My Family

Tonight...the night before Thanksgiving...I get to my parents apartment at 11:45. I sit down...eat some bangin food, and then my Dad asks me, "Hey Ben, you wanna go bowling?" To which I respond, "Naw."

He then turns the t.v. on to reveal my "family's" new Christmas present...a Wii.

Excitement filled the room as we picked our "Wiis" and proceeded to bowl.

But now...for the best part of the whole night. Me and my sister were talking junk to each other (of course). My mom walks up in front of the t.v. for her turn to bowl...walking past me on the way to her "spot"...and to shut me up...

She farts in my face...

And you wonder where I get it from...

Wisdom from a 7 year old.

At Windy Gap this past weekend, I got to hang out with a 7 year old I used to babysit...Noah Hancock...Yes, THE Noah Hancock.

Well, we were leaving the club room, and this dude from Goldsboro, Scott Stafford, yelled at Noah, "Noah, you're the man!"

Jokingly, I looked at Noah and said, "Noah, say 'Hush up Scott!'"

With a surprised look on his face, he said, "No."

"Why?" I said.

He replied, "Because, then I WOULDNT be the man."

Dang it.....I'm so immature.

Asher and Lucy

I live with a 5 year old and a 3 year old.

I actually room with the 5 year old.

His name is Asher.

Hers is Lucy.

They are two of the best things that have happened to me in the past 4 years that I've been in Asheville.

Tonight...After a few beautiful running/jumping hugs...some kisses good night...along with the unexpected, but equally as glorious, child flatulation...I got to thinking...

Here are two kids, that I could essentially tell them everything. (whether they listen or not)

I would tell them about things that have hurt me in the past. Or ways I have hurt others. I could tell them about all the good times I want to remember, or all the bad times I wish I could forget. I could tell them my deepest darkest secrets...

...and I bet you all the money in the world, that in the next few minutes following my story, I would here these words in broken, southern, 5 and 3 year old vocabulary...

"Ben, I wuv you...I wuv you so much."

They don't even realize, that's helped me through some tough stuff. And they don't care. And I love it.

1st YL Club

So, we had our first YL Club of the year Tuesday night. 

IT

WAS

CHAOS!

75+ kids + toilet paper + anything they can throw + a broken projector + God's fabulous sense of humor = an insane night. 

But, when we finally got the projector working, these loverly videos were played and used to bless people with pure, raw talent. enjoy.

After club, the room looked like a frat party. Add the fresh hole in the drywall, and you get an extremely exhausted, but nontheless, BALLER YL team. 

That's how we do.

Happiness in the Small Things

You've all heard that saying right???

How about when you get stung twice in the face by a yellow jacket and your bottom lip looks like you should be taking shrapnel with Forrest Gump?? ("But my friends call me Bubba, just like one of them old redneck boys, can you believe that??")

I can definitely find joy in the fact that Turd Ferg haunts me in my new apartment.....

Weird?

I think so...

mmmm...photobooth

The last day on the boat...Photobooth shoot...awesome way to waste time.

This is me, sitting on the couch, at Margaritas house, a week and some change after I have returned to the U.S. I have been in Asheville for a few days now, and I'm not gonna lie, I really love being home. 

My first day back, Me and Sloan took 3 of our YL dudes to Midnight Hole, this sweet swimming hole where you can jump off rocks and stuff, immediately followed by kickball with the rest of Asheville YL, immediately followed by Cici's pizza fest, immediately followed by an 18 person poker game with all my high school fellas. What a great homecoming. 

I found an apartment that I think I'm going to rent. It's pretty sweet, 1 bedroom, basement apartment. It's a pretty cool place, and great location for me doing YL at TC Roberson because it's only .5 miles away from the house. And the rent is cheap...I'm thinking yes.

I've been helping Sloan with the kitchen renovations. It is looking so good. You can definitely tell that it's supposed to be a kitchen. 

Besides that all is well. 

I am so thankful to be back in this place. The sailing trip was so good for me, but it was time to come home. 

Oh, and my favorite part of coming home was Asher leaping off the top step of the stairs and into my arms to give me a bear hug that would make a lumberjack tear up...take that to the bank.

Chuckling...aka...Man Giggling

7-17, Friday

Well, I'm at the airport in Lajes, on Terceira. A recap of the last week:

Wednesday, July 8

We left Flores at 10am and had great wind all day. It was definitely a bit more relaxed, especially since it was only goin to be a 24 hour sail. It was pretty low key, but we did see some sweet dolphins jumping a few feet out of the water...I think a few of them were mooning us...because that's how dolphins roll.

Thursday, July 9

We arrived in Horta at 7:30am, so a solid 21 hour trip. Horta is cool, definitely not as beautiful as Flores, but there are people! And cars! And tons of sailors! And hot showers! Sweet mercy of Jesus, a hot shower. And free internet...which ruined me...I was on it for 4 hours the first day...geez. We (the crew from Flores that went to Horta, which was everyone!) went to Peter's Cafe Sport, this legendary sailor bar that has been around for decades. It has whale bones on the walls, and flags from pretty much every country in the world...but the food sucked...but that's cool, it was still a cool hang out, for real...but the food sucked...but whatever...who cares. We pretty much hung out there all night...btw, the food sucked...and then we all parted and went back to our ocean vessels for a kip.

(PS. If anybody is still keeping up with sailor creds,

 you don't have to any more...I've racked up way too many since Bermuda to count or keep track of...and my brain just can't handle it right now...because I'm kind of awesome...let's be honest)

(Seriously...be honest...deep down you know its true)

(And if you don't think so, just agree...it's my blog...I'll say what I want)

(But seriously, if you're completely honest, you're going to agree...so no worries matey)

Cool view of Mount Pico from the boat.

Friday, July 10 – Monday, July 13

All these days run together a bit, but to sum them up:

I moved onto another boat, Yamma, because the capitan, Steve from London, is going to give me a ride to Terceira, where I fly back home in 7 days. His boat is a Halberg Rassy, 36 feet...aka...real nice. I feel like I'm in a hotel room. Steve is a legend, classic brit...with a dry sense of humor, plus, a mouth like a sailor, equals, a classic fella.

Yamma

So, the first 10 minutes on the boat, I go to the bathroom, and break the freaking toilet. I thought they were all the same...But, in theory, I forgot to open the seacock...idiot. So, now Steve's cussing up a storm, I'm a bit nervous and worried that he won't give me a ride anymore, but semi chuckling (or “man giggling”) which makes him even more annoyed...crap...Long story short, we got the toilet working, and Steve loved me again.

Oh, in Horta, it's bad luck to leave port without painting the name of your boat on the sea wall. (Steve didn't care, so we didn't do it) (I'm convinced that is why the toilet broke...it knew...it was a future knowing toilet.) Anyways, so that makes for thousands and thousands of paintings that have been there for ages, and more keep coming....real cool. So, I walked around for an afternoon, checking out all the paintings...so cool.

The Paintings

Sunday, all the folks from Flores decided to go to the supermarket. We left the supermarket with two rabbits, wine, and this banging chocolate/cookie dough roll/cake awesome times dessert. (Seriously, thats what it was called) So that night, we went out to the Swedish couples' catamaran (which are freaking sweet) to have a “Rabbit Stew Party”. It was amazing...Legit amazing. Rabbit is awesome. We ate and drank to our hearts content, and then we all went back to our boats...fat and happy sailors.

Me and Carolyn at the Rabbit Feast.

Monday was my last in Horta, so I decided to walk around by myself. I was craving some oranges, so I bought some...Sailing has increased my appetite ten fold...I'm in trouble for real. Then, I went to the old whaling station and watched this movie about whaling...People...these guys are crazy raw. Whaling is the craziest fishing/hunting activity you could ever do. Those whales are freaking huge.

The Whaling Museum is on the opposite bank...the beach in Horta.

After all that, I went back to the boat to surf the web and sleep!

Horta

There is way too much to write, so I'll just gonna make it fast...

We stayed is Flores for 6 days total, then we sailed to Horta, which is a pretty major port for sailors. It took us 20 hours to do 130 miles...which is pretty fast in the boat I have been on. It was actually a really good trip. So we got to Horta, and EVERYONE that was in Flores is here. So the gang is back together. We have just been hanging out here, we went to the famous sailors bar, Peter's, and had some dinner the first night we were here. Besides that, we all just walk around and eat. 

We are actually going swimming today! The first good sunny day we've had in awhile! And the other thing, you can see Mount Pico from the marina, it's really really pretty. 

Ummmm....Oh, I'm on a new boat, they are taking me to Terceira, where the adventure ends. I fly home on Friday. It will be nice to eat and sleep again...like a normal person.

AND!!! The crew from Flores all bought 2 rabbits yesterday, and the greeks and arnie are going to cook rabbit stew for us all tonight...I love it. Pictures to come...

Adios!

Bom Dia! (Good day)

Ahhhh, Flores is so good. Been here for 3 days now. It's absolutely beautiful. And the people are so nice.

As you know, we got in Friday night. After anchoring we decided to go grab a bite to eat at the local pub. By far the worst hamburger I'd ever tasted...but I didn't care at all. We didn't have any Euros, and the bank was closed, so the owners let us eat anyways. Awesome.

Saturday, we got up early and went into town (Lajes). Carolyn and I decided to give ourselves a bit of a leg workout, since we hadn't really used them in weeks, so we decided to grab some lunch and take off for an afternoon hike. The lunch was amazing: Bitoque, it's rice, 2 steaks, french fries, a fried egg, and a salad. So much food, very cheap, very good. I was stuffed to say the least. Then we walked for 4 hours...and walking here is no joke. The roads are basically cliffs...12% grade...what the heck. Which basically means that after 2 weeks of not using my legs...they are now effed. But, on our way bck to town from the hike, we saw a man in his garden (everyone has gardens), he saw us and brought us two massive handfuls of strawberries that he'd just picked....they were so good.

That'll be some fresh smelling laundry eh?

Nice walk

After the walk, we went back into town, to the Restaurante Marinha, owned by Ricardo and Sonja (whole let us eat free the night before), and they were having a July 4th celebration! What!?! Makes no sense. Anyways, they had karaoke, good food, and all of the other sailors were there, so we met a bunch of them. We all hung out, and danced...by the way, Portuguese dancing is like fighting...for real...and then when you are done dancing with the Portuguese girls, they just turn around and walk off...no thank you (Obrigado) no wave, not even a handshake, heck not even eye contact. It was wierd...but really really fun.

So, Sunday we woke up around 11:30 and rented a taxi to tour the island. We drove all around the island for 3 hrs. (small island) and saw the Caldeiras (crater lakes), we went to Fajazhina and Faja Grande, two villages on Flores. It really is a beautiful island. 

One of the Caldeiras

Fajazhina

Malo Alto, the tallest peak on the island.

After that, we went and hung out with the Frenchies, Flo and Beru, and the Mad Brits, Chris and Kathy. Flo and Beru are sailors, and they decided to buy a house here a year ago because they loved the island so much. Flo has a massive garden

and she shares alot of her vegetables (which are amazing after not having any for two weeks). Their house is charming though, and they are so nice.

The Mad Brits are the Mad Brits because they are crazy. Kathy says they have a "Case of the F*** It's!" Ha ha, cracks me up. They bought a house after being here for 4 days! I think I would too if I had the money. They even invited me to come back and help them fix their property up...we'll see. Carloyn and I have taken quite a liking to them though.

After that, we went out to eat with the rest of our motley sailing crew:

Arnie, or somethin like that - Ze German

Dimitri and George - The Greeks

Adrian and Mary - Crazy Swiss

Peter - resident Old Fart

Phil - The strange guy from Liverpool.

From left to right: Ricardo, Carolyn, Arnie, Adrian.

When you eat here with a big group, they bring the whole table food. It's a pain to split the bill after, but they bring plates and plates of food and jugs of wine and you just eat and eat until you're full. I love it.

Anyways, More later.

July 1

July 1st

150 miles to go, and the wind is on our nose...Burn it. It looks like we'll be getting into Flores on Friday which = a MASSIVE dinner and a proper shower...

Oh yea, it's cold man, I had to bust out the sleeping bag pants and fleece...what the heck.

July 3rd

LAND HO! Holy crap...land looks awesome. I mean, the last leg of sailing was good, pretty chill. You just get into a rhythm, but oh my goodness what an awesome feeling to see land.

My seeing land picture.

I think it will be a good night...

Halfway

We are halfway!

800 miles to go! It's all down hill from here man. Time has now lost all value, except calculating when we will get to Flores.

Sleeping, Eating, Reading...That's the schedule.

It's refreshing, and at the same time, really annoying. You really have to let go of everything...I have really had to realize that I am not in control, and cant do a thing to make us get there any sooner. Just gotta loosen up out here in the big blue. 

Besides that, we have had good wind. We got to put the spinnaker up.

Pretty eh?

And I caught a big fish, but I couldn't t

ake a picture...why?  Uh because I was catching the fish. duh.

And we saw some dolphins, 

I got to steer, 

Saw another sunset, 

and sat somemore!

More tomorrow.

My first Gale...then Boredom

6/21

Well, it got rough...really rough...45 knot winds and 20 ft. waves rough. And, during all of that, our self steering broke...which pretty much means fix it or self steer for a week and a half. We decided to try and fix it. It was nuts, heaving up and down 20 ft. swells, hanging over the stern with a wrench in each hand (and occasionally teeth) trying to fix one of the most important pieces of equipment on the boat. But, we fixed it...but we had to heave to in the process so we made NO PROGRESS...disheartening for sure.

So, that was yesterday, today the wind is mid-20's and seas are <10>

But I seriously wanted Turd to come pick me up on his helicopter yesterday.

6/22

This is boring...

6/23

This is still boring...all I do is think. I wasn't built to think. I was built to do stuff. I don't even want to write. So much freaking ocean to go. It seems like it will never end. I wish my head would explode...or I had some power where I could actually sleep all day, for days on end.  

The Ocean.

6/18

Leaving Bermuda...beyond that gap is about 1800 miles of ocean.

We left a bit late Yesterday, around 1pm, but we are making ok time. The wind is out of the north east, right where we want to go...so we are doing a long northern tack, followed by a long eastern tack...Fun stuff.

On the starboard tack. + 10 Sailor Creds for putting up with this for days.

So apparently, everyone get seasick, and everyone told me that I was going to get seasick...Obviously, they don't know me very well...Because, obviously, it was vice versa...Ben Johnson didn't get Seasick, but Seasick got some Ben Johnson. Bring it Poseidon.

First Sunset.

Anyways, my first experience on watch last night was great. It's really beautiful. It's a totally different world when it's dark: Bio luminescent plankton (crazy), Holy Crap Stars (tons of them, and satellites, and shooting stars), and just nothing for miles. The moon is insanely bright. Sunsets and sunrises are rediculous. During the day, there's tons of flying fish, Portuguese Man O Wars, Shearwater Gulls, and lots and lots of Water.

First watch

On a more disgusting note, the two boys threw up...I took shrapnel. I wasn't paying attention...the youngest threw up into the wind...and I took some to the face. Yep, I know...but of course, I just took it like a man, licked up what was close to my mouth, and wiped the rest off with my sleeve (which, incidentally, I slept on later). Ah...a Sailor's Life. It's supposed to get rough in a day or so...Buckle Up.

The Flying Fish that almost hit me in the head. They fly...for real.

Alrighty Then, Off To Portugal.

Sorry to leave you with such a short last post. But I just posted three...geez, relax. 

I leave tomorrow for Flores. The trip should be around 2 weeks. And then free internet! Whoo!

Anywho, I hope everyone is doing great. The past two days have been pretty much the same. Oatmeal/coffee/chores/beach/sunset in the cockpit/sleep. You know, the tough kinda life. 

But seriously, I'm gonna stink when I get into Portugal. But I hear they have good cheese!

I have to go catch a bus, I'm late already! I will talk to you all again in two weeks!

The Johnson

It's My Effin Birfday Dawg

Day 5, June 14^th, and My 23^rd Birthday.

I didn't remember until 11 am that it was my birthday! 23 years old and still kickin. Man. When I was in the graveyard of that old church yesterday, I saw so many headstones that we for dudes 20/21 and whatever...Bummer. I'm probably way cooler than they were anyways.

So, this morning we fixed the outboard harness, for lifting the motors, we fixed the dodgers (rain cover) for the midship hatch...Dude, I sound like a sailor...wierd. So, our other outboard was giving us some trouble, so this dudes Patrick, from Maine, came over to help us. This guy is awesome. He left Maine when he was 24 sailed all around for 5 years! Crazy. He even lived in Senegal, Africa for a year rebuilding houses. And he did all of it in this sick boat, it's totally wooden, modeled after the old whalers from Nantucket. Anyways, cool guy.

Fixing the outboard. (Patrick, left, Shirish, right)

Another Patrick, from the boat next door (from Portsmouth, UK)came over this morning. I've been watching him the past few days, trying to catch fish. Well today, he finally caught one! As he looked over at me and gave me a victory fist pump, I returned it with a thumbs up and an ear to ear grin. Well, afterwards, he dinghied over to Juno and gave me a bag full of bait! Let the fishing begin!

Besides that, it has been a rough day. I flooded the dinghy engine and cast off before I had started it, so I had to row back to Juno against a 15 knot wind...and Shirish was in the dinghy with me. -2 Sailor Creds (just because I had to row). I dumped out the ratchet set, -1 Sailor Cred, and just really felt clumsy all day, I hope it wears off. I ate a big dinner, so maybe that will help.

New total would be : 7 Sailor Creds...but it's my birthday. Haha. Still got 10 Creds baby.

I've been a little homesick today. It's actually 6:30 pm right now, and I'm going to call home in 30 minutes. So hopefully they'll pick up. I think that will help. Ive just been missing everyone I love today. And above others...Asher and Lucy. I've been thinking of them saying “Ben Johnson!”, or “What's up Ben?”, or “Ben I love you.” Gah, anyways. (Sloan, or Les, give them both a big old hug from me.

Well, I'm done. Time for a birthday “Dark and Stormy”, a book, and bed. Adios.

Baby wipes do not substitute showers.

Day 4, June 13^th

A happy Sailor Man.

This morning started like every other morning so far, weather report...coffee...oatmeal.

Chore time: The outboard on the dinghy broke yesterday, and it was my job to fix it. A little intimidated, I began taking apart the carburetor, I cleaned it and stuck it back in, then fixed the broken pull cord, re-assembled and placed back on the dinghy. First pull people...Gimme some of that!

So since then, I have come up with a sort of “Sailor's Cred” gauge. I was at 0 when I started, but after all the chores and lingo, and no major screw ups, I was at 5 Sailor Creds. Now, after the outboard repair, I'm giving myself 5 more points.

That means 10 Sailor Creds!!! Whoa!

Anyways, Sailor Creds will continue to be added up daily. Stay posted.

I am starting to realize the different personalities on this boat. Shirish is not confrontational, he's a thinker, very calm, and very mature...totally my opposite, haha. (That's why I have to do things, such as mooning passing cruise ships, when he's not around) When we try and do repairs together, he likes to step back and look at things for awhile, then act...where I am like “Let's just get the freaking thing off/taken apart/unscrewed/etc.!”

So, after the outboard repair, we went into St George to pick up our new crew member, Caroline!

Caroline is an absolutely wonderful British woman. Because of her “Britishness”, she was quickly in my good graces...not that it really matters. After lunch on Juno, me and Caroline went into St George together, because neither of us had been around town much. We had some great conversation, saw all the gardens and parks, checked out this old school church, basically touristy stuff, and then had a drink at the White Horse. She has sailed quite a bit, like 3 years in the Mediterrenean.

Next, I went back to Juno, Caroline went home (she's meeting us Tuesday). I played some Risk with the boys...and got absolutely destroyed. Crap.

Now I'm just sitting in the cockpit, reading, writing, and I started making a video (Turd threatened me with bodily harm if I didn't). It's difficult getting back into using a camera, but good. It's a great sunset tonight, check it out.

PS. The reason there aren't as many pictures is because internet access here is $6 for a ½ hour, and it takes forever to load a picture!

Bermuda Day 3

Bermuda Day 3, June 12^th

“...Waves inside the reef, 1 foot, waves outside the reef, 2-4 feet...” I hear the familiar accent, a mix of Scottish, British, and Carribean that make up the Bermudian accent, and open my eyes. These words have become my new alarm clock. And trust me, it's a lot better than “BLALJSLH, BLAHSGHI, BLAHIUAGDKSN!!!”

I slept so good last night, until the massive rain storm at 12:30am...Let's just say that I now know what “Batten down the hatches!” means.

This morning consisted of coffee, oatmeal, and preparing for mornings chores/repairs. I find myself volunteering for dishes a lot, only because it's the only thing I know for sure how to do. It kinda sucks, but I think it's appreciated, and I like that.

After, Shirish and I set about the boat making repairs such as: Fixing the wind vane mount, rerouting some plumbing, replacing the bimini, cleaning the bilge, and pumping up the dinghy. Even little repairs like this help me get to know the boat that much better. And it feels really great to finally get my hands dirty!

After chores/repairs, we loaded up the dinghy and headed to Tobacco Bay. It's this sweet bay, almost all the way enclosed by rocks. I snorkeled a bit, saw some sweet a fish (Parrot Fish, Grouper, some others), I got to water solo rock climb a bit, immediately followed by some cliff jumping/back flipping.

Tobacco Bay (and the family)

Afterwards, we all went into St George's and I decided to play my “alone time card” (kind of like the race card, but for alone time). I parted ways with the family, found some cheap internet ($6 for ½ hour), and surfed the web for a bit.

It was nice having some alone time, much needed. Went back to the boat afterwards and got to shower in the rain!!! I felt like a kid again, and my hair got a much needed cleaning.

After a great meal and a “Dark and Stormy”, I prepared for bed, donned my Ipod, applied some Gold Bond, and am now relaxing in a very windy cockpit...

I really like it here.

Bermuda Day 2

Bermuda Day 2 – June 11^th.

Before I start, You need to know that there is a parrot sitting right beside me, squawking like crazy. Freaking Bermuda.

Check this out:

Bermuda Shorts....Yeaaaaaaa

Well, I found the sun...it's in Bermuda. Luckily for me, I followed my mom's advice and wore lots of sun screen, or “sun cream” as it is known here. But no lie, that water I talked about seeing on the flight in...I swam in that crap today. So beautiful. The beaches here are incredible...Coral, Fish, Sun, awesome times. I'll get a picture of Tobacco Bay on here next time.

So we went on a tour of the island. I bought a Ferry/Bus pass for $12 and off we were. We started in Hamilton, the metropolis of Bermuda. (Basically only two towns in Bermuda, Hamilton and St. George, St. George is way chiller and way cheaper) We walked around a bit, saw the cool Naval Museum that had goats in it....random...and got to watch people blow glass. It sounds weak, but it was awesome! After Hamilton, we went to a Marine Supply store, and then went to the beach. Then came home. We drove all over the island, saw what we wanted to, it was great.

And now, after all day on buses, ferries, and feet, I am sitting in the cockpit of the boat, enjoying the cloudiness and the sea breeze. It's so peaceful. This feels like a vacation, which I am assured will turn into hard work as we get nearer to the trip.

Happy man in the cockpit

My view from the cockpit.

But it's dinner time (turkey/cheese quesadillas with a dark and stormy, the official drink of Bermuda).

I love this place.

AND... Here's Tobacco Bay:

And the Unfinished Church of St. George:

(taken straight from the daily journal of me)

Bermuda! Day 1

Ahh, Bermuda.

The flight in was unreal. The water here is so blue, it blew my mind!

So, I arrived in Bermuda, got through customs alright, hopped on a bus, and went into St. George to meet the Captain of Juno, Shirish Date, at the White Horse, this legendary Bar/restaurant that's been here for ages. After a $6 beverage, which I immediately regretted...but it was cold...I found Shirish, and we hopped in the dinghy to go to Juno, my home for the next month or so.

That's the dinghy...

And that's the deck of Juno from the bow. (Mom, the yellow lines running down the deck are the lines I will be harnessed into when we are underway.)

Do I sound like a sailor or what?

So, the boat:

It's unbelievable for a few reason. 1) How awesome it looks 2) How much stuff is on it 3) How small the space I now live in is. See...

My bunk

My stuff

I know now, more than ever, that this trip will stretch (or compact) me as much as I could've expected. Learning the processes of the boat take time, patience (especially since the 11 and 9 year olds know EVERYTHING about this boat...stupid kids), and a try or two to make sure you get it down. I mean, everything is so different. Food, lingo, the fact that it takes me 5 minutes to flush (flushing has been dubbed “pumping poop”), manners (literally, when it comes to bodily functions, there is NO shame). It's great.

The family:

Shirish – Capitan, writer, sailor, big word user, legend.

MB – Capitana, wife of captain, soo nice. She made me feel right at home.

Orion – This kid is going to cure cancer or something. He's a genius at 11.

Rigel – Just fun. Rambles about who knows what all the time, just to entertain himself. A bit moody, but cool kid.

I think I will like these people.

Anyways, when we got back to the boat, Shirish showed me some of the more common functions (flushing, making fresh water, starting the engine etc.), and we got ready to get some pizza in St. George.

St. George from Juno.

People...I ate a BLT...maybe a $3 sandwich in the U.S. In Bermuda it's $10!!! Yea, I agree, F that.

But seriously Bermuda is very expensive.

So, after eating, we came back to the boat to chill, I unpacked, and we got ready for bed.

Sleeping was hard. I was sweaty, it was muggy, I was burning up, I had to pee (but didn't because it seriously takes effort to flush), but finally I fell asleep...then woke up...then fell asleep...and so on about 6 times. I woke up at 6am...overjoyed. I never thought I'd be that excited to wake up at 6am. The best thing about sleeping the first night was my sheets...

Awesome.

But anyways, with some coffee and oatmeal, I was good to go for the tour of the island!

Side Notes:

1) Gold Bond is a life-saver. Seriously.

2) There is a “Tall Boat” race. By “Tall Boat” I mean like, awesome old pirate ship boats. Like this:

All over the place...So cool. This is actually a US Coast Guard training vessel called the Eagle.

Anyways, until next time.

(This post taken straight from my hand written journal...so enjoy it)

Here we go!

Well,

I'm all packed up, I have my passport, my itinerary, and I'm getting ready to go to bed. I wake up at about 3 am, to get on a plane in Greensboro at 6:30, to fly to Cincinatti, to fly to NYC, to fly to Bermuda, where I will meet Shirish (el capitan) and go to the boat, Juno. Juno is a 44 foot Alden, quite a nice boat, and home for the next month, at least. Oh look, a picture!

This isn't Juno, but it looks similar. I'll have pictures of it tomorrow though!

Well, I'm tired, and I've unpacked and packed my bag about 5 times now, just to make sure I had everything, I think I'm good. I've got my books, Ipod, camera, and jump-rope for entertainment on the boat. (Oh yes, you CAN jump rope on a sailboat)

Side note: When I return, I am going to make my living writing children's stories, the first being "Oh Yes, You CAN Jump Rope on a Sail Boat!" The protagonists will be Asher and Noah, and the antagonist will be......the new Yellow Wiggle, cuz he's a dookie boots.

Alright, off I go! Next post: from Bermuda! (If internet cafe's aren't too expensive)