Friends of... s/v Uliad
One of the great joys of the cruising life is all of the interesting people we meet along the way. One of the great tragedies is that often as soon as an attachment develops, cruising plans deviate and we find ourselves saying goodbye. At least temporarily...for we frequently find ourselves anchored together again in another harbor somewhere else. It is like mingling at a cocktail party, only on a global scale.
You've probably heard me referring to "our friends on such and such boat" over and over again in our logs. Many of these friends keep their own web logs of their travels. So if you find someone interesting that we're talking about, or if you just like reading sailing logs, here are a few of the more memorable folks we've met along the way.
(Click on the boat name to go to their website.)
Tom & Amy live aboard their catamaran in Georgetown. I read their blog for years before we went sailing and enjoyed meeting them in person even more than reading about them. If you ever have computer problems in the Exumas, Tom is the person to make friends with.
We found kindred spirits in Otis and Jenny. They were on the fast track to riches in New York City before deciding to give it all up for adventure and time for each other. Their children, Ben and Sammy are a case study in how two siblings can be such opposites. While 5 year old Ben is neat and cautious, 2 year old Sam is boisterous and unflappable, always with a devilish smile and a smear of food + sand across his face. They quickly became Em's beach buddies.
Shannon and Kathy sold their successful business to sail off into paradise in a beautiful Alden ketch. We travelled with them through much of the windward and leeward islands of the Caribbean. 10 year old Caroline became great friends with Emmett. 2 year old Violet was entralled with Emmett and wanted to follow him everywhere (much to his constant annoyance). Travelling with them, Em has learned the good and bad parts of what it would be like to have sisters!
Hans & Kristen are a young couple who spent 18 months cruising the caribbean on a tiny boat after college. Their story demonstrates that you don't have to wait until you're retired or have a bunch of money to follow the dream of cruising.
Dan his crew have nerves of steel and hearts of gold, having found a way to explore the world on a tiny boat and do good works wherever they go.
Smiley, a Luperon Cruiser's Best Friend:
Smiley doesn't have a website, but you can click above for his photo. Smiley is a stray who lives on the streets of Luperon. As best as we can tell, she lives off the scraps he finds in the bin where cruisers dump their trash. She doesn't have much, but she's deeply appreciative for what she gets.
Whereas most stray dogs are wary of people, Smiley is always ready to greet you at the dock with, yes, a big smile. Then she'll escort you through the streets of the town and be absolutely thrilled if you'd bend down to pet her. She loves gringos--the office of tourism couldn't ask for a better ambassador. And if you bring in a bag of garbage, he'll probably wait politely until you're gone before jumping up into the bin to see what you left.
Graphic Design by Round the Bend Wizards
