#actually took the wind out of my sails so bad when I reached Act 3 the first time

[linka-from-captain-planet]

something that actually drives me so nuts about this game is how well-written, complex, and lived-in basically every female character is, clearly crafted with intense care and respect... but then you try to put a sensible tunic and pants on them or your female Tav, and the outfit randomly turns into a tits-out dirndl and frilly capris and it's just like "whoops, almost forgot"

[buriednurbckyrd]

The Breakup Box (3)

Not here, was her first thought.  It was too personal, too intimate to have the conversation when she slept.  But where?  What could be neutral ground but also private enough that no one else could overhear what needed to be said?  

“The water,” she blurted out.  “I mean...”  She paused and swallowed the lump in her throat.  “Yes.  We do need to talk, but can you meet me over by the water in a few minutes?”  Bucky's face remained impassive but Steve nodded.  

“Okay, five minutes.  We'll meet you there.”  He started to turn but Bucky held his arm out to stop him.

“So you can have a chance to bolt?  I don't think so, we'll go together.”

“Come on, Buck.”  Steve sighed.  

“No, that's fair.”  Y/N said quietly.  “I wasn't going to leave,” she shot Bucky a pleading look as if silently begging him to believe her.  “But I haven't exactly given either of you reason to trust me not to.”  She turned and took a zippered hoodie from her closet and slipped it on.  There was a chill around her and she expected it would linger until the air was cleared.  Knowing they would follow behind, she started walking.  

What would she even say?  Before she had seen them she thought she had known.  It was completely foreign experience for her.  There were never awkward silences between the three of them, she could tell them anything and everything.  Hadn't Bucky been willing to share the darkest parts of his past?  And Steve was always telling her stories of their childhood, good and bad.  She hesitated for a moment at the door, overwhelmed by the onslaught of emotions.  Fear licked up her spine and her entire body went numb with it.    

“Y/N?” Steve touched her shoulder gently and it jolted her back to reality. She shoved the door open and forced her legs to continue to move. Her chest tightened and she fought the urge to hyperventilate and kept her breaths deep and even.  She realized the only thing she wanted was one of their hugs which never failed to make her feel safe and secure.  Another icy shard bloomed in her belly at the thought.  She prayed after it was over that could still be an option.  

They followed her to the casual seating area by the large pond on the property.  The late afternoon sun gleamed over the water.  It was tranquil and quiet.  Y/N was too full of anxious energy to sit so she paced.  Steve nudged Bucky with his elbow.

“Be patient, okay?”  He said quietly.  “She's here, that's half the battle.  Let her go at her own pace.”  Bucky replied with an annoyed sound, but he made no move to prod Y/N along.  

“Could you, I don't know…just sit down or something?”  She finally said after a long silence.  “You're making me more nervous standing like that.”  Steve settled down on a bench and gestured at Bucky to join him.  She stopped in front of them and looked up.  “I don't even know where to begin.”  She told them, misery written all over her face.  

“Could start with an apology.”  Bucky muttered under his breath and grunted when Steve kicked his shin.  

“I really do apologize for how I acted,” she wrung her hands together.  “Neither of you did anything wrong and I should have just been honest.”  She pressed her fingers over her eyes, refusing to cry.  “I'm so, so sorry.  I've been dealing with a lot of shit but there's no excuse for treating either of you like I did.”  Steve leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.  

“What happened, Y/N?  I just want to understand.”  He looked over at the other man.  “We want to understand.”  

“Short story?  I got dumped.  And before that, I was totally humiliated.” Bucky crossed his arms.

“Gonna need the long story, sweetheart.”  The pet name, however briskly delivered gave her a small flame of hope.  

“I figured.”  She began to pace again.  “I was a fucking idiot.  I planned this whole getaway because I couldn't see what was right in front of me.  And that's embarrassing enough on its own, but it gets worse.  I told him, hey, you always plan our dates let me do this. Booked a fancy hotel room, probably the nicest place I've ever stayed in my whole life.  Tony helped me get a reservation at this amazing new sushi restaurant, which I thought would be such a great surprise since he had mentioned wanting to try it when it opened.  

And like a chump I didn't notice how antsy he was about it all.  Disappeared when I checked us in.  Practically sprinted to the room.”  She let out a bitter laugh.  “Tried to sweet talk me out of going to dinner.  Which I almost fell for, but I had a brand new dress and I wanted to wear it.  I wanted to go eat world class cuisine with my boyfriend and feel like a princess.”  She chewed on her thumbnail. “Everything went smooth a silk.  I felt pretty, the food was incredible, so far it was a perfect night.  Then on our way out he suddenly turns green.  Not because the food didn't agree with him, but because we run into a group of his friends.  And introduces me as a client.”  

“Excuse me?”  Steve sounds stunned.  

“Yup. Not his girlfriend of nearly ten months.  A client of the company he works for.”  

“Why?” Bucky demands.  

“Oh believe me, as soon as we were alone I asked.  Kind of wish I didn't.”  She gestured at her body.  “Because of this.  Because according to him, I don't look like a believable romantic partner for him.”  

“You're fucking joking.”  

“Hand to god, Buck.  I have more stamina than he could ever hope to achieve, not to mention the fact that I could literally hand him his own ass.  But because I don't look a certain way, don't meet some set of societal standards I wasn't good enough to be seen with him by people he knew.  Then all those nagging little red flags were suddenly clear as day.  He always took me to obscure little places.  Never any place popular or busy if we went out.  Most of the time he invited me to his place for dinner and I thought it was sweet and romantic that he wanted to cook for me. He made me into a fool.”

“Please tell me you don't believe that,”  Steve stood up and grabbed her hands.  “Y/N, you're one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen in my life, inside and out.  That guy is the one that should be ashamed.”  She smiled softly and drew her hands back.  

“Thanks. I know he's the one that's lacking.  He's the one that isn't good enough for me.  But it doesn't mean that it didn't sting.”  She blew out a long breath. “Him coming back to the hotel to drop of that box of my belongings was a pretty big slap in the face too.  Just let all the hotel staff know how stupid I was.”  

“Stop saying that,” Bucky finally spoke up.  “I can't stand it when you put yourself down.”  

“Sorry,” she scrubbed her hands over her face.  “I know it's a bad habit.”

“Y/N, why didn't you end it then and there?  Why did you let him break it off?”  Steve asked.

“Because I was a coward, don't argue with me right now Bucky, I was.  And even though he was wrong about almost everything he wasn't about the biggest issue.”  Her heart started to race, was she actually going to do this?  

“What issue?”  Bucky prompted.  She looked at the both of them, eyes sad.

“I didn't really want to be with him.  If I had, I never would have overlooked all the ways he mistreated me, disrespected me.  Every resentment and accusation just spilled out then, and there was absolutely nothing I could do or say because it was all true.”  She couldn't stop the tears any more, and it felt like weakness.  “Shit, I wasn't going to cry.  I'm not trying to get pity or anything.”

“Didn't think that for a second.”  Bucky said softly, his heart ached for his friend.  

“Everything is my fault,” she said bitterly.  “I did the only thing I promised I would never do, I lied.  To him, to myself.”  She choked on a sob.  “To both of you.”  Steve reached out for her.  “No, don't.”

“What are you talking about?  What did you lie about?”  His blue eyes were so full of concern.  She shook her head violently.  

“I can't tell you!”  She yelled.  “But I can't not tell you either!”

“Y/N, please whatever it is-”  

“I can't be around you anymore and keep it in, that's why I keep running away.  But if I tell you and lost you both I couldn't bear it!” She held her head in her hands and trembled.  Both men tried to get a hold of her but she dodged them.

“There's nothing you could say that would make us walk away from you.” Bucky said in a thick voice.  

“He's right, you're our girl, Y/N.”  Steve meant it to be comforting but it only upset her more.  

“Am I though?”  She wiped her eyes furiously.  “Because I love you.” She looked at them both, and her shoulders slumped.  “I'm in love with you, both of you.”  Steve and Bucky could only stare at her in shock.  “That's why I kept running, I can't keep all this,” she pressed her hands over her heart.  “Locked away anymore.  I was hoping maybe I could get it under control, but I can't.  Being around you both is so overwhelming.  I don't deserve your forgiveness because it was selfish.  It's selfish telling you, and I never wanted to put you in this position.”  

“Y/N...” Steve reached for her again.  

“I don't expect anything.”  Her voice was flat, as if all the wind had gone out of her sails.  “You have each other and all I want is you to be happy together.”  She gasped when Bucky's vibranium hand closed over her wrist, pulling her roughly towards him.  His other hand was warm and gentle when it cupped her cheek, and before she knew what was happening his lips were on hers.  When he pulled away her eyes were as big as saucers. “What?”  Steve swept in before she could finish her thought and kissed her too, holding her against his body.  

“Our girl.”  He murmured into her ear.  She found herself sandwiched between the two of them.  

“You always were.”  Bucky told her and she could the smile in his voice.

next

[saibh29]

Southside Girl

Pairings: Jay Halstead x Reader

Warnings: Swearing, Violence, Gunshots, 

AN: I had fun with this one so I hope everyone enjoys. it’s a little different from the request but the main theme is the same.

Y/N is Jay's High School friend and she gets a job at Med as a nurse. She has always been in love with Jay, but what happens when she gets shot? Does Jay reveal his true feelings to Will?

******

You’d been at MED now for a few months, long enough to know where everything was, where all the trauma equipment was kept and most importantly, in your opinion, the fastest route to the cafeteria and therefore the coffee machine.

You had only been back in Chicago for about 5 months now. After growing up on the South Side of the city, you’d somehow dragged yourself through high school with passing grades and gotten into college on the West Coast.

Living in California had definitely gotten you out of the habit of cold Winters which is why when you came into the ED that morning it was hard to even recognise if it was you under the multiple layers of coats, scarves, gloves and varying other warmth providing equipment.

“Y/N? That even you under all that?” Maggie peered curiously between the layers of clothing trying to find your eyes.

“All that California sun turn you weak Y/L/N?”

“Shut it Halstead” you snapped unwrapping a scarf to glower at Will who was grinning at you from behind his fancy Doctor Tablet.

As a kid you’d grown up a few streets over from the Halstead’s, had in fact been a year behind the younger brother, Jay, at school. It gave you a unique position to take the piss out of the doctor without getting in too much trouble.

“Oh, that’s Y/N alright. No one else is quite that vicious this early in the morning. What’s the matter nugget didn’t have your coffee yet?”

“Halstead, I swear…”

Whatever it was you were about to swear to you’d both never know because Maggie inserted herself between the two of you. “Children. Down” she fixed both of you with a stare that made the most argumentative patient sit down and shut up. “There’s a trauma call coming in, your brother’s bringing him in. Think you can not jump for each other’s throats long enough to treat the patient?”

Patients would be the one thing that could make you both behave long enough to actually get along. If there was one thing you could both agree on it was that your jobs were important and patients always took priority.

However, when this patient got wheeled in still screaming and yelling with Jay walking beside him it knocked you back more than you were willing to admit.

You recognised that patient. The one with blood pooling around what looked to be a gunshot to the abdomen.

“Alex?” the trolley he was on was rolled past you and frantic eyes locked on you.

“Y/N, fuck, you gotta help me Y/N. They shot me! They fucking shot me!”

Jay was scowling furiously at Alex as the trolley was wheeled into a cubicle, he grabbed your wrist before you could go in as well.

“Get another nurse to deal with him”

“What?” you yanked at your wrist “Jay let go of me”

“Get another nurse Y/N”

“Your being ridiculous Halstead”

“For what? Not wanting you to treat your gang banger ex-boyfriend”

“Y/N, I got this one” April went into the cubicle leaving you still stood with Jay’s hand manacled around your wrist.

“What the hell Jay” you hissed at him, eyes narrowing. “What gives you the right?”

You were attracting quite the crowd of interested viewers to your little argument which was the point where using your spare hand you pushed at his chest so you were no longer in the middle of the ED.

“Aren’t you breaking some sort of rule by treating someone you know anyway?”

“I don’t know Alex, and let go of me Jay” you pulled once more at your wrist and this time he did finally let you go. “We dated for a few months nothing more”

“Yeah, and I never understood why you even did that much!”

That was it, your temper finally exploded. It was notoriously unstable and Jay had just pushed the final button.

“Maybe because Halstead he at least recognised that I was a WOMAN!” you spun away from an opened mouthed Jay and stalked away towards where Maggie was watching you. “Patient?”

“Trauma 3”

You grabbed the file from her and without giving a backwards glance to anyone else in the ED you made for Trauma 3.

 ********

So ok, time to come clean with yourself, you may have had a massive, childish crush on Jay Halstead ever since you’d been old enough to realise that boys held a certain attraction that girls didn’t. Jay however, had spent most his teenage years chasing everything in a skirt that wasn’t you, and to make it worse you’d then been forced to listen to his stories about these conquests.

You’d dated Alex mainly as an act of rebellion to see if you could finally get his attention. All it had done though was made Jay moody and distant. When you’d left for California and college you’d barely been speaking and since you’d gotten back it hadn’t exactly been smooth sailing either.

Having him stop you doing your job was still grating on you when Will came over a little later.

“He just cares, you know that”

“Don’t start with me Will”

Will watched you filling in charts for a moment. “I mean it Y/N he might not exactly have gone about it in the right way today, but he only did it because he cares about you”

“Then he has a crappy way of showing it” you snapped “how is Alex?”

“He’ll live” Will was clearly debating whether to tell you the next part, making up his mind though he turned to face you completely. “He’s asking to see you”

“Oh?”

“He has some very vivid memories of you”

“Just don’t start Will” you begged “I am not the little kid who used to follow Jay around like a little puppy anymore. I'm an adult, I moved on”

“Really?” he didn’t sound like he believed you. “And Y/N you were never just a kid who followed Will around to me. You were part of our family, you know that”

“I know that” admitting that got rid of the concern on Will’s face then you put it straight back on my telling him you were going to go and see what Alex wanted.

Jay saw where you were heading and angrily marched around to try and cut you off, Will caught him before hand though and whispered something harshly into his ear. Jay started and looked up at his brother, leaving you plenty of time to slip into Alex’s room.

 *****

Afterwards you wouldn’t be able to explain what had happened, you’d gone into the cubicle, were talking to a still agitated Alex and then… well things went to hell in a hand basket.

Jay came in which just made Alex even more frantic, he started yelling about a conspiracy between Jay and Will to put him in prison for what had gone down with you all as kids, Jay was trying to tell him that wasn’t true but Alex suddenly lurched sideways to the officer who’d been placed on his bedside and came up with his weapon.

The next thing you knew, the gun had gone off and you were sat on the floor with blood coming from your arm.

Everything had really gone crazy at that point.

Alex was screaming.

Jay was wrestling the gun away.

Dr Choi and April were crouched in front of you asking you questions.

Then, you were up moved to another room and were sat on a trolley being a patient yourself as the wound on your upper arm was stitched and bandaged.

That had been about an hour ago, the pain in your arm had numbed due to some wonderful pain killers and you were still sat on the edge of a bed trying to figure out what exactly had happened.

“Hey… can I come in?”

Jay, or at least Jay’s head was poking around the curtain covering the small room you were in. You stared at the floating head for a minute before nodding “yeah, why not”

The rest of Jay appeared coming over to stand in front of you, eyes glued to your arm and the bandage covering it. “You, uh... you alright?”

“Sure. I guess, I mean I’ve never been shot before so I'm not really sure what I'm meant to be feeling”

Saying the word ‘shot’ out loud made you feel a bit sick and Jay was clearly feeling it as well because his face had gone pale and anger was floating around in his eyes. “Why the hell did you even go in there?”

“Why wouldn’t I Jay? How was I meant to know that he was going to go apeshit and shoot me?”

“He’s always been dangerous Y/N. You should’ve known better”

“Really Jay? He’s always been dangerous? It’s Alex. We’ve known him since we were kids”

“Which is why you should have known better”

There was no end to this argument and you just didn’t have the energy to fight with him right then. The air puffed out of your lungs and you let your head drop forward so your chin was touching your chest.

You felt the bed dip as Jay sat down beside you. “What did you mean?” his voice was quiet again, serious.

“What did I mean when?”

“When you said he saw you as woman?” you cringed, you had shouted that at him. Damn you and your big mouth. “Do you think I didn’t?”

You forced yourself to look over at him “Did you?” Jay was the one who cringed this time. “It’s alright Jay, I got over it a long time ago, the crush on the bad Halstead. Long gone”

“You had a crush on me?”

“Seriously? Please don’t pretend like you didn’t know. I used to follow you round like a puppy”

Jay’s nose wrinkled in confusion. “I didn’t. I swear. Hell if I had…” he trailed off going back to staring at his hands.

“Jay?”

Biting his lip, he made his mind up about something because he looked back at you with definite determination in his eyes. “I hated Alex since the moment you two started dating, want to know why?”

“Why?”

“I was jealous. Furiously jealous”

“Jealous” it was your turn for confusion to cover your face. “Jealous of what?”

“Of him, of him and you together”

“Oh…”

Hesitantly Jay reached out his hand to take your own linking your fingers together. “You weren’t the only one with a crush Y/N”

Well that took the metaphorical wind right out of your sails. You’d honestly had no idea that Jay liked you as anything more than a friend. Something warm settled in your stomach and like a giddy teenager butterflies fluttered in your chest. Then, you really processed what he’d said and that fire was rapidly put out.

“Weren’t, past tense”

You hadn’t framed it as a question but Jay obviously took it as one. Slowly, giving you all too much time to change your mind Jay put his arm around your waist pulling you across the bed and into his body.

“Not so past” he whispered with his face close to yours. “Yours?”

“Present. Very present”

With a smirk on his face that you used to see directed at every girl other than you Jay closed the final few inches between you and kissed you. Mouth moving over your own and sending tingles down all your limbs. Jesus the man could kiss.

“Well about fucking time” You jumped away from Jay like a guilty teenager finding Will stood in the doorway with a grin on his face you really didn’t like. “And it only took Y/N getting shot for you to finally man up and tell her Bro”

“Shut up” Jay hissed.

“And hey, I won’t have to listen to her moan about you anymore”

“Shut up Will” you snapped as well.

Will just laughed leaving you alone once again as you and Jay turned back to face each other. Embarrassing, yes, but at least Will had a point. It had taken a gunshot but you and Jay had finally admitted how’d you felt since you were teenagers.

*****

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[enz-fan]

Juke magazine - 3 May 1980 front cover and article, by Christie Eliezer

TIM FINN well remembers Split Enz’s first ever Melbourne performance - they were soundly booed off stage.

It was in 1975, and Reckless Red Symons, having seen them at Sydney’s Oceanic Hotel and inevitably falling in love with their sense of theatre and originality, suggested to Skyhooks manager/record label boss Michael Gudinski that Enz play at the next major ‘Hooks gig...

“It was some time in late April (Anzac Day actually - ed) and it was at the Festival Hall, The Skyhooks were causing untold hysteria then. Gudinski, who’s only heard about our outrageous stage costumes and makeup was telling everybody that we were the second Skyhooks,” Finn said.

“We had to get up at six in the morning that day, and by the time we got into Melbourne, we only had an hour’s sleep before making our way to the hall. Consequently by the time we came on, we were very tired and irritable.

“It was such a bad introduction to Melbourne. The audience there was so into the Skyhooks that all through the show they were pulling faces, and throwing cans and cigarette butts at us.”

Finn leans back with the confidence of one who’s left his yesterdays far enough behind to be able to chuckle over them. “It was weird... no it wasn’t, it was disgusting, that’s the only way you can describe it. And we lost a lot of support from the media on that one. They saw us totally out of context, and it was a long time before a lot of them would bother about Split Enz again.”

Still, five years later and it’s over under sideways down. While the Skyhooks last single gasped for airplay. “I Got You” and True Colours are simultaneously seated at the top of the Australian charts. It’s been some years since such a double whammy has happened for an Australian band. Two weeks ago, when this interview took place, the single had sold 13,000 copied in the first three days of the week. By the time you read this “I Got You” should have sailed over the platinum mark - and you know how hard platinum singles are to get, particularly for Oz-made discs.

And the younger sisters of those dedicated Skyhooks fans who’d been so hostile to the Enz, are these days shrieking at Enz concerts, standing outside Mushroom Records’ offices hoping for a glimpse of them or pasting up pinup pictures of the country’s most recent - and unlikeliest - teen idol, Neil Finn.

Split Enz themselves have since then been drifting through different universes anyway. Only Finn, Noel Crombie and Eddie Rayner remain from that bunch of ill-dressed weird freak-outs who created a large cult following through their mixture of self indulgence, witty ideas, and acid casualty detachment. It’s true that once they managed to establish their unique concept of theatre and sense of adventure in their musical presentation, instead of having to live up to Gudinski’s absurd preconeptions, they won acclaim. But in the few times I got dragged off to one of their early concerts, kicking and shrieking all the way, they always left me stone cold bored.

“In a lot of ways, we hid behind our images,” admits Finn, who now accepts that a lot of their music in those days was self-indulgent and aimless. “It was a way we could keep our distance from the audience. I think, like most New Zealanders we’re all shy in varying degrees. But nowadays I’ve become much more confident as a performer. I can reach out to them more, to the point of sometimes actually touching them to gain a response.”

Gone too is Finn’s onstage patter, speaking in arty-farty first year university English Lit couplets. Still, there is a strong dose of bemused cynicism in his onstage yakkings, and I’m pretty sure a lot of it goes over the heads of their newer, younger audiences.

“Well, sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t. It’s all done for reaction. You can’t get too basic or else you become patronising.”

You can take the man out of theatre, but you can’t take the theatre out of the man?

I looked at my watch, and it was a quarter to two...

What are rock’n’roll weirdos like Split Enz doing in the lush stately grounds of the Ripponlea estate, a symbol of a bygone aristocratic/traditional era in Melbourne and now a National Trust and tourist attraction?

Making a film clip for their next single, Tim Finn’s tender ballad, “I Thought I Never”, a standout in their show.

As you crunch up the shaded, sandy driveway which curves through luxuriant flower beds, with the mansion in the distance, you’re overwhelmed by a strong sense of history, you half expect to be met by a white-helmeted pukka sahib complete with monacle and starched handlebar moustache, seated in a horse drawn buggy. What you do find is an assortment of dusty trucks and station wagons with camera crews and roadies lugging equipment out to the main ballroom - polished floors, chandeliers, gold plated mirrors and sin-soaked memories - where the main clip will be shot.

We’re told by Mushroom to turn up at 1 pm sharp to watch Enz filming and chat to the band in between breaks. Photographer Drew and myself wander in at 1:30 to find only two Enzers in sight, in a makeshift dressing room, littered with Ballroom costumes. Tim Finn is sipping champagne as he gets his face made up. Noel Crombie is busy ironing some more costumes. Tim Finn is sipping champagne as he gets his face made up. Noel Crombie is busy ironing some more costumes, typically unsmiling. Neil Finn strolls in casually thirty minutes later, followed by Eddie Rayner.

Representatives from other magazines are there as well. The Enz keep to themselves, none of this hail-felllow-well-met chummy routine. So the men of the media wander back into the sunshine and sit in an outside stone balcony, gossiping and watching the tame peacocks strut past gardeners toiling over the flower beds in the hot Indian summer afternoon.

“One of the things that makes the Enz one of the most creative bands in this country is that they’re very rarely of their image,” says TV Week’s affable Greg Noakes (he’s the one who took the stunning photograph of Cold Chisel on their Breakfast At Sweethearts cover). “At least 70% to 80% of the acts that I take pictures of don’t have a clue what they want out of the session, or how they want themselves projected.

“I’m not going to name names but there’s one top group which I did recently that just could not give a damn. Enz of course have streamlined their outrage since but that accent on the visuals is still as strong. They’ll tell you how they want to come across, and that’s the way it should be.”

While the two Finn boys are the most visual in Enz, others have their roles in the machinery. Noel Crombie for instance might be low profile and almost dispensable onstage (he plays the spoons and assorted percussive instruments) but he’s definitely Enz’s creative genius. His tremendous shyness and eccentricity manifests itself in the flamboyance of their costumes and the sheer vision of their film clips.

Even now, while it’s acknolwedged that the series of film clips coming in from overseas are the most creative in rock by far, most of them are actually covering grounds that Enz blazed in this country at least five years ago.

While Eddie Rayner has an amazing technical mind (his girlfriend Raelyn works the lights for the band), bassist Nigel Griggs is the more practical and businessminded. Drummer Malcolm Green is the most “normal” and “extrovert” as Enz get.

I looked at my watch and it was a quarter to four...

As the evening shadows inch over the stone forecourt, Tim Finn emerges from the makeup room in full costume - black tuxedo, while silk scarf, orange socks - and wanders over to where the media persons are chatting with manager Nathan Brenner, the latter dressed in a blazing yellow’n’red frilled jumpsuit... for film clip purposes, you understand.

“Did you say they’d start soon... ten minutes? Good.” Finn settles himself in a chair and botts a cigarette off somebody. “It’s different filming in a studio because you can create the atmosphere Here, in a place like this, it’s harder to control it.”

We start chatting about True Colours, it’s success, and how it’s the album Enz always wanted to make. I say it worked so well because they weren’t so consciously trying to Create Art, just damn good pop-rock music.

Finn doesn’t bat an eye. “It was a case of strealining it back to the basics really. I still like listening to this album while some of the earlier stuff was a bit... er, self indulgent. There are a lot of good radio hit tracks on it. I love listening to ‘I Got You’ when it comes on the radio, and God knows, I’ve heard it so many times already.”

One Sydney DJ suggested that after being so ahead of their time, tastes had changed enough for people to finally catch up to the Enz? What did he think of that?

“I don’t know... I hesitate to say that, because it sounds so arrogant. But having said that, in a lot of ways we were ahead of our time. For instance, the haircuts we had in ‘74 and’75 are now in vogue, although somewhat modified.”

Offstage Finn is a regular Dr. Jekyll to the energetic Mr Hyde he portrays under the spotlight. A quiet and private person, he is dedicated to the band. He hates doing interviews, but does them because they’re a necessary evil. Brenner informs him that one of the magazine wants to photograph him with New Zealand cabaret singer Tina Cross. Finn scowls because he can’t see how a photograph is going to help Enz, and he’s not not crazy about her music either. He eventually relents, but his curt demeanor as he does it makes it clear to everyone, including Ms Cross, that he’s done it under protest.

It takes Tim thirsty minutes to wind down after a performance and push the adrenalin flow back to normal. He’s not a violent person at all, but during the recent tour he angrily slammed the door in the face of a Brisbane photographer who ignored the “no one in Enz’s dressing room thirty minutes before and after the show.”

Very reflective, determined and cynical, it’s what you’d expect from someone who’s the original surviving member of the band that got together in New Zealand eight years ago, almost touched the pot of gold at the end of the huge rainbow, but had it whisked away by the hand of fate.

Remember how everything looked so rosy for the Enz in the mid-Seventies. Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera, who was touring here at the time, dug them so much that he insisted on producing their second album Second Thoughts.

They went to England where the English rock press wet its pants over them. Melody Maker declared “they are one of the few bands of any originality to have emerged over the last 12 months, they may even prove to be the most intriguing combo to join the rock and roll circus since Roxy Music.” Their U.K. label Chrysalis were so determined that they’d be the next big thing that they spent a fortune publicising the band. Nibbles into America proved favourable. A Frenz of the Enz cult following developed in England and Europe.

The dream soured just as quickly. Such an intense creative band had to have its intense personality clashes, of course, and they went through four changes in 19 months.

But if there’s eomthing about Split Enz, it’s been their strong determination and the sense of challenge they feel in seeking out the unknown.

One was going back to working the pubs and developing a grass roots following. The music became streamlined. They tried working with a virtually unknown English engineer/produced called David Tickle. Their first collaboration, ‘I See Red’ saw the Enz get their first National Top 10 single. Pleased with this, they decided to use Tickle in work on their next album. The rest, as they sayin the soap operas, is history.

“We were both looking for each other,” Finn says. “We needed a producer like him, and he was looking for a band like us.”

In a recent interview, Finn confessed that Tickle had provided a “psychological climate” for the band. What did he mean by that?

“Well, it wasn’t just a business relationship, David became a very good friend of the band’s. Obviously when you’re recording, you’re not as good in all aspects of it. Like possibly your vocal harmonies might not be up to scratch. It then takes someone who can bolster up your confidence at that point of time. I know it sounds corny, but you need someone you can depend on.”

Neil Finn wanders over, dressed in a white and pink jacket. The younger Finn had been Enz’s biggest gamble, when they replaced the prolific and adventurous Judd with someone as inexperienced as he. It worked. Onstage his confidence has escalated, although he’s still wary of people he doesn’t know. Every time he answered a question, he’d always glance at his older brother as if needing his assurance.

More than any of the others, he handles the new responsibilities as Enz now also appeals to a younger, screaming audience. He’s forever willing to make in-store appearances and do interviews because the band’s status warrants it. He’s warmed to his new role as a pinup boy.

“It’s a strange situation to be in,” he laughs. “Because, after all, none of us in this band are what you’d call pretty.”

Would you have believed five years ago that some day young females would be screaming at Split Enz and mooning over them as idols. The mind certainly boggles.

At this stage, Split Enz are carefully taking the new found adulation in stride. Rather than cash in by rushing out and playing all the big pubs again and making a lot of money (Brimmer claims he could get $4,000 a night from a one night stint at the Bondi Lifesaver in Sydney) they intend to stay off the road for a few more weeks and then do some work around Perth.

“It’s so easy to get over-exposed in a country like this.” They’re all very keen that their credibility doesn’t get blown with sudden success. Over the next week, too, they’ll start to rehearse the material for their next album, due out in October.

And, surely, Split Enz are dying to get back to have another crack at the English market. After all, considering the way they’ve stuck together through the bad period, this is obviously the strongest Enz lineup to date.

“There have been some nibbles... obviously we’d like to get back there and try it again. But at the same time we’d still like to work to consolidate ourselves in this country, get better acquainted with our new audience. I think the time is just right for us in England, their Top 40 is the most adventurous in the world.

“‘I See Red’ was released there recently. It sold well enough to prove there are still people out there who can remember us, but didn’t get airplay. It’s funny you know, but there are still fans there who hunt us down and write us letters. But this time when we go back there we’ll be more prepared. We’re so aware of the need for a publicist, someone who knows the right people and can get to them.”

“Not much different here.” mutters someone who shall remain nameless.

‘I looked at my watch and it was a quarter to five...

And they’re finally ready to start shooting, kept waiting a further half an hour by an extra. The film clip depicts the band in the aftermath of a wild ball, streamers and balloons everywhere. Last minute adjustments to the sound levels, the tension is unbearable. Tim Finn kicks a balloon around the floor. Eddie Rayner and Nigel Griggs jam on a fast blues and the record finally booms over the microphone.

I fall apart when you’re around, When you’re here, I’m nowhere, I can’t pretend that I’m not down, I show it, I know it...”

Finn steps down from the stage to the dance floor, still miming:

I’ve been a fool more than once, more than twice. I’m gonna move

“Cut!”

It’s a mistake and has to be re-shot. Split Enz are so perfectionist, so unflinching they try again.

“Take two.”

The record booms over the P.A. again. Thirty minutes of that and “Cut!” Yes, it’s a take. Now for the next scene.

And so they piece it together through the whole night, trying out different ideas, always willing to score a better take. For a scene where T. Finn has to waltz alone in the garden, they use floodlights and keep on going. Finally as the eastern clouds streak a tinge of pink and yellow, exhausted bodies yawningly carry the equipment back to the station wagons and head off.

The clock in the main mallroom read 6.10 as the last of the trucks roars off through the steel gates in a cloud of dust.

And when the day breaks in our stately home we'll sit Remembering those nights before our hearts were set Hoping is not enough to live upon With such a far far cry I can't go wrong

- Judd-Finn, “Maybe” from Mental Notes, 1975

And all we’ll see on our TV screens will be a little over three minutes of it.

[ladye11e]

Deception pt 16

The conflict between the Assassins and the Templars is getting out of hand. Lies, deceit and subterfuge, now you must pick a side.. 

Tagging @geekgoddess813 @sweet-flash @i-wontgivein @ermergerd517 @imakemyownblog 💕

If anyone else would like tagging, shoot me a dm 😁

Link to the full fic so far is Here.

You were up in your room pacing to and fro, stopping every third or fourth lap to stare at your phone on the bed. It had been two days since the mission, and you had still yet to call the voicemail number to let Gist know where the money had been taken to so they could retrieve it for Haytham. But the thought of having your voice recorded still unnerved you greatly despite his assurances, especially after what Connor had said. Knowing that you couldn't do anything here whether you chose to or not, you grabbed up your phone and jacket, running down the stairs and barging by Jacobs legs which were propped up on the counter while Henry was boring him to tears about some dried flowers.

"Hey! Where you off to in such a rush? Can I come with you?!"

You glanced behind you just long enough to see that he was looking up at you with pleading eyes, making you chuckle when Henry snapped the book he was holding shut as you opened the door.

"Out. And nope. Don't wait up!"

Walking through the streets vaguely while you still pondered on what to do about your 'other' assignment, you mumbled an apology when you bumped into a couple and nearly sent them flying while you were busy staring at the pavement. Learning your lesson and looking up instead of at the floor, you finally took note of your surroundings, quite surprised that you had inadvertently made your way to Tower Bridge. It was packed with tourists, and you needed time alone to think, so looking about to make sure there was no kind of authoritative people about, you began climbing one of the towers; scaling it with trained deftness until you reached near the top. You threw yourself to the side and leapt onto the walkway that connected the two towers and sat down with your legs dangling after checking there wasn't anyone else here, staring out into the distance.

The corner of your mouth curved as from all the way up here you could see the tips of red sails at the marina, but you soon frowned when your stomach suddenly started fluttering. You still weren't happy with the man after what he did to you, but there was a part of you that always felt completely the opposite; especially since that kiss had stirred everything back up again, regardless of how much you tried to ignore it.

Since when did everything become so complicated??

Irrespective of how you felt about him, it had nothing to do with whether you should let the Templars have the money or not, the only thing that could decide that is trying to determine what the Assassins would do with it. Your friends you trusted completely, but the masters and mentors? You knew they would do anything to get the upper hand.

You sighed and rubbed your face when a strong gust of wind hit you, making you shiver as you were way underdressed for being two hundred feet in the air. Swinging your bag around and pulling out your phone, you brought up the voicemail number and hit call before you changed your mind. You sat tapping your leg as only silence hit your ear, it seeming like forever had passed until you eventually heard a beep.

"It's at the corners of Cable Street and Mill yard, opposite the museum. And... I'd like a lift."

Hanging up as soon as you blurted that out, you gawked at the screen wondering what the hell possessed you to ask to go with them. Deciding that maybe it wasn't such a bad decision, after all, being on the yacht was way more preferable that being on a cramped plane, and it would also give you the chance to let Shay have his sword back. Shoving your phone back into your bag, you stood up and peered down below, looking for a suitable landing place to jump down from where you were. Spotting a small trailer filled with stuffed toys to be sold to the tourists for an obscenely high price, you stood up and spread your arms out, leaning forwards and letting yourself fall.

You always loved doing a leap of faith. For those few seconds spiralling through the air, it felt like every one of your worries were dragged away; leaving you with an absolute peace which is why you were giggling to yourself when you landed, not even caring that the vendor was screaming at you for squashing his merchandise as you jumped out. Given that you had nothing else to do today you thought you might as well wander about for a bit, maybe even some shopping now that you had a few pounds to your name thanks to Jacob.

After spending a couple of hours taking in the sights as you hadn't been here for quite a while and, laughing at the tourist's who were taking an outrageous amount of selfies, you eventually found yourself at Trinity Square Gardens. Apparently, your nose had led the way as your stomach started growling when you got closer to the burger vendor, which wasn't surprising considering dusk was beginning to loom. Buying yourself something to eat and drink and perching yourself under a tree away from the fair few people who were still about that were soaking in the last few rays of sunshine, you began devouring your food in record speed when you suddenly became ravenous after your first bite.

Feeling a lot better now that you had finished, you grabbed your napkin to wipe your hands with, cocking your head quizzically when you spied a dot of black ink on the corner of it. Usually, they were just plain white, so your intrigue got the better of you and you gingerly began to unfold it, looking around quickly to make sure that no-one was watching you when you saw that something was written on the inside. Satisfied that you were alone, you lay it out on your lap and smirked to yourself as you read the neatly printed handwriting.

We have what we wanted, sail at 3 pm tomorrow. See you then :)

Well no backing out now. You thought as you set to tearing the tissue up into the tiniest pieces you could manage before dropping them into the remnants of your drink. Glancing up to see that the food stall had now gone, you began to wonder just how many connections Gist actually had around here. Now all that was left to do was try to come up with a good excuse for Connor as to why you wouldn't be travelling with him again...

You were more than surprised when you asked Connor for some time off to relax now that the mission was complete, as you had expected him to either be annoyed or give you a lecture about how much more work there was still to be done. You had even planned out a good excuse, but you didn't need to use it as the second you'd opened your mouth and mentioned the word vacation, he was pretty much ushering you out the door before you changed your mind.

"It has not been nearly six year's since I've had time off!" You yelled, so Desmond could hear you on the other end of the phone as Connor had insisted on calling him to redistribute your work for the next two weeks.

"Desmond says you are correct, it is closer to seven."

Rolling your eyes when you could tell they were mocking you and calling you a workaholic during their conversation, you stomped up the stairs in a pretended huff, actually feeling quite thrilled at the prospect of getting some R&R. You had always ignored the mens comments of 'you work too much' and 'even Superwoman took a break once in a while', but when Evie had mentioned that you looked burnt out the other day, that's when you had considered stepping back for a bit. You guessed it would take about a week again to get back to Boston, but without any impending mission or dire circumstance worrying you this time you were damned sure that you were going to take advantage and enjoy being on the Morrigan with its many luxuries. As for the second week? You'd worry about that when you got back home.

"So, what are you going to do with your time off?"

Glancing up from packing your bag, to see Henry leaning against the door frame with a soft smile before walking over and handing you a pile of clothes that had been laundered for you, you shrugged your shoulders and pretended to think about it while you stuffed the garments in your bag.

"Not decided much really. Was thinking maybe taking a boat ride? I'll wing the rest."

You silently praised yourself for your quick thinking, so on the off chance someone did happen to spot you at the docks, they wouldn't be trying to figure out as to why you were there. Still, you would try to avoid being in that situation as much as possible. You stopped what you were doing for a second as Henry just stood there thoughtfully for a moment, before his face lit up when he had an idea.

"Did you know that Edward has just arrived? If it is sailing you want to do why not go with him? He could also take you back home."

Oh. Crap.

Grateful that you had gotten this information now and not later, you carried on with your bag and acted as indifferent as possible while you hoped that he hadn't moored anywhere near The Morrigan.

"Eddie? No ta, I'd like to spend my time off ungroped thank you! What's he doing here?"

"Hmm? Oh, just tying up a few loose ends and most likely to drink London dry with Jacob. Nothing for you to be concerned about I assure you." He chuckled.

Scoffing in agreement and squashing everything down in your holdall, you carefully wedged Shays sword on the top of it all and zipped it up, then checked your watch and saw that you needed to get going.

"Guess I'll be off then. Say bye to the others for me, and if you need me to dig you out of it again, you know where I am."

You grinned and winked at him as he rolled his eyes and shooed you away out the door, then groaned as you heaved your bag over your shoulder and started the short walk to the marina.

Pulling your hood further down to cover your face a bit more as you got closer to the dock; thankful that it had started drizzling so you wouldn't look out of place, you gasped and cursed under your breath when you spotted the Jackdaw on the opposite side of the pier, entirely in view of the Morrigan. You willed your feet into moving faster when you could see no-one obvious about, that was until you heard a couple of familiar laughs coming from almost directly ahead of you. Ducking behind a small stack of crates at the edge of the walkway just in time as Edward, Jacob and Connor rounded the corner; you pressed yourself up against the wood as much as humanly possible when their voices started getting closer.

Inching yourself slightly to the side by balancing on your tiptoes and shuffling across, you managed to peek just around the edge of the crates to see where they had stopped when you couldn't hear footsteps anymore. Your heart was beating so loud you were sure it was going to give you away when you saw they were about fifteen feet away from you; exactly in front of the ramp to board the Morrigan to be precise, Edward gazing at it thoughtfully. You looked up when you saw movement above, tugging your hood down when you spotted Christopher walking down the deck. His eyes widened when he saw you crouched down and huddled in a tiny ball, his gaze flickering away from you quickly when the three men stood further down caught his attention.

"Ahoy there friends! Is there something I can help you with?" He yelled, almost sprinting down the deck to attempt to provide a distraction for you.

Leaning to the side again so you could keep an eye and an ear out for an opportune moment to hide somewhere better until they were gone, it finally sunk in that there actually wasn't anywhere for you to go, not without being spotted anyway. Hoping that Gist had come up with some cunning plan, you held on to your bag as tight as you could and carried on listening to the conversation, mentally beating yourself up for making such a grave error in judgement.

"Just admiring your ship mate, don't see many with red sails."

"Ah yes, her previous owner was rather enthusiastic about them, they've grown on me now. I don't care for this weather we're having much, it seems like we're going to Get Wet!"

You looked around when Gist had said that last bit marginally louder, assuming that he was trying to communicate with you while still trying to be as discreet as possible. You swallowed hard when your eyes eventually roamed and stopped just to the left of you, a gap between the edge of the pier and the ship just big enough for you to slide down and into the water filling your vision. He can't be serious??! Resigning to the fact that you had no choice but to do what you thought he was suggesting, you pulled back and pressed yourself back up against the crate again, waiting for another instruction as what to do next.

"Mind if we come aboard and have a look? I'm actually in the market for something like this, and she is a beauty!"

Frowning as you knew Eddie well enough to tell he wasn't serious about what he had just said, you started to become even more panicked; if such a thing were even possible, as it sounded like he was probing at another reason to get on board the ship.

"Dreadfully sorry, maybe another time. I'm already late disembarking, in fact, I must Go Now!"

Taking that as your queue, you held your bag firmly to your chest and took a deep breath as you leant forwards, rolling yourself off the side and straight into the icy cold water quickly. You knew it was pointless opening your eyes to try and see underwater as you'd already observed it extremely murky, so you reached out with one hand until you felt the hull under your fingertips and kicked your legs gently, using it as a guide to make your way to the back of the ship. Slowly letting out a bit of breath at a time to prolong your ability to keep submerged, you tried to distract yourself from where you were by wondering which was worse. Drowning, or getting caught. Grasping the ladder at the stern to keep yourself immersed for as long as you could when you decided on the latter, you pressed your nose against your arm to stop yourself breathing in the water when you felt like your chest was being crushed tighter with every passing second that you were underwater.

At the moment you began to go dizzy; just before you felt like you were going to pass out and one last bubble of air escaped your lips, a hand gripped your arm firmly and dragged you up with incredible strength, pulling you onto the deck where you began choking and heaving in a desperate attempt to fill your lungs with breath again. Looking up in your oxygen deprived haze to see who had dragged you out of the water, a slight of a smile tugged at your lips when you saw a very distraught Shay kneeling down next to you, before you collapsed to the floor and slipped into unconsciousness.

[coconutseaways]

Grand Turk Baby!! 🇹🇨

We are in Grand Turk!!

We finally got the boat organized and ready to go on Friday the 16th. So we lifted anchor in the morning and went through the 9AM bridge opening out into Marigot Bay. We anchored as close as we could to the dinghy dock because the day before, our outboard motor started acting up. It wasn't shooting out water like it's supposed to when it runs, which cools the engine. Instead it was steam, so we figure the impeller has broken and now we have to take it apart and pull out the broken pieces and then replace the impeller. Not the hardest job but unfortunate timing since we were leaving right away. Oh well. We packed the outboard away, and decided to work on our rowing skills. The whole time we were in the Azores we never used the engine so we weren't too worried about it. Like I said, we anchored very close so it wasn't too much of a trip back and forth. We decided to spend the night in the bay and head out the next morning.

So since we were still hanging out, we went ashore, picked up a few more things at the store, did some last minute wifi; calling my mom and telling everyone we were on our way. Then we went to the boatyard at 5PM and had a final beer with the guys saying goodbye. We had an early night, and got up at 6 AM to finish up packing and get going. It took a few hours to finally get everything, like strapping the dinghy, getting the sails ready, mounting the self steering, doing some last minute dishes and a few other things. At 10 AM we lifted anchor and said goodbye to St Martin.

We set a course for the north coast of Anegada of the British Virgin Islands. Unfortunately we were on another tight deadline with a guest booked to stay on the boat on the 21st in Grand Turk. We had 530 nautical miles to get there so we had no time to stop anywhere. We would have left earlier, but we were pinned down by the wind for the last week and a half. Oh well.

I was fine for about the first 5 hours or so and then we were on that dreaded beam reach and even though I'd taken anti nausea pills...I was pretty sick. Thank god we have self steering, because I was no help at all for a while. I did do a watch, where I was sick 2 or 3 times and at one point, something happened to the self steering and I couldn't even lift my head to check. Mike came up to the sound of our sails flapping and realized that one of our breakaway strings that tie one of the pulleys for the self steering had snapped. No big deal, we just had to re tie it and all was good. We have them on breakaway strings in case something happens and too much power is exerted. Instead of breaking something on the boat or the unit itself, the string will snap and then the steering will stop. It's recommended in the manual so that's what we did.

Anyway, I finally recovered once we hit the top of Anegada, when we were able to bear off and have the wind more behind us. It was a bit of a rough sail still, with strong wind and a lot of rocking back and forth. We went along the top of the BVI and along the north coast of Puerto Rico. We continued on past the Dominican Republic, staying south of Navidad Bank and Silver Bank. We only saw one whale which was a little disappointing since we were hoping to see more being in a place where they are during this time of year mating. We were making good time and during the 3rd night all of a sudden the self steering stopped working again. I noticed that the rudder was right out of the water which it shouldn't be. Mike figured out that one of the bolts had actually worked itself loose which keeps the blade straight up and down. While I steered, he tried to put it back in, but we were moving way too fast. So we slowed the boat down to a stop, and hove to. Heaving to means tacking into the wind but keeping the sail on the other side so it crosses across the bow. It effectively stops the boat and although it's not a comfortable motion it makes it easier to get some work done. Mike was working the bolt in when it slipped out of his fingers and dropped into the drink. Damn. Luckily we have extra bolts and he found one that fit. We got it all fixed and we were on our way within an hour.

The next morning Mike checked the bolt and it was working its way out again. We ended up putting a locking nut on but that reduces the range of motion the blade can move. But it was a better compromise than losing the bolt again. We will use some lock-tight to glue to bolt in place.

About a day away from Grand Turk, the steering wheel makes a couple groans and then there's a clunk. Well isn't it our luck that the chain to the steering wheel has just broken. We have no steering. Thankfully it was just that, and not something like the rudder has been damaged or lost. We have an emergency tiller that hooks into the floor, directly to the rudder bolt connection that we can use to steer. However, the self steering unit can't work with that so we are now going to have to hand steer (actually foot steer) the rest of the way... noooooooo., not again!!

It's about 10 AM on the 20th, we have a full day and night ahead. So Mike and I get suited up in foul weather gear, because we are getting splashed by waves due to the angle of sail we have to go to make the island. Two hour shifts were the next 24 hours for us. Constantly getting splashed by waves and using our left foot to steer because the tiller is right near the floor of the cockpit. It's also backwards to most tillers, because it's an emergency one, so it's an awkward steering set up. However it works. I posted a picture of me in all my gear, sitting with my arms crossed and my left foot is on the wooden tiller steering.

The day wasn't too bad but the night was brutal. We were also coming up on a dangerous bank called Mouchoir Bank. We had to stay on a course bearing off from the corner of this bank until we got past it, then we could harden up and actually head for the island. There's no other way to go, so while Mike was steering I was watching the charts meticulously, making sure we clear it and change course at our soonest opportunity. We definitely didn't get much sleep that's for sure. Then it was my turn again. That's when the rain came pelting down. Which was kind of nice to get the salt washed off. But as soon as the rain stopped another wave came to salt me up again. As Mike would say, I was a-salt-ed.

We could see the glow of Grand Turk and also the island south of it called Salt Cay. Unfortunately the channel between the two islands is full of reef and rocks and is too hazardous to navigate, especially at night. So we were forced to go south of Salt Cay and then make our way back up to Grand Turk on the west side of the islands. Thank god we bought charts for these islands because the free ones we had gotten didn't have the Turks and Caicos and we really didn't want to come in blind. It was more than worth it and they only cost $21 on my phone. A very very good idea to say the least. We made it to Salt Cay around 6 AM and dropped anchor to get a couple hours of rest before a windward beat to Grand Turk. We knew we had made it and we would be there in time for our guest who was flying in around 5:30 PM. Talk about cutting it close.

We slept for a couple hours until 8:30 when I woke up and made coffee. We lifted anchor and headed into a rough sail towards Grand Turk, avoiding reefs and coral heads in between the two islands. Because the wind was coming straight from where we wanted to go, we had to go up almost the whole coast before tacking and heading back to the place we wanted to anchor which was near the south point of the island. By the time we dropped anchor it was 12:30 PM.

But what a beautiful place to drop anchor!! The water was so clear and blue, the sand is white and the beach looks beautiful. I stripped off my jacket and foul weather pants, and actually enjoyed the sun for a minute. As soon as the first anchor was down, Mike and I jumped into the water to refresh and feel a little human again. We put a second anchor down and took a minute to just catch our breath.

We then went on cleaning up the boat to have a guest onboard, pulling out the bike and life jackets and all the other things we stored in the v berth for the journey. I made our bed up in there once it was cleaned up and then made our guests bed in the main cabin. Mike put the bike together and we slowly got everything looking pretty satisfactory.

We launched the dinghy and rowed ashore. We were walking towards the airport with a half hour to spare. I still hadn't been on wifi, so I hadn't been able to message our guest to say "hey, we made it, we'll be at the airport" or anything. As we are walking up, I see her waving and it turns out she got on the earlier flight so she'd been there for about an hour or so. No big deal, we went into the bar beside the airport and celebrated seeing each other again with a beer. She is our first return customer. She stayed with us in Nevis for a few days and had a great time, so she came back for 8 nights in Grand Turk. Super exciting to know we are doing something right.

We made our way back to the boat and had a nice relaxing evening. She went for a swim right away, enjoying the beautiful water. Can't blame her one bit haha.

On Thursday, we went for a long walk into town once we checked in with customs. It was pretty much on the other side of the island, so we got a good hike in which is always great after a sail. We stopped and had lunch at a little place called Barbie's restaurant, having BBQ chicken and ox tails with rice and peas. It was very tasty. We found a couple grocery stores and took note of where to get what.

On Friday, we put on our fins and mask and went for a long snorkel. First, around a little reef just behind where we are anchored. There's some nice coral and some cool looking fish hanging around. Then towards the drop off...which is some freaky stuff. All of a sudden the ground just slips away and it's dark. I can only imagine what kind of creatures are hanging around, including sharks. We had a couple barracuda around and Mike chased them which was pretty funny. They don't want to mess with us, but damn do they look scary when they show their teeth. We swam ashore and took a long walk on the beach, and then swam back to the boat. What a great way to start the day.

So far this place is amazing, and absolutely beautiful. I promise to keep the pics and vids coming on Instagram @coconut_seaways and Facebook (Coconut Seaways - follow us!) because there is so much to see. I'll write again soon!!

[happyourslog]

Abaco Trip

Monday, April 24, 0820 we started the trip from Boca Chica by motoring to Stock Island to top off the fuel tank and to fill the two Jerry cans.  Then we left for Bimini at 0944, a 158-NM run, which I expected to take 24-26 hours.  The initial winds were light and southerly so we motor-sailed until about 1930, and then we started to pick up the push from the Gulf Stream.  A squall line passed through us as the wind shifted to the west and steadily freshened until we were beam reaching along at what I’d estimate was 7.5 knots through the water plus a 2-3 knot push from the Gulf Stream!!!!  We saw 10+ knots over the ground for several hours while under sail only.  The new AIS worked nicely to keep us advised about the freighter traffic around us, and it was comforting that at least they could see us.  We pulled into the Bimini Sands Marina at 0710 and tied up.  21.5 hours to cover 158 NM!  That is over a 7-knot average, thanks to the Gulf Stream.  We put out the quarantine flag to let everyone know that we hadn’t cleared into the country yet.  Then after giving our boat information to the marina office, I grabbed a cab to the airport to check in with the immigration and customs people.  I returned to Happy Ours with our clearance papers in hand and ran up the Bahamian visiting flag from our starboard spreader.  Then I collapsed and took a nap, as did Jane.  We had dinner aboard that night.

Happy Ours underway

Wednesday, April 26, 0700, we were on our way to West End.  It was about 60 miles and there was very little wind so we motored the whole way.  We tried to catch the deep-water fish that are in this area, but we had no luck with our baited lures.  I think we were trolling too fast or I wasn’t tending the lures enough.  We arrived at West End about 1530 and were assigned slip C23.

Thursday, April 27, I borrowed a bike and rode into the town of West End.  The devastation as a result of Hurricane Mathew was very apparent (see pictures).  That evening Jane and I went over to the pool area and had “Gully Washers” as we watched people set up for a cocktail social for the fishing tournament.  The money and boats there were quite something to see, and later the light show from those boats was very pretty (see pics).  That night I discovered I’d left the propane for the BBQ on, and the bottle was completely empty.  Bummer!

Hurricane destruction

Friday, April 28, when we woke up, we noticed that the freezer wasn’t working correctly, indicating a temperature of 40 degrees, rather than the normal 22 or so.  Therefore, I now had two missions—to find a way to get the propane bottle filled and to get the freezer fixed.  Naturally, when I asked the marina office about purchasing propane, they acted like I had just asked them where the jellybean trees were. It seems that a third-world trait is to not know and apparently have no curiosity about what is going on around them.  I’ve seen this around the world.  I don’t get it.  However, by noting that the kitchen used propane to cook and by locating the man who filled their tanks, I was able to get propane by that evening.  Since we were waiting for a man to help us with the freezer, we had enough time to have the marina run us into town to do laundry (a very nice little place), and then we had dinner at the marina restaurant. So began three days of trying to get the freezer to work.  A man named Morton from the Old Bahamas Marina was a great help.  He installed a small cooling fan on the freezer.  The compressor temperature was too high, causing it to automatically shut down.  It was fortunate I had the little two-inch fan that was needed.  The repair took Friday and Saturday.  That seemed to fix the problem.  But on Sunday the freezer failed again, and this time I found a bad ground lead.  The freezer came back on, but it took a number of tries to get going.  In reading the manual, I think the root problem is that the freezer is under-wired (wired too small) so that when it tries to start, the voltage is too low and the compressor is starved for power.  I’ll change this when I can, but we decided to press on since we can turn the fridge down low enough that it freezes anything in the bottom.  We moved our frozen goods to the bottom of the fridge and pressed on.  So ended an interesting, but frustrating five days at West End.

Old Bahamas Marina at night

 The Laundromat

Monday, May 1, we started at 0930 for Great Sale Cay.  I knew we were about 2 hours early to go through Indian Rock Cut at high tide, but I got anxious and away we went.  We touched bottom only once about 1 mile into the cut, but once is too many times.  A nice breeze picked up that allowed us to sail all the way to Great Sale Cay.  It was a safe anchorage, but devoid of any natural beauty that I could detect.  It had a protected cove lined with mangrove.  If there was a beach, we didn’t see it.  However, we didn’t see any of the northern part of the Cay.  We arrived at 1615, dropped our anchor, and spent a quiet night “on the hook.”

Tuesday, May 2, we set out for Fox Town, about 30 miles to our east, but first we needed to go south for an hour to clear the shallow water off the southern tip of Great Sale Cay.  Once we turned and headed east, a nice breeze came up, which allowed us to sail the whole way to Fox Town.  The entry into Fox Town is a bit convoluted, but we were comfortably at anchor by 1430.  Jane elected to stay aboard, but I jumped into the dinghy and went ashore.  Fox Town is what I’d call a typical out island town--nice people, but generally it has a very third world feeling to it.  I met the lady who runs the grocery and asked if she had any lettuce, but she didn’t.  I went into the local grill/bar, had a coke, and talked to the owner--a nice man named Rodger.  I walked up and down the only street in town and took some pictures.  Then once back on the boat, we had a quiet dinner aboard.

Fox Town

Wednesday, May 3, we hauled the anchor at 0815 and were off to Green Turtle Cay, about 30 miles.  The wind was light so we mostly motored.  I dumped the holding tank (or thought I did).  Then, as we approached Green Turtle, the engine quit!  After some trouble shooting, I switched to the alternate fuel pick-up (actually the pick-up for the generator) and the engine started and ran fine.  We timed our arrival at Green Turtle to be at high tide as the entry is shallow.  I had been told that the channel to White Bay had been dredged to 7 feet, but I had no way to confirm that.  We did see 7.5 feet as we came in (I may have been to the right of the channel), but at low tide we would have been aground in 5 feet of water.  We initially picked up a mooring ball and I went to work finding the reason that the engine quit.  As I suspected, some junk had fouled the fuel line right at the shut-off valve.  I cleared the clog and life was good again.  There was a little bit of old, dead algae, but the primary clog was several pieces of pink colored plastic.  I had no idea where that would have come from, but the fuel to the engine was fully clear again.  We explored  White Bay first by going over to the Green Turtle Club, where we were able to get some lettuce and a drink called a Tipsy Turtle from their bar.  It was a very pleasant tasting rum drink that both Jane and I liked.  It carried a good kick that Jane noted J.  We had dinner aboard that night.

Green Turtle Cay, White Bay

Thursday, May 4, I went ashore to pay for our mooring for the previous night; and when I returned, Jane presented me with the bad news that the holding tank was full.  After some investigation, I determined that the macerator pump had failed due to corrosion!  So began the process of removing the pump (not easy) and then figuring what to do.  Long story short, we rented a golf cart, went into New Plymouth on the southern end of Green Turtle Cay, found the only macerator pump on the island and brought it back to the boat.  Most of this occurred during a rainstorm.  Believe me, Jane was not a happy camper.  We moved the boat and anchored, rather than stay on the ball that night.  To reward ourselves for such a trying day, we had dinner ashore at Bally Ho’s.

On the hunt for  a macerator pump

Friday, May 5, I got the new macerator pump installed and working so life was good again.  As luck would have it, a thunderstorm rolled through in the early afternoon with winds to 45 knots!  We dragged anchor!  That was a first for us, as we have an oversized (by 20 lbs) Mantus anchor.  The bottom was grass and mud and when I pulled the anchor up, it looked like we’d been plowing a field (which in a way we had).  We reset the anchor.  The only casualty was my long-time Island Packet ball cap, which was blown overboard and lost.

Saturday, May 6, things seemed to be getting back to normal.  I went ashore to pick up some veggies from the little store at the Green Turtle Club, and I brought Jane back a Tipsy Turtle, as she seemed to really like them.  We both went ashore to Bally Ho’s and made several WIFI telephone calls.  What a great deal!  If the Wi-Fi is good enough, you can call for free back to the states (as long as your carrier and phone allow Wi-Fi calling)!  We went back to Happy Ours and had dinner and a movie onboard.

Sunday, May 7, in order to catch the high tide, we were up early and underway at 0655.  We had no problems exiting White Bay and never saw less than 8 feet of water on the way out (again noting a 2.5 foot tide, I don’t see how the channel could be dredged to 7 feet).  First, we had to go through “the Whale,” an infamous channel that can be quite treacherous.  Fortunately, it was calm and presented no problems for us as we headed to Treasure Cay.  I had conflicting information on the entry depths, but as it turned out, there was no problem.  We had a solid 8 feet the whole way in (on a mid-tide that was falling).  We moored and then I went in to register at the marina office and look around.  Our early start put us “on the ball” at 1015 so I had plenty of time to look around.  Everything you could want was there, even a good grocery store!  What I didn’t notice was that on Sunday it closed at 1300.  When Jane and I came back, ready to do some shopping, we were disappointed to find it closed.  Always trying to make the best of things, we settled into the pool area, where the WIFI was very good, the pool was nice, and the bar open!  Jane called and texted family and friends, while I swam and read my book (John Sanford).  We opted to go the $15 cheeseburger route for dinner.

Monday, May 8, we decided to stay another day to use the Internet, shop for more groceries, buy postcards, and relax by the pool.  I wanted to go see the beach so I got up early, jumped in the dinghy, and walked over to it.  “White sand and perfect” is the best way to describe it (pics).

Treasure Cay beach

Tuesday, May 9, at about 1000 we dropped the mooring and went to the fuel dock.  I put 37 gallons of fuel in the tank and then filled the water tank since it was $9.50 no matter how much water you took (we took about 100 gallons).  We then headed out for Marsh Harbour, only 14 miles away.  We arrived after motoring the whole way and anchored in 9 feet of water.  I figured we were directly off Union Jack Dock by 300 yards, and it turned out that I was correct.  I’ll have to say that Marsh Harbour does seem to have everything you might need, but we thought it had little to offer in terms of intrinsic beauty.  I went ashore looking for a place to dispose of used engine oil, and the Shell Station there said that as long as I gave it to them in jugs, they would dispose of it.  I went back to Happy Ours and we had dinner aboard.

Wednesday, May 10, Jane and I changed the oil, and then I ran it into the dock and disposed of it in two jugs.  Later that day we went into a place called Snappas and had dinner.  Because it was the Bahamian Election Day, the bar was closed until 1800.  I had tried to get more propane earlier that day, but couldn’t because, by law, the workers had to have time off to go vote.  That shut down the propane-filling operation.   Food at Snappas was available after 1700, and we had dinner ashore.

Thursday, May 11, we left Marsh Harbour at about 0900 in order to catch the high tide entering Hope Town.  We took the “deep draft” route into the harbor, and I still saw 7.5 feet briefly on a 2.5-foot high tide (remember we draw 5 feet 7 inches) so I was happy to have the high tide in our favor.  As we entered and passed the fuel dock, another boat hailed us to go hard port because of shallow water directly ahead.  We did that and missed touching the bottom.  Whew!  After circling slowly around, we picked up a mooring ball almost directly in front of the Harbour View Grocery Store, which turned out to be a good location and a short dinghy ride to their dock.

Friday, May 12, we went out to explore a bit and ended up at the Hope Town Harbour Lodge that has a bar and grill (Reef Bar and Grill) overlooking the beach and the Atlantic Ocean.  We both had their BLT sandwiches for lunch and commented that they were some of the best we’d ever had.  Of course, we also stopped at the grocery store to replenish our vegetables.  That evening I was in the process of using the water maker when there was a “bang” and it shut down.  I determined that the boost pump had stopped for reasons that weren’t clear.  I decided to save that for the morning.  We had our usual dinner of a pork chop, a chicken breast, and a salad aboard that night.

View from the Hope Town Harbour Bar and Grill

Saturday, May 13, in the morning I determined that the boost pump was now running and concluded that for reasons not clear to me, it had gotten too hot and seized up the previous evening.  I decided that rather than deal with it, I would defer it to a later time.  It did mean that we’d have to “pickle” the water maker system so that it would remain operable.  To “pickle” the water maker, the boost pump must be working; and I hoped that it would long enough to get the job done.  We had lunch aboard and then went over to the Hope Town Light House and climbed all 101 steps to the top.  Great view (pics)!  Then, in the late afternoon, we dinghied over to the Harbour’s Edge Restaurant and Bar and celebrated Mother’s Day one day early.

Hope Town Harbour from the candy-striped lighthouse

Sunday, May 14, Jane and I “pickled” the water maker without any problem.  That was a relief for me!  I didn’t want to deal with a water maker that was contaminated with bacterial growth from sitting too long without use or without being sterile (what  “pickling” does).  After that we went back to the Reef Bar and Grill and had another BLT, and then I swam in the Atlantic and the saltwater pool.  It was a very nice afternoon.

Monday, May 15, we delayed our start for Great Guana Cay and Settlement Harbour in order to catch the high tide to exit Hope Town.   Since high tide was at noon and we wanted to fill our water tank before leaving, we dropped the mooring at 1100 and went over to the fuel dock, where we had to wait 20 minutes for another boat to clear.  We took 155 gallons of water.  I was surprised it wasn’t more because the label on the tank says 190 gallons and it was indicating almost empty.  We actually left the fuel dock at 1200 and took the “deep water” route out of the Harbour, as we had on the way in.  I never saw less than an 8-foot depth, but with a 2.5-foot tide I was again happy we’d waited for the high tide.  Once we were clear, it took an hour and 50 minutes to run up to Settlement Harbour and pick up a mooring.  We dinghied in and got a ride to Nipper’s Bar overlooking the Atlantic.  Nipper’s is one of “the” places to go in the Abacos.  It was colorful and beautiful.  I took a dip in their saltwater pool, but like most things in the Bahamas, it was apparent that it was not being maintained.  It seems very much like things get built and while new, look great, but then they just slowly go downhill.  Odd I think, but it’s all about the lack of money.  We spent that night on the ball in Settlement Harbour.

Salt Water Pool at Nipper’s

 Tuesday, May 16, I went ashore to look around and ended up talking for a time with several people who lived there.  One of the things that surprised me was that their big season is in the summer, not the winter.  The explanation was that it is cooler there than it is in Florida and they get many tourists escaping the heat in Florida.  The winter tourists go farther south where it is warmer in the wintertime.  I had thought we’d stay two days there, but there wasn’t much going on and we’d both liked Treasure Cay, which was only 10 miles away so we set sail with a following sea and 15-20 knot winds pushing us.  We made it a leisurely sail, using the headsail only.  We kept a 4 to 5 knot speed the whole way and were on a ball in Treasure Cay by 1445.  I went ashore to register for the mooring, for bell peppers from the store, and I took a swim in their pool. 

Wednesday, May 17, we decided to stay until Friday because the wind was blowing 20-25 knots and wasn’t really supposed to let up until then.  If you are going to be stuck somewhere, Treasure Cay is a good place in our opinion.  However, disaster struck as I was boarding the dinghy, and my Kindle fell out of my towel and it was gone!  So I took another swim in their pool and had some rum and diet coke to ease the pain of my loss.  After that, I ran into the gift shop for some postcards and then back to the boat for dinner.

Thursday, May 18, was another very nice day in Treasure Cay, though the wind continued.  Jane and I went into the restaurant at the pool for “pizza” night and had a Hawaiian pizza.

Friday, May 19, we left Treasure Cay for Manjack Cay.  The wind was still blowing 15-20 knots from the northeast.  We needed to pass through the Whale Channel again, and as it turned out, it was just fine.  We sailed up the channel between Great Abaco Island and Green Turtle Cay, and then we continued on to the northwest end of Manjack Cay.  The cove there is a nearly perfect half moon inlet with white sand beaches.  I dinghied in to explore and noted several nurse sharks and stingrays (pics).

The cove, NW Manjack (Happy Ours on the right)

Nurse Sharks

Ray

Saturday, May 20, I went ashore again and took pictures of the sharks and rays.  I had intended to snorkel with them, but decided against it when I saw groups of 3 rays swimming together.  I know they’re supposed to be safe, but all I could think of was the Aussie that was killed by one.  These were good-sized rays, about 3 feet across.  Once back on Happy Ours, we weighed anchor and set off for Fox Town.  We arrived at 1530, and I went ashore to see if I could get a weather update on their Internet.  I was successful, and I returned to the boat for dinner.

Sunday, May 21, we set off for Great Sale Cay as a stopover point on the way to West End, and we were at anchor by 1600.  It was a moonless night, and Jane commented on the stars’ brightness.  The stars truly were spectacular.

 Monday, May 22, we left for West End at 0830.  The high tide at Indian Rock was to be at 1700 so we tried to arrive at 1600 and pass through the shallows on a rising high tide.  We were successful and never saw less than 7.5 feet the whole way across.  Well worth timing the tide!  We then went into Old Bahamas Bay Marina and picked up a slip, our first since leaving there 3 weeks ago.

Tuesday - Thursday, May 23, 24, 25, we decided to call Tuesday a day of rest.  In retrospect it was a mistake as by Wednesday the weather had changed and was not suitable to cross the Gulf Stream.  We were stuck.  As it turned out, we stayed until May 26.  If you must be stuck, West End is not a bad place.  It has a nice pool and a good restaurant, all of this available for the slip fee (which had increased $30 in the three weeks since we were last there).

Friday, May 26, we left Old Bahamas Bay at 0400 with no moon and a really black night.  We almost hit a seawall by getting disoriented.  Fortunately, we saw the wall with our lights before hitting it, but it was not a good start.  There was a light southerly breeze, which slowly freshened and hauled until it was on our starboard bow at 15-20 knots.  Everyone says “don’t be in the Gulf Stream with a northern wind,” but there we were.  The seas slowly built to 5 feet with a very short interval and quite steep waves, making things uncomfortable.  Happy Ours did just fine, it was her crew that got beaten up a bit.  We entered the channel to Fort Pierce at about 1600 (12 hours for the 90 miles from West End) and proceeded to the fuel dock of the Harbor Town Marina.  The tide was extremely low, and we had to stand off a few feet and have the fuel hose passed to us.  We were successful and got our fuel, but then as we headed into our slip, we ran aground with the bow just even with the finger pier.  After waiting 45 minutes (it was just coming up on 1900), we floated free and pulled into the slip.  Needless to say, we were tired so there was no question that we would walk down to the bar and grill to eat.  It was a nice place with live music, but it did have a downside.  Jane found a metal nut in her macaroni (for a ¼ inch metal bolt).  Dinner was free, but eaten carefully. 

Saturday-Sunday, May 27-28, I borrowed a bike and went into town to pick up some provisions.  We decided that rather than battling the Memorial Day crowds, we’d go offshore overnight to Daytona.  Jane wasn’t happy, because she dislikes overnighters, but she saw the wisdom of avoiding the crowds on the ICW over Memorial Day.  Since we didn’t need to leave until early afternoon, we were able to have lunch at the marina restaurant with Dr. Allison Moore, the daughter of Tom and Rachel Moore.  It was good to see her again, and there were no “nuts” in the meal.  We left the marina at 1330 with an outgoing tidal current flowing and flew down the channel at 8-9 knots.  The wind was light so we slowly (4-5 knots) made our way north toward Ponce De Leon inlet and Daytona.  I took the first watch until 0200 and then went below, and Jane took the second watch until 0700.  We started into the channel at about 0830.  I had read that shoaling was a problem entering Ponce de Leon, and it certainly was.  We had an incoming tidal flow and a rising tide.  We went aground and the current held us fast in place.  We made a call to SeaTow, and they showed up within 15 minutes.  The SeaTow gent was able to pull us off, and then we went too wide in our turn and went aground again.  This time he pushed us free.  He showed me what the bill would have been if we weren’t SeaTow members ($1700).  Glad we’re members, no charge.  After that bit of excitement, we continued up the ICW until reaching Halifax Harbor Marina (Daytona).  Our intention was to stay a night or maybe two and visit with our friends Tom and Rachel, but as we looked at the setup and asked how they’d faired in Hurricane Mathew, we decided to forgo two more days on the ICW and leave Happy Ours in Daytona.  It was time to head to Texas and grandkids and then home.

Monday, May 29, we spent the day visiting with T-Bone and Rachel and arranging for a rental car so we could drive to Boca Chica to pick up our car. 

Tuesday, May 30, we made the drive to Boca Chica, checked our mail, and picked up the car.  We actually started back toward Daytona and spent the night in Marathon FL.

Wednesday, May 31, we completed the drive back to Daytona, turned in the rental car, and started getting the boat ready for us to leave.  There are so many little things to do and lots of cleaning, just to keep Jane happy. J  Not really, it’s much better to leave a clean boat.

Thursday, June 1, there was still enough to do on the boat that we didn’t actually get on the road until 1330 heading for Texas by way of Pensacola.

And so ended our second awesome cruise to the Bahamas.