Katrina Connections /St. Pete's Boat Show

Wow, I never thought early retirement could be so busy. Last Wednesday, I was laying in the hammock taking life easy while Glenn was pulling the boat apart. A nice couple came by and starting talking about our boat and plans. Ken and Alice were exhibitors for the sailboat show; they gave us exhibitor passes. Very cool, we could come and go and attend the exhibitor party.

Dock sale:

We were in the perfect location to sell some of our redundant gear. We sold our Walker Bay dingy to a delightful family, they plan to sail around the world in their 45 ft. catamaran, they bought the dingy for their three children. The little boy was so excited about his new boat. We also sold a few other items we had from our first boat.

A weekend of connections:

Latitudes and Attitudes is a very cool sailing magazine, every year at the St. Pete’s boat show they throw a huge party. This year we hung out with other Katrina victims, Mike and Bianca Brooks from Slidell. They also lost their boat to Katrina. Mike is a State Trooper in Louisiana; he actually saw our boat two days after the Hurricane. His wife created a web site http://Jojamela.us. This website shows amazing photo’s of the damage by both Katrina and Rita. Earlier that day Glenn connected with a friend of his from our New Orleans marina, Captain Kevin Marshall. Sunday, Kevin and his wife came by, we discussed the South Shore harbor, and our future plans. We hope to reconnect with both couples in the Caribbean one day.

I’ve read and heard about the instant community you feel with other sailors, I really felt this over the past weekend. So many people are working toward the same dream we are living. We met people that are where we were 8 years ago and ones who are where we will be two years from now. It felt like such a sense of accomplishment to be on our own boat and starting our journey.

Michele