Please meet Igor and Caroline. They are both very experienced sailors from Brazil and England. They are the type of people you feel very lucky to meet. I am happy to report that they wear their jackets often. They live on a 1984 Islander Freeport Ketch, currently in Antigua. Their dog is named Laika, after the first dog in space (Russian). Laika means 'barker'. They adopted her while repairing the boat in the Dominican Republic. She keeps the pirates away.

People often ask if we manufacture in China. We do not.

If you get a chance, click this link from the photo, www.cdpwu.org, and take a look at the 'kidnapped' section. It is serious business and pretty scary stuff. For security, I felt I had to white out the faces in this photo. Mysterious people were taking my photo when I took this photo. The location is across the street from the Chinese Embassy in NYC. This is only one of many groups that regularly protest the Chinese for similiar mal-treatment to their respective causes. I hope things change soon.

In Montauk, after you get done surfing, or whatever fun you are having, you should visit the Naturally Good Cafe. Lauren and Andrea are two young entrprenuers and they are doing a really good job making healthy organic food. They are super nice people.
:-)

Jalama state park is North of Santa Barbara and about another hour towards the coast. If you have a minute, youtube 'Jalama Surf'. It is really good there. By the way, if you plan on camping, the park is pretty full. the war on drugs in mexico is making it too dangerous to head south, so everyone is going to Jalama.

Meanwhile, in Trinidad, Igor and Caroline have decided that it is time to rebuild the Conch Pearl's motor and give her some TLC. After all, she has been on the water for almost three years. With the help of Joe, they pulled both the generator and the motor in 4 days. Pretty swift. Also, removing some wood rot from the back bedroom/aft cabin where water leaks in rough seas (no formal nautical terms allowed on the Conch Pearl, please, Pirate speak only ;-). One time, the Conch Pearl was in such a bad storm that her whole belly (hull) was over and her keel (bottom fin) was exposed. In between the Turks and Caicos and Haiti, Igor saw this happen repeatedly one entire day and night . That same night, the Conch Pearl's companion boat had a rudder snap (steering fin) and sent her in a 360 degree tailspin in frequent 15 foot rogue waves. They were frequent rogue waves because there was a 4 second wave period (how close together the waves are). I think that is part of the reason that they decided it is time for a more reliable engine. Lets hope the rebuild goes smoothly in Trinidad. they will be living for 2 mos 'on the hard' (in the shipyard in dry-dock). 'On the hard' is the opposite of 'on the hook' (at anchor).