Good Day,

I thought I would share my current state of mind and how my plans are evolving on this adventure.

First things first, Mike’s health, my safety when I’m on the boat and the safety and care of the Boat.

With these priorities I have set about making immediate plans to move the boat to a safe Marina that is in a region for me and any guests to travel and have easy access to the boat. We had already booked the boat to be in the Bahia Mar Yacht Center in Fort Lauderdale, March 3 -22 and I am going to proceed on that plan with the assistance of a hired captain as my first mate. The Florida Keys can be tricky passage with lots of skinny water and narrow channels as we had chosen to go around the horn.

I will be traveling to the NIST-MEP Board meeting March 6-9, 2023, from there.

I want to take a moment to share my mental perspective on the adventure.

Over the past 19 months Mike and I have researched, investigated, planned, trained, purchased the perfect boat, upfitted the boat for safety and comfort. Since January 9, 2023, and about 1,400 nautical miles we employed those tools and skills and embarked on our adventure. We tested our skills, and several times pushed them to their limits and along the way we learned so much about dealing with uncertainty and the unexpected. We became trusted partners in everything seamanship from navigation to boat and engine maintenance.

Our adventure started in July 2021 and was anticipated to conclude in October 2023 so in time invested we are 70% into the adventure and 15% of the actual travel segment.

I trust we have all read or heard the Quote:

“The Journey is just as important as the Destination.”

T.S. Elliot?

In the journey of this adventure, we used our most valuable asset, time, we changed our outlook by the skills acquired, enriched our lives with the connections made and the inner growth that took place.

By necessity we will alter this journey and we will salvage it not to be spilt or squandered but re-purposed so that the story ends with proper honor and dignity because “LIFE DOES NOT ALWAYS GO AS PLANNED”. The true measure of success is how we deal with disappointment and the unexpected.

Thinking a little farther ahead Mike and I are making preliminary plans to put the Boat on the Market.

Mike added: I cannot add anything more then what he has said. I regret my health issue with its uncertainty has required that the adventure needs  to be ended earlier then planned.

As Chris stated –  we mastered the boat and our ability to move it through the Loop. That accomplishment alone has been an achievement of a life time. Early ending does not diminish that success. Further as a unexpected benefit was having the added time one on one with Uncle Chris. I learned a lot and we were able to catch up on a lot of matters that were always difficult to do when we were always hundreds of miles apart.

I also will thank our collective families for supporting this adventure for 2 old guys. I would like to think there are more adventures yet to be experienced as we move forward.