Travels of Dursmirg   Vol. 3
                                              Chapter 4
previous chapter

Several places in Dursmirg Travels, Volume 3, we have inserted excerpts from letters Jane wrote her parents.
We owe a special debt of gratitude to Jane’s thoughtful Mom who painstakingly collected and preserved these
letters. They are now so very precious and help us to preserve memories of our lives that cannot be duplicated.  
They are like old photos that awaken long ago glimpses into those far away places and faces.
I have taken the time to transcribe all of these letters into our computer files where they are indexed and quickly
available for reference and printing.
In this file, I have all of the letters in their entirety though we only have used excerpts from the letters in our four
volumes of “Travels of Dursmirg”.
If anyone is interested in the full-length version of any of these letters, we would be happy to send them along via e-
mail.    
                                              
1973 November 28th      
A letter Jane wrote to her parents;
Dear Mom, Dad and Joel,
We finally left the Melbourne area on the 25th. We really enjoyed the stay. Last Saturday some friends of
ours from St. Augustine drove down and met us and we all went to Disneyworld. We spent about twelve
hours there and really had an enjoyable time. There were more adults than kids. You really get a lot of good
entertainment for your money.
We had a real nice Thanksgiving. We didn’t have it on the island as planned because the couple who
sponsored the party didn’t get their boat put in the water as expected, but the owner of the Palm Terrace
Restaurant and Bar closed for the day and we used his place. We had turkey and all the trimmings and a
good time. The temperature was 84 degrees, hard to believe for Thanksgiving.
We arrived in Hollywood, Florida this morning. Hollywood is about ten miles north of Miami. We had a good
trip only a couple of mishaps. One was tough on the nerves. We were heading through a bridge in West
Palm Beach that had opened for us when the steering failed. The current swept us through the bridge
opening sideways. Bing kept us from hitting the sides of the bridge by putting it into forward and reverse.
We held our breaths I’m sure, so did the bridge tender and other boats. We made it through, dropped the
anchor, got out the gas-welding rig, fixed it and were under way again in an hour. What an experience!
Everyone that travels the Intracoastal Waterway lives in fear of a breakdown while going through a bridge-
now I know why…it happens!
The rest of our trip was good. We were hoping to make the trip in the ocean instead of the Intracoastal
Waterway but the wind was 20 knots southeast and that was the way we were heading…we can’t make any
time sailing into the wind.
We were in a push to get to Hollywood as we were to meet a friend and former business associate here who
was to attend a sales meeting. We checked the hotel he was supposed to be at but he didn’t show so we
called him in Saint Paul tonight and his meeting was cancelled due to the great state of the national
economy. We were looking forward to seeing him.  I guess we can blame Nixon.
I hope you get enough fuel. Things are really getting tight down here. I doubt that we will be able to get fuel
for our boat later in the year. We need fuel oil to cook but luckily not heating.
I’ve been getting up at 5:30 every morning the last few days we’ve been traveling so we could have
breakfast and be underway before sunrise as the days are short and we made some long runs-so it’s 11PM
and I’m tired so I’ll finish tomorrow.

1974 May 7th  
A letter Jane wrote to her parents, Mother’s Day;
Dear Mom, Dad and Joel,
Happy Mother’s day!
We are somewhere where we can mail a letter. We are on our way north up the coast and are now at
Malabar, where we stopped for a month last fall. We are going to stay here about a week and then head to
St. Augustine for a while before going to Daufuskie for the rest of the summer.
We sure had a great spring at Elliot Key. We spent five weeks in that area, end of March to the first of May.
We did a lot of beachcombing and got enough mahogany to build a new hatch cover for our boat. The new
hatch is beautiful, but it took several weeks to do as it was all done with hand tools.
We had good sailing weather coming up from Miami. We sailed out into the Gulf Stream and got a free push
from the current. We went 85 miles in 9 hours, which is quite fast for our boat.
I hope that you can use the big spoon I am sending you. I carved it myself. It should come in handy when you
have a big pot of something to stir.

How is everyone doing? It’s Jim and Penny’s anniversary today and I haven’t got a card sent off.
Love Jane and Bing

1975 November, 11th
Melbourne
A letter that Jane wrote to her folks;
Dear Mom, Dad and Joel,
I hope that you got my postcard by now.
We had quite a trip from St. Augustine to Cape Canaveral.
We left St. Augustine about 9 AM on the 5th. We had just gotten out the entry and tried to raise the jib and
the halyard, (line for raising the jib), stuck at the masthead and the jib was half up. Bing had to go to the top
of the mast in the boatswain chair to free the halyard. He had quite a ride up there. The seas were about
four feet. Bob Baker was with so he helped hoist Bing up. We had a good sail the first 75 miles, after that the
wind and seas increased and I got seasick. I sure was miserable for about 24 hours. I’m glad we had Bob
along to help. We hit a lot of squalls and our jib ripped to pieces. By the time we rounded the Cape the seas
were about ten feet. What a ride!
We got into Cape Canaveral about 8PM on the 6th. I was glad to get off the sea. We stayed the night at the
Cape then came to where we are now near Malabar, Florida. We are anchored next to a small island in the
Indian River. We’ve been busy getting everything put together after 2 days at sea. I’m not sure how long we
will be here, two weeks maybe longer. We have lots to do and some friends to see.
Looks like rain today, so I think that I will get some wine and prickly pear syrup made. I’ve got to get the 25
gallons made into something so I’ll have room to store the oranges and coconuts that a friend is bringing
next week.
Hope everyone is doing okay. How is the weather? Bing always wants to know.
I’ll write again soon.
Love Jane and Bing

1975 November 23rd
Melbourne;
A letter that Jane wrote to her folks;
Dear Mom, Dad and Joel,
Thank you so much for sending our mail and your letter. Hope that you have shoveled all of that snow out by
now. We got some cool weather too, down in the 40s at night for a couple of days.
We are still in Melbourne, Florida and will be until about the 5th.  Would you send us our mail again, if we
have any?
Send it first class and we should get it before we leave here.
We have been busy since we got here. Bing is still sewing the sail together that we ripped up on our sail
here. We have had a lot of our friends on sailboats stopping by to see us. Last night we had 7 aboard for a
fish fry. The guys caught 11 fish and we ate every bit and had lots of fun. Two days ago we gathered 2
bushels of oysters with some friends for an oyster roast next week. We have been doing some bicycling; we
did 35 miles last Thursday.
When we leave here we will sail to West Palm Beach and meet our friend Jim Muller from Savannah there
on December 9th. He will spend two weeks with us. If the weather is good we will sail to Marathon, If not we
will sail to Biscayne Bay.
I had a busy day today; I made 2 gallons of prickly pear wine, baked 2 loaves of bread, one pie and a pizza
plus had friends over for supper. I planned to write letters and do some reading too, but I think I will go to bed
instead.
I am glad that you tried my whole wheat bread recipe. Most people that do like it. We are invited to a friend’s
home for Thanksgiving dinner. Wish that I could be home for it. Say hello to everyone for me when you get
together.  I’ve had intentions of writing everyone, but we have been on the go since we got here.
I’ll write again soon.
Love Jane and Bing

1976 May 20th
Malabar, Florida
A postcard that Jane wrote to her folks;
Dear Mom, Dad and Joel;
We got to our friends house here on the 18th and our mail was waiting for us. Thank you.
We’ve been busy since we got here and I don’t know how long we will stay. As soon as I get to a post office
and get some stamps I’ll write a letter. Happy Birthday Mom!
Love Jane and Bing

1976 June 2
Melbourne
Letter written on birthday card that Jane sent to her Mother
Dear Mom,
I’m sorry that I’m so late with your birthday card.  This is the first chance I’ve had to get to town since April 5.
We are now at a dock in the harbor at Melbourne, Florida.  We have dockage for a month.  We are building
an aft cabin on the boat and needed electricity to run some of our power tools to speed up the building.  
Would you send our mail to us here at General Delivery and we will let you know when we plan to leave.  I
hope Judy and Dick and boys can visit us here, otherwise we may be able to take a bus to see them in
Orange City.
Before coming to the dock, we spend 10 days anchored near our friend Tex Downs place.  
After we finish building the aft cabin, we will head for St, Augustine, then, Cumberland Island, Georgia for
the summer.
Congratulations to Dad on getting elected to the school board.
I hope you had a nice Birthday party.  Drop me a line and let me know what is happening.  We have really
been working hard since we got here.  We aren’t used to 12-hour days working anymore but we want to get
the job done before the heat of summer.  Hello to all.
Happy Birthday, with all our love, Jane & Bing

1976 June 13th
A letter that Jane wrote to her folks;
Dear Mom, Dad and Joel,
Dad, it sure was nice to talk to you on the phone last Saturday and Mom I’m sorry you weren’t home. Dad,
Bing appreciated the Norwegian joke. He said he should have figured that you would have one ready at
anytime.
It was nice of Carl to let me call courtesy of the Allworth’s. We had a real good time with Carl and Sonja.
They said that they wished that you had stayed longer.  Sonja said that she felt so lonesome after you left.
She really liked having you there. She really cooked us a feast, although she is on a diet and has lost quiet a
bit of weight since I last saw her. We had ribs, chicken, potatoes, squash, beans, fresh bread, tossed salad,
ice cream and brownies. She cooks to feed an army. They will be going back to Brule sometime in August for
a week.
Last Sunday we spent with Norm and Allene McFarland. On Monday we went back to Sand Key and Elliot Key
and stayed there until Saturday June 1st.  That day we left Miami and sailed the ocean to Fort Pierce, Florida.
We intended to stay out 2 or 3 more days and sail the ocean all the way to St. Augustine but the wind came
from the north. (Our course was due north) so we came in at Fort Pierce and covered 145 miles on the
ocean. Bing steered most of the time at night. I took over at 3 AM so he could sleep.
We are now motor-sailing north on the Indian River. In about a half hour we will anchor near our friends
place, (Tex Downs), near Melbourne, Florida.
We may spend a couple of days visiting friends then go to St. Augustine. We have to get to St. Augustine to
get more money July 1st, which is the date we draw our yearly funds. We have $7.00 until then but lots of
groceries, water and fuel plus a river full of fish.
I got new glasses in Miami, which had to be made special so they will mail them to you. My old ones broke
and Burdines had these on sale for $15.00, (Frames and All). I’ll have you mail them to me in St. Augustine.

1976 June 15 Anniversary card Jane sent to her parents
Dear Mom and Dad,
I’m late again but hope you had a nice anniversary.  Bing and I are still working hard to get our wheelhouse
done.  It turned into a bigger job than we thought.  We should get our Plexiglas for the windows today so we
can get it weatherproofed soon.  There sure has been a lot of rain here.  18 inches in May.  

1976 July 28
Dear Mom, Dad & Joel,
We are still in Melbourne and will be until September 1.  We have decided not to head any further north this
year as it is already getting too late to head that way.  Instead we will stay in the area for a couple more
months but will probably be at the dock until Sept. 1.  As soon as hurricane season is over around November
1, (this area is relatively safe from hurricanes) we will head for the keys again.
We have finished our wheelhouse except I have to make some fitted cushions for the seats.  We are
finishing our new sailing dinghy today and Bing has started the vane self-steering gear.  This past week I
scrubbed and cleaned every inch of the inside of the boat.  What a job.  It’s been in the 90’s every day but it
cools down at night.
I started another gallon of wine yesterday.  A friend gave me some natal plums.  Should be good wine.  We
just finished our raspberry wine Monday might.  That sure was good.





















1976 August 2nd Melbourne
A letter that Jane wrote her folks;
Dear Mom, Dad and Joel;
Did I tell you in my last letter that we would be here until September 1st.
We had some friends from St. Augustine come down last night. They were here for dinner last night and are
coming back tonight; they are staying at a campground ten miles south of here and are spending their days
diving for lobster. It’s three guys and they don’t like to cook. They supply all the food so I don’t mind.
Bing is still busy on his projects.
I got a letter from Allene McFarland last week. I had written to her on the same day she wrote to me.
I can’t think of any news since I just wrote a couple of days ago.
The weather here has been in the 90s every day.
We saw a tornado on Saturday but it was quite a distance away. Florida is drying up again from lack of rain.
Write, you always have more news than me.
Love Jane and Bing

1976 August, 13th
Melbourne;
A letter that Jane wrote her folks;
We are still in Melbourne. We will probably be in the area until November 1st.
Next week we are going to take the bus to Savannah, Georgia for a few days. Our friend there, Jim Muller is
graduating from college on August 18th.We have a friend here who is going to watch the boat for us.
Bing’s still working on his projects and I’m stocking the boat with food and supplies for a winter cruise
somewhere.
Say hello to everyone.
Love Jane and Bing

1976 September 1st
Dear Mom, Dad and Joel,
I’ve had a busy two weeks. On August 16th we went on the bus to visit friends, and then on the 17th we took
the bus to Savannah, Georgia.
Our friend Jim Muller graduated from college there on the 18th. Jim and his girlfriend Leigh drove us back
to Melbourne on the 19th.
We were going to stop at St. Augustine again but Tropical Storm Dottie was heading towards the coast so we
had to hurry back to the boat. It was really windy driving back, it was hard to keep Jim’s VW van on the road,
but the storm missed us and fizzled out.
Jim and Leigh stayed with us until Monday.
We did a lot of fishing while they were here. We also picked 30 pounds of wild grapes which I’ve made into
wine.
I’ve made a lot of jelly lately also from java and natal plumbs. They grow in the region.
Yesterday I smoked a batch of fish and canned some tomato juice.
Leigh taught me how to crochet and I made a shawl while she was here.
I’ve got to get to work on my quilt blocks, but I haven’t had much time for them. I have 53 done, 19 to finish
and I need 8 more from you, but you should send 10 in case one or two doesn’t work out well. There is no
hurry on them however. Someday I’ll get it done.
Our friends from the Bahamas are in the area now on their boat and they will be docking next to us in a few
days.
Over Labor Day weekend we are going sailing with a friend for three days. We will have a couple of people
watch our boat for us. Last time we left, the man on the sailboat next to us caught three men trying to get in
our boat.
We will be here at the dock one more month at least and in the area until the end of October.
We’d like to meet the McFarland’s in Biscayne Bay in November. We also have to haul the boat out of the
water and paint it before then.
Bing is still working hard on our self-steering gear and 100 other miscellaneous projects.  It was hard for him
to get much done with company around.
I’ve got to get a potato salad made for tonight, plus do my laundry so I better end this. Hope everyone is well.
Love Jane and Bing

1976 September, 26
Dear Mom and Dad;
We are finally going to leave Melbourne. We will leave on October 1st and haul the boat and paint it at a
marina near here, then we will head down to Malabar to visit our friends Tex and Shirley Downs for awhile.


















































(back to letter)
After we leave Malabar we will head to Coconut Grove, which is south of Miami on Biscayne Bay, after that
we aren’t sure what we will do. I also don’t know when we will get mail after Malabar. When we are in
Biscayne Bay, I’m sure we will see the McFarland’s a lot so I’ll be able to mail you letters and keep you
informed on our plans.
Bings ear is much better now, (I think that I mentioned in my last letter that he had a real bad ear infection).
He still can’t swim until mid-October.
We’ve been busy as usual. We have all kinds of last minute projects to do before we leave. Last weekend
Bing went to Jacksonville, Florida to help a friend on his cement boat. I stayed here to watch our boat and
also friend’s. Our friends the Brown’s from the Bahamas are still here. He was gone, (to Boston), for a couple
of weeks and she was alone so I didn’t feel I should leave over the weekend.
I got a lot of little projects done. I made a new type of macramé necklace and also learned to crochet a
potholder. The only stitches I knew before were for a shawl.
Tomorrow we are using a friend’s car and going to get a big stock of groceries so we will again have a year’s
supply of staple foods aboard. I’ve been buying some extra groceries all summer but I will still probably
spend $200.00 tomorrow. Tonight I have to put the finishing touches on my grocery list.
Love Jane and Bing

1976 September, 14th
Melbourne
A letter that Jane wrote to her folks;

On my birthday, Bing and I went with friends to the Kennedy Space Center to visit their Bicentennial
Exhibits.
Bing has had an earache for the past couple of weeks and Friday the pain got so bad he had to go to the
doctor. The doctor cleaned the ear out, (he found sand and sea shells). We had been to the beach and done
a lot of body surfing. Anyway it was infected but is getting better. Today he goes back to get whatever the
doctor put in it pulled out. Also he is going to get earplugs so that it doesn’t happen again. We can’t afford
too many $42.00 earaches.
It has been raining heavy here the last 2 or 3 days. The river that our boat is in really is swollen.
Our friends from the Bahamas, (Warren and Nira Brown), are here, but anchored out. Warren went to
Boston on Thursday to visit his father and left Nira and us to look after the boat. Saturday night the boat
started dragging anchor. Nira came and got us at 4 AM to help her and it took us until 9 AM to get the boat
securely moored again. It was a real wild storm. We were glad that we weren’t out sailing in it.























Bing is still working on the self-steering gear but his earache plus the rain have slowed the project
somewhat.
We plan to leave the dock we are at on October 1st, whether we are done with the projects or not, but we
will still continue to pick up our mail at General Delivery because we will still be in the area until November
1st. We will be anchored out a few miles south of town. We also have to haul the boat and paint it before we
leave the area.
Tomorrow I’m going to get my ears pierced. It’s the only way to wear earrings on a boat without loosing them.
Bing will make me some earrings this winter.
For our birthday present to each other, Bing and I got a spotlight for the boat.
Our friends Jim and Leigh left on August 30th. We sure enjoyed their visit.
I got the last package of books you sent on Saturday. That is all I expect for awhile.
Hope you both are feeling well. Sounds like it is getting a little chilly in Wisconsin already. Say hello to
everyone for us.
Love Jane and Bing

1976 October 13
Malabar
A letter that Jane wrote to her folks;
Dear Mom and Dad;
We are still in Malabar. We have been here a week. Our friends the Downs aren’t back from their trip to New
York yet. Bing and I have both had bad colds. I was in bed for four days and I am almost recovered now.
Bing is going into the post office now to see if our mail has arrived, especially our documentation papers
from the U.S. Coast Guard.
I’ll write when we get to Miami.
Love Jane and Bing

                                                                                                             next chapter    
5-amp wind generator and
5-amp wind generator and
a view of the top of our
newly completed
wheelhouse.wheelhouse.

Dursmirg at the
Pine’s Marina
near Melbourne
pulled out with a
travel lift to
clean and paint
the bottom.










Dursmirg is
airborne, slung
in the slings of
the travel-lift as
I put the last
dabs of paint on
before
launching.
Our friends Warren and
Nira Brown.