Intrepid Vessels

Marathon, FL

No LL

I mentioned intrepid sailors the other day. Here's a few from the area around us. All three below are about 23 feet long. Sorry but I didn't get a picture of another cruising boat I saw the other day that could not have been more than 16 feet long.

Pogopelli with Bob and Trish on board is from Oneida, New York. We first met them on the Oswego River two years ago. Since then, they sailed the Great Loop -- across the great lakes to Chicago, the Mississippi to the Tenesee to the Gulf of Mexico, and Marathon.

Spirit Jewel is a jewel of a boat that we've seen in Marathon the past 2 years.

Sailing Grace is another very small and intrepid looking cruiser.

Below: Now there's a salty scene. Libby and I work on mending sails with a needle and thread. Joshua Slocum couldn't have done better.

We were a little disappointed to see that our new jib, only 14 months old was losing stitching in certain areas. Examination showed that it was not the number or method of stitches at fault, but rather too thin thread. We decided to repair it by hand. Although machines make neater stitches, our hand stitches use much thicker and sturdier thread. The hand stitching took only 3 hours. I only bit my toungue 3 times.