[Rhodes22-list] I'm Back from the Bahamas???

Fri Sep 8 14:26:54 EDT 2006

Ed, Ed, Ed,
You are far too suspicious.  I do apologize to the list for taking so long,
but alas, the gauntlet has been thrown.

I have not left the list, but I have only been able to dip in and out of it
every week or so, as I have been slammed with an excess of demands on my
time, not the least of which include my job and family.

I was fortunate early in the year to be able to focus heavily on my trip,
but that focus caused a backlog of other commitments that I am still trying
to dig out from under.  In the end, it is simply a case of making time for
what is most important.  Doing the trip was more important than writing
about it has been afterwards.  Perhaps I have been too ambitious in trying
to write and edit an interesting and informative account, and post it on
the list in the pdf format like Chris did.  I do have about two thirds of
it committed to paper so far, though.

I hate being called a poser.  You have ignited a fire under me to get it
posted, and dispel your doubts.

Bill Wickman

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                                       [Rhodes22-list] I'm Back from the   
             09/08/2006 08:11          Bahamas???                          
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Many readers of this list applauded this alleged adventure and promise of
an
exciting summary of the adventure.

There appears to be two possibilities.  Either a great mishap has taken
Bill
W from our environs or the trip never really happened.

      If Bill is no longer with us, his family has not understood that we
were here.  Since we do not subscribe to local obituaries, we just were not
informed.  Let us send the family our condolences.

      The other possibility is that the trip never really in fact occurred.
The picture submitted was really just a photo shop production.  When he
found out that another Rhodie was here who could discern the truth, he
quietly exited the room.

       May Bill Wickman sail in piece… ~~~~~_/) ~~~~~
       May God have mercy upon him... ~~~~~_/) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

`

Ed K
        Greenville, SC, USA

William E. Wickman wrote:
>
> And off he went in a small boat across the Gulf Stream bound for the
> Bahamas….never to be seen again.  Actually, a better way to put it would
> be
> “There and Back; A story of long boring passages interrupted by short
> periods of abject terror".
>
> Joking aside, it was really a wonderful trip!  I had originally planned
to
> build up to this ambitious trip of sailing to Bimini and the Berry
Islands
> in my Rhodes22, but when opportunity knocks you have to answer, or regret
> it for the rest of your life.  Looking back, the worst part about the
trip
> was the fear of the unknown.
>
> The story actually began two years ago when I had just settled into
> ownership of my wonderful Rhodes22.  My master plan called for cruising
> coastal destinations for a while and eventually venturing away from
> American soil to some exotic location like the Bahamas.  Last year I had
a
> learning experience in the Outer Banks, and spent some time sailing
around
> the Destin, FL area.  My next steps included going back to the Outer
> Banks,
> and taking a week or two sailing the Florida Keys and possibly out to the
> Dry Tortugas.  After those adventures, I would take the leap and plan a
> trip to the Bahamas.
>
> Like I said, when opportunity knocks….  Late last summer, my daughter was
> accepted into an internship at Dolphin Encounters based out of Nassau,
> Bahamas.  The internship would be the first week of June, 2006.  My wife
> and other daughter would accompany her for the week.  Thus, an
opportunity
> opened up for my son and me to do something that my wife would likely not
> enjoy (1-2 weeks cruising on the boat in locations that would be totally
> remote from any civilization).  My son was graduating from high school
and
> this would very likely be the last opportunity to have him with me for
> such
> an extended time.  So the plan was hatched to “go for it”.  A friend of
> mine was going to go with us but chickened out, so we added a sailing
> buddy
> of my son’s to round out our crew.  Both my son and his friend are good
> sailors.  Both competed on the high school sailing team and will go on to
> sail in college.  So with able crew, I was committed.
>
> Planning was key to making this trip successful.  I researched all I
could
> find on the internet; I emailed for advice from anyone I found that had
> made the trip; I bought charts and guidebooks and read them twice; and I
> spent much time creating my own provisioning checklist.  Everyone I
talked
> to was very helpful, and I would especially like to thank Chris
> Geankoplis,
> Robert Quinn, and all the others on the Rhodes listserve who provided me
> with valuable advice, local knowledge and insights.
>
> If everyone is interested, I would be glad to post some pictures and a
> trip
> log as soon as I get it written.
>
> For now, attached is one of my nicer photos.  It was taken from Flo's
> Conch
> Bar and Restaurant in the Berry Islands.  The harbor has very thin water
> and other cruisers were amazed that we were able to get in there (they
> anchored out and motored in on their dinghies).  We actually had to heel
> the boat and just scraped over the shallows, but is was a very proud
> moment
> for the Rhodes22.
>
> Bill Wickman
>
> (See attached file: View from Flo's.JPG)
> Name: =?UTF-8?B?VmlldyBmcm9tIEZsbydzLkpQRw==?= Type: image/jpeg Size:
> 531317 bytes Desc: not available
> Url:
>
http://www.rhodes22.org/pipermail/rhodes22-list/attch/200606/12/UTF-8BVmlldyBmcm9tIEZsbydzLkpQRw.jpg

>
> __________________________________________________
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>

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