SeaZen

Jeff

By Liam Griffin

School, school, it makes me drool

Because it is terribly uncool.

School is hard when a Saint Bernard is drooling

So much it could fill a barn.

Now this Saint Bernard is Jeff

He is also almost deaf. He is old and

Gladly, he does not smell like mold.

That would make me gag and

I would need to find a bag.

For I have no bag I would not want to gag.

So I read my books and think of crooks,

But who would steal my books?

Jeff snores and bores into my brain

School is now associated with pain!

Pain! It hurts!

And Jeff blurts out his snores.

Why!? Why!? I must go!

Now don’t make me slow. I need to go!

Get away I must. There is no one I can trust.

Jeff drools and snores.

But he is deaf so he can’t hear. Now I drool because

School is uncool.

Jeff wakes up and leaves. Thank you God!

Now school can continue.

I just found out: I get nothing done when

Jeff isn’t about! Wait! Come back!

School must continue! Please my friend

Jeff is back, snoring and boring, drooling and pooling.

I need to repaint the floor.

Jeff!

As everyone knows, if you have a boat everything is broken; you just don’t know it yet. Even though dad took the heat exchanger home and completely cleaned it inside and out with the help of a powerwasher, it still gave us a little bit of trouble. It happened about 3 days ago now. We had what every sailor fears: an overheating engine.

We left Fort Lauderdale, or Port Everglades, as some people call it. Many a great yacht was docked there. There I saw 150 foot yacht, at least, with a helicopter on its deck and a garage with a runabout tender. I vowed that I would have one just like it.

Anyway, we were steaming at a great 5.5 knots to make the bridge that was about two miles in front of us. Dad slowed and we made the bridge with colors flying. We didn’t even have to slow down. Then trouble started. We were headed up to the next bridge about a mile or so a head. Then there was a bang and a crash under the boat dad immediately shut the engine off and I ran to help mom drop the anchor. We had the anchor down in lightning speed. Dad restarted the engine and did all the checks he would usually do and the engine was fine. We thought that we had hit something in the water.

We had a fine day reading and relaxing on the boat as there were not a lot of boats out on the waterway. I entertained myself by reading, listening to the radio, sleeping, and writing. Then, there was crisis again! Dad said the engine was running hot. He opened up the ‘dog house’ or engine cover and there was a spraying of boiling hot water from a little hole next to the heat exchanger cap. It was shooting from the engine onto the aft bunk. I, thinking quickly, grabbed anything to stop the water from soaking the bed. I grabbed mom’s shorts that were lying nearby.

Then I helped Dad anchor the boat because mom was at the helm. Again, we dropped the anchor lightning fast, around a minute or less, if I remember correctly. We let the engine cool and poured coolant into the engine and it cooled down considerably. We then went into Miami as the sun was setting. We were debating whether to anchor in an anchorage we didn’t know in the dark or an anchorage we know very well in the dark. I won the discussion. We are now in Sunset Lake in South Beach, Miami, chill’n.

Peace!

After a fine day of a butt hurting, boring long drive we stopped at one of my mom’s cousin’s house. We called them a few times to get directions to their house. But going back about a few months: mom met them for the first time at the Newport Boat Show by chance.

You see, my paternal grandfather’s family is Irish and really big. It’s hard to know all your cousins in a big Irish family. Mamie stopped in my mom’s booth to admire a pottery platter. They got to talking and somehow realized that Tom and mom were cousins. When Mamie called to Tom and he turned around, Mom saw that he looked just like all the Nagles do. Tom loves to sail and followed the Sea Zen blog from the beginning because he would like to go off cruising someday.

Mom had to deliver a platter that they bought at the boat show so she called to see if we could meet up. We went to see them our first night on the road and it was wonderful, to say the least! We first arrived about 4:00pm and walked in and said hellos and we started swapping stories about sailing and we found out that they wanted to do an ICW (Intrcoastal Waterway) trip to Florida. We told them about the ups and downs of the trip we had. The sights the sounds and the hardships of the trip we had to the south. Telling them about Jersey (look on the blog for this story) and what ports to avoid.

Then came dinner.  Mamie is a culinary genius! Amazing salads, chutney, chicken that Mamie made especially for dad since he is gluten-free now, dips, and a wonderful o-m-g pasta -cheese creation. To be honest, I don’t remember what she called it I was too busy staring in awe! Last, but not least: éclairs! Wonderful, beautiful, scrumptious éclairs! I put them together so as to help Mamie with dinner. Everything was… was…. there isn’t a word or term to describe how absolutely amazing/wonderful/scrumptious/delicious the whole feast was. Mamie, if you are reading this, a job well done! After dinner we had coffee and tea and chatted some more. We talked about many things; sailing, what home was like, Florida and how the ICW was in our perspective. I went to bed and watched TV for about an hour before falling asleep.

When I awoke, lofty smells were beckoning me down stairs to the kitchen like a wispy cartoon finger. When I arrived there was a quiche and bread I later found out was called “Irish Bread.” It was like fruit cake. I didn’t want to leave. It was Mamie’s special recipe that she made in her grandmother’s pan.

I really, really didn’t want to leave but we had to go.

What an amazing and very special way to start our trip.Thanks, guys!

Well, where does one start? At the beginning, but some stories start in the middle. Why is that? Does anyone really know or does it just happen for suspense and drama? Ok… off topic once again. Well, I guess I will start in the beginning.

Travel is, by definition, moving from one place to another by walking, biking, driving, etc. We did just that. It took two days of “biting the bullet” to get all packed up and ready to go. We stayed longer than we thought we would because Mom (Beth Griffin) needed to finish some pottery for Purity Springs Resort down the street from us. Dad (Mark Griffin) was miserable to say the least. While we were in New Hampshire for this prolonged time it snowed a major storm. Twice. Dad got up one morning and I was awake and so was mom. I had not known it snowed, I was just minding my own business. Dad got up and saw the blanket of miserable white powder and said, “Forget it. I’m crawling back in bed.” And really, can you blame him? He loathes snow! Plus to his defense it was cold outside. I (Liam Griffin) was enjoying myself. A few pluses in my life at the time were: I got to go sledding which I haven’t done in many years; I frolicked in the snow with a very excited dog named Luna!; and I had the pleasure of being with my friends more before I left.

We packed very quickly. Dad had his things packed a week before me or Mom. (It is no lie; e-mail him if you don’t believe me.) I got my clothes packed but it took about two days to pack up everything we needed for six months on a boat. We packed all of our stuff into the trailer and the truck. We are taking Dad’s painting trailer and filled it with stuff: kayaks, bikes, and many boxes filled with food, books, clothes, and etc. We thought the truck would be nearly empty, but it wasn’t. It was almost as full as the trailer! We brought a lot of stuff! I still don’t know where to put it all yet. But we do have some friends that own a storage facility, so I think we are going to put the trailer there.

After Three days of driving and staying in hotel rooms, we finally arrived at the boat about December 3rd or 4^th, 2011. Now after being here a week, we strive to launch by next Sunday. The chore list is long and maybe half is done by now I’m not really sure. Dad has put the new coat of bottom paint on and all that that implies. I helped with the scraping off paint and buffing, scraping the propeller and prop shaft. We have gotten the dingy ready. (Ha-ha. It’s a small boat we use for getting ashore.) The list of project keeps on building.

Sea Zen Crew signing off till next time when I write about the amazing hospitality of Mamie and Tom.

Liam Griffin (Scribe, Lieutenant, Mast climber, Technology Guru, Insane-Master-of-Fun)

Mark Griffin (Captain, Head Engineer, Rigger, Wicked-Insane-Master-of-all-thing-Mechanical)

Beth Griffin (Admiral, Head Cook, and Spiritual Master, Wicked-Awesomeness-of-Mom)

Luna Griffin (Dog, Mascot, Makes-Person-Feel-Good-About-Themselves-Puppy, Official Barker, and Official Sniffer)

I wrote this for a project on NH 1650-1750 hope you like it.

Ca-chunk! Ca-chunk! SSSHHH! SSSHHH! Chop! Chop! Bang! Bang! The sound of the shipyard could be heard all over Portsmouth as the shipwrights worked away. The shipyards built the economy on colonial New Hampshire by harvesting the native oak and white pine for the building of ships and ship parts. In 1653 the 60 families living in Strawberry Bank petitioned to change the name of their city to Portsmouth after Portsmouth, England. One of the deepest harbors in the world was about to become one of the most successful shipyards in the modern world. The harbors’ first ships were mostly fishing schooners, light blockade runners, and small merchant cutters. The three Portsmouth, NH shipyards built several significant warships between 1650 and 1750: the Faulkland, a 54 gun 1^st rate frigate built in 1690; the Bedford, a 32 gun 3^rd rate frigate built in 1696; and the America, a 40 gun 2^nd rate frigate built in 1749.

Surrounding Portsmouth was an immense large oak and white pine forest with many rivers running through it. All the rivers led to Portsmouth harbor. The terrain was perfect for a shipbuilding economy. In the summer the trees came from deep in the forest and were taken out by a team of 20 or 30 men who would stay out for weeks at a time to find masts, yardarms, ribs, spars and keels for the ships being built at the shipyards. The men would search the forest high and low until they found a tree to suffice their needs. They would chop it down and hitch it to a team of oxen, then drag it to a swift river and float it Portsmouth.

In the winter the trees were cut down and the carpenters, shipwrights, riggers and everyone would come to the forest and take everything they needed to build the ship on the spot! The trees would be cut down and the whole ship was made in the woods. When the ship was complete they would set it down on the Piscataqua River and wait for summer.

One of the most amazing stories was when the United States congress in 1749 ordered the America be built. It was in the winter time around January when they got the order to build the 2^nd rate frigate America. The America was 250ft by 40ft. The main mast was roughly 210ft, the foremast roughly 190ft, the mizzen mast 150ft tall. So building the ship was no easy task. The shipyard crew worked around the clock and finished the ship in 3 months. The ship had sails, block and tackle, rigging, yards, rudder, rudder chain, everything to sail. They hitched 200 oxen to the ship and dragged it six miles to Portsmouth. They rolled logs under the ship and kept it level with weights. They dragged it through the woods and into city streets. When the America got to the harbor they dragged it to the dry docks and launched it. A 2^nd rate frigate built in 3 months and launched 3 days after is an amazing feat!

New Hampshire was not regarded as a up and running colony by most of England until the East India Company realized that Portsmouth was putting more shipbuilding equipment such as hemp rope, block and tackle, and timber than they were. The Company sent a representative to New Hampshire to evaluate the situation. The representative was so impressed by the skill and efficiency that he resigned and became one of the most successful timber merchants in the colonies.

Even after 1750 Portsmouth was a thriving port building 3 more warships that served in the American Revolution: the Raleigh, a 74 gun 3^rd rate ship-of-the-line built in 1776 which is the ship on the New Hampshire flag; the Ranger, an 18 gun schooner built in 1777; and the America, a 102 gun 1^st rate ship-of-the-Line built in 1778. Trade of wool, timber, and alcohol was popular and the Portsmouth ships were able to move these goods. However the New Hampshire shipbuilding legacy came to an end, around 1808 when the economy which relied on the building of wooden ships went down the tubes when the steam ship came out. The shipyards could did not have the tools or resources to build the steel steamship stacks, propellers, and many other parts.

Hello Sea Zen Viewers.

Mom and I went back to NH for five days on December 1st though the 6th.

Here is our Story.

It was an early morning cleaning and getting the boat ready to be launched.  We needed to be at the airport at 4:30pm in Fort Lauderdale. At 5:00 pm we were boarding the plane. The plane was a 737 and was a relatively small plane. We got into Atlanta, GA and then got on another plane, an MD-88 which is a plane with the engines on the tail. We flew to Manchester, NH. We went to my surrogate grandma Colleen’s condo and spent the night. The next day we went to Colleen’s real house in the White Mountains. I was staying there the whole week! Mom and I stayed the night. On the 3rd we went to the icy barn. I helped make mom a booth for the crafts fair. We made the booth out of V fold doors and 2by4s. I went back to Colleen’s and mom went to put the booth together. I had dinner with Colleen and her husband Tom. The next day we went to her parents house to take care of them and do there shopping. I went to go and we went to moms show and saw the local artists. Everything was good and we had a lot of fun.

We got back on the plane in Manchester, NH. Nothing was special on the ride. When we got in dad and his friend Kevin were waiting for us.

The Clampets (which we sometimes call ourselves) arrived at  a great marina called Sunset Bay, Stuart, FL. They have everything and the town of Stuart is great!!!! Everything is close and easy to get to. There is a farmers market in town that is on Sundays and great restaurants all over town. I could live here!  The weather in Stuart right now is…. well…. rough to put it lightly. The waves in the anchorage are 1-2 feet! It is very windy and cold.  On the happy note…..Happy Holidays!

Hello and welcome back to the Sea Zen blog!

Over the summer the activities consisted of:

1: Sailing a small 13 foot Sunfish around Crystal Lake.

2: Going to sailing camp for a week and sailing 15 foot Hunters and 13 foot Sunfishes.

3: Hiking, swimming and biking.

4: Mowing the lawn.

5: Having fun with friends

This year we drove along the east coast of the U.S. to Fort Peirce, FL where the Sea Zen was stored for the summer. We got a Residence Inn suite for $50. It was great! Mom found it on Priceline.com. We only stayed for one night though. It was valued at $120 a night. WHAT A DEAL!!! They had a pool, flat screen TV, walk in shower, bath tub, and a full kitchen.

When we arrived at Sea Zen my jobs were:

1: To scrape the bottom of the boat and the barnacles off the hull.

2: Clean my room and unpack.

3: Paint the spots where I scraped and paint the hull with dad.

4: Run around town with mom to get groceries and boat parts.

5: Help cook.

6: Walk Luna.

7: Feed Luna.

8: Play with Luna.

9: And whatever I’m asked to do at the time.

On December 1^st mom and I are going to Eaton, NH. I want to have a snowball fight! We are going back mainly for an art show mom is participating in. I am going to stay with some surrogate grandparents.

Thursday 25, we went to a Thanksgiving dinner in Vero Beach, FL that was soooooooo good! It was a potluck dinner that is put on by the cruisers at Thanksgiving every year.  Everything was homemade and scrumptious. Turkey, ham, potatoes, gravy, pie, pie, and more pie, coleslaw, sweet potatoes, stuffing, rolls, and too many other things that I can’t remember, but everything was delicious!
It was a feed! There was so much food. I went for 3rds on dinner and 4ths on dessert. We brought brownies and wafers to the potluck. I went home stuffed to the breaking point.

We are almost done getting Sea Zen ready to sail. Our friends on Sea Fox X have to get a new engine because theirs seized. Last Friday morning I went over to share some lox and bagels with Ed and Dee to cheer them up. There were cinnamon raisin and poppy seed bagels with dill cream cheese, smoked salmon, red onions, and lemon juice. I had two good meals in a row.

Yesterday we went to the farmers market in downtown Fort Peirce. The market was by the water front and we could see the white caps on the waves and felt the howling wind. I liked the bakeries that were there especially one call Gina’s Bake Shop. They had these cinnamon bun twisted into a stick. IT WAS SOOO GOOD!!!! There were also bread shops and flower shops, farm stands and a lot of food joints. I loved the dogs everywhere as far as the eye can see. There were Great Danes (my favorite dog besides Luna), Rotties, Boxers, German shepherds, Chihuahuas, Mutts, Mixes, and all kinds I can’t name. I loved it!

We Went to Ed and Dees Boat last night and had a wonderful dinner of Mediterranean shrimp salad, and lemon, calamata olive bread with olive oil and vinegar. I like food and I will eat anything but I had eaten a lot in the last few days so I didn’t eat a lot last night. But it was good. I went to sleep early because I had a long day.

Hello Viewers

Have you ever wanted to spend a week in the Bahamas and snorkel on amazing coral reefs every day? Well Now you can! The Sea Zen Crew is happy to welcome you to an amazing experiance aboard our 42 foot sailboat. Wheather you crave a sunset sail or  a week of sun and fun. Cruising the Keys or across the Gulf Stream. You will enjoy every minute of your experiance aboard our vessel.

If you have a yacht but can not get it to where you want to be we also offer Yacht delivery. Ranging East Coast North America to the Caribbean. We sail it down You fly in. Its that easy.

For charters rezervations a required and the same with Yacht deliverys.  Have Fun With us!

Hello Sea Zen visitors,

We left Bimini early in the morning and it was sad that we were leaving the Bahamas. The crossing was a great big, wet, rolling desert. About half way in the middle of the Gulf Stream I threw a message in a bottle over board. Where it will end up I do not know. I hope that someone will find it and get back to me. We pulled in to Lake Worth, FL . It took about 10 hours to cross this time. The next day we had to check in with the customs. It was a wet dinghy ride in because it was thundering and lightning. We checked and everything was ok. We had dinner with Sea Fox X who crossed with us. The next couple days we went up the ICW to get to the marina. We stayed at 3 anchorages before we got to the marina. To get ready to haul out.  We hauled out at a place called Riverside Boat Yard.  Everyone pulled into the city marina and started getting ready to put their boat to bed. That means put the boat into storage. Even when the boat was put into the yard there was still a lot to be done. We had to do all kinds of things: packing, putting things in Space Bags, and washing down the whole inside of the boat with vinegar to prevent mold and mildew, and we had to take the sails off as well as the booms and some of the rigging. I did some waxing on the boat to prevent oxidation and cracking on the decks. It was a lot of work. We left may 7th in a rented cramped mini-van with all our stuff in it. We made my stops to our friends Carol & Doug in St. Augustine, and to Monticello, and to Gettysburg. We got home may 14th. Everything was good when we got home. Luna’s ball was right where she left it. I was sick as soon as we got home I only had it for one day but my dad had it for 4 days I think I might have a strong immune system than him, but im not sure. We are nice and settled in and I hope that you are too!

Will blog again about Gettysburg and my trip to Nova Scotia when the next adventure presents itself!

Until next time.