Palm Beach, Florida Part 1

A 9 year dream is coming into play today, as I begin to see the familiar shoreline of Palm Beach from the Gulf Stream. Mother Ocean has granted me the loveliest of days to travel, as she is calm and tranquil for the final day of Voyage a la Maiden. As we turn into the Palm Beach inlet, I give the helm over to Josh Gulbranson, my dear friend and co-Captain and head down to the engine room for a final safety check. Once completed, I hurry into the Salon to privately toast a very important moment in my nautical history.

While reaching for the rum bottle in the galley, I get somewhat emotional as I reflect on my very first visit to Palm Beach: I drove up A1A from Fort Lauderdale to Palm Beach, which is one of the most beautiful scenic stretches along the ocean I have ever seen. When I arrived in Palm Beach, I accidentally found The Colony Hotel, which became my “staging area” before I bought my first home here about 1 year later. It is still one of my favorite places to relax and hang out. I also found the Kennedy Estate and got pictures of me in front of the entrance gate with a big stogie in my mouth. I stood on the exact site of a famous picture almost to the day of my birthday, Easter, 1963, of Jack, Jackie, John-John, and Kathleen. I felt the power and majesty in the air and as I took a deep breath and a puff of my cigar, I could hear a voice deep inside my head. It was Jack's unmistakable voice: “Johnny-boy, Palm Beach is now where your power and majesty shall reign. Let the wisdom of your words go forth and do great things.” What a message! A tear came down my cheek and I shook the caretakers hand and thanked him for his kindness and courtesy. Next, I came over the Royal Poinciana Bridge and noticed a beautiful little marina just to the North and on the West Palm Beach side. Like a magnet, I locked in on the site and headed over to what I found was the famous Palm Beach Yacht Club. I walked down the dock and saw the custom sportfish yachts. I much later learned they were the locally built Rybovich yachts...and would never forget the look of the classic, custom-built sportfish look. Moments later, I had the distinct honor of meeting the Dockmaster, Mr. Steve Cox. What a great man of character, also having the worldly knowledge of life on the water. He has seen it all here, as he has been the master of the docks for over 30 years. As we chatted, I shared with him my dreams of moving to Palm Beach and of someday purchasing one of these beautiful custom sportfish yachts and to live full-time on the water. He offered me a nautical map of the area and suggested I keep it as a remembrance of our discussion, fully encouraging me to reach for the big dream. After that day, my life would never be the same...

In April of 2000, I finally moved to Palm Beach permanently and bought my first home on the water. I visited the Palm Beach Yacht Club many times and always Steve Cox was there to greet me. On September 30, 2005, I finally purchased my custom sportfish yacht, Piece of Work. I will never forget the call I made to tell him of reaching my big dream. He was overjoyed and promised me the best slip in the marina for my arrival.

Now I am just minutes away from pulling into that slip and successfully concluding Voyage a la Maiden as Captain of my Ship. I took a shot to honor my dad, to whom I dedicated this boat. I took another shot to honor Steve and his encouragement. And yet one more shot to honor Jimmy Buffett for his inspiration. Now it's back up to the bridge to take the helm for the final leg of our journey and to dock my girl into her new home...the exact place I have dreamed about for 9 years!

Hilton Head, South Carolina Part 4

Well Friends and Neighbors, we have been below the Radar and in the Engine Room for weeks now. I apologize for being in the state of “Incommunicado,” as I know you all have been checking the website daily as to our coordinates. Fear not, as we are now above the Radar and on the Bridge, readying our beloved Piece of Work for the continuance of Maiden A La Voyage.

It will not be easy to say Good-bye to the many new friends I have been blessed to know, so I will simply bid all of you Farewell and See You Later: Surveyor/Capt. Neil Haynes, Mechanics Mikey and Boss Stuart, The Infamous Buddy Dardin, Capt. Steve Hutton (a.k.a. Honey W. Bucket), Divers Mike Majors and Brian Walker, Capt. Mic, Capt. Phil Smith, Capt. John Burke, and of course, the entire Harbour Town Marina crew. I am honored and proud to know each of you and look forward to seeing all of you in the times ahead.

I would like to especially thank the vacationing and local babes who left their heels on the dock and came aboard to spend time in Johnnyland. I trust your memories are as good as mine!

We will be “Go for Launch” around September 30, with our Entourage and Destination unknown. If you are lucky enough to be with us, the destination won’t even matter, because wherever we are, it’s still Johnnyland. If any of you are wondering where the Hell Johnnyland is, it shares the same “mindspace” as Margaritaville, which means it's anywhere you want it to be. And I’ll let you in on a little secret: If you are in Johnnyland, you WILL be drinking Margaritas!

Hilton Head, South Carolina Part 3

Well, Friends and Neighbors, we're still here at Harbour Town. It turns out that our girl is going to require a Port Engine Rebuild. We are all saddened by her sudden ailments but we are lucky to have the best surgeon this side of the Mississippi, Mr. Mike Levy. Boy does he carry a big wrench! I called my friend Jimmy Buffett to give me some “mental floss” and he stated with a grin I could feel in his tone, “Johnny boy, you are still the luckiest son-of-a-bitch who get's to live life by your own rules and be on the water 24/7. This is just a blip on your Hollywood Hensel radar screen. Go the the marina bar, get a Margaritaville Margarita and save me and Spider a seat.” He just happened to be in Charleston again, after being there in May to see my boat (proof is in the picture...click on Come Aboard) and grabbed Captain Spider and flew in to Hilton Head. He and Spider were sitting next to me by the end of my second Margarita. Nothing like private travel, you Rock Star! As he once said, all you really need is a good boat and “a few good friends.” With that said, I'm good to go! Be sure to continue to check-in on our progress of Voyage a la Maiden, as we will be heading ??? very soon.

Hilton Head, South Carolina Part 2

If you have been keeping up with our Voyage a la Maiden, you know Captain Bill Burr and I have been at Harbour Town Marina in Hilton Head, SC since last Friday afternoon. It turns out that our original diagnosis about the turbo issue was incorrect. Yes, friends and neighbors, Hensel is usually most accurate at making assessments, be it man or machine, but in this case his brain synapse must have malfunctioned. The world-renowned mechanic Mike Levy from Williams-Detroit Diesel arrived Monday morning with a wrench that he must have borrowed from Tony Soprano and went about providing

me with a day of questions and answers. Well, as Jimmy Buffett has said, he had me scratching my head with “answers to questions that are bothering me so.” It appears that the turbos are fine, although the port housing showed distinct signs of salt water intrusion. Not good. Even worse was the salt water intrusion we found among the pistons. Worse still are bent rods caused by this issue, not to mention the corrosion and scoring issues to the beloved pistons. The smoke in the engine room upon arrival was actually caused by an exhaust leak which also needs tending to. And, all the while, we have the threat of a Category 1 Hurricane (Alberto) heading our way. Well Mike, do your magic and let's get our girl ready for our next waypoint. Many thanks to the new friends and neighbors we are making here at Harbor Town, especially our starboard slip neighbor and local, Archer Crose, aka Mayor, and to port, Howard. Also to our harbour master staff and our gracious dockmasters Jimmy, Greg, and Abbie, who puts on a great smile and even looks good in foul weather gear! In my book YOU, Inc., I wrote: “What happens to you in the big board game of life means very little...What you do about it makes the critical difference.” So, what I am going to do is live well here at Harbor Town and enjoy the process of working with Mike to get our girl healthy once again. We'll be seeing you!

Hilton Head, South Carolina Part 1

Day 1 of Voyage a la Maiden was a fantastic journey from Charleston to Hilton Head. We stayed o

n the Intercoastal Waterway in order to enjoy the beautiful South Carolina low country, which is still so unspoiled. Since part of my restoration process involved the Engine Room and all Systems, we had her ready for the absolutely perfect performance she showed us. She ran so sweet and smooth, as if she was buzzing on finely aged rum! I can tell you that Bill and I certainly were! Once arriving at Harbor Town Marina, we refueled and I pulled her into her new slip, after which I smelled smoke. Well, friends and neighbors, we will be here for awhile, as our Port Turbo blew out. One of my primary new rules is to live life to the fullest, no matter what happens, so Bill and I will be making new friends and enjoying life here while we get our girl underway once again to ports unknown. Be sure to stay in touch and we'll be seeing you!

Charleston, South Carolina

As I awoke at 6:00 am. today, I stepped out onto the deck of Piece of Work and realized that the stellar sunrise, clear skies and calm winds were a sign that my 15 year dream was to become a reality today.

Eight months ago I purchased Piece of Work and have been hard at work restoring her so that she could

proudly live up to her new name. Today, my dear friend Captain Bill Burr and myself departed Charleston, SC for destinations you will learn about if you stay in touch with us as our welcomed crew on this Voyage a la Maiden. We are underway and as Jimmy Buffett would say, “Fast enough to get there and slow enough to see.”

We hope to be seeing you throughout this journey and look forward to receiving your comments.