Ok, so in the time I’ve been slacking on the blog the past few months. I’ve had a few revelations.
One, I’ve neglected it far too long, and that has to stop, and it does effective immediately. This blog has become a strange part of my life, and in my zeal to accomplish other things, I found this weird void because I wasn’t keeping up with it. Nevermind the few almost daily emails and facebook messages I’ve been getting from people wondering what was up and why I haven’t been updating!
Two, I’ve had a few interesting writing and consulting projects this past year that have definitely boosted my confidence about my ability to write about various subjects.
And three, I think it’s time to take the Andiamo Blog to the next level. And yes, there IS a next level… 
Well, for one, I want the blog to be more driven about the whole concept of cruising, rather than just my experiences. I’ve learned a great many things about boats, cruising, and cruisers over these past few years. I’ve received quite a few emails, facebook messages and other communications from newbie and future cruisers. I’ve been asked about everything from what criteria I’ve used in choosing the right boat, to cruising with pets, boat maintenance, to opinions about various cruising grounds I’ve been to. I think it’s time that instead of just answering emails, it’s time I put up some of what I’ve learned on this blog.
Now, look I don’t consider myself a cruising guru by any means. I’ll leave that to the Bob Bitchins, Jimmy Cornwells, Captain Woodys and Nigel Calders of the cruising world. But I do know a few things that can help people thinking about doing this kind of lifestyle. All I can do is share what I’ve learned through practical experience on Andiamo, and through some hellacious hard knocks. LOTS of hard knocks. I’ll talk about it all, the good, the bad, and ugly. No glossing over or endless “ain’t it kewl?” chants here. The hope is that maybe it won’t have been all for naught and if someone else can benefit from some of the crap I’ve gone through and from what I’ve learned so they don’t have to, then that’s an ok thing.
So, coming soon, I’m going to be doing an upgrade on Andiamo’s blog software to accomodate my changes. After a few overdue cosmetic treatments, you’ll see a couple new categories pop up. And yes, there will be some google ads and some other monetizing stuff. Another thing I’ve learned over these past few years is that keeping a boat can get expensive. And if this blog can provide some financial benefits that will keep Andiamo humming, the banks off my back, and keep me from having to go back to the real world, well that’s an ok thing too. 
One thing I also plan on doing is pushing more of my activities and efforts for Unicef, Red Cross, The Tap Project and some other worthwhile causes that I try to stay involved with. I’m sure there will be plenty of adversarial subjects to arise, as I have been known to get entangled with from time to time.
So, for those who were complaining that I wasn’t updating the site enough, watch for the changes. I suspect you’ll like what you see.
