Travel
Sun, pristine beaches, palm trees, quiet anchorages, great snorkeling, fresh fish, and freedom from the rat race. What person has not fantasized about the challenge of sailing a boat to islands of paradise. Floyd and Elaine Tapp had read their “how to” books and thought they were prepared for the challenge. What should have been a nice cruise across the Florida Panhandle after purchasing their dreamboat turned into a demented struggle to survive. From the ridiculous situation on the night of the closing at Shell Point, FL to the miracle Floyd pulled surfing their sailboat in near hurricane conditions over a shallow sand bar on the third try to get in the anchorage at Destin, FL. Floyd became some kind of hero to the local fishermen and sailors. At the local pub one fisherman noticed Floyd’s accent and asked where he was from. The answer Kentucky made Floyd and Elaine the Sailing Hillbillies forever.) During their stay at Destin, he had a hard time paying for a beer at the local fishermen hangout. The bartender even served him free raw oysters during happy hour.
Floyd was proud of his achievements in the face of danger. Floyd’s “type a” personality and “learn-as-you-go” attitude had him learning from his mistakes at a phenomenal rate. He felt his ingenuity and perseverance had saved the day numerous times the next few years. Elaine was convinced it was not Floyd but the “power of prayer” and the hands of Jesus that enabled them to survive. She believed she truly has witnessed miracles.
The 2nd Edition adds 3 more chapters of misadventures where Floyd grabbed the bull by the horns and saved the day in each one. As of the day I wrote this, there were four collectors with their new or like new copies of the 1st Edition priced for over $900 on Amazon. Sounds crazy to me but I know nothing about collecting books. For More Saga of The Sailing Hillbillies….
Izzy
From: Saga of the Sailing Shih Tzu; Izzy tells her story.
Mom and Dad, Elaine and Floyd Tapp, have been sailboat people since 1988. They have sailed to South America two times and have been as far north as Long Island four times. Dad wrote a book about their misadventures called “The Saga of the Sailing Hillbillies”, 1st Edition which is a much sought-after collector’s book.
Dad always said a dog and cruising on a sailboat spells trouble. It is too much trouble to get off the boat and find grass. When cruisers make long passages there is no grass for days and that can be trouble for the poor dogs. Some storms with high winds can last for days where it is too dangerous to lower the dingy and go to shore. Mom does not always listen to Dad. When she first saw me, she bought me because she knew if Dad ever saw how sweet and pretty, I am, he would want to keep me. That night when Dad came home, Mom held me out in her hand and told Dad to hold me while she put dinner on the table. Dad acted like he was in shock, but I knew it was love at first sight for both of us. I started licking his hand and Dad got tears in his eyes. I am no longer just a handful and Dad still holds me every day if he is not off racing motorcycles somewhere. I always get up on the couch and take a nap with him. When he comes in the house, I raise up on my hind legs and hop across the room and he picks me up so I can give him a big licking. He thinks I am special. Mom has trained me to use pee-pads and I am not much trouble which is the way Dad likes it.
Our trip to the Bahamas took some getting adjusted to. Some things like that first dingy ride was scary but I got where I liked it. What I really like about the boat life is I am with Mom and Dad 24/7. For More….
Travel
A quote from “The Fog from Hell” chapter
A very serious problem developed. The worse fog ever came rolling in on us. The fog was like it was from a Stephen King novel, scary. The fog kept getting thicker. It became so thick we could barely see the mast just in front of the dodger windshield. The radar screen turned solid white. I tried different settings and nothing changed. We were motoring blind. The chart plotter showed we were about 5 miles from entering the pass to our anchorage. It was getting dark. I could not believe our radar failed on us. Chart plotters can be off sometimes. Radars usually show the big steel buoys with flashing lights. Stay between the buoys and you are usually safe. I took the radar off the big screen so the chart plotter would give us a better feeling where the buoys were. We entered the pass and the little boat on the screen started jumping around. Our safety depended on the chart plotter. There was so much moisture in the air my glasses fogged up as quick as I could wipe them. Water was running off the bill on my cap like a water fall and we were under the bimini. In our 35,000 miles of cruising we have been in fog but never like this. The chart plotter showed we were in the middle of the channel but we were not. We both had a bad case of the shakes and then things really went crazy. For More….
Izzy
Where is the land?
As you can tell, I am worried. I saw no land yesterday, none last night, and none today. What will I do if we are out here so long that I run out of green beans and pee pads?
Izzy is anxiously looking for land. It has been days since she has seen land….where are we? For More….
