FindMeAlex

Hey all.

As some of you may know, I carry a device known as a SPOT Satellite Messenger, which I try to occasionally use. This nifty piece of equipment speaks to some bastard offspring of the Sputnik, and then sends a link to some people via email containing a prespecified message and a link via google maps to exactly where the hell I am. Pretty cool, eh? Now, if you have never received one of these messages, it is not that I don't like you, which I would never admit, but rather that there are a limited number of email addresses that one can enter. But I have found a solution: follow this link http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=08ZgK5bfLvaB0DqS9rgHdKt8KXnWqZ4qq by carefully typing it into your address bar. A pain in the ass, I know, but there might be an easier way, I am sure. This will, theoretically, contain all of the messages that I send from this point on, and seems a pretty cool option. Check it out, I will send an initial message when I return to the boat.

Ah, the boat. My new home, a Southerly 135 named Mistral, is a nice piece of equipment, not the least by comparative standards. It is very roomy, seemingly seaworthy, and well laid out. I inhabit the forepeak, which could prove interesting with my slight propensity towards the sea womits, but the seas around here aren't all that bad, so it should be fine. Lodewijk (Lo) is the leader of the Vasco da Gama Rally http://www.vascodagamarally.nl/ and is quite the character, exemplifying everything I like about goofy Dutch people. The dog, Hugo, a Welsh Terrier, is also quite nice and goofy, and is overall a pleasure to have aboard. And though two people on a boat may seem a bit boring to most, being the head of a rally with over 30 participating boats gives plenty of opportunities for people to stop by with questions and such.

Hey, they say second time is the charm, right?