State of the Union

It's Omphaloskepsis season, so let's all lift our shirts and begin gazing at our navels!

For the record, things are going as strong as ever in the Love and Coconuts household, with regards to our bringing our dream to life. We have been slogging along with domestic chores here in the off-season, working toward our financial goals that will put us in a bigger boat sometime in the next 6-18 months.

Don't worry about us too much, however, because our priorities are in order. We took two weeks to go thaw out on Maui in late November. We expect to limit our trips next year with the goal of spending more time on the water in the dinghy, as well as doing what we need to get into a keelboat.

We'll be traveling to London in early January, where Kris will do lots of work-type things, while Greg works on getting into the Excel boatshow and checking out the new season's offerings.

After that, the hope is that we get a couple of decent days, with some semi-warm weather and some early season sailing.

Our best to everyone in the new year!

Aloha!

Voyaging the Pacific - Miles Hordern

Just finished this one and found myself stringing it out, the last third. I was enjoying the location, maybe more than the writing. Although, I found it well written. Miles is a pom living in New Zealand and he embarks on a trip across the Southern Ocean, which is a large part of the book. He talks a lot about the expanse of ocean, the history of it, and more, while also doing a good job of putting you right in the cockpit and the cabin of his single-handed 28-footer.

He eventually runs into the South American continent and winds up helping on a mapping effort in the many islands, sounds, and waterways of the Chilean coast. He manages to evoke the place in a way that again puts you right there with him.

Eventually, Miles bears off to the North and then picks up the Trades and heads west. I found it quite interesting how many places he sailed right past; in the spirit of Moitessier, Mr. Hordern seemed happier to slip on past and keep to see.

My first experience of the Gambier Islands was through his writing here.

I found the bibliography to be a treasure trove of titles that I expect to tackle soon. There appear to be a couple editions of this out there, one of which has a variation on this title.