‘Tis the Night Before Christmas, 2012

‘Tis the Night Before Christmas, 2012

'Tis the night before Christmas, and my thoughts they do ponder
On where we have been this past year way back yonder.
Aboard our fair cutter, JonNe', we've been blessed
Through our trials and travels, north, south, east, and west.

Key West's been our home with our friends dear and true,
Some sailed, some stayed, one passed to the Blue.
A hero to all of us, George lays in rest
But his mem'ry remains, his history the best.

Sailing north then to east, the Bahamas we found
With five Boca Chica vessels for Paradise bound
Key West to the Abacos, our journey we found
Great weather, good sailing, scores of dolphins around

Torn mains'l, bad radio, no sound could we hear
We knew Boca Chica was straight to our rear.
We turned her around, no sight of Jois and Mick
So we figured we'd repair all the things on our stick.

Good trial run, but work to complete,
Two weeks off our schedule our friends we would meet
On our next leg to West End running smooth 'cross the Stream
To meet Boca Chica Buddies and start the cruise of our dream.

Where out on the horizon there arose such a scene
As the sun broached the horizon, those boats we could see.
We joined their armada and sailed to the east
16 days of pleasure, no sign of the beast.

Fair Haven, POW-MIA, Last Dance, and Flynn's Wake,
Out early each morning, more anchorages to make.
Great Guana, Green Turtle, Great Sail, Spanish Cay,
Treasure, and Hopetown the places we see.

To soon some head home for places up north
Flynnigan's Wake and JonNe' continue due south.
Current Cut was exciting, the transit we made
Eleuthera inviting, no longer afraid.

The Exumas were beautiful, way beyond belief
Blue water, white sand, and an occasional reef.
One storm nearly took us, our boats they wandered
Without us, alone down the coast til aboard we did scramble.

Our own departure from Bimini, back to the coast
Fond memories later we always can boast.
Heading North up the coast for Lat 31
Hurricanes in the future, security done

We sailed north to Brunswick and St. Simon Isle
And then off to Europe militar style
We landed in Naples and Plankton found us
But the language was tough and caused us much fuss.

Volcanoes and ruins of Roman antique
Vistas and castles made landscape unique
A swordfish or two made dinners complete
Ending three years of famine for seafood a feat

We tackled the Straits of Mesina one day
We'd heard of the dangers we would find on the way
Wretched currents and whirlpools, disasters we'd  find
But good planning, fine sailing, and we turned out just fine

Now the boat's in Key West and we are back on the land
In Kemah with friends, the holidays to plan.
We've been to the parties, dinners and such
We hope we've not challenged our welcome too much

Renne's great achievement her books she does write,
for children and lovers and the Shuttle in flight
The crowds that she draws as she signs each first page
Remind me of how blessed we are at this age.

As I sit here I ponder of the day next to dawn
I sip on a toddy, stifling a yawn
I think of the story from days that are old
Christ's birth in a manger the story still told

Our blessings, forgiveness, our riches this day
Because of his love we follow his way.
He shares with us all and Santa with elves
To share our great wealth he provides to ourselves

So here's to my wife the best friend I could have,
A partner in life sharing each of our lives.
A vessel to carry us well beyond dreams
We are thankful to Christ for the best of all schemes

So we toast to our friends as I write this poor tome
We celebrate Christmas in each of your homes
We thank all of you who have been part of this cheer
And wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Jon and Renne Siewers, 2012

Isle of Capri to Positano, sept 19

September 19 - 0730

We are definitely in the waning days of summer.  Although we are still in shirtsleeve and shorts weather, there is a chill in the air at night. Our bed in the main cabin is very comfortable, and Renne' and I sleep well at night. We are under covers with the hatches open all the time. This week has been perfect for weather. We have had some rain, but not since we left Marina Piccola in Mesino.

We decided to stay in Capri yesterday and tour the island.  There is great competition between the two main cities. You can see that initially in just the names - Capri (town) and Anacapri -translated it means Capri and NOT Capri.  Capri is a town for the rich and famous. Although the main economy of the entire island has been tourism for 2000 years, Capri knows how to do it for the mega-rich.  It is like Rodeo Drive in Hollywood or the Ginza in Tokyo-

And it has some of the same stores! Anacapri on the other hand is much more relaxed, has some beautiful churches built in the 1500's and 1600's!  I know Capri has one or two also, but you don't notice them at all! Prices are very reasonable also!  

Our adventure yesterday, was not the cities so much as the bus rides to them.  The roads are so narrow when the buses pass one another there are only 2-3 inches space between them. The roads look over cliffs 100' high. And hairpin turns that make the hair on your arms and the back of your neck stand straight up! The only cars and trucks allowed on the island are for commercial purposes. These are small trucks. And Smart Cars for the most part. There are a LOT of Cushman style work vehicles here for delivering luggage, the UPS  truck is Cushman style, food, supplies, etc. they are the real work-horses here besides the buses. We heard a siren coming through Capri, and Doug quipped, "Jon, you need to see the ambulance." I couldn't see around the truck, but it seemed to take a fair amount of time coming through the throngs of people walking through the streets. As it drove past us, I asked if it was a Cushman-just joking, realizing it was disrespectful of the patient aboard on the way to the hospital, but it was! We had to laugh!

We had taken the dinghy to the marina area when we left the boat, but got chased away from the docks by the same people who chased us away from the mooring balls. All we wanted to do was walk through town. We finally discovered, if we ate dinner at THEIR restaurant, it would be okay. We finally relented, but said we would return later to eat. When we did return, we stopped for a couple of beers, wine, and an appetizer, but discovered the only way to the dinghy was 200 yards across the water. They wanted to make sure we ate or drank SOMETHING! Although that was our original plan, guess they have bought that pig before!  LOL!

Back on the boat, we defrosted and grilled pork chops, stir fried fresh broccoli and garlic with a touch of soy sauce, sautéed fresh mushrooms and garlic with a touch of Lea and Perrins, and cooked beans and red peppers in the pressure cooker. What a feast. Who says lining on a boat is camping out!

We played a new game yesterday. Guess we got tired of FARKLE every night. We played Mexican Train Dominos. Most enjoyable way of spending the evening!

We WILL move to Amalfi today. It is getting late in the season, and we have to be moving south! As Jerry Reed used to sing, "We have a long way to go, and a short time to get there. . . ".

1125

THIS IS THE DREAM! This is what all of the Marketing folks at all the manufacturers of boats are selling. 4.2kts of speed over the ground, 1 foot seas or less, 15 kts of cool breeze, high Cirrus clouds in the sky, beautiful babes on the bow in bikinis, and a paradise of islands to sail to. We are blessed with friends, good careers to build our retirement funds, blessed with opportunities we could only see in our minds eye 5 years ago. Who could ask for more.

We stopped for the night in Positano, Italy, just north of Amalfi. We are in town for Internet purposes and to pick up beer, wine, and some Bacardi and Coke. We will head back tot he boat in a few hours for dinner.

We will see you at the docks of the marina in Amalfitonite for sundowners. So rum and cokes, Peroni beer, and wine for all at the docks tonite! 

See ya there! 

Jon and Renne'

Aboard Plankton, with Doug and Barb

On the Isle of Capri, Sept 18

September 18 - 0935

We are still at anchor this morning, and have been I talking about going into the island today. Renne' is giving Doug a haircut, I have just cleaned up the dishes from a breakfast of French toast, maple syrup, and scrambled eggs with onion, thanks to Doug. Barb is lounging while investigating our itinerary after we leave today.

It is a glorious day. The bigger of the mega yachts left earlier. He was probably sitting in 100' of water. He had a LOT OF CHAIN out. Tourist season here on Capri (CAP-ri not Ca-PRI) is about over. Tourism is the island's primary income, and as one of the books says, it means "industrial doses of tasteless tat". I thought that was a classic description of it.  There are 10 sailboats and still one very large motor vessel here on the south side of the island. We are anchored at Marina Picolla, but there are no docks in this area.

Capri has been inhabited since Paleolithic times, then Greeks, then Augustus and Tiberius.  It is said, Augustus had the first ever Paleolithic museum in the world here.  Lately, of course, this has become a sort of haven for celebrities during the summer.  Of course no one talks about who comes and goes here.  

We passed the "Blue Grotto" up yesterday, as the fare to go in was 12.50€. However, it would have been interesting to see it. It is said Tiberius had it carved with niches, platforms, and apes as he used it as his "nymphaeum".

For whatever reason, I stopped here, so I will continue tomorrow

Jon and Renne'

Aboard s/v Plankton with Doug and Barb

The famed Isle of Capri, Sept 17th

I am updating this on Dec 24, 2012 - Just imagine we are still in Italy!

September 17 - 1949

Tonite we are sitting in the lea of the Isle of Capri. Amazing. Actually, we are sitting a bit exposed. The sail across to Capri (we pronounce it Ca'pri, the Italians pronounce it as Cap'ri) was uneventful.  Actually it was more of a motorsail, as there wasn't that much wind.  Procida to Capri is 16nm.  We approached from the North, and we were specifically looking for the Blue Grotto.

 Below is a stock photo of the interior of the Blue Grotto

However, we chose to pass it up.  Although this is rumored to be the "Love Grotto" for Emperor Tiberius, we chose to bypass because the fee was like $15.00 per person and as you can see above, it was CROWDED!  So we proceeded around the the island to the east, and saw this statue on a protruding outcrop of rock.

A bit farther around the island, we had planned to anchor out in a very nice anchorage.  The rock formations and caves were spectacular.  We explored them extensively by foot and dinghy.

I was in a cave this afternoon that looked out over the water. I climbed 125 steps to get there.

We were thrown out of this anchorage which we really liked, but the Italian Coast Guard (Guardia Costeria) came by and told us we had to leave. NOW!  We picked up our anchor and motored around to the south side of the island. 

There is a small community here, Port Piccola (tiny port) and it was beautiful.  

We tried to pick up a mooring here, but a dinghy came out to tell us it was a private ball. So we had to find a place to anchor.  This was the second place we have thrown out of TODAY!  We are actually glad we are here. This island is beautiful!  

Renne', Doug, and I went shopping this morning prior to breakfast. We were having problems finding a store, so Doug went one way and R and I went the other. When we found each other, we were surprised at how much we had duplicated without talking about it. So we are pretty much stocked for the next few days.

Anchored out here are two private yachts over 125'.  One of them is at least 150 ' because of the lights rigged on the boat. 

We will leave here tomorrow morning and head for the Amalfi Coast.  The weather here is perfect. Temp right now is 68 or 70 with a very light breeze. The sky is clear. How beautiful. Great time to be here!

We missed you if you were sitting at the dock. Sorry. But Sundowners were excellent!  We will try to catch up with you farther down the coast. We will skip Sorento and head farther on down the coast. Bring the wine and rum with you, we are running a bit short. 

Jon and Renne'

Aboard  S/V Plankton with Doug and Barb

Island of Procida sept 16th

September 16th, 0745

I am adding pics to this today (Nov 23, 2012) so you can see what we saw.

Up this morning to a glorious sunny day. Temp is about 68 degrees. We are debating finding some breakfast food and going to church.  Breakfast won out! It was lite, an egg for Renne', some watermelon, two bananas, coffee for Doug, Barb, and me, ,and tea for Renne'.  Doug and I washed and rinsed clothes,

while the girls got the interior cleaned up.  We departed the marina by 1100and headed back north to the island of Procida.  A large midevil castle is on the top of the island, 100 meters above the water.

The castle as it turns out has had several occupants.  It has been used as a regional prison, government offices, and today, most of the castle is made up of apartments.  Pretty cool.

We anchored among 125+ recreational boats here for probably the last nice weekend of boating before the winter comes on.

Once on the hook, we ate lunch of slice ham,  prosciutto ham, slice Parmesan, cheese, olives, carrots, cucumber, and watermelon in the cockpit.  The interesting view was the city itself. Most of the buildings facing the water are painted in pastel colors.  It is really unusual.

With that done, we headed into town on the dinghy to see the castle.    We walked up 151 steps, each 8-9 inches high. So we climbed about 140 feet in elevation, and still another 150 feet of incline to get to Belvedere (the castle in the earlier photos), the observation area of the island.

The castle was built to defend the coast, and the cannons are stamped 1787-we had just finished the War of Independence in the States

Hard to comprehend that!  Looking out to the south, you can see Mt. Vesuvius (destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum) on the upper right of this photo.

But the buildings were beautiful!The castle actually has had several uses since then including a prison and some government facilities.  Today, most of it is used as apartments, and it appeared to be full! You can see apartment windows above.

Doug and Bar went one way and Renne' and I another and we wandered around for another two hours.  

 The church here in town was built here 1679. 

We found a restaurant and had "Ensalada del Mare" (seafood salad) with clams, mussels, shrimp, calamari, and squid; a liter of local white wine from a ceramic pitcher; and homemade bread with olio de olive. (you can see the restaurant with the umbrellas)

Wow, what a meal. We found Doug and Barb walking on the seafront and sat with another beer before heading back to the boat.

We have watched all but 2 other sailboats and 2 motor yachts leave by sunset. We are sitting here at anchor. It is about 70 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.  Dinner will be fried chicken, rice, and green beans. 

Since we aren't at the dock, you have missed us for sundowners tonite.  Tomorrow we leave for the "Isle of Capri" for the night then south.  We will let you know where to catch up with us for a drink. Until then, sleep well.  We are rolling gently and expect to sleep well ourselves.

Jon and Renne'

Aboard Plankton with Doug and Barb

Herculaneum

September 14th

We weren't up til close to 9 this morning. I fixed scrambled eggs, ham, a good cheddar cheese and onions for breakfast. Doug's coffee is always good! We were off the boat about 1130 for a trip south of Naples to Herculaneum.  

This picture is the church next to the marina.  This is the third wedding we have seen here.

 
What an adventure. We jumped the bus to Napoli, and due to traffic, didn't get into Naples until 1430 (2:30pm).  

 I sure do enjoy waking up next to this woman!!

We asked many people where to catch the train south to Heculaneum. It seems people had NO IDEA where we wanted to go.  We knew it was at the base of Mount Vesuvius and near Pompeii, as they had both been wiped out together when Vesuvius erupted in 79AD. 

An elderly gentleman insisted on walking us to the train station.  He at least was interested in assisting us even though he couldn't speak a word of English!  So we got off the bus and we left trailing him as he walked us past one train station to another. 

Barb was certain the first was correct, but nothing would stop our guide from directing us elsewhere.  When we arrived, he bade us farewell, we spent 20 minutes investigating a train (regional) to Herculaneum, and finally gave up. We returned to the original station (local), and found one heading for Pompeii knowing we were still mystified as to where we really wanted to go. Again, requesting information, we found two couples from Canada and New York familiar with the area, and we were off the train at Ercolano. With a stretch of the English imagination, you can see the resemblance between the two names, Ercolano and Herculaneum.

A walk down the main street, by 1545 (3:45pm), we were at the gates of Herculaneum. 

Interesting place. Only about 10 percent has been uncovered (4 hectares [1 hectare is 10,000 square meters or 2.471 acres] of 44 hectares of land). You can see by the pictures, the volcano buried the town in some 75 feet of mud, dirt, and pyroclastic rock - unlike Pompeii which was buried in only about 10 feet of volcanic ash. The city had been built by at least the 4th century BC and destroyed in 79 AD. Here, unlike Pompei, you can walk through many of the buildings without the use of ropes to guide you away from sensitive areas. The excavations began in the early 1720's, again in the mid 1850's, but serious deep excavation didn't begin until 1924 and continued until 1944.  The city was actually in pretty poor condition until the early 2000's when a foundation began a concentrated archialogocal restoration of the city.  Again, unlike Pompei, this city was very well preserved of plants, foods, rope, leather, wood framing and structural parts of buildings, a boat, skeletal remains of people, fabrics, food and furniture. These artifacts have given archeologists a precise understanding of living conditions in the area. 

 Above is the rudder and bowsprit of the boat pictured below.

Due to depth of the mud and rock that covered the city, then covered by hot, pyroclastic ash, the city was preserved as the lower mud insulated the organic material of the boat, which was dried by the heated ash above it.

This was the warehouse area that originally defined the entrance from the harbor.  However, the eruption added another 1/4 mile of land between here and the ocean.  Of course, Herculaneum was Roman in origin, and the influence of the Romans exists throughout the city.

The below picture is of a restaurant, one of several on the streets.  It was common to eat breakfast and lunch at one of these eateries.  Fire caused by cooking stoves in the individual homes were very carefully monitored, as a wildfire caused by spilling cooking oil could destroy the entire city with ease.

On the other hand, kitchens were normally associated with pantries and sinks. They were often located in the rear of a house, and was usually adjacent to the bathroom facilities. 

Here the commode sits on the right of the above picture and is located below the kitchen sink.  In this way, the water from the sink would drain into the commode area and act to flush dross into the sewer system.  This was quite advanced for this civilization.

Wood throughout the city can be found that is original to the city (2,000 years old).  The wood in this partition is behind glass, as it is in the vicinity of people that could touch it.  This is an actual room partition in a public administration building used to separate space into individual offices.

Mosaic tiles and frescoes can be seen throughout the city.  Of particular interest was the women's baths.  This series of rooms were elegant, and the floor of intricately laid mosaic tile depicted a scene of Neptune, the God of water and the sea.

These streets were just wide enough to allow a chariot to be pulled through.  However, this city did not have the volume of chariot traffic Pompeii had.  Therefore, there were no indications of which direction the traffic proceeded.

 These are surviving frescoes on the walls of wealthy home owners.

 At the end of the day, we were pretty well wiped out.  After several beers for Doug and I and Cokes and water for the girls, we headed back to Mesino.  We're all pretty edgy and frustrated until we ran into 6 or 8 teenagers who found it delightful that we were Americans. 

They found it a challenge to communicate with us. Ranging in age from 14-17, each was enthusiastic, respectful, downright funny.  We laughed almost all the way home. We were all headed for Mesino or Bacoli. If it hadn't been for their assistance we would have been lost. The train broke down on our way back, requiring us to find a bus, then another train, then another bus. As the crowd began to decrease due to each getting off that their respective stops, one young attractive 17 year old girl remained with us to ensure we were dropped off in Mesino properly!

Dinner was at 2030 (8:30pm) and we were back on the boat for drinks and two fun games of FARKLE.  We think in all, we rode 4 busses, 3 trains, and walked close to 5 miles yesterday! 

When we got back to the boat there were 10 minutes of fast and furious fireworks-beautiful.

So tomorrow, Sunday, we will move the boat down coast about 5 miles to an anchorage. In the meantime, we will have sundowners without you. Oh well.

Jon and Renne'

Aboard Plankton with Doug and Barb