



2018 was a year of firsts for the entire pack on City Dogs. It was our first year living in a foreign country. Our first year living aboard a sailboat. It was the first year of our startup sailing charter business. First time kissing a donkey. First time fixing a diesel engine, first time working as a plumber making our heads work, first time troubleshooting and fixing electrical problems, first time changing a zinc propeller anode. First time free diving to thirty feet to retrieve a dropped mask. First time being a PADI SCUBA Instructor guiding people on their first underwater excursions. First time finding a tiny little seahorse. First time visiting a Honduran vet. First time getting a filling from a Honduran dentist. First time catching a fish from the ocean.

The list of firsts in 2018 goes on and on. But if we’re being honest, and since it’s New Year’s, it kind of seems like maybe we should in the interests of self-reflection, it hasn’t always been amazing all the time. There’s this idea, this myth that hugely popular sailing channels like SV Delos and La Vagabond have helped perpetuate where living aboard a sailing yacht is this idyllic dream, and sure there are times when it is an absolutely amazing, transcendent experience, when we wake up on the hook surrounded by pristine water and spend entire days doing the things we love: sailing, swimming, diving, creating, making our dreams reality, but there are times when this life is challenging to say the least. Times when we fight and bicker. Times when we get sick of hearing Fozzie whine or Mischa woo-woo.

There are times when we miss the conveniences of the City like reliable high-speed internet, times when we just want excellently prepared food delivered steaming hot to our door. There are times when we miss our friends and family so much it hurts. There are times we just want to be left alone. Times when all we want to do is just curl up and watch some Netlix (give Bird Box a skip). But there are a lot more times when we look around, all our senses tuned to the max, taking in the awe inspiring natural beauty and remember that there are loads of people who would kill to be where we are now.

2019 is sure to be more of the same -- full of amazing adventures sailing and diving, full of new firsts we could not have previously imagined. Full of highs and lows, peaks and valleys as we circumnavigate the second year of our sailing charter business in Honduras. One thing we can be sure of is that we’ll be here for each other, supporting and loving each other unconditionally.

To all our readers, we wish you health, happiness and success in the new year --as my Scottish maternal grandmother used to say lang may yer lum reek. May you always have fuel for your fire, bread for your belly, and the generosity to share what you can.