Last week we threw some junk in the Ick, loaded up Conrad and hit the road to visit our friends Gerd and Bonnie in Montana.  We met Gerd at a Chinese restaurant in Manzanillo and it turns out that we were anchored right next to him in front of the Las Hadas Hotel…he’s sailing mostly [...]

It’s been almost 2 years since we adopted Oblivion.  Those 2 years have been filled with lots and lots of memories, some good and some bad. Here’s a recap of some of the highlights:
Grounding at Oyster Point Marina: It was a full moon night and Bryan H. was in town to visit us.  Nancy and [...]

And believe me, you’ve got every right to be.  That’s a line from “The Running Man“, a super great 80’s movie with Richard Dawson and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Lately I’ve felt like   Ben Wallace.  I’ve felt like I’ve been fighting an uphill battle against American society.  Unfortunately for me, there’s no Damon Killian that I can [...]

Both Nancy and I felt slightly uncomfortable flying into Sioux Falls last week.  It was irrational for us to feel anything but happiness at being able to see our parents, siblings, friends, and of course Conrad Messner (our beloved dog).  If you’d pressed us I don’t think we could have put into words why we [...]

I believe that every guy (and I mean guys, not girls) has a curiosity about sailing.  We just want to understand how it works.  About 5 years ago I was that guy.  At first I was satisfied with reading about it.  I read several books…Joshua Slocum’s  “Sailing Around the World”.  Tania Aebi’s “Maiden Voyage”  Peter [...]

Our tourists visas were up in a few hours.  We were on the verge of becoming illegal aliens.  Yes, that’s right. Caucasians can be illegal immigrants, too.  (in case you missed my earlier blog on this subject, probably millions of Americans are illegally staying in Mexico right now) Faced with the real possibility of being [...]

We’re finally there.  San Carlos.  The Land of Broken Dreams.  The Place Where Dreams Go to Die.  And it’s almost exactly like I’d envisioned it, only worse.
Against the advice of other sailors and our Lonely Planet guide, we spent the last week in Guaymas.  (LP had nothing good to say about Guaymas whatsoever) And I [...]

Now that I have your attention, the answer is rather elementary my Dear Watson. (I recently read the complete Sherlock Holmes and was disappointed to learn that he only uttered that line once in all the stories!)
Everyone should have to live on a boat for a few months.  There can be no better way to [...]

Before leaving San Francisco, I thought I knew what kind of people I’d be running into around the anchorages and marinas. What little bit of experience I had on a boat was either in San Francisco Bay (maybe 30 days on the water) or in the British Virgin Islands (1 week). And to be fair, [...]

6 months ago we docked in Ensenada and went ashore.  It was our first real Mexican city and it felt as though we’d landed on another planet.  The streets were filled with people shopping, talking, eating street food. There were dogs running around, and garbage everywhere. Things you don’t see back in Sioux Falls or [...]