Naples Florida Wrap-Up Post

Naples Florida

I'd have to say that my stay in Naples has been a resounding success. Time is such a slippery thing as I had made the decision about a year ago or more to curtail my trip and head to Naples. So with Naples set upon the horizon of my mind, I left Grenada in my wake in November of 09. Perception of time's speed moves in lock step with the fullness of ones life. I guess I live a full life.

I could hardly believe when I arrived that I had actually make it back so rapidly, given the amount of time it had taken me to get to Grenada. You can read about my trip from Marathon in the Keys to Naples undertaken last December by clicking here.

I try to live strategic like. With intent. A plan. This requires me to cast into the future and make judgments, and then break things down into practical steps. Your basic goal planning. The rub is to apply some kind of discipline. It's easy to get all pumped up after watching a Tony Robbins infomercial at 3am. Surely another matter to sustain the motivation the next morning when you realize you should have been sleeping instead of watching Tony and his big Mellon. But the bottom line for me is I have found that when work-lists are created and goals are documented in writing, some how they get done. Amazing. When I first started this business of goals/work-list, I learned a trick to keep me on track. My boss made me jot down as my first work-list item of the day to simply read the work-list and review the longer range goals. And then, most importantly, scratch off those items on the list. Pow! Straight away I already had tackled two things off my work-list for the day. This small piece of mental gymnastics worked for me. Now it's habit. My larger point is, I believe my success here in Naples can be tracked back to my planning I did well over a year ago. Staying on course in life is not an instant gratification game. But once you realize that the "luck" your experiencing is grounded in previous thought, it's very gratifying. FYI. Most of my planning is now done using Mind Maps.

One goal I had set for myself in Naples did not go so well. And that is boat maintenance. The systems on the boat are fine. But the cosmetics are bringing me down. I never got much traction in that area.

But my goal of employment went great. You can read about how I stumbled into my job at Ridgway's Bar and Grill by clicking here. The military life, of which I was a part for 20 years is a lifestyle. So venturing outside of that world was very interesting. I am very grateful for being hired by Tony Ridgway. He took a chance as I had zero experience in the restaurant biz, and being trained as an Expiditor was a lift in a restaurant as busy as the one I was in. I met all kinds of great people who work in the restaurant industry. Over all, in my humble opinion, it is not an industry I could recommend long-term. Most people working out-front are stressed and dumped on every night no matter what. This is the nature of the business. Some customers never can be pleased.

The kitchen, where I worked was a whole other world. A world full of illegal immigrants. As far as I can tell, this fact is standard in most kitchens in Florida restaurants. Leaving aside the politics of this divisive issue, I have to say the cooks, bus people and such were all wonderful, good spirited people who were very hard workers and quick to smile. I liked them all. Working in an environment where I am about the only one who speaks English, at times was infuriating. Many many mistakes are made due to the language barrier and this comes right out of the owners pocket. Not my problem to solve. I will say that watching a 55 year old Mexican grandfather washing dishes night after night is upsetting. Over all it was a great experience for me. I not only peeked into a side of our society, but really existed within that world for 4 months. I achieved my goal of earning some money to offset the huge cost of trucking Christa to California. Where's my work-list? Check.

It was great to not have to worry about weather Christa's anchor was going to drag and of course being dockside, no worries about low batteries. I had time to get into a groove. I consistently practiced yoga, rode my bike and ran. I went to the dentist, had a chipped tooth fixed by a guy with freakishly white teeth. Had a through physical done by Dr. Pedro Arrocho, who looks like he hails from Sweden. I acquired the Green Hornet, my green Honda Accord and again was ambulatory so to speak. I spent an obscene amount of money at Whole Foods. Damn! Yes, I again afirm my successful time in Naples.

I think maybe the best part of staying in Naples has everything to do with Mike & Amy. Being with them and their/our larger group of friends really means everything in the end. That stiff support structure. The same structure I felt when waking in the morning in Honeymoon Bay and right next door was Wandering Dolphin.  I felt the same when cruising with the Jansen family and SV Adamo. So while I am very excited to be heading to San Francisco to open a new chapter, it is with some sadness that I leave Florida where my parents, grandfather, Janina and more extended family reside. Thus far in nearly 43 years of life, it appears to be a theme. But I guess that is how I roll. That dogs painted face captures the mood.

Capt Chris

Sailing North From Naples to Fort Myers Beach Florida

On a Mooring Fort Myers Beach Florida

 The weather was perfect and my window had arrived. I had been seeking a windless day. Sounds counter intuitive for a sailboat I know. But after having the diesel engine sitting for 5 month without much load I wanted to open her up for a few hours of activity. Pow. 51 horses of Yanmar ran like a champ. Here I am working on the beast in Long Island New York in September of 2007. Photo credit goes to John Gamble. Bastard.

I fired up all the systems along the way including the water maker and all equipment worked well. It was about a 5 hour transit and I was on a mooring by 1pm. You can see Christa is the 8th boat on the right hand side. It felt great to be out on the water again, if only for a brief time. I am now just a stones throw away from Olsen Marine where Christa will be hauled and put on a truck. That will take place either May 28th or June 1st. The truck driver is now delivering a boat from CA TO WIS, then to SC and then to snatch me.

Mike and Amy have been wonderful to me. Not only did they let me use their dock and then see me off this morning. They then arranged a ride for me back to Naples to pick up the Green Hornet. And to stay in the house. Central Air!!!!!!!!!

Mooring Field FT Myers as Seen from the Bridge

I'll likely head back to Christa on Sunday and start stripping everything I can while on the mooring. Tuesday on the high tide I'll be dockside at Olsen Marine. The crane will be ready to pluck the mast on Thursday.

I slapped together a quick video from this mornings departure. Enjoy!



Capt Chris

Been Offline And On The Road

St Austine Florida
Camping with Janina

 I high-tailed it north in the Green Hornet a few days ago to visit my parents in central Florida. Cognizant of my move west and my ability to see family is evaporating,  I felt a little adventure in northern Florida would be prudent. Also another axe to grind was to see Janina, who planned out a couple of days of camping in St Augustine Florida.

St Augustine Lighthouse Established 1884

After two days of visiting with Mom and Dad and then dinner with two aunts, Janina swung by and collected me and my REI tent and bugged out for northeast Florida. We had such a good time. On the way we stopped by a hillbilly like blueberry festival, complete with shooting range and country band. By late afternoon we had found our RV Campground on the Vilano Beach side of St Augustine.

At the Blueberry Festival

Our Campsite..Really for RV's

The following day we pulled chocks and headed into Old Town for a day of touring. We hit the Castillo de San Marcos Fort and then a smaller Fort called Fort Matanzas. Also featured was a very cool Cuban restaurant on Alivas street, somewhat off the tourist beaten path.

Vittels Cuban Style

Onward to Anastasia State Park to slip into another campsite for the evening.

We awoke the next morning to thunder and lightning. Since this was Janina's first experience with camping, she got to experience the joy of breaking down camp in the rain. It was time to head back to my folks house where I was discharged.

But my week and a half was not finished. After a night of rest at the rents, it was time to head to Vero Beach to visit my 87 year old grandfather. Always love visiting him, as he is the one responsible for my nautical inclinations. After a night and two days with Pepe, I finally headed back across Alligator Alley and back to Naples.

I just couldn't find enough time to update the blog during my sojorn. I think this is the longest stretch of time I've gone in some time without an update. Sorry about that!

So I leave you with some more pictures from the camping trip and touring in and around St Augustine.

Capt Chris

PS: I do believe I will be sailing Christa north to FT Myers Beach tomorrow and snag a mooring for a few days. I am due to tie up at the shipyard in FT Myers on Tuesday May 25th, the mast comes down on the 27th and the truck arrives either on May 28th or June 1st. I also am scheduled to deliver a 35ft Cobalt from Sarasota to Naples, maybe this weekend. Stay tuned! It's all happening!

What to Do as a Second Career? By Christian Allaire

Moored Naples Florida, Living Aboard Christa

I know this may be sprinting much further ahead than is necessary or prudent. But, with college looming in August I will need to start making some decisions in terms of course work.

Freedom of choice is a good thing, but only when you've cultivated the ability to make sound decisions, then plow ahead toward the goal without looking in the rear view mirror. I mitigate the second guessing down the line by being through in the initial decision making process. This way if things go south with my choice, I find much comfort knowing I wasn't irresponsible, but was due to unforeseeable events. I think this is why most people who win the lottery become miserable, because of the overwhelming amount of choice that suddenly appears. Without an incremental immersion into the world of choice, people just leap from one thing to next spurring disillusionment.

By virtue of my retirement from the Coast Guard, the chains were lifted and a world of choice was opened up. Wow, I could live anywhere I wanted. I could do so many different things, but I decided to pursue a goal hatched many years before. That sailing goal hasn't gone the way I intended, but I have no regrets because it wasn't an arbitrary undertaking. Plus for me, it was pretty epic.

Now I am faced with another very big choice. And that is what to pursue as a second career. Even though I have 4 years worth of college benefits to use, I still need to focus on the employment post school aspect. I could chop those 4 years of bennies into different segments, or be a student for the next 4 years, but I still need to enter the real world again at some point.

I have a strong desire to become a teacher. I am at a bit of a loss as to why. It really has not been on my radar for all that long. It's not as if it's something I've always wanted to do. I think it stems from the realization that I really love to learn. I was a terrifically terrible high school student. I just had no clue and was not interested in learning at all. I paid the price. Over the course of my service time, I chipped away at my Bachelors in a somewhat hodgepodge fashion.  I had developed a confidence problem that I smashed with great success with my first class I took at San Francisco State University in 1999. It was a Macro Economics class that I was very nervous about and didn't think I had the smarts for. Well, it immediately became apparent that if I followed my good military training of paying attention to detail and diligent effort, I would do just fine. And I did. I got an A. I even remember the Professor's name was Bishu Chatterjee. Good ole Bishu.

As with all people who make the military a career, I've had to put together my share of training plans and then deliver them. Just like.....well a teacher.  I enjoyed overcoming the anxiety of public speaking and enjoyed watching others who were top notch trainers and mentors. This more than anything got me to thinking about the profession.

I have some reservations, but only because of the horror stories one reads about. Still that is not an excuse to not gather more info or get some first hand knowledge. My Bachelors will be a straight Liberal Arts curriculum with an emphasis in philosophy. But, the exact nature of that may change when I meet with the academic advisor. I can graduate with a teaching credential so some different courses will need to be taken to achieve the credential. If I choose not to become a teacher then the work I do and the money spent toward the teaching credential may have been better used elsewhere. This is what I mean by some soul searching and decision making.

I can't really think of another field to enter. Staying within the maritime community really doesn't turn me on. But opening a small business surely holds some appeal for me. My buddy John Gamble and I have always wanted to open a business together. He is an idea machine. I love that Tom and Amy from Sandpiper bought a small business and now live with the joy and stresses of owning their business.

Who knows, but these are some of the things that I have been thinking about during my lazy days here in Naples.

Care to comment? Would love to hear from all hands. As I mentioned before, due to spam I have to push the little button to post comments. So you don't get the immediate gratification of seeing your comment.

Capt Chris

PS: On a very different topic. Read the following article called In a Charmed Life. A Road Less Traveled. It will blow your hair back.

A Visit With The Girls of Great Valley at Captiva By Christian Allaire

I drove yesterday to Sanibel Island and the little beach town of Captiva, about 60 miles to the north of Naples for an awesome surprise visit with old old friends. I wrote a blog entry about the death of two dear friends father only a month and half ago. You can read that blog by clicking here. Well one of those friends, Dani called me just a couple of days ago to invite me to Captiva for a little reunion of sorts.

Marcy and Dani

It was dicey given this trip was hatched as a girls only gig, and only upon arrival to Florida did Dani realize I was just a scant few miles to the south. The five girls, Dani, Marcy, Jennifer D, Jen W and Maureen are all from my childhood back in Pennsylvania. They were two years behind me, class of 88 and Dani's sister Stacey was in my class of 86 as was Jennifer D brother Phil. In any event we all mixed and matched no matter the age difference and as I have come to realize the connections forged in childhood run strong and very deep. I had not seen Marcy and both Jennifer's since High School. This is one of the magical things about Facebook, people just keep surfacing. I love it!

Jen W, Dani G, Marcy G, Jennifer D, Maureen M

It was a great day. Had so much fun. I am appreciative that the rules were broken for the day. I entered the Queen Bee Hive and survived. Of course the Canon G11 was blazing away, including a sunset session at the beach.

Jen W

Dani G

Dani G and Me

The Sun goes to Sleep on May 1st 2010

Thanks Girls!!!!

Capt Chris

A Little History

Moored Naples Florida

Tony Naples, yup that's his name, contacted me via Facebook. Fairly amusing given that I'm now living in Naples. But not to get off track.

Tony and his friend Laura, both in their twenties, sailed with me the 56 hours from Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico back in February of 2008. You can read all about that trip by clicking here.

Tony's going to write up a guest blog entry regarding his experience sailing with Christa and the gaggle of boats who all were caravaning together at the time. We look forward to that post. In the mean time he has sent me the following pictures that he shot during the trip. Great pics! Enjoy!

Regarding Comments. I love them! So please leave them. However, to prevent spam comments, of which I get many, I now have to authorize each comment. So you may not see the comment post automatically. 

The Kid

Tony and the Kid

Christa Anchored in Boquero PR

Ms. Laura on Watch Mona Passage

Stay Strong Blog Readers

Living Aboard Christa In Naples Florida

 Blogging it turns out is alot of work. At least people who are successful at it, work at it just about daily.  I wouldn't toss myself into the "success" category really, but I do acknowledge that I haven't given up. In fact I'm more motivated than ever to keep at it. And, this is why you see re-designs more than you should and why I just can't help but tinker with the site layout.

It is important for me to keep in mind that a layout change does not constitute more content. It's kind of like a beautiful woman with no brains that continues to wear fresh and new clothing. The new clothing still won't cover up the fact she has not brains. My giggering with the blogger designs can leave me with the illusion of blogging. But bloggers must write and this is not easy to do day in and day out. I often wonder what the burn out rate for blogs is.

I enjoy mental challenge and this is why I didn't cancel the blog after I changed my circumnavigation plans. I still struggle to figure out what to write about or photograph or video. I guess the answer rests within a regular guys regular life. I do have to acknowledge the blogging pioneers at Bumfuzzle. They are the coolest.

To the sailing enthusiasts who follow or have followed, I thank you very much and hope you stick with the blog as I move in other directions. But, and this is a big butt! I don't ever see leaving me leaving my sailing roots. It's just in my blood. I will continue to liveaboard Christa and will ply the waters of San Francisco Bay to keep the nautical skills sharp. San Francisco and especially Sausalito has a substantial nautical heritage. I'll be rubbing elbows with all the salts that call Sausalito home. Of course I'll report when appropriate.

For others who are not so jazzed about the sailing aspect I hope you will stick around and send me feedback. I'll always try and keep it interesting and will blaze a path in new directions.

Now onto the whole point of this blog entry. I went back to my old format for a couple of reasons. I think it just is my favorite as it allows larger sized pictures than 3 column type blogs. But here is the most important reason. I received info that some people were experiencing problems with the new re-design in terms of shutting down their browser or triggering virus alerts. I know some have stopped reading the blog because of this. The problem only manifests while using Microsoft's Internet Explorer. No matter, I hope by going back to the old standby, the issues with the browser is solved. It is a tried and true design and has no bugs in it. The other one was new and apparently had some bugs. So that is that!

Capt Chris
PS: I found the really cool nautical picture above in a Picasa Featured Photograph section of Picasa Web Albums. Really cool picture of a salty dude standing watch or however the viewer wants to interpret it.

Trucking Update....The Delay

Moored Naples Florida

Fish On!!!!!

We suffered a little bit of a set back today in my trucking Christa to California project. I received word from the trucker that he is running at least two weeks behind schedule. This jacks up some plans I've laid down and will likely result in me curtailing the amount of time I will spend dilly dallying while driving to California. Bummer.

The trucker was honest and up front about what was going on.  He spent the winter totally idle, surviving on a bank loan.  His fortunes turned rapidly.  Now he has a feeding frenzy on his hands. He had several spots in his schedule where he was "dead heading" (not a la Jerry Garcia) and tried to fill the gaps. The rub is that this allows for little wiggle room in terms of mistakes, break downs or delays. Well he had a couple of boats that were late, boat show delays and had to catch up on trailer maintenance. This info did not come out in drips and drabs, but straight away. I can deal with someone like that. So, we are hoping and praying for a pick up by Memorial Day week or on the outside June the 1st.

This impacts me, but not drastically. No sense in getting all worked up about it. I purposely built tons of time into the schedule. I must be settled in California by August 24th, 2010 as this is when my classes start at Dominican U. However my renters are leaving my house June 15th and this leaves me in a financial lurch. The house needs attention before I can bring other renters in. The delay alters my ability to deal with the house, possibly causing me to eat the mortgage longer than anticipated.

This does leave an unexpected spectrum of time to do as I please. I chose to do boat projects. Mostly sanding and varnishing. I did have grandiose plans of doing all kinds of boat work while in Naples this winter. My job at the restaurant sucked up some of my time and I became lazy with the boat. Another effect of my cruising life and living aboard for so long. I was sick of fixing things on the boat, but I still fixed stuff. Christa's looks suffered. She wants to be purdy again. She was tellin me. 

I always have so many things going, it is good to have this time to work on my projects. I will continue to exercise daily, play with my pal Amy when she is in town, work on my Final Cut Express project, think hard about my future life course, play my guitar, walk the beach, slug coffee and buzz around Naples in the Green Hornet, which has 4 new tires. Here is an aside story I just remembered.

The Coast Guard's Motto, Semper Paratus, which means "Always Ready" still holds.  I was making my way to the car in the this Friday morning past stoked about an hour a half yoga session on the docket. Suddenly I eagle eye a nail in the rear tire. Aye Chiwawa. I head on over to the Tire King, doing the responsible thing by canceling yoga in lieu of my safety. The fellow says no problem to patch at $22 bucks. I head to Starbucks to gigger with my iPad while the car is serviced. Phone rings with the news. Can't be patched and I need 4 new tires. Don't worry, I cross examined The King pretty hard to make sure he wasn't just casting for work. What with all the wealth here in Naples, I'm sure they are not used to people haggling. He presented a strong case and with my cross country trip bubbling up in my mind I gave The King the green light. I left an hour later poorer by $463 boat bucks. So my point is Semper Paratus. You never know when your day is going to turn, best be prepared. Always have a slush fund for unforeseeables, I certainly sleep better knowing I'm not operating on the financial edge.

Ok, here are some pictures of status of Christa's varnish work.

Bowsprit

Starboard Caprail

Tiller

Capt Chris

PS: I may have failed to note that I am no longer working at Ridgway Bar and Grill. The season is over and they no longer need an Expo. Maybe I'll blog about that experience sometime.

PSS: Happy Birthday to Janina!

Stormin in south Florida

Naples Florida

A day or two ago, severe weather hit the gulf coast states. Well the front that brought that weather penetrated farther than forecast. So this morning I awoke to some really nasty weather. Here is some graphics.

You can see the red boxes toward Palm Beach and FT Lauderdale, yup tornado's. All kinds of lightening and heavy winds buffeted Christa. But snug I was in the canal alongside the dock.

I still loath these storms. Christa and I, and of course most cruisers have had their share of run ins with squall lines. In my humble opinion, they pose serious risk and can be awfully frightening. You can read about such a squall by clicking here. Just an example of my past grappling with squalls.

I stuck my head out the hatch during a brief respite and snapped this photo with the Canon G11.

Capt Chris

Apple Pro Training Series Update

As some may remember I've enjoyed shooting video with my Flip HD and then editing the footage in Apple's iMovie 09. Apple is genius at sucking in people incrementally. Usually, each product or software program, at first, has enough razzle dazzle to keep the user excited. But then, After a period the lower end software leaves something to be desired. So with mucho dinero you can upgrade to take your projects to the next level.

This is the way it has been with Apple's professional movie editing software called Final Cut. The two Final Cut Products are Final Cut Express and Final Cut Pro. Final Cut Pro I think is nearly a grand, but the Final Cut Express is $200 bucks. My understanding is the difference between the two is not much, in terms of editing movies. Final Cut Pro is what Hollywood uses and provides heavy duty encoding technology to prevent theft. I could be wrong, I'm not Columbo or a pro.

Several weeks ago I purchased Final Cut Express 4 to take it up a notch. I loaded the program and stared at the screen without a clue how to proceed. The leap from iMovie 09 to Final Cut is not simple. So I bought the Apple Pro Series training material and have been doing lessons almost daily ever since. The program is awesome and the training is cool to.

The going is slow, but I'm hoping to take some good footage while driving across the country and then of course score some sailing footage when I get out to San Francisco Bay. Then try and put something together in Final Cut Express. But the learning of the new software is going slower than I had anticipated. But could be my new calling.



Capt Chris