What happens on the Gulf of Mexico STAYS on the Gulf of Mexico!

Returning from Put-in-Bay Days at Key West last Tuesday, Tessa’s exhausted, cold, wet, and frustrated crew decided that was our story and we were sticking to it. We had no desire to relive the events of the last 28 hours. No one needed to know about the horrible weather, the engine troubles, and especially the fact that we were being towed into our port. When we were boarded by the Coast Guard, we had no motivation to capture the events on film. Even if we wanted to, Nick’s camera battery was dead, mine was m.i.a., and Greg’s was ruined by saltwater that found it’s way into the forward cabin and drenched his belongings. I was so tired Tuesday night that I forgot to report our delayed, yet safe arrival to Nick James. Wednesday, 48 hours after our departure from Key West, Nick considered calling the Coast Guard to report us missing, when I finally called him. What began as a weary, brief account of the trip turned into an emotional flood of details. Before I was finished, my director/producer was exclaiming “OHHHH, this is good stuff!! You need to tell this story in your blog!” “Please, Nick James!” I pleaded. “I want to forget about it, not write about it!” OK, OK, I’ll write about it……. Everything started out smoothly. Thursday morning, Tessa’s crew assembled, stowed belongings, and got comfortable for the anticipated 20 hour overnight voyage. Mike and Mary Moore narrowly avoided a brutal Columbus Ohio snow storm to join us. Nick Grillo escaped the same storm from Mansfield, and Greg Roberto was already in Fort Myers, ready for the Key West adventure. We had a good weather window, and the seas remained mostly calm as we scooted down the coastline of Fort Myers, Naples, and Marco Island, avoiding crab pots. As dusk approached, some playful dolphins put on a fantastic show, racing along beside us and frolicking in our bow wake. Our dinner menu consisted of panko crusted mahi-mahi, drizzled with red Thai curry sauce, accompanied with ginger saffron basmati rice. We enjoyed an awesome sunset, and soon the satisfied crew members were ready to crawl into their bunks. The guys worked out a four hour watch schedule, and the overnight cruise progressed uneventfully. It got a little choppy during the night, and I worried a bit about Mike and Mary’s reaction to their first sleep-over sail. Mike reported that they giggled a lot as their bodies bumped and rolled against each other…for all the wrong reasons. We arrived at the Westin Marina, Key West, early Friday morning, shortly after the Celebrity Cruise Ship. The port and marina were bustling with activity, and I proclaimed that we picked the most “happening place” in Key West to dock. Right next to Mallory Square, one block to the shops, bars, and restaurants that we intended to frequent. The dock master greeted us warmly, then added “You do know we’re expecting a big blow this afternoon?” And blow it did! There were reports of 20, 30, even 40 knot winds during the afternoon storm. Rain dampened Tessa and Crew, but not our happy hour spirits. Eggs Benedict were first on the agenda Saturday morning, before we began the Key West bar crawl toward Sloppy Joes for the sixth annual Put-in-Bay Music Festival. Bob Gatewood kicked off the event and the crowd rewarded his energetic performance with a standing ovation. Ray Fogg, Pete & Wayne, Mike Mad Dog Adams, and finally Pat Daily entertained the rowdy PIB and Key West crowd late into the night. Gary won two complimentary Boardwalk Lobster Bisques for being the first buckethead of the day. Mary Moore won Jet Express passes for guessing Big E’s waist size….on stage. Greg won a t-shirt, Nick won Miller Ferry passes. We saw lots of PIB friends and made some new Key West ones. Sunday morning, we evaluated the weather forecast to determine whether a Sunday or Monday departure was in order. Gary was inclined to leave Sunday. Nick, Greg, and I were in no hurry to get back to Fort Myers. Mike and Mary had a flight out that afternoon, so they had no opinion…other than they just plain didn’t want to leave. There was a chance of wind on our nose on Monday night and Tuesday. But when is the forecast ever right??? Gary conceded to stay. I voiced my concern. “I just don’t want this decision to come back and bite me in the… “It won’t” Gary interrupted. “We’re staying. I’m OK with it.” The weather Sunday was beautiful, and we enjoyed every single minute of it. Monday was equally as beautiful, and the Gulf was a welcoming, tranquil, turquoise. There was not enough wind to sail, but was a delight to relax and enjoy the warm sun and peaceful seas. I encouraged Gary to stretch out and take a nice long nap to be rested up for his night watch. As I began to prepare some angel hair with clam sauce, I heard a buzzing alarm, and Nick shouted down to me “What’s the normal oil pressure supposed to be?” Ummm, not sure. Better wake the Captain. “SHUT IT DOWN, SHUT IT DOWN!” our groggy Captain responded, meaning to shut down the engine immediately. There was plenty of oil on the dip stick, but it was a creamy, milky consistency. Not good, but not an emergency. The wind was building from the west for a close reach, so we put up full sails and gradually were charging along, due north, at seven to eight knots. A few hours later, everything drastically changed. The wind clocked around to the north and built to a steady 20 knots, gusting to 25 and 30. We were heeling almost 30 degrees. Gary reefed the genoa and main to try to steady the boat. Tessa confidently crashed through the waves, but she didn’t like it much when they built to 8 to 10 feet. As I tried to read down below, she would hit one of the big waves with a resounding “WHAM”, then shudder to nearly a complete stop before charging ahead again. These abrupt stops, combined with the heeling, made it very uncomfortable to move about down below as I tried to keep some semblance of order. Anything that wasn’t attached to a bulkhead was thrown about the cabins. The tremendous force of the waves allowed saltwater to permeate the slightest weakness in a port or hatch. Later, during clean-up, we wiped a layer of salt off the table and even the walls in the main salon. Of course, some rain squalls had to jump in on the action during the dark night. It was like Mother Nature was standing above us swirling a broomstick and cackling like the Wicked Witch of the West. Since the wind howled directly out of the north, right on our nose, we had to tack back and forth to make any headway. For twenty four hours. The sun rose, but the wind and waves did not fall off. Nick woke from a brief nap, looked around down below, and commented “I saw houses in New Orleans destroyed by Katrina that looked better than this.” I laughed for the first time in 12 hours. Greg was such a trooper. During watches, he could rest in his top, starboard bunk only while on a port tack, so it was necessary to wake him before we changed directions to avoid tossing him across the cabin like a rag doll. Later on Tuesday afternoon, when the end was in sight, Greg asked Captain Gary how much further to go. Gary replied “17.4 nautical miles.” About a hour later we tacked. Greg, even more anxious, asked “How much further now, Captain?” Gary replied “17.5” The look on Greg’s face made me laugh for the second time that day! My Captain, as always, remained cool, calm, collected and steadfast in his mission to get us to our home port safely. Approximately ten miles out, he made the call that all Captains dread, to TowBoat U.S. He made the call to not try bringing Tessa into Matanzas Pass with the milky oil. There is a feeling of impotence when a Captain cannot bring his vessel to port under it’s own power. But enough was enough on this day, time to throw in the towel and put an end to our misery. Captain Gary needed some rest. Tow Boat Captain Ed responded immediately and suggested that we make one more tack in his direction, as we were moving at 7.5 knots and he could not even tow us that fast. Greg, stay with us now, just one more tack and it’s over….. After Ed hooked up and began the slow tow in, he hailed us on the radio to warn that a Coast Guard boat was heading straight toward Tessa. Sure enough, the next transmission we hear is the Coast Guard advising TowBoat U.S. that they will be boarding the vessel in tow. Captain Ed later told us this was a first of this happening in the twenty four years he has towed vessels. From the look on Gary’s face, I thought he may just crumble to his knees in defeat. He had navigated for nearly thirty hours, through wind and rain and waves, only to complete the day being BOARDED BY THE COAST GUARD?????????? He could not disguise or conceal the major stink eye he gave them, but he remained calm, answered all their questions, produced all the documentation and safety equipment, and passed their inspection with flying colors. There was one tense moment when he couldn’t find the tube of flares that are usually on the port shelf in our stateroom. “Lori, do you know where are flares are?” I know exactly where they are. When they flew across the cabin and struck me in the head last night, I tucked them under the mattress for safekeeping. Even after producing the flares, the Coast Guard said they were all expired. Confused, Gary pulls out every other flare on board stored in various compartments. All expired. More confused, Gary goes back to the original tube, where he locates the flares that are not expired. “Ooops, my bad“ the Coastie apologizes. No, he didn’t really apologize. All he did was check flares off the list and announce that we passed inspection. Fine, now take your big messy boots off our boat and let us get the heck home please!!!!! (not spoken aloud) The rest of the tow in was uneventful, aside from the many inquiring glances from our fellow mooring ball neighbors. There is nothing like a good break down to excite sailors, as long as it’s not their own boat being towed! Gary thought that Greg was so anxious to get off the boat that he could and would have inflated the dinghy by mouth instead of pump, but Greg fooled him. Instead, he threw himself and his luggage on the TowBoat U.S. boat and had his best friend Captain Ed drop him at the dock. Now that the ordeal is behind us, we have all been able to find some redeeming aspects of the voyage. We are all still friends. Greg still loves Tessa but is not inclined to hit the high seas again soon. Nick Grillo had another boat trip scheduled back down to the Keys but decided a Budget Rental Car sounded a skosh more comfortable. He has, however, volunteered to crew again on the journey back down to the Keys when we depart Fort Myers. I learned two important things. My confidence in Tessa had not been tested since the trip up the Atlantic last spring. This trip proved that I, and Tessa, passed the test. I honestly, truly, was not scared for one moment. I was miserable, uncomfortable, and pretty much hated it. But I was not scared. Most importantly, I learned to always, always, always, trust my Captain’s first instinct when it comes to a weather window. Even though he did the honorable thing by not even once saying “I told you so” about leaving Sunday instead of Monday, he had to be thinking it over and over again as the sleep deprivation set in. Ultimately, he is responsible for Tessa and her crew, and he is the one struggling at the helm through wind and rain and whatever else the Wicked Witch throws at him. The next trip we take, Captain Gary makes ALL the calls. That’s my story and I’m stickin to it! Unless he wants to do an overnighter…or there’s the slightest chance that the wind will be on our nose…or there is any chance that the wind will go above 20 knots…or there’s a chance it will storm. How about there needs to be a 100 percent chance that we will have sailing breezes and sunshine? That sounds good, doesn’t it Captain?

It is a Happy New Year...Finally!

It is a happy new year! We haven’t left Florida since January 1st, but Florida definitely left us. Today, the temperature was a balmy 62 degrees down below when we awoke, instead of the frigid 42 degrees we experienced more mornings than I want to remember. We opened the hatches and left them open for the entire day! We happily recognized and waved to our neighbors as we dinghied along, instead of lifting a hand to unidentified boaters hiding in canvas enclosures or hunkered in dinghies covered in hats, hoodies, and foul weather gear. We all greeted each other with “Isn’t this wonderful?” and “It’s about time!” instead of “Are you staying warm?” or “It can’t last much longer….can it?” We put bathing suits on for the first time this year, and took a long beach walk luxuriating in the hot sun and warm ocean breeze. The sky was blue and the sand was warm. We enjoyed the wonderful smell of sun tan lotion instead of avoiding the smell of dead fish that had sadly washed up on the beach due to unseasonably cold waters. The tourists strolled the beach, frolicked in the water, and relaxed on lounge chairs soaking up rays, instead of looking disappointed and forlorn wrapped in towels and sweatshirts. Today, everything just felt good. We knew it was our lucky day while during our walk I found a nickel, then Gary found a dime…both “heads up”. We returned to Tessa to catch up on outdoor boat chores, and never enjoyed them more. I scrubbed the water line and the dinghy, while Gary washed down the deck and topsides. We opened up the canvas and let the warm breeze flow through, instead of keeping it tightly zipped to cut the cold, damp winds. We celebrated the return of sunny Florida by playing Bob Marley…really loud. We each have a shadow of a tan line beginning. This is what it’s supposed to feel like in Florida. We’ve turned the corner and everything is looking up. How could I be more absolutely, positively convinced of this, after I walked by the marina soda machine this afternoon to find it spitting out dimes like a Las Vegas slot machine? I hastily gathered them up off the floor and stuck them in my pocket. Finders keepers, losers weepers. Then, I reported the malfunction to the office… and promptly bought a lottery ticket at 7-Eleven with my $5.00 jackpot. In spite of the weather, it’s still been a very, very happy new year for us so far. Life is good! Even if we don’t win the lottery. p.s. If we do happen to win the Florida Powerball on Wednesday, free trip to Fort Myers for our 500 closest family and friends!

MONOGAMY?

Before the rumors get out, we might as well go ahead and admit it. We sleep around. During our trip up north, we slept nine different places out of eleven nights. We slept on an air mattress, a futon, a pull out sofa, a mattress and box springs, three spare bedrooms, and two hotel rooms. We are not particular. We just keep following the fun. And what fun we had! We shared a tuna boat at Nagoya with Nick and Lynne. We joined our Clinton Reef Club friends for the annual Christmas party. We enjoyed a wonderful holiday celebration with the Milson clan in Detroit. Then we headed south to Dayton to spend six days with family and friends. We had a festive lunch at Bob and Mary Jane’s, joined by Brands’ Marina friends Roy and Diane. We spent our traditional first night in Dayton at the Crowne Plaza Club Lounge with Rita and Dammit Jim. Next night, we had a pizza party with Greg, Mark and Carol at Washington Colony. Night three, another pizza party with Mom, Cindy, Betti, Mike, and Robin at Mom’s house. Night four was a pre-birthday dinner at El Meson with Mom, Tony, and Cindy. Friday, Gary took Mom and I out for a wonderful sushi lunch for my birthday. Friday night was a Christmas open house at Mom’s. Saturday was the big hurrah, our family Christmas celebration. We always spend the day in festive anticipation, wrapping presents, cooking, preparing, setting the dining room table. Cousin Pammie and her girls arrived early in the afternoon for Pammie’s bread making class with Mom. As the story goes, recently Mom tried to talk her through the bread recipe over the phone, and the results were disastrous. We all watched skeptically as the two of them went through the steps. Mom has had years to perfect her bread making skills, and we were doubtful about Pammie’s second try. Uncle David took Alivia, Alex, and Lauren out back to build a snowman. It was so sweet to watch them gleefully pelt each other with snowballs. David had a hard time channeling their efforts, but eventually they succeeded in creating a classic snowman. We had a wonderful time together that night, the kids opening presents, then all of us cracking crab legs and jokes around the table. Shirley and Bill Mehaffie stopped by, and Dammit Jim made his annual visit to share some Christmas cheer and funny stories of our past adventures. Later that night, we headed back to Washington Colony to celebrate Greg Roberto’s 60th birthday. We spent that night at Tony’s, then departed the following morning, anxious to return to our monogamous lifestyle on board Tessa. Or so we hoped…… Except, the first night back in Florida, we slept at Don Dunn’s, as it was too late to catch a ride out to Tessa in the mooring field at Matanza’s. Back on board the next day, we vowed to slow down the pace and get back into our Tessa groove. Except, we needed to start planning our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day festivities staying with Don and Lauren back on Pine Island. We had a great Christmas Eve feast of baked brie, oysters, escargot, and Gary’s famous French onion soup. Christmas day, Don suggested we take his “airship” boat back over to Matanza’s to pick up our friends Tom and Lynette from Por Fin. Back on Pine Island, we all shared in the preparation and consumption of prime rib, twice baked potatoes, roasted asparagus, and disgustingly caloric eggnog. OK, Christmas is out of the way. Now we can get back to normal, just the three of us. Except, we had planned to stay over with Kevin and Carol at the Holiday Inn Sunday night after a big dollar-a-drink party at the “DEK”. The deal was that we would buy for them at the Dek, across the street from their hotel, and in turn we could crash in their room that night. But our ever so generous friend Kevin surprised us with a room of our own. What a treat! The bed was soooooo luxurious. Sorry Tessa, we’ll get back to you soon enough. It’s nothing personal, but did I mention that bed was sooooooo luxurious? OK, next day, back on board and ready to get back on course. Just the three of us. Except, next comes New Years Eve. We invited Bryan Diveto and Danielle to stay with us on Tessa, and Greg Roberto also decided to join in. We co-hosted an oyster “Slurp n Burp” party at Matanzas, then had a great time ringing in the new year on Fort Myers beach with our friends Paige and Jim and Tom and Lynette. As we enjoy a spectacular Fort Myers sunset on this first day of this new year, I contemplate a resolution. We will stop all this sleeping around and stay home on board Tessa where we belong. That’s it, we’re monogamous again. Over. Finito. Done deal. Except, we already made plans to sleep on “Sanctuary” with Angie in Key Biscayne tomorrow night. And Sunday night, we agreed to sleep at Greg’s new vacation home in North Fort Myers. Sleeping around has earned such a bad rap, but we have discovered that no matter where you sleep, or what you sleep on, it’s a wonderful thing to sleep with the ones you love.

Romancing the Turveys

We fell in love with Ken and Jane Turvey during our first happy hour together. As they moved in across the hall that winter so many years ago, I suggested to Gary that we invite the new neighbors for happy hour. "Maybe they don't drink" Gary worried. "Let's find out" I replied, and across the hall I went to extend the invitation. At 5:00, our guests arrived and I inquired "What can I get you to drink?" "I'll have a Martini!" Jane replied without hesitation. "I'll have a Manhattan!" Ken followed enthusiastically. Gary and I exchanged a glance of surprised delight. We were going to get along with our new neighbors just fine! And so the romance began. Our first happy hour extended late into the evening, as we began politely getting acquainted, then warmed up to each other in record time. Jane broke the ice with her sharp wit very early during one of the many stories they shared. What brought them to Clinton Reef Club for the winter? "All our friends in Florida are dead" she replied. OK, that wasn't the reply we were expecting, but it was candid enough to be humorous. Later, they described how they met and were determined to be married before Ken went to WW2. What, we asked, was the rush to get married? "Sex" Jane replied. "He wanted sex." Then she followed "I, on the other hand, wanted the insurance policy, because I was sure he wasn't coming back." Their teasing, loving banter continued that way, as we suspect it has for all the sixty plus years they had been together. Ken, so charming, funny, eloquent. Jane, so straightforward, witty, mischievous. We wanted to be just like Ken and Jane. They claimed we were so much like them in their younger years. We soaked up every detail of their rich, colorful, exciting pasts, while they loved hearing about our hectic schedules and upcoming social events. We loved cooking for each other, sharing our favorite specialties over jokes, stories, and so many laughs. Jane loved my shrimp Oscar, but outdid me with her lamb chops. Ken loved my soups, but they paled in comparison to his famous garlic butter oysters. And NO ONE could make waffles like Ken Turvey. His waffles were not just food, they were an event! During the days, while hard at work in our office at the clubhouse, we would watch Ken trudge through snow and ice, so bundled up that he looked like Freddie Krueger, getting his exercise. At nights, we played games, watched movies, listened to music, and ate triple dipped malted milk balls and chocolate covered cherries. On Sunday nights, Jane and I would be glued to the TV watching Desperate Housewives while Ken and Gary argued about politics and pretended not to like our show. Wasn't macho to enjoy Desperate Housewives. Eventually our foursome expanded to include Nick and Lynne and Bryan Diveto. We celebrated most holidays and special occasions together, even if it was a brief stop-by at the Turveys for a quick drink or malted milk ball. On Superbowl Sundays, our condo common area was transformed into Stadium Seating. The guys decided to project the game on the entire wall, Nick made the fifty yard line out of white duct tape, while Lynne, Jane, and I prepared appetizers, we lined up our seats, and moved Ken's recliner out into the hall so he would be comfortable watching the game. The best Superbowl memories ever. Sharing winters expanded to sharing summers at Put-in-Bay. We partied on Tessa and we partied at their home. We got to know their friends and family, they got to know ours, and soon without realizing it, everyone kind of molded into one big wonderful circle of love. When Jane died we all feared that the circle, and Ken, were broken. But he surprised us all by ever so slowly wading through his grief. As the piles of sympathy cards and letters accumulated unopened on his tv tray, we encouraged him to open them and gather strength from the heartfelt messages. His family and friends surrounded him with so much love and support that he was somehow able to find the strength to move on beyond the loss of Jane. We were so fortunate to make many more happy memories together with Ken. $2.00 Burger Night at Mr. Ed's with Beckie and Chris. Fourth of July Fireworks on board Tessa with Ken, Davey & Jessie, Katie, Ron & Robin, Sue & Denny. Sunset sailing with Marv and Pat, listening to Ken and Marv reminice. Leg of Lamb dinners hosted by Davey & Jessie, Ron & Robin, along with Sue & Denny, Nick & Lynne, and Lee & Frances. Lunch at the Boardwalk and Houligans, followed by long lazy golf cart rides all around the island, enjoying Ken's wonderful stories of life on Put-in-Bay. Just simply stopping by with friends to visit with Ken and Happy. And many more waffles....oh he was so proud of his waffles. Wednesday night we learned that Ken had passed away. After Gary and I hugged and cried and then hugged and cried some more, I began to feel comforted by the realization that while we were feeling the pain of Ken's loss, he was rejoicing in his reunion with Jane. A picture began to form in my mind, of Ken seeing Jane again, kneeling down, wrapping his arms around her waist,and saying something poetic like "Jane, my love, I've missed you so much, I love you so much, and I am so happy that we are back together again forever." Jane then pokes him in the shoulder and replies "What took you so long, Turvey?" And the romance continues........

LAND HO!!!

11:15 est November 24th, 2009 Just off the coast of Captiva Island and about 3 1/2 hours away from our winter home at Matanzas Marina. Tessa under power and is having some charging issues as she is not recharging her power cells. Will have more soon. Love to All! P.S. We're almost HOME!!!

Ft. Myers, here we come...

Tessa, Capt. Gary and Lori are now in the Gulf heading to Ft. Myers. Expected to arrive Tuesday afternoon.