Sailing For The Son

Rescue, Rehab, Release

During our time in Marathon, Florida, my husband, Bill, and I toured The Turtle Hospital. Their motto: Rescue, Rehab, Release. The Turtle Hospital is a veterinary hospital for sick and injured sea turtles. They are a nonprofit organization rescuing and rehabilitating turtles (including surgery, if needed), then releasing them back into the ocean, solely funded by you, me, and others who love turtles.

Our tour was facilitated by Kris, a Turtle Educator. Kris was knowledgeable and engaging. We were impressed with how Kris knew the names of the turtles and even talked about their individual personalities and preferences.

Kris taught us a lot about the dangers that humans pose to sea turtles. Turtles can get caught and entangled in fishing line and nets. Turtles unable to free themselves will often end up losing a flipper or losing its life. Plastic and other trash left on the beach or thrown in the water are hazardous. When turtles eat plastic it can get lodged inside of its stomach or intestines. Sometimes, although not always, The Turtle Hospital is able to help rescued turtles who have ingested plastics by performing surgery or administering medication. So, no more plastic straws, plastic bags, or balloons on the beach! Sea turtles nest on the beach. We must be careful not to disturb turtles or their nests when we come across them, as it is estimated that only 1 out of a thousand hatchlings will survive to adulthood. Boat strikes are another danger to sea turtles. When boating, always watch for turtles and other marine animals and give them a wide berth. If you do witness a turtle or other marine animal in distress please call The Turtle Hospital, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, or the US Coast Guard.

Florida is home to five species of sea turtles: Hawksbill, Green, Leatherback, Loggerhead, and Kemp’s Ridley, with the Loggerhead being the most common. All five species are considered vulnerable or endangered; therefore, it is illegal to touch them or disturb them. I love to watch sea turtles, I love to wear sea turtle jewelry, and I even kissed a picture of a sea turtle on the lips, but I promise I’ll never touch or harass one.

Sea turtle ring I bought at The Turtle Hospital

Do I hear you wondering how you can you help support The Turtle Hospital? First and foremost: live a turtle-friendly lifestyle! This means everything from not littering (especially on the beach and in the water), picking up trash that others may have left behind (especially plastics), refraining from touching or otherwise harassing sea turtles, donating to The Turtle Hospital (including purchasing tour tickets and items from the gift shop or “adopting” a turtle), opting for the sea turtle license plate if you reside in Florida, or volunteering at the hospital. I’m sure I can’t even think of all the ways you can help, so please visit their website for more information (the turtle hospital.org).

Ambulance bought with proceeds from the sea turtle license plate

There are lots of other organizations doing good work that benefits sea turtles either directly or indirectly. The organization 4ocean cleans trash from oceans and rivers every day. Ocean and Company works to rid the oceans of plastic. You can help by buying cute bracelets from both of these organizations to support their efforts and to remind yourself to continue living a turtle-friendly lifestyle. There are many other organizations also supporting the turtle population; I’m confident you can find at least one that piques your interest!

Bill and I have done a fair bit of sailing the last few years and enjoy watching turtles every time we get the chance. I remember sitting in the cockpit of our sailboat in Marsh Harbor, Abaco, simply enjoying the sea turtles as they swam by. We also saw lots of sea turtles while kayaking in the British Virgin Island. So much fun! I also remember happening upon a huge turtle while kayaking off Waikiki Beach, Hawaii, with our daughter, Kate. She was a bit alarmed!

I know that we can’t all dedicate our lives to helping sea turtles; however, we can all do our little part.

Genesis 1:28 God grants Adam and Eve dominion over all animals in creation, along with the expectation that we will care for them. “God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

I’m going to pick up some trash trash today and dispose of it properly. What are you going to do today to support our sea turtle friends?

Manatee Musings

My husband and I love Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park in Key Biscayne. Immediately following Christmas 2020, our friends, Steve and Susan, joined us at the park for a week of adventure and relaxation on Liberty, our 38 foot sailboat. We love vacationing with Steve and Susan, they are as fun as they are funny. Steve is adventurous and pretty much game for anything, and Susan, well, let’s just say that she loves being stretched outside her comfort zone!

Susan and I waited for a calm day to kayak around the harbor because we really wanted to see colorful fish swimming in the mangroves that surround No Name Harbor, which is part of the park. We had already seen a dolphin in the harbor, and heard rumors of manatee, but we didn’t know that we were in for a real treat! As we paddled off, Susan mentioned something about not kayaking into any dark caves like we did in the BVI. I simply smiled knowing that there are no caves in this harbor.

Susan and I had only been paddling for about 10 minutes when I saw a manatee about 10 feet in front of us stick his nose out of the water to take a breath! No sooner than I spotted that manatee Susan looked down and saw a second manatee directly under our kayak! I admit that seeing a 10 foot sea cow, that clearly weighed several hundred pounds, directly under our kayak was a teeny tiny bit alarming, but I wasn’t about to let Susan know that I thought so! We slowly backed away and no one was any worse for the wear. Then Susan said, “New rule, no kayaking on top of manatee!” She’s so funny. Seriously though, Susan and I sat in our kayak and just watched the manatee for what must have been half an hour.

West Indian Manatee can be found along the East coast of the United States, as well as the Gulf of Mexico. I am a native of Iowa and had never even heard of a manatee until 2018 when I spent some time in Charleston, South Carolina. Manatee are not exactly what I might call cute and cuddly, but they are gentle giants that I really enjoy watching as they swim by. By “giant”, I mean that the average manatee is 10 feet long and weights between 800 and 1200 pounds. Maybe what fascinates me is that manatee are herbivores. They spend most of their time slowing swimming around, eating aquatic plants and resting. Now how on earth does Mandy Manatee grow to 1200 pounds on a diet of salad alone? It’s a crazy mystery! The water in this part of Florida is a beautiful blue/green color and very clear. It is easy to see eight to ten feet down, so if a manatee is near, you’ll see it! I took the three pictures above while walking along the sea wall when a manatee was swimming along side it. If the manatee is further away when you spot it, you may simply see the nose stick up out of the water to breathe (they take a breath every three to five minutes), or you may see it come up and dive back down like the picture below. I spend a lot of time sitting in the cockpit of our boat just watching for dolphin and manatee.

Following our manatee sightings, we continued kayaking along the mangroves in search of tropical fish. We weren’t very successful in that quest; however, we did see several large iguana sunning themselves on the branches. At one point, we were directly underneath the green iguana while attempting to get close enough to see the orange iguana. Yikes! As if on queue, Susan said, “New rule, no kayaking underneath iguanas-they could jump on me!” Pretending that I didn’t share her concern (because I love teasing her), I replied, “Susan, new rule: no making up new rules!”

I’m just going to assume that Susan is keeping track of all her rules and that she will continue trying just as hard to keep me within them as I do to drag her into adventures where we just might need them!

Thought of the day: Love and appreciate your friends, and tell them so every chance you get!

Nothing New Under the Sun

The Dolphin Dance

My husband awakened me at 6:30 a.m. on New Years Day 2021. I don’t normally like to get up at that hour, but this time was different. We were anchored outside of No Name Harbor in the Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, and we were surrounded by dolphins!

The sun was still sleeping, yet under full moonshine more than two dozen Atlantic bottle nose dolphin danced around our boat. The water was motionless, and it seemed as if my husband and I were the only people awake in the whole world. Listening in the stillness, we could hear the dolphins surfacing to breathe. It’s a sort of blowing/puffing sound that seems loud to me when the dolphins are close!

I really like to watch dolphin swim and play, and when I’m in dolphin territory I’m always on dolphin watch. Dolphin live in pods of approximately 15 or so in the warm ocean waters. Jackpot! That’s where I like to hang out, too! And I like to swim-see, it’s almost like we belong together.

Our good friends, Steve and Susan, were joining us for the week in Biscayne Bay. In the days before our early morning dance with the dolphins the four of us saw one dolphin off the starboard side of the boat while anchoring in the same location. Susan was so excited to see the dolphin, and then disappointed when he disappeared so quickly. Teasing Susan, I asked her if she was expecting him to come closer and kiss her on the lips. I think she said “yes”. Yeah, that’s how I remember it. Unfortunately, Steve and Susan slept through the dolphin dance on New Years morning. After 30 minutes of enjoying the dolphins, I thought that I was going to have to kiss one for her! But, I kissed my husband instead, and thanked him for waking me up.

Which one of God’s created creatures made you smile today?

Hope for the New Year

Angie Offshore!

Our boat, Liberty, has been across Lake Michigan many times, as well as back and forth to the Caribbean several times. Sans Angie. I’m always the one who flies in to meet my husband on the other side.

However, at 5 a.m. on December 26, 2020, I joined my husband on my first open ocean passage. Pre-trip, there was a little misunderstanding about whether I had said that I “would” crew the voyage, or whether I “wanted” to make the 72 mile trip. Either way, there I was, suiting up! It was a cool and breezy morning in West Palm Beach. I switched out my shorts and t-shirt for blue jeans and a sweatshirt. I was a little surprised when Bill suggested that I wear a rain jacket, but he was right, I really did need the windbreak. Even though the temperature was a normally-pleasant 73 degrees, that feels pretty cold in the windy open ocean, at least until the sun comes out!

I have a tendency toward sea sickness when the water is rough, so I took a ginger pill before we departed. I have found ginger pills to be helpful, so I try to remember to take one if I expect to be on rough water (although I never really plan to be on rough water)!

I am technically the First Mate, and I have several t-shirts to prove it courtesy of my daughter, but truth-be-told, I wasn’t really a lot of help to my husband on this passage. I spent half of the day concentrating on not getting sick and the other half looking around for dolphins. However, I did take the helm a few times while Bill tended to sheets and lines, checked the course, or fixed himself a sandwich. I intentionally didn’t eat or drink all day. Of course, I spent the next few days recovering from the dehydration, but at least I was successful in my pursuit of evading sea sickness on the passage.

My husband picked a great day to make this passage, the weather really couldn’t have been much more perfect. He is also very (maybe overly) safety conscious, so I knew all was going to be well. Offshore everyone has to wear life jackets and be tethered in. This was my first time in a tether. I didn’t do a lot of moving around the boat, so I was relatively unaffected, but even with the bit of a hassle tethering is a must on the open ocean.

I have to tell you about the best part of my day-several hours into the voyage, my 6 year old grandson texted to ask me if I was doing ok. He knew there was a possibility that I could be sea sick so he was checking up on me! How sweet is that? Grandkids are the greatest.

Following 12 hours of smooth sailing, while the sun was beginning to set, we found ourselves nearing our destination. Hello Key Biscayne!

We rounded the southern tip of Key Biscayne at sundown, then made our way up the west side of the island to anchor outside No Name Harbor.

Now, I’m not ready to admit that I’ll agree to make the passage back home to Jacksonville at the end of this adventure, but I’m almost ready to sail on over to Bimini from here!

Beautiful

Still

He leads me beside quiet waters. Psalm 23:2

The Neighboring Challenge

Matthew 22:36-40 pretty much sums up what God directs Christians to be doing with our short time on this planet. While teaching one day, a Pharisee asked Jesus, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law”? Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment, and the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All of the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments”.

Whoa! Don’t you kind of wish that Pharisee wasn’t so inquisitive? But, now that we know, we are without excuse. All that’s left is to get out there and start loving God and people, right?

At church last month, our pastor held up a cute yellow refrigerator magnet to illustrate a neighborhood. The magnet had a center house surrounded by one house on each side. He then preached on the Biblical perspective of neighboring. He concluded his sermon by challenging the church to actually get to know the people who literally surround us each and every day. The directive seemed simple enough: learn the names of our neighbors and find ways to love them. How hard can it be?

“Who is My Neighbor“ refrigerator magnet from church

It wasn’t that long ago that everyone knew all of their neighbors-their strengths/weakness, their likes/dislikes, their occupation, hobbies, and their needs. And, someone, often everyone, made it their business to meet each others’ needs. For a variety of reasons, most of us simply don’t do that today. Are we too proud? Too busy? Too scared? Or do we just not take Jesus at His word? It can’t be that we don’t understand Jesus’ words-they are pretty clear-so what gives?

My husband and I decided to take Pastor Steve’s challenge seriously. We couldn’t exactly use the yellow refrigerator magnet because our neighborhood looks a little different than that. We reside in an 186 slip marina. It’s kind of a big neighborhood! So we mapped out our dock on an Excel spreadsheet, then walked up and down the dock writing down the names of all of the boats on our dock-almost 50 boats!

That was the easy part. We were aware that we had lived here for 6 months, could recognize some of our neighbors, knew a few names, but very little else about them. Sure, we had excuses for not knowing our neighbors better-not everyone lived aboard so they weren’t here all the time, there were simply too many names to memorize, we were still too busy settling in, we should have put in a bigger effort sooner…we could come up with a lot of excuses!

Truth be told, we knew that we should know our neighbors better and be more available to them. But admitting to them, after all this time, that we don’t even know their names was going to be embarrassing! Humility, friendly smiles and cookies just might smooth things over, though. It’s true that homemade chocolate chip cookies are the only sure-fire way to butter people up, but my oven is tiny with a capital T, it was 95 degrees and we needed almost 100 cookies. Could Walmart cookies do the trick? The Walmart bakery big “decadent” cookies could! Armed with fifty dollars worth of delicious cookies carefully packaged two to a baggie, we headed out through the companionway (that’s boat-speak for “doorway”, I just threw that in here for authenticity)! (And don’t ask me how I knew the cookies were delicious.)

Starting with Phil and Sue, who we do know, was easy. They invited us into their air conditioned cabin cruiser, we chatted for a while about this project and made plans to meet later at the pool. They loved the cookies. Ok, so far so good!

We walked the dock, knocking on every boat. Admittedly, it was a little awkward, standing face to face asking the names of people who we have spent months with chatting in the pool or on the dock. We simply smiled, introduced ourselves, handed them a baggie or two of cookies, and explained that we were being intentional about getting to know our neighbors. Then we talked a bit about ourselves, our skills, offered to help out wherever we could, and asked them about themselves. This exchange turned out not to be nearly as difficult as we had imagined. Maybe it was the humility, friendly smiles, and the delicious cookies. However, most of our neighbors appeared to be so surprised to hear that we simply wanted to get to know them better (and that we were delivering cookies), that maybe they didn’t even realize we were asking for their names! After each visit, we jotted down their names on our spreadsheet before moving on to the next boat. One funny story-we knocked on one boat that we assumed was empty because we had never seen anyone on that boat, even though we walk by it several times every day. After one knock, up popped a lady. We were so surprised! It turns out that she and her husband live and work aboard. We had a very pleasant conversation and have even had a few short conversations since. No assumptions now-keep knocking on every boat! Of course, some people don’t actually live on their boats, so we don’t have the names of the owners of every boat yet, but we have most of them.

I assume that our neighbors are just like yours: pleasant, receptive to good cookies delivered with a smile, and happy to know that you care enough to get to know them.

I have to admit that memorizing everyone’s names has been difficult, but it has been so rewarding. I really enjoy addressing people by name. One very shy teen now even returns a smile and a whispered “hi” when addressed by name. My husband and I both continue to practice the names of everyone on our dock, as well as others that we see in the marina. Just yesterday a lady who I should know better stopped me to ask how I was doing because she hadn’t seen me in a week or so. I explained that my husband and I had been visiting family and friends in Nebraska. Then, even without cookies, I mustered up the courage to ask her name. Amanda. I was definitely humbled to know that Amanda had noticed that I hadn’t been around. (By the way, that’s a whole different lesson-people are watching, our Christian witness matters.) I won’t forget Amanda’s name, and I will definitely be seeking a closer relationship with her.

Our neighboring challenge will continue, as boaters come and go. In the meanwhile, we are enjoying our new friendships. Do you know all of your neighbors? If not, I can highly recommend cookies from Walmart to help you get started.

The Tomb of my Savior

I grew up going to church on Good Friday to observe The Stations of the Cross. The Stations of the Cross is a Catholic devotion depicting the passion of Jesus from condemnation to crucifixion. On my March 2020 pilgrimage to Israel with my church, I was not surprised that the exact location of His death burial and resurrection were disputed, but I was surprised to learn that there are actually two separate sites commemorating these events. Walking the Via Dolorosa (Jesus’s route to Golgotha), in Jerusalem, was surreal. It starts where Jesus was condemned by Pontius Pilot in what is now the Muslim section of the city, and ends in what is now the Christian section of the city in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The streets were crowded and lined with merchants, which seemed distracting to me, but tradition tells that the streets were also lined with people on the day that Jesus carried His cross.

In 326 AD Queen Helena, the mother Constantine, visited the Holy Land to preserve the sites important to Christianity and to identify the site of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus. She located a site that she believed fulfilled the Gospel accounts of the crucifixion. Ten years later Constantine built a church on the site. That church was destroyed and rebuilt two times and is now the site of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Ornate structure built over the site some believe to be the burial site of Jesus

Although the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was long accepted as the location of Christ’s death and resurrection, in 1842, another site was identified as more closely adhering to the Gospel accounts of Golgotha (the place of the skull).

The Garden Tomb is outside of the city, near a rocky slope bearing a likeness to a human skull.

This hill is close to Jerusalem, yet outside of its walls. Hebrews 13:12 holds that “Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates.” John 19:41 reads, “At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid”. An ancient wine press was discovered near the tomb, which indicates that there once was a garden at this site.

“Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone over the entrance of the tomb and went away.” Matthew 27:59-60.

You can clearly see the stone trough where a large stone could be rolled over the entrance

Mark 15:43 reveals that Joseph of Armathea was a member of the Sanhedrin. Matthew 27:57 tells us that Joseph was a rich man. A rich man was likely to have a large tomb, very much like The Garden Tomb.

The Garden Tomb was peaceful. Serene. I could clearly see the skull in the side of the hill and I understand how the Scriptures line up with this being the very place where Jesus was crucified, died, was buried and rose again. Having been to both The Garden Tomb and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, I found it much easier to pray, be still, and draw near to a Jesus at The Garden Tomb. And that is, ultimately, the goal.

Our group wrapped up the day reading Scripture and taking Holy Communion.

Writing this article reminded me how much I enjoyed The Garden Tomb and how much I’d like to go back. My friend, Karen, was my roommate on this trip. It was Karen’s second trip to The Holy Land. Before we left I couldn’t understand why she want to go to Israel two years in a row-now I understand!

If you are considering a trip to The Holy Land, I’d love to talk with you about it. If you’ve already been to The Holy Land, I’d love to talk with you about it. Or if you’d just like to talk about Jesus or The Holy Land please contact me!