People wonder how I deal with the constant danger of sailing alone offshore in the open ocean.  Being back in the States I can’t believe people aren’t way more freaked out by hurtling themselves 90 miles per hour down a Dallas interstate that has bumper to bumper traffic.  I move at the speed of a covered wagon on Jargo with no traffic.  You tell me which is riskier?

Since I left Missouri I’ve been making a lazy tour of my old stomping grounds in Dallas and Fort Worth.  The first few days were in Dallas with my old friends the Moyers.  It was great to see them even though they rooted for Texas against Nebraska which pushed my alma mater, TCU, out of a BCS Bowl Game.  I am back on the edge of Fort Worth now and will most likely be here through Wednesday or Thursday.  Trey and Liz, the couple I married last March, have opened their home to me while I am here to come and go as I please.  Tonight I’ll have dinner with an old friend, Lauren, then tomorrow it is a night out with some of my best friends from our days at TCU, Carlos and Jamie.  Watch your eyes Fort Worth…

You might notice a few changes to the blog over the next month.  The greatest of all web gurus, David Wilson of SummerWorks, is helping me move my static .asp website over to a new platform.  As a temp fix we’ve dropped in comments so readers can help turn the blog into a dialogue instead of me just typing at you.  Next to come will be a modified layout with much revised content throughout the static pages.  I am also looking to put together a flash intro using slides and a bit of the video from the Gulf Crossing.  If anyone has any special skills with short videos like this, I’d love to pick your brain.

Behind it all, I am stocking up on books, boat parts, plotting courses, reading about visas, ordering passage charts & pilot charts, and studying the Pacific weather patterns.  Get this.  First let from Panama to the Galapagos – 1000 nautical miles.  Second leg from Galapagos to Marqueses – 3,500 nautical miles.  I’ll let you do the math on how long it’ll take if I average 5 knots an hour.