And we are back after a long, long hiatus! I'm pretty sure I missed the entire last quarter of 2010 on this blog, but I've declared "blog bankruptcy" and start anew. First up, Dan and I took a week long sailing vacation during the frigid month of January in Key Largo, Florida. Our boat was the "Kaya", a 41-foot, 40,000 ton Morgan that was like a tank; almost impossible to heal. Most of the readers of this blog know that we love to sail on Lake Michigan during the magical summer months. But to truly charter boats around the world, we would need a whole another level of training. So we decided to take a 6-day ASA (American Sailing Association) course to get our bareboat charter certification.

Dan and I slept in the V-shaped berth in the aft (back) of the boat.

The Kaya was moored at Gilbert's Marina, which is a tiny marina + hotel + tiki bar frequented by leathery locals. Apparently, this is the "real deal", not like those other tourist traps disguised as tourists traps. We are fortunate (or not) to have very calm weather while we were there, which made for smooth sailing but not much excitement on the water.

View from the Kaya to the other side (another marina).

And this is the Kaya looking at the stern.

Daniel wore this shirt too many times during the trip. We didn't take any showers while we were on the water so the shirt ended up acquiring quite the B.O. Our crotchety captain and instructor, Lenny, had bought cookies as part of the provisioning to "please the ladies" as he put it, but Dan ended up eating at least 70% of the cookies. Lenny accused me of hogging the cookies, to my chagrin and Dan's utter amusement.

 

This was the most peaceful vacation week I've ever had. Despite the not 1, not 2, but THREE one-hundred multiple choice tests I had to take to pass my certifications, I was literally off the map for a week. No cellphone, no laptop, not way a client or my work could reach me. Now I recommend that sailing trips for fellow consultants who are expected to be "on call" even during vacation if they are plugged in.

View from starboard side; you can see Pumpkin Key and another anchored boat.

 

We were so fortunate to have Neil and Nancy M as our sailing companions. From Sante Fe, this was their first foray into ocean sailing, and were the best sports to have around while Lenny would berate us time and time again for our apparent lack of sailing skills. 

Here's me and Neil.

Here's me and Dan, eating our dinner on deck. Notice he's wearing the same shirt as in previous shirts. Seriously, we were completely filthy and gross (having not showered in errrrr....4 days?), but so deliriously happy.

We saw beautiful sunsets every night we anchored. It was so relaxing and yet challenging (imagine cramming US Naval guidelines on safety and navigation every night) that I can't imagine a better getaway in January. Dan and I are totally planning to do this all over the world, and perhaps one day even sail around the world. After all, who wouldn't want to go to end a day with a view like this?