Hi All~
This Eletter with
all the links to thousands of grandchildren photos [just kidding] is at:
http://www.ciekurzis.org/Grandbabies%20on%20Andros/Grandbabies%20on%20Andros.htm
Either cut &
paste this URL into your address bar or just click on it.
I love my daughter
very much, and I was delighted to give Jessy & Greg a Windigo experience
that will live on joyously in her heart (possibly replacing her last ‘trip’,
described in:
which has images
such as = “my daughter Jessy . . . . The third night . . . . a “clear gale” hit
us . . . . winds over 40 knots . . . . accompanied by 8-10 foot seas.”).
The reasons I was
able to ever get her to step foot aboard Windigo again after “The Fourth of
July Storm of ‘01” are the Grandbabies. So this eletter may have a few too many
pix of Summer Lee & Joshua James, but how can I not be totally excited
about them and the memorable voyage on Captain
Grandpa’s Pirate Ship (even though we had been running them ragged and the
babies slept through some of it).
The last time I
saw them, JJ was a year-and-a-half old,
using a few one-word communications, and growing fast into being an athletic
boy. Summer was a VERY contented 5-month old
that was so articulate with her hands (and feet) that the strong musical
prowess from her mom [and uncle JB]
was evident.
Now Josh is 3, and
appears school-age in every
way. He is huge (50#), and speaks in eloquent sentences for every question,
explanation, or request. He is even more physical, throwing and running (and wielding a pirate sword) with deft
swiftness.
Summer doing what
every grandparent adores, clinging
to her babyhood. She has continued to develop her fine motor skills and is
very careful and deliberate in everything she does, studying and absorbing the experience, as
an older person cannot. She is absolutely a girly-girl,
sensitive to the emotions and needs of those around her, showing compassion and
tenderness even to her rough-and-tumble
brother. What a contrast; they are very lucky
to have each other to learn from!
While Josh cannot
experience, learn, and move on to the next event fast enough; Summer can sit
involved with a single
activity for longer than most adults – many times all by herself. The music
is growing in her: the rocking from
side-to-side dancing exactly as her mother did; the waving and wiggling of
her hands and each finger to accompany a song; and the original tunes she hums
quietly [Karin was a little miffed that she would stop when she tried to hum
along, but Summer and I hummed many duets. J ]
The Character Of
The Land.
Land? What the heck do I care about land, I’ve got grandbabies here!
The Trip.
Yes, we went sailing. It marked the first time
Windigo sailed inside the barrier reef along the west coast of Andros. Lots of
scattered coral heads, but we stayed in the deep part way up north by Morgan’s
Bluff. The grandbabies
loved the motion, but the fresh air, hard
work, and the weeks’ previous events caught
up with them and it was nap
time.
Greg, on the other hand, was having a blast! Even
though he served in the US Navy, spending a few months on an aircraft carrier
is not like really sailing – those things are huge! He had his first sailing
experience taking Jessy out on a Hobie last year and that got him pretty
cranked about sailing. I’m sure that he will take another opportunity to come aboard for a voyage sans
children in the future.
Jessy had been sailing on Windigo prior to the “The
Fourth of July Storm of ‘01” with Sandy
Baim & I several times, and even on Sandy’s 21-foot YingLing, Revelation.
She showed great fortitude in actually being excited about sailing again after
“The Storm”, but I think Joshua had a lot to do with that, talking about what
an adventure Captain Grandpa’s Pirate Ship was
going to be.
The Grandbabies
had an even better time staying overnight at the Morgan’s Bluff anchorage. Of
course JJ had his first
fishing excursion; and of course even though he had early nibbles,
my terrible fishing luck affected him and we caught nothing. But he showed the
patience of his sister, sitting
on Pedigo for an hour playing the hook.
Summer played games we made up,
winning every one, of course.
Being at sea is so relaxing, her calmness led to nap time for us all. To
increase activity level, we headed
for the beach with crab digging,
sword fighting, bonfires, and of
course S’Mores. Turns out the Grandbabies
enjoyed the colored marshmallows just as much as the messy S’Mores.
[MMMmmmmmmmmmmmm, sugar!]
We enjoyed another
visitor to Andros just after the Grandbabies left, my friend of over 20 years,
Cliff Philpott. We had cycled many miles together in Wisconsin including a few
cross-state camping trips. We both rode in at least one Chaquamegon Mountain
Bike Race together - the really, really wet one of 1989.We also went on the
same cross-country ski trips with a club in Milwaukee. We were in a canoe race
together (with Cliff providing all the power up front) on the Milwaukee River
in which we WON OUR CLASS! [I think it was the ‘floating RV class’ with one
other entry = three girls in an aluminum Coleman . . . but we beat ‘em!].
So Cliff flew all
the way from Arizona to hike &
cycle Andros, swing & swim in a huge blue hole, eat in Nicoll’s Town’s finest
eateries (sometimes without
reservations), a little mountain
biking, and of course, go sailing. We
made two voyages: circumnavigation
of the Hens & Chickens reef at the north end of the third largest
barrier reef on the world and an
overnight trip to Chub Cay & back.
We snorkeled
around in the harbour at Morgan’s Bluff and rode Pedigo all the way to Money
Point, a five-mile open water trip. We could not find a single conch, but I
caught a world-record breaking Bar Jack!
[no smaller Bar Jack has ever been caught, filleted, and eaten in the whole
world!]
Wildlife.
There is actually a
zoo at the Pineville Motel, and Josh & Summer feed the critters and
poked at the crabs several times a day. On the last day, Josh decided he wanted
a souvenir, so he pulled the leg from a live crab! It became to stinky to carry
on the airplane, so it was used for bait. [don’t worry, it will grow another
one!]
I could write about the conch in a new food
section, but the most fun was in the gathering/cleaning phase which is more
akin to wildlife. Cleaning a conch
is a hard-learned skill that P.O. taught me in Bimini [see: http://www.ciekurzis.org/The%20Bimini%20Islands/The%20Bimini%20Islands.htm].
Greg picked it up
immediately, even the penis-eating
part. So we had 16 conch steaks that we grilled at the Pineville Motel.
Other Activities.
One of the things that kept Josh excited
about coming is all the Pirate Ship talk and so it follows that we had a
treasure hunt for the Pirate’s Booty.
Maps were distributed and studied, Greg was exposed to GPS usage to identify the starting point, which happened to be a REAL Pirate Cave! [see http://www.ciekurzis.org/Andros%20Island/Andros%20Island.htm]
A mile-long hike through the woods and along paths ensued, and the Devil’s Dice were soon discovered. Athletic climbing and precise adherence to the map’s clues led to the plundering of the Pirate’s Booty = a tiny cave filled with beach toys!
On the weekend during their stay, the local
celebration was the Red Bays Snapper
Tournament. This particular reason to party was themed by families going
out all day in small boats to catch as many snappers of a minimum length as
possible. Winning boats came back with over 200 fish! Josh investigated
the tallying thoroughly, and weeded out the small
fry.
On the last day we were able to squeeze in
a trip to Uncle Charlie’s
Blue Hole, and fresh
water swimming ensued. Greg once again got
to let loose – literally – of the rope. Splash!
Not to be outdone by the boys, Jessy takes a turn. WEEEEEEEEEEEE!
A long delay at the airport was not wasted
by Joshua as he flirted with every pretty girl
in the concourse. Even though they were hot
& tired, they made the best of the moment;
still shared; and played together thoughtfully. We did find some food
eventually, and they did get home, eventually.
Girlie Stuff. [KARIN’S ELETTER SECTION!]
They say that you can’t
have a favorite but the truth is, with grandchildren, you can.
Yes, Joshua was my favorite especially when I felt
that surge of energy just waiting to be released. He always kept me thinking
ahead from one activity to another in case boredom set in (for both of us). He
brought back so many fond memories of when my sons were young. They never tire,
never stop talking, have that mischievous look in their eyes most of the time,
and always have dirt on themselves – SOMEWHERE!
I truly enjoyed him and he
was easy to spoil. When mom wasn’t looking I would sneak him some fruit snacks
and other no-no’s.
Okay, so what about Summer?
Yes, fortunately she is my also my favorite.
She melted my heart! I
have never met such a unique person. When I needed some down
time I would seek her out. We could just sit there and do things, without a word
spoken, playing in total
harmony. I know she sounds like the perfect angel but she does have a very
stubborn streak to her and will display that when she gets frustrated with not
being understood.
Greg and I got into some
serious chess and backgammon games. Isn’t it funny that I can’t seem to
remember who won – hummmm? He is very light hearted and likes to have fun. He
would just go with whatever Kevin threw at him. He loved meeting the locals and
would come back with samplings of native dishes and art work.
I saw Jessy in a different
light than I had ever seen her before. She is truly a good mom being both
attentive and patient with both kids. She also likes to have fun and would go
along with whatever we wanted to do. No problem with the kids staying overnight
on the boat, no problem with eating candy bars before lunch, no problem with
much of anything. She always seemed so calm and patient even when stress levels
were high like dealing with airline flights or the acting out of an overtired
child.
So after the family left, I
had a couple days to regroup for our next guest. Cliff was at the total other
end of the spectrum as he was much older & quieter, and loved to just sit
on the boat talking about the “good old times”. I didn’t know Cliff very well
beforehand but found him to be very personable and always smiling. He even ate
my cooking – poor guy! [I guess that would make up for riding that piece-of-crap bike.]
I’m looking forward to
other visitors so we can share our discoveries with them and they will
hopefully leave with good memories of their own.
Cycling Notes.
While I planned to find, buy, build, or borrow some type of trailer to
tote the Grandbabies around behind my bike, none was to be had. So we did our
traveling in a rental car. It allowed us to take the kids to the
wellfields, blue holes, out to dinner, and to a few different beaches.
Now when Cliff came a couple days after the kids left, it was bike,
bike, bike! Although Cliff now lives in Arizona, he was reminded of the humid
heat we used to have in Milwaukee. But being the athlete he is, we rode to
every settlement in North Andros; enjoying the scenery, meeting the peoples,
and looking good on the Moultons. Born in England, I’m sure Cliff enjoyed pedaling around on a unique bike,
designed by SIR Alex Moulton, with a picture of his castle on the head badge.
Karin was relegated to riding a borrowed
department store bike, which she had to shorten the chain to circumvent the
faulty derailleur and remove a section of chain seized by rust. All-in-all, she
did O.K., looking more at home than
Cliff & I on the off-road section we frequently rode between the boat
and the motel.
Cruising Notes.
When we circled the Hens
& Chickens Reef with Cliff, the navigation was done by eye. The
cruising guides are correct in stressing this skill – it is of incomparable
value to a deep-draught vessel in The Bahamas.
See where Windigo
has been:
http://shiptrak.org/
Enter Windigo's
callsign: W3IGO
Where we are right
now:
Our permanent and
EXACT address:
Capt.KL &
Karin Hughes
S/V WindigoIII •
PMB 365
88005 Overseas
Hwy. #9
Islamorada,
FL 36033-3087
Text-only Email
addresses aboard Windigo, checked daily:
[reliable
communication]
Email addresses
checked when at a land-based computer
(infrequently, but
good for attachments):
And of course, the
Windigo Travelogue Catalogue: