Our last week of Summer – at least here in the States

And we’re packing it in at a hectic pace.

Tonight its O.A.R. (with Luke and Anika) at the Hampton Beach Casino and tomorrow night is our least Wednesday show with Jeff since we’re off to Greece on Saturday ! We had Trinity and Kai for the weekend and went out on the motorboat - there were thunderstorms all around, but we kept moving ahead of them -- going from Bakers to Marblehead to Salem to Misery and managed to get in a great day on the water.

Sophie and I went down to Gillette Stadium to catch the Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band – (it’s been a summer for Jersey girls). On the drive down, we thought it was going to turn out badly .. we were running moderately late and traffic SUCKED sand we were sure we were going to miss the opening. But then the skies opened up with torrential rain and lightning – and presented a completely new problem – would we get soaked, zapped – or would the show get canceled. We hung out in the car until the worst of the lightning passed and we then hoofed across the three miles of parking lots into Gillette

Needless to say – we weren’t late because Bruce didn’t go on ‘til 9:15 (once all the rain was completely over and that age was dried out). Some of the crowd was saying that he might have to stop at 11:00 (sound ordinance and all) so we were bummed. Then we got to our seats out on the field at about the 50 yard line, and they looked as though they were positioned so the stage would be mostly obstructed by the big white tent they had erected over the soundboard. Undaunted, we found a much bette spot on the other side of the section at the front area so we hung out in the front of the section further up off to the side.

And then it got better and better and better .. Bruce played for three straight hours - he ignored the house lights when they came up at 11:30 – (which is hard to do at Gillette because light up everything like its noontime)

The security guys were moving a lot of people out of the area, but they let us stay where we were -- which was essentially an upgrade -- so we had a great view of the stage and danced all night long. Little Steven, Max and Nils all ROCKED !

Bruce blew the roof off and played some stuff I haven’t heard live from him in the last four shows I’ve seen - Rosalita, Spirit in the night, 10^th avenue freeze out .. It was an awesome show

Setlist:


Summertime Blues
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out
Radio Nowhere
Lonesome Day
The Promised Land
Spirit in the Night
Tunnel of Love
Little Latin Lupe Lu
Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?
Hungry Heart
Who'll Stop the Rain
Youngstown
Murder Incorporated
She's the One
Livin' in the Future
Mary's Place
The Rising
Last to Die
Long Walk Home
Badlands

Encore:

I'm Goin' Down
Jungleland
Born to Run
Glory Days
Dancing in the Dark
American Land
Rosalita

Bouzouki Time

Not much has been going on recently. Steve showed up, the Mercedes got fixed, and I completed my bamboo goal. I also started bouzouki lessons. That was one fun thing. There is this guy, Dimitri in Messini, who taught Panayoti (the current police man) how to play bouzouki. I went to check it out on friday, and he gave me a one hour lesson for 25 euro and two books for 10 euro. He said I learned as much in that lesson as some kids do in 10. He also gave me a bouzouki to practice with at home.



I practiced a lot and one guy passed by and said I was really good, as I was playing on the balcony. I went back to day, and now I am at the 1 month mark after only 2 hours of lessons. It is pretty awesome. Also, last night my soccer ball went in the water at the platia for the third time that week. Luckily we rescued it (also for the third time). The ball is three years old now and I think it is time to get a new one. Here I go now.

This Time My Idea Works (Well, Somewhat)

Sunday night was Thea Voula and Theo Giorgos 50th wedding anniversary. We had a huge dinner at Elena in Finikounda. Alexandros and Stephanos came and are now in Homatada along with little Martha and her parents. There were more crazy dancing people at the party and Stephanos and Achilleas were hooked on their DS games. It was a long night.

The next day Alexandros came to our house in Pylos and we took him with us to Divari and met up with everyone else. Now, my idea kicks in. Using my crazy yahoo whackjob brain I decide to go with Pops and cut down two pieces of bamboo to make a soccer goal with at the beach. We took the two pieces and put them in the sand a bit into the water. My idea worked and we played lots of soccer. The only problem was that we didn't have a crossbar so we couldn't tell what was too high or not, and the wind kept blowing the ball far away. We got lots of pictures and video. We couldn't put the bamboo on top of the Buick so we have to get new ones when the Mercedes is fixed. Also, that afternoon I changed my hot air balloon into a parachute and dropped it from the balcony a couple of times. It was really fun. By the time you get here mom, dad, luke, and anika, I'll be the next Einstein. By the way thats only 11 days.

YAY!!!

A Little Hot Air, and the Brain of a Crazy Yahoo Wackjob Mad Scientist Who is Bored

Yesterday I tried to make a hot air balloon. I failed terribly, but it was fun. Yiayia and pops almost died laughing. First, I took one of pops old cut up undershirts and sewed it together to make a little balloon. I then took the basket Yiayia keeps her clothespins in and tied it to the balloon with a candle resting in it. Yiayia was afraid it would burn up and I was afraid it would fly away. Yiayia thought I was crazy.
The cloth didn't hold the hot air so next I tried a plastic bag. It started to fill up and then melted. I tried another one and burnt a hole in it. Then I saw some tinfoil and lined the plastic bag with tinfoil and added two more candles. The tinfoil made it too heavy so I stopped. Now I am going to try to make a soccer goal out of bamboo and I am pretty sure it will work. I am also on the lookout for mylar balloons to use for my hot air balloon. Wish me luck.

ps. dad if you find some mylar of kevlar bring it over.

Just in Time

As I said earlier, Wednesday morning we left for Athens to pick up the Buick. We got up at 8 and boarded a bus to Athens at 9. We took the bus because Alexi's car was in the shop and pops didn't trust the Mercedes. I hated the bus. It was almost as bad as the trip over. It was about an hour to Kalamata and another 4 to Athens. I almost got sick because we were going around sharp corners and I couldn't see forward. I will never ride a bus again.

Leaving Kalamata we saw a fire in one of the fields. There was aton of smoke. I got some really good pictures. Upon reaching Athens we took a cab to see on of Yiayia's Aunts and her grandchildren. I went and played hoops and some soccer with her grandson Costadino. It was fun. We stayed the night in Titi's place because she was on vaca. We got up at 7:30 to be at the shipping office at 9. We signed some papers and then some guy took us to the port to get the car. At the port we waited at a little cantee with a bunch of smoking bums. Luckily it was really windy and the smoke was blown away. We waited for about 2 hours and then we went looking to see if we could find the car. We found it in a lot, but didn't think stealing it was a good idea. About a half hour later, a guy came and told us it would be 1 hour till we could get the car. So we waited, and waited, and waited, for about 1 hour and a half. He came back and said 5 minutes more. So we waited 30 minutes and he came back with the key. We walked into the lot, got the car, put in our bags (and yiayia) and drove away to see yiayia's uncle in Halkida, 1 hour away. After about a half hour I got hungry so we stopped at a McDonalds and grabbed a double cheeseburger and a chocolate shake.

We got to the house at Halkida and the Uncle was sleeping so we stayed outside and played cards. We went out to dinner in the town and met up with some of yiayia's relatives. At the restaraunt I spotted one of the ladies who got stuck in Paris with us. We said hi and then finished dinner. We stayed the night and left at 2:30. It took us 5 and a half hours to get home and then we slept. It's a good thing we got the Buick because the next day the clutch on the Mercedes got stuck and pops barely made it to the mechanic. The next to days we met up with thea sophie at the pool and I played with Achilea (but on the beach because he doesn't know the pool is there and his mom doesn't want to be at the pool all the time).

Partied Out

Sunday night Thea Sophie (from Messini) had a party at her house and everyone was there. Early on everyone was relaxed and there was some music playing softly in the background. Then, halfway through dinner, theo Jimmy decides to turn up the music and then everyone started dancing and they were all like (yes dad, I said "LIKE") half drunk and dancing like crazy people. It was kind of funny. The bad part is I only took about 5 pics because the battery was really low. Most of the time I played with Achilea and Agyelos. Thea Sophie and Achilea got here on Sun. and they say hi.

Yesterday while Yiayia, pops, and Maria and Jimmy were at a funeral, I stayed with thea Sophie and helped her get the wireless set up. Dad, the one you gave her didn't work so she had to get a new one for her house. We didn't have a car so we had to got to the stinky pylos beach and then I went to sailing, which again was to windy to sail -- and Coach Stephan said there was no wind in Europe. Today we went to Divari (fishy beach) and caught a couple of fish for din din. There weren't that much, only enough to fill one of those styrofoam coffe cups. The dumb fish aren't there but there were quite a few.

Tomorrow we are going on a three day trip to Athens to pick up the Buick on Thurs. We are going to leave it there for when Dad Mom Luke and Anika come. Can't wait to see you guys.

Waterlogged

It was an all on-the–water weekend. We went out Friday on the motorboat while Lucas, Anika and Grace went the JYC dance. We got chased back into the harbor when a squall blew through so we holed up at the dock while the wind gusted up to 40 kts. Once it subsided we went for one more quick spin before the thunder and lightning chased us back to the mooring and home for the night.

Saturday was Crocker race day. The race has been a drifter for the past of couple years, but this year we had some wind. It turned out to be a beautiful sailing day, and there was plenty of breeze so they didn’t have to shorten the traditional course (Gales – Newcombes – Easter Point – Gales - Newcombes – Gales).

We carried the asym on three of the five legs (or at least tried to carry it) and were just a couple of minutes behind a very well sailed Temdeh for 2^nd place in our class and collected a little more silver for Aquila.

Sunday it was back to the motorboat for a day trip up to Wingaersheek with the Camp family.

It started out foggy and overcast, but we stuck with our plans and had a great day swimming and playing on the beach.

Angie got in her fair share of swimming (back and forth back and forth between the boat and the beach).

Later on, Billy brought Suzanne over from their house on the Zodiac so she could hand out with us. No bathing suit though, so he had to arrange for some over-the-water transport.

Once again, the hot day gave way to late afternoon thunderstorms so we scooted back through the Annisquam Canal with some raindrops and distant boomers. The run back to Manchester was pretty clear and uneventful. The real storm was forming over Marblehead and, just as we parted ways by Misery Island the lightning began in earnest. We hung with the Camps about halfway back to Beverly Harbor, then turned tail, put the throttle down, and set a speed record for Cannon. We got to the MYC dock just as it opened up on us. Mom and the kids ran up to the club while I put the boat away (good thing I still had my bathing suit on because Angie and I couldn’t have gotten more wet if we jumped in.

By six o’clock, everyone just wanted to get home to take a hot shower and put on some DRY CLOTHES.

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I weighed myself 3 days ago and I'm 100 lbs. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! Well besides that it's been okay. Last night there was a crazy communist party at the platia and we couldn't play ball till about 11:30. It stunk because I had to leave halfway through the game. We met up with Thea Dina from NJ and her brother for lunch yesterday. It was a really good lunch too. But then the fridge broke and we couldn't go to the beach. Today we went to Methoni and I played beach soccer with a bunch of crazy boys. They kept saying bad words. But then after an hour my fat belly got hungry and tired so we went home to watch F1 and Herbie. Tonight thea Sophie from Messini is having a big party for everyone. I'll add details tomorrow after the party

yasou

End of a Windy Week

The wind has finally gone. At Finikounda there was a decent breeze for windsurfing but you would never be able to tell it was blowing about 20 the day before. It went windsurfing for about 50 minutes and added to my total of 2:15 total time. On our way out pops left his shoes on top of the car and lost one somewhere along the way. We're going back to find it today.
Sadly our small pikachue ball has gone flat and there is no valve to fill it up so we have to get a new one. I have been playing so much soccer at the platia and was up until 1:30 last night playing. A bunch of crazy people threatened to call the police on us because we got to close (5 ft.). Usually we just annoyed them until they left. We are having a great time and we're very laid back. See ya

Listening Live

It’s been a good few days for live music events. and believe me, we’ve covered the full spectrum of acts.

Last week we paid homage to Sophie’s New Jersey roots and went to see Bon Jovi at the Boston Garden with fellow jersey-girl Suzanne and her son Billy (an aspiring guitarist who’s a big fan of Richie Sambora’s guitar skills).

Then, to optimize the culture shock quotient, the following night we went to see George Clinton and Parliament up at the Hampton Beach Casino with our friends Heather and Joe (on their fifteenth anniversary no less) with brother Terrence and girlfriend Becca. George C. and P-Funk put on a great show with at least a dozen musicians on stage at any given time including Garry "Doo-Wop" Shider. Heather was intrigued to actually see "the diaper guy" in action whom she’d heard about from others who'd seen a show.

As my friend Joe says – it’s a confident 60 year-old man who can play a whole rock show in a diaper. But, Shider has been a potent weapon of P-Funk forever, as a songwriter, singer, guitarist, and Clinton's right-hand man. And that's the way he plays it; coordinating everything, adjusting people's guitar cords and microphones stands, working the crowd, leading the chants, and playing a rockin’ guitar. All while wearing a diaper.

At sixty-plus George doesn’t seem have lost a step as the consummate singer, cheerleader and bandleader either. He kept the show rocking for three and a half hours until the Casino turned up the house lights and chased them off the stage at midnight (pesky noise ordinances and all that).

Last night it was back to sanity with our favorite local entertainer, Jeffie, who played at the top deck in Essex.

Jeff never fails to put everyone in a good mood, playing standards that range from Sweet Caroline to rock anthems like Pour Some Sugar on Me and he does it with style and ease.

Lucas even got to sing some backup vocals while Anika and good buddy Grace worked the conga line.

The great thing about Jeff’s family-friendly shows at the top deck is that he makes a tremendous range of music relevant and fun for absolutely everyone on the audience. He’ll have thirteen year olds and sixty-year olds alike singing Build me up Buttercup at full volume, and then roll right into Sublime’s What I Got without losing anyone – good stuff.

Windy Wednesday

This week has been very windy. Today it is blowing about 20-25 km/h and monday was about 18. No sailing today so I'm at the cafe having a peach iced tea and adding this post. I got up at 9:15 this morning, the second earliest since a time I got up at 6. The sunrise was so cool. We went to Methoni today and I got some great pics of the castle. There were nice waves and I boogieboarded and skimboarded. I got some wierd rash while I was boogieboarding though and had to stop. Sorry I can't upload them because they are to big. I'll show them to you eventually.

yasou

Sailing Day

Yesterday I had sailing. It was crazy awesome! It was blowing about 18-20 km/h and the optis were flying. My boat kept getting swamped because we were doing a close reach into 3 foot waves. I was doing really well. Luckily nobody capsized and now the teacher wants me in a competition in the end of August. The problem is she doesn't know when it is exactly and we might already be back home. Well I'm having a great time.

Yasou

OK

I figured out how to change the language and it is in english now

Finally in Pylos

We finally made it. I was able to get wireless at on of the cafes at the platia but all this blog stuff is in greek. we've gone to a bunch of different beaches, I've gone windsurfing and went shopping in Kalamata. I got and AEK jersey, hat, and banner. Wait till you see it. Yiayia and pops say hi and so does everyone else.

blog you later
-jacob

Our Terrible Odyssey

Now that I have some time I will put in detail our trip over. IT WAS TERRIBLE!!!

Ok a little more detail now. The plane was scheduled to leave from JFK at 9:15 pm. The stinkin' frenchies had a strike at the airport so we didn't leave till 12:15 am. We arrived in France at 1:00 pm the next day. We got off the plain and found out that the plane to Athens left not 15 minutes earlier and they couldn't wait for us. But in actuality the frenchies overbooked and 25!!! people missed the flight to Athens. So they took us 25 to the customer service and made us fill out complaint forms and we yelled at them, and them at us.

They then split us into 2 groups, one leaving for Milan, and the other to Rome. Both would go to Athens. So we waited till 8:30 pm to get on the plane and guess what??? WE MISSED THE FLIGHT TO ATHENS!!! Then we had to wait 30 min. for the shuttle to the hotel and had and really bad dinner at 1 am. I forgot to say that one person in our group going to Rome got taken away to security because she cut in line in French customs. WHAT'S WITH THE FRENCH!?!?!? She and her 8 or 9 year old daughter made it back in time to find out they couldn't take their dog on the flight to Rome. So back to staying over night in Rome. We saw some replays of the EURO cup game which Spain won, and then had to get up at 5:00 the next morning to catch an 8:30 flight. We then couldn't find our luggage receipts and went all across the airport trying to find out how to get our bags on the next plane. Luckily no flights to catch after because guess what??? another half hour delay. We got to Athens and then found out only my two bags made it and yiayia and pops' bags didn't make it.

We stayed with Alexandro's family for the night and the bags came in the morning. All but one which didn't get here till friday. And stickin Alexandro got to see DEF LEPARD AND WHITE SNAKE FROM A FREE SUITE!!! TOTALLY UNFAIR!!! And all this was the stinkin' crazy yahoo wackjob to the tenth powerful dimention of infinity and beyond FRENCHIES FAULT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now some pics

The plane we took to france. That stinkin' country

The plane had tvs and foot rests we were up top

Ha Ha Ha dad there was soooo much leg room

the other pictures wouldn't upload but we looked very bored in them

yasou

360 Degrees of Fireworks

We kicked our three-day weekend off with fireworks at Singing Beach on Thursday night – and were fortunate enough to head down to the beach just AFTER the kick-ass thunderstorm blew through. I have to say - there's nothing better than lying on the beach, looking straight up at the fireworks overhead. And, after the fireworks, I do love watching the whole town walk en masse back down the middle of Beach street.

The rest of our 4^th of July celebrations took on a decidedly nautical theme. Sophie went to drop Anika off so she could participate in the neighborhood's 4^th of July parade float delegation, and she got impressed into service as a can (yes here she is as can #7 – check out the sneakers).

Renee got to wear the nun outfit, though I'm sure it wasn’t what her husband imagined when he heard about it. Sophie's first comment after the parade: "I liked it better in the can."

Anika got a free ride in one of the road-modified dyer dhow sailing dinghies.

Meanwhile, I hung out on Norwood road with my feet up enjoying my coffee and muffin and snapped the occasional photograph.

Later in the day, we set off on a leisurely sail from Manchester over to Peddock’s Island at the Southeast entrance (Nantasket Roads) to Boston Harbor. We joined up with the Creighton family who had sailed out on their boat, cooked some ribs on the grill, and sat back to take in the fireworks.

None of the fireworks were overhead, but from our vantage point we could watch fireworks from Marblehead, to Revere to Lynn, Boston, Dorchester, Quincy, Hingham and Hull. At one point Lucas counted over twenty-five different sets of fireworks on the Horizon.

The next morning we rowed ashore to Peddock’s and tramped through the poison ivy to check out the ruins of Fort Andrews and the surrounding barracks and cottages. It looks more like the set of a Stephen King novel than a tiny island within a few miles of downtown Boston.

Even in the full light of day it’s a little creepy and had me thinking about the Isle’s of Shoals axe wielding murder Louis Wagner from Anita Shreve’s book The Weight of Water.

The inner part of the island is like the Brazilian rainforest – we followed more than one path that dead-ended in impenetrable brush. We figured they were works in progress – not that this did us any good as we had to backtrack to the beach to get to our rowboats before the were swept away with the tide.

On the way back to Manchester we stopped over at civil-war era Fort Warren on George’s Island – a much more civilized and well-cared-for spot than Peddock’s. We clambered all over the gun emplacements, took in the views of Boston and the outer islands, and explored the ammunitions bunkers built into the foundation of the fort. Very cool – and a good thing we had flashlights for the dark, dank bunkers. The sail back from George’s to Manchester was perfect – all the way to the mooring on a single tack.

Sophie drove expertly.

We woke the next morning to a pretty thick fog

but later in the day that gave way to clearer skies and we sailed around the north shore with cousin Chris and Aunt Lisa and Uncle Dick.

We even got the asym out of the bag for the last downwind leg.

Now if we can just find out way back to that can # 7 …… it seems to have gone missing.

Now - Its truly summer

Nope - its not about the weather-- but rather the a result of wrapping up my big Spring 'o8 commitments

Little league coaching (which starts in February since I am the league registrar) ended a week and half ago along with the end of the school year. Our Major League Cubs had a great, solid season, with the best record in the majors, but we came up a bit short by getting knocked out in the playoffs. Its a bummer we didn't go all the way, but it sure frees up the calendar.

I've also just flown back home from Bermuda - after having sailed out there in the '08 Newport to Bermuda Race over the past week. Prepping for this 635 mile ocean race was a major time soak since I was the Navigator - but more on this in a subsequent blog.

And finally, we dispatched out thirteen-year-old, Jacob who will be spending the entire summer in Greece with his grandparents. It marks the first time our family of five won't be together for such a long period of time and its hard on the parents. We dropped him off at JFK along with yiayia and papou on Saturday night. I woke up Sunday morning to find the Air France flight had been delayed two hours leaving NY, forcing a missed connection in Paris and resulting in an arduous thirty-plus hour odyssey to the Athens via Rome. I'll let Jacob post the particulars of this journey. I had a somewhat sleepless night last night waiting for him to check in upon their arrival. That call came at about 8 this morning - and they're only as far as Athens.

So, now its on to the business of summer -- working in the yard, sailing around cape ann, going to see Jeffie at Woodman's and enjoying the beach. Then we pack up and follow Jacob over to Greece for the last couple of weeks in August.

Newport to Bermuda Race

Last week was the Newport to Bermuda Ocean Race - held every other year. As with 2006, this year I sailed on Family Affair - a Tartan '41 - though this was my first year as the boat's Navigator. Because the 635 mile race traverses the Gulf Stream, this race presents all kinds of strategic options (complexities) with respect to ocean currents.

Not only is the core of the Gulf stream sliding along at 3 - 4 knots in a northeasterly flow, it spins off warm and cold eddies that spin in clockwise and counterclockwise rotations respectively. Given that our boat speed is in the 6 - 8 knot range, a current of 3 knots over 80 miles can play a huge role in how many miles our boat can cover in a day.








It is a complex picture that gets even more confused when you factor in the current and projected wind forecasts. The boat can only sail at certain angles to the wind, and over a four day period, forecasts of expected wind speed and direction are key components to plotting an optimal course. Virtually no one travels straight down the rhumb line (163 degrees from Newport to Bermuda), but rather each boat chooses its own course and strategy (as well as a backup strategy, and even a fall back strategy) because while the current is somewhat predictable, the wind forecasts are rarely perfect.

Halfway through the race - the boats were spread out over a few hundred square miles of ocean:













We took a route that was west of the rhumb line, like the purple line for the boat Lindy, but not nearly as far west. Our intent was to pick up the favorable current from a warm eddy north west of the Gulf Stream,and ride that down to a good point from crossing the Stream. We had fairly good sailing, with strong winds that kept us sailing hard on the wind.








When the winds picked up and were blowing opposite the currents in the Gulf Stream it made for "confused seas" - as in big waves coming from a variety of different directions.

Here we are looking up at the waves:











The combination of the strong breeze and confused ocean state made for a very wet ride. The Gulf Stream conditions managed to expose every leak in the deck hatches. Since we were taking waves over the bow every few seconds, the crew was pretty soaked too - which made for a very damp and wet cabin. We weren't alone in in this predicament -- lots of previously bone dry boats reported new deck leaks and wet cabins in this year's race. Fortunately the water was warm (about 85 degrees) so it wasn't too bad up on deck -- but it did get pretty ripe down below since the cabin was buttoned up as tight as we could get it.

When we sailed out of the warm water currents after a couple days of banging and slamming around in the seas, it was pretty nice to settle into the more typical ocean swells. The last day was a perfect sailing day, we were able to crack off a few degrees, with twenty know winds and clear skies. We made great time down the homestretch, which was just as well because the head had broken the earlier night so we were all on liquid diets and in a hurry to get to shore. As evening fell on the fourth day, we could just make out make out Bermuda on the horizon, and we all kept our noses into the breeze waiting to catch the smell of oleander.

Family Affair pounded across the finish line at St. Georges at about 1:00am and then we worked our way down through the reefs to Hamilton Harbor where a breakfast of Dark 'n Stormy's awaited us. We finished about 27th out of 150 boats, and 9th in our 16 boat division. Not as well as we had hoped, but this race draws excellent, well-prepared competitors, so not altogether bad either.