Hiatus,

Hiatus,

The Captain has not disappeared after all!

The Cassiopeia patiently waited with no disaster!

The Book is experiencing explosive energy!

A hiatus from the island and Cassi, proving the value of making time for family and friends, has reinforced my philosophies of why the islanders seem so happy. They have time for such things!

Project

A few more pledges trickled in. I did not draw off of the account for eight weeks except to pay the hardware bill which is nearly paid off. Moms cooking went a long way!!! Hiatus. A follow up with email contacts from the trip will find more support and this week is the revamp of the presentation for sure.

Accounts are attached.

Cassiopeia

She floated fine while I was gone this time! Two friends just lived aboard for a week and we actually bent on a couple of sails and proved she is a viable home again. A new way of thinking has been introduced involving sailing her to Thailand for the big re-fit! Uuummmm Could be the way to go???

Book

Now is its shining moment. All energies have been focused in its direction. An overflowing fountain of depictions and beliefs are running onto the pages. A routine has begun.

If you have the time here is a little more for fun

Harry Potter IMAX size in 3D. Powerful to say the least. My sister and I went with the two big girls and my Dad took the two little girls to Winnie the Pooh. After the Potter credits and we were still plastered to the back of our seats with the overwhelming action images and gut wrenching sounds of incredible battles still reverberating in our stunned minds, Layla forced us all to burst out laughing with the simple line, “Well, I wonder how Winnie the Pooh is doing?”

AH the dynamics of Texas………

This is what I am talking about! There is hope!

If you are working fifty hour weeks and can’t seem to find the kind of time mentioned above for family and friends, then at least invite your neighbours over for dinner! The Turks did while I was at my mom’s house. Muslim Turks in Houston Texas?

This is actually real. A group of Muslim Turkish people have invested in the concept of creating a multi cultural and religious center in Southwest Houston. In the corner of my parent’s neighbourhood they have built a large building straight out of the Ottoman empire and surrounded it with a neighbourhood park including a sand volleyball court, an outdoor gym, basketball court, multiple barbeque areas and a sports field. It is open for use by anyone. Their stated goal is to bring the community together.

They have reserved three acres of land next door on which they  intend to build three churches, one Muslim, one Christian and one Jewish. The stated intent is to create understanding between the religions.

Bravo.

Four of them live in the house across the street from my parents and they walked the  street inviting the neighbours’ over for a dinner at their house. Most of out family attended and it truly was a shining example of what can happen if someone tries. There were black people and a Latin family and a gang from the Czech republic and the Turks, and a German woman, and us Texans. All of them had been living on our street for years and recognized each other but had never all dined together. The Spanish speakers brought a guitar and they all were singing along.

A true blast of hope for a man like me, who sees those normally trapped in the concrete jungle, visit the simple island life where the natives do get together for dinner and song, and wonder why they are so happy. To find there is a movement in the very midst of a hectic and insular first world city that is attempting to bring those ways into daily life was inspiring. All is not lost!

Bravo to the Turks!

New and crazy thoughts about a PLAN

Infinity is a one hundred and twenty foot ketch and I met her and her captain owner in Fiji eight years ago. She was just anchored near Cassiopeia and we had a great catch up and he emptied some of his bilge collection onto Cassiopeia which included line for jib sheets and some batteries with potential and a couple of manual pumps and some hinges for the doors and an anchor and we repaired the awning on his sewing machine and more! It was a boon for Cassi. But more important he planted the seed for a smart plan. Vanuatu is the wrong place for the work to be done on Cassi according to him. He reckons I should just sail her to Thailand where boatyards are cheap, labor is good, materials are available and living is lots, lots less expensive. He did a one year refit on his boat there and knows a team that would be perfect for Cassiopeia. They could actually work unsupervised and I could rent a place he had where I could do the writing and just check in on the shipwrights daily. Wow has that got me thinking. It would be a push to get Cassiopeia ready to go in time for an early November departure but in the big picture it indeed makes a lot of sense.

For Now I am going to install said batteries and focus on the new marketing strategy over the next week. I am hunting for liveaboard crew to help with the projects so if anybody knows anybody who wants to hang in paradise leisurely fixing up a cool boat then send them my way.

I had some input about the long reports, and snippets, saying to not bother so much and get on with it but I can’t help it really! It is true that I don’t want to let out all of the books secrets, nor waste my time on unread orations, but I do want everyone to know a bit about how it is going so somewhere in the middle I guess…