Best of luck, Chad 2.6.08

Chad left us today, headed back to the states. We’ve had a great time with him and wish him well in all of his endeavors. Chad has been a great friend to both of us – he worked in the shop with Michael for some time and even took off with us on our first grand adventure in 2005! How great is it to have a friend who will take 2 months off to go cruising with some newbies! Chad has been up and down the coast of Mexico numerous times as he races sailboats and helped us (me primarily) learn the ‘ropes’ so to speak on the basics of cruising. He is an incredible teacher & we learned a ton from him. We’re indebted to him for all of his kindness & patience with the both of us! We’re so lucky to have such a wonderful friend. We wish him the best of luck in all of his adventures & will miss having him aboard. I’ve read that life is full of ‘firsts’ and that you must take the time and enjoy all of them as they’re happening as there will never again be that opportunity…. We had a lot of ‘firsts’ with Chad (first flip of the dinghy, first bow line break in Avalon, first fish caught on the boat, first trip down the coast of Baja, first time petting a baby whale, and many more I can’t list here…) and I can’t think of a better person to have shared it with. Now I’ll have to start holding my own 2 hour shifts on crossings…and what on earth will we do with all that wasabi!? (wink, wink)