Perhaps we all should write one?
Time is one of those things we endlessly try to comprehended, yet no matter the effort; the result will always be the same, ignorance. We have no idea where our lives will bring us and we fear the unknown. Maybe this is why we take such comfort in the system, it leads us to believe we are in some sort of control of our futures and provides a structure we can manipulate to some extent?
We’ve been talking a lot about health care lately and it is quite the touchy subject. I’ve thought much of this as I’m in my mid 40’s, cant afford health care, and have had some health issues lately.
An American guy sailed into the anchorage about 4 months ago, in his late 60’s. Instantly I could see he was out of his element. He was constantly complaining about the sea, local weather, local water source, local conveniences, local people, and anything else he could. He sat at Hanz’s restaurant every day glued to CNN, and lived as far from this beautiful paradise as he possibly could.
I did a small welding job for him a few months back. The entire time we were together he just complained, complained, complained. My response was “Why don’t you just go home”? I’ll never forget the look he gave me. It was anger surrounded by the fact that he was utterly lost, it was sad.
About 6 weeks later he had a heart attack while aloft at the top of his mast and disappeared, his boat floating alone in the anchorage. I thought he had past away. Well I saw him on his boat yesterday and I swung by to say hi. I asked him how he was doing and he said “My sailing days are over, it’s just too dangerous”. He is selling his boat and going back to the states ASAP.
The previous night I decided to watch a film, “the Bucket List”.
At one point Morgan Freeman was telling Jack Nickelson a story about the angels that guarded the gates of heaven and the two questions they asked as they decided if you were allowed to enter. The two questions were “Have you experienced real joy in your life”? Proudly Jack answered “yes”. The other question was,” have you brought real joy to the lives of others”? In his eyes his answer was shamefully “no”.
I think this is what it all boils down to, joy. We must experience it and bring it to others as much as we possibly can.
Since I can’t afford health care I’m working on improving my diet and lifestyle. I’m sure I’m not the first guy in his mid 40’s to do this? I want my food & lifestyle to be my medicine going forward in life.
My refrigerator on Splendid is too small as I can’t keep much produce in it. After I return from my job in April I’m going to focus on a new refrigeration system, sadly at the cost of my motorbike ):
I want to carry copious amounts of fresh produce so I can take better care of myself and my health. I’m going to start making my own tofu on a regular basis (healthy protein and cheap) as well as making and canning my own liver (most nutritious of all meats/cheap) Pâté.
I’m also going to get rid of all the white flour on board and replace it with whole grain and void myself of as much sugar as I can.
I’m questioning my engine driven refrigeration system and hooking up extra belts to the little Kubota. Engine driven relies solely on the burning of fossil fuel, which I’m not so wild about. I’m a bit lost when it comes to all the refrigeration systems (Isotherm, Frigaboat, Norcold) and they all seem to use the same parts and just put different prices and labels on them. If anyone really knows about marine refrigeration I’d like to speak to you.
I’ve found www.rparts.com which sells refrigeration parts as well as generic systems. Here is the one I’m interested in:
http://www.rparts.com/product_info.php?cPath=14_57&products_id=434&osCsid=psgik143p08r4dmapbpgk6sdd4
When I return I will also need to prepare Splendid for another wet season which technically starts in May. In Panama the wet season is 8 months long. I enjoy the wet season and an afternoon shower, but the time between October and January can be a bit trying.
Splendid’s water tanks are empty and a good rain would go far.
Anyway, I’m off for a hike.
Cheers.
Sail far and live slowly.
– alex
Published in Alex Dorsey
Talking about fresh produce, look into various kinds of sprouts, Alfalfa, mung, etc. (If you can stomach them.) They are highly nutritious (the value changes from what is present in the simple seed) and they are easy to grow.
Just a thought my friend.
Mike
P.S. I am another 40ish asthmatic looking at my health choices.
Mike,
I do sprout mung beans in a jar. I want to buy/build a tray system to yeald more product. Also mung isint the tastiest of sprouts. When you buy sprouts in the supermarket, do you know what type they are? I also like the ones used in Chinese cooking, neither are mung beans.
Also have you check into soy milk machines, very cool for making tofu :)
I’m all about producing as much as I can on the boat :)
Alex
Alex,
I have a great local resource and I’ll find out about the supermarket flavored sprouts and pass it along.
Mike
Hey there Alex:
Oh the Hippi days are coming back to me. I used to live on making my own sprouts with a jar with a screen top. All kinds of sprouts that are amazing for health. Here’s a link or two to check out.
http://www.isga-sprouts.org/nutritio.htm
nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2302/2
Hey, I’m 59 and if I had a clue that stuff was cumulative then I would have started in my 30’s and 40’s to feel better now. Not that I’m feeling bad, it’s just I get a few more aches and pains that I guess come with growing older.
I’m on it though. Walking, stretching, tai chi, yoga and anything else I can think of to keep things going. So does you solar keep you up on your small fridge going? I’m just putting on a couple of 130 watt panels on Panacea that should give me 10 to 15 amps to help keep the batteries up when on the hook.
I’d sure like to get an upgraded fridge too. The new ones use so much less amps. I’ll watch this post closely and see if some 12 year old will jump up here and teach us how to keep things cool for longer. That’s where I find a lot of info is youtube. Seems there are some pretty smart kids out there.
Anyway, continue spreading you news around and keep us all posted about the ways of boats.
Take care of yourself and see you later.
Capt. Paul
s/v Panacea
walking is THE BEST EXERCISE you can ever do, that and swimming! Prior to my back surgery…I started walking…the first6-8 days were hell, but then it kinda became addicted…i started walking two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening. I ended up losing 40 pounds in about three months! Of course, it was power walking, but my first two weeks of walking was just slow walking to build myself up.
Good luck with you health! I know from first and experience if not taken care of…it can kinda trickle down to other issues :(
Hi Alex,
The last two weeks have been amazing; some of the things were not on my Bucket list to say the least.
I just spent time in a place called the Blue Hole which is at the bottom end of Moreton Island, it is just beautiful, and to say it has amazing sea life is an understatement.
The hole is packed with Hugh Turtles, Dolphins, Fish of all kinds of sea life and
not to mention Sharks, which brought me to my first face-to-face experience with a shark under water !!!!!
I put on my snorkeling gear and got ready with some cleaning gear to give the
bottom of my boat a good clean.
The water was really clear, I dived over the port side but did not see the shark on the starboard side probably because I was not looking out for one and as I dived
over the shark about five feet long swam under the boat and as I jumped i landed on top of it, the clear water suddenly became a very light brown in colour which seemed to be coming from out of the bottom of my board shorts.
Needless to say I became extremely anxious and headed to the nearest sand bank.
This experience was not on my Bucket list, but there was a bucket involved
when I got back on board.
At that point I decided to find some where close by to careen my boat.
I decided to give it a go as I took particular notice of the Careening process
that was on the Second Project Blue Sphere DVD .
For those who have not seen the DVD get one and check out how it is done .
My boat is a full keel and all went perfectly to plan .
I now have a very clean boat bottom and have picket up about 1.5 Knots
SOG.
Hey Capt Paul, you are right about sprouts ,I have a book on sprouting and you can sprout just about any seeds you can get hold of.
I would like to get some thoughts on installing a Wind Generator vs Solar panels
I have been asking around here about there thoughts and
everyone has a different opinion, there like bum’s every one’s got one !!!!!!!
I just got hold of Two Hawker Sydley 100 Ah back up aircraft batteries for $100
each , the are only used in case of power failure in cockpits ,
their only regularly tested and hardly ever used and have to be replaced
every two years so if you are near an aircraft maintenance facility it might be
worth a look to see if you can get hold of them at a great price.
As for my Bucket list I cant keep up with things to put on it.
I read a story in Cruising World about a guy whose name was Harry Heckle,
He had just turned 79 and was just completing his 2nd solo navigation around the world, and the only reason he went back to LA was to see his grand kids and he is off again after that what an inspiration that is.
Life is good living off the hook
Ross
Ross,
Good on ya M8!
Sounds like you’re having fun with your new life on the hook.
I really don’t get why people are so afraid of sharks, what really makes me laugh are the macho “shark guys” on TV that get paid to do it. One of the cable companies actually has “shark week” to instill even more fear in the TV watching populace. People have a funny pre-occupation with sharks. If “sharks” wanted to hunt man we wouldn’t be swimming in the sea. The sea is there turf; a little respect goes a long way. The way I see it is they still share with us very nicely despite the way we treat their home. Personally I wouldn’t jump on them (:
Cleaning your bottom is like cutting the grass, it’s just boat maintenance. I don’t know that I would careen to just clean, but if it works for you, all good. I have a 12v sea breath hookah which is awesome. On Namaste I didn’t need any sort of compressed air but Splendid’s bottom is vast and requires a lot of work.
Solar Panels Vs Wind generator isn’t an issue. It’s like comparing apples to oranges. When it’s cloudy it is often windy, and vise versa. In order to obtain a well balanced alternative energy system you need both. Don’t listen to the guys on the dock who never go anywhere, their opinions usually outweigh their experience. I was actually told by a “experienced sailor” in Florida that I was “over-anchored” with my 80lb Manson and it is “just as dangerous as being under anchored“.
Capt Paul.
You were a hippie, I never would have guessed (:
Soon my galley will be producing Tofu and sprouts on a full time basis. I’m even going to build a planter box on the aft deck to grow some fresh herbs.
Did you ever come across a book “Sailing the Farm, a survival guide to homesteading on the ocean” by Ken Neumeyer? Awesome book he grew Sprouts, herbs, as well as spirulina algae.
Here is some cool info on growing algae:
http://www.growing-algae.com/spirulina.html
Once I get my ship together and leave Panama, I will be the zen-master of self sufficiency and health at sea. The last time I provisioned to cross an ocean I didn’t carry much real food. I had lots of packaged and processed, non-foods. This time I will invest a little money in quality cured meats, and will be producing my own local wine, whole grain bread, Soy milk, tofu, sprouts, and possibly spirulina algae (I have to look into this more). I will also be canning lobster, fish, and meat as I come across it. This knowledge supplemented with fresh fish should carry me not only across the globe, but healthily into the rest of my life. As you know I’m on this crazy mission to live better on less.
Mitch,
I agree, walking and swimming are best. I have a torn meniscus in my right knee, sometimes walking hurts. I love biking and will get my bike fixed soon. It takes the pressure off of my knee and back (had back surgery). I also like biking because I can explore more terrain as I travel.
Anyway, morning coffee is almost empty and I’m off for a swim.
Cheers all.
Peace, Love, and Coconuts.
oh wow….you had back surgery? wow………how do you do everything that you do on your boat? I had a GREAT SURGEN…graduated at the top of his class as yale….took me two years to finally get the surgery done…and find the best doctor I could. He said no doctor can promise you 100% pain relef, but he did promise me 50% pain free…and he was right….but that remaining 50% is what has changed our boating plans…now looking at trawlers.
Swimming is really the only exercise I can do…with out putting any strain on my back.
As for eating healty food…I doubt you will like this suggestion, but we went through hurricane andrew…and several cat.2’s and 3’s………..we had tons of the meals the service members eat out in the field ( I am having a memory fault her, how embarassing since my son is in the service) anyways….my kids LOVED them…so I tried a couple and they totally were not bad at all! They are easy to store, you can buy them on line now….and during long passages, storms etc….well, you get my drift….you might want to think of ordering a few to see if you might like them .
I am kinda a vegan….but I call myself a fake one :) I don’t eat red meat, always hated sea food (but can cook some mean fish and lobster) don’t eat hot dogs, etc….the last thing on my list is chicken and over the past year have kinda given up on that. So I eat tons of salads, pasta…grilled chease sandwices. veggies…tons of them…but since I eat cheese and eggs, I am not a true vegan. A meal for me is a huge baked potato and veggies :) HATE TOFu but my sister is a true vegan like you :)
Mitch,
I often get back pain but I don’t let it get the better of me. Yoga and sit-ups make a world of difference. The stronger your stomach is the less your back has to work. When the pain gets really bad I have two tens units onboard. I don’t like to talk about back pain as I don’t want it invading my conciseness; it’s a mind over matter kind of thing.
My L5-S1 is fused with two titanium cages. I was the 10th to receive cages (in a lottery) by doctors Brey and Passhman, they work on a lot of the NFL guys. Back pain is like anything else you can’t let it get the better of you. I don’t know that walking 4 hours a day is best for your back, maybe change it out for biking, and make sure you do 100 sit ups at least 5 days a week?
I’m not even close to a vegan. I love a good steak with a side of brie, and eat fowl as well. In my perfect world I would hunt and only allow myself the meat I killed. But I can’t really walk around with a rifle all the time, wish I could. I like real food, food you find in nature, and not processed. Remember when I was in French Polynesia I would hunt chickens with a sling shot. I killed a lot of chickens (: This next time I will hunt pig and fowl in the jungle, process, and can it myself (pâté, riette, stew).
Your right I’m not so wild about eating MRE’s (Meal Ready to Eat). I’ve had them but I don’t like the taste or nutritional value they provide. I’d rather eat pâté spread over some fresh home made bread with a side of sprouts and tofu.
You can’t really hate tofu as you can make tofu taste a million different ways with various textures, from ice cream to fried. Perhaps you should experiment a little with it? Out of the box or fresh unseasoned it is quite bland. I just finished blending about a pound of soy beans this morning, going to use it in a stew for dinner.
Just came back from an awesome two hour walk in the country.
Alex,
Sailing the Farm: A Survival Guide to Homesteading on the Ocean by Ken Neumeyer is available on Amazon, i got a copy a few years ago for around $10 , the book has gone up in price a little but it is fantastic to have on board.
I often wondered what happened to Ken Neumeyer, so i decided to go on a hunt for him ,
as it turned out he had a car accident many years and is in a wheel chair and lives with his parents in Florida ,
that was a few years ago now so i don’t what has happened to him since then, as for the shark Incident it got a bigger fright than i did and to be honest i never felt in danger they are such beautiful animals to look at in there patch
Ross
Its funny how diet in our 40’s is so important. It was about three months ago when i decided to change my eating habits. I am an amazing cook and cooking is my hobby.
I started to eat all things that make one feel great and cut out all starches, fats and deep fried foods. No cakes, cookies, sauces, white breads, pop, white rice, milk, pasta and cheese. My new way of eating consists of wild fish, sea food, chicken breast ( free Range ) organic eggs, veggies, fruit and whole grains and nuts. Since I started this 3 months ago i have lost 20 lbs and feel amazing. I sleep better; i have no more acid reflux; and no more gas. hahaha. I never feel bloted and have lots of energy. It is some thing i know i can do forever because it is not a diet but a life style change.
I did go out for a chinese buffet the day and felt absolutly horrible when i was done eating. It was the greese and MSG i think. It tasted good going down but totaly not worth it.
I will eat the sinful things if i go out for dinner or a function but other then that i feel amazing. Try it people and you will see the difference.
Alex,
Do you have any suggestions on Wind Generators ???
I have herd Rutland are very reliable and Air Breeze not so good, very noisy……..
I have bought a Small 1Kva generator but do not want to rely on it , the cost of fuel in Australia is getting out of control also i have room on my Bimini for two 40 Watt solar panels ,any suggestions on what brands stand up to
the elements .
Ross
I still can’t figure out why this book is so much money. Any ideas?
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Curtis,
I show them in my book store for just under $60.00
astore.amazon.com/projectblue0b-20
Ross,
Yeah I heard about Ken, such a bummer. I would like to look him up one day.
I have Mitsubishi panels and am happy with them. I don’t know enough about all the different panels to give you an educated opinion. Perhaps someone with more knowledge can comment?
I like the Rutland, and Kiss generators. If I had the money I’d buy a kiss wind generator.
Curtis,
I’m really excited about my dietary change in lifestyle. I’ve been at it a week and feel so much better. I don’t feel bloated either and know I’m moving in the right direction. The biggest bummer for me is bread, not only do I enjoy eating my own bread, but making it is therapeutic. I’m checking Ebay for flour mills and will get into milling my own oat, whole grain, or bean flour which will be much healthier than the white, or even “whole grain” bread bought in stores. Flour is most nutritious when freshly milled. Bean flour is lo in carbs s and hi in protein.
The question I’m facing is modern power (electric) VS hand power for the mill? Hand operated is surely more romantic and I have the time but I do produce clean power from the sun so I’m leaning towards an electric mill. I feel that I’m responsible enough with power to afford such a luxury (:
I’m also not trying to go overboard with the dietary changes. If I have a treat once in a while (rarely) it makes the whole thing seem more doable. I believe moderation in all things is the way to go. My buddy made a bit of fun at me the other day and told me I wasn’t going to be able to live on a diet. Well the truth is we all live on a diet. Unfortunately most of us live on the supermarket, convince store, fast food diet. We eat what is available to us with the least amount of effort. As I travel, my diet always changes as what is available to me changes. I haven’t had chicken wings in a year and am better for it. The good thing is good grains, produce, vegetables, meat, and seafood is available in most places, luckily for me I have the time to focus on my body and take care as to what I allow into it.
Nutrition will be a big part of my next film/book. Autonomy at sea is about freedom (mind, body, and soul). You will find in Annie’s book she talks a lot about food, and especially Ken in “sailing the farm”. I will have an extensive “Galley” section which will talk about provisioning, preserving, and making food to live by.
Well, I finished my coffee and its time to work on some projects.
Sail far, live slow, eat healthy!
alex, Have you ever seen a Vita-Mix ?? We got an older stainless steel model off e-bay for $180. It is a blender on steroids , turns anything into a puree, turns so fast that it creates enough heat to make soups right in the pitcher.The fruit smoothies are to die for.
My wife and I are allergic to wheat protiens so we use spelt , put the raw berries in run for 4 minutes and you have bread flour 2 minutes more pastry flour. You add the honey , salt yeast and water, 30 seconds more you have dough. Then you just bump the switch, push the dough down, bump the switch push down , repeat about ten times and your dough is ready to rise.
The maker is really reputable and has been around forever. As you can tell I am very impressed , a versatile well built tool. Karl
Hi Alex, You may enjoy a lifestyle book, called THE PRIMAL BLUEPRINT by Mark Sisson, it has to do with living a primal lifestyle, as we are genetically programmed.
Karl,
I have heard of a vita-mix, it’s always been out of my price range but I’ll look into it again after I get back from my job in April. Can you tell me how many watts the motor on yours requires? I would have to run it off of my 1800 watt inverter, I know the vita mix is really powerful, and requires a lot of amps. If it is under 1800 watts it might be a good fit for me :)
Mark,
Is that about the “primal” diet? If so I’ve looked into it but don’t really agree with not eating much fruit, however I like the concept. Eat what you find in nature, primal man in the jungle, I’m all about it.
I also like the whole macrobiotic concept but for me I’m not stationery so my local foods change often. I try and get local bee pollen and honey as I travel to help me with localized allergies. My allergies trigger my asthma which is not a good thing. My asthma was really bad when I was in the states so I’m thinking stress might be a trigger as well. My asthma has been really good lately and I never (once, or twice a month) hit my inhaler.
I am excited to get into different types of flour in my baking. And guys, real men bake!
Cheers
Rain is comming….mangos first…..can you bake a mango pie? a real man could. If you move your compressor over to your gen set and add a 12 volt system, they combine to reduce 12 volt consumption….if your engine/gen driven system is holding plates, it can go 12 hrs without being run…. the 12 v system just maintains….when you run gen, you add 12v and gain 12 hrs of frozen. that cat i delivered from bvi had an incredible refrig system. that being said, insulation is the biggest factor in refrigeration, but you knew that…..do not paint your boat black………G
darn……….another post of mine went POOF! i SWEAR…..I know i put the code in and it accepted it. Whats the reason for having to put a security code in?
Mitch,
I usually write my responses in word, copy, and paste them. At the very least copy your text before you hit “add comment”, that way you dont loose the text. I dont know about the security code, my buddy David does all that kind of stuff.
ENGEL is the only way to go for reliable low-consumption refridgeration. Look them up!
I have one. It is just too small to keel large amounts. Of produ e