Road Trip And A Short Cruise

We're often asked to give presentations to boaters during their organization's meetings and rendezvous. While we lived in Maryland for two years, I had to travel to Florida often to give these presentations, and now that we have moved back to Florida, of course I was asked to be a speaker at the AGLCA Rendezvous in Norfolk, Virginia. Susan and I recently joined the AGLCA (America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association) in preparation for our Great Loop adventure, which by the way will begin in just six or seven short months, if all goes as planned. My presentation for the Rendezvous was to be cruising the Delaware Bay, New Jersey Coast and the Hudson River. Everyone seem enthused and very interested, and we received lots of positive comments afterward.

Boat Renaming Ceremony

Doing it the right way staves off the possibility of bad luck  (I don't remember where I found this, so sorry if I don't give the original Author Credit)

Superstition still plays a significant role in boaters’ lives. The sea, hardly changed in all the eons since its creation, is still a source of mystery and wonderment. Half of the Earth’s surface is covered by abyssal seas where light never penetrates, but where life nevertheless exists—sometimes in outlandish forms—in conditions of unimaginable pressure and Stygian darkness. Little wonder, then, that frail human beings plying the interface between the unruly atmosphere and the fearsome oceans should seek help by performing certain rituals known to their ancestors, and turning to their ancient gods for protection.One superstition still widely held concerns the renaming of a boat, which, in the United States at least, is held to be unlucky. The answer is to hold a denaming ceremony before you rename your boat. You can make up your own ceremony, or you are welcome to use this one, which has been used with every appearance of success. It is now widely distributed on the Internet, but it is repeated here for your convenience.