..and we're off.

First time at the helm from Clearwater to St Pete's, FL 

The channel heading into Tampa Bay

Cliff Notes:

Sailed from Clearwater down to St Petersburg.  About 50 miles in about 10 hours.  Slow and steady;)  Heading out for Isla Mujeres today.  Hopefully will be there in about 5 or 6 days.  Watch our progress on my spot tracker across the Gulf.

Full Post:

Stan and I untied from the dock at the Clearwater Municipal Marina, topped off the gas tanks and made way for St Pete's.  We chose to go outside the ICW so we could shake the sails out a bit even though we knew it would take us a bit longer.  We ended up with a really nice SW wind bringing us all the up Tampa Bay to our marina.  It was about 50 miles and we made it in about 10 hours.  We will most likely be heading out today for Isla Mujeres.  A long 5 or 6 day passage to the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.  You can track our progress with my Spot Tracker link on the left.  

The western coastline of Florida has been much more beautiful than I expected.  It was a constant white sand beach all the way from Clearwater down to St Pete's and I've heard it only gets better the farther south you go.  

Clearwater's main attraction was all the activity that centers around Pier 60 especially in the evening when a cast of street performers come out to entertain the crowds gathered for sunset.  The cast includes magicians, acrobats, pirates, drummers, and an extremely skinny white guy with sunglasses, a yamaka, and some sort of noise making device who is either trying to inform us he is an alien or aliens are coming.  His tip jar is usually pretty empty.

Even the taxi drivers are fairly entertaining unbeknownst to them.  When Stan and I went out to get provisions, our taxi driver was telling us how his cat had just died.  He was chewing on a wire in his apartment, got through the wire, and electrocuted himself.  The taxi driver got the cat off the wire and while driving it to the vet, the cat died cradled on his chest.  That's not the interesting part.  He then told us it was somewhat fitting because that was the same place the cat was born.  The driver could see that Stan and I kind of looked at each other so the driver added ,"Yes, this cat was literally born on my chest.  While I was sleeping, the mother jumped on my bed and gave birth on my chest.  It was amazing."  Indeed, "amazing."  That is exactly what I was thinking.

Well this will probably be it for a while.  Hopefully I can get something posted by next Friday after we get to Isla.

I uploaded some pics under the Clearwater link.

Cheers,

JB

Clearwater, FL - The Mobius

The Mobius and my shadow after the first morning aboard.

Cliff Notes:
Arrived in Clearwater, Fl yesterday afternoon.  Met Stan, the owner of The Mobius.  Plan to leave around Thursday.  Final destination is Guatemala with many stops in between.  Follow along on my Spot Tracker link to the right.

Full Version:
Arrived in Clearwater, Fl yesterday afternoon by Greyhound Bus from Miami.  Hopefully that is the last bus trip I have to take for a while.  Right now, I'm sitting below deck on The Mobius at the Clearwater Municipal Marina with the owner Stan.  He is a retired architect from Canada.  He has a great site for his boat and travels as well.  It can be found here, The Mobius,  and the link is also on the column to the right.

The Mobius is  a 30 ft Baba cutter rigged sailboat with a canoe stern.  Seems a bit short but is actually built well to handle the open ocean and I can't wait to get her going and see what she can do.  Stan's final destination is the Rio Dulce in Guatemala.  A lot of sailboats use this river as a safe haven during hurricane season.  I wouldn't mind ending up there for a while either.  We plan to leave on Thursday, May 26th.  Still taking care of a few customs issues here in Florida since we plan to stop at Isla Mujeres off the Yucatan Coast.  Will probably spend some in Belize as well if anyone wants to take a vacation there in June.  Lobster Fest will be going on.

While we are out sailing, I won't have any internet access but have a Spot Tracker and set up a link on the right to see where we are.

Also, I have all the pictures from Miami uploaded if you want to check those out.

It was nice to finally spend the night on a boat knowing I have a good starting point.  I was getting a little worried that my life decision was the wrong one and I was going to end up in Miami working as a bartender in some swank beach resort marrying a Columbian go-go dancer....actually I may go back to Miami sooner than later;)
However, the first night on the boat was nice and relaxing.  As the boat gently rolled me to sleep last night, I was accompanied by a continuous crackling sound that seemed as if something was eating at the outside of the boat.  I have since been informed that this is from the barnacles on the dock feeding at night and their sound resonates through the water quite well.   Just glad to know we weren't sinking.

Today still getting settled in and checking out the town.
And please don't get too excited, but there was a Hulk Hogan sighting earlier.
I'll send one more post before we ship out.

Cheers,
JB

South Beach - Plastic Paradise

This is my second post.  I wanted to get things in shape before I added folks.  Enjoy.

 The first of many blue skies and blue water:  Miami Beach

Don't remember who these girls where but at least Mark and I have proof they took a picture with us.

Well I have spent the last 3 weeks in Miami and it has been a blast.  My buddy Mark has let me set up in his apartment and has been showing me the sights around town.  Can't thank him enough.

His place is right down in South Beach.

How to describe South Beach?  South Beach is like an adult playground.  People come from all over the States to vacation here and all over the world to live here.  It's the only place I know of where women are concerned if their butt is too small and implants for the top and bottom are the norm.  Sometimes I'm not sure if the women are going to tip over forward or backward in there 4 inch heels on the way to the grocery store.  Aside from that the beach is brilliant, the weather is perfect, and the deco architecture just adds to the laid back atmosphere.  Now with all that being offered, don't look too much past face value because you won't get too far.  Money and fame, or the idea of being famous, are what make this place tick.

I haven't been doing as much boat hunting as I would like especially since I learned I am somewhat in the wrong place at the wrong time.  However, thanks to the internet highway, I have found a boat to start my journey over seas.  I am heading to the west coast of Florida to Clearwater on Monday to meet the skipper and supply the boat before we head out for Guatemala on Wednesday, May 25.

I'll send another update once I get to Clearwater and before we ship out.

Welcome...to America's Public Transport System

Departing Corpus Christi for Miami with ticket in hand.

Cliff Notes
-  Departed Corpus Christi, TX at 7:30 pm on April 30, 2011. by Greyhound Bus.  Arrived in Miami, Fl at 7:30 am on May 2, 2011.  Interesting start to this journey. 


Full Post
-  Since this is the second time I have set off on a journey inspired by wanderlust and the unknown, I decided to give myself a bit more of a challenge by not taking any commercial flights.  After my Greyhound bus ride from Corpus Christi, Tx to Miami, Fl, I may have to reconsider.  Let's just say I can check this off of my "non-Bucket List".  A "non-Bucket List" being a list of items you shouldn't do, if you can avoid it, before you die.  


In most countries, busses serve the entire population as a normal mode of transportation no matter their income level.  In America, it seems the general bus crowd consists of those who have just gotten out of the hospital/nursing home, out of jail, crossed the Mexico-US border, or all of the above.  


A man who fits the "all of the above" category boarded the bus hurriedly with no luggage just before the bus left New Orleans.  He was wearing a hospital garb top, blue jeans and I guess he thought the hospital wristband he had left on his wrist also doubled as a bus pass or went well with the barbwire tattoos running up his left arm.  He was the first to get off a few stops later in Alabama.  I'm assuming he was just a poet on the run as I had the chance to view where he had been sitting, he had engraved "redrum..." into the buses interior.  Just a few lines short of the haiku he was working on I guess.


Well 1.5 days later, I did make it to Miami in one piece thinking this may end up being the most harrowing experience of my trip.  It was great to have my good friend Mark pick me up at the Miami bus station.  It was a bit of a shock to be transported from my last couple days on a bus to the life on Miami Beach.  A destination surrounded by blue waters, white sands, expensive drinks and gorgeous women wherever the eye turns.  I think I have handled the transition well. 


Hopefully it will not be too much longer until I can catch a boat out of here or until Mark convinces me to stay and find a job in Miami.  He doesn't have to work on that too hard as the bikini clad internationals may just do the trick on their own.


Until next time....