Aufs Offene Meer Hinaus
OK, not really............not yet :(
But we have some big news !!! We are sailing on Nov 1 back to the Caribbean. Tom is entering semi-retirement. Kirstin will be fully retired (how did that work, anyway ?).
In any case, negotiations with my boss were successfully concluded, and we will be 8 months in the Caribbean and 4 months in the US every year until we (me) fully retire. Kirstin is preparing for Kanvas State...........her course in sewing canvas. Could be a new business opportunity, but at a minimum it will save us big money on canvas work going forward.
Next week, L'ORIENT returns to the high seas, albeit only to Ft. Lauderdale to get a bottom job. Tom and Kirstin will be doing the Amel "out of the water" maintenance thing........bow thruster, prop bushings, through-hulls, etc. I'm counting on my Italian plastic surgeon friend Alessandro to help as well. Should be fun.............as fun as 5 days in the Hampton Inn can be.
Anyway, we are eager to test all the boat's new systems in deep water, especially the new depth sounder. We will head out of Miami Beach Marina, head northeast towards Bimini.......then back towards Ft. Lauderdale and our first time on the hard since Grenada.
One other bit of news...........we both passed our USCG Captain's exam, so our boat cards will soon reflect that Captain Kirstin and Captain Tom are driving the luxury barge around the Caribbean. It sounds trivial (especially since we live on board) but I've only met 2 women who hold this credential. Statistically, over 95% of Captain's licenses are held by men. Kirstin nearly aced the exam............4 months of study but well worth it. Can't wait until we return to the Carib and some old blo-hard wannabee starts lecturing my wife on sailing.........."excuse me, it's Captain Kirstin to you". HAHAHA.
But we have some big news !!! We are sailing on Nov 1 back to the Caribbean. Tom is entering semi-retirement. Kirstin will be fully retired (how did that work, anyway ?).
In any case, negotiations with my boss were successfully concluded, and we will be 8 months in the Caribbean and 4 months in the US every year until we (me) fully retire. Kirstin is preparing for Kanvas State...........her course in sewing canvas. Could be a new business opportunity, but at a minimum it will save us big money on canvas work going forward.
Next week, L'ORIENT returns to the high seas, albeit only to Ft. Lauderdale to get a bottom job. Tom and Kirstin will be doing the Amel "out of the water" maintenance thing........bow thruster, prop bushings, through-hulls, etc. I'm counting on my Italian plastic surgeon friend Alessandro to help as well. Should be fun.............as fun as 5 days in the Hampton Inn can be.
Anyway, we are eager to test all the boat's new systems in deep water, especially the new depth sounder. We will head out of Miami Beach Marina, head northeast towards Bimini.......then back towards Ft. Lauderdale and our first time on the hard since Grenada.
One other bit of news...........we both passed our USCG Captain's exam, so our boat cards will soon reflect that Captain Kirstin and Captain Tom are driving the luxury barge around the Caribbean. It sounds trivial (especially since we live on board) but I've only met 2 women who hold this credential. Statistically, over 95% of Captain's licenses are held by men. Kirstin nearly aced the exam............4 months of study but well worth it. Can't wait until we return to the Carib and some old blo-hard wannabee starts lecturing my wife on sailing.........."excuse me, it's Captain Kirstin to you". HAHAHA.