In New Orleans.

Ok, so here's the scoop. We don't have the internet on the boat and Norfolk is like on another planet and you can't find free wifi there to save your life so that's why I have been out of touch for a week.

In other news, I started feeling sick Monday morning at about 1:30am when I woke up in a cold sweat. I took some dayquil when I woke up and went on about my day. Took nyquil and went to bed, woke up again all sweaty and feeling really bad. Got up, took more dayquil but sat at the other table during breakfast lunch and dinner because I didn't want to spread my germs. Everyone could tell I was sick and Sean, the captain told me to go lie down for a while and rest. So I told Carlos, the first mate to wake me up when they started practicing setting the storm jib so I could be a part of that. He did and I went on deck to freeze for a while. I rested for a while before dinner then the CEO of the company arrived and we had an after dinner meeting that lasted for like 3 hours. I went to sleep and couldn't get any rest due to a grizzly bear snoring in the bunk next to me, and in the morning I couldn't even get out of bed for breakfast. Carlos came to check on me and suggested I go to the Doctor. Which of course, I don't want to do, but he insisted so off we went. The Doc said I have type A flu virus, now, this MIGHT be the Swine but they don't test to differentiate between the two because they are both treated with the same meds. So it may just be the seasonal flu. Either way I am contagious (not airborne) for the next couple of days.

The boat is flying me home and then flying me to Bermuda when I am well to meet them and continue the trip. I am so lucky. I figured it would just be easier to replace me then to go to all this trouble. But I guess they like me.

I will upload some pictures this evening and write all about my adventures living on a tall ship for one week in the frozen tundra. I can tell you one thing, I will NEVER take another job that goes farther north than Key West in the winter time again. NEVER AGAIN!!!!!!!

I can't believe I am in New Orleans and can't even drink a hurricane...

I have the swine flu.

Been in the frozen tundra for one week. Went to the Dr. today. Swine Flu. Flying to Houston or Dallas tonight. I will update you when I get home.

Playing on the Spirit of Mass

Three more days...

Counting down and getting more excited. Tomorrow morning Lilly and I will be sipping bottomless mimosas at Molly Malone's in Red Hook for my going away party day. It's the only day she has off and she wants to spend it with me (surprise) I only hope we can go a whole day with me being sniped from a rooftop...

In other news, I talked to my good friend John G, whom I have known since I lived in KW the first time back when I was 21. He used to work on the Appledore and then on the Liberty Clipper up until this season when the whole crew got fired after the new owners took over. He moved from Boston to Ft. Lauderdale in hopes of finding work. Three months later, still no job. Then last week the new owner of the Clipper called him up and begged him to come back to work. The boat is doing term charters in the Bahamas for the season and the owner really needs someone on board who has experience and knows what they are doing. That is definitely John. Past crew are giving him a hard time about "selling out" and going back to the company that fired our friends. I told him to tell them to STFU because you have to do what's best for you! They are just angry about being fired and probably jealous you are working on the boat we all loved so much. The crew has since scattered to the four winds, one ended up in Ecuador, others in Maine, Michigan, Delaware, Mass, and other places in between. Quite a few are still looking for work. He flies out tomorrow to meet them in Nassau. Congrats John!

Now that my trip is fast approaching I thought I would post this link, HERE it's the link to the Amistad's site, the page that has live positioning of the boat. That way you can see where we are in the world.

I am looking forward to visiting Norfolk and I hope I have a day off where I can go up to Baltimore and visit my old capt. Ryan Healy. He has been such a good friend to me for so long and is always my number one reference on my resume. He and his nurse/roller derby girlfriend are a hoot and I hope I get a chance to visit with them before we leave.

Laura is in the white on the left with the black and yellow helmet... yeah, I don't mess with her... She is a R.N. and her derby name is Reckless Ndangerment... lol


OMG AND GONGRATS to my long time friend Mayra Cortez in TX, she just had a baby! lol look at that little thing!
Carmen Sofia welcome to the world!

MARIA!!!

One of my favorite blogs is called "If it's Hip it's Here" and today's post is so awesome and reminded me of Maria!

You should start making these things from tanks lying around at the yard to make extra monies!!! LOL

CLICK HERE!!!

And, another present for Maria today, the picture at the top of the page is called Kia Ora and she is a ferro-cement schooner!!! It's like AJ's big sister. :)

Have a great day of sailing M!!! We are all thinkin' of ya!

Tanning with Taco. That's what I named him today.

I'm giving him a whole can of tuna for New Years.

Case and Point.

The cat was sitting next to me while I tanned today, and kept walking under my chair tickling the back of my legs with his tail. grrrr.... lol what a goofy gato.

This is the view from my porch today,look at the water all churned up from our wind and waves the past few days...

"Been there, done that, messed around, I'm havin' fun, don't put me down, I'll never let you sweep me off my feet!"

So, What woke you up this morning?

ME?! Oh just a little thing called THE CAT THAT WONT GO AWAY!!!!

Somehow in it's sneaky house entering maneuvers it got locked in the house. You know who it came to this morning at 7am when it needed to go out. It was SCREAMING on my inside window ledge. I have a window that leads to the hallway that has those louvered glass blinds on it. I kept yelling at it in my sleep till it actually busted through the screen and jumped on my head. Not that the screen wasn't being held together by masking tape already. Haha! It's not the incredible hulk cat, it just pushed hard enough on the screen to come through. LOL! I laughed so hard at it. Poor thing.

I hope your NYE was great! My "New" year is amazing. I am calm, happy to have a wonderful family and friends, and new adventure is on the horizon. I was home way before any New Year's eve kisses were handed out and that was fine with me. I had a feeling that the night would end in tears and boy oh boy did it ever. Mine. Well, it didn't END in tears but there were tears at the beach party which is why I came home early. When a grown man is jealous of his girlfriend's best friend that's bad news. I wish she didn't resent me for taking this job...

I am playing my guitar and watching Nim's Island, a decidedly different approach to movies compared to yesterday! Hahahaha! I think her dad in this movie is the main character in 300. I keep imagining him yelling "THIS IS SPARTA!" and kicking intruders off the island.

I keep rubbing my eyes because they are all puffy and itchy from last night's episode and my left contact is really bothering me. I was looking for my contacts to put a new year's pair in, uh oh... found the boxes... no contacts. Add that to the list for Norfolk.

So much to do. I think today I will go lay outside in the sun FINALLY! It's shining.

I have a friend in town so maybe I will go see him.

Gotta get out there and soak up the rays, I wanna be tan when I get to the frozen tundra!

First video of the year!!!

LA ROUX 'BULLETPROOF' from soyo on Vimeo.

This time baby, I'll be bulletproof!

I would like to be the first to say...

This is the Gayest New Year on record!!!

Finally!!! Anderson Cooper has been covering the Key West Sushi Drag Queen Drop forever and this year he finally came out to the idiots who couldn't figure out that he is gay. I already saw five of my queens and tons of friends on CNN. Hope you are all having a great time. I love you and hope your NYE is better than mine. My best friend abandoned me for a crazy man. Pray it never happens to you, when a man is jealous of a woman things get crazy.

Merry Christmas and Happy Blue Moon New Year.

Happy New Year's Eve!

This is how my NYE is going right now....



Hope yours is awesome, safe and happy!

Note to self...

If you have a problem with seeing people hanging... do NOT watch the movie The Happening, with Mark Whalberg. I flipped over to it on HBO a second ago and its about 30 mins into the movie and I had not heard anything about it, there I was, innocently enthralled in the building suspense of the scene, I thought it was like a monster movie or something like that and all of a sudden.... LIKE THERE ARE 10 PEOPLE HANGING FROM TREES AND ALL THESE LADDERS PROPPED UP LIKE THEY ALL KILLED THEMSELVES AT THE SAME TIME!!!! WTF IS THAT????? WHO MAKES A MOVIE SO MORBID??!?!?!!?! I screamed outloud and turned the channel. Great. Now I'm gonna have nightmares again. I really think I might have a touch of PTSD from earlier this year when Lilly and I saw her neighbor hanging in his backyard.

UGH!!!!! GRRRRR! I am so mad! I'm gonna punch M. Night Shyamalan in the head if I ever meet him. His movies are always scary and usually about monsters!

Lilly warned me the other day not to watch the movie with Angelina Jolie called Changeling, because she had a mild panic attack while watching it, kinda the same scene I think. What? Now we have to research all movies to make sure there are no hanging scenes?!?!?!? Whatever.

In other news, Happy New Year! Hope everyone stays safe and happy tonight. It's cold and windy here.

I am so ready to ship off!

I have posted quite a few bloggy blogs today!

It's because I am bored in the fog at home. It rained all day, not only that, it was dense dense fog, like the clouds came down to the ocean. We never have fog. With my house on the mountain I never saw the sun. My clothes are still on the line outside dripping wet since 9am. They are just getting extra rinsed out. Our washer is outside and exposed to the salt air and whatnot so you have to get your clothes right out when the cycle stops or you get rust spots. Unfortunately today, my new white shorts were a casualty.

The cat kept finding a way into the house today and I kept kicking it out on the porch. I went into the bathroom earlier and there is a shelf right outside the window behind the toilet and all of a sudden MEEEEEEEAAAAOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWW!!! So loud it literally scared the piss out of me. I screamed and cursed it again and then it did that thing cats do when they know you are still there so they keep talking (short funny meows) to you till you come outside. I don't know what to do about that cat.

Ok, I have two of my favorite videos of the year to send you off to bed with a smile on your face..

David after Dentist:



Leprechaun in Alabama



"This here's my leprechaun flute, wards off spells..." LOL

Right now I am watching Oprah, yep, it comes on at 8pm here. This polo player she has on is making me want to start watching that sport....Nacho Figueras, whew!!!


Holy Argentina... Thank you! And Ladies, you're welcome for the gratuitous man meat portion of today's blog! ;)

Testing!

Testing the new signature... What do you think???

Living in a cloud high up on the mountain today....

So this is winter?

It's so cold here. It's rainy and windy and like 70 degrees up here on the mountain! Of course I am trying to do laundry, we have a clothes washer but no dryer. Just a clothes line that I regularly "clothesline" myself on while drinking. It's pretty funny when it happens because I am usually the only one who is there to witness it and I just have to laugh at myself.

My friend Jan is in town on the Schooner Spirit of Massachusetts anchored over at the Beachcomber Hotel. The other day the captain invited me aboard and Jan made us all a lovely Polish New England boil for dinner. I got my hands dirty before dinner and helped them service some blocks because I can't stand to sit around and watch people work.

I can't do much else besides wait around to leave at this point. Trying to stay home and not spend the money I don't have. I really need to dye my hair. Gonna splurge on the 15 dollar box of hair dye at k-mart. lol. I love dying my own hair.

Nita and Mom will laugh at what just happened to me.... So there I was, minding my own business in my room, my door was shut but I had opened our door that leads to the "living room" porch because I am doing laundry like I said. Well, I heard a loud bang come from the living room and since it's windy I just ignored it. Then I heard something that sounded like walking in the hall way outside my room and a little sound like a grunt and my heart started racing! I drank a bit too much coffee already today so I was jitttery and immediately start imagining some creeper who came down the road and was now in my kitchen drinking my leftover coffee. Then another sound I couldn't place, I can't tell if its the upstairs elephant walking neighbors or inside my house. So I start looking for weapons to defend myself in an attack. I just so happened to have a sharp knife by my bed and an empty vodka bottle for cracking skulls. Haha, I am a paranoid wreck, but we have had some robberies and murders in the area and I wasn't about to be dead before I start my new job. So I turn off my fan and tv and sit in the silence for a while trying to hear the terrifying human breathing outside my door (I was sure someone was out there) when all of a sudden a car pulls up and a man in a National Parks truck pulled up at the end of my drive way and gets out to check some guage thingy he had and I thought, hell, he will hear the intruder scream when I stab him and come to help me, so I position myself in front of my door and karate kick the damn thing open like a crazy person and..... you should have seen that damn cat fly down the hall when the door hit it in the ass!!!! LOL THAT FUCKING CAT WAS MAKING ALL THE NOISE. He came inside and knocked something off the counter in the kitchen then came down and sat outside my door because he is lonely and could hear me in my room. I screamed and hollered at that damn thing for five minutes then checked the house and porch to be sure... :) (MOM AND NITA, remember the KILLER NICKEL!!!???) I just really shouldn't be left alone at home.

Whew, now I have calmed down and am having another cup of coffee.

THIS YEAR'S VIDEO MASH UP... so so so so so awesome!!!

For Tugster

I found this little guy at the dingy dock here in St. Thomas at Yacht Haven Grande yesterday. LOL too cute! I didn't get the name though, sorry!!!

I am really starting to spaz out now.

I have nothing I need for this trip. I need good foul weather gear and warm clothes of which I have neither. I am going to freeze to death. I checked the NOAA site and the seas are topping out at 20 feet. What if I get sea sick? What if we hit a speeding whale? The schooner is 129 feet long. That's huge. Bigger than the Clipper. I need to calm down but my head is spinning. I feel like I may vom all over this coffee shop. Just thinking about being that high aloft to set and bring in those square topsails makes me start shaking. I have been aloft before but never that high and never to do anything like that. I think I am freaking myself out now for no reason.

I am nervous and excited all mixed into one.

Wanna hear something awesome???

The itinerary goes a little something like this...

Mid Jan- sail south from Norfolk, Virginia
Feb- Sail through the entire caribbean -St. Martin, St. Vincent, the Grenadines, etc.
March- Sail north to Key West for a few days

and then.....

CUBA FOR TWO WEEKS!!!!!!!!

I'm gonna drink mojitos and smoke cigars and probably throw up.
VIVA HAVANA!

p.s. look at this.... http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/index.pl/article_home?id=17642513

WHAT??!?!??! 22 FOOT WAVES HERE????

My life... It's amazing.

You are reading the lame ass blog of a bad ass chick that is the newest crew member aboard the freedom Schooner Amistad.... as if you people had any doubt about which job I would choose....

I am so happy! Just ecstatic!

I fly to Norfolk, VA on Wednesday.

I have no cold weather clothes.

Uh oh.


Help.

quote of the day

"Darkness can not drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate can not drive out hate, only love can do that."
-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Home

worst tip ever.

exhausted.

I need a new life.

One more day....

Counting the hours....

Hahaha, this morning a couple of local guys hunted a goat down and tackled it and killed it in front of our charter guests... LOL!!!! I love island life... They didn't actually kill it, more like tied it up and drug it into the boat then the guy got out a knife and the kid ran down into her cabin all kinds of freaked out and the Dad ran over to the guys and asked them to take the slaughter somewhere else. He's lucky he didn't become a part of the feast. You don't fuck with the locals.

I am hoping to catch the first ferry to St. Thomas after I have a drink with my friends Craig and Sally. Then off to STT where I will meet up with my buddy Jan, he used to work on the schooners too and we met last season in KW. A super fun guy who plays the ukelele. :)

Not sure I will be taking a two week charter again. This is torture.

Only 3 meals till it's over. Lunch, Dinner, and Breakfast in the morning. Easy. I got this. We should be on land by 10am.

Holy crap!!!!

Check this out!!!

Everyone better tune in and watch the guys fish and play with Jose Wejebe on ESPN!!!

http://www.spanishflytv.com/spanishflytv_schedule.php

I can't wait to see it!

Sea Cloud

And no, I didn't go to the party. I went to the bar for a drink with Hal and he didn't feel like driving me over in the dingy.... :(

I am so ready for this charter to be over.

I wanna go home!

Tuesday

on the downward slope now... I'm getting tired. And I am running out of ideas. At Peter Island. Went to willy T last night just me and Hal to celebrate my b day properly he said, I woke up with a temporary pirate tattoo on my ass and a headache. I drank too much and when my home-ing beacon went off I passed out in the dingy because Hal didn't wanna go home yet. lol things are well.

Post from two days ago.

Last night at the Last Resort was a really good time! There was live music and wine and shots of tequila. I had really delish ribs and these nice sweet potato fries and a salad. Yum! It was so nice to have a night off from cooking. I slept in this morning but not till I put out bagels and cereal and a fruit tray with a note saying that my birthday gift to myself was sleeping till lunch. lol. I didn't sleep till lunch actually, more like 10:30 when we headed out of Trellis Bay and over to the Dogs. The Dogs are a couple of small islands off Virgin Gorda. They swam a bit then I made monte christo sandwiches again because the dad really liked them. I also created a tasty little treat, I took some apple sauce, added in some sugar and cinnimon then I opened up a can of biscuits and smashed them flat, put one in the bottom of a muffin tin, spooned the apple mixture into the dough "cup" then placed another flat biscuit on top, spread a thin layer of the apple mixture on top and baked till they were slightly brown on top. What a hit! I served them with a bowl of vanilla ice cream, just delightful. Tonight it was seared tuna steaks for the parents and lamb for the daughter all served with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. Tomorrow I have no Idea what I'm gonna do. Probably scrambled eggs, bacon, and silver dollar pancakes. Lunch will be Tuna salad wraps with walnut brownie cups for dessert. Steaks and pasta and salad for dinner. Whew! I am running out of ideas. Have you ever tried to make 42 different meals? Oh and 14 desserts.

Stephanie (the 9 year old) was so sweet today, when she saw me up and around in the galley she galloped like a rhino down into her cabin and back up the stairs and yelled "HAPPY BIRTHDAY JO!!!" Slinging a bag from the pusser's rum store at me. Haha! She said "I picked it out because I know what you like." I opened the bag and inside was a cute islandy purse, I said thank you so much, what a nice gesture. She said "wait! open it!" When I did I pulled out a BEAUTIFUL red and white hibiscus print sarong! I really needed one. I left mine at home. COOL! They are such nice folks.

Today we went into Spansh Town, Virgin Gorda to fill up with water and get a few things at the store. Then we were off to Norman Island and the Bight again. Moored here within sight of the Willy T again. But I just don't feel up to binge drinking again. Wow, I never thought those words would come out of my mouth.

No internet access right now so I'm not sure when or where I will be posting this but thanks for the Birthday wishes. Love you all and miss you. Have a merry Christmas!

YAR!!!

Hal made a few calls to friends around the island and got a tip about the whereabouts of our dingy...

Supposedly it was on a beach in Jost Van Dyke. So off we went in the boat after telling our guests the info. And like true pirates, we found it and stole it back!!! All while the thief yelled and cussed us from the end of the dock! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! So we have our dingy back. :)

We had breakfast at Jost, just some fresh baked croissants and cereal and fruit. Then I made personal pizzas for them and salad for lunch and they are taking me to dinner at the Last Resort tonight for my birthday. We decided to do it tonight instead of tomorrow because we will be in Virgin Gorda tomorrow and Hal wanted to have dinner at Last Resort which is close to Marina Cay, which is where we are now. (Guess it doesn't matter where I want to eat for my birthday) Remember Marina Cay Mom and Nita? We ate here when you guys came to visit. It is where we got those Pusser's rum enamel mugs.

I stubbed my toe on my door and ripped my toenail off this morning, then I stepped on a piece of glass and it's still in there. Great morning.

Now I am sitting at the bar soaking up the free wi-fi. And a rum punch of course. Hey, I don't have to cook tonight... no need to be sober.

Oh cool! My charter guest just found me at the bar and bought me a drink! HAHAHA! Score!

Ugh, one week down. One to go.... I can do this....

Good Morning Shit Show!!!

6am... CRASH!!! WTF???? I hear a glass break in the salon and walking around on deck. I feel the north swell. Great. I hear Hal cleaning up the glass which is fine with me because I know I secured everything before I went to bed so that means it was his glass that slid off the table. Ten minutes later he comes in the cabin to tell me that A. a glass broke, B. He kinda cleaned it up and brought me my flip flops to wear while I actually cleaned up the glass, and C. Someone stole our dingy while he was out partying on shore last night. F.M.L.

You gotta be shitting me. He borrowed a friend's dingy to get back to the boat but had to go to the police station and file a report. It was a really nice dingy. I wonder why he didn't lock it up. RIB about 12ft long. 15 hp.

OMG this swell is killer! The north swell came in at about 6am and just keeps getting bigger. I had to stuff towels in the cabinets to keep the bottles from rolling around. Damn this monohull. Oh did I mention it's not the boat I thought it was? Yeah its a 47ft monohull trawler. Blah. a

Anyway, I wish I could surf because today would be a great day for it. Not so much a good day for bobbing around on this mooring though.

Just got off the VHF with the coast guard. I swear they put new recruits on the radio because this kid sounded about 18 years old and had no idea what he was doing. We will never see that dingy again says Hal, but I have faith. The USCG has nothing better to do today than buzz around harbors looking for our dingy right? I bet it's in Red Hook St. Thomas. Anyone and everyone keep an eye out!

Cane Garden Bay, Tortola

Moored here for the night.

Apparently someone sneaked a peak at my passport as it was lying at the helm and the guests found out my birthday is Sunday. They asked me if I could be anywhere in the islands for my day where would I be (uh STT hello?!?!!?!) but I said it didn't really matter to me, which it doesn't because we are back in the BVI and we can't go back to the US. So they are giving me the day off from cooking on Sunday and they are taking me out to dinner. So nice!

Today we had sub sandwiches and chips and I created the tastiest little dessert! Since the oven is broken I resorted to creativity. After breakfast of pancakes, bacon and eggs I whipped up my blueberry muffin mix and made silver dollar blueberry muffin pancakes. I set them aside and scooped out about a half a stick of cream cheese into a mixing bowl, added a bit of vanilla, and about 3 tablespoons of sugar and mixed it up with a spoon. I proceeded to build mini blueberry cheesecake sandwiches. I set them in the freezer and I served them after lunch. You should have heard the ooh's and ahh's LOL! I love being a smart ass. After lunch we head out to do some more provisioning and the oven man came to fix the oven. YAY! So now I can proceed with my baking plans. :)

Tonight I am making BBQ pork chops with sauteed yellow squash and zucchini and twice baked potatoes. For an appetizer I am making little caprese salad skewers. They are marinating right now. All I did for that it cube some mozzarella cheese, throw it in a big ziplock bag, add some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, basil flakes and some minced garlic, and halved cherry tomatoes. Then you just shake it up! Let it marinate for a few hours. Then you take some toothpicks, skewer one half of a tom, then a cheese cube then another half a tom. Repeat. TA DA! Easy and delish.

Tonight I think I will take it easy, Hal says he is going into town tonight and coming back in the morning which is fine with me. I can take care of things here. He needs his nights out.

Tomorrow we are off to Marina Cay and monkey point on Guana Island for snorkeling. I assume I will have interwebs there but you never know. I seem to find it in the least likely of places.

Cheers to Maria who is finally where she belongs back at home on Arigato Jack! Possibly the best boat name in the world. Oh so relieved and happy for you!!!

At Jost Van Dyke!

It is day 5 of the charter and we are anchored outside of Foxy's bar. I made bacon wrapped scallops with broc and rice for dinner! I par cooked the bacon to make it easier to handle then I wrapped it around the little scallops and poked a toothpic through. I pan seared them in the same pan I cooked the bacon in so it had a nice bacon flavor, I also added a handfull of minced pineapple to the pan for a sweet kinda hawiian flavor. They loved it. I made burgers and hot dogs for lunch today at White bay, easy. Last night we moored in Maho Bay, St. John. That was great because as soon as I was done cleaning up dinner I hopped in the dingy and buzzed over to Maho Bay Camps where my friends live and work and ended up staying the night there in a tent cabin because I can. This morning in woke up and buzzed back to the boat before the guests woke up. :)

What was for dinner last night you ask? Oh just a deeeeelish chicken carbonara pasta and garlic bread. It was so good, I made it from scratch, I am really impressed with myself. The guests loved it and asked if I would make it again next week! Lunch yesterday was curry chicken salad on a toasted baguette with a greek side salad, romaine and iceberg topped with yellow bell peppers, kalmata olives, cherry tomatos and feta cheese crumbles.

I think tomorrow I will try out the pancake adventure again now that I have the tools I need. We are headed to Soper's Hole, Tortola to do some more shopping in the morning then we will head over to Cane Garden Bay, Tortola and anchor for the day and night if it's not too swelly. The waves have been big and the Christmas winds are here so finding a smooth place to spend the night is key. Cane Garden Bay is home to the infamous Bomba's Shack which serves majic mushroom tea during the full moon party every month.

I will write again soon as I can!

Internet for a few Seconds!!!

Ok, quickly.

Breakfast was a near disaster yesterday as I realized this boat was not equipt with the proper utinsels to cook breakfast... a.k.a. a skillet and proper spatula. And I forgot to get the Pam, which my mom will tell you is very important!!! "DID YOU SPRAY THE PAN?!!?!!?" So after a botched attempt at butter in a large pan and a shitty spatula and disgusting looking pancakes, I resorted to toast, fried eggs, bacon and a fruit plate. They were totally understanding. The dad was like "hey, if you haven't the proper tools how can we expect you to make things like that? Don't worry Jo, everything looks beautiful!" I tell ya, I am so blessed.

Ok, We took the ferry from Tortola to St. John so the guests could get their US visa's and I could show them around the town of Cruz Bay while Hal brought the boat over. They walked around while I scoped out places to get the last few things on my shopping list. We went to the Westin Resort to meet Hal at 3pm which is when they do the Iguana feeding at the hotel. Then we went to the boat, I made them a fruit and cheese tray and Hal dingied me to the bay to shop. We stopped for a beer or 3 at the Quiet Mon Pub, an irish pub on a tropical isle. Then we shopped and went back to the boat where I cooked up my speciality.... FAJITAS! I made beef for the parents and chicken for Steffi because she doesn't like beef. I went a bit overboard on the cayanne pepper I think because poor Steffi kept glugging water but she sure stuffed her face with seconds. They are from Scotland originally and said they don't get much mexican food over there but they LOVED it. :)

Today I did blueberry muffins, yogurt, a fruit tray and cereal for breakfast, we are headed to Great St James island for snorkeling this morning. For lunch, it's curry chicken salad sandwiches with chips and dip, and fruit, and a salad, and tonight I am making chicken carbonara pasta.

Dude, I'm a good cook....

Ok, from here we are headed to Francis Bay, St. John for the night then over to Jost Van Dyke and from there I really don't expect to have much service so I will write when I can!

Love ya!

Above, great st james island

p.s.

Y'all really need to start following this blog I found, it's flippin hilarious! Especially today!!!

Toast Floats

Good Morning Campers! (Hi Maria!)

I slept like a rock!

Woke up at 8am to set up an easy breakfast, just cereal, bananna nut bread and a lovely tray of fresh cut fruit and OJ. Figured I would go light because we may be on rough seas today...

The guests are going swimming with the dolphins today which leaves us to get the generator fixed and leaves me time to play my music loud in the galley and get lunch ready.

Today I am making Monte Christo sandwiches and home made potato salad...
And brownies...

We are headed to Pelican Island today and the Indians to do some snorkeling. Then we will spend the night in The Bight at Norman Island. That's where the Willy T is anchored... hmmm...

I won't have interwebs tonight so maybe tomorrow, I think they want to go to St. Thomas tomorrow... Above is a picture of the Willy T, and a favorite pastime of its guests...

Have a good day!

1 day down, 14 to go...

Whew... I am exhausted.

My day in a nutshell...

6am: woke up
7am: caught cab to ferry dock
8am: boarded ferry to Tortola
9am: meet up with Captain Halford
10am: arrive at boat and get acquainted with my surroundings
11am: leave dock and head to Peter Island Resort (big swells)
12pm: arrive at Peter Island
12:15pm: generator bites the big one
12:15pm: Captain Halford goes into a west indian tirade and climbs into the engine room.
1pm: Charter guests arrive, I meet them on the dock and explain that we are having technical difficulties... yadda yadda yadda.
1:30pm: we leave the dock with guests on board and head to Road Town, Tortola to provision while Hal waits on a mechanic
2:30pm: arrive at Village Cay marina and head to the store with guests in tow (BTW they are AWESOME!!! So cool and so nice.)
5:30pm: finally done shopping, even though we didn't get everything on my list, Ron was getting antsy with our 3 shopping carts full of stuff... still, it's stuff we needed.
6pm: load food on boat and then move boat to a different slip to hook up to shore power,mind you I am deckhand in all of this docking and casting off and stuff, I'm not just in the galley.
6:30pm: still putting things away
7pm: start prepping for dinner, realizing all the things that we really needed and didn't buy...
8pm: Dinner is served!

Tonight I made:

Crab Cakes (FROM SCRATCH!!! THEY WERE KICK ASS! I EVEN ATE A BITE OF ONE!)
Green Beans
Roasted corn on the Cob
Corn Bread

Served with a lovely Pinot Grigio!

They loved it! Even the 9 year old said "mum, this is quite nice don't you think?"
:)

They stocked a whole cooler with Heineken for Hal and bought the biggest bottle of Cruzan rum I have ever seen for me... This is the beginning of a beautiful charter.

I am totally exhausted and only had to cook one meal. The good news is, they are not early risers! They wake up at 9am! Thank God!

Now for the best part... I am in my own cabin, lying on a memory foam bed... in the A/C, sipping a glass of wine...

My bed at home sucks so bad. I wanna be on charter forever!

Tomorrow the little girl is going swimming with the dolphins and hopefully Halford will have the genset fixed by the time they get back and we are off to Virgin Gorda I think...

I have internet here at this marina but supposedly we will be anchoring out alot so this might be my last post for a while.

GOOD NIGHT!

I'm shipping off!

I have my big backpack packed up, and sadly, there's not much left in my closet... It's kinda nice living out of a suitcase but sometimes I wish I had an apartment somewhere with my stuff in it, all cozy with a bed that doesn't have springs poking me in my pressure points and pillows that weren't like flat pancakes. I am really looking forward to sleeping in a comfy bed on charter!

I'm not sure if I will have internet access while I am on charter but if I do I will write a little blip if I get a chance. We are picking them up at the exclusive Peter Island Resort, then motoring back over to Tortola to provision.

Awesome news!!! We will be going to ANEGADA!!! That's where the pink flamingos live and it's one of the BVI's I haven't been to yet. I don't know anyone who has been there actually. You can only get there by private boat or sea plane. It's a low lying coral island like Key West, It's not mountainous like the rest of the islands around here. I wish I had a camera. :(

The pic above is Anegada...

Have a Merry Christmas everyone!

17 hours till my new adventure begins!

In just 17 short hours I will be on a ferry to Tortola, British Virgin Islands. I am excited and nervous but it will work out just fine. I am headed over to the West End of Tortola, a.k.a. Sopers Hole. That's where Blackbeard the pirate used to keep his fleet of pirate ships! From there my captain will take me to the Charter company office and I will get my uniforms and a little brief on the charter. After that we will head over to Peter Island to pick up the guests. I am a bit nervous but i know I will be ok.

Congrats to Dane who just got a job as the second mate on the schooner Argia in Mystic, CT!!!

OMG MY SHIP HAS COME IN!!!

Hahaha! Not really, but I found a Schooner that I am destined to own! THE HMS PICKLE!!! It's amazing. Now I just need my rum fortune to come rolling in from Cruzan rum and everything will be fine!!! :)

Read about her HERE.

Homework today.

I have been busy planning my meals for the first 7 days of the charter. It's really hard. In the process I forgot to eat lunch. Now I am hungry and have dreams of amazing food dancing in my head after putting together my menus. Too bad I don't have any amazing food.

I think I will whip up some tuna salad on toast with broccoli and cheese soup as a side. Maria got me thinking about broccoli. :)

I need to figure out how I am going to get to town tomorrow to pick up my paycheck from Limnos finally. Gotta pay rent. :(

I have planned Breakfast, Lunch, Appetizers, Dinner and Desserts for 7 whole days and I am exhausted. It's so much food. Now I hear that the family doesn't want me to shop for them like a normal charter, they want to go WITH ME to the store and pick and choose!!! What a pain in the ass!!! This throws everything off. Ugh. I am so stressed.

But this makes me smile... If you haven't taken time to watch Slumdog Millionaire, do it. Now! This is a part of the end credits where all the cast and crew dance to a really cool song!!!



I got a lead on another charter with a different captain from the 28th through the 3rd. Maybe I can book it too. I get back from this one on the 27th... quick turnaround. Then there is another one with him a few days later, a week in mid Jan. If I can line these charters up I can save enough money to have a nice savings when I go back to Florida in March. Fingers crossed.

Schooner Smiles, Winter Wishes.

Here are a few lovely things I have found while perusing my blog-o-sphere. These things made me smile, made me happy, and somewhat transported me into a little bit of the holiday spirit. (Somewhat.) Above is the Schooner Argus in the Baltimore lighted boat parade, when I tried to find info on her it was difficult, and what I found didn't look good. Seems that she fell into disrepair and when they tried to auction her off no one bid. Sad. Supposedly dry docked somewhere in California.

This blog here called Completely Coastal is one of my favorites! I found these great pictures there.

I just imagine this one being towed behind a big beautiful Schooner somewhere in New England.
This is an ornament you can get at Macy's.

Check out Christmas Coast for more awesome nautical Christmas decor!

In other news, here is a bit of St. Thomas trivia: the popular "Fraiser" actor, Kelsey Grammar was born here! His father lived here until he was murdered (go figure) in his own front yard when Kelsey was 13 years old. Upon further reading about Mr. Grammar I found even more HORRIFYING facts, when he was 20, his 19 year old sister was raped and murdered in Colorado and in 1980 his twin half-brother's were both killed in a scuba diving shark attack!!! It's amazing someone with so much tragedy in his life can come out with a smile on his face and laughter in his heart.

I am so thankful for my friends and family.

Merry Christmas from the Islands...

Stressing for the season!

The charter starts in 4 days and I have no idea what I'm doing. I know it's not hard to read a recipe, and I am a damn good cook but it's a bit scary when you are doing it for pay and for people you don't know. It's a good thing its only a Mom and a Dad and their 9 year old daughter. Kids are easy and picky so she shouldn't be a problem. I just need to make sure I can at least go over the menu and shopping list with Jen before we leave. She has been busy with work and hasn't had time to go over it with me. Hopefully this evening.

I have some exciting news, just a little glimmer of hope you know. I have been talking with the Captain of a boat I used to work on a few years ago and now, under new ownership and with a cool new itinerary he wants to talk to me about re-joining the crew. I am so excited! It's exactly the kind of boat I have been wanting to work on and the sail plan is amazing. Miami for the winter and New York City for the summer. Fingers crossed everyone. The Captain wants to talk to me on the phone when I get back from charter. It's not much money but it's what I love.

In other boat stuff, my friend Capt. Pao used to drive the schooner Appledore and now works on tug boats in Maine. He emailed me and said they are always hiring cooks and they pay really well but I have to be able to handle being around crusty boat guys... I said, those are my favorite kind of guys! So, if the Miami thing falls through I will check into that!

I really hope this works out!

GOONIES NEVER SAY DIE!!!!

And, this is how I feel about my blog lately...

I am such a mess sometimes!

Lilly and I carved a pumpkin last night and I burned the pumpkin seeds. It's ok though because we had a really nice time hanging out and spending some quality time together which was much needed! We drank rum and cokes and talked about our plans for the next year and we laughed about what a wild ride this year has been for the two of us! What an amazing year. Key West up and down the east coast ending up in the virgin islands! Crazy.

I will not be happy living away from boats and the water. That's all there is to it. I miss working on Schooners. I am applying with a few boats for the summer season somewhere up north. I would love to work on Liberty again. I got an email from the Schooner Manitou yesterday, they are hiring a deckhand and first mate. We will see how it goes...

As you all know, I change my mind faster than the tides so take this blog with a grain of salt, or sand, or a squeeze of lime and a shot of tequila...

I do miss Texas but I worry what I would do for work there. I wish I could work on a boat there!!!

I got the job!

The charter is from December 13th through the 27th. Two whole weeks! That's such a long time. It's good though. Should get me caught up. The captain also told me I was hired on for the Easter charter too. When is Easter? I really wasn't planning on being around here that long. We will see. I have applied for lots of other crew positions as well. Hopefully I can get something from New Years through mid February. My uncle is getting married on Valentine's day down here in St. John and I really want to be here. Who knows. Ok, well I have nothing else to write about. Have a good day. I hear it's snowing in Texas...

Big Shout Out Time!

Tomorrow is Big Nasty's birthday! So in honor of him and everything he stands for, and my love for pickles, I want everyone to know about MANDINGO PICKLES!!!

I met Big Nasty through my ex-boyfriend early this year in Key West and found him quite entertaining. He and his buddies have started their own pickle company and I encourage everyone to head over and buy a few jars to give as Christmas presents this year! Support your local homegrown businesses and all around good guys!

Here is an entertaining article to give you a little background on the company as well. Enjoy!

Also, a little video for your viewing pleasure!


HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIG NASTY!!!

A song for Wednesday!

I love it! Seeing as how I really, really, really want one of those vintage Shasta or Scotty trailers, and I want to be a member of Sisters on the Fly one day, when I ran across this song I just couldn't resist! I have been doing some research and the SOTF will be in Canton this weekend at the first weekend trades day thing they do out there in Texas. Check out their site, it's really cool. I miss my country music can you tell??? Well, this is Miranda Lambert and I'm not big on Nashville country, I'm more of a Texas Country kinda girl, always have been. But, this song is cute. Enjoy!



Sometimes I wish I lived in
airstream homemade curtains
Lived just like a gypsy
Break a heart and roll out of town
Cause gypsies never get tied down

Sometimes I wish I lived on a mountain
Drank from a stream
Instead of a fountain
I'd stay there, on top of the world
But I was born a red dirt girl

Unbridled, or tethered in the ride
[ Find more Lyrics on www.mp3lyrics.org/gYuc ]
Safety of the fence
Or the danger of the ride
I'll always be unsatisfied

Sometimes I wish I lived by a pier
In a lighthouse with a chandelier
I'd watch everybody's ships come in
And then I'd sail away with them

Unanchored in a storm
Or safely on the shore
If this is all I need
Why do I want more

Sometimes I wish I lived in
airstream homemade curtains
Lived just like a gypsy



Now, back to searching for cheap trailers for sale! Yes... I know... it's 4am. I can't sleep. I drank a giant iced coffee at about 11pm. Bad idea. I never drink caffeine anymore and whew...I am feeling it! Simultaneously watching Dazed and Confused which just makes me miss home even more because it's about Texas.

In other news, I'm feeling better even though things here on island aren't going any better. Playing my guitar is like a miracle cure.

HIP HIP HOORAY FOR CHRISTMAS VACATION!!!!

I'M SO HAAAAAAAPPPPPYYYYYYY! I just turned my TV on and BAM! The very beginning to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation... I mean the very beginning! Didn't even miss a single note of the song!!!!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

Full Moon over the Water....

This is a Coqui frog... this little guy is about the size of a silver dollar but he is LOUD! And they are going crazy tonight. I can't even hear myself think!



My camera is the worst!

WOW.

I'm gonna stop being a whiny wahine on here. I just got a big spoon full of "you never know who's reading your blog". IN A GOOD WAY! Full moon's always bring the unexpected. :) Thanks for reaching out!

Full Moon "Party"

It's not really a party when you're alone, but whatever.

No news, no interview.

Still waiting around to go interview with the owner of the charter company. First it was yesterday, postponed to today... maybe tomorrow. UGH. So bored I joined Twitter! SAVE ME FROM MYSELF!!!

Be Somebody.

Things always work out for me. They always have. I don't know how or why but it always happens. Just when I think I have finally gotten myself into something I can't get out of on my own, something comes along and makes everything work out. But it's just not happening this time. This is the longest stretch of bad luck I have ever had. I wish I could say it was all my fault and I got myself into this but through no fault of my own I seem to keep failing. That doesn't even make sense. It has to be my fault. I have never been so sad and depressed and lonely and hopeless. I just want to go home. I don't want to live on an island in the middle of nowhere far away from my friends and family anymore. I have had enough of this. I don't want to hear any "It's that time of year" shit from anyone either. It doesn't even feel like the holidays here. It's the middle of summer as far as I am concerned. I have been sweating for years. I wish I could wear jeans without my knees sweating every once in a while. I want to drive for miles and miles and miles, I wanna go faster than 35 miles an hour. I would like to listen to country music on the radio. I would like to walk down the street in the middle of the day without being hissed at and followed and heckled. There are so many reasons that other people give for living here and I have tons myself but I feel like if you get to the point where you have more negatives than positives, it's time to move on. Like Gladys at Glady's Cafe here on island says, "When one is physically tired one must sleep, when one is emotionally tired one must wake up and move on."

I will try. Try. Try. I will try to find a job for the rest of the season. I would like to save some money and go back to the states in the spring. I am brainstorming right now in between naps and playing guitar. Being stuck on the North Side had sent my world into a frenzy. It made working at Limnos hard. It makes getting a new job hard. I have an interview on Monday with the owner of a charter company. My friend Jen told him I would be taking her place for a two week charter in December and he wants to meet me first, which is understandable. I feel like I am setting myself up for another disappointment though. I am losing trust in what people say.

Lilly gets home tonight. We will see how that changes things. She doesn't want to come home to a negative nancy. She doesn't understand that while she has been at home with her friends, OUR friends, and her family having the time of her life, I have been here, alone, struggling for work and struggling with the drama that has been going on here. Forgive me for being depressed. People don't understand what it's like.

I don't know what I would do if I went to the states. Working on boats is all I know how to do. That and bartend. I would love to be involved in the music industry in Texas somehow. Like event planning or managing. Maybe working for a Texas music label. I just need a way to get my foot in the door in that industry. I have my whole body in the door of the boating industry and it's obviously not where I am supposed to be right now. Like I said, time for a change.

Holy crap.

What a day. Yesterday started out like any other... Me, hammock, MacBook, lovely view. Then I get a phone call from a local crew agent. She tells me to pack my bags I am on a charter for a week. Long story short, she sent me down there to the boat all ready to go and the boat had not agreed to hire me yet because they were either gonna hire me or a chef to help the current cook because the guest if very fancy and demanding. Needless to say they chose the chef and I am on my ass. I had to quit Limnos to take the job and now I am screwed. Well later in the day I got a call from my friend Jen who I worked with at the boat show this year and she tells me she has some work for me but not till the 11th of December. Damn. At least it's work. Now I have to find a way to make some cash till then!

Holy Ghost of Christmas Past!

I had one of these.... I know it. I ran across this on a random site. It stopped my heart! I loved this! Mom? Confirm? If I didn't have one of these then I have really lost my mind because I have memories of this for some reason!

Check this out!!! Caribbean Jerk!!!! lol

Check out Bent Objects blog!!!

Found a song about me! (if it was about a woman)

It's me to a T!



Better as a Memory - Kenny Chesney

I move on like a sinners prayer
I let 'em go like a levee breaks
walk away as if I don't care
learn to shoulder my mistakes
I'm built to fade like your favorite song
gettin' reckless when there's no need
laugh as your stories ramble on
break my heart but it won't bleed
my only friends are pirates, it's just who I am
I'm better as a memory than as your man.

I'm never sure when the truth won't do
I'm pretty good on a lonely night
I move on the way a storm blows through
I never stay, but then again, I might
I struggle sometimes to find the words
always sure until I doubt
walk a line until it blurs
build walls too high to climb out
but I'm honest to a fault, it's just who I am
I'm better as a memory than as your man

I see you leanin', you're bound to fall
I don't want to be that mistake
I'm just a dreamer, nothing more
you should know it before it gets too late

cause goodbyes are like a roulette wheel
you never know where they're gonna land
first you're spinning, then you're standing still
left holding a losin' hand
but one day you're gonna find someone
right away, you'll know it's true
that all of your seek is done
it was just a part of the passing through
right there in that moment
you'll finally understand
that I was better as a memory than as your man
better as a memory than as your man

The cutest damn thing I have ever seen!!!!!!

I am the QUEEN of f-ing up my own life.

Holy hell I am so over this place!!! The power went out last night, therefore messing up my alarm clock which in turn made me sleep till 9am, missing work by an epic 2 hours. I will be lucky if I even have a job. And I can't get ahold of anyone at work because they are all on the boat because I assume that Clement, Sara and Akim all worked today. I feel like such an asshole. Why can't anything on this island work properly??? Why can't I learn to set 3 alarm clocks? Whatever I'm over it.