Rejoining the workforce...

...sort of.
As of February 15, I will be the new First Mate on the schooner "Yankee." For four, one week cruises this winter and spring, I will be assisting Capt. John Watson in introducing groups of Boy Scouts to the wonders of sail. We will be taking the Scouts on sailing expeditions from Marathon to Key West with stops at all the good snorkeling spots along the way. Each cruise will last 6 days and nights and will accommodate groups of 8 to 16 Scouts plus their adult Scoutmasters.
"Yankee" will be arriving in Marathon Feb. 12 so I can get oriented to the boat before the Scouts arrive on the 15th.
This will be a great opportunity to add to my sailing resume and perhaps serve as a learning experience for possible future charter work.
Here's a link to "Yankee's" website:

Schooner Yankee

I knew if I held out long enough, a "boating" job would find its way to me. It's a good thing I turned down that pharmacy job...

Bev gets a temporary reduction in rank from Admiral to Captain on Walkure during my absences. Now if she could just get the dinghy engine started without me...

Happy New Year!

Yeah, I know I'm a day or so late, but "that's life on a boat." We've been so busy, it's hard to keep up with where we've been and what we've been doing. Whoever said that life on a boat was laid back and relaxing hasn't lived on a boat. Our "social calendar" has been quite full.
We had Christmas dinner at the marina clubhouse. About 250 to 300 people attended. Richard Tanner and his wife Arla (see first picture) brought the ham, the turkey, the potatoes and the pumpkin pie. Folks from the harbor each brought a side dish to share. It was great.
Our friends Bette and Bill from "Inspiration" have now left the harbor, on their way to the Bahamas for a couple of months. We had them over for dinner on Christmas Eve, and we went to their boat for a "bon voyage" drink the night before they left.
On New Year's Eve, Peter and Carol from "Crazy Cat" joined us at the Hurricane, along with James and Diane from "Second Avenue." It being Thursday night, the wings were 25 cents, so we loaded up our plates with all varieties of wings.
The highlight of the last week was of course last night. Peter and Carol drove us down to Ramrod Key to have dinner at "Boondocks" and listen to Howard Livingston.
If you haven't hear Howard's music, you really need to give it a listen. He's always upbeat and happy, and his music is infectious. He will get you in a good mood. Check him out at:

Mile Marker 24 Band

As always at Howard's show, about halfway through he fired up the old Johnson outboard motor with the blender mounted on top and made margaritas for the crowd. This time, there was a twist. The first margarita was auctioned off for charity. (KAIR Kids Camp.) The winner was Mike Katz from Indiana who bid $400! See the picture of Mike and his wife in this post.

I even got to give a congratulatory hug to Howard's new wife, Cyndy!