(Backup) Long overdue update

Captains Credentials, Canvas work, and fun Trips

I must say working full time preparing for full time cruising and being apart of a great cruising club, "Texas Mariners Cruising Association" really fills every minute we have.  We are getting closer to full time cruising, seeing new places, and sharing it with you.

Every since I had started this process to sail, being a Captain was also a dream.  This was just a personal goal I had,  but also to prove and have some backing of skills we had worked so hard to cruise.  Do you need a Captain's license?  No!  However it does provide some insurance discounts, it also opens up a revenue stream if I want to do some work for extra cruising funds.   I was talking with a guy in the Florida Keys and he wants a boat handler and Captain.  His comment was I can hit a dozen Captains with a dead mullet in any gin dive in the Keys.  I want a boat handler!  We had a long conversation via email about today's workforce. So the road to the Captain is Sea Time, School, Test, Submit and wait.  I took my OUPV " 6 Pack at Capt. Roy's in Seabrook Tx.  Great school, and the test you take there are accepted by the Coast Guard.  Rules of the Road you had to make a 90% and Plotting you had to make a 90%. It is not that it is overly difficult, but it does take time to study.  After finishing my 6 Pack I did the Masters after that.  Mostly safety, and regulations info.  It consumed one more weekend of my life!  At the beginning of May I submitted my paperwork and by the end of May I received my Merchant Mariner Credentials of Master of Self Propelled Vessels including Auxillary Sail of Less than 50 GT upon Near Coastal Waters.  The pirate sketch is by a friend Jim Mullenax who I went to paramedic school with years ago.  We also worked together for years, were members of the SWAT team, and he is a retired firefighter.  More important he is a sailor.
 


Carol has been very busy working on canvas on our boat, and has done a fabulous job.  It has been a ongoing project for about a year.  With only some minor additions she is done.  She even got a new Sailrite out of the deal.  Just do not EVER! Ask her about sewing with Tenara thread.  We went with a bright color mainly because it is something different.  Our friend say they can see us for miles.  Plus coming back to the boat at anchorage it is really easy to spot.


So with the stock market rising, investments looking much better, life moving forward is fast approaching.   Part of the plane is cruise 6-7 months, and maybe pick up some side jobs doing Captain work, to extend cruising life, and have extra cash to enjoy and explore with.  It will also provide extra income to fly back home to visit family.  For the most part it is all falling into place for us.  The friends we have made with TMCA are unbelievable, and we will always stay members of this great club.  They really helped us to use the boat, gain valuable experience, with a vast knowledge base to help get the boat ready, and knowledge on cruising from ones that have already done it.  Until next time this is S/V Imagine "The Retirement Wake signing off"

Captain Ken Ekenseair and his trusty First Mate Carol Ekenseair'
S/V Imagine

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