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March 21, 2009:
Drexel University, New Master’s in Education, concentration Instructional Technology Specialist.
18 months, 30 Graduate Credits + 15 transferred credits, 4.0 GPA

Reflection:
It was two years ago this month that I applied for a study sabbatical leave from my High School computer applications teaching position to be accepted into the Master’s degree program at Drexel University. This sabbatical would be my third, with my first being in 1990 for travel to New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii, and a full Caribbean tour from the US Virgin Islands to Grenada and nearly every island in between. At that time, teachers were allowed to take sabbaticals for travel and I was teaching Architectural Design, so I created many photographic slideshows of the architecture of these areas. My second sabbatical in 1999-2000 was to earn an MCSE, Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer degree, from Drexel University technology affiliate. This certified my skills in Windows server and network systems since I had installed and configured the first file server in my classroom in 1998. My third sabbatical, this one, was for earning a new Master’s Degree simply to update my resume. Now I have completed this goal and it feels great.

Originally I had applied to Drexel for their on-campus degree, and during my interview with my advisors they suggested that I think about their new online degree program since I live over an hour from the campus. I was planning on driving into Philadelphia every day, but now I had the opportunity to take the courses online. In another meeting with my superintendant, she told me…”If you can get accepted to Drexel University, I will allow you to take the courses online.” Up until this point, our district had a policy that teachers were NOT allowed to take online courses, even though we allow students to enroll in classes at Virtual High School! So, allowing me to go with online courses was a significant change in policy. The superintendent thought I would not get accepted into Drexel, which is why she said this with a smirk on her face. Well, guess what? Not only was I accepted, but I nailed it with a 4.0 GPA, so…thank you very much, “super,” for handing me the keys to my freedom and my educational future.

My Drexel courses began June 25, 2007, and I was concerned that I would not be able to do the work and that it would be too challenging and I recall being worried about embarking on this long process. Looking back on all 30 credits, 10 courses, I can now say that it was not as difficult as I thought it would be, but it did take far more time and was more effort than any previous graduate courses I had completed. I know, because I now have 120 graduate credits, all with a 4.0, that nothing was as much work as Drexel University was in regards to reading, writing, posting and discussions. Drexel Online runs one week at a time, with the weeks opening up on Monday at 8am EST and closing on Sunday 11pm EST. If work is not turned in for that week, it is an automatic letter grade lower! It is essential to keep up and to be on time, with no excuses. My MCSE in 1999-2000 will remain the most challenging course work I have accomplished, and this degree will be my second most challenging goal achieved.

The online education world is growing, and by earning this new degree online, I may have the opportunity to become an online teacher or professor. For now, it simply feels rewarding to have completed the goal. Now it’s time to re-focus on Island Packet Sailing Adventures!

Transferred Chestnut Hill College Professional Electives 15cr. A 4.0
Summer Qtr 06-07 EDUC 511 Computer Skills for Teachers 3.0cr A 4.0
Fall Qtr 07-08 EDUC 535 Rsrch & Eval Instruction Tech 3.0cr A+ 4.0
Fall Qtr 07-08 INFO 520 Prof/Soc Aspcts Info Svcs 3.0cr A+ 4.0
Winter Qtr 07-08 EDUC 533 Virtual Learning 3.0cr A 4.0
Winter Qtr 07-08 INFO 640 Managing Information Orgs 3.0cr A 4.0
Spring Qtr 07-08 EDLT 536 Learning Sciences & Instr Des 3.0cr A+ 4.0
Spring Qtr 07-08 EDUC 530 Adv Technq Instr & Assess 3.0cr A 4.0
Summer Qtr 07-08 EDLT 537 Technologies for Perf Support 3.0cr A 4.0
Summer Qtr 07-08 EDUC 525 Multi-Media Instruc Design 3.0cr A 4.0
Fall Qtr 07-08 Took off to return to my teaching position
Winter Qtr 08-09 EDUC 516 Diversity and Today’s Teacher 3.0cr A+ 4.0
June 07 to March 09. 21 Months total. 45credits GPA =4.0

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Our summer cruise to Block Island, RI was once again fantastic. We were gone 30 days and only took a dock at 2 locations. What a great summer! Here is a table of our adventures….

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Radeen’s niece-in-law from Phoenix and her 9 year old daughter joined us for 5 fun days aboard! Tammy and Taelor brought 100+ temperatures with them, so we stayed plugged in at Spring Cove Marina for the first day. With earnest supplications to Neptune and the Four Winds, we christened our new AB dinghy by sacrificing a can of Rolling Rock on the bow of “Buns II.” Taelor’s older brother, Colton, had helped us christen the original “Buns” in 1996. After dinner aboard “Surprise” with “CAVU,” we enjoyed the mandatory cruisers’ classic film, “Captain Ron.”

Then we set sail for Annapolis, where we took a mooring ball, toured the Naval Academy, saw the crypt of John Paul Jones and a had great view of the Wednesday night racers. The next morning, after early rowing practice for the schwabbie, we became pirates for a day aboard “Sea Gypsy VI, “ departing from Eastport in search of treasure. This was even more fun than anticipated – highly recommended adventure!

We had another great day sail and a tour of Rock Hall Harbor before dashing to the airport. We declared our crew well-seasoned and promoted Taelor Sailor from “Schwabbie” to “Dinghy Captain.”

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Verizon Broadband 5 GB/mo.

• Now that I have used my Verizon broadband card from June 2007 to June 2008, I was wondering if I was getting close to the Verizon Limits on Data usage which is set at 5 GB per month.
• The answer is NO, not yet!

What is 5 GB of data?

• 5 GB of data is approximately 5,000 MB of data.
• 1 MB of data is approximately 1,000 kilobytes of data.
• Verizon reports data usage in kilobytes, so you simply need to move the decimal place to the left by six positions to arrive at GB.

For example:

• The numbers below, from the Verizon web site, show my data usage in kilobytes.
• The data for Nov 2007 is 2,619,915 kilobytes which equals approximately 2619 MB which equals approximately 2.6 GB.
• That is about 50% of my allowance of 5 GB.

Actual numbers are: 2,619,915 kilobytes equals 2,558MB which equals 2.49 GB

1 Byte = 8 Bit
1 Kilobyte = 1024 Bytes
1 Megabyte = 1048576 Bytes
1 Gigabyte = 1073741824 Bytes

Our Usage:

• Remember, we are in Drexel Graduate school, online, we stream videos for lectures and I manage and work on web sites as well. I also upload YouTube videos, process and send email from several email addresses and I am subscribed to the Island Packet Discussion Board. I use the network 24/7, we have our laptops on 24/7 and still I am only using 50% of the 5 GB allowance. If I were using a Slingbox or watching live video then I guess I would be getting close to the 5 GB data limits.
  
• As of for now, it works so well that I have canceled my Comcast Cable Internet in my house and I use the same set up in the home. All I do is move the Broadband card from the boat to home.

Our Verizon Broadband DATA USAGE:

November 2007

December 2007

January 2008

February 2008

March 2008

April 2008

May 2008

For FUN:

• Here is a data converter.
• http://www.whatsabyte.com/P1/byteconverter.htm

View our ONBOARD NETWORK

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We arrived back home in Rock Hall, MD on Tue. 5/13/08. It is so great and yet so sad to finish this wonderful adventure. Our boat departed Rock Hall, MD on Oct. 29, 2007 via our delivery team of Ron & Paul. We boarded her in Fl on Dec 5, 2007 and have been living aboard since then. Now after 6 months aboard, we return to our home docks.

Upon arrival, we were meet by Ron and Mary Ann, our delivery captain (Ron), the one who made this all happen, and we celebrated with a fine bottle of Moet & Chandon Nectar Imperial Champagne!

What a wonderful life….

Reflections….

Top 7 Places from Fl to MD:

1. Wrightsville Beach, NC
2. Vero Beach, FL
3. Elizabeth City, NC
4. Portsmouth, VA
5. St. Augustine, FL
6. Dismal Swamp
7. Beaufort, SC

Things that Worked:

1. The enclosure is essential for enjoying the cockpit in rain, cold winds, fog, at anchor or sailing. We could travel in t-shirts and vests and never had on foul weather gear unless heading out on deck.
2. “Otto” is a must along with Chartplotter and GPS for navigation. No guessing where the ICW channel is. (Otto is out B&G autopilot)
3. The AB 10VL Dinghy is fantastic! The bow is high, the tubes are large, and the fiberglass floor is flat. This is your car, and with a 4 hp outboard, it has serves us well. Sure a yamaha 15 would be nice, but for ICW work, this has worked out well.
4. Lofrans Tigess Windlass is a powerhouse windlass with tons of pull and will nearly rip off the bow sprit before it will stop working! This windlass is $1,700 and worth 3 times that in the work it will perform.
5. Adler Barber Super Cold Machine, 12 volt air cooled, refrigeration has work perfectly now for 14 years! This unit draws 6 amps when on and it runs 50% of the time which is 12 hrs * 6 = 72 Amp Hrs per day. We use 100 amp hrs per day, but motoring up the ICW, this does not matter. When we stop for days on anchor, the 220 watts of solar panels produce 75 amps hrs per day, so we can ride on anchor for days. The refrigerator is great!

Final Random Thoughts:

1. The ICW is ten times EASIER than expected.
2. The ICW is more beautiful and more interesting than expected.
3. You motor 100% of the time with a jib out now and then.
4. Well planned meals are a must and one highlight of living aboard.
5. The ICW is less crowded than expected, where is everyone?
6. The ICW is not “scary” even after running into a sandbar and grounding for 3 hrs.
7. Taking a dock is nice but not necessary, we anchored most of the way.
8. The Dismal Swamp is spectacular, breath taking, a must see section!
9. Florida is NOT the best section of the ICW.
10. The Waccamaw Rive is the best section, but as Norm P. noted, “Myrtle Beach is the price you pay for this beauty.”
    
11. Verizon Broadband connects 99.9% of the places along the ICW. It is a digital world.
12. We love living aboard.
13. So many places yet to discover, I can see us doing this many more times.

Our MAP of Florida to Maryland
March 2008 to May 2008
Once looking at the map
ZOOM in to see the harbors close up.
ENJOY

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Overnight from Portsmouth, VA…23 hrs later we arrived Annapolis on Sun 5/11/08.

Report and photos, and video of “Bashing into 20 knots” to follow…

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We arrived Portsmouth, VA on Wed, 5/7/08- departed Sat 5/10/08 for Annapolis, MD overnight.

….Report and photos to follow…v

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Elizabeth City certainly lives up to its slogan, see photo…. The city welcomes boats to tie up for free at their 14 slips and seawall. The mayor walks the waterfront, talking to residents and cruisers alike. The Rose Buddies tradition, begun in 1984, continues to provide wine and snacks to cruisers several nights a week on the waterfront, with a representative from the Visitors’ Center. Farm Fresh Foods, a fantastic supermarket, offers free shuttle service to and from the docks. Within easy walking distance are several coffee shops, a quaint diner, many nicer restaurants, a great deli with eclectic decor, the new Museum of the Albemarle, two drugstores, an art center, and an upscale chocolate shop. Elizabeth City is the county seat and boasts a community college, a state university and a bible college, plus a great public library. We also enjoyed the downtown movie theatre, with an interesting twist. Dinner is served nightly beginning at 0600, with the movie showing at 0700. The menu offers burgers, sandwiches, ice cream sundaes and other desserts. Tables for 4 are spaciously arranged with comfortable swivel chairs and pleasant lighting from table lamps, plus a phone for ordering food throughout the evening. What a novel idea, in a prospering downtown! We told the mayor we will be back!

Mayor Atkinson & Hayden

GOOGLE MAP of the Spots in Elizabeth City

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We arrived Oriental, NC and had a gift from a wonderful Island Packet friend…his slip was empty and we could stay a few days! So we pulled into Whittaker Creek Yacht Harbor and used this time for some major Island Spirit services and cleaning. Jobs accomplished were…

1. Wash the entire hull with soap and water from the dinghy.
2. Scrub and wash the entire deck and canvas.
3. Used Woody Wax to seal and wax the diamond decks, fantastic product!
4. Compounded and waxed the cabin tops.
5. Changed engine oil and filter after 120 hours from Vero Beach, FL
6. Changed the fuel filters, red, 30 micron primary and Yanmar secondary.

The boat looks great, like usual and we are happy with the work accomplished.

We also had a call from some local IP friends Tom & Linda of IP40 SURPRISE, who stopped down for a visit and we had dinner aboard Island Spirit. The next day Tom & Linda drove us back to Swansboro, NC where we picked up our car and moved it back up to Oriental, NC. We used the car to tour the area, see some developments, and get a general feel for the area. The Oriental Area has 800 residents and 3,000 boats! It is a boater’s paridise with the creeks and the sailing out on Pamlico Sound and the Nuese River. New Bern, NC is up the road about 30 miles and half way there is Fairfield harbor another boating community with new homes and lots for sale.

Everything in this area is for sale. Real estate seems much cheaper than other areas, and waterfront lots sell for 200K to 400K. Docks sell for 50K to 130K in the Oriental area! This place is difficult to figure out with only a short visit. Radeen and I have been touring this area since 1996 looking at property to buy, not we which we would have. Back then we could have bought waterfront for about 30K-50K, not this place has been discovered and prices reflect that discovery.

We left the Oriental area after 3 days, and we need to return here and explore the New Bern to Oriental area in more depth. I will say, the hot spot seems to be WHITTAKER CREEK!

NEED A SLIP TO RENT, see this on on WHITTAKER CREEK? (see this)

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Departing Dudley’s Marina we traveled across Bogue Sound and past Moorehead City arriving downtown Beaufort, NC around Noon. We motored up and down Taylor Creek in front of the beautiful town looking for a place to anchor. The current flows about 1- 1.5 knots through this harbor and many anchored yachts were on mooring balls or had two anchors set. We found a nice spot just off the town docks and dropped one anchor on a short 3:1 scope. After secured, we launched the dinghy and explored the town. When we returned to the boat, we were swinging into a boat with two anchors and we were too close for the forecast of 20-25 knot winds. So we pulled up anchor and decided to move around to Town Creek on the back side of Beaufort where we would anchor.

As it turned out we ended up taking a dock at Town Creek Marina due to shallow water in the harbor and the fact that we did not figure out where to anchor as the winds were building. We docked in 25 knots of cross winds with no issues.

This ended up to be a great decision as the local area has poor Verizon Broadband coverages but this marina had FREE WiFi high speed and we tapped in and accomplished our work for grad school. Spending two days here, we were lucky enough to meet up with another Island Packet Owner, Greg K. who owns an IP 350 in the area. Greg stopped over and we visited and chatted for a while. IP people are always so friendly and so helpful and that is one of the great aspects about this cruising life.

CRUISING NOTES:

1. Next time I would keep trying to anchor in Taylor Creek off the town. I would run into the creek a greater distance since it is deep a long way in past the town.
2. If Taylor Creek off the town is too full, then I would move around back and anchor off Town Creek Marina between the marina and the bridge, just west of the marina. (see my google map)
3. I would NOT take a slip at Town Creek Marina again, it is really for the sport fishing fleet with fuel lines running on all docks for fuel IN THE SLIPS! The bathrooms are OK, but not really. You are way out of town despite the name…So next time if I had to anchor here it would be off the marina and take the dinghy around to town.

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