I’m stuck on the boat so I’ll write a long blog.
There has been bad flooding in Colombia and many have people died from this low-pressure system before it arrived in Panama. I don’t know what’s been going on in Panama because the phones and internet have been out for over 48 hours now, but i have heard 11 are dead just in my surrounding villages. I don’t think power or phones will be restored here for a while. When you read this I’m sure it will be a few days to a week old. I will have to make it to Colon or Panama city to upload this log, possibly my friends house as she has a satellite internet system and generator. It’s a good thing I got back to Splendid when I did as the roads were washing out beneath the wheels of our 4×4 on the trip back, what a ride. The roads are completely washed out in areas now and I hear the mud is as much as deep as 10 feet deep in places. The buses have stopped, there is no power, TV, or phones on shore. I feel bad for the people in the houses, it’s strange to see such a dark coastline at night. I’ve spoke to other boats that have been here for over 10 years and they say they have never seen it so bad. We, the cruisers are detached from land and all of its problems. Life on the boat is the same as usual. We have power, refrigeration, stores of food, and excess water.
However the humidity in the boat is terrible, everything is damp. I lit all my oil lamps and candles last night to dry out a bit. If it continues tonight which it will, I will fire up the heater or oven. It’s only 73 degrees so I wont roast, actually I’ve been cold, especially in the howling wind.
Today I’m going to put the finishing touches on the autopilots linear drive instillation and get that project behind me. It will be nice to have an autopilot again. Oh, did I mention the welding/machine shop didn’t finish my job. I have to go back to Panama City as soon as I can to pick up the parts for the Kubota pulley system. I’m hoping the roads will be open by Monday but a cold front should be overhead Monday/Tuesday. I’m getting tired of working on the boat but I have a lot more work to do. I’m going to take some time around the holidays to relax for a while in the San Blas. If you guys think I have the “easy life”, think again. I really bust my ass, work harder than anyone I know, and have nothing in the bank, however I do feel a if I have a lot to “show” for it. I feel the kiss of freedom on my cheek and that makes all the difference in the world. Life is quite good :)
During the peak of the dry season (March) I want to paint Splendid and finish the hull. I’ve decided not to strap the chain plates to the hull as I can’t pull it off financially, I need to start getting realistic on what I can do. All I have to do at some point in the future is remove the rub rails, pull the threw-deck chain plates, install the straps, and glass up the holes in the deck. I’ll do it when I can afford it, they have stainless steel all over the world and my chain plates should be fine for a while.
In the next 10 months I would like to have the Kubota finished with a sound enclosure (sound enclosure optional). I’d also like the watermaker running, and I think I’m close? A fried just offered me two HF4 2514 R/O membranes and pressure vessels. I have to do a little research on the internet. The operating PSI of these membranes seems low to me (100-250 PSI), I thought the membranes needed 800-1000 PSI? If anyone knows about this please comment, you can easily find the specks on the membranes by putting “HF4 2514 “ in Google. I’ll make some calls and look into it as well. If these membranes work for my application all I need is a 12 v clutch on the cat pump, a needle valve, some pluming, and baddabing, fresh water! Man that will make life easier! A source of clean fresh water goes a long way. I know it’s not very manly, but I secretly wish for a washing machine. I found a small one for $200 that will fit nicely in my aft head. I have asthma and it would be nice to have everything a bit cleaner, boat mold really kicks my ass. Doing laundry is really expensive too. People charge a lot for it and even if I find a coin machine I still spend over $10.00 every few weeks. A water maker is a luxury for sure, but soooooo nice. I know a watermaker and washing machine don’t really fit into my “minimalist” lifestyle, but I think the point of living on little, is living on little well.
I may also need to rebuild my motor. I don’t really want to mention this as I don’t really want to think about it but it may be a reality. I found a place on the head seal damp with oil. I may have done this back when I unknowingly got the fishing net caught in the prop off of the Cuban coast. The motor “hunts” for an RPM when it is hot and it has nothing to do with my racor filter. I have a sneaking suspension in may just be my lift pump (fuel). I’m going to change it first and see if it clears up the issue. If it doesn’t I’ll have a spare lift pump which I want onboard anyway.
I also want Splendid painted above and below the water line. There is a pride of ownership she doesn’t show and I want to change that. I want her sailing the sea proud, not just strong and able.
I need to do something about my main sheet as it is still attached to my mizzen. What was the rigger who re-rigged Splendid thinking? I also need to get a drifter as my spinnaker is just too much for me to handle alone, even with a sock. I also need to rig my little tiller pilot to my windvane and put a few reef points in my mizzen. If I can pull all of this off in 10 to 14 months I will cross either the Atlantic, or transit the canal and cross the Pacific. I’m guessing I need about 4k to get Splendid ready to cross the Pacific and another $1,100 to transit the canal. I’m thinking that I might find 4 guys that would pay $300 each to visit the Chagres River (supposed to be amazing), and transit the canal with me. It is a really cool experience.
However I really do like the idea of going to the Azores, Northern Africa, Cape Verde islands and South to the horn. If that is the case I’ll need to install another heater or two as the one I have couldn’t keep me warm during a Florida winter. It would be an amazing trip eah? The Falkland islands, Brazil, the horn. I’ve actually been looking at the straights of Magellan and it looks to be of a more interesting path then just sailing around the horn, rugged for sure! Sometimes I think i could loose Splendid on such a journey, but then I reassure myself “What the hell have I been working so hard for, to miss it all”? If I ever lost Splendid I can always find a boat somewhere that needs love and bring her to life, no fear! God forbid I put Splendid at the bottom of the sea but if I do, she’ll go down doing something amazing!
I just met friends I lost touch with after Tahiti. They had a boat called “Hot Ice”. They lost “Hot Ice” on a reef a few hundred miles off of the Australian coast, she sank to a few thousand feet. They came back to Panama and bought a house. They had insurance that paid well, I just have my wits and hands to restore or build another boat. If i choose this route I’m going to have to make/raise another few grand for good heaters and cold weather gear. If I was to do the straights of Magellan I would conceder bringing a crew member or two as I’m sure the path will be physically challenging.
People often ask me, “are you off to finish your circumnavigation” ? The answer is “yes”, in a round about way, however “Circumnavigating” isn’t my main agenda anymore. I’m sure I’ll do it but I don’t want to miss the journey for the goal if you know what I mean. Cruising the world is my life now and I don’t ever see that ever changing. I meet people all the time on a 3-4 year “Circumnavigation”, they are always in such a hurry. I met a guy a few weeks ago who was doing this and he only “allowed himself” 10 days in the San Blas, I thought he was on crack! I remember the last time I was in Panama I was so stressed about time, seasons, the canal, I’m glad to have changed my outlook on life.
I’ll have another video up soon. These “paid” videos seem be the key to my future. It’s funny when I started Project Bluesphere back in 2003, it was supposed to be just that, an online video adventure. Video on the internet was a possibility and I had posted 11 episodes (free) but i was a bit ahead of my time. Hosting all that video and serving bandwidth was really expensive at the time and I just couldn’t make it all work, that is why I started producing the DVD’s. Everything comes to life if you wish it hard enough, it just might take some time!
Man are the gusts outside harsh! Mother nature is pissed off about something!
Ha, I found internet at my friend Binnie’s house. Wow, the coast is tore up!
Peace love and drier times.
Alex