purple pink guck

I jumped out of the dingy into the water after mommy. I began swimming, taking in mouthfuls of water as I went. We had a not-too-long swim to get to the rocks where we would get out. In a few minutes I crashed onto a rock skinning my left shin and right knee. Once the wave had tumbled back into the sea, we got up and scrambled over to where the waves could not reach. I immediately took up the lead, we climbed over a cave-shaped opening. After about 6 minutes, I noticed some vomit colored dried guck..
. . .
Now, if you believe that anything gross is cool I think it's time you see guck. If only it didn't look so much like stale vomit. The sponginess helps but it's going a little overpowered. Think about it, five inches above sand is a little overestimated. If only it was purple with pink spots, or pink stripes, I would have been making guck castles, rolling around in it, and doing anything else I could think of.

To anyone who has time to listen

Learning to surf in Santa Maria Bay

Interview with Maya

Where are you now? What is it like?

I'm in Bahia Santa Maria. There are blue crabs in a lagoon, sting rays, and purple pink guck.

What's guck?

Guck is guck. The guck I'm talking about is spongy. I'm going to write a story about it.

What have you been doing at Santa Maria?

I've been eating, sleeping, and boogy boarding, surfing, fishing with Kai, and spending Sand Dollars.

How do you spend Sand Dollars?

To spend Sand Dollars, I see a dollar and tell Kai to go get it. Then I lose Kai's attention. I find the Sand Dollars at the beach. They're not hard to find on shell beach.

Tell me about some of the other shells you've been collecting?

There's a pretty one I found yesterday. It's white and very strong and how you would imagine a nice shell to look like.

What do you do for fun on the boat?

I swing on the bimini. I climb the jib. Why is the bimini called the bimini? (Tim answers that its named after Bimini Island near the Bahamas where there's lots of sun.)

How do you like surfing?

I like it. I can stand up.

What are you going to do with all these shells?

Keep a collection and I have a notebook with all their names.

What books have you read since you started your voyage on Kamaya?

I'm reading the Warrior series: Fire and Ice, Forest of Secrets, Rising Storm, and I'm reading the fifth book, A Dangerous Path. I also read Inkspell and Inkdeath and The Mysterious Benedict Society. I'm also reading A Wind in the Door and I'm reading Brisingr with Mom.

What's been your favorite book?

I don't really have a favorite book. They're all different. Ones about a cat, another about going inside human beings and another about good dragon riders and bad dragon riders.

Are you writing a lot?

Yes.

What are you writing about?

I'm writing a book, but I haven't really figured out what's it called or what it's about. I do know a few characters.

Do you miss school?

No, not really. I miss the people, but not the stuff.

Pondering Elections and the Internet

This post is sent via Single Side Band radio to our friend Chris who will post it on our blog.

During this morning's boat schooling lesson, we learned about some of the Civil Rights leaders, including Susan B. Anthony, Rosa Parks and Jackie Robinson. Martin Luther King didn't get into the discussion because Maya and Kai protested, saying they've studied him too many times in school. Although it feels like we're isolated from the US in Bahia Santa Maria (about 2/3rd of the way down the Baja peninsula), Obama's victory makes us proud to fly the American flag. His win is a symbol that if you put your mind to it and work really hard, no matter what your color of skin is, and with the stars aligned correctly, you just may become President of the United States.

But I also have a huge pain in my side as we also learned that the stars weren't aligned for my brother Ethan who worked really hard and is a born leader. Unfortunately, he was unable to persuade the state of Alaska to vote him in as their Representative in the US Congress. I haven't been able to talk with Ethan because we are in the middle of nowhere, but last I heard the polls had him ahead, so his loss comes as a surprise. It's also surprising that the Great State of Alaska would vote Senator Ted Stevens, a convicted felon, back into office. But perhaps in retrospect all this isn't that surprising since there are more churches than bars in Alaska and they have Sarah Palin at the helm.

Getting election results last night was challenging. Yesterday, after sailing overnight from Punta Ascunscion, we rejoined the 100 plus fleet of the Baja Ha Ha in Bahia Santa Maria. All of us tuned into the VHF Marine radio and a few boats were able to use email over the Single Side Band radio and also obtain some news from the radio and then they would relay the news to all of us. Our radio wasn't as powerful. So instead of being glued to the television like I have in previous elections, I was frustrated and glued to the VHF.

Which brings me to another related topic -- communication and information at our finger tips - - something which most of us have, but here on the boat it's not as accessible. It's bittersweet. I love being able to google, check my email, and surf the web. When I first got aboard the Kamaya, I'd look around to check my cell phone or access internet and then I'd stop myself because that's not what always possible. And then -- here comes the sweet part -- forgoing time on the phone and Internet means that I have more time to do other things. Does it really matter that I know immediately what happens in the world? How much do I need to know? How many hours a day do you spend on the computer? With minimal access to the world wide web, I find that I have more time.

Nevertheless, it's an historic time in the US and the world and I certainly wish I could surf the net or read the newspaper. I can't wait to hear all the details. I still don't know who won in Oregon.

Ruth's Ramblings

Last night for Halloween in Turtle Bay, Kai dressed up as Indiana Jones and Maya was a Star Wars pirate with a light sabor. They trick or treated boat to boat with our dinghy and came back with a bag full of delicious candy.
We've been slowly sailing our way south, catching yellowtail tuna, dorado and lots of bonita along the way. As Kai's story relates, as soon as he put the bait in the blue ocean, a fish bit. The simpler life agrees with us -- we're getting into a rhythm, the boat is sailing well, the spinnaker flying and the kids are actually learning in between fishing, dinghying and sailing. I'll ramble some more in a few days. We set sail this afternoon to catch up with the 100 or so Baja Ha Ha boats that we joined at Turtle Bay. It was great for the kids to meet other boat children.
We'll cross our fingers for positive results for the election... in the meantime..Fish On!

Fishing

Once I went fishing on Kamaya. And I was starting to put the fishing pole in the water and then I caught a fish. I told my mom, "Fish On," and she thought I was joking, but I wasn't. I was reeling it in and Maya was reeling it in too. Then we got it in. Unluckily it was a bonita and we threw it back.