Well finally after converting my video shot on the flip to MPEG, editing it, converting it to .MOV, then to .FLV I have a video posted. The Cannon T3i that I want to buy shoots in full HD, and in .AVI format, something I can really work with!
I feel weird about charging for the videos as I promised a decade ago that they would be free, so I put it in the free section, you will see it in the upper right hand corner of your screen.
Well my step-mom (Momma D) is coming to visit me for a week and I’m taking a break from mixing epoxy, sanding, fairing, glassing, and painting. I have all my work down to a science, the right tools set up properly, and the right materials to work with. As you can see from the pictures she will look really good. She looks a bit stark white now but after paint on the name, and paint the trim she’ll look fantastic. Truthfully I’m beat and looking forward to taking a little break.
After next week I will buckle down again and work till she is done. If anyone is interested in taking a break after November let me 
know. Week charters will go pretty cheap as I need a few things like a camera package & drifter. I’ll be camped out in the San Blas stirring up business till I can get my ship together and start production of my next film.
Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend and for those of you who faired, and are enduring hurricane Irene, my thoughts are with you.
Cheers
Sail far and live slowly.
alex
MorE drama with dragging boats yesterday. Big 50′ + steel ketch came into the ancorage, dropped 40′ of chain, 50′ of rhode in 43′ of water and left to Panama city. What could he be thinking. His boat started bouncing off of boats until we took it out of the crowded area and anchored it safely. I had to really run my outboard hard to push the guys boat now it’s running badly, hope I didn’t burn it up, arrrggggg!
Anyway I dropped my bike off at the shop. On the way to panama I ran over a chicken. I had to turn around to run over it’s head to put it out of pain. A local quickly picked it up and
I’m sure it allready been cooked :)
I’m glad Irene didn’t do more damage!!!
Cheers.
Alex,
Do you want to talk more about provisioning for a trip? I am having a hard time selecting what is more in need during and after arrival and what will last longer or is better to get in quantity. For example; I like to drink kool aid sometimes just to vary the monotony, but the little packets of kool aid don’t last; humidity sets in them. Even their big plastic can lets moisture in. So I use Crystal light packets and they are lined with foil and they last. Instead of re-inventing the wheel, maybe you can tell us items that you have had experience with that can help future travelers such as myself.
One of the things that I found out for example is in cookware. I tried dozens of stainless steel pots and sooner or later they developed spots or degraded (I think even the salt air affected them). However, a friend once gave me a couple of pots (BELGIQUE) and these have outlasted all of the other ones combined.
Regards
Charlie
I provision very simply. I drink water, rum, or wine, hopefully home made. I buy staple things like rice, beans, sugar, flour, and coffee. For protein I fish. I don’t buy flour anymore now that I have my vitamix and make bean, rice. Non-wheat flour for breads and tortillias.
My best advice is to learn to eat locally. Most westerners are unwilling to change their diet as they travel. Product names like hinz ketchup, hellmans mayo, kool aide, jiff, and so on should be replaced with local flavor.
For me, learning to eat and cook locally has been one of the biggest rewards to cruising.
Cruising is also a great oppertinuity to get healthy and get away from packaged, processed, and powdered foods. Nine times out of ten I drink room temp water and very simple, non-processed foods.
To each their own tho. I don’t think there is a right or wrong way to do it. If I had the money I suppose I would eat differently, and not as healthy.
That being said I have been treating myself to a coke and a snickers bar when I put it a hard days work. I think one should draw a line between every day food and luxury/treat items :)
The packets that rice comes in over here have holes through which the weevils get in. What would you use to re-pacakage the rice so that you could buy in larger quantities and keep longer? I am up to the point of almost using a food-saver machine for rice and other items that let go bad. My issue with running the machine is that it runs off 110v and the bags are expensive.
Regards.
weevels are in all rice and flower. the best thing i have found and do is i have arge plastic containers that seal well, when i buy four or rice i transer it to my strage containes after inspection I also dont mind eating a weevi or two you just get used to it. i haent seen a weevil for about 8 months since i got my cool containers :)
Alex, did I read that right? Aren`t weevels or weevi (?) kinda like one step above or maybe even below maggets??? You are kidding right?? If I found something moving in MY rice I think I would barf & never eat rice again because i would have to check each one to make sure it doesn`t move,, too much work,, go fishing & get fresh catch of the day!!!! Man I will never see rice & flour the same..
Charlie,
Weevils look like little crabs if you look at them under a magnifing glass, and yes
I have inadverttantly eatn many ofer the years. All flour and bread even in the states has weevils you just don’t know it, check online.
I have eaten termite larva with the Kuna Indians before. You put a stick and the orange larva come out. Funny thing is they tasted lime carrots as they were packed with beta caratin e (spelling ?)
I also don’t put chlorine or floride in my water these things are
really bad for you I’d rather eat a creature or
two than chemicals, pestacides, hormones and all the other shit westerners put in their food. That is what you should really be grossed out by.
You can sift the weevils from your flour if you like, or just unknowingly eat them in packaged bread ? Ignorance is bliss?
You know what they say “a spec of dirt will kill ya’ “
cheers
WOW, ya know I always have a sandwich for lunch & somehow it just won`t be the same.. Ignorance is definitely bliss.. I can see I have ALOT to learn about how to eat on a sailboat,, I always though weevels were in rotting stuff, very interesting.
Weevils are not magots, form what I understant they live in all wheAt In various stages and sizes. Not bad for you just a little extra protein :)
charlie butch and everyone, When i was in the peace corp in africa they told not to buy the flour that didn’t have weevils, no weevils meant they had already eaten everything nutritious and moved on. Joe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheat_weevil
Guys just think of the weevils as pepper, that’s how I got my head around it way back when. Its part of nature and the alternative would be treating your whet with chemicals, BLAH!! I still cant believe some cruisers put bleach in their drinking water supply.
If when you buy your flour it doesn’t seem to have weevils its either too late as Joe pointed out, or they are still tiny larva. What many western sailors do is freeze the flour before they transfer them to well sealed plastic containers thus killing the larva which will never grow to a state that will bother your senses.
My visit with my step mom is going well. We have been driving around in a big SUV looking at property for her. I’ve looked at some really beautiful land and no matter how perfect the stretch of beach I know I will allways prefer to live on a boat :)
You may love this song. I’ve never really been into country music but this really made me smile, kind of the Alex Dorsey theme song :) have a listen!
http://www.dilandau.eu/download_music/knee-deep-feat.-jimmy-buffett-zac-brown-band-1.html
Alex,
Great to see the recent video. Enjoy your break, you’ve earned it.
Carry whole grains and mill them as you need. That is a sure fire way of keeping weavels out. The bay leaf trick also works (for a while). Use too many though and your bread will have a funny taste.
It’s really amazing what people eat here in the states. They will hoark down the most God awful fast food/prefab $&*! Taco Bell was just busted a few months ago because their regular “beef” ‘taco meat’ was tested, only to find out that it was only 33% REAL meat. The best part, and I do mean best part, is that it’s 2% under (that’s 35% for all you non-math types) the regulations (USDA/FDA) for what may be labeled as beef. So the USA allows food processors to put 65% NON beef, in …. beef….. and still label it as beef. That’s F-ed up.
And you wonder why we are a nation of fat asses?
If you want a SUREFIRE long term investment strategy, invest in artificial limbs. Sooo many UK/USA people are losing limbs to diabetes, that sales have an upward projection for the next 25-35 years. Not only are they selling more, they are having to make them stronger to support the fats.
Sad sad sad sad.
If anyone here on P.B.S. wants to have the $&^% scared out of them, watch these movies. They are free to watch and will only cost you some time, and the contents of your cupboards/reefers.
Other than quitting smoking, this is the most heart felt, honest-to-God, serious as cancer advise I could give anyone with an I.Q. above their shoe size.
If it doesn’t FUNDAMENTALLY change your lives, you’re dead inside already.
Recommended in order.
topdocumentaryfilms.com/food-inc/
topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-future-of-food/
topdocumentaryfilms.com/food-matters/
topdocumentaryfilms.com/blue-gold-world-water-wars/
topdocumentaryfilms.com/flow-for-love-of-water/
Le
processed food are an issue for sure. I wish people could jump in my body to feel the differance that I feel now as opposed to 7 months ago. Man, I had a slice of “healthy” pizza (all natural ingreadwncw a few days ago and I’m still feeling all F’d up over it. For the first 46 years of my life I just naturally felt like crap and didn’t even know it.
All that is really important to me going forward is my health and happyness !
Back to my old life 2morrow. I’m moving out of my big fancy SUV ( ford everest) and back to my DT 175 :)
my momma D got me an hour massage here at the hotel and wow, it’s been too long sin e
someone focused on my sholders & back, she took a few years off, feel GR8!!!
Cheers
You can use Bay Leaves to keep weevils away.
works great.