Friday, December 31, 2010
Christmas in West Palm Beach
Previously our routine for the week of Christmas was to fly from Portland to West Palm Beach where Cathy's mother and brother Phillip live. This year, instead of a long day of flying we drove there in 3 1/2 hours. Much less stressful. Much more enjoyable. Much less expense.
One of the places we visit while there is the marina where magayachts are sure to be docked. Cathy was fascinated by the scale and shine on the bows of some of the 150 footers we saw.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
More fallout from the St Petersburg boat show.
How often do we hear the phrase "in these economic times"? It's now frequently used as a lead-in to another bad news story about consequences.
Let me share this latest news about Sailing Florida with this: despite these economic times, Sailing Florida will soon have yet another brand new sailboat in its fleet - a Hunter 41. That will make a total of FOUR brand new boats.
Let me share this latest news about Sailing Florida with this: despite these economic times, Sailing Florida will soon have yet another brand new sailboat in its fleet - a Hunter 41. That will make a total of FOUR brand new boats.
Must be doing something very right.
Why we are renewing our subscription to the St Petersburg Times
PolitiFact.com is a project that is operated by the St. Petersburg Times, a project in which its reporters and editors "fact-check statements by members of Congress, the White House, lobbyists and interest groups...."[1] They publish original statements and their evaluations on the PolitiFact.com website, and assign each a "Truth-O-Meter" rating.
PolitiFact editors and reporters have chosen "government takeover of health care" as the 2010 Lie of the Year.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2010/dec/16/lie-year-government-takeover-health-care/
Readers of PolitiFact, the St. Petersburg Times' independent fact-checking website, also chose it as the year's most significant falsehood by an overwhelming margin. (Their second-place choice was Rep. Michele Bachmann's claim that Obama was going to spend $200 million a day on a trip to India, a falsity that still sprouts.)
By selecting "government takeover' as Lie of the Year, PolitiFact is not making a judgment on whether the health care law is good policy.
The phrase is simply not true.
PolitiFact editors and reporters have chosen "government takeover of health care" as the 2010 Lie of the Year.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2010/dec/16/lie-year-government-takeover-health-care/
Readers of PolitiFact, the St. Petersburg Times' independent fact-checking website, also chose it as the year's most significant falsehood by an overwhelming margin. (Their second-place choice was Rep. Michele Bachmann's claim that Obama was going to spend $200 million a day on a trip to India, a falsity that still sprouts.)
By selecting "government takeover' as Lie of the Year, PolitiFact is not making a judgment on whether the health care law is good policy.
The phrase is simply not true.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Perspective from Home Depot
Yesterday I walked into a Home Depot for the first time since coming to St Petersburg. I went there looking for a shower drain strainer for a Sailing Florida charter yacht. Doing so, I got a weird feeling of perspective shift.
Back in Portland, sailing: teaching, yacht deliveries and so forth, were only a part-time occupation. Most of my income was from doing home improvements. I'd frequently be in Home Depot getting supplies or tools. The geography in Home Depots are all the same, which is good because they're also very big. I could walk into any Home Depot and know where to look for the things I needed.
So it was yesterday. I knew where to look for shower drain parts, but while walking the aisles I passed countless other items. Tile saws and grout. Electrical devices of all kinds. Plumbing bits. Tools. A spectrum of wood products.
I came to this realisation. I knew all these products. I'd worked with them all. I haven't forgotten how. But now, here in St Petersburg, I don't need to. Instead I work on boats. West Marine is now my Home Depot.
That was a gratifying moment. Not that I regret those years of experience doing home improvements. It was a good education. It's made me a better handyman and marine mechanic. But I'm very happy to be doing what I do now - messing around on boats - instead of home improvements.
Back in Portland, sailing: teaching, yacht deliveries and so forth, were only a part-time occupation. Most of my income was from doing home improvements. I'd frequently be in Home Depot getting supplies or tools. The geography in Home Depots are all the same, which is good because they're also very big. I could walk into any Home Depot and know where to look for the things I needed.
So it was yesterday. I knew where to look for shower drain parts, but while walking the aisles I passed countless other items. Tile saws and grout. Electrical devices of all kinds. Plumbing bits. Tools. A spectrum of wood products.
I came to this realisation. I knew all these products. I'd worked with them all. I haven't forgotten how. But now, here in St Petersburg, I don't need to. Instead I work on boats. West Marine is now my Home Depot.
That was a gratifying moment. Not that I regret those years of experience doing home improvements. It was a good education. It's made me a better handyman and marine mechanic. But I'm very happy to be doing what I do now - messing around on boats - instead of home improvements.
My lovely toy
Back in Portland, my pal Gary visited Cycletune recently and took video of my rebuilt and repainted racebike. It's awesome!
(That's my tuner - Chris Vandervoort, former Honda Superbike raceteam mechanic - who starts the bike.)
Before coming to St Petersburg I raced this bike - an '03 Yamaha R6 - at the roadrace course in Portland, as well as Infineon (formerly Sears Point) in California and Pacific Raceways in Washington. I collected a few trophies for my efforts. But riding this machine is mostly about the incredible rush. It's as close as I'll ever get to flying an F/A-18.
I can't wait to get it shipped here. I doubt that I will enter races with it. It's 8 years old now and no longer competitive with current bikes. But I will do occasional trackdays with it . I'm eager to show up at the Palm Beach and Homestead tracks and show the local riders what this old bike and even older rider can do.
(That's my tuner - Chris Vandervoort, former Honda Superbike raceteam mechanic - who starts the bike.)
Before coming to St Petersburg I raced this bike - an '03 Yamaha R6 - at the roadrace course in Portland, as well as Infineon (formerly Sears Point) in California and Pacific Raceways in Washington. I collected a few trophies for my efforts. But riding this machine is mostly about the incredible rush. It's as close as I'll ever get to flying an F/A-18.
I can't wait to get it shipped here. I doubt that I will enter races with it. It's 8 years old now and no longer competitive with current bikes. But I will do occasional trackdays with it . I'm eager to show up at the Palm Beach and Homestead tracks and show the local riders what this old bike and even older rider can do.
Wahoo!
Thursday, December 9, 2010
A day at the races.
On Wednesday Sailing Florida had a team building day with 21 guys from an international welding equipment company. Captain Patrick, Captain Jeff, and I took them out in three of our biggest Hunters: our 41 "Pitch n Roll", the 44 "Summer Breeze II", and the brand new center cockpit 45 "El Primo".
The captains and crew were all competitive men. The racing was intense and the finishes close. I caught this scene as we approached the end of our third race. It was another close finish. but this time our boat finished last. It was the only time we didn't win or get second.
.
My crew was unaccustomed to loosing. Their faces below show that . For a moment I wondered if there was a Coast Guard vessel close enough to respond to a mutiny.
We came back in the next race to finish second, but we felt like we'd won. We'd sailed the boat well. Our last two tacks were textbook and fast!
The captains and crew were all competitive men. The racing was intense and the finishes close. I caught this scene as we approached the end of our third race. It was another close finish. but this time our boat finished last. It was the only time we didn't win or get second.
My crew was unaccustomed to loosing. Their faces below show that . For a moment I wondered if there was a Coast Guard vessel close enough to respond to a mutiny.
We came back in the next race to finish second, but we felt like we'd won. We'd sailed the boat well. Our last two tacks were textbook and fast!
NEWS FLASH!
Finally, the news can be shared. Many have suspected this would happen. Some already know. But, at Cathy’s request, I’ve had to keep quiet.
There was a long period when the situation was delicate. Conversations were ongoing and the outcome uncertain. Even when the decision was made, the news had to be carefully guarded. Cathy had to control who knew what, and when.
Cathy is back in Portland this week to go public with the news. She’s meeting with her staff there and cleaning out her office. So now I can announce: Cathy has been offered and accepted a permanent position at NOAA Fisheries’ Southeast Regional Headquarters Office. Early in 2011 we will make our move from Portland to St Petersburg permanent.
This is of course a huge event for us. We both love Portland. Cathy and I met and married there. We have many good friends there. We’ve made two great homes together there: the house in Northeast, and then the downtown condo. But now we both have exciting new opportunities here in St Petersburg. We’ve made some new friends here. Together we will make a new home here.
It is our most sincere hope that old friends from Portland will come to visit us, enjoy the weather of west-central Florida, the attractions of the Gulf coast, and go out sailing with us.
There was a long period when the situation was delicate. Conversations were ongoing and the outcome uncertain. Even when the decision was made, the news had to be carefully guarded. Cathy had to control who knew what, and when.
Cathy is back in Portland this week to go public with the news. She’s meeting with her staff there and cleaning out her office. So now I can announce: Cathy has been offered and accepted a permanent position at NOAA Fisheries’ Southeast Regional Headquarters Office. Early in 2011 we will make our move from Portland to St Petersburg permanent.
This is of course a huge event for us. We both love Portland. Cathy and I met and married there. We have many good friends there. We’ve made two great homes together there: the house in Northeast, and then the downtown condo. But now we both have exciting new opportunities here in St Petersburg. We’ve made some new friends here. Together we will make a new home here.
It is our most sincere hope that old friends from Portland will come to visit us, enjoy the weather of west-central Florida, the attractions of the Gulf coast, and go out sailing with us.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Sailing Florida's news from the St Petersburg Boat Show
I think Captain Dave, President of Sailing Florida, may have had about as much fun at the boat show as I did, but of a different sort. Capt Dave had 4 of his current charter yachts in the show: a Meridian powerboat, and three sailboats. All the sailboats were involved in the Discover Sailing program offering free 45 minute cruises. The boats and the Sailing Florida captains that sailed them performed as ideal platforms to communicate the message that sailing is a fun and safe family activity, and that Sailing Florida had great boats and instructors to learn from.
But Captain Dave had even more to smile about. Two of the new boats on display at the boat show would leave the show to take their place among the Sailing Florida fleet at the Vinoy Resort Marina. A new Hunter 45 and a new Beneteau 40 were coming under Sailing Florida management.
And then there was this: the owner of a 2009 Hunter 41, currently in our fleet, surprised us all by purchasing a new Catalina 44. Very soon, a third brand new sailing yacht will join our fleet.
Hunter 45
Beneteau 40
But Captain Dave had even more to smile about. Two of the new boats on display at the boat show would leave the show to take their place among the Sailing Florida fleet at the Vinoy Resort Marina. A new Hunter 45 and a new Beneteau 40 were coming under Sailing Florida management.
And then there was this: the owner of a 2009 Hunter 41, currently in our fleet, surprised us all by purchasing a new Catalina 44. Very soon, a third brand new sailing yacht will join our fleet.
Hunter 45
Beneteau 40
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Accolades for Cathy
Cathy was away most of last week. She went to Mobile AL for a conference where she gave two papers. This morning she flew off again, this time to Portland to take care of some business back there and to see friends.
Yesterday she came to the boat show and came along on one of my Discover Sailing sponsored 45 minute cruises on the Catalina 44. I had eight passengers on that trip, plus Cathy. Two of my passengers were repeat customers from the previous day. They were a couple from Michigan. They told me they'd had so much fun the first time out that they came back for another trip, and they brought another couple of friends with them.
After we left the dock and set the sails, I got everyone's attention and made the following announcement:
"We have a special guest onboard. Cathy Tortorici. She works for the federal government agency known as NOAA. Cathy is a NOAA Branch Chief in their Porltand Oregon office. There she is responsible for, among other things, salmon protection and recovery, which is a hugely important issue in the Pacific Northwest. Six months ago, when the BP catastrophe was at it's height, Cathy was one of the senior people asked to come to this region to help manage NOAA's response to the mess. Now she's involved in that plus many other Gulf region issues. I can't keep up with it all. So here we have this smart and accomplished woman, who despite being smart and accomplished, was foolish enough to marry me."
With that, all my passengers broke out into applause.
Yesterday she came to the boat show and came along on one of my Discover Sailing sponsored 45 minute cruises on the Catalina 44. I had eight passengers on that trip, plus Cathy. Two of my passengers were repeat customers from the previous day. They were a couple from Michigan. They told me they'd had so much fun the first time out that they came back for another trip, and they brought another couple of friends with them.
After we left the dock and set the sails, I got everyone's attention and made the following announcement:
"We have a special guest onboard. Cathy Tortorici. She works for the federal government agency known as NOAA. Cathy is a NOAA Branch Chief in their Porltand Oregon office. There she is responsible for, among other things, salmon protection and recovery, which is a hugely important issue in the Pacific Northwest. Six months ago, when the BP catastrophe was at it's height, Cathy was one of the senior people asked to come to this region to help manage NOAA's response to the mess. Now she's involved in that plus many other Gulf region issues. I can't keep up with it all. So here we have this smart and accomplished woman, who despite being smart and accomplished, was foolish enough to marry me."
With that, all my passengers broke out into applause.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Working the St Petersburg boat show
Anyone who has worked a trade show knows that it can be both fun and tiresome. The fun is setting up in the new venue, meeting and talking to industry colleagues, and having those first conversations with the buying public. But soon the reality of three days in a booth sets in - having the same conversations, answering the same questions, eating expensive but mediocre convention food.
But at this boat show, some how, I've gotten the best job in the entire show. I'm not working a booth. I'm sailing a Catalina 44, giving 45 minute demonstration rides for people who sign up with Sail America's Discover Sailing program. I'm not selling anything. I'm merely showing people what I do, which is sail boats and have a great time doing so.
How'd I get so lucky? I should go buy a lottery ticket this morning before I go back to "work" at the boat show.
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