Captain's Log

Ok, so lots of stuff has happened since July of 2012. Don?t know if it was writers block, boredom, laziness, or nothing much to say. Mainly I think it was hard to write a Captains Log when you?re only captain of a Capri 25. Not that there?s anything wrong with the great little boat, but I feel more like a driver or an instructor when I think of my role on that boat- not really like a Captain.

Anyway, as everyone who knows me no doubt knows, recently a virtual stranger offered me a 1985 C&C 37 and as a favor to him I accepted! I?m not kidding, those were his words. I am now feeling more Captain-like and broker by the minute. It?s hard to support a mistress that could sink the minute you stop paying attention, and try to keep the bills paid too. Any boat owner knows this, of course, but some folks who haven?t this knowledge buy a boat as a ?cheap place to live?. Of course if you do no maintenance at all it might take several years to sink, but if you want to keep her up properly and actually use her, it?s a whole other story, right?

It?s a well-known admonishment to ?be careful what you wish for- you might just get it? and sometimes you don?t know which box you open might be packed by Pandora, but I?m really, really, really happy I got what I wished for. Of course she?s nothing but a huge drain on finances, but that will force me to get off my tail and do some advanced classes and charters on her to offset some of that. She?s a perfect boat for either, and should be able to support herself if I?m willing to do the work, a good challenge.

So it?s been quite a year. Spent January hanging around Barra de Navidad, an old haunt from cruising days, came home to welcome a new grandson in February, Superbaby Knox, had a great Spring getting things sorted down in Goleta, got a great new Lab puppy named Sailor, a busy whale watching and sailing instruction Summer, then finally seeing our dream master bedroom appear after many years of wishing and hoping it might. Thank you Airbnb for supplying some funds! My esteemed friend Blaine Crighton the Master Framer did a great job, as did my good pals Buck Dortch and Kevin Almas. It?s almost ready to apply drywall and Barb and I can?t hardly wait. So I guess that means we can.

That?s all I?ve got tonight, but stay tuned for some fun stories of trouble shooting broken systems and servicing old equipment that?s been sitting for years. Hyjinx I?m tellin? ya!

Half the Year has Disappeared, where did it go? Log entry 7/2/12

The half-year point has come, so here is another exciting (not) report of all the fun stuff that has been happening since January! Give me a second, it will come to me...

The high point of the early part of the year was finally regaining my long-lost Captain's License. It took superhuman efforts but the superhuman within me came to the fray and we dotted all our "t's" and crossed all our "I's" to prevail at last. I am now a re-frocked Master of 50 tons sail, steam etc. and can again be trusted to take folks out for a sail for money! Yeee-Hawww!

So the sailing school is going well, even without advertising, and random charters are helping the ends to meet as well. Grinner is looking good with her new mainsail, stern pulpit (don't ask how she needed that particular piece) and boom cover. We're coming in second place in lots of races but can't seem to quite break through to first. Working on that.

The reason I'm updating this blog page right now is to welcome a new friend who has requested a text link on virtually every page of my humble web site. This is the link :

Have a great summer, and I'll try to get back here more often to keep you informed of all the exciting new developments in the life of your webcaptain.

("House and Pond" is where our non-boat life archived logs and pics live- click to go there )

First Season Pix- (Baja Ha Ha and Beyond)

Second Season (2004-05) (more Mexico) Pics

Third Season (2005-06) (even more Mexico) Pics

My pirate name is:

Iron Tom Flint

A pirate's life isn't easy; it takes a tough person. That's okay with you, though, since you a tough person. Like the rock flint, you're hard and sharp. But, also like flint, you're easily chipped, and sparky. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.