No boat work...just back from the New Orleans Jazz Fest....

Fat and wasted...but happy.



Fried Oyster Po-Boy for breakfast. If I stayed any longer I would have to book two seats on the plane back to Miami.

Sunrise over the Berry Islands...

Just back from a delivery of a Beneteau 42 from Miami to Nassau via the Berry Islands. Sometimes the 600+ days to the finish of this project looks waaaay too long.

Working the Miami Boat Show for West Marine.

Its like being a Chocoholic in "Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory". The only problem is that I'm one of the Oompa-Loompas and too busy to look at all the chocolate.

Dragging people kicking and screaming into the ...

new media.

There is a "bun fight" on a sailing website that I frequent, complaining about its move to a new format. The previous site (a yahoo discussion group) was disorganized and hard to index, the new format is excellent. The whole discussion reminded me of this video;

Help Desk

Sailing Biscayne Bay...

Had a great sail on Wed on a friends Hunter 30, in Biscayne Bay. Even dug out an old Cruising Chute that hadn't seen daylight for many years. Bliss!!!!

Posted this for all you people "up" North.

Weird weather in Miami......

One of the benefits of living in a warm part of the US, like Florida, is that you don't need things like heavy socks, woolly jumpers, heavy coats etc. That is until you have a spell of weather like we are currently experiencing. The manatee are passing out, iguanas are falling from the trees and the locals are beginning to look like Napoleon's troops on the retreat from Moscow.



But at least the sunsets are beautiful. This is the view from our apartment.

Off to the Bahamas.....

Just a short delivery from Miami to the Bahamas, helping move a Beneteau 42. Quick overnight to West End, hopefully fly back tomorrow.

Can't complain.

Great sailboat delivery...

Just finished moving a Hunter 30 sailboat from Sarasota, Fl. to Miami, Fl. The initial plan was to sail via the keys but Hurricane/TS Ida put spanner in the works.

No problem, the Okeechobee waterway provided an alternative route. Mast height limitations on fixed bridges is 55 ft. The hunter 30 has a mast height of 50ft 6ins (+ all the expensive bits owners bolt on the top). All good.... except the Port Mayaca Railroad Bridge, vertical clearance is 49ft.

Time to call Billy Owens (tel:561 262 5200), the mast tipper. That's him and his buddy, along with 2,400 lbs of water ballast and a nervous owner (I was driving).



All in all a fun activity. Nice overnight sail from Stuart, Fl. to Miami. Job done.

Off on a sailboat delivery .......

from Sarasota, Fl. to Miami, Fl. just in time to bump into TS Ida. You have to love boating!!!!!!!!

I havn't been kidnapped....

I spent the last week onboard my friends Patrick and Lisa's Whitby 42 "Gaia" sailing on the Chesapeake and visiting the Whitby/Brewer rendezvous. Great sailing, great boats (10), great people and great program. What more needs to be said.

Sailors

Feel free to steal this, I did.

West Indian manatees' off the bow of TIH

The Miami River is an important manatee habitat, providing freshwater and refuge in cold weather. Manatees regularly move between seagrass feeding areas in Biscayne Bay and the upstream portions of the River.

It's hard to get into the Christmas spirit in Miami....

way to many palm trees, but this song helps;

Fairytale of New York - The Pogues

But how could you not love a Christmas song with these lyrics;

Youre a bum
Youre a punk
Youre an old slut on junk
Lying there almost dead on a drip in that bed
You scumbag, you maggot
You cheap lousy faggot
Happy christmas your arse
I pray God its our last

I could have been someone
Well so could anyone
You took my dreams from me
When I first found you
I kept them with me babe
I put them with my own
Cant make it all alone
Ive built my dreams around you

In case we forget.....

why we do all this boat work stuff. We have just returned from a one week charter in the Bahamas on a Sunsail catamaran. All in all an outstanding week. The following photo encapsulates why people cruise sailboats.



This represents about 5% of cruising time but makes for about 95% of the memories, along with the people you share it with.