May 5, 2011

Preparations are in the works to head north to Alaska again this year. The "New Top Phobic" Skipper (Mike) has had a wallet breakdown and we are putting a new top on the boat in preparation for this trip. For those not aware, we have been proud owners of Shaman II for over 13 years and our Top over our command bridge has seen better days, oh, perhaps 5 years ago. 5 years ago, we started with Porch sealer to re-seal the top against the elements....."Thompson's water seal" and over the years Mike graduated to putting on buckets and buckets of liquid plastic. This was all fine until he decided to clean the inside with some sort of toxic cleaner that lifted all the previous years layers of coating on our Bridge Top and over the past year we have these big chunks of plastic flying off everytime we cruise or have some wind. The leaks are back and we look like we have the pox. Mikes "Top" replacement phobia also extends to our car (Trans am Convertible) -- he has been handsewing the window back in place since the stitching started to rot out a few years ago. The car is over 20 years old and deserves a new top also!! But I Digress!

We are excited about heading north again and have slated new and old places on the cruising agenda. We are looking forward to dragging Dave and Penny around "the corner" again and are thrilled that the other three (Ladner Lass, Gulf Island & On the Edge) will be coming along! My book needs some blank pages filled on places we have not seen and things we have not experienced. Tune in often and comment often. We love to hear from you and your posts are quite often humourous.