I wana live there. I love the beach here, but sometimes, I would like to pull the plug and head south, put my feet up and work on my boat in a different port.

Best to you Alex. Enjoy your time.

Capt. Paul
s/v Panacea

Thieves can be an issue everywhere and an anchor light/running lights in a bay is a lot less inviting than a big white yacht. An anchor light/running lights can be anything from a local fishing boat to the Coast Guard. Just want Splendid on the “down lo”

I taught SCUBA for the local junior college for thirty-three years and bout twenty years in my left ear started to close.

The ear specialist said it was caused by the constant exposure to cold water and was a bad case of the same problem
that surfers deveop.

After the surgery my hearing was greatly improved and I haven’t had any reducton in ear canal size. This ear surgery is done by moving the ear forward after cutting the tissue and then removing the extra growth with a grinder and chisel (no kidding!).

After several weeks of healing the stitches in the back of the ear were removed leaving a small
scar. The doctor then removed what seemed like ten miles of packing string which was used to keep the canal from
colapsing while the tissues healed. Since this surgery is done in an area where complications can leave you deaf or
destroy your sense of balance be sure you have a good surgeon

Best of luck on solving your ear problem, but I would try another way to resolve the problem (medication) unless the
doctor says that this is the only way to solve the problem.

Gary G. Peterson (WB6MAA)

Cheers

Wally

Thanks for the words, yeah I had a bad run of $hit and happy to finally be through it, life is quite spectacular again!

My Philosophy with Splendid is I want a shrimp boat/low maintenance finish on the outside. Under the Bimini (out of the sun) I want my cockpit a museum of bright teak as the interior. I don’t mind imperfections in the hull, I don’t want her to have a “yacht” finish and never did. I don’t mind brush strokes in the paint, but I want her to be proud, one color, and not look neglected. If I get a scratch from a ponga I’ll have extra paint on board. Many of my cleats (new ones) are galvanized as will be the rigging once I deem is necessary to change. This is some of what I’m going to talk about in my book and next video. World cruising sailboats do not have to be expensive, at least not any more than a car. We…, (Americans) have a overly-complicated view of what a yacht should be, at least in my humble opinion.

I’m also eventually going to hand paint the mast and booms a mid to dark brown, that coupled with tanbark sails and a black hull will keep her well hidden (from the eye) at sea. If I want to be seen I have lights. When I sleep at night I keep a proxcimity alarm on the radar so I know where things and small boats are. I like to travel “low-key”, and the big ships all depend on radar, so I know I’ll be seen.

I also want Splendid to look like a shrimp/work boat so she blends into the local cultures better. I don’t like it when people approach me with a hand out for money or work. When your on a rough (not money/shiny) boat the hand is usually extended for friendship as the locals can relate better to you and are not as intimidated. Not to mention the fact you are a LOT less likely to be the one robbed in the anchorage. Most American cruisers are walking ATM machines and it really makes the experience of traveling not so much fun. Again…, in my humble opinion.

Splendid will sail the world as a strong and proud looking work ship, not fancy and shiny. The fancy/shiny will be in the interior. She was named after the original owners great grand-fathers whaling ship. I have a picture of the original “Splendid” hanging in my main saloon. The original Splendid was a beautiful, rough looking, working ship, and my kind of boat.

I guess I want her to have the same exterior/interior as I do :)

Cheers.