Annapolis - Saturday - July 25th
Time for me to visit Hagerstown. Have not been there since Easter. I really looked forward to going out there again. Yes, traffic is heavy on the 4-5-6 lane freeways, but, the landscape is wonderful, winters very mild and the Bay is a'calling.
It was very hard to pack and leave this time.
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The GPS I got her in April packed up just when we needed it. (Garmin 755t) Friday nite, Sams Club and got a new one. (Garmin 765t)
Be wary of these new fangled things. We left Hagerstown to see a Hallberg-Rassy 43 Roger has for sale and, that dirty little dog took us 45 minutes too far out of the way.
We were late and I did not like it one bit.
After we left Roger, we were powerful hongry and entered a seafood place on the aBay five miles away. Three times we found ourselves in a corporate parking lot.
That night, we swapped it out for another at Sams.
Be wary ...
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For us, our Catalina 27' - Empty Pockets - will get finished and it will sail the Bay. Then, we have agreed to go to something a bit larger as we explore more and more of that vast Bay.
It will be a Hallberg-Rassy. And, it will serve our purpose.
If, DaySailing and an occasional overnighter now and then, a 36' will be enough.
If, Weekend Sailing to parts of the Bay and find a restaurant, stay out overnight and come back 2-3 days later, a 39' or 40' would be appropriate.
But, if we want comfort, and be able to stay for 1-2 weeks at the dock or on open water, we sure fell in love with the 43'er we saw Saturday.
It is our Sweet Spot in the HR lineup.
For us, the interior layout is exactly what we like. V-Berth up front with generous head. Master suite in back, with very generous head and vanity. Lotsa storage front and back in what I would call a bereau plus closet. Armchairs with lotsa room to maneuver past. The Galley is also generous in size.
There is not a 3rd or 4th berth which shrinks all else so it fits.
The deck layout is spacious and front and back, chairs can be used as necessary.
Now, to get the finances in order.
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We stopped on the way home to stand on the dock and look at the 36' HR Roger showed us last Thanksgiving. Nice vessel and 9' longer than Empty Pockets.
Just down the dock, was an HR 62'er. Massive. The deck and sweep from the bow to the stern? It goes for miles and miles. Base price new? $1.4mm. With a generous assortment of options? Plan on 50% more (or so).
"If one has to ask the price, one can not afford it."
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And lastly, of all the adventures in business I have tried in my lifetime beyond being a corporate monkey, I have tried a motorcycle repair shop, retail pet store, sailing lessons, one portrait stoodeeo, and yet a second, Manufacturing Software and investing in Wheat Futures.
Marcia was correct in her opinion the only one I was any good at and could excel with, was investing.
A good friend, Harold, introduced me to an investor that lived 100 years ago. William Delbert Gann. Gann wrote a great deal and offered workshops from time to time. His ability to forecast the markets is the stuff legends are made of. He was supposed to have taken $50mm out of the markets and that would be comparable to at least $750mm today.
Since 1992 til about 1999, Harold and I spent 1,000's of hours talking and trying to unravel how he did it. How he would nail the price and date so well. How Gann could make 286 trades in a single month and be correct on 264 of them. Plus, in that time, he doubled his original investment, 10x over.
Here is a Link to an article written in 1909 of one month of his trading. And another Link of his life.
During the ten years since 1999, I have dabbled now and then until once again, I get frustrated in not knowing what the charts are telling me.
I have taken many photography courses from John Sexton, Ansel Adams protege and a very, very accomplished black and white photographer. He teaches his students to "Listen, to what the materials are telling you!".
I look at dozens and dozens and dozens of charts I have constructed over the years. And, when one sees lines drawn from a high or low that continues and intersects another line and that nails the trend high, or low?
It talks volumes to me, and I understand some of it, but doggoneit, it sure gets frustrating knowing what I see, and knowing what I see is not just random, and then not being able to hear the rest.
When my life settles, I am again going to give this aggrevation its due. I know there is magic there. I only have to listen and trust Our Creator will help me ....
During one sidetrip due to a goofy GPS unit, we spotted this sign.
This is a perfect example of what is wrong with America these days. What in the world is a "Traffic Calming Area"?
Speed Bumps ahead? No.
"Speed Humps".
"Traffic Calming" my foot. This is a perfect example of yet one more college education gone to waste. A Total Waste ... I sincerely hope whoever it is, did not get a free ride from mommy and daddy.
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Roger Johannson of Freestate Yachts is so very kind and generous with us. In fact, he is an excellent salesman. One of the best and finest I have met. That has come to mean alot to Marcia and I.
He showed us a 43' HR that came across from England. The owners have lived aboard for three years, yes, lived on this vessel for three years and now are starting a business here in the US. It was immaculate inside. Totally new looking. We looked hard to find dents and dings, but could not.
And again, when I stepped on board? The word "Solid" is what I exclaim. It feels so very, very good.
The bars on both sides of the mast are called "Granny Bars". They cradle you when the seas are rough and you need to do something at the mast.
The Upper Shroud and it is as tight as my Yiddish brother in law's purse strings. And that is indeed tight.
Lookin' pretty official. All the hardware on an HR is massive and far beyond its necessary strength.
The Furling Drum is larger than it appears here due to the lens. It means business.
At the transom, this is not an old fashioned well pump nor a Rube Goldberg contraption.
It is the exposed portion of a Self Steering mechanism. A large wind vane attaches to the top and makes small trim rudder changes that on the open ocean, keeps you on track. Totally mechanical, it will not drain your batteries as an electric Auto Steering device will.
Impressive, is it not?
The panarama of the inside.
(Magnetic door catch)
Wine bottle opener. Cork is at the bottom. Look careful.
The engine compartment was immaculate. With 700+ hours on the engine, it is spanky clean indeed.
This is the neatest shades we have ever seen. One on each side. The shade, or mosquito netting rolls up at either edge. Push both open, it is a normal ceiling window. Pull one to the opposite side, it unrolls the netting. Pull the other over, it is a shade.
Really neat.
The Bow Thruster. It is controlled at the wheel and moves the bow to one side or the other. Priceless when docking in tight quarters or when the cross winds make it tricky.
Our Sweet Spot ...
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Ma and pa at The Ranch. Boy, is she good looking ...
Roger, scoping out his next seafaring adventure.
(I used to be that skinny, one day, I may come close to it again. My gearth weighs on my mind.)
Well, that was a fun afternoon. Marcia and I chatted of that vessel for some time throughout the weekend.
Later ...