Making Lemonade out of Lemons

I admire people that I meet along the way who, when faced with adversity, make their life and the lives of others better by turning their problems into a cure so that others may not have to deal with the same "lemons".

Bob Preston is like that. Bob, already a Back Cove 33 owner, came to me at a show a few years back and said that he wanted to purchase a Back Cove 37 but really needed to have a way to stow a dinghy on the transom of the boat so that he could keep his access to the transom door. He went on to explain that he was going to be facing "some mobility issues" in the near future. My father contracted Parkinson's Disease when he was 55 and I lived with Parkinson's for a very long time after that. I know the difficulties that PD patients face, I recognize the signs and the symptoms. So it is that I asked Bob if he was suffering from PD and told him that I had a lot of personal experience. Once that bond had been made we were off and running.

Bob has set off on his very own voyage for a cure. While he is at it, he is fund raising for the Parkinson's Society. Last summer he left his homeport in Rhode Island and headed East as far as the Maine port of Eastport. He then did an about face and began the southerly cruise of a lifetime from Eastport to Key West. We spoke yesterday and they were tied up in Georgetown, South Carolina. The trip has been a dream and everything has gone very well. Bob and crew are having a blast.

When I asked how his fund raising is going he replied that he has raised $70,000.00 to date. That's an amazing feat and an even better piece of news is that one of Michael J Fox's supporters has agreed to match dollar for dollar everything that Bob raises.

If you want to follow the cruise and the cause you can "Friend" Bob Preston Cure PD on Facebook. Bob has made a lot of lemonade since he was diagnosed. My hat is off to him. 

Boating with a Purpose

My own father contracted Parkinsons when he was 55 years old and I always wished for him that he could have done more once he was afflicted. But at the time drug therapies and treatments were not what they are today. Bob Preston is the owner of a Back Cove 37 and he too has Parkinsons. But Bob has made it his mission to do as much as he can as long as he can. I found this article from the Providence newspaper very inspiring and I hope you do as well.

 

And I thought Spam was just mystery meat

As I child I remember eating Spam sandwiches. I actually liked them. Then, the mystery meat in a can became scorned at by millions and it was a "bad thing" as Martha might say. (I wonder if she has ever tasted it?) But there is hope for Spam. Young adults are drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon beer like it's something really special. In case you have ever had a PBR and cannot possibly understand the new popularity, you are not alone.

My thought when that cruise ship started drifting around last week off the Mexican coast was that the Marines should have flown in some PBR in addition to the Spam. Poor Spam got a bad wrap and the PBR might have helped them out. At least those who were lost at sea would have had a good buzz on.

Anyway what prompted me to write about Spam and PBR is that a group of individuals have been thinking it is cool to "spam" my blogs and undoubtedly many of you have gotten a lot of postings of late that were generated by these guys. I have no idea what their goal is and I hope you have not been discouraged by all the junk. Do not despair I have lots to write about and I am planning to show you a lot of what we are working on here at Sabre over the next few weeks.

I think I'll stop and pickup some PBR on the way home tonight. I'm thirsty.

Yacht or Boat?: Where to draw the line

A topic that has always fascinated me is the terminological difference between Yacht and Boat.  I don't think anyone would argue that the connotation of a yacht is something that is larger and fancier than a boat.   In fact,  outside of the US a yacht is a sailboat, unless specifically called a motoryacht, which would have engines, but boat is still commonly used.  So where do we make the distinction between a boat and a yacht?  Is it size, price, interior design?  Would a 38 footer be a boat, and a 40 footer be a yacht?  Could a 33 footer costing a million dollars be a yacht, and a 42 footer costing 100K be a boat?  Are there certain features, such as a galley, stateroom, or spa that would separate yachts from boats?   One good distinction brought to my attention is that a Yacht does not rock when you step aboard, but a Boat does.  How do YOU make the distinction between a yacht and a boat?