In 1963 Paul Erling Johnson left England for the West Indies in an 18' dingy ...he has since made 39 crossings. Today, Nov. 27 2011 I was lucky enough to sail with Paul Johnson from Hillsborough around to his mooring in Tyrell Bay. Johnson is an amazing and legendary boatbuilder and mariner ...to say that he is a colorful character is an understatement of grand proportions.

Paul had been recovering in Carriacou from an accident this past New Year's Eve, when during an appearance on shore this past week, he was struck by an SUV backing hurriedly into a parking place. Dashed against the wall of a local store, his previously damaged shoulder and knee were again assaulted as was his forehead, which received a few stitches at the local hospital, and a few of his ribs (either broken or cracked).

Dave, an old sailing mate of his and my new friend, host & landlord here on Carriacou suggested that it would be a big help and good time if we were abale to help Paul sail his boat from Hillsborough around to Tyrell Bay to his mooring. So it was Dave, Georgie (his wife), Bella (their almost 2 year old daughter), Soufy (a friend and ex-pat from England & Sweden) and myself as crew and company for the short voyage.

In spite of being somewhat bunged up and less than his nimble self, Paul was in fine form, sharing stories of past voyages, adventures and mishaps ...and making sure we were well plied with rum. I spent some of the time minding Bella while Dave and Georgie (both experienced sailors) did most of the work raising the sails and pulling the anchor.

We had some overcast so the sun wasn't too bright and there was some good wind so the voyage was fun and exhilarating. That there was also a local sailing race from Tyrell Bay to Hillsborough & back gave us a chance to show what his boat (Cherub, his current 42-foot Venus ketch) could do, with (according to Paul) a dreadful bottom covered with barnacles and weeds.

It was a great day on the sea and meeting Paul, who it turns out is something of an artist as well, with a book of his watercolors, http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/606457. The book I must have is one of stories about Paul by his friends, "Memories From the Sea" - http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/609549

At 5:30am Saturday morning, Nov. 5, 2011 I had an opportunity for an early AM boat trip ...Dave was taking Alexis Andrews, builder & captain of Genesis, a 40 foot Carriacou sloop hand built on the beaches of Windward, out to his vessel to depart for home in Antigua.

As the sun was rising with an incredible display of color in the sky and on the water Alexis, Elsbet, Yette & I, got in Dave's small boat and went out to Genesis. Dave then went back into Windward to pick up Hope McLawerence, a local seaman to help Alexis raise his sails & anchor and see him off.

During my first week on C'cou I had the very good fortune to meet Alexis, a professional photographer and one of Dave's longtime sailing buddies who had documented the construction of his vessel along with many of the local shipbuilding traditions in his 2-volume book, Vanishing Ways and Genesis. This is a wonderful book filled with many personal reminisces and some of the most amazing photographs of the sea, sailboats, Carriacou shipbuilders and the year & a half process of Genesis' construction.

Traditional shipbuilding on the beaches of Windward, Carriacou began in the early 1800s when Scottish fishermen and ship builders were brought to Carriacou by the British, whose colony Grenada was until their independence in 1974.

The melding of the Scots with the decedents of the African slaves and the fishing, sailing & shipbuilding traditions are brought to life in Vanishing Ways. Genesis follows the traditional construction of the vessel from harvesting the trees to the spilling of rum and blood on her at the launching. My copy of this amazing journey is a cherished possession to read and reread as I come to know this paradox of paradise, Carriacou.

As we headed back to Dave's watching Genesis navigate through the reefs that protect Watering Bay at Windward, I was struck by Alexis' intimate knowledge & easy confidence in his vessel and of sailing single handed the 350 miles to Antigua.

The day was still young and Dave had invited us out fishing later that morning. Elsbet and Yette were going, but I needed to go into town for a few more supplies and while the sea looked calm, I was concerned about getting sea sick ...so it was town for me and the sea for them.

Today I gave Popo a hand working on the bay and around Dave's cottages. The first task was to remove buried conch shells from a section of the beach, because walking bare foot on just barely exposed, ragged & sharp conch shells can be a drag. Beach sand maybe soft and fun to play in, but after years of tides sloshing sand into the shells and nearby roots growing into them this was back breaking pick work and much more strenuous than I imagined.

Even though we started around 6:30am when it was still fairly cool, by 7:30am I was beat, sweaty, sore and done for awhile. Whew! I am obviously not accustomed to hard physical labor after 12 years of banging the keyboard and sitting on my butt. Thankfully, I was just the extra hand and was able to excuse myself for a water, run & shower break.

Later in the morning it was over to the Yellow Cottage where we needed to move some dirt and large stones from a large pile into some flower beds as the rain was washing what was there away. This was a bit easier on my back, but still I have not excreted myself as much this day for as long as I can recall. Not only was I and my clothes soon drenched in sweat, but before long I was taking short breaks between lighter & lighter loads to catch the breath and keep up.

Popo was in almost constant motion, being much more accustom to the work and the climate and the technique of working in the tropics. All through the morning Dave and Popo were urging me to take it easy and not kill myself, but I'm still learning to slow down, especially in this climate - it was likely in the mid-80s both temperature and humidity-wise, so there was good reason to sweat and pant. I probably could & should have taken it a bit easier, but I needed to see what my limits were and to find that balance.

Now, in the cool of the evening I'm rested, showered (a few times), not sore (we'll see what the morning brings) and actually feel pretty good about what I can do in my new life.

Onward ever!

Nov., 1, 2011 All Saints Night in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery on Carriacou

Last night was All Saints Night and I shared the evening with friends and families of those departed in the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery on Carriacou. This is an experience that I was lucky enough to have shared on my very first trip to C'cou back in 1997. Within the first week I had arrived I was invited to visit with Popo's mom at her graveside on that All Saints Night and was blown away by the tradition of sharing food, drink & stories with dead relatives in a grave yard at night.

That was such a unique experience that I made sure I would arrive on Carriacou in time to do this again.

During the afternoon, Dave, Elsbet & Jette prepared a huge stack of sandwiches, rum punch and chilled copious beers for the gathering. The evening started about dusk as we arrived at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery to find about a dozen vehicles parked along the road and many families already gathered around their family's burial plots with many candles lit at the grave sites.

At Popo's mom's grave we all were given drinks and candles to share with her ...I took a cup with some Jack Iron and spilled a little on the ground to share with her and took a sip for myself. I lit a candle for her and gave thanks for her life and how well she raised her son Popo.

After a little contemplation, I lit another candle for my mother and shared another sip of Jack with her as I thanked her for her love and kindness in bringing me into this world. I lit another candle for my grandfather, my mom's dad, Grampy and as he had stopped drinking, I shared a sip of 'belly wash' (as Grampy called coca cola & other soft drinks) with him and gave thanks for how he helped raise me in the redwoods of Ft. Bragg, CA. Next was a candle for my dad and a good solid drink of Jack for he and I as he hadn't stopped drinking and would have gotten quite a kick out of Jack Iron rum.

Food was passed around as dark was settling and you could hear the frogs chirping as background music to the many conversations floating over the grave sites flickering with many candles. The night air ...the temperature ...the conversations ... the love and caring expressed was sublime.

After a couple of hours we moved on to the burial plot of some old friends of Dave,  where I met Roy & Semian and was made to feel as welcomed as if I had been part of their family as well. More drinks, stories and food was shared deeper into the night until we were the last to leave the cemetery, which I learned from Roy has been he & Dave's own tradition for sometime.

I wish I was able to take a few pictures and film the evening but my camera doesn't work so well in the low light of evening ...the experience must be shared to be felt, there is no other way.

Well here I am on Carriacou ... got here on Thursday the 27th and
have been adjusting to the climate and my little Red cottage at
Dave's Bayaleau Point Cottages.

The flight from SFO thru Miami was uneventful, although the 3am wake
up on Wednesday was tough. I had the good fortune to have a good
friend, Cheri Snook share the rental car down, becasue a 1-way rental
would have cost 3 times as much, and she was able to drop me at the
airport at the appointed hour of 4am.

Arrival in Grenada was typical, very warm, humid and kinda slow
getting through customs. The slowness was not due to hassles, just a
lot of people. The delay caused a slight change of taxi drivers; I
had arranged for Bombo to pick me up, but he ended up with a full
load before I could get out of customs.

Still, no problem as he had asked one of the airport workers to
locate me and help me get my luggage to customs. Clearing thru
customs was casual ...until I told them I had 3 computers with me.
The customs lady was a bit curious as to why 3, but I explained I
needed a back up and that was just what I did. No problem ...and I
didn't even have to open the bags ...TSA had already done that in the
states I learned later from the tag in my bag.

When I got out onto the street, Bombo met me and explained that he
had arranged for Joseph to be my taxi driver to my hotel as he
already had a full load and that he would pick me up in morning to
take me to the Osprey ferry for the ride to Carriacou.

Checking into the Tropicana was interesting, only in that the air
conditioner remote wasn't working... and it was hot in room 20. After
a bit of fooling around and the help of one of their workers we got
it going and I got a good cool night's sleep. Twas a bit fitful and a
little sticky, but that was expected for my first night in the
tropics.

Breakfast my first AM in Grenada was alright but nothing to write
home about ...so nevermind. When done, I returned to my room, packed
the 4 bags and my day-pack down to the lobby and was told that Bombo
had already arrived. So we loaded the luggage and I was off to the
Osprey.

While in Miami I was able to exchange some US dollars for Eastern
Caribbean (EC) and had the fare for Bombo and the ferry in coin of
the realm. Up onto the topside deck for the ride so I could move
about and keep my eyes on the horizon and refrain from hurling my
breakfast into the sea.

As I sat there I realized I had not arranged for transportation when
I got to Carriacou. I had my Grenada cell phone in my
day pack, but uncharged for weeks. I was able to get a call off to
Cee Pee one of the several bus/taxi drivers that serve the north of
C'cou. That taken care of I settled back to await our departure and
watch the crowd as they loaded people and freight for the morning run
to C'cou.

I saw several faces I recognized and a few even recognized me and
waved back. I had taken my sea sickness medicine upon arrival at the
dock and hoped that it would be alright ...it was.

Even though we were on the smaller ferry and it was a bit rough
between Grenada & Carriacou, I didn't feel a twinge of sea sickness.
The arrival at the jetty in Hillsborough was typical with a few vehicles waiting on the dock for friends and freight ...among them Cee Pee's red taxi and his conductor, Kalon.

Kalno met me as I debarked and asked about my bags... bus drivers and
taxis on C'cou all have conductors to help folks find a seat and load
their packages, handle fares and generally help out. Kalon got my
bags as the emerged from the Osprey and with the last one in hand we
got in the van and headed off the jetty.

As we approached the gate, I noticed that one of the passengers who
had taken his shirt off during the passage t C'cou was told by one of
the customs officials to put on his shirt until he got to the
beach... a reminder of the conservative culture here on Carriacou.

Also at the gate was David Goldhill; he had come down to pick me up as
a bit of a surprise and introduce me to the two guests that were
staying at his cottages. Since I already was on my way with Cee Pee,
Iwould have to meet Yevet and Elizbit (spelling not right), 2 Danish
ladies that had been coming to C'cou for some years.

Arriving at mid-day it was pretty hot & humid and I'm still
adjusting... Kalon helped me drag my bags to my cottage and as we
were making the first trip from the taxi, Popo, who was weed wacking
nearby shut off his machine and came to greet me with a big sweaty
hug.

It was so good to see Popo's happy smiling face and so very glad that
I'm back. We visited briefly and he went back to trying to get the
weed wacker going again ...it didn't ...and I was able to get most of
my stuff unpacked and kinda moved into the Red cottage.

While Popo was still trying to get the weed wacker restarted, I took
a walk up the road to Judy's Big Pond Store for a lunch & dinner.
Judy makes a lunch 6 days a week and for EC$15 I got a large helping
of baked chicken with rice and pegion peas & rice, some macaroni &
cheese pie and a couple of Tings, a Caribbean grapefruit drink that's
quite good.

Just up the road towar Judy's is Maphise's The Valley Bar, and I
found Maphise attending to a pair of scrapped knees on her little
daughter Aggie. Maphose was also very glad to see me back on C'cou
and we chatted for awhile before going on to Judy's for some lunch.

The rest of Thursday is kinda blurry, but Dave and the ladies from
Denmark returned and I met Jette (sounds like Yetta) & Elsbet, and then some more
unpacking and sorting. Later that afternoon I went up to The Valley
Bar for a beer and a visit with Maphise. Aggie's knees were ok by
then and she was a much happier little girl. After 1 beer a car
arrived and 4 men came in for a beer and I was treated to a 2nd as we
introduced ourselves and visited a bit with MacIntosh and his crew of
construction workers. At some point it was dark and I was tired and
headed home and crawled under the mosquito net and went to sleep.

On Friday while I was arranging the cottage Barbara Ann, one of
Dave's housekeepers came to work and passed by the cottage to see me.
Barbara Ann is a delightful woman and also very glad to see me back.
We chatted for a bit and she told me that she would be preparing
Brown Down for dinner for us all that night. I may not have the
spelling right, but it's a chicken stew with dumplings and veggies
and some ground provisions (tubers & root crops of an undistinguished
nature).

Later Friday AM, I made my first lap into town, which is the main
town, Hillsborough to do some shopping. I also dropped some post
cards at the PO for Elsbet and exchanged a bit more USD for EC ata
bank. I went to Evette's Easy Shopping store where I had done most of
my shopping while here in the Spring and was warmly greeted.

I got a few supplies and a case of beer and a case of coke, and is
the tradition Evette would set them by the door so that when I came
by in the bus, the conductor would load em in. Another couple of
shops and while I was looking for a set of tupperware and talking
with the shop keeper, Max, the local dive shop operator walked in and
said hello. He had heard my voice from outside and was very glad to
see me again.

The bus trip back to Dave's was a reminder of how packed the buses
can get and me with all my shopping. A few times several of us had to
step out of the bus so another passenger could get out at their stop.
Finally home, Randy, the driver dropped me at Dave's driveway which
is about 500 yards from Judy's store where the regular bus stop is;
the bus drivers are incredibly accommodating and helpful.

That evening I went up to Dave's house where Jette & Elsbet were
preparing before dinner drinks ...Jelly Water & Rum. Jelly Water or
coconut water here is fresh from the green coconuts and is not
anything like the whimpy stuff you can get from coconuts in the
store. Here it's so fresh and sweet and very nutritious ...and free
from the many coconut palms around.

Barbara Ann's was very good ...I like Brown Doun (or however you
spell it). Popo was also invited to dinner and it was a great evening
sitting outside as the Peace Candles (local name for Fire Flys) came
out to flit about below the star lit sky.

Saturday morning while Popo was finishing off some weed wacking, I
gave Dave a hand finding and sealing a few of the holes in his fence
where dogs would get in; to visit Luna, Dave's dog (fixed though he
may be, the boys do like to visit), hook up a different WiFi router
that should give a little better connection around here and helped
Dave check out the Tilt mechanism for the twin outboards on his big
boat, Mostly Harmless, ... more work there at some point.

After the work, it suggested that a snorkel was in order, so Dave and
the ladies got in his dingy and off we went out into the bay toward
the freighter that's been grounded on the reef for decades. We swam
around and played in the water for about an hour and came back with 6
Welks, and undersea snail. Boiled up in a pressure cooker you can
pull the little buggers out of their shells and cut off some of the
rougher stuff, chop em up and saute with some spices and peppers made
for a yummy snack... along with a cold beer.

That evening we all went out for pizza and some live music at JB's in
Tyrall Bay. Another couple of guests arrived that afternoon, Alexis
and Paul. Alexis is one of Dave's many sailing buddys. He and Paul
were sailing down from Bequie and during pizza invited us out for a
sail to Petite St. Vincent and Petite Martinique the next day.

So it looks like today, Sunday I'll be testing my sea legs and going
out without taking sea sickness pills ... I gotta figure out how to
deal with this sea stuff and might as well start now.

I am feeling very nervous about my upcoming move to Carriacou ... very apprehensive and worried about how things will turn out bad ... I'll forget something important whether getting something done before I leave or not bringing something I really need .. or just ending up having all sorts of problem living there.

All of these are nebulous, unfounded worries that somehow seem to hold the space - stay present and in my face!

All this while I know and have experienced changes in my life in the past -Not this BIG my worry reminds me- and things always seemed to work out much easier than I first might have been worried about.

Still this case of nerves has to go away or in some way be controlled and mellowed out ...it is debilitating!

I've been dealing with an upset gut the past few days. I suspect it's partially a flare up of diverticulitis that I overcame just before I left for Carriacou last time after a debilitating run of antibiotics. This time I'm also noticing how worried I am about this move to Carriacou.

This is a big step ...a major life change! And the weight is just now beginning to sink in and really be felt.

I am leaving most everything I know and rely upon in the states. Even though I know I can rely on what's available on Carriacou, it's still somewhat unknown.

That's not all of it, it's this final packing and sorting and storing and mail address changes and all the details that go with such a move. Have I done everything I need to ...what will I overlook? Whew not pleasant, gotta get outa that space!

I submit that the reason the global economy has taken such a shit and that governments around the world have become wholly untrustworthy is that they are the very organizations that could turn things around.

Governments and multinational corporations have the wealth, the research labs and capability to do good, but they are too focused on winning, being first, more profits, less expenses, and never appearing wrong.

This short term, corporate greed mentality prevents products and services from being as good as they could be, in spite of our being sold underachieved promises of safety and value.

This is simply the Big Lie we all face, and what has destroyed trust of governments, corporations and the wealthy.

The ONLY way to rebuild trust is a 180 degree turn-around by The Powers That Be ... and sadly I do not see that happening soon or without serious turmoil unlike what we have seen in the past with the Civil Rights and the Anti Vietnam War movements.

Today I stepped over a bump that I've been resisting for awhile; the clenng, and sorting of my tool boxes.

I keep most of my tools in 2 pretty good tool boxes ... and a desk drawer. One of the boxes was my grandfather's; dad's father was a newspaper publisher & printer back in his earlier days and became a Linotype machinist when he moved to the Bay Area in the 1940s I believe. It's a nice machinist box with all the nice little drawers. The other box is my old Semiconductor Technician tool box I got while working at VLSI Technology in San Antonio, TX; it's one of those hard, gray boxes you see field technicians use all over.

So, that tidied up the tool boxes and emptied another of the desk drawers - only 2 left - and pretty much left me at a packing plateau, with most everything I don't use on a day to day basis, either packed in a labeled & taped up box with like items, or in a couple of open boxes ready to receive a few more goodies to fill the remaining space.

That leaves 4 suitcases with a hodge podge of stuff collected in them ...a scattering of goodies that are part of the Virtual Yard Sale ... and standing against the wall in the front room a stack of particle board shelves and drawers also ready to move to the storage locker in Auburn.. first load tomorrow I hope!

Once that first load is in storage, this place WILL look like I am moving out.

Well, there's still lots to do - lots more sorting of that which I cannot do without and everything else into useful stacks. And now there's more packed, sealed and labeled boxes than there are full drawers in the my home office.

Actually, the surprising thing is the number of empty or nearly empty drawers I now have in the desk and file cabinets. So much paper that I didn't know what to do with, whether I should keep or store it... quandaries that have faded away as my departure closes in on me.