HAPPY THANKSGIVING

[selvan777]

...to alll

[JHEM]

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Two days from now I'll be sitting on the beach at Frenchman's Reef in Charlotte Amalie and missing you all.

Yeah, right!

Regards,

James

[BillMorrow]

going cruising, james..??

[JHEM]

Checking out another boat Boss.

54' Defever with alleged low hours and two of all the whistles and bells.

I'll let you know what it looks like.

Regards,

James

[BillMorrow]

go fast or trawler speed..??

i am feeling that desire creep up in me..
for an 80' 30 year old steel hull feadship..
with big slow engines..
but reality dictates that this would be insanity..
with diesel at $2 a gallon..
and all the marinas going condo and townhouse..

where are you leaving from..??

[JHEM]

go fast or trawler speed..??

Primarily trawler speeds, but with the ability to pick up her skirts and hustle when necessary with her twin turbo 3208s.

i am feeling that desire creep up in me..
for an 80' 30 year old steel hull feadship..
with big slow engines..
but reality dictates that this would be insanity..
with diesel at $2 a gallon..

There are some incredible bargains in the "Gold Plate" fleet for your beloved Feadships, as well as Birgers, Derektors, Browards, etc., etc. as fuel costs continue to rise now and for the forseeable future.

and all the marinas going condo and townhouse..

If we didn't have my MIL's to keep the two big boats at, I'm not sure we'd have any, let alone two! One of the primary requirements in the retirement places we're looking at in NC and the Eastern Shore is a dock and deep water frontage just so we won't wind up with a dock queen at some far removed and expensive marina.

My SIL has recently put a flea in my ear to find a marina somewhere in DELMARVA to buy for an REIT he wants to form with some college buddies. My protestations that I've been down that road before fall on deaf ears.

where are you leaving from..??

PHL, back Tuesday night.

Regards,

James

[BillMorrow]

check out crisfield on DELMARVA peninsula..
been there and it is nice..
good marina..
it WAS inexpensive and they were building SOMETHING in the way of condos or the like..

i had 3208N's on my 65' (HMS Pinafore) and it was a fuel sipper..

i heard about the dropping values of the big old boats due to fuel costs..
and was also warned that one would be near unsellable once it was mine..

also that the really big boat owners don't care because they have the $$ and besides many are corporate and the company pays for fuel..

but i must say that the ability to haul anchor and haul [censored] is tempting..

i like the idea of a REIT buying a marina..
down here the king of garbage, huizinga, is buying up all the marina properties and building condos..
pricing the small boat owner out of existance..

i think i had better stay away from boats..
too much trouble and too many complications..

[JHEM]

I know Crisfield very well. We used to live on the Bay when the Boss worked at Hopkins and GoodSam, and I've been sailing it man and boy for 50+ years. We've kept almost all of our rag haulers on the Bay, only ones that didn't come here were the Morgan 41 and 51 that went to City Island when they weren't south.

The really big boats (over 120') always seem to be going strong until you hit the upper limit of the class around 300' where they're tied up a lot of the time.

If you suddenly develop the urge to haul anchor and [censored] AGAIN, don't blame me!

Regards,

James

[BillMorrow]

I know Crisfield very well. We used to live on the Bay when the Boss worked at Hopkins and GoodSam, and I've been sailing it man and boy for 50+ years. We've kept almost all of our rag haulers on the Bay, only ones that didn't come here were the Morgan 41 and 51 that went to City Island when they weren't south.

The really big boats (over 120') always seem to be going strong until you hit the upper limit of the class around 300' where they're tied up a lot of the time.

If you suddenly develop the urge to haul anchor and [censored] AGAIN, don't blame me!

Regards,

James

i WILL tell caroline that it was YOU who got me started on boats again..
still, 80' seems about optimum..
though it would be nice to have something with space for a car and a cherry picker to offload it..
and the dinghy too..

but enough of this foolishness..
about THE bay (not SF bay) i can agree that it is a wonderful place to cruise..
in spite of nettles and flys (who BITE) there are few places one can cruise, like that..
and as i age i want to go back and revisit crisfield..
(a place so nice they gave me a free month of dockage the final time we were there)
AND other areas...

i DO miss that freedom..
even though it is a false freedom, since as captain of the boat there is a LOT to lose to a minor screwup..
(thanks janice, your wisdom lives on! )

<sigh>

[JHEM]

Quick update, the boat is a POS albeit with new engines. As stated, it's got two of everything, but it's all 20+ years old!!

Really, REALLY [censored] off, but I'll salve my wounds with copious libations of frosty island beverages.

Seven ships in the harbor this morning, so I'm heading back to Frenchman's to hide and lay on the beach.

Regards,

James

[JHEM]

Home again! Even with all the continuing changes, most for the worse, I still love St. T and rue the day we sold the condo lo these many years ago.

Seven cruise ships in port yesterday and five today, the season is off to a hot start. Local press is making a big deal of the fact that the first cruise ship in somthing like 11 years called on St. Croix yesterday after all the troubles they had for years with the local possees.

Seems the cruise lines take a dim view of the locals snuffing the line's paying customers.

I was on the beach by 0900 this AM after making a pig of myself at the Marriott breakfast buffet. Stayed until 1400 when the boss and I donned our travelling clothes and headed to the airport for our 1715 flight back to winter. Were home by 2200 and ready to head back again!

Ah well, back to the grindstone.

Regards,

James