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 . . .

Our Favorite Pictures Slide Show
		Lots of new pictures, now with location captions
For those new (or old) to our site, check it out

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.

"Retire early and go cruising!"

Update at a glance . . . 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 cruiser, 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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