After my wife and I split in Mandeville, LA., I gave her and the kids as much money as I could afford and then headed down to Florida to get a little sand in my shoes.
A divorce devastates a guy. Never mind how he tried to act macho. It hurts. And losing the woman I had been married to for 19 years was a bummer.
I kept driving until I arrived in Lake Park, FL. My friend John Carroll owned a weekly newspaper there called Weekday and I knew he would give me some writing jobs. I found a low-cost motel just off the beach in Hollywood, FL. and began living life as a solitary soul.
My motel room was just down the road from a 'Cruise to Nowhere,' a gambling cruise ship called the Vegas Express that sailed several nights a week. The cruise ship could accommodate over 300 passengers. It had slots, a poker room, dice tables, blackjack and baccarat.
A live band performed on the upstairs deck. The ship charged less than $20 for a cruise and that paid for a buffet as well as the live entertainment. A larger gambling cruise ship sailed out of Port Everglades in nearby Ft. Lauderdale, so I had plenty to do.
John Carroll gave me some part-time work to do on his newspaper, but I wanted more work. One morning I picked up the classified section of the Miami Herald and noticed a help wanted ad for a publicist for Windjammer Barefoot Cruise Lines.
The ad was interesting. The cruise line was located in Miami Beach, the pay was good, and the job sounded refreshing. I called the number listed and Capt. Mike Burke, the founder of Windjammer Barefoot Cruises, got on the line.
'What're you doing this afternoon?' Capt. Burke barked. 'Listen, I don't have all day. Be here by 2 p.m. and we'll talk.' He slammed down the receiver.
That afternoon at 2 p.m. I was ushered into Capt. Burke's office through a door shaped like a porthole. My usher was a beauty in a short skirt and high heels. Capt. Burke was dressed like a yachtsman. He sat behind a large desk and smoked a cigar.
For the next 30 minutes he grilled me about my background as a writer. Then he smiled.
'You're desperate for a job, ain't you?,' he said. I just nodded.
'Well,l like your credentials. Unfortunately I already have a couple of writers in mind who have a lot more experience than you at writing about cruising. So I can't offer you a job.'
My heart sank.
He smiled. 'What are you doing next week?,' he said. 'How'd you like to go on a free Windjammer Barefoot Cruise?'
On Saturday morning, carrying my suitcase, I boarded the Flying Cloud, one of about eight tall ships that Burke and his corporation owned. The passengers on board and the crew were already having a welcome aboard party and the rum was flowing freely. A small reggae band provided the music.
My berth had a shower and a porthole. The bar was kept open all night long. The first two nights on board, I slept on deck and watched dolphins and flying fish keeping up with our ship.
We sailed to Antigua and spent a day there. Robin Leach, then host of 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,' owned a home on the island.
We sailed to Berry Island, a charming tropical isle about 60 miles from Miami Beach. I fell in love with Berry Island and the Graveyard Inn, a bar-restaurant that sat next to a cemetery and that featured the best jerk chicken with pineapple that I have ever eaten. A sign outside the tavern read COME ALIVE AT THE GRAVEYARD INN and someone had painted dozens of eyes on the sign staring at you.
We sailed to Guadaloupe, a French island, and then to Dominica, nicknamed Little Tahiti because of its resemblance to that island.
We sailed to Grand Cayman. I danced on the wooden pier with a girl I couldn't even see while a steel band pulsated.
The final night at sea we had an amateur contest on board the Flying Cloud. I told a couple of bad jokes and the passengers and crew rewarded me with laughs. The 10 days at sea were not nearly enough.
I went on two more Windjammer cruises before the year was over. Capt. Burke was always kindhearted and generous toward me. He never offered a job, but the cruises were free.
John Carroll eventually discontinued publishing his newspaper. I found a job on a Caribbean island and left Florida. But I will never forget those nights aboard a sleep windjammer while the dolphins played and the flying fish tried to keep up with our vessel.
