I've had a lot of thoughts about this post......

I walked past the mega yachts that surrounded little Ohana at the Viaduct Marina in Auckland. One in particular, I've forgotten the name, stood out. I looked at the table set on the afterdeck, it was spectacular. Three crew members were in attendance, the guests soon to arrive.............lighting perfect, settings perfect............what were they going to discuss, I would never know.

At first I thought about the "consumption." Who needs all that, how did they "get" it, why does it matter? To be honest I had a bit of envy along with a bit of curiosity. So much........why? I thought about it. I would have loved to have been a fly on that wall. Here's what I came up with:

It's not about the boat.....................

It's about the table...................and who is around it.

It is ALL ABOUT THE TABLE. (and for those of you thinking about another room in the boat you don't get there till you sit at the table.)

The conversations that take place around a table are the fuel. The people that contribute are the engine. If we're blessed we can enjoy many evenings with many people who make our lives richer and fuller for having sat there. The photo gallery on this blog home page entitled "Happy Hours" captures a few of these evenings we had the honor to enjoy aboard Ohana. I have a feeling that if a boat might be a measure of one's material success, the quality of the conversations around those tables, such as the yacht I was looking at, might be a good measure of a one's hospitality, curiosity and inquisitiveness.

So that gets us back to our humble little table. It is easy for a man to look "up" to bigger and better. Our "table" wasn't on a mega yacht but for us may as well have been. It has entertained a wide variety of characters from all over the world. Who would have thought a boy and girl from humble beginnings in New York and Alaska would sit with corporate giants, financiers, pastors, hippies, singers, actors, tech moguls, eccentrics, escapists...........the list goes on. It all happened around our little table.

Speaking of "happy hour" I've had a few so will sign off early. Invite people.............they make it oh so colorful.

One last story. This fall I was sailing south and found myself in Sandy Hook (Atlantic Highlands NJ). Earlier in the day the engine died and was an afternoon of back and forth to NAPA to sort things out. At first I hitched a ride with a local, his wife and brother in law. I realized soon after that NAPA was a short walk and made several trips back and forth as I diagnosed the problem. It's part of the deal and those folks were great!

Well 6pm was rolling around and I was sitting in the cockpit looking around and a noticed a dinghy going boat to boat inviting people over for happy hour. I thought "I'd like to have happy hour" but kept my hand down. Well Scott came by Ohana and invited me! I hopped aboard and soon realized his other passenger was the fellow who drove me to NAPA!

We ended up aboard Tamure and enjoyed a great evening with every single hander in the harbor along with Scott and Kitty who it turns out are a bit of legends in the sailing world. Their boat was a living museum. Check out their site for Tamure by clicking on the link. Along with these two links Great Escape and Atlantic Circle

We sat in the cockpit around their "table" and as the evening progressed moved down below. It was magic.

They took the time to invite and that is an encouragement to me to do the same. At times I resist but I know that all that is good occurs around that place, the table.

Have a blessed evening all.

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