You know I love doing what I'm doing. Life is a wonderful thing. I have this blog. I meet people everyday. I have a wonderful family. I have 2 great daughters. I have 5 grandkids. I've got a dog. And last but not least, I have a wife that has made my life worth living. She saved me 21 years ago and I've just been the guy that I've always been. Go figure why she loves me, but I'm grateful and thankful. She really does make me love what I am and what I do.
With that all said, I have some stuff that I have to talk about. It started a month and a half ago. My friend Ruthie decided it was time for her to make the big leap. She had a headache and went to lie down in the trailer. A friend

checked on her and she said she was doing fine. At that point she died. Just dropped to the floor and that was it. Never came back.
I then had a friend that wasn't talking to me because of a $200.00 debt that I owed him. I didn't remember it, but it was on his mind. He died. I can't pay it back. I'll think of a way.
I had a grand daughter that ran away from home to her real father. It was a mess and now I have a riff with my daughter.
My Dad was just told that he has 1/3 of his kidneys left and is now on Hospice. He was going on dialyses, but now, at 87 he is going to live out his life and enjoy every precious moment.
My best friend, Brother Dan, which I played with for a few years as the "Partly Brothers", has Hep C. It was under control and now it's back with a vengeance. I'm in hopes

that he can beat it again. You can listen to one of his songs on the "Captains Log" page.
Sure, I'm breathing deep. Wondering about life and knowing that this may not be the place to vent all of this, but as the title of this blog says, "rum, Lime & Ice." So as that surges through my body, I vent. Unloading all of this in a space that may scare customers away, but I also know that most of the people that read this blog are people that I've sailed with. People that I have connected with. And people that will understand.
You see, when you sail with me, we talk. We play. We get to know each other. It reminds me of when I get a massage.I strip down and lay under a sheet. When the masseuse comes in and begins the massage, well we talk. We get to know each other. Even if I've been therebefore. But there is that chatter the first 10 to 15 minutes of the massage. Then it settles into the massage.
So it is with a charter. We meet. We get to know each other. Stories are told. We connect! Then everyone settles into the sail. Some cuddle up on the bow. Some sit in the cockpit and we chat. Some lay on deck, but everyone settles in. We sail. We experience what the moment and sea has to offer. It's all good. I love what I do and I love Star of Orion. She is a wonderful vessel and is more than just a boat. She is an answer to peoples dreams.
Everyone that steps onto Star of Orion expects something different. Some like to sail and rip through the sea at the fastest point of sail that she can do. Some like to catch some sun and lay on the deck. Some like to pop a bottle of wine and cut a piece of cheese and sail into the sunset. Some like to laugh and play like in the movie Capt. Ron. It's a different thing for everybody.
I'm just one captain, but I do everything I can to make the dreams of everyone come true while they sail with me. Sure, I tell bad pirate jokes, but sometimes that's the thing that makes the cruise work. We leave family. It is a wonderful thing. We don't shake hands when we leave the dock, we hug and talk of when we will meet again.
I want to personally thank everyone, and I mean everyone that has enhanced my life by being on Star of Orion...
Wow, what was that all about. Thanks for listening.
Now I want to tell you about a friend. His name is Alex Dorsey. You can check him out at
http://www.ProjectBlueSphere.com. Look it up. Sign up to read the blogs and then go back to the beginning. Read all the blogs. Buy the CD's. Support his efforts. You won't want to miss a blog entry. It's all great from a sailors point of view.
I went to a going away party for him, Sam and Gwen. It was a great bash

and I enjoyed meeting people that I wouldn't have met if it wasn't for them. A great group of people. I've been trying to get down and do a walk through of Splendid, but charter are rocking and I have to fly to California tomorrow. They leave on Wednesday too, so we will miss each other. It is what it is. I'll catch up with him in San Blas.
It's summer in Fort Myers Beach as it is everywhere, so everyone is keeping wet and playing in the water. In fact the water is in the mid to upper 80's now, so it's easy to take a dip from the decks of Star of Orion. Don't pass it up while you are here.
I also have an outdoor shower where you can rinse off and get wet to cool down. It's nice. Very nice.
Well I'm off for the night. I have my "
Spot" with me, so if you see a spot in Sacramento, CA or Reno, NV or San Francisco, CA or Palm Springs, that's where I am. Star of Orion is still in the Gulf doing what she does best and Captain Ron is sailing her while I'm gone.
Thanks in Advance...
Capt Paul