Response:

Well hello, most important person in my life.

We are enjoying the happy sailing, but nothing will stop us from coming home.

Love, Joe

03-14-2003 10:43 AM ET (US) 

Hi Joe, Hi George,

First let me thank you for the great opportunity you gave me to join you guys from Knysna to Tobago: It has been a truly wonderful time and I will never regret stepping on to Cosmos! Now I'm back I cherish all the memories and everyday new ones pop up and make me smile. I'll tell you being back is hard but I know this experience will stay forever. I have enjoyed you as Captain and First Mate and off course as persons, with your flexibility, humour, knowledge, sociability and most admirable your patience with us! In that respect I have learned a lot..... I wish you a great time teh coming weeks and you'll surely hear from me again! P.S. Have you found any pizza pepperoni already?

Response:

Hello Joost,

Thank you for all of your help getting Cosmos safely across the Atlantic Ocean.  That was no small undertaking, but the journey was easier with you along.  I am glad that you could make the rounding of the Cape with us, too.  What an exciting time that was. 

I hope to see you again soon.

Captain Joe

03-07-2003 01:10 PM ET (US) 

 Captain Joe,

Where are you now? Mrs. Spicknall let us see the boat that rolled over 6 times. It looked pretty good for a boat that had rolled over 6 times. Have you been in any bad storms lately? When will you be back from your trip? If you can will you , come and visit our class when you are finished with the trip, if the school year isn't over yet?

                          Rita

Hello Rita,

Because the boat rolled over in the water, it did not get scratched and dented against the ground like a car would.  Damage to sailboats that roll over usually comes from the mast and rigging which break lose and beat against the deck.  But that boat was made of steel.  Because steel is stronger than wood or fiberglass, the boat did not get beaten up as much by the mast flopping around. 

We have never been in a bad storm.  We planned our voyage so that we were not in the seas during times of storms.  Of course, we sometimes had strong winds and tall waves.  The fastest winds we experienced were about 57 knots (69 miles per hour) and the tallest waves we road over were about 20 feet tall.  The waves were not really dangerous, because the tops of them were far apart, so our boat, Cosmos, had time to stay floating on top of them.  Ask Mrs. Spicknall to draw a picture on the board and explain why waves that are far apart are not particularly dangerous [A diagram is worth 500 words].

We hope to be back on the Chesapeake Bay about May 15th.  If Mrs. Spicknall has time for me to come to your class once again, I would be delighted.

Captain Joe

03-06-2003 04:43 PM ET (US)  

Have you been caught in a storm since you left? Did you know that we got 2 feet of snow. What sight have you seen so far that you like the best?

Matthew,

Matthew,

I wrote about storms in my response to Rita.  My wife tells me the news when we talk on my satellite telephone.  She told me about all of the snow that has fallen on Maryland this winter. 

Almost every place that we visit leaves me with the feeling that it is the best place we have visited so far.  I like to travel to countries were I have not been and almost every country that we visited was new to me.  Every country is so different and offers so much to see and learn. Some of the things that I will remember the most happened in the ocean.  One was seeing whales swim along side of Cosmos.  Another was sailing around the Cape of Good Hope with all of our sails up in 40 to 50 knot winds moving us right along.  The Cape of Good Hope is a famous place for sailors, and the weather made the passage extra special for the crew of Cosmos. 

After writing all of that, I still have a feeling that when the trip is over, the sight I will like most, is the site of home.

Captain Joe

03-06-2003 02:39 PM ET (US) 

Thank you for coming to Mrs. Spicknall's class. I loved the movie and if you come again this year could you bring some one who you sail with. You and that person could talk about your trip. Also I think after you finish traveling around the world you should become a teacher like your sister so you could tell people about the trip around the world which I would love to listen to all day long. That is how much I liked your presentation. Hope to see you soon. Brittany

Hello Brittany,

Thank you for telling me that you enjoyed the movie.  Teaching is a wonderful career and perhaps something I should consider.  I plan to make a better movie when I get home, but that will take some time.  It probably won’t be finished before you are out of Mrs. Spicknall’s class.  But maybe you can see it next year.

Captain Joe

 03-06-2003 02:13 PM ET (US) 

Captin Joe

When will you come home? If you haven't heard we had 2 FEET of snow! Have you had any snow where you are? We're watching Monster Inc. and waiting for pizza. Jake

Hello Jake,

We expect to sail Cosmos into the Chesapeake Bay in the middle of May.  My wife speaks to me on our satellite telephone, and she told me about all of the snow in Maryland.  We haven’t seen any snow, because the coldest temperature we have had since we left Florida in June of 2001 was not below 50 degrees.  Most often, the temperature is around 80 degrees because we sail much closer to the equator than Maryland is.  The sun shines more directly on the equator than anywhere else on earth, so it is hotter along the equator.

Captain Joe

03-06-2003 11:25 AM ET (US) 

Captain Joe, Where are setting off to next. I've heard you go to some pretty neat places. And where was the first place you went to because my grandpa travels around the world , too. Evan

Hello Evan,

When you wrote your note to me, we had just arrived in Tobago and our next stop was Grenada.   Now we are in Martinique, and our next stop will be in Guadeloupe.  The first place we went was Panama, where the canal is that let us pass from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean without going all of the way around South America.

Captain Joe

03-06-2003 11:11 AM ET (US) 

Captain Joe Have you met any friends in the different countries and islands? I think it would be cool to travel around the world on a boat. I bet it's fun. How many new animals did you see? I would have tons of fun because I love learning about different countries and love animals.

                      Chelsea

Hello Chelsea,

We have made many friends around the world.  Many of them live in the countries that we visited, and many are sailors that also visited the countries.  We met a crew on one boat in Australia and then met them again in many ports along the way.  The last time we saw them was on St. Helena, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, about 12,000 miles from where we first met them.  Maybe we will see them again in some future port.

We have probably seen more kinds of fish and coral, then we have land animals.  We probably saw the most new animals in Africa.  But if you love animals, you probably had already figured that out.

Captain Joe

03-06-2003 11:01 AM ET (US) 

Captain Joe, When do you think you will get back from your trip? I hope you will get back in time to visit us again. When you get back if you get back in time maybe you can tell us every where you went on your trip. Where are you heading next? Are you having fun ? I hope you are . I hope you have a great trip the rest of the way.

Caitlin

Hello Caitlin,

We hope to arrive in Annapolis, Maryland about May 15.  Visiting Mrs. Spicknall’s class again would be wonderful for me.  We are now sailing from island to island in the Caribbean Sea.  That is different than crossing oceans, because almost every night, we can anchor and everyone can go to sleep.  When we sail cross the oceans, we sail day and night and we take turns staying awake to watch over the safety of the boat.  The next island country that we will visit next is Guadeloupe. We are all enjoying the travel.

Captain Joe

03-04-2003 02:33 PM ET (US) 

Captain Joe,

Hi !I have a few things you can answer. Why do you travel across the world? Do you like traveling? Catch you later.

Jessica

Jessica,

I am traveling around the world because so much can be learned from seeing people and places away from our own homes.  I like traveling very much.

You had better get a great big baseball glove.

Captain Joe

03-04-2003 02:12 PM ET (US) 

Captain Joe,

What does it look like in South America? Is it beautiful there? Approximately, how long is it going to take you to get back to Crofton? I hope to see you to back here whenever! Thomas

Hello Thomas,

Many things in South America are just like in Crofton.  We only went to a small island that is part of South America.  That island is made of the tops of a mountain.  The base of the mountain is under the ocean, and only the top 300 feet stick out of the sea.  Around the edges of the island, the ocean has washed the dirt away and left rock cliffs.  The birds live on the rock cliffs, and above the cliffs are rain forests were many plants grow.  Because the island is 300 miles from any other land, only birds came there before people came and brought animals.

Captain Joe

03-04-2003 02:03 PM ET (US) 

Captain Joe,

Do you like traveling around the world?

I hope you have time to come visit us again,and I want to

wish you GOOD LUCK.

Hello Nicole,

Traveling around the world offers lots of opportunities to learn about people and places.  We can learn many of the same things by reading books.  On Cosmos, we read about places before we visit them. 

When we visit, we learn many more things that are not written in books.  That is one of the reasons that I like to travel.

Captain Joe

03-04-2003 01:41 PM ET (US) 

Captain Joe,

Thank you for visiting us, I really had fun.

Have you had any good luck this year on not hitting

any storms yet? Do you know where your Heading yet?

                Well I wish you good LUCK!

                     sincerely,

                              Lauren

Hello Lauren,

Thank you for being such a good class when I came to visit.  So far, we have not hit any storms.  We are heading to the Chesapeake bay, but we have a lot of places to stop before we get there.

Captain Joe

02-23-2003 09:07 AM ET (US) 

Hello Captain Joe, Guess you heard we're digging out from over 2 feet of snow. Going down as a the biggest snowfall in recorded history. Too bad you missed it. Shoveling is great exercise. Maybe Elke will put a snowball or two in the freezer for your return. No school all week so we may be going into July. Enjoy the warmth. Jan

Hello Mrs. Spicknall,

We are enjoying the warmth, but I am also sorry to miss the record snowfalls.  If you go to school all of the way into July, then maybe you will find time for me to visit your wonderful class once again.

Captain Joe

01-29-2003 01:47 PM ET (US) 

Hi: I have followed your voyage closely. What has happened to the updates on the Shamrock Website? There is nothing new since Durban which was about 6 weeks ago. Hope that you can update. Marsh

Hello Marsh,

Thank you for being so faithful to our web site.  I am sorry that our postings were not timely.  We went home for three months, then we mostly sat around in South Africa for two months waiting for reasonable weather, then we got into areas where finding and Internet cafe was difficult.  At one time, I could transmit logs with my single sideband radio, but distance became a problem, and right now I am waiting for an upgraded modem.  But the Internet cafes are plentiful in the Caribbean, so you should be seeing more frequent updates from here to home.

Captain Joe

01-21-2003 02:26 AM ET (US) 

Hi to everyone aboard COSMOS. Sorry I missed you when departing CPT. Want to use this opportunity to say thank you for the experience and wish you well. Will keep track of your progress.

Hello Mario,

Thank you for all of the local knowledge you provided from Durban to Cape Town.  And thank you for sticking with us for what was expected to be a couple of weeks, but turned out to be a couple of months.

Give me some advance notice when you sail into the Chesapeake Bay so that George and I can sail out to meet you. 

Looking forward to seeing you again.

Captain Joe

1-09-2003 01:28 PM ET (US) 

Hi Captain Papa Joe,

It was just so good to have you home for Christmas, though our time together was far too short. What an epic trip you had getting here! Now Maryland is once again diminished by your absence. Here, we are alternating spring and winter: since your departure we've had another snow, which brought us another 4-5 inches. Today, though, the temperatures are balmy and spring-like; the forecast for tomorrow promises more of the same. Congratulations to all aboard Cosmos on safely rounding the Cape of Good Hope. Wishing you fair sailing in the weeks to come. Love, Elke

Hello Again Elke,

Christmas time at home was very much too short, but soon the trip will be over and you will be stuck with me, perhaps for longer than you would like.

Sorry I missed the Winter, but I missed you more.

Captain Joe

12-20-2002 03:08 PM ET (US) 

For Captain Joe,

I, and the rest of my friends (Rudolph and Johan) would just like to thank you again for showing us around Cosmos at the Knysna Docks. Perhaps someday we will be a part of a catamaran crew thanks to the inspiration you awoke in us.

Thank you

Kind Regards

Riaan Knetze

Hello Riaan,

The pleasure was mine to have you and your friends visit Cosmos.  Remember that all you have to do is hang around yacht clubs and volunteer to go sailing.  If you have the time and the inclination, you can sail all of the way around the world.

Captain Joe