After a close family gathering in the car, we arrived very stiff-legged at the Adamo. She looked as beautiful as ever; I was home at last! We spent the better part of the night unloading the car and putting away groceries. The marina has a golf cart service to bring you to the boat. In our case we were at the end of dock # 12, over a quarter mile from the parking lot. We filled two trailers behind the cart with provisions and travel bags. The boat was packed to the hilt with food and luggage by the time we were finished. I guess it didn’t seem so bad after the cramped car ride home… But, on the bright side, Santa came a few days early! We decided that since we never knew what day it was anyways, why not go ahead and give out the presents early and save ourselves the hassle of unpacking them later? Let’s see… for dad, a beer hammer and magnetic mechanic's tray; for mom, a set of stem-less wine glasses; for Doug, a car radio and a hand-made pen; for Phil, fishing stuff; and a plane ticket and pair of hand-made, wooden nunchaks for me. Merry Christmas to all!
The next morning the Adamo set out with a full crew for Culebra, an island to the east of Puerto Rico. The trip was typical. We hoped for good weather but instead got confused seas and rain. Welcome home, boys! The sea is a cruel mistress… That did not, however, prevent me from enjoying being back on the boat.
We bounced around several bays before finally settling on a bay called Ensenada Dakity. We pulled up to the mooring buoy and in one smooth motion hooked up to the ball with no further attempts or yelling necessary. It looked so professional. That night I awoke, bleary eyed, to bright lights, and the loud captain's bell ringing incessantly, and dad screaming, “GET UP!!! WE ARE ON THE ROCKS!!! UP, UP, UP!!!” Rocks? Huh? OH… CRAP! All hands ran up on deck. Phil, who initially thought we were under attack by pirates, emerged from his cabin armed and ready for a tussle, large knife in one hand and crowd control pepper spray in the other. When, he realized what was actually happening, he instantly jumped in the dinghy and began pushing the Adamo off of the sandbar (no rocks thank goodness). Dad was driving blindly through the bay while the GPS loaded up. It was pitch black, with only the circle illuminated by the spotlight visible in the darkness.
So how did we go from secure on the mooring ball with Phil screaming “GOODNIGHT!” to being on the rocks? It turns out that the knot that mom put the rope through was actually just a complicated slipknot. Pull on the ends and it all falls apart. Oops. We spent the following day relaxing, mostly basking in the sun and catching up on current events in our lives while the boys went fishing. The next morning, we moved to a new anchorage (hopefully one with better moorings). Mom stayed aboard while we went diving with the floating air compressor. This has to be the coolest invention ever created by mankind. No SCUBA certification needed!
We dove for lobster and fish, but I spent most of the time floating just above the coral enjoying the view. I never saw any lobster, but I did see a myriad of other animals though. We followed that with a bath in the ocean and a walk on the beach. The terrain on the island was rough, but nevertheless, the beaches were beautiful and laden with ripe, tasty sea grapes and coconuts.
We picked up anchor that night and moved to yet another anchorage. Our plan is to stay until Saturday and see a band in town. Reefs shelter the anchorage we moved to, so the waves are small, despite the strength of the howling winds. This made the conditions perfect for sailing the O-pen Bic: our little on board sailboat. Doug had been all about that damned Bic for days. Bic this, Bic that, Bic, Bic, Bic, Bic, Bic. Finally, he got to sail the Bic! Dad said, “The wind is picking up.” Doug’s reply? “You know what that means?! (he sang the theme from most baseball games using his own words) Bic, bic, bic . . .” And boy oh boy did he sail that Bic. He all but lifted off the water and flew away; he was moving pretty good.
Doug also was all about watching The Dark Night, and was pushing for batman all day. He was so happy when we watched it. His vacation was almost made. He had two other goals: catch a tarpon and paddle the dugout canoe. Phil, on the other hand, was not satisfied yet. The bay has an abundance of Tarpon, which Phil also wanted to catch. Phil fished all day and for hours at night. It finally paid off when he landed the big one. We were inside when we heard him cry out, “FISH ON!” We looked out of the salon windows at the illuminated water surrounding the Adamo. A large tarpon was jumping like a kangaroo trying to escape the line. Then I heard the crazed fish jump and a loud flop on the deck followed by the characteristic slapping of a fish tail. It had jumped and landed on deck; right next to the large open window! No sooner had dad shut the side-window than the tarpon slammed up against it slapping its tail every which-way. We can only begin to surmise the havoc that this 3 or 4 foot long mass of flopping muscle would have caused INSIDE the boat… tarpon have a horrible fishy odor which they leave behind with an inordinately large amount of slime covering their bodies. Thankfully, the fish managed to flop back in the water. Phil proceeded to then hook another one, which he gave over to Doug to fight. They each ended up with a scale as a trophy of their catches.
