From Scott and Oscar (Scotscar)

By the most of us wake up tomorrow, the team off Iceland will be at sea deploying the first leg of a global mission that will challenge and enrich us in ways we won’t know until the journey is complete.  The odds are stacked against our survival, so we cheer everyday we make it a bit further on our journey.  So before we, as a community, share the stress of choosing waypoints to avoid eddies, manage unknown sea monsters , and avoid the occasional intrepid sailor, we wish to toast our community.  Before going to sea, tradition calls for a big dinner with everyone to toast the journey to come and to celebrate before heading into the unknown. So tonight as we sit at our cyber table, we raise our glass.

We first raise a my glass celebrate our Jersey roots.  We  toast New Jersey, the toughest and most under-rated state of the union.  We salute our partners in arms in the COOL room with whom we have had the distinct honor sailing with for  20 years.  WE ESPECIALLY toast the Rutgers undergraduates and acknowledge this mission will be successful only by their diligence.  We are honored each day we can come in and work with them. We toast our families, that let us be crazy and nerdy lame. Also, we celebrate specific feelings that are specific to our homes in New Jersey, we pause to raise our glasses in the legacy of Clarence Clemons who will always hold a special place in the hearts of NJ.

Our second toast goes out to Teledyne Webb.  They have been partners since the late 1990’s and with them we have explored the coastal waters of the United States, crossed the Atlantic, explored the Southern ocean, navigated Arctic fjords, and responded to oil spill disasters.  Tonight we strap up the marine gear one more time and we could not be more honored for over a decade of shared adventures.  Our lives are infinitely richer with their company and for that we are happy.

Finally as we begin a global journey that will dominate our days for a year we salute and honor our partners in the  Canarias!  Since our first interactions, it was clear they are family.  May this journey strengthen our ties and we could could not be richer in a great journey with your company and expertise.   From us to you, we say, “force wind  and honor all”  May we celebrate with historic vigor in Las Palmas when the “bear is the igloo.”

Scotscar

6/22/2011