WX: morning clouds, afternoon sun, temp 65, wind W 15-20
07/16/2010, Mound Bay, Harbledown Island

"Harbledown." What a fun word to say. Not sure you'd want it as a NAME, but it has a nice feel to it.

Here we sat, with a lot of other boats, watching the wind blow. Oh, it was a beautiful, almost-CAVU, day. If you were somewhere ashore, away from the water, it would probably even have been warm. In Mound Bay, however, it was about 65 degrees , mid-afternoon, with a cool, no, make that COLD, northwest wind howling in off Blackfish Sound at a steady 15 knots with gusts to about 25. The hook was well set and there was plenty of swinging room so there was nothing to worry about in that regard. But the wind made it too uncomfortable to even venture out on deck, let alone drop the Waugal and go ashore.

But this was all part of a Plan. Comox Coast Guard weather forecast was adamant that the winds were going to blow like hell Saturday and Sunday and become "light" Monday morning. Mound Bay is 13 miles from Alert Bay so if and when the "light" winds should materialize, we were in position to jump across Blackfish Sound, hopefully before the Cosmic Forces noted our presence and decided to smite us.

On the way down from Simoom Sound, we stopped at Pierre's Echo Bay for fuel. 75 gallons of diesel cost us $338. Do the math and that's about $4.50 a gallon. Now if we were on a road trip, that would be about 3 nights' lodging and we wouldn't think too much of it. It's just sort of a gut-punch when you have to pay it all at once. Boats were arriving at Pierre's in droves (how many boats constitute one drove?) for the weekly Pig Roast. We got in just before a drove or two showed up. They were all waiting to get in as we left.

We had intended to stop at Crease Island, but when we got there, we found three boats in residence and two more just going in ahead of us. There isn't a lot of room in that cove so we kept going to Mound Bay, which is just a couple of miles away. There were even more boats in Mound Bay, but it's a much bigger place, with room for everyone. We found our Murphy's Landing neighbors, the Roper-Witts on Meandjr, there.

The wind, gusting through the bay, was cold and uncomfortable, forcing us into an 'internal Happy Hour." We were able to keep the barby alight long enough to cook a flank steak for dinner. The TracVision was able to find itself again and even bring in KING5 back in Seattle so we were able to watch the news from home. Later we watched the Mariners lose yet again.

Mound Bay Day Two
When you are totally on your own a long way from home, you are always alert for problems. So when Charlie was awakened at 0130 by an electronic "beep beep beep," he was out of bed immediately looking for the source. The sound was difficult to localize, the more so because it only occurred at about one-minute intervals. After spending some time sitting down in the engine room feeling like a fool, he finally zeroed in on the refrigerator, atop which was Diane's damned cell phone announcing the critical information that its battery was low. Oh, perish the thought, since there's no cell signal available for miles. With this Major Emergency put to rest, we returned to bed.

Our second day at Mound Bay dawned with the usual overcast, but the clouds burned off so some extent by about 1100. The forecast called for high winds once again by late afternoon so we took advantage of the relative calm to take a tour around the upper in of the bay in the kayaks. The wind returned in the late afternoon, though not as strong as the previous day. It was, however, chilly enough to force another "internal" Happy Hour. That's becoming the rule rather than the exception.

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The eccentric and enigmatic Lady Gaga has been looking to spend some of her new-found fortune on new digs more befitting a Lady of her superstar stature. The New York based cynosure tried to buy a $16.5M house in Beverly Hills last year but settled instead for a 6 bedroom and 8 bathroom rental in the posh Bel Air area of Los Angeles for which she's reportedly paying around $25,000 per month.

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Lady Gaga was recently reported to have had a peep at and a poke around a $21,000 per month duplex penthouse apartment at the far western edge of New York City's SoHo neighborhood and, although it's not easy to see Lady Gaga doing anything as mundane as going to the beach, she's also been spotted shopping for a hideaway in the Hamptons. According to reports, Lady Gaga–whose real name is the much less exotic Stefani Germanotta–is looking for something very private and very pricey in a superior south of the Montauk Highway location in the insanely swank even for the Hamptons enclaves of Bridgehampton, Water Mill, and Sagaponack.

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Blow it out of the box, baby. If privacy is what Lady Gaga craves and she's willing to part with a mind-numbing amount of dough, she might want to consider the pretty, pristine, and very private Bridgehampton estate of entertainment mogul turned real estate developer Sandy Gallin that's currently listed with a superstars only asking price of $26.9M.

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The secluded south of the highway estate sprawls across 14 serene acres and includes a fully rehabbed 6,500 square foot, 7 bedroom and 8 bathroom shingled cottage that sits at the tail end a long private driveway. The extensive grounds consist of wide and vast lawns large enough to land a helicopter, an outdoor lounge with fireplace that's shaded by a trellis dripping with wistera, and a swimming pool uniquely set into the shoreline of the property's private pond.

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Sometimes simplicity what is needed to balance the hectic and unforgiving schedule of famous folks like Lady Gaga. In that case, perhaps a simple if insanely expensive ocean front house in Bridgehampton listed at $14.995M is the way to go. The boxy, cedar and glass modern sits high atop a dune with unimpeded and protected 270-degree views up and down the beach.

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The airy contemporary includes 4 bedrooms, 5.5 bathrooms and a loft-like main living space comprised of living room, dining area, and sleek kitchen with adjoining breakfast room wrapped in floor to ceiling windows. A long double infinity edged swimming pool and deck sits between the house and the pool cabana that includes a media room, full bath, spa room, gym and outdoor fireplace.

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Lady Gaga is nothing if not theatrical, so perhaps a mansion oozing with operatic flair seems to be just what she needs. A Water Mill compound owned by acclaimed more-is-better decorator Thomas Britt and listed at $12.5M might be perfect if Lady Gaga's looking for a bit of exceedingly tasteful and yet kinda campy excess.

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There's plenty of room for Lady Gaga's entourage at this 3.2-acre extravaganza that includes a total of 12 bedrooms and 12 bathrooms. There are six bedrooms in the 8,000+ sq. ft. main house, a European villa-style confection with a horizontally striped exterior, while the remainder of the bedrooms are located in the pool house and gigantic guest house that's far larger than the average American home.

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The elegant and elaborate grounds include long swathes of unnaturally green grass, an 80-foot-long reflecting pool, extensive and orderly gardens, a stunning double alley of cherry trees planted in 1966, a party pavilion and not just one but two heated swimming pools. And because every home needs one: A miniature Japanese pagoda.

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Although it might be difficult for Lady Gaga to get around the house in a pair of her signature and suicidally high platform heels, the 'Bioscleave House' in East Hampton is as wonderfully bizarre and conceptually twisted as she is. Designed by maverick Japanese architects Arakawa + Gins and listed at $4M, the sculptural, high-concept, and multi-colored house challenges of the very definition of a house as a haven of comfort and sanctuary.

Lady Gaga Houses

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