So, two full weeks in, I was going to write about the fact that my ratio of working on the boat vs. sailing on the boat isn't what I want (though I did expect a lot more work initially). While I've had some great sails (solo and with friends), I was going to write about a blog post called The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, highlighting the mix of great sailing with all the stuff to be repaired or fixed, and the downright disgusting stuff that can happen on a boat.

But then I started thinking about just the first part - The Good - and realized I don't want that to be watered down with the other stuff. As frequent as I'd like or not, it's still pretty awesome. So, I'll get to the parts that will help my landlocked friends get over their jealousy at my life on a sailboat (really, some of this stuff is just nasty!), but for now...

There is something about being on a sailboat - the quiet of the wind and waves, the tranquility of moving through ocean in such an ancient and simple way, the closeness of a cockpit, the distance and openness of being 30+ feet away with nothing but a bow pulpit between you and the end of the world - all of it lends to great conversations and sharing and joy. A sailboat is a great place to deepen existing relationships, and make new ones. I've been lucky so far to do a good bit more of that than is normal (even if I'm not sailing as much as I'd like to yet).

Lon is with Flying Cloud Yachts, and was my broker (think real estate agent), working with me between Atlanta and SoCal for many months to find my new boat/home. He was awesome. And, I found him to be nice and interesting as well. So I got to take him out with his wife, Liv, and their friend Velvet. It was great to get to know them all better in just a few hours out for a short jib-only sail on a windy afternoon.

I've known John for nearly 30 years (damn, you're old, Dude!), and his kids since they were tiny. We set sail generally in that direction one afternoon, and the time went so pleasantly and well, that before we knew it we were closer to Catalina than San Pedro.

Brooke and I worked together in Atlanta about 14 years ago and I hadn't seen her or her husband David in that long (though we kept up on Facebook, email, etc.), and I'd not met her kids. Couldn't have been a different sailing day - we bobbed around in little to no air (going "zerohundred point zero knots" as their son Tre said), but saw dolphins feeding, and a shark swim by, and watched the kids take turns at the helm (Tre skippering much more than me), and catching up. It was really nice.

So, I'm feeling really lucky to have been sailing as often as I have, with people like that. And feeling really lucky about how wonderful it is to have friends over to your house, when your house is a sailboat, and the ocean your back yard.

_/)