Aaron Brown
02/20/2007, Salem MA

First where to begin.... Maribeth and I got married on the 28th of January. It was a wonderful wedding onboard the Barque Elissa in Galveston Texas. Most of our families and friends were able to make the journey to the Lone Star Republic to join us in our celebration. The blog has been quiet for these last few weeks as Maribeth and I didn't want to tempt fate or King Neptune. I have learned to keep my lips tight about the goings on with boats. Not in a security way but in a luck way. The bones are finally in the bag and I can speak about whats been going on. The owners of the boat accepted our offer in the 11th hour of negotiating. We have been readying her for the last few weekends for her trek down to New Jersey. This weekend Mark and Heather (Maribeths brother and his girlfriend) came up to help us put the last of the gear down below and be ready for transit. On Tuesday we had the boat taken over to another marina to be hauled. All went well and the boat should be down here on Friday of this week. Mark and Maribeth at the helm.

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Aaron Brown
01/06/2007, Brooklyn, NY

Maribeth and I just had the survey done on the Kalik in Salem MA. There are no problems that make us want to walk away from the boat but some things were.... unexpected. Apparently the strut is built of stainless steel. It has some major corrosion and will need to be replaced. Also the stern tube and rudder tube are having issues with corrosion. The hull sounded out wonderfully and the peel job that was done 10 years is in excellent condition. Awl Grip needs to be redone but that will be down the line. The interior is still beautiful and with enough sweat equity and elbow grease we will be able to bring her back to bristol condition. Hopefully we'll have things sewn up and ready for delivery in mid Febuary.
Fair winds and Following seas,
Aaron and Maribeth

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Aaron Brown
12/09/2006, Salem, MA

Well we just put the down payment on a what Maribeth and I are hoping to be our new home. "Nothing is Better" is a Gary Mull designed 44' sloop built in Boom, Belgium. I first saw this boat the day I met Maribeth. I drove up to Boston in August to look at a couple of boats and Dad had flown out from California to meet me. A short ride in a water taxi took us to the mooring and we began our inspection. This is a big boat with plenty of head room and is quite a beamy girl. The aft cabin has a queen size bed, there is a full up in the forward cabin. Down the ladder from the cockpit the L shaped galley to port and a converted Nav Station to refer/freezer to starboard. A small step down and the setee to starboard converts to a double and single pilot berth. To port is a monstrous salon that can seat 8+ people. There are two heads and each have accompaning showers. After Dads and mine inspections we headed to the North End to meet some friends from my old ship CGC Eagle. It was there that I first set eyes on my future wife. Dad was the first one to talk to her but he quickly came over and told me to make my presence known to this blonde over in the corner. Our courtship was short and sweet and I asked her to marry me on the fifth of November. Maribeth and I have decided to name our new sailboat "ITINERIS" which means journey in latin. We will keep you all posted of how things turn out and when we get the survey.

Fair winds and Following seas,
Aaron and Maribeth

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