Merry Christmas and Happy New Year From Carlsbad

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care .......Brrrrr, it is cold here.The tree And the turkey filled the house with those great Christmas smells.

We ate ourselves silly (Dana, Joe, Meghan)And then we played dominoes! At home we had a few chores to catch up on. Steve trimmed alot of palms

And caught up on some reading. The best part of being home is spending time with family (Anne's mom Sunny and Steve's dad Joe) Anne's sister Lisa and husband Joe

And our great daughters Dana and Meghan We've been to Long Beach where Steve's dad lives on a canal....with boats


His cute California bungalow house is one of the few originals homes left in this very unique community. The window is decorated every Christmas by Anne's mom Sunny.

We visited our hometown of San Pedro, home of the Los Angeles harbor. It was a crystal clear morning with the San Bernardino Mountains in the background.

We are having a great time in California but look forward to being warm again onboard Fine Line.

Ho Ho Ho

Anne and Steve Walsh

On Land In Carlsbad California

Welcome Home

We felt really special when we come home to this sign. But, it has been there for months. You see, people come and go alot in this house so why not leave the sign up? Our daughters are very practical. It is great to be here. We have alot of catching up to do. This is our mail...about 14 months worth. We burned up one shredder and had to go buy another.

One of our first stops in the US was for Java. Gingersnap Latte....the best!

Our really good friends, Sue and Tony, threw us a welcome home party. They are great.

Their house is perfect for parties. You can enjoy the spacious front courtyard

The back yard is like a resort

Too cold to swim...BRRRR

There is nothing like a nice walk at the beach in the morning, especially with good friends

The water is cold but the surf was not bad

We found a nice Christmas tree...... just need some decorations

It is amazing how quickly we pick up our lives right where we left them over 2 years ago. It is more enjoyable now, however, since we know it will only be for a few weeks and then back to our 44 foot floating home in the tropics.

Anne and Steve

Home in Carlsbad CA

The Package

We have been in Grenada since August 1, give or take a few days. It is nice here. It is safe from hurricanes, most of the time. Here is a photo of Omar passing over us in October. It became a tropical storm a day later and then turned into a hurricane. It did damage to some of islands to the north of us but left us unscathed. Omar is the big orange/blue blob and Grenada is to the right of the small orange blob.

But at the end of October alot of people get restless and head back north to the Virgin Islands. We were also getting a bit restless and decided to head north to find a long lost package.

Getting stuff shipped to the islands is an adventure. You can never be sure it will reach you in a timely manner and sometimes it just disappears. We had ordered some boat items from Australia and South Africa and had hoped to receive them in St. Martin. We had to leave before they arrived so friends had picked them up for us on their boats but we could never quite seem to connect. Finally both packages were left in St. Vincent, just a bit north of Grenada. We planned a nice little trip north to get the loot.

It felt great to be underway. We put out our fishing poles and got lucky. Steve reels them in while Anne slows the boat down.

This is a Black Fin Tuna. Great eating raw or cooked.Two Black Fin tunas and one Kingfish later

our freezer was getting full.

We lost one lure to a nice Wahoo. He broke our line and took off so we had no choice but to head for Bequia for new cedar plugs (our favorite lure).

Bequia is one of our favorite islands. It is very beautiful. It did sustain a small amount of damage from storm surge during Omar but the islanders are busy cleaning up. Bequia is a favorite place for boaters to go during the Christmas holidays.

The water is beautiful and refreshing

The locals are into sailingOn our return trip we stopped at Saltwhistle Bay on the island of Mayreau. It is like paradise here. The island of Canouan is in the background.

Back in Grenada, we are enjoying our new silicone candles from Australia. Powered by batteries so no worries about fires onboard. Life is good.

See You Soon,

Anne and Steve

S/V Fine Line

Hash Anyone?

One of the more interesting social events we have enjoyed here in Grenada is Hashing. Hashers are best described as "drinkers with a running problem". Here is some interesting facts about Hashing:

Hashing, as we know it today, began in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1938, when a group of restive British company men started a hare & hounds running group. They named the group after their meeting place, the Selangor Club, aka the "Hash House." Hash House Harrier runs were patterned after the traditional British public school paper chase. A "hare" would be given a short head start to blaze a trail, marking his devious way with shreds of paper, soon to be pursued by a shouting pack of "harriers." Only the hare knew where he was going . . . the harriers followed his marks to stay on trail. Apart from the excitement of chasing down the wily hare, solving the hare's marks and reaching the end was its own reward, for there, thirsty harriers would find a tub of iced-down beer.

Here is Grenada you are assured of a few things when Hashing: It will rain right before or during the Hash making all trails muddy, slippery and downright treacherous.

There will be beer, rum and local food waiting for you upon your return.

So off we go, nice and clean, with our old and new friends.

The trail is not too bad in the begining. Nobody is thinking about turning back. As we progress into the hills it gets a bit steeper and slippery. Still not worth turning back....yetIt does not take long, however, before you begin cursing. You curse yourself first for going on another Hash. Then you curse the person that set the trail...what were they thinking? Are they trying to kill us? Do they have insurance? Do I have insurance against stupidity?? And, ofcourse, now there is no turning back.

One muddy trail leads to another. Mud is everywhere: in our shoes, in our socks, on our pants, on our shirts and in places I am not even going to mention.And just when you think the worst is behind you....you realize there is more

Why would a sensible person participate? For the cute t-shirt ofcourse.

This particular Hash was number 600. There was a bit of British pomp and circumstance surrounding the entire event. Awards were handed out right and left and unique "Hash" names were bestowed on certain participants. Our favorite was "Mountain Goat". He is 63 years old, hikes 25 miles per day, has rowed around Grenada twice and has climbed the highest peak in Grenada 150 times.

Notice how clean he is in this photo. Is this a before or after picture?

This is an after picture.It took a few days to clean up the shoes. The socks get thrown out. There is another Hash in two weeks. Can't wait!

Anne and Steve
S/V Fine Line

Puppy Love

Puppy love is not just for youngsters. Nope, even us older and sometimes wiser people fall head- over- heels when we least expect it. Steve is still numero uno but there is someone new....

The first time I saw him he was acting kind of coy. What a flirt.

He comes from a nice family. His mother is very friendly.

He has lots of sisters and brothers. Good gene pool.

He can be playful and also

Contemplative.

He is being kind of cautious right now.

Wants to "think things over"....

He does seem to need alot of naps and he may be a bit young. Oh well, nothing wrong with a little fantasy now and then.

Mama dog (that's what we call her) had 9 puppies. Two did not survive. They are now 4 weeks old. If you want a very cute island dog, come to Grenada and I will show you where they hide out.

Anne

S/V Fine Line