FUBAR crew

As with the trip down the coast, I have a remarkable and eclectic crew. This is the third time I have had the privilege of having John Wooldridge on board and it is always a great pleasure. John is an accomplished yachtsman with strong navigational skills and more importantly a gifted conversationalist. He can banter trivia or discuss any aspect of the boating business with me or jump in talk of movie star gossip with the ladies. He always keeps a positive attitude and is the rock of the crew.

This is the first long voyage for Leanne and Steve McNally for which they looking forward to since we talked about the trip a year ago. Leanne did most of the provisioning and planned every detail possible always with total excitement and the gleaming enthusiasm that is her trade mark. Yesterday she came bounding up to me with a beaming smile, this is just perfect, she says, We have five people on the boat all doing separate and enjoyable things; Steve is fishing, John reading, Rita sunbathing and Brian playing the guitar on the bow while I talking to friends on the radio. That is the quintessential Leanne.

S teve is the technical guy, his talents lie in things I do not understand so his input was invaluable. Steve became the fisherman, spending hours in the cockpit tending the poles-never giving up. He thoroughly enjoyed every new adventure of cruising like a kid does new things.

I guarantee you no FUBAR boat ate as well as we did. Rita came aboard with a cook book that weighs ten pounds and she reads it like a rabbi reads the Old Testament. Each meal has special sauces, fresh ingredients the likes of which I have never seen while cruising. I will post a separate log of out menu soon. All this was done in addition to manning watches and helping in every way possible.

With five days at sea, the longest passages done and all the jitters and queasy stomachs settled we have all kept great spirits, the banter has been fun and lively and all are having a blast. But that is the easy part. When darkness falls and long watches are needed when we would rather be sleeping, when we did have a small disaster and the crew’s help was needed, NOW, that is when this crew showed it’s colors and they all shown well.