Greetings,

This update will have a lot of new information in it, as I have been working very hard on the web page. First of all, I will discuss “the plan”. The plan has morphed from jello to pencil, so it is pretty much set.

As you know, I was offered a job piloting a crew boat for Coastal Crewboats. I said in the DREAM AWAY update of August 15th that I am now on the rotation of 14 days on and 14 days off. Jeff, my boss, assures me that I can have the position for as long as I want it. By that I mean it is not really a temporary position, as it seemed at first.

Kitty and I had some out-on-the-table meetings this past weekend to talk about the longevity of the job itself, and where we should live while I am working. The job is very interesting, and I really do enjoy it so far. The job is a great opportunity to refill the cruising kitty, which has been hit pretty hard this year, so needs some attention. I say that to explain that our decisions are about what will put the most money into the kitty.

We looked at the cost of the dock at which we are currently staying, in Georgetown, South Carolina, and marinas in Clear Lake and New Orleans. Considering the commute costs from these places, and the initial cost of moving DREAM AWAY to the Gulf of Mexico, we find them almost equal to Georgetown. We have decided to remain here in Georgetown, and I will fly to Lafayette, LA, then drive the 60 miles from that airport to the crew boat. Georgetown is a great place. We may get a bit colder during the winter here than we would in TX, but I think we will survive.

We are planning for me to keep the job with Coastal Crewboats until at least June of 2012. This will help meet our financial goals. Then problem will be weather. June is not a good time to be heading to the Caribbean. If the job is looking good, and I'm still having fun, I just may opt to stay at the job until September or October, and then continue on our cruise, which will have been just delayed a year.

So, if you happen to be driving through the Low Country of South Carolina, please give us a call and come on by. With some notice, we will even be able to clear a spot for you to sleep on DREAM AWAY.

Kitty is going to be looking into opportunities to see if she can keep herself busy for the next few months. She has some ideas that sound very good. In fact, she has had this idea for many years, just has not had the time to get it going. I will let her explain it in her own update.

Now for the changes to the web page. I have updated the Electrical Systems page under the About DREAM AWAY page. I also added better pictures in the Electronics & Navigation page under the About DREAM AWAY page.

I have added a new page in the General Boat And Family Pictures page. It is called DREAM AWAY Pictures. This may sound redundant, but many people I talk to say “Show me some pictures of DREAM AWAY”. I say OK, but then realize I have to go searching all over the web site looking for pictures of DREAM AWAY. Most of the pictures I have are taken have been when I was on or below decks on DREAM AWAY. So, I put together a specific page of just DREAM AWAY pictures. As I come across more pictures I will be adding them.

I also changed another section. Now, under the General Boat And Family Pictures page, I have a new page called Crew Boat Adventures. I moved all of the information and pictures I had of the SANDY onto this page. The SANDY is the crew boat on which I worked from 2006 through 2008. I added some pictures of doing repairs on the SANDY, and some before and after pictures of one of the platforms we used to service from the SANDY . The before was before hurricane Ike and the after was the damage caused by Ike.

I added two more pages under Crew Boat Adventures. One page, SOUTH FORK, explains my short time on that crew boat, and the other page is for the JAMES ROBERT. I am still working on this crew boat, so there will be more to come on this page.

I have started work on updating the Mizzen Mast Step Rebuild page again. I hope to have that update finished by the middle of September. I am planning more updates on the About DREAM AWAY page, and I want to finish off the Sinking Main Mast page.

All for now. Hope this update finds you all well and happy. We are happy with our plan. Not actually part of the plan, but this coming week we are going to Atlanta to visit with our children. We will be back in Georgetown in time for the Labor Day weekend. We do not want to be out playing in traffic for the holidays, and also I have to go back to work on the 6th of September.

regards,

jimk

Member Seven Seas Cruising Association

WEB page http://www.dreamaway.net