HAPPY 2011!

I was watching a bit of Australian television from across a restaurant at breakfast this morning, and a giant news flash appeared across the screen, really good news for those who need a new mattress but can't afford one right now: apparently a mattress company here will let you sleep on a new mattress all the way until 2014 before you have to pay for it! That's eons from now, isn't it? It'll be all worn out and saggy in the middle and suddenly the debt will be called in. 2014! When did it get to be so late in this new millennium that years like 2014 get tossed about so easily? Time, unfathomable.

But that's rushing things a bit; it's only just turned 2011. We had a fun New Years Eve in the company of other Catalina owners and airline pilots here in Sanctuary Cove. We had a progressive dinner, starting with drinks and appetizers (known as "entree's" here) on Joe and Judy's new Catalina 375. Joe works with Norm, installing electronics and other equipment on the new and used boats they sell. Then we moved onto Steve and Rose's new Catalina 445 for "mains." Steve is a retired Emirates Airlines Captain and now works with the Australian version of the FAA, keeping an eye on the international airlines that fly in and out of Australia. (For our UAL and UPS friends, yes, he does ramp checks.) They were joined by Tom, currently flying for Emirates out of Dubai, and out on holiday with his family. Finally we moved the group to Fly Aweigh for dessert. Being less-than-young, and laden with good food and drink in our tummies, we were all suffering a bit in the attempt to make it to midnight, so at 10:30 we decided a brisk walk was in order. We stashed all the glasses, plates and cake crumbs into Fly Aweigh's galley and headed up the dock, but our momentum stalled at the top of the ramp and before we knew it we'd all slumped down in the empty chairs on the brick patio near the Sanctuary Cove Yacht Club. We spent the remaining hour of 2010 sitting under the stars, listening to a jazz band sing all the Frank Sinatra-ish classics from the 40's, and dancing with Steve, who loves to dance.

We made it to midnight, and as everyone hooted and hollered and popped off little paper poppers and tooted little paper horns, Allan and I smiled at each other, awed by the enormity of the year that had just been put to bed, and wondered what this next one would bring. How can we top 2010? It was, without question, the most extraordinary year of our lives. Did you know, for example, that we sailed across the South Pacific? We did! We took this boat and put some food and a few extra sails and a lot of emergency what-if gear and added a few crew members and sailed for 22 solid days out of the sight of land until we reached the Marquesas Islands. Now that's a crazy notion in and of itself, but we went on from there. We meandered through the most spectacular atolls, dove on lush and prolific coral reefs, climbed verdant mountains for views of a tropical paradise everyone dreams of. We anchored in shallow water and deep water, calm water and rough water. We dove with whales and snakes and sharks. We made friends for life, and friends we'll never see again but who will live big in our thoughts, and who made indelible marks on our lives. And most of all, we learned about ourselves. Not always a comfortable experience, to be sure, but this last year has introduced each of us to a deeper side of our personalities, clarified our weaknesses, and surprised us with our strengths.

Yes, it's been extraordinary. But as long as "extraordinary" and "expensive" aren't inseparably linked, I think we can make 2011 extraordinary as well. And since we don't need a new mattress, we won't have to worry about adding that debt to the heap, waiting for 2014.