Dear Santa, Here Is What We Want For Our Boat (Pretty Please)

Via The Graphics Fairy

Many folks monetize their sailing blogs by putting up Amazon links, asking for PayPal donations or getting sponsors to give them stuff. Personally, I think it makes far more sense to go directly to the source - Santa Claus! Here is a copy of the letter I just sent off to him at the North Pole.


Dear Santa,

Scott and I have been very good this year and should be on your "nice" list. Well, to be honest, sometimes Scott is a little "naughty" and leaves his clothes on the floor instead of putting them in the laundry hamper, but he's working on it. Because we've been such good little sailors this year, we have an extra special wish list of things we want for our boat. I even put in links for you so you can go shopping online and give the elves a little bit of a break from having to make everything from scratch.

Head Torches - It would be great to have some head torches so that we can see what's going on out on deck when it is dark and have our hands free at the same time. Plus I think we would look really cool in them. And we could play games where we try to blind each other by aiming our lights at each other. If we had cats on board, I think they would like to chase around the light too. Can we have three of these please? One for Scott, one for me and a spare because I sometimes accidentally drop things in the water. (Sorry Santa, Scott wants me to clarify that kittens are not our on Christmas list. Well not on his list anyway.)

Marine Toilet - The seat on our toilet is currently held down by twine which doesn't really work that well when the boat gets all tippy. We probably don't need an entire new toilet, just a new seat would do. And maybe you could send one of your elves down to help fix the toilet so that we can flush it using the pump rather than pouring water down it from a bucket? You could do it as maybe some sort of incentive program for the elves - the elf that makes the most amount of toys wins a week on our boat. That sort of incentive would really increase production.

Gloves - I would really like some gloves to protect my hands when I'm pulling on the sheets. You're probably thinking it sounds a bit selfish to just ask for something for myself, but it is also a present for Scott. If I have gloves, then I'll stop complaining that my hands hurt. Win-win for everyone.

Waterproof iPad Case - I live in fear that our iPad will get wet and stop working. And as we're on a budget, I don't think we could easily replace it. So a waterproof case for our iPad would be a really swell present that you could bring us Santa. And if you want to throw in a really great data plan and easy access to wireless wherever we are through some sort of special Santa satellite that would be really appreciated.

Thermal Cooker - Although it doesn't get very hot on our boat as we sail in New Zealand, it can get a bit stuffy down below if you have something bubbling away on the stove for a long time. It would be super to have some sort of thermal cooker where you start your meal on the stove and then stick it into a thermal bag to continue cooking during the day. Plus it reduces the amount of propane we have to use which is good for the environment and the cruising kitty.

Go Pro Camera - Scott really wants a waterproof camera that he can use to take pictures of all the marine life and action in the water. I love the pictures he takes and it would be great if he could take more photos without worrying about the water damaging the camera. He mentioned that he likes this one but if you know of a better one, let us know.

Wet Suits - The water is really cold in New Zealand and we only went in it a couple of times last year for fun. (Scott went in a couple of other times to do things like rescue our swim ladder, but that's another story.) If we had wet suits we would be far more likely to get in the water and then we could use Scott's new Go Pro Camera. Someone told me that you can tell who the Aussies are in New Zealand - they're the ones with the wetsuits on. The Kiwis seem to happily splash around without them and never seem to get cold.

Handheld VHF Radio - There is nothing worse then when I have to helm the boat in bad weather while Scott goes down below to use the VHF to call the marina for a berth. Wouldn't it be great if we had a handheld one? Think of all the freedom that it would give us. We could talk on the VHF anywhere on our vast 26' boat! No idea what models are good and what we should look for, but Burnsco is having their Christmas sale and this one is on offer. But if you're feeling generous, we'll happily take a better one Santa.

So that's our list this year Santa. I'm sure we'll have a bigger list next year once we buy our new boat so we promise to be extra specially nice so that you'll bring us even more goodies next Christmas. Say hello from us to Mrs. Claus, the elves, Rudolph and the rest of the reindeer.

Sincerely,

Ellen & Scott

PS Is that horrible Abominable Snow Monster still bothering Rudolph? He scared the crap out of me every Christmas when I watched Rudolph's movie. He still does to be honest. I hope he is being a nice snow monster instead of a naughty one now.

Mom - if you're reading this letter to Santa, do not buy us any of this stuff. The last thing we need is to accumulate more stuff that we have to ship back to the States when we head back there to buy a bigger boat. Scott says to add - do not get us a kitten.

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