Waitress I Need Two More Boat....Cards?

Sorry Jimmy, I know that's not how the lyrics go...but we could really use some boat cards.

Boat cards are like business cards for cruisers.  In this lifestyle you meet people and become friends so quickly that it is very handy to have these little gems.  And with my less than perfect memory (I am notoriously bad at remembering names) I've found that boat cards can be a great aid to my lacking gray matter.  Unfortunately I have not had ones to hand out.

I had been procrastinating about creating cards because one of the items I wanted to include on the cards was a picture of us, the crew of s/v Rover including our furry members, sitting together on the transom or some other appropriate sort of scene.  The reason for the picture is that I've found it to be one of the most beneficial features of some of the boat cards I've received...so I can match cards to faces (I can generally recognize a face as someone that I'm supposed to know...even if I can't remember their name).  So, I definitely wanted to include this feature for others like me that can't always remember names.  But as of yet, the whole crew has not been on the boat together.

I was also trying to figure out if I wanted to have cards printed or just print them myself with a color inkjet printer.  I've been finding some need for a printer on-board (as I've had to print out forms for things like dinghy registration or letters when my credit card information was compromised), so it seemed to make sense to just print them as we need them and they would remain relatively up to date that way. Unfortunately, having owned an inkjet printer before, I also know how cantankerous they can be if not used regularly (and I don't see me using the printer on a monthly, much less weekly, basis).  Looking into having business cards printed, I also found that I could have 250~500 cards done for about the same cost as a single inkjet cartridge set for most printers. So, it seems to me that having them done is a better option for us.

So, fast forward to my current trip back to Denver.  As we wrap up our land-based life here in Colorado, one of the things we would like to do is have a Bon voyage party of sorts before we leave.  I came to the realization that it would be handy to have some boat cards for that party so I could give people our contact information since we would soon be without some of our classic means of contact (our home address, home phone).  Getting this task done now would also alleviate the need to deal with it once we got back to the boat.  We also thought about how small the portrait image would be on a business card and decided that a more close up picture or pictures would be better than trying to have one that was more "sailing oriented".  In the end, there doesn't seem to be a good reason to wait any longer.

This weekend, as I continue to get over my "Denver sinus infection", I decided to design our boat cards.  Typically, people have the name of their boat, maybe a picture of their boat or themselves, the name of the crew, email addresses and phone numbers, possibly a mailing address or a blog link.  In our case, we almost have two different personas that need to be represented on the card.  There is the classic information about boat and crew that is on most cards.  In our case there is also the blog that existed well before we had the boat. Unlike most sailing blogs, it doesn't bear the name of the boat and goes beyond just our time on the boat so I felt it deserved a bit of a showcase on the card.  In the end, we decided that a two sided card was in order where the blog and email contact was on one side, the boat and crew information was on the other. Here is the result of our design efforts:


I think the design turned out fairly well. So, what do you think?  Hopefully the printed cards will look good.  Now...waitress, where's that drink.

Under The Weather

Sorry for going silent for a few days.  It wasn't my intention...but neither was getting sick just after getting back to Denver.  I'm now two for two on getting sick after returning to Denver.  It must be the combination of my sinuses (having become accustomed to humidity when I'm on the boat) being thrust into the very dry air of Colorado and being stuffed in a small metal tube (airplane) with a few hundred fellow humans (some of who I'm sure were sick...like the guy sitting in front of me that coughed and hacked the whole flight).  In any case, I've been feeling pretty lousy and not getting too much accomplished...including writing.

I have managed to get a few things done, though.  I decided on a new cell phone service and handset and will do a detailed write up on that once I have a chance to use it.  I do hope it works well enough because, if it does, it will be half the price of our current service with T-Mobile and give us a bit better coverage.

I would also like to get a waterproof camera that can take some decent pictures and video for the blog. Trying to decide if the low end GoPro Hero would work, or if the Fuji FinePix XP70 would be sufficient, or if I really need to spring for the better GoPro cameras that are 3 to 5 times the price.  Looking at sample pictures and video online, I think I may be leaning toward the Fuji even though it is only good to 10 meters below the water.

      

I've also been trying to help go through what is left in the house and divide it up into the categories of take, store, sell, donate, and trash.  The take pile will definitely be small, as it will have to be carried back to the boat in the Prius (along with the two of us and the dogs).  I figured that would be the only way we would be able to get back to the boat without having more than we can store on board. The store pile will be some paperwork that we need to keep and a few sentimental items that will be stored with family.  The rest all needs to depart the premises soon so we can get the house on the market and head back to the boat.

This would all be easier without the pain and head congestion, but I will try and push on so I don't further delay our departure.  Wish us luck.

A Technology Black Hole

I shouldn't be complaining about this, and truth be told I'm not.  I found a bit of a technology black hole in Deltaville.  For several days I've had VERY limited internet access and no cell phone service.  The boatyard I'm in has a wireless router and repeater...that needs to be repaired/installed.  Right now the only working router is the one that just barely covers their small office space.  My cell and tablet won't even connect to the wireless when sitting outside the office door.  Unfortunately the Wirie, while picking up a number of wireless signals (but not the boatyard office), didn't see an open signal to use anywhere.

And speaking of my cell...apparently T-mobile has never heard of this little peninsula in Virginia.  I guess Verizon owns the show here and unless you have a phone that can use the Verizon network, getting cell coverage here is...shall we say...a challenge.  While Verizon had good coverage in the U.S., I know that the rest of the world doesn't use the same radio technology as them (GSM versus CDMA) so I don't really want to switch...but I have been finding my coverage less than ideal.

All things to consider when you are heading off to live on a boat.  Personally I kind of like being a little more out of touch...you know what they say...ignorance is bliss.