In a message dated 6/6/08 3:09:43 PM, deuce3window@sbcglobal.net writes:

THE ON-LINE SUPPLIERS DON'T OFFER FREE- TO-THE-PUBLIC VENUES FOR USCG CLASSES IN BOATING SAFETY/NAVIGATION COURSES EITHER. 

My last visit to the local West dealer serendipitously coincided with a free, standing-room-only presentation by a couple talking about their planning and provisioning and experience sailing from Florida to the Bahamas and onward. The short while I had to hang out and listen convinced me that I was missing out on a lot of great info. Yeah, you can get it all on the net, but follow-up questions are tough, and it's harder to sort out the pros from the pretenders. Anyway . . . it's a different world -- global and flat, now. My take: make your choices wisely, but don't make an obsession of it. Go sailing, or else just get a laptop and buy and sell gear on eBay. On a comfortable beam reach toward a favored lee anchorage and a sailor's ration or two, no money is being spent. Round-the-worlds and Americas Cups are no more relevant to the lives of most us than Olympic champions to serious amateurs or weekend duffers. Don't forget to mess around in boats. Keep it in the water. ************** Get trade secrets for amazing burgers. Watch "Cooking with Tyler Florence" on AOL Food. (http://food.aol.com/tyler-florence?video=4?&; NCID=aolfod00030000000002)