Category Archives: Dave Alavoine

Jul12

TENDER TUESDAYS-Prairie Girl Series #35

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TENDER TUESDAYS-Prairie Girl Series #35

STERN TYING- 3 TIMES A CHARM-NOT!

Now I know you avid cruisers are asking yourself, “What’s the big deal about stern tying?” And for most, it doesn’t appear to be so. However, every time Prairie Girl and husband have attempted the manoeuvre- it’s been somewhat of a gong show.

This time they set off for Smugglers Cove on the Sunshine Coast. Husband had the TwoCan XL outfitted smartly with a new Sunbrella covered reel of floating rope chained to the upper rail.  Motoring into the cove on an unusually windless June heatwave day sounds simple enough. This should have been perfect conditions for stern tying in a tight cove, right?  Their buddy boat friends positioned themselves first and then … Read the rest

Jan6

TENDER TUESDAYS-PRAIRIE GIRL SERIES #33

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TENDER TUESDAYS-PRAIRIE GIRL SERIES #33

PACIFIC YACHTING MAGAZINE’S TRIBUTE  to their “COCKPIT CONFESSIONS” CARTOONIST –

                       DAVE ALAVOINE

Returning from an extended sailing trip in August, husband and Prairie Girl opened up their August magazine to discover the five page feature: A TRIBUTE TO LONG – TIME PY ILLUSTRATOR DAVE ALAVOINE! And when you looked in the corner of the front cover, you saw that cheeky little seagull of his, saying, “ABOUT TIME!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dave Alavoine has entertained us with his clever cartoons found on Cockpit Confessions since 2005. He is a treasure to all his followers, and Cockpit Confessions will not have the same appeal without Dave’s wit pulling together the humour of the submitted … Read the rest

Jul11

TENDER TUESDAYS-PRAIRIE GIRL SERIES #32

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TENDER TUESDAYS-PRAIRIE GIRL SERIES #32

         FIRST SAIL OF THE SEASON AND IT’S THE MIDDLE OF JULY!

                                                                                              -UNHEARD OF!

How could it possibly be the middle of July and the TwoCan XL had just left the dock? Let’s face it, 2020 has been a most unusual year! It’s like nothing any of us have ever experienced. You will recall Prairie Girl and husband had a shortened sailing season last summer when she tripped descending the stairs on the last night of their first sailing vacation aboard their new (older) boat- the TwoCan XL.  This meant they had 2.5 weeks on the water last June and then couldn’t get back on the boat until 6 weeks later, as the 3 broken ribs took their time … Read the rest

May4

TENDER TUESDAYS- PRAIRIE GIRL SERIES #30

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TENDER TUESDAYS- PRAIRIE GIRL SERIES #30

HUSBAND’S DREAM BOAT SHOW

(IN MIAMI, OF COURSE!)

Normally when couples rent a beach house in Florida for the month of February, it’s to escape to the sunshine and relaxation on the beaches. This didn’t seem to materialize for husband this year. No, he had a nefarious scheme planned, ahead of time, that would ensure he had a full-on day at the MIAMI BOAT SHOW. How, you might ask, did he manage to make that happen?

Well, for starters, the happy little vacationers had set up for a 33 day stay in a Beach House in the St. Petersburg area. Husband had already scoped out the MIAMI BOAT SHOW, knowing that the last day of the event would be … Read the rest

Jul30

TENDER TUESDAYS- PRAIRIE GIRL SERIES #29

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TENDER TUESDAYS- PRAIRIE GIRL SERIES #29

NEW BOAT HEEBEE – JEEBEES

Did Prairie Girl have a premonition of something going awry on their virgin cruise aboard the TwoCan XL?  One might have  wondered after such a long dry spell of stories in the Prairie Girl Series. As you will recall, husband was ecstatic with his purchase of the 2006 Beneteau343 last fall.  He spent from March to mid June, getting acquainted with it- meaning – he pulled it completely apart from the V Berth to the stern, knowing where everything was on the boat and how it all worked.  Yes, he is a thorough man and has declared himself the Beneteau 343 expert in their marina. (Personally, Prairie Girl believes that he actually lives … Read the rest

May20

TENDER TUESDAYS-PRAIRIE GIRL SERIES #28

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TENDER TUESDAYS-PRAIRIE GIRL SERIES #28

SCHOONER COVE YACHT CLUB’S

NON-TRADITIONAL SAIL PAST 2019

It is the beginning of May and Yacht Clubs all over the Pacific NW are celebrating their opening day of the boating season with a dignified Sail Past ceremony. Schooner Cove Yacht Club, located in Nanoose Bay on Vancouver Island, had such a day planned for their membership. Now if you recall from reading other Prairie Girl Learns to Sail posts and previous COCKPIT CONFESSION stories, Prairie Girl’s husband became Commodore of the SCYC in November, 2018. Of course, the Sail Past is something that all members and guests love to participate in with the dock ceremony and the parade of boats sailing past to salute the Commodore and the Commander of … Read the rest

Feb6

TENDER TUESDAYS-PRAIRIE GIRL SERIES#25

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TENDER TUESDAYS-PRAIRIE GIRL SERIES#25

NEW BOAT DILEMMA

For those of you who follow my Prairie Girl Learns to Sail posts, you will know that husband recently decided that their 28 foot Catalina (the TwoCan) just wasn’t adequate anymore and became the proud owner of a 35 foot Beneteau (the TwoCanXL). And if you read my blog (Prairie Girl Series #23-Dec. 2, 2018), you will also know that Prairie Girl is somewhat challenged in the sailing skills department. This is noted in the author page of her book, WHO’S the CAPTAIN? that states:

“MARY LAUDIEN (alias PRAIRE GIRL) is a fair weather sailor (better known as a cruiser). She has never taken a sailing lesson or a power squadron/VHF Radio

… Read the rest
Feb2

VALENTINES’ DAY PRESSURE

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VALENTINES’ DAY PRESSURE

TENDER TUESDAYS- Prairie Girl Series #24

Each year, husband constantly reminds his Prairie Girl  how much he dislikes Valentines’ Day.  Why, you ask? Well, the long and the short of it is that he has an issue with feeling obligated to create a ‘HALLMARK MOMENT’ when someone else deems it necessary. Prairie Girl calls it his “BAH HUMBUG” syndrome. He pretty much feels this way about any contrived gift-giving celebration.  Now don’t get the wrong impression, it isn’t that he resents giving a gift and a card, (although one might regard husband as somewhat frugal); its really about being expected to celebrate something that he hasn’t bought into.  Prairie Girl understands his sentiments, but she does not let him … Read the rest

Dec2

TENDER TUESDAYS-PRAIRIE GIRL SERIES #23

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TENDER TUESDAYS-PRAIRIE GIRL SERIES #23

HUSBAND TRADES UP TO A TwoCan XL

It’s hard to believe when they visit the marina where husband and Prairie Girl moored their TwoCan, that it is not their sailboat any longer. How is this possible, you ask? Well, dear readers, read on…

It all started last summer when husband and Prairie Girl attended their first CATALINA RENDEZVOUS. They had a great time chatting with the other Catalina boat owners and having opportunities to board those boats of interest. Of course, the 28 foot TwoCan was one of the smallest boats in attendance. It quickly became obvious to Prairie Girl that a BIGGER BOAT for husband would be forthcoming.

After touring all the beautiful 36+ foot yachts… Read the rest

May31

TENDER TUESDAYS-PRAIRIE GIRL SERIES #21

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TENDER TUESDAYS-PRAIRIE GIRL SERIES #21

PACIFIC YACHTING MAGAZINE PUBLISHES A 3rd PRAIRIE GIRL BLOG ON COCKPIT CONFESSION PAGE

Prairie Girl loves a surprise, don’t you?  Last week husband and Prairie Girl found a couple of open days free to take the TwoCan out on the water for a short ‘shake down’ cruise to make lists of what they needed for provisioning before setting out to Vancouver after the upcoming BMW Lasqueti Island Regatta weekend. They really didn’t go far… from Stones Marina to Marks Bay – seriously! For those of you not familiar with this area, it is about a 15 minute motor  across to a buoy in the bay. However, in their defense, they did venture out both days for a couple of … Read the rest