Social sailors

I've had some great experiences since Waltzing Matilda and I first set out, most have been brought about by the wonderful people that I have met and who have befriended me. Recently I have crossed paths with folks that I have met before. A big fancy yacht came into the anchorage and hailed me on the radio to ask how intense the bugs were at night, we got to chatting a bit on the radio and the next day they came over to my boat to introduce themselves and get some tips about local services. They invited me to join them in a rented car and drive the length of the island to see the sights. I readily agreed and was able to point out interesting things until we got further south than I have been. We drove about an hour south and stopped at a yacht club in Fresh Creek for afternoon drinks. I mentioned that I was a member of Harbor Landing Yacht Club out of Ocean Springs Mississippi and the car was filled with laughter, turns out one of the crew members is from Ocean Springs and a member of Poor Boys Yacht Club, located right next to Harbor Landing. We got to chatting about Mississippi and the great folks in Ocean Springs, I was sad to learn that the folks that treated me so well and rescued Waltzing Matilda are closing their business.

Matti and I went to greet a ketch that sailed into the harbor and before we could get close the crew yelled out “Mattie!”, turns out they were a young couple that I met in Key West, they remembered Mattie and me as “the guy that walks Mattie”. They invited me on board for and we chatted about people we both knew, keeping up on other friends whereabouts. I knew that they had kin in Pensacola and they mentioned that they were going to meet up with his dad who was in the Bahamian Islands on his boat Valkyrie. I put things together and knowing that the first cruising couple I met sold their sailboat of the same name in Pensacola I asked if Valkyrie was a Pearson-Rhodes ketch, turns out this Valkyrie is a 75 foot power yacht that I first encountered in Marathon FL. I noticed it then not because of the gleaming bright work but the cute woman covered in sawdust working on it. When Valkyrie arrived in Morgan's Bluff we were invited aboard to cook the mess of fish and huge lobsters caught from the most amazing reef I have ever snorkeled. I caught a lobster that was so big I couldn't swim with the weight of it, the tail was longer than a beer bottle.

I've finally gotten better at spear fishing and found that snappers have blind spot directly over their heads, I wait above the hole that they are hanging out in and when they stick their head out to look around, WHAM, I spear them through the top of the head then get them out of the water and into the boat before the sharks notice the sound and smell of a dying fish. I haven't had to worry about the sharks too much, they usual aren't very big and fairly docile, but there was one big 15 foot shark that got into a staring contest with one of our fishing crew

I recently needed to get some metal work done on a winch that I salvaged from a wreck and I was directed to the Mennonite farm about 10 miles south of where I am anchored, I easily found the farm as it was the only one that didn't have piles of dirty disposable diapers and trash all over the yard. They had a great shop set up capable of automotive, truck and tractor repair as well as a small machine/welding shop. The work that I needed should have only taken a few moments but things never work out that way, it took about 45 minuets and the smithy only charged me $15. I've found that when metal workers discover that I am in the same guild they cut me a good deal, professional courtesy I suppose.

I really enjoy Morgan's Bluff but I need to be heading back to the states soon, hurricane season is starting in just a few weeks, Skatopia is beckoning, finances are dwindling and Waltzing Matilda is feeling smaller than ever. I'm quite proud to be the smallest boat in the anchorage and the other cruisers are amazed at my stories resulting in many free meals but I want to go further, deeper, into more remote areas and Waltzing Matilda is a day sailer. I'm starting to tire of single handing as well, so many things would be so much easier with a crew mate aboard, but the type of crew mate I want usually doesn't like using a bucket for a toilet and standing upright in the cabin would be an amazing feature to have. Waltzing Matilda is in such good condition now, lots of gear and good sails, but the amount of modifications I would have to do to her to make her blue water ready is so extensive that I feel it would be easier and more cost effective to get a larger boat that is closer to an ocean going vessel than this cute little day sailer.