Another weekend on the boat

This is her, a 1983 Catalina 25. Yes, I know the sail is up, Im airing it out!

So, I spent another weekend down in Seabrook, Tx working on my boat. I didn't get much done this weekend but I did finish cleaning the starbord quarterberth. All thats left now is the head/sink and the Vberth in the bow. I really need to get to work on the wood on the outside but at the moment, Im trying to just get her ready to sail.

We had a bit of an issue with the outboard this weekend so hopefully we will be throwing it in the shop and letting those guys take a stab at it. At this point, Im just ready to hit the water.

Guatemala 2007

This is a small video I made of my Guatemala footage I had. Enjoy

The trip pictures are up!

This is a picture of Lago Atitlan in Guatemala from up on the highway leading down into Panajachel.

Well, they are up folks. You can see them at

www.flickr.com/photos/astraltx

They go from pages 1 through 7 and I will post some here on my blog as well. I keep hearing from people that I should write a book about this last surf trip and my new upcoming project, the Catalina. I have been thinking hard about it, and it sounds like a damn good idea. I love to write and writing a book would mean a lot to me. To know that people would actually be reading about my adventures thrills me and excites me. It pushes me to go out and do more! The next series of trips are going to be pushing things to the limit again. For next year Im considering the following...

1) Drive my RAV4 all the way to Panama and back.

2) Take buses/hitchhike/bum rides all the way to Panama and back for the ultimate backpacking experience.

3) Possible slight detour from surfing and head to Syria with my best friend Rami for a month or more. Once there, we will hit the buses and goto Lebanon and Jordan and possibly in Saudi Arabia.

Who knows. The possibilities are endless! Im really banking on number 1 and 2 though, I would love to see all of Central America.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh.... the wonderlust.

The surf here has been nothing to even mention or talk about. Its been flat as hell after hurricane Dean, which sucked anyways. My older brother's friend gave me a brandnew quicksilver 3/2 and I cant wait to get out in the lineup this winter in a new, good suit. Hopefully, I wont freeze my ass off this year.

And the Fun Begins!

Well, I'm already learning the fun stuff of being a boat owner. Today I had a guy I know come over and check out my rigging as I know absolutely nothing about it. He said it was satisfactory but I need to replace all of the rope and work on some of the rope guides. Then we pulled the outboard off to start the process of getting all of the algae and barnacles off of it to clear the water intake and prop. Yay, fun stuff.

The boat needs some serious cosmetic touch up inside the cabin. Mostly, a major cleaning and then refinishing all of the wood on the outside and touchup the inside. The wood inside is still in great shape, just needs to be cleaned. I have to work on a small leak coming from somewhere on the starboard side windows/hatch. It still remains a mystery. Today we plugged in the shore power and checked out the boats electrical system and it seems intact and working. We got all lights and fans running and what seemed to be a small charge moving on the deep cycle but Im not sure.

I cannot begin to explain the level of excitement from all of this. Its amazing looking at her in the water and just going, damn, thats mine, and I'm going to sail her like no other. I cant wait to get it fully ready to liveaboard. Im hoping to make that transition by the end of september if the money holds out. Ohh, Ill try and get some pictures soon. She's a 1983 Catalina 25. Shes 25' in length, beam of 8ft, draws 4ft, and has a fixed keel. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!
Also, I have all the pictures from Mexico and Guatemala ready to be posted, so Ill start getting them into Flickr sometime this week and Ill post the link. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!! Im excited!!!!!