Position: Aboard SV_Sherry Lee on her Hudson River Mooring!!
The Clearwater Festival In Croton Point on the Hudson was amazing and Pete Seeger, now 80, was everywhere! Enjoying the fruits of 50+ years of advocacy work and singing, he was spry, singng and playing his banjo for all there. What an inspiration. He has known his 'cause' from his heart since the 1940's. The same peace, the same caring for he environment. Clearwater sailed brilliantly through the day. One day Schooner Dolphin will sail the seas bringing peaceful helps to island coastal communities.
What a glorious
sail Inspired Insanity and I had around the corner from Bristol to Warren.. Perfect winds that
landed me right on the mooring,How
miraculous is that, especially on the Warren River.Great friends just happened to be hangin on the dock and saw me
coming in… Davison Bolster, the incredible artist who painted the whales and
dolphins on Inpsired Insanity for the parade.. Big smiles welcomed us home onto
the water. Bob P was there escorting us up the river.The river will be a challenging environment from which to sail
II, now without her diesel engine.. She is getting green!!!We do have a small outboard just to save us
on occasion. Thanks Jesse Paiva and Ed Kent for helping me get the bracket
made.Huge thanks to Bristol Marina for
hosting me for the entire year and sponsoring me with so many repairs… Rigging
and glass work plus keeping her safe for the winter… Thanks to Bristol Yacht
club, and the Towns of both Bristol and Warren Harbormaster offices. My
memories of the welcome home is so alive within me… Many thanks…
“For the Love of Oceans’ is off and running as Sequoia and I
solidify our business relationship and begin to get the dreams on paper… great
programs, books, music all “For the Love of Oceans”.
Schooner Dolphin’s restoration is coming along well as she heads towards
her splash date in late October.The
potential of this organization is amazing as both Sequoia and I start to bring
together the amazing talented people that have surrounded both our worlds to
join in to bring this vision to reality.I did my first TV interview last night, recording 2half hour shows for Norwalk’s Public
Broadcasting cable network.Hosted by
JerryLaird, the show is “Carousel”
aired on Wednesday evenings.The 2
shows will air back to back the next 2 weeks.We look forward to a follow up show with both Sequoia and I as Schooner
Dolphin gets closer to her splash date. .Please keep in touch here and get involved.Email us and become a member ofthe internet “For the Love of Oceans” chapter alongside a membership to
OceansWatch.2 for 1.. Brilliant.
Please keep energies focused for Stephane Trembay aboard sv_Joshua, now on their way to the Azzores. He left one week ago and we should be hearing from him in another 10 days. He has no communication ability, other than VHF which is very short range. I sailed around the North Atlantic without any communication and now I am on the other side anxious to hear of Stephane's safe arrival in the Azzore Islands. www.peacefuljourney.ca
Music gigs are starting to come
August 14th- Stella Blues in Warren RI
August 28th- Petersburg NY Arts Coucil Concert
Please do keep Cooper in your prayers as he is going to need
surgery to rebuild his right shoulder.A really tough recovery is coming.Also keep my mom in your energy fields… as she is struggling with a
neural deterioration causing both pain and loss of strength in her legs.But her spirit is spry as always… big hugs..
Thanks so much for keeping in touch withme.. .
Keepin On Keepin ON Keepin on Caring….advocacy is Caring In
Action whether it is caring for self, others, the creatures of the sea and
earth”
Big hugs xoxo d
Do feel free to send in photos and whatever...I'll get them on the Internet Friend Page.. Check out Newest Sail-World article: http://www.sail-world.com/Cruising/ OceansWatch is moving towards our USA Yachty Vision, the creation of the US trust and 501 getting underway... www.oceanswatch.org. Join today and enjoy yachting for humanity and the environment..Amazing..every day I get emails regarding abuses to people, islands, wildlife and certainly the dolphins and whales... so much to do. Don't lose track of the listing of organizations I have been sponsoring around the world.... check out the sponsor pages... All GOOD!!!!!!! Go to Log Update page and Home Page Photo Gallery to find all the past Home page entries and photos. Find most recent update from Oceanswatch, Director, Chris Bone in Brisbane.here.
Log Update June 13th 2008 Take 2
Position: Inspired Insanity is brilliantly moored off
Warren’s Town Dock!!!!
What a glorious
sail we had around the corner from Bristol to Warren.. Perfect winds that
landed me right on the mooring,How
miraculous is that, especially on the Warren River.Great friends just happened to be hangin on the dock and saw me
coming in… Davison Bolster, the incredible artist who painted the whales and
dolphins on Inpsired Insanity for the parade.. Big smiles welcomed us home onto
the water. Bob P was there escorting us up the river.The river will be a challenging environment from which to sail
II, now without her diesel engine.. She is getting green!!!We do have a small outboard just to save us
on occasion. Thanks Jesse Paiva and Ed Kent for helping me get the bracket
made.Huge thanks to Bristol Marina for
hosting me for the entire year and sponsoring me with so many repairs… Rigging
and glass work plus keeping her safe for the winter… Thanks to Bristol Yacht
club, and the Towns of both Bristol and Warren Harbormaster offices. My
memories of the welcome home is so alive within me… Many thanks…
The journey north on Calypso was incredible as ususal for
the North Atlantic.Like the trip up on
Sherry Lee, it was wrought with a gale, and the most spectacular and terrifying
lightening storms.Gusts to 60+kn… But
this trip was different…As we were sailing out the harbor in Florida we
realized the Auto Pilot was not working.. Given the choice of having to turn
back and huge delays for Bob or hand steering the boat north…. We steered on… I
have to say, I was more than willing having done lots of days alone, and
relishing that there would be 2 off us to take turns.We did 2 hour shifts… but even 2 hours could be too long to steer
under some of the gale conditions out in the open cockpit.During the most intense of the gusts in the
thunderstorms off Hattaras, it took me steering and Bob fending off the winds
to get us through the long hours of the night.It was a trip of extremes..Brilliant sunny days, good winds for the most part made it an
exhilarating week offshore.We only
had one slow down day when we had northerlies at 25kn, right on the nose.We really couldn’t drive into it so we had
to tack.. but other than that day, we were cruising, averaging 7.5 kn overall
for the trip.On our approach day to
Newport Harbor, we encountered a school of huge sharks..Yow!!! Not a moment to
piss off the Captain… We saw some pilot whales, dolphins… exhilarating.. We
arrived at the dock in Warren near to 5pm.. and tied up all safe and sound,
just 6 days.. Thanks Bob for a great trip.Oh, miracles…. Bob took some seasick medicine he got from Lorraine…not
even any signs of seasickness even in the roughest of water.It was a treat to watch him EAT at sea…
“For the Love of Oceans’ is off and running as Sequoia and I
solidify our business relationship and begin to get the dreams on paper… great
programs, books, music all
“For the Love of Oceans”.Schooner Dolphin’s restoration is coming along well as she heads towards
her splash date in late October.The
potential of this organization is amazing as both Sequoia and I start to bring
together the amazing talented people that have surrounded both our worlds to
join in to bring this vision to reality.I did my first TV interview last night, recording 2half hour shows for Norwalk’s Public
Broadcasting cable network.Hosted by
JerryLaird, the show is “Carousel”
aired on Wednesday evenings.The 2
shows will air back to back the next 2 weeks.We look forward to a follow up show with both Sequoia and I as Schooner
Dolphin gets closer to her splash date. .Please keep in touch here and get involved.Email us and become a member ofthe internet “For the Love of Oceans” chapter alongside a membership to
OceansWatch.2 for 1.. Brilliant.
Music gigs are starting to come
August 14th- Stella Blues in Warren RI
August 28th- Petersburg NY Arts Coucil Concert
The Anniversay Celebration at Stay-n-Out blew me away as one
testimony after another of success spilled from the hearts of these amazing
people, label ‘bad’ by society… How amazing that the visions of Ron Williams,
Harold, and the talents of men lke Stu Kahn have created an effective program
developing the self love, self respect of each inmate, soon to be released from
prison.Now equipped to succeed and
STAY OUT of prison for the rest of their lives.One woman’s testimony of how she had just won custody of her
children brought the whole room to tears… That is what it is all about. Thanks
Stu for allowing me to be a part of such a great work.
Congratulations to my Nephew Andy Lange and his new Bride
JULIE… xoxoxox … they sure did plenty of that at the reception.. now off to a
new life together, joined in matrimony in Baltimore MD.My daughter, Ptarmigan and I were able to be
there. What a joy…
We are gearing up for a wedding in ourfamily… Kristy and
Dave… Happiness.
Please do keep Cooper in your prayers as he is going to need
surgery to rebuild his right shoulder.A really tough recovery is coming.Also keep my mom in your energy fields… as she is struggling with a
neural deterioration causing both pain and loss of strength in her legs.But her spirit is spry as always… big hugs..
Thanks so much for keeping in touch withme.. .
Keepin On Keepin ON Keepin on Caring….advocacy is Caring In
Action whether it is caring for self, others, the creatures of the sea and
earth”
Big hugs xoxo d
Do feel free to send in photos and whatever...I'll get them on the Internet Friend Page.. Check out Newest Sail-World article: http://www.sail-world.com/Cruising/ OceansWatch is moving towards our USA Yachty Vision, the creation of the US trust and 501 getting underway... www.oceanswatch.org. Join today and enjoy yachting for humanity and the environment..Amazing..every day I get emails regarding abuses to people, islands, wildlife and certainly the dolphins and whales... so much to do. Don't lose track of the listing of organizations I have been sponsoring around the world.... check out the sponsor pages... All GOOD!!!!!!! Go to Log Update page and Home Page Photo Gallery to find all the past Home page entries and photos. Find most recent update from Oceanswatch, Director, Chris Bone in Brisbane.here.
Stu
Kahn and crew enjoyed a successful delivery of SV_Sherry Lee to
Poughkeepsie NY. All systems go. A few challenges along the way but
overall great. Duffy and Jerry were great souls to share the journey
with and awesome crew. Sure a few bouts of seasickness and a few
gliches getting to know the new engine..yet nothing can take away from
the beauty of the sea, the Hudson River, sharing amazing camaradarie
with great people. Stu was terrific as truly he captains his ship. We
are a good team.
I had a Magical introduction to Sequoia Sun
and Schooner Dolphin. Melding spirits and dreams. A oneness of vision
that lit us both up with a wonderful energy of possibility.
OceansWatch USA. So keep tuned in. As I have started to share a real
concrete plan of action to so many, the energy mounting is contagious.
There area hands to lend to the vsion. We can make a difference. We
can take our life's energy and invest it in healthy, positive works
that change the world. I am gearing up for a creative birthing of
ideas, plans this next week out at sea sailing with Bob on Calypso to
RI. Onward, upward, ever forward.....
Inspired Insanity is
fantastic though she is showing her valient campaign to safely deliver
me around the world. The amazing friends in Bristol are back at it
supporting and volunteering time and resources to get her back in the
water and better than ever. We should splash in the first few days
after I return to RI. Thank You Bristol Marine, Bristol Yacht club,
Jesse Paiva, Uncle Ed Kent, Parker Marine and so many First Jam at
Stella Blues with Red Eye Flight was great energy. It was so wonderful
to see so many friends who had heard I would be there, come...Word got
around that I was playing so it was a bit of a surprise to players who
came to join me. So Brian @ Stella Blues has already booked me for
June 5th.. Hugh Purcell will accompany me with friends. Unfortunately,
Red Eye Flight mandolin player, Derek Escher will not be there but I
have hopes of seeing Tim and Ken out. So wonderful.. I hope I can get
the word out that I will be playing. It is a bit short notice.... SV_Calypso
is ready!!!! Bob is just dropping off his car to be stored. When he
returns we will let loose the lines and head for the fuel dock. Off we
go to RI. The weather is looking to be good. Maybe even a bit on the
low winds side. Fantastic. That brilliant gennaker will look
magnificent flying from the bow...what an incredible winter here in
Florida. So many challenges but so many successes.. Thanks Bob for
all your support. Plus some new friends here who have donated a
dinghy and a barbecue to Inspired Insanity.... Wow... big hugs Raine
and Bob. Thanks again to all here at Cracker Boy Boatyard for making
the last minute details of getting off manageable. They were great
with Sherry Lee and now with Calypso.
It looks like I will
luck into the privilege of joining the Graduation Procession at the
Stay-n-Out Treatment Program in NYC (www.staynout.org), anxious to join
Stu(Chairman of the Board)and Sherry Kahn in a great event. The
welcome I recieved there in 2006 was incredible. Here I was there to
honor their incredible accomplishments and they ended up welcoming me
into tears as they honored me in my journey. It has been a privilege
to go back to the Serendipity house and get a chance to enjoy time with
some of the amazing courageous ladies there. I so look forward to
returning.
It has been a fast track few weeks. When I
return, it will be full steam ahead getting Inspired Insanity settled
in on her mooring, getting back onto Sherry Lee for a few repairs and
plans to move her to a summer sailing site. Then to Norwalk
Connecticut to get to work developing "For the Love of Oceans",
OceansWatch USA , watching Schooner Dolphin come alive as the crews
work diligently to get her ready for her October 29th Splash. I wil
be between RI and Connecticut for the most part I believe, playing
music as I go getting a CD recorded and continueing to do presentations
to clubs and groups. That book is coming too. Hang in there. Please
keep in touch. I have been very focused but ever feeling the support
we have all been to each other.
Check out my dear friend
Stephane Tremblay's site: www.peacefuljourney.com Preparations have
ben going well and he leaves very soon for his own epic sail around the
world, promoting OceansWatch and Caring about the Oceans and Humanity.
We had an chance opportunity to meet as I was able to get to Sandy Hook
NJ to see both he and SV_JOshua off. We had a lovely late morning sail
and sad farewells as we had only just met. His support of me over this
last winter was so important .
Don't forget to keep an eye on
my son's website www.keelbrightmanphotography.blogspot.com . there are
lots of new videos and photos. The group he is working with is getting
serious.. Great photos and shots. Amazing life. Love you Keel..
Big
hugs to Kristy and Dave Bowen as they are preparing to get married in
September.. Wonderful to be able to share in this precious event.
Hugs to my little grands , Zeb, Jael and Rhema and Ptarmi and scott
too... Love you Cooper.. What an amazing visit we had... love the
surprise visit of Neil Vangundy on my site with photos from the
spontaneous combustion in tortola.
Every one do keep prayers
out for my mom and family... My mom is having a time with a
neurological myalgia... It is giving her trouble walking and being the
spunky vibrant active woman she loves to be. she is such a huge spirit
and is every supportive. big hugs to Ernie who takes such loving care
for her. Hello to bros and sis... love you...
Biggest Hugs to all. xooxoxoxoxo d Keep an eye on Upcoming Events for gigs and programs.
Log update:
April 29th, 2008 Only 4 days til we Sail North!!
Lots of news:
* A fantastic sail with Stu and my son Keel to Key Largo early April. Though it
was nt without some drama. We lost our transmission while anchoring and
fortunately barrelled into the mangrove, not something harder. Nothing a few
repairs can't fix.. all good.
*A great time with Keel, both sailing, meeting new people, the Dolphin Care
Center in Key Largo, one of Stu's passions he supports. Keel and I played some
fantastic music and were able to perform for the Palm Beach Sailing Club Open
House. We even did some recording.
* Back to WPB to fix things broken and continue the refit. We are going to be
down to the wire on being ready to sail May 2nd, but I am believing the best
for the new gear to get here.
*SV_ Calypso is back on the water and her new engine purring. We were out
sailing for just a few hours but it was glorious. I will be returning to
Florida late May to help deliver Calypso north. The migration north begins.
*New opportunities on the horizon. Through a great friend, the idea of working
with the tall ship programs along the east coast started to come into focus.
Iput out a bunch of resume's and have heard back. I will be visiting several
the week after we arrive in RI with Sherry Lee. Soundwaters, Sisters Under
Sail, and Mystic, Aurora...
*Plus an incredible opportunity for OceansWatch with a beautiful vintage wooden
www.Schooner Dolphin.org being refitted in Norwalk Conn. The owner is a
wonderful soul. We are talking about a co-work in humanitarian and ecological,
educational work based out of the US. It was such serendipity when I realized
he has a long time connection to John Denver's work in Windstar a group Ihave
been trying to contact for the last year... so... Life is magic.
*To top off the winter, I planned a trip to ST Thomas and Tortolla to visit
long time friends there. Amazingly, I was able to get a ticket and Cooper, my
older son, was able to meet me there. It had been nearly 2 years since we saw
each other.... It was pure joy. We were so marvelously hosted by my brother,
the whole gang in St Thomas and by Neil Perks in Tortolla. Neil P put together
a fabulous skydiving demonstration for the BVI Airshow. What a success it all
was. And to top it off, Neil Vangundy and Colleen were there, finishing up
their dream journey through the Caribbean Islands. So... There you have it...
Log March 21st, Spring is Here. Now someone tell ole' mother nature!! The winds are howeling again here in Lake Worth, but I just looked at the weather in RI!! gusting to 45kn and 40*f.... Yow!! It is time... to write. The refit on Sherry Lee is winding down as the systems are becoming more reliable with all the investment Stu and I have made. Soon I'll start with the woodwork and painting...but as my head clears, the book is infiltrating my dreams. I have read some amazing books "First You Have to Row a Little Boat" by Richard Bode .. In fact I recommend that anyone who would plan to read my book would first read this one. It brilliantly teaches about sailing from the spirit. You walk away understanding not only the language and skills of sailing but relationship between the heart of a sailor, the wind and sea, and the little ship.. Also "Sailing Grace" by John Otterbacher and amazing story of courage and the understanding of real priorities in life. Yes family and caring but also challenge, believing in dreams, healing while experiencing the very depth of who we can be amidst the risks. March 15th was my grandaughters 2nd birthday. I had the pleasure of flying home and being a part of the celebration last weekend. Picts below. Keel will be arriving here on Wed morning as we head sailing. The itinerary has changed and we will be going to Key West over a week long trip. Later this month we'll head out again. I am very excited about having keel on board, both because he is a great crew member, strong and young, but also because we'll get to play some music. A portable recording set up has become available to me and I am dreaming of getting some of my new songs down with Keel's leads and maybe some harmonies on it... As soon as I have something, I'll get it on the site.. Maybe an orginal song of Keel's as well.. On wednesday night, I was the guest speaker at the Palm Beach Sailing Club and had the pleasure of sharing my music, stories, photos and passion for ocean preservation . There was the warmest of reception to the program. The OW presentation was well recieved with immediate responses to the idea of promoting recycling in the club and nearby marinas and boatyards. So onward, forward, never looking back.... big hugs xoxoxoxoxo d
Do feel free to send in photos and whatever...I'll get them on the Internet Friend Page.. Check out Newest Sail-World article: http://www.sail-world.com/Cruising/ OceansWatch is moving towards our USA Yachty Vision, the creation of the US trust and 501 getting underway... www.oceanswatch.org. Join today and enjoy yachting for humanity and the environment..Amazing..every day I get emails regarding abuses to people, islands, wildlife and certainly the dolphins and whales... so much to do. Don't lose track of the listing of organizations I have been sponsoring around the world.... check out the sponsor pages... All GOOD!!!!!!! Go to Log Update page and Home Page Photo Gallery to find all the past Home page entries and photos. Find most recent update from Oceanswatch, Director, Chris Bone in Brisbane.here.
March 10th ish log
HYLAS's everywhere!!!! We arrived in Ft Lauderdale on Thursday afternoon, only the 2nd sailboat in the whole marina, but by dark there were 2 more sailboats, and they were both flag blue hulled Hylas's.. Both brand new, the Hylas 49' and the Hylas 70'. Enjoy the photos of not only sv_Sherry Lee, but also sv_Believe, and the Hylas 70. Believe is being commissioned for a lovely couple vibrantly adventuring out over the next few years on their dream come true voyage around the world. It was so exciting to see the twinkles of anticipation in their eyes as they puttered, and oogled over all the new gear and brilliance of their new vessel.. Twas wonderful to be able to encourage them in their dream as they face changes they are making that aren't always understood by others.. The best of luck to them, Rich and Julie.. We are now back in Lake Worth.. Alot of systems ironed out. a few new things on my list to fix and work on.. Life is grand.. The next few days will be rough down here as all you Northerners have to deal with yet another big frontal system... Soon comes the spring... I am hoping to make a trip home mid March to check in with my grandkids. Getting ready to head to the virgin islands at the end of March... all good. biggest hugs xoxox . Do feel free to send in photos and I'll get them on the Internet Friend Page.. Love it..writing.. whatever.. send it on... Check out Newest Sail-World article: http://www.sail-world.com/Cruising/ OceansWatch is moving towards our USA Yachty Vision, the creation of the US trust and 501 getting underway... www.oceanswatch.org. Join today and enjoy yachting for humanity and the environment..Amazing..every day I get emails regarding abuses to people, islands, wildlife and certainly the dolphins and whales... so much to do. Don't lose track of the listing of organizations I have been sponsoring around the world.... check out the sponsor pages... All GOOD!!!!!!! Go to Log Update page for last days in the boatyard log and most recent update from Oceanswatch, Director, Chris Bone in Brisbane.
Log from Feb 28th- Tom
is successful!!! See the picts below of the custom build aluminum
bracket.. A piece of art but will do the trick this time.. Amazing job,
Tom. We have The Big Chill...With Stu's great patience and support and
resources of friends, it hs been a one-day-at-time process..but looks
good for us to get sailing tomorrow. all good. Wonderful news as
my daughter Kristy has announced her engagement to a great fellow I had
the pleasure of meeting when I was home for christmas.. So lots of
planning.. mostly for her and Dave but Ptarmigan is having fun too,
with all the party plans. A miracle for these 2 sisters to be enjoying
this together. Happy Birthday to Cooper, who sadly, just took a fall,
interestingly, going slow, and ''easy" on the ski slope and tore his
clavical, so his shoulder is out of commission for a while. ouch.. Keel
is covering for Coop at work, and I am thrilled that he will be able to
crew for Stu and I on our sail to the Carib once the boat is together.
A great treat for me and it will be for Stu, as he enjoys music and
Keel and I are quite the duo... Life is grand, just need to get my
eyes off the immediate repairs and millions of phone calls getting
things done... and enjoy!!! Picts are of Bob's sv_Calypso and friend
"Foxy".. fun times...
UPDATE FROM CHRIS BONE, OCEANSWATCH DIRECTOR, IN BRISBANE
Hi Team :)
I arrived here in Brisbane a few days ago after an
exciting surf in through Southport Bar on an Oyster 55 :)
I am staying with Melinda Taylor on her Hans
Christian 43 in the Brisbane River.
We have been busy scheming :) and
visiting.
Thursday we met with Dave Logan who runs Coral
Watch. We both learnt a lot and I like their project. Dave is going to send me
some papers about Coral Watch for the Marine Biologists amongst us. In the
meantime can you all please have a look here http://www.coralwatch.org/default.aspx and
get back to me with any questions that you have about Coral Watch.
Mel and I have a few clarifications about CW but if
they and any questions from you guys can be sorted then I think that we can
"Officially" adopt their program
Yesterday we visited OW member Shayle Wood in
Mooloolaba. Shayle is a Nurse with lots of sailing experience. Next we met with
Raffael from Findacrew. His crew agency is very busy, with over 20,000 on his
database and he gets thousands of hits. We are trying to get linked from his
front page. He was interesting and helpful so we should get linked. We put up
our OW posters at the Marina's.
Mel and I will go to Byron Bay on Monday via every
marina en route. There we will meet OW member Charlotte Wild. I will have a day
off then head for Sydney where I will be inspecting another boat that the owner
wants to donate to us for 2 years. Hope to head back to NZ, delivering the Swan
48 "So Far about the 16th.
Julia has been very busy with funding applications.
We will fine tune them over the next week then get them off with fingers
crossed.
OK Marine Biologists I need a recommendation from
you for a book to teach me about reef ecosystems, fairly simple, you know sort
of UK A level.
Best wishes to you all,
Chris
"Thank You" Bristol Marine Poppasquash Road Bristol RI
Happy Thanksgiving To All Fairest of Winds and Love Only Gratitude to so so Many... Enjoy
Jamming Away with Morgan Rael
A MILLION THANKS TO ALL WHO SHARED THIS SPECIAL NIGHT AT STELLA BLUES RESTAURANT I so appreciate all who came . The musicians were wonderful, and we enjoyed the debut of Hannah (11yrs old) who did a marvelous job on her fiddle with a lovely irish tune... Thanks to all at Stella Blues for hosting this great moment of spontaneous combustion!!
Last Saturday's Coffeehouse was fabulous!! Thank you So Much, Roger, Jack and Barbara and all at the Stone Church Coffeehouse.
I recieved this lovely note from Roger: Donna,
Your performance on Saturday evening was wonderful.
What a gloriously entertaining evening. I've been following folk music for more
years than I care to admit. I've seen Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Buffy St. Marie,
etc etc. I'm not sure you realize how beautiful a voice you have. Each one of
the women that I mentioned had a message. Buffy's was the Native Americans. For
Joan Baez, of course, it was the Vietnam War and whatever else moved her at the
time. You also have a message and tell it as well as they did. We should do it
again sometime. Keep in touch.
Roger(Duborg, the Director of the Stone Church Coffeehouse)
FEb 10th ish... Splash!!! Once again Sherry Lee is on the water. All systems go. Thanks to Tom Tubbs (Powered by Diesel), Bob Philburn, Eddy, Alan, the gang at Cracker Boy Boatyard!!! I am not sure who is happier, Me or Stu... She is Lovely!!!
February 6, 2008 0300 (can't sleep, a bit rough in the anchorage, yahoo!!) Position: Once again on our mooring in Lake Worth, Florida At 1600, on Monday, Feb 5th, we splashed Sv_Sherry Lee into the water for the second time this season, this time refitted with a new engine, and a good refit behind her. Amazingly, all systems are go. It was a hectic last few days as always, as last minute checks reveal problems, that seacock had to be replaced. Finalizing the topside painting was hairy!!! Eddy was doing such a great job and I muffed it up. The learning curve. But I stuck with it and with the help of Alan Rosensweig who had a real sprayer and is very skilled with it, we were able to get a good finish to the repairs. Bob Philburn gave me a good lesson with the buffer and miraculously, I was able to sand and buff the repairs so that they disappear as much as they can. first 400grit, 600, 800. 1200 grit and then the buffing compound. 8 hours of sanding and working a heavy buffer, sore shoulders, but it paid off. Alan was wonderful, willing to teach me the finer aspects of the prep..All good. Tom Tubbs arrived Monday morn with the last of the brackets for the refrig installation and worked non stop till he got us good to go. We were crossing our fingers as to whether the frig would chill as we had lost a little bit of refrigerant in the process. Tom did a cool fix though which saved the day. The whole process of installing a new engine is a total creative engineering paradigm... one challenge after another. Tom did a great job. Monday morn, I got up with the sun to do the final wash down and scrub on Sherry Lee for the splash.. The boatyard is such a dusty, dirty environment, plus there is a huge flock of birds that were living in the building soffets next to me... what a mess. I filled the water tanks and had to get everything off the boat from the refit.. double checked seacocks, hose clamps, tools accessible to adjust the stuffing box once we are driving.. Bob had his boat Calypso on my mooring so he and I headed out to move her onto her anchors. Back to the yard.. Bob would be the support crew in the water and Tom would come with me so he could make all the necessary adjustments and checks once the boat was floating and driving to the mooring.
The moment of truth. Sherry Lee is gently lowered to the water by the travellift. She is floating. It is always so nerve wracking...not sure why, but on a refit like this where you had every seacock worked on, every hose, hose clamp replaced... you are bound to have missed something, not tightened something... Bob and I ran around the boat double checking.. It was Bob that noticed the generator seastrainer was leaking. I just closed the seacock for the moment.. I would fix it later. Tom did the last adjustments and gave me the go ahead to start the engine..she burst into life..amazing!!! She sounded so quiet..the knocking was gone. Bob suggested that we forget how much the water around the hull muffles the sound.. Now that she is surrounded by water, the engine sounds normal... great!! She purred. The tide was coming in so it wasn't going to be the simplest of exits from the boatyard slip.. The guys at the yard were great, and hung a few minutes overtime to help us back out of the slip guarding our new paint. Tom did a final check with the engine running, came up top and put her into gear, forward and back while still tied up to ensure we had movement and we did. We give the fellows the thumbs up and I put her into gear in reverse... not so gently as I needed to get momentum up so that when my stern hit the current whizzing by I would be able to power through it maintaining my point til I cleared the slip. Sherry Lee handled marvelously and we were off. It is only a mile to the mooring so Tom askes me to do a bit of a drive down the east side of the lake to give the engine a good run. He wanted to challenge it, getting it good and hot and revving it.. She passed his test with flying colors.. He had done it. We are good to go. The refrig even had a chance to run, and with relief, the plates iced right up... We would have cold beer to boot. Actually, we had cold beer cause Bob had thoughtfully packed a few in a cooler. With all the excitement the last days, and as I had returned the rental car the week before, I never did a final provisioning. The frig was empty. ooops.. But thanks to Bob, we all enjoyed a cold one to celebrate the success of the repowering. Bob used his dinghy and we took Tom back to the boatyard, tool bag in hand. We then returned to Sherry Lee, did another round of checks. She was dirty and still a mess. Still some stuff from the old engine for Steve to collect.. tomorrow would come early. Bob and I headed off for a nice dinner at the Sailfish Marina. Neither were very good company as we yawned, absolutely exhausted from the day. As Calypso is facing the same fate as Sherry Lee, a repowering, he is looking at my success as a light at the end of a still long tunnel for him, the process only beginning. But in the end, he too will tool away from the yard with a brilliant boat worthy of a fresh new engine. Timeless beauties. Today has been a reclaiming day. I didn't even awake til way late and I was stiff and sore. But over the day, Sherry Lee has come back to being clean and bright. Steve came and collected the old engine bits left. I cleaned and polished the salon and galley. Got the dinghy off the boat. About 4pm I decided to finish the aft stateroom tomorrow. Lots to do to have her ready for real company on the weekend as Stu and Sherry will arrive for a sail, but she is stylin. I better get back to bed. I went to bed early, just pooped and woke up at midnight wide awake, but now it is 0330. The wind is honking outside. Today is another day. Big hugs and loves to all.. So many thanks to Stu who believed in both Tom and I to get the job done. Thanks Tom, Bob, Alan, Eddy, All those who lent me tools, the staff at the yard.. every one that listened to me moan, groan, complain.. Phil (the yard manager) even cried a tear for my pity party.
"keepin on, keepin on, keepin on caring... knowing that the investments we make are so very important to the quality of our life. I am so very very blessed."
FEbruary 1, 2008 Log Hey all... We are getting close to splashin Sherry Lee.. putting in
long days as ...Yes.. Tom is focused now on the engine and in 6 days he
has it running now... it isn't a quiet engine.. nearly sounds like the
old one the way it clatters when it idles... but he says that it is the
way they sound... I did a ton of work between yesterday and today.
finished 11pm and started at 6am just straight out.. I have running
water, even hot water.. all the hoses and check valves in.. broke one
seacock which i had to grind out.. did that this morn.. new one arrives
tomorrow... still in the midst of the topside painting and that seacock
install tomorrow, but other than that, alot of cleaning up and
organizing of old and new shit.. [16:50:50] donna lange says: we
still have the refrigeration to get on line and to rewire the charging
as we only have one alternator now, an 80amp.. so the house bank
charging has to be wired to it... really should be redone so that we
aren't so dependent on the isolators to do their thing... so I'll work
on that but we'll jsut put the house bank wire on the alternator with
the engine bank wire.. we may be equalizing for a bit but all the
batteries are new so hopefully won't do any damage. mostly the same
kind of battery.. need to get it worked out... put in a different
switch configuration.. so the alternator wire comes to one place and
the power is distributed from there to engine bat or house bat or
windlass bat... we'll see. becasue we had 2 alternators it isn't like
that... one went to house one to eng bat. so .. first to find the house
charge wires.. never was good at finding conductivity.. i have the one
end here at the panel and a couple of similar yellow wires in the
engine space... i know I am checking for resistance.. i am too tired
now... tomorrow is another day.. but we have to get is set up as the
only other way to charge the batteries is with tieing the two batteries
together with a tie switch or using the generator... since we have to
run the eng for the refrig, it makes sense to charge batt then too...
all good. like I said tomorrow. seem to have a leak in the dinghy I
need to still suss out too. Bob has the materials if I find a problem..
but getting close.. a few more days and we'll be there if we can get
hte refrig on line... and we should be able to.. it lines up in plane
with the pulleys but needs to have a new bracket that will set it up
higher to clear the engine and one of the water hoses.. all
good..though tonight is the open mic at the Cuillo Art Center, this ole
girl is to bed early... Gave up the rental car.. bicycle is just a bit
precarious at night here. Once I am back on the water I will be closer
to town by bike... Can't wait.. Stu will arrive Wed and we are dreamin
of lufting sails and sweet breezes.. Big hugs xoxoxo
1539 EST 2039UTC 0839NZ (OceansWatch headquarters) January 20,2008 Sunday Hugs xoxoxox mom and Ernie
Sailing HO!!! on SV_Calypso, Little Harbor 44'belonging to Capt. Bob PHilburn, myself as crew.
Charleston,
SC to West Palm Beach, FL. 359nm Estimated 2 1/2 days, We left in
blustery 20-25kn NW winds at 8:30am from the dock, being towed as the
engine is not working. Bob was forced because of insurance requirements
to leave his boat in SC in late october. When he returned to deliver
her to Florida, he found the engine ceized for unknown reason. After
having a local westerbeke mechanic assess the engine without success,
Bob decided to deliver Calypso the rest of the way to Fl so that he can
diagnose and make repairs himself. I am his lucky crew.. It is an
interesting situation as we need NOrtherly winds to make the decent
south but those conditions are only found in and around frontal
systems. A front up to 35kn of wind and pouring rain went through last
night enabling us to leave on NW this morn. but it is cold... near as
cold as it was those first two nights of my world sail leaving RI in
mid Nov. but even colder than Cape Horn in January.. we left in near
freezing temperatures without wind chill. It has been a brisk day to
say the least and tonight will be bitter cold. We will be able to run
his generator and provide some heat below but watches will be
brutal..But once we get into Florida coastal waters it should start to
warm up.
position: 32*08'N, 80*10'W winds: WNW 10-15kn gusting to 20kn. sp: 6+kn point of sail: beam to broad reach sails: full sails miles sailed: 40nm miles to go: 118nm Forecast:
winds will diminish to 10-15kn over night and clock to the north and
then to NE over monday. Tues may be tough as we get farther south as
the winds are to continue to clock ESE and then South by tues night and
become quiet light. If we are slowed considerably, we will have light
westerlies on Wed which may require a tow into Lake Worth... WE are
hoping the clocking slows and we can somehow get in on Easterly winds.
Today is gloriously sunny. Bob has a beautiful boat, well maintained
and the sailing is fantastic.. just a bit chilly for us warm blooded
carib and floridian folk. Drinkin alot of hot liquids, and I have
to say, it is great to be able to give over the watch with utter
confidence and relax below to warm up...I saw a dolphin on our leaving
so have every confidence for a good trip.
It is great to be sailing and posting a 'REAL LOG'...
Update
on SV_Sherry Lee - we are making our way through the installation of
the new engine, a slow process as aligning the new engine with the prop
shaft is challenging. Tom is terrific and takes it one step at a time,
fabricating brackets and whatever to make things work..Ed has been
helping me with the overall haul refit. With the boat out of the water
again, I am taking advantage of the time to do much needed refits of
the seacocks, hoses, bilge pumps, check valves and lots of other
updates. Ed is doing some repair to the topsides where damage had
occured along the top edge in docking. Plus with all the water system
apart from the engine room for the extraction of the engine, we'll go
through that as well. Hopfully the refrige system will be remounted and
hooked up to the engine pulley system without losing the refrigeration
fluid we just had it recharged with...We are looking at another week of
hard work. I am hoping that these few days with me away will allow Tom
to go to town with the install..Stu has been down this past week and it
is wonderful to have his presence and positive attitude surrounding the
project..
Team update: Neil Vangundy. www.yoloadventures.com.
Neil and Colleen embarked on their dream in December as they finished
the refit on YOLO, their 47'Jeanneau and have been cruising the
caribbean and are moving south through the Antilles Islands.. They
enjoyed New Years on ST Kitts. Both Neil and Colleen post daily logs on
www.yoloadventures.com... become a regular... What a trip they are
having..a dream..
My mom and Ernie are prospering in NY enjoying
holidays from Florida to Kentucky... Still Newlyweds by all real
ideals.. They are doing fantastic. My mom still manages to hold me
together with CD sales and thank yous...
Tom OUtman is on the Panhandle in Florida, caring for life and we are anxious to catch up here.. soon come..
Stu
Khan has one more surgery to come and is still hopeful for the return
of sight to his eye. Not only has he supported me through my journey
but also has Gloria Knight, an olympic equestrian hopeful in his sights
training with their horses near me in Wellington Florida. He manages
between the NY farm and keeping an eye on Gloria and I. His family are
all doing well..
Brian Gortney has be AWOL... would love to hear from him
Will
BArbeau is finally settling down a bit and planning to do more travel
with his best friend and wife for over 50years, Mellissa.. I was
fortunate to be able to meet the whole family over thanksgiving time,
happening to pop in when they were all sitting down to a birthday
dinner. They all finally got to meet the crazed sailor who has been
blessed to be captivating so much of Will's time these last few years.
The OceansWatch Team, now including the marvelous writer Jane
Pares, Julia Alabaster, Peter Vine, David Martin as well as Chris Bone
and myself...is doing fantastic. Memebership is growing and projects
coming to maturity as Chris Bone has been doing resaearch and
consulting on many pacific islands to assess and develope projects of
sustainable changes that can be facilitated by OceansWatch members as
they cruise the Pacific.. Reef Survey training has begun, the first to
be held shortly in Tonga.. Jane has been busy promoting OW in the
magazine arena and members are getting involved worldwide... I am the
USA team leader hoping to get more involved in promoting OW, their
goals and to get the oceans advocacy work moving forward again.. hoping
that advocacy will become a yachting community concern along with doing
hands on work with Oceanswatch project teams which we hope will
devcelop all over the world as we increase the surveys and hands to
work.
New Years thanks to the world of supportive family who I
have had the privilege of knowing this past year... my RI family..NZ
TEam ...and now a new family in Florida.. and always my USA family,
plus the internet family, some of whom I have been able to meet in
person!!!! and my own wonderful children..Keel has developed an amazing
website www.keelbrightmanphotography.com.. Coop and He are skiing the
deep in the teton mountains, Keel photographing, cooper doing wild
stunts 10's of feet off the ground.. ouch... Kristy doing fantastic in
Utica NY finishing her first year of internship from medical School.
and Ptarmi in her new home, that beautiful new baby, Zeb and Jael..
lovely family.. Fletcher and Chris are doing great..of course MOM and
Ernie.. all my brothers and sister who are so so so supportive. I am
blessed beyond words... Only GRATITUDE!!!!!
I have a new song,
Inpsired by all of my team and all of you who have supported and
believed in me along my journey around the world..
Lovin Me.
Sometimes it takes others' who see that we can do it who believe we can accomplish greater goals, no matter high A love that opens doors, knows with a little we'll make it pushing past every set back to the finish line
Lovin me, seems from the start the world won't let me always tellin me I'm just not who them say I'm meant to be Lovin me, How much more to please all others for I realize the greatest gift I have has always been Bein me, within me, loving me
No amount of pain we go through we'll complete the path before us to find out just how magnificent the spirit lives within To watch a child lost come to peace and self respect the greatest happiness within to belong within ourself
Loving me....
How could I go so far to find what's been there from the start. A living legend in the making, no one else can play our part challenge by the moment reveals more that we can do never letting go of trying only love and gratitude
Loving me...
"Keepin On, Keepin On, Keepin On caring and loving each other through the challenges as we continue on. "
www.donnalange.org www.yoloadventure.com www.ushuaialogistics.com www.xaxero.com www.gmn-usa.com www.pacificyachtdeliveries.co.nz www.sail-world.com www.internationalmarinebrokers.co.nz www.mtiadventurewear.com www.caphorn.com CABRAL'S cHICKEN,best roast chicken in the world, BRistol RI 5 SECOND RULE,www.fivesecondrule.com, the best band in NE. Topside Tavern, home sweet home.Bristol RI Newport Nautical, consignment and marine store in one. Brewer's Sakonnet Marina www.ferroweathervane.com
1512EST 0215UTC 0815NZ January 21, 2008 Monday madness hugs!!! Cold galing night!! position: 29*46'N 80*48'W Just south of St. Augustine Fl 20-miles off shore. winds: NW 30 gusting to 35+kn earlier, now 20-25kn NE sp: 6.5+kn COG 179* swell 3-4'(to 8'earlier) point of sail: close reaching sails: sm reef in main and same in Genny miles sailed: 200nm miles to go: 75nm to Cape Canaveral 175nm approx to W.Palm Beach forecast:
for winds to continue to clock but more wind than earlier expected. It
has been blowin to 35kn all day. Should continue to have to 25kn over
night as wind continues to go east. We are hoping that the clocking
will slow allowing us to get in on easterlies. SE winds are predicted
for tomorrow afternoon and then southerlies which will head us hard
requiring that we tack. With the gulf stream so close to the shore and
absolutely unfavorable in direction for us, it will be hard to tack and
not be slowed by several knots when we have to cross the stream. We
have been sailing hard and fast with the higher winds and swells that
developed over night. winds still gusting to 35kn as I type. but the
seas are calming. It has been a desperate night for Bob who deals with
seasickness. It amazes me that anyone can love something enough to
endure feeling as sick as he does, yet he took every one of his watches
last night. Though we are enjoying the fast pace we are keeping we
hope it settles down a bit so he can recover. I have been thoroughly
enjoying the sailing and managing the sails.. all good. The sailing is
the fun part. It is the maintenance and upkeep that gets to me and Bob
has mastered that. The boat has been in great condition. Everything
works. Imagine that.. well accept that engine..It has been too rough to
consider trying to fiddle with it. later...I imagine that the logs will
go into the site at once as I no longer have the satellite phone so I
can't email the logs to Global Marine Network... soon come..we may be
close enough for my wireless set up to work once we get to Cape
Canaveral.. We will be sailing within 10miles of the coast from there
to Palm Beach.
Today has been a day of rest and sail
monitoring as the winds have been shifting and gusty.. we did have a
dolphin visitation overnight.. that always gives me a lift..It has
actually been wonderful to have the higher winds for me, as the
exhileration is fantastic. It was an exciting night with the sea. She
does so calm me. My mind can get quiet.. got to go...
January 22,2008, Tuesday hugs xoxo 1700EST Monday
night was a long night as the conditions escalated instead of
moderating gusting to 40+kn overnight, seas building to up to 8'..But
the morning was glorious and the sailing is fantastic, though a bit
rough.. unfortunately, once Bob became seasick, regardless of
conditions subsiding a bit, he has had to remain absolultely supine
whether on deck or on the floor of the salon... He has been feeling a
bit better this afternoon... and doing what he can. NOt a complaint..
For me it has been a long night as I did the watches, but the sailing
is good. alot of monitoring and reefing, adjusting with gusts and
changes which kept me moving. Calypso is a brilliant boat with all the
lines coming back to the cockpit and both roller furled headsail and
mainsail, so I have felt like a spoiled kid being able to do all the
adjusting from the cockpit. ... all good. We have had a beautiful day
but winds are clocking so as to force us to tack to make the last
35miles south down the coast with SE winds, changing to southerlies
later.. The winds have stayed up though so we have averaged over 6kn
for the trip.. 7 a good bit of the time. We have put word into Towboat
US to help us get into the inlet to Lake Worth as with westerlies it is
not sailable. we'll see what it looks like when we get there, but we
are pretty certain it will be dangerous. so so so so...
"Keepin ON Keepin On Keepin On, caring and adjusting sail and trim to reach our desired outcomes.... "
0800 EST January 23, 2008 We
successfully arrived to Lake Worth through the West Palm Beach Inlet
tuesday night around 11pm. The conditions were amazing, the winds
kindly backing to the ESE in the last hours allowing us to remain on
the one tack all the way up the coast. Thank goodness as Bob was just
starting to feel a little better and if we had needed to tack head to
wind across the gulf stream and into the 6' seas, it would have been a
nightmare... but blessed be all the prayers out there for us we got
lucky.. Yes, Bob's world of friends in Florida were all watching the
coastal weather holding their breath and prayin. I have to say that
this is one time I was glad to be on board as much to help his friends
relax a little. The winds had varied through the day but never really
dropped below 15kn and gusted up to 35kn at times.... just a crazy
storm that wouldn't go away. That was luck for us in the end as it
allowed the winds to remain out of the east.. but even with easterly
winds, the inlet into Lake Worth was ugly as the seas had been up for
several days and we had gotten there on the last bit fo the rising tide
so the current in the inlet was against us at top speed. We had the
choice of using Towboat and Bob decided to go ahead and have them help
us through the inlet.. But in the end, even Towboat felt it was too
dangerous to tow us into the inlet with the huge swell at the mouth so
they told us we would stil have to sail into the inlet. It was just
safer to sail in than to risk the tow line breaking in the swell.. I
couldn't believe it really, but once the adrenalin started pumping, Bob
came to life. He hadn't eaten in 2 days or barely stood up, but about
a mile from the inlet he took the helm and did a brilliant job
steering through the swells as the inlet while I managed the sails.
Towboat was right along side us which was a great support. Once past
the swell, they came along side and towed us onto the mooring.. At this
point both Bob or I were glad not to have to sail onto the mooring. By
midnight we were tied on and heading below to tidy up the messes from 3
days at sea. Salt water everywhere. wet clothes, and gear. Safe and
sound. It was amazing how Bob bounced back. I put together a quick
sandwich for him and though he didn't eat alot, it all stayed down just
fine. He just 'recovered'.. He said he would but seeing was believing.
so..It was an amazing trip. Bob and I worked together really well.
Calypso is absolutely a gorgeous sailing boat.. Life is good. Thanks
all for your prayers and thoughts hangin on with us in the storm.. Keepin On Keepin On Keepin On Caring...the sea always a challenge, making us give more than we imagine."
PS. January 25,2008 Bob
took a couple of hours yesterday and started to pull the engine apart
found that the 3rd engine cylinder had been flooded with sea water
causing it to cease up... so there you have it.. The mechanic in
Charleston was incorrect and hadn't been thorough in diagnosing the
situation as he said there was no water in the cylinders....and there
was.. mystery solved. But now to fix it.. It will be a touch and go
thing to see how much damage there is, free up the cylinder and see if
it can be repaired without having to take the engine completely
out..Bob is really glad to have Calypso here where he can do the
work... Many thanks again to friends who have all been keepin their
energy focused our way...
Sailing Sailing Sailing I took some time out of the refit to help Bob Philburn deliver his Little Harbor 44' sailboat to
Florida from South Carolina... a four day sail... and an unexpected
extended storm pattern. The Log from the trip follows. I'll post picts
soon.. The beautiful blue hulled boat in the picts below the log is the Sv_Sherry Lee, my home here in Florida. Sherry
Lee's repowering is moving along slowly.. Disappointing that it is
dragging on but tis life in the boatyard. The pictures on board are
from a one day delivery of a beautiful 38' Aleiron sailboat, Sparrow,
belonging to a client of Bob Philburns.. just a perfect beam reach
sail.. Glory Glory... reminders of why we push so hard in the boatyard
so that we can successfully sail whatever the sea choses to bring to
us... Many thanks a loves to all. Happy New Year.. A year end round up coming.... !!! big hugs xoxoxoxoxo d
0931EST 1431UTC 0231NZ(sunday) November 17, Saturday Biggest Hugs!!! I could sure use a hug back..Miss you all!!
Position: 26*46'S, 80*3'W off West Palm Beach, on a mooring (a permanent anchor in the bottom of the harbor) in Lake Worth in the intercoastal Highway.
Oh, to transitions. Thank goodness for STeve Ostrander, the fellow who has been skippering and managing SY_Sherry Lee over these last years while I sailed the world. Stu was not able to sail this past summer while he was recovering from the eye injury and it passed through hurricane season, so Sherry Lee had to go on the hard in a boatyard. Unfortunately, the mast had to come down which creates alot of cost and work both in coming down and having to be reinstalled. Steve has done a great job sprucing the boat up, decks, topside repairs, wax and polish.. She looks splendid. There have been some other necessary repairs. They there is the inevitable results of months of the boat being out of the water and not use. Sherry Lee is just passing her 15th birthday which also means there is always original gear that is giving up and needing replacement. So I arrived in the middle of lots of work being done. It has taken alot of mental energy to get the boat systems churning through my brain's computer, but answers to issues are starting to come easier as I get to know the systems better. more information to work with. Plus, I have to get my head around becoming an electrician, mechanic... again. It isn't my preference as far as past times, to be elbow deep in grease, fuel and tied up in knots getting wrenches into cramped, awkward places, but that is the life of a boaty.
Yesterday, Steve and I successfully splashed Sherry Lee, with the skill of the gents in the boatyard, and some friendly added hands on deck, friends of Steve who joined us. It is always stressful to splash as so many parts of the boat are 'messed' with while working out of the water and it is easy to miss something before splashing. A seacock to reopen or hose clamp not tight enough. Plus while out of the water, rubber seals get dry and sometimes they leak when put back in the water even though they were fine on taking her out. Sure enough the stuffing box (the gland that allows the shaft of the engine to spin while also going through the hull of the boat, without leaking water into the boat) was dripping a bit. an easy fix.
Steve offered to take Sherry Lee 'out', as he has experience with her helm, but I figured I may as well get a hand to her and get over the initial jitters I always feel when taking the helm of a boat that is new to me. I had been nervous for many days, in fact for the entire time I was sailing the world, knowing that I would be taking responsibility for this prestigious 51 Hylas upon return. It felt great to take her in my grasp and finally get over the hump of taking that responsibility. As I take most things in life too serious, this is going to be no different. Luckily Steve is a gentleman and Stu is very realistic and gracious...
Sherry Lee slipped out of the boatyard dock with pure grace, handling very well and in a moment we were making headway south along the channel markers toward the mooring home Steve had prepared. It was a brilliant sunny day, scattered puffy clouds, a cold front having come in the night before. 15+kn of wind from the north pushing us from behind. We were not able to put the sails on the boat in the yard as it is hazardous if a gust of wind should come up and knock the boat off the Chaulks that hold her up out of the water. So there was no way we could haul a sail. Soon come. It is so different to experience a world from the water as I watched the coast, the wealthy homes of Palm Beach to the east, the boatyards, marinas, yacht and sailing clubs to the west. Once the Palm Beach Sailing club was nearly off my starboard side, I headed east to the mooring. These waters are very shallow, so STeve's local knowledge of sandbars and such is paramount to avoiding getting stuck in the mud as Sherry Lee needs nearly 7' of water under her. At one point the depth sounder read only 1.1'. close enough. It took an extra run at the mooring avoiding Steve's dinghy which he, before hand, took out for us to use to get back to shore. On the second try I set Steve close enough to grab the pick up line, but he pulled it on board..Once tied off, Steve gave the thumbs up. We are home. There were lots of things to check immediately, as I hadn't gone below while we were driving..stuffing box was dripping a bit, but not too bad. We have had alot of trouble with batteries, charging batteries, finally having to replace both the charger and 3 huge batteries. The new battery charger hadn't arrived yet so the batteries left, were all undercharged. I left the engine running so that I could get some charge established. plus we needed to see about refridgeration which uses the engine to cool. ...I was breaking out a celebration bottle of wine and tonic water after the intial checks were ok, when the engine started to clatter...not good. I hollered up to STeve who as soon as he stuck his head below and heard it, he dashed to turn off the engine... Something wasn't right. I had checked the oil and water on the engine before we splashed, and they were both filled with fresh oil and water... but as we checked the oil now, it was severely low and oil flowing into the bilge...We had been quick to shut down the engine so there should be no damage, but the days glory was dampened. In the next few minutes we did an initial check and it seemed the oil was coming from near the oil filter..Looking to have a success, we thought we would start up the generator which should have just roared into life...On my way from the galley where we found the oil leak to the generator switch, I suddently fell hard into a the bilge access hole in the floor. Ouchhhh...I was hurting. I had lucked out. No broken bones or deep cuts but I had really scraped the whole front of my shin..It took a while before the intial waves of agony subsided to a manageable throb...I walked ..I would be fine..On to the generator. STeve turned on the battery switch and preheated the generator. Pushed the start button and she turned over, but wouldn't start. We tried again..It was obvious something wasn't right. I had accidentally hit that start button working on the engine many times and it roared right up...Disappointed, we took a big collective sigh and let it go for the moment. Everything was safe for now. We were all exhausted, especially Steve and I as we had run around all morn making last minute repair and preparations. Plus Steve's family was visiting and he was due to cook dinner for us all. He is quite a great cook.. So..we shut her down, secured Sherry Lee on her new resting place, bilge pump on...She would be fine for a few hours. I needed ice on my shin.. The dinghy worked great.
Steve's son STeve and wife Julie, 2 grandchildren Abby and Anthony were lovely. I played a few songs. Steve cooked up a storm, literally as he grilled inside on his stove...it was delicious and a much needed real meal. I was anxious to get back to Sherry Lee and so were STeve's family anxious to rest up..They had a long travel day ahead. I knew that my days would be full with continueing to work through all the systems on board until I finally get everything up and running properly. STeve escorted me to the dinghy and made sure I got her off OK. We said good night and I headed out to the boat. Even in the dark, she loomed lovely, her dark hull picking up the moonlight coming from the west. I planted the dinghy nicely at her stern and hopped aboard. Such a dignified lady, Sherry Lee is.. I opened a few hatches to let the very cool night air in..somewhere in the 50's tonight. But the moon was brilliant. I took one last gaze into the skies before I headed to my bed. Unfortunately, I was already working through the repairs needed the next day... my minds computer was working through the night..
I awoke early..stole a few more winks but finally gave into the minds tugging with it's need to resolve the issues of the night before. Luckily, with minimal troubleshooting found the generator wasn't getting fuel and in tracing the fuel lines, found the dasterdly hose clamp that was loose allowing air to suck into the line preventing the suction needed to bring fuel to the engine. A bit of bleeding of the fuel filter and she was roaring along, smooth as can be. At least there is a minimal ability to charge with the bad charger. Today, I'll get a regular car battery charger and plug it into the generator to bring the batteries up. In the process of searching out the fuel problem on the generator, I happened to come across the culprit of the engine oil leak under a floor panel in the galley. There is an old oil change pump for sucking out the old oil from the engine...When I lifted the floor board, the bottom was covered with oil, the compartment as well... a definite leak....So...
I am typing away with the generator's power. I'll head into shore and get new oil and see what is up with that leak. Then charge the batteries. Give the generator a chance to wear in a bit. Lots of wire connections to clean up and see if I can get everything running. Day by Day...
Then there are the sails... She is a sailboat!!!
One more exciting space for my world..I am finally taking dance lessons....Since a small girl, I have dreamed of being a dancer, not a sailor...now that I have finished sailing the world, I have found an opportune time and place to learn to really dance. Paramount Ballroom Dancing....The instructor is marvelous, very technical about rythms and such which is right at my level being a musician. I can't say how wonderful it felt to be guided so gracefully around this beautiful dance floor...Before I left NY, I had a lovely catch up with an old school friend who has been so supportive as I have sailed around the world. Before we left company, he handed me a really nice donation to my world. I may allow that to teach me to dance. A lifelong dream. Somehow I have to get back in shape. I'd rather dance then pay for a gym at this point...life is good....
Just a quick update. Ptarmigan and the baby are well. They did finalize the purchase of the house in Cambridge NY and are closing soon. It will be a very busy holiday season with the move and baby, but Scott and Ptarmi have alot of support of family and church family near by...They'll all chip in.. I 'll be up too, once things settle in down here and we do a shake down sail.....
Last but not least, OceansWatch (www.oceanswatch.com)is nearly through the process of becoming a trust and making the first surveys soon in the Pacific. Keep a watch ful eye and consider joining. We will be developing surveys that any sailor or boater can do in any harbor they are in to add to the knowlege base used by ecological and sustainability programs to evaluate places and needs. Please consider being an active participant as we all together "Keep on, Keep on, Keep on, Caring... for our precious interconnected world"
ONe more,.. When in Annapolis at the Boat show, I caught up with dear friend, musician, sailo, Pirate, Michael Beans...He is actively working with the good Samaritan School in Haiti, so please, also consider checking in with Jean Phillippe. (phebejo1@yahoo.fr(Schools and orphanage needing desks and teacher salaries desperately)
Biggest hugs to all...all mylove, xoxoxoxo d
www.Youth4Nature.PNN.com www.donnalange.pnn.com www.donnalange.org developing. http://www.staynout.org/serendipity www.oceanswatch.org; http://www.pacificyachtdeliveries.co.nz/pacific%20guardian.htm : phebejo1@yahoo.fr(Schools and orphanage needing desks and teacher salaries desperately) www.womensheart.org (Education, funding for Women's Heart Foundation. the statistics regarding women dying of heart disease are staggering) www.reddressracing.org (Women's Sailing racing organization supporting the WHF above) www.coming-about.com (Women's sailing school focusing on alot more than sailing skills.) www.women-without-borders.com (workshops and tremendous support for women worldwide in critical conditions to make a difference in their own countries) www.casaamiga.com (a women's support program in a domestic violence torn Mexico)
1304EST 1804UTC 0604NZ Monday October 29, 2007 Big Caring HUgs! Wrapping things up to head south- Great visit to Home
LIfe is GRande!! GRandchildren and all. I had a fabulous visit in NY with my family... Keel's visit here first and then some one on one time with Ptarmi and
the kids, My precious mom and Ernie, then a wonderful afternoon with Kristy, even some sweet catch up time with old family friends and a friend from
childhood who has been such a support all along the world sail.. Wow!! Ptarmi is feeling the reality of a nearly full term baby, healthy and kicking within..
It is always such a privilege to wrap my arms around her belly and feel the little one toss around. She is marvelous and Scott, her husband is so dedicated.
They are hoping the purchase of a house will be finalized so they can move in before the baby, but....God willing..all is good. She really enjoyed having an
attentive additional set of hands for a few days, a few extra minutes to rest in the morn and even a dinner out with Scott. I have to say, it was such a joy
to hold that little Jael in my arms as she fell asleep at night. Zeb is such a gentleman 'most' of the time. big hugs xoxoxox d
"keepin on , Keepin ON, Keepin On caring... about family lovin and being there for each other. Ever so special."
1408EST 1908UTC 0708NZTues Monday Hugs, October 22,2007 xoxo Hey all!! I have been updating the home page but not getting to the log... And words do come in handy. A bit of narration. Yes, much is happening. Transition is moving along. Leaving again... You know how hard that is for me.. New Zealand, Ushuaia, Ireland...it is always traumatic as I seem to get very close to people very fast. It has been glorious meeting so many that have followed our journey around the world in person. Catching up with great old friends as Rhode Island has become home base in the states so I do get to 'come back' and continue friendships made here. Davison has been an amazing supportive partner as I have forged new territories. I am not going to do a thank you letter here as inevitably I can't name all who have touched my life so deeply. I did get a letter to the editor into the East Bay Rhode Island papers. So much giving. But the time has come for me to head south to Palm Beach FL to join SV_Sherry Lee as Skipper for Stu. Truth is, that Stu is once again facilitating dreams as he gives me a place and helps me hide away to begin to write. I am just so distractable.
There has been much going on as I am getting alot of projects off the ground. Alot is established and up and running. I have a bit of a handle on the website..I have contact with folks in many realms of furthering the cause of preservation, the critical thinking program I want to develop. I hope that it will allow folks to work on skills that help us make better decisions based on real information which I believe will help our country, our family, our lives to better balance and healthy living. When we see things as truly interconnected as they are, as stewards of all that we have for all people because we are all so interconnected, our decisions will start to create balance. Enough is enough.. balance creates peace and allows the happiness that is intrinsically ours to be our centering. When I get overwelmed, and I do so often, it is that knowing that I am really happy intrinsically that lets me ask honest questions of myself. What is hindering the expression of the true happiness that is mine?. As soon as I get quiet and stop, I sense that happiness. It is noise, striving, fear, worry that distracts me and steals so much energy I can't even enjoy the happiness I know is me.
This summer and fall, I have also had some rude awakenings and reality checks as I continued to research. I can not deny the plummeting stability of the 'America' I have believed in. Corporate egotism and feudal arrogance has boldly erroded our political checks and balances. It seems that we have handed over our rights to fear. Yet possibly what we should fear is not without...it is within our own systems that no longer care for sustainable health and the people. Just ensuring there will be a real election in 2008 will be a challenge more over bringing in the checks and balances that will break the historical cycles of money and power seeking injustice. We can make a difference. Keep on Caring..Live our own lives in balance as much as we can. Sustainable..
Believe me, I am talking to myself... I get tired as I haven't managed the intensity of all going on very well. But as time goes by and ideas mature, enthusiasm comes in waves, expectations become more realistic, I start to sift through life and priority. I have tried some things and I am finding my way. It has been a magical summer yet challenging as could be. Inspired Insanity will be staying In Bristol Marina for the winter. The refit took more than expected and I had alot of last minute committments come up, so she will be enduring the cold. BRRRR... I can't explain how hard it has been to make the decision to leave her behind... but it will be OK. We got her all buttoned up. Bristol Marina took care of the rig and has the engine.. we have some projects still in process, the head, bracket for an outboard, but Keel got the rest of the fiberglass work and covered all the holes in the cockpit. It was such a pleasure to have him there as I puttered away inside and packed stuff away. So come spring.. splash...
It has been a wonderful few weeks, great friends visiting from afar. Yes,Keel, my youngest son, just visited. WOW! he is amazing. Challenging himself to move forward. His photography skills are maturing as he keeps focused. We played some great jams. It is such a joy beyond words to have had him here, to hold him and have him hold me. His understanding is so genetic to me. Now I need to get to Cooper!!! I hope to see Kristy in the next days. Davison and I am heading west to NY for a few days with Ptarmi before heading south. She is due for her baby in December, and joy would have it that they just were able to buy a house. So it is going to be a crazy transition time for them amidst the baby baking.. Oh to be young. I can't wait to get there and lend a hand. But never enough time.
So, things will start to settle down I think. I am sure that it won't take too long in Palm Beach before I get some gigs happening.. but I will continue to keep updates happening. Actually, it will take a bit to finish sharing so much that has happened this summer and fall. I've got lots of photos trickling in....
Biggest Hugs xoxoxo d
"Keepin On, Keepin On, Keepin On Caring... keeping centered in true happiness it is all good...somehow"
An amazing letter from my brother, Pastor Brian Lange, Greater Grace World Outreach.MD
Hi Donna, i am sorry we were not able to get together. i always think about you
and marvel at the feat you accomplished. i also have that lange "go for it"
spirit so it touches me in a spot that is deeper than the mind. lizzy and i are
singing a bit these days. we are known for our bluegrass sound that has the
excitement of the horse galloping in an open field and the quietness of a lonely
yet safe night alone under the stars. i guess the music thing is part of us
also. i will never forget the times we had laying tracks for the one and only
jordan special cd.
i am encouraged to see how God has worked in your
life to set you free from hidden yet guarded prisons. even the church became
part of the fabric of the straps that bound you. now that you are free i also
see that others are also free - free to live life as they will without judgment
or censorship. love is an amazing thing that has so many levels and expressions.
i have never seen a love like that of God for us - a sacrificial love, a
constant love, a sure love. the invisible is so real with the help of my own
need and my own faith. the seen so reveals a creator that loves, feels, cares
and appreciates. you have seen Him and known Him i am sure since you were for so
long surrounded with only those things that God has created. i often use your
experiences to illustrate spiritual life. i am a spectator and a learner but i
have seen the invisible in the visible.
we are blessed. keep your head
up - we are the only creature that stands upright and can look up while standing
in our normal relaxed position. let's stay in touch more...oh, by the way, happy
birthday.
Bro Bri
Love you
Bro... What is that verse about love and truth and being set free. The truth
will set you free and we will be free indeed. Yes, Love is so 'is.'...I am so
often reminded of the moments of revelation I have had amidst the teachings of
the finished work, the eternal is,... the many facets of grace... the need to be
free indeed to live by faith with all power.. love is a free flowing essence..
yes, somehow free amidst creation in a way that the human expression of love
seems to be hindered amidst the mind and the passing down of ideas. It is a
privilege to have had the opportunity to be submerged in the sea...a place of
ancient intrinsic belonging, before man, continual nurturing, honor both for
creation and of creation for the spirit of seeking I am blessed with. We are
blessed with...I am so inspired by you. Yes, let's stay more in touch..We are due for a jam..
