Dear Friends and Family,
      Well, another week has come and gone here in Key West, or has it? There 
is a song about Key West, I heard, that says something about coming down here 
for a two week vacation 25 years ago. I can certainly see how that might 
happen. There are a few magical places here on earth where time is warped in 
the typical sense. A week, a month or even years can go by in what seems like 
the blink of an eye and you don't even realize it. Even though Mary and I 
have been here for over a month it seems as if we just got here and it seems 
like forever at the same time. Maybe its the weather or maybe it is the 
environment. Which ever or whatever it is I am not sure but I do know that 
this place does have an unexplained aura and attraction for a widely diverse 
group of people.
      Apparently the weekly letter I sent out last week is lost somewhere in 
electronic never never land. It was a very good letter that unfortunately I 
did not save but I will try to recap for you some of the high lights of that 
letter. There were the drag races on Duval street here in Key West. Drag 
races as in Drag Queens in full regalia foot racing each other from bar to 
bar up and down the street. What a hoot, Mary got it all on video tape. Then 
there were the mating sea turtles out in the middle of the ocean which Mary 
once again got on video tape. Maybe we can sell that one to National 
Geographic or Animal Planet. I am sure there were some more highlights on 
that letter but, unfortunately, I cannot for the life of me remember them so 
I will just have to let it pass and tell you what has been going on this 
week.
      This past Sunday Loafer's Glory entered into and competed in the annual 
Key West wrecker's race. There were different categories for all of the 
different sailboats and Loafer's Glory took 2nd place in the multi-hull 
division. (Yeah!!!) Suffice it to say that we would have taken first place if 
we had CHEATED like the first place team did. There were three rules in this 
race. Rule # 1, there are no rules! Rule # 2, refer to rule number 1. Rule # 
3, refer to rules 1 and 2. Whining about it was grounds for disqualification. 
You get the picture. Needless to say there were several boats that jumped the 
starting line by several minutes (refer to rules 1,2 and  3) which gave them 
a distinct advantage. All in all though Loafer's Glory held her own and 
performed superbly. We passed several boats with ease and never once got 
passed ourselves, which leads me to believe that we would have come in first 
all things being equal. We did have one distinct advantage over the other 
racers and that was my ace in the hole, Don Miller, former owner of the boat 
and a champeen sailor if there ever was one. We started in Key West harbor 
and ended at Sand Key a little over six miles all in all. Our total time was 
58 minutes and a few seconds. According to our GPS we averaged a speed 
somewhere between 8 and 8.5 knots once we got out of the harbor into open 
water. It was a blast and there was a good time had by all. Next year we will 
have a go at it again and when we do those "other guys" better watch out.
      For those of you that live in and around the Raleigh area be 
forewarned. Mary is coming to town for a short visit! Mary's father is 
getting married so she will be traveling up to Goldsboro to attend the 
celebration. Her time will be limited so if any of you want to see her just 
look for the flash as she flies around from place to place. I will be staying 
here in KW looking after the boat and the dog. Speaking of the dog it looks 
as if we will be sending Razor back to NC with my daughter Melissa when she 
comes down to visit on the 14th of this month. The reason for this is that 
Razor has had one too many close calls on the boat and we are afraid that he 
has pushed his luck too far too often. Yesterday we were snorkeling out at 
Sand Key with some friends and we tied Razor to the boat in the cockpit. For 
those of you that know anything about Jack Russel Terriers you know that this 
particular breed is not known so much for it's forethought as it is for it's 
penchant to charge ahead with no fear. This is an endearing trait sometimes 
but it is also the reason why you see very few Jack Russel's dying of old 
age. Needless to say Razor tried to jump off of the boat and nearly hanged 
himself. If I had not stayed behind to clean the hulls we would have a dead 
dog right about now and Mary would be spending time in a local mental 
facility under heavy sedation. To spare ourselves that scenario, Melissa will 
be keeping Razor until we return to NC. 
      Well, that's enough for now folks. I will respond to those of you who 
reply back when I can. As always, Mary and I really appreciate hearing from 
each and every one of you. It is nice to hear what is going on in the real 
world every once in a while. Good luck and God Bless.

Rick