This great recession, or whatever you want to call it, has caused many personal hardships. One of our Emmaus brothers, an accomplished banker with 30 years experience, has been out of fulltime work for over a year. He is caught in the never-never land of being over qualified for some jobs or not experienced enough for a new field…Then you have the young bucks willing to work for less money and twice as hard.
One of our faithful banker’s closest friends is a yacht broker. As in all recessions, the wealthy typically continue to do well, so his business, especially from international buyers, has continued to prosper. Knowing his friend is hurting financially, he offered to have him be part of the crew delivering 3 boats on 3 separate trips to Central and South America. The boats range in sizes from 37 feet to 57 feet. In a past life, our banker brother had his own large yacht and was an expert navigator. Now instead of employing a crew, he is to be part of one!
Our brother left port today from Miami and his itinerary is as follows: Key West, Cancun Mexico, San Andres Island, Panama and the Panama Canal, then Ecuador. The first stretch will be 360 miles from Key West to Cancun, braving the unstable weather of the Yucatan Peninsula. The next stretch will be 750 miles to San Andres off the coast of Colombia.
Passing through the Panama Canal alone will take 2-3 days! The round trip should be 9-10 days weather permitting. And weather is not the only danger… The crew will have to brave modern day ruthless pirates around the coast of Colombia.
The first boat will be a 37 foot sport fisherman…Normally a nice size boat – but not the most comfortable ride through large stretches of open water…. Our banking brother, now turned seaman, will email me at every port with tales of navigating the high seas…I will promptly post those reports to this blog: Acatholicmanblog.com.
Follow his reports over the next 10 days and more importantly, keep him and the other 2 crew members in your prayers. Even in good weather this will be a huge task with many obstacles to overcome….
St. Nicholas, patron saint of sailors, protect our Emmaus brother and the crew during this adventurous voyage!
Posted by Deacon Jorge 
A Catholic Man 