2010 Underway

Well, 2010 is well on it's way with January being almost half over. Chuck is still out there driving across the country trying to avoid snow. Luckily they do have him as a regional driver and they are keeping him in the southern states (most of the time), but even with that, he has run into some snow, rain, and in Texas an ice storm. The weather everywhere is a bit on the strange side.

I am still in Denver, doing a little bit of work for Priority Dispatch teaching, and also some review type work for the National Academies (where I worked before). I really enjoy what I am doing, just wish there was more. I am, however, going to San Antonio, Tucson, and somewhere in Massachusetts this month for training on another software to teach. With any luck, I'll get signed off on it by the end of the month and more work will come my way.

Nothing too exciting to update on, but wanted to put a little something out there. Our count down to returning to the boat is...... 263 days, unless of course we win the lottery (right!!!)

2009 Comes to An End

Well here it is the end of 2009 and we aren't on the waterways yet, but getting closer. We spent a few days on the boat last week for a bit of R&R and also to accomplish a little work on her. Since Chuck is driving on the east coast and Charlotte is in Denver, seeing each other is a bit of a challenge, so the meeting in Savannah on the boat was much needed. Chuck and Lood (a friend) pulled wires to begin the installation of our windless, so us old folks won't have to pull the anchor up by hand (it's a must have). We were also, so fortunate to be in Savannah at the time our dear friends that we met at the marina (Brandon & Carryn) set sail for their 2-year cruise. We wish them good winds and great adventures as they head south for the winter and pray that our paths meet again. Just a brief update, and as we approach 2010, we are working hard to return to our boat and also set sail. We'll keep you posted on our progress. God Bless all of our family and friends and may you all have a wonderful New Year.

Went Sailing - Finally

At long last the boat is finally sea-worthy and we were able to take her for a sail. It was fabulous. We had good wind (10-15 knots)and only had to use the front sail and moved along quite nicely. We were out for about 5 hours and had a great time both sailing, and watching some racers that has one whole side of their boats in the water. I think we are too big for that to happen unless we run into really really bad weather. We had some friends from the marina go with us so Chuck could get a good feel for the boat for the first time out. Chuck said she handled really good and feels very comfortable with her now. I am attaching some pictures; one is the sail from my vantage on the boat, the water splashing up towards the boat when we had a little tilt, and a picture of the Captain and is first mate.

Unfortunately 'Dun Workin' isn't quite ready for any long trips as we had planned. We still have work to do on her (project boat turned out to be more of a project than planned. And now because it is the end of June and we haven't been able to head out as planned, the heat here is unbearable (record highs in the 100's with gee-wiz humidity), and we have run out of funds to fix the boat, we have had a shift in plans. The dream hasn't gone away - just put on hold for a while.

New plan. Chuck and I are both going back to work for a few months to build up the "boat fund" so we can get it totally fixed so we can do the long term cruising that we want to do. To accomplish this 'back to work' thing (yuck!!!!) Chuck is going to go back to long haul driving and I am going to do some contract work for the NAED and maybe some other things if they pop up. Since it is so hot in Savannah, we don't want to sit on the boat here, so we are going to move back to Colorado. While Chuck is driving, I will be staying with Aaron and Adriana to start with I(they have a nice basement bedroom and bathroom)and hopefully I can help out with Adri while she is going through her chemo and after she has surgery. If they get tired of me, I'll go stay with Julie and Randy for a bit too. After all, I have all my family in Denver.

We are really looking forward to seeing the family again as we have missed them. I think we will be there at least through Thanksgiving, and possibly longer. We will see. So the concept of "Dun Workin" is now being followed by "NOT" Life happens!

So for all of you who wanted to go sailing with us - the offer is still there, just delayed.

First Dingy Ride

Yesterday we went for our first dingy ride since we have been here. Chuck had to have some work done on the outboard (of course) and it is now working like a charm! So... out we went onto the water - actually moving! For Charlotte it was a little scary, because we are talking about a 7' rubber raft instead of the 40' sailboat. But (especially for the family) she wore her life jacket and braved the waters. It was actually very fun and we saw a little bit of the island that you don't see from the streets. Traveling this way you get to see all the houses with their private docks and boats ranging from large to very small (falling down docks too).

Since we aren't moving yet, Chuck took the opportunity to attend Sea-School and get his Captain's license. You can get different levels and this one is called a six-pak. Anyway, he is going to be going to school for the next 10 days and get his certification. Exciting for him.

Well there isn't much to elaborate on as we are still working on das-boat and getting closer to actually sailing..... we can't wait.

We love and miss everyone and look forward to seeing you sometime in the near future. Once we get underway - we still hope for visitors.

Chuck & Charlotte

Words from Sailors

A collision at sea can ruin your entire day!

And - most appropriate:
A boat is a hole in the water, surrounded by fiberglass, into which you throw money!

Chuck & Charlotte

The Perfect Storm

The Marina that we are staying in is also a full functioning boat yard. It has all sorts of boats in the yard that are being worked on. There is also a full crew of workers that are interesting individuals themselves. The boats range from small power boats, large yachts, sailboats like ours, trawlers, tug boats, small fishing boats, large fishing boats, tug boats, and dolphin cruise boats. As I was walking through the yard today I noticed that they had brought in a commercial fishing boat and it reminded me of the boat that Captain Billy (George Cloony) owned and took his crew out to make a large catch and answer their financial needs. I could see Bobby, Murph, Sully, etc. Well maybe I was really seeing George Cloony and Mark Wahlberg (hehe). I've included a picture of this boat for your viewing pleasure.

This brought a new reality to me and that is I am getting a whole new level of education and culture than I've ever had. I am very grateful that I grew up an Army Brat because I had an enormous life education; and I now believe this is another chapter in my life education.

Geriatric Moment

Everyone has said they can't get into our blog. Well guess what folks... my 'geriatric bad.' Go figure. I put the wrong address in the email.. of course it was only one little character; I said use @ and it should be .
Enough of that, so let's get everyone updated.

We have now been on the boat for almost 7 weeks, and every day is an adventure - not always glorious and fun, but definitely an adventure. We have had cold weather that was most unexpected, and some absolutely beautiful days. However,,,, with the beautiful days they have something down here in Georgia that is called 'noseeums' which is a very fitting name. These little creatures can get through screens and some netting and they bit you as though they are big bugs. They are only gnats, but they are so pesty it is unbelievable. They like weather between 60 and 80 just like us humans. So when it is colder they are gone... and when it is hotter... they are gone. Folks in Georgia and probably other southeast states support Avon with the purchase of Skin So Soft because it is the best repellent for these nasty little creatures.

We have discovered that there is much more work on this old boat that anticipated, but not to worry, we are still living the dream. There are days it seems to get a little fuzzy, but then brightens up with some little pleasures; sitting in the cockpit and watching the sunset; watching the dolphins play and swim by the boat; watching the otters play and splash in the water; laying up top and soaking up a little sunshine; and just watching the water and knowing very shortly we will be actually sailing and seeing some awesome sights in this country.

Well that is enough update for today and I'll be getting a little more consistent now that I have figured out the problem with everyone accessing this.

Chuck & Charlotte
Captain & First Mate