Where do I start? I suppose with Kickstarter.

My Kickstarter campaign ended and I was able to raise $2,701.00! After Kickstarter and Amazon got their cuts I received $2,473.91, not bad! I also received a private $1,000 contribution which brought me up to a grand total of $3,473.91. It’s so nice to be making a film that people want to support and see made. Thank you, thank you, thank you, to everyone who kicked in!!!! We celebrated with having a few swigs of my home spiced rum : ) Kickstarter came through just in time as we were down to our last $100.00. I ordered some equipment before the campaign ended to save us some shipping time getting to the San Blas.

We are off for San Blas in a week or so. I have a tooth that needs to be pulled and we are buying last minute provisions & fuel. I’m also scrounging around to find the right oil pressure sender for my main engine. Carla and I are both itching to get the sails up and move.

Sometimes I feel my life is a contradiction as I’m always striving to live on less material things, dependence, and money. That being said producing a film doesn’t really fit into the realm of minimalism. I need to draw a line in my mind & personal philosophy between minimalism and the equipment & power I need to share my vision.

The last thing I ever wanted on my boat was a generator, now I have a brand new Honda EU200i. As far as generators go it is the nicest, quietest, and best made generator I’ve seen. I would have bought a cheaper Honda (not so quiet), but out of respect to my neighbors I got the more expensive EU version. I had to have it imported, and after all fees the generator cost $1,175.00. I could have easily picked up a noisier Honda locally for around $400.00, I’m sure I’ll like this one better in the end though, and it is nice to have a bit more peace & quiet as I edit The Minimalist Sailor.

It’s also nicer to charge my house bank with the quieter & more efficient generator. I loaned my 110 battery charger to a passing sailor whose engine was down and needed to borrow it. He fried it and never replaced it. Luckily I had an old Heart Interface 1000 which has a 40amp charger built in. I got it set up over the last few days and as the generator powers THOR (my editing computer) it also is charging my battery bank. I can’t tell you how nice it is to buy a new piece of equipment without finding something old & broken and trying to fix it. One pull and it works, WAHOOOO!

On another technical note I managed to get the internal regulator on my alternator pulled and now my Balmar maxcharge (external smart regulator) is working like a champ and I’m finally able to equalize my batteries!!!!! I hope I can bring my recently purchased batteries to full capacity.

Carla has been sewing new curtains the past few days. The new fabric really adds warmth to Splendid’s main cabin. A woman’s touch goes a long way.

Not such a funny thing but I really gave her a fat/split lip yesterday when I was showing her how to start the generator. I pulled on the start cord as she was looking at what I was doing and BAM, a fat lip. Man I felt so bad : (

Splendid’s cockpit enclosure is done with the help of our friends Jim & Heather. Carla and I can watch the rain nice and dry from the cockpit. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve dreaded being cold & wet sailing boats over the years, this is such a nice and welcome addition to Splendid especially with the rainy season banging on the door!

About a month ago a guy came by in a dinghy with a used ENO (French company that owns Force 10) SS marine stove and asked if I was interested. I’ve been afraid of Splendid’s old rusty house stove since the day I first lit its pilot. I bought the stove for $240.00 and almost have it installed. All I need to do is get a few blocks of wood so I can sit it on its gimbals. It has thermo-couplings (turns the gas off if flame is out) and is much safer than what I had before. I need to order one valve, some knobs, and burner tops but it is a really nice addition to Splendid’s galley. I’ll probably spend $150.00 on parts but for under $400 we will have a really nice cooker.

I’d like to give Shelter Bay Marina a bit of bad publicity. A friend went there to haul out before transiting the canal and the Pacific ocean. Shelter Bay dropped his boat from the travel lift. They offered to fix it and did so. However after repairs and a bottom job, as his boat was on the travel lift about to be splashed, the manager came out and presented him with a document saying that they would not launch his boat unless he signed a document saying that he could no longer hold them responsible for the damages. It’s companies like Shelter Bay that take the integrity out of sailing. I was planning a haul out there before crossing the Pacific but will do so somewhere else.

Well that’s about it for today. It’s raining cats & dogs and I’m working on projects while Carla is doing a translation in the cockpit. She’ll be uploading a new blog today as well.

Cheers.

Peace, Love, and the San Blas Islands!!!

- Alex