Susan, Sequoia, and Todd go sailing

When discussing a departure date for our next trip to the islands with our buddies on Theophilus, at first we were a bit hesitant. We’re having the UV cover on our jib replaced, and we didn’t want to make a trip without it. But then Ron casually mentioned that he’d also been talking to Isis and Monsoon about all making the trip together.

“Theophilus is our buddy boat!” ranted Capn Envy. “Did they even think about how this would make us feel?” “Relax,” I said, trying to calm him. “I’m sure Ron is just using them so he’ll have enough bodies for a volleyball game. It doesn’t mean anything.”

But of course, we couldn’t just sit by while these upstarts tried to weasel their ways into Theophilus’ hearts. Jib or no jib, we had to join that floatilla, and do all that we could to drive a Sugata-sized wedge between Theophilus and any crew foolish enough to try to steal them away from us!

The plan was simple: Sequoia and I would engage the crews of Isis and/or Monsoon in some sort of activity. Toro would try to get Theophilus to do something else. Thus Koiya and I ended up scrambling up a mountain with Will and Burke, while Toro made snorkeling plans with Ron. Or Koiya would get Will to go fishing with her, while Toro and I plied Ron and Sherry with tequila.

Sure, sometimes we couldn’t avoid having all of the crews together, like at cocktail hour or when Ron set up the volleyball net on the beach and we played as the full moon rose. On such occasions, we resorted to less subtle tactics, like rushing to sit next to Ron or Sherry, and constantly steering the conversation back to the good times we’d had together, alone.

After a quick stop to snorkel on the wreck of the Fang Ming (which Ron had been dying to see, and only we knew where it was, thank you very much!), Theophilus headed back to La Paz.

That was when our artistry truly shone, for instead of following Theophilus back to La Paz like some pathetic groupies, we went on to Isla San Francisco and Isla San Jose with Isis and Monsoon. We went clamming and fishing, and celebrated Burke’s birthday. Of course, we kept notes on all the fun we had, so we could describe it all to Theophilus later.

And, by a great stroke of luck, we ran into our friends on Wildflower, who we met last season. This was doubly great, because we got to catch up with them, and we got flaunt them in front of Isis and Monsoon. On Wildflower, Joe set up his fantastic rope swing, and we hooped and hollered loud enough for the whole anchorage to hear. Then we helped celebrate Finn’s 9th birthday, and that evening, Joe and Stefan led a fishing party. We could just imagine what Isis and Monsoon must be thinking: “Oh, Sugata is so much fun, no wonder they are so popular! We’ll never be able to pry Theophilus away from them!” Yes!

Now we’re back in La Paz, anchored right next to Theophilus. And we’re so confident that our mission was a complete success, that we’ve invited Isis and Monsoon to tag along this evening when we go with Theophilus for oysters and margaritas at the Bismarck restaurant. Our new friends will see us chatting and laughing with our old friends, and tequila will be the only remedy for the jealousy that tears at their hearts. As the sun sets, Toro will roar out a toast, “To new friends!” and I will wait a beat, make eye contact with Ron and Sherry, and add softly, “And old.” Boooyah!

See our most recent photos here:

20090516Floatilla

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 17th, 2009 at 2:05 pm and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.