Almost there

We are crossing the Atlantic and are almost there. A couple days a go my dad needed a rope (or so he thought) so he sent me up the mast, 52 feet up in the air, with a pair of scissors dangling from a string tied to me. Your parents say don't run with scissors. The waves were 2 meters high and rocking the boat a ton. Up at the top of the mast the waves were way bigger since I am dangling by a rope with a rope and clips keeping me close to the forestay holding me close to it. The forestay is the
pole that we role the sail up on in the front. Luckily the sail was down in the boat. When I got up there the scissors had gotten stuck on some rope and had popped open as if they were going to snip something. I finally got them unhooked so with one hand I reached up wrapped a thin rope around my hand since I was not supposed to let go of it. Then I started coming down. When I was up there I had gotten kind of seasick. When I was nearly to the deck the thin rope I was holding got stuck or something
and My mom didn't know so she kept giving me slack. I was holding on to the rope still with it pinching me hard and holding my self up with the rest of my body. Then they got me down and I gave a little seasick burp and passed off the rope to my dad and went to sit down. That was the most excitement for a couple days. The sail on the front known as the jib had tore and we had it down in the boat. We were also having trouble with the spinnaker. It kept chafing a rope. We should get to the Caribbean
tonight. We are very exited to get there. I hope you liked the blog. If you have any questions just ask.

Tristan

Italy and Volcanoes!!!!!

We have been very busy. First of all we made it to Italy. Second of all we have been to the toe of the boot and crossed through the strait of Messina. It is the strait between Sicily and Italy. It is really cool to see the island of Sicily and Italy's main land right next to each other. After we went through the strait of Messina we went to a couple of marinas, but all of them were too expensive. Then we went to a volcano called Stromboli. The volcano is supposed to be the most pretty and
active volcano in the world. It shoots off smoke and lava day and night. But at night it glows red as it flies through the air. When we got to the island we anchored and went to shore. We ate lunch on the island and learned that charge you extra money just to sit at a table. After finding the stores and doing our grocery shopping we went back to the dinghy. Matthew and I were already wearing swim suits so Dad towed us back in the water with a line attached to the dinghy. Once at the boat we
took the dinghy out to look at a big rock or really small island, either way It was really steep. On top of it was a light house. The small island was all there was to see during the day so we went back to the boat. At around sunset we took the boat around the island to watch the lava rocks fly. It was amazing to watch it fly through the air. We would also see hot rocks roll down the hill then hit the water with a splash. Then we went to Positano. Positano is a Italian city like you picture
Italian cities, from afar. Once you get close you discover a lot of tourism. Matthew and I did find a place play in the water on the beach though. It was packed with people. There was a wall of stone that you could climb up easily. We would jump off it and into the water which got deep quick. The next day we explored the city. Once we left there we did some wandering trying to find a place to stay. Every where was to expensive until we were so desperate that we just docked in a marina and
didn't ask about the price. That night we found out that it cost only 130 EURO'S. That is worth
$195. The next day we had until noon to get out. They new that we were going to see Pompeii so they gave us till 3 o'clock to get out. To get to Pompeii we took a special taxi thing there. He said we should call him when we needed him to come and pick us up. On the way there we found out that it would cost 37 and a 1/2 dollars for a 5 minute drive both ways. Then we made it to Pompeii. It was a lot better than we thought it would be. It turns out that they had dug up 4/5 of the city of Pompeii.
We were able to see the whole thing our selves. They were very advanced, they had pots, aqueducts, surgeons, public baths and the rich even had running water in their house. If you look at their buildings you can see that they used pumice bricks with a kind of cement to make walls. When we were walking down the streets we saw cross walks for the people so they didn't step in horse poop or mud. When we were in the city we also saw a couple of bakery's. They used donkeys to pull grain grinders
that had different sizes for different fineness of the ground grain. In the bakery we also saw a oven that was shaped like the ones you see in pizzerias. In Pompeii there also was a coliseum and auditorium. The coliseum was for gladiators and the auditorium for plays. The auditorium was large but not as big as the coliseum. We also learned that the whole auditorium was covered with a stone roof. The last thing we saw was some bodies of dead adults and children. After that we left Pompeii.
Then we got some pizza and fresh made lemon slushy things that are a lot more appetizing than they sound. We didn't call the driver and instead went to a electric train station. We got on the train and went in the direction of the boat. Unfortunately we passed by what my dad thought was 3 miles. So we walked, and walked , then finally we walked some more. Finally we made it to the marina at 3:50. So we hurriedly washed the boat and left with some difficulties. If you have any questions or
want to know more about something email me. Write to you soon.

Tristan

lefkada

Hi there,

We are in the sometimes windy sometimes not of Vasiliki,Lefkada. You would not believe the all the soft rocks on the beach. Still there are so many it is difficult to walk on. Well not much is happing. We have been spending a lot of time around Lefkada Island waiting for the right wind to sail to Italy. We stopped in Rouda twice. We sailed around Skorpios island (owned by Onassis family )and there were boats every where! There was a boat even going backwards to see the island. That island
was a boat magnet, being private draws the people in with curiosity. Every afternoon the wind reaches amazing heights. People go wind surfing and tear it up, sometimes in rough water. Sailing dinghies are always flying around our boat. We should be heading for the heel of the boot in a couple days.

bye-bye for now

Matthew

Sailing in Greece

Lately we have been doing a lot of shore things like,riding a bike and taking a hike. We were able to find a FREE marina that we can stay in. The marina is not finished yet so it is not charging people to dock there. There is also internet that we were able to pay for. Matthew and I really enjoyed getting up early to play on it. The Kelly's got out there bikes and let us ride them. We rode them all over. Then the next day we went on a hike that went all the way around the island. On our way
down we saw a truck fly past us in the dirt road. Later we found out that the truck was the garbage truck. When we got back to the boats we were able to sail Duxie, the Kelly's Dinghy. Matthew did not like to sail so what he did was inflated a mattress then climbed on that and held on to a rope on the dinghy. But he got bored quick. Then I sailed alone again. I sailed up and into the marina to explore. When I was up there A girl wanted to go sailing with me. So I let her in and showed her
how. It was hard because she spoke no English. She wanted to go up wind but all she did was put the tiller over to one side as far as she could. Of course that made us skid side ways down wind. But the whole time she just washed her hands and didn't look up. Now we are motoring to a new anchorage.
When we were at the Corinth canal we learned that there are bridges at the entrance and exit. To let boats threw the bridges go under water so boats can go over them. The Corinth canal is all stone. The builders dug out the canal right through stone. At parts of the canal the rock is higher than our mast. At the highest it was 63 meters and the water is only 8 meters deep. I was lucky enough to be on the second spreader to take pictures. If you want to know more look the canal up online and
the pictures are really cool. Bye bye

Tristan

Greece and the Acropolis

Greetings yawl! We are on our way after visiting the Acropolis. Which I will fill you in on right now. The Acropolis holds many Greek mythology artifacts and archeology sites as well as all the temples for the different gods. It also has the Parthenon which was dedicated to the Greek Goddess Athena. The Parthenon was sort of a disappointment because it was covered with pipes so they could rebuild it. It wasn't what it looked like 50 years ago. The large museum of Acropolis unfortunately was
closed right now since they are moving it to a new building but in a small one we saw many cool artifacts. There was a very impressive marble slab that was used to tell which people were going to have to serve jury duty in trials around 400 B.C. There was a display of all the different coins from different ages that they used even 1000 years B.C. There were very neat artifacts such as dolls made out of clay, jewelry and an almighty petrified pine cone, grape and nuts. As we walked around we came
to a fence, where inside people were excavating still. They were digging up dirt and one person found pottery while we were there. It would have been fun to do it myself, but we were hungry. Right now we are going the the Corinth Canal. Bye bye for now,
Matthew

Questions and answers

This is a question a friend asked me.
BlankTristan

How did you all get into a turkey? They must be really large in the Mediterranean. Do you think you could send a giant leg for Thanksgiving next year. The camels with 3 humps are filled with milk chocolate and the ones with 2 humps are filled with dark chocolate. The mommy mummies and the daddy mummies are placed in the pyramids because they want to get out of the hot sun.

Jim :)
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Ha ha ha very funny Jim but all wrong. The humps are all fat to give them energy were not in a turkey and the pyramids are just for burial. The pyramids are pointing up like this because when the world was created they believed it was all water. So as the world developed the water came down and the first thing to point above the water was a mountain that was shaped like a pyramid. That's why they are pointed like that. Thanks for writing.

Tristan

Questions and answers

This is a question a friend asked me.
BlankTristan,
I enjoyed reading your about your adventures in Egypt. I was wondering, do the camels have 3 eyelids to help keep the sand out of their eyes? I would guess they cover their nostrils somehow, also to keep out sand. Did you have to wear anything special while riding?

Was there a special feeling while being in such a huge graveyard?

Did you know Jimmy's nanna and poppa are from Greece? Their last name is Kostakis. Maybe you'll bump into a cousin or two.

Peace and Love,
Tammy

"The essence of intelligence is skill in extracting meaning from everyday experience."

Unknown

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Thanks for writing you got them all right. No we don't have to wear anything special since we are only riding them for a very short distance. Did you pyramids in the dessert. Well actually you can see them when you are driving to the camel renting place. The pyramids are not even a mile away from the city. Do you mind if I send your email out so they can see the guesses? You were the first to guess about the camels thanks.

Castle of St. Peter

We are sailing to a new anchorage every day. Yesterday we went to a castle that was a lot bigger than the last one we went to. They think the Castle of St. Peter was built in the 1500 A.D.. In this castle there were thousands of pots, called amphoras and glass items that were found in a sunken ship that is the oldest ship they have found. The ship was sunk in 1400 B.C.. When they built ships long ago like in B.C. they made the water proof hull first then put in the frame and floorboards. The
castle had been attacked by the French 3 times in WWI and failed every time. In one of the hall ways they showed a picture of the castle before it was restore. The castle had holes in the wall and was broken all over. They restored it so beautifully that we could not tell it had been broken that badly. In another room there were a lot of glass bottles and dishes and things like that. All of them were found in the boat or around the boat. To get up the pots and glass they had to get divers
to take down bags and metal baskets. They put the pots in the baskets then tied the bags to the baskets and inflated them with air so they would float to the surface. If you have any questions or want to know more email me and I will send the email out to every body and also send out the what you wanted to know.

Tristan

Turkeys turtles

Hello. In Tristan's email he told you a small bit about Turkey. I am going to tell you some more. When we we got got here we got good internet like T(Tristan) said. A few days after that we went to see a castle with a peacock pen near the front. Ounce we got in and looked around we found the turtles. We had a lot of fun with them. We gave them leaves and flowers. They liked leaves and fought for flowers. a few days ago we went wake boarding. and my brother learned a new trick good for
him. i am getting good. after that we went to a water park. We had a good time on the hot day.

Bye Bye
Matthew

P.s. If you want to know more about anything just email us and Tristan can answer you. I wont.

Turkey

Hello, right now we are in Marmaris, Turkey. We have been to Egypt, and for a little bit Greece. While we were in Egypt we went and saw the GREAT PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT. To get to them you could take a camel, a horse, or a bus. Of course we took the camels. We had a guide and went with Luna some friends of ours. At the great pyramids in Giza there are three main pyramids and six small ones. When you ride a camel you are supposed to move with it. When it goes down hill you need to lean back. When
it sits down, it kneels on its legs. Front legs first then back legs. Even then you have to lean with it. When we got up close I got to touch the great pyramid. Did you guys know that camels have three eye lids? Do any of you guys know what is in the hump? Do camels have nostrils that can close? If you guys want to guess the answers email me. After that we went through the Suez Canal. You have to get a guide to go through the canal. On the way through the canal you see guards every half
a mile. Going through the canal is not that special. The canal has no locks so you don't get that experience. After that we went to Greece but did not check in sshhhhhhhh. At Greece I learned to wind surf and got really good. I can ride it backwards I can use one hand and I made my own trick. Now we are in Turkey where we have internet sometimes. If you guys have skype please tell me because I can skype you if you do. Our skype address is ohanakai4. Also if you know the answers to my questions
please email me.

Tristan

Egypt

We have been exploring Egypt. First we went to the temple of Karnac. The temple was built for the head god named Amun-Re. The temple was built high by making ramps up the wall to place the stone bricks on the top. The whole temple is has hieroglyphics on it. After that we went to the valley of the kings. There are 62 tombs in the whole place. Inside the tombs you can see many hieroglyphics that are in there original color. In one tomb there was stick figures drawn black. In another tomb
you got to see the king Tutankamon dead mummified body. He was as big as me when he died. These tombs are dug under ground. After that we went to the hotel for the night and swam at the hotel and left for the for the museum the next day. At the museum you could see all of king tuts things. There was gold treasures and bottles which used to be filled with essence(essence is what they call perfume). There were board games but they did not have dice so they used sticks that were flat. The sticks
had colors on both, black and white. The Egyptians also had ink and paper. We went to a store that showed us how to make there paper which is called papyrus paper. The ink was made out of soot from fires. At the museum we also saw jewelry and weapons and even his gold mask. I hope you liked this email if you have any questions or want to know more about anything email me.

Tristan

Red Sea

May 1, 2008
Right from the Red Sea.
First we stopped in Sudan which had big ruins made completely out of old coral. Is had become almost all ruble now. I brought my soccer ball to shore and had fun kicking it around with my friends but I got terribly hot.
On our way up to Egypt, we had tons and tons of dolphins jumping in unison very early in the morning. Tristan and mom were still in a deep sleep so only Dad and I got to see them.
Now we are in Egypt, anchored with the wind blowing up to 30 knots. Lately we've been going out to the beach for a lot of windsurfing and kite boarding. Yesterday the whole, whole gang went. I've been practicing to fly the miniature training kite. And we've been having fun with a tire we found on shore. First we rolled it into the water and jumped on it each trying to be king of the tire. My special tactic was jumping on someone and trying to tackle them off. Yesterday we found a camel skeleton
that we formed back into his shape. We even found a rock the right shape for his brain and put him back together.
It is awfully windy here, I hate this wind. I don't like it because it is hard to shake out my rug for chores and I am afraid it is going to blow away. It also gets a lot of sand in your eyes and is giving me a stuffy nose at the moment. My dad also just helped some other people who have a mangled boat right now from the wind and they dragged off their anchor.
Hope you enjoyed this blog,
bye bye for now,
Matthew

Yemen

April 13, 2008
We made it to Yemen! We are now sailing to the city Aden. Yemen's architecture is old but modern. If you just looked at a picture you would think that it was not that advanced. But if you are there you can here cars honking. When we were in the anchorage of Al MukAla we kept seeing turtles popping up all over. Roxy and Alex celebrated there birthdays on the same day. We played some fun party games like one when you have to put a piece of candy on top of flour and keep cutting it until it falls.
If you make it fall you have to eat it out of the flour without your hands. Another fun game was when you were blind folded and had to eat a cracker off of a string without your hands. One night when we went to dinner there were soldiers on the roof of the restaurant. There was even a soldier where we tie off the dinghies. We will make it to Aden tonight. If you have any questions email me.

Tristan

(no subject)

Hi I am starting back up the blog so if you have any questions email me . I am going to catch you back up with what has happened since Thailand. We visited Angkor Wat in Cambodia and it was HUGE. A lot of the rubble is around and some pillars and walls are injured but most of it is intact. There are a lot of cool pictures of their history carved into EVERY inch in the walls. Although it can start to get boring after looking at hundreds of them in 93 degrees. One of the most amazing things is
that the whole place is surrounded by a man made lake. Angkor Wat has changed religions in it's history from Buddhism to Hinduism. When it changed they placed red dots on it's forehead so they wouldn't have to destroy them all. Some they carved into flowers so when you look at them you can sometimes see small little Buddha's in the flower.

We also went to see large statue Buddha's in Bangkok Thailand. There were about 3 main Buddha's that we saw. There was the Jade Buddha, the Gold Buddha, and the Reclining Buddha. The Jade Buddha's legend is that it was hidden in cement and nobody new it was jade until lightning struck it on the nose revealing that it was jade. They call it the Emerald Buddha but it is jade. The Gold Buddha is bigger than me and is made out of Pure gold. It took us forever just to find it. The reclining Buddha
is the biggest of all. One of it's feet is twice as big as the door you come in to see it. It was fifty feet high and over 150 feet long! All of the Buddha's are made with molds. When we went to see the Gold Buddha there was a guy that took our pictures as we went in. When we came out he tried to sell us our pictures on buttons.
We visited Vietnam and saw Ho Chi Minh and he has been dead for 40 years. He was in a bed surrounded by a glass chamber. He didn't look that bad for a dead guy. To be honest I had to ask my mom if he wasn't made of wax. It turns out he wanted to be cremated. We also went to a museum and found out that they called it the American war, not the Vietnam War.
After all that we moved on to the Maldives. The Maldives are below India, if you look on the map you can see a little group of islands under India. Around the last surf day there I caught one of the best waves of my life. I caught the wave then stood up and teetered on the top. Then I flew down the wave so fast that it felt like it was shaking.

Right now we are sailing from the Maldives to Yemen. This is one of our longest crossings. We have been on it for about 11 days. Once we get to Yemen we will set off up the Red Sea and into the Mediterranean.

Tristan