1 LiveBloggin' the ICW: February 2013

Thursday, February 14, 2013

An Important Message on Valentine's Day

Folks, this is undoubtedly the most important video I have ever uploaded and it may well be the most important video you will ever watch, particularly if you enjoy wine. The reasons are obvious...and don't panic if you don't speak French, the video is quite comprehensible on its own. The only requirements are a bottle of wine, and your shoes. One of them anyway...  
Enjoy...
 

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Birthday boy!

Yes, you read it here first: it's my birthday. No speculation allowed as to which one! So far, it's been great. Worked on some writing, worked on the boat, took Aduana for a walk, coffee and cinnamon bun at the coffee shop, wild gorilla sex.....ok, busted on that last one, darn it all! But the day isn't over yet...
This year marks the beginning of my tenth year cruising full-time. Yes! Now bear with me, because this is going to get interesting.
I used to be a regular member of the Yahoo Single Sailing group back when Maggie was running it - she's been gone some years now, but back in the day, we had a lot of fun with it. If you were a member, you'll recall the fun and outright silliness of the group. It was a pretty special bunch actually. 
I decided that to celebrate my 50th birthday, we'd have an X-0 party, somewhere warm, everyone invited from the group and whoever else wanted to show up. 
Now bear in mind, almost none of us knew any of the others offline - we were a group of sailors in cyberspace. I'd met one other group member, CJ from Annapolis. She had met one other, perhaps two, whose names don't come to me now. But that was about it. We were all strangers.
But...one member, John Verdun, offered to host the party at his place in the Keys. Several more decided that they'd sail on in, and then we had folks planning on showing up from British Columbia and around the USA. This party was starting to build and when the day arrived, over a dozen folks had arrived on John's doorstep or his dock. I had been joined by Peter Cumminsky (Cocoa, FL) and my best friend Glen from Canada, and his 80+ year old father Louis. 
Gypsy Wind racing John V's Imagine, in a guys vs girls format.
Being gentlemen, we of course let the ladies win...
...and yes, this battle is still being fought ten years later!
Well, to make a long story short, we had a blast. All strangers, but fellow sailors, and we partied that entire weekend, raced the boats, had a grand time. Lots of friendships were made that continue to this day, I'm pleased to say.
Well, if it was good once, it ought to be good a second time, right? Sure was. This party was held again for several more years, although I never made it back for the reprise unfortunately - but I saw the photos.
Now it's time to get ready to do it again....the (X+1)0 Party for my next birthday, in 2014. I have no idea where we'll hold this one, but we've got lots of time to think about, and you've got lots of time to plan on attending.
I'm thinking someplace where there's a charter base, and we'll set it up so everyone has a boat to stay on and make the party last a week - you'll need that long to recover anyhow. Won't be as cheap as hanging out at John's place was, but it will be lots of fun and you've got a year to get ready for it
So everyone, pitch in with your suggestions and let's get ready for the (X+1)0 Party. The countdown begins.....(x+1) 0 - 365...and counting!