Bill, (and to others who thought our anchor was fouled in the tree roots
here in the woods)

Moonshadow got underway yesterday for a shakedown after a protracted
overhaul due to other-world commitments. This was a test of the new
autopilot and instruments installation (actually all systems since
everything but the hull was changed). Carolyn was aboard for the first time
in over four years and came back delighted. We are loading cruising gear
aboard today! It is hard to give up on a way of life that consumed more than
two decades living aboard and cruising. By the way, autopilot, instruments
and everything worked without flaw the first time--thanks to the help I
received from knowledgeable resources on this net. This boat now represents
a quantum change from our earlier versions. We cruised the first 100,000
miles without instruments to tell us wind speed/direction; speed through the
water or over the bottom--simply said, we had NO instruments. We did have a
radio direction finder, a sextant, and one VHF radio. Now, we have a full
gaming arcade at the nav station! I can sit below and gather in more data
than my brain can absorb while looking at pretty color pictures of our boat
traveling across a video. In the past I just sat in the cockpit feeling the
wind direction from where it strikes my cheeks (not even tell tails) and
determining the wind's velocity from sea state. I can now avoid watching for
never-before-seen flotsam, flora, and animal life while watching the
expanding wake calculating boat's speed. Ah, progress! What to do with the
200 pounds of charts in the shed?

I guess the hardest part of not being in the cruising circuit is missing
encounters with those people you mentioned, Bill--"earth-mother." I would
not be surprised if her anchor didn't snag up somewhere in S. Cal, and she
became the owner of a chain of real estate offices (named Archer) with each
of her kids managing offices. These bad things do happen to the loveliest of
cruising people. But no one can take away our memories. thanks for sharing
quips from the real world.

Where is Amadon Light now? Did it complete its trip to Mexico safely? We are
ready to cruise Canada with you this summer. It's been a long time since
Kota Kinabalu. By the way, I used a photo of Amadon Light with Mt Kinabalu
in the background at dawn for a talk I gave recently. I claimed it as our
boat--shamelessly.

Tom

MOONSHADOW (A real working boat now!)

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Received on Sat Mar 17 10:48:39 2007