Learning to sail has been quite an awesome experience for me. Living in Seattle, being so close to the Puget Sound and all it has to offer, how could I not take to the water?

This Labor Day I was fortunate enough to spend four days onboard my friend Cap’n John’s boat. We sailed through the San Juan Islands of Washington, and the Canadian Gulf Islands. Although just a few hours away from Seattle, we were worlds away!

Sunset view from South Pender Island, Canada.

The peace of the water, the hilly islands, some with dry terrain, others with lush forests, the wind whipping through the sails…it was like living in a post card.

I caught my first big fish, and “Norm” (as we named him) provided our meals for the next few days. I broke down crying after catching him, once I realized that we’d have to club the poor fella and filet him. (Hey, I’m a city girl from Chicago! I don’t normally indulge in such behavior!) He was quite delicious, though. Thank you, Norm!

The One That Didn’t Get Away! Salmon Slayer Gill.

Fishing video

I highly recommend a sailing adventure throughout this beautiful area. There are also ferries that go back and forth to the mainland. For more information, check out:

www.guidetosanjuans.com/

Sail on!

Kristen

photo credit: Reuters

(Dublin, Ireland) A 65-member team that set sail from Roskilde, Denmark on July 1st, arrived yesterday in Dublin. The team journeyed over 1,000 nautical miles using only oar and sail power. Christened the Havhingsten af Glendalough (The Sea Stallion of Glendalough), this reconstructed viking ship is the largest in the world, say its builders, who built it using the wood of 300 oak trees.

The Sea Stallion’s return voyage was 1,000 years in the making. Originally built in Dublin in 1042, it sank 30 years later in the Roskilde fjord, south of Copenhagen. It was not excavated until 1964, and was finally completed in 2004. The aim of this journey was to address questions related to Viking ship-building and travel.

Researchers will examine film and computer data gathered during the voyage, and the vessel will be on display at Dublin’s National Museum until next year, when another crew will make the return voyage home.

Now that’s what I call an adventure!

A well-respected artist whose art was not consistent with Communist thought in his home country, Maska left Czech in the early 1990s. He went first to the United States to continue his art studies, then travelled all over the world. He eventually made his way down to Roatan.

In each of the places he landed, he thought the beer was terrible. While many people might have had this same thought, he decided he needed to do something about it. Roatan Brewery is now up and running with two lovely beers, Bay Islands Pilsner and Bay Islands Ale. I can vouch that they are both delicious.

The brewery itself is a replica of a 15th century Spanish fortress. Maska has built it himself in less than 2 years, high on a hill in the east end of the island. Windmills and solar panels provide the power. In order to produce these natural beers, which follow a 600 year old recipe, he imports everything, from the equipment to the hops, yeast and malt, from Europe. The entire brewing cycle takes about a month to complete. If you stop by, Maska will give you a tour of the place and regale you with stories, only after he provides you with a freshly poured beer.

All his beer drinking has inspired some pretty lofty ideas. Maska has, among other serious adventures, crashed a 4-seater airplane and survived. Later he sank a boat he brought over from Czech in the deep waters off the north coast of Honduras, and was adrift for 16 hours. With no flotation device. Eventually he was picked up by local fishermen.

These events have only fueled the passion for his latest endeavor. What next? A pirate ship, of course! His Black Pearl project is creating an exact replica of the pride of Henry Morgan’s fleet. Henry Morgan was one of the most famous pirates of the Caribbean, who built the original Black Pearl off the coast of Honduras in 1667. Maska is not only building this ship using the same materials used back then, but is also building it in the same place it was originally built. Details include 6 bronze functional cannons, handmade canvases and ropes, a handmade metal-tipped anchor, and sheathing impregnated by hot blood from oxen. The ship is designed for tourism, and will be ready for its maiden voyage in summer of 2007.

What’s on the horizon for Captain Maska is beyond anyone’s imagination. Perhaps the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria? Ahoy, mateys!

Adventure on,

Kristen