Arroyo Seco Express does a 2-day turnaround from Nuevo and back

NUEVO VALLARTA, Nayarit, Mexico - Admiral Fox and I did a light-speed trip from Nuevo Vallarta to Arroyo Seco and back, leaving Friday at 1 p.m. and pulling back into our condo here by 4 today. (Sunday).

Palm trees in front provide great cover now

In between that we opened up the Pink Flamingo, had dinner with Julian, Sondrine, Jim and Vickie in Zapata, rode both beaches on the Honda quad (it started without hestitation) all by noon on Saturday.

But then the adventures began to turn into misadventures.

I will let Admiral Fox detail all that out on her blog http://admiralfox.blogspot.mx/.

But the highlights included finding a few thousand ants in our bed when we wanted to leave for lunch, having to use a toxic bug spray and then not being able to find a restaurant open in Arroyo Seco Saturday night to go to for dinner.

That was especially bad as it was the Admiral's birthday.

Big ouch.

On the plus side, we are back safe with both bicycles, our barbecue, our flat-screen tv and... drum roll please - my Honda motorscooter, for which we will finally get a license so we can motorscoot around Nuevo Vallarta. And on Saturday afternoon - while waiting for the ants to, well, decamp from the bed of our trailer, we went to Palapa Joe's in La Manzanilla, had a great lunch and even caught up with La Manzanilla's Lois Lane (AKA Jane Gorby) still glowing from the winning score of the Ohio State football game.

Our next sojourn to Arroyo Seco will be in December for the holidays.

Here's a few photos from the Pink Flamingo, snapped while waiting for the mist from the ant poison to clear.

The putting green in the center - with Laura's car parked under the roof

Palm trees provide a nice screen to the driveway

Banos and showers all working fine...

A fabulous Thanksgiving dinner on a boat near Paradise

PARADISE VILLAGE, Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico - Adm. Fox and I had a fabulous dinner on board Sea Gnome, a sailboat owned by amiga Elizabeth kept at the marina in Nuevo Vallarta. Sea Gnome is berthed across the channel from Paradise Village Marina (where we kept Sabbatical for several years) and all of the food - served in the cockpit, was great!

Elizabeth (driving) Tim (center) and Devon arrive for dinner

Besides Elizabeth, Sylvia and I, we had two other folks on board, Tim and Devon, who helped chow down on the turkey and fixings Elizabeth had prepared in her tiny galley.

Adm. Fox provided a pasta salad, bread and probably something else that I am forgetting at the moment.

I will know as soon as she reads this. I should be forgiven though, because I have to keep focused - her birthday is Saturday... Saturday... focus...

After dinner, we took a brief tour (in a beautiful Boston Whaler) up the channel past the Fajita Republic restaurant and back.


I have many great memories of that channel.

I used to take my rowing dinghy up there after dark with a spotlight to 'spot' crocodiles snoozing on the muddy banks.

The crocs were not amused but I am here to tell the tale anyway.

Happy Thanksgiving - today, tomorrow and to infinity and beyond!

NUEVO VALLARTA, Nayarit, Mexico - A year ago on this holiday Adm. Fox and I were sitting in the spacious dining room in Sacramento of Pam DiTomasso and Steve Lovotti who had graciously handed over their house to us for the afternoon so we could have a Thanksgiving family dinner.

It was one of those rare convergences of timing and people. It was as much family reunion as Thanksgiving Day dinner. And it was Sylvia's birthday, too.

All our children and grandchildren - except for Sasha who lives in Mexico with her mother - were there. Jason from Colorado, Anne from Sacramento, Dustin from Connecticut, Dylan from Berkeley along with grandchildren Samantha and Kamryn. Added to that we had Adm. Fox and I, Anne and Jason's mom Kay and Kay's mother, Mavis, Sami and Kami's grandmother.

One year later Adm. Fox and I are in a seaside condo getting ready to head out to the Banderas Bay beach for a Thanksgiving afternoon that will include swimming, boogie-boarding, a margarita or two and possibly a big fish dinner on someone's boat this evening.

Not exactly traditional, but the spirit of Thanksgiving is still here, big time.

Thanksgiving is the one day that as a nation we seem to recognize that we have a lot to be thankful for.

Me? As I wake up every morning my first thoughts are about how lucky I am. Truly lucky and truly blessed with a great family and great friends.

Happy Thanksgiving to y'all. 

Today, tomorrow and to infinity and beyond!

In the new office - at Bahia del Sol, Nuevo Vallarta

NUEVO VALLARTA, Nayarit, Mexico - Admiral Fox and I have set up shop here in Nuevo Vallarta, this year splitting our time between here and Arroyo Seco until sometime in April.

I have a book - and other writing projects - with deadlines looming; Adm. Fox has her Zumba to teach, language classes to take and enough other things to keep her so busy it would wear out a teenager. Wait, isn't she a teenager?

Plus, our granddaughter Sasha Fox is right here, who we hope we will get to see. A lot. A lot...

Today we headed out to La Cruz de Huanacaxtle to the Sunday farmer's and artisan market, held where once there was just a beach. Now there is a marina, restaurants and a thriving mercantile economy. More than a few gringo property owners lost their beach rights in the process, but it is Mexico.

And boy, can we relate to their plight. !Tenacatita libre!

We had wanted to have lunch at the famous Philo's but he was closed. Next week he will be open seven days a week. 

Musicians entertain at La Cruz Market

Market on the waterfront, tres cool

 In the meantime, I had occasion to revisit the video Adm. Fox and I produced last fall about this time, Saving Perro Morro. It has stood the test of time. Now we just have to get up the courage and go see if Morro is still alive at his tienda home. I hope so.

If you have a spare few minutes, it's worth taking a peek at. 

In Mexico, but right here it feels more like San Diego

NUEVO VALLARTA, Nayarit, Mexico - Admiral Fox and I stopped by the Paradise Mall to do a load of laundry before heading back to our nearby Bahia del Sol condo on Banderas Bay.

We are moving into our semi-permanent condo digs Saturday a.m. and decided a drawer full of clean clothes was better than dragging a basket full of dirty laundry across the parking lot and up the stairs.

But here in the Paradise Mall - which has a good (if expensive) grocery story and some neat (if expensive) shops, there is also some not-so-good and not-so-neat (but cheap) food among more traditional restaurants.

I suspect even though the sign is obscured, it's pretty easy to figure out I am sitting near the outlets of an American fast-food icon.

Ah, the smell of grease in the air!

Away from this part of the mall, however, this area is fabulous and we have been busy as cats covering, well, what cats cover so industriously since arriving last Sunday afternoon.

Among other things we had dinner the first night we were here with amigos Bill Meagher and Cindy Bader from Marin County. They were taking a mini-vacation in La Cruz. Then Monday we went to a storage unit, picked up the clothes we left here last spring and followed it with a Costco trip.

Chilean wine is very inexpensive - and good.

Admiral Fox is taking a Spanish class several days a week, leaving me home to work on several writing projects. And pretty soon, she will be teaching Zumba on the beach right in front of our condos.

Watch this blog for some photos of that next week.

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The wind is definitely up, and it's raining horizontally

WATKINS GLEN, New York, USA - Admiral Fox and I did a quick, early afternoon spin around the town to check on the rain and wind.

We found both.

The forecast has been right on the mark with building winds and lots of rain. Not sure how long we will have power. Everyone keeps announcing that it is likely to go out - and stay out, perhaps for a day or more.

At Village Marine, we were pleased to see that almost all the boats were out of the water - including amigos Eric and Tina Hazlitt's vessel.

The remain boats were rocking and rolling - and the wind is just getting started.

We shot a short video that is already up at the Elmira Star-Gazette website:

LINK: Village Marina, 2 p.m. today

And - we'll shoot another one about 5 p.m. just as we lose daylight - provided we go back out!

Sorting Tonga photos and video - while waiting for the big storm

WATKINS GLEN, New York, USA - The predictions and precautions are all dire and serious as the Northeastern U.S. braces for the impacts of Hurricane Sandy, churning her way up the Atlantic Ocean, expected to turn towards land tonight or tomorrow or maybe never.

Maybe never would be my preference.

A Regatta Vava'u race committee boat, Race III

Schools have been cancelled for tomorrow and people are stocking up on flashlights, candles while also checking to see if they will have any heat if the electricity gets wiped out for a few days.

I checked our wine cellar. Looks like we will be fine.

In and among this though, Adm. Fox and I are pulling together photos and video for a presentation in a little over a week at the Hector Wine Company (LINK: Hector Wine Company) about our Tonga adventure. Going back through the photos - while looking out my New York window at rain, wind and temperatures in the low 40s - sure makes me miss Regatta Vava'u. (LINK: Regatta Home Page)

We took thousands of still photos and I thought we had about six hours of video. I was wrong. More like eight hours I think, especially when combined with what Adm. Fox shot on her Canon SLR. That's a lot of stuff to condense into a half-hour.

Below are two shots that I have set aside to use/show: the top one of a Chatham's plane we did not fly on, though it would have been a great adventure.

The second is of the dock and beach at Eueiki where our amigos Mark and Veronica own and operate and eco-resort. That's a resort that's has a strong ecology theme, not one where you shout and hear your voice boomerang back.

Did I really write that? Better get to the wine cellar and double-check those emergency hurricane supplies.

A Chatham's DC3 - still flying in inter-island service

Eueiki Island, Vava'u group, Kingdom of Tonga

A Halloween party at the Hector Wine Company - hoo-boy!

HECTOR, New York, USA - Buford and his band belted out tunes, wine and beer flowed like, well, wine and beer as the Hector Wine Company celebrated its second anniversary.

Live long and prosper

Because Halloween is just a few days away, it was a Halloween party, too, with about half the folks there dressed up in some sort of costume-like garb.

Eric Hazlitt and I toast

Admiral Fox sported a very stylish-looking Native American outfit. I alternated between a Star Trek uniform and a customized shirt (altered expertly by Adm. Fox).

It was nice party but when the music stopped at 7 p.m., a lot of the monsters wanted the show to go on. Buford and his amigos seemed pretty tired, however, after playing for two hours.

Many of the folks there trundled north to other parties up the highway. Adm. Fox and I headed south to the Seneca Lodge where Ithaca's Robin Burnett was playing and Salty Dog Rescue was having a benefit.

I now have a new Salty Dog Rescue shirt to wear to Mexico in a few weeks.

Here's a few photos of from the Hector Wine Company party.

Maggie and Dave

Sylvia and Jesse

Rose

Roger and Brett

Emma

A quiet Sunday ends with great music at Two Goats Brewery

HECTOR, New York, USA - Adm. Fox talked me into getting up off the napping couch Sunday afternoon for a drive north to Hector and Two Goats Brewing.

The drive wasn't just for the beer - which was excellent - it was to hear some music.

It wasn't just some music.

Scott Adams, Eric Aceto and cousin Brett Beardslee had a packed house dancing and singing. Singing was easier than dancing - there were a lot of people packed in.

Here's a brief video by subject2change Media of some of the sounds.

Hiking to where the elk go a-roaming near Watkins Glen

WATKINS GLEN, New York, USA - My plans for a second day of kayaking were thwarted this afternoon by high winds - really high winds - and some cooler-than-expected temperatures. But as a consolation, Adm. Fox and I took a longish hike up through the cemetery next to the famous Watkins Glen, then all the way to the top of the hill and back around past an animal park where elk roam.

Yup, elk.

Thar be elk inside of this place

On the gateway side of the road, workmen were planting and digging and doing a variety of maintenance projects across a large pond. But across the street, in a huge fenced off area, a trio of elk were taking a break along the edge of the fence. Even at a distance, these animals are huge.

We would have done our usual enquiring journalists thing to ask more about the park, but the workmen were way off in the distance and there wasn't anyone tending to the animals to chat with.

Not camera shy

It is October, though, and tourists are pretty much a fond memory except at the wineries and brewpubs which are still doing a land office business.

We will likely head to Two Goats Brewery ourselves later today to help boost the economy.

Walks in the fall are quite spectacular, particularly now as the trees are either completely turned to color or about to. A few species have already shed their leaves, though they are in the minority.

Our sojourn past the elk park showed me that we actually live only about a mile away - close enough to go chat with the herd anytime I feel like it.

And on our walk down that last mile, we got a glimpse of Seneca Lake and the village park from a different angle than our house, a really spectacular view right now, especially with the colors.

It still looks too windy to kayak though.

View from the highway near the Elk Park

Hard aground - in a kayak - near the Watkins Glen boat ramp

WATKINS GLEN, New York, USA -  By 3 p.m., today both the front and back lawns at the cottage were mowed. The hot tub and its circulating pump stowed safely. The shade/rain structure used to shelter the hot tub folded up neatly. The solar lights were put away for the season. And the Crimson Tide sailboat is sporting a new tarp to keep the leaves and debris off it for the winter.

It had been a busy morning and afternoon and so I considered simply collapsing on the couch when I got home to North Glen Avenue. Just mowing the lawn had proved daunting. It hadn't been touched since before Labor Day and had grown to about five inches tall in spots.

But the 20-knot cool breezes that had kept me cool up the lake suddenly let up here in Watkins Glen, making a quick kayak voyage seem like it might be in order.

Watkins Glen creek, approaching the channel

And it was a spectacular fall trip.

I paddled south, into a light breeze, following a flock of ducks who led me straight onto a sandbar where I experienced a kayaking first for me.

I ran hard aground with a crunch that had I been in a fiberglass boat, I would have been concerned.

Normally it's easy to rock my kayak off the bottom and simply back out. But oh no!!!!! Not this time. These wily quackers had lured me up onto some kind of ridge and it was only with a lot of effort, muttering and saying a string of magic words like these: (^^#*$^(*^&()%)) that I was able to get free.

I was not going to wade to get the kayak floating again. Well, not if I didn't absolutely have to. The water is very cold already.

In my paddling, I saw that the marinas are all emptying quickly with only a few holdouts left in their berths in the canal off the lake. Some of the holdouts were aboard their vessels as I paddled by, heaters running and cups of grog in their hands. No grog was offered to me however, even after several folks witnessed my encounter with the ducks and the sandbar.

Not many yachties left at the Watkins Glen Yacht Club

The weather forecast for Sunday is good enough that I left my kayak in the truck, all ready for another expedition. That probably guarantees precipitation.

But I'm going to risk it anyway. I'm too tired to haul the kayak out of my truck.

Seneca Lake days are over, packing for Mexico gets underway

WATKINS GLEN, New York, USA - Adm. Fox and I pulled the Spirit of Louise pontoon boat out of the water Wednesday, a harrowing affair in 15-20 knots of crosswind at a shallow launch ramp.

But after three tries, I finally drove the boat up onto the trailer (risky business, indeed) and summer officially was over for the Valois Point Yacht Club.

Doug Hazlitt offers a Heineken salute

At Village Marina we found Eric and Tina Hazlitt just about to head out for a final summer sail and were lucky enough to jump aboard for a few hours of sailing. Eric's cousin Doug Hazlitt was out and about on his newly built sailboat and, well, of course we raced!

 No need to dwell on results here, except to say it was a lot of fun in some pretty stiff breezes. It was so windy I could barely hang onto my wine glass as we tacked back and forth heading back into the dock.

We left the Spirit of Louise in the Village Marina parking lot overnight and will take the ship down to brother Dan's shop in Big Flats today where it winters under some heavy tarps.

At the helm with Tina Hazlitt tending the jib sheets

Getting the pontoon boat out of the water means it's time to get serious about packing for Mexico as well as ramping up our efforts on preparing stories and photos about our trip to Tonga and the Regatta Vava'u.

Adm. Fox set a date of Nov. 8 for us to put on a show-and-tell slide/video show at the Hector Wine Company about the trip. Gulp. Where did I put all those video chips?

And in the midst of all this, granddaughter Samantha turned 15 yesterday. Fifteen. Jaysus! Happy Birthday, Sami... We'll Skype tonight.

Heading to NY after 4 weeks on the road, in the air, and on water

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Admiral Fox and I head back to Watkins Glen this afternoon after a month-long sojourn that included stops in Sacramento, Fiji and the Kingdom of Tonga.

We had fun everyplace we went but it will be really good to be home. Plus, we have several thousand photos to look at, hours of video to compile and edit and stories to write for several magazines and newspapers.

I just got very tired.

Tonga - more specifically the island group of Vava'u - and the Regatta Vava'u was what launched this whole trip. I was sorting through some photos last night of the Pub Crawl. Gawd was it fun. The regatta was so full of interesting stuff I filled two notebooks with almost-legible scrawl that I now have to decipher.

The Pub Crawl notes seem the most hard to read. Go figure.

Here in Sacramento, we had a great time, too, staying with Pam DiTomasso and her husband Steve Lovotti in their gorgeous home on 46th Street. We also had some drive-by visits with amigos Sanders and Pat Lamont in Murphys, Calif. and Jen and Scott Noble in Elk Grove. We need to be cloned so we can see all these people and our amigos in New York and Vava'u now, too.

Last night - as a great capper to the whole month - we celebrated granddaughter Samantha Rose Allen's 15th birthday. Her 5-year-old sister Kami tried to steal the show, as usual. There was a lot of loose talk about Sami, Kami and mom Anne coming to visit us in New York - or even Mexico.

Woo-hoo! We're ready for the visit.

Here's pix of the birthday girl with her mom and me getting a hug from Kami.








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Last night on the beach in Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga

VAVA'U, Kingdom of Tonga - We are sitting in on of our favorite haunts here, The Aquarium, after a whirlwind last full day.

First we had a windy, slightly soggy ride in from The Reef Resort, then a great lunch with Regatta Vava'u organizers (and new friends) Ben and Lisa. We capped it with film interviews with Billy and the star of his theatre production, a fellow named Augustine.

Watch for an announcement on YouTube when that video goes up.

Tomorrow we board a plane at 8:15 for the main island of Tongatapu, then it's off to Fiji and parts east (like LA and Sacramento).

We have literally thousands of photos, hours of video, and pages and pages of notes to turn into stories, photo essays and rockumentaries.

Sad to leave here, but can't wait to start pulling this stuff all together.

At Treasure Island, I shot the photo below of one of the island guys (Rusty, a retired Canadian firefighter) getting his haircut from Vickie, a young lady who hails from Australia.

More on life on Treasure Island when I am back where the blogging program can do justice to these photos...






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Last days of Vava'u and Tonga adventures

THE REEF RESORT, Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga - We spent the day yesterday (and most of today) at Treasure Island Resort with new amigos Mark and Veronica who own the island paradise.

It's a stunning place - so stunning that I told Admiral Fox that after spending just a few hours there, my "Awe Meter" pegged at 100 percent and then broke.

Incredible doesn't describe it.

I will later, of course, and with it, with photos that are all trapped on various cameras, hard drives, SD cards and even on this iPad.

But our internet connection makes two tin cans and a string looked like fiber optic cable by comparison so it's crazy to even try to post anything bigger than a text file.

That said, of course I have to try... So below, tin cans and string willing, is a photo of our photo boat captains, Lisa Danger and John LeDoux.



Tomorrow we will be back in Neiafu, the main village, where the Internet can be a challenge, but we can usually overcome any obstacles.

Tuesday a.m. we fly out for the main island of Tonga, then Fiji, then LA, the Sacramento...

Home in Watkins Glen and Hector will be a week after that...

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A move from 'downtown' out to Treasure Island

TREASURE ISLAND, Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga - There are no coincidences.

Yesterday morning, desperate for a cab to haul all of our stuff down to the third race in the Regatta Vava'u, Adm. Fox spied a woman sitting in a cab at The Hilltop Hotel.

It turned out Veronica and her husband Mark own the Treasure Island Resort. And, AND, Veronica is originally from Mexico and we ended up not only sharing the cab, but having breakfast with she and Mark.

We have swapping tales of Mexico and Tonga ever since then.

The island resort was a few hundred yards from where we went whale watching/swimming last week.



Above is the pier we used when we arrived with on a boat that was full of food for the resort.

Below are two outside shots, one of the small restaurant where we just had rice and stir fried vegetables.

A heavenly lunch in a paradise setting.







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Final daze of Regatta Vava'u in Kingdom of Tonga

VAVA'U, Kingdom of Tonga - The past two days were a blur of sailing, parties and, well, more sailing and more parties.

Interspersed in with that were also some informational sessions on protecting the beautiful marine environment here and cruising destinations.

The sailboat race Thursday night was an around-the-harbor affair that got quite competitive. We were able to hop on the committee boat with Martin Craig (base manager for Sunsail and The Moorings), along with amigo Jeff from Vava'u Adventures (the kart-adventure company). It made for an excellent platform for shooting photos.




But Friday was the big day with a longish race through the islands to Ano Beach where the Full Moon Party kicked when the cruisers were all safely anchored.

The captain and skipper of the sailing catamara Orcinius (Lisa Danger and John LeDoux, respectively) took us out on their vessel as a photo boat for that race. They kept the cat nice and flat while I shot video and Admiral Fox did her still photo work. Below is the finish line as Cirrus crosses it.




There were lots of surprises at the Full Moon Party - some of which I will write about later, but check out the structure in the water near shore that greeted everyone as they came in my dinghy.

Look familiar?



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Children take over Regatta Vava'u for the day

VAVA'U, Kingdom of Tonga - After a fun sailboat race in solid breezes Tuesday, many of the cruisers in the Regatta Vava'u took time Wednesday to attend - and help out - with a Kids' Day that included face painting, costumes, music and, of course, a snazzy parade, complete with an all-Tongan children's band.




The Tongan children had the day off from school for the event and seemed to enjoy the whole thing as much as the hundreds of parents and cruisers who came to watch.

Local Vava'u celebrity and theater owner Billy worked with the children, leading part of the parade with a ukulele. Then the children from various schools put on performances of traditional dances, dressed in traditional garb.

After the end of the Kids' Day festivities, the cruisers retired to the Poolside Cafe for their own afternoon of fun and games and to rehydrate with the beverages of their choice.



Near the wharf area where the children were doing their dances, the inter-island container ship was at the dock, loading and offloading containers. The containers are the main way things are shipped to and from the island.

Thursday will be the second race in the three-race series this week, with a late afternoon around-the-harbor contest. I suspect there will be some amount of hydration involved in that race, too.



Then Friday the cruisers have a longer race scheduled through the islands, ending up at Ano Beach for what's called the Full Moon Party, a combination awards program, beach party, dance-a-thon, and pyrotechnics show.

There will also be a feast with lots of food and drink... lots...

Although the Full Moon Party is almost the grand finale to the Regatta, the next night there will be a traditional Tongan feast offered that many Regatta participants plan to attend, too.

I plan to stay away from the scales for at least a month when I get back from this adventure of feasts, parties, sailboat races and imbibing of hydrating beverages.

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A sailing/whaling day at the Regatta Vava'u

VAVA'U, Kingdom of Tonga - The day started out dark and stormy and right here in downtown the rain pounded hard for nearly 20 minutes in a tropical downpour.

Most people cheered.

It was an auspicious start, considering that much of this part of the island chain has been suffering from drought. And that is a pretty serious deal here, as most of the drinking water comes either from the skies or is shipped in via bottles. The vast majority is collected though into big tanks.

The race was a quick affair out and through some of the nearby islands, starting at 11:30 a.m. and done by 2:30 p.m. But in the middle of all that, the participants had to go into a shoreside cave as well as scamper across a spit of sand to get some clues that would help them in how they finished in the race.

The cave was amazing, the same spot Adm. Fox and I snorkeled in earlier this week as part of our swim-with-the whales expedition.

Our photo and video collection is growing in leaps and bounds, with backups and another set of backups on a gazillion gigabyte harddrive. (OK, it's only a one terrabyte hard drive, but still.)

This afternoon we listened to a presentation about the whales of this area, the very whales we were swimming with early this week.




We learned that whales are most closely related to the land mammals we call the hippo and that at one time, there were 45,000 humpbacks taken illegally from these islands before the then king called a halt to it in 1979

When he stopped the whale harvesting, the local Tonga whale population was down to 12 breeding females. Now there are about 2,400 and coming back at about 3 percent per year.

Kee-rist.

Among the many revelations was that krill - the mainstay food of these animals when in the frozen stretches of the southern oceans - is declining. No, not just because of climate charge, but because many countries are havesting krill for use in the manufacture of vitamin supplements.

I really need to research where the oil comes from in my USANA supplements.

Below is a photo of today's captains' meeting before the race, at the Mango Cafe.

Wild ending for Tridecagon-athlon at Regatta Vava'u

VAVA'U, KINGDOM OF TONGA - The big Monday event in the Regatta Vava'u was the tridecagon-athlon, a 13-event mashup that anyone who ever spent time in a scout camp, pledged a fraternity or, well, attended a cruiser's regatta like this would recognize.

The three-legged race was actually a centipede race with seven or so members all bound together. Then there was the hip bounce, where a huge boat fender gets pushed about using just the hips. It's get wilder as the game goes on and you are allowed to use your knees, too.




The whole day was punctuated with stops for cold beer (we are talking cruisers here) and some delicious food provided by both the Poolside Cafe and the Marina Wine Bar.

The master of ceremonies was a fellow named Billy - about whom I will be writing a lot more, here and other places. He has a background in the circus and comes from a show business family.

To quote that great sailing philosopher Captain Ron: "It shows."

For part of the festivities, I climbed a wall and perched up high, operating what we called the Regatta Vava'u Skycam. I suffered my only injury of the day climbing up - there was barbed wire wrapped through the chain link.



Tomorrow is the first actual sailing race in the regatta. Winds have been pretty light, but the sailors might need a less-that-chaotic sail given how sore their muscles likely are. Some will be recovering from the pie-eating contest that turned into a pie-throwing contest, the last event that left everyone (except for the two journalist/photographers) slimed by gooey, yellow pie.

We are talking about cruisers here.

Below is a group shot of the entire crowd from today's event sponsored by a locally owned company called Tropical Tease. Tropical Tease is a T-shirt and custom shirt shop right on the main street that has some of best quality shirts and coolest artwork I have seen in either hemisphere.


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