It’s Sunday morning and it’s been too long since my last post. However, it’s better late than never, so here goes.
I find that when I am “on the hard”, well it’s “hard” to come up with something to write about… Somehow, when I am afloat, it’s much easier. I could write about cutting the lawn or perhaps running to the grocery for milk but that’s just as boring as, well, watching grass grow.
In the way of an update on what’s up, I am slowly whittling my way through the “Pandora-do-list” and getting ready for next weekend’s SSCA Summer Solstice Gam in Essex.
Speaking of the GAM, the program has come together very well and I am particularly excited about a late speaker entry, Donna Lange. Donna will speak about her upcoming voyage that will take her around the world ALONE. Long distance sailing isn’t new to Donna as she has already been around alone once already. This article from March SAIL magazine. Interesting reading.
She’s a pretty tough girl. This photo is from the SAIL article courtesy of Billy Black, a remarkable marine photographer. 
As I write this Donna is aboard her 28′ sailboat, Inspired Insanity, headed north. At this moment, she is off of northern FL headed toward RI. Click here for her position. Donna, along with being the grandmother of 11, is an accomplished songwriter and singer and promises to add song to her talk in Essex. If you haven’t already done so, you can sign up for the GAM at www.ssca.org.
Speaking of “girls afloat”, a few years ago I met a young woman, Sonya Baumstein, at the Annapolis boat show. I wrote about her in this post back in December 2013. Fast forward to last week, Sonya rowed out into the Pacific from Japan to begin her voyage to San Francisco. Check out this news report from Japan on her voyage and departure. Well, a week into this remarkable voyage, Sonya has had to call it quits and is returning to Japan compliments of a passing freighter and Japan’s Coast Guard. I sure hope that she was able to save her brand new custom boat. Knowing Sonya I expect that this will be a temporary setback as she is one tough woman. Stay tuned. You can check out her current location here.
It’s impressive to see what folks, and in this case, women, can accomplish if they are determined enough.
So, I’ll continue to keep an eye on Donna’s and Sonya’s progress in the coming months.
And, speaking of progress on Pandora continues, if a bit slowly. The SSB radio is now in place although I still have to rig up a proper antenna, and I’ll begin work on the solar this week. More to come on that. Getting Pandora ready to take south in the fall is an adventure in itself and one that’s more my speed than a row across the Pacific or a solo run around the world.
Actually, setting aside the question of REALLY LONG DISTANCE VOYAGING, anyone that has spent time with me knows that SOLO isn’t something that I do very well. I am not big on ALONE at all. About the only time I want to be alone is when I am in the bathroom and even that depends on how long I am planning to be there. “Brenda, can you come in here and keep me company?”
“BOB, BOB… Stop it right now. TMI” Ok, perhaps that’s more than you want to know so I’ll leave it at that.
Never mind….