RRRRRRrrrrrrrr.......

Amid startup hunting, book writing and record producing (check these guys on iTunes and Facebook). Wear headphones as NSFW. Full Length CD "Freeborn" due out February 2011. Wait, where was I? Oh yeah -I managed to sneak away last week to help deliver a 43' sailboat from Charleston, SC to Ft. Myers, FL.

Eddy and James were gracious enough not to panic. I've got 4 more chapters due in 4 more weeks. Don't tell them I hope to finish by min-November. Then I plan to get started putting the wraps on AU 2010 during the week of the 15th. So I figured it was time for a break before this final push.

The other reason?

After being on the road for around 40+ weeks a year over the last ten years, I find myself home for nearly 8 weeks straight. So according to Justine (cue New Zealand / Hobbit accent):

"You don't know when you'll have the opportunity to do this again. And besides, you need to get the hell out of my kitchen."

Hint taken! ;)

The trip was an all-around success. I flew down to Charleston (KJZI) with my instructor and took a taxi to Charleston City Marina. There I met with two more experienced sailors (including Andy Cross - who taught the family to sail this summer on a catamaran live aboard) and another newbie named Bob from Phoenix who is in the process of liquidating enough assets to provide for a 5 year, round the world sailing adventure. The four of us sailed 24/7 and covered about 750 miles in 7 days, taking the short cut under 7-Mile Bridge off Marathon Key.

We did three hour shifts in pairs, which allowed for plenty of rest from motion sickness. The first two days were spent pounding on 2-3 meter swells. I'm not the motion sickness type, but I somehow exhumed more than I consumed. Curse you Pizza flavored Hot Pockets, with sauce that tastes like the end of a nine volt battery. Facebook posts and photos here.

More information on the Colgate Offshore Sailing School here. Highly recommended. When you call, ask if Andy is available to teach your class. If you're going to do a live aboard learn to sail, he's incredibly patient with kids and never stops smiling. Even if you knock on his cabin door with one hand while holding a very pissed off 2' sand shark in the other.

But that's another story. ;)