Have you ever met new people and immediately knew they were the real deal? I’m not talking about what they did for a living or anything like that. I mean, it was immediately obvious that the new people in your life were family. People that you love and would do anything for. That’s how we feel about our friends on SV Crazy Pirates, SV Stray Cats, & SV Flamingo. As Dave, aka "Ears", deemed us all… The Pirate Posse.
It started last March when "Ears" asked us if we wanted to stay in a marina in Georgia that SV Crazy Pirates goes to every year. "Ears" and Sue, aka "Chef", would be headed that way soon. While we didn’t really want to be on a dock, it seemed to make sense while the Coronavirus settled down. That began our trek north from Marathon. After two weeks we arrived at Morningstar Marina in St Simons Island, GA.
It’s there during a happy hour that we met the crew of SV Stray Cats. Van, aka "Rules", and Jannelle, aka "Knees", are liveaboard cruisers from Nashville. Not long before, they sold their house, "Rules" retired and they relocated to Georgia to live aboard their catamaran. We quickly bonded over whiskey sours, cigars, dominos, laundry dates and boat projects. We spent the rest of the summer helping each other with boat projects, resulting in a close friendship.
Joey, aka "Joey Skinny Arms", and Jazmine, aka "Ghost" are friends we knew from Dallas prior to leaving. They joined the crew when we bought SV Agua Azul and sold them SV Summer Friday (now SV Flamingo). "Skinny Arms" is no doubt the most laid back of the posse. We all aim to be like him. "Ghost" has a tamale enterprise that every boat in Boot Key Harbor wishes would remain.
So, what the hell is up with nicknames you ask?
Well, each member of the posse has been given their name by the other members. It stems from "Rules" career as a federal prosecutor and the epic stories of those he dealt with, each of whom had a street name.
Here is a quick explanation of how each ended up with their name:
Rules (Van): I’m not joking when I say he has followed EVERY rule there is. Even parking in the fire zone to unload something at home depot is highly uncomfortable for him, although encouraged by other posse members. He’s lived a life where he’s seen what happens when just about any rule isn’t followed. We’re working on him though and I’m proud of how far he’s come.
Knees (Jannelle): She has titanium knees! It’s because of those knees that she has a whole new lease on life.
Ears (Dave): He was a sonar guy on subs for years. That means he can’t hear shit we’re saying.
Chef (Sue): She is a career chef. Like seriously credentialed.
Insnacktor Gadget (Shannon): If anyone can make something as mundane as a rolling pin gadgety, it’s Shannon. Literally everything she owns is the most gadget version that exists. On top of that she’s all about snacks at 11:30 at night.
Joey Skinny Arms (Joey): He’s Italian and small. Whenever we need the little dude to get into the tight space on the boat, we can count on Skinny Arms.
Ghost (Jazmine): She’s here, wait… no she’s not. Where did she go? No one knows but she isn’t here.
El Toro (Me!): Did I mention that Rules and I worked on almost everything together? Let’s just say his work pace is a bit different than mine. He’s slow. Like really slooooooow. He’ll measure 1704 times and it’ll be perfect when he’s done. I’m a 95% guy. It’ll be good but not perfect and finish work isn’t my strength. Shit happens when I start a project, and fast. It stresses Rules out. It’s been said I’m a bit of a bull in a china shop so…
- Sail on, my friends. Chris
