by Ann Lee Miller | Mar 18, 2016 | Blog, Coconut Grove FL, Just The Facts Fridays, Miami FL- Living Aboard a Sailboat
Careening off the end of Pier 1 on his trike and going overboard in cowboy boots, my kid brother learned to swim the hard way. But he owned Dinner Key Marina in a way I never would. I focused on flying under Dad’s radar, but R.J. stacked up father-son adventures,... by Ann Lee Miller | Mar 11, 2016 | Blog, Coconut Grove FL, Just The Facts Fridays, Miami FL- Living Aboard a Sailboat
My cousin Diane landed in deep doo doo for mouthing off to my Dad’s sister one too many times and got shipped from Ohio to reform school—i.e. my life. We sailed to Key West, fetched Di from the airport, and anchored off Marathon Key. Di made a tiny haystack of fish... by Ann Lee Miller | Mar 4, 2016 | Blog, Coconut Grove FL, Just The Facts Fridays, Miami FL- Living Aboard a Sailboat
The three-foot hammerhead shark lay writhing, white belly up, on the Pier 1 planks while we kids gaped. Matt Canfield jerked his pole and the fish galumphed a foot closer on its fishing line tether. Kate, Scottie, R.J., and I shrieked and skittered backwards. The eye... by Ann Lee Miller | Feb 25, 2016 | Blog, Coconut Grove FL, Just The Facts Fridays, Miami FL- Living Aboard a Sailboat
I stood in the galley slapping together a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for my lunch at St. Hugh’s. Dad walked the length of the cabin and started up the companionway. I scrunched my nose. “Peew! What’s that smell?” Dad was full of smells, like a mid-Eastern... by Ann Lee Miller | Feb 19, 2016 | Blog, Coconut Grove FL, Just The Facts Fridays, Miami FL- Living Aboard a Sailboat
I tip-toed across the deck, debating the chances I could disappear before Dad saddled me with some miserable boat chore he thought up while I was sitting in Sister Sheila’s sixth grade English class. I skirted the cockpit and ducked behind the aft cabin, not daring to... by Ann Lee Miller | Feb 12, 2016 | Blog, Coconut Grove FL, Just The Facts Fridays, Miami FL- Living Aboard a Sailboat
I’d had my fill of Saturday-Sunday cruises, but my family nevertheless stowed fresh water, powdered milk and pasta for a three week sail around Key West and home to Miami on our thirty-six foot yawl—though Dad added the bowsprit and called it forty. Regardless, a...