Merry Christmas

Thanksgiving 2007

What a beautiful day today was. The weather was so nice, I figured it would be a good time to finish the end of season process and put the winter cockpit cover on her (Carina). Here is a before and after of her sitting in her winter resting place and one of the marina (Lankford Bay) with most of the boats out of the water.

As today is Thanksgiving, I guess it is appropriate to acknowledge that I very much appreciate and am grateful all all that I have. While this year didn't quite go as I was expecting it, none the less it was a good year and I am looking forward to many more to come and with some luck they will be cruising throughout the Caribbean.

That Time Of The Year

The time has come once again to get Carina ready to hibernate for the winter as we will not be able to make the sunny south/Caribbean this year. Went this weekend and started getting her ready to come out; changed oil, winterized fresh water systems, took the sails down, topped off fuel and added stabilizer, etc.

While doing the A/C unit, I found one of the hose connections was very much corroded and broke as I started to open it (literally in my hands). Luck was on my side toady as if it could have broken while unattended; it would have been a direct inlet for seawater to enter the boat (not good). Took a ride to the local hardware store and it was fixed for less than $11.00. Bought a lottery ticket, but didn't win, guess my luck for the day was used in detecting the potential problem before it resulted in catastrophe.

Now the only thing left is for the marina to pull her out for her resting place on the hard until next spring.

"I Would Have Liked To Have Seen Montana"

The character played by Sam Neill in the movie Hunt For Red October made this statement as he was dieing after being shot, his goal was to marry a "round" woman and raise rabbits in Montana. I too would have liked to have seen Montana (actually the Caribbean).

While my goal is not quite the same and I am certainly not dieing (at least not for quite some time I hope), my goal of cruising throughout the Caribbean will need to be postponed for the immediate future as a result of the drastic downturn in the housing market. Seems I put the house up for sale at the same time as the sale of existing homes was starting to take a nose dive. As my plan did not include owning and continuing to pay for a house during the cruise, I will need to postpone the plan until the market picks up and I can sell. At this point, I am hoping 2008 or at the latest 2009 will show a turnaround in the housing market and I can start my journey then. But for the present, I still have a nice home to live in and a loving supportive wife; life will go on.

So I guess it will be back to the reality of working and remaining a tax paying land based contributor to society.

As any sailing adventures and upgrades are made, I will post on this site for those who are interested in reading.

USCG License Finally

It's finally complete, I received my actual license back from the US Coast Guard today. I am licensed as a Master 50-Ton with Auxiliary Sail endorsement for the Great Lakes and Inland Waters.

I guess I can say I'm the captain of my own ship now!

USCG License Update

I'm in the final stretch. I made official application today to the Coast Guard for my Captain's/Master License. They told me that it would take approximately 6 - 8 weeks until it goes through the system and I get it. I guess with the Coast Guard being part of Homeland Security, they have other things more pressing that takes priority over this (understandable, but doesn't mean I have to like it).

License / Certification Progress

I successfully completed the course requirements to get my OUPV Captain's License with a 50 ton Masters Upgrade / Sailing Endorsement on Sunday April 1 (no fool's joke). Before I can make official application to the US Coast Guard, I still need to do the following:

• Physical / Drug Test (completed June 11)
• First Aid / CPR certification (completed May 12)
• Complete all required paperwork with supporting documentation
• Physically go to the USCG and present all required documents

With any luck, I hope to have all this done by the end of June and get my license sometime in July. Not sure what I'll do with it at this point, but it will be nice to finally have.

So It Begins

Wednesday (02/28) is my last day of full time work (took an early retirement option offered by the company). They have however asked if I could do some miscellaneous special projects as a contractor, I decided to accept the offer as I can use the extra money for additional upgrades to Carina.

March will be rather hectic as I plan on taking a course to prepare me to take the USCG OUPV Captain's License exam. In addition, I will need some time to get Carina ready to go back in the water; new bottom paint, install feathering prop. and clean/wax hull, the rest I can do once she is in the water.

All this is in preparation for mid fall when we head down the ICW to FL then on to the Bahamas and beyond. Stay tuned for progress updates.

Carina Definition

This large southern constellation lies in one of the most beautiful parts of the sky. Carina is a Southern Circumpolar constellation, so only a very few in the Northern Hemisphere can see it.

The constellation Carina is known as the Keel, which is the bottom part of old ships. Carina was originally a part of Argo Navis, which was a huge boat in the night sky. It has since been divided into four constellations: Carina, Puppis, Vela and Pyxis.

Many civilizations believed Carina was a ship. In classical myth, Argo Navis was the ship of Jason and the Argonauts, who sailed the seas in search of the Golden Fleece. Others say the ship belonged to Menelaus, husband of Helen of Troy. The ancient Egyptians say the ship belonged to Osiris and Isis.

The brightest star in Carina is called Canopus. It is actually the second brightest star in the sky behind Sirius. The famous Keyhole Nebula is located just below the circle in the constellation. It is one of the most watched nebulae in the sky, and scientists say it will become a supernova.

Definitions:

• CARINA is a constellation of the southern sky.
• CARINA is the Latin word for keel.
• CARINA, in architecture, was the name Ancient Romans gave for any building in the form of a ship.
• CARINA is an Italian word, the meaning is "pretty" (female).
• CARINA is a female given name with Italian origin, its meaning is "The Pretty Girl".
• CARINA was said to be the mother of Niall of the Nine Hostages.
• The "CARINA" was a United States Navy ship.
• CARINA (The Pretty Girl) is home to us.