Happy New Year

Dave Barry's take on the last year.... Click here>>>> Bye Bye 2009

Hope everyone has a healthy and happy 2010.
Stay safe, and have fun. These times are the best times we have for now; so best enjoy them

Adios,

Istaboa

Timely... in a couple of ways

If you have any left.

Why I got nothing for Christmas

Hop on the bus, Gus

Yep... It's time to head back to Memphis for the rest of the holidays; Christmas and such.
Our quick stay here in Stuart was a nice break from the cold weather that awaits us in Memphis.
Still, it'll be good to see folks we haven't seen for a while, catch up on real business, and start a project on Rocky Point.
So today we fly out of Palm Beach for Memphis.

Happy Holidays and all the stuff that goes along with that.

Adios,

Istaboa

They made it!

Those adventurous Pickwickians we mentioned in an earlier post have finally made it to St Lucia from the Mediterranean. That's a long boat ride. 20 days at sea by my calculations.
Mark and Theresa onboard Happy Jack are enjoying the Carribean we're sure.

St Lucia from atop

Cut from the blog of Lucky Jack

We made it to St. Lucia.  We are in the Marina at Marigot Bay and it is lovely to be on land again.  Already made it to the local restuarant and I am happy not to cook again for at least a month.  We are all pretty tired and are really enjoying the air conditioning at the dock.  All in all good trip, the boat did well and we only started running out of things like sugar, bread and bits at the very end.  Trust me no one starved, but the Captains wife said ocean law says that when you run out of food on a crossing you start by eating the biggest person first...ha ha.  Pictures to follow later today and as the days go on.  It's a little hard to put a month of pics and stories together all at once, so I will save it for a sleepless night.  Love and miss all of you and be back with pics soon. 

Glad they're safe. Now for the next leg of their adventure. Lucky Jack Blog


Adios,

Istaboa

Good times with good friends

 

Lunch at Finz

We just couldn't take the Memphis weather anymore, so we hopped on a plane and headed to Stuart.

Our good friends from Panama City had made plans to attend the open house at the Kadey Krogen headquarters here in Stuart.... So the timing worked out great.

The weather wasn't perfect but we took the Albury over to Manatee Pocket and Finz restaurant. Good food and drinks were enjoyed by all

 

The next day our boat neighbor and old Abaco buddy invited Mike, Will, and me to go fishing. It was a rough day and we had played a bit hard the night before but we all survived.

Got one Sail on but he won and got away. 

 

The next day was much nicer so we took the Albury out for a little cruise around the St Lucie river area.

 

Then we ended their stay with dinner at the new Marina Restaurant. Sailor's Return has turned out to be a beautiful place. The food was very good also.

So the Salty C's crew took off early to head home. Mel, Radar, and I -like always-  really enjoyed their company; we think they had a nice time also. (That was interesting...)


Adios,




Istaboa

Thanksgiving in Guatemala

Clyde seems to be anticipating a good Thanksgiving.

Mia was kind enough to send us pics from their feast out on their new Ranchita.

Some of you will remember our posts from a year or so back about Clyde and his dog Kaiser aboard Kaleidoscope; Clyde built his 100' long catamaran himself.

 

A feast on the Rio Dulce River

Seems like a good time is being had by all.

Adios,

Istaboa

Happy Thanksgiving everybody

To all of our American friends...

Please stay safe and have a really good Thanksgiving day.

Radar

We're home at Rocky Point. Today, we travel to Arkansas to enjoy our day with mother Taylor.
Fried Turkey and all the fixins'. Should be good.
Tomorrow we go back to Pickwick to stay with friends, Jim and Sandy. Will be good to see them after being gone for so long.

Crew Istaboa

ps... a friend sent us a good holiday dip recipe. Thanks, Jackie.

CAPTAIN RODNEY"S DIP

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 green onions, chopped

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)

stir to mix and spread in shallow dish

12 Townhouse crackers

12 strips of crispy cooked bacon

Captain Rodney's pepper jelly (any brand will work)

bake until hot and lightly brown, (about 15 min @ 350 degrees)

remove from oven and crumble 12 Townhouse crackers and spread on top

crumble 12 bacon strips on top

heat Captain Rodney's pepper jelly and drizzle on top (1/2 cup)

Serve with Towhouse crackers

Anything with bacon has to be good.

Missing Stuart, Fl

One of neighbors from Pickwick.

"Miss Pat" has never been to Pickwick but her owners have a home just down the street from our old lake house. She's a beauty.

Before leaving, our friends, Will and Tara, stopped by before we all took the little boat into downtown Stuart for dinner at the Oyster House.

Sisterships...  62 Nordhavns

Before dinner, we took the Albury over to the Nordhavn commissioning dock to check out these two boats.

 

Of course, we couldn't leave without some time spent with Travers. His boss will probably have him in the Bahamas before we go back to the boat. So it was a, " see ya later", dinner at Lola's. Fun night.

We are really missing our peeps from the marina. We will probably be going back -soon- just to check on things... hmmmm.

Adios,

Istaboa

Great story with a happy ending.

And they are friends at our favorite little restaurant in Stuart.

Lisa and Stephanie, our favorite waiters when crew Istaboa eat at the Pelican.
Who knew they would turn out to be Heros.

Bravo! Well done.

Read the article here....

Stuart cafe worker frees tangled manatee 

Great bunch of folks at the Pelican. Here's another good example of their kindness.

Because someone complained about Radar sitting at the table in a chair; Victoria, the owner, designed  and designated a chair especially for Radar then told the complaining patron, "if that doesn't satisfy you then go somewhere else". 

We're in Memphis now and missing all our friends in Stuart very much. If we were there, the girls at the Pelican would be getting a huge tip today.

Adios,

Istaboa

Got spammed!

We've been busy for the last few days preparing for our return to Memphis and didn't notice that we had a few comments on the last posting.

First, I would like to say I am sorry to our friends from Louisville, Ky for not responding to their comment. Hope you guys had a great time in Stuart and we're sorry we missed you.

Next, I would like to express our embarrassment to those who saw a comment about Miley Cyrus.

we're not into Miley Cyrus much at all.

Enough said.

Adios,

Istaboa

Fall days in Stuart

Isn't much like fall at all. It's been 90+ here for the last week and there's no end in sight. We're not complaining because whatever the weather's doing is keeping the hurricanes from forming. That's a really, really good thing. 2 more weeks to go till the official end of hurricane season; which also means the beginning of tourist season. Already we are seeing lots of Canadian flags flying. The fall brings the migration of snowbirds.

Speaking of migrations... We stepped out the back door of the boat Saturday and were very surprised to see a swarm of bees had decided Istaboa was a good place to hang out.

They hung around on the deck for a while then decided the kayaks on the upper deck was a better site for their plans. My Pop was a hobbyist bee keeper for a while when I was a kid so I had seen this type of thing before. They are pretty much harmless at this stage unless threatened. So keeping with our, "friends of honest and harmless creatures attitude", we let them be. (no pun intended)

We are hoping they soon find a better place to do their thing or we must have them removed by a bee keeper. They are in short supply these days, for some reason, and we understand they are quite important partners in the local agriculture industry.
But, we don't think they'll enjoy going to sea. So, bees, be gone!

The days are hot but, in the end, we're rewarded with some beautiful fall sunsets.

Adios,

Istaboa

Update: The Stew Fish Repsipee

It was excellent.

Tings to do wit fish

Today I was on the internet looking for an authentic Bahamian Stew Fish recipe and I came across this on a message board. Truly authentic Bahamian narrative that led me to, what we hope will be, a great recipe.

I carn fin it man. I need it soon terreckly hear.
Da stew fish recipe can be found here:

http://bahamasissues.com/showpost.php?p=274582&postcount=2
Enjoy!

How come a matoor Bahamian woman needin dis "foreign" Bahamian's stew fish repsipee entyways? Tings dat make you go hmmmmmmmmm!

The repsipee:


Stewed Fish

2 lb Fish of your choice
2 Limes
Pinch Thyme
1 Sweet pepper (chopped)
2 tbsp Flour
½ tsp Salt
1 Onion (chopped)
1 rib Celery (chopped)
2 Hot peppers
2 lg Tomatoes (chopped)
1 tsp Sugar
Oil for frying fish

1. Wash and season fish with hot pepper, salt and limejuice. Fry fish in hot oil until nearly cooked.
2. Remove fish from pan. Fry onion, sweet pepper and celery for 5 mins. Add tomatoes cook 2 mins.
3. In a separate pot, brown the flour over a gentle heat, stirring continuously until dark brown but not burnt.
4. Add flour to tomatoes and mix well, add thyme, hot pepper, sugar and salt, stir together. Gradually add 4 C water, bring to the boil. Add fish, cover pot and simmer for 15 mins.
5. Serve with Johnny cake or sweet potato bread.


will let you know the outcome soon.


Adios,


Istaboa

Gone fishin' part 2

It was a beautiful morning, though the "red sky at morn" thing was in the back of my mind. The winds were light and the run out to sea was smooth as glass.

With the sun coming up on our bow and the moon going down on our stern we made way out the cut and started fishing for bait.

Waterspout as the sun rises.

Then out a few miles in the ocean we spotted a waterspout. It seemed to be heading away from us so, no big deal.

We had a tough time catching bait but finally did put a a few Cigar Minnows and Sardines in the bucket.

Turned out to be a very interesting day of fishing. We added it up and we had caught 11 different species of fish... including 2 different kinds of sharks. But we were after Black Sea Bass.

Rock Fish? ... very peculiar what ever it is.

Our first drop and we found them. We caught them by the dozens but returned most because of size. They are really a delicious fish. A few Vermilion Snapper, a few Black Sea Bass, and a nice Strawberry Grouper made for a nice catch, all before noon.

We love these little Bass and Snapper but they are a chore to clean.

But clean them you must. Pull up a bucket, grab a knife and a cold beer, and get to work. The fruits of our labor proved to be delicious and well worth the effort. We are still eating them... never freeze good fish. Eat till they're gone.

Another good day amongst many.

Adios,


Istaboa

R.I.P. Captain Ben Buchanan

With much sadness we post... We have lost a very good friend.
We will always remember Ben, on the dock, waving with a smile, and a twinkle in his eye as we returned from our many trips up the river. He was always as interested in the tales of our travels as we were his and Sadie's.
He and Sadie were probably our only friends that truly understood why we do, what we do.
Though a very fine and talented surgeon in his earlier years, I think he may have been proudest of his days at sea aboard his beloved boat, "Lady Sadie".
We will miss Ben very, very much.

Adios, my friend.

Istaboa

Eatabout Stuart

We have found the Stuart area to be very cool. Lots of good restaurants; good fishing; pretty sites to see; nice folks. Not much around here not to like.



One of our favorite restaurants so far is 11Maple Street. It's billed as “Casual Dining in a Quaint Old Florida Home,” and it is that. Step inside this old-Florida home and you will be pleasantly surprised by a series of cozy dining rooms and a covered patio surrounded by gardens.
Our friends, Will and Tara, turned us on to this little bistro and the food was very, very good.
They offer small plates which are appetizer size and large plates with entree portions. Duck, Elk, Wagyu Beef, and Scottish Salmon are examples of their eclectic fare. We ordered a couple each, then shared. They were all delicious.
If you find yourself in the Jensen Beach area you really should try this restaurant. You will never forget it.

Another one of our favorites is the Pelican Cafe. It's a funky little place right on the water that's a short walk from our marina. Outdoor seating allows us to bring Radar along. They are very dog friendly and there's always treats and water brought to the table for the pups. The sunset usually brings a nice summer's evening breeze off the St Lucie river. That, a cold beverage, a good burger, and your pup... could it get any better?

Then there's Mrs Peter's Smokehouse . The best smoke fish we have ever tasted! You can't sit down to eat but go in and they will give you samples of everything. You will leave with some.
Our favorites are the Smoked Wahoo Dip and Spicey Smoked Salmon Strips.
Good Stuff!

Damn!  I've made myself hungry.

Adios,


Istaboa

Update: Dalai Lama's gift to Memphis

It seems we were wrong about our fellow Memphians. The house was packed to hear His Holiness speak.

Clipped from The Commercial Appeal:

People skipped work, traveled long distances and one couple even cut their honeymoon short to sit in the presence of the Dalai Lama.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience," said Jackie McNamara of East Memphis.

Sitting in the nosebleed section of the packed 2,100-seat auditorium, the criminal investigator took a day off to hear the author and spiritual figure.

"If any city in the U.S. needs healing, it's Memphis," she said.

The Dalai Lama accepted the 2009 International Freedom Award from the National Civil Rights Museum on Wednesday, showing his appreciation by donating his $50,000 honorarium to the museum.

The Dalai Lama blesses the spot where Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated.

A good day for Memphis.

Adios,

Istaboa

Good day for fishin'

A good day indeed...
Got up with the sun and was catching bait at first light.
The day was perfect. A bit cloudy, which prevented the sun from baking us and just enough breeze to keep us cool; still winds were light enough to allow the ocean to remain calm with just a nice easy swell to remind you that you're in the ocean... not a lake.
The Albury Bros 23 did well in the ocean as we ran it out St Lucie inlet to our designated spot which was about 10 miles away. Sweet boat! 
The action started quickly and, with Will's guidance, I landed the first fish, a nice Mutton Snapper, good eats. Then followed that up with a good sized Trigger Fish.... also good eats.

My philosophy is, catch what you can eat, then quit. But Will had yet to catch a fish so we kept dropping bait.
Things had slowed a bit when all of a sudden Will's second rod started bending like it was hung on the reef. But it wasn't the reef. He grapped the rod and and started cranking. We had no idea what was on the end of the line but we new it was big. I thought shark, Will thought turtle. We were both wrong.

 

As you can see from the picture it was a huge fish. A Goliath Grouper (also known as a Jewfish in politically incorrect circles... not sure why it's not PC to call it a Jewfish?)

Will was both extremely excited and exhausted after fighting this monster for 15 minutes or so. He said it was his largest fish ever. Will is a very tall fellow and that fish is almost as big as he is. We think it may be close to 200 pounds.

Since it's a protected species in the US, we let it go after we took a few pictures. The fish swam away a bit slowly -but surely-  back to the depths from whence it came.

After that we ate the lunch Mel had packed for us , laughed about how excited we got, and then caught a couple of Vermilion Snapper. All of this by 12:30. We cranked up the Albury and ran home.

 

A good day for fishin'.

We've had fresh fish for the last few days. Tonight Trigger Fish is on the menu. Recipe 

Should be good.

Adios,

Istaboa

Surreal...

Natalie Cole, and Dalai Lama in Memphis

 

 

Time to start fishin'

Capt. Will, one of our friends from Compass Cay who lives here in Stuart, came by yesterday. It's always good to see Will. One of the kindest people we know.
He also came bearing gifts. He had just returned from Compass and Tucker had sent us a bag of Hogfish.  Great eating fish.
You may remember Will from an earlier post... He is the resident Shark masseuse on Compass.

Will and his favorite shark, Squirt.

Will and I are rigging out the Albury to do a little fishing. The weather is right and Snook season has started. He has lived around here for years and has fished these waters since he was a kid. So fresh fish should be on Istaboa's menu soon.

Came across this YouTube video today and thought it was funny. This critter is called a Slow Loris
This has nothing to do with fishing. but... enjoy.



Hopefully we have a few pics of some fish to post soon. Don't expect large catches as we only catch enough to eat as a rule and we don't like to freeze them; we go out and hopefully catch dinner and come on back in.
Fresh fish!


Adios,


Istaboa

Bagan exits the Northwest Passage

Congratulations Bagan.



Salute!

Attached is a snip of an email from Sprague Theobald, the leader of the Northwest Passage expedition, to Dan Streech of Nordhavn.  Dan was kind enough to forward it on.

Even as I heard the words come from my mouth I still couldn’t believe what I was hearing; we had indeed exited The Northwest Passage and the dream that I stated to bring to fruition several years ago has now been accomplished. This year we were the first American boat as well as the first, and only, power boat to transit The Passage and now the very first Nordhavn.  By the way, do know that I was told by two very knowledgeable people in Cambridge Bay that this has been the worst ice year in ten years. Suffice it to say that there’s still a hell of a long and potentially very bumpy road ahead but doing successfully what many before me have tried and not been able to accomplish is one of the more humbling acts of my life.  Franklin et al were supermen.  They didn’t have satellite navigation, washers and dryers, flat screens, iPods, or stabilizers.  When they left home… they left home!   They only had themselves, their books, the stars and in the case of the actual Franklin Expedition, not the best of luck.  I feel that to date our efforts have been bestowed with vast amounts of luck and otherworldly blessings. I think I read somewhere where success is the combination of luck and preparation.  If that’s so, perhaps a successful transit was in the cards as I don’t think we could have been any better prepared. We certainly had some very lucky moments.  As I’ve said to you so many times before, part of the preparation was having the very best boat for just such an attempt at such a high risk venture. Not a market slogan but the God’s honest truth; I wouldn’t have considered doing this trip on anything other than a Nordhavn.  If this trip failed it wouldn’t have been simply something that I wasn’t able to finish, failure in my case could have meant the boat being crushed and sunk or worse, lives lost. I would not have put my life nor the lives of my crew in the hands of any other manufacturer.  No two ways about it, when the pack ice closed in around us as it did, Bagan saved our hides.  The ice was starting to stack up around us to our west, a rockbound coastline sat not a mile and a half away to our east and a slow but relentless current was pushing us from the northwest.  As you know, a half a mile off the beach we had to make what I feel to be one of the most disturbing decisions of my life. If we’d waited for it all to play out we would have ended up on the rocks with the ice bearing down on top of us.  There was only one thing to do and that, in any other circumstance, was to ask the unthinkable from Bagan and try to get her to do the inconceivable; be a tug / icebreaker and fight her way out. A boat sixty miles north of us was in the same predicament and they ended up having to call in a Canadian icebreaker. For one who is always so careful about trying to have Bagan’s hull do anything more than gently kiss a dock for a landing (trying), I hated what I had to get her to do.  With all the crew looking for leads, calling the closing distances and armed with poles to fend off, I would slowly bring her bow up to a floe that was anywhere from a foot to four feet thick, make contact and then gently pour on the coals.  Most of the time the bulb would wedge itself under the ice, which would get hooked into the curve where the bulb meets the boat. I’d then build up the RPMs, pushing at times up to five large sheets of ice at a time, albeit at a snail’s pace, to create a lead.  Other times the bulb would ride up on a lower shelf of a floe, lift her bow one to three feet up and then she’d use her weight to crash through or shatter the floe ahead. We did this time and time again for the better part of two harrowing days.  Once the ordeal was over we sent our diver Greg over with the vid camera and apart from some expected dings in the bulb and some smudged bottom paint, I can tell you we suffered literally not a scratch anywhere. Wait until you see the HD video!

Wow!


Adios,


Istaboa

The Albury Brothers 23

At Sunset Bay Marina

Hence the name

As of July 23, 2010 

It turned out beautiful. The folks at Birdsall marine did an excellent job on the T-Top.

We have been very impressed by this boat. Very simple, solid, and seaworthy. 

A friend said, "It's a Thunderbird not a Corvette".
True... True... We like T-birds.
Nice clean lines, classic retro, and a time proven hull.

The first time I actually rode in an Albury, it was a 20. On a rough day in the Sea of Abaco it proved to be amazing. I have ridden in 26/27 footers that didn't take the seas as well as the Albury 20. Very dry and a soft ride.
The 23 is even better.

The Story...

The Albury family has been building boats in Man O’War Cay, Abaco, for many generations, including their famous smacks, sloops and schooners. Since 1952, Willard Albury, first with his father and brother, now with his sons Don and Jamie, have produced sea kindly outboard runabouts & skiffs. They build these boats one at a time, for those customers who appreciate a special boat when they see one.

 Dave's Albury 20

 

The inside liner and the T-Top liner coordinate.

Traditional Bahama Blue

We were very fortunate to have found a used 23 for sale. Not many used Alburys around.

We loaded her up with a nice Raymarine chartplotter and fish finder and a good Icom VHF.  Not much else needed except an autopilot but that can wait for a while.

Took it out yesterday, the late afternoon breeze made it a bit choppy on the south fork of the St Lucie river but she smoothed them out nicely. The 225HP 4 stroke Yamaha ran quiet and smooth at 4000 RPM, winding effortlessly around the bends in the river at an easy 28 MPH.
Gonna be a great boat.

The hull is called Sea Mist... a light shade of greenish blue.  Kinda like the color of Tilloo bank at mid tide.

 

We will post some more pics when we find some nice light for a good profile shot.

So until later,

Adios,

Istaboa

Things that go splat in the night

As we were kickin' back, reading our books on a nice rainy afternoon, tranquility was being enjoyed.  Ahhh... We love days like this.
Then, out of the blue, Radar broke the peace and quiet and proceeded to lose his little mind. It was  quite disturbing at first as he was barking insanely at the wall for no apparent reason. We thought the boy had gone over the edge. Boat fever.

But after investigating we found this little fellow stuck to the bulkhead of the Pilot house. (Not sure what Radar would have done if he could have caught it.)
So being the friends of honest and harmless creatures that we are, we removed him and carefully set him free outside on the aft deck of the boat. Surely -we thought-  he will find his way off the boat and catch a few of bugs in the meantime.

So... a couple of nights ago as we were sleeping soundly, Radar struck again. 3:00 AM he started growling and woke us up. Then, barking, he lunged at Melonie in the darkness of our stateroom; which was very alarming.
In a very sleepy and confused state, I took him up to the salon to see if he was sick and may need to go outside. He was still upset about something and continued to growl but wouldn't go out.
That's when I heard Melonie say in a very grave and ominous voice, "Oh my God... Something is in the bed!".
I ran down stairs with Radar on my heals, still growling like I've never heard him before, and turned on the lights. Melonie was out of the bed, appearing to be totally freaked out, saying something about, "it crawled across my face". I pulled back the cover expecting to see a snake when something hurled itself out of the bed. This scared the crap out of us, especially with Radar barking like a banshee, which alone is enough to raise the hair on the back of your neck.
And there it was... The scary, creepy-crawling thing; the creature in the night...
Our little frog friend had come back to see us and thought our cool dark stateroom was as good a place as any to hop around in. Unfortunately it hopped on Radar, then walked across Mel's face.

I took it outside and -this time- put it on the dock then closed the gate hoping it would find another playground.
After the adrenaline dissipated; Mel and I went back to sleep; Radar stayed on guard for the rest of the night.

Oh, the perils we face while braving this adventurous life we lead.

Adios,


Istaboa

Another good boat dog

Pretty cool footage of an Iceberg collapsing offshore of Labrador. The dog seems to be enjoying his day at sea. Watch his tail wag.




Is it me or does this guy really sound like Kermit the Frog?

A personal observation:  Here we are in sunny Florida and I keep posting about boats in the ice. Weird.

Not exactly a pleasure cruise.

Since we're not doing much here in Stuart other than passively enjoying ourselves and about the only adventure we've had recently was last night's dinner at a bad Tex-Mex restaurant; we'll point you in another direction for a little excitement.

The crew on Bagan are having one intense boat ride.

Cut from Bagan's blog:

The next morning we awoke to find that we had, of all things, drifted our way south 7 miles. With renewed energy and refreshed determination we once again set about using this good ship as an ice breaker. By three that afternoon we had broken our way clear into thinner and less dense ice packs. Simply put, I would not have tried any of this if I had not been on a Nordhavn. Her strength and integrity is unsurpassed and it’s no exaggeration when I say she, and she alone, got us out of a situation that was in a lifetime of boating worse than anything I’ve experienced to date. No qualms about saying that at times I’d never been more terrified or more despondent. I think that at one point or another we all were and the amazing thing about this crew is that we pressed on regardless and did our best to keep these feelings of abject horror to ourselves. I’m very, very thankful to be posting this as I am and in the last few days have learned more about myself than all my combined fifty-eight years have taught me. Hands down, the best crew, for the best boat on the best trip.

incredible testament to the build of the 57 Nordhavn.

If you're not, we strongly suggest you follow this blog. It's really getting good.

I can't wait to see this documentary.

Adios,


Istaboa

How to make a Hurricane.

The eye of Hurricane Bill

3 Minute clip that explains it all... We need to find this little girl and tell her to stop doing that.

Birth of a Hurricane

Adios,


Istaboa

No blows for now.

We were very happy to see the storms, Ana and Bill, turn in to non-threats... for us anyway. But tis the season so a watchful eye will always be out. The weather prognosticators are all watching something off of Africa. Some are predicting Ana will reform in the Gulf of Mexico and threaten those to the west of us. Time will tell.

Wonder how that anchor holds?
Probably sleepless nights.

Meanwhile, the crew of Bagan are way up north and breaking ice to make way. Not much worry of tropical storms up there but...

Cut from Bagan's blog:

After reading ice charts and making our way fairly smoothly down Peel Sound for the past few weeks, three days ago Mother Nature decided to shake things up a bit. Not only did we have to push, plow, and break our way through ice, we also had fog and zero breeze (which didn’t help move the ice). Our radar was one big green blob, and we could only find leads heading the opposite direction we wanted to go!

Read more here...

Push, Plow, and Break Through Ice

For us here in Stuart? life remains good.

Adios,


Istaboa

R.I.P. Jim Dickinson

Jim Dickinson
1941-2009
I'm just dead, I'm not gone.

Famed musician/producer Jim Dickinson died on Saturday at the age of 67.

Cut from Livewire.com

One of the pioneers who helped define the Memphis sound—a mixture of rock, country, R&B and soul—and the father of Luther and Cody Dickinson, two-thirds of the Grammy-nominated North Mississippi Allstars, Dickinson’s career highlights are numerous and span over four decades: he recorded the Rolling Stones’ “Wild Horses” in Muscle Shoals, Alabama; formed the Atlantic Records house band The Dixie Flyers to record with Aretha Franklin and other R&B legends; inspired a legion of indie rock bands through his work with Big Star; collaborated with Ry Cooder on a number of movie scores, including Paris, Texas; and played with Bob Dylan on his Grammy-winning return to prominence, Time Out of Mind. He recorded with and produced greats like Aretha Franklin, Lucero, Mudhoney, The Replacements, T Model Ford and Sam & Dave. Dickinson released his final album, Dinosaurs Run in Circles, in May.

Cut from the Memphis Commercial Appeal:

What Dickinson understood was both the impermanence of his own life and the enduring power of the music he made. It’s a sentiment reflected in the epitaph he chose for himself: I’m just dead, I’m not gone.

--------------------------------------------------------


Pretty much every Memphis musician who ever worked around Jim Dickinson has a few Dickinson stories.

Mine goes...

The band I was working with, circa mid 70's, was splitting a gig with Jim; Mudboy and the Neutrons I believe, down on Beale Street before it's rebirth. On our break we all snuck out back to relax in my luxurious 1970 Plymouth van. I remember feeling honored to have the infamous Jim Dickinson hanging out with us.
I had just returned to Memphis after a long stint in New Orleans and was lucky enough to be playing with one of the world's most famous unknown Memphis blues guitar players, Glenn Cammack, along with the funky Phil Durham on drums, and singer/songwriter/piano playin' George Parks.
Dickinson was holding court to a pile of us there in the back end of that van, telling stories about songwriters and other artists when he smiled and said (of course I paraphrase), "Man, I like your band. It's like New Orleans funk covered in Memphis blues guitar, that's crazy! Kinda like Barbecue Oysters." We all cracked up, put it out, then went back to finish the gig.
Actually, he said a lot more but we won't go into all that here.

I wasn't around Jim much after that and had filed my little memory of Jim Dickinson under -funny old musician stuff- until I heard news of his death. in hindsight I have to say, he was right, we were like Barbecue Oysters. Interesting, pretty good, but not for everyone.
The man had a way with words that was a bit acerbic, but with sweet, and damn funny undertones. Like the real Memphis music. The kind you don't hear anymore.

Dickinson always had an opinion if you liked it or not. Most times I didn't understand what the hell he was about. But... He was and will always be authentic. He was a one of the ones that put the Memphis in Memphis Music.
He will be missed by many, in many ways.

Worth reading.

The Gibson Interview

Adios,


Istaboa

Not what we were hoping for...

But you play the cards you're dealt.

We were playing down this first storm, now called Ana, then out of the blue comes Bill right behind her. Bill is being predicted to become a full blow Hurricane in the next couple of days. Not sure yet how we're going to react to this new situation but we are a bit pensive to say the least. Working on Plan A, B, and C right now. We will all know more tomorrow.

In the meantime, we have been enjoying Stuart. Had drinks and dinner last night aboard Sand Pebble. She's an interesting boat, a steel trawler built in China. Nice company that we will go into more about later.

Not much to do about the storm thing.
So... guess it's time to drink a bit.


Adios,


Istaboa