Yea, it is too bad I don't have any cheese in the house. Well, I do have some hard parmesan but who eats plain parmesan?. Guess I could heat up some spinach and sprinkle some fresh grated parm to enjoy a healthy treat. Unfortunately, I don't have an appetite. Seems like I have some kind of no energy bug that kept me on the couch all day. I couldn't even garner the strength to get dressed for work. Perhaps it is time that my 100% attendance at work ethic meanders down the path of I don't…
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Added by Marlene A. Sassaman on February 23, 2010 at 10:03pm —
2 Comments
Step one, ready to buy as soon as I find what I want:
What I want is an ocean going multihull in the 35 foot range. As an experienced skipper of a Corsair F28, I have an idea of what to expect. Weighing the pros and cons of a tri versus a cat are on my agenda as is comfort versus speed. Typically, I favor speed over comfort but because my next boat needs to take me around the world via the Panama Canal and more temperate climates, being seaworthy and user friendly for single handing…
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Added by Marlene A. Sassaman on February 3, 2010 at 10:19pm —
4 Comments
Golly, another heroine takes my spot. Twenty something years ago I was in such awe when I saw Tania Aebi's pix on the cover of Cruising World. I wouldn't even tell my sailing friends or colleagues about her great adventure. Although I did cut the page off and framed it. Several years later I finally hung it in my office at work. Now, Jessica Watson at age 16 is passing Cape Horn. CAPE HORN, alone, on her million dollar 34 foot monohull. It does anger me that the headlines all say she is sailing…
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Added by Marlene A. Sassaman on January 12, 2010 at 10:00pm —
5 Comments
If one more person tells me to focus, I'm not sure what I will say. Anyone who has ever spent more than ten minutes with me undoubtedly will say, "focus, Marlene Focus." It's as if my name is no longer Marlene Anne Sassaman, but rather it is Focus Marlene Focus. On the one tack it is amusing as my challenge with staying focused crosses all that I do. Whether cleaning out my closet, writing an important report for work, cruising the Intracoastal Waterway, racing in a highly competitive regatta,…
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Added by Marlene A. Sassaman on January 5, 2010 at 7:30pm —
3 Comments
As I spend my days, two at least, cleaning out my home office, my hands are shaking. I have all this stuff. Stuff I don't know what to do with. Oh, I could spend money, rather borrow money, to buy some shelves to show off my life's collections, or toss, toss, toss, or sell on criag's list, donate to goodwill, or just sit here until as my mom would say until the cows come home.
I know I need to focus, to set a goal for the 2010 year, to plan for my finite future. Maybe it is the…
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Added by Marlene A. Sassaman on December 21, 2009 at 12:00pm —
5 Comments
So, after all the feelings of intimidation and that I'm not good enough to be in the upper eschelon of sailing, I go out with my sailing team and continue teaching them about getting around a race course. We sail in small 8 foot prams with a teeney-tiny course barely 50 yards from the windward to the leeward mark with a start/finish line halfway in between. The idea is to know instinctively when one is on port or starboard, how to cross the start line within a 3 minute timed sequence, rounding…
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Added by Marlene A. Sassaman on December 6, 2009 at 6:43pm —
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Help, I need to get over my intimidation blues. I am generally not a shy person. Yet, when faced with someone I hold in high esteem, someone I think is a better sailor than I, I lack the confidence to engage them in conversation that flows smoothly. I am sure it is my lack of experience interviewing folks. I need to get better at selling myself to sailors who can help me excel. Yes, I plan to solo circumnavigate the globe.While pursuing that goal I want to become a more accomplished competitor.…
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Added by Marlene A. Sassaman on December 5, 2009 at 9:54am —
1 Comment
We believe that sailors are the best source of sailing information.
That is why my friend Max and I created
bluemapia, an open content sailing and cruising guide, where people from all over the world can write about the places they have visited by boat: bays they love, safe anchorages they know, best marina services they have found or charming villages where to stop for a night.…
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Added by Marcello on December 2, 2009 at 1:30pm —
1 Comment
Unlike the holiday shoppers who joined the black Friday frenzy, the inertia that keeps me moving from a 5:30 am swim to a late night walk with the dog, seemed to have been stopped when I boarded Delta flight 1450. From the moment I sat down on the aisle seat, stretched my legs, and began toying with my camera I metamorphed into a sedentary speciman.
Just as I am usually determined to spend an eighth of my day exercising, I became determined to organize the more than 1000 photos taken…
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Added by Marlene A. Sassaman on November 28, 2009 at 11:30pm —
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The race rules have been posted to the web site
http://groups.google.com/group/the-cuba-run
This is a race that will be conducted mid November 2010 where two man crews sailing "beach catamarans" depart Key West and race to Cuba, spend two days in Cuba and then race back to Key West.
For more details, check out the web site ..…
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Added by JAWS aka John A Webster on November 20, 2009 at 4:40pm —
1 Comment
Someone else just posted a message asking for tips about winterizing. Here in Sunny Florida we winterize by changing our weekly night racing to Sunday afternoons, leave work early on Friday to sail down the river where we drop anchor and sleep late on Saturday morning. Around noon or 1 pm, we clean the bottom of the boat as our excuse to go for a refreshing swim with the dolphins in the continually shifting waters at Sebastian Inlet. Then, around 4 pm we pull up the anchor and drift over to a…
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Added by Marlene A. Sassaman on October 31, 2009 at 8:15pm —
2 Comments
You can purchase shirts like the following:
it says: "DISCLAIMER: THIS PRODUCT NOT INTENDED TO DIAGNOSE, TREAT, CURE OR PREVENT ANY DISEASE.
at the following address:
http://www.sonicshack.com/shack/WillSail4Beer
Added by H. Christopher Sommerhoff on October 29, 2009 at 4:00pm —
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Strong finish this season with my 10 and 12 year old girls. I told them that they had to draw on everything that they'd learned in "all their years at sea" and sail from Deer Harbor to Friday Harbor, WA - I would be on board just to watch.
"Whaaaat?? We can't - "
"You've done everything, at one point or another," I said reassuringly. "Now you just have to put it all together in the right order."
The oldest was surprised how quickly the outboard pull started. They…
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Added by John Marston on October 13, 2009 at 8:29pm —
1 Comment
Sitting in the last row in an auditorium designed to hold 500 people, I could barely make out the features on the face of my professor. His message, though rings as loud today as it did when he first spoke it. The course was a requirement, "Personal Finance." I debated whether to take basket weaving or flute lessons but decided to be smart and learn how to manage my money. Fast forward 33 years and I'm still making credit card mistakes. Although I am proud to say that for the past 13 years I…
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Added by Marlene A. Sassaman on October 4, 2009 at 6:30pm —
1 Comment
Wow, I can't believe it has been nearly ten days since my last entry. Most of the time is spent working as a school counselor, sailing Fast Lane, thinking about sailing my sunfish, working on SPRAY, sending e-mails, reading e-mails, polishing off my first big interview artiicle, and spending time with Sammi, swimming befoe dawn's early light, walking/jogging in the early evenings, sorting pictures, searching for my cell phone, keeping the house tidy, washing, ironing, driving, eating, cooking,…
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Added by Marlene A. Sassaman on September 17, 2009 at 1:17am —
2 Comments
Well, as far as assignments go, this one should be excellent! 10 days in the Western Med / Adriatic! And on a Clipper ship! Woohoo! We're sailing on the Royal Clipper from Venice to Rome with stops in Croatia, Greece, Sicily and more!
Hope to post more as time (and bandwidth) permit!
Added by CruisingEditor on September 8, 2009 at 10:29am —
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And so my journey ends with the voice of John Denver echoing in my mind his refrain, "Gee it's good to be back home." Never before have I felt so connected to my sister and brothers, my sailing friends and neighbors and my colleagues at work. By August 7th a colleague and I just challenged ourselves to present to each other our next 5 year plan. It's exciting to end one chapter in the book of life yet be passionately motivated to begin the next one. It was in a doctoral class that I learned the…
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Added by Marlene A. Sassaman on August 1, 2009 at 10:51pm —
2 Comments
Another new experience; I am going to try and upload a pix of the knarly sky today before sunset. It was taken between Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach along the rock sided ditch. The marina is nicely kept and a great shelter. Well, as sheltered as one can usually get, but for those details you'll have to read my book,,,,,,,
Added by Marlene A. Sassaman on July 17, 2009 at 12:14am —
4 Comments
Day 38
We are docked at the Elizabeth City Municipal Marina. which is not exactly as described in the Waterway Guide. Perhaps the authors never spent time in Lowell, Massachusetts. For those of you who have had the privilege, suffice to say Elizabeth City is a smaller version. The red brick buildings, though not as tall or numerous as in Lowell, they are reminiscent of the days of sweat factories; a town wanting to revitalize but amidst their near come back a few years ago they had…
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Added by Marlene A. Sassaman on July 7, 2009 at 5:04pm —
1 Comment
I am currently taking my Day Skipper theory, soon to be followed by the practical element too. I don't have much practical experience with sail, as we always had power when I was growing up. I'm looking for the opportunity to join a crew near the Poole/Bournemouth area for evenings / weekend sailing, to gain some valuable experience and enjoy some water time!
If anyone has a boat, or knows anyone that is looking for additional crew, I'm 28, fit and healthy, jolly nice chap, and pick…
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Added by R3TRO on June 30, 2009 at 6:13am —
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