Ahoy Sailors

Or should i say Morning YOL as we finally made it home in Longboat Key Florida US of A as they say here.

Everything that has a beginning has an end and this is it for this adventure and the last blog entry so it is going to be extra long to make sure the addicts get a full blog dose to last them through winter until the next Benaddi adventure!

The leg from the Turks to Key West Florida was faster than expected thanks to a consistent wind and a lot of motoring.  Not much to say about the crossing itself, the batteries just about held so did we and on December 17 we arrived at Conch Harbour Marina on US soil. If you are looking for a nice place in the US to visit where the sun shine all year round and the people are welcoming and chilled then that’s the place to go specially for xmas as they still do celebrate it in great style (see pictures).

As we approached the US we were half expecting a fast power boat Hawaii Five-O style with Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas (AKA Sonny and Rico) from Miami Vice to come and board us looking for cigars and/or missiles as we did pass very near Cuba but nothing, not even a call on the old VHF; I suppose these days the emphasis is on being as friendly as possible with Cuba as i read on the news.

After a night stay in Key West we left early morning to finish the 200 nm or so to Sarasota Bay and the end of our 6000 nautical miles (7000 normal miles or 10000 Km for those of you who are not familiar with nautical measurements).

A few giant turtles, some large dolphins and swordies ( a group of sword fish) hunting later we finally arrived at our destination and enjoyed a nice drink without having to dodge waves of sea water or hold our glass at various angles to maintain there content from spilling out!!

Before we close this blog there are a few items that i would like to share with you: First of all something that has been bothering me for a long time and that a number of discussions with one crew member has finally pushed me to the edge about it; i am talking about Vegetarianism. You are probably thinking “What’s that got to do with sailing ?” but just keep reading and you will soon find out.

As i discovered once we left one of our crew is vegetarian and although i have no issue with the concept there is one point that i fail to understand. Why is it that most vegetarian meals are a copy cat of the meat equivalent ? I will give you some examples: Vegetarian lasagne, vegetarian bolognaise, vegetarian burger or the latest one that Kate (oups i said your name!) mentioned Vegetarian haggis!!! What next vegetarian BBQ ribs or even vegetarian peppered T-bone steak ?!!

For a meatosaurus like me this clearly denotes a lack of imagination from those who think and prepare meals/menus for vegetarian; so i say Vegetarians its time to stand your ground and demand your own menus!

Now the trip is complete i could not finish the blog without making a parallel with one of the all time great tv series: I give you Star Trek.

Lets look at the crew; first we have our skipper Tim who i suppose could be James T Kirk as they share the same initials JT/TJ, they also have the same deep knowledge of their area. Add to this the arrogance and the self importance with a touch of OCD and you get the complete picture of the typical skipper who knows everything but still need the support and dedication of the crew to be able to complete/achieve his mission.

Then we move on to Kate; at first i was going to match her with Dr Marcus, Kirk’s wife bur then i though that’s not a good idea for mainly 2 good reasons: First the relationship these 2 have is far from being what you would expect from a husband/wife relationship it is more like the type of relation most people would have with the Tax man if they could get rid of it they would. Secondly after thinking long and hard about it i couldn’t find anyone; after all who would want someone that is sick in Tenerife on the docks (before even setting off), is vegetarian and cannot cook for an Atlantic crossing in a sea ship let alone a star ship ?!

Finally we come to me; that’s an easy one as it will have to be Spock. Beside the ears and the apparent lack of sense of humour i have discovered that like Spock during this trip i could not comprehend human behaviour and their display of all the different emotions ranging from anger to joy, disbelief,frustration, fear and even god forbid laughter: i must therefore be an alien and more precisely Vulcan.

These are the voyagers of the sea ship Stardust its 10 weeks mission to sick out new life and new civilisation to boldly go where many have gone before!

Another thing i need to mention in this blog before we call it a day is that if you though doing this journey was mad spare a though for our friends/family (for me my wife Janette) of Yorkshire Rows who are contemplating doing the Atlantic crossing rowing in a years time: now that’s what i call crazy!!!

I will be no doubt be given them all the experience/knowledge/tips/help that i can but not before a few weeks rest/break from all matters relating to the sea.

One final point before i sign off for good is that i know that through the years most of you friends and family have been looking at the Benaddi and thinking “what are they doing now?” and/or “why on earth are they getting themselves into these crazy challenges/situations?!”. I can understand that and i would like to tell you all why we keep doing and its not the usual “you have one life live it” although that’s a good one but our reason is what’s the point in living if you can’t feel alive!!!

The only thing left is to thank yol for ready and in true Spock say: “Live long and prosper”.

 

Captain Ben signing off one last time Rrrrr!