BlueSphere Ships Log

NON-SKID BABAY!

alex@projectbluesphere.com — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:24:52 GMT

4 years of working on the decks & cabin house is paying off fast. I’ll be done in a few days and touching/cleaning up for a week or so. I did these three sections of non-skid in under 2 hours.

The non-skid paint is a little darker than I had thought when I picked out the color but I’m really pleased with it. I never thought teak decks were too hot under foot, nor in the cabin, this will be much cooler. The non-skid is really easy on the eyes on a bright day and it masks dirt well.

I also thought the grain of sand was a bit too fine but in the end I think its perfect.

Splendid is such a big fat girl I love her. Soon I’ll be getting into maintenance mode…, well…, not really, but the important stuff will be done. She is SOLID & DRY! I still have the hull to contend with and interior work but its all on the “want to” list, and not the “must do” one.

I really need a new stove, and I found a really nice $80.00 washing machine for the aft head. Every time I go to do laundry it costs over $20.00 and the washing machine will be a wonderful luxury, not to mention a valuable investment. I also want to get my big refrigeration project done and get the water-maker going. I will most likely do these things before I paint the hull.

I’m always prioritizing projects in my head, but the BEAST (RASSEN FRAKEN $#!@ *&^%#*@) of all projects is coming to a screeching halt fast! I will be able to sleep sounder knowing that the cabin house and toe rail are all glassed up, and everything has been pulled & re-bedded, and I have pulled and thoroughly inspected the chain plates.

WHAT A F’N PROJECT IT HAS BEEN! And it’s been worth every drop of blood, sweat, and tears. Splendid is the boat I wish to retire on and travel the world upon. She is solid, quick, & nimble. And most importantly she is home!

Carla returns on Friday and she is going to help me with the great task of cleaning up before my friend comes on the 11th. I’m getting my flyer printed and dropping it off at a few places this week. I need to make a few bucks for Splendid things and a computer for editing HD video.

I’m really, REALLY, looking forward to my time in the San Blas. With all the work lately I’ve become disconnected from the reef & hunting and its not good for my soul. Carla is really into surfing even though she is just learning, and I’m looking for a used long board. I haven't surfed since university in Santa Barbara. I’m also hoping to come across a kayak. Now that the decks are done and I will be making a few bucks I want to find a few dollars & time for myself. I also want to focus time & energy on Carla and show her the wonders of the sea and life aboard. There is something innately rewarding to hunting for a woman. I’m a bit of a cave man and want to get back to the basics “me kill fish”!

Anyway, its 8:25am, the sun is out, and I have a lot of non-skid to attend to.

Peace from paradise.

- alex

Life happens!

alex@projectbluesphere.com — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:58:36 GMT

I know I’ve been really quiet but a funny thing happened to me on the way back from Panama city a few weeks ago, I met Carla.

As all of you know I HATE the bus, well…, not so much this time. Anyway, on my way back from the city I needed to change buses in Sabanetas which is a really nasty, dirty, cruddy little Panamanian town. I was really stressed to make the bus and only made it by a minute or two, had I missed it I’d be sitting in the heat for hours.

Carla was sitting on the sidewalk next to her long board looking a bit dazed, lost, and supporting a frown. She was on her way to Isla Grande for some surfing and adventure and had been sitting there for hours. She didn't get to the surfing but she did get the adventure as did I :)

When we got to Puerto Lindo I offered to introduce her to my monkey friends and take her to Isla Grande via the inflatable. It took all of about 5 minutes to know something was going on with us as we had a really strong connection. Carla has been traveling the world for the last 12 years teaching children. She studied languages in University and is also a translator for a children's rights foundation in Argentina and translates documents via email so she can travel. She gave up her flat at the end of last school year and went traveling again, luckily this time to Panama :)

The last thing on my mind has been the possibility of any kind of romantic relationship. Relationships are really difficult for me because I have a list as long as my arm and I’m not willing to settle down, or settle for someone who isn't right for me or just convenient. I find it very difficult to communicate & relate(in person) with most people and this was certainly not the case, Carla and I really clicked in a positive way.

Most of my friends are couples and keep telling me I wont come across a well educated, read, spoken, and traveled mermaid with no children, husbands, or baggage of any kind. When she told me that “every year I strive to live on less money and things” I nearly choked and swallowed my tong. I asked her if she was stalking me through my website and had made a psychological profile of what would be a perfect woman for me. You think I’m joking, this was a valid concern in my mind. She's a super-hippie with a great attitude and great…, well…, I wont get into all of that. The list of things we have in common is absurd, our birthdays are even 2 days apart.

Carla holds 2 passports (Croatia and Argentina) and lives in Patagonia. She flew back to Buenos Aires yesterday because her sister had a baby. Her sister lives in the mountains of Patagonia with no electricity and just gave birth naturally without a midwife, doctor, hospital, or drugs. Her sister is a super-hippie too and obviously wants to live out of the system as well.

My head is spinning. She tells me she's coming back in a few weeks after she packs some personal things and finishes the family reunion in the mountains. Maybe she will come to her senses and run away as fast as she can but I don't think so, she left her surf board (prized possession) and some of her things. She is going to help me focus on chartering for the next 6 months. She is a great vegetarian cook, plays guitar, and needs to be in the water all the time.

Aside from my love-life I’m getting back to non-skid today. I have a friend coming on the 11th and have some work to do before he arrives. I bought a cheaper paint ($50/Gal) for the non-skid. I have some friends I trust and they assured me a one-part polyurethane is fine for the non-skid and easier to work with.

Well…, so there you go. I’ve traveled far enough to know I don't know anything, life just happens and we have no control over it no matter how much we think we do.

I know a guy who one wrote “fear guards the gates of freedom”. Personally I’m not afraid of the sea, weather, being poor, or the unexpected. My fears lay in my heart and I’m good at protecting it. But I wish to be free, truly free! This is my path and I will walk it save my trepidations.

Cheers guys.

Peace, Love, and Coconuts.

Sail far & live slowly.

alex

2012, I am who I am!

alex@projectbluesphere.com — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:50:10 GMT

I found these old pictures of Splendid which were taken just a few weeks after I bought her. What a different boat she is now!

Splendid was the first boat I looked at after returning to the United States from Japan. I heard about her from a friend, and heard she was rotting in a yard (The Glades) in the middle of Florida. The Glades is the cheapest place to put a boat and many, many, many, boats go there to die. It reminds me of the airplane graveyard but for boats. The Glades is basically a cow pasture with a travel lift, far, far away from the sea.

When I first walked through the fenced storage area it was a bit sad, so many nice boats laid to rest. Why do these people pay every month was the question that was going through my mind. My answer was they were just holding on to a vanishing dream.

Splendid sat crooked on her jacks, most of her weight on the forward starboard side, the hull was cracked from the stress, she looked in pain. She smiled and said “Hi, I’m Splendid, please don't let me rot here another year, I've been here nearly 8, I wish to sail the sea again”!

She looked proud even though she was beaten up. I looked inside…, mold, rot, & neglect, however the owner did a very smart thing, there was a bronze plug on the bottom of the keel, it was removed and the rainwater could travel through the boat and trickle outside. Splendid was in bad shape and when it rained she leaked everywhere. I poked at some bulkhead and my finger penetrated through. I knew she was my boat and immediately started negotiating. I liked her lines, layout, and she had a solid hull. She looked spritely, comfortable, and something that I could turn into a home to retire on. I knew what i was looking at and knew that this would be no easy task, but the price was right.

I bought Splendid without a survey, financing, or a sea trial. She was a good little ship that needed a break and a captain that would look after her and bring her back from near death. My intention was to put her in the water and immediately sail here to Panama to turn her into the boat that would tend to the rest of my life travels & adventures in exchange for some love & elbow grease.

I had her moved from the graveyard to the work area. Some old men laughed at me, “So you bought that old Cheoy leaky” The offered me a beer and a chair. “Make yourself at home, you’ll be here a while”, they snickered. Sorry guys I’m getting splashed Thursday after next and sailing to Panama. “WHAT, Are you mad, you don't know what your doing boy, it’s not safe”! They shook their heads at me over the next few weeks as I worked from sunup to sundown. I replaced half of the through-hulls, pulled the shaft & prop for balancing, replaced the cutlass bearing, fixed the cracked hull, and did a bottom job with the help of some friends. I splashed Thursday after next and was proudly the spectacle of the Glades :) I’m sure those old men thought I was as dumb as a Florida fence post.

Into the river and through the locks we go, Panama and beyond please!

Rivers are tricky things to navigate as you only have two choices, upstream or downstream. Rivers are jokesters and bring you places you don't necessarily want to go, its strange to sail a boat so far from the sea, its just unnatural! Downstream brought me to the love of a woman and a bit more off course than I knew.

In 2012 I simply vow to be Alex Dorsey and heed my own words to sail far & live slowly.

You know the story of the scorpion and the frog? The scorpion was sitting on a rock when the rain came and brought a flood. With the rising water the scorpion asked a passing frog for a ride to shore. The frog said “but you'll sting me”. The scorpion replied “no I wont, I just don't want to die.”. The kindly frog brought the scorpion for the ride and half way to shore the scorpion stung the frog in the back. The frog asked “Why would you, now we will both die”? “ I’m sorry, I’m a scorpion, it’s just my nature”.

We are what we are. I’m not a family man or business man. I’m a solo-sailor, and that makes me soooo happy. My path is on Splendid with the world at my finger tips. Love will come and go as will friends. I’m a gypsy, a traveler, a nut, a hypocrite, a minimalist, and a philosopher, not to mention a bad speller :) But what's important is at the end of the day I’m happy to have a hole in my pocket and this old boat to call home going into this new year.

I’ve come far with my repairs. The decks are done and awaiting nonskid. The cracked and damaged cabin houses are solid, dry, and white. There are no leeks, and Splendid is happy, proud, and almost ready. All the chain plates (12) have been pulled, inspected, and fitted with new bolts (many were broken).

In my imitate future my goals are to get her stanchions back on and get the non-skid done. These are the only two things I must do before my guest in a month and the San Blas.

I have a million other projects to attend to but they are almost all cosmetic or luxury items. I can breathe easier now that my beautiful girl isn't going to get wet & rot. There are two lists on Splendid, must do, and want too. My must do list is getting shorter :)

I got pulled over by the National police the other day on the motorcycle. They really busted my ass and detained me for a few hours. I’m sure they were waiting for a bribe. I did a really stupid thing and lost my temper when one of them hinted to such. “I’m sorry but corruption is bad for Panama and I love Panama, you will not get a cent from me!” I shouted this pointing my finger at the UZI carrying officer and instantly knew I was F’d!

Surprisingly they let me return home with my motorcycle. They didn't let me pass the checkpoint to the city but I made it out of there with my bike, Passport, & license. I really, really don't like to be harassed. This was the first time ever outside of the United States.

I looked into getting a new sticker and it involves buying insurance as of 2012, and a few other expenses that will set me back a few hundred. It’s back on the bus for now :( I’m going to store the bike at a friends house.

Anyway guys, I’m off for a swim. I know I’ve been quiet lately but I’ve been hyper-focused on work.

I vow to do a lot of sailing this year wherever I am, probably not as much as the more than 10,000 miles in 2007, but a few!

Peace, love, & coconuts.

I am a Gypsy-Drifter! Gypsy Drifter was going to be the name for Splendid but I couldn't change it as it has history.

Sail far and Live slowly.

- Alex