Observers all, About two years ago I bought the position of a friend who had ordered a Portaball 12.5" about a year earlier, with the manufacturer's consent, thinking I could cut the advertised wait time considerably. The wait time was and is stated to be 8 to 10 months on the order forms. I was told it was closer to a year or a year and a half. Not. The total wait time on my scope came to 35 months. Truly exasperating. However, the situation became worse. I kept the scope assembled for the month I owned it in a corner of my living room. The problem became, each time I looked at it, I became irritated all over again, thinking of how long I had to wait for it and how little time I had to use it. So much and continuously so that I just sold the scope. The sale was not prompted solely by the irritation however. I have decided against purchasing the nice rental home in Moon Valley that I am living in and instead will pursue my dream of sailing if not the world, then to the South Pacific, transitioning to living aboard my sailboat in San Diego during the next four months or so. I have much to get rid of. I would like to circumnavigate the world, but the Muslims are too irritated for that, so I will avoid the Middle East and start with the Pacific. Maybe they will calm down later and I can do what I want. The Portaball is too big to take, so rather than use it, I sold it as new for a premium, relative to what I paid. With part of the proceeds, I have now ordered the UTI 8" reflector with setting circles (including a program for the southern sky) made by Infinity Telescopes in Tucson which so intrigued David Levy. The scope has a hard case for it and its stand that fits into an airline overhead bin and weighs just 22 pounds. As Dr. Levy points out, you can also put clothes in the upper and lower assemblies for even more compact travel. I will take that scope with me on my voyages. I am also (should any reader be interested) selling my Meade 127 ED APO refractor with a JMI hard case (listed on Astromart), and my Celestron 9.25" XLT Carbon SC Adv Ser Go To scope and mount/tripod (soon to be listed on Astromart). Locals and friends will get preferred pricing. It makes no sense to keep these set-ups and pay storage on them for the next five to ten years when someone else can be enjoying them. In addition to the UTI 8", I will also take a 3036 collapsible tripod with me that I can use with my TV-85 on a Bogen 501 fluid head and with my Burgess 100x25 binocular on a UA short parallel mount, both of which I will also take. That array should keep me and south sea islanders well engaged and entertained. It also gives me two excellent terrestrial set-ups, as well. When cruising by sailboat, the time spent actually sailing is usually about one day out of eight or so. There will be plenty of time for me to use this equipment and it is all light and compact enough to take with me. However, it is a bit disconcerting that before I have even learned the northern sky well, I am to be confronted by a southern sky that is new to me and totally unfamiliar. I am sure my head will swim, . . . hopefully, only figuratively. I need to become much more sensitive to star brightness differences to mentally edit what I see better. I did give sitting still after (semi) retirement a good shake, but I simply want more adventure in my life. I had a great deal of it growing up all over the world and now want to see things again and how they have changed. I also plan to take a quality road bike with me as well to provide more mobility. I am working hard on one now to get into better shape. Hemingway said the best way to travel and really see things was by bicycle and I agree. I hope to see many of you again before I leave, and I am sure I will, but my predeparture schedule is hectic and I have much to do, especially in regard to further outfitting of my boat and local west coast cruises to shakedown the new equipment and sort things out better. Kimball Corson Phoenix, Arizona kcorson@xxxxxxxxx -- See message header for info on list archives or unsubscribing, and please send personal replies to the author, not the list.