Cruising Questions From The Family

While I've been visiting my family, I've had some questions from my 12 year old nieces and my sister about this crazy living on a boat thing that we did in New Zealand. So here is the Q&A just in case you're thinking about moving onto a boat and your family has questions for you too.
 
1. What's the coolest animal you've seen?

Probably this guy and all of his dolphin friends as we were leaving the Bay of Islands in New Zealand. They were swimming and frolicking alongside our boat as we headed out and it was just magical. There was even a little baby dolphin along for the ride! 

Oh, but then there was the time we saw wallabies on Kawau Island. They were adorable! So cute and cuddly. I kept trying to grab one so I could pet it but they move fast!

2. What's the hardest part?

I'm not sure that anything was terribly hard, but there were some very frustrating moments. In particular, the weather really made things challenging at times. When you are stuck in one place for days on end because the winds are blowing too hard to move your boat, it can be a bit frustrating. And there were times when we slept really poorly because we were worried we might drag anchor or because there was a strong swell which kept rocking our boat back and forth and back and forth and back and forth in the most unpleasant way (like that time in the Mercury Islands).

3. What's the funnest part?

Spending time with each other. Aww....isn't that just sickly sweet? Scott and I have fun together going for walks, exploring new areas and just laughing about stupid things. Living on a boat is really neat - you can move it to new places each day and you get to anchor in beautiful places each night. What could be more fun that that?

4. What do you do all day on the boat?

I like to play Minecraft all day on the computer and ignore my mother when she tells me I've had enough screen time for the day. Oh wait, that's not me, that's someone else I know. 

What we do each day on the boat really depends upon where we are and what needs doing. From time to time, we would head into a marina to take care of life chores like getting more water, getting rid of the trash and recycling, doing the wash, getting provisions at the grocery store, taking proper showers etc. You would be surprised how long it takes to do these types of things when you live on a boat! However, most of the time, we would be anchored out somewhere and would spend time going for walks, practicing our sailing skills, fishing, reading, cooking, cleaning etc. 

Because our last boat was our "for now" boat and was in pretty good shape, we didn't have to spend a lot of time during our days on boat maintenance or improvements. I expect on our next boat, we'll be spending a lot more time in that area. 

5. Do you have beds on the boat or do you sleep on hammocks or sleeping bags or something? 

Hammocks sound fun! But sadly, we didn't have any of those on our last boat. Because Scott is tall, he slept on the settee in the saloon. I slept in the v-berth cuddled up next to the laundry, provisions and other bits and bobs. There just wasn't enough room in the v-berth for both of us, unless we twisted ourselves up like pretzels. We slept on top of sheets and had blankets for those nights when it got a bit chilly. It definitely wasn't the most comfortable sleeping set up. We'll be looking to get a much better sleeping arrangement on our next boat, ideally with a queen size bed.

6. When you flush the toilet where does it go?

We didn't have a holding tank (like you have on an RV) on our last boat, so when we flushed the toilet, it all went out the boat and into the water. I bet you think that is icky. But holding tanks can be pretty icky too and sometimes smelly and kind of gross to clean out. So, in some ways our set up was better. 

You can't just flush the boat anytime you want though. In New Zealand, you can only discharge if you are a certain number of meters offshore and in a certain depth of water. While many boats (especially smaller ones) in New Zealand don't have holding tanks, in other parts of the world they are required and they are much stricter about when and how you can empty your holding tank. Of course, you can always try to get around having a holding tank by using a bucket or a bag like the Art of Hookie.

Okay, that was a gross topic. Hopefully, the next question is about something a bit more pleasant.

7. How much toilet paper do you need?

Again with the toilet questions - what is with you people? 

You probably need less toilet paper than you would on shore. Marine toilet systems can be tricky things and the last thing you want is to clog everything up, especially when you're in the middle of nowhere. Trust me, you don't want to be putting a lot of toilet paper down your toilet. Especially, not all at once. Some people (like SV Necesse) put their used toilet paper in paper or plastic bags and dispose of it later on shore. You can probably use more toilet paper using this method, but you do have to think about where you're going to store the bags until you get to shore.

8. How many months of stuff do you have onboard?

This one depends upon how big your boat is, how often you have access to grocery stores, and, if you have access to grocery stores, the cost and selection of stuff available. If you're going to make a big passage across an ocean, then you'll have a lot stored on your boat. Or if you're starting off in the States, you might stock up on a lot of stuff because it is cheaper there than in other countries or just your favorite things aren't readily available. 

For us, because we cruised in New Zealand, we had ready access to grocery stores. But because groceries were more expensive in stores in remote areas, we tended to stock up when were were in Auckland or larger towns. We probably had a month worth of groceries onboard our boat at any given time. I also stocked up on a lot of stuff before we headed off - especially the important stuff like chocolate and coffee.

 
9. Where do you wash your clothes?

Just like you do on land - in a washing machine. We don't have our own washing machine, so we use the ones at the marina. Kind of like going to a laundromat. Insert your money, put the wash in the machine, read a book, put the clothes in the dryer, insert some more money, read a magazine and take the clothes out of the dryer and fold. Other people wash their clothes in buckets or in a hand cranked washing machine onboard. That may be us someday too!

10. Purple?

I have no idea what this question means, but the answer is no.

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Book People

While I'm in Portland, I've been staying with my sister. She has a lot of books. 

She works in the library, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that she has a lot of books. All kinds of books. You can find Winnie the Pooh sitting happily next to Vanity Fair and All's Quiet on the Western Front.

Every day, she hands me a new book and tells me that I just have to read it. I've only been here a few weeks and I have a pretty big stack of books to work my way through. I've had to cut back on my sleeping hours just to keep up with my reading assignments. 

It is quite the eclectic assortment of books that she has given me. A few with a Cleveland connection (where we grew up), some graphic novels (who knew you could learn about the Iranian revolution through what is essentially a comic book), some YA, a "bonnet lit" book (think Amish, think romance, think bizarre), a book about North Dakota (where Scott grew up) and one about whaling wives (we come from whaling people). 

She got really excited when she handed me this book by Anne Fadiman and even read me a passage out loud.

It was from an essay about proofreading. The Fadiman family are self-described "compulsive proofreaders". So are my mother and sister. These are the types of people who send letters to newspapers, shops and restaurants to advise them that they've put an apostrophe in the wrong place. Clearly, I didn't get the grammar gene. Which you probably already know if you've spent any amount of time reading this blog. 

Fortunately, I like books otherwise I would have been excommunicated from the family when I was 5 or 6 years old due to my appalling lack of interest in grammar.

Just to prove I am a book person, here are some of the books in my collection. You may notice a theme.

I just bought Jimmy Cornell's World Cruising Routes at Powell's Books in Portland. Powell's is the biggest independent new and used bookstore in the world. If you are a book person, you probably know that already. It made CNN's list of coolest bookstores in the world. 

I showed my mother and sister Jimmy Cornell's book. It has all sorts of useful information about 1,000 cruising routes from the South Seas to the Arctic. My mother's reaction - "I forbid you from sailing across an ocean." You get a similar sort of reaction if you mention motorcycles - "I forbid you from riding a motorcycle." Whenever she sees pictures of Scott and me on motorcycles or mopeds, I just tell her it is a stunt double. My sister, on the other hand, could care less if we cross an ocean. She is just interested in when we'll be docked in Cuba so that she can come visit.

I've been trying to share my books with my sister, but so far she doesn't seem too interested. Her cat on the other hand is fascinated with Lin Pardey's The Care and Feeding of Sailing Crew. If you know anything about cats, you'll know that all they care about is when their next meal is so this book is right up her alley.

Even the cats in our family are book people. They could care less about grammar though.

{If you see any spelling or grammar errors in this blog post, please feel free to email my mother and sister. They'll be delighted to bring them to my attention on your behalf.}

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Polar Bear Defense Systems {A Pubic Safety Announcement From My Nieces}

Polar bears seem cute, but it is important to keep your distance.

My 12 year old nieces and I were talking the other day about how Scott and I might go sailing in Alaska one day. And of course, if you're going to sail in Alaska, you have to watch out for the polar bears. It is critical that your boat be equipped with a polar bear defense system.

We've done some research and the most effective polar bear defense systems use a catapult to hurl marshmallows onto the ice (also known as a "Marsh-A-Pult"). Polar bears absolutely love marshmallows and the minute they see a marshmallow, they immediately lose interest in you and your sailboat and run off to gobble them down. Ideally, your marshmallows should be pink so that they show up on the snow.

In the interest of public safety, we decided to do a polar bear defense system photo shoot so that everyone is better informed about this important topic.

Preparing for the Photo Shoot

To prepare for the photo shoot, we first had to dye our marshmallows. We couldn't find any pink ones at our local Safeway, so one of my nieces turned our ordinary white ones into really cool looking ones.

First, get yourself some food coloring, some water and marshmallows.

Then mix up your dye and dunk your marshmallows.

Once you're done, you get these really cool looking marshmallows. They almost look tie-died and we think they would appeal to vampires, as well as polar bears.

The final step is to get the set built. We don't have a sound stage, so we used my sister's dining room instead.

Once your set it built, then you're ready to begin the photo shoot!

The Unprepared Crew: Sailing without a Polar Bear Defense System

Here are some folks out sailing in Alaska without a polar bear defense system. Silly people - what were they thinking?

They see some polar bears hanging out on an iceberg and think to themselves, "How cute!!! Let's take some pictures!!!"

 

Unfortunately, while they were looking for their camera, their boat capsized and the polar bears attacked.

The Coast Guard came out to try to rescue them, but it was too late. If only they had had a polar bear defense system, things would have turned out so differently.

The Prepared Crew: Sailing with a Polar Bear Defense System

This boat is much more prepared. The crew is towing a catapult behind their boat. Smart thinking!

They see the same polar bears hanging out on an iceberg.

But instead of rushing to get their camera, they set up their catapult system with a marshmallow.

The polar bears see the marshmallows and rush off to eat them and the crew is able to make a quick getaway.

My other niece made this amazingly cool video about the "Marsh-A-Pult" polar bear defense system. You should definitely check it out on You Tube.


After the Photo Shoot

If you have a bag of marshmallows left over from your photo shoot, the best thing to do is to turn them into "mice-krispies". Yum, yum!

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Think Sweaters, Not Bikinis {Some Places On Our Sailing Bucket List}

Where should we go on our next sailboat?

While we've been figuring out where to buy our next sailboat in the States, we've also been tossing around ideas about where we want to sail to and explore. We're not sure how long we'll want to cruise full-time - it could be two years, five years or forever - so we probably need to think about what our "sailing bucket list" is so that we can prioritize where we absolutely want to get to. Of course, where we end up buying our next boat will have something to do with where we end up sailing to first.

So here is the start of our "sailing bucket list" - it definitely keeps evolving and growing as we think and read about new places. These are some of what I like to think of as "cooler weather" places. Bring your sweaters and leave your bikinis at home. 

The San Juan Islands, Washington State

Located in the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and mainland United States, the San Juan Islands are an archipelago of 172 islands and reefs, only four of which are accessible by public ferry (Orcas, Lopez, San Juan and Shaw). That means that there are a lot of places you can only explore on your private boat! If we buy our next boat in the Pacific Northwest, this is where I think we would start off our next sailing adventures from.

A few of the places we want to go and see

Friday Harbor, San Juan Island - the busiest port in the San Juans, it is supposed to be a quaint little town chock full of shops, restaurants, historical sites, museums and art galleries. Sucia Island - known as the crown jewel in the Washington State marine park system, it has a reputation as one of the top boating destinations in the world. Garrison Bay, San Juan Island - we can learn about some history at English Camp, which is part of the National Park Service. Stuart Island - described as a marine park for mariners who want to get away from it all. Sounds perfect. 

Want to know more?

You can find a free San Juan Islands cruising guide on the Salish Sea Pilot site. SV Cambria is currently sailing in the Pacific Northwest and they have lots of great information about their adventures in this neck of the woods on their blog. Cruising World has an article on a seven day cruise from Bellingham to the San Juans. Northwest Yachting Magazine has a list of the top 10 places you don't want to visit, unless you like grounding your boat (always good to know what to avoid). If you don't have a boat, you might want to check out the tourism site which has information about the islands you can get to on a ferry.

Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia

Lying off the far eastern side of the Russian Federation, the Kamchatka Peninsula is relatively unexplored by your average tourist. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and known as the "Land of Volcanoes". I first learned about the area when I read James Michener's Alaska. In the early 1700s, the Danish explorer, Vitus Bering, was commissioned by Peter the Great to build ships and lead two explorations from the Kamchatka Peninsula to what is now known as Alaska. Maybe we can sail from Alaska to Russia and retrace Bering's route? 

A few of the places we want to go and see

The nearby Commander Islands - Vitus Bering was shipwrecked and died here. Today, you can go and see the amazing wildlife including seabirds and fur seals. The Valley of the Geysers - the second largest geyser field in the world. Avacha Bay - some people (aka the Kamchatka tourism board) say it is the biggest and most picturesque bays in the world. Located in Avacha Bay is the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. It's the second largest city in the world that isn't reachable by road.
 
Want to know more?

So do we! Has anyone traveled there by sailboat or land?

The Inside Passage, Alaska

The Inside Passage is a protected coastal route which runs from the Puget Sound in Washington through British Columbia and then up to Skagway in Alaska. The Alaskan portion is 500 miles from north to south and includes a thousand islands and thousands of coves and bays and is home to the Tlingit, Haida and Tsminshian peoples. People usually explore the Inside Passage on a big cruise ship, but wouldn't it be so much better to do it on a sailboat?

A few of the places we want to go and see

Glacier Bay National Park - has rugged mountains, fjords, dramatic coastlines and, of course, glaciers. Ketchikan - has the world's largest collection of totem poles. Tongass National Forest - not only is it the largest national forest, it is also a great place to safely see lots of brown and black bears. 

Want to know more?

Check out SV Lealea's adventures on their blog and You Tube channel, as well as hear the crew talk about their experiences on The Sailing Podcast (you can also find an interview with me there too). You can find information on the Glacier Bay National Park here.

The Baltic Sea

Located between central and northern Europe, the Baltic Sea has everything you could want - lots of history, bustling cities and quiet towns, islands and peaceful anchorages. Several years ago we went on a Cities of the Baltic cruise (thanks to a cheap, last-minute deal) which was a great way to see some of the sights in a short amount of time, but it would be so much more fun to be able to explore the area at a more leisurely pace by sailboat.

A few of the places we want to go and see

Fårö Island - lying to the northeast of Gotland Island, Fårö is a popular summer resort area known for its peace and quiet, interesting limestone rock formations (rauks), an old lighthouse and a lot of sheep. Riga - the capitol of Latvia, is a UNESCO World Heritage site noted for its Art Nouveau architecture and is supposed to have a Prague-like feel to it. Aland Islands - an autonomous Swedish speaking archipelago in Finland, with around 300 islands to explore.

Want to know more?

SY Dolphin Dance has a list of the top 10 sailing destinations in the Baltic. You can find information about how to get to the Baltic Sea via the Kiel Canal on SY Kissen's site. Martin Edge has a series of posts about anchorages, harbors and marinas in Finland on Sail in Finland.

What's on your bucket list whether by boat, plane, train, bus, camel etc.?

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Boat Pictures From The Baltic, For No Particular Reason

 Random photos from our Cities of the Baltic cruise.

Shakedown Cruise Review: Relationships On Board

Background - When we decided to become full-time cruisers, rather than buy our "forever" boat and set off around the world, we took a different approach and moved aboard our "for now" boat in New Zealand for the 2013/14 season. We used it as an opportunity to do a shakedown cruise to discover what works and what doesn't for us in terms of the cruising lifestyle before we buy our next boat. This is the seventh in a series of posts on how it all went. 

Once upon a time, I wrote a post about relationships at sea. I tried to anticipate the types of challenges that might come up if we moved aboard a 26' sailboat together. I'm pretty sure 20 plus years of marriage doesn't really prepare you for something like this. But it sure did help. Here are a few of the things I learned about relationships on board during our time cruising in New Zealand.

1. Being the skipper can be stressful (and unfair).

Maybe we need to trade in pink and blue roles for violet ones?

I didn't fully realize how stressful living on a boat was for Scott at times until we moved back on land and he slept soundly through the night without worrying about our floating home. Because he was the skipper of our boat, he took responsibility for our safety, getting the boat from point A to point B and making sure the boat is in good working order. He was basically responsible the engine and everything "up above" and I took care of everything "down below" (like cooking, laundry, cleaning etc). 

Given the fact that Scott is much more experienced than I am when it comes to sailing, the division of  labor made sense at the time. But in reality, it just wasn't fair to Scott to have him be the sole skipper of our boat. I didn't feel like I was pulling my weight in terms of our relationship and my contribution onboard and he always felt like he always had to be on duty. On our next boat, we'll have to find a way to be co-skippers to balance things out a bit better.

2.  Sometimes when you're grumpy with each other, it's just the weather.

It's hard to sleep soundly when you're worried about dragging anchor.

Yes, there were times when we got grumpy with each other. Every couple has those moments (if they say they don't, they're probably lying). We did notice that we got grumpier with each other living on our boat, then we normally do on land. After talking about it, we realized that it wasn't each other that was making us grumpy, it was things outside of our control. Like not being able to sleep because of an annoying swell slamming your boat from side to side. Or being stuck in an anchorage or marina for days and days because of an ex-cyclone. Or staying up all night worried you're going to drag anchor in the middle of a gale. 

When you're sleep deprived and frustrated because things aren't going the way you want them to, sometimes you take it out on your partner. The trick we learned is to realize that it isn't us, it is the weather. And in the end, the weather always gets better and so do our attitudes.

3.  We really do learn differently. 

Math was never my strongest subject in school, but algebra seems like a breeze now compared to some of the stuff I've had to learn when it comes to sailing.

Scott knows more about sailing then I do, so he ended up trying to teach me things and help me practice new skills. The operative word here is "try". I wasn't always the best student and he wasn't always the best teacher - for each other, that is. I'm probably an amazing student for some teachers and Scott is probably an amazing teach for some students, but we have very different learning styles. He learns by watching people, listening to them explain how to do something and asking questions. The he tries it out (often nailing it the first time) and asks for feedback from people as to how he did. I have a more "internal" learning style - I like to read about something, understand the theory behind it, think about it, think about it some more and then maybe try it out in the real world by myself. 

You can imagine how this works when Scott tries to teach me something, like tying a knot. He shows me how to do it while explaining it, then expects me to try it out right then and there. Generally, I just stare at him blankly and then go down below to read about knot tying and think about it while eating a snack.

4.  We both like to travel and explore, but sometimes at different paces.

Where should we travel to next on our boat?

We already knew that we both like to travel and explore - we're both restless vagabonds at heart - and our time cruising in New Zealand affirmed this. However, we do operate at slightly different paces. Scott is a big fan of what he calls "guerrilla tourism". He likes to see as many places as he can and do as many things as he can when he visits someplace. He is a full-on type of traveler. I also like to see and do a lot, but I do require more rest stops and snacks than Scott does. 

So no surprise that when it came to cruising, sometimes I wanted to hang out in a particular anchorage for more than one day and just read a book in the cockpit. Fortunately, we've learned through the years to find the right balance between Scott's full-on mode and my slightly lazier mode.


5.  It's important to have fun together (and be silly). 

If you can get your husband to let you take a picture of him with a box on his head in honor of Boxing Day, then you know you have a keeper.

We wouldn't be married for this long if we didn't have fun together. Otherwise, what's the point? Living on a boat and cruising together can be stressful, so if you can't have fun together and do silly stuff, I don't think you're going to last very long. Overall, we had lots and lots of fun together cruising in New Zealand so we're hoping to get our next boat soon so we can continue our adventures on the water.

What lessons have you learned living with your partner 24/7 on your boat? 

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All images via The Graphics Fairy, except for the photo of Scott with a box on his head.

Go West, Go East Or Somewhere In The Middle?

One of the problems with the States is that it is humongous! Not only are the portion sizes literally super-sized (42 ounces of soda pop and a 12 ounce hamburger are perfectly normal here), but the country itself is immense. At 3.71 million square miles, it dwarfs most other countries in terms of size. And many American states are bigger than other countries - for example, France (211,000 square miles) is smaller than the state of Texas (269,000 square miles). {Don't feel bad France - you have pain au chocolat and that more than makes up for your lack of size!}

So when we said to ourselves, "Let's head back to the States to look for our next sailboat!", we really didn't think through the practicalities of buying a boat in a country where driving from one coast to the other can take you days and days and cost you a small fortune in gas. We've also heard so many stories about people flying out to see a boat that they've fallen in love with online, only to find out that it wasn't meant to be after the survey and sea trial. Nothing worse than racking up flight and hotel costs only to be disappointed and have to start all over again.

We're thinking that it might make sense to pick a particular region of the States, base ourselves out of there for a while and look for our perfect next boat. But where to go? The West Coast, the East Coast, the Great Lakes or someplace else? There are just too many choices and pros/cons of different regions. As if there weren't enough things to think about when it comes to boat buying, now we have to think about where to buy our boat! Here are some random thoughts we have about each area - what do you think? What other things should we consider?

The Pacific Northwest

Our families live in the Pacific Northwest, so that's where we'll start our boat buying adventures from. One of the advantages of buying out here is that there is less UV damage to boats. Of course, that is also one of the disadvantages - the sun doesn't always shine here. I imagine there is less of a selection of boats available in the Pacific Northwest than in the more populated East Coast. But, if we buy out here, than we would have the beautiful San Juan Islands on our doorstep and we could head up to Alaska! Ever since I read James Michener's Alaska, I've wanted to sail up there. 

Of course, if we decide to head up to Alaska, we'll probably need to think about getting some sort of polar bear defense system. I'm thinking about rigging up a series of catapults which would hurl pink marshmallows and distract the polar bears away from our boat. By the way, the marshmallows really need to be pink so that they show up on the snow and ice. Of course, I imagine boats for sale in the Pacific Northwest probably already come with polar bear defense systems (and heaters) as standard equipment.

The East Coast

When we first started to think about buying our next boat in the States, we always assumed we would pick one up on East Coast and take it down through the ICW (the inter-coastal waterway which runs along the East Coast) to Florida and then down to the Bahamas and Caribbean. Depending upon whose blog you read, going down the ICW either sounds like a nightmare or the best time ever. Personally, I think it would be fun to explore all of the little seaside towns and historic sites along the way and an interesting way to get to the Bahamas and Caribbean. That area always seems like such a mecca for cruisers with its warm waters, frolicking dolphins, drinks which are enticingly called "painkillers" and of course the famous swimming pigs. 

I do worry about two potential downsides of sailing in the Caribbean - bikinis and overcrowding. The bikinis are self-explanatory from my perspective (think middle-aged woman who eats too much chocolate). It seems like all the pictures I see of people cruising in the Caribbean are fit young people and the girls seem to have an endless supply of bikinis. Of course, maybe middle-aged people who eat too much chocolate just don't post pictures of themselves wearing their one-piece suits and tankinis? 

Regardless of what type of bathing suit they're wearing, I do worry that there are a lot of people in the Caribbean and that the anchorages get crowded. I like my peace and solitude, which is one of the reasons I loved sailing in New Zealand, and I'm not sure I want to be surrounded by lots of other boats. Hopefully, I have it wrong and there are plenty of quiet anchorages and not so many bikinis.

The Great Lakes

If we can't decide what coast to go to, we could always head to the Great Lakes and look for a boat there. You have the advantage of picking yourself up a boat which has only been in fresh water and if you buy at the right time of the year, you might be able to get yourself a bargain. If we buy in the Great Lakes, then we would have two exciting options to get ourselves over to the East Coast - either through the Erie Canal or via the St. Lawrence Seaway through Canada. 

I grew up in Cleveland and had to take Ohio History, which was possibly the most boring class I ever took. Only a few things stuck with me - there are 88 counties in Ohio and the Erie Canal was an important trade route between the eastern seaboard and the American interior. If we traveled through the Erie Canal, I would feel like there had been some value in my Ohio History class, plus going through locks sounds pretty neat too. But, if we go through the St. Lawrence Seaway, then we could see the home of Anne of Green Gables on Prince Edwards Island! {Scott's eyes glaze over every time I mention this, he may be voting for the Erie Canal route.}

Or Someplace Else?

Or we could start our boat buying someplace else - like Texas. It never occurred to me that people sailed boats in Texas. Clearly, I didn't pay too much attention in geography class. When you think about it, it makes sense - there is this little thing called the Gulf of Mexico on the southern border of Texas. I don't know much about Texas, but I do like cowboy boots and the people seem to be really friendly and there is this cute little town called Kemah which I would love to visit. 

Or do we buy a boat in San Diego and then sail down to Mexico? Clearly, there are too many choices and I am starting to feel overwhelmed. Help us figure out what to do. It's either that or I think I'm going to ask my nieces to make us a fortuneteller so that we can let fate decide. You know those folded up paper things that you made in school which told you which boys liked you and what you were going to be when you grew up. Mine is going to say things like "Go to Kemah - your boat is waiting for you there!", "Fresh water boats are the best!" or my favorite, "You will win the lottery and can buy a boat in every port!".

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