Our New Home

We have moved and bought a new home in South Fork.  Just about 6 miles away from our old home.

This time I got the garage I always wanted!!  4 Car garage

 with 2 car porte cochere - More covered parking!

and storage upstairs over the garage too!

Don't think that my wife got neglected.  Huge Kitchen for her.

and a room to build a Home Theater in too.

We are way excited to be in the new home.  It's a great design by Cervelle Homes.

SOLD! 10/19/11 Home Sweet Home is For Sale. SOLD!

 Our home is for sale.

A great day of sailing at the Texas City Dike

This Weekend the TCDYC group put on a learn to sail course at the Texas City Dike.  It was good fun to see so many catamarans out to sail.  I had a blast on my Hobie 16.  I just added a pair of EPO rudders.

Here's a video with some pictures and video that my wife shot.  Next time I will set thew camera for a higher resolution.

My First sail of 2011

There's a new fleet is in town.  It's Hobie Fleet 33 / Surfside Sailing.  I'm a member of the recently reinstated Fleet 33.  Check the fleet website to learn more. www.hobiefleet33.com

We decided it was time to hit the beach and go sailing. (Floyd says it was Todd's idea)  Friday was in the 70's and sunny, so why not sail on Saturday.

 I hooked up the boat to the wifes 4x4 Toyota Tundra and dropped her and the kids off at her mother's house in Lake Jackson while I continued on to Surfside Beach at the 10 Mile location (Beach Access #6).   After crossing the bridge to Surfside I contacted Floyd and he said they were waiting for the fog to clear and to join them at Franks home "The Hide Out".

Some time after noon we all headed off to the 10 mile spot and prepared to hit the water.  The fog was heavy still and the temperature was cool.  We suited up in the wet suits and rigged the boats.  Floyd's boat took at turn for the worst as they raised his mast.  The mast twisted to the side and broke the base.  His boat was out for the day.  So I rigged my boat and Todd rigged his and we took to the Gulf of Mexico.

Fog was so heavy we would loose sight of each other at about 50 yards distance.  Also, we could not see the beach once we got out past the breaking waves.  I had my iPhone 4 in a dry bag and we turned it on to Google Maps to navigate back to the starting location.  VHF radios were handy for communications with the other boat.

Here is Todd's Nacra Inter 17.

What a blast!  Fun in the fog and cold.

First Sail of the Hobie 16

The new boat was prepped and ready for it's first sail.  We went to the Texas City Dike.  It was the day of the Red Fish Reach put on by the Texas City Dike Yacht Club.  I decided not to join the race but just play on the boat with the family.  My parents brought my brother's kids so rides were to be given.

It was a blast!  October 16th, 2010.  We had a great day of sailing.  I also determined my new boat needed new sails.  The sails that came with it had at one time been a mylar laminate sail.  All of the mylar plastic had since been peeled of and the sails allowed too much wind to blow through them.  This Time I found just what I needed on eBay.  A nice set of used sails.  So the boat got new sails and some updated decals.

Summer is for Sailing!

One of my favorite activities is sailing Hobie catamarans.  A while back I purchased an old 1973 Hobie 14 for a song off craigslist.  I've sailed this boat all summer at Surfside, TX, Lake Somerville, TX and finally at the Texas City Dike.  The Dike just reopened this year as it had been damaged a couple of years ago by a hurricane.  I was finding out all too quickly what I already knew.  I'm too big for a Hobie 14.  I had to set in the middle of the trampoline to fly a hull and I would never be able to trapeze off the side without turning the boat over.

I watched Craigslist like a hawk.  I even got the iPhone app that let me create a search that gave me notices of new listings.  Then one Saturday morning I found it.  It was a 1990 model Hobie 16 in Austin, TX.  Off I went and bought my next toy.

More fun awaits!!

I need a new MINI.

On May 24, 2010 I was driving to a sales appointment when I stopped at a traffic light waiting behind others and in my rear view mirror I see a Dodge Ram truck headed straight for me with no intention of slowing down.....brace myself and hold the brake tight.....CRASH...I've been rear-ended!

The MINI has sustained thousands of dollars worth of damage.  Time to new up!  So shopping I went and upgraded to a 2007 MINI Cooper S Sidewalk addition.  It was tough to let go of the Orange MINI "Nemo" as it was a close family friend ever since we ordered it from the MINI factory just how we wanted.

But, it was nice to get a newer car with more power, fewer miles and heated leather seats.  Perfect for winter topless cruising.

Out with the Lotus

The Lotus was a Blast!  But all good things must come to an end to explore more fun things.  The Lotus went on to it's new owner, Akshay.  So, it's still cruising the streets of Houston and often can be seen at the Houston Coffee and cars.  Here are some pics of it's farewell oil change with the new owner.

I also removed the tall seat rails so the new owner would fit better.  Not everyone is 6'3" and over 230 lbs.
Summer of 2010