Christmas 2010

This is the cockpit of Persephone on Christmas Eve.....

Lynn and Ken of "Silverheels III" in their Christmas finest entering Clark's Court Bay Marina for Christmas dinner....

Ken actually has a tie aboard...and a Christmas one no less, featuring the Twelve Days of Christmas !!

Christmas dinner at Clark's Court Bay Marina.....

Cheryl (red crown) of "Just Imagine" and her guest Caroll (yellow crown) are in the foreground.

XMAS......

Persephone and her crew would like to wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR !!

"Christmas in the Caribbean, we've got everything but snow !"

"Getting to Look a Lot Like Christmas....."



The holidays are a perfect excuse for a cocktail party on Persephone:

From L to R: Anne ('Impressionist'), Lynn & Ken ('Silverheels III'),  Jim ('Impressionist')
 and Eric and Jackie ('Compass Rose')

The lawn of a local insurance company

A tin soldier stands guard over a hillside of lights.....



Colage of lights.........

 

"Deck the Halls"....but in this case its Deck the Mall !!



Trip to New England in Pictures

This is Wentworth by the Sea in New Hampshire where THE FAMILY gathered for our annual Pre-Christmas party.  My 86 year old father has hosted this annual event for more than twenty years.  Despite the "grey" described in my previous post, it was a great time....just needed a bit more WARM !  Seeing family and friends made the trip well worth it, but it IS good to be back "home".

Stately "Nubble Light" stands watch over a cold, rugged Maine Coast in stark contrast to the cobalt waters of the Caribbean:











                                                      





Christmas tree Maine style.....lobster traps and red buoys.  Gotta love the lobster on top instead of a star !!  Only in New England !











                Wentworth by the Sea at night decorated for the holidays.
















                                            



                                                                       







                                                                  

Gray vs. Grey

I am sitting in the airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico contemplating the difference between ‘gray’ and ‘grey’. The first question that may pop into your head is: “why are you in Puerto Rico” ? Followed by the question, “have you had a few too many rum drinks??….gray vs. grey….what the heck (%#*& ?) Who cares !!!

Well, I care.  I am returning from several days back in Connecticut, New Hampshire and Maine. (I didn't announce on the blog that I had left Persephone in Grenada for security reasons.)  It was great to spend time in the states catching up with friends and colleagues. On Saturday night my 86+ year old dad hosted his annual Christmas dinner for the ‘sibs”. Dad was great; as was the time with my crazy, totally bazaar, and completely dysfunctional family….God love ‘em’; I wouldn’t want them any other way….well, maybe just a little…… !!




Rum tot in Gray

 

But, what struck me most about New England was the GRAY…..the sky was gray, the Maine water was gray, the hills were gray, the trees, streets, buildings….EVERYTHING was gray….but most of all, the mood was gray. Heck, this blog is even gray for God's sake !! It appears that the economy, unemployment and the general state of the US of A has sucked all of the color out of New England. Colleague after colleague told me that business was awful and we got out and went cruising in a nick of time……I stated to feel bad for blithering about the cruising life style.

I could feel the ‘gray’ lift as soon as the plane touched down in Puerto Rico. Christmas carols in Spanish with a Latin beat…..the color is back !! I have returned HOME to the Caribbean…..


After deep contemplation, the only difference I can ascertain is ‘gray’ is a color; whereas ‘grey’ is a “colour”…….Wow.....after all that, I DO need to find a watering hole at SJU !!

Another Saturday Night.....

Hello from soggy Grenada (and I thought the rainy season was supposed to end by mid-November...WRONG !!).  It has been raining off and on...mostly on.... since Thrusday.  Friday was a complete washout; I never left the boat.  We got over 3 1/2 inches of rain on Friday alone, and the rain continues.  So, to ward off cabin fever, there is only one thing to do....ROAD TRIP !!

The rain continues...and so does the street fair

Being the last Saturday of the month, the little town of Victoria, located in the northwest tip of Grenada hosts a street food fair.  This was started a couple of months ago, and it is strictly a "locals" event...i.e. no tourists.  So, a bus trip was organized to make the trip to Victoria....The street was blocked off and tents were set up featuring local food, local rums, and of course beer to wash it all down....

The food was very 'local'....'lambi water' (a conch stew...very good !),  'manny water'  (floating goat testicles....an all time favorite, I'm sure),  small fish still whole which are eaten like an apple, curried mutton (delicious), and ox tail stew... "Excuse me....does the ox tail have bones" ?? I asked.  O' course it does, mon....how da ya thig  it moves it's tail !!"  " Right...got it"....I muttered as I sidled away....   Seriously, all the food was delicious, fresh and different.

How many hands are holding the bottle ?

Eric ('Compass Rose') and I enjoying a coldie and sampling some of the local "Clarks' Court Bay Rum".  A special thanks to Matts on 'Elin Alida' my neighboring yacht from Sweden who supplied the pictures.  SKOL, Matts !!

An Ex-Pat Thanksgiving !!

On Wednesday, I was on the bus for the semi-weekly shopping trip to the grocery store.  I was sitting next to Rachel from 'Orchard';   homeport Brisbane, Australia. The general conversation among the American cruisers was Thanksgiving plans.  Rachel  turned and asked, "Embarrassingly, I don't know what Thanksgiving is all about....would you explain it to me "?  I immediately launched into a diatribe about John Smith and Pocahontas.  Others joined in with less relevant details about Pilgrims, help from the Indians, and a big dinner to celebrate the harvest....(I didn't have the heart to mention how the Pilgrams'  communal, socialistic farming methods in the first two years at The Rock almost caused them all to starve to death...Glenn Beck would have been proud....but I kept my mouth shut).   What I did realize by listening to the other cruisers from all over the world, is that Thanksgiving is a wonderful, unique, American tradition. 

This is the scene looking out on Clarks Court Bay from the CCB Marina.  Over fifty cruisers were here to celebrate "American Thanksgiving".  CCBM provided the turkeys, and the cruisers provided all the side dishes.  Persephone's contribution was cranberry sauce made from scratch (except for growing the berrys...)

Waiting for dinner......

Passports were checked at the door.  Non-Americans were segregated to a table at the rear. L to R:  Ken and Lynn of 'Silverheels III', Toronto, Canada, and Jim and Anne of  'Impressionist', Portsmouth, England.

Following dinner the  Patriots vs. Detroit football game was on the big screen TV.  No sleet, snow or freezing rain, but a tropical downpour just as we were about to leave on a 15 minute dinghy ride back "home"...It was a wonderful time, just what Thanksgiving is all about.