Journal - 3/18/09

The last few weeks have been special.

And this blog needs a montage...







Ian Graham, March 18, 2009


Time slips away.

Journal - 3/11/09

Falling behind on Blog... having too much fun.

I wanted to assure friends and family that all is going well. We spent a week in the Berry Islands and we are now safely docked in Nassau. I plan on throwing up a few posts soon and a bundle of pictures... Beach before blog.

Having a great time,

Ian Graham, March 11, 2009

Journal - 2/23/09

Gamble before ramble…


The one casino in Port Lucaya, Isle of Capri, held it’s first ever poker tournament this past Saturday. The buy in was $100 and the game was none other than the ever popular no limit Texas Hold ‘em. After another week of fun in the sun the time was right to put in some work. The tournament was shootout style with only two rounds of play: win your table and move on to the final table. First place was $5,000.

I played in the morning session and eventually caught a bad beat for all my chips when the table was three handed. However, there was an afternoon re-buy opportunity.

This tournament was a complete joke. The field consisted of older tourists, most of whom had little to no idea how to play the game; people were folding their big blinds; one guy at my table just talked the entire time and never played a hand—not once. "I got bit by a shark. But I got its tooth! True story!" He got blinded out. Even the dealers would take a minute per showdown just to figure out which hand was best. The only thing serious about the tournament was the fact that real money was on the line.

Anyway, after getting knocked out on some bad luck, I dusted off my shoulders and bought back into the afternoon session. For the next couple of hours I played some mean poker and stressed out the entire table of happy-go-lucky tourists. They had no idea what was happening but after the dust had settled I had accumulated all of the chips; and to my amazement I ended up winning my table showing down a seven high. (Almost the worst hand possible.)

One of the tournament directors tells me to be back by 5:00 for the final table although the game wouldn’t start until 5:30. I’m taking my sweet time back by the boat when I hear Andrew’s voice in the distance, “They’ve already started!”

We both run back into the casino to find the final table underway with the first round of blinds halfway over. While trying to catch my breath, I take my seat still managing to talk some trash to the unsuspecting guy next to me who had won the morning table: “Thought you got rid of me, huh?” To my delight this table was just as clueless as the previous one—let the magic show begin.

A couple hours later we were back on the boat celebrating with some box wine—and an extra $5,000. Seven days docked in Port Lucaya: $290 total.
We just bought a harpoon gun for the Berry Islands and we plan to use it.

Will post again from Nassau... more pictures... more stories...

Ian Graham, February 23, 2009

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!"