A Framework For Purchasing a Yacht

Unlike most boat purchase advice, written by manufacturers and designed to persuade to one brand or another, the suggestions in this article are written from the perspective of a sailboat buyer and are drawn from the collective wisdom of my dozen or so sailboat purchases as well as conversations with many, many other sailboat buyers.

This article will focus on the buying process and vessel characteristics. The process described applies to both new and used sailboat purchases. Subsequent articles will apply the suggestions presented here to specific sailing areas and boat types.

The Buying Process Buying a sailboat is a multi-step process that involves answering three questions. Successfully answering these questions will lead you to the vessel that can provide years of joy, while failure to accurately or honestly answer the questions may steer you to the wrong boat, little usage and no fun.

The three questions are:
1.How will I use this sailboat?
2.What characteristics of a sailboat are best for this type of use?
3.What sailboats have those characteristics?

The most important question is "How will I use this sailboat?" and getting this question right goes a long way toward buying the right boat. The answer to this question, however, must be detailed. It can't be a general answer like "to race" or "daysail" or "to cruise." If you only answer the use question generally, you are not yet ready to buy a boat and run a high probability of making a large and expensive mistake.

Answering properly means knowing the details of where you will sail, the weather conditions in those areas, the length of the trip you will take, number on board and how far you will be from assistance. Table one provides some examples of the detail you should know BEFORE you consider buying a sailboat:

TABLE ONE -- DETAILED USAGE EXAMPLES
Primary Sailing Desired Normal Trip Length Cruising GroundsExpected Wave ConditionsExpected Wind ConditionsNo. on BoardDistance From Help
Example OneDaysail2-4 Hrs.Local Bay1-3 ft5-15 Knts21-3 Mi.
Example TwoExtended CruisingMonthsOceanAny5-50+ Knts.4100+
Example ThreeWeekend Racer8 HrsLake and River1-6 ft.5-30 Knts.81-6 Mi

Vessel Characteristics
Once we know on how we will use our new boat, we can determine the vessel characteristics best for our use. Vessel characteristics can be divided into three categories: sailing, safety, living. Sailing characteristics include speed, stability (tendency to heel), ability to point, ease of steering (tendency to sail straight), balance. A racer, for example, will want a fast boat that can point close to the wind and may be willing to sacrifice some stability and ease to get it. A long distance cruiser on the other hand may be willing sail a little further off the wind to get more stability and balance. Sailing characteristics will be determined by the boat design, specifically: sail plan, keel type and depth, sail area to weight ratio, and displacement (Table Two).

TABLE TWO -- BOAT CHARACTERISTICS AND BOAT DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
Vessel CharacteristicImpact
Keel DesignFin Keel - Easier to maneuver, more difficult to steer straight
Full Keel - More difficult to turn and wider relative turning radius, easier to steer straight
Keel DepthDeep Keel More stable (more resistance to heel), greater ability to point (sail close to the wind) but less access to shallow water
Shoal Draft Keel - Less stable with access to more shallow water, less ability to point upwind
Sail PlanSloop Rig - Bigger sails, better upwind ability
Cutter Rig- More flexibility in sail options, smaller sails (easier to handle), reduced ability to point Multiple Masts (Ketch, Yawl) - More flexibility in sail plan and good reaching performance with even less ability to point
Sail AreaHigh (SA/D) - More speed with less stability
DisplacementIncreased displacement delivers more stability while sacrificing speed.

Our next consideration is safety equipment. The need for safety equipment is primarily dictated by the conditions we will face and how far away help might be. If we will carry life rafts, EPIRBs, offshore first aid gear and emergency water and rations, we will need places to securely store these items when not in use. In addition, other safety gear may include advanced communications devices (SSB radio, satellite phone, email or fax) power generation (wind generator, genset, and/or solar panels) and items like sea anchors and drogues, radar and navigational gear. Again, the safety equipment list can be generated based on distance away from help and likely weather conditions we will face. The key vessel consideration is to assure any boat purchased will have a place to safely store everything.

Next, we must consider living space. Again, based on our usage we should know the number of people and length of time of our voyages. This information is then used to determine the required living conditions and space. For example, a boat cruised away from shore for weeks would need to have a much different energy management system, provisioning ability, and cooking equipment than a boat sailed for weeks, but doing short hops between ports. This seemingly small change in sailing usage can mean large differences in vessel necessities. Consider power generation for example. Extended cruising means high output alternators, larger battery banks, external voltage regulation, and potentially alternative energy generating -- all things avoided when short hops between marinas are the plan.

Summary
Sailboats are the stuff dreams are made of, but buying the wrong boat can be a nightmare -- expensive, unpleasant and dangerous. The most important way to avoid making a mistake is to know exactly how you will use the boat in great detail before you begin shopping for your dream boat

Capt Dave Bello is President of Fair Wind Sailing School, an ASA affiliate sailing school offering monohull and catamaran sailing charters and sailing lessons in the Virgin Islands Chesapeake Bay and on Lake Erie.

Yoga Therapy And Certification

Creating Money, Prosperity, and Abundance Now (Part 2)

Giving and Receiving

It seems that people generally find it easy to give, but more difficult to receive. Receiving is a very important part of giving. Both keep that energy circulating in our lives. And they keep prosperity flowing in our lives.

I've learned that we should receive with joy and gratitude. Thank the person and thank the Universe. In this way, you keep the doors open to receive even more. And you may even receive money and prosperity from unusual sources. "Creating Money" offers an exercise (one of many) that you can do right now. It suggests that you ask the Universe to send you money through a new channel in the next several weeks and acknowledge it when it comes. Try it and see what happens!

And don't forget to accept compliments. Just smile and say, 'thank you'.

Accept money and gifts only when they're given freely. I've learned that the only times you don't want to accept money or gifts are when there are strings attached, or if someone is trying to buy your friendship.

Giving is an important part of receiving. Giving could come in many forms besides things, such as your time, your skills, your good examples, etc. I've learned that it's important to give gifts that really serve and assist people, something they can really use in their lives. Throughout my life I've enjoyed giving my time and skills doing volunteer work for charities I truly believe in. And I've donated money to organizations I truly believe in. It's such a great feeling to give in this way. And when we give freely, the Universe will give to us freely.

By the way, it's important for us to give to ourselves also, to keep that energy flowing.

Then, there are times when it isn't right to give. That's when we give with strings attached or when we feel obligated to give or when we have expectations about the gift we are giving. Doing this creates a block in our energy flow. We must always give freely, and with detachment.

In my experience, I've learned that giving to people who are always in need, who always need to be rescued from a situation, who are always in the same situation, no matter how many times you've given to them, can actually harm them and stifle their growth. They can become dependent upon you. There is a reason why they keep pointing their magic wants toward lack. Maybe they have important lessons to learn, and if we constantly give to them, they never learn to empower themselves. I've learned that it is best to assist them to create their own prosperity and abundance.

Manifesting Tool # 1

The Magic List

First, I would like to share with you a tool I've used successfully, beginning early in my life. I know that many others have used this tool successfully and authors have written about it, especially in recent years. It's actually very simple and very powerful. I used to call this simply my "List" but now, I call it the "Magic List", inspired by one of my non-metaphysical students several years ago. (More about that later). With this Magic List, you are using the power of the written and the spoken word that is released to the Universe to manifest in your reality.

All it requires are these steps:

1. Take a piece of paper (any kind of writing paper - from a notebook, or your favorite color of paper, etc), and write a numeric list of all of your desires. They can be short-term of long-term desires. State your desires as clearly as possible.

2. After you have written down your desires, at the bottom of the page, write something to this effect: "May all of these desires, or better, manifest for the Highest good of all." This releases any need to manifest your desires in a particular way. It opens it up to the Universe to bring you what you want in the best and Highest way possible, and at the right time.

3. Keep your Magic List with you at all times, in your wallet, purse, etc.

4. Read your list (aloud if possible) just before going to sleep, first thing upon awakening and before going into meditation. Do this every day, and you will soon see profound results.

5. As your desires manifest, cross them off your checklist. Soon, you will want to rewrite it, creating a new Magic List (the old one eventually can look pretty unreadable with all of those lines crossing things off!) on a fresh piece of paper. If some of the old desires haven't yet manifested, you can add them, too. Personally, I prefer to do this on the new and full moons, taking advantage of their powerful manifesting energies.

Several years ago, I studied Native American spirituality from a Lakota medicine woman and learned the ritual of clearly stating my written desires to the Universe on the new and full moons and then burning them, releasing them to the Universe. You'll want to keep your Magic List as a separate list, however, as you'll be using it every day.

6. Finally, do not show your list or talk about it to others. Keep it to yourself. This is a way of keeping your energy totally and directly focused on what you want. Talking about it and sharing it with people only disperses your energy and it may take longer for those desires to manifest.

The Magic List really, truly works. Anyone can do it. The non-metaphysical student (also my co-worker at the time) I mentioned earlier was in one of my prosperity workshops and, as I described what I originally called my "List", he became very pale. After the class, he told me that he had started to write a list just like the one I described when he was a little boy. He said he called it his "Magic List" and never told a soul, not even his brother. He was so amazed to hear me speaking about his secret! And he just had to show me his list, even though I protested. I'm glad that he did in this particular case, because his list was very unusual and it demonstrated how miraculous this tool really is.

This man, then in his fifties, had several hobbies, most centered around finding and collecting unusual, rare, old objects and bottles - some valuable. The items on his list were things most people have never heard of or seen before. His list was well worn, with several items crossed off. He said he kept it in his wallet, looking at his list a couple of times each day. He described to me how each item came to him, just like magic.

Sometimes, it meant suddenly driving down a street for no apparent reason, just to discover that there was a garage sale going on, and then seeing one or several of his desires on the list for sale at the perfect price for him. He would continuously find himself in the right place at the right time. One of the items on his list manifested about three weeks after he had showed his list to me. It was a classic car (I forget the model) in the exact color and year he had specified, and in mint condition. An elderly woman had kept it in her garage all these years and decided to get rid of it. On his way to work one day, he happened to turn onto her street. He saw the 'For Sale' sign, and the price was right. Later, he drove the car to work to show me.

I wanted to share this experience with you to emphasize how the Magic List always works, even for those not familiar with metaphysics.

Manifesting Tool #2

The Magic Wheel

As a teenager, I started to create what I call a "Magic Wheel", learning from people like Catherine Ponder, author of "Opening Your Mind To Prosperity", who calls it the "Wheel of Fortune".

In the years since, I've learned other names from different sources, such as the "Prosperity Wheel", but the main thing is that this is another powerful tool that works for everyone. The Magic Wheel works like the Magic List, except that you are creating pictures of your desires instead of writing them down. Your subconscious communicates to you in pictures and symbols all of the time, mainly through your dreams. Why not communicate directly to your subconscious in pictures? You do so, anyway, with your imagination. This is yet another very powerful way to manifest what you want in a short period of time.

1. First, buy some large poster boards in the colors that appeal to you. For example, if you are working specifically on creating wealth, prosperity, or a new job, you may want to select green poster paper. Gold will work well for this, also. Visually, the subconscious will associate green or gold with money. Remember that color is vibration and energy, also, and what we are doing is working and playing with energy. If you are working on love and romance, for instance, you may want to select a pink shade of poster board. Use whatever color you personally resonate to for what you want to achieve.

2. Cut the poster board(s) into large circles.

3. Search through magazines, brochures and ads and look for pictures, specifically color pictures, of what you desire. The subconscious will more quickly respond to color than to black and white pictures. Then cut them out and paste or tape them to your wheel.

4. I've taught people to use different wheels for different kinds of desires. For example, you'll want the love and romance wheel to only have pictures that represent love and romance to you, such as hearts, pictures of couples, etc. Put pictures representing prosperity and money, or your ideal job or life's work, on your prosperity wheel. You may want to cut out pictures of money in the denominations you want and place them on your wheel. A picture of your new career will show your subconscious exactly what you want.

You can have many wheels, just be sure not to clutter them with your pictures or you'll attract cluttered results. And make sure the pictures you place on your wheel are exactly what you want to see manifest in your life.

5. Once you have completed each wheel, put something on it that represents your spiritual connection, such as a picture of an Ascended Master that you resonate to, pictures of angels, etc. This doesn't have to be a picture; it could be a solid object, like crystals or a cross, for example. In my Native American spirituality class, we learned to also add something that represented our personal totems to our wheels. By adding something that represents your concept of spirituality, you add power, energy and protection to your wheel.

You may want to place a picture of yourself on each wheel, also, so that your subconscious can see you associated with the pictures you wish to materialize. However, your subconscious will get the message very clearly with or without your picture.

6. Look at your Magic Wheel every day, especially when you first wake up and before you go to sleep. And again, you don't want to share your wheel with others. As Catherine Ponder says, "what is sacred is secret".

Manifesting Tool #3

Positive Affirmations

Many of you have heard about the power of using positive affirmations to create what you want in life. If you have beliefs such as those I mentioned earlier in this article, beliefs that have been holding you back from what you want, use of positive affirmations is the key. When used repeatedly, positive affirmations literally re-program your subconscious mind. They are positive instructions that replace those old beliefs with the ones you need, in order to manifest exactly what you want. Using positive affirmations is one of the most powerful things you can do to help yourself.

Positive affirmations are positive statements that you write down and/or read daily, until what you wish manifests in your life. Reading and writing positive affirmations repeatedly about money, prosperity and abundance is another very powerful tool that always works.

1. To start, write down a page of positive affirmations in the present tense. Start with "I" or "I Am". Write down these affirmations several times each, 10 - 20 times. For example, you may want to write, "I am a success", or "I am a magnet for prosperity", or "I deserve to be wealthy", or "I now have a wonderful, new job", over and over. The statements you use must feel comfortable to you. You can write positive affirmations for all areas of your life, including love and health.

2. Read your positive affirmations out loud. The spoken word is very powerful and will create results quickly. It will set certain vibrations into motion that will manifest into form.

3. Say your positive affirmations aloud in front of a mirror. At the school of Metaphysics, I learned how powerful it is to look into your own eyes in a mirror while doing certain exercises such as speaking affirmations. Your eyes really are the windows to your soul, and repeating affirmations while looking into your eyes is highly empowering. The benefits are many, including gaining a greater self-confidence, self-esteem, self-image, self-love, and optimism. Louise Hay, author of 'You Can Heal Your Life," also suggests speaking affirmations in front of a mirror while looking into your eyes.

4. You can also tape your affirmations in your own voice and play them at work or in your car, or anywhere, anytime. The more you use your affirmations, the faster your affirmations become beliefs. And your beliefs will always become your reality. For examples of powerful, positive money and prosperity affirmations, I strongly suggest reading "Creating Money" and/or ordering the affirmations on tape at www.orindaben.com. There are many suggested affirmations throughout the book, channeled from guides Orin and DaBen, which are designed to create major changes in your life.

In Conclusion

These tools are some of the ways in which you can quickly manifest money, prosperity and abundance, or anything you desire. Some other very effective tools you may wish to explore are Feng Shui (which keeps positive energy flowing in your personal and working environment), mudras (yoga hand postures), mantras (word/sound affirmations) and using the power of sound, such as "AH", to manifest while visualizing your desires. All of these tools are ways to keep your magic wand pointed only at what you want. These tools and techniques use energy and spiritual laws that truly create magic in your lives.

It is also important to let go. In my workshop experience, this is where many people get stuck. They want to control how and when something is going to manifest. This only creates a block in the energy flow. After using any or all of the above manifesting tools, directing your attention only on what you want, it's important to let go of the outcome. Just let it happen. Don't worry about it. Allow it to come into your reality. Trust that the Universe will bring it to you in the Highest possible way.

Anytime you want to see or measure just how your manifesting is progressing, just look around at your life. Your life is a mirror of everything going on inside of you. Your life accurately reflects your beliefs, desires and dreams. If you don't like what you see, change it by changing that picture in your head and by changing your beliefs. Make sure your wand is pointing exactly at what you want at all times.

Know that you are never alone. You can always ask for assistance from your Higher Selves, angels, guides, the Ascended Masters, All-That-Is, at anytime. You are really standing on the brink of the Golden Age. Now is the time to remember who you really are. You truly are magicians, shamans, wizards, masters, avatars and creators.

Additional Book Suggestions

Merlin's Message "Reawakening and Remembering"
by Marelin the Magician
www.wizardwonderland.com

Creating Money: Keys to Abundance
by Sanaya Roman and Duane Packer
www.orindaben.com

Do What You Love The Money Will Follow
by Marsha Sinetar

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success
by Deepak Chopra

Ten Thousand Whispers: A Guide to Conscious Creation
by Lynda Madden Dahl

Beyond the Winning Streak
by Lynda Madden Dahl

Money Love
by Jerry Gillies

You Can Heal Your Life
By Louise L. Hay

The Power is Within You
by Louise L. Hay

Open Your Mind to Prosperity
by Catherine Ponder

Creative Visualization
by Shakti Gawain

The Magic of Believing
by Claude M. Bristol

Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life:
How to Use Feng Shui to Get
Love, Money, Respect and Happiness
by Karen Rauch Carter

Feng Shui Design
by Sarah Rossbach and Master Lin Yun

healing Mudras: yoga for Your Hands
by Sabrina Mesko Ballantine

Chyrene is the owner of The Isle of Light Inc., a spiritual, metaphysical online spiritual center dedicated to assisting all to become more empowered and enlightened in a wide variety of ways. She is a certified television show producer and co-produced and hosted The Isle of Light television talk show in Denver, Colorado, which continues to air biweekly. Chyrene is also the producer and host of The Isle of Light Internet radio talk show which airs 24 hours each day at Live365.

Chyrene Pendletons websites can be found at:

http://www.theisleoflight.com http://www.live365.com/stations/avalon22 http://theisleoflight.blogspot.com

Chyrene can be reached by email at: cap@theisleoflight.com or by phone at 303-859-1556.

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