Mail call and meet ups

Along with the Christmas cards, I received something I've been waiting weeks for. My New Hampshire boat registration and stickers came in the mail. The joys of paperwork. To get a new registration I had to call the town office and find out what I owed the town and state. Then I had to send up two checks and a copy of my old registration, along with a self addressed envelope. Good thing I can get mail at my dad's. Imagine trying to do this while still on the water.

Technically, I should have able to register the boat ahead of time, but the town didn't have the forms and stickers in yet. There's not a lot of call for boat registrations when the snow's about to fly.

After the holidays more snowbirds head south and we hope to connect up with friends from the north. Last year we just missed friends who travel in a truck camper. This year there's a fair chance we'll meet up somewhere, perhaps in the Keys. Also, my wife's old college roommate will be down for a couple weeks. Our sailing route should bring us near their place during their visit.

It can be problematic when people using different modes of travel try to meet up. Of course the sailboat is limited to waterways. Our rate of travel is dictated to a large degree by the weather. Land based friends have schedules, something deadly to boaters. They need reservations to get into the good campgrounds. Most people have fairly short vacations, so that's also an issue.

Now I've seen some nice boats that are large enough to carry full sized motorcycles. They can leave the confines of the waterways and travel out on the open roads. That's rare, but many boaters carry bicycles, which really does make a difference. Sure beats walking, especially when carrying a load of provisions. My boat is too small for a bike, but maybe the next one will be bigger.

Too bad there really isn't a practical boat/car combination. Sure, they exist, but are pricey and tend to be only fair to bad at both jobs. That, and I've yet to see one with sails. (what a mess that would be)
I've given some thought to loading my inflatable kayak on a bike cart and pulling it behind the bike. The kayak is big enough to carry both the cart and the bicycle. It would be a pretty low budget amphibious combination, but would work. What interesting trips one could go on with that rig. No registrations or fuel, plus being able to travel on both land and water.

-Sixbears