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Instantly receive the amount of the base ticket price for a companion airfare traveling from any gateway city in the United States (except Alaska and Hawaii) to Nassau Paradise Island!

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Best Western Bay View Suites
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Comfort Suites Paradise Island
The Cove Atlantis
Graycliff Hotel & Restaurant
Harborside Resort at Atlantis
One&Only Ocean Club
Paradise Island Harbour Resort All-Inclusive
The Reef Atlantis
Sandals Royal Bahamian Spa Resort & Offshore Island
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Wyndham Nassau Resort & Crystal Palace Casino (All-Inclusive Available)

Booking Window: December 14th, 2009 - March 3rd, 2010

Travel Window: January 4th, 2010 - June 23rd, 2010

Blackout dates: March 19th, 2010 - April 18th, 2010

*Certain government-imposed taxes and fees on free air travel are additional.

Ten favourites from 2009

So its the end of another year and time to look back and reflect. Overall 2009 ended up being a good year despite swine flu, a broken toe and bad reaction to a yellow fever jab.

One of the reasons was there was a lot of good travel to some really interesting places, and those posts certainly are high on the list of favourites of 2009. On reflection there weren't many sailing and kayaking ones on the short list. Partly this was because of the travel and injuries didn't do that much, but also because there are other blogs out there that cover these topics a lot better.

What I've enjoyed doing and posting are the travel stories and fiction, though usually with a water sport related angle.

So enough of the analysis and on with the list:

1) In March / April went to Venezuela which was a fantastic experience. The high spot was the trip to the Orinoco Delta where was woken at dawn by howler monkeys before heading off for a fly by of Angel Falls (or Kerepakupai-Meru as we must learn to call it).

2) In April posted a natural navigation picture puzzle relating to how far the trees on either side of an avenue in a London park had come out. It generated a lot of good suggestions and ideas and was eventually solved by the Natural Navigator himself.

3) In May I broke my toe which put a temporary end to sailing and kayaking so instead got on my bike and headed up river for a great ride to Kingston and back.

4) In July in response to one of the many great group writing exercises put together the Ultimate Walk by the Thames, 50 top sights on a trail from Westminster to Tower Bridge which strongly recommend to those visiting London for the first time

5) Also in July did a bareboat holiday in Greece about the time that Tillerman asked for a review, so posted a point by point breakdown of the Sunsail charter complete with a star rating.

6) In August there was another group writing competition which resulted in a post on the JP Blog Experience. However that entry didn't make the top 10, but the account of what happened when the venture went on Dragon's Den does.

7) In September the blog's roving reporter Buff Staysail was lucky enough to go on Tillerman's Laser Experience training program and apparently came back a winner. It wouldn't be fair not to mention ol' BS at least once (or be worth the inevitable complaints)

8) In October the weather started to turn and it was time to head indoors to the Tate Gallery. The seascapes of Turner and the Masters was a thought providing exhibition about art, artists and the development of artistic ideas which was well worth catching.

9) Also in October in response to O Docker joining the blogging world forgot what my notes meant that hinted at a great post. However it spurred the creative juices to come up with the Blog Code of the Woosters.

10) Last but not least was the trip in November to Azerbaijan and Georgia which was spectacular. There were a host of posts and pictures that will treasure for a long time but the clear winner for me was the Tsminda Sameba Church, high in the Caucasus mountains. Simply amazing.

Some were popular with Google (Navionics reviews) and some like Top Yacht I enjoyed but were too long for this list (and received little feedback).

The picture above is from the snow in February which felt suitably wintery.

Thanks to everyone who dropped in and read or commented - its been fun. See you in 2010!

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Peter Pan - Boxing Day Panto

One of the many rituals of a British Christmas is a trip to the Pantomime - particularly if you have children in your party.

I was thinking that no explanation would be necessary but the Wikipedia article on pantomime or panto seems to imply its mostly a British and ex-pat plus a few ex colonies like Australia that have experienced this unique music theatre event.

Pantomime is most definitely nothing to do with mime but a starts with a traditional tale like Cinderella, Aladdin or Dick Wittington. The story is usually simplified and then told with a mixture of song and dance, with added dollops of slap-stick and a heavy dose of double-entendres.

A key part is audience participation with calls of "behind you" or "oh no it isn't" nearly guaranteed together with a sing-along where left and right sides of the audience compete.

One of the other conventions is that of the Pantomime Dame which is a bloke. We saw Peter Pan and the fairy was not Tinkerbell but Tinkerbelly, a rather fat man in a bizarre pink outfit.

At the top is a video of the cast including Peter Pan, Wendy and Tinkerbelly. While the show did involve pirates and mermaids it must be admitted that this wasn't the Marlow Theatre's greatest hour, but the kids enjoyed it. It didn't help that as the theatre is being re-developed the show was moved to a temporary circus like tent in a nearby site.

Often this is a chance for TV soap stars to earn a little extra and this can include Australian favourites like Neighbours, but all we had was Adrian Edmondson from The Young Ones as Captain Hook.

Oh well, maybe it will be better next time.

As we filed out a new crowd was turning up for the next show - roll up roll up and keep them coming, for the show must go on.

Christmas Day BBQ

On Christmas day we went to the beach. It was nothing like the Australian summer sun experience, rather a huddling from a biting Arctic wind deep within coats and woolly hats behind a sand dune, hands stretching towards the warmth of the disposal bbq.

But all the same it was strangely satisfying and we were not the only ones battling the elements. As we went down to the sea to dip our walking boots in the sea three horses were ridden by, galloping along the shallow waters.

Then back to have a couple of too quickly cooked charcoal covered sausages:

And with a brrr! that was enough and we returned in doors to light a proper fire and open those presents.

Mince pies and the best of 2009

Hope everyone is now happily full of their favourite things, whether it be mince pies, chocolates, turkey with stuffing or the warmth of human happiness.

So having travelled, eaten, washed up (many times) and successfully shown nephews and nieces the correct way to fly a model helicopter am now back in JP HQ ready to catch up on what the blogsphere has been up to.

And there are already some very nice best of 2009 posts to read, including (in no order apart from tabs of my browser):

First up there's H2uhO's comments in the original post that focus's on iPhone apps (which is something should look into and post in near future). He also posted some sailing reflections from 2009 which sort of count too.

Adam's Moments in Sailing Blogging in 2009 which includes the NY meet up (what a great idea), Bowsprite's great paintings which make even the most humble tug look beautiful, the definitely worth subscribing to Keep Turning Left YouTube videos, and many others.

O'Docker goes back to his roots in commenting on others blogs, and if you haven't read that fantastic book "Blog Commenting for Dummies" you should order your copy asap from the author - magic stuff

Bonnie, apart from tempting us with freshly baked bread (oh, I so want smell-o-vision) and a fantastically Christmas / The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe picture, reminded us how great Tillerman's challenges have been and her experiences in dinghy sailing (woh! not kayaking you ask? - well go and read).

Tillerman himself gave us three mince pies which included two of my favourites - the 10 reason why almost gave up sailing and the Laser experience. Actually the latter is Buff's favourite as one of the few who claim to have finished it (but then he does claim a lot of things). I was meaning to comment on the 10 raisins list but was travelling at the time as its something that could also apply to me.

And last but by no means least so far is Carol Anne with 10 high spots of what otherwise sounds like not a good year. Luckily it includes two of my favs, namely the "This is awkward" writing competition, which had fun in responding to, and the sailing light bulb jokes which recommend heading over to straight away for some post Christmas humour.

Any more out there?

Oh yes, mine. Well that's one of several posts over the last few days of 2009 including one about a man in a pink fairy costume.

Update: some stats, the top ten posts, and a favourite from Tugster here.

Happy Christmas 2009

Happy Christmas!

There is a debate of course about what to say with the corporate friendly choice being Happy Holidays. But this blog is not a business by any measure, and for me a holiday involves travel somewhere new, probably with boats or discovering the people and geography of a country.

This break involves family and presents, decorated trees and a turkey (*), carols and children, and all the trimmings of a traditional English Christmas of the middle classes in the home counties, which is of course all very pleasant.

The Christmas vs Holidays choice reminds me a bit of the integration vs multi-cultural debate, whether the (mostly) American approach of all celebrating the universal against the (mostly) European alternative of keeping separate cultures in a single country.

My feelings is that I'd be very happy to receive an invitation to enjoy a happy Hunakkah or Eid from those for whom those are special events, so I should celebrate the day that is important for me.

But what picture to show? In the end went for this slightly abstract crescent. It's the sun glinting off a lake large enough to be counted as a sea, but not on Earth.

For this is the Sea of Krakens on Titan, where one day robot explorers might sail the liquid methane seas.

And this is appropriate given the BBC's big pull out all the stops Christmas special this year is the first of a two parter end of an era last David Tennant as Doctor Who. Can't wait!

What ever you are doing over the next few days hope you have a great and very enjoyable time.

I'll be back posting sometime next week with my list of top blog entries of 2009

(*) I hope - for the last 3 years have always had something "different" which is really nice in its way, but it is the season of tradition

Your blog in 2009

It's the time of year of lists - cards to write, presents to buy and what to bring to which event.

It's also the time of year for mulled wine, for uncles to "test" presents for nephews and nieces, and visits to far flung relatives.

All of which means that blogging might become a less frequent, but there is one post was thinking of putting up sometimes over the festive fortnight.

I was thinking of going through the blog posts this year and picking out a couple of my favourites as a flavour of what you can expect here.

But then I thought - it would be great to have something to read after stuffed full of mince pies, and what better than the cream of the crop of other blogs.

So how about this - anyone who's interested lists their top blog entries of 2009. It can be the top favourite, the top 3, 5, 10, or any other number that takes your fancy (though anything over 12 will be considered excessive).

I'm not going to judge or award points or top ten top tens or anything anal like that - there are clearly experts out there at that field.

It's just a "how about it" suggestion.

A Caribbean Christmas

Christmas in the Caribbean is a magical time and a gift to be able to experience a rainbow of cultures and festivities on one little island. Yes, it is a shock to the senses for those of us accustomed to chilly nights spent snuggled around a fire. But should you find yourself on vacation in the Caribbean for the holidays, be prepared for some serious fun in the form of carnivals, festivals, and all-night parties.

As far as holiday traditions in the Caribbean, its not always Christmas lights on palm trees... you will be surprised by the history and practices found on some islands. Check out what Robert Curley, editor of the Caribbean section at About.com has to say...
"The islands of the Netherlands Antilles have a unique Christmas celebration that comes straight from Holland, with visits from Sinterklaas and his mysterious minions, the Zwarte Piet (Black Petes). In Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, St. Maarten, St. Eustatius, and Saba, children receive their holiday gifts not only on Christmas morning but also on Dec. 6, the birthday of St. Nicholas..." read more here. **Photo from here also!

A White Christmas?

It snowed today!

Ok, it was nothing like the epic dump we had in February (as in the pic above) and it melted almost at once, but for getting into the Christmas spirit it was just great if cold.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.....

ps - if anyone has any ideas or suggestions as to why the comments tool isn't working that would be very welcome!

Andrea Andrade Wonderful World | Resolution 1024 x 768

coolwallpapercollection.blogspot.com

What's in a name?

What's a good name for a yacht manufacturer? I was thinking this as read December's Yachting World and there was an article about a Wally doing the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC).

That was all very fine and good but the inner school boy in me never stops having a silent snigger as the phrase "what a wally!" echoes through the head. Maybe its just me.

It clearly doesn't have the same ring as (say) Oyster, as in pearls, fine food, or the world is your.

Does it matter? Clearly not as they are a hugely successful company, and as Juliet - or rather Shakespeare - once said "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet".

However the bard hadn't heard of word association marketing strategies (lucky chap). I once saw in Germany a tour company with their name along the side of the bus, namely "F**kers". Clearly there would be a certain difficulty in bringing that brand to the UK market.

But maybe it isn't important to those that matter. Those who can afford to buy and run a Wally probably don't feel they have anything to prove.

Love Your Family @ Starwood Resorts

Starwood Resorts, the group that includes Westin, Sheraton, Luxury Collection, and St. Regis, has launched a "Love Your Family" Vacation Package at each of its resorts. Packages include:

Guaranteed connecting rooms or suite
Daily $100 resort credit
Souvenir cup with unlimited refills
Kids under 12 eat free (additional terms apply)
Age-appropriate amenity for each child
Complimentary crib and rollaway
On-site evening ritual

Enjoy these perks at any of the following Caribbean Starwood Hotels:

Westin St. John

Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort

Westin Aruba

**Photo is from the super sleek Westin Aruba!

Tillerman's Painkiller Count

So O Docker wants to know how many painkillers Tillerman had during his vacation in the sunny Caribbean?

Obviously one problem is having absolutely no data to go on. However one of the advantages of a career in Consultancy is that one learns ways around what otherwise would be something of a stumbling block.

The key is to have a methodology which ensures there is documentary evidence that can be presented to the client prior to invoicing to demonstrate that work has been done to an assured quality level (we luckily don't have to say what that level is).

In this study we propose to use the following methodology:

Stage 1: identify the possible activities or behaviours that will lead to Tillerman requiring to take painkillers

Stage 2: identify for each possible activity a probability or alternatively the number of cases that will occur during his vacation

Stage 3: identify for each possible activity the number of painkillers required

Stage 4: numerical compute from the data collected (see, even without actual real data we have created some!) the total number of painkillers.

This methodology can be submitted to the client at the kick-off to get sign-off, and ensure they can say to their stakeholders they are operating an evidence driven decision making process (ha!). For the sake of argument the vacation is considered to start at arrival at the airport and end at return.

So lets start with Stage 1, identification of things that might require painkillers:

a) The terminal (either ends) is crowded and noisy

b) Tillerman drinks and flys (not a good idea, given dehydration effect of altitude)

c) A crying baby is in the seat next to Tillerman (either direction)

d) The road to the hotel is very bumpy and the driver speeds, so his head hits the roof

e) During his stay he bumps his head on the boom of the boat he is sailing

f) During his stay he falls asleep in the sun

g) During his stay he has a celebration involving too many drinks including rum

h) During his stay there is a steel drum band playing as he is trying to sleep

i) He is caught by Mrs T checking out the local ladies on the beach and his excuse involving research for the blog is not accepted

j) Alas there was something in the water/salad/fruit which didn't agree with his stomach

Ok, that's pretty comprehensive list, so on to stages 2 and 3. Here we use the model to develop (good word that, doesn't imply anything made up) the numbers, and fire up Excel, the consultants friend.

Of course there are some issues about concurrency i.e. probability of two events at once, but that is covered by the half a pill factor. There are also other activities that are likely to only happen once (activities f. and i. spring to mind).

Hence using a formalised, quality controlled methodology and a mathematical model we can derive the answer.

Properly this should of course be given in a PowerPoint presentation which sticks to that great recommendation of tell them what you're going to say, say it, then tell them what you've told them.

But as this is an unpaid study lets just jump to the answer: 18

Drum roll or address to send invoice to please.

Any questions?

More Turning Left

Another plug for the great Keep Turning Left videos on YouTube which if you haven't subscribed to yet, you really should.

This video is from The Naze, and with its Google Earth spin arounds and discussions on the geophysical origins of sand banks is much more than your average cruising log.

Highly recommended.

New laptop, old Virtual Skipper

Last week my laptop failed, again. This time it was the power system, so can now measure its lifespan in the capacity of the currently charged batteries.

It was made by HP, which according to this report has the lowest reliability of any of the main manufacturers. And having had another replace-the-motherboard level of failure earlier this year was a) not happy and b) not prepared to go through that process again.

So CC in hand splashed out on a new one (not from HP) and spent the last few days transferring the data across and re-loading programs.

And under a pile of archived CDs and DVDs found an old copy of Virtual Skipper, namely version 2. So loaded it up and had fun thrashing a couple of simulated ACC boats.

I wonder if there is an upgrade path to the most recent?

Holiday Romance at Grand Velas Riviera Maya

Relax... the Holidays don't have to be stressful! You can getaway from the cold rush of the city and warm up in Mexico with this great value added package from the Grand Velas Riviera Maya!

Romance Package Includes:

§ 15% off above the normal holiday rate.
§ Grand Class Suite with stunning ocean front
§ Adults Only Section
§ All-inclusive at 7 Restaurants and 8 bars
§ Butler Concierge Service
§ Suite Service 24hrs
§ Non-mothorized water sports
§ Private Roundtrip transfer Airport-Hotel- Airport
§ Bottle of Champagne on arrival
§ 15% off at the Spa
§ Special New Years Eve Dinner
§ From Dec 25th until Jan 2nd, 2009.

Rate is $705/per person, per night!

Verdanza : Affordable Style in Puerto Rico!

{ Verdanza Hotel } San Juan, Puerto Rico

High Style {Low Price}

Indulge without breaking the bank...

Eat, Drink, & Be Merry.... by the pool

Catch the San Juan vibe at the Verdanza Hotel! Formerly the Holiday Inn, the Verdanza is newly redesigned and boasts fresh, casual, urban-inspired atmosphere, with organic colors and simple lines... ready to go?

Giveaway Roundup!

Psssttt.... check it out! There are a few great giveaways on my Destination Wedding Blog right now:

Enter to Win a Destination Wedding by Sandals & Martha Stewart

Enter to Win a cute-as-can-be BeeGee Bag.

Sand Dollar Estate - St. Thomas

{Welcome to Paradise}

Sand Dollar Estate in St. Thomas is a luxurious villa sleeping up to 22 persons in 8 well-appointed bedrooms.
Often referred to as THE finest rental villa on St. Thomas, Sand Dollar Estate has been host to US Presidents, Rock Stars and Celebrities who seek its up-market amenities and PERFECT location.

Located on 2.5 acres of pristine Magen's Bay with 2 private beaches, there is plenty of room to roam... or to just relax.

The view is the only entertainment you'll need.

Private chef services, babysitting, and in-house spa services are easily arranged.

From almost every corner of the villa's 6000 square feet, one can see the ocean.

Ready. Set. Pack.... Let me know when you want to go!

Enjoy!