with others has made this year so much better. I plan to stay on the boat next year, while nothing is certain I don’t think that I am headed off to college this fall. There is a big world out there and I want to see as much of it as I can. Adventure is waiting, college can too. I wish you all nothing but the best in 2021 and am sending lots of Love & Luck during these crazy times. 

Hey! This is Lucy (now 15). This past year has been a crazy one, but it is so full of memories that will last a lifetime. While it has been hard for all of us, I am so grateful that we were able to turn the lemons into lemonade.  I have worked really hard in my Scouting journey, I completed an Eagle Project and I earned my Eagle rank in Scouting so I am now an Eagle Scout! I can’t think of anyone I would rather be stuck in the Sea of Cortez with than our buddy boats. We kept very busy, celebrated almost every celebration (1/2 birthdays included), and worked hard on my Scouting and 9th and 10th grades of school. Some fun memories from this year are beach clean ups, geohunts, merit badges, mile swim award, an online computer class, my Eagle project, lots and lots of swimming, lots of beach bbqs, group workouts, night swimming, swimming with sea lions and whale sharks, watching movies, performing skits, plays, dances, campouts, dressing up for dinner parties, high tea, and so many laughs, smiles, and fun times with my family and friends. I am so thankful for our fun buddy boats and lifelong friends that made the absolute best time of this year. The past year I have grown as a person, leader, Scout, family member, sister, and friend. I hope that everyone was able to find something good from the past year, and I look forward to the adventures 2021 brings us. Keep smiling! 

Hi! This is Sally (now 13). Hello everyone! I can’t believe that this crazy year is almost over! Over these crazy times, I have made some new friends that are going to last a lifetime, swam with some incredible animals, and probably survived the hottest summer and most annoyed people all of us have ever been! I have gotten closer to my family in so many ways, and gotten to have so many experiences I never even thought would happen. Such as late night work-outs with friends, beach bbq’s, playing on the beach all day, and then the amazing campouts with our boat friend family. Throughout the year I have grown as a person, a BSA scout, and a friend. I hope the New Year brings more memories, and a cure for COVID-19.

Fenton, now 19, is attending St. Olaf College in Minnesota.  We miss him tremendously and he is mentioned daily. He has changed our boat for the good and we look forward to continuing to watch him grow and learn.

Hi from Mark.  In the past year, I have kept busy spearfishing, keeping up with ever-present boat maintenance, and continuing some business analytics and IT consulting work.  Like the rest of the crew, I am thankful that I have been with my family and good friends to make a difficult year more palatable – and even ‘fun’ much of the time. 

Hi from Julie! This year, I have learned that I am not a desert person, especially in the summer!  I definitely miss the greens of lush mountains and grass.  However, I have kept busy learning a lot about college life both in and out of the US, BSA, Eagle Projects, Sea Scouts, life in NZ, dog immunity diseases, and social justice.  My friends and family have kept me sane during this desert challenge: hiking, swimming, snorkeling, fending off bees, asking about Willie, listening. I am thankful for Zoom get togethers as well as beach bbqs and look forward to gathering with family sometime in 2021.

Willie is still getting figured out.  The experts think he has some kind of autoimmune disorder—the hard part is narrowing down which one and finding a suitable treatment for him.  He has been a good patient and is appreciating the extra attention in forms of walks, swimming, games involving treats, chase, and tug toys. He is tapering off the latest batch of meds, and fingers crossed he will stay healthy for some time!

2021 plans…As cruisers, we know plans are only meant to be changed.  If the Pacific country borders open up, we would still like to travel west to New Zealand and settle there for a while. If the borders remain closed, we will happily visit Hawaii and Alaska and then make our way down the Pacific coast to the mainland US and find a new life somewhere (the mountains are calling).  If Willie doesn’t get the “go ahead” from the vet, we’ll be figuring out a new life somewhere on the mainland a little sooner.  We’ll let you know when we know.  And, as life has shown us, it may change again after that.  We will just keep adjusting as necessary!

We wish you a very happy and healthy 2021, full of love & luck!

Hi everyone! This is Lucy. I hope that you are staying happy and healthy, and having a great day! I wrote this post awhile ago, but I haven’t got to posting it until today. (Better late then never, right!)

I  am going to tell you about the past few days that we have spent here in San Marcos. I noticed a few things right away when we got here. The water was nice and refreshing and if you stayed in long enough, it could maybe even be a little cold. So, we liked this place right away! There were also lots of small sea caves and little beaches. 

We all decided to go check out the sea cave. We got the kayak down, Sally, Heidi, and I all piled into it. Which is much easier said than done.  We kayaked to the cave and we were greeted by the smell of bird poop and darkness. Other than that, was nice and much cooler. We looked around in there a little bit then left. We paddled around to one of the beaches and we found a lot of ray skeletons. Which was sad, but it looked like they ate them.  the next beach that we went to we found three starfish skeletons which were really pretty. We paddled through lots of little passages and saw lots of really brightly colored crabs. The next beach we found a baby hammerhead shark head. I don’t know what it is with us and shark heads,the next day we found 4 more baby shark heads on the beach too.  We went to show off our findings to the other boats and then went back for a laid back afternoon. An hour in the sun here really tires you out. 

The next day we woke up with lots of bees. We were getting swarmed by them, and we had our doors and hatches closed to keep them out. But they managed to come through. We found out that they were coming through a screened window that had part of the screen undone. We got so desperate that we made an exit only sign, English and Spanish, but they did not seem to either care, or know how to read. ; )

We started heading out to North Anchorage,  hoping to shake some of the bees off. Our friends from Arena went there the day before and said the caves were really cool. We decided to take our boat over and meet Arena and Utopia on their dinghies to explore the caves they went to the other day. The new anchorage was beautiful. There were lots of caves, a pretty rock beach, and the water was very clear.  Also- no bees yet!

Heidi and I went to put down the dinghy so we could go with the others to explore the cave. Heidi went in to pump it up after we dropped it down. I looked again at the dinghy and Heidi, and realized that it was floating away! The dinghy for some reason was not tied on. Of course, the engine would not start then. (Don’t worry, it was still relatively close to the boat.) Mom came to the rescue and swam out to it and pulled it back to the boat. As soon as I grabbed on to the line, the engine finally decided to work. This new place was already bringing lots of excitement! 

We packed our snorkels, masks, water, sunscreen, and a few pairs of shoes on to the dinghy. Willie was very happy to come along as we went over to the cave where Arena and Utopia were at. 

This was one of the caves you could swim through. I jumped off of our dinghy and looked in the water. There were lots of little colorful fish which were really cool looking. I also immediately say tons of sea stars. I looked into the darkness of the Sea cave and watched as some in our group, Willie included started going through. 

I went in and I was surprised how dark it got in the middle. It was about half way through and looking at all the rest of the cave before I even put my head in the water. It was a good thing I did! Right in front of me there was a huge rock that was very shallow. 

The light to the end of the cave came up and then we were out of it and ready to snorkel the rocks outside of it. While the rest of us looked and snorkled outside of the cave Wille wanted to keep on going through the cave. For the time we were there, he went through it four or five times!  

Once we were done with exploring that cave, we went to another rock beach that also had good snorkeling.We stayed there for a while, hung out with friends, enjoyed the cool rocks, and saw lots more sea stars. 

We went back to the boat that afternoon pretty tired, (Willie was absolutely exhausted) but it was a great day and we saw lots of cool things. 

Nearly five months after COVID entered my life, the shock is slowly wearing off and I’ve had lots of time to reflect. It’s been the strangest, most uncomfortable, unknown time of my life, a feeling I share with many others. We’ve been trying to make the most of it and continue to choose the ‘least bad option’ (motto of 2020?). Here’s what this has looked like for me. 

This past March, we were packing our boat with months worth of food. Not to survive a world pandemic but to cross the Pacific ocean. Fenton’s birthday was celebrated on the eighth full of laughs and love. We packed and packed and were two days away from leaving Mexico. Then, Fenton was on an airplane heading back to the states. The overnight decision to head home was not easy on anyone here and we still miss him daily. The last time I was on land in any sort of town was the trip to the airport. This started our first round of quarantine. We quickly realized that we were going to be in Mexico for a while when all of the neighboring countries and islands shut their borders. So we picked a few islands to head toward with our two buddy boats. We had to break quarantine a couple of times within our group, we went last minute shopping, we had to bring Willie to the vet, small things that we all needed to do. By the time all three boats had gone two weeks without any human contact it had been 6 weeks. Six weeks was a long time for us. We didn’t have any fresh food for a majority of the time and not being able to see any friends stinks. However, we did get a lot of Scout work done and we got to go swimming off the boat. Looking back on it now, it didn’t seem like that long. We talked to our friends on the VHF or radio daily and had fun playing hangman, guess the lyrics, 20 questions, and other small games that didn’t require being together. We even watched movies ‘together’ some nights, we would agree on a movie, start it at the same time and then give commentary on the radio while the movie was playing. We celebrated Lucy’s birthday and Easter on quarantine which gave us an excuse to party and celebrate the good times. 

Once the 6 weeks were up, all of the kids got together on one boat to eat a delicious breakfast together. Lots of hugs and remembering we could get within six feet of one another were shared. We spent a good chunk of our COVID days (so far) in a small bay called San Juanico. We had beach barbecue’s, played volleyball, went swimming, and just enjoyed each other’s company. Sally and I spent our birthdays in this bay and had a lot of fun running around celebrating our second birthday in Mexico. 

We started school up again, I am now working on my senior (how did this happen?!) year. Besides school, I’ve been having a lot of fun with my buddies here. I watched all 9 Star Wars movies with the boys on Utopia, created a dance with all of the girls on Arena and Utopia, attempted (and nailed) a full on Italian dinner with a good bud, and have been spending most of my time in the water. It’s around or over 100 degrees everyday now. I have also been working through a photography class with the mom and boys off of Utopia and have been really enjoying having some classmates. It’s also fun to document a crazy part of history. 

More recently, we’ve been moving around again. Hopping from anchorage to anchorage and getting to explore the new places as they come. It’s been nice seeing new spots and having small adventures every day. We’ve been trying to keep the blog more up to date so I won’t go into the specifics but it’s been a lot of fun. While we are off of “quarantine” within our bubble, we have yet to see any other people. Our little group sticks together and we make sure that we play it safe. It’s such a crazy time but having two other families to share it with is something I will forever be thankful for. I know I am so lucky to be where I am always but am definitely feeling it now more than ever. It’s been one heck of a rollercoaster but we’re holding on and enjoying it. 

I like to believe that something good is going to come out of this, not sure what that will be yet, I guess time will tell. However, I know that for me personally, I have made a really good friend within our bubble, I have learned that life is so crazy unpredictable and I have been taught to ride the waves as they come, I appreciate the solitude that living on a boat brings even more, and I feel a connection to all other humans around the globe. We are going to get through this, no matter how hard and scary and devastating this is. 

As I start to realize that COVID isn’t going to disappear overnight, I’m slowly adjusting my lifestyle and learning that the smallest things can bring the most joy in this upside-down world. I’m sure that this pandemic has affected everyone differently, so I thought I would share my chunk of the story. 

-Heidi

Sei Whales

The Sei whale is a Baleen whale that is one of the fastest whales in the world. It also is the third largest rorqual after the blue whale and the fin whale. The sei whale lives in most of the oceans and adjoining seas. The sei whale however doesn’t live in polar and subtropical waters. Sei whales live to around 70!  The scientific name for the sei whale is the Balaenoptera borealis.

The sei whale’s diet consists of zooplankton, copepods, krill and other shrimp like animals. The sei whale eats around 2000 lbs of food a day! The sei whale is very fast reaching up to 31 mph to catch fish and krill. 

The average size for a sei whale is 13.7 m for males and 15 m for females. They males weigh around 17 tons and the females weigh 18.5 ton. The pups at birth are 4.4–4.5 m (14–15 ft ) in length and sei whales usually have one pup every 2-3 years. They sometimes have twins but that’s pretty rare. The sei whale is a dark grey color on the top of their body with spots of lighter color. Their underside is either a light grey or an off white-ish color. They have a dorsal fin that is small and shaped like a dolphins. Their tail is thick and their fluke is pretty small compared to their body. 

Sei whale usually travel alone, or they travel in a pod up to 6 individuals.  Sei whales are almost never seen with their flukes out of the water, they also rarely breach. Sei whales don’t look too dissimilar to the Byrd whale, but the byrd whale is slightly smaller. Sei whales aren’t very great divers and they normally go to slightly deeper water for around 5-15 minutes. They blow their blowhole every 45-90 seconds, and unlike fin-whales they tend to try to not lift themselves out of the water and instead, they stay fully in the water.
The sei whale feeds near the surface of the water using its baleen plates to suck water and food in and then pushing out everything that was in its mouth. When everything gets pushed out the water leaves but the food and little particles get stuck in between the plates. The whales eat whats left after the water is gone. The sei whale competes for food against, the clupeid fish ( such as herring), the basking whale, and right whales.

The sei whale was hunted nearly to extinction by people all around the world. In 1979, the whales became protected in most places. The sei whale in now endangered and is protected almost everywhere. The current population is around 80,000 sei whales in the wild. Scientists think there were about three times as many sei whales in the wild before whaling.

I feel so lucky that I got to see a sei whale in the Sea of Cortez. It was truly an amazing experience to see something so big, graceful, powerful, and beautiful. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience.

During the COVID lockdown we have learned to appreciate the small exciting moments as they come. Last week, we had the most exciting 24 hours in the past 4 months. This was the day that we decided to pull out some shark teeth. If you haven’t already read it, go check out Lucy’s previous post as she highlights our extraordinary dentistry skills. We were all pretty tired after a full day in the sun and we were finally getting the smell of rotting shark flesh out of our heads. 

Dad decided to head to bed early while the rest of us watched Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. It’s a great movie, we would all highly recommend. After we had finished we were all getting ready to head to bed when out of nowhere a small black blur flew into our boat. Not knowing what it was, all four of us started shrieking. We were screaming for probably too long before realizing it was a small, lost bird. Still don’t know how dad slept through it. I ran to my room and shut the door, Sally did the same. After taking a deep breath I opened my door to head out. I opened my door only to come face to face with the bird I was hiding from. So back into my room I went. I only came out once I was sure that ‘it’, I still had no idea what this creature was, I thought it was a bat, was gone for good. It only took a few minutes for mom to wrap the little bird in a towel and get him on the right track out the door. Still, those few minutes were some of the most exciting since COVID entered the picture. 

We all went to sleep, a little frazzled from all the excitement. The next morning we got up, put the sails up, and headed towards our next destination. It was a longer sail so we turned off the engine and threw out our fishing line. The day crept along, the sun blazing down on us. I was on watch, listening to some music and trying to keep from overheating. Then the bzzzzzz of the fishing line went off and I jumped out of my seat. Everyone rushed out into the cockpit and dad helped steady the rod while I cranked in the fish. It turned out to be a 30 inch, 8 pound mahi! We hadn’t caught a mahi in a while and it is one of our favorite fish. Dad and I were just starting to filet the fish when the line started going crazy again. Lucy took the reel and cranked and cranked. It was another mahi and it was a big one! We got it into the boat and then, it spit out the hook, flopped down our stairs and swam away. Very disappointing but there’s always next time. Dad and I finished the cleaning process of the fish I caught. Soon after we had cleaned everything up, the line ws buzzing again and Sally reeled in yet another mahi. It was smaller than the previous two but still made a very tasty meal. We cleaned everything up again and sat down to take a break. Three fish in such a short amount of time was crazy! Very exciting. 

 

Lucy and I went to adjust the sails, as the wind was dying. Out of nowhere, there was a huge puff of air shooting out of the ocean about 5 feet off our boat. Lucy and I were a bit rattled to put it nicely. We soon recovered and went to watch the massive whale play at our bow. Normally a pod of dolphins will swim out to our boat and play right in front of us. But dolphins are significantly smaller than whales. This whale, what we think to be a sei whale (Sally should have a post on these guys coming soon), was over 50 feet. For reference, our boat is 37 feet. It would swim around, come up for air, show us its belly and keep swimming with us. Willie loved the whale and we had to hold him back to keep him from jumping in. At one point, we lost sight of the whale. We thought he had gone off to keep swimming but then! A blast of air came up in our trampolines in between the hulls and soon the giant was swimming out from underneath our boat. As cool as the entire thing was, seeing a whale swim up from under my home was a bit shocking. The whale stuck with us for a good 30-45 minutes and by the time he left, it was time for us to start thinking about putting the sails down and anchoring.

Something that being on lockdown has really brought out is the little adventures or minutes of something new that become the excitement for the next week. So for us, this past week was a small bird, three good sized mahi, and a huge whale.

 

Lucy, Sally and I have still been working on scout work!! A bit ago we completed almost all of our geocaching merit badge. One last step we could not complete at the time was to actually go and find a cache. Until recently, we didn’t find it safe to go find a cache or there weren’t any available. A few days ago, we went to complete the final part of this badge. 

We found a small list of caches on the islands we were planning on visiting. Once we made it to one of these spots, we decided it was safe to go into a beach (with no other humans in sight) and try it out. We set up a hike time with the two other boats in our group, 7 pm. Unless you get up before the sun, chances are it will reach over 100 degrees during your hike. So we went in the evening, still mid to high 90’s but much better without the blazing sun directly overhead. We started down the trail and less than a minute in came to our first obstacle. Water. Most of us were wearing sandals, flip-flops, or other water shoes but a handful of us were not. We decided that those who didn’t want to ruin their shoes could make it through barefoot. The trail continued on, the water staying constantly at my knees. It made for slow going but lots of giggles and splashes.  

We made it out of the water and back to the traditional desert rocks, sand, and dust. Now with squeaking, slippy shoes we continued our journey up the side of a large hill. With only a few cactus pricks and a few confusing trail markers we made it to where the cache was supposed to be hiding. 

We were looking for a large, dead cactus with a pile of rocks near the base. As we neared the exact location of the cache, the only thing looking like a cactus was a log shaped, rotting, piece of wood. There were also a lot of rocks. A lot a lot of rocks. So we started lifting up the rocks near what we thought was where the base of the cactus would’ve been. After about half an hour of looking, Dad made it down the path, the adults were chatting at the top while a few of the kids searched. Within 30 seconds of glancing towards the many piles of rocks, he spotted it. We opened up the cache, swapped out a bracelet for a beaded necklace, wrote our name and date in the logbook and hid it for the next adventurers. This cache was placed in 2006 and we saw names and dates from many years ago written on the logbook which was really neat to see. 

The sun had started to let up some of its heat and an evening breeze settled in as we made our way back to the dinghy. It was a gorgeous sunset walk and a fun way to complete another merit badge.

 

Hello everyone! This is Lucy, it’s been awhile since I last posted but I am going to tell you about a story from a few days ago…

It all started with Sally saying “Hey guess what we found on the beach today?” 

“What?” I asked curiously, guessing it was some sort of animal. 

“Two shark heads!” was the answer, one that I  was definitely not expecting. As you can imagine there were alot of follow up questions. 

  We went to examine them closer the next day with an idea. A dentistry idea. We were going to try to get the teeth/jaws from it so we could have shark teeth. Heidi, Sally, and I packed a bucket with the things that we might need. Pliers, big serrated knife, scissors, water, shoes, and sunscreen. We were all excited to go, it was a new adventure, something that we hadn’t had in a while! Once we are all packed and ready to go we left on the dinghy to our friends we have been isolating with on the boats Arena and Utopia. We had a full dinghy that was full of laughter and lots of talking on the short but very windy and bumpy ride in. 

We unloaded on the beach and the rest showed me to the shark. When we got there I was so surprised. I was expecting a shark skeleton, but this seemed pretty fresh still and looked like the pictures of sharks heads you would see. 

The day before we figured out it was  a mako shark, one of the fastest sharks. We looked at it for a little bit then went to work. Sally and Heidi picked up the shark head- (their noses plugged) with two sticks and dumped it in the water to get out the bugs. (I should mention right now that rotting shark smell is DISGUSTING. We all agreed it is worse than fish or rotting fish. So very very unpleasant.) Once all the bugs were out, it was time for taking out the jaws. Sally and Riley successfully sawed through the extra head near the jaws.  

At one point near this time we saw a wiggly tooth, and Bronwyn came in with the pliers. “Don’t worry, I’m good at pulling out wiggly teeth, I got some practice.” She exclaimed smiling, she had been losing lots of teeth lately. We all started laughing and sure enough, the tooth came out easily. Sally, Bronwyn, and Riley ran off to get a glass jar to put it in. 

Heidi and I continued sawing then we gave the teeth and gums to Riley, Bronwyn, and Sally for them to extract the teeth and rinse them. Ada, Ava, Heidi, and I continued to try to get as much of the jaw out by sawing, holding it in place, and using the pliers. We were all very successful and after 30 minutes to an hour we had a glass jar full  of teeth. There was only one problem…They absolutely stunk. We all went back to our boat and put the teeth in muriatic acid and water. It bubbled up so much, but we added more water and it seemed to be working.  

We realized that it would take a while for it to work so we started playing some games. After playing the same games for a while you get more creative with your games. We played a game called “quack”, categories, and alibi. After lots of games and lots of laughing, everyone went back to their boats for the day.  

The next day once the teeth were all clean and bleached we all made necklaces out of them. 

 It was a fun, interesting, adventure and new thing to do. I would never ever think I would be doing “dentistry” on a shark, but it was surely an experience like no other that I have done! 

Hello from the Sea of Cortez! We are going to try to get back to our blog after another hiatus.  Of course our plans changed with the rest of the world’s as Covid 19 entered the arena.  We are still in Mexico, currently in Bahia de Concepcion.  We had a great sail up the Baja coast.  Each of the girls reeled in a Mahi and a Sei whale played with us for about half an hour.  We are enjoying secluded beaches with lovely shells, whale skeletons, and plenty of paths to explore. We have included a photo of Heidi with her Mahi.

 

We will share some whale photos in our next post with Sally’s research on Sei whales.

We are hoping to see whale sharks a little further north, so here is what we know about them…

Whale Sharks by Sally

Whale sharks are slow moving, filter feeding, and the largest known fish species. They eat little fish, plankton, shrimp, fish eggs and lots of other little water creatures. The average size and weight of a whale shark is around 9.8 meters, or 32 feet, and each weighs around 9 tons. There are whale sharks that have been spotted that are 18 meters, or 56 feet, but it is rare to see a whale shark that is longer than 12 meters. 

Whale sharks live in all tropical and warm-temperate water. Whale sharks are known to live in the open sea but not in super deep water. However, it is known that they occasionally dive down to depths of 1,800 meters, 5,900 feet.

Whale sharks have lots of pups in a short amount of time, pregnant whale sharks have up to 300 pups that are born not all at once but over a period of time. The eggs stay in the female until they are hatched, then they have a live birth. The pups are 40-60 cm when they are newborn. A cool fact about whale sharks is that the males aren’t mature until they are 25. Also whale sharks can live up to 80-130 years old!

Another interesting fact about whale sharks is how they eat. Feeding occurs either by ram filtration or by active suction feeding. Ram filtration is when the whale sharks swim through a line of fish with its mouth open. The fish then basically swim into the sharks mouth. Active suction feeding is when they open and close their mouth creating a suction kind of like a vacuum cleaner. On average, juvenile whale sharks eat about 45 pounds of  plankton each day.

Even though whale sharks are so big, they pose no threat to humans. They can only eat creatures the same size or smaller than a quarter. So, go look for whale sharks and feel free to jump in with them.  However, please be careful and don’t crowd their space.  Moms won’t be happy if you get between her and her pups!

Feliz Navidad! Christmas 2019

We have enjoyed another year filled with tons of family time, sea adventures, and land travel.  Last January we started our year in the Caribbean Sea in Bocas del Toro, Panama.  We sailed through the Panama Canal and met the Pacific Ocean—shockingly colder, bigger tides, and an  inviting coastline waiting to be surfed.  We traveled north along the coast—traveling from Panama, to Costa Rica, to El Salvador, to Mexico, and all the way up the Sea of Cortez to Puerto Penasco, a mere 4 hours from Phoenix.  Our “on the boat” highlights include:

1. Bioluminescence and surfing in Bocas del Toro and Benao, Panama
2. Transiting the Panama Canal, the good, the bad, and the ugly…
3. Climbing Volcan Baru, the only place you can see the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans
4. Costa Rican wildlife:  monkeys, frogs, toucans, sloths, macaws, sting rays
5. El Salvador pupusas, Herradura village market, smiley friendly people
6. Amazing Mayan ruins, blue waterfalls, and taco stands in Chiapas, Mexico
7. Isla Isabel, Mexico’s Galapagos: blue footed boobies, frigate birds, cool snorkeling
8. Sea of Cortez wildlife:  sharks, whales, sea lions, coyotes, fish, huge dolphin pods
9. Barb’s Dog Rescue in Puerto Penasco—puppies to cuddle by the dozen
10. Dia Des Muertos in Puerto Penasco—what an amazing celebration to experience

We arrived to the top of the Sea of Cortez mid June and began our North American Western National Park tour.  We camped all summer hitting phenomenal national parks, state parks, provincial parks, national forests, and public BLM land.  Our minivan has never been so full—6 people, 1 dog, tents, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, food, clothes for all seasons, and gear.  We all became experts on setting up all the tents, breaking down camp, loading the car topper, unloading the car topper, all while battling the rain and wind.  Our highlights:

1. Climbing around the Jumbo Rocks at Joshua Tree National Park
2. Big Sur and Ewok trees and our Gypsy audio guide tour
3. Drumheller—escaping the rain, free A&W root beer day, Tyrell Museum, Tim Hortons
4. Cherry picking and visiting with smoke jumpers in Montana and camping under the willows along the banks of a quick stream
5. Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump and Blackfoot Indians crafting and storytelling…STARS!
6. Being chased down the trail by a black bear in Waterton National Park
7. Getting a really great deal on a ham (or two) in Canada—and eating ham for a month afterwards every day for lunch and sometimes dinner too
8. Finishing all fruits and vegetables before crossing the border—ie. passing around a carrot and everyone taking a bite to finish it off before we reached the border patrol (we hate to waste food)!
9. Due to a very fun park ranger in Mesa Verde, Heidi got married to Bruno from Switzerland—who we luckily bumped into again at Bryce Canyon (all but Heidi were looking forward to more chance encounters).
10. Visiting St. Louis family, Connecticut family, Ridgefield friends, Wilmette friends, and rekindling friendships with college friends whom we hadn’t seen for ages

After 4 months of land travel, we happily arrived back to our boat, which has never felt so comfortable and spacious!  Beds without rocks.  The last few months in the yard, we all worked hard on lots of boat projects, took a few classes in nearby Phoenix, and enjoyed many Taco Tuesdays:  taco stands, churro stands, and ice cream spots.  We finally splashed at the end of November and are back in the Sea of Cortez.  We are currently heading south and east towards the mainland of Mexico.  We are expecting to find some rad surf spots this Christmas.

Hi! This is Heidi (now 16!) Wow this year has flown by! This year has been full of laughter, new friends, and above all, family. And another full year  cruising! A few things that I’ve picked up this year include, surfing, BSA, Sea Scouts, and psychology. I am working hard towards earning my Eagle Award this coming year. I’ve seen a few more countries, added a few more words to my Spanish dictionary, have tried so many new dishes, and met so many amazing people. I’ve learned how similar I am to all other humans in this world, how high the highest point in Panama really is, and how grateful I am to be here. I am so lucky to have these experiences and so excited to continue this amazing adventure. Feliz Navidad! 

Hey! This is Lucy (now 14). So far the year has been great! I also started scouting in BSA and Sea Scouts. Some things I have enjoyed have been sailing, cooking, surfing, seeing family and friends this summer, camping, meeting new friends, and trying new foods;) I have learned more about sailing, camping, how hard a 20 mile hike up a volcano mountain is, wilderness first aid, surfing, and my Spanish is slowly improving! 

Hi! This is Sally (12) wowsers! This year has been filled with so many awesome memories and I can’t believe it’s almost 2020. I have made so many new friends, explored most of the USA this summer, been to so many countries, surfed, and even learned how to give a puppy a shot. I am so thankful for another amazing year with my family, plus being on Love and Luck. We are all much better sailors!

Fenton, now 18, (woah!) has been having so much fun on his boat gap year that he’s extended it for another year. Right now, he’s finishing up his applications to colleges and hopes to attend one of them in Fall of 2020. This year, he’s learned to surf (kind of), taken the SAT again, and written (and revised) countless essays. Fenton is super thankful to everyone in his life, and is very excited for Christmas and the New Year, and he can’t wait to see where he ends up next.

Mark had a great year traveling from Panama to Canada – and all spots in-between.  He truly enjoyed sailing over 3,000 miles and driving an additional 21,000 miles (yikes – that’s a lot).  It was great to see so many places, experience so many different cultures ,and realizing how, at the end of the day, that people are fundamentally the same everywhere.  Now that we’re back on the boat, he is continually fixing things as they come up, consulting with a few different clients, and sometimes has time for a Crossword puzzle.  He is a big fan of podcasts which he shared with us ALL summer long.  He is always up for a good family game and is our best fisher person.

Julie is loving this new lifestyle—exploring new places, meeting new and different people, being a part of nature, and learning all kinds of new things all with the whole family.  It is truly an adventure to travel with your kids, experience new cultures together, and watch our family values develop.  Our backyard is always amazing, forever changing, and full of new creatures daily.  I wish all of our friends and family could easily drop in for a visit—you are missed!

Willie is happy to be back on the move.  He jumps up and sniffs around as soon as we are entering the harbor to anchor somewhere new.  His favorite spots are a short dinghy ride away from a deserted beach to sniff at, run around, and play in the water or to find a trail to explore.  He still likes to herd us and is happiest when we are all together.

2020 Plans…Sailing west across the Pacific

March: Sail a long way from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to the Marquesas, French Polynesia

April:  Explore the Marquesas, French Polynesia

May:  Explore the Tuomotus, French Polynesia

June:  Explore the Society Islands (Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora), French Polynesia

July:  Explore the Cook Islands

August:  Explore the Kingdom of Tonga

September:  Explore Fiji

October:  Travel to New Zealand

November:  Settle in New Zealand for a while…any job leads out there?

We wish you a very happy and healthy 2020, full of Love & Luck!  Please let us know if you have any opportunity to visit.  We have learned there are airports everywhere and we can always make room!