For 2021, I have but one New Year's resolution,

and I will honor it come Hell or high water (especially come high water!): I will become a guy named "Captain." I like the sound of "Captain Chuck" or "Capitano Carlos," don't you?

I wish I could claim ownership of the "Guys Named Captain" verbiage. Alas, it's just a great song by Kenny Chesney, of whom I'm becoming a big fan lately. You just never know what music will perfectly capture the milieu in which you find yourself. That's why it's good to keep an open mind when it comes to genre, period, or artist.

After 51 years on this planet, I have finally found my tribe. The at-once ultra-geeky and ultra-cool folks who sail -- I mean really voyage -- are my people. In the three weeks that I have been in La Paz, I have made many good new friends, some of whom -- I am certain -- will become good old friends.

Captain Gerald, Captain Doug, Captain Victor, Captain Paul, Captain David, Captain Sherry and others and their respective First Mates and crews -- these are my people! How much I have learned from their animated discussions of rigging schemes, electronics, weather and tides! How much I have delighted in their colorful (and probably tall) tales of woe and joy on the high seas! How I admire their shared trait of courageously taking a path so rarely trod that you can only see it for a fleeting moment in the wakes of their vessels!

Like everyone else in the world, I have no idea what 2021 has in store for us, but I know one thing it has in store for me: I will be buying a boat, probably a Catalina 36 or Pearson of similar length thanks to the well reasoned suggestion of Captain Paul. I will spend the spring and summer outfitting her and achieving expertise in filling her sails with wind and guiding her through the tides. I may even rename her; "Live Life" has a nice ring to it. Neptune-willing, I will sail Live Life south after hurricane season and rejoin my tribe, Guys Named Captain.

May the New Year hold wonderful things for you!