Like this:

Kay’s cousin Susan from Chicago is visiting, and while it’s plunging into the 40’s at night here in Paradise, we still took Sojourn on an overnight sortie to watch the lighted boat parade at the northern end of Charlotte Harbor. It was less than twenty miles up, and I definitely needed to ensure our diesel furnace was operational before we left just before high tide early afternoon last Saturday.

Yes, for you northerners, we saw lots of dolphins like we usually do, and they rode our bow for a good bit of the trip. Still fascinating to watch. This time, we watched as they’d open their blow hole just before surfacing, and as they’d close it again just before diving. Cool beans, kids.

Later, staying out of the wind by hiding behind the pilothouse this chilly afternoon was one agenda:

But we had heard on the news a forecast that Minneapolis was going to be blanketed by almost six inches of new snow overnight, and Buffalo was to get nearly sixty inches! So I guess we have nothing to bitch about.

Quite a few boats hunkered down in the same anchorage hoping for a good view of the boat parade:

If you’re interested in a clumsy video I created of the boat parade as it thoughtfully passed within a hundred yards of our bow, check it out:

 

After the parade, we bundled up for the chilly evening. Susan scored the down comforter…

Well, faithful readers, some of you may be shocked to learn that we are actually considering selling Sojourn.

This marvelous little ship has been such a major part of almost every aspect of our lives, but after fifteen years with her, spending time maintaining her systems and her marvelous appearance has lost some of its luster. There is a reason this boat shines like a new boat instead of the twenty-eight year young yacht that she is.

Right now, she’s in the best shape she has ever been. In fact, she’s far better than new, and far better than when we bought her fifteen years ago. So now, after a major refit, it seems the right time to think about sharing her with her next owner.

Jeez, this is killin’ me, but it’s the right thing to do (I guess).

At least initially, we’re going to list her ourselves instead of employing a broker. This will allow us to price her more competitively. After all, we’re in no real hurry to be deprived of her as a member of our family. Almost like giving her up for adoption.

In fact, I’ll probably use this blog for some initial marketing, so if any of you are interested, watch this space. Lots of photos and description to follow. If any of you are interested, we’d obviously give y’all first consideration. We do need to find a good home for her, and we’re not in any hurry to do so.

I’m reminded that this is a normal thing, but somehow it seems perverse to us, particularly for me personally. Maybe we’re just so accustomed to using her, or just to have her available to us on a whimsical day sail or for a major voyage. Looking at the expense of just having her and enjoying a few spectacular voyages annually, however, plus maybe half a dozen shorter day sails and week-long (or less) anchorages each year, it is becoming increasingly difficult to justify hoarding her all for ourselves. Seems selfish and wasteful, does it not?

But more significantly, if I’m completely honest with myself, I’m reaching the point where working on her isn’t as much fun for me as it used to be.

I guess we’re also subliminally deciding to spend more time on other stuff, including travel, and that’s helping us decide that maybe it’s time to allow someone else to enjoy her as much as we have for so long.

Maybe, as Yoda might mumble, “Restless, I’ve become…”

For my part, I’m now enamored of all aspects of photography more than ever, in addition to a hundred other diversions that retirement has enabled, including a resurgence in my interest in skydiving.

So now I’m diving (no pun intended) into the aspects of actually creating and running a small photography business. No longer having a staff to hammer all the myriad details for me like I had at IBM finds me uncharacteristically spending a great deal of time learning about accounting methods and business software, registering my new business at the federal, state and local level, seeking out a trustworthy CPA/QuickBooks accounting software expert, etc. The list seems endless, but I find it exciting, so what the hell, right? A reminder that my web site can be found at www.GeneJurrensPhotography.com. Note that most of the images on this site are not fine art images (intended to wow the viewer). Rather, most of the images are geared toward marketability with photo buyers at book & mag publishing houses. Great quality, yes, but more aimed at day-to-day photojournalism than post card perfect landscapes, for example.

I’m still carving out time to continue learning this craft, and that’s enjoyable as well.

I will miss that deck moving beneath my feet though. As recently as yesterday, negotiating a 25 knot squall, you can’t get that kind of excitement from reading a book or taking a picture. So if it takes a year or two to sell the old girl for a reasonable price, that would not break my heart (at least, not as quickly).

Watch this space, friends and neighbors.

Later, ‘gators…