Hello All,
I have been without a computer the last 3 weeks and a lot has happened. I got a job on a 94 foot SunSeeker. I'm the Stuart/Cook for a family of six traveling up the east coast for the summer. I'm currently in Martha's Vinyard. Headed to Nantucket and back to New York city where my contract ends on August 18. I like the work and am enjoying traveling. Life is good when I steel little moments for myself and enjoy the places we are visiting. After I'm done with this job I'll be visiting some peopled from the Bahamas in Cape Cod and Maine. Then looking for more work. I will write a more elequent update when I have access to my computer and the internet. Which may still be weeks away. For now know that I'm safe living out the master plan I crafted a year ago. I miss all of you and miss owning my time. But it's a good job with lots of perks. I'm plunging and living and life is good.
Love,
Amanda
Friday, August 7, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
Charleston Winding Down
I completed the coast safety coarse required for crew on international vessels. The first ticket of many and a boost up towards finding my first professional crew job. Learning more and more how to network with people. In this business connections are everything. I’m getting much more comfortable sticking my neck out there to find job opportunities. The training itself was basic, but my biggest challenge came on Thursday. I suffered some heat exhaustion after standing around in full fire fighting gear, helmet, gloves, mask, and air tank in the 98 degree day. I was spinning before I even entered the smoke house to complete the exercise. The fire fighters at the training center cooled and calmed me down and I completed the exercise and passed the test. The weight of the gear, the sun, and dehydration made me nauseous, dizzy, and light headed. It gave me an incredible respect for the men and women who work or volunteer to keep us safe. The gear and inferno lasted mere minuets for me, and I could barley coup. It’s a training and experience I won’t forget. The first aid section made me realize how much blood makes me squirm. I feel like I need to enroll in a more advanced first aid class as insurance for myself as I go off shore and spend more times on boats. The class was a product of bureaucracy that allows mediocrity. It was meant to receive this crucial piece of paper, but I didn’t learn much beyond common sense. I’m not surprised.
Now I’m back to work for a few more weeks. Trying to make the best of my last weeks in Charleston. This evening I took a long stroll around the historical areas of down town. I tried to get off the main track away from the gobs of tourists. I found some pretty amazing ally ways. The buildings are immaculately maintained and the attention to details and gardens make the streets feel unreal. At times it feels like you are walking through a movie set. Most of the buildings are uninhabited. They are the prize trophy homes of wealthy North Easterners who flock down for the weekend once a year to enjoy fine dining and an art scene. The city thrives on tourism. Walking down the streets there is a mix of classes, regions with in America, and international tourists. I pop in and out of these areas people watching, and slowly discovering more secret corners and alleyways. Like all cities I get to know intimately I imagine them during different points in time. I try to recreate the street and people - how did they look, feel, and what was the day to day like? t. In its own way Charleston catches you. It turns couples into romantics as the smell of lavender and the hum of crickets float in the air. Well-dressed and perfumed friends travel in a pack over the cobblestones on their way to low country meals. Young couples in sear sucker look at a lighted menu on the brick wall of an empty restaurant. Sweating black and brown faces are on the line. From the window you see the fry cooks sling their frialated arts onto white rounds in the window. White faces sip tall glasses of tea waiting to be served. I am an outsider in this place as I slowly discover the people, and lines of beauty, race, class, and history.
I’ll be flying back to Louisville for a week on August 2nd. Still working out plans for after that. I’m free, mobile, and ready to plunge. We’ll see where the wind takes me. I love you all. Thank you for your messages, calls, and notes.
Smiles,
Amanda Ma r
Charleston, SC
Now I’m back to work for a few more weeks. Trying to make the best of my last weeks in Charleston. This evening I took a long stroll around the historical areas of down town. I tried to get off the main track away from the gobs of tourists. I found some pretty amazing ally ways. The buildings are immaculately maintained and the attention to details and gardens make the streets feel unreal. At times it feels like you are walking through a movie set. Most of the buildings are uninhabited. They are the prize trophy homes of wealthy North Easterners who flock down for the weekend once a year to enjoy fine dining and an art scene. The city thrives on tourism. Walking down the streets there is a mix of classes, regions with in America, and international tourists. I pop in and out of these areas people watching, and slowly discovering more secret corners and alleyways. Like all cities I get to know intimately I imagine them during different points in time. I try to recreate the street and people - how did they look, feel, and what was the day to day like? t. In its own way Charleston catches you. It turns couples into romantics as the smell of lavender and the hum of crickets float in the air. Well-dressed and perfumed friends travel in a pack over the cobblestones on their way to low country meals. Young couples in sear sucker look at a lighted menu on the brick wall of an empty restaurant. Sweating black and brown faces are on the line. From the window you see the fry cooks sling their frialated arts onto white rounds in the window. White faces sip tall glasses of tea waiting to be served. I am an outsider in this place as I slowly discover the people, and lines of beauty, race, class, and history.
I’ll be flying back to Louisville for a week on August 2nd. Still working out plans for after that. I’m free, mobile, and ready to plunge. We’ll see where the wind takes me. I love you all. Thank you for your messages, calls, and notes.
Smiles,
Amanda Ma r
Charleston, SC
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Tallship
Thirteen tall ships came to Charleston Harbor last weekend for the South Carolina Maritime Foundations annual festival. I volunteered on Friday morning, but regretfully was given the task of ticket taker at one of the inflatable bouncy castles with a pirate theme. I plotted down in the shade and became listlessly apathetic to my take. My attention quickly turned towards people watching. A group of pirate and revolutionary war era reinactors made camp on the out skirts of the festival. Pirates, winches, and admirals in full costume casually passed me by. Parents chased dehydrated children with painted faces as they dared to enter the inferno of a bouncy castle. Military recruiters mingled with wooden boat artisans. Vendors and educators yelled messages and taunted the crowed with their wares, food, and information.
I was finally released for the children’s village at 1. I decided to take one ship tour before I escaped the crowds and hundred degree June heat. I boarded and met the captain of the Schooner Virginia. The replica schooner is only two years old. The hull and rigging are replicas of the ships name sake, but down bellow the equipment and accommodations are modern and comfortable. The ship acts as a sail-training program for children and adults. It is operated by the state of Virginia. A season aboard schooner Virginia would bring a tremendous amount of experience. I gave the captain a resume and hope to apply for the next season… that is if I haven’t fallen in love with some other adventure by then.
On the second day of the festival I toured the Romanian and U.S. Coast guard ships. These ships are much larger and their crews are more military oriented rather then sail training ships. These vessels teach seamanship to navy and coast guard cadets. The shot of the Romanian control room in the attached video show the soviet era technology accompanying the 7 year old replica ship. The cadet who gave us the tour was friendly and excited to be completing his training at the Romanian navy academy. Through slightly broken English eh brought us through the ship. Life aboard the ship kept moving around us as half naked cadets slipped in and out of metal doors headed towards showers, quarters, heads, and the galley.
On Monday afternoon Ben came into town and we sat on a bench in water front park to watch all the ships parade out of the Charleston Harbor under sail. Down the same tack the boats spread across the horizon and out the channel. All bound North to continue training and teaching the next set of curious tourists. The tall ship tours provided a window into history. These ships are replicas of past masters of the open sea. But the tour also gave a window into the alternative world aboard these sailing histories in a very modern world.
Amanda Ring-Rissler
Charleston, SC
Thursday, June 18, 2009
A video update
Hey everyone. I've been in Charleston 6 weeks now and I'm settled into an apartment downtown. I still like working at the marina, but I'm itching to keep moving and find a crew job that will put me on the water and head north for fall. Bellow is a video message I recorded today so all of you could see me in my new world here. I hope it makes you smile.
Smiles,
Amanda
Charleston, SC
Smiles,
Amanda
Charleston, SC
Saturday, May 9, 2009
A long needed update
Hi everyone. I’ve neglected the blog sphere for too long now. My last month in Abaco was so beautiful I didn’t take the time to sit down and share it with you. The weather slowly became spring and the water temperature rose everyday. I spent more and more time in the water, at the beach, and going on adventures with new friends. I took little day adventures to some of the out islands. I gave in to the island life. Days moved slowly and melded into each other. A cycle broken into meals, adventures, time on the beach, and visits with new found friends. More time living alone at the house gave me freedom and perspective. Dad came back for the last 10 days of my trip, but we didn’t go sailing or on any adventures. He took too long to get back to the islands. Legistics of the real world can keep us from doing the things we love it seems.
My time ended with a final round of soul searching and a plane ticket to Charleston, SC for the summer. I’ve been here a week now getting adjusted and moving in with my long time friend Lauren Binard. My plan is to stay here until around August 1st. I’ll be attending a Sea School training in July and I got a job a Charleston City Marina working in the dock house. I start next Wednesday and am excited to be working on the water and in the boating community of Charleston. Taking it one step at a time as I search for what will make me happy in the next few years and how I’ll stay a float in this world with fewer safety nets. For now its one day at a time.
My Birthday is in a few weeks and I can’t believe how fast my 21st year went. It brought great changes. It included a summer in Indiana, a 21 hour semester, finding love in a community of 10 beautiful souls, graduating college, making the decision to plunge into Abaco and now Charleston. So here I go trying to stay a float and make the decisions that will eventually create a life. I by no means have all the answers. But I have a pen, a notebook, an incredibly supportive family, and friends to watch me rise and fall.
Smiles,
Amanda Mar
Charleston, SC
My time ended with a final round of soul searching and a plane ticket to Charleston, SC for the summer. I’ve been here a week now getting adjusted and moving in with my long time friend Lauren Binard. My plan is to stay here until around August 1st. I’ll be attending a Sea School training in July and I got a job a Charleston City Marina working in the dock house. I start next Wednesday and am excited to be working on the water and in the boating community of Charleston. Taking it one step at a time as I search for what will make me happy in the next few years and how I’ll stay a float in this world with fewer safety nets. For now its one day at a time.
My Birthday is in a few weeks and I can’t believe how fast my 21st year went. It brought great changes. It included a summer in Indiana, a 21 hour semester, finding love in a community of 10 beautiful souls, graduating college, making the decision to plunge into Abaco and now Charleston. So here I go trying to stay a float and make the decisions that will eventually create a life. I by no means have all the answers. But I have a pen, a notebook, an incredibly supportive family, and friends to watch me rise and fall.
Smiles,
Amanda Mar
Charleston, SC
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Pictures posted on Facebook
Things are good in Abaco. Sun is shinning and I've been lounging and reading away the day. I've also posted some pictures on Facebook from around Little Harbour. The internet connection is so slow they are the first I've uploaded in weeks. My favorites are of the moon coming up in front of the house. Check them out HERE
Smiles,
Amanda Mar
Little Harbour, Abaco Bahamas
Smiles,
Amanda Mar
Little Harbour, Abaco Bahamas
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Sandy Point
In the off shore wind Nancy’s Sea Food sits along the water and opens out into a becalmed bay of ocean. Sandy Point is the southwest end of the island of Abaco. The homes and business sit riskily just feet above sea level. I try to visit this settlement once a season and each time it gives me a glimpse of the other Bahamas operating outside of gimmicky gift stores and hotel rooms. It is a good reminder that Abaco is not completely filled with tourist dollar economies and toned down culture. Most of the residents are black Bahamians who rely on seasonal fishing to support their families. Docks piled with fishing traps line the shore and many of the men will go out on lobster and crabbing boats for weeks at a time. Others cater to fly fisherman and run bonefish camps with skiffs that venture out into the flats in search of the allusive game fish. These families manage. The houses may be crumbling around the edges, but all of them have concrete foundations and shingled roofs. These people are poor by the standards of Abaconians and Americans who come for the sunrise and a stake dinner. But they live proudly and with commendable autonomy. Nancy’s is the one and only reliably stocked and open restaurant. They will cook anything they’ve got any way you want it. But it’s best to call first because at times all they have is fried chicken. Chickens that were probably squawking that very morning in the yard.
Yesterday (March 19) I joined my neighbors and two stray sailor boys for a pilgrimage to the end of Abaco. We piled into the Pierce’s Navigator. The two boys and me were content to snicker and sit on a cushion in the back. An hour later we were in Sandy Point and the sun shone brightly over the flat calm water. A local boy skillfully skipped rocks across the glassy bay. Fisherman cleaned conch and a flock of gulls hovered over the heap of discarded shells. We got the expected stares as we entered from people on the street. We were after all six East coasters and a Hoosier in a Lincoln Navigator. With rum punch in hand I fell into conversation with good people in a perfect setting. We watched the sun kiss the ocean before its nightly hibernation. Funny music videos of Bahamian hip hop songs played from a small grainy television in the corner. The restaurant is well kept with waxed wood walls and neat linen covered tables. Long tables of other white folks gorging on stakes and lobster joined us in the neat restaurant. Bare light bulbs cast stray light onto our plates. Another moment where life is good and the people surrounding you sharing a meal only made it better. I picked the bones clean on my pan-fried snapper, but avoided the eyeballs.
A small but beautiful excursion away from Little Harbour. Sandy Point is a place that the world could too easily forget, but in just hours there the hospitality and need for conversation and friendship was made apparent. Playing pool with locals and talking jive with fisherman. Life is good. Sandy Point is no doubt a more raw Bahamas that lives isolated but willing to share life with you.
Yesterday (March 19) I joined my neighbors and two stray sailor boys for a pilgrimage to the end of Abaco. We piled into the Pierce’s Navigator. The two boys and me were content to snicker and sit on a cushion in the back. An hour later we were in Sandy Point and the sun shone brightly over the flat calm water. A local boy skillfully skipped rocks across the glassy bay. Fisherman cleaned conch and a flock of gulls hovered over the heap of discarded shells. We got the expected stares as we entered from people on the street. We were after all six East coasters and a Hoosier in a Lincoln Navigator. With rum punch in hand I fell into conversation with good people in a perfect setting. We watched the sun kiss the ocean before its nightly hibernation. Funny music videos of Bahamian hip hop songs played from a small grainy television in the corner. The restaurant is well kept with waxed wood walls and neat linen covered tables. Long tables of other white folks gorging on stakes and lobster joined us in the neat restaurant. Bare light bulbs cast stray light onto our plates. Another moment where life is good and the people surrounding you sharing a meal only made it better. I picked the bones clean on my pan-fried snapper, but avoided the eyeballs.
A small but beautiful excursion away from Little Harbour. Sandy Point is a place that the world could too easily forget, but in just hours there the hospitality and need for conversation and friendship was made apparent. Playing pool with locals and talking jive with fisherman. Life is good. Sandy Point is no doubt a more raw Bahamas that lives isolated but willing to share life with you.
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