We’re well on our way to September, which means we’re right up in the heart of hurricane season now. Getting very anxious to turn the corner and be on the way out of it so we can get back to life on the water instead of life on the dock. We had expected to have a fun offseason here in Puerto Rico, but COVID has thrown a wrench into a lot of plans and left us without a ton of things to do, however, we are making the most of it, getting work done and still finding fun things for the kids to do.
Like saving a grungy homeless dock cat.
And sailing lessons. There’s a pretty great sailing school located right here at the marina that gets the benefit of the constant trade winds that blow gently through each day. The kids were a little nervous the first day, but came bouncing out of there with a hundred stories and brimming with excitement for the next lesson. Three times a week, three hours a day. They obviously know the basics of sailing already, seeing as they have their own sailing dinghy, but getting out there with actual instructors is great. Maybe they’ll even learn how to use those little pieces of string that blow on the side of the sail.
Imagine having a boat so big that you carried a few dozen fenders around with you? There has to be a business opportunity here. A hidden strip along the hull that deploys instantly inflatable fenders at the push of a button, then hides them back away when not in use? Inspector Gadget style.
Nice time of night for the two of us. Kids out sailing, sun sinking down, and a dock to watch it all from.
Tropical Storm Laura chased us off. Threw out the extra docklines, double checked that everything was tied down good, then headed to a hotel overlooking the marina to keep an eye on things. Fortunately, this one also passed without so much as a brisk breeze. Also fortunate to have loads of rewards points to throw at these hotel stays. Looks like there will be a few of them this season.
After one rainy hotel day of this I had already started to feel guilty. I can’t imagine having kids parked in front of a tv like this all the time. Seriously, if anyone is looking for just one tip to improving their family’s quality of life, here it is: Throw all your televisions in the garbage.
Everyone was happy to be home, another successful storm passing.
Rico spent the stormy days hiding out on Bumfuzzle, underneath the dinghy, and was happy to see us back. He may have been slightly less happy when he was loaded into a box again, and brought to another vet. He’s still got some issues, so we brought him in and they are keeping him for a bit to get him healthy and neutered. Ali’s goal for hurricane season is to have him feeling good and find him a home.
Another beautiful evening on the water.
23 Comments on “Weathering the Storms”
Glad to see you all weathered the storm in good condition.
The pictures of your kids sailing the dinghy bring back so many memories. My dad taught all us kids to sail on a small plywood sailboat he built. There usually wasn’t a summer day that went by where I wasn’t out sailing. Such fun! Glad the kids are enjoying the lessons.
Safe travels and stay healthy!
That is a good memory, thanks for sharing.
YEA! Happy to hear no harm done with that storm! I was watching PR, but one never knows where those things end up! We weathered 4 hurricanes in Florida in 2004, not fun. We were scheduled to leave the country after Frances, then Jeanne appeared….my neighbor’s last words before we left: “It’ll never happen that we’ll get 2 direct hits in a row!” He ate those words when Jeanne made a complete turn about over the Atlantic, & followed Frances’ path to strike our house again. So I know those storms can be unpredictable! Stay safe & have fun! Looks like the kids are doing their usual fine job of that!
Yes, I don’t think anyone should say that, look at Irma and Maria…ugh nearly 3-years to the day for those ones. The peak month is here and we are on the lookout. For me, if I had the choice I wouldn’t live in a hurricane area (house or boat). The stress of it, gets to me. So you didn’t say if you had damage?
I completely agree with you about televisions. When my daughter had kids she asked, “if you could raise kids all over again; what would you change”. I said I wouldn’t have a TV in the house. My kids never had gameboys, or game consoles though. They are in their mid to late thirties. We also didn’t have a computer until they were in junior high. Books were big in our house; but my son didn’t catch the reading bug. My daughter did and both of her children are avid readers.
When we were in the marina in La Paz, Mexico when the kids were 2 and 1 — they had a library and DVD rental for all the cruisers. One day while looking through the books, the lady that runs it, said she got some new kid movies in. And we said, thanks but our kids don’t watch movies. And she said, oh, my parents didn’t let me watch them either that is why I do this now. And she told us to be careful. So weird.
Mayagues, we got a pretty brisk blow for about 30 minutes around 6 or so! Other than that…a non-event!
Goodonyas, meant to ask : are the kids becoming fluent in Spanish? Mine is slowly coming back!
Gotta bounce!
Ouest, age 10, has an online tutor which is amazing. She will be conversing fluently soon. Lowe, age 9, is very Spanglish like his parents. š
Thanks for taking care of Rico.
Ehhhh on the throwing away the TVās. We had many tvās but it was never the main or even a strong pull for my kids. Sure they watched sometimes but when we went to a hotel it didn’t even occur to them to turn it on. It was no great treat. The lobby, the ice machine, watching guests check in were the draws. They had those same building tiles ( manga tiles?) and were much more interested in those then tv . Now have two grown girls. An engineer and a nurse. I may have done some things differently but not sorry about the tvs. .
My guess is given their personalities if your kids had more access to a TV they would very quickly grow tired of it. Itās just a novelty for them on the few days you are in a hotel so itās temporarily compelling. Nothing wrong with not having one. No real need. But they arenāt as much a problem for many kids and families as you might think.
haha, you haven’t been to a hotel during COVID. š Lobby closed. Pool closed. Gym closed. Restaurant closed. And sure as heck nobody wants to see your kids running around in the halls and playing in the elevators. Nope, a hotel during a tropical storm, during a pandemic, is not a fun place to spend time.
Glad you enjoyed your tvs. I’m not saying tv makes kids turn out bad. I’m saying, the quality of life for the whole family is better without them. More time for quiet. More time for conversation. More time for books and imagination. To me, tv is a brainless diversion. Noisy and filled with utter nonsense where billions of dollars are spent to brainwash kids (and adults) into thinking that they NEED the crap being advertised to them. You can argue the opposite side if you like, but I’m sticking by my opinion that tv is a net negative to happiness.
And I’m not claiming my kids don’t watch any tv. We download shows for them, of our choosing, ad free, and they do have time in their life for that stuff. But that’s a far cry from a tv in every room, a tv on at dinner, a tv on in the background, and tv shows that encourage the exact opposite behavior we would want our own kids to display.
Lol I donāt know anyone who watches tv with commercials anymore. We never did and that was more than a decade ago. In fact none of my relatives with young kids watch traditional tv at all. They are doing exactly what you are. Giving their kids access to a few approved shows. Streaming services have changed the entire nature of ā television ā watching even for the very mainstream among us.
Hi Pat and Ali,
Glad no issues from the hurricanes… we had the remenants of Laura here in the north east. 45 knots on the Gemini at the dock. A couple of days ago. Way more than we expected.
That sailing lessons thing can become become addictive…your kids will benifit greatly from it, and they will make lots of friends. Our daughters love sailing lessons… one became a senior instructor, sailed in high school and also in college where she made it to the US college nationals.. the other is the same age as your, so get your two a 420 sailboat and they can do it as a team or maybe a pair of lasers, Next thing you know they will be saying, can we go this regatta …ok, maybe not right now, but maybe someday after covid…they are going to grow out of the opti pretty quick, plus they go slow, but they are fun.
Yesterday, I was on a wildcat 350 that was for sale. Neat boat. I saw yours from shore when you were in Australia, Sidney Harbor back in the mid 2005 time frame. Always liked the look of those. This one had an extended transom. And folding props. And a hard top you could walk on.
As for the tv, many kids today don’t watch tv. At least not like we did in the 60s and 70s. I don’t think you have anything to worry about.. unless they become tv junkies….if they are not hooked by now, you are all set. You need the right stuff on tv. About the only thing we let our daughters watch is MEtv. Likely not a hotel channel but maybe . Stuff like leave it to beaver, and the munsters, and gilligians island…and of course the Brady bunch,…right now we have Gomer pile. Silly shows from 50-60 years ago, The classics…
And that cat could just go with you all, our cat goes sailing on our Gemini all the time. Cats do ok on boats…
Keep posting. We enjoy reading your stuff.
Walt
The Wildcat had to be an older model (like ours) as I don’t think they are making them any longer – at least they shouldn’t have been.
Yes, I’m sure most kids know the few channels they like, or watch just the shows they have on their watchlist these days. Our kids have watched Little House on the Prairie, The Brady Bunch, and the Dukes. But that is about it as far as series go. I’m sure Ouest will like The Facts of Life, Who’s The Boss, and the like when she is a bit older. Pat and I end up watching them along with them half the time.
No cats for us – our plans are so up in the air, including flying from time to time. I will do what I can for him!
I hope you and Ali are fated to live more than one life. I want to be reincarnated as a “Bumfuzzle Kid”. Have already put my reservation in. š
Yes, we see you on the list. š
Pat, I’m in Mobile, AL and we see lots of loopers passing thru in November and December. If you are ever in the neighborhood let me know. I’m a member of the Mobile Yacht Club and we could put you up in our harbor if you wanted to spend a winter in Mobile. It gets cold but no snow. That beach where you got stuck in LA got hammered by Laura a week ago, if you have friends over there you might want to see if they are ok. Robbie Robinson
Thanks for the offer, Robbie. No loop for us this year – there are some locks closed Chicago (I believe) that are causing issues, not to mention COVID, and an election year. But it is still on a list of ours at some point – I would love to be anchored out by the Statue of Liberty. How cool would that be?!
Ali, what is the name of that magnetic building set Lowe is playing with? I remember Pat mentioned it years ago and highly recommended it, but of course I canāt remember the name. I have a young grandson now and would love to get it for him.
Hi Carol, yes – we still highly recommend and love our Magna Tiles found on Amazon. 100 piece to get started (we have added more here and there). 5 star rating does not lie. https://www.amazon.com/Magna-Tiles-100-Piece-Clear-Colors-Award-Winning/dp/B000CBSNRY/ref=sr_1_5?crid=2EGFCYJH02EXP&dchild=1&keywords=magna+tiles+100+piece+set&qid=1600222936&sprefix=magna+tiles+100%2Caps%2C213&sr=8-5
Pat or Ali, what program (if any) do you use for homeschooling? My grandson is doing virtual school and I’m helping but he is well beyond his grade and nothing is offered for him. We are thinking of going the homeschool route but I was hoping to find something organized.
thanks,
LaDonna
Hi LaDonna, You should be able to find loads of resources out there. Almost information overload to find a good fit for you/grandson. We are completely Unschoolers: Unschooling is an approach to home education based on learning through living rather than through the conventions of school. Parents partnering with their children rather than re-creating āschool at homeā children following their interests and curiosity, with help and resources from supportive parents.