David's Diary: Monday, September 9, 2002

Recess and A Canadian Visit

With the weekend over it time for school to resume on both Ganymede and Dragonsinger. But with the summer days extending into September there was no reason why recess couldn't include flying leaps off the stern of Ganymede. Jocelyn, Kevin, and Charlie kept themselves and their parents entertained by their wild dashes down Ganymede's deck before flying high through the air to see who could make the biggest splash.

Navy Fortifications

When we arrived yesterday we saw these concrete fortifications that looked large enough to hold a Navy submarine. We asked our new friend Peter about these and he told us that the entire hill side was hollowed out and contained bunk rooms, offices, and maintenance compounds that used to be used by the Croatian Navy. The fortification we could see was designed to hold a large Navy frigate. This is why Vis was off limits to all tourists and cruisers until the Navy left in 1989.

Looking Out

Allen was not swimming for his recess so Tony, Allen, and I took our dinghy over to the concrete quay. We felt like tiny ants walking along the side. When we called out we received an almost perfect echo in return. Doors led off from the dock into the hillside. I explored a little bit into them, but without a flashlight I dared not go too far. Even with a flashlight, it looked like it would be easy to get lost once you got out of sight of daylight.

Karalee, Brian, and Tony

As we returned to Dragonsinger fellow Canadian Brian Moorhouse sailed by in Okina, his Jeanneau sailboat. We asked us how he possibly found us in this obscure bay. He said that the previous night they had been sitting in the cockpit of Okina while tied to the quay in Vis Town when a strange woman came up asking "Are you really Canadian?" Our friend Nada had been walking by and she told Brian where we were.

We last saw Brian in Marina Agana when Kevin and Allen ate most of the maple syrup that he had brought from Canada. Brian lives in Vancouver, but cruises in the Mediterranean each summer. He was enjoying the last few days of his summer holiday when he visited us today. We all had lunch together on Ganymede with Allen using his new ability to drive the dinghy by himself to ferry people back and forth between boats. We didn't get a lot of school done in the afternoon, but we did enjoy visiting with a fellow sailor from back home.