Monday, April 11, 2011

Hey, why so quiet....

I know I've been slow to blog about the refit progress. Mostly this is because while we are so excited that all of the chainplate bulkheads have been recored, reglassed and just await finishing touches on the final 2 its not the most enthralling of tales. Its work and a lot of it. We are also up to our eyeballs in technical drawings as we prepare to upgrade the traveler, rearrange the deck hardware for easier sail trim and handling all in preparation for the rerigging of the boat with our brand new Dyneema (R) rigging. This makes for quite a bit of research and brain work but not a lot of doing until some final decisions are made. So if we are quiet, its not because we aren't working our tales off in fact, its quite the opposite.

We were so fortunate in having our readers support us in our bid to be on the 2011 Dyneema Experience Team that I was hesitant to ask for yet more help. You've all been so supportive it makes me a little bit uncomfortable to ask for more love from you. But. This request is not for me. Its also nothing to do with sailing although the couple in this post are fantastic crew and we'd take them sailing again with us anytime. It is about love and what sailor doesn't really enjoy a great love story?


This is my niece Victoria and her fiance' Ben. Aren't they adorable? They met in their first year at University and fell deeply, madly in love with each other. They've been together ever since. They struggle to keep up with ever increasing tuition and living costs. There is no free ride for these kids. They are completely on their own financially and unfortunately they live in the USA where if you are an academically poor student but can play football, there is help with tuition grants and scholarships. If you take an extremely heavy course load in order to graduate as quickly as possible and still manage to make perfect grades, you are on your own.

So Ria and Ben gamely try to save money for their wedding because the one thing they know is that they want to be together. Always. Unfortunately, grad school costs go up, educational grants go down and they end up spending their wedding savings on frivolous things like tuition and books. The keep a cheerful heart because they feel so fortunate to have found their soul mate and to have this great big love. When school costs eat up their wedding savings,they remain grateful for all that they have and just sigh and try to find yet another part time job.

So here's where you come in. They've entered to win a wedding from Disney. This is not some ostentatious, over blown extravaganza they are competing for. It is a modest wedding but one they would be grateful for because it means they can get on with living the rest of their lives together. So if you've ever been in love or if you believe in love and commitment and working together for a common goal, sign up and vote for them. Yes, its a bit of a pain to go through the registration process but I assure you, these 2 will be so appreciative of your support, as will I.

http://family.go.com/happily-ever-after-contest/stories-category/ria---ben-65627/

Besides, if they get married in Florida they will be conveniently located to crew for us in the Bahamas. :)

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