Thich Naht Hanh, the famous Buddhist monk and author said: “Life’s greatest challenge is maintaining an open heart in the face of great injustice.” Boy was he ever right. Hope you’re doing well in these turbulent times.
We are back aboard Nancy J in a slip in Beaufort, NC. It was a good place to keep her while we looked after MumZ in her declining days. We love her dearly and though she has departed this earthly realm, her spirit is alive and well on her namesake vessel! By the time we returned to the boat on New Year’s Eve, it was too cold (for our comfort level) to sail anywhere, so we decided to remain here, plugged into shore power with heat through the winter months.
We took a three-week road trip to Florida for doctors’ appointments, to visit friends, and see Kenny’s brother and sister-in-law. It was kinda fun to be in our old stomping grounds. Bradenton and Anna Maria Island have almost completely recovered from Hurricane Helene. There were only small signs of the havoc that was wrought.
Never having been to New Orleans myself, we decided to take a slight detour and pay a visit to the city of jazz, voodoo, cajun cuisine and debauchery. We enjoyed all of the above. We saw brass bands, blues bands, jazz crooners, but no Zydeco. The music was free and good! Of course we paid in food, drinks and tips and when we’d spent all of our money and gained numerous pounds we took our leave and returned to Nancy J.
Beaufort’s not a bad place to winter. It’s a charming lil’ berg full of civil war and maritime history. The streets are lined with charming historic plaqued homes. There’s an old graveyard, piles of ballast from Blackbeard’s ship’s in the town square, an adjacent island with wild horses, and plenty of good restaurants. Plus the marina has a “courtesy” car we can use for shopping.
Kenny will be in charge of the blog for the near future, because I have a video project in the works. Michael Ford (Yellow Cat Productions) and I traveled to Russia in 1993 to videotape a sailing voyage through lakes and inland waterways. We passed through locks built by forced labor under Stalin and stopped in towns and small villages visiting schools, newspapers, a naval ship… It was the days of glasnost and perestroika when Russia was becoming more like the USA. Then Putin dragged the country back to the old ways of and now it seems we’re trying to be more like them. Hmmm. Anyway, we never did anything with the footage, so I recently converted it to a digital format and plan to have a go at creating something meaningful in memory of Michael, who passed away last September. RIP old friend.
In a month, Kenny and I shall sail north again, Newfoundland bound. Hopefully we’ll make it there this year.
Attached is a video of sailing clips of our trip up to Maine last summer. Enjoy!
Much love! Be well!