Happy New Year to all!

Boy, that snuck up while I wasn’t looking, all those jobs that had to be done by Christmas kept me with my head down and you know what up! No time to think about much else and it was with profound surprise that I realised that the festive season was upon us!

We had a good Christmas the family and I, mostly sleeping under a shady tree with a good book to make people think that I was reading, rolling into the swimming pool when too hot and sitting in the hot tub with a cold drink in the evenings, very sociable! Denny (Wife) worked right through at her nursing job, but the shift pattern gave her Christmas eve, Christmas day and boxing day til 2 pm off so it was no use going anywhere ambitious, better just to relax and that’s what we did. I hope you had as nice a time as we did.

To give you the festive feeling, and to prove that there is life in the Northern Hemisphere at this time of the year , here is a picture from David Romasco of Kent Island Boat Works in his Sherpa out sailing near his Chesapeake Bay factory. He tells me that the boat was pushing through very thin ice at the time the photo was taken, very scary stuff to us more tropical types but isn’t she a picture.

Note that North Americans can buy this boat in kitset form from Dave, just go and have a look at his website. We have plans too, of course, but Dave's Computer cut kits are a treat and save a considerable amount of time for a builder in a hurry.

Until I am back in the office full time and get the next article for this site up and posted, its all the best for 2004, its going to be a really good year, and its up to each and every one of us to make the best of what it offers.

John Welsford

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