Larry & Christina Aguilera GET IT ON!

Enjoy.

How close to the $100,000 are we?

Well, in late August I would have been able to tell you that we only had $97,177 to go. Pretty awesome, right? That's a combination of raffle ticket sales (thanks to our largest buyer, Pops!) and the adjustments we'd made in our lifestyle habits.

And then work slowed down for Jer-Bear. And then the economy fell apart and all Jer-Bear's work went away. Now even my day job is being cut back 20% as of January, with who knows what on the horizon.

So now we are back to the starting point. Which is okay, because in these times–especially when you factor in that Olympic Boat Centers have closed–I'm sure the price of a Bayliner 300 is less than $100,000.

Right Bayliner? Bayliner? Hello?

raffle, boating, Bayliner

Dear Phil...

Here's my letter to Phil:

Dear Mr. Phil Collins, I’m writing to you because you would be doing me a huge favour if you purchased some raffle tickets in a draw I’m having. My boyfriend Jer-Bear and I are trying to raise money to buy a beautiful Bayliner 300. Now, I wish I could say honestly that I was a huge fan, but I’m not really. I do have your album “No Jacket Required” and I like the song “Take Me Home,” but I haven’t listened to it in years, mostly because I don’t have a turntable any more. I mainly wrote to you because I heard you were living or had lived in British Columbia, and I am a native of that province. I hope you’ll feel a kinship with me on that count, or perhaps because I love the British version of almost every TV and movie much more than the American version (especially The Office), or because I have fond memories of watching the Dave Allen Show with my dad years ago – and maybe you share those same feelings. Here’s the standard paragraph I always tell famous people: Now, I’m sure you get a lot of crackpot letters asking for money, or sex (as mentioned in your book) or even both. How often has someone ever written you a letter asking to sell you 3 raffle tickets for $1? That’s Canadian dollars, by the way. Although we’ll also take pounds or euros, but at par. I know that means the exchange rate will be in our favour, but come on! You’re a rich rock star and we’re just a guy and a girl working full time and trying to live our dream. Anyway, if you’d like to buy some tickets, here is the address to send your money: Float Jeremy & Nala's Boat! #2444 Unit 304-7592 Vedder Road Sardis, BC, Canada, V2R 1B0 Visit our blog at www.floatourboat.blogspot.com too, because writing to famous people is one of my crazy ideas to get this boat, and I always talk about my crazy ideas on the blog. Oh, and if you have friends who might want a chance to win $500, feel free to share this letter with them. Although you don’t need to tell Eric Clapton, because I wrote him first. Don’t be offended by that–I read his book and enjoyed it, and since he’s a boat owner it made sense for him to be the first. Sincerely and with the highest regard, Nala

My p.s. to Phil was in two parts, as I found out some new info:

P.S. Visiting our blog will help us too - the more traffic the better! Thanks! P.P.S. I found your address ona fansite where it ALSO said "Phil Collins' boat is named 'Fil D 'Or II'. So you ARE a boat lover and can understand our mission! I feel so good about that, I'm going to buy a couple songs on i-Tunes. Don't worry - they're your songs.

I bought "Another Day in Paradise" and "Follow Me Follow You."

raffle, boating, Bayliner

Dear Eric...

I recently mailed Eric Clapton a letter to see if he'll buy some raffle tickets. Here's is the text:

Dear Mr. Eric Clapton,

I wanted to write and tell you how much I enjoyed reading your book “Clapton The Autobiography.” I am a big fan of British rock, alternative and blues music. I’ve always felt I was born too late (1966) and didn’t get to see my favorites in their prime, although there’s a good argument to be made that you’re most recent years are your prime in terms of enjoying life.

I was very interested to read that you’d purchased a 150 foot yacht a few years back. The second reason for this letter was to say that our dream is to purchase a 30 foot cruiser. Since we don’t want to borrow money to do this, we are telling the story of our quest through our blog (www.floatourboat.blogspot.com) and selling raffle tickets. The raffle will be for $500, which we will hold when we’ve raised enough money to buy the boat.

Now, I’m sure you get a lot of crackpot letters asking for money, or sex (as mentioned in your book) or even both. How often has someone ever written you a letter asking to sell you 3 raffle tickets for $1? That’s Canadian dollars, by the way. Although we’ll also take pounds or euros, but at par. I know that means the exchange rate will be in our favour, but come on! You’re a rich rock star and we’re just a guy and a girl working full time and trying to live our dream.

Anyway, if you’d like to buy some tickets, here is the address to send your money:

Float Jeremy & Nala's Boat!
#2444 Unit 304-7592 Vedder Road
Sardis, BC
V2R 1B0
Canada

Visit our blog at the above address too, because writing to famous people is one of my crazy ideas to get this boat, and I always talk about my crazy ideas.

Oh, and if you have friends who might want a chance to win $500, feel free to share this letter with them. Although I’ll understand if you want to keep the opportunity to yourself!

Sincerely and with the highest regard,

Nala

It's alway important to add a p.s. because it's one of the most-read parts of a sales letter. Here's my handwritten p.s.

If you're a little short, maybe you could write us back? I couldn't part with your letter on ebay, but it would drive some traffic to our blog. Many thanks!

Do you think he'll respond?

raffle, boating, Bayliner

The Texas dream is over

Our baby was just too far away and had too many complications - the main one being we couldn't join the frickin' forum to contact the guy giving her away to get more details on the extent of the damage.

Sometimes discussion forums are elitist and/or lazy bastards.

Have a great day!

raffle, boating, Bayliner

Crazy Idea #6: Letters to Famous People

People write letters to lottery winners and celebrities all the time, right? So why not write to famous people we think would be sympathetic to our massive dream??

Watch for our letters later this week. Any response we receive will be posted here. Hopefully they'll buy a few raffle tickets too!

raffle, boating, Bayliner

This could be an exciting time!

Here is an excerpt from a great letter written by a hedge fund manager closing up shop:

"Capitalism worked for two hundred years, but times change, and systems become corrupt. George Soros, a man of staggering wealth, has stated that he would like to be remembered as a philosopher. My suggestion is that this great man start and sponsor a forum for great minds to come together to create a new system of government that truly represents the common man’s interest, while at the same time creating rewards great enough to attract the best and brightest minds to serve in government roles without having to rely on corruption to further their interests or lifestyles. This forum could be similar to the one used to create the operating system, Linux, which competes with Microsoft’s near monopoly."

My own highlights are in blue. Sometimes things get so bad it's time to start over. What an exciting opportunity outlined above for the U.S. and perhaps the world–an opportunity to start over the right way, with the right focus.

Here is a link to the full letter.

Sorry to take the boat blog into politics, but then again I'm not :)