Day 4- St. Thomas to North Sound, Virgin Gorda including cab from East End of St. Thomas to West End..

Jim and I high tailed it after morning coffee and dinghied in to the St. Thomas Yacht Club (long time members of this beautiful club!) Hailed a cab, the “BIG LOVE” taxi, and took a :45 min ride to the airport. We picked up the part no problem and proceeded upstairs to register the boat but found a note on the door that DPNR had moved to another location for their post storm renovation. They didn’t mention this when we called the previous day to ensure they were open!!! So we hopped back into the cab and found the new location just in time for a medical emergency of someone having a seizure so they would not let us in. We waited outside for about an hour while EMT made sure he was ok and he was, but they still took him via ambulance. Boat is officially registered!
Finally back to the yacht club we said quick hellos and goodbyes and also said hello to some opti sailors we know locally and also from Pensacola, Gill and Claire Hackle. This week is the annual International Dinghy regatta, of which Savannah had sailed consecutive years from 2009-2012. Approaching the boat Savannah was surrounded by opti sailors from Puerto Rico including a little visit from Claire Hackle who jumped off her boat and climbed onto ours to give Savannah a hug. Precious!!!

Quick lunch and we were off racing the sun to the Virgin Gorda Sound. Our hurry was such to arrive in time for long-time friend Jerome Rand’s arrive through the sound on his solo, non-stop circumnavigation around the world!!! Absolutely incredible. (more on this in a bit..).

The thick Sahara dust made for terrible visibility, cramping our views. We hugged the N side of St. John and the post storm emotions were very prevalent in all of us. Not much was said. Total destruction of some our favorite places. The vegetation on St. John will come back however it’s in a sad state post hurricanes even 9 months later that is exacerbated by the drought that we are having in the Caribbean.

We cleared customs in Sopers Hole, West end of Tortola, British Virgin Islands. First day they were open since the hurricanes, working under a big tent. Super smooth and quick.
Sailing up the Sir Francis Drake channel was incredible. Super flat, winds were nuking 25kts solid on the nose and we were smooth as butter making way averaging 7 kts. Jim and I kept talking about how well Huntress sailed! SUPER stoked on the performance of this boat. We tacked over to Peter where we had our first siting of the new and much larger “Willy T” in her new location (floating bar that has been home to “the bite” in Norman Island for years. What happens at the Willy T most certainly stays at the Willy T!!) from Peter we tacked back towards Tortola and then back over to Cooper Island and finally a straight shot to monkey point where we watched the sun go down. We came through the channel of the North Sound after dark which I guess was a good thing as none of us were actually ready to see the devastation first hand to the Bitter End & Saba Rock. This place is very magical and hold so many incredible memories and stories. Not just to us.. but to many that have been fortunate enough to visit.

After 7 hrs of sailing including a quick and only stop in Sopers Hole to clear customs we crashed pretty hard in the North Sound after a chicken and cheese burrito dinner and a cold one! Winds are STILL NUKING.

Wake up Alarms are set for first light to see Jerome.. long day. Still fun.

PS.. I did not take photos of St. Johns, instead I just gaped in disbelief.

What a heinous crossing! Single reef, apparent winds 20-25 gusts to 30 made for a hearty beat to Lindbergh Bay. Seas were 6-8 at 7 seconds with a lot of white cap. This stretch is always a bit confused even on a good day where the Atlantic meets the Caribbean. Today was unusually windy and washing machine conditions. More like the “Christmas Winds” we get in the winter season. A friend of mine said.. “Wow.. you crossed today???.. it was snotty out there.” Sahara dust is as thick as we’ve ever seen it and has made for burning eyes and throat and crap visibility, it’s typical in the summer but thicker than usual. Good news is it supposedly keeps the hurricanes away as it’s very dry air with a tinge of camel dung flavor.

Savannah was severely sea sick almost entire way despite how incredibly well Huntress (Grand Soleil 46 LC) handled the wind and seas. This boat is made for blue water sailing. We powered under sail to windward averaging 6.5 kts no pounding and very stable. Even though Savannah may beg the differ…! 4 hrs later we pulled into the West End of St. Thomas into Lindbergh Bay where we anchored briefly to let S take a break. The plan was to dinghy in and go register the boat since it was walking distance to the airport and offices, but we were also waiting on a part that would not get in until much later in the afternoon. After some discussion…..  we changed gears and decided to just get on up to Christmas Cove and knock out the rest the “crossing”, motor sailing the last 2hrs to the East End of St. Thomas (charge the batteries and get us there quicker for less puke splash..) and moored in Christmas Cove. As soon as Savannah jumped into the water she was instantly better! We took a wonderful evening snorkel (of which Savannah posted a cool video of!), watched the sun go down and had a scrumptious meal of potato soup over wild rice and MORE TUNA pan seared with onion, garlic, butter and broccoli, followed by Daddy doing some touch up to Savannah’s dreads and dancing in the salon! (videos on Facebook.. lol). Silly evening indeed! I’ll try and attach the link to the videos Savannah is putting together!

https://www.facebook.com/100023890121222/posts/227657764707226/Video by Savannah!

Generator troubleshooting took up most of the morning. Not much Mr. Jim cannot fix but this one has completely stumped him.  Savannah studied the actual boat manual and of course I offered my few cents. You know.. comments like. “Jim have we ever actually had a generator that worked”??  “You look sexy my little Huntress grease monkey”, and “hey you’ll at least will learn the boat by having to open up everything”.. typical wifey comments.   Turns out it’s the fuel primer pump to the generator that went bad. It supplies fuel from the main tank to the generator. We were prepared to not use it for the trip and charge the house batteries with the engine like we have in past, but because Grand Soleil was adamant that either we figure it out so they can send us parts asap or they fly to islands to trouble shoot. First class customer service. It’s a boat.. things happen and it’s reassuring that Grand Soleil of the Caribbean has our back!!

Now back to the fun stuff. We totally salvaged the day with snorkeling and exploring. We stayed another evening on the same mooring ball on the West End of Culebra. We love the seclusion and are in no rush other than to time seeing our friend Jerome pass through the islands on his solo, non stop circumnavigation around the world (more on this around day 4 ish..) While Jim continued to troubleshoot, Savannah and I rigged the inflatable Yolo paddle board for a snorkeling platform and headed out to the rocky point for some water exploring.  I did not take photos of all of the marine life but Savannah posted to her media pages. The reefs look surprisingly good post storms and the huge swell we had this past spring.  Beautiful variety of fish and healthy coral.  We were being watched by our guardian goat who held fast on the rock above us! One of my favorite things are the wild goats that habitat many of the Caribbean islands, including deer and donkeys! HEE HAW!  We then decided to anchor the board and walk across a little peninsula or saddle to another beach and walked along the waters edge taking in the salty air, gorgeous shells and not a soul in site. I personally had one of those moments of sheer happiness and contentment. It was a powerful moment and one that I won’t forget. Just being with my daughter and our easy conversation, her laughter and sense of humor and no rush to go or do.. I think this has been one of the biggest “lessons” for me in a long time in learning to calm my thoughts. Through the years they have always had some kind of underlining “goal” whether it being my aviation career, home schooling, competitions in SUP and running, or house renovations and moves.. Now that I’ve not been able to run or paddle for fitness for almost 3 months, my brain is slowly adjusting to this as well. I’m not constantly thinking or focusing on an upcoming race, or training schedule or distance goal.  I really had no idea how much I thought about staying in “endurance” shape, regardless if I raced or not.  This is my first break from running for literally 40 years!!  We are a very active family, both Jim and I are passionate about staying strong for doing all of outdoor activities we love to do with out paying for it with soreness the next day or pulling a muscle. Plus Jim and I loved running together and he too has not been able to exercise since last Oct.  Don’t get me wrong, i take a lot of down time physically but it’s really neat to not feel guilty about it if you don’t get it in. I think we have managed as a family very well this past year in light of the storms, health, school, jockeying around and general craziness, so this is a real treat to have these “happy” moments and not giving a second thought if I ran or paddled 5 miles. The walk and hiking and snorkeling will suffice just fine!!  Ok those were my deep thoughts.. sorry!

Another amazing moment.  On the paddle board my daughter kissed me on the arm out of the blue and said this “this is really fun Mom”… priceless (considering she is 16..!).  I also loved when she referred to going back to the boat as “home”.

After a lovely chicken salad lunch we insisted that Mr Jim (Daddy) take a break on the boat and come play with his girls! We took him on a great beach treasure hunt and found so many gorgeous shells washed up! You can definitely see the effects of the hurricanes, but for me everything is just as gorgeous as ever, maybe even more so knowing how resilient nature really is.  We then cooled off for another fun snorkel chasing lion fish and lobster. Next snorkel we will have our “gear” with us to help with the lion fish eradication and hopefully get us a “bug” to go with left over Tuna! We did have fun trying.. 🙂

Oh something I failed to mention day 1 on provisioning.. Jim and I have made some lifestyle changes of only having 2 drinks or less per day including weekends.. Back in the day these sailing trips involved a LOT of cases of Heineken and always buying more Heineken and ice, ice, ice..$$$! We feel great, sleep is amazing and of course never a hangover! It’s been hard when we get together with friends, but with Jim’s health issues last fall we are a team on this. I’ll let you know if we break the rule deeper into the islands..!! Now we just put our allotment in the freezer midday and it’s ready in time for a sundowner!

Dinner was fresh tomato/basil soup and browned beef, over gnocchi, YUM!

Evening entertainment: Major belly laughs, song and giggles while Jim rolled individually Savannah’s 27 baby dreadlocks to keep them in form until they are more set- PRICELESS. Yes I have a video.. not sure I can upload it right now, but trust me my stomach muscles hurt from laughing so much!

If you promise not to judge.. RV’ing is WAY easier than putting your best “Boaty McBoat” face forward! So much to think about when embarking even on a short sailing trip. Especially when you want to have all of the toys, eat well and wear your cleanest dirty shirt. Provisioning was a trick this time. Well it usually is a test of my imagination especially in past when we would have a crew of 8-10 to feed when we would race in the islands. This time it’s just the 3 of us, but nowhere really to re stock without spending a lot time shopping along with the high prices of food post hurricanes Irma and Maria. You’ll be hearing those two names a lot I think. Not only just food on the mind, but also all of the things you need “just in case”. Then there is the weather, fuel and water management, etc.. the list is quite long. Can’t just hop on your bike and run to the camp store!
Post Irma and Maria all of our islands are stills struggling which makes the normal pit stops for water, fuel and ice a bit more challenging. We have planned a 2 week short summer sailing sabbatical and I have meals planed for 3 square daily plus snacks. Freezer is fully stocked and holding well!..but I didn’t’ expect to put 20lbs of Tuna in there right away!!!… Savannah landed a HUGE black fin tuna off the transom, while under sail on our crossing from Puerto Rico to the West end of Culebra! Things got a little exciting as we were making way in 18kts of breeze gusts over 20. A rain cloud however passed and with our decreasing speeds I decided to do a little trolling. Within about 3 minutes of setting the drag..BAM, fish ON! I could not real it in still being in the yellow zone for recovery from a surgery less than two weeks ago, so I excitedly handed the rod to Savannah who had NO problem with this. Jim and I slowed the boat down and furled the jib. Rocks within in shouting distance made for the pucker factor! As Savannah was able to get the fish close enough to the stern after about 15min of trying to outsmart Mr. Tuna, Jim had a good angle and was able gaff the fish and not the boat and we got the tuna in the bucket and into ice. Savannah’s adrenaline was off the charts!! I seriously thought she was going to blow a gasket!!! I immediately started washing everything with salt water and a brush before it dried- it was impressive! We were about 20 min from our mooring and our friends Estella and Luigi, also on their Grand Soleil, were awaiting us and excited to hear of our fish story! They dinghied over and we cleaned the fish and quickly planned dinner together.

With daylight burning we decided prior to meal prep we would all pile into their dinghy go do some exploring. We hiked over to Flamenco beach (I believe named one of the top most beautiful beaches in the world!). Lovely walk/ hike over the hills on a packed old dirt road with tall grass separating the ruts was truly spectacular with the panoramic views in all directions. There was plenty of green despite the storms and current drought, compounded with the very thick Sahara dust that has been coating everything, including our lungs. They say it keeps the hurricanes away, hope this holds true! We were a bit of taken aback arriving to the massive parking lot at Flamenco, jammed with rental jeeps and cars and bars and people. Wow, only out of society for a day and it was a shock. We took a quick peek and a photo and high tailed back to our little piece of “pretend seclusion”!
Gorgeous sunset and salt water bath off the swim platform made for the right recipe for a perfect evening. We prepared garlic bread and asparagus and then headed to the neighbors one mooring ball over! S/V Estella.. a lovely 52 Grand Soleil LC outfitted as a performance cruiser. Carbon sails…sick boat! Estella loves to host, cook and entertain. We felt like royalty with the good tunes, horse doovers and wine. Dinner was exquisite with perfectly pan seared fresh caught tuna, rice, cucumber/tomato/artichoke salad, garlic bread and brownies for dessert! After some great laughs and conversation that was cut short as we had to scoot back to Huntress and close the hatches due to a much needed and welcomed rain shower!

So with a new boat comes all of the bells and whistles, which run off of battery, engine or generator power that need to be managed with a little thought. We have a great electrical system that keeps everything charged. AND of course the generator did not work last night. Brand new boat and there is an issue with the generator getting fuel so we troubleshooted as a family, even got the book out. (Jim is quite mechanically inclined, if it breaks he can usually fix it..) looks like we will be using the engine to keep things powered up until we can deal with the fuel filter. Kind of like the old days. Besides, Fischer Pandas are WAY overrated… Damn generators.

I don’t even know where to begin so I will try bullets to get from last post to current! This will be as condensed as Campbell soup!..you may need to add a little water!

-We moved from Pensacola to Mtn. Grove, Missouri (my hometown) in the late fall of 2015 and restored an old home built in 1912. The following Spring we moved back to Pensacola and then proceeded to buy an even older home! Winter of 2017 We decided to move back to Puerto Rico due to my husbands work situation.

-Restored ANOTHER home. The very home my husband grew up in. Huge renovation, probably our biggest project. However all of the prior home renovations helped make this one seamless with easy choices and smart construction.

-Thankfully we did this restoration in time for the historical Hurricanes Irma and Maria! Our house had minor damage however my daughter and I had to relocate back to Pensacola for school. Yes she’s in school and THRIVING! I also had urgent medical needs after a dental procedure the day before Irma hit became severely infected and I was not able to get medical attention after storms, including two weeks post storms while trying to fly out of PR.

-Jim is now commuting at this point from PR to Pensacola. This came to an abrupt halt after he suffered an acute pulmonary embolism which landed him in the ER in a life threatening condition. He currently is still taking medication and is genetically predisposed to the condition of forming clots which makes air travel not the best idea. Dr. gave him the green light to fly a one way ticket back to PR 1 month after the incident. Savannah and I re grouped again and moved back to PR at Xmas break. She was then welcomed with open arms into the private school we enrolled her in for her sophomore year for the 2nd semester. She will have one heck of a college essay story to tell! Many kids had to relocate for school due to the devastation of our island post storms. We had initially decided to let her finish out in the IB school in Pensacola to keep it consistent.. but after Jim’s condition and his inability to commute, it was a no brainer to come home even though Savannah was kicking and screaming about it!!..(Pensacola was home to her.. she had such a beautiful friend base and still does. Memories to cherish indeed!)

-We decided to move upstairs and Airbnb the down. VERY successful couple of months. Until we experienced the worst kind of guests you could possibly have breaking every rule and destroying items. Silver lining… we are now currently renting long term to a very sweet and adorable Coast Guard family.

-We bought a boat! Not just any boat.. a brand spanking new Grand Soleil 46LC sailboat. We will be taking many adventures on board and posting right here!! Similar to the RV era..

-Oh… shortly after the big RV trip I had breast augmentation. (dont’ ask why..sometimes in life you do things that are just not that wise). This past Feb I had them taken OUT. I have had severe complications since, including a surgery a month ago to remove a 400cc hematoma. I seem to be on the mend but have not been able to be active in over 2 months! VERY ready to ease back into some playtime!

-Jim is doing well and has the green light to exercise again.

-Savannah is thriving in the high school environment and so far not succumbing to the normal teen peer pressures and still actually likes to hang out with Mom and Dad! She is an aspiring Doctor right now on her educational career path. Inspired by her own endocrine conditions. She has an entire head of baby dreadlocks that she’s rocking. She’s taught herself classical piano (amazing!) and his headed to Bali, Indonesia this summer for a medical internship, volunteering for 3 weeks with Global Leadership. Last week she was awarded at her school in the academic award ceremony for -Outstanding Achievement in Advanced Chemistry, Most Outstanding Achievement in AP Capstone Seminar and Outstanding Achievement in Spanish 2-conversation. She’s still keeping her hand in sailing competitively on the multi hull, Olympic platform boat Nacra 15 and 17. However she’s still suffers miserably from her allergy to the lines and gear associated with the boat and has not been sailing as much, but does miss it very much. We are constantly trying to figure out a way she can sail these boats and not have the severe reactions. Savannah also became Padi Scuba certified on last year’s summer sailing trip.

-All dogs and cats are doing well! We acquired a new fur baby while in MO. “Billy girl” a border collie mix who will steal and melt your heart!

-Work is going fair for Jim. Things are still corrupt on this island and post storm mania, knee jerking and generalized chaos are still very fresh and continue to be so. However when in finantial crisis you might as well go big… and just buy the damn boat!

I hope this paints a picture of the past few years! We have managed some fun in between with camping, a summer sailing trip last summer, massive gardens in all houses, trail running, and just stuff like that! 🙂

I left out all the details of packing, unpacking, MANY times, MASSIVE yard sales, selling all the toys, sad goodbyes! Here’s to continuing the adventures!

Savannah and her Dad took a Daddy Daughter trip to Texas in June for the Sunfish North American Championships. They trailered 2 boats, along with friend and Coach Tom Whitehurst with boats in tow.

We had originally planned to take the RV’s but with the triple digit heat indexes and no power for the RV, we thought maybe the dogs would suffer. So Mom (me) stayed home and tended to some projects and took care of the 4 legged family members. Was the first time I’ve spent away from BOTH my husband and daughter at the same time. I stayed busy and took on a front yard massive landscaping project!

Savannah did very well in the Jr. North Americans.. she took first overall girl and first Jr. (14 and under). She then sailed in the open N/A’s competing against several countries and around 68 competitors including her coach and her Dad. On the first day she was tied for 5^th overall! She ended up in a solid 23 at the end of the week. Very impressive!

Just as impressive is when my husband Jim agreed to take over as Regatta Chairman for the United States Optimist Dinghy Association (USODA) National Championships back in January. He had a great team, tons of volunteers and the entire venue, everything from food trucks, sailing vendors, and endless details with over 300 junior sailors, plus “opti parents”, coaches, inclement weather, and so many mind blowing details. An 8 day event with 3 days of Team Race Championship, 1 day Girls Championship and 4 days of the National Championship. The Pensacola Yacht Club nailed it and the event was hugely successful! Jim remained calm, cool and collected and I’m so proud.

Savannah raced in the regatta, even though she had not been practicing much in this boat. She is the team captain for the PYC Jr. Yacht Club Team Racing team. After 3 days competing with her team against 26 other teams, she then sailed in the all girls championships and came in 14^th out of 82 sailors. She went on to sail the 4 days of fleet racing where she just missed the gold fleet but rocked the silver with a 7^th overall, 2^nd girl and 2^nd red fleet. Several races were run with big winds which she loved!

Post summer sailing regattas, Savannah took a big breath, and had a ton of fun hanging with her friends, fishing, cooking, sleep overs, and just being a kid!

During one of Jim’s PR trips, Savannah and I went to paddle the Cold Water Creek in Milton, FL, and had a blast. If you have not checked out Adventures Unlimited, put it on your bucket list! It’s been a very muggy and HOT summer, so the 73 degree water was very refreshing! They offer shuttles, zip lining, canoes, tubes, camping and the Cold water Creek is just gorgeous, it’s an absolute must do.

Another weekday adventure found Savannah and I playing a bit on the Hobie Wave for fun, when we suddenly found our selves in the eye of a wicked storm. We road it out and sealed a solid memory of it too! Checked and rechecked the weather before leaving PYC for home, but it’s been a weird summer for storms popping up. This one nailed us good and made for some great post storm laughs and stories!

We had several friends visit and that was a blast! Some great paddling friends and an old High School buddy and his son. Grandma also made it out this summer. Took my girlfriends sailing and caught up on a ton of laughs with them. John my HS buddy and his son took my family and neighbors bow fishing, with fish fry’s to follow and a day on the water goofing off! Grandma bought TWO paddle boards during her stay, she’s hooked. These were some highlights for sure spending time with these great people and doing fun things together.

The summer also consisted of a full moon paddle with the PBYC and a fun Sunday morning paddle with a good group of awesome paddlers! I continued to give weekly paddle lessons and clinic through out the summer including a couple of weeks at the PYC for the summer jr. sailing camp and water activities. I’m thrilled so many of all ages are embracing the this amazing sport of Stand Up Paddling. Still by far the best all around fitness you can do for your body AND mind.

We enjoyed the Blue Angels airshow with a ton of friends and sailing on Sea Grape. We also enjoyed a successful season of J80 racing with Savannah as our Skipper. Summer was a success!

Well I think that about sums it up. We are gearing up for the 8^th grade and will begin early Sept. We also are about to start a new life chapter…. a big and exciting one!

Stay tuned….:)

PART II of June- Ozark National Scenic River exploring and Bull Shoals lake trip:

Departing the Buffalo river we drove along the the beautiful scenic road ???? with a jeep and Grandma in tow. She headed home and we headed to the beautiful and quaint Dawt Mill on the Northfork of the White River. As a small child we camped here almost every weekend in the warmer months. Canoeing, fishing and crawdad hunting. Some of my fondest childhood memories to date.

Arriving after hours, we had the entire campground to ourselves and again the river smells were intoxicating!

The “New” Dawt and the “Old” Dawt are vastly different over the years. A number of years ago the old mill was bought by a local Dr. and completely restored as the old Mill was crumbling. They added on a fancy restaurant, outdoor bar and weekend entertainment. They converted our favorite riverfront campsites into a row of small cabins and built a multi level mountain Inn above this with campground behind. Many locals boycotted the newly renovated “resort” because of all of the changes. For me it still holds the old charm and the food is out of this world.

The river on the other hand is as beautiful and graceful as she has always been. (except when you take 3 hyper dogs on sups for 11 miles)…. The river was high, yet extremely clear considering the rains they had recently received. There are many springs that feed into the rivers and they are just gorgeous. We counted over 179 turtles on the 11 mile stretch and stopped a few times to just take it in and skip the flat rocks that were plentiful. Oh, and chase after the dogs….! We saw a few men fly fishing, otherwise we had the river to ourselves. It’s a great river for the beginner and excellent for fishing. We saw eagles and numerous other wild life sightings. Rapids are small, but fun bumps to play on. There is just something about his stretch of liquid history, that always puts me in an “in awe” state of mind that I can’t explain.

The end of the river trail is at Dawt Mill where there is a large damn across the entire river a couple hundred yards long. A section of the damn broke loose last year and it is dangerous to shoot. Although we used to do it as kids all the time they said canoes were not allowed to cross the dam.. but nothing about SUPs! So of course I scanned for the mischievous water moccasin hiding behind the falls and dropped the board in and played on the nice little rapids that are offered below the damn. Over and over….. just like when I was 8. There is a thruway that is blocked now but used to be functioning to turn the turbines for the mill operations. My Dad and I used to swim that in the swift water and bail just before you became flour..! Those were the days.

We spent 2 days playing on the river and talking with the locals. This is about 45 min from the town I grew up in.

Here is the Dawt Mill FB page to follow their stunning photos and events.

https://www.facebook.com/DawtMill?fref=ts

Another good read: “Rivers to Run” by Larry Dablemont

Next stop: Bull Shoals Lake, Pontiac MO:

Pontiac Cove Marina and campground is where I spent most weekends in my teen years. My father kept a small sailboat and we would head down there most weekends Spring through Fall. Also wonderful memories! Many of the families and their kids still go to the lake as well as taking up year round residence there! The lake is owned by the Corp of Engineers and is pristine, clear and clean.

The Morgan family have owned and operated the Pontiac Cove Marina for many years, and now they spend most of their time in the Fl Keys while their daughter, Jabet and her family have taken over the marina.

Jabet and I knew each other growing up, she was much younger. Now as adults she only seems a little younger! She had been showing interest in the growing sport of SUP and was picking my brain about paddling which is ultimately the catalyst behind the entire trip to Missouri! I gave two days of clinics and donated the proceeds to the annual 4^th of July Fire work fund. We had more than 20 folks on the water and it was one of the best paddling groups and a super fun day. Jabet later became a YOLO dealer and offers boards for sale and has a rental fleet. Bull Shoals is an exceptional lake to paddle on with her crystal clear, calm waters.

Pre and Post clinics we enjoyed a cold one and good grinds at “Just Jackies” right there on the campground above the marina. They also took us out for a pontoon ride and dinner down by the damn. We caught up with old friends and made new ones. Great trip down memory lane!

Here you can follow the Pontiac Cove Marina blog along with paddling and local Ozark lifestyles: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pontiac-Cove-Marina/82916135727?fref=ts

This concludes the June Missouri trip.  Next up… Summer sailing and Jim the regatta Chairman!

Bull Shoals Lake, MO:

Summer has come and gone and i’m a season behind my blog! I also just spent the last hour writing and promptly deleted it by mistake. Maybe a blessing in disguise for all of you reading… as it will be much shorter and less cluttered than the first go!

We wrapped up the 7th grade mid June with Savannah finishing with high honors. We both welcomed the summer break and decided that a trip to Missouri would be our first adventure!

Normally when i mention MO “The show me state” one thinks of plains, farms and pretty bleak country that borders Kansas. I tend to think of rivers, mountains, bluffs, lakes, hiking, waterfalls, springs, mills, trees and hills. The Ozark Mountains are a secret to most and a jewel to those that know.

Our initial trip was to head straight to Dawt Mill and paddle the Norfolk of the White River, part of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. Due to inclement weather and a mild detour we headed first to the Buffalo River in Ponca, AR, also part of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways.

Just the drive alone in Northern Arkansas was exceptional. Steep,narrow, winding roads made it white knuckle RV with Jeep in tow kind of driving! We eventually unhooked and drove the jeep separate for safety.

The Buffalo Outdoor Center in Ponca was very helpful with river information, shuttles and where we could camp with a 31ft RV.  The area in general is not very accommodating for a big rig. Best to be done the “real”way.. a truck, cooler, tent and canoe. 😉 We stayed in a family owned and operated horse camp with a few sites, along with horse stalls and complementary, homemade moonshine!

We arrived mid morning since we chose to spend the night in Little Rock just before dark such that we could take in the sights and challenging roads with rested eyes and daylight. We pretty much hit the ground running after getting camp made and headed down to the Outdoor center. First class operation, made you feel like you were in Montana or Colorado. Beautiful log cabin type building, outdoor gear, front porch with canoers and rafters alike eating lunch from the deli. The river was running high and swift and only “experienced canoists” were allowed. They were hesitant on our SUP’s but we assured them it would be fine.  It had been 25 years since i had run the river as a child and i remember it being challenging and intimidating. When they saw we were taking our 13 y/o daughter i thought they were going to pull the plug on the shuttle… but i assured them she was a water girl.

We decided on the Ponca bridge put-in down to Kyles landing, about 28.4 river miles with tumbling rapids and towering cliffs.

At the put-in the river smells were intoxicating and you literally put in on a class II with some through brush navigation. There were several locals putting in and taking off totally “geared up” in their duckies.. this was the only time i was like.. uh ohhh what have i gotten us in to now?!

I went first, then Savannah, then Jim… all good. The first bend opened up, very swift muddy water but the most incredible tall and magnificent canyon walls towered above us. I did not remember this as a child! Normally when you see things again with adult eyes everything appears smaller, but this was on the contrary.  The outfitter told us some marks to look for where you could stop and hike the “Hemmed-In Hollow Trail”. It was easy to find with the pile of canoes. It’s a 1300 ft drop if you take the hike from the road, so hiking in from the river was absolutely gorgeous and the waterfall that awaited us is the largest waterfall between the Rockies and the Appalachians. Along the way were cascading smaller water features. Stunning in every way.

The river presented a few paddling challenges, and there were definitely some thrilling sections. The logs and brush were the real danger areas but easily navigable. The river was an absolute blast flowing as swift as she was. A lot of the rapids were healthy class II’s with funky eddies since a lot of the normal erratic’s were underwater. The sounds and smells were unsurpassed, hands down some of the most beautiful paddling to date.

Topping the paddle off was having our jeep waiting for us at Kyle’s Landing, then driving up a steep, unpaved 3 mile mountain road between Jasper and Ponca!

We headed back to base camp where we met up with Grandma holding down the fort! She decided to drive down and meet up with us. After some local moonshine and cast iron dinner by the moonlight we talked ol’ Grandma into going down the river with us in a 4man raft!!! I think I was more nervous about this than letting my 13 y/o navigate it on a sup. I had never personally drove a raft!

Well.. let me tell you. The four of us drove that raft like pros! We even did coordinated 360’s in the middle of the white water! Of course intentional! 😉

Following rafting we spent two days hiking numerous trails together. The first hike was on the “Lost Valley Trail” (2.3 miles round trip). Rated an SSS trail “special scenic spot” this little area is one of the special places in the world according to our Buffalo River hiking guide handbook. The trail is short and relatively flat until the end, but I have to agree that it is truly special. The trail begins by crossing over the Clark Creek (which eventually empties into the Buffalo River). This is the creek that the trail follows up into it’s headwaters. Lovely stroll that passes through sweet gums, cedars and giant beeches. Then you cross over the creek again with huge stone blocks, called the “jig saw blocks”, looks like they fell off the bluff behind them. Then you cross over a natural bridge with multiple watering holes and waterfalls. Continue and you find yourself standing at the base of a 200ft bluff, and Cob Cave. There is a giant overhang at the base of the bluff. It is named for corncobs that were found there many years ago left by Indians. At the far end of this spot is the Eden Falls, which is a spectacular waterfall. Then you have the Eden Falls Cave with the Clark Creek flowing out of it. Jim and Savannah made the not so easy crawl to get back into the cave. It opens up into a 35ft waterfall inside a pitch dark chamber. I personally attempted the “crawl” but claustrophobia overcame. So I kept Grandma company while Daddy and Daughter explored!

After this hike we took a scenic drive to Jasper and hiked the “famous” 3.6 mile “Round Top Mountain” hike. It’s rated one of the most scenic trails in Arkansas, and also there is a some rare history to go with hit: the remains of a WWII era bomber that crashed in 1948. We all agreed this hike was not impressive and down right spooky. We followed this hike with lunch in the quaint little down town of Jasper, Ark with some antique window shopping. Headed back to camp and fished in the pond and lit the bbq…

Before breaking camp to head to Dawt Mill, MO (next blog) Jim and I left Grandma and Savannah at camp decided to run a trail just on the other side of where we were staying, the “Center Point Trail”. Due to the rain it was very wet, muddy, with a steep gradient that eventually joined up with the Hemmed–in Hollow trail. It starts out as a wider horse trail, then down to a narrow single track with steep gradient of 1300 ft. We were a few miles into the trail with Jim running slightly ahead of me. Of course we ARE in black bear country and we did NOT bring our bear spray. (you know where this is going…..) Jim goes around a blind corner and I literally ran into the back of him with an enormous, very healthy back bear staring right back at us with the same level of “oh shit”.. ok so you’re not supposed to run if you are having a stand off with a bear 50 yards away, but YOU try just standing there. About the time we booked the other way, the bear also booked. Thankfully not in our direction. Jim and I ran literally like a bear was chasing us up a steep gradient, tripping, laughing and scared shitless! We stopped, listened and high tailed it back to camp. Saw two other hikers and warned them. They were local, and looked at us like we were full of baloney. Back to the bear.. out of all the hiking we did in “bear country” out in the west, this was our fist encounter out in the wild. The bears we saw on our trip were guided “bear trips”… for some reason those guides make you feel fearless of the bear!

These couple of days on the Buffalo with my family were probably some of the top 10 moments to date of my life.

We broke camp and headed to Dawt Mill….. next blog entry.

Here is the link to the video of paddling the river and photos below! https://youtu.be/sbUUJA2WQ_s

A little history and fascinating geological reading: “Buffalo River Handbook” by Kenneth L. Smith and the “Buffalo River Hiking Trails” by Tim Ernest. Excellent reads.

Spring has sprung and time is sure flying by at mach speeds!  Our local Pensacola “Beach” Yacht club has since purchased new waterfront property on the gorgeous Quiet Water Beach. However funds have been exhausted by purchasing the land, and we did not renew the existing building lease that has been “home” to our club for many years. With the lack of bar revenues, we are banking on membership renewals, donations and fundraising efforts to begin building our new club building!

This Spring i decided to organize SUP clinics and a race series over a period of 2 months to help with the new building fund. I donated 100% of my clinic lessons and race registrations including raffles of a new board and paddle! A  portion of the proceeds also went to the Jr. Sailing/Sup’ing programs.  We had Saturday and Sunday morning “intro to sup” and mileage building classes. Then on Friday nights we had the SUP sprint series sponsored by Key Sailing which offered an awesome race venue as well as donated a brand new board for the raffle. Maui Jim provided sunglasses for the grand prize age group winners for a total of 12 pair of glasses! Fazolis brought delicious post races dinner and desserts! Kialoa paddles donated a kids paddle. We raised over $5400 and had a ton of fun, while also getting in shape!  Races consisted of costume and board decorating contests, meeting new friends and reconnecting with old friends. Clinics were amazing, getting everyone out on the water together. Super stoked to get some brand new paddlers on board and some have even bought boards and paddles already! We acquired new members and the club is very strong right now. We also have an official PBYC paddle club. I will link the group fb page if you would like to follow our awesome paddlers and posts. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1581125588840309/  Here you will find tons of photos and videos of past and current events.

If you are interested in helping our club this would be the time to do so! Anything helps and if you care to donate please get in touch with Andrea Peterson or myself. (Hbaus@msn.com or Andreazern@gmail.com) Checks can be made out to “Pensacola Beach Yacht Club” (new building fund) I am also continuing to offer all levels of SUP classes for both PBYC member and non members. Classes consist of beginner, mileage building, corporate team building, groups, kids, tandem, downwind, racing technique & other sup outings and adventures on the water, for all levels and ages.  I will continue to donate a portion of the lesson fees to our new building fund. Thank you in advance and Paddles Up~ hb

On a side note, i renewed my Red Cross open water lifeguard/cpr/first aid/ certifications. Savannah took the class along with me and also earned her junior open water lifeguard/cpr/first aid certification. She worked VERY hard to achieve this and we’re very proud of her!

So much to catch up on! We certainly hit the ground running upon arriving home just before Halloween. I will do my best to condense the last 3 months since our trip.

The first week we were home we had to trade in my Dad’s old jeep.  The engine blew up and we ended up basically selling it for scrap. She was pretty rusted out as well, but sure did her job on our trip. It was almost like getting to take my Dad along in some ways. I ended up getting a year old 4door Jeep Wrangler 4×4 steel grey.  Put a 3 inch lift and 36 in wheels and tires, plus new exhaust. In a nutshell she’s “BAD ASS”!

Halloween was a blast.  Savannah and i made a “trick or treat box”, one side with gummy bear goo and one side with treats. We stayed up late catching up with the neighbors by fire light in the driveway till the early morning hours.

Savannah continued with her studies full force, along with 2 days a week of music including voice, guitar, performance team, and jam band as lead singer.  They geared up for Holiday performances.

Savannah also was part of a school project and she wrote, edited, and published a book for a writing contest! You can purchase on Amazon, here is the link. http://www.amazon.com/When-World-went-Upside-Down/dp/150539578X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423747170&sr=8-1&keywords=Savannah+BAus

November and December was mostly time spent with family and friends and enjoying the holiday festivities. We cooked Thanks Giving Dinner here at the house.  My Mom joined us for almost 2 weeks over Christmas and we had a lovely visit and catch up. The weather was not too red hot, so we spent a lot of time organizing my house and getting the yard back into shape after having neglected it for so long! We did manage some beautiful bike rides and sailed one blustery cool day!

Also during Nov/Dec.. i bought a boat, started business, adopted a 4 year old chocolate lab and put together a 55 gal aquarium!

I had picked up the aquarium on clearance before we left on our trip, but thought best that i don’t fill it until we get back. I used rocks we collected from our trip (of course not in “State or National Parks”) and added them to the tank. We are enjoying it very much.  We only bought 2 fish, and noticed a few weeks later that there were little clear sacs attached to the glass.. well those turned into babies! We have watched them grow and thrive over the months, incredible!

Because we had to find our pitbull a home, we/I really missed having that 2nd big dog around. Figured a lab would be much less a liability than a pitbull. (btw.. our pitbull was awesome, he just didn’t like other dogs very much and he isn’t allowed anywhere we go.. :(, but he is doing very well with his new home and mommy!)

We have had to put Wes through heart worm treatment and a few other medical issues.  He has one of the best personalities a dog can have! It was tough to keep him “calm” during the treatment, but he’s through that and we’re able to burn off some of that energy, walking and playing.  He also had his hip broken at some point, and they removed the hip ball, it doesn’t seem to affect him. He is a total bed hog and ridiculous for attention! We have bonded as if we’ve had him since a puppy.  So happy we could save this guy, he’s awesome!

Picked up a 1976 Catalina 27  “Sea Grape” that i am in the process of restoring. Payed hardly nothin’ for her and she is a solid boat.  Very excited to make some adventures happen on her. I’ll make a separate “restore segment” for the boat.  Our good friend Mike Peterson, Jim, and Savannah sailed her from Mobile, AL to Pensacola.  I shuttled them in the car and waited anxiously for their arrival 11hrs later!

Yes i started a small business.. 🙂 “The Living Tea Cup ~ Baus Designs” here is the fb link. https://www.facebook.com/bauslivingdesigns?ref=br_tf   I have a passion for getting my hands in the ground and love flowers and plants of all botanical species!  The Living Tea Cup is vintage containers filled with succulents and airplants.  The containers are sometimes very old and a collectible in their own right. The hunt for these containers has been literally like treasure hunting and so much fun! I have a green house and growing my own plants now as well.  You can check the fb page to see more details, photos and keep up with our business growth!

The new year has rung in a lot of sailing. The Pensacola Yacht Club asked Savannah to be the Opti Jr. Team Capt for Team racing. They spent a good part of the Christmas break practicing and competed in New Orleans late Jan.  Although they did not place in the large regatta they gained much more than winning. These kids practiced their hearts out in very cold, wintery conditions.  They developed friendships on the water that will last for a life time off the water. Also a huge thank you to Coach Bert who volunteered his time coaching while teaching full time, he has a heart of gold!  Here is a video of the team! http://youtu.be/5ELMQrwKpUs?list=UUkavYJ07LNvVtDPQJYv7pkA

A note on New Orleans trip: While Savannah and the team sailed, Jim and took long bike rides through the parks and enjoyed fun evenings with the parents of the kids. We also camped water front side just near the NO Lake Front Airport, that i long ago had logged many landings at! Great view while Jim worked from the RV captain’s chair.

Jim also finally splashed the J80 for some winter regattas.  We have taken along the jrs to race with us, and looking forward to more regattas with these awesome kids!

We recently just returned from another regatta/camping trip this past weekend.  It was the USODA team trials qualifier regatta in St. Petersburg.  Savannah participated in the 2 day clinic prior to the regatta. We camped about 30 minutes away from the yacht club (closest campground there was) which made for some early morning rises, considering Sunday morning was an 0715 harbor start! The regatta was held Sat and Sunday, but the wind did not cooperate and made for some frustrating racing conditions.  Not all fleets were able to race one another with only two races held. Savannah raced mid fleet in results but seemed unfazed and had a great time! Her Dad and i did too.. we enjoyed some awesome running, biking, and dog walking. Also saw and had dinner with some old friends. Note: The campground we stayed at was pretty comical.. the “older” empty nesters seemed SO HAPPY, and i have never seen so MANY little DOGS!!!

Post sailing regatta we hit the road to Crystal River, where we scored  a water front campsite perfect for putting in the paddle boards to explore and see the manatees!  There are several springs near by that the manatees flock to seeking warmer water during the winter. Since we have had a cold season for FL, the manatees were everywhere.

Crystal River spring system is composed of over 40 beautiful and unique springs. Originated in Kings Bay, the springs combine and flow westward approx. 6 miles to enter the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.  Families of manatees congregate in peaceful herds in the constant 72 degree water of the fabulous crystal clear springs, especially during times of cold weather.  Manatees are considered one of Florida’s true native species and can be viewed throughout the waters of both kings bay and the crystal river. Mature “Sea Cows” have been known to reach lengths of over 13 feet and can weigh over 3000lbs, spending most of their time grazing for food in the coastal areas and the river. Baby manatees can weigh more than 40lbs at birth and will gain up to 700lbs in the first year!

We viewed these gentle giants from our paddle boards. We put in at our campsite and paddled to the springs, and all in and around different springs. They would roll on to their backs and almost be playful with our boards, coming right up to take a big breath.  We saw many mamas and babies. Was truly a magical 9 mile round trip paddle.

If you enjoyed reading about our RV trip, then you may want to pick up Feb’s issue of “Samata” all woman’s paddle magazine. They did a feature story on our trip, using the blog and a number of photos!

I’m sure i’ve left out some things.. but i’ll try and stay up with our crazy living! Have a wonderful day and thanks for reading!