Glass Slipper - 11DEC11

Sunday, 11 Dec 2011 Well it looks like this might be one of my final blogs. As we get closer to St Lucia we are having more contacts with other boats. This morning we came within 400 yards of “Arabella” who offered up quite a chat. A Welshman who braved the Atlantic this morning for an early dip in the water. Let it be said – “Wales, where men are men, and sharks get nervous”. I think even though I’d have loved an early morning swim – I’m afraid to try it.  The Green Flash – for a number of years I’ve been going to Key West Florida for one reason or another. One of the highlights of the trip is always walking down Duval Street towards the end of the day to see the legendary “Green Flash”. The crowds always. read more...

Glass Slipper - 13 Dec 2011

Tuesday, 13 Dec 2011 Well I apologize for missing yesterday, but after a glorious morning swim we raised the hook and headed into the marina to the gas dock. We got in line at the gas dock – just ahead of us was our old dock mates from Casamara – Simon and Tim were still aboard - the rest of the guys had left for the airport about a half hour earlier. Tim was getting ready for an afternoon flight and Simon had picked up a couple of additional crew for the sail to Barbados. They had had a great crossing – looked very tan and like myself had great beards.  After filling up we went to our slip #10 on “E” dock. There we were met by a very lovely and gracious lady from the tourist board greeting us with a lovely fruit basket and 5 rum punches and 5 chilled. read more...

Glass Slipper - 10 Dec 2011

Saturday, 10 Dec 2011 We learned yesterday around noon for the first time about the untimely passing of Andrew Nash. A very sad and tragic event our deepest sympathies to his family and fellow crew members. I looked at Tom and he said to me we’ve got some extra diesel – an email was sent to rally control offering our services – we were not the closest – I believe we are a bit behind, but if there are further developments – we stand ready to assist.   Yesterday was Ben’s (our first mate) 27th birthday. It pays to have your girl friend aboard for an event such as this – especially since she’s an excellent cook. We had a wonderful meal – even a Birthday Cake and an ice cream bar (it’s wonderful to have a freezer at sea).. read more...

Glass Slipper - 9 Dec 2011

Friday, 9 Dec 2011 Well today is another beautiful day in paradise – as we get closer to the Caribbean both the temperature and humidity continue to rise. Today is our first mates (Ben) 27th birthday. I know we have a cake for him – and Tarryn will be making one of his favorite Italian dishes. Yesterday’s noon meal was good old fashioned (American) hamburgers – both Tom and I agreed you forget very quickly how much you miss them.  We started the day yesterday with some great winds, and later they dropped, so of course – out came the kite. That really got Glass Slipper moving through the surf. When we went online to check the daily weather reports, and see if we had any personal e-mails we were surprised to see the number of boats turning on their. read more...

Glass Slipper - 8 Dec 2011

Thursday, 8 Dec 2011Well last night was a bit difficult on board – the night before Bruce ran into a bit of trouble – we think it might have been brief high winds from perhaps a squall – well all of a sudden the wind jumps from about 12 knots to 45. Bruce briefly loses control and does two 360 degree turns. In a flash Tom, Ben and Guy are on deck to help. We quickly regain control, but this also allows for an opportunity to talk about emergency procedures. It’s pitch black – what if one of us had gone over the side – we all came up with our life vests and safety harnesses on – first and most important – “STOP the BOAT” – 2) push the man overboard alarm (this marks our exact  location with the GPS), 3)throw the safety. read more...