>From Practical Sailor: <snip> On the topic of money: The news coming out of Wall Street called to mind an article I read a few years after the economic meltdown in the late 1980s. The story documented a familybs low-budget circumnavigation. The underlying theme of the storybcruising doesnbt have to be expensivebwas easily recognizable. It was the same message the Hiscocks, the Pardeys, and countless others sailing writers have been trying to get across for decades. What stood out to me in this article was the punch line, uttered upon the familybs return to the U.S.. bRecession, what recession?b Mostly by luck, the family had shoved off when the nationbs economic situation looked especially dire. When they returned, the dust had settled, jobs were plentiful, and the economy was booming again. Their tale was familiar to me. More than a few of our fellow cruising sailors during the early 1990s were young professionals whobd lost their jobs in corporate downsizing. Rather than fight for scraps in the shark tank, they took their meager savings and went sailing. When they finally returned to the workaday world, they had no trouble picking up where they left off. So . . . if the news out of Wall Street is getting you down, look at it this way. Itbs one more reason to go cruising b now. The way things are going, you wonbt be missing much. <snip> Regards, John "Seahorse" **************Looking for simple solutions to your real-life financial challenges? Check out WalletPop for the latest news and information, tips and calculators. (http://www.walletpop.com/?NCID=emlcntuswall00000001)