This blog needs YOU to be worth reading!

The idea behind this blog was to have a space that Archie’s friends and crew could share stories about their time aboard Betty Ann. The hope is that the blog would have frequent posts by guest contributors. In particular, I would appreciate stories about specific trips or incidents (e.g., eating with the chickens at Blue Heaven in Key West or being interrogated by the U.S. Navy off Frying Pan Shoals), or observations about some aspect of sailing with Archie (e.g., how time passes differently when you have just one task in a day — getting from point A to B).

There are several ways to contribute. If you have a brief comment about something you have read, write the comment in the “Leave a Reply” box after the relevant post and your comment will appear on the blog within a day or two. For example, if you want to comment on the “About the Captain” page by saying how great Archie is, blah, blah, blah ; ), use the comment feature.

If you are up for writing a full post, send it to me at my email address. I’m told that I’ll be inundated with spam if I publish my email address on the blog, so if you don’t know my email address, use the contact form below to send me your email address. The contact form supposedly protects both of us from spam. I’ll respond by sending you my email address directly. You can then send me your proposed text and any photos.

I do not want the blog to just reflect stories about the trips I have sailed. I therefore really welcome posts and photos from members of other crews.

Here are some tips for writing posts:

• The ideal length of a post is 4 to 8 paragraphs long. If you have more to say, think about breaking it up into multiple posts.
• Writing about specific trips and events, as opposed to general observations, is usually best. Specific language also helps so people can envision the experience (e.g., not “Archie made a great breakfast,” but rather “Archie made pancakes oozing with blueberries and smothered with maple syrup”).
• If you have any photos to accompany the text, it always helps.

Once you send a proposed post to me, it may take me days or weeks to post it. Please be patient.

Finally, have fun with your contributions. We are not shooting for a Pulitzer with this blog. We are aiming for smiles and maybe some laughter.

If you would like to get in touch with Mike about writing a post, please fill out this contact form: