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Last updated December 18, 2008
Visitors to
CanKata
Edna and John – New
Photo of CanKata
and crew by Rubicon Star
Before March 2006
Larry and Sue from
S/V Affiah joined us in
Jan and Dave from
André, Jean, Bruce,
Ed, Gary, Anna, Karen, Janet and Lynn went on a couple of excursions with us in
January to small islands off St-Martin.
They faced seasickness and hair-raising dinghy rides, but, according to
the guest book, had “an education to remember”.
They were the largest group CanKata has ever taken for a sail.
We joined up with
colleagues and friends Sue Ann, Kathy, Donald and Ken in St-Kitts and had some
terrific snorkelling excursions and other miscellaneous mischief. We are hoping this “annual event” can occur
for years to come!
We had other day
visitors: Roger and Sally, Charlie and Sue, Ian and Ryan, and Dani and
Kenny. Cat Tales, Roamer, Just in Time,
Sea Witch and Alaté are the boats that entertained us as visitors. What a social life we have!
Don and Sharon – March 1-9,
2006
Excerpts from the
guest log:
March 2 – Just
snorkelled at Tintamarre and are now enjoying ti-punch in the evening.
March 3 – Mud
babies were greeted by 100 visitors at the Tintamarre beach where two head
stands provoked applause. After, we
sailed and motored to
March 4 –
Light-footed Darrel escaped the death cactus.
Don, Sharon and Darrel climbed to the highest point of Fourchue and
marvelled at the flowers and the baby birds.
Took lots of pictures. Afterwards
we all snorkelled and met two barracuda and many smaller fish. We played dominoes until late in the evening
–
March 5 – Fleeing
from Fourchue, Loretta’s line snagged a barracuda. Said fish snagged Darrel’s hand when removing
the hook. We had a quick stop in crowded
island (Pinel) before a Creole lunch with owner Hercules (in Cul de Sac). Then we moved to Orient and caught conch. Don won at dominoes but he said he wouldn’t
mention it.
March 6 – Lazy day
at Orient with a beach walk, snorkelling, shell picking on the island, etc.,
before heading to Grande Case. Played
Euchre then sang songs in the hammock before retiring.
March 7 – Lots of
people day with Al and Carol arriving at
Carol and Al – March 7, 2006
What a
surprise! Carol and Al Caouette
vacationed in St-Martin and were able to meet up with us for a snorkel and
lunch on CanKata in Grande Case. Thanks
for the wine and books, you two, and we’re sorry we didn’t get to spend more
time with you.
Dylan and Laura – March 14 – 19, 2006
Excerpts from the
guest log:
March 14: D: We arrived late, but better than
never! “Boy, are you two white”, was the
captain’s welcome. Our first 24 hours
had enough adventure to fill a whole vacation – the best salad in the world,
shopping in Marigot, hike and sightseeing at Fort Louis, ti punch while visiting
with “best friends”, Grande Case’s $4 ribs, $1 beer (“One dollar!?”), and we’ll
never forget the Jump-Up, featuring Laurie’s rhythm rattle. Then sleeping to the gentle noise of Jenny
and the Jump-Up bands. L: So much fun!
It’s just begun! So nice to see
you’re where you belong, in our hearts and in
March
17: L:
What a fantastic time we are having!! Our hike yesterday (Tintamarre)
was unbelievable! What beauty!! You have
shown me so much wonder and so many firsts.
Snorkelling and the mud baths, truly magical! D:
Since our last entry, we’ve snorkelled, sailed to Tintamarre, beach
combed, saw an amazing shoreline, had a mud bath, had a feast of fresh yellow
snapper (from Cat Tales), played dominoes, visited Green Cay and added to the
conch memorial. Just a typical couple of
days for us! We really enjoyed showing
Mom and Dad the pictures and videos (of grandchildren Tehja and Taylor). Now it is time for a mudslide!
March
18: L:
We can’t believe it is our last day already. We’ve got memories to last a lifetime. Thank you for teaching me to dive and dolphin
kick while snorkelling. Until we meet
again, remember we look at the same moon, even when we’re oceans away!
Passing By
Both
Darrel and I agree that one of the highlights of our adventures is meeting
people – on the beach, in the anchorage, in a restaurant – wherever we might
pass by. We’d like to take this
opportunity to say hello to the great folks who we have recently been aboard
CanKata and who quickly became good friends with us:
Chloe and her folks Ksenija and Gary from
Claude, Nicole and Pierre from
Caroline, Alan and Laura of “Malice” from
Mark and Judy of “Magic Dragon”, who we hope to
meet again and again as we travel down island.
Dick – the charter captain – and his
company. It was fun sharing ti punch
with his last crowd – Art, Sharon, Cindy, John and Ken.
Francis and Kathleen, Eileen and Joe, Bill and
Linda – friendly and outgoing (and some a little chatty) Americans who joined
us on a day-sail to Tintamarre. We met
them when Frank stopped us to ask us about our boat. We also shared a couple of memorable happy
hours, ice cream and a breakfast with them.
What we discovered: state
troopers can be fun, Sicilians might actually try saving you from a shark,
skinny guys can be awfully strong, and it only takes a couple of days to make
lifelong friends.
Joe and Norma – also part of the above crowd, a
little more timid about swimming out to CanKata, but they eventually made it!
Marie and Tom – also swam out to see us on
CanKata. Americans, like the above
crew. Our southern neighbours are not shy,
are very friendly, and you can’t find anyone more generous.
John and Fay – fellow Canucks who plan to sail
the
Freddy and Jim – whom we met in
Hello
to all our new friends, and we hope to meet you again someday!
Familiar Faces in Bequia – May 2006
On
our way from St-Martin to
We
also ran into Roger of “Cover Shot” – we had met him in
As
we get closer to
Trinidad 2006
We
were surprised to see that, by the time we got to
We
are expecting no visitors in
Las Perlas, Pacific
Ocean – 2007
“The
The
visit in January of Sue Ann, Ken and Donald was our Third Annual Rendezvous
with this group of friends. As has
become the custom, there was much fun, snorkelling, eating, drinking, and
catching up on a year’s worth of news. Here
are some log excerpts:
“Isla
Contadora has been another great experience, made so much better for being with
you. Spectacular beach on Isla Chapera
and bountiful beach combing”. (Sue Ann)
“CanKata
in the Las Perlas Islands – what a great place to be for our 2007 visit. Our trip to Chapera was very nice, and the
snorkelling too!” (Ken)
“So
glad we could meet up with you again this year.
I had the ride of my life coming back from
Dawn
and Rob (Darrel’s sister and her husband) visited us for two weeks in February,
and stayed aboard CanKata. We hopped
from anchorage to anchorage in Las Perlas and left our footprints on a number
of beaches. Rob trolled and speared and
supplied many fish for our meals. Dawn
was introduced to a new laundry method – stomping on the clothes in a bucket –
and got hooked on rock collecting. The
girls regularly beat the guys at Kaiser (a card game) and all of us enjoyed the
flying antics of the hundreds of pelicans in the area.
Here
are a few log excerpts:
“We
made it! Flew from
So
that’s it for visitors in 2007. We will
spend the rest of the year making our way towards
Messages from Afar
Many of our friends and family will never be able to visit CanKata,
but that doesn’t stop them from writing to us.
Here are some excerpts from messages we have received … messages
that keep us going, that make us laugh, that sometimes cause us to cry, but
that always warm our hearts and make us very happy that we can still keep in
touch.
I must say I am a little envious
of how much happiness and contentment you have achieved with your choice. I just wanted to say hello and wish you
nothing but the best in your endeavors, congratulations in successfully
achieving the lifestyle you had desired. Colin and Margaret
Griffin,
You
are taxing my geography knowledge. I had
to look on the world map to see where in the world
My boat is a cat too, also a Privilege
and also a 37 (Kendipi has hull number 39 and was launched at the end of July
1999). That makes it a sister-ship of CanKata. I hope you will enjoy many
years of happy cruising and who knows, maybe one day we will meet each other on
one of the seven seas! Kind regards from Holland, Eric
van der Zeyst.
It is definitely not hard to tell that
you guys are sailors by looking at the pictures you have taken. Now I am not
being critical here, just observant. I don't know if you have noticed, but
almost all of your pictures are taken at about a 15- 20 degree angle
to port - check them out. Guess that is what comes from living life at an angle
- but I thought cats didn't do that. Eric,
Prince Edward Island.
Living
in Canada this winter really makes us pine for the Southern latitudes! When you
mention places like Rangiroa and Tahiti, I have to really give my head a
shake. Can you imagine that you'd ever
get to places like that?? Dawn and Laurie, New Brunswick
That's
amazing! I just finished looking through
your website. Looks like you folks are on the adventure of a lifetime! I wish you the best of luck on your journey. Be
sure to include in your diaries online that a man from Alberta saved your food
from getting spoiled by hooking you up with brushes [for the refrigerator
motor]. Happy sailing! Kevin Kiehn, Leeson Canada
Incorporated.
It sounds like you are continuing to have a good time in beautiful
places. We have had about 20 cm of snow
lately with another 10-20 predicted in the next day or two. They are forecasting a cooler winter than
normal. The skiing is beautiful, and so
early. We are very lucky; just a
different lucky than you. Sharon and Don, Ottawa.
I'm not sure if you remember me.
We met in St. Martin in April 2006. John and I were in the process of
buying our boat to spend a year in the Caribbean. It was my first snorkelling
experience from Orient beach to your boat. Our Morgan 38 arrived
here in Halifax on July 1st 2006 and we were so excited. Things went
along great getting the boat ready for our year-long trip until October 2006
when John had a sore eye. It was diagnosed as a tumour in his sinus
cavity. He died on Nov 11, 2006. I keep thinking about John's dream
to live aboard a boat and think of you guys. Hopefully our paths will
cross again ... take care and live every moment like it's your last. Faye, Halifax. (We
certainly remembered John and Faye, and were deeply saddened by Faye’s news).
Hi. My name is Dick and I am gaining immense
enjoyment reading your website and all the details of your wonderful sailing
adventure. My wife and I are Australians, but we are currently living in
Toronto. We previously lived in Calgary prior to moving here, and we have
travelled over a lot of Western Canada. So much spectacular scenery to enjoy
and we just fell in love with the truly stunning Canadian Rockies. We also love
the Canadian people who we find are very much like Australians (i.e. pretty
laid back, enjoy a party, and not prepared to take life too seriously). Upon
checking your current position I find that you are moored in our hometown of
Brisbane, and I hope that you are enjoying some good Oz hospitality and are
being well looked after. My wife and I are looking forward to just such a
cruising adventure as yours in two or three years. It is very dangerous for me to read such web
sites as yours because I want to go and jump on to a boat tomorrow, but we just
have to maintain some discipline for a few more years! Please enjoy our homeland
as much as we are enjoying yours and who knows … we may run into each other
"out there" some day. One of the things that we quickly discovered
upon arriving in Canada is that all Canadians want to visit Australia, and all
Australians want to visit Canada. We could all just swap over for a year or two
and get it over and done with! Dick,
Australian in Toronto.
Thanks,
everyone, for your wonderful emails. We
look forward to hearing more from you!
Jan and Dave – December 2007
It
was great to have Jan and Dave with us again on CanKata for a few days. We spent most of our time off the boat,
touring Tamborine Mountain, Burleigh Head, and the Gold Coast beaches. In our guest log, Jan has written, “We are
already anticipating Where in the World
we will be together again!” We’re
working on it.
More Messages (early
2008)
From our cruising buddies on Cat Tales who
we plan on meeting in the Caribbean someday:
We know you have a long way,
And we can't plan for which day.
But if you just keep sailing, then
We'll all be together again.
From Dylan, Laura, Tehja, and Taylor – our
son and his family:
§
If we
get your visa cards, we'll be sure to try them out at the Jaguar dealership to
see if they work.
§
Tehja
says hi, and we're in our new house now, it's really awesome and I wish you
could come and see it and have a snack. Abcdefg.
§
Taylor
says hello and we're in PEI.
§
A lot
here in PEI makes us think of you, so you're in our thoughts quite often.
Jim and Freddy – February 2008
While we were in the Caribbean, we met a
lovely American couple on S/Y Chez Freddy:
Jim and Freddy Powell. Freddy is
really “Patricia” but she was nicknamed Freddy when she was in her teens.
Jim and Freddy have since sold Chez Freddy
and live in a condo in Colorado – close to four ski hills – but still travel
extensively. This winter, they paid a
visit to CanKata in Australia.
Their entry in the guest log:
“Our week on CanKata went by so
quickly. We even saw the sun – as well
as wallabies, dolphins and parrots.
Great food, great fun and great friends – life doesn’t get any
better. Bon courage and bon voyage.”
We also body surfed in the ocean,
tobogganed on the sand dunes, walked in the tree tops in a rain forest, saw a
goanna, drummed and sang, watched a couple of moon rises, and drove around the
area without an incident … way to go Jim!
It was a great week, and we hope they come to visit us again
sometime. They invited us to join them
for a ski holiday. Brrrrr!
Sue Ann, Nancy and Lenore – March 2008
One of our best friends, Sue Ann Rothwell – aka SAR, aka Sandal
Girl, visited CanKata once again! This
is her fourth visit to CanKata, and this time she brought along her sister
Nancy and her friend Lenore. The three
of them spent three days on the boat, enjoying some fine Aussie weather and
lots of laughs. One highlight was
Nancy’s 50th birthday party, which included a lift up the mast in
the bosun’s chair.
Excerpts from the guest log:
“Our three nights on board are an amazing part of our world tour”.
– Lenore
“The high point was definitely going up the mast!” – Nancy
“See you next year … somewhere!” – Sue Ann
Cousin Edna – March 15, 2008
My cousin Edna lives in Sydney with her husband John, and I was
looking forward to visiting them when we sailed further south. So I was thoroughly disappointed when the
northerlies didn’t kick in, causing us to stay put in Bum’s Bay.
But I was pleasantly surprised when Edna emailed me, “All is not
lost. If you let me know where exactly
you are likely to be over the next few weeks, I can come to see you (don’t ask
me to stay on the boat, though). I
really would like to meet you.”
Well, I really wanted to meet Edna, too, so it was wonderful when
she flew up to the Gold Coast and paid us a visit on March 15. Her taxi driver dropped her off at the wrong
spot, but Edna walked around until she found us, and we had a great day on the
boat.
We’re hoping to arrange another rendezvous somewhere further north
as we make our way to Darwin.
And that was it for visitors “from away” over the past few months.
Buddy Boats
CanKata has had a few buddy boats over the course of our adventures. Our travels wouldn’t have been near as much
fun or as safe without the companionship of the wonderful people who have
travelled alongside us from time to time.
The captain and crew of a buddy boat have quite a bill to fill. They:
v
travel a distance with CanKata and do route planning with us
v
trade photos, recipes, movies, music and books with us
v
go on hikes with us
v
sometimes face Customs and Immigration officials with us
v
eat, drink and be merry with us
v
cry when we say goodbye
So far on our journeys, we have had eleven buddy boats:
Alaté (Dale and Rita)
Affiah (Larry and Sue)
Cat Tales (Laurie and Dawn)
Roamer (Keith and Susan)
Wind Machine (Jim and Michelle)
Apparition (Rico and Jackson)
Nakiska (Trevor and Bev)
Trius (Nicholas and Lynn)
Talerra (Dave and Melanie)
www.w7ytz.net –click on KE7ABE
Daedalus (Gerd and Sylvia)
Nemo (Kerry and Diane)
Thanks, guys, for being such wonderful friends and travelling
companions. Cheers, and may you never
have sand in your mud!
Our
Alor Guides – August 2008
After
spending some time touring around the island of Alor, we brought four
guides (who had been very attentive to us) onto CanKata for cookies and juice.
None of them had been on a yacht before, and were thrilled at the
invitation. They took photos
galore. These were young university
students with very good English. One of the young women, Lia, said "I will
remember this all of my life", and asked to borrow my sunglasses and an
orange and then had another guide take her photo. I showed them a pictorial book of Canada, and
they were amazed at the pictures in it.
We can only hope that if they ever manage to visit Canada, they can do
it in the summer time.
Kids, Kids and More Kids – August 2008
The children of Indonesia seem quite attracted to us rally
members. I guess there are a number of
reasons: most of us are white, we dress
terribly, they encourage us to repeat Indonesian words that are no doubt
obscenities and we willingly comply, we have sailed from places so far away
that they can’t imagine it’s possible, and we come bearing gifts.
It’s probably the gifts that are the biggest attraction. As a group, we have discussed the pros and
cons of giving away stuff to the children without asking anything in
return. So sometimes we have asked them
to bring us fruit or coconuts, sometimes we have asked them for directions, or
sometimes we have asked them to sing. We
are running out of worthy gifts, such as t-shirts, fish hooks, ball caps, pens
and booklets, but still have a collection of bars of soap, cookies, mints, old
sunglasses and costume jewellery that we can bargain with. Or maybe I could bake them cookies. Darrel laughs at that thought.
More Indonesian Friends – October 2008
We had a number of Indonesians aboard CanKata for a quick
visit. Most of them are not boaters and were
quite happy to leave after just a few moments aboard, a little green around the
gills. But it was fun to have them sign the guest book, take their picture, try
to exchange bits of information about each other, and to giggle with the
children about nothing in particular. Thank you Noriza, Johan, Jau, Anak Sahit,
Tijah (almost our granddaughter’s name!) / Juandi, Zaura, Kandar, Roniy, Lia,
Diana, Toyop / Yofi, Sis, Nila / Ros, Sari, Rahman, Yayan, Aida / Fitra, Rizki,
Rifaldo, Eti, Fitri and Jona for rowing out to see us, for welcoming us to your
anchorage, for keeping us fed and safe, and for teaching us a bit of
Indonesian. Terima kasih … thank you!
Edna and John – November 2008
Last March, my cousin Edna, who lives in
Sydney, made a huge effort to come and visit us on CanKata while we were in
Australia. It was great to meet her, but we were a bit disappointed that her
husband John couldn’t make the trip. “No worries, Mate”, as the Aussies say.
Sure enough, while we were in our first anchorage in Malaysia, we got an email
from Edna via our son:
“If you have a more direct contact with Loretta and Darrel, can you ask
them if they will be very busy in the last couple of days before their
departure. There is a slight chance John
and I could go to Singapore for a couple of days, arriving on Monday evening 10
November. I know the rally starts on the
14th, but perhaps we could see them on the 11th or 12th
for a short time. I think it only takes
about 45 minutes from Singapore. Is
there any way of contacting them by telephone? Regards, Edna.”
So Edna and John flew to Singapore and then
took a taxi to Danga Bay just to see us! They repeated the taxi trip a second
time to take us out to a wonderful lunch at a wharf … fish, prawns, crab, squid
and all the trimmings. What a special treat from a cousin I had only met just
once before in Australia. Thank you Edna and John – it was a wonderful visit!
Until next update, best regards from
Loretta and Darrel, S/Y CanKata