The Voyage of Foxglove

New Photos

Hello All

I've just posted some new photos: 5 mins in Florida, Bahamian Christmas and Dolphins.  You can find them in the bar on the left of the screen.  I havent had time to title them yet, but I'll try to get around to doing them this evening... along with all the others!

I'll tell you a bit about Christmas in another post and get Sinead to tell you about the dolphins as its her 'specialist subject'

I hope the new front page is interesting for you and not causing any trouble.  The site seems a little slower - is it for you?  If you like the changes I'm making, drop an email or comment on any page, if not... well I'll see if I can change it, especially for you!

Hasta Banana y besos

  

Wrong Satellite Phone Number

Hi all

Whilst the number for sending free texts is correct, the number for calling our satellite phone was wrong.  I've put it right now - you can find it on the contact us page!

Bye for now kids!

Its FREEEEEZIN!

So here we are in the Bahamas for Christmas and the New Year.  Mmmmm I hear you thinking, sun, sea, sand.... T shirt weather etc.

The truth of it?  Its freezing!

The forecast for the next two days gives overnight temperatures in Florida as low as minus 4 C if you take into account the windchill.  We are 50 miles away from Florida!  And whats this about windchill??  I didn't sign up for windchill!  Sunburn maybe, but MINUS FOUR!  Humph.

I doubt I'll get any sympathy from you lot, but when you ditch the rum and start thinking about a cup of tea, things are serious.

I'll keep you posted.

Bye for now!  Now where's my hot water bottle......

America and Americans

Where do I start here? 

Well, I'll be honest.  Why did we end up cruising the US?  Well, as ever, part of it was solely because 'it was there'.  But the US was a bit different.  I'll admit now that the picture I had of Americans wasn't pretty.  It was mostly based around media coverage of politics and philosophy and, in truth, I really wasn't looking forward to the trip.  In my defence, I thought I should really see for myself and try to understand why I had these preconceptions and indeed to see if there was any truth in them. So it was with some trepidation that we made landfall. 

So six months later, what can I say other than I was completely and utterly wrong.  Aside from the actual sailing, which was generally excellent, I have seldom ever met a more genuine, kind, generous, funny and proud people.

At first, how we were treated was almost embarrassing and to us, it seemed insincere.  Generally, in the UK, when someone you have only just met, invites you to their home for supper, offers to drive you to the supermarket, the restaurant, the airport (sixty miles away), you feel the offer is made with the understanding that you won't really take it up.  In the US it is 110% genuine.  So much so, that often offence appears to be taken if someone can't help you.

In our time there, we were serially adopted by some of the loveliest people we have met, been offered cars to drive, lifts to 'anywhere', sacks of oysters, numerous delicious meals, help with work on the boat, weekends away from the boat, free docks, free moorings and most importantly to us, some fantastic company and friendship.  

I include pride as its something we experienced that we feel is missing back in the UK.  Its easy to almost laugh or feel embarrassed at people openly voicing pride in their country, but for us it was a welcome change.  With pride goes a respect for both other people and the shared environment.  Don't misunderstand me, its not some utopia, there are plenty of bad bits I'm sure, but it feels good seeing people who care about the place that they live.

What can I say? Of course nothing is perfect and this is no exception, but there are very few places in the world where I would generally be happy to live and call home and this was one of them.  I arrived in the US with many preconceptions and left with as many friends and a huge slice of humble pie, which of course, I've eaten. Again.