Monthly Archives: January 2015
Preparing to Cruise = Sort + Shred + Donate + Repeat
I know this looks like a mess, but honestly,these are organized piles! The largest group, front and center of this picture, is paperwork that needs to go.
Thank goodness for shredding services! Between business and home, we have a bit of shredding going on. I am saying a prayer of thanks that I don’t have to shred 800 pound of paper 10 pages at a time!
When sorting through papers I was struck by how much change has occurred and so gradually that we don’t notice. The best example I have is the bank statements. As recently as early 2000s, every bank statement was mailed (yes, snail mail) to us and every statement had the complete social security number on the front page!
Identity theft was relatively new and rare. Today, protecting people from identity theft is a huge business covering a gamut of services.
But that is a subject I don’t have time to dwell on. I am off to attack the Christmas decorations. Won’t my college age sons be thrilled when I gift them their own Christmas bins?
Captain Sails for the First Time
I mentioned our dog, Captain, in my last post. This Christmas was her first visit to Let It Be.
Initially, Cap was not a fan of being underway, especially if engines were involved. Mostly she hid under the table of the cockpit, closed her eyes and pretended to be somewhere else.
However, English Shepherd dogs are very adaptable and like to be involved in the decision making. So pretty soon Captain was up and about, making sure we were heading to a choice mooring ball:
In fact, by the end of her first two weeks of sailing, Captain was living up to her name and taking her turn at the helm:
And like any good captain, she took breaks, but stayed nearby in case we needed her help when she wasn’t at the helm:
I won’t be at all surprised if some day I find Cap has managed to make her own posts on this blog!
Electronic Free Entertainment
One lazy afternoon while anchored near Sandy Spit, BVI, we decided to see what sort of hike we could make on Green Cay. Green Cay is a small, uninhabited island just off of Little Jost which we have pretty much ignored on past stops to Sandy Spit. But this time we thought we would see if we could take our dog, Captain, and hike Green Cay.
Captain keeping us company at an outdoor bar.
We were really surprised by the number of hermit crabs all over the Green Cay, even way up high as we trekked through the trees, past the cacti and to the top. Other than crabs and plenty of lizards, there really wasn’t much to Green Cay. Still, we enjoyed our walk and got some good pictures:
View of Sandy Spit from top of Green Cay
But the funniest part of our walk was when Frank and I each chose a hermit crab and set up for crab races! The joy of plenty of time and no electronics; we were free to create our own fun…
“Sebastian” winning his 4th race
I am proud to tell you that my crab, Sebastian, managed to win 5 out of 6 races, against TWO competitors. And I think he only lost the one race because he was so tired from all his previous sprints! This video shows Sebastian demolishing Frank’s 2nd and larger crab. The first crab was cuter but the video wasn’t as good as this one.
Much as I enjoyed racing Sebastian, we left him on Green Cay where I am sure he is now recognized as the supreme racer among all the Green Cay crabs!
Ticket to Ride 