aerial silks maneuvers – Have Wind Will Travel

April 22, 2015:

I don’t know if you guys can handle this–a dolphin display, an aerial acrobatics show, and a ukulele concert. Light the flame-throwers, blow the pyrotechnics, it’s time to get RAW!

Yeeaaaaahhhhh!

Alright, there were no pyrotechnics, but everything else I mentioned is right here baby! Day two of the Bon Buffett Voyage we woke to dolphin’s breath on the starboard stern.

They were swirling and stirring and (well, probably doing what we know dolphins love to do) for a good ten minutes while Phillip and I sipped our coffee in the cockpit.

It was a surprisingly cool morning in Ft. McRae with the cloud cover. Nice for lounging, but we were hoping to see some more input into the solar panels. We knew, though, that we would be putting some juice in during our motor that day, so a cool morning to read and write topside was welcome. Our next stop on the trip? Ingram’s Bayou:

We weighed anchor and threw up the sails pretty early so we could spend the majority of the day making the fun three-hour jaunt to the Bayou. The wind filled in nicely and we ended up having a pretty sporty little sail over.

The last time we had dropped the hook in Ingram’s was during our Thanksgiving trip 2013 and she appeared to be just as we remembered her–pristine and serene. We nestled in and Phillip set off to paddle our perimeter, check depths and poke around back in the bayou.

What did I do? Pretended to write until he left …

“You go right on ahead, babe. I’ve got plenty of blogging to get to here.”

Apparently those are my hangover eyes!

But, the minute he was gone, I set up the camera so I could video myself practicing his birthday present. Was it this?

No, that came later. That’s just everyday Annie stuff hanging around all upside-down-like. He’s used to that. No, for the Captain, I had to go all out. Do something he would know took time, effort and energy. I spent the better part of the week before we left trying to learn a new song to play him on the uke!

He had been pretty keen on Riptide by Vance Joy, so I got all disciplined with it and made myself practice, practice, practice until I had it … well, had it at least recognizable. At least I hoped. I decided to film one version all the way through while he was gone in case I got all fumbly and bumbly while playing it for him and goobered the whole thing up (happens all the time). And, don’t worry, I royally goobered this one pretty good, but I’ll share it anyway for your entertainment. I have such a hard time singing at a different beat than I’m playing. It’s like rubbing your stomach and patting your head. I can only do it if I can find a match on the down beat-slash-rub. Anyway, for what it’s worth — enjoy!

And, just for fun, here’s a gal actually doing this song justice on the uke. She seems a little off when the video starts (I thought she was about to play while high on pain meds as some ice bucket dare or something) but then she nailed it. This is what it was supposed to sound like:

[And, as an aside, if you’re in any way thinking about picking up the uke, I highly recommend it. You can get one at pretty much any little music store for around $50, it’s small and travels well, and it’s really pretty easy to start learning basic songs during your first lesson yet still challenging enough to push yourself on harder ones. Great, free entertainment and mental stimulation. I mean, why not?]

So, when the captain made his way back to the boat, I set us up on the foredeck with two deck chairs, two glasses of champagne and proceeded with the live version. I actually didn’t do half bad so the video wasn’t necessary. I even inspired Captain himself to give it a little go. (Minus the wailing pelican in the background … aka me!) his show wasn’t half bad either.

Needless to say, we had fun with it. But, post-concert was the real treat. The last time I had hung the silks on the sailboat for an aerials session was November of last year (far too long!). The conditions were perfect that evening in Ingram’s Bayou–calm, cool and still–for a sunset session. Captain helped me rig it up and I set to it. It was even more fun now that I had learned so many new tricks!

We totally need to install some pyrotechnics on the boat for this. Get all New World Order with it. BOOM!

In all, it was an incredibly fun day. It makes me think back on all the times people have asked me — “Don’t you get bored just sitting around on the boat all day?” Rather than enlighten them, it makes me want to say — “Yeah, it’s just awful. I’d much rather be working.” Best to keep the secret. We don’t want these anchorages to get too crowded. Ha! We like the serenity.

We cheersed the sunset and set to grilling up two killer salmon filets for dinner.

Oh, and definitely give this a try – a super-easy, super-flavorful (and light) sauce for fish, veggies, white meat, etc. Make it to taste, but it’s roughly 1/4 cup Greek yogurt, 1 tbsp dijon mustard, and dried dill weed. Perhaps Day Two dinner deserves some pyrotechnics too. BOOM!