CAptain's Blog: 14 August 2010

Well no boating this weekend.  I found out that I fractured my Scapula and should probably not stress my shoulder anymore than I have to.  With any luck I can try again next week.  So until then, have fun out there!

Captain's Blog: 31 May 2010 (Voyage# ??)

This blog entry is from an earlier voyage we made this past memorial day with friends from NYC.  They were kind enough to inform me that we hadn't posted our voyage with them.  Of coarse, I hadn't started this blog until much later, but you know how New Yorkers are  .   .   .  a pain in the stern!  Of coarse I can say that being a New Yorker (you can take the boy out of New York, but you can't take New York out of the boy.  OK so, I'm pushing the boy image, but it's my blog!

Our very best friends from New York came to stay with us over the memorial day weekend.  Dee, Danny, Maria and Matt.  We decided that since our little boat could not possibly support the weight of 6 people on board at the same time,  we would find a beach near the ramp and use that as our base camp.  So we loaded the boat with lots of gear and a few bodies, and headed out.  We found our beach about 3 minutes from the ramp, set up camp and went back for a second trip of gear and bodies.  Once we were set up it was time to do what we had come for  .  .  .  drinking, grilling and laughs!  I even convinced some people to let me take them out tubing.  Now this sport is not for everyone, but we did have an expert on hand, Danny,  to show us all how it's done.  And yes, Deb even convinced me to do it with her at the helm.  Although I should have known from her evil laugh that I didn't stand a chance in hell of staying on the damn thing, but it was great fun!  I hadn't tubed for years, and it will be years again as long as Deb's driving!

It was a great day!  We had a blast, and I even created a new dish called Bar-B-Aki.  Don't laugh,  some of the greatest creations happen by accident!  It was really nice being able to share our new boat with old friends.  Dee had been on the boat in Cooperstown many years ago, when it was still my dad's,  so she could really appreciate all of the changes.  I hope it won't be too long from now, and we will get them back out there on the river.  Till then, bottoms up!

Captain's Blog: 8 August 2010 (Voyage #23)

Well we finally made it back on the river.  I must send out a personal thank you to my dad (previous boat captain).  He was kind enough to read my blog (Voyage #22) about our battery dying, and was generous enough to send us the funds for a replacement.  Thank you again dad for your seemingly endless generosity.  This has certainly bought you a dinner cruise, or two, or three the next visits you make.  Also another special thanks to Tim and Vicki who have also lend their help in keeping us on the river.

Now anyone who knows us, knows our luck isn't the greatest.  In keeping with tradition, I injured my shoulder last week at work, and I am now in an arm sling trying to find out just how bad I hurt myself.  Not to mention a touch of stomach flu to boot.  Needless to say, it was time for my first mate (Deb),  and our son Rob to take on some added responsibilities  Rob handled all of the muscle work when launching the boat, and pulling the boat out of the water.  Deb dealt with the motor lifts, gas refueling, and let's not forget about opening my beer (very important stuff).   And she did it all without a single complaint.  And if anyone knows me, that's not easy.  Thanks Deb, an extra ration of rum for you!

It was a wonderful feeling when I turned the ignition key, and she stared right up.  From there on it was just a beautiful day.  It had been a long period of time since we were on on the boat, due to one reason or another.  It was relaxing and enjoyable, and I actually felt a sense of relief being on the boat again (not too obsessed, huh!).  You know the saying you don't know how much somethings means to you until you can't have it.  I'm here to tell you it's true.
Not much exciting happened out there on this voyage.  We saw plenty of Blue Heron.  We did stop at our beach for a bite to eat.  And yes, we used our handy-dandy grill.  Deb made hot pastrami sandwiches, which were great.  We did use a tank of gas, and even dipped into our reserve a bit, but it was a great day to drive around and see the sights. 
Well that's it for now, so until we see you on the river again . . . ahoy!

Capatain's Blog: August 1, 2010 (Voyage #22) *Almost!

Well it's another great weekend.  We couldn't afford to go out both Saturday and Sunday, and since it's Deb's birthday on Sunday we decided to go out then.  We arrived at Rourke Bros. Memorial Boat Ramp about 9:30.  I had made homemade bagels the night before to bring for our ritual breakfast on the beach.  My son Robert needed to use the truck today and agreed to drop us off, and pick us up later that evening.  We launched the boat and waved good-bye to Rob.  I lowered the motor, got behind the steering wheel, turned the key, the engine rev'd up and then slowly died.
I repeated this process several times, thinking we haven't been out for a couple of weeks, but to no avail.  It was time to really see what was happening.  A closer inspection revealed a gas line hose clamp that had failed, and we were probably taking in air, and that's why we kept dying.  Having been trained by a very prepared boat caption (my dad), I had additional hose clamps in my emergency kit.  I replaced the clamp, fixed the leak, and tried again.  Only this time, there wasn't enough kick left in the battery to turn her over.
We sat just off of the ramp waiting to see if we could get her going, but no luck.  We were dead in the water, literally, and it was time to face reality.  We just weren't getting out there today.  It was time to call our son back from Nashua to rescue us.  Rob returned, and we pulled Third Generation out of the water and headed back home with long faces.  Even the boat looked depressed!

As soon as we pulled in the driveway I hooked up the battery charger and she kicked right over.   I can't tell you how hard it was making the decision not to risk breaking down with a weak battery, but let's face it, the probability was pretty good that we would be rowing this afternoon instead of motoring.  Considering it was Deb's birthday . . . would you have taken the chance?  The battery was old and it was starting to loose it's charge after only a short time.  I guess it's time to face reality and accept the fact that we need to buy a new marine battery.  Considering our economic times it may be a bit before we get on the river again, so in the meantime we are going to have to be happy with our new port,  So until we see you on the river again!  Ahoy from our driveway in Port Nashua!

A special thanks to Gary, Linda and April for stopping by and making Deb's B-day a little brighter!

Captain's Blog: 17 & 18 July 2010 (Voayage #21)

Well it's been longer than we wanted it to be between voyages, but this economy hasn't been kind.  We still couldn't really afford it, but our sanity required it.  So we decided no matter what, we would use a little cash and take our boat out this weekend.  We started early on Saturday morning.  Headed up towards our new favorite beach.  The first thing we saw was a large Blue Heron.  We were able to get about 10' before he took flight.  I never stop being in awe of these magnificent creatures!

Once we reached the beach we set up for morning breakfast with the grill and beach chairs.  I really love breakfast on the river in the morning with Deb.  There is no-one out there that early, and it reminds me of our time on Lake Otsego in New York, were my parents had a cabin on the lake.  We use to get up in the morning and sit on the beach and watch the day begin.  That is until a mud slide wiped it out.  We use to just have our memories, but now we have the Merrimack River and our little beach area.  It is as close as I can imagine getting without owning property on the river myself. After breakfast and a relaxing morning, we decided to go for a cruise up river.  We went as far as the Nashua ramp and drifted there for quite a while, before heading back southward.  Surprisingly few boats for as nice as it was out.  It was a bit on the breezy side, but it felt nice.  It was starting to get a bit on the hot side, so we decided to kick back at the beach.  We set-up our grill and chairs again, and cooked a bit of lunch.  Then decided to go for a nice cool swim.  The water was great, nice and warm with bits of cooler pockets every now and again.  All in all it was a great day.  We didn't use all the gas and so decided to repeat it all on Sunday!  It was a great weekend!

I do have one side note.  Actually it is more of a pet peeve.  At the ramp in Lowell, it never fails that towards the end of the day, when we are trying to take the boat out, there are 4 or 5 jet skiers and a boat or two tied up around the dock.  Who are these people who think the public ramp is there private dock, and launch platform for their jet ski?  They have no care for anyone but themselves.  The police should take a ride at least once a day on the weekend and ticket these   %#)@)(*)($(_!-    PEOPLE.  Whoo, I feel better now. 

See you on the river!

Captain's Blog: 3 & 4 July 2010 (Voyage #20)

Fourth of July weekend,  Deb and I finally decided to take a river trip that we had been discussing for about a year and a half.  We decided to camp overnight, on the river, with our boat!  We use to love going camping, we love boating, let's combine the two.  When we were contemplating the modifications and equipping the boat, this was one idea that we really wanted to keep in mind. We wanted to to have options for it's use.  Not to mention a night away form the house and kid's is just what the doctor ordered (or at least should be!).  So with our goal in sight we began preparations on Friday.  Now Friday would have normally been a boating day, no doubt, but we wanted to take a day off, prep and stay out of the sun before going camping the next two days.

We did need to load extra gear such as a 3 man tent, 2 beach chairs, bedding, extra clothes and food.  We packed and distributed the extra weight to our satisfaction and we were on our way Saturday morning at 10:00.  Rather than leave our trailer and vehicle overnight, we enlisted the help of our son Rob.  We had him drive with us to the ramp. We launched the boat, and Rob drove the trailer back to the house.  Of coarse we forgot to give him the key to unlock the trailer from the SUV when he got home, but a better plan next time!  So with Rob and the trailer on it's way home, Deb and I set out to pick out a spot.  We had come across a couple of areas that had shown obvious evidence of overnight camping.  We had even passed a few in the time we've spent on the river, so we headed towards those areas.  Trying to take all of the factors we were looking for in our location (un-posted, secluded, and did I mention secluded).  We finally settled on a bank north of the Sagamore Bridge.  That's all I'm going to say, so I don't incriminate myself any further.  We decided to not fully setup camp there until later in the day.  We did decide however to break out our faithful blue grill and have some breakfast, and relax the morning away under the cool shade of the trees.  We quickly realized just how good a find this new area was.  As we had never stopped here before, we didn't realize what we were missing.  The beach was sandy, with small pebble further from shore.  The bank was just high enough to come level with the hull, making it easier to embark and disembark.   The area above was relatively flat with patchy grassy vegetation.  A bit of poison ivy here and there but if your careful. . .   Most of the area that we were camping on, was under the light shade of the trees.  It was about 20' at it' deepest to the waters edge, to about 4' at it narrowest, and spanned about 50' in width.  Behind us was a steep ridge that rose about 75' or so.  We were impressed with how few bugs were flying around us, but knew when the sun went down we would have to take refuge.  We set up our chairs, broke out the ole Coleman grill, and cooked up eggs & sausage, with toast, V-8 and coffee.  We even had fresh strawberries, thanks to Deb's menu planning.  With breakfast eaten and cleaned up, and mid-day wearing on, we decided to do a bit of boating.  We started out by heading further north into Nashua.  Along the way we spotted a few boys doing what they do best at that age on a river . . .
climb up rickety sticks of wood, held on by rusted
nails, up a 30' rotting tree, and swing from a shredded rope into the shallow water below.  Oh to be invincible again!  After waking up from trying to remember what it was like to be 16 years old, we continued into Nashua, and started our slow drift back toward Lowell.  During the day we stayed north of Lowell for the most part.  We knew it would be a busy boating weekend, and we really wanted some peace and quiet.  We did enjoy some natural company such as the Blue Heron we typically see, as well as that Bald Eagle nesting just north of Vesper Country Club.  We have had really bad luck getting a postable pic of that eagle,  but we'll keep on trying.

The sun was starting to get lower in the sky, and we decided to head to our site, and get set-up.  It didn't take us too long, and we were sitting back with beers in hand watching the occasional boat pass by.  Some noticing us, and others merely passers by.  Eventually there was no-one left but us.  After dinner we decided to take an evening cruise, and watch the sunset.  This is something that Deb has wanted to do for some time, but I'm always too cooked by the end of the day to stay out any later.  I have to say, I had forgotten how beautiful it is at sunset on the water. The water was like glass, and the sky clear.  We traveled at about 5 knots.  We didn't travel too far from our campsite.  Not so much because we were afraid for our things, but because we wanted to be able to find it in the dark.  It was a great ride, and one that we will be doing again soon.  Back at camp we tried to stay out a bit more, but the bugs were getting bad.  So we retreated to our tent, for some privacy and  . . . well we were away from the kid's!


















I have to say that the sounds of nature did keep me awake a good portion of the night.  The next morning we awoke to the sounds of what seemed like a million species of bird, and slapping fish.  There are also a few things that we need to remember the next time we go camping on the river.  One is we need to make a strap to connect the boat cushions together.  That is what we used as a mattress, but they wanted to separate.  The other is the dirt!  I didn't care that we were dirty (although we did rinse off in the river).  When we took the cushions out of the tent, they were filthy!  So Monday I will have to take some time and hose everything off and clean up for the next time we see you on the river!

And just for the record, we left our campsite as clean as when we arrived.  We cleared of any evidence that we were there, with the exception of our footprints, and a few buried treasures!

Captain's Blog - 30 June 2010 (Voyage #19)

Well it was just too good a day not to take to the river. We hit the water at 10:00, launching from Rourke Bros. Memorial Ramp. We headed north toward our favorite beach, and just north of Vesper Country Club, we spotted the bald eagle I had written about just a couple of trips ago. We tried to snap a pic, but he was too high to get a good shot. Slightly dis-appointed we continued on to the beach. We set up our Coleman grill and proceeded to cook eggs, bacon and toast breakfast. As always, we love having fresh cooked breakfast on the beach. With our bellies full, and our beach cleaned, we continued north towards Nashua. Just south of the old tressel columns, we happened across the Nashua Police pontoon boat. They were apparently doing diver training or something to that nature. We slowed to be nosy, and then continued past the bridge. We drifted for quite a while in Nashua, and all along the way back down river. We did stop again to cook bacon cheeseburgers, and get a few pics of a family of ducks. But it was getting to be mid afternoon, and we had to get something accomplished back home. We spotted a blue heron (but again couldn't get a good pic), and a red tail hawk (same story again on the pic!). Left the water at 3:30. All in all a great day! Maybe out again on Friday :)
Maybe we'll see you on the river!

Captain's Blog - 27 June 2010

So it was a very busy weekend. My son Robert's graduation party on Saturday, and a million and one things to do, to get ready. My father had traveled up from NYC to stay with us for the weekend, and one of the main events, was taking the boats previous captain for a river cruise on the newly refitted "Third Generation". The weather on Saturday had been pretty hot and humid, but Sunday was a bit more overcast, and a few degrees cooler, perfect for a cruise up the Merrimack. We launched from the Rourke Brothers Memorial Ramp in Lowell (as we most often do) at about 10:00. We started her up and headed up river towards Nashua. I asked my dad to pilot the boat, and he quickly took the helm. I wanted him to get a feel for how the boat handled. He was curious as to how the boat would sit and ride with the extra weight from the modifications. He was pleased to see the she sat and handled very well. It was a great cruise, especially for me. It's not often that I get to be a passenger, and have that perspective. We made it up the the Nashua ramp traveling at about 15 mph. It was a great ride and my dad seemed to really enjoy being out on old boat. Once we reached Nashua, we turned and headed back towards Lowell. Along the way we did stop to walk my dad's companion Franky (a spirited little Dachshund). Not much to report, but we did see a Blue Herring just south of Vesper Country Club. I wanted to take my dad down into the Lowell basin, but there was a rowing regatta and they had posted a sign asking boaters not to go into the basin. We will have to make that trip on another visit. All in all it was a great cruise, and I was pleased that my dad had enjoyed it as much as we loved having him.
Enjoy a few pics, and see you on the river!

Captain's Blog - 22 June 2010

This coming weekend we are having our son's graduation party. My dad is coming up from NYC and I want to get the boat prep'd for taking him on a river cruise. As he is the previous captain and owner of this vessel, it is important to me that all is as clean and ready as possible. So it's swab the deck, oil the teak, touch-up the paint, and service the engine. We are looking forward to a great boating weekend (even with a grad party on Saturday). I will let you all know how things go, and post some pics of the cruise. See you on the river!

Captain's Blog 19 June, 2010

Well another terrific day on the river. We hit the water at 9:30. We were surprised to see so much action at the ramp so early, but it was a nice day to get out, so allot of boater anxious to hit the water. We drove up to our favorite beach, just south of the Hudson Bridge in south Nashua. We set up out handy grill and proceeded to cook Bacon, Eggs, Toast and Coffee. Nothing like fresh breakfast on the river. We cruised as far north as the the north side of the Nashua ramp. Lots of lounging and motoring during the day. Later on around noon, we again stopped to grill bacon cheeseburgers under the shade of a grove of trees at the waters edge. It felt really good to get out of the sun for a while. we stayed mostly north of Lowell for the day. In the afternoon we headed into Lowell only to find very busy waterways, with jet ski's, large craft, and water skiers buzzing around. It was a little too busy for Deb and I, so we decided to call it a day at around 4:30.
No boating tomorrow as my son Rob graduates. Congtrats to Rob and all the 2010 graduates at Nashua High South!
See you on the water!

Captain's Blog 18 June, 2010

Well it had been 2 weeks since we've been able to get on the river, either due to weather or obligations. Today Deb and I finally got out there! We put in at Rourke Memorial Boat Launch in Lowell at 11:00. It was a gorgeous day. The winds were calm and the skies were clear. If anything it was a little too hot, although after 2 weeks of rainy weather, even the heat didn't bother us too much. We traveled up to Nashua and then back to Lowell a couple of times thoughout the day. The big highlights were seeing a bald eagle and two young babies flying just north of Vesper Country Club. They are a spectacular sight when you get up close. We were able to get within 35 feet or so below a branch that she had perched on. The second was a young blue herring perched on a low branch at the edge of the water. We were able to get even closer than we did to the bald eagle. The herring let us get within 20 feet or so. Both these creatures are beautiful to see up close. I love New England! We beached a couple of times to get out of the sun. We even went for a quick dip, and I do mean quick. It was a little chilly still, but felt good to cool our roasted bodies down quickly. We used our handy Coleman boat grill again. At least it's our grill that we keep on the boat. We had happend across it one day, and we have loved using it ever since. Anyway we got off earlier than we usually do (4:00), because of the heat.
Tomorrow is another day, and we plan to get out early, and avoid the rush. We do like it best when nobody else is around. See on the water!

More Finished Picstures

Pictures of the finished boat

In The Begining

On St. Patrick's Day 1971 my father (with me in tow) purchased a 14'6" aluminum row boat from a Starcraft dealership on Long Island New York. We put our 1960's 10 horse Evinrude motor on the transom, and we were on our way. We used the boat practically every weekend, and fished all over Long Island and New York City waterways. My father named the boat "Pile Driver" due to the pounding one took in the bow in rough seas. A few years into ownership, my father read an article in Long Island Fisherman Magazine by Ray Hendrickson. Mr. Hendrickson had modified his skiff by adding a steering console, live well, as well as other modifications. My father was so struck by the article that he began contemplating his modifications. He even contacted Mr. Hendrickson and we went to view his boat in person to get some ideas. The modifications my dad and I added to our aluminum row boat were; a steering console and storage cuddy in the bow. The modifications went so well that Mr. Hendrickson wrote a follow-up article and included our boat along with several pictures. Over time more modifications were added by my dad and myself such as a biminy top, console windshield, captain's chairs on the center seat, and I eventually replaced the original plywood seats with teak. The boat continued it's life on Long Island, and eventually Cooperstown NY (Lake Otsego) were my father and mother had a summer camp on the lake. The old 10 horse Evinrude was replaced first by a 20 Horse Johnson, and later a in 1985 by a 30 horse Johnson motor. This gave the boat a bit more power and speed, and was able to pull tubers and skiers. Once my dad had retired, he purchased a pontoon boat for Cooperstown and started going on friends boats or party boats to fish. The boat was rarely used for a period of 5 years or so. It was at this point that my father gifted the boat to myself and my wife (who had relocated to New Hampshire). We started off just visiting different waterways in our area and eventually fell in love with the Merrimack River. It was very close to our home, so very convenient. It also has a good stretch of river (13 miles) between Lowell Mass. and Merrimack NH that we traveled. There are four ramps for access, and it really suited both the boat and it's owners. In our third year we decided that we wanted to make a few modifications ourselves to suite our wants and needs. This time we were going for comfort as well as practicality, since we really don't do allot of fishing. The first thing I wanted to put in was a flat deck in the boat. It was always very difficult to navigate over the ribs in the hull (especially when in motion). I also wanted to create a cushioned bench seat with a back in the stern, as well as a trunk behind the bench seat for hidden storage & gas. Deb had a few ideas as well. She wanted to convert the bow seat in to a cushioned double wide sun seat, as she likes to kick back and soak up the rays. Deb also had an idea to convert the bow cuddy into a cooler (to eliminate a carry on cooler). Finally after 39 years as an army green rowboat, we wanted to give the boat a new color scheme. We decided on a navy blue and white two tone for the exterior hull, and white for the interior. Now that we knew what we wanted, it was time to actually do the work. The logical place to start was to disassemble the boat, and start sanding and restoring the original modification wood elements that my dad and I installed 30 years earlier. Since we weren't going to use the stern and bow teak rowboat seats anymore, I decided to utilize as much of that wood on our modification project as I could. The next step was to sand down the old paint on the exterior and interior. This was a long and difficult process. I ended up bringing the boat to my place of employment (which had a hoist lift), I rigged the boat and was able to lift it off the trailer, and suspend the hull in the air. This made it much easier to work on. Once sanded, we primed and painted the exterior hull. Once dry, it was back on the trailer, and back to the house for final painting. It sounds so simple when I write it, but this process was painful, tedious and time consuming. Adding a floor was a priority once we were painted. My dad had built cedar fence style sections, that fit between the seats, and laid them in the bottom of the deck years before. They were great for the fishing boat, but they had a tendency to bounce around and didn't give the finish look I was going for. I thought that I would use his panels and attach 3/4" Extira (a material used in ship building that doesn't rot or swell). We applied a good grade exterior carpet to that, and sealed the edges with clear silicon to prevent unraveling (Deb's idea again!). The added weight was enough to keep them from bouncing around and really gave the floor that finished look. Next was to modifying the seats. I used 3/4" marine plywood, made the back seat wider for comfort and added a back rest using stainless steel piano hinge. For the bow seat I cut two wider boards out of 3/4" marine plywood, added bracing for the double wide section and connected them again using the piano hinge. Since the bow seat was now double wide, it left an area under the seat for storage. We purchased two plastic bins with snap on covers that fit perfectly under the seat. In the end we had more storage than we had when we used the cuddy, and it was much easier to get at things. Now that the seats were installed (in mock up stage), I was able to focus on the trunk. I started with a piece of Di-bond. This is an 1/8" thick plastic composite with aluminum laminated on both sides. This kept it light and rigid. I decided to edge the lid with teak on the perimeter to dress it up. I mounted an aluminum square tube (which was pulled from the trash) behind the back rest of the stern seat, and mounted the trunk lid to that. Next was the console. The original console panel was 1/2" marine plywood. I wanted to replace it with teak, and put all of the instrumentation (speedometer and depth recorder) into the panel, along with the running and courtesy light switches. I also wanted to install a few ON/OFF toggle switches for future use. First I had to cut a piece of teak for the panel and have it planed down from 3/4" to 1/2". I used the old plywood console panel as a template to match the angle cuts (which were numerous & tough). Sanded it down, installed the components, and done. Now it was on to the cuddy (or now the cooler). This was a bit more difficult. I was concerned about water in a wood cooler. After much thought, Deb came up with using 3/8" rubber material in the form of Yoga mats. They were inexpensive and fit the bill. I cut the pieces to fit the walls of the cuddy and floor, and siliconed them in place. Sealed the seams with silicone, installed a drain tube (which dumped onto the deck. I also decided to replace the plywood door (which opened from top to bottom) with more 1/2" teak. This time I made it into a double door that opened in the traditional manner. As it happened, I had more teak left over than I thought I would. I decided to add a detail that I had considered at the concept stage, but didn't think I could pull off. I wanted to add a teak stripe down the center of the bow and trunk. I cut the 3/4" teak pieces into 1 3/4" wide x 1/8" thick strips, and applied them. This ended up being one of my most favorite visual details of the boat. I also cut 1" wide strips and used them to edge the bow and stern seats. This really pulled the whole look together. There was still one late addition that I wanted to add. Before we began the restoration/modification process, our 39 year old row boat use to take on a bit of water. I never liked having to bail the water out, and now with a trunk it was going to be even harder. I was able to get a hold of a brand new bilge pump that a friend had from when he use to own a boat, and installed it on our craft. I was glad I had installed extra switches, which now came in very handy. There was only one more thing to do. We wanted to give the boat a new name to go with our new look. I have to credit Deb with the name, Third Generation". This had a couple of different meanings. The first was that this was the third generation of the boats configuration (Factory, The modifications my dad and made, and the most recent by Deb and myself). The second meaning was that the boat was restored and modified so that my son Robert would be able to take ownership when he was ready. Since I work for a sign company I designed and cut vinyl graphics, and applied them to our new boat.
And that's it, for at least this season.

Here is a picture of my 1971 Starcraft rowboat after our initial restoration in 2010

Third Generation Captain's Blog

This is my Captain's Blog for my 1971 Starcraft aluminum rowboat. This boat was purchased by my dad in 1972, and has been customized over the years by both my dad, and myself (with the help of my wife Deb). I wanted to share some of the history and keep a running log of our voyages. My name is Robert and my wife's name is Deb. I hope you all enjoy the trips with us.