Heading South Through New York

We had wonderful visits with the Stacks in Rhode Island (twice), the Herrmann's in Cape Cod, and the natives in Nantucket. As autumn approached it was time to head south. We sailed through Hell Gate, the East River, and finally New York harbor. Diva with Carl and Debbie Gaines were traveling with us and we took pictures of each other along the city. 

Interviewing

We've been looking for a live aboard feline mate. On previous visits we have been impressed with Tip's wisdom, personality, and serene world view. Here she and Vinnie discuss the responsibilities and wages. Unfortunately, Tip's services to the Stack's are more essential during the winter months and she was unable to accept the position.

Rhode Island Return

We left New York for Rhode Island and a visit with Ginny and Peter Stack. Ginny, Peter, and Tip seemed happy to see us. Bailey's reaction was a little more difficult to determine. It certainly made walking a challenge for Peter. 

One last celebration

We lived with Meg and George for a month and most of that time Vinnie was a bedridden stranger. He was in good form for Nellie and Larry's wedding and we left shortly after the festivities. Here Meg and Melanie celebrate the marrage and perhaps our imminant departure. 

A toast for Dr. Daniel Spitzer

During the wedding festivities, the family gathered to offer a toast in honor of Dr. Spitzer. We are amazed and thankful for Vinnie's remarkable recovery and wonderful care.

August 20,2006 Nellie and Larry are married!

Storms and rain were predicted, but even the weather had to smile for Nellie and Larry's wedding celebration. The day was beautiful, the bride was lovely, and the family is thrilled to welcome Larry.

Why we came to New York

Another high point for our stay was the annual family reunion which took place several days before the blessed event (Vinnie's surgery). There are shocking pictures from the festivities of Vinnie lurching across the lawn, looking like an old man with a broken hip on ice, but nobody wants to see that, do they?

He's fixed

Despite chiropractors and orthopedic specialists, Vinnie's back just got worser and worser. With increasing pain, weakness, and numbness of his leg, we were very motivated to find the big fix. On 8/9/06, Dr. D. Spitzer, a neurosurgeon, took these problems away by removing an enormous (humongous - in medical jargon) herniated disc. We could not be happier and are very grateful for his excellent care.

So What

We rush from bus stop to chiroprator clinic to grocery and marine hardware store . Staggering down the dock we find an invasion of flowers bunched up by the pilings. Stinging flowers, but beautiful all the same.

Hampton VA

We sailed off shore from Fort Pierce Florida to Beaufort NC, (450 nautical miles) and returned reluctantly to the ICW after the seas and wind became rough. A quick run north on the ICW brought us to HAMPTON VA. Vinnie's back had become a serious problem and we parked in the river to find a cure. Richard and Rosa are dock masters. We could not believe how kind, knowlegable, and helpful they were. They were our introduction to a city of wonderful people. Can you imagine a Rotary Club inviting clean, but informaly dressed transients to their dinner and drinks on the dock festivities? Oh yes, we are now seeing a chiroprator whose office staff provide rides back for sailors. (Dr. R. Miers at Bayview ChiropracticClinic) This town is a wonderful place.

Reminders

We travelled off shore until the seas and wind drove us back to the inland passage. Great to see reminders of home and family.

Surprise

We thought that our return to Riverside Marina and east coast travels would be a repetitive bore. So, we planned to shut down the blog and spare our friends and family the tedium of our replay, but life continues to surprise us. We found that our neighbors in the boat yard were movie stars. John and Barbara Ann Calvert
have traveled all over the world as magicians, actors, producers, and explorers. Although John is 95, he and Barbara Ann ?, work on the boat while exuding glamour. Their most recent movie is "Curse of the Elephants Grave Yard". They loaned us the Promo edition. BIG FUN. Please note that John and Barbara Ann are working on a really big boat.

Boat yard sages

We returned to Fort Pierce and Riverside Marina. In between our rush to complete necessary maintainance and repairs, we had time to consult with the boat yard sages. Here Vinnie and Pappy (a mature and knowlegable 77) review the facts.

Family Visits

When not in Iowa City, we wandered about the country checking up on the well being of our family, putting over 7,000 miles on our little car. Although suffering from the loss of our morally uplifting presence, they seem to be doing very well.

Back to Work

Fortunately, we were able to return to short term, gainful employment. This did much to improve our financial standing and moral fiber. Here's Vinnie off to work, another pirate rehabilitated.

The Wedding Party

With an entourage of 7 opinionated female relatives, Alessia braved the hoards of crazed brides to be and shopped for her wedding dress. All of her dress pictures are restricted and can not be published or shared in any format. We can provide evidence that the Sandra (the mother of the bride) and Sue (mother of the groom) are already working on their ensembles for the big day.

Alessia and Jim

Alessia and Jim are engaged! They are excited to have months of wedding preparations ahead.

Camping in Iowa

We rented a wonderful apartment for a month in Iowa City so that we could spend time with Chiara and James after Samuel's death. Here two of our technically adept family members meditate on the intricate system of internet service. Thanks Vinnie and Sandra.

Baby Samuel

The birth of Samuel, the first child of Chiara and James, was at the heart of our decision to return. "Now I lay me down to sleep" is an organization of professional photographers who donate their services to take photopgraphs of babies who die at birth. One of their members, Lisa, drove an hour and a half to take pictures for Chiara and James with baby Samuel.

















On Friday, May 26, 2006 Samuel Lewis Hemsley was still born. All of Samuel's aunts and uncles, grandparents, and many friends of the family joined Chiara and James for his memorial service.

James Graduates

Then our son-in-law James received his MBA from the University of Iowa and more celebrating was in order.

Cecca's Graduation

Dodging storms and nasty weather, we arrived in the states just in time to see Francesca graduate from Grand Valley State University. Another Philosophy Major ready for the job market.

Heading Home

During the past several months, our family kept busy generating new events to distract us from our travels. While we were waiting for a weather window in Mayaguana, their news reached critical mass and it was time to return. The rest of our travels were just the fast road to home. Painting by Kateri Herrmann, 8/2005.

Clarence Town

Clarence Town is one of our favorite Bahamian communities. Located on Long Island (no the other Long Island) it actually has soil for farming. From the government Packing House we could buy fresh, island grown produce, not the wilted, unhappy, and very expensive bundles brought in by boat and sold as vegetables on other islands. Clarence town had many other amenities that we appreciated, internet at the gas station, a nice store, and lovely people. St. Peter Catholic Church shone from a tall hill over the town. Built by Father Jerome, it is stunning. (If you do not remember Father Jerome, please return to the Cat Island Entry).

Salt

The salt can look like ice or snow to migrants from the north.

Salt Ponds

Throughout the Bahamas we've found salt ponds. Some are still actively used for harvesting salt, but many are abandoned.

The Sanctuary

Although the sanctuary is damaged, the church is still the place of worship for the remnant of the community.

Albert Town Church

The church was built to serve a larger congregation than the current population of Albert Town and its maintaining demands more than they can provide.

Albert Town Ruins

There are many abandoned buildings of old and recent lineage, but few homes. The five or six people who we met were friendly and they seemed odd and out of place in the landscape of emptiness and rubble.

Albert Town

Many towns in the Bahamas struggle to survive in the harsh, arid islands. In the 1800's, Albert Town had 2,000 residents and Long Cay was called Fortune Island. Its thriving economy was based on providing services to sailing ships and with the emergence of steam power the community lost this market and was virtually abandoned. There are now only about 30 residents, few businesses, and many wild goats.

Your call 4

4.The grocery is also closed and we head back down the road to explore the ruins and horrify the goats..

Your call 3

3. Well, maybe we'll call at the next island.

Your phone call 2

2. A mile or two down the road we find the Batelco office on the other side of the island. It is closed. It does not accept our card and eats our money.

About those calls you never got

During the past weeks we haven't called, skyped, or emailed but it isn't for lack of trying. We'll describe one of our recent attempts to explain our silence.

1. We take the dingy to town, anchor it to a crack in the concrete pier since there are no tie downs, and head down the long, uninhabited, and dusty road which passes only ruins, spontaneous dumps, and feral goats. The goats are terrified of us and frantically dive into the scrub as we approach. They do not cooperate with any photo opportunities.

Sailing

For several weeks we sailed from lovely place to lovely place: Samana, Mayaguana, Acklins Island, Long Island...We walked beaches, swam, sailed, caught fish (or tried to), and enjoyed the pleasure of exploring. We even ran into some nudists. It is great fun for us but what can we show the folks back home? Sunrises, sunsets, water, sky, and beaches have been over played already and middle aged nudists are not a crowd pleaser either. So, how about one more sunrise?

Samana

We left Cat Island for several all night sails and the promise of favorable winds. The wind and waves were more lively than expected and after a long night of rough riding it was a pleasure to anchor off Samana Cay, an uninhabited and isolated island. We caught fish from the cockpit and walked long beautiful beaches. It was a great place for sea beans and we found 74 hearts and 8 hamburgers. We're rich! Thanks to our sea bean teachers, Pat, Chris, Natalia, and Danielle.

Space for one

Father Jerome built his hermitage in a traditional architectural design but on a scale of one and it is the only example of the "Tiny Monumental Monastic" style that we have seen. The massive walls, flying buttresses, domes, and tower are impressive and formidable, even in the diminutive range. The going is tight for even average sized visitors and we had to stoop and scrape our way through narrow corridors and low door ways. Vinnie sustained at least one closed head injury which still provides him with penance.

Quiet

There were no other visitors and the hermitage was empy and still.

We arrive

We walked behind it

Up and up

We climbed up to the hermitage.

The way of sorrows

The narrow path to climbed through boulders and scrub, past stations of the cross, towards the sky and hermitage. It is a demanding hike and opportunity for stumbles.

Climbing the path

It was early in the morning, before any one else had trudged up the dusty road and steep path, but already the heat was oppressive.

Cat Island

With the starter starting and the winds fair, we left Georgetown early in the morning for Cat Island. We were drawn to the island by the hermitage of Father Jerome. Early the next morning, we found ourselves walking up an empty road with the hermitage looming over us from the highest hill in the Bahamas.

Thanks to Pat Vance, of Twice in a Blue Moon for this historical background : "Father Jerome, born John Hawes to a wealthy English family in 1876, studied
architecture and theology, and was ordained in the Church of England. As an
Anglican, he built several churches in the Bahamas starting in 1908.
Strongly influenced by St. Francis of Assisi, he eventually traveled to
Rome where he was ordained a Catholic priest, taking the name Father
Jerome. After 25 years in the Australian bush, a heart attack in 1939 at
the age of 62 led him back to the Bahamas to erect a hermitage. Father
Jerome renamed the summit Mount Alvernia, after the hermitage St. Francis
built. He carried water up the steep hill, cut limestone block, mixed
mortar, dug a well and cistern, and erected a chapel, living quarters, and
a bell tower, mostly alone. Seventeen years later, Father Jerome died, and
he was buried in a small cave next to his hermitage, barefoot in his
priest's robes, according to his wishes."

Leaving George Town

Finally, it was time to leave George Town, but first Vinnie had to replace the starter. The delay gave us time to hang out at Bal Sounds, the internet - taxi cab - electronic store, catch our email, and try to update the blog without success. Best of all, we were able to enjoy seeing Pat and Michael from Twice in a Blue Moon one last time.