14 September - Neighbors

The boat moored on our port side is a puzzling program. It is a very nice, modern, center cockpit ketch, probably a $2M yacht. The very large hammer and sickle on the bow leaves little question about where it is from. I tried to make small talk, just to be friendly, with the pot bellied guy aboard her when we arrived, but he just mumbled to himself in response and ignored me. Hmmm.... It's just him and a very attractive much younger lady aboard. We can hear them speaking to each other in Russian. Double hmmm.... Marina gossip is that he is the professional skipper, and the boat hasn't moved in years. Yesterday he was in the bosun's chair at the top of their 80 foot tall main mast working on something. I was in Jambalaya's cockpit when I heard a loud "bang" from the Russian boat and turned that way in time to see a large pair of vice grips bounce off their deck into the water between our boats. A few minutes later an even larger tool was dropped from the top of the
mast. It made an even louder noise as it hit the deck and bounced overboard on the other side of the Russian boat. Those missiles could have killed someone with a direct hit, and they certainly left some nasty dings in the deck. The lithe gal, who was controlling the halyard, shook her head in embarrassment as those of us aboard the surrounding vessels shrugged our shoulders in bewilderment. Competent seamen don't drop tools like that. The Russian never said a word. Hmmm...

We have a Canadian family to starboard on a Stevens 47 sloop and we have become fast friends. Max and Liz, both retired Canadian military engineers, and children, Victoria, 12, Jonathan, 10, and 2 year old Benjamin are 4 years into their Pacific cruise. From a distance it looks like chaos, but closer inspection reveals a happy family loving life. Victoria says "Benjamin is VERY two", and he is, with periodic tantrums as he learns to control his emotions. The older kids are amazing, taking responsibility for boat projects, soaking in anything new, and reading during every slack moment. They've come aboard Jambalaya for an impromptu ukulele jam session and Victoria has taken hula lessons from Blossom on the lawn. In return, Victoria just gave Lori and Blossom a lesson in cake decorating... She's 12... We've been out to dinner with the family twice, and Lori and Liz are doing yoga on the lawn in the mornings before the kids wake up. I'm trying to talk them into stoppin
g in at KYC on their way home.