Not Much, How Bout You?

Hello, yeah, it's been a while. Not much, how bout you? The band England Dan and John Ford Coley said it first, with there song "I'd Really Love To See You Tonight".

Why the the lack of posting? Well, there has not been much to say, really. We have been in the waiting mode now for some time, and our boat isn't ready yet. So we have been busy not sailing and haven't had much to talk about. I made a new video from a bunch of pictures sent to us by our new boat broker. He went to the world premier of the boat we are getting and sent them to us. We hope you like them, it gives a pretty good idea of what the boat is all about. There are a few other videos on youtube that also showcase the new 42, but really, there isn't much out there. The boats are just so new that nobody has one yet. But, we hope to be back in the water soon!

Memorial Day

This Memorial Day weekend, we would like you to take just a minute and reflect on how lucky we all are. We live a dream life here in America, a life that provides not only opportunity and reward, but on a more basic level, it provides safety and security knowing that we really do enjoy the most basic rights as so clearly spelled out in the Declaration Of Independence. "Life, Liberty and The Pursuit of Happiness" are often quoted as a famous and integral part of the Declaration Of Independence, and indeed are very powerful words. But words alone mean nothing, and without the sacrifice of so many, those words would have soon been forgotten, or gone down in history as the foolish fodder of the deranged colonists. Luckily, for us, these words were worth fighting for, as sometimes things are. Think about how lucky we are, as we sit in the AC and casually watch something entertaining on the tube. Or as we travel in our cars for the holiday, free to go about our pursuits without fear of search or seizure. Next time you go to the store, stop for a second and be amazed at everything that you can put in your buggy, and think of how different things would be without your local grocery store, Walgreens, or Home Depot.

Memorial Day started in 1868 as Decoration Day, as a way to remember those killed in the Civil War. On Decoration Day, the graves of fallen soldiers were decorated, as a way of honoring and remembering the ultimate sacrifice that the fallen soldiers had made. As the years went by, the modern Memorial Day was established to remember those that gave everything they had, so that we might be free to enjoy those words from the Declaration Of Independence. In a sad way, many people do not even know that Memorial Day is a remembrance of those fallen soldiers. We are all busy, consumed by the day to day chores. Please, take just a minute to stop, and reflect on not only how lucky we all really are, but if not for the brave young people that made it possible.

Remember

Be Thankful

I am Sad

I am Proud

I am Lucky

I Remember

Thank You

Intergalactic

Well, this past week finds us shamefully boatless, and in the beautiful outer banks area of North Carolina. We are here because, since we are boatless, we probably should do something constructive with ourselves, like maybe work for a bit and make some money to pay for our new boat. We have been here for two weeks now, and the area is not only beautiful, but the weather has been refreshingly cool. Maybe even a little too cool for our south Florida taste, but it has not been bad overall. We toured the small town of Morehead City, and went to the beach there and toured the fort at Fort Macon. Then we went to the beach at Atlantic Beach.

In a bit of sad news, it seems that one of the Beastie Boys has passed. John Berry, age 52, died yesterday. Another Beastie Boys member, Adam Yauch, passed away a couple years ago at age 47. This is way too young, wow. While we were not huge fans, who can deny the entertainment value alone of the low budget and ridiculous video from the song Intergalactic! While our travel plans do not include intergalactic travel, we can appreciate the theme! Go Beastie Boys!

INTERGALACTIC - PLANETARY

PLANETARY - INTERGALACTIC,

INTERGALACTIC - PLANETARY

PLANETARY - INTERGALACTIC

ANOTHER DIMENSION, ANOTHER DIMENSION

ANOTHER DIMENSION, ANOTHER DIMENSION

ANOTHER DIMENSION

ANOTHER DIMENSION

Well Now, Don't you tell me to Smile, You stick around, I'll make it worth your While

Got numbers beyond what you can Dial, Maybe it's cause I'm so versa-Tile

STYLE!!!! PROFILE!!!!!

I Said- It always brings me back- To when I hear, OOHH Child From the Hudson River Out To the Nile

I run the marathon to the very last Mile, Well, if you battle me, I will REVILE!

People always say, my style is WILD You've got Gall!- You've got Guile! GUILE!

To step to me, I'm a RAP-O-PHILE!!!--- If you want to battle, you're in DENIAL!

Coming from URANUS to check my STYLE- Go ahead, put my rhymes on TRIAL- Cast you off, into EXILE!!!!

INTERGALACTIC - PLANETARY!

PLANETARY - INTERGALACTIC!

INTERGALACTIC - PLANETARY!

PLANETARY - INTERGALACTIC!

I think this is a great sailing song! YES, IT IS!!!

Sailing Vicariously And Suffering Anticipatory Impatience

Well, that is certainly a mouthful, and yet it is just so true. We are living out our own sailing fantasies by following along with our sailing friends that actually have a sailboat right now ( there's a concept). Sailing vicariously through others is what we have had to resort to, as we are still waiting for our new boat to be completed. I was curious as to the exact definition of the word vicarious, and looked it up. Webster;s dictionary states:

vicarious adjective vi·car·i·ous \vī-ˈker-ē-əs, və-\ Popularity: Top 10% of words Simple Definition of vicarious : experienced or felt by watching, hearing about, or reading about someone else rather than by doing something yourself

Well, that is us to a tee, and you too evidently, or you wouldn't be reading this, would you? Pitiful we are indeed, but there is always hope! For us, we are counting on a bunch of Frenchies to put together our brand new boat. For you? Not sure, but you gotta have it. Hope that is. Anyway, we continue to wait, and we are employed right now too, making some money for the the eventual launch and sail into the sunset later this year.

We are living vicariously through our sailing friends Neil and Jeannette on the boat Echo Echo. We met them in Miami, as we were both about to set sail for the first time to the beautiful waters of the Bahamas. Well, we both had a great time in the Bahamas, and we went back to Miami and decided to move up to a new boat. This put our sailing plans on hold for a while, as we transition from our old boat to our new boat. Neil and Jeanette are from Australia, and flew here to the US to take possession of their new to them Beneteau 473. We met them after they brought the boat to Miami in order to cross to Bimini, Bahamas. They are a great couple, and we hit it off. We sailed across the Bahama Banks together for a few days, and after a week or so, went different directions. We caught up with each other later in Georgetown Bahamas, and swapped stories over a few sundowners. Echo Echo then made it's way up north, through the Abaco Islands of the Bahamas, and we returned to Miami. Since then, they have made their way to Georgia for some boat repairs, and then back through the Bahamas, to Jamaica, the San Blas Islands of Panama, and through the Panama Canal. Today, they completed a 32 day sail to the beautiful South Pacific, and are anchored in a beautiful harbor in the Marquesa's Islands. We sure wish we were doing the trip too, this is the part of the title that says anticipatory impatience. Sometimes, good things are worth waiting for, and we know this, but we really want to hear the water rushing under the boat, and the smell of clean ocean air everywhere. But for now, we sail vicariously through our friends. Congratulations to you, you made it! If you too would like to live vicariously through the crew aboard Echo Echo as they make their way home to Australia, there is a link to their blog to the right of this post.

Eat Cake By The Ocean!!!

So, we wait for the boat to be built and do nothing but wait and wait. The boat is still in liquid resin form right now, and has, well, a long way to go. We expect a lot you know. No problem, so we wait. But what to do in the mean time? We keep busy, doing normal things like... going to the beach. We ate some cake there just the other day, it was really great! Delicious! As a matter of fact, Joyce surprised me with some really killer cake, I was shocked... I thought we were just going to the beach! And before I knew it, we were having some of the best cake you could imagine, and the view was awesome!!! So, todays video link is all about eating cake by the ocean!!! Enjoy, and have some cake by the ocean too!!

Our New Baby Is Nine Months Away

Yes, our new baby, er, boat, is nine months away, which is about right considering we just recently consummated the deal. Like expecting parents, we wait and hope everything is alright in the end. Some things are as they say, out of our hands. So, we wait. No sailing for us this year. No lazy evenings on the boat, watching the last bit of sun slip into the night, no more early sunrises over the water. The delivery date is sometime in December, and we can hardly wait. The name? Well, Saltrun of course!

In the mean time, we are trying to keep busy, but the biggest thing right now is the election! No matter what side of the election process you find yourself on, it is hard to understand how this year's election process has gotten so insane! Who in the...? What the...? This stuff isn't fun anymore, we all just gotta figure out a way to get along. Otherwise, the whole thing might come down around us. That would suck. I am an expectant father you know. Give me a break.

Man we might be in trouble here. All the wrong candidates. What we need is a candidate that is strong on issues, not afraid of foreign policy confrontation. Someone who is ready now, to do the right thing for everyone! The right person for the job must be the perfect combination of strength, compassion and wisdom... a real man with the big-picture. Someone who could REALLY make America strong again! The perfect person for this job is obvious. No it is not Dumbledore.

No, the person I am thinking of is obvious. It is of course....

I think we all need to just step back a bit, and relax a little. After all, politicians are all the same, right? We need more... perhaps.... the Politics of Dancing! The Politics of Fun, Oooh Yeah!

Thats more like it.

Boat Shows and Bikes, And A brand New CATAMARAN!!!!

There are two things that we love, and that is boats and bikes, motorcycles that is. We sold our boat, and that leaves bikes to occupy our time until we again take up sailing. we just returned from a super great week in Daytona, for the 75th annual bike-week extravaganza. The weather was warm and sunny, just like we like it, and we had a blast on the Road King, and saw our family and kids (most of them). The bikes were amazing, our old Harley looked pretty sad alongside the custom choppers, street customs and one-off motorcycles that all vied for bragging rights at the shows and on the streets of Daytona. If you have never been to Daytona for bike week, then you should consider going. It is a gathering of beautiful motorcycles, and sadly, not so beautiful people. But, hey, with us there, we jazzed the joint up a little bit anyway. Look at these bikes, and imagine what it must cost to make a $20,000 stock motorcycle look this incredible! Why, that would cut into the crusing budget, so we are good for now!

We even saw David Allan Coe at the Iron Horse Bar, he is pretty old and feeble, but still sings his old songs. He was probably more famous as a song writer than a performer anyway, and even though he is still kicking along, looks pretty rough.

The Miami boat show took place about a month ago, and it was a bit windy and cool, but the water taxi picked us up at our marina and took us to the show, how simple! We looked at the pretty shiny boats, and decided, hey, why not? Our favorite boat in the entire show wasn't the biggest. It wasn't the most expensive, or the fastest. But, it was the best boat for us, and it was the newest offering from the largest catamaran builder in the world, Lagoon. The boat that caught our fancy was the new, Lagoon 42. This new boat is the latest in the Lagoon offerings, the world premier of this boat was the Dusseldorf boat show in mid January od this year, and the Miami show was the United States premier of the boat, and the first time it was shown in the water. The boat is a real beauty. It has panoramic windows around the entire salon, a HUGE cockpit (think dance-floor) a real galley and separate heads with separate shower in the three cabins. The entire starboard hull is an owners cabin, and the helm station has a real hardtop with a sliding roof opening in it. The cockpit is open, and covered in teak, with only 3 steps down to the water, and still has ample bridge-deck clearance. The mast is moved aft about 7 feet or so, reducing the size of the main sail and reducing pitching in a head sea. The resultant head sail is larger than average, and the jib is self-tacking. A huge code-zero helps the boat go to wind, and also off the wind. There is a new Utube video of this boat going 16 knots downwind in a 22 knot following breeze! The boat is so appealing, that in two months since it's premiere, they have sold 106 boats already, making this boat an instant success. It really is a beauty, and will be something we will be proud of. We are considering selling tickets just to step aboard, so if you are so inclined, let us know, we will check our busy schedule, and perhaps squeeze you in!

The Last Look

Saltrun is now sold, a very nice couple bought her, and plan to sail off into the sunset. That is a good plan, we like the idea a lot, why didn't we think of that? Anyway, it is always a bitter-sweet moment for us as we look back at a boat that we have sold for the last, final time. The old adage that the best day of boat ownership is the day that you buy her, and the second best day is the day she is sold, just doesn't seem to work for us. For us, it is a sad day, almost like we are turning our backs on a very dear friend, and that is tough. We hope her new owners are as passionate as we were about traveling, and enjoying the things that Saltrun can provide. We hope that they stay dedicated to keeping her in great shape, and she will prove herself to them, as she did to us. We also hope that the adventures keep coming for us, as we plan our next step in the journey we call life. We have some big plans, for sure, but for now... we are sad to have lost our friend, our safe harbor, and our home away from home. Good luck to you old friend, we will miss you.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! We hope the new year is a good one! The start of a new year always seems to be a time when we all look forward to what the new year will bring, and yet we invariably look back too, remembering all the things that happened last year. Like most years, last year was really great, but with a few rough spots too. If it were a weather forecast, it might sound like this: Mostly sunny and warm, with a chance of scattered sleet and snow. You get the picture, life as we know it. Overall, we had a great year, and we know we are blessed to have had it. Next year? Well, we have a lot planned for this new year, and we hope that you do too. Because plans cannot go astray, if you don't have a plan in the first place! So make a plan for the year, and then watch it all change!

Looking back at last year, we have so many great memories, we thought we would share a few pictures here to help sum up the year.

We left Miami for the Bahamas for three months, and had a great time!

We danced and sang under the disco ball and lights aboard Saltrun!

Our dog, Guincha, had a particularly hard time adjusting to life aboard the boat.

Joyce honed her skills as a Genie, levitating the dingy!

And later, becoming a giant in order to move this huge tree out of the way!

We went to church in the Bahamas!

We saw rare tropical birds.

And a once in a lifetime visit by a magical albino turtle!

We swam with the fishes too.

Easter brought us a rare visit from the Drunken Master of the Easter Peeps!

We had a free guided tour of the Atlantis Aquarium!

We found some conch for dinner.

And an abandoned raft, on an abandoned beach!

We had good times with friends, in faraway places.

And learned not to park the boat in the forest!

We all had a great time, even Guincha!

We went to the Miami boatshow, and ate at Hooters.

But it seemed a little expensive at the time.

Dogs love the white sand beaches in the Bahamas. But, this ain't no potcake dog!

joyce refinished the table.

We drove the car to town as often as we could.

We found the place where Columbus landed, and our friends thought they spotted his ship!

Guincha got hot, but learned to cool off in the ocean.

We met some cruisers from Australia, they were a lot of fun, especially Neil!

We were visited by a ghost one stormy night in the Bahamas Land and Sea Park, and lived to tell about it!

We added our boat name to the pile at the top of Boo Boo Hill.

We made it back to Miami safe and sound.

We went to Steinhatchee Florida and went snorkeling for the elusive Bay Scallop.

We hit the road for a visit to see family and friends in Pennsylvania.

We let Aunt Helen lean on the hood for this photo!

I guess it was a pretty slow year, all in all. Maybe we can think of more to do this year! Happy New Year!!!!!!