My home (for a year was) is the s/v Acephalous.  She's a Catalina 34 with the tall rig and a fin keel.  So, how did she get her name?  Here's the story:"

In 1995 I was on my 4th deployment to the Persian Gulf with the Navy.  A fellow by the name of Terry Pocock, an electronic warfare technician, started a "word of the day" thing.  With nothing better to do on watch in the combat information center, he had decided to increase his vocabulary by reading a dictionary cover to cover.  Day-by-day he read through this book and selected a "word of the day", which best fit the current mood on board.  He then posted it on the electronic warfare status board with the definition for all to read, just as faithfully as he posted the status of his equipment and the threat environment; well actually, he probably posted the word of the day more faithfully.  Anyway, after a particularly mismanaged night watch, the very first "word of the day" was acephalous, meaning: "lacking a clearly defined head or leader."  I've had plenty of bosses but very few leaders and the word has stuck with me to this day; it pretty much sums up how I got to where I am.  Like Frank, I did it my way.  I retired from the Navy at the ripe old age of 37 (I was in boot camp 3 weeks after I turned 17) and am doing what I like, without much regard for what the people who claim to be in charge, or claim to know what's best think.  I have no leader, just a desire to be happy and that desire is my sole motivation.

So, having arrived at this point, where I've come to the conclusion that what other people think doesn't really matter (I've suspected this my whole life, but have fully embraced the concept within the last few years and have adopted it as doctrine) and with happiness as the goal; I've re-arranged my life in an attempt to reach that goal.

After the trials and tribulations of the last couple of decades, living "the American dream", and having been bamboozled by love; I have come to the conclusion that, in matters of any importance, you can't put your faith or trust in anyone but yourself, your dog, and your drinking buddies (the only 3 entities that haven't screwed me over at some point along the way).  I've decided to try something new.

(if you believe the "American Dream" is a house with a white picket fence, wife and 1.2 kids; Ha! The joke's on you.... you've been lied to... click on this link and read the "how to get your boat" link and begin your deprogramming.... there is some twisted genius at work here. s/v Andraecium)

After enjoying 20 years at sea with the U.S. Navy I just haven't had enough.  Steel hulls, weapons, the protection of a battle group, a supply chain, shipmates to count on, a seemingly inexhaustible budget... who wants all that when you can experience life in the open ocean in 34 feet of fiberglass by yourself or with a friend or two...  So might as well find a way to get back out there, after all, why do sailors go to sea?  Because they don't or won't fit in, and they're no good for anything else.  Good bye to the House Dragon; hello $3 a gallon rum punch in the tropics.  I'll insert the links to my projects pages as I overhaul her and get her ready for some cruising...  That is, if I make it past the Main Street Bridge in Jacksonville without being dismasted... two close calls and I haven't learned yet... third times the charm, eh?

All that crap sounded real good, eh?  Well, everything is subject to change at a moments notice in my life, here's the latest update:  Back from the Sea