Wow, hitting the news stand makes you wonder. The year has passed; cruising through the Bahamas was great, the Caribbean was worthy, crossing the Atlantic was once in a lifetime, the Azores was an undiscovered paradise, Spain lax and dreamy, England rainy and unwelcoming but worth visiting because there are so many Kiwis. Then France was heaven with Angels and all the rest. It has been such an inspiring year! The world seems so accessible now, people seem so welcoming and life seems harmonious.
But what’s this, the world is in turmoil. I’m not sure what is really going on. One phenomina seems blantant: TV and the periodicals have a lot to do with it. The media perpetuates these catastrophic events by spreading the fear. Shut it off.

The first newspaper I see shows this:

















The Magazine underneath it shows this:















Both are illustrating what’s going on in the world. Yeah the rich are having a ball still and we are in turmoil. But I am poor and I didn’t feel the world shake. The Financial times said the world shook. Well, not enough to rock my boat, nor the rest of the boats and these guys seem to be carrying on as planned.

It's time to go sailing. Its really time, maybe the promises of retirement that we live for, won't exist in ten-fourty years. What if you lived your life based on a promise, and it turned out to be a lie? You might be reay to kill, eh?. Well its nothing new, if you planned on retiring with your "investments" in realestate or the stockmarket, its not time to retire its time to go back to work.
If you would rather not get caught up in all the doom and gloom, and jobs seem hard to come by,or the pay is not worth your time even, then do what you can to get a sailboat. Get a small one, put this lie to rest and start the dream. It would be hard to convince me that this was'nt the greatest year to have gone by. As the news pumps this demoralizing saga and the dark clouds of depression loom ahead, the world of sailing is beeming. The wind will always blow and exploring this earth will always be fantastic. I've got pictures of more smiles and magic moments this year than any other. I missed all of what happened on TV but I am soo excited about what lies ahead.

Notes from the Streets abroad

London never rests; its streets display the worlds latest fashion trends and its buildings house an epicenter for a globally linked financial system. It might be safe to say it’s not the best time to seek a job in finance, but gearing up with the right threads is as cheap now as it will ever be at fifty percent off in this shop. This would indicate that the need to go out and get that suit and tie has dropped in half according to the invisible hand of Economics. While underneath it all there seems to be an investment opportunity in the manufactures of “manikins in despair”.
Shopping remains a dominant activity in western culture, and in these slow times shops are plastered with discount signs. “No one’s buying anything, so everything’s on sale”, that’s the word on the streets, from Shane Smart a London Civil engineer. How long does fashion hold on as a “need” in such uncertain times? In England, for those keeping it fresh, the trend is to style up at the second hand boutiques called “opportunity shops”. These boutiques are registered charities that receive donated clothes from various department stores. They sell the clothes, generating funds for the blind, the homeless and others in need. It’s recycling, its charity, it’s cheap and it’s called “opshopping”.

The Noche Challenge

Lysol

Putting the boat away :(