Iowa Man Makes Deal of a Lifetime on eBay

A Des Moines, Iowa man was the highest bidder on a 40' luxury yacht on the online auction site eBay.

Jon Q. O'Nasses, says he was at the right time at the right place and ready to make a deal, when he nabbed the luxury yacht for a mere $4000. Yes, you read that right, $4000 U.S. Dollars for a 40' luxury yacht.

The ship, named Miss Fortune, was placed for sale by its owner tarkington42, when he could no longer afford the monthly marina slip rental fee of $350 per month. The yacht is docked in Sarasota, Florida.

"I was so sad to let her go for that price," said tarkington, "but the marina rental was eating me alive, plus, the boat needs a complete engine overhaul."

While the engine overhaul wasn't mentioned on the description of the item as O'Nasses was bidding on it, he says he doesn't care if the entire boat needs an overhaul.

"I had a cool $12,000 in my savings account," said O'Nasses, "and I was willing to buy half the boat for half that amount. When I saw this come on the auction block starting at $500, I couldn't believe my eyes."

O'Nasses says he began bidding on the boat at 2 a.m. last Friday, believing he was never going to get a yacht for $6000, but luck was on his side and Miss Fortune turned his luck around when he realized a week later, as the auction came to a close, that he was the highest bidder at $4000.

Asked what a guy from Iowa is going to do with a yacht moored in Sarasota, Florida, O'Nasses replied "Well, first I'm going to fly down to Sarasota and check her out, then most likely, I'll start shopping around for bids to fix the engine.

"Once she's fixed, I'm thinking maybe I'll hire myself a seasoned caption and ask a couple of friends to accompany me on a trip to the Bahamas. Then, if that works out, who knows? I might even consider taking her across the ocean and bumming around the Greek islands for a few months."

Upon hearing this, his wife Jackie rolled her eyes, and told us, "He is a dreamer, a great big fat dreamer."

6-Year Old Somalian Girl Given Permission to Sail Solo Around the World

A six-year old Somalian girl has been given permission by the Somalian government to sail solo around the world in a 46-foot yacht commandeered by her father in a pirate raid off the coast of Somali earlier this year. The father/ daughter pair have been training for this solo adventure since March.

When Abdul Omar Khalid got word that American 16-year old Abby Sunderland was setting out early in 2010 to sail solo around the world, he became enraged. He wondered why it always had to be someone from a developed country who got all the fame and glory. He knew it was only a matter of time before some other teenage girl would try the same trip and he knew he had to act fast.

Although, he was planning on having his daughter wait until January of next year to begin her trip when she’d then be 7 years old, news about a French 16-year old girl setting sail within two weeks pushed him to pick up the pace and put his daughter to the task a bit ahead of schedule.

Although Khalid has several sons who are older than his 6-year old daughter, Awa, he believes that his young daughter is his only chance to make a real name for himself, so he set about the task of pirating a luxury yacht and using it to train little Awa on.

Awa is set to take off from the coast of Somalia on Saturday and if all goes well, she will have circumnavigated the globe in record time. “By this time next year,” said Khalid, “the name Khalid will be a household name the world over.”