Malaysian Friend Sails on Cahaya!

Hi kids,

Well, after a few days on land to go to my sons wedding we are back on
our boat. It was great seeing my son marry his beautiful bride but
it's great to be back to the ocean, too.

When we got our boat we couldn't think of a good name. So we asked all
our friends from around the world for ideas. The lady in this picture
is the one who thought of 'Cahaya'. She is from Malaysia. That is a
country on the other side of the world. In the Malaysian language
'Cahaya' means 'bright shining light'. This lady's name is Anthea and
she is always nice and always smiling. So she is a 'bright shining
light' too. So we named the boat Cahaya because it reminds us of her.

She lives in America now so we took her sailing today. In Malaysia
it's always hot. So she's not used to our weather. She got really
cold. Come to think of it, so did I!

Well, kids, be nice to the teacher and maybe shell tell you more about
Malaysia.

The Monument! Come Get Your Blankets!

Hi kids!

This is a thing we sailed by one afternoon.  It's called 'The Monument' and it's on Little Mark's Island at the end of Harpswell Sound.  In the old days people sailed in wooden boats that had no engines.  Just the wind blew them around.  Sometimes they wrecked their boats.  When they fell into the water they could drown or die from the cold.  The water in Maine is VERY cold!  So the people of this town went out and put blankets and food on this island in case someone wrecked their boat.  If they wrecked they could swim to the island and use the food and blankets until someone from the town came to rescue them.  They put up this tower to tell the sailors the stuff was here. 

Here's a picture of me at the helm as we sailed by.  Angel Jen wanted to take a picture to prove I was working.  See the yellow life vest?  I wear it all the time when I'm on the boat.  It makes me safer if I were to fall into the water.I hope it doesn't make me look fat!  ('No, honey', says Angel Jen.  'It's your FAT BELLY that makes you look fat.')

Light houses!

Hi Kids!

We went by a couple light houses on our trip from Rockland to Freeport.  The first one was in Tenant's Harbor.  This light house is owned by Mr. Jamie Wyeth.  He is the son of Andrew Wyeth and the grandson of N. C. Wyeth.  I talked about him before, when we went to the museum to see some of his pictures.  He stays in the light house in the summer and makes his paintings.  Did you notice that there are actually TWO light houses, a square one and a round one, in the picture?

This light house is on Pemaquid Point.  It was the first place Angel Jen and I went for a date.  It has two light houses just like the one at Tenant's Harbor.  The old light house is the little pyramid shaped one.  The newer one is round.  No one lives in the light houses any more.  They are all automaticly operated now.  But in the old days there used to be a guy or a couple who lived there and turned the light on every night to guide the sailors.

Well, kids, that's all for now.  See if you can get the teacher to draw a light house for you.  I hear she's pretty good at drawing things.

Portland Pudgie, What a Name For a Boat!

Hi kids! Here's a picture of a Portland Pudgie at daybreak. The Pudgie
was invented by a guy who had wrecked his ship and had to go in a
liferaft for weeks. He HATED the liferaft by the time he was rescued.
So he invented this little boat as a liferaft you could sail or row
instead of just sitting around waiting for someone to come rescue you.
I took the picture at dawn, when the sun comes up. We were getting up
early because we are going to my sons wedding in New York City. We
won't be back until next week. Hope we make it! Ok, kids, be good for
the teacher and maybe she will be good to you. Perhaps.

Where the heck ARE we?

Hi kids!

Ever wonder how we tell where the boat is? Here's a picture of the
thing that helps us know. It's called a 'chartplotter'. A chart is a
map of the ocean. It shows where the land is and has numbers to tell
you how deep the water is so I don't go where the water is too shallow
for the boat. This thing is a computer that uses a picture of a chart
and a GPS signal to tell me where I am. If you look close in the
picture you can see a little black boat on the screen. That's me. The
yellow thing is a picture of an island I was going by. It's like
magic. This computer has a lot of other information, too.

Well, kids, make sure you listen to the teacher today. Sit up
straight, be quiet and wait for recess. That's when the fun begins!

Angel Jen Takes A Snooze

Hi kids!

Here's a picture of Angel Jen taking a snooze in the sun on the deck
of the boat. We were sailing along the coast of Maine and she had just
eaten her lunch. She took a nap right on deck. Poor old thing. She
just leaned back and pulled her hat down and pretty soon she was
asleep. Not me! I kept on sailing! Someone has to do the work.

Well, kids, if you teacher gives you a nap time, take it. Life always
feels better after a nap.

Angel Jen Can Read!

Hi kids!

Here's a picture of Angel Jen after a long day sailing. She LOVES to
read. She reads a book every day, almost. Big books, too, with no
pictures, just words. She just LOVES to read.

Lobster boats Everywhere!

Hi kids!

Here is a picture of the lobster boats in Old Harbor. There are
lobster boats EVERYWHERE on Vinalhaven. This island ships more lobster
than any other town in the world. Men go out in these boats with
traps. They put bait in the traps and put them in the water. The
lobster go in the traps to eat the bait and the lobstermen pull up the
traps and put the lobster in their boat. Too bad, lobster boy. You are
CAUGHT!

Sunset on Old Harbor

Hi kids!

Here's a picture of the sunset from Old Harbor on Vinalhaven Island.
This island is big. It's eight miles across. That means it's farther
across this island than it is from Camptown to Wyalusing! So it has
several harbors where you can park a boat. We stayed in this one. It's
called 'Old' harbor because it was the harbor before the town grew up
around the new harbor. We love sunsets on the water. They are
beautiful. Especially after a long day of sailing.

Re: ph

Questions from the kids in Camptown: Do you have a computer?  How do you plug it in? I have two computers and an iPhone.  The iPhone can take pictures and send emails over the phone so if I am near land where there is cell phones, I can send emails to the teacher or update the blog.  When we are at land, I can take the computers in to the library or a coffee shop and send emails.  I have a thing that allows me to plug the computers and the iphone into the boat to get electricity or I can charge them up when I am on land at somebody's place. How do you e-mail us? I use an iPhone, usually.  Or when I am at land I go to a library or coffee shop. What do mussels taste like? Mussels taste a lot like clams, but they are smaller.  I love them.  Angel Jen thinks they are stinky. How do you get new clothes? I took them from home before we left.  When we are on land, we go to stores.  I was going to say we took them when we captured ships but Angel Jen says, 'Don't LIE!' How do you get the sails up in the air? The sails have ropes and pulleys that allow me to pull them up.  The ropes that pull sails up are called 'halyards' and the ones that control the sails when I'm sailing are called 'sheets'.  Pulling up the sails is hard work.  Angel Jen LOVES to do it. Do you have a phone? I have an iPhone which is a cell phone from Apple.  It can do email, has maps and a lot of stuff in it.  A lot of time when we are far from land it doesn't work.  You have to be near land for the phone to work. Does the sea have sharks? Yes.  Big, mean sharks with rows and rows of teeth.  And little ones, too. Are you two married? Yes.  We got married in Camptown in 2001. How is Angel Jen doing? She seems to be bearing up well.  Of course, it's a lot of fun to  sail with me.  I am a jolly pirate, not the usual mean, criminal type pirate. Is priate John being good for Angel Jen? Depends on the day, kid.  And the time of the day.  Short answer, not always but pretty much.  How about you?  You being good for the teacher? It looks like Jen does the hard work.  Was she really scared going up those masts? Angel Jen wasn't strong enough to pull big old Pirate John to the top of the mast.  And hard work is good for her.  It makes her sleep well at night.  She said she was scared before she went up but afterward she said it was ok.

Having Bad Luck? Drive Off the Evil Spirits!

Hi kids! Well, the fat man delivered. A brand new, off the shelf, no nicks in the paint transmission for the boat. We are OUT OF ROCKLAND HARBOR! I heard that the Chinese people invented fireworks long ago and that they set them off at their festivals to scare off evil spirits. So we decided to do that, too. Here is Angel Jen walking around the decks of the boat with a sparkler waving it around to rid the boat of any lingering evil transmission spirits. Be gone, you rascals!



John from the phone

Hot lunch is good!

Hi kids!

Well, we made it to the Fox Islands. I was Freezing by the time we got
there. It was cold and the wind was howling. I gotta remember to put
on my coat! Here's Angel Jen sitting on the cockpit after we tied the
boat up having her lunch. She's having hot noodle soup in a cup with a
slice of my homemade bread. (that's right. Pirate John makes bread.
You got a problem with that?) after the soup we went below and had hot
chocolate. Man, was that tasty.

We are going to wait out the passage of a cold front tonight and
strike out tomorrow again. Wahoo! Until then, remember, good children
go to heaven. Bad children don't even get recess. So be good!

Wow! The Open Ocean!

Hi kids!

Here's a picture of the open ocean as we set out from Rockland bound
east to the Fox Islands. The waves were washing over the hull! The
boat was rocking and rolling! Didn't it feel GREAT to have her out to
sea again! Bend your legs, Pirate John, and HOLD ON!

Boat Busted? Go To the Museum!

Hi kids! Well, today was another day of waiting for the fat man to
fix the boat. He got all the parts except ONE! Arhhhh! So, since
the boat is still busted, we went to a museum. The museum has a
bunch of paintings and sculptures. The museum is called the
Farnsworth Museum. It has a lot of paintings by N. C. Wyeth, his
son Andrew and his grandson Jamie. This family is ALL PAINTERS!
Man! And good ones, too. They do their paintings in Maine near
where we are now. The museum is also having a big show of paintings
and sculptures by Robert Indiana. He is a famous artist who lives
on Vinalhaven Island where we used to live. When he was a kid, he
was just another kid. But when he grew up he was rich and famous.
Maybe you could do it too. From the look of his artwork, most
anyone could do it. Here is a picture of Angel Jen standing by one
of Mr. Indianas sculptures. This design made him famous and it's
just one word, 'love', written in a funny way. Pirate John is
envious! Well, kids, we all hope the part comes in tomorrow. Until
then, be good and bring apples for the teacher. I hear they like
that. And it keeps them healthy. And who wants a sick old teacher?

Log Hauling Boat

Hi kids!

While we were waiting for the fat man to fix our boat we walked around
the marina. We met this guy. He LIVES on this boat! It's like his
house! He is an artist and so is his wife. He makes stained glass and
she makes something like doilies. This little boat was a working boat.
It hauled big, I mean HUGE, loads of logs across a big lake in
northern Maine. When it got too old to do that, he bought it and
changed the insides to a place he could live in. It was fun meeting
this guy. That's what happens when you meet people with a smile!

Giant Ship Ahead!

Hi kids!

While we were parked at the dock (AGAIN) our neighbor was this huge ship.  It's 170 feet long.  That is longer than five class rooms.  It was built in 1900 so it is 109 years old.  It used to be used to haul cargo on the sea but now they only use boats with motors to haul stuff.  This boat, this GIANT boat, has no motor at all.  It just uses the wind to go.  The boat takes people out for rides in the sea to show them what it was like in the old days.  The man who drives the boat let us come aboard and look around.  It was pretty neat.  It's realy, really big.  Its nme is the 'Victory Chimes'.  If you get up to Rockland you can go for a ride on it!  Man, wouldn't that be fun!

Sea Gulls Stand On Pilings! Really!

Hi Kids!

While we are waiting for the fat man to fix the nice boat for the fifth time or so, I took this picture of sea gulls standing on posts.  Why are there posts, you might ask.  The posts, which are called pilings, are there for people to tie their boats to when they come ashore to get some food or grog or stuff.  (If you don't know what grog is, ask your teaacher.  She had some this weekend.)  The sea gulls hang out here between bouts of fighting amongst themselves, cawing or flying around which is what they do all day.  You can't eat sea gulls.  They aren't like nice Pennsylvania grouse or turkeys, which taste good.  Sea gulls live on fish, mussels and clams and whatever they can steal out of the garbage.  As a consequence, they taste lousy.  A guy told me that if you put a brick and a seagull in the oven at the same time the brick would be done first and taste better.  He must have been crazy, but that was pretty funny.  Too bad we can't eat them because they are EVERYWHERE!  This place has so many sea gulls you can't even count them.  Come to think of it, I might cook one to see if it's really that bad.  Mmmm!  come here, little sea gull!  Pirate John wants to take you to dinner.  Ha!  Ha!

Rainbow over Cahaya!

Hi kids!
Well, here we are back at the dock waiting for another visit from the
fat man to get our transmission fixed for the fourth time. But, darn,
it's the weekend and the fat man is not at work. We have to wait until
tomorrow.
In the meantime Angel Jen made a rainbow over the boat to cheer us up.
It's a trick she can do when the world needs a lift. Provided, of
course, that the clouds part while the sun is setting and there is
rain falling to the east. Whenever those conditions prevail, Angel
Jen's bright smile makes a rainbow. Isn't she something?

Jelly Fish Dont Go On Bread!

Hi kids!

Well, the sea gods must have it in for old Pirate John. We are back at
the dock with a bum transmission again.

Here is a picture of a jelly fish who was floating by the dock when we
got there. Jelly fish can't swim. Crazy, huh? Fish that can't swim.
They just float along going wherever the currents take them. If
something swims past they sting it to death with their poison
tentacles and eat it. If you ever see one, stay away! These suckers
are nasty and the poison can make you hurt. Even Pirate John stays
clear of these things.

Be good kids. Play kickball at recess and pretend the ball is the head
of the mechanic who messed up my boat again. I'm mad at him! And
always listen to the teacher.

Pirates need winches to work!

When we park the boat at night we drop a heavy piece of metal called
an anchor and a long chain to hold the boat from moving. The chain and
anchor are heavy. Too heavy to pick up. So I use a winch to haul it
up. Here is a picture of me tearing my winch apart. Note the mean
face. Working on winches instead of sailing makes pirates mad. Maybe
tomorrow we can put it back together and get out of Rockland harbor. I
sure hope so.

Well, kids, remember: teachers make the rules. Listen to the teacher!

Angel Jen ascends to the Heavens!

At the top of the mast to our sailboat is a radio antenna. That's so
you can talk to other sailors. You can say,"Pardon me, do you have any
Grey Poupon?" if you're out of mustard or "Help! Help! This stupid
boat is sinking!" if the boat is going to sink. The man who put the
mast on the boat this year messed up and put the radio antenna on
wrong. Here is a picture of Angel Jen being hoisted to the top of the
mast to fix it. I thought angels liked to fly high but she sure was
nervous. Don't worry, angel Jen. I won't drop you. My jury rigged
setup is as good as can be!

Needless to say we couldn't fix it so we are back at the mans place to
get him to straighten it out. Maybe we can get going tomorrow.

Be good kids and don't bite the teacher.

Happy days are here again!

Hi kids! Well, we took time to go shopping for food ( pirates eat the same as regular people but lots of red meat, no tofu and NO GRAINOLA!) then we took Cahaya out to try the transmission to see if it works. And, praise be to heaven, it works! Angel Jen made a happy face. Wahoo, Angel Jen! The boat works! Tomorrow we set out to sea! John from the phone



John from the phone

Mechanic in the Hold!

Hi kids!

The bottom of a boat is called the 'hold'.  They call it that because that's where things are held until the end of the trip.  In a sailboat like mine we have a small room with the engine in it and the stupid thing that was broken called a transmission.  The man came back today to reinstall the transmission again (for the third time!).  He crawled down in the hold of the ship and through a small hole to get to the place where it goes.  This is what the mechanic looks like when he is all folded up down in the hold working.  I handed him tools to help.  He used a little bit of mechanic language while he worked.  Mechanic language is like sailor language pretty much, but with some different words.  Like mechanics talk about 'wrenches' and sailors talk about 'wenches'.  Mechanics say 'this blesséd transmission' and sailors say 'these blesséd sails'.  And when the mechanic drops his tools or the nuts and bolts down in the oily, nasty bilge he says, 'Bye, bye tools!'  Sailors never drop things in the bilge.  We know what's down there.  It's stinky!

Well kids, I sure hope this boat is fixed so we can get on our way.  I'll tell you tomorrow.  In the meantime, remember.  The teacher is the one who knows what's going on.  Listen to her and immediately obey anything she says.

Dinghy sailing

Hi kids!

Remember I said we use a little boat to get out to our big boat?  That's because the big boat goes too far down in the water to bring it to land.  If you did, the bottom of the boat would hit the bottom of the water and it would stop.  And Angel Jen would say,"Ouch!  We hurt the boat!  Get out of here!".  Here's a picture of me sailing in a little yellow dingy with my friend randy.  He uses this yellow dinghy to get to his boat.  We are sailing it instead of rowing because we are sailors, true and strong.  Also we are too lazy to row.

Well kids, have a good day, take a nice nap and remember, the teacher is always right.

Pirate John

Bird eats Fish In His Feet! Angel Jen Goes Rogue!!

Hi Kids!

Remember the picture of the sunrise on Tuesday?  Well, here is another picture showing the osprey.  If you look really close you can see him sitting on the end of the boom of the boat.  The picture isn't very good because I took it with my phone and the camera is pretty cheap on that thing.  The boom is the part of a boat that holds the bottom of a sail.  It is a long thing like a log that the sail attaches to and which holds the bottom down so the wind can push the sail.  The osprey is sitting on the boom and holding the big fish he caught in his feet.  I hope he washed his feet last night before he went to bed in his nest!  (But I'll bet he didn't.  Osprey don't care about dirty feet.)

The second picture is Angel Jen.  We went out to breakfast at a coffee house while we are waiting for our stupid boat to get fixed again.  Jen is showing you that she doesn't like having her picture taken.  She's saying, 'Cut it out!  Put that camera away!  Drink your coffee!'

Well, kids, have a good day.  Enjoy recess, take a nice nap and remember, the teacher is always right.

Sunrise today

Hi kids! Poor Pirate John! He had to get up early this morning to get ready for the men to come fix his boat again. This is what sunrise looked like today in Rockland harbor. The boat on the left has two masts. The second mast is higher than the first so the boat is a schooner. Different types of boats have different names. I'll teach you more of the names as we go along. As soon as I got up I saw an osprey, that's a great big bird like an eagle, dive into the water and haul out a fish almost as big as he was. He was one happy bird! He flew around my boat three times calling,'Cree! Cree!' then landed on the boom on the second mast of this boat and ate the fish for breakfast.

The man came, hauled our boat over to his dock and took the thing that connects the motor to the propellor out again. This is the third time. He took it apart, scratched his head because he couldn't figure it out and went home. So we are tied up at his dock with a broken boat again. Pirate John is about ready to string this fat man up with the ropes on the mast and hack him apart with my pirate sword. But Angel Jen says, 'Cut it out! Just cool it. Work on the boat, practice your sailor knots and after supper we'll get ice cream.' Angel Jen just bought the fat man another day on earth. But tomorrow I swear I'm going to hang him. Well, kids, be good. Do EVERYTHING your teacher says and remember,'The teacher is always right, even when you don't like it.' John from the phone

Pirate John and Angel Jen Hit the High Seas!

Hi Kids!

This is the first installment of Sail Cahaya, the story of Pirate John, Angel Jen and their adventures on the high seas. Hope you enjoy reading about where we go and the crazy things that happen to us along the way.

This is a picture of us in our small boat going out to the big boat to go sailing. The small boat is called a dinghy.

Right now we are stuck in Rockland Maine waiting for a man to fix our boat, but pretty soon we will go out and conquer the world. You just wait and see.

This is a picture of our boat. It is tied up to a dock because we are waiting for a man to come fix it. The boat is thirty seven feet long. That is about as long as three cars. And it weighs twenty four thousand pounds. That is about as much as eight cars. The sails go up fifty five feet in the air. That is higher than any building in Camptown. We can't wait to get the boat fixed again so we can go sail on the ocean.

Well, kids, I'll send another report later. Be good to your teacher and do everything she says.

Starfish captured alive! Read all about it!

Hi kids!

While we are stuck in Rockland Harbor waiting for the stupid boat to get fixed we went to the dock in our little dinghy to hang out for a while. When we got there I spied a starfish in the water. I reached down and snagged him with my bare hands. (I am a pirate, brave and strong, after all!) I picked him up and put him on my leg so I could show you a picture. Then I tossed him back in the water.

Sail Cahaya! Pirate John and Angel Jen Take to the High Seas!

Well, kids, we are off to the high seas! Well, not quite. The stupid thing that connects the motor to the propellor is still broke so we can't take the boat out on the seas yet. We are still stuck in Rockland Harbor waiting for the man to fix the boat. Of course, the man has decided to take the weekend off so it will be next week before he tries to fix the boat. In the meantime, Angel Jen and I are futzing around with stuff on the boat, singing sea shanties and practicing tying knots. Sailors have to tie a lot of knots and they have to be right. So we are practicing. Then we will change some ropes on the mast and read books.

Check out this picture of the mussels on the rocks. I told you. These things grow everywhere on the coast of Maine. If they are in clean water, you can pick them up, cook them and eat them. I love them. Angel Jen says they are yucky so I get to eat them all. Too bad, Angel Jen!