Sailing a Pearson Alberg 35

Heroic adventurer or immature opportunist?

2012-02-11T09:27:00.000-08:00

...Music is still a fundamental part of life. Because of the long period of isolation, many of the indigenous songs, stories and dances have survived. Many of the songs date from the period before European contact, which occurred in the mid 19th century. The songs tell stories of voyages between the islands, while dance performances fill 20 or 30 hours a week.

I found this document online which is a compendium of some of the least visited islands in the South Pacific. The photo and description above were taken from it. The author writes, "I admit that I have some reservations about creating this compendium, as remote tropical islands that are as infrequently traveled as these are getting very difficult to find, as are the traditional cultures one finds here. I did not want to be responsible for causing the ruination of paradise."

I love how the word "paradise" is used here. It is pretty much anywhere left that still remains outside the influence of the modern world... We all know about these places. They make those TV documentary specials about them. It takes about an hour of listening to some science person before we can shut the TV off, recharged to yoke the burden of maturity needed to be civilized. Don't worry, go back to work. Be confident that the experts are out there taking care that paradise is being carefully documented and preserved. No more ruination will take place. We will put the last bit in a museum and make it free for the first Wednesday of every month. God forbid if you actually want to visit the real paradise yourself. Truth is most of it is gone anyways. Most places have fallen in line and understood the power of uniforms and rubber stamps. But if you insist, they will say to grow up and get over it. And if you don't we will smother any last bit of remaining dream and then make an example out of you.

Lets watch what they will do to Jarle Andhoy and the Wild Vikings. In his own words he describes the Wild Vikings as "instead of being a part of the playstation-generation, in a 7 – 4 life with computers, electrical tinopeners and washingmachines, they seek adventures and exploration in the spirit of the ancient vikings. Simply equipped on a low budget ,The wild vikings turn the time back to the old days when men were men. Back to basics. Back to nature in harmony with its simple and real beauty to the worlds remote corners." Last year he sailed down to Antarctica without obtaining permits or having insurance. He defended his "unofficial" expedition saying that Antarctica is a "no man's land. " That almost sounds like the word "paradise." The expedition ran into trouble and three of the Wild Vikings and his ship were lost. Personally, I don't see how driving quad bikes through whiteout conditions in the South Pole is any kind of harmony with nature but anybody who single hands a 27 foot plastic boat to the high latitudes at the age of nineteen is an exceptional person. You can get the latest updates on his current trip back to Antarctica here and the debate rages here.

From "The £200 Millionaire", A Story by Weston Martyr, 1932

2012-02-03T19:14:00.000-08:00

'I've found one good way to live and be happy. There must be other ways, too, but I don't know 'em, so I mean to stick to my way till I come to the end of it. The secret seems to be, to do everything you can yourself: It's difficult to explain, but take an example. Take travel. Allow yourself to be carried about the world in Wagon-Lits and cabins-deluxe, and what do you get out of it? You get bored to death. Everything is done for you and you don't even have to think. All you have to do is to pay. You're carried about with the greatest care and wrapped up and fed and insulated from everything. You see about as much of life as a suckling in the arms of its nurse. No wonder you get bored! But get yourself about the world, on your own feet, or in your own boat, and you're bound, you're bound to fill your life with interest and charm and fun and beauty. You'll have your disagreeable and uncomfortable times, of course, but they merely serve to make the good times taste better. "Sleep after toyle, port after stormie seas." Old Spenser knew. He'd been through it. Sail all day in the wet and cold, then bring up in some quiet harbour and go below and toast your feet before the galley fire and you'll realise what bliss means. Travel in a steam-heated Pullman and then put up at the Ritz and see if you find any bliss there! You see what I mean? Stewart Edward White put it all much better than I can. He wrote, "I've often noted two things about trees: the stunted little twisted fellows have had a hard time, what with wind and snow and poor soil; and they grow farthest up on the big peaks."

"It is still January"

2012-01-31T22:09:00.000-08:00

Today was the last day that I could use that excuse. The season is quickly approaching. Progress has been made but only because I have not been slacking at all. I am getting tired. Why am I doing all of this work? I saw an Alberg 35 advertised in California this past summer for six thousand dollars. I have put over eight hundred dollars in materials towards repairing the bottom alone. This doesn't include the hours, days and now weeks of time I have put into grinding, glassing, sanding, fairing, painting. And that was just for the bottom!

What about the windlass rebuild, removing the rust and painting the three main anchors, the installation of the new AIS and having it communicate with the GPS, the installation of two opening portlights in the cabin, the fabrication and installation of two trim rings for the old forward V berth portlights, repairing the rudder which involved dremeling out rot, building back with epoxy and reglassing, replacing the flexible coupling and installing the new shaft seal which involved lifting the entire engine, borrowing a coupling puller, hammering the shaft back into the coupling, the subsequent redoing of the engine alignment, the replacement of the starter and preheat momentary switches, painting the boom, heat gun and scraping the old epoxy off the entire dinghy, painting the dinghy, finding and installing new rubrail material for the dinghy, sanding the entire deck for new non skid, fixing the sliding hatch, converting the old rope ratlines to wood ones, measuring and cutting new non skid material for the cockpit floor, varnishing the larger flat surfaces of the interior, spending two hours trying to repair a dead palm sander and a dead multi master because of being too cheap to immediately replace, going to town to find a new palm sander, cutting a two foot section of the short whisker pole to make a sleeve to make a proper size one out of the two with rivets, going to town to find rivets, making chocks for the whisker pole, replacing the stop, throttle and shift cables for the engine, installing a new MP3 car stereo, finding someone in the yard with a truck to go buy wood, going to town to buy wood, making new dinghy seats out of the wood, making a new outdoor sleeping area in the cockpit out of the wood, cutting out a new battery cover out of the wood, going to town to buy cabo sil, going to town to buy polyester resin, going to town to find stainless fasteners, going to town to find packing for the rudder shaft, going to town to get a printer cartridge refilled with ink so I can do my budget eight and half by eleven CM93 charts, printing out those charts and using google earth when CM93 doesn't have it, painting the topsides, masking off a new waterline to paint the topsides...

Forget about the Ha Ha....

2012-01-13T19:27:00.000-08:00

$17.50 plus tax and shipping through Westerbeke or $3.78 at any auto parts store in Guaymas?

2012-01-10T16:35:00.000-08:00

Sometimes work is just work

2012-01-01T21:47:00.000-08:00

Taking a sober assessment of exactly what needs to be done on the boat and feeling the weight of it is difficult and stressful. The stress comes from knowing that when you take this much work on, all kinds of unknown obstacles will crop up. Non sailors ask about storms while they should be asking about removing rusted and frozen bolts you can't reach with a drill...

Part of me thought that it might be fun to blog about some of the projects I have been doing. "It could be useful to other cruisers". "I could share my accomplishments with friends" "It could help with potentially selling the boat". Take for example the Simpson Lawrence Seatiger 555 windlass. I have completely taken it apart, regreased it, replaced the springs and put it back together. This took more than a couple of hours. While I did make narrated videos when taking it apart, it was so I would know how to put it back together. The reality of this project is that there wasn't anything tricky about it. Of course there were set backs and obstacles but they were par for the course. The whole before, during and after photo shoot idea feels vain and unnecessary. There isn't anything I learned from this project that I felt should be communicated to someone doing the exact same project. In fact, most of the work on the boat is like this. The sea eats at everything and every piece of gear has a life span. It is just a fact of cruising and owning a boat. How interesting is that?

Guaymas - December

2011-12-29T17:31:00.000-08:00

Thanks!

2011-12-18T11:11:00.000-08:00

I am back on the boat with all the stuff... For those taking notes, Thrifty is the only rental car company that would allow me to take a car into Mexico with just a California driver's license and a Visa debit card. Everyone else wanted a major credit card and/or a return airline ticket out of Arizona. There are two check points going south for customs. One at the border and one about ten minutes south of Nogales. I got the green light each time so no hassles. The general feel for driving in this area given all the media coverage about how the drug violence has made Mexico unsafe is that it is all propaganda. I did the trip between Tucson and Guaymas three times as I had to return the rental and get back down via bus and if the number and vibe of the military inspections is any indication, there isn't a whole lot going on. Even driving in the dark on a Friday night felt fine.

The rate of exchange for the U.S. dollar is close to 14 pesos. With fewer tourists and this great rate, Mexico is a deal right now.

The dry and hot climate has had an effect on the boat. There has been some damage to the rudder as part of the original wood has dried to the extent of cracking through the fiberglass cover and separating from the shaft. Photos and updates as I tackle this and literally dozens of other projects. There is a friggin buttload of work!

A big thanks to everyone that made my stint in the U.S. happen. There is no way I would have been near as successful without the support I received. It is a nice reminder that the "single handed circumnavigation" really isn't that single handed at all... Thanks again!

News: Man To Sail Around World To Decrease Awareness Of Important Issues

2011-12-10T19:04:00.000-08:00

ENCINITAS, CA—In a completely inconsequential event that has already captured the imaginations of thousands, amateur sailor Michael Gilmer, 29, announced Monday he would be embarking on a sea journey around the world to actively decrease awareness of significant global issues.

Gilmer's expedition, which will cover approximately 28,000 nautical miles and bring absolutely no exposure to any urgent environmental or social causes whatsoever, is expected to last roughly 90 days and draw millions of eyes around the world directly away from events of actual, crucial import.

"I hope to use my lifelong love of sailing to take part in a completely irrelevant novelty stunt that in no way benefits humanity," Gilmer said of the non-news event that will needlessly cycle in and out of the top spot on news websites for weeks. "The goal here is to really make people think about a young, overconfident asshole on a boat rather than any pressing matters of substance that actually affect people's lives."

Added Gilmer, "Even if just one person reads a news article about my pointless ego trip instead of a story about the global financial crisis, then I've done my job."

The utterly irrelevant boat ride, which Gilmer plans to document by video so that people can oc-cupy precious hours of their time watching clips of a self-satisfied little shit in a cramped sailboat cabin as if it were an actual event of significance, will in no way address climate change, ocean conservation, unemployment, workers' rights, cancer research, or any wars or conflicts anywhere in the world.

Gilmer—whose inconsequential personal history thousands of Americans will actively choose to make space for in their long-term memories—told reporters he has been planning his meaningless and distracting journey for quite some time, citing his own completely self-serving narcissism as his sole inspiration.

"I saw so many people out there refusing to take time out of their day for bullshit media sideshow events like mine, and I thought, 'Something needs to be done,'" said Gilmer, whose circumnavigation will actually be covered around the clock by real, paid journalists whose job it is, ostensibly, to bring the most significant issues of the day to the American public. "The fact that I'm getting this much media attention already is a real blessing for me and literally no one else."

A number of major corporate sponsors whose only concern is to have their names attached to a big news story with lots of coverage have already pledged to donate a dollar for every nautical mile Gilmer sails, with the money going to help offset the cost of his travels rather than toward a charity devoted toward the betterment of the human race.

In addition, dozens of major news outlets have already promised they will act astonished and impressed by Gilmer's completely unconstructive accomplishment, a landmark that many, many others have previously reached, going back more than a century, and that is in no way worthy of nationwide, let alone worldwide, recognition.

"It won't be easy of course; there are going to be some rough winds and huge waves that I'm sure you'll hear described as though they were the kind of thing that had an effect on the famine currently ravaging Somalia or something," said the man who with every word he speaks magically decreases the number of words printed on the subject of AIDS in Africa or the potential for democracy in the Middle East. "But whenever things do get hard, I'll just remember what I'm doing this for and take comfort in the fact that the hearts and minds of literally thousands of people are stupidly invested in me."

At press time, something was happening in Washington.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/man-to-sail-around-world-to-decrease-awareness-of,26640/

OWS!

2011-11-21T09:05:00.000-08:00

the next chapter

2011-11-20T21:38:00.000-08:00

I have always considered it bad taste to rant. In a way it is openly admitting that you are an unhappy person. The fact is that everyone knows the score anyways... And if they don't already, what makes you think you'll make any difference? Ranting also blinds you to the fact that there are others out there that get it. That you aren't somehow unique.

It has taken some time here in the bay area to find my "tribe" but it happens. Slowly...

(I even found a cafe that bans laptops!)

I will be heading down to the boat in Mexico soon, (within a few weeks) and although part of me is glad to continue with getting back to the boat and possibly writing the last chapter with Pelican, part of me is also a little sad about leaving the bay area. Imagine that. That is a really good sign...

Not out cruising... (or) What if Van Gogh had access to Photoshop?

2011-09-14T21:38:00.000-07:00

I think sharing some of those Tikopia images was about the end of what I have to offer this blog. I will resume when I get back down to the boat in Mexico, but for now, although there is plenty of non cruising material to blog about, I rather take a break. Kind of my own private rebellion from seeing how the bay area has turned into such a technocracy... Witnessing the obsession with all the mobile products makes me think of the line about "preposterous gadgetry" again... They even took the word, "cloud" away!

I recently saw someone with an outlandish mohawk and they also happened to be wearing one of those laminated employee ID cards around their neck. When did sitting for hours on end in front of a computer screen at a video game company equate with any edge? What amazed me the most is not how the mainstream coopts everything interesting the marginalized create or how icons evolve and have their meanings change but how this person did not have any fear or even the idea that "authentic" punks might beat the living crap out of him for being a nerdy poseur... The other thing I noticed is that there aren't punks in SF anymore, authentic or not.

I am really glad I was out cruising before offshore internet access became standard. No internal debate and no facing the realization that you haven't really left at all...

Three months back in the bay area and I already sound like a ranting Luddite. Is it too soon to dream of going cruising again?

Tikopia - trading pic

2011-08-18T19:42:00.000-07:00

The keyword "Tikopia" has generated a lot of traffic to this site so I have recently uploaded the few pics I have on my surving laptop. Eventually there may be more if I have someone clean out the old hard drives from the dead laptops. (Use the search blog feature to find the other Tikopia posts.)

This shot is of the trade I did with Simeon. Everything he gave me is in the foreground - traditional belt and clothes and everything I gave him is to the left.

Tikopia continued - fresh water lake

2011-08-16T20:31:00.000-07:00

Tikopia continued - typical meal

2011-08-16T20:20:00.000-07:00

Tikopia huts

2011-08-15T16:15:00.000-07:00

Cultural Diversity...

2011-07-31T12:16:00.000-07:00

I don't really do souvenirs. I have been on other cruiser's boats that are decorated thoroughly with shells, carvings, relics from dives, you name it, from all the various places they have visited throughout the world. Once in awhile I do come across something that pushes that particular button and I literally have to it.

While in the Solomons, I learned that the people on Malaita Island hunt dolphins and use the teeth as a form of currency. This is rare as most people have a reaction to dolphins that remind me of the section in one of Moietessier's books where he is trying to convince a fellow sailor that hunting dolphins for food isn't such a good thing. His arguments are along the lines of how they aren't fish at all and that they are playful, intelligent, etc.. While in Honiara, I met an American expat that had a "dolphin eco tourist" lodge that was pretty much a front for an operation where he would use natives to catch live dolphins and then sell them to rich Saudis as pets. Needless to say, this particular expat had embraced the dolphin hunting culture with enthusiasm as the laws regulating his chosen business were pretty lax. On a less grand level, involvement with this "taboo" culture found its way into me as the desire for a token souvenir. I tried all the tourist jewelry stores and got the reflexive politically correct reaction and the cold stares. I ended up in the market talking to Malaita women selling vegetables and soon had a whole gang of them around me trying to shake me down for as much as they could when one of them finally decided to sell the necklace from around her neck. The valuation process comes down to counting all the teeth in the necklace and comparing them for quality to agree on an acceptable average that then translates to a price per tooth.

Tikopia Guestbook images

2011-07-17T16:52:00.000-07:00

Here are a handful of pages from the Tikopia guestbook. Tikopia was one of my favorite places that I visited on my trip. An island that still has traditional Polynesian culture but is politically and geographically part of the Solomons.

Today if one visits a remote place where the wildlife are not afraid of humans, one is surprised. Humans haven't been part of the environment long enough in these few places for the animals to realize they need to get the hell away. Tikopia felt like this but with the difference being the way the indigenous population understands white Europeans. For the past several hundred years with all the various explorers, missionaries, trading companies, WWII, etc., Tikopia came through with minimal impact. Of course there has been some, but not enough to essentially displace their original sense of identity. In Vanuatu, where I had spent over a month cruising immediately previously, there was a long history of occupying Europeans. Not all the memory was bad and in fact the older locals I met wished independence had never happened. Even with some positive view of European influence, the difference between Vanuatu and Tikopia was light years in terms of how they understood their standing in the world. Note that the physical distance between the northernmost part of Vanuatu and Tikopia is only 140 miles!

Any backpacker visiting remote places has their share of of anecdotes that reveal "cluelessness" about the outside world. I remember being in the villages of Nepal on a trekking trip years ago when a local, upon hearing I was from America, asked how Michael Jackson was doing as if he and I were neighbors in the same village. In Tikopia I remember when one of the chiefs explained to me that they had heard about the tsunami of 2004. He proudly explained how the 1000 or so Tikopians pooled their resources and were able to collect a total of $75 that they sent to Indonesia. Normally, I would chalk this up as another example of "cluelessness" but the thing about Tikopia was that it didn't feel like cluelessness at all... Instead, every example of how their understanding of the world as a place not dominated by hundreds of years of white colonialism made me question what sort of foundation and identity my own society had given me...

*Other Tikopia blog posts in archive (June 2008)

Poverty induced Vegetarianism in Papua New Guinea

2011-06-24T11:22:00.000-07:00

Two laptops were destroyed in less than four years of cruising. One was an Itronix GoBook Max military specification model. I still have the hard drives but haven't had a chance to retrieve a lot of photos and other data. The remaining laptop has a few backed up photos including these I took when provisioning in the largest supermarket I could find in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea...

Always cruising...

2011-06-22T18:50:00.000-07:00

Returning to the United States after being away cruising for nearly five years without a single visit back is something worthy of its own blog. The changes in the country and in myself, the identity challenges of reentry, the reactions you get from people when you tell them what you have been up to...

With eyes that have seen many destinations, the bay area now looks overrated and with its cost of living, it isn't a very good deal. There is little energy on the streets here except in Chinatown. The Mission with the twenty something bohemians seems more like a token gesture than a place of ferment and revolutionary ideas. The Castro that once felt like one of the most sophisticated neighborhoods now feels as if their strengths wouldn't work anywhere else. Labels like "liberal mecca" seem so out of place... The most intense energies seem to be hidden deep in the confines of tech campuses with the only discernable surface indications being droves of foot soldiers stressed out trying to stick to tight personal schedules.

I spent a few weeks in Phoenix and there the lessoned learned which has been reinforced here in the bay area is that one must have an explanation for oneeself. You cannot simply just be. Without an "in" nothing will happen. Everyone is a specialist executing their own unique individual agenda. As a result, even the simplest interest takes the form of an overly complicated niche.

I naively thought that returning to the US and the bay area would be the end of my trip. Now after these observations, I remember how another couple who completed their own circumnavigation and subsequent reentry explained to me that I have been out cruising long before I cast off the lines and that I will continue to regardless...

Bankruptcy of reason?

2011-05-09T13:33:00.000-07:00

With my recent posts, I feel the need to chide myself for the number of times I have used the word "dream." There is nothing more offensive to my cynical side than having to slog through some sentimental mush let alone being the one responsible for creating it. If I had a dedicated internet connection offshore, there might have been posts from the times where I was cursing and swearing that the boat, the sailing, the whole thing was a miserable mistake and that I made a promise to never return to sea if I got through the current mess... And those physical and fear oriented challenges are the easy ones. Cruising as a lifestyle is fraught with more profound negatives like the transient nature of relationships because of the continual movement, the fact that most cruisers drink more alcohol out cruising than they did on land because of the increase in down time, or the minimal connection to people in countries visited because of language barriers.
These negative aspects are not unfamiliar to those chasing their “dream.“ One could argue that this is infact what gives the dream such allure. Dreaming of casting off the lines and traveling the world in a boat or whatever method is not on the agenda for the masses of “normal“ people. What makes the dreamer different then? Sterling Hayden has, in a way, dismissed the notion of privilege, To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest. Otherwise, you are doomed to a routine traverse, the kind known to yachtsmen who play with their boats at sea… “cruising” it is called. The phenomenon that Hayden mentions is the “cruising” that is sold to us. It is a product marketed to upper middle class whites approaching retirement. There are cruising grounds all over the world that cater to this breed of sailor. Mexico is a good example for California and Pacific NW sailors. These sailors are not dreamers. Maybe some start out as dreamers but quickly sober up when it starts to get messy. Don’t get me wrong. I am not condemning this style of sailing and I admit that I am a good portion cruiser myself. Money lubricates and the more of it the better, but would you still go if you didn’t have it?

With privilege or money removed from the equation, because it doesn’t create an “authentic” experience, the essence of the dreamer is revealed. What is left is a type of insanity. “You have to be crazy to do something like that” Insanity may be a bit dramatic word choice (I have even heard “love” substituted), but it captures the crucial aspect that the dreamer is thinking against his own interests. Much like how awareness of the void gives us a vantage outside our natural rhythm, the dreamer too is fixated on something he imagines as transcendent. I remember meeting an Argentinean single handler in Colombia who told me about his misadventure in the San Blas. He required the assistance of several other cruisers to pull his boat off a reef. Turns out he was motoring slowly at night without charts only using his depth sounder as a guide. As he related the story, I tried all forms of questioning and reasoning to get him to see the irrationality of his approach. It wasn’t until I gave up and told him that it was the stupidest and most foolhardy thing to do that his face cracked and lit up in a smile…

Everyone has a sense of where their comfort zone ends. When we encounter someone whose limit is a bit farther out, we often label them as “crazy.“ This feeling of seeing the insanity in the dream is the exact effect the classic work, The Circumnavigators by Don Holm triggers. Although Don is a confessed dreamer that never cruised himself, his work is focused on facts and doesn't come off with any motivating agenda for the reader to go follow their own dream. This is partly why The Circumnavigators is such seductive reading. The real power with this work is in the exceedingly eccentric nature of the facts the author spent a lot of effort collecting. The book is filled with little gems like how after a dismasting during a capsize off Cape Horn, time was spent first sharpening all tools prior to starting emergency repairs that demanded immediate attention! When the depictions of the sailors and their stories start to become larger than life, it depends on the reader's own reserve of dreaminess whether the work inspires or is simply a description of madmen...

Here is an excerpt from the intro;

This book is my attempt to pull together the best and most representative of these voyagers, and to try and define for my own personal satisfaction and curiosity, if nothing else, many of the underlying reasons that motivate a man to leave the comforts of an established society and bounce around the world at an average rate of five miles an hour in cramped, damp, and often extremely uncomfortable quarters.

Who are these people? What are they really seeking? What motivates them to undertake the risks involved in crossing vast oceans in tiny ships, frequently alone, always dependent upon the prevailing winds and currents, subject to all the raw hazards of the open sea, the possibility of accident and sickness, fearful uncertainties of the unknown, and the inevitable and exasperating red tape of many petty customs and port officials in foreign lands? Certainly, there is nothing easy or simple about a blue water voyage.

Are these people seeking adventure? Romance? Escape? Or are they really searching for meaning in their lives? Do they desire fame and fortune? Or is it just an impulse for achievement against overwhelming odds?

Are they anachronisms in a world that no longer has use for explorers and pioneers? Are they bums, dropouts, copouts, or just plain nuts? Do they have something that you and I do not, besides money? Or, as one psychologist opined, are they just people with suicidal compulsions, their voyages being spectacular manifestations of it?

Here then are the most notable men and women who have circumnavigated the world, and especially those who have solo navigated. World voyagers are the elite of modern travelers, and circumnavigators in small ships are the nobility of the elite. The solo circumnavigation is the epitome of all personal odysseys.

Blisters can be a good reminder...

2011-04-30T22:26:00.000-07:00

Most of the hundreds and hundreds of blisters that were visible when first hauled are now gone as they were all in between the actual fiberglass and whatever outer coatings previous owners or the original builders had applied. Now that the fiberglass is all laid bare, you don't have to be a chemical engineer to recognize the result of "laminate hydrolysis" in Pelican's hull. The outer layer of fiberglass matt in the affected area has turned milky white and is not translucent like the unaffected areas. Water had slowly combined with the soluable components of the resin and had robbed the layup of its strength and rigidity. This area is riddled with blisters (many ground out and filled over the years).

The reality is that the boat is slowly dying. Polyester resin as a boat building material doesn't cut it. The vehicle of my dreams, my floating sanctuary, it isn't exempt from the forces of decay? Is nothing sacred? Unfortunately not. The ugly truth lurks everywhere, always coming back to remind us of the unacceptable fact of our own eventual annihilation. And that is perhaps where the good news lies. It is in the ability to put it into perspective. At 46 years of age, a few millimeter loss of hull thickness really ain't that bad... At this rate, Pelican will still be out sailing long after you or I will be.

Still in Marina Seca Guaymas...

2011-04-21T20:53:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine in Thailand recently sent me scanned versions of the write I up I received back in early 2009 in TTO magazine (thanks again to Sarah Dixon). I have put the rest of the scanned article on the page that originally contained the link to the online version (now dead).

One of the benefits of having a bit of cruising experience is understanding the range of cruisers out there. The couple of weeks I have spent here in Marina Seca Guyamas has been a reminder of this as the range has significantly narrowed. I have met cruisers who are surprised and even shocked to learn I have just recently completed a singlehanded circumnavigation aboard an Alberg 35. I guess I don't fit the profile... (Maybe it is the hank on headsails). One thing I do know is it says more about their lack of exposure than anything about me. There is no profile! Some may think an Alberg 35 too small a boat. What about Carina whom I met in Thailand when he came along side looking for a ride to the beach because he has no dinghy (boat already is a dinghy). Others may think I am on too low a budget. What about Emily, whom I first met in Mexico, whose first cruising boat cost $900. I met her again in Panama City years later circumnavigating on her second boat which cost a whopping $12K (sponsorship help). Others may think that a circumnavigation is too vast an undertaking. What about Bob and Glenda on Nero whom I met in Madagascar who are on their fifth circumnavigation. The farther you get away from the marina back home, the less accurate the yachtie stereotypes become...

Marina Seca Guaymas

2011-04-12T13:35:00.000-07:00

The blisters were pretty bad this haul out... Bad enough that the dreaded, "Have to remove the Gelcoat" option became a reality. I probably won't go all the way to the bottom as there are only gelcoat blisters below where I have already ground.

This project would have been a nightmare in the states. Just finding a DIY yard with affordable lay days, no enviromental restrictions and a hot dry climate would be next to impossible. Then, imagine looking forward to spending any amount of free time holding a seven pound grinder at shoulder height for hours... That is the problem with trying to squeeze in your dreams around the 9 to 5 . It is hard enough to find time to do laundry let alone grind gelcoat off a boat hull. At a certain point, you have to quit the job and make do with what you saved. Of course I will have to head back to work for another spell but for now, with this project, I can do an hour of grinding, bullshit with my yachtie neighbors, do another half hour of grinding, bullshit with my yachtie neighbors, do another fifteen minutes of grinding, bullshit with my yachtie neighbors...

The page turned...

2011-04-06T18:48:00.000-07:00

It really feels like the end of the trip... Isn't there some god awful Randy Newman song about not going sailing anymore. Geez, if I am having associations like that, I must be feeling it. The plus side is I get to enter into refit mode. Plenty to do and no better motivator than being in a yard.

Guaymas, Mexico

2011-04-04T13:38:00.000-07:00

Straight shot from Mazatlan to Guaymas. Took over a week... Man, there is so little wind in Mexico. I remember being warned about Asia but this coast is like Zen master level of patience... The plus is that the Sea feels like a lake. No swell at all. Even with a five knot breeze one can sail as there is no swell to spill the wind. I pretty much stayed in the center of the sea, tacking back and forth, always within sight of one coast or the other for most of the time. I have already become used to Mexico which is mostly tones of brown meaning rocks and sand, but when I came into Guaymas and saw a hill covered with green, I was confounded until I realized it was all cactus!

Tomorrow I will hopefully find out when I can get hauled...

Mazatlan, Mexico

2011-03-25T19:21:00.000-07:00

     I have been in Mexico a little less than a month now. Stops have included Santiago Bay, Melaque, La Cruz, San Blas and now Mazatlan. I had thought more than a bit about what it would be like to cruise Mexico this time around. It is nice to see how places like San Blas still remind me of the artwork found in that old classic travel guide, People's Guide to Mexico. Other places like Banderas Bay have changed substantially. There is now quite a marina planted right at the base of town in La Cruz!

     In 2007 when I was in Neiafu, Tonga, I met another male singlehanded sailor also in his thirties who upon meeting me, displayed the not so uncommon alpha male behaviour of having to assert himself as the more seasoned of the two of us. Within minutes, there was mention of an 80 knot experience, successful navigation of the pass at Mopelia and a visit to Beveridge Reef which he bragged was not in the pilots. While continuing to list his exploits, most of which involved unnecessary exposure to danger, what struck me the most was his use of the words, "real cruising.”

     I have heard California sailors say that Mexico is not "real" cruising. It is not far enough away!  You can hop from marina to marina and never anchor out! There is no doubt that the San Francisco Bay Area based sailing magazine, Latitude 38 has transformed the cruising landscape here with events like their Baja Haha which now boasts hundreds of participants. Other events like Sail Fest and the Banderas Bay regatta are equally popular so, yes, one can spend the entire season occupied within this world. Mexico is not on any of the regular circumnavigation routes so there isn't much diversity within the cruising community. I have seen one European boat since I got here... My visit to La Cruz confirmed that for many, cruising is the experience of other cruisers.

     I guess what it comes down to is that people cast off the lines for different reasons. There is a big difference between chasing a dream and pursuing a well defined goal. I feel this difference when I listen to some sailors talk about boats. They talk up the virtues of one design over another until it becomes obvious that the boat is less a boat and instead some manifestation of their alter ego. What are you gonna do with the boat? This part is always assumed when it shouldn't be. For me, I knew enough that when I first saw Pelican, it was without a doubt not my "dream boat" at all. I too had my own ideal vision and having already cruised a Pearson Vanguard, I knew a lot of the Alberg 35's negative qualities. Unfortunately, I also knew what it was capable of. It was almost like a test to see what my priorities were. Do you want to cross oceans visiting remote places or do you want a nice boat to go yachting in a relaxed sailing destination like Mexico? I had to make a choice and the one thing I am very glad of is that what I thought to be true turned out to be. You don't need your dream boat to cross oceans and see the world.

Making it official

2011-03-01T13:30:00.000-08:00

Well... I guess I will do this now and get it out of the way. Mainly so I can start sounding like an old salt and laying down the wisdom! Actually, it does feel nice to say I made it around the world singlehanded.

I missed my goal of putting less than 500 hours on the engine. Final tally from when I first bought the boat in Seattle, WA to here in Manzanillo is 680 hours. I will say that I would have made that 500 hour mark if I hadn´t done four months of backpacker charters in the San Blas. Had to use the engine there to stay on other´s schedules so I easily put over a hundred hours on the engine in those four months.

Right now I am working on getting the boat to somewhere in the Sea of Cortez and pulling it out of the water. The boat is now for sale but it is hard to sell a boat in Mexico so one plan is to refit the boat and sail it across the Pacific again to Australia or New Zealand. The boat is worth more in those places and of course this would be a great excuse for visiting the South Pacific again. Now that I have already done the South Pacific once, I know where to go. I would completely skip the much overdone ¨milk run¨route. On the other hand, if I sell the boat now, I would be that much closer to the next adventure... I could of course do the bash and get the boat to California but it is probably not much easier to sell a boat up there.

Anyways, we will see. I will keep the blog going with more reflections on the trip in the coming weeks. There will not be as much sailing anymore though. This last passage was it for awhile. La Paz is now hundreds of miles away and no longer thousands...

Bahia Santiago, Manzanillo, Mexico

2011-02-28T15:48:00.000-08:00

Made it in today... 24 days.

I might try checking in tomorrow into Mexico or wait until the winds stop blasting and head over to Barra. Santiago is a nice anchorage but a bit incovenient.

The plan worked well initially. I was making about 80 miles a day along 10 North. Let go of the Spinnaker halyard like an idiot and I was in no mood to climb the mast at sea so I only had use of the 125 using the boom to pole it out... 450 miles below Tehuantepec there was 15-20knots but with a huge 10 to 12 foot swell! I heard on the net that there were storm force winds up there. At about 100 west I started to get antsy and was afraid of a hard beat up to close the mainland after listening to a boat headed from Cabo to Galapagos report daily conditions. I made the turn sooner than planned but what the hell.... I lost all wind at about 13 north. It absolutely died at about 13 N and 103 W. Then after several really low mile days, I got close enough to the corner that I had 20 on the nose for the last three days. I tried holding out for Barra but just didn´t have it in me. Santiago is only 20 miles short so no biggie.

That is the sail report. Other item of most interest is cleaning an explosion of growth on the hull when becalmed and being visited by a mixed school of dolphins and huge yellow fin tuna. They came quite close while I was in the water. Plenty of that being made conscious of my own creatureliness by heavy eye contact with the dolphin creatures.

Mexico bound

2011-02-03T11:36:00.001-08:00

I am off for Mexico. I will use the Papagayos to shoot out offshore, then will stay at ten degrees north until about 105 west to skirt the areas of calms off of Central America and mainland Mexico. I will also pass several hundred miles below Tehuantepec but should still get a boost as the winds are really blasting there this time of year. Landfall somewhere in Bahia Banderas, maybe even Cabo, but at least as far west as Barra de Navidad.

Cocos Island

2011-02-01T07:28:00.000-08:00

I hadn´t heard about Cocos Island until I reached Shelter Bay Marina about a month ago. This is surprising as I cruised Costa Rica in the mid nineties and have talked with dozens of sailors who have been to the Galapagos, yet no one had ever mentioned this island. Jacques Cousteau described this island as the most beautiful in the world and it also happens to be the largest uninhabited island in the world as well. Divers seem to be more aware of Cocos as it is often listed as one of the top diving sites. Part of the reason why this island is unknown is not only because of its isolation (300 miles off of Costa Rica and 400 north of the Galapagos) but because the only way to visit the island, aside from having your own boat, is to take a liveaboard dive trip which costs about four to five thousand dollars for seven days. Being a national park, there are no facilities onshore for overnight guests and there is no airport. There were only eighteen people on the island and they were either park rangers or scientists. Besides Pelican, the only other boats at anchor were two dive boats, the Argo and Wind dancer, and a National Geographic research boat...

Here are some radom shots of the boat graffiti at Chatham bay. It was quite a feeling reading the names of all the past sailors to have visited the island.

In Costa Rica for a short bit

2011-01-31T09:56:00.000-08:00

I am in Bahia Samara in Costa Rica.

Here are a few more photos of the Panama Canal transit taken by the boat we rafted up to.

Panama Canal transit pics (taken by Tania and Jeff)

2011-01-06T12:49:00.000-08:00

The Galapagos may be a tourist trap...

2011-01-05T14:22:00.000-08:00

It happens often that when you dream of a destination without actually researching it, it is usually more attractive in your mind than it really is. Now that I have a shot at sailing to the Galapagos and have started talking to other yachties about it, it turns out that some have told me to skip it! Reports of petty theft in the anchorages, gross levels of tourism, expensive rip off fees, and more and more development and settling of the islands... I am sure the natural beauty is still there in plenty but it is no longer an untouched pristine place... The word is to go to Cocos island instead. I had never heard about this island until a few days ago but it seems pretty interesting. Described as the "most beautiful island in the world" by Jacques Cousteau, it is more remote with no airport and no facilities for overnight stays... Maybe I will sail to both and provide a full report.

In other news, I calculated that I have to sail 4.7 percent more of the earth's lines of longitude before having circumnavigated.

Bridge of the Americas

Back in the Pacific!

2011-01-04T13:44:00.000-08:00

Transiting the Gatun locks was an experience. The wind was gusting 20 knots on approach and the sun had just gone down. Being on the boat was short heated moments of yelling and throwing of lines followed by longer periods of just standing by, being ready and alert but always having the opportunity to look around and marvel. The canal, despite its importance in the world, isn't exactly modern technology. It feels old with a look that is very industrial and that definitely comes from a different time.

I enjoyed my transit and don't feel so bad for cheating. The Cape will be there for next time.

A big thanks to CouchSurfing and to those that volunteer line handled, Nate, Peter, Tania and Jeff. You guys were great!

Delayed by two hours

2011-01-02T11:24:00.000-08:00

I should be anchoring in the flats waiting for my advisor but got notified to be there two hours later...

If there isn't a post here in the next five or six hours, then I am underway and you can see me go through here.

My new neighbor!

2011-01-01T10:25:00.000-08:00

Tires!

2011-01-01T08:21:00.000-08:00

Got nine tires from a Northbound yacht that came through this morning...

I have never been able to reconcile myself with the contrasts created by how wealth is distributed in the world. Shelter Bay Marina triggers science fiction type movie scenes in my mind where one is taken deep into the bowels of the earth to witness sub human creatures who have never seen the sun slave away mining some precious mineral. "What is the end result of all this labor?" "Where does all the money go?" Well, one of the possible answers could be D dock here at the marina. They stuck me out at the end so every time I go take a shower or use the toilet, I do a mental calculation of what the total value of all the boats are that I pass. It is a lot of millions...

In Shelter Bay

2010-12-31T10:24:00.000-08:00

I am looking at an over 50 dollar per day burn rate for being tied up here! 25 dollars for a taxi into Colon... It feels odd to be in a proper Marina. I have forgotten just how convenient it is to be able to throw stuff off the boat and onto a dock. Needless to say the other boats here are pretty posh.

I managed to rent lines within the first hour of being here and am still hunting for tires.

The photo is D45 at Shelter bay and the other, hopefully, the last photo taken of me in Portobelo in awhile...

Scheduled for Transit!

2010-12-28T10:26:00.000-08:00

I now have a date to transit the canal. The scheduled slot will be on Sunday, January 2nd. The transit takes two days for Southbound yachts. It will begin in Colon on the Atlantic side on Sunday afternoon with a passage through the first set of locks to Lake Gatun. Once Lake Gatun is reached Sunday evening, the night will be spent there. Everyone stays and sleeps on the boat. The transit resumes on Monday, January 3rd early in the morning to arrive in Balboa on the Pacific side later that same day in the afternoon.

If you want to volunteer linehandle, you will have to be in Colon to meet up with the boat on Sunday, January 2nd in the morning or the night before. There will be quite a few of us onboard so it will be crowded and not the most comfortable with the sleeping arrangements but it is only for one night and it should be exciting nonetheless... I will provide all food and drinks and can reimburse your transportation costs if you are coming from Panama City.

Line handling is pretty easy. Basically you just have to follow simple instructions while the boat is in the locks...

Cell phone number in Panama 60837084

Colon...

2010-12-28T09:59:00.000-08:00

Colon has a pretty lousy reputation. Most travelers skip it entirely as they consider it unsafe and depressing...

Running around trying to get things arranged for the canal transit has given me the opportunity to spend some time there. Actually, I have spent plenty of time here in between San Blas trips and to escape Portobelo. Colon does have a trash problem and most buildings look like they need paint. Here are some standard street shots that weren´t chosen to discriminate one way or the other...

Funds deposited but ACP closed till Monday...

2010-12-24T08:47:00.000-08:00

I just left the bank where I handed over $1500 in cash (the only accepted payment method)... I was told that the ACP office is closed today so I will be contacted Monday. Hopefully, on Monday, I can talk to a scheduler and get locked in for a date to transit. Right now it is the slow season so it should only be a 3 or 5 day wait.

Line handlers are still needed. Come volunteer to help get Pelican through the locks and see the canal from a boat actually transiting! Transportation to and from Panama City as well as food will be provided. Phone number in Panama 60837084

Next step is to pay the bank...

2010-12-23T12:28:00.000-08:00

Pelican passed the initial inspection to transit the Panama Canal. The inspector had to call his supervisor to find out whether or not a tiller as a steering device met regulation... He had never seen one before. Many questions were asked about the boat and its equipment. One questiion was whether or not there was drinking water aboard!

I will head to Colon tomorrow to pay the canal fee if the bank is open. $1500 with a bit over half being a deposit.

LINEHANDLERS are needed! If you are in Panama and can volunteer, call me at 60837084! Tentative date to cross is the week of December 27 to 31. More updates will be posted here on my blog.

Visited the Ad Measurement unit today...

2010-12-20T11:58:00.000-08:00

Back in Portobelo, again!!! I am going to go crazy if I donot leave this part of the world...

The very first step in getting through the Panama canal is to get the boat measured and inspected. Today I visited the office in Colon where they set the appointments to have this done. I was told that the boat must be in the flats (anchorage) or in Shelter Bay Marina.

The plan is to move the boat tomorrow and be measured the day after. Hopefully I will pass inspection without a hitch... The canal is a challenge because unlike all other passages, this one I absolutely have to depend on other people to make it happen! That is a true challenge as proven this morning by just trying to find the ACP office. Actually everyone I asked (taxi drivers, security guards, guy washing a car on the street) were really helpful and seemed eager to be involved.

If you want to volunteer as a line handler ( a great way to see the Panama canal), contact me via email through my profile or call me at 60837084

Indecision blues...

2010-12-15T05:36:00.000-08:00

Plans are made to be changed...

I`m off to Panama again but this should be the last time as I am not doing a backpacker run. The decision to spend another season in the Caribbean is starting to feel less and less attractive. Of course I can still think of reasons to do it and who knows, I may still, but for today, I think I should stop dragging my feet and get through the canal. The canal is symbolic because I won´t have the luxury of changing my mind once I am on the Pacific side... I will be forced to head towards the U.S. as the boat is starting to be in need of another refit that I ain´t got the money for...

One part polyurethane nightmare

2010-12-05T12:14:00.000-08:00

Below are some pics of finally getting around to wet sanding the cream colored one part polyurethane paint that has been peeling off the topsides ever since I bought Pelican. I knew the day I first looked at the boat in Seattle back in the summer of 2006 what a nightmare it would eventually be. ¨ People won´t buy a boat unless it looks perfect so why not slap on a coat of pain just to get it off the showroom floor.¨ Never mind the mess it will create later...

Inspirations...

2010-11-28T12:29:00.000-08:00

I wonder if those bold statements that used to come out so easily when young and full of youthful confidence are completely forgotten by our older selves or if somehow they perhaps linger in the back of our minds to haunt and taunt us when we realize we may not have lived up to them.

I remember making many... Statements that were directly oriented towards cruising, that involved a dislike of rallies and the moneyed nature of how cruising is portrayed in slick magazines like Cruising World. ¨One´s equipment shouldn´t be better than one´s skill level! ¨ ¨Purchased experiences do not count!¨

I guess the advantage of being a bit older is that I don´t feel so individually responsible anymore, instead I now just feel sad to see things generally tilted toward one side...

Below is a photo of Robin Lee Graham who set out to sail around the world in 1965 on a 24 foot boat at the age of sixteen.

I love the details in the pic... The non self tailing winch that is so small. The narrowness of the beam at the transom. What brand of safety harness is that?

Did you know that Wild Eyes (the boat used by 16 year old Abby Sunderland to attempt to set a record as the youngest circumnavigator in 2010) was worth about 400,000 dollars?

Beginning of year five

2010-11-25T18:05:00.000-08:00

I have been out sailing for over four years now.

I posted not so long ago that the most difficult part of going cruising is leaving. I am starting to realize that I may have been mistaken. I now think the hardest part of going cruising is stopping...

Clip is of eastern Coco Banderas, Kuna Yala, right behind the nice 12 meter spot south of the main Bauhaus anchorage.

In Cartagena, Colombia

2010-11-15T13:01:00.000-08:00

Made it in today after a less than 48 hour passage. Fastest crossing yet...

I will not be sailing back to Panama via the San Blas unless plans change. Instead I am looking for crew for a direct sail to Utila, Honduras. If you are interested in crewing, contact me via email found through my profile.

I will be here in Cartagena for a few weeks...

The nature of plans...

2010-11-10T09:47:00.000-08:00

I am off for Cartagena via the San Blas today.

Seems the latest idea is to head towards the Bay Islands and Rio Dulce. Cuba is interesting and might still be in the works but who knows...

More later when I get to Colombia. I will resume normal blogging as this should be my last San Blas trip for awhile.

In Portobelo, Panama

2010-10-31T14:52:00.000-07:00

I am in Portobelo, Panama looking for something to do with the boat. Back to Cartagena, Colombia, over to the San Blas, go through the canal or maybe something a bit more adventurous like that big Communist island up north?

cell number in Panama 60837084

In the San Blas Islands of Panama

2010-10-16T09:19:00.000-07:00

Mobile number in Panama 60837084

I should be in the Robinson Cays (Sanidub, Narasgandub, Korkidub) in the San Blas for the next week or so... I am not sure about cell phone coverage but you can try. Best to send a text message so I still get your info if I miss your call.

In Panama

2010-10-06T07:35:00.000-07:00

If you are genuinely interested in commiting as crew on a shared expense basis, contact me. To crew one must commit to be aboard for a minimum of a couple weeks otherwise the time spent to familiarize onesself with the boat does not become worthwhile.

For the short term San Blas trips or the passage over to Cartagena or Sapzuro via the San Blas there is a modest charge. Compared to the many business boats doing the crossing or charters in the San Blas, you will find my price to be most affordable. There is a minimum of two people for the San Blas trips and three for the passage to Cartagena or Sapzuro.

I can be in Portobelo within a day to pick up persons interested in sailing. These sorts of details can be worked out via text messages.

Sailing to Panama around October 2nd to 6th

2010-09-19T12:49:00.001-07:00

Cell phone # in Colombia 3145009108

If you are interested in sailing to Panama via the San Blas from Cartagena, contact me. You are welcome to come check out the boat at Club Nautico located in Manga Island, Cartagena. You can even Couchsurf by putting a request through the CS Site.

If you are genuinely interested in commiting as crew on a shared expense basis, use my email available through my profile to tell me about your travel plans and sail experience. I will be sailing to Panama and transiting the canal soon after. To crew one must commit to be aboard for a minimum of a couple weeks otherwise the time spent to familiarize onesself with the boat does not become worthwhile.

For the short term San Blas trips or the passage over to Cartagena via the San Blas there is a modest charge. Compared to the many business boats doing the crossing or charters in the San Blas, you will find my price to be most affordable.

Will head to Cartagena soon

2010-09-07T15:32:00.000-07:00

Mobile number in Panama - 60837084

I am still doing San Blas trips out of Portobelo but will have to head to Cartagena soon to do a visa run. If interested in doing the trip to Colombia via the San Blas, contact me.

If you are genuinely interested in commiting as crew on a shared expense basis, contact me through my email available through my profile. You are also welcome to CouchSurf aboard Pelican by putting a request through the CS site.

Otherwise, there is a comparatively modest charge for the short term San Blas trips or the passage over to Cartagena via the San Blas.

Sailing the San Blas

2010-08-28T11:28:00.001-07:00

A sailing trip in the San Blas Islands offers a far better value than doing the trip across to Colombia. You can save a lot of money by doing a trip with me and buying an airline ticket to Cartagena. I will take you to the exact same spots in the Western San Blas that all the boats crossing to Cartagena visit.

My trips are geared towards the traveler who is willing to help with the work in exchange for a lower priced trip. There are many other higher end full service oriented San Blas sailing trips and you can contact me for a recommendation.

Meals are not provided. You bring and cook your own food of choice. The boat, Pelican, has a full galley(two burner gas stove with oven) including a small refrigerator perfect for cooling drinks and vegetables but not ideal for bringing loads of raw meat... It is possible to buy live lobsters, conch and fish from the Kunas. I´ve got basics like salt, sugar, cooking oil, etc so you don´t have to go crazy with the provisioning. Drinking water is also on board, straight from the tap in Portobelo. I drink it and so do all the locals in town... If in doubt, you can buy bottled water.

Pelican can sleep three comfortably, four is possible and five starts to be crowded. There is a spacious V berth forward that sleeps two and there is a settee in the salon. I have also improvised a sleeping area in the cockpit that has the advantage of being outdoors. Another option is to sleep on one of the islands with a decent sized two person dome tent I have onboard. There is a small toilet but no shower. I have very basic dive masks and snorkels and only one set of fins... There is also a JBL medium length speargun and a Penn International 50 reel and rod for trolling. Plenty of assorted gear for hand line fishing. There is one eight foot hard rowing dinghy and another Avon inflatable eight foot dinghy with a small 3.5 hp two stroke outboard. There is also 220 volt or 110 volt electricity for charging laptops, cell phones, ipods, etc..

The trips I have done in the San Blas tend to be about three days long. First day is an overnight sail from Portobelo to Chichime. The second night is spent at Chichime and the following day we do a day trip to Dog Island (2$ per person Kuna charge) and then sail to Banedup in the afternoon. We spend the night in Banedup and the next day we sail to Carti. Transportation from Carti to Panama City is available for $27 or $28 dollars($2 or $3 for the launch and $25 for the jeep). It may also be possible to sail back to Portobelo with me. The Robeson islands are very close to Carti and additional days could be spent exploring this group. I am very open to other destinations and if there is a specific group you are interested in, contact me, so I can see if I have the relevant Nautical charts.

Transportation from Panama City to Portobelo is cheap and easy. Take the express bus from the Albrook Mall for Colon. The cost is $2.50. Get off at Sabanitas, which is a busy T junction. Infront of the Rey supermarket(this is where you buy your food for the trip), wait for one of the local buses going to Portobelo. Portobelo is clearly written on the windshield. The cost is $1.00.

It is best to call instead of emailing as internet is not so realiable in Portobelo. Cell phone in Panama (507) 60837084

The boat, Pelican, is based in Portobelo and if you want to couch surf for free while in Portobelo before heading out or just to come up and check things out, put in a request through the CS site.

Back in Portobello

2010-08-23T15:54:00.001-07:00

Latest San Blas trip was great. Must have something to do with not having that tedious Cartagena passage. I will be either here in Portobello or in the Puerto Linton, Isla Grande area which is right next to Portobello. Will head back to the San Blas if I find folks interested in going....

Walls...

2010-08-17T12:10:00.000-07:00

I´ve been in the Western Carribean a bit now. Long enough to have met plenty of cruisers to get a feel for this particular breed. After the normal questions (how many years out, where you´ve been), I always ask if they are headed through the canal. I am surprised by how often the answer is an emphatic ¨no.¨ It is almost like a thorn in the side that the canal is there otherwise they would have a very valid excuse for remaining on this side. The feeling I get is that by the time Panama is reached most of the American and some of the European cruisers have done several seasons already and they have a ¨been there, done that¨ attitude toward cruising. Even some of the younger cruisers feel that the expense of the canal and the additional huge commitment of doing the Pacific just isn´t worth it. It is kind of a shame, but in retrospect, I feel really glad that I did the South Pacific first. In my case, if I hadn´t have had the few experience I did have there, I wouldn´t have had the stamina to do the other oceans. I still believe that the cruising one dreams of is still possible there, although off the ¨milkrun¨route. I´ve repeated it throughout the blog before and I will repeat it again that the South Pacific is the true cruising ground.

In other news, it is a bit too early for me to cross the canal so I might try doing some low budget sail trips within the San Blas. It is really easy to undercut everyone else as the prices asked are over the top... The ¨great recession¨ can´t be all that bad if flashpackers are shelling out nearly 100 a day to camp out on boats like Olivine, the 30 foot version of my boat that has seven people aboard when full!

Other cruisers that made the choice...

2010-08-02T17:06:00.000-07:00

I first met the Craftons in Richards Bay, South Africa. I sort of knew that they didn´t fit the standard mold when it came to cruisers. I never saw them at any of the yachtie functions. Later, Tom confided in me that hanging out with other cruisers was not a high priority - why go cruising to hang out with people you can easily meet at the local yacht club? I have met a small minority of cruisers whom I would describe as people who see the cruising lifestyle as an alternative to the ¨system¨instead of how cruising is being defined more and more, as a reward for having done well within the ¨system.¨ It is interesting how the very same ¨system¨will co opt those who look for an alternative. The Craftons are now in the limelight with many news articles being written about them as well as interviews on CBS, ABC and other TV shows (Dianne Sawyer and Early show on CBS).

Bocas del Toro, Panama

2010-07-26T17:22:00.001-07:00

I am in Bocas del Toro, anchored just north of the town. This place is a real gringo ¨paradise¨... I hung out with Ray Jason, a former contributor to Latitude 38, in Cartagena and he told me that in the past ten years, Bocas was his favorite cruising ground. I had to come check it out even though it took a gruelling five days from Portobelo which is a distance of 152 miles. I finally gave up and motored the last 30. There really is no wind in this area...

I will hang out here for a bit and most likely head back to the San Blas islands by way of Portobelo again. The San Blas deserve more than the several days I spent there...

San Blas trip

2010-07-20T08:48:00.001-07:00

San Blas bound

2010-07-06T09:17:00.000-07:00

Leave tonight or in the morning. Pelican will have four in total aboard... Rob, Demis, Julia and myself. We will head for the western end of the San Blas which is where most of the other boats will be.

The business of shuttling backpackers across the ¨gap¨ and also spending a couple of days in the San Blas is quite something... Technically it is illegal to do. Adverts posted on the Club Nautico bulletin board are torn down regularly by the management. Internet forums for backpackers are filled with horror stories. I´ve met quite a few of the full time backpacker skippers and some are real pieces of work. How hard is it to buy the cheapest forty footer in Florida, cross the Caribbean once and start motor sailing back and forth cramming as many bodies as can fit aboard? The egos of some of the skippers are way out of proportion... It is easy to be the big fish if the pond is small enough and most of the backpackers are clueless when it comes to reading boats... I will recoup the exorbitant check in costs and get my fuel paid for so it is all good for me.

I should be in Portobelo or maybe in Carti for a bit. If not, I will head to Bocas del Toro and do another long break.

A barely meets the required inspiration to post sort of post

2010-06-29T19:14:00.002-07:00

I found these four boxes of Kraft macaroni and cheese when doing a very thorough search of one of the storage areas in the boat. They were hidden well away out of normal reach and had evidently been there quite a while because I did not recognize them as provisions I had ever brought on board. For a moment I was actually thrilled at the prospect of indulging in some crap processed American food. It was a pretty short lived thrill....

The hardest part...

2010-06-12T11:15:00.000-07:00

Now that I am close to my home port, people I meet that see "Seattle" on the transom or hear that I sailed from California assume that I sailed down the west coast and have just come through the canal. To correct them, I usually answer by saying "I have been traveling west." This same reply was once directed at me by Serge Testa when I shared an anchorage with him (then on his 40 footer) along the Baja coast when doing the bash on my first boat back in 97. We were having a conversation over VHF and after learning that he was returning to California, I had asked how far south he had been... It takes a second to process the reply but once the realization is made, the conversation usually shifts to topics like what route you took or if a non sailor, did you run into any storms, etc.. Sometimes non sailors ask what is the hardest part about circumnavigating. The hardest part is casting off the lines. I have always enjoyed giving this answer because it has nothing to do with sailing. It reminds me of the famous quote by Sterling Hayden which I have shared below;

"I've always wanted to sail to the south seas, but I can't afford it." What these men can't afford is not to go. They are enmeshed in the cancerous discipline of security. And in the worship of security we fling our lives beneath the wheels of routine - and before we know it our lives are gone.

What does a man need - really need? A few pounds of food each day, heat and shelter, six feet to lie down in - and some form of working activity that will yield a sense of accomplishment. That's all - in the material sense, and we know it. But we are brainwashed by our economic system until we end up in a tomb beneath a pyramid of time payments, mortgages, preposterous gadgetry, playthings that divert our attention for the sheer idiocy of the charade.

The years thunder by, The dreams of youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on the shelves of patience. Before we know it, the tomb is sealed.

Where, then, lies the answer? In choice. Which shall it be: bankruptcy of purse or bankruptcy of life?"

Clip is from Richards Bay, South Africa. Watch an awful looking catamaran trying to dock in the harbor with a 30 knot crosswind missing my monitor windvane by inches and hitting SV Brillig's instead...

Gulf Cruisers...

2010-06-02T11:59:00.001-07:00

I think that the average person who knows next to nothing about cruising believes that the entry cost to this lifestyle must be exorbitant. One look around any marina or anchorage seems to confirm this. There are exceptions however. What about SY Bob pictured below? Bob is an old Pearson hull with a custom wood deck and cabin house. The owner, "Mister Dan", purchased the boat in Louisiana for $4800 U.S.. Mister Dan and his wife whom he met on his first sail to Cartagena 32 years ago are sailing to Providencia to build a house. "I've got over 3000 pounds of ceramic tiles on the boat already and figure I can just start throwing some of it overboard if I get into trouble." For $4800 you don't get a lot of cruising gear. Bob lacks gear that others would consider essential like a depth sounder and VHF radio. Mister Dan considers the lack of an autopilot to be a challenge. "I can't see very well now that I am old and with just a little light for the compass, I've often discovered in the morning that I've spent hours at night sailing in the totally wrong direction!" Bob's sail inventory consists of one hank on head sail, about 90 percent, and a main that Mister Dan figures came off of a 27 or 28 foot boat. "It only reaches about two thirds of the way up." Despite the lack of a complete sail inventory and the challenges in holding course, Mister Dan figures he averages about 50 miles a day in Bob. When I asked how his Colombian wife likes sailing, he explained that most in Colombia are looking for an easier life, not a harder one!

A note on speed...

2010-05-24T13:43:00.000-07:00

My "later" edition (circa 1980) of Hiscock's Voyaging Under Sail has a photograph of a boat becalmed with the caption, "waiting for wind in the doldrums." The key word is "waiting." Today's cruiser doesn't wait for anything... If speed under way drops below 3 knots, they fire up the engine without any deliberation. When discussing passage times for familiar crossings, it can feel like a contest for the fastest. If you had a slow crossing, you feel compelled to offer that elaborate technical explanation of how the weather worked against you. A faster time would indicate that one is a competent sailor and knows how to get the most out of one's boat but this is often not the case. I don't know when being becalmed or moving at 2 kots became so dreadful... Diesel engines have become way more efficient but fuel has gotten a lot more expensive... And what does it matter if you are out on the ocean for an extra few days? Isn't that why you left to go cruising to begin with?

41 days is 41 Sunsets

2010-05-19T07:57:00.000-07:00

When I crossed the Atlantic from Simonstown, South Africa to Itapissuma, Brazil, I took a brief 4 or 5 second shot of each day's sunset. Here they are in consecutive order. I like watching this clip myself often as it has a way of condensing the 41 day experience into about three minutes.

Cartagena, Colombia

2010-05-17T11:32:00.000-07:00

I guess the grinding is supposed to stop now... I told myself that Cartagena would be a break place, meaning, stop and rest for at least one month. Stop the cycle - one month of no sailing! I have only been here a day but I haven't stopped. Some part of me is wired to head back out in a few days and do another passage. It is like a constant searching for the perfect destination when part of you knows very well that none exists... I usually tire of most places I visit fairly quickly. Some places I dislike immediately and don't even go ashore. Aruba was the lastest example. I just gaze through my binoculars scanning at the bad signs and say "No". When you are on passage, you are in motion and aren't really anywhere. Plus you have the opportunity to imagine how the next place might be better than the last! It is a comfortable situation and one I have gotten used to...

First impressions of Cartagena have been good. I do plenty of research regarding the logistics of sailing when considering a destination, but lately, I do very little when it comes to the travel side. I usually step out of the dinghy and ask the first person which way is town and start walking. For example, I had no clue that Cartagena has, at its center, a sizable "walled city" where all the buildings create a feeling of being somewhere in Spain a few hundred years ago. The buildings are all tastefully lit up at night and there is no vehicle traffic allowed so it was quite enjoyable to stroll around.

The area before Panama, off Columbia, is listed in Jimmy Cornell's "World Cruising Routes" as one of the top five worst passages around the world. I planned well ahead to transit this area in May, a benign month, and sat in Aruba (on my boat) until I got a favorable forecast from Chris Parker, a Carib weather expert on 12350mhz, 1230 UTC. The forecast called for 25 to 30 knots with an 8 foot sea which is better than normal. The video shows me entering the area which starts around Cabo Vela. In the vid, the waves are only six foot or so. By the time I got to 75 West at night, the gusts were gale force and the seas were starting to top out past ten feet. The worst didn't last that long. I had to hand steer for two hours because the windvane couldn't take it. The truth is, I didn't do that much better a job. I had a 180 degree round up that took about a second and a half! Pooped a bunch of times and had a plenty of what I call 45 degree knockdowns... Ten foot breaking waves aren't going to capsize Pelican so it was never really dangerous, but it was quite a ride.

Getting ready to head west soon.

2010-05-04T06:39:00.000-07:00

Port of Spain feels like a working class immigrant neighborhood somewhere in the U.S.. There are a lot of low end American chain stores that you usually only see in those places like Payless shoes or Church's Fried chicken. Chaguaramas feels like a large gated community for retired white people. This particular retirement complex has a "nautical" theme where residents get to play with sailboats...

Paramaribo, Surinam is a "World Heirtage site." A lot of colonial Dutch architecture. Here are a few pics to get you started. I am sure one can find a virtual tour on the net somewhere. You won't see the dozens of young aggressive Rasta guys trying to hustle the few Dutch tourists on those virtual tours... I had a particularly aggressive one that I told to f**k off. He started to threaten me with a three foot machete! I was quite impressed with his ability to hide a three foot machete given he was wearing a tank top, surfer shorts and flip flops...

Check out that growth!

2010-04-29T15:11:00.000-07:00

The photo to the left is the same as the one posted when I arrived in Brazil. The second photo is just a few weeks later in French Guyana. All of that growth above the water line is from being heeled over by the NE trades while crossing the Amazon river delta area. I managed to scrape all of that growth off after the photo was taken to have it all come back after another six hundred mile passage from French Guyana to Trinidad! I have never seen growth like this anywhere else...

Flashback post - Devil's Island

2010-04-28T11:20:00.000-07:00

If it has been awhile since you have seen the movie or read the book, Papillon, this place will bring it right back. Most of the buildings are in a real state of decay, but not all, including the infamous solitary confinement building. Pretty eerie feeling walking amongst the ruins.

Trinidad

2010-04-28T11:12:00.000-07:00

Six dollars a night US to anchor at TTSA and the fetch is several miles with shallow water! The other cruisers I have met complain about how third world this place is but where are the third world prices?

Trinidad is definitely turning the page. I haven't seen this many boats in one place in a long time. There are chain chandleries that feel like West Marine, cruiser nets on VHF, and more yacht services than I could ever afford....

Bocas de Monos - panning from the east towards the south.

Paramaribo, Surinam

2010-04-20T11:00:00.000-07:00

My head is starting to spin with all this grinding. Over five thousand miles sailed, four countries and all this without having spent more than three nights in a row in the same anchorage since I left Simonstown over two months ago. I am starting to identify with being on the boat more than on land.

I doubt I will stay here more than a couple of days. I'll take a break (maybe a week in one place!) in Trinidad, maybe, because things need to be done to the boat, otherwise it is still the fast track to Cartagena where I look forward to taking a break from sailing. Sit around,learn Spanish and try and score good deals on boat gear from those "stuck" cruisers - the ones selling bits and pieces of their boat to keep the habit going. I am sure there is a lot more to Columbia than cheap cocaine...

Kourou, French Guyana

2010-04-16T10:49:00.000-07:00

Real quick pit stop. This place is outrageously expensive being a space center town. Also, the jungle thing doesn't go with sailing in my opinion. I had less than a foot of water under the boat coming in, 4 knot reversing river current and all kinds of bugs I have never seen before are now living on the boat. I am out of here ASAP, maybe Paramaribo or straight to Trinidad. Stopped in Fortaleza and Devil's Island. More later.

Headed around the corner

2010-03-27T05:23:00.000-07:00

I am gonna go anchor off the 17th century Portuguese fort, Fort de Orange, for a couple of days before heading up and around the bulge of Brazil. I´ll duck into Fortaleza for a day or two before heading towards French Guyana - the only non independent area in South America. This place is where the French launch their satellites! I want to check out Devil´s Island - Papillion was a childhood favorite.

A quick St. Helena vanity shot.

Itapissuma, Brazil

2010-03-26T09:45:00.001-07:00

I am anchored off a village called Itapissuma which is easy to find on a map as the island it is across from, Itamaraca, is about the eastern most point of Brazil...

41 days non stop. Did a sail by of St. Helena and even motored through the anchorage but did not drop the hook or go ashore.

Jumping Off!

2010-02-12T21:44:00.000-08:00

I am leaving this morning. Look for a new post sometime in April...

Probably do a "sail by" of a few spots but no plan to stop for awhile. I will try and shoot for Trinidad which is a super long haul but who knows.

My mind is empty and all I can think about is getting around the point in the next four hours and the final slap on the butt I will get on Wednesday off Namibia (check out the weather for that one).

See y0u on the other side of the Atlantic!

Still in Simonstown, RSA

2010-02-08T23:39:00.000-08:00

You don't get much sympathy getting caught in gusting forties in "hurricane alley." The name comes, not from trying to be cute, but from the fact that there actually are hurricane force winds right out front fairly frequently. The weekend I arrived, a tourist was killed when a gust of wind blew him off one of the scenic lookout points. Another international yacht got caught in the alley a couple of weeks back and had left the main up. They couldn't get it down and it blew out. I talked with one boat that had gusting sixty. They had to keep the engine full power in reverse in the anchorage to keep the boat from getting caught by the wind.

If you haven't heard about the recent spate of circumnavigating teenagers, it has gotten complicated. Last year, a sixteen year old American male set a new record of being the youngest circumnavigator. His record didn't last long as a British sixteen year old two months younger just completed his circumnavigation. Now, the younger sister of the American just left to reclaim the title. Meanwhile an Australian sixteen year old female is already about half way around right now!

Look for the flash towards the left!

Cape Point not Cape Agulhas

2010-01-30T00:07:00.000-08:00

I'm in Simonstown after successfully passing below Cape Agulhas.

I'd planned on posting a short clip of "me and the Cape" but my mood changed pretty drastically after I got close to Simonstown. Turns out that the local affects on the SE wind in the Cape Point area are tremendous. I had a tough time getting in. When I finally reached the anchorage/mooring area where there were flatter seas, I couldn't even steer the boat into the wind with the engine full throttle because the gusts would just keep pushing the boat off. Moving sideways fast with the bow aimed 45 degrees off the wind trying to pick up a mooring ball or drop the anchor single handed after getting no sleep all night cause of breaking waves getting everything drenched??? This coast is getting old...

I got the anchor down. You can hear the wind in the second half of the clip.

Leaving Mossel Bay maybe tomorrow for the Cape

2010-01-26T23:10:00.000-08:00

Whatever happened to January being the easy month to get around this coast? I have never seen the five day windows of fifteen knots that other cruisers claim you get... Here are the effects of gale force winds out of the east on the anchorage in Mossel Bay. One of these refracted swells twisted the boat so forcefully that the mooring lines created enough pressure to crack the top flat piece of the wooden toe rail at the bow. I led the lines through the bow rollers after that....

Yet another South Wester...

2010-01-14T05:26:00.000-08:00

Been here ten days and have seen three of these systems go by! You can see the anenometer on Anthony's boat, Grain de Sable registering over 40 knots... We are both tied to what remains of the Port Elizabeth marina after 80 knot winds came through and destroyed it a couple of months ago.

Should be heading towards Mossel Bay as soon as this low passes.

Turned the corner of Africa!

2010-01-02T03:31:00.000-08:00

I made it from Durban to Port Elizabeth in one shot. I managed to set a new speed record on this passage, figuring that in one twenty four hour interval I did at least a hundred and seventy five miles. Just outside of East London, I had all sails down and glanced at the GPS to see that the current was moving me at 5.4 knots! Talk about terrifying. The actual sailing wasn't so bad as much as the knowledge that if a South Wester sneaks up on you, you are f****d! New Years was spent saying goodbye to the Indian and getting a small taste of what the Atlantic will be like - cold.

No main up? Lousy sheeting angle on the jib? You got a 35 foot boat but with a 24 foot waterline? The Agulhaus current will even make YOU sail at over ten knots!

Made it to Durban

2009-12-22T22:43:00.000-08:00

The wind turned exactly one mile out! Talk about close. It is starting to get a little unnerving, how the wind works on this coast. I need a minimum of at least three days for this next hop which is the longest. I will leave as soon as there is a window.

I made it into the media again. I was called over to the boat Tantrum for a photo opportunity so the vanity in me won out. I had no idea what the article was about... Apparently the South African marinas are all taking over the Port's role in handling international arrivals. This is bad news for us because it means it will cost more. Here in Durban there is no longer a grace period on the "wall" and they have eliminated the anchorage. Great... We are forced to pay.

Headed towards Durban soon

2009-12-18T00:05:00.000-08:00

There is talk of trying to make Knysna for new years but plans change daily. It has been getting harder to leave Richards Bay as the cruiser's "village" has grown in size significantly. A lot of the recent arrivals are younger. So many young cruisers in one spot is something almost all of us have never seen. Of course, quite a few older sailors seem to be getting younger everyday, like Henny (video), who is well over seventy.

Madagascar Flashback

2009-12-03T02:08:00.000-08:00

Still here in Richards Bay waiting for the weather to improve before trying to get underneath the southern tip. Summer is supposed to arrive any day but it sure doesn't feel like it. I haven't seen a window more than about two to three days long. The plan (which seems to change everyday) is to not spend too much time in South Africa, and instead jump to Brazil from the Capetown area in January. A stop in Namibia only if weather forces me (I haven't heard anything that great about Namibia).

Here is a collection of videos I put together a few months ago in Madagascar. The guy giving me a hard time from the Imfolozi video is in a few of the clips. He is one of the very few members of the "under 40's club" I have met since I left California (John and I are both under 40 and have less than $40,000 US invested in our boats. He bought his Ranger 32, Dancyn, in California for $15,000 US). The clips also star another American singlehandler, Napolean, on "Ana Paula". I've put together a different video of Napolean and I in Baramamay, Madagscar that I might edit before I post so I don't risk the blog being labeled "adult content". Napolean says quite a lot when he drinks which can be considered entertaining depending on how you see it. A local Malgash guy who named himself after the American hip hop musician, Tupac, is in a few of the clips. He is infamous around the entire Indian Ocean amongst the yachtie scene. Stories abound about this "ruthless boat boy" who is to be avoided at all costs when in Hellville. Tupac's reputation comes from having done things like plant marijuana on cruising boats and then tipping off the local police or mixing seawater with diesel and selling it to refueing foreign boats. He is the one dancing on Pelican's stern.

The track is by Docteur J.B. (pronounced zhi-bey).

Imfolozi game park

2009-11-19T05:25:00.000-08:00

Videos like this tend to dilute the theme of this blog but what the heck... Game parks with other cruisers is the main activity here in the Tuzi Gazi International jetty and marina.

I should post clips of the front that swept through the harbor earlier today. We had 35 to 40 knots out of the SE...

Richard's Bay, Republic of South Africa

2009-11-13T06:16:00.000-08:00

I made it in late last night. About five hours before the wind shifted. Talk about close timing. If I didn't motor the calms or delayed the Maputo departure due to tide I would have been nailed. Nothing catastrophic but it would have been absolutely unpleasant and I would still be out there... The current out front was 3.3 knots and the wind reversed against it this morning at about 20-25 this morning. I had 20-25 with the current all of last night which was what the window predicated which made for an average speed of over 8 knots. Talk about flying.

Great reception in Richard's Bay seeing all the boats I have now bumped into along the way over the past three years... I am seeing people form 2007 that I met in the South Pacific. It was a strange and somewhat of a revelation to realize how these other boats, places and people are such a part of me. I guess it is how danger and adversity make the community tighter. The scene at the International Jetty is about as world cruising as it gets.

Richard's Bay is not that ideal a setup. No easy internet, nothing within walking distance. The cruisers just hang out in their own community. I will be here at least a couple of weeks and will try to figure things out...

Might leave today

2009-11-10T19:11:00.000-08:00

Strong NE winds tonight and all day tomorrow. The key is Friday which does not look dangerous but not completely favorable.

If this post does not change it means I left.

Maputo

2009-11-08T04:47:00.000-08:00

Got into Maputo today. Check out that gale infront of Richard's Bay tomorrow. I was getting my butt pushed with high twenties last night listening to everyone freaking out on the Peri Peri net. Boats by me that didn't want to play the "officials" roulette here in Mozambique and were desperately trying to make Richards before the gale were asking Roy, the net controller, how wide the entrance at Richard's Bay is and how a fifteen foot swell would affect the landing. Those conditions are for today and as for tomorrow, I don't think anyone would want to be in those waters... At my pace I would have made Richards early on the 9th which would have been too late.

I am now using the Port Captain's computer while he is away. Who knows what the bad news will be money wise. Once they get wind I didn't play ball in Ilha, they will start to squeeze. I already am getting hit for twenty a day at the small boat harbour. It is blowing like stink outside so no anchoring... They originally wanted fifty a day and after a bunch of theatrics on both of our parts it came down to twenty. Immigration and the Captain are next.

Headed South

2009-10-23T00:49:00.000-07:00

I will take the plunge and head South tomorrow.

There are really only five spots to duck into on the way down. 17 S - Perlas Islands, 18 S -Quelimane, 21.5 S - Bazaruto, 24 S - Inhambane, and 26 S- Inhaca. We will see how far I can make it with this upcoming window. The goal is Bazaruto. If the weather stays, I keep moving. Inhambane to Richard´s Bay is the critical zone. Weather for the coast can be obtained here.

Three boats have lost their engine use in the past week on this passage. One from a lost propeller caused by colliding with a whale!

If there isn´t a post within a month, contact Roy at the Royal Natal Yacht Club as he runs the Peri Peri Net.

Ilha de Mozambique

2009-10-12T03:14:00.000-07:00

Once you get over the spell of the old colonial architecture, you realize that hundreds of years of being underneath slave traders followed by decades of civil war does not do a people much good. Yesterday I felt that this place is actually quite miserable. The faded grandness of the town contrasted with the most thorough langour I have ever witnessed brings it home.

When I leave here the challenge officially begins. Technically everyone says the influence of the Cape weather can reach 18 south and right now I am at 15. I am dividing the Cape into three phases. Phase one is getting down the channel, phase two is rounding the cape and phase three is getting back up into the tropics.

Phase one is where I am now. Either Richards Bay or Durban in SA is the goal, Richards bay being a bit closer. The Mozambique current is strong right now, up to 4 knots and sets SW. When a low pressure system from the Arctic or the mainland moves from West to East it creates SW winds which work against the strong current creating rough seas. Typically 15 knots of wind is no concern, even on the nose it is just a little banging. Here in the channel it means 7 to 10 foot seas. Over 25 knots of wind and the seas start to become "boat breaking." Gale force winds create nightmarish visions of "freak waves."

The traditional circumnavigation route has one heading for Durban from Mauritius or Reunion which requires one to pass underneath Madagascar. This is a long passage that exceeds how far into the future a weather forecast can see. The advantage I have by being already on the coast of Africa is that I can use weather windows. The strategy is to use the strong current while the wind is favorable (NE to SE) and get into shelter when it is not. The longest distance without shelter in phase one is about two hundred miles which is fairly short and should take about two days or three at the max. Weather forecasts are about 75 to 80 percent accurate for 48 hours out. The challenges for phase one will be the bad recption of the Peri Peri net in obtaining weather info, getting into some of the sheltered ports because the majority have bars across the entrance that require precise timing as well as mild conditions, and, finally, dealing with corrupt Mozambique officials that have been known to try and fleece the stranded yachtsman. At 15 South the charge was twenty dollars for immigration and about eighty for clearance which I will not give them (pay when you leave arrangement). Rumor has it that Inhaca can be as high as two hundred dollars.

I have been listening to the other boats doing this passage over the past month and most are getting through fine. Hopefully it will be my experience as well. I will post before I head off.

Ilha de Mozambique

2009-10-09T01:07:00.000-07:00

Nine days to cross from Madagascar which was an average of twenty or thirty miles a day and then the last day I hit the current and averaged eight knots an hour!

Mozambique bound

2009-09-21T01:31:00.000-07:00

Back in Nosy Be. Mayotte was pretty bland. I should leave Madagascar for good at the end of this week for Mozambique. I will stay north and head for the fabled port of the Island of Mozambique. No excitement for the channel until I get to about Bazaruto. From there south the gauntlet begins but I am playing it right by having waited till at least October maybe even November before getting too far south. I have already begun participating in the Peri Peri net which is 8101 at 0500 zulu and again at 1500 zulu.

Mayotte bound

2009-09-04T00:06:00.000-07:00

I checked out of Madagascar yesterday. Should leave Nosy Be early next week. Probably will stay in Mayotte for a day or so. Most likely no internet update from Mayotte because internet along with everything else is so high priced. I am thinking of heading towards Southern Madagascar. Maybe Morondava, Morombe or Toliara. Probably stay on the SW coast until late October before jumping off towards the Mozambique/South Africa border area.

Afternoon sail to Baramahamay

2009-08-14T00:14:00.000-07:00

I will upload a clip as soon as I figure out how to do it.

Been cruising locally a bit. Back in Nosy Be for the Wewa concert this weekend. My visa will expire soon. I may sail to Mayotte and then back here as it is too soon to head down the channel.

Hellville cont:

2009-07-09T07:59:00.000-07:00

Still here and no major problems yet. This afternoon I had to quickly raise anchor and move the boat to avoid getting hit by a large rusting container ship adrift with no power in the small bay. There are more singlehandlers here than any other port I have been. Not having roller furling does not make one stand out at all. Most of these minimalist sailors are French guys about twenty years older than myself with girlfriends about twenty years younger than myself. There are "normal" tourist types here but they are starting to really stand out. I spent part of last night in the company of another one of these hard core sex tourist sailor types. In and out of local prison for not paying the prostitutes that you have a different one of every night. No condom use either. Some of these guys are going all out, just burning through their life... I did spend the earlier afternoon with some Canadians getting info about the trip down the channel. They are deliberately staying completely clued out to what is going on on the boats anchored right next to them. There are lemurs and other interesting animals to check out on nearby islands according to the Canadians, but then there are these animals right here in town.

Cell number here 0326562408

Hellville

2009-06-29T06:51:00.000-07:00

This place definitely has a rougher edge to it. I spent a couple of days with an older German singlehandler who has been cruising between East Africa and Brazil for many years. He gave me a tour of the residential sections of Hellville which are amazingly close to the center of town given the contrast. The main areas are pretty dilapidated to begin with. Mostly unmaintained buildings built by the French that are crumbling away. The residential section has no electricity, is unpaved, uses well water, and has open sewage canals right on the surface. The tour consisted of visiting many of my friend's ex Malagasy girlfriends. He speaks enough of the local language to break through the many barriers. Practically every single decent looking girl between fourteen and twenty five is a prostitute here. There are huge UNICEF anti child prostitution posters on the sides of the crumbling French buildings. After the tour, we went to a disco where we stayed till about two am. We were mugged on the short walk back to the harbor. I got away unscathed. My friend lost his cell phone, a small led flashlight and two teeth. His first comment after things settled down was, "I love this place". There is another American boat in the harbor, "Soularity - Chasing Life". They don't seem to love this place at all and basically never leave their boat after catching someone stealing their dive tanks right off the deck in the middle of the afternoon. They chased the thief, caught up with him and the husband held a pistol to the guy's head. The only reason they haven't left is that they are having engine problems. They tried leaving once but I saw them return using their dinghy to tow the boat back to Hellville.

Nosy Be

2009-06-25T06:16:00.000-07:00

I am in Nosy Be. Not too sure how long I will be here. Security may be a problem. Might try Komba in a day or so.

Diego Suarez - arrived

2009-06-16T03:29:00.000-07:00

This coast has got loads of wind. I sat in Baie de Loky for three days wondering if the wind ever gets under 20 knots. It does but for about four hours in the early am...

I am looking for to getting around the tip and out of the wind. I should not be here long. Will post before I leave.

Pelican is anchored in the port which is on the west side of town. There is one other yellow steel monohull anchored right infront of me. Also there are two catamarans farther out. The port is walking distance from town.

Saint Marie, Madagascar - arrived

2009-06-08T23:35:00.001-07:00

In Madagascar. Will head north towards Antsiranna, Diego Suarez this week.

French keyboard. Spotty connection. Will try internet again in Diego.