Very cool!

We've been keeping up (via Spot) with some friends aboard "Outbound", a Hatteras LRC, who at this moment are passing through the Panama Canal. Happened to look at just the right time and caught them in Miraflores Lock and actually watched them in real time on the Canal Web Cam website while locking down.
Did a screenshot.

They left Fort Lauderale 9 days ago and made a very bumpy straight shot from Key West to Panama. They're taking Outbound to her new home in Seattle.
Learned from them that if you can stretch your vessel out past 65', you get a transit slot faster than smaller vessel's. They just made it (their boat is 59') by using a very long anchor, every inch of the swim platform, and cheating a bit. This usually takes up to 2 weeks for smaller boats.
Guess size does matter.
Bon voyage, Outbound.

Adios,

Istaboa

Need a good laugh?

Watch this....

He's just sayin...

Interesting pics

What's wrong with this picture?

Scott and Mary Flanders... Voyage of Egret

Saw this on Trawlerblogs...
Some of you may recall from an earlier post; we had lunch with Scott and thoroughly enjoyed his stories and wisdom regarding circumnavigation in a small power boat. He's a very nice gentleman.
Below is a Youtube video of Scott and Mary telling their story in their own words.
This is the first in a series of videos and we have enjoyed them all.
We hope you do too.
Thanks to Nordhavn 7501 for providing them.

A friend sent this over... Looks like fun, but at $136,000.00 USD it's little out of reach for folks like us. Interesting though.



London (CNN) -- Bored of jet skis? Banana boat rides not floating your boat anymore?
Well, this summer you could be whizzing around on a Jetlev, a new water-powered jetpack.
It's taken over 10 years for its Canadian inventor, Raymond Li, to realize his dream and see his jetpack go on sale, but judging by the pictures it looks well worth the wait.
The Jetlev has three main components -- a lightweight carbon fiber backpack, a 10-meter hose and an engine unit which floats on the water.
The rest of the article is on page 2.

Japan Earthquake and Tsunami: Two Weeks Later

Two weeks after northeastern Japan was struck by a massive earthquake and tsunami, the cost of the disaster is becoming clearer. The Japanese government has estimated the direct damage at as much as $310 billion, making it the world's costliest-ever natural disaster. As of today, more than 10,000 deaths have been confirmed and another 17,000 people remain missing.
Story and photographs here... Japan: Two weeks later.

Manatees

Those cute cuddly teddy bears of our southern waterways. All us boater types enjoy gawking at them as they unassertively paddle around the marinas and estuaries down here in Florida.
But, few know that they can be quite humorous as shown in the youtube below.



Or the manic, menacing monsters you will witness in the youtube on page 2.
Warning Graphic Video!

Nothing new to report

Company has left and things are settling back into the normal groove; which is nice.
Found this interesting little music streaming site. Check it out Stereo Mood
Music for any occasion if you like their rather obscure playlist.

Anyway...  here's a picture just to brighten up the page a bit.

Radar as a pup on the beach in the Abacos.

And for those who have paid attention to us for a while, you'll remember our old Sadie and the pup Radar. 

Radar and Sadie's first trip on Istaboa.

So —for now— we work on the yearly task of preparing taxes, do a little maintenance on Istaboa, and wait for a good weather window in April to head for the islands.

Thanks for keeping up with us, we promise to do something interesting soon.

Adios,

Istaboa