Wildlife

This past weekend we helped our gracious hosts, the Coconut Grove
Sailing Club, with their annual clean-up. I was on the landscaping
team on Saturday and helped 'weed.' In Miami, weeding requires a
machete because plants down here grow out of control. There were
tropical vines, crab grass, palm fronds, rotting coconuts filled with
giant red ants' nests, and plenty of purple oyster plants. As Alyn
Pruett, the Club's Vice Commodore and fellow St. Louis native said,
the challenge in Miami is not growing plants, but growing the 'right'
plants.

It has been sunny and above 80 degrees here this week, which makes it
hard to remember that it is December. This also makes for tons of
plant and animal life during the winter. On one trip in from the boat
to the dock, Adam and I saw a puffer fish, a baby barracuda, a small
stingray, a school of minnows and another larger fish I don't
recognize, fish that were disguised as seaweed leaves, a large iguana,
an egret, and a great blue heron, all within 5 minutes.

One evening last week, I noticed a pair of blue and yellow macaw
parrots squawking and flying northwards over the mooring field towards
a group of palm trees across from Dinner Key. The two of them have
continued this daily ritual almost like clockwork as the sun sets
around 5:45 PM, as if they were going home from work.

Read more »

I live in the V-Berth

This is Trevor, reporting from the V-Berth, where I live.

Before starting, here are some vocabulary words so that this makes sense:

Forward- Closer to the bow (front).
Aft- Closer to the stern (back).
Chain locker- Enclosed space in the bow of the boat where the anchor
chain is stored.
Galley- Kitchen.
Spinnaker- A downwind parachute-shaped sail.
Genoa- A headsail used on the front of the boat.
Courtesy flags- Flags of the country that we are visiting, flown off
the starboard side of the boat.

The V-Berth is the forward most room on the boat, just aft of the
chain locker and forward of the galley. It is a pretty interesting
place to live- a mix between a bedroom, a shelf, a supply closet, and
a sail loft. Some of my favorite roommates are: the #3 Genoa sail,
the spinnaker sail, about 20 courtesy flags, Alan's big red tool bag,
the vacuum, the parachute anchor, and all my clothes, toothbrushes,
and books. At night I lay on my bed, which is a 2 foot by 6 foot
shelf, and enjoy the breezes that flow in from the door of the chain
locker and the hatch above my head. Sometimes, I use the spinnaker as
a pillow and look up at the stars. For the past week we have kept our
folding bicycles on shore, meaning that there is enough floor space in
the V-Berth to stand. It is painted bright yellow, which is sometimes
my favorite color. I have been trying to think of some sort of
decoration for a small hook in the port side wall. Suggestions are
welcome.

When we are sailing offshore and there are waves, the V-Berth is not
the place to be. Just like the back of the bus, the up-and-down
motion is magnified in the front of our boat. This means I borrow
Alan or Adam's quarter berth beds (which are closer to the middle of
the boat) to get sleep when I'm off watch. As soon as the waves die
down, I'm back in the V-Berth because I appreciate its relative
privacy and other subtle positive attributes. There is no place on
the boat that I'd rather live!

Trevor

Read more »