Brad
14/06/2010, Mission Bay, San Diego

Maintenance projects have gone well. Boat bottom is painted, and saildrive (transmission) oil has been changed. Both of these projects require the boat to be out of the water. I also changed oil and filters on both engines and replaced a damaged fan belt and rad hose.

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Brad
13/06/2010, San Diego

Dear CeCe, First Mate

I recognize the sacrifice you have made. You gave up everything to follow me on this crazy dream. I saw you sacrifice family, friends, home, and future to support me. You have honored me and we sailed off into my dream. I was King of the Sea. I had a glorious boat, but even better, my precious and beautiful family was with me. I was so proud to be doing it together with the three of you. For me it was pure joy to learn and experience together all of the changes in our new life.
I know that many times you were faced with consequences that were hard for you to bear. I apologize for putting you through a Northwest passage too late in the year, and not knowing better to prevent you that misery. I apologize for my selfishness on our trip and the many times I compounded your fears by pushing just a little more. I apologize for not comforting you more.
I really liked being with you. I am very proud of all of your learning and skill in the marine environment, a place you didn't desire. I am very proud of all of the responsibility you took on the boat and how much you participated. I am proud of how well we worked together, and how smoothly we could pull into a dock. Having all that skill meant that you could have pushed me overboard and sailed home to collect the insurance. Thank you for not doing that. I also really enjoyed your beauty; on deck and on the beaches.
So we are at a new beginning again. I want to commit to moving into your world. To pursue your hobbies, interests, and adventure. I want to slay your dragons. If life somehow consumes me and I don't accomplish this, pull out this letter of commitment and press me. If I am able to overcome my fears and uphold this commitment, pull me in deeper with your tender gentleness.

Your Captain

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Brad
11/06/2010, San Diego

There will be no rocking on the boat tonight. Tenacious Grace is in a boat yard "on the hard" for maintenance and repairs.

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Brad
08/06/2010, San Diego

We have arrived safely in San Diego. It was a good trip. We felt several times the dreaded bash, and the difficulty of making forward progress. But we found ourselves in a weather window. Ideally, I would have enjoyed sailing more, but we had light winds and mysteriously calm seas. We accepted these conditions gratefully. We had days and days of gloriously flat seas undulating in a private dance. The skies stayed overcast, and I think I understood "No Line on the Horizon".

We travelled 816 nautical miles in 8 days and 7 hours. We stopped overnight 3 times at Mag bay, Turtle bay, and Ensenada. Now to boat repair and cleaning...

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Brad
31/05/2010, Cab San Lucas, Mexico

I hated the crazyness of Cabo when we stopped over at the beginning of our trip so many months ago. Now, being here preparing for the trip back, I have actually come to enjoy it. Some of it is taking in the culture knowing that my days here are numbered. Some of it is the stark beauty of the place, even with the overdevelopment for the tourist industry. Some of it is romantic illusions of pirates and adventurers seeing some of the same beauty here hundreds of years ago.
Yesterday was a great day. I was quoted over $100 US for a taxi to the airport in San Jose and it would have really deteriorated as the Westjet flight from Canada was over an hour late. It took some gymnastics on my part, but I found a way to the airport and back on the local bus. My total fare was just under $6, and I had several hours to enjoy the more quaint seaside town of San Jose del Cabo. There, I found myself in a Spanish speaking church, it was an amazing experience and the people really extended love to me.
I feel as ready as I need to be and now have crew to assist. He will have a steep learning curve, but he is eager. Today is his Birthday. He reminds me of somebody else very special, who long ago also liked to get into boats...

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Brad
28/05/2010, Cabo

I headed for Cabo San Lucas for two things. I will await a weather window to head North. It appears that there may be good conditions early next week. I will also await the arrival of a friend from Canada who will help me make the journey. He decided very last minute, actually after the deadline, but the timing is good and he should arrive on Sunday. I was looking forward to making the trip alone, but it will be much better with help, and company.

I caught 2 Yellowfin Tuna today, 32 and 27 inches long. The bigger one was a workout for me and my Penn reel. We will eat well now. The taste of this fresh fish is beyond amazing. That reminds me, I made a giant bowl of ceviche out of the speared fish I caught - that was good too.

Our friends Jeff and Nancy on S.V. "Oblivion" gave me their SPOT gps tracker for the bash home. When I push a button on this device, Lisa gets an email of my position. Internet will get pretty sparse from here and since that is my only source of communication outside of the 50 mile range of the VHF, the SPOT device will give Lisa a lot of comfort that I am making progress. If anyone else cares to follow my progress, it can be seen on Oblivian's website on the bottom left of their homepage. Browse around a little too, they are fabulous writers. I will post a link to www.sailingtooblivion.com on the right side 'links' section of our sailblog. It opens a map that is interactive. You may need to push the go button to see where Tenacious Grace is. Oh, please know that I will be updating the spot position rather randomly and if I am not moving I may be waiting for a weather change. Thankyou Jeff and Nancy for your thoughtfulness and generosity...

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