Never Know What You Will Find

While looking around in an antique store today, I came across this watercolor which I thought was very cool. Of course I had to get it. Just a reminder to sail more...enjoy.

Ready for the Count Down

I certainly hope you all had a wonderful Holiday with family and friends. I was fortunate enough to have vacation days left that needed to be taken or lost, so I took off this week to spend with Zachary here in NC. We have been having a very good time and I look forward to the rest of our time here.

The plan now is to head down to Florida on Monday, Jan 2 to get Zachary back for school on the 3rd. I am going to stay a while as the engine work is complete and Skylark is now ready for sea trials. Yes, you heard me right, the Atomic 4, gas tank and wiring work has been completed, and we are good to go. Talk about the best Christmas present ever. I will post pictures of the new engine along with pics and footage from the sea trials. I am very excited to say the least.

Since we are approaching the new year, one of the resolutions I made was to sail more and worry about boat projects less. My on going list of "to-dos" is huge and unrealistic. I cut the list down to only a few essentials for this year and plan to enjoy rather than to be constantly working. I will pull Skylark out of the water and try to do everything in one shot, most likely in early to mid March. A bottom job is really needed anyway, so it made sense to complete everything while she is out of the water. I am thinking it will take about a week to finish the new list, a time-frame much more workable. Everything will be ready for the wonderful Spring sailing. If you are interested, the list now consists of:

• Bottom job, zinc replacement
• Fresh water tank replacement or cleaning
• Tiller pilot install
• Solar panel install
• Adding 2 new batteries to house bank

Not too bad, right? Once that is done, I will be ready for some serious time on the water. I can't wait.

So with that, I hope you all have your to-do lists ready for the new year. Keep them short and sweet and get out on the water, there is always next year to work hard...or is that the year after. :)

Happy Holidays from NOAA

Found this on one of the sailing boards, made me laugh. Enjoy!

Love this song...

How great is this. A little something for those of you battling the cold.

Disappointing 2011, looking forward to 2012

I guess life really does get in the way sometimes. In my case, this years sailing season came and went with little progress on my part. I did get a few small things done, and of course the 3 months I spent on Skylark with Zachary over the summer was fantastic. But in reality, it was still rather disappointing working through engine rebuilds and not getting away from the dock. Fortunately, the friends I have made make staying at the dock a lot of fun and good place to be, but as you can imagine, being out there is where we all want to be. Hopefully, this spring is my time.

It makes you think about that oh-so-fragile balancing act between "real" life and life on the sea. It's very difficult to have both sometimes, but I always feel it is very much worth the fight. I talk to tons of people who feel the same way. Generally speaking, most everyone is waiting for one thing or another to start, finish or disappear before breaking away and starting their life at sea. And most everyone has a number they are working towards, the number of years before they can cast off the lines and not look back. 1 year, 5 years, 10 years. Whats your number, I know you have one. :)  Of course there are the lucky souls that have hit their number and are out there doing it. They are the inspirations that keep us going and striving for that number. A warmth thanks to all of you!

But as a lot of folks know, life itself is one of the best anchors out there, it holds firm in all conditions and is extremely hard to break free once set. But it is worth the fight and we keep doing it and bottom line, it's all we can do. You hear all the time, "Go Now!"  Unfortunately, reality isn't always that simple.

So now it's mid-December and we are on the door step to another year. I plan to do a lot of sailing this year. Good, bad or ugly, Skylark is getting off the dock and will be putting miles under the keel once again. It's the way it should be and I look forward to the adventures that are in store. (Needless to say, I have renewed my membership to BoatUS :) I will be sure to wave as we see you folks out there. If you see me anchored off somewhere, come on by, I can guarantee there will be a sundowner of one kind or another on board with your name on it.

And thanks for following along. There have been over 9,000 new visitors to the site from all over the world, it's wonderful to know you folks are out there. This coming year, I really hope there is more interesting stuff to keep you entertained. Thanks as always and if we don't chat in the next couple of weeks, have a very Happy New Year.

Back on Skylark

...and it feels really good. Can't you see the excitement in my face? Came down, for a short visit so I can see Zachary's last baseball game of the year. Very much looking forward to it. Will be back before and after Christmas as well. Engine will be done by then so very happy to put that behind us. 2012 is looking good for some sailing. But with my luck, the Mayans will be right and we will all be dead anyway. Again, see the excitement in my face?