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A Word With... Malcom and Penny Farrel
As lifelong lovers of boats, both power and sail, Malcolm and Penny Farrel finally gave up life ashore for good last year and moved aboard their 60-foot Grand Alaskan trawler in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. PMY recently caught up with the Farrels in the Virgin Islands and discussed their new life on the water.

Q: What made you decide to move aboard?
A: It was the fulfillment of a 20-year dream. We've always wanted to do it. We were tired of living in a house, and we're too young to retire and cruise full-time. It's been wonderful.

Q: What's been the biggest surprise?
A: How much we enjoy it. Honestly, we've had no unexpected problems. Living on our boat is much easier, and much better, than we ever anticipated.

Q: Any advice for those thinking about making the same move?
A: You have to learn how to simplify. We spent months paring down our possessions, giving a lot of things away. You accumulate so much stuff without realizing it. You have to downsize. If you want to live on a boat, your things can't be that important to you.

Q: Have you found many kindred spirits out there?
A: Absolutely. There's a community of live-aboard boaters who we've met since we made the move. What's surprising is that there are a lot of people who can't understand why we would give up our home and do this. The answer is we love the water, we love our boat, and we can cruise whenever we want. It's a very cathartic way to live. We sleep a lot better at night than we ever have.

Fee Circus
Looks like the squeaky wheel gets the delayed fee increase.

During a heated public hearing in Miami, boaters rallied to protest steep fee increases at city-owned marinas. The increases, many of which would have more than doubled rents, were slated to begin on March 1, though boaters were only notified two weeks before then. But boat owners stood in line at the final hearing on February 28 to lash out.

"I understand, as a business owner, that costs go up," said boater Bob Downey, according to the Miami Herald. "But if I did what you did and raised rents by 100 percent in a period of two weeks, I'd be run out of town on a rail."

In announcing the increase, the city cited rising costs and the increased value of its oceanfront property. Boat owners claimed that because of the shortage of slips in South Florida, the city was price gouging. The three major city-owned marinas are Dinner Key, Miamarina at Bayside, and Marine Stadium Marina on Rickenbacker Causeway.

The boaters' cries were ultimately heard. City manager Joe Arriola decided to postpone the increase until May 1 but also said he would invite marina businesses and boat owners to discuss possible further compromises in the plan.

Trial By Fire
For some reason, boats and arson seem to go together, well, like fire and smoke. There's always some hapless boater getting a phone call that his beloved cruiser has been reduced to a smoldering heap of fiberglass. It's a mysterious crime, but finally one firestarter has fessed up.

In February Ernest Theodore pleaded guilty to setting two boats aflame at a dock in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey. The commercial fisherman said he used engine oil and acetone to douse and ignite the fishing trawlers Sea Dragon and Leah, on January 13, 2002. The boats were owned by brothers James and Dennis Lovgren, both fishermen, and police believe Theodore's motive was professional rivalry.

Theodore will face up to seven years in prison and the judge also ordered that he make restitution to the Lovgrens, to the tune of about $140,000.

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