Steve and Deborah, husband and wife co-captains, are now cruising on our sailing vessel ARGO, a Valiant 42.  She was built to our custom specifications and delivered to us in April 2002.  We left Houston in March 2003 and plan an open-ended cruise. 

PART 1:  After 2-¼ years, we had to return briefly with ARGO, arriving in Houston May 30, 2005.  During that 2-¼ years out, we logged 7,200 nautical miles (8,300 miles).  Our travels have been mostly in the Bahamas, Eastern Caribbean and South America.  We have visited 24 countries, 58 separate islands and anchorages too numerous to count.  We have endured a couple of tropical storms and narrowly escaped hurricane Ivan.  Our journey has included 38 overnight passages.  We have met (and logged in) over 400 cruising boats (800 people) that we have met along the way, and continue to stay in touch with many.

PART 2:  We again departed Houston in March 2006 and plan on spending a few years in the Western Caribbean / Central America.  After that, we'll see . . .

PART 3:  We are living on ARGO in Bocas del Toro, Panama (Caribbean side) and working for awhile to replenish the cruising kitty. 

To find out where we are now, or to keep track of us during passages, click the above Position Report button.  Additionally, the Where are We? page has other links, some showing awesome, zoomable satellite views.  Our position is updated every time ARGO moves.  The Pictures/Journal and Route/Maps pages are updated periodically.

Our Favorite Pictures Slide Show
For those new (or old) to our site, check it out

"Retire early and go cruising!"

Update at a glance . . . December 20, 2009 from Bocas del Toro, Panama.  Finally!  (Actually still working on the below, so pardon any mistakes/problems you may encounter.)

We wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!  There's a lot to add to our website, but until it's done here is a brief update. 

Deborah spent some time in the USA visiting her Dad and working temporarily for a friend.  Steve joined up in Houston and we traveled to visit his family, before returning to ARGO in September. 

Since then, Steve has been doing sales consulting work for a Houston-based couple (but he actually made the initial contact here in Bocas) who is developing a 5-star, eco-luxury resort on one of the nearby islands here in the Bocas archipelago.  (Yep, we were affected by the stock market fiasco, too.)  The resort, called Emerald Monkey, is just in it's infancy, but we think it's going to be very unique and offer us exceptional opportunities.  Once things get going, Deborah expects to be working there also.  So while we might say we'd prefer not to work at all, we both actually are looking forward to being productive, engaging our brains in useful (and money-making) activities, and connecting with a whole different group of people.  We are now finding ourselves integrating into the land-based expat community here in Bocas (which is quite large), rather than the cruising community to which we are more accustomed.  As you would expect, Steve pretty much knows everybody in town.

Since September, we've been to Panama City and David again, took a mandatory 72-hour "vacation" to coastal hangout town Puerto Viejo in Costa Rica for immigration purposes, and will be spending Christmas with friends Mary Ellen and Randy at their home in the mountains above Boquete (Panama).  Last New Year's Day we organized a black-eyed pea cook-off contest, which we plan to repeat this year.

Our coming updates may include our recommendations for cruisers on a Puerto Viejo get-away and other local tips; how we got our Panama maritime captain licenses; how Panama employment law is heavily weighted in favor of the employee (surprising); video of this sloth moving between trees; and other tidbits.  Cruisers' David City Recommendations has been updated, and the Panama City Recommendations will be updated very soon.

June 3, 2009.  ARGO is still in Bocas del Toro, Panama, while we split our time between the boat, Houston and Costa Rica (for immigration purposes).  We hope to have some new updates for you soon. 

December 3, 2008 from Bocas del Toro, Panama (Caribbean side):  Updates are now current, which includes: Our fascinating boat and land tours of the Panama Canal (our write-up contains  slide show and animations); Panama City; highlights of our visit to the USA; and more on the Bocas del Toro area.  To get started jump to newest updates (which are on Pictures/Journal page 31 and page 32), or go straight to the Panama Canal write-up.  We will leave this area soon and will make our way to the San Blas islands.

November 9, 2008 from Bocas del Toro, Panama:  After spending 2 months in the USA visiting our families and friends, we are now back on ARGO.  After traveling inland here to do our annual routine physicals, we'll then prepare to leave Bocas and head east to the San Blas islands - islands that cruisers say are more south pacific than the South Pacific itself, if you can imagine that!  Upcoming updates will include highlights of our trip to the USA, as well as our up-close and personal land- and boat- tours through the locks of the Panama Canal.  To whet your appetite even more, check out the live Panama Canal webcam and a Panama Canal time-lapse video !

August 15, 2008 from Bocas del Toro, Panama:  Read updates from Panama at Pictures/Journal page 31.  We will be visiting the USA all of September and October, so we look forward to seeing our stateside family and friends soon.  After we return to ARGO, we plan to spend a year or two in Panama, the San Blas Islands and Cartagena, Colombia.

July 25, 2008 from Bocas del Toro, Panama:  We left Guanaja, a Bay Island of Honduras, in early May and arrived in northwestern* Panama (Caribbean side) mid-June, covering about 850 statute miles . . . traveling with Texans, Australians/Croatian, Brits and French/French Canadian . . . a nasty passage "around the corner" of Honduras/Nicaragua  . . . closely chased by a water spout . . . ARGO has put 10,000 n. miles under her keel . . . continue reading  .  .  .

* DID YOU KNOW that Panama actually extends west to east - like an "S" laying on its side -  and the Panama Canal runs north-south?

 Been out of touch with our website?  Then catch up with  

Hey, Central America traveler, if you're planning a trip inland, you may want to check out our Pictures/Journal web pages and the following write ups:

Planning on cruising?  At the request of fellow cruisers, here are a few recommendations on services back in the U.S. that we have found to be very good - U.S. Service Recommendations (rev. July '08).

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