Journal - 2/20/09

A true open bar... Shelter from the storm...


So we ended up staying four nights at Old Bahama Bay Yacht Club to the tune of $200 total. Not bad considering we absolutely crushed the Friday night open bar from 4-5pm.

A true open bar is hard to find these days. Most open bars restrict patrons to a couple drinks and the service is generally slow. Getting more than a few free drinks becomes an operation. This wasn’t the case at Old Bahama Bay—multiple hot plates of o’dourves, platters of cold beer, any drink on the menu—and speedy service: a deadly combination. Did I mention this was all completely free?!

Needless to say, we really got after it for an hour. Our bill would have easily been in the hundreds of dollars, not to mention the backpack full of beers.

Did we feel guilty? Shit, no. The staff was actively encouraging us to take as much as we could—so we did. I almost felt we would be letting them down by not maintaining the aggressive pace with which we began. Towards the end of the hour I wasn’t even enjoying my drinks…

We topped off the night by stumbling around the property amidst games of bocce ball… bickering over whose ball was closest… finding twigs to measure the inches.

Rest and relaxation was just what we needed after a couple rough nights. By day five at Old Bahama Bay we were ready to set sail once again. Onward to Port Lucaya… in good spirits.


Ian Graham, February 20, 2009

"Today we sail unto the sea, raise a drink for ‘ole Whisky!"

Journal - 2/19/08

A rough night... Eats for a day…

After clearing customs at West End we sailed to the nearest excuse for a cove and dropped anchor. “This will do” we speculated. Initially the waves were calm enough to lull us to sleep, but as the sun went down the boat began to rock.

The boat rocked hard, ninety degrees from left to right the entire night. People were falling out of beds, pots and pans were rattling around the cabin. Throughout the night I would yell out in disgust: “I hate this anchorage!” But there was nothing we could do; we were too tired to move and it was night. The waves would stop for a couple minutes here and there—just long enough to keep us comatose.

The next day…

A couple local fishermen took pity on us when they saw Andrew and Van struggling to prepare a ten-inch fish. We ended up grilling fresh Mahi steaks—best meal we’ve had on the trip…

At the moment we are safely docked in Port Lucaya. Our tasks the last few days have been few: read, sit by da beach, be on time for happy hour specials, and cook. The plan is to continue our stay in Port Lucaya until Sunday when we will sail into the wild of the Berry Islands.

Just wanted to throw a post up. I’ll write about our stay in Lucaya before we head south to get grizzled in the Berry’s.

-Ian Graham, February 19, 2009

“Whiskey Deck, somewhere between a dream and a wreck.”

Journal - 2/10/09

We made it to the Bahamas: feelings of jubilation mixed with post traumatic stress.

I can imagine a casual 30 min plane ride from West Palm Beach to Freeport. We chose to sail-- 60+ miles ocean...

At no point did I fear for my life; the crossing was more like a 16hr bull ride with somebody occasionally hosing you in the face with salt water. When we arrived at West End I hadn't slept for about 24hrs and had flecks of salt caked to my skin and clothes... Upon stepping onto land I couldn't help but bust out a jig/crip walk with my remaining energy.

Probably the scariest moment of the trip was when we were floating 25 miles off shore and lost both power and the engine for about ten minutes... That and the first time we lost sight of land in all directions... and it being night time... Or the huge waves in general.

The best part of the trip besides stepping onto land again, was when we saw land for the first time. I've always wanted to yell, "Land Ho!" under it's intended definition and really mean it (almost tears of joy).

There were also a few moments when we took a breath to enjoy the surroundings: the night sky, the sunrise, or being the only people in sight.

When we asked about the current conditions most experienced sailors said, "I wouldn't do it." We were also told it would be a good idea to go with other boats as a safety precaution.... But after a chat with one brazen sailor who had crossed from the UK, we felt inspired. "Let's do this!" (He said he might cross if he were younger.)

All in all, the crossing was one crazy trip, but we survived. Now time to cruise the shores of the Bahamas...

Oh, and probably the craziest piss I've ever had to take... probably.

-Ian Graham, February 10, 2009

"Whisky Deck, hasn't sunk yet."

Journal - 11/09/2008

For the last two months I've been elbows-deep in my ship's engine... when I'm not in front of my computer playing poker. My lifestyle is not the greatest at the moment (I have zero social life here in Florida); but hard work is the yeast that raises the dough--so I tell myself.

Let me rewind a bit for those friends I haven't spoken to in awhile. Firstly, I just bought a sailboat with money I've made playing poker (glorified word for working in front of a computer). And for those friends I haven't spoken to in a really long time, I am currently working as a poker player-- a professional poker player, if you will... if you must.

The plan is to sail around the Caribbean from January until May and live off the seas! A pretty idealistic and shoddy plan but a plan nonetheless. When the trip is over my crew and I will sail triumphantly into New York City where I will dock for the Summer season (May 1st to Oct 31st). We will celebrate into the night armed with tales of wild adventures and thick beards to boot... on. That is, if the plan goes accordingly.

I'm not quite sure where this idea of sailing came from. But one day, while sitting in my apartment in Boston, I started looking at sailboats online. I glanced up at the brick-wall-view from my window, and for some reason, the idea wouldn't leave me alone. A long dormant dream had awoken.

So before I set sail I need to take care of a few details: First, I had to find a boat. Basically, I got lucky. After an unsucessful month of seaching online; e-mailing contacts; and a few games of phone tag with hard to contact sailor-vagabonds; I decided to walk around a local marina two blocks away as a last-ditch effort.

I see a boat with a 'for sale' sign on it. My first thoughts: no way I will be able to afford this boat--too nice, too big. I called the number listed and the broker said the owner's of the boat had been trying to sell for over a year. Their asking price was already relatively low, but still pretty damn expensive. So I took a chance and made an offer: 65% of their asking price. Two days later, I received a call back from the broker: "the owner's accept your offer..." Shit. Now I actually have to go through with this!

I will write more about the last couple months, but to give you an idea of what I've been up to... A good friend recently asked me, "Do you even know how to sail?" To which I replied, "There's only one way to learn."

-Ian Graham, November 9, 2008


"Who is staring at the sea is already sailing a little."

-Paul Carvel