Madisonville Boat Show 10-2011

This year's Madisonville Boat Show in October was a big hit. The weather couldn't have been nicer. Mike and Gina, plus Gina's friend, Margie, traveled on George's pretty catamaran, Anejo, across the lake from New Orleans. A slight breeze had us motorsailing and enjoying ourselves. George and his daughter, Beverly, hosted us on his cat for the weekend so we could "do the show right." See the embedded slides!

A Major Change in Our Boating Life

Talisman, our Pearson 365 ketch as of three years, was fixed. Actually a minor problem. Capt. Mike found that there was air in the shaft seal and, bingo, resolved. However, in the process of going off to Florida for a few days and rethinking the whole sailing paradigm, we made a crucial decision.

No, it wasn't all overnight; for a while we had been questioning whether we shouldn't select another kind of boat to see us through a new stage of travels. A stage that would take us to the Bahamas more comfortably. After all, we're not getting any younger. So, comforts like ease of handling (furling systems, better winches, lines leading to cockpit, etc.), more space (sleeping, dining, galley...), less healing have become more important. Hey, that spells C_A_T_A_M_A_R_A_N. Yes we are looking into that possibility.

We thought through the ideas of larger monohull or a trawler, but the cat seems more what we are looking for. After sailing on a Privelege 39 several times, we got really, seriously interested.

So, that's where we are. And we've made progress. More later about the search.

For now, go to the link to check out Talisman. It might be right for YOUR stage in the sailing life: http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1979/Pearson-365-2358553/NEW-ORLEANS/LA/United-States

Not in the stars

Murphy's Law is toying with us! We had planned to cruise a month along the Gulf Coast, including MS, AL and the FL Panhandle. Friday the outboard motor for our dinghy gave trouble. It was finally cleaned out and purring smoothly, but we would have to wait for Saturday morning to depart. Saturday, as I was filling the fridge with perishable goods, I realized that the fridge was not cooling. After changing out the wiring to the DC panel, the fridge began cooling again, and we sighed in relief. But too late to set sail. So we decided to leave everything ready for departure on the next day. That meant dry and refrigerated foods/drinks, bedding, clothes, bathroom goods, and so forth.

Sunday morning, we cast off from the dock and feeling great, anticipating a wonderful trip/adventure. Just as we were ready to come around the bend where the marina connects to Pontchartrain Lake, Talisman's engine let out a series of strange, screeching sounds. Not a lament but rather an obstinate I-won't-go-anywhere type of sound. Capt. Mike decided it was no good trying to fix it or get help on a Sunday. We headed back to the slip, tied up our beloved Talisman.

A bit frustrated, we decided it was time to take a breather and think things through. But away from our boat and from New Orleans. So we decided to take a few days off, drive over to Pensacola, FL and back through Fairhope, AL, get the cobwebs out of our brain, and tackle the problem with a fresh mind and will upon our return.

That is the situation, my friends and followers. If anybody has some ideas about the noise, please speak up. Otherwise, I will post an update in a few days. We're optomistic that whatever the problem, there will be a solution and that we'll still take some sort of trip, though shortened.

Chalk it up to experience. Hasta luego!