Alpha and Beta are the root of the word Alphabet

The Greek letters Alpha and Beta are the root of the word Alphabet.

This is just one of the many facts we have learned while on Sila. Who knew that we needed a little home schooling too? (actually those of you who know us won’t be surprised at all). What an incredible two weeks we have had with the Barnes clan aboard the beautiful Sila. We have engaged our new found love of the Alphabet as a way to share tidbits from our time aboard. 

A – Amazing is the word for our time here on Sila with the Barnes family. Sure the sentiment can be a little tired and trite but, dang, in this instance it’s just darn true!

B – Bowline Knot If you spend time on a boat you gotta know how to tie this knot. Thanks to Molly for showing Gina the greatest bowline trick ever.

C - Code Flags The last time we thought about these colorful things it was on a bottle of cheesy cologne back in the eighties. We were unprepared for Jack’s erudite command of this piece of nautical communication.

D - Delicious meals created by Molly and Christopher in the Sila kitchen. Step 1: Imagine trying to cook in a 2 foot by 6 foot box. You can try and dignify it by calling it a galley, but fundamentally your frying eggs with your elbows at your ears. Step 2: Add in the fact that we are in a relatively remote tropical location where fresh food is harder to come by – we were expecting 14 days of soggy pasta and canned green beans. Step 3: Fold in that the “galley” is often hot and stuffy, sometimes at a 10 degree angle, and while underway always moving enough that finding the pepper is an oceanic version of whack-a-mole. Step 4: Preheat your oven (which is of course mounted on a gimbal) to 375 degrees and bam! Somehow make great food without fail: calzone with homemade dough, abracadabra chicken with hand mashed potatoes by the “Masher of the House” and corn fritters with real maple syrup for breakfast. We’ll be lucky to eat half as well when we return to land.

E - Evening sunsets Does the green flash really exist?

F - Fresh Fish--Nothing like eating Mahi-Mahi 10 minutes after it was caught in the middle of a sail! Thanks to the expert fisherman Porter. On the same day, we saw a dolphin which literally touched the boat, a shark which swam 10 feet from the stern, a giant turtle, and the conch (described below). It is our belief that the marine creatures are following Sila because Porter is now a man of the sea.

G - Grab beer and run like hell in case of hurricane. A sign on the “perfect beaches”on the Island of Anegada.

H - Hiking for sunset… one night we hiked up a section of Peter Island to sit quietly and watch the sun set over the ocean. Instead we had a lovely fresh water shower and some company, a couple, from Detroit of all places! GO Penguins!

I – Ice—living without refrigeration makes you appreciate the stuff, especially when offered with rum and a slice of lime.

J - Jubilant Boys who shared their special world of the Baths…You all might remember a few posts back the boys describing their special passages through the rock formations (the snake tunnel, the Rum Bottle Cave, etc.). True guides who judiciously cared for their ‘larger’ friends providing hints or suggestions about how to squeeze into small spots. Watch out pirates…the four of us have you trapped and our treasure is exquisitely hidden.

K- Kindness of Sila herself-her stability, ease of sail, comfort, and simplicity.  

L – Laughter never short on this one. [Editor’s Note: for those strong of heart check out www.CardsAgainstHumanity.com. Some content may not be suitable for our younger readers.]

M - “Mine your hea….” is spoken at least daily in classic Molly Barnes form with a smile and a short giggle. One of the many small tidbits that she tells about travels thus far—this one about a tour guide (can’t remember where) who didn’t quite enunciate “mind your head.” The story is only so funny, but the smile and giggle from Molly each time she says it speaks volumes about her character and love of life and the adventure of Sila day to day.  

N - is for knowing we have won over the boys and they enjoy being traitors against their parents! Bring on Adolescence!

O - OH Hell! We got introduced to the Peterson Family card game and the competitive nature of all Barnes family players-no surprise here. What else do you expect from those Michiganders.  Again-Go Penguins!

P - Poop Deck We’ll let Porter and Jack write a post about that one for anyone curious, but yes it does exist and it’s not as gross as you think.

Q – Queasy is part of the experience for David as he’s a river rat not an ocean lover-- let’s hear it for Sturgeron.

R - is of course for the lovable Rabbit- the mast climber and conch diver among many things. On the same day that Porter caught the Mahi-Mahi, we anchored in a beautiful spot with coral reefs all around us. There were tons of Conch there and Rabbit went at the task (with Porter’s help) to get a Conch. Within 20 minutes, we had a conch in hand staring its little eyes looking at us with suspicion and pleading not to be eaten.

S- “Scott Says…” Scott is the 7^th family member aboard Sila. It is not long after boarding that you hear Porter say the words: “Scott Says…”. Although Scott is not here in physical form, he is a definite part of Sila, Porter’s day to day life, and the Barnes/Lasky family fun. Porter has become a virtual encyclopedia about fishing and all things marine life. What he has learned is truly incredible and he enjoys sharing his deep wealth of knowledge-sometimes at appropriate times like when we see a fish and ask questions and sometimes quite randomly when the Scott nerve twitches. If you haven’t guessed, Scott is the source of all of this knowledge….as author of a book Porter has read cover to cover at least twice. We have all learned many interesting, handy, random pieces of information about Scott, his life, and his wisdom on fishing!

T - Treasure Hunt Early in our trip, Porter told us he had made a treasure hunt for us on board. Shortly after we received small strips of paper with codes. The codes varied between word play, sequencing patterns, and numbers. Some were quick and some took us days. If David and I were talking it through, you could tell if we were close b/c Porter would put his finger a certain way on his face. Truly an intricate and fun hunt with an end point of a beautiful shell and two packages of Mentos--This kid is so fun!  

U - Under sail possibly the best part of each day is when we are under sail, listening to the Rabbit spin the tunes and Porter’s recitation of random “Scott Says” facts.

V - Vacuum Hose entertainment-watching Jack talk to himself is the real entertainment.

W – Watching the boys grow like well-nourished weeds both mentally and physically from the experiences around them and the quality attention of two loving parents.

X - Xanadu- May be cheesy, but there are few things we love more than time with this foursome! What an extraordinary vacation.

Y – is for Yankee ingenuity. When the pressurized fresh water line blew out and started flooding the kitchen and we discovered there wasn’t a replacement hose available anywhere on Virgin Gorda, David and Christopher cobbled together a MacGyvered solution of a bunch of brass fittings, a repurposed hose, and a couple of bruised knuckles.

Z- Zany is an apt word to describe this sixsome. We may not be genetically related, but we are family. What a life-time gift we have been given in these Barneseseses….No amount of time is enough but thank goodness for the Sila Blog to keep us up to speed on the events aboard this lovely boat and her inhabitants on this grand adventure! -Gina & David Lasky