We have a mast!

The mast is up.  Details at 11.

Birthday in the BVI

To celebrate my birthday this year, some friends who are working in the yard alongside us took a break from commissioning our yachts and went out for dinner.  Afterwards, we all went bowling in Road Town, Tortola.  A good time was had by all!

Fly Day!

Sunscreen has been purchased, bags are nearly packed. Sasha and I fly back to the virgin islands TODAY! We'll be posting pictures of our next yacht when we arrive. There was a lot of work done on Soterion over the summer, so there is some assembly required before the Tortola Boat Show begins Nov 4. Our thin blood is looking forward to the long sweaty days of work ahead.

Monterey Bay Aquarium

If you drive through Monterey, California - you MUST stop at the aquarium!

This place was amazing.

In the two story tall kelp forest, scuba divers are equipped with full face masks and aquacoms so they can talk about conservation while feeding the fish. In this photo the diver is talking about the importance of eating "safe fish" according to the Seafood Watch cards that are given out.

Sasha was amazed. He was also very hungry for sushi when we left.

Esalen

Sasha and I were out in Big Sur for a conference at Esalen that looked at Russian & American relations- something we all agreed was our "Laziest Asset". The conference was fantastic. I was sitting in a room with great minds from both countries talking about ways to bridge the gaps between citizens using art, literature, sustainable projects, and community based programs.

View from the lawn.

The future generation!!

Sasha stops to smell the roses (not really roses).

San Fran

We took the audio tour of Alcatraz- and learned a lot. The tour was narrated by the prison guards with audio clips from prisoners. Really gives you a feel for how things were run in the prison.

Outside the front entrance of the prison. Notice the beautiful weather we were having?!?!

It's official, Sasha is a tree huger :)

Rode bikes all around the north east side of the city and parks. This photo was taken at Land's End.

West Coast Trip

Our trip to California was a great success. We saw many friends, both old and new, and traveled to many amazing places.

We visited Big Sur.

And Alcatraz.

More pictures and details to follow!

Please vote for Grokfeast New York

We roasted a whole pig in a hole in the beach at the party, and now we have a chance to win a whole grass-fed cow! Please vote for us TODAY at http://www.marksdailyapple.com/contest-poll-the-2010-grokfeast-challenge/