O Is For Old Salt | Nancy Drew Investigates {A To Z Challenge}

During April, we're participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Every day (except Sundays), we'll be doing an alphabet themed post starting with "A is for Anchor" and ending with "Z is for Zodiac." Each post is an installment of "Nancy Drew Investigates the Case of the Missing Anchor" - so you may want to read the posts from the beginning, in order to follow along with the story (click here for the first post and here for an index of all the posts). At the end of each post, you'll also find some random thoughts on the day's particular topic. So, if Nancy isn't your thing, feel free to skip the story and go straight to the end.    

****

When we last left you, Don and Judy told the girls about sailing to the Bahamas and Nancy filled Shelley and Marvin in on the conversation between Captain Gus and the man from Party Time.

****

As the girls made their way to the dinghy dock, George felt something brush against her leg. She looked down and saw a tiny tortoiseshell kitten with a crooked tail staring up at her curiously. George reached down to scoop up the kitten, but she jumped away quickly doing a sort of somersault in the process. “Isn’t she adorable? I wonder what her name is.”

“I know,” said Nancy with a smile. “Let’s call her Little Georgie because she does judo moves just like you.”
“I wish we could take her home with us. I wonder who she belongs to,” said George as she looked around the dock.

As they were watching the frisky kitten’s antics, an older man, with a full white beard, pipe and a captain’s hat came up to them. He looked like a real old salt. All that was missing was an eye patch and a peg leg. “What are you doing with my cat?” he asked with a gruff voice.

“Is she your cat?” asked Nancy. “She’s cute as a button. What’s her name?

“I call her Blackbeard, on account of the black markings around her mouth. She has to earn her keep though and keep mice off of my boat.”

“Oh, which boat is yours?”

“It’s called Xebec. I run Xebec Charters out of Pine Tree Bay. Maybe you’ve heard of it. We do fishing charters during the summer.”

“You must be Captain Gus,” said Nancy with a smile. “I’ve heard all about you. Actually, we were thinking of organizing a charter trip for our boyfriends when they’re on summer break from Emerson College. Some friends of ours have chartered with you before as well and said they had a great time. They also mentioned a young man who works for you - I think his name is Pete.”

“Pete’s my nephew. He helps out occasionally, but right now he’s busy with other things.”

“Yes, now I remember. They said that Pete sells used marine equipment.” Nancy said innocently. “I bet he’s doing a good business. Did you hear about all the stuff that got stolen from the marina in Pine Tree Bay a few days ago? Lots of folks are going to need to replace their stolen items. Do you know if Pete is here at the regatta? Maybe I could introduce him to a few folks.”

Captain Gus looked at Nancy suspiciously and said gruffly, “I don’t know where Pete is. Whatever he gets up to isn’t my business and it shouldn’t be your business either.” He bent down, scooped up Blackbeard and headed off to his dinghy in a rush.

“Did you see how nervous he looked when you were asking him about Pete?” asked George. “I think we’re on to something!”

Tune in on Tuesday for the next installment of Nancy Drew Investigates – P is for Plane.

****

Little Georgie on the left and Big Georgie, the Adventure Cat, on the right. Although, Little Georgie isn't all that little anymore, but my sister hasn't sent me any recent photos. What kind of auntie is that?

My sister wanted C to be for cat (our whole family is full of crazy cat ladies) but I already had catamaran lined up. To make it up to her, I featured her cat, Georgie, in a cameo role in today's installment. I was visiting her in Portland when she adopted little Georgie, with her adorable crooked tail.

I have another Georgie in my life, Georgie the Adventure Cat, who lives with her two humans on a sailboat. When her humans go away, she stays with me on my boat. When her humans come back, I pretend that I don't know them so that I don't have to give Georgie back.

{You can probably tell by now that we don't have a boat cat and we're not going to be getting one anytime soon. I live vicariously through other people's cats.}

Of course, this doesn't have anything to do with today's word - old salt. But, in a way it does. I always imagine those crusty old sailors, who scowl and speak gruffly to everyone, have a soft spot when it comes to kittens. After all, who wouldn't? Can't you just picture Captain Gus cuddling up with Blackbeard and scratching her belly when he thinks no one is watching?

Do you have any pets or wish you did? If so, what kind?

Thanks for stopping by our blog - we love it when people come visit! We're also on Facebook - we'd love for you to pop by and say hi!  

N Is For Nautical Miles | Nancy Drew Investigates {A To Z Challenge}

During April, we're participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Every day (except Sundays), we'll be doing an alphabet themed post starting with "A is for Anchor" and ending with "Z is for Zodiac." Each post is an installment of "Nancy Drew Investigates the Case of the Missing Anchor" - so you may want to read the posts from the beginning, in order to follow along with the story (click here for the first post and here for an index of all the posts). At the end of each post, you'll also find some random thoughts on the day's particular topic. So, if Nancy isn't your thing, feel free to skip the story and go straight to the end.   

****

When we last left you, the girls overheard a suspicious conversation and the man from Party Palace is angry that he hasn't gotten his cut from Captain Gus. Captain Gus assured him that he had a record of what had been stolen and what they sold it for and that he was going to get the money from his nephew Pete soon.

****

“Girls, over here,” said Shelley, motioning to the empty bench near the fire pit. “You remember Don and Judy from Double Jinx, don’t you? They were just telling us about cruising in the Bahamas last year.”

“You went to the Bahamas?” Bess gushed. “Oh, I would love to go there one day. All of those tropical beaches and crystal clear water. What was it like?”

“Oh it was wonderful,” said Judy. “We have another sailboat, which we store in a marina in southern Florida. Each winter, we take her over to the Bahamas and get a break from all of the snow and cold weather up here. Are you a keen sailor?” she asked, looking at Bess.

“Me? No, I don’t know the first thing about sailing,” Bess replied.

“Or tying knots,” George mumbled under her breath.

Bess ignored George and continued, “This is my first time out on a sailboat. I’ve only been on it for a couple of days. I can’t imagine sailing to some place like the Bahamas. How far away is it?”

“Well, from Lake Worth, where we stage ourselves for the crossing, it’s about 78 nautical to Mangrove Cay in the Abacos.”

“How long did the crossing take you?” George interjected. “I’m hoping to sail over to the Bahamas next year with my aunt and uncle.”

“I can’t remember? How many hours was it, honey?” Judy asked turning to her husband.

“Hmm…I think it took us around 21 hours that time. It was one of our longer crossings. The current in the Gulf Stream was pretty strong and we ended up having to motor most of the way.”

“21 hours? But wouldn’t that mean that you would have had to sail in the dark?” asked Bess with a perplexed look on her face. “What if you ran into something? Didn’t you get tired? I bet you needed a lot of snacks to stay awake that whole time.”

Don chuckled and said, “Yes, we had to sail in the dark, but that’s why one person is always on watch to keep a lookout for other boats. The other person gets to nap while they’re not on watch.”

Judy added, “I made plenty of snickerdoodle cookies so that whoever was on watch had something to snack on. Well, anyway, we better get going. We’ll see you all tomorrow at the barbeque and we can tell you more about the Bahamas then.”

As Don and Judy waved goodbye and headed off to their dinghy, Nancy told Marvin and Shelley about the conversation they had overheard between the man from Party Palace and Captain Gus from Xebec Charters.

“This is starting to sounds dangerous, Nancy,” said Shelley with a worried look on her face.

“Oh, don’t worry about us. When one of the guys tried to grab Nancy, you should have seen the judo move that George used on him!” Bess looked proudly at her cousin. “No one messes with George.”

“Investigating this case still sounds risky to me. Marvin, why don’t we go over and let the Commodore of the yacht club know what’s been going on so that they can keep an eye out for any criminal activity.” Shelley turned to the girls. “Let’s meet back at the dinghy in twenty minutes and head back to the boat for the night.”

As Marvin and Shelley walked away, Nancy thought to herself that it was a good thing that she hadn’t told anyone about the threatening note that had been left on her car back at the marina. What would they think if they knew someone had threatened her with a watery grave?

Tune in on Monday for the next installment of Nancy Drew Investigates – O is for Old Salt.

****

Chart showing our some of our sailing adventures in the Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand. On these particular three days, we did 95 nautical miles. The toilet seat also broke and slid out from underneath me while I was using it. True story.

Just to complicate things, there are miles and then there are nautical miles. If you want all of the backstory and complicated diagrams, head on over to Wikipedia. If not, here's what you need to know - nautical miles are bigger than regular miles. Actually, you probably don't need to know that. It's not like it's something they ask you when you're in Starbucks getting a latte.

We like to keep track of our nautical miles. Scott has over 11,000 under his belt and I have somewhere around 2,500. This is small potatoes compared to most avid sailors, especially for me. We keep track of them because: (1) I like spreadsheets and data entry (sad but true); (2) we're nerds; and (3) if you want to get certain sailing qualifications or endorsements (like RYA Yachtmaster), then you need to have ticked off a certain number of miles.

We keep a logbook and record how many nautical miles we've done each day, along with other fascinating tidbits like what we had for breakfast, where we sailed to/from, how many dolphins we saw, the weather, who won at gin rummy, whose turn it is to do the washing up etc. Okay, we don't really put all of that in there. A log book could be used as an official document of sorts, so we try to keep ours kind of serious. Although, I have been known to draw octopus doodles in it from time to time.

{For those of you who read the caption on the image above and want to know more about the broken toilet seat, click here.}

Is there anything you keep a record of (like nautical miles sailed or number of Girl Scout cookies eaten in one sitting)?

Thanks for stopping by our blog - we love it when people come visit! We're also on Facebook - we'd love for you to pop by and say hi!  

M Is For Mooring | Nancy Drew Investigates {A To Z Challenge}

During April, we're participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Every day (except Sundays), we'll be doing an alphabet themed post starting with "A is for Anchor" and ending with "Z is for Zodiac." Each post is an installment of "Nancy Drew Investigates the Case of the Missing Anchor" - so you may want to read the posts from the beginning, in order to follow along with the story (click here for the first post and here for an index of all the posts). At the end of each post, you'll also find some random thoughts on the day's particular topic. So, if Nancy isn't your thing, feel free to skip the story and go straight to the end.  

****

When we last left you, Nancy and her friends discovered another suspicious boat, called Party Palace, which appears to belong to the same person as the suspicious white catamaran which tried to ram them and another boat and was involved in a dinghy theft.

****

“Wow, wasn’t that just thrilling?” Nancy asked as she came back into the cockpit after taking down the mainsail. “That was such an exciting race!”

“You girls did a wonderful job keeping the sails trimmed,” Marvin said, his eyes shining with excitement. “It was close, but we beat Double Jinx to the finish line. Now, we just have to do the same again on the race back to Pine Tree Bay on Monday and that trophy will be ours.”

Shelley smiled fondly at her husband’s need to win every race. “Nancy, do you want to go out onto the bow and pick up the mooring ball? Once we get settled in, we’ll head over to the marina for drinks with the other regatta participants.”

Nancy grabbed the mooring hook, headed up to the bow and pointed at the mooring ball so that Marvin would know which way to steer the boat. Expertly picking up the ball, Nancy tied it off to the boat and looked across at Grande Isle. The north side of the island, where they were moored, had a large, protected anchorage with a small marina, clubhouse and patio area, surrounded by several quaint vacation homes. Nancy knew from previous trips to the island that the south side of the island was less popular with boaters, as the anchorage offered meager protection from the prevailing winds.

This time, when they got their dinghy alongside the dock at the marina, Shelley tied off the painter, so as not to replicate a Bess Special knot again. Bess looked sheepishly on, but then brightened up when she heard Shelley say that there would be light refreshments served along with drinks at the marina.

At the reception, Nancy, Bess and George helped themselves to tall glasses of lemonade and hors d’oeuvres while Marvin and Shelley took their drinks over to talk with some friends from the yacht club. Bess piled some more cheese and crackers on her plate and looked out across the patio. “Look at the guy over there. Isn’t he dreamy? Why don’t we go over and sit near him and his friends.”

“Oh, Bess, you’re such a flirt. What would Dave say if he knew that you were making eyes at other guys,” said George.

“Well, he isn’t here, is he? And, it’s not like we’re going steady.” As Bess walked over towards their table, Nancy grabbed her by her elbow and said, “Wait a minute. One of those guys that he’s sitting next to has a shirt which says Party Palace on it. He’s getting up and going off with that older gentleman with the captain’s hat on. Come on, I want to hear what they’re saying.”

Nancy and George hurried off down the path behind them, while Bess looked wistfully back at the table where her dreamy guy sat. “Quick, duck behind here so they don’t see us,” whispered Nancy pointing to a shed.

Crouched down behind the shed, they saw the younger man with the Party Palace shirt gesture angrily at the older man. “Listen here, Captain Gus. I’m tired of doing all of the dirty work for you and not getting paid. It’s about time that you coughed up my share of the dough.”

Captain Gus hissed, “Keep your voice down laddie. It’s not my fault you haven’t been paid. It’s that nephew of mine, Pete. He’s been holding out on me, but I’m going to get square with him this weekend. I’ve got a list of everything that’s been sold and what it’s been sold for. I’m going to get the money Pete owes me off of him and then you’ll get your cut.”

“Fine, but if I don’t see my share, I’m warning you, something bad is going to happen” said the younger man as he stalked off.

Just then, Bess slipped and fell against the shed, crying out when she hurt her elbow. George put her hand over Bess’s mouth and whispered, “Keep quiet or he might hear you.” Captain Gus looked around him, but when he didn’t hear anything further, he pulled a pipe out of his jacket, lit it and walked back to the patio.

“Phew, that was close,” said Nancy. “Come on, we better get back to the party and tell Marvin and Shelley what we heard.”

As the girls made their way back along the dark path, someone reached out from the shrubs and tried to grab Nancy. George quickly jumped behind the assailant and threw him to the ground using one of her judo moves. “Quick, let’s get out of here!” shouted Bess as she grabbed Nancy and George’s hands and pulled them behind her.

Tune in on Saturday for the next installment of Nancy Drew Investigates – N is for Nautical Miles.

****

Mooring field in Tobemory, Scotland. 

You can think of a mooring ball as a sort of permanent anchor. The "anchor" part rests on the bottom with a line (pennant) attached to it, which is connected to a ball that floats on the surface. Mooring balls are used in areas where anchoring might damage coral underneath, where the bottom isn't suitable for anchoring, where the water might be too deep or to cram more boats in the available space.

Some people avoid picking up a mooring ball because they're not sure if they can trust it. The line might be chafed, the "anchor" at the bottom might not be big enough to hold your boat, the hardware might be about to break etc. They'd rather rely on their own anchor and chain, which they know, rather than something they don't know.

We occasionally picked up mooring balls in New Zealand and we picked one up once when we were making our way to the Bahamas and our windlass wasn't working. I'm the designated mooring ball picker-upper. I wish I had Nancy's poise and grace when picking up a mooring ball, but I do get the job done. Eventually. It involves a boat hook and leaning over the bow to pick a floating ball up out of the water. The ball likes to float right out of the way, at least for me. Coordination is required. In my case, multiple attempts are required.

Why is it Nancy is an expert in everything and makes it all look effortless? You'd hate her if she wasn't so darn nice and clever. Bess, now there's a girl I can relate to.

If you're a boater, do you prefer to anchor or pick up a mooring ball? And this question is open to everyone - who do you relate to the most - Nancy, Bess or George?

Thanks for stopping by our blog - we love it when people come visit! We're also on Facebook - we'd love for you to pop by and say hi!  

L Is For Lazy Jacks | Nancy Drew Investigates {A To Z Challenge}

During April, we're participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Every day (except Sundays), we'll be doing an alphabet themed post starting with "A is for Anchor" and ending with "Z is for Zodiac." Each post is an installment of "Nancy Drew Investigates the Case of the Missing Anchor" - so you may want to read the posts from the beginning, in order to follow along with the story (click here for the first post and here for an index of all the posts). At the end of each post, you'll also find some random thoughts on the day's particular topic. So, if Nancy isn't your thing, feel free to skip the story and go straight to the end.     

****

When we last left you, Nancy learned that Captain Gus, the owner of Xebec Charters, might be involved in the thefts at the marina and that Pete, the man who sells used marine equipment (possibly stolen), is his nephew.

****

“Wake up sleepy head,” said George as she poked her head into the v-berth. “Hurry up. Breakfast is ready. You’re going to need lots of energy for the big race today.”

“Can’t I just sleep in a little bit longer,” mumbled Bess as she snuggled back under the covers. “I couldn’t sleep a wink. There was this horrible crackling noise all night. It sounded like something was chewing on the outside of boat. I kept trying to tell you about it, but you wouldn’t wake up.”

“You’re right. Something was chewing on the boat,” said George with a mischievous grin. Bess sat up and gasped. “What, you mean there are giant sea creatures out there trying to put a hole in the side of the boat?” “No, you silly goose, they’re tiny shrimp, practically invisible, which like to eat stuff on the hull. For such little creatures, they do make a big racket though.”

Bess got out of bed and went to join the rest of the crew in the salon for breakfast. Her eyes lit up when she saw scrambled eggs, crispy hash browns, bacon, toast and cinnamon rolls dripping with cream cheese frosting. She sat down next to Nancy and started piling food on her plate.

“Dig in girls. We’re going to get underway in a little while and make our way up to the start line for the race to Grande Isle,” said Marvin as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

Nancy rubbed her hands together in anticipation. “I can’t wait. This is going to be so exciting.” George nodded her head in agreement. “Hopefully, we can use that new spinnaker of yours, Marvin.”

“Well, we’ll see what the conditions are like. But, knowing the competition, I think we have a good chance of winning the trophy this year with our without our spinnaker.” Shelley patted Marvin’s arm and passed him the plate of cinnamon rolls. “Now, now, Marvin, it isn’t about winning, it’s about having a good day out.”

“Sure, honey, it’s all about having a good day out.” Lowering his voice, he whispered to the girls, “But it’s really about bringing home the trophy and showing everyone how it’s done.” Nancy and George smiled at Marvin’s enthusiasm, while Bess helped herself to another cinnamon roll.

“They are delicious, aren’t they dear?” said Shelley to Bess. “I’ll just start clearing things up and we’ll get underway soon.”

A half an hour later, The Scarlet Slipper’s anchor was hoisted and they were underway. “The starting line isn’t far from here,” said Marvin to the girls as they gazed out across Pine Tree Bay. “See, all of those other boats over there? That’s where we’re headed.” Marvin turned the boat into the wind and said to Nancy, “Why don’t you go ahead and hoist the mainsail. Maybe Bess wants to see how it’s done too.”

“Sounds super,” said Nancy as she made her way out of the cockpit and up towards the mast. “Come on Bess, this way.”

“Okay Bess, the first thing we need to do is attach the halyard to the mainsail. Then we’re going to hoist the main by pulling on this line.”

“What line? All I see are ropes.”

“True, these are ropes. But on board, we call them lines, and in some cases, we call them sheets. This braided one is the line we need to hoist which will pull the mainsail up.”

Bess sighed. “This is all too complicated. Maybe I should go back down below and curl back up in the sheets on my bed. Those are the kind of sheets I understand.” She watched in amazement as Nancy expertly attached the halyard, untied the line, hoisted the sail and tied the line back off again at the mast.

“Nancy, what are these ropes, sorry I mean lines, running along this pole here?”

“You mean along the boom and up to the mast? Those are lazy jacks. They make taking down the mainsail a breeze and keep it from falling all over the deck.” Nancy smiled at Bess and said, “They’re perfect for lazy sailors.”

“Now, Nancy,” Bess huffed. “I’m not lazy. I just think things should be simple and, so far, from what I’ve seen of sailing, it sure isn’t simple.”

“Nancy, Bess,” shouted George from the cockpit as she looked through a pair of binoculars. “You should see this boat at the starting line. It’s got a blue dolphin painted on the side, exactly like that white catamaran. And you’ll never guess what’s its name is – Party Palace.”

George handed the binoculars to Nancy. “You’re right, George. It looks like it might belong to the same owners as the catamaran.” Nancy put down the binoculars and puzzled over the coincidence of another boat with the same dolphin logo and the word ‘party’ in its name being seen in the same vicinity as the suspicious white catamaran.

Just then a horn sounded out. “Here we go, girls,” shouted Marvin. “The race has started!”

Tune in on Friday for the next installment of Nancy Drew Investigates – M is for Mooring.

****

The thin, blue lines running alongside our mainsail are our lazy jacks. When we lower the mainsail, it falls in between the lazy jacks, rather than out on the deck. Which makes things so much easier.

It's not easy being short. On our old boat, it wasn't ideal, but manageable. On our new boat, I have to stand on my tippy-toes to attach the halyard to the mainsail, which isn't easy under calm conditions, let alone in rougher ones. I can barely manage to get the sail ties on without contorting myself in strange and unusual positions, again while on my tippy-toes. (Sail ties are like ribbons on a present. They hold the wrapping paper or sail in place until you're ready to open it.)

While I haven't figured out a way to make things easier when it comes to the halyard and sail ties (other than have Scott do everything, which isn't a bad idea, come to think of it), I have discovered that lazy jacks are a godsend. They make taking down the mainsail so much easier. Instead of desperately trying to fold the sail neatly on the mast and tie it with pretty ribbons (aka sail ties), while standing on my tippy-toes, I just watch it gently fall down into place between the lazy jacks.

Now, why can't everything on a boat be this easy? I'm kind of with Bess on this - things on a boat can be kind of complicated at times.

Is there something that you wish you had an easier way of doing?

Thanks for stopping by our blog - we love it when people come visit! We're also on Facebook - we'd love for you to pop by and say hi!  

K Is For Knot | Nancy Drew Investigates {A To Z Challenge}

During April, we're participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Every day (except Sundays), we'll be doing an alphabet themed post starting with "A is for Anchor" and ending with "Z is for Zodiac." Each post is an installment of "Nancy Drew Investigates the Case of the Missing Anchor" - so you may want to read the posts from the beginning, in order to follow along with the story (click here for the first post and here for an index of all the posts). At the end of each post, you'll also find some random thoughts on the day's particular topic. So, if Nancy isn't your thing, feel free to skip the story and go straight to the end.     

****

When we last left you, Nancy and her friends had anchored in Moonstone Castle Cove to see if they could help the crew of Double Jinx. Bess also offered to tie the dinghy to the jetty. For some reason, no one seemed to think this was a bad idea, especially given her track record with all things sailing.

****

“Bess, wait until you hear this,” said Nancy as Bess came towards them. “This is Mark and Judy from Double Jinx. They saw the guy who stole their dinghy. He had a scraggly beard and was wearing a red baseball hat with Xebec written on the front. Sound familiar?”

“Golly, Nancy. That sounds just like the same guy we had that nasty run-in with at the boat yard and who forced us into shallow waters where we grounded!” Bess looked at Nancy with wide eyes. “What will he do next? Maybe we should return to River Heights. It would be so much safer being at home than out here on the water!”

“Don’t worry Bess. The Coast Guard has already been alerted about what happened and they’ll be on the lookout for him. In the meantime, Don and Sandra are going to give them a lift back to their boat. They’re all participating in the regatta as well. Isn’t that swell?”

“Before we head back to our boats, tell me, how you girls got mixed up in all of this,” said Mark.

“Didn’t you hear about all of the stuff that was stolen from the marina, including Marvin and Shelley’s anchor?” George pointed over to their boat, The Scarlet Slipper. “It happened just the other day and they had to get a replacement anchor at last minute.”

“We were lucky that they had a Rocna anchor in the size we needed,” said Shelley with a smile.

“A Rocna. That’s the kind of anchor we have. Wouldn’t be without it for the world,” said Don.

Judy piped up, “That’s what we have as well! I sleep so much better with our Rocna. I was even thinking of writing an article about it for the yacht club’s newsletter. Maybe they would give us a free anchor to raffle off in exchange for the publicity.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” said Mark. “That’s wishful thinking. Companies that sell anchors and marine products never give anything away for free. You would be lucky to even get a discount. Although, it would be nice considering how expensive they are.”

“We picked ours up for a great price. It was a real steal, wasn’t it, dear?” asked Sandra. “What was the name of that guy who sold it to us?”

“His name was Pete. Nice enough young chap. We met him when we went out on a fishing trip with Xebec Charters. His uncle, Captain Gus, runs the charter business. Crotchety old guy, but he sure does know the waters around here.” Don stared off into the distance, daydreaming about catching snapper.

“That’s right. Pete was helping his uncle out that day. Anyway, he got us a super deal on our Rocna.” Sandra turned to Mark and Judy. “Why don’t I give you his contact details? He might be able to sort you out with a replacement dinghy.”

“Sure, that sounds great.” Mark looked over at the setting sun. “We should probably be heading back to the boat before the sun goes down.” He turned to Nancy and her friends. “Thanks again for stopping by to check on us. We’ll see you tomorrow at Grande Isle after the race.”

As they all made their way up to the jetty, Nancy whispered to Bess and George, “Did you hear that? They were talking about Pete. The guy whose name and number were written on the back of that Xebec Charters business card we found by that white catamaran in the boat yard.”

George nodded, “And that suspicious guy on the catamaran was wearing a Xebec Charters hat. It sounds like they’re all in it together.”

They came up to their dinghy and noticed Marvin staring down with a perplexed look at the painter which Bess had tied to the jetty. It consisted of a series of complex and intricate knots. “Um, Bess, what kind of knots did you say you had been learning? This doesn’t quite look like a clove hitch.”

Bess looked down at the knot uncomfortably. “Well, I couldn’t quite remember how to tie a clove hitch. So, I figured the more knots, the better.”

Nancy smiled and said, “Let’s just call this one the Bess Special knot. It’s one of a kind, just like you.”

Tune in on Monday for the next installment of Nancy Drew Investigates – L is for Lazy Jacks.

****

Lots and lots of line. Try tying knots in these bad boys blindfolded with people yelling faster, faster at you.

I have a confession to make - I hate tying knots. I'm bad at it under pressure (and without pressure of any kind whatsoever, if I'm honest) and it's rather embarrassing.

Actually, let me rephrase that. I have an announcement to make - I hate tying knots and I'm proud of it.

There, now I feel like someone on the Jerry Springer Show. I've taken something that most people would be ashamed of and turned it into a virtue. Now, all I need is my own reality show.

Unfortunately, being able to tie knots quickly and under pressure is an important skill to have on a boat. The Bess Special knot didn't come out of thin air. It's based on a little episode we had on our old boat in New Zealand, where I handcrafted a truly unique knot, which Scott dubbed the Ellen Special.

I recently found a little knot tying kit on the free table at our marina. I guess whoever left it has already mastered all of the 50 need-to-know knots for boaters. More power to them. Maybe they've moved on to diesel engine repair, another skill set I need to acquire. The kit comes with a little length of line and illustrated cards of various knots. It even has challenge cards - you can gain points for each knot you tie correctly.

So, now I spend my nights practicing knots and watching old episodes of Monarch of the Glen, while wearing sweatpants. Glamorous and riveting stuff. Totally has the makings of a reality show, don't you think?

By the way, if the nice folks from Rocna Anchors are reading this (and, if you are - wow! why?), feel free to send me all sorts of lovely swag for the mention. We really do love our Rocna.

What's something you need to learn to do and how are you going to go about doing it?

Thanks for stopping by our blog - we love it when people come visit! We're also on Facebook - we'd love for you to pop by and say hi!  

J Is For Jetty | Nancy Drew Investigates {A To Z Challenge}

During April, we're participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Every day (except Sundays), we'll be doing an alphabet themed post starting with "A is for Anchor" and ending with "Z is for Zodiac." Each post is an installment of "Nancy Drew Investigates the Case of the Missing Anchor" - so you may want to read the posts from the beginning, in order to follow along with the story (click here for the first post and here for an index of all the posts). At the end of each post, you'll also find some random thoughts on the day's particular topic. So, if Nancy isn't your thing, feel free to skip the story and go straight to the end.    

****

When we last left you, the gang was rushing off to Moonstone Castle Cove to see if they could help out another boat which was almost struck by the suspicious white catamaran. 

****

“This is beautiful,” Bess exclaimed as they neared the entrance to Moonstone Castle Cove. A white, sandy beach ran along the cove and, in the distance, Bess could see the ruins of Moonstone Castle surrounded by trees and wildflowers. “It’s hard to believe that anything as peaceful as this island could be the scene of a dinghy theft.”

“Don’t forget that the crew of Double Jinx almost got their boat rammed by that suspicious white catamaran,” said George. “I knew we shouldn’t have let that guy get away after he pushed Nancy down in the boat yard!”

“Oh, it’s okay George. I have a hunch that we’ll crack this case even if he did get away,” said Nancy as she sat down in the cockpit. “Bess, are you excited for your first dinghy ride? After we anchor, we’ll take the dinghy over to that jetty and go talk to the crew of Spider Sapphire.”

The girls watched as their host, Marvin, steered the boat towards the north side of the cove. “Honey, get ready to drop the anchor,” he said to his wife, Shelley, who was up on the bow. Shelley turned back and gave a thumbs up sign. Marvin looked down at the chart plotter and turned the boat slightly to port. “Go ahead and drop her,” he said as he motioned forward with his hand. Shelley pushed down on a button in the anchor locker with her foot, turning on the windlass which lowered the anchor and chain down to the water. They marveled at the hand signals Marvin and Shelley used to communicate while anchoring the boat.

Shelley walked back towards the cockpit. “The anchor looks well set, but let’s wait a while to be sure we don’t drag before we head to shore. Why don’t I get us some iced tea and the rest of those brownies that Hannah sent with Nancy?”

After finishing off the brownies, Marvin lowered the dinghy into the water. “All right girls, everyone climb on in.” Bess looked a bit unsure as she stepped off of the swim platform on the back of the boat into the dinghy, which was bobbing up and down in the water.

“Bess, don’t be such a silly goose. Hop in,” said George as she reached up a hand to help her down. Nancy followed Bess, sitting down next to her and George on the inflatable tube running along one side of the dinghy. Shelley sat down on the other side while Marvin started the outboard engine and pointed them towards the jetty.

As they came alongside the old wooden jetty, Marvin cut off the engine and grabbed the side of the jetty with his hand as the dinghy glided up next to it. “Here’s where we get off. Shelley, why don’t you get out first and tie us off.”

Bess looked at the rope in Shelley’s hand and remembered that George and Nancy had said that it was called a painter. For the life of her she couldn’t figure out why a rope would be named after some sort of artist, especially when it didn’t have anything to do with water colors or oil paints, but she was eager to prove that she had learned something. “Would it be okay if I tied the painter to the dock? I’ve been practicing tying knots as part of my volunteer work with the River Heights Girl Scout troop,” Bess said eagerly as she climbed out of the dinghy.

“Do you know how to tie a clove hitch?” asked Shelley. Bess nodded, took the painter from Shelley and bent down to tie the dinghy to the metal cleat attached to the jetty.

Just then, another dinghy approached the jetty. “Are you from Spider Sapphire?” asked Marvin as he walked over to grab their painter. “We sure are,” said a middle-aged man with brownish red hair. “I’m Don and this is my wife Sandra. Our friends from Double Jinx had their dinghy stolen and we came over to help.”

Marvin nodded. “Yes, we heard about it on the VHF and thought we would come see if there is anything we can do to help as well.”

Sandra, a pleasant looking woman with long brown hair tied back in a ponytail, looked up and said, “That’s so kind of you. Why don’t we all walk down to the beach and find out exactly what happened.”

While everyone was busy with introductions, Bess worked feverishly to tie the dinghy to the jetty. Nancy glanced over. “Bess, are you okay? Do you need a hand?” Bess shook her head and said, “No, I’ve got it. Why don’t you all go on ahead and I’ll join you. I left my cardigan in the dinghy and I want to grab it first.”

Bess watched everyone walk down the dock, looked at the painter in her hand and sighed. “I suppose if I just tie enough knots, it won’t drift away,” she muttered to herself.

“Bess, hurry up!” shouted Nancy from the beach. “The crew of Double Jinx have a description of the man who stole their dinghy."

Tune in on Wednesday for the next installment of Nancy Drew Investigates – K is for Knot.

****

A jetty (or possibly a pier?) at Coromandel wharf in New Zealand. The good thing about New Zealand is that if you fall off of a jetty or a pier and into the water, there aren't any alligators lurking about. In Florida, it's a whole different ball game.

I love Wikipedia. Not so much that I donate to it, but I love it all the same. I learn so many useless facts. Things that are only good for crossword puzzles and cocktail parties. Like this little nugget - the word jetty is derived from the French word, jetée, which means thrown. (By the way, it took some effort to add that accent to the word. Just saying.)

Basically, a jetty is a walkway thrown out over water. After reading that on Wikipedia, I immediately started imagining giants (friendly ones, mind you), carrying large tote bags, crammed full of jetties, and tossing them all over the place. Although, I suspect this isn't what Wikipedia meant. That's why I don't donate to them. Their explanations of things can be rather on the dull side. Whereas, my explanations - so much more interesting.

I bet you can't get that image out of your head - giants wearing khaki vests with lots of pockets for their pencils and slingshots, with a tote bag slung around their shoulders, wading in deep water (deep to you and me, but not deep to them) and creating lovely little walkways for us to wander on.

What's the most imaginative explanation for something that you've ever come up with? I'm sure you've told your teachers and parents some very imaginative excuses in your time. I know I have.

Thanks for stopping by our blog - we love it when people come visit! We're also on Facebook - we'd love for you to pop by and say hi!  

I Is For Island | Nancy Drew Investigates {A To Z Challenge}

During April, we're participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Every day (except Sundays), we'll be doing an alphabet themed post starting with "A is for Anchor" and ending with "Z is for Zodiac." Each post is an installment of "Nancy Drew Investigates the Case of the Missing Anchor" - so you may want to read the posts from the beginning, in order to follow along with the story (click here for the first post and here for an index of all the posts). At the end of each post, you'll also find some random thoughts on the day's particular topic. So, if Nancy isn't your thing, feel free to skip the story and go straight to the end.    

****

When we last left you, a distress call came over the VHF radio alerting Nancy and her friends that a suspicious catamaran had been up to some dodgy tricks again.

****

Marvin switched the VHF back to channel 16 and sat back down at the table. “Steal someone’s dinghy and leave them stranded. Who would do such a thing?”

George turned to Nancy and said, “That sounds just like the catamaran we saw at the boatyard, Party Time. Do you think it could be the same one?”

“It sounds like something we should look into,” said Nancy eagerly. “Where exactly is Moonstone Castle Cove?”

“Oh, it’s not far from here. It’s a lovely anchorage off the north side of Lilac Inn Island” said Shelley as she passed around the plate of brownies. “Marvin, why don’t we head over there next and see if there’s anything we can do to help the crew of the Spider Sapphire.”

While Bess grabbed a second brownie off the plate, Nancy got up to clear the plates from the table. “That sounds perfect. Then we can ask them if they got a closer look at that mysterious white catamaran. Something seems fishy to me.”

“Let me go check and see what the depth of the water is and if we’ve floated off the bottom yet,” said Marvin to Shelley as he headed up on deck. “All right dear, the girls and I will tidy things up down here and be ready to get underway shortly.”

Bess passed the rest of the serving dishes to Nancy. “Lilac Inn Island sounds so romantic. This is exactly what I was hoping sailing was all about. Anchoring off of scenic islands and sunbathing on the beach. It sounds divine.” Bess looked dreamily off through the port light over the settee.

“You’ll love it Bess. I went to Lilac Inn Island last year with Ned on a hiking trip,” said Nancy. “Hannah packed us the most divine picnic lunch. It was such a swell trip.”

The girls finished drying the dishes and putting them away in the cleverly designed cubbyholes which would protect them from breaking while the boat was underway. “Thanks again for such a delicious meal,” said Nancy to Shelley. “My pleasure, dear. Now, why don’t we all give Marvin a hand and get underway.”

Just then the VHF started crackling again. “This is sailing vessel Double Jinx calling all parties. This is sailing vessel Double Jinx calling all parties. Over. Be advised that Party Time, a white catamaran, almost struck us as they came out of Moonstone Castle Cove. They didn’t give way as they should have and we barely got out of the way in time. Over.”

Marvin yelled down, “Hurry up! Let’s get over there and see what’s going on.”

Tune in on Tuesday for the next installment of Nancy Drew Investigates – J is for Jetty.

****

View from Urupukapuka Island out to some of the other islands in New Zealand's beautiful Bay of Islands. Truly spectacular cruising grounds.

There's something romantic about islands. Surrounded on all sides by water, they stand apart from the mainland. A place to escape to, a place to hide away from the real world and recharge. At least that's what I think of when I picture an island in my head. Sometimes, it's a tropical island with a long, white sandy beach nestled among palm tress. Other times, it's a rugged, mountainous island, with sheer cliffs and dense forest. Either one works for me, as long as they provide solitude.

But not all islands are like the ones in my imagination. Just think about the hustle and bustle of Manhattan - that's an island. Or the North Island of New Zealand - a few million people live there. Even Singapore - an entire nation, with all of its cultural diversity, centered on one island.

Islands are like people - so much variety. Some you'll love, some you'd prefer not to visit again. Some are vibrant and loud, some are quiet and serene. There's something for everyone. But, they all need each other, after all, as someone famous once said - "no man is an island" - and as the astronaut, Chris Hadfield, observed - everything fits together if you take a large enough view:

"When you're on one of the Caribbean islands, sometimes it's hard to picture how they all fit in with the rest, but when you see them all joined together like a necklace from space, you see the natural geographic connectedness of them all."

What's your favorite island? What makes it special to you?

Thanks for stopping by our blog - we love it when people come visit! We're also on Facebook - we'd love for you to pop by and say hi!