Lanier Sailing Academy/ Pensacola Yacht Charter

Recently I took a coastal cruising and bareboat charter certifications through American Sailing Association. Both certifications were part of a 6 day/5 night class, held in Pensacola, FL by Lanier Sailing Academy. The Pensacola branch of Lanier Sailing Academy is co-owned and operated by Kathy and John Struchen, who are wonderful people. In 2007, 2008, and 2009, John was named as one of American Sailing Association's Outstanding Instructors (award was based on student evaluations submitted to ASA). Kathy and John also co-own Pensacola Yacht Charters and I can tell you from first-hand experience that these yachts are meticulously maintained.

If you are going to be in the Pensacola area and want to take a sailing class, do bareboat charter, charter a captained yacht, or take an ecological tour, then contact Kathy and John. They will take great care of you and your family.

If you stop by and see Kathy, John, or Tony, please tell them that Val says, HI!

Fun Ocean Facts

While KJ and I were searching out interesting ocean facts, we ran into a number of fun items about the ocean. Here are some that we found particularly neat:

• The Gulf Stream, off the East coast of the USA, flows at a rate about 300 times faster than the average flow found in the Amazon river. Fun since this we will be starting off in the Gulf Stream.
• There are enough gold particles floating in the ocean that if you sifted all the ocean water you would end up with 20 million tons of gold. Hmmmm....... KJ, this is called panning ...
• The heart of a blue whale is the size of a Volkswagen Beetle.
• The greatest range of tides is in the Bay of Fundy (between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia). Depending on the time of the year the high tide and low tide, in a given day, can range 53 feet!!! That's about a 3 story building.
• The longest bony fish in the world is called an Oarfish (Regalecus Glesne). It is often the source of sea-serpent sightings. It has a horse looking head!
• The deepest verified SCUBA dive was done by Nuno Gomes in the Red Sea. Using SCUBA gear, he descended to 1044 feet! (makes my 148 feet in Truk Lagoon seem silly!)

Cultural Experiences

Our sailing adventure is all about being together, experiencing and exploring different places and cultures. One great thing about the United States is that you don't have to sail away to experience different cultures. In most major cities, in the US, you can find Hispanic, Korean, Middle Eastern, Eastern European, Chinese, African, Caribbean, Latin, Italian, European, and Indian communities. These communities unusually celebrate holidays and cultural festivals from there home countries and have restaurant that offer authentic cuisine. The festival are usually free and are a great way for everyone to learn about different cultures.

So if you don't feel like you can take off and sail around the world, you still have opportunities to experience different cultural communities; all within driving distance from your home.

Guy Fox? No, it's Guy Fawkes!

Remember, remember, the 5th of November is the first verse to a poem commemorating the Gunpowder Plot. This is a remarkable time in history when Guy Fawkes and others attempted to disrupt England by blowing-up King James I, his family, and the House of Parliament on the 5th of November, 1605. The attempt was thwarted and the conspirators were hanged and quartered.

This day is celebrated in London with bonfires and fireworks. What a fascinating way to learn world history by studying the holidays of a country. As we sail around the world we can't wait to discover, learn, and celebrate with locals. Our girls will have an unique experience learning world history through celebration.

Habla Espanyolo! Parlez Vous Frencha! Hola Bonjour South America!!

We expect to set sail outside of North America's hurricane season. That means sometime between November and April. Given how I'm compensated at work and the amount of vacation time I'm granted, we expect to head out like in December, although we've not picked which December yet (this December is very very very very unlikely).

Our intent is to have our boat shipped to a marina in Mertle Beach, South Carolina in December. At the same time, Val will be taking a 5 day off shore sailing school and I will take KJ and Dy to Disney world. Once all that is done, we will drive out to South Carolina with Aunt Jenny and Aunt Iris (we won't own a car).

We will head for the Caribbean poking our way along the Eastern coast of the US. Once we jump off from the Keys (we expect around February), we will make our way to the Caribbean staying until April, then down towards South America below the hurricane zone.

We expect to spend the first year or so migrating south towards the Falkland Islands (Val wants to see Emperor penguins). As we move south, we plan on working on our Spanish. The intent is to use the Rosetta Stone product. Both Val and I have taken formal Spanish classes, but that was 20 plus years ago. That said, we expect with the right self learning materials and being completely immersed in the culture in South America (on the eastern side), all of us will be speaking well enough to add the language to our repertoire.

Once we've had our fill of the Eastern side of South America, including a visit to the Amazon River in our 18 inch draft boat, we will probably head north again, outside of hurricane season, to America to visit with family and take stock in the trip so far. Then back south to get to the other side of South America, were French is the language of choice. Back to the Rosetta Stone product.

Once we've had our fill on the Western side of South America, we will head off on the first big ocean crossing with our first major stopping place being the Galapagos Islands. Then we will be off south to Easter Island (I must see the Big Heads!), and all the magic islands there after (Cook, etc.)

Language skills for our girls will be critical ... and speaking Spanish will really help them. It is all part of the journey.

(yes, I know that the words in the title aren't all real words)