Our Friend, Evi Nemeth

We met Evi in Annapolis in 2000. We had just started cruising, and were in a chandlery looking for a part ... how unusual. They didn't have the part and the clerk suggested looking for it at Bacon's Consignment Store, but it was a bit of hike if were walking. A woman standing nearby said that she had overheard our conversation and was heading that way if we wanted a lift.  

As we chatted on our way over to Bacon's, we learned we had quite a bit in common. Like us, she was new to this wonderful cruising lifestyle. She had been a professor of computer sciences at the University of Colorado, David's old alma mater, and we discovered we had several friends in common. As so often happens in the cruising community, we quickly became friends.

Our paths crossed several times over the next few months, and we shared many a meal aboard either Evi's sailboat Wonderland or aboard Nine of Cups. She was a singlehander, but usually took on crew for her passages, and had a number of great stories about some of the more eccentric folks who'd sailed with her.

When we headed for South America and points south, the wind blew Wonderland in a different direction, and we didn't see her for a few years. We were close a few times – we just missed her in Panama one year, and she was just sailing to Patagonia as we were leaving. It wasn't until we were in New Zealand the second time that we met again. We looked out one day to see her sailing into Opua. We helped her with her lines, lent a hand making repairs, and renewed our friendship.

It now appears certain that our friend Evi has been lost at sea. She was helping sail the American schooner, Nina, across the Tasman Sea from New Zealand to Australia when the sailboat apparently went down with all hands.

One of the articles written about her stated that there is some comfort in knowing that she died doing something she loved. We'd like to think so, but during the occasions we had to weather a storm at sea, we weren't doing what we loved. Our emotions ranged from intense unease to sheer terror as we watched the next huge wave coming at us and thinking that there was no way we would survive it. So far, Cups always has. Poor Nina did not.

We have lost a number of friends and acquaintances in the past few years. Most were due to health reasons, a few were lost to acts of piracy and some to the vagaries of the sea. While we were greatly saddened by the loss of each these wonderful people, Evi's death seems particularly close.

We'll raise a cup to you tonight, dear friend.

Crayolas for Cruisers

 

The Crayola Crayon is celebrating its 110th birthday. The first box of Binney & Smith Crayola crayons were introduced in 1903. The brand name “Crayola” was originally coined by Edwin Binney’s wife Alice, and comes from “craie,” the French word for chalk, and “ola,” from “oleaginous” (which means oily, not waxy, by the way. Waxy would have been ceraceous, but hey, it's worked for 110 years, so who am I to say).

Back in 2003, for their 100th birthday, Crayola manufactured the world's biggest crayon …. 1500 pounds (680kg) and 15' (4.6M) long. Imagine the coloring book that went with that sucker. I was interested in seeing how crayons were made because I had no idea. It's a pretty neat process.

We carry crayons on board as part of the school supplies we give as gifts to kids and schools along the way. I also use crayons on occasion for decoration purposes. In the hotter, equatorial climates, they tend to melt which is a pain, hence the reason we stick to the higher latitudes.

Crayola had a contest recently to re-name their original offerings of the eight basic crayon colors. The winning names were okay, but not great. My favorite winner was “Freshly Squeezed”, but this, of course, got me to thinking about Crayolas for Cruisers. We've come up with our own basic colors.

Cruiser's Crayola colors:

Get me a Bandaid Red

Sundowner Orange

Yes, we have bananas (do we ever) Yellow

Algae Green

Sail Through Blue

Rough Passage Purple

Dirty Dinghy Brown

Bottom Paint Black

Come on … get your imagination going. Got some improvements or ideas for other cruiser colors? Chime in!

Dental Work...Ugh!

 

I saw a tooth hanging out on a street corner the other day, waving at passersby. That's right … a tooth ... advertising a new dental office, I imagine. I rolled down the window and shouted howdy and asked it to smile, but if you're just one tooth, without a mouth, tongue or voice, smiling or responding is difficult. I took it in stride.

Anyhow, it reminded me that it was time for our regular dental check-ups and since we don't have a regular dentist … how could we when we're never in a place longer than a few months? … I had the distinct pleasure of finding a dentist that was willing to take on new patients. The “tooth” place was too far away. It wasn't hard to find a suitable dentist. They advertise quite regularly and I found an office close-by that would provide x-rays, cleaning and an exam for $59/each … new patient special. Yowza!

We've had dental check-ups and work done in many countries of the world … Venezuela, Uruguay, Australia and South Africa come to mind. Usually, the offices are in metro areas, pretty upscale and the techniques and equipment are modern. We had a couple of less than adequate visits, like in Ecuador for instance, where the office was in a lady dentist's converted garage and high tech cleaning happened to be Q-tips dipped in some hydrogen peroxide. For the most part, however, dental care worldwide seems to be accessible. As far as costs go, you can't beat South America. The US and Australia are the most expensive.

For our $59 new patient special, we had enough x-rays to last a lifetime. Thank goodness for lead vests or we would have been glowing in the dark for weeks. They always find something more to do for one of us and we always hope it will be on the “something cheap” side, but of course, it never is. This time it was my turn for a subsequent deep cleaning and some gum surgery. Yuck and ouch … to both my gums and our budget. Next time I see a tooth loitering on a street corner, I'm going to ignore it.