Annual, waddya get for Christmas

[Steve Laume]

It is that slow time of year again in the northern boating community. Tis the season for planning next year's adventures and with Christmas just past it might be interesting to hear what everyone got for their boats.

I must not have been naughty enough this year, as Raven and I were pretty much neglected.

I will more than make it up to her as the winter progresses.

So for those of you that did find something under the tree for you boating pleasure it would be great to hear about it, Steve.

[Troy Scott]

Santa brought me new Aqua Signal Series 43 LED position lights.

[Big E]

I got another bill for my winter storage. Hooray!!

[Oswego John]

Neckties as gifts, for any occasion, are a definite no-no around my place. At the time of my retirement, I made a solemn promise and vowed never, ever , to wear a tie again. It made no difference whatsoever what the reason or occasion might be, *NO TIES*. Okay, under certain circumstances, I will relent just a little and allow a bolo to be placed around my neck (for a short duration). So what else could Santa possibly give me besides the customary Christmas tie?

I did receive a gift from my family that stopped me in my tracks. You might remember my mentioning late last summer that my family took a cruise to ports in New England and Canada. One of the ports of call was in Halifax, Nova Scotia. (New Scotland). Like many other ports and northern cities, there is a heavy Celtic influence in that area.

There are branches of our family tree that are directly connected to English, Irish and Scottish roots. While in port, some of my family spent time in one of these Celtic shoppes and purchased some of my Christmas gifts.

My last name is Dunn. There are various forms of the spelling of that surname, i.e. Dunne, Donne etc. Whichever way the name is spelled, the entire family is associated with the origins of the Clan Erskine of a pre-medieval era.

One of the gifts bought that day in Halifax was a smallish, finely colored and fire glazed cup, maybe compared to a demi-tasse. Emblazoned on it was the Clan Erskine emblem, insignia, or coat of arms. Gift wrapped in a second package was a set of fine coasters with the same coat of arms design. So fine, as they will never be used for their designated purpose.

My late wife had a saying that went something like, "Give a gift that the donee would never buy for himself" These gifts are truly something that fit under that category.

Have a safe holiday season,
O J

[barfwinkle]

Rhapsody's Captain and Admiral decided to forego the traditional "Boat toys" and paid her crew's expenses for an exntended weekend in New York City. What a party!

Sorry Rhapsody.

Fair Winds

[Markst95]

Not even a Tie with little Typhoons all over it???

[sharkbait]

A new laptop and a sewing machine that does 4 point zig-zag.

[EO]

Related to sailing, I rec'd a Greek fishermans cap and a bosun whistle... happy holidays!

[Troy Scott]

....so the Greek fisherman just didn't need it any more?

[Steve Laume]

Good one, Troy! At least it wasn't socks and underwear.

It doesn't seem like are boats did very well this year. Then again they get things all year, whenever they need them, Steve.

[Troy Scott]

Steve wrote:
"It doesn't seem like our boats did very well this year"
Well, I was pretty impressed by the position lights. I told Santa I needed them, but they aren't cheap, and I really didn't expect him to be forthcoming. But there they were! This is definitely one of the better things that has happened in this otherwise fairly dismal year.

[mgphl52]

Very happily, I received three pair of socks! I hate buying them almost as much as I hate wearing them. But, since it does get cold here from time to time, I am quite happy to have some without holes...

The Admiral and I both got new hats as well! These are the full brim type to help protect ears and neck. Now we just need some nice weather (on a day off!) to go out and wear them...

Hope everyone had a Great & Merry Christmas!

-mike & Toni

[hughesw]

My present from my wife this year was to send my sails (main and RF genoa) off to SailCare for cleaning and repair. (I was hoping for new sails, but that will have to wait.) The good news is that I got the sails into SailCare before the 15 December cut off for the 15% discount. The not so good news is that it will take a minimum of 3 months. Not really a big deal since it is a bit chilly this time of year. But there are a lot of good sailing days throughout the winter here in Georgia.

I am currently using the original (old and blownout) mainsail and a hanked-on genoa that I had from a previous boat (San Juan 23). The genoa is huge; it was a 155% for the San Juan, at 28' on the luff and a 15' foot.

Yesterday was cool, but nice; mid-50's and a westerly breeze at about 8 mph. I jury rigged the hanks onto the roller furling headstay. The luff was a bit saggy, the sheeting angle is all wrong, and I could only find one of the battens for the mainsail, but it beats the alternative of not sailing.

Cheers,

Warren H.

[John Danicic]

Santa took pity on the crew and got Mariah a new FrigoBoat keel cooler refrigerator to replace her existing aging, noisy, leaky and inefficient water-cooled unit. Hopefully, this will eliminate the largest source of ongoing complaints from her captain and there will be peace in the galley here ever after.

It appears that Santa reads the Cape Dory Board postings as he left under my tree books suggested by contributors to the, “Winter Nautical Readingâ€

[MFC]

Well, Santa seemed a bit concerned about safety in our household! A Lifesling and a ditchbag toped the list along with a signal mirror, some fender covers and a very cool fender board. Santa apparently didn't comprehend the saftey value of the ICOM 802 . . ..!

As for RADAR John, I understand that the reindeer union threatened to work over a few dozen elfs for each radar santa delivers. Something about dignity for Rudolph . . ..

Happy holidays y'all.