Sailing in the Gulf.....brrrrrrrrr

Sailing in the Gulf of Mexico is a fun thing. I thought it would be fun to get some people togheter for a day of sailing...so before we left snowy Iowa I spoke to the nice people at Windsong Charters and after some arm twisting they agreed to take us out to our own secluded islet near Anclove Island. Once on shore, they would prepare lunch for us. Lunch begins with buttered garlic shrimp and carries on with filet mignon and Maine lobster tails.....did I say lunch...feast is a better description.


It was a great idea and a good time was had by all....the only clinker was the weather which was a bit on the cool side since the day was mostly cloudy and not as advertised by the meterologists. (Where is Conrad Johnson when you need him?) So of course, macho Iowa boy showed up with very little clothing and consequently was cccccold most of the trip.

The other people were better prepared. Gentleman Jim had so many layers of clothing you would have thought he was going to a Iowa Buckeye game. Helpful Hilda brought slickers which the mystery lady quickly latched on to one. Hilda also brought extra clothes which turned out to be a Godsend for Sylivia after taking a header into the gulf whilst trying to board the dinghy. Dawn, the bird from England, had on a black velour warm up suit.

After celebrating Brian's 60th birthday the evening before.....thats a whole other blog.....we were all hurting units...except for the mystery lady and I guess thats how she gets her moniker. Somehow, Slyvia was able to have the foresight to bring more wine...which was a delightful addition to the lunch.

Gentleman Jim, served as the co-pilot for a lot of the trip while our Captain Chris got on task with the business of setting the sails so the nasty wind could propel us towards lunch. When we got to the key, Chef Bruce had already fired the coals for the barbque. Cheft Bruce is from South Aftica and talks funny ..like the British bird that was part of the manifest. He used a South African skottel to prepare the garlic shrimp and mushroom gravy...but relied on a good old Weber for the main grilling. I think he is part owner of the skottel company called Cadco, as he did a spendid job pitching its attributes. Cheft Bruce is married to Captain Wendy, who also acts as the booking agent for the charter and guides you to the harbour. She has a 15 minute talk at the beginning of the soree which spells out the rules and gives you a lesson in sailing and peeing and all of the inner workings of a marine toilet. If she ever loses her pilots license, she can do stand up at the Comedy Store.

We headed back just in time for the sunset had it not been cloudy with notions that a another trip was in order on a sunnier day. Slyvia and Dawn thought it was nappy time, the mystery lady guided us to the pier, showing all that you can drink copiopus amounts of whiskey and not hit a reef. Hats off and only hats....to Wendy, Bruce and Chris for a splendid sailing experience.