The images and photo opportunities on Splendid are turning from a horrible mess to beautiful.
My new mainsheet is installed and all my winches are back. My friend on “Sara G” gave me 2 new stainless Hershoff cleats for my jib sheet, they’re beautiful. For the first time in a while I can go sailing if I choose to…, and I choose to very, very soon! It’s a good feeling to know I can move again, my soul is smiling! I’m finally digging my way out of the “restoration” ditch and I can see 
the light at the end of the tunnel.
Opportunities are passing me by. I had 6 interested backpackers I had to turn down on a trip to Zapzurro Colombia, and I got a call from a German woman who wanted to charter for 10 days in San Blas. I also got the first email through the charter page from a backpacker in Brazil and I haven’t even launched yet.
I know a few months after I start working I’ll be turning down charter work to focus on my creative efforts. I don’t want to be a charter boat captain. My goal is to generate 
a humble income from my words & films and share my travel experiences. This is my passion!
After Splendid is together my plan is to make wine, bread, tofu, and home can on a large scale. At this point I need more money in my life as I’m still restoring Splendid, but after I will realize the minimalist in my heart and live as lean as possible as I grow into my years. The reason I moved to a larger boat was for freedom & simplicity, not comfort. Splendid will be my groovy minimal sailing, 
living, and traveling platform soon, WEEHAAAA!
I’m uber-motivated to get out of here, make a few bucks, and get lost in the San Blas so I can continue shooting my film. I need to get a computer that can process HD video and luckily the chartering thing will afford me this. I’ve re-titled my next film “The Minimalist Sailor” a free mans guide to the world. I tell you making a film or writing a book takes a lot of energy! I think I’m the busiest cruiser I know and I still live a pretty laid back life.
My fear of home canning was dissolved in a few hours with Margo watching her prepare hamburger, chicken, and beef cubes for 6 months aboard her boat. I’ve read a few books on canning but actually watching it pulled it all together for me. I also plan on building a solar dryer on the aft-deck to dry fruit, fish, and meat.
Home canning is a snap. Clean & sterilize the jars, fill them with raw meat, clean the rims so they make a good seal, put the lids on and screw down, cook under pressure for 75 minutes. Let them cool on the counter over night, take the screw part of the lids off for re-use, and store the jars. Not too difficult, and I now have 
the ability to store large amounts of protein for long journeys, pretty cool in my book! It will be so nice to be able to pop open a jar of home made stew at sea, heat it, and have a real meal with minimal effort.
The sun is slowly winning over the gray & rain, and some beautiful days are emerging from the sky. The mountains aren’t growling as much and the 30 minutes of rain a day is fresh and welcome. I really love this country. I think no matter where I travel it will always be my home. No hurricanes, no ciguatera, the authorities don’t bother me, warm beautiful water, and nature, nature, nature! Home is where the heart is, and my heart is in Panama!
Over the following weeks I will continue to work and finish Splendid’s decks. I don’t want to take passengers aboard until 
I have at least put down a good non-skid. I’m having problems finding the right size sand. I did a small portion of the deck with sand from the beach here and it is too fine. It’s a good non-skid for the weekend sailor, but not what I want on Splendid. Splendid is a very kind ship and good hearted, but I want her decks brutal and to remove flesh if you fall upon them. If you remember I was taken almost completely overboard on Namaste when my drifter hit the water one night in the Pacific. Sticking to the boat is much more important in my book then a skinned knee!
I had dinner with some friends last night. They are very traditional German sailors and have a beautiful wooden boat Grete. I’ve recently watched her for a few weeks when they were traveling in Ecuador. They have a Taylor made kerosene stove in storage that I’m going to look at this week. I’m hoping it’s this one:
http://www.marinescene.co.uk/view/2685/taylors-029-2-burner-hob-amp;-warming-oven
They want $500 which is a bargain but I don’t have the money at the moment. However I’m sure they will hold it for me if I want it.
I have a 30 gallon tank in the engine room that was dedicated to the generator I pulled. If I go kerosene I will convert this tank to kerosene and be able to easily carry a 2-3 year supply of cooking/heating fuel that is safe! Eventually I would like to find used kerosene heaters for the main and aft cabin as well as a kero water heater.
I am so grateful for the life I lead, and I’m really excited to produce my next film and share the details of a minimalistic life at sea.
Thank you for reading.
Sail far and live slowly!
alex
Hey Alex –
As soon as the weather warms up and drys out here in the PNW I will be redoing the decks on my boat. After a lot of research I’ve decided to use KiwiGrip http://www.pachena.com/. It’s a little pricy but the application process is a snap (supposedly) and this stuff will bond to anything/everything. I’ve seen a few boats here that have used it and they look almost factory finished. There are also several UTube vids on Google showing the application process and it appears to be fast and simple . Anyways, if you haven’t heard of the product I thought I’d bring it to your attention.
Of course my ulterior motive in mentioning a “quick solution” to the refinishing your deck is to nudge you along in the restoration phase of your life/blog, so you can begin (again) the exploration and voyaging phase of your life /blog. ;-). As much as I enjoy tuning in to hear about the latest developments in your floating remodel project, and as much as I completely understand it is all necessary to properly prepare Splendid to take her offshore, I have to confess I do look forward to the day that we once again hear about your travels and adventures at sea. I have no doubt you look forward to the next phase of your life as well.
Best,
– Contrarian
Contrarian,
Trust me, I want to get moving more than you want me too :) !
I really hate that picture, i had a friend take a few pictures for the charter flyer. i really want to change it.
I’m going to look at the stove tomorrow, my fingers are crossed!!! I’m getting a little explosion, well…, more like a poof every time I light a burner, I really want the gas out of Splendid.
Hey Alex, how will you pump the fuel from the tank to the stove or heater?
Just with a $15.00 electric fuel pump. I’ll probable keep a gallon jug under the sink to fill the stainless pressurized tank on the stove. I really like the idea of having cooking fuel for an extended voyage. If I venture across the pacific over a few years I just won’t have to stress about cooking fuel :)
Hey Alex
good to hear you are in a happy place.
Like your flyer but thats not how you spell “experience” dude – maybee your backpackers wont notice but ammend for V2
Steve
Ha, actually didn’t finish it yet, I
Want to change some of the pictures and didn’t run it
Through spell check yet.’however I am an awful speller.’mostly due
To the fact I have a bad habbit of posting and not proofing. I do a lot of writing and im pretty lazy with it :(
Alex, some time ago you wrote what you charge for a charter from Panama to Catharina. I’ve been looking for the info. but can’t find it. Would you please restate it and also do you have a recognized ‘Captains License”? The reason I’m asking is that now that I’m retired I would like to do some charter work in Central and South America. But first I will have to get a larger boat. I have had a boat (power and sail) sense 1966.
Claude,
I will be charging around $500 a head, and taking 4-6 people on a 5 day trip from Panama to Colombia and vise-versa. However preferably I will be focusing on just doing charters in the San Blas so I don’t have to go through all the customs and immigration red tape. It’s expensive and a pain in the ass.
I don’t have a “recognized” captains license, but I have well over 30,000 miles experience. This has been good enough for insurance companies in the past when I was delivering a boat.
My intention isn’t to offend anyone but internationally the American USCG captain’s license is a bit of a joke as anyone who can log their own miles and has $800.00 can go to sea school and become a so-called “Captain”. We often refer to licensed/inexperienced captains as “Paper captains”. I recently met a paper captain I wouldn’t dream of putting my children or someone I cared about aboard his ship. If Chuck is reading this he needs to tell the story of the “captain” he hired to bring him down to Puerto Rico, the guy ended up ramming his boat into a freighter, actually a really funny story. That being said I have many USCG licensed friends who are great Captains. My point is the paper is meaningless.
Technically you are supposed to hold a license of the country you are working in. If in Panama you would need a Panamanian license, Colombia a Colombian captains license and so forth.
If I were ever to feel the urge to get a piece of paper I would get the English Yacht Masters license as the training is intensive and much theory is taught. Internationally it is quite respected. If you want to venture off into the world to charter your boat I would consider this if I were you. You can study and take the test in the US. However if you just want to charter in the US, USVI’s just get the USCG license, moorings and all the other companies will accept it. I have a friend in the USVI’s who is trying to get me to go there and work for the charter companies, I guess its good money. I may do something like that when I’m a bit older for my retirnment???
There are captains (unlicensed) from all over the world here running backpackers and chartering. It doesn’t take long for the hostels & hotels to figure out who the good captains are and fill their boats.
Hope this helps.
Cheers.
Alex:
Thanks for the informative updates to you blog. I like your charter stuff. You’re doing good. Nice disclaimer on your page. I think the photo is good, but as captains, we always like that 40′ off the sea angle shot. I don’t have one yet either, but soon. I know a couple of para-sailors that may go up and shoot some shots. It’ll be cool.
Once the word is out and they check out your site on their smart phones, you’ll stay as busy as you want. I’ll send you a couple of ideas to your email address or catch you on Skype and we’ll shoot the poop.
For one, I love the charter business. Nothing is ever the same “Milk Run.” Every one is different. Some cut short for weather windows, some stuck waiting for a window. We change directions, destinations when it’s needed. We want a good sail and do what we can to make it happen. Most of the time, we do good. We miss sometimes, but it’s the way of the sea and we can’t change that.
I found a box today that may have the disc you are looking for. Are you still looking for it? If so, I’ll ship it out when I locate it and that will be that.
Your photos of the canned meat kind of freaked me out. When I bought Panacea, and started cleaning out the bilges, I ran across the same bottles. Some kind of meat stuff. Some had half liquid in ’em and some were just dry. I never had an experience with home canning of meat, so I moved them off the boat before they exploded. In retrospect, I should have popped the tops, made sure that they were ok and munched away, but from the outside looking in for the first time, I was freaked and let ’em go.
I have some photos of those guys somewhere. Pretty funny. Of course we had a lot of rum splashing around in us when we found ’em and it was like, “What the hell is this.”
You’re looking good. Keep up doing what you are doing. It seems to agree with you.
Later Brother…
Capt. Paul
s/v Panacea
Capt Paul is one of my good captain USCG friends and does a gr8 job with his
Charters, check out his link on the left side of the page if you are looking for A fun charter experience I’n Florida! Paul we are do for another chat for sure amigo.
Thanks Alex, now I have to locate a larger boat. The boat I have now is a Hunter 260 that my wife and bought new in 2003. It did well as a coastal cruiser off Texas and Florida and with five years in the San Juan Islands of Puget Sound. Keep the wind to your back and good sailing.
Claude,
Sail far and live slow brother :)
Thanks Alex, now I have to locate a larger boat. The boat I have now is a Hunter 260 that my wife and bought new in 2003. It did well as a coastal cruiser off Texas and Florida and with five years in the San Juan Islands of Puget Sound. Keep the wind to your back and good sailing.
alex….uscg license is a joke? here are the requirements for yacht master RYA/MCA Yachtmaster Coastal Certificate of Competence
With effect from 1 January 2010 the former “Coastal Skipper” qualification has been re-designated as “Yachtmaster Coastal”.
[edit] Exam
The examination for Yachtmaster Coastal is practical and can be taken under sail or power and the certificate will be endorsed accordingly. It lasts 6–10 hours for 1 candidate or 8–14 hours for 2 candidates, and is conducted in a boat between 7 m (23 ft) and 24 m (78 ft) in length.
The examination will include an assessment of the candidate’s skippering skills, boat handling, general seamanship, navigation, safety awareness and knowledge of the IRPCS (collision regulations), meteorology and signals. Candidates will be set tasks to demonstrate their ability as skipper and may also be asked questions on any part of the RYA syllabus for all practical and shorebased courses up to Yachtmaster Coastal level.
[edit] Pre-Requisites
To take the practical examination, candidates must be aged 17 years or over and require:
1.Radio Operator’s Qualification – A Restricted (VHF only) Radio Operator’s Certificate or a GMDSS Short Range Certificate or higher grade of marine radio certificate.
2.First Aid – A valid First Aid Certificate from the RYA or by Police, Fire and Armed Services.
3.Minimum seatime – Candidates must have logged at least 30 days, 2 days as skipper, 800 nautical miles and 12 night hours. For candidates who hold the Certificate of Satisfactory Completion of the RYA/MCA Coastal Skipper Practical Course this is reduced to 20 days, 2 days as skipper, 400 nautical miles and 12 night hours. Half the qualifying sea time must be conducted in tidal waters
30 days sea time? documents only show basic skills…..there is no replacement for experience…………..G
Gary,
Thats for coastal yacht master and you actually have to step foot on a boat ?
As far as safety goes driving in a car/motorcycle is far, far, far, more dangerous than sailing and every 16 year old kid is allowed to take passengers?
The most dangerous thing I did in the last 10 years was accept a ride with an Italian guy here to Colon about 8 months ago. He almost killed me 5 times in the 90 minutes I was in the car with him.
I went to sea school 13 years ago and just never took the test, didn’t feel the need. It’s like my SCUBA diving license. I just needed it to fill tanks, I never went for any other certs and had logged nearly 800 dives since I was 15.
It’s just a license.
Boy was i wrong when I said the sun was winning over the rain. It’s been sopping wet for 4 days around here now :(
Peace!
Well I looked at the Kero stove. It’s on Splendid now as I offered to clean it up for free if I could meditate on it for a few days. It was in the guy’s storage area, It’s this one:
http://www.taylorsheatersandcookers.co.uk/sp030.html
What a really well made piece of marine hardware! It is made of stainless, brass, and iron. It’s gimbaled, however much smaller than I had imagined from the picture. The stove is small and I can only fit one loaf of bread in it at a time as opposed to the two I like to make. I usually make two loafs, one for myself, and one to give to a friend.
Well I’ve been mediating on it and have decided not to change to kerosene. I’ve spoke to many of my old time salty friends that know much about kerosene & propane. The biggest complaint is cooking at sea with it. Preheating can be dangerous with lit alcohol in the tray during a big sea. But the determining factor for me is lo-heat control. Kero burns hotter but adjusting a low flame can loose the prime on the system and go out, spilling un-burnt kerosene. I cook a lot and simmer as much as seer.
I have a kerosene heater and have had many problems with it. The other thing I don’t like is the increased expense of the fuel ($40.00 a year as opposed to a few hundred) and maintenance and attention the kero cooker needs on a regular basis.
The seller of the stove swears by kero and if he doesn’t sell the stove was going to strip the burners out of it as they cost 180 euros each and there are three of them.
So what I’m thinking is to offer him a $150 or so for the stove without the burners and convert it to propane. This would give me a sturdy, beautiful, classic oven that will last me a lifetime. I’ll install a blower in the bilge and be as careful with the LPG as I can. The conversion looks easy and I can build it out the way I want.
Cheers.
Does anyone know if this is for real?
“Say NO to Internet Censorship
This week Congress is debating whether to grant themselves the power to turn off parts of the Internet. Fun sites you YouTube. Informative sites like Wikipedia. Political sites like MoveOn.org.
If enacted, new laws would force Internet Service Providers to block websites that any corporation suspects violates a copyright or suspects doesn’t monitor it’s users’ content close enough for copyrighted materials. That means that any website, foreign or based in the U.S., could be wiped out on suspicion and made unavailable to everyone in the world.
This week there will be a historic filibuster of the Internet Censorship Act where the names of every person that signs a petition against Internet censorship will be read.
pol.moveon.org/nointernetcensorship/?r_by=-20776901-gv6_OTx&rc=nointernetcensorship.confemail.g1
Thanks!
I found a Bristol 27.7 on ebay for $8,775.00, looks clean.
cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1979-BRISTOL-27-7-SAILBOAT-/160699902458?pt=Sailboats&hash=item256a75e9fa#ht_500wt_1180
Make sure you guys see that the interior pictures for that bristol are a sister ship and not the one for sale. The interior of the sister ship looks good, but I’m guessing this one is not as nice.
SOPA is very very real. The Great Firewall of America. Not to mention it was made legal this week to arrest & detain Americans indefinitely @ Gitmo, without trial or due process if one is declared a terrorist / terrorist threat.
United States of America, no longer the land of the free, but the home of the brave.
Le,
been reading a bit about SOPA, it really breaks my heart!
No more politics for me, I just don’t want to know anymore. Many people send me political email stuff and all I can say is “Pleas refrain, I don’t want it”! The only news I want in my life is about the weather, and only from NOAA. Even the weather on most stations is sensationalized and used as a fear tool.
Word
Speaking of news, I just got some good news that may sway my decision to sail back into the Pacific :
http://www.sail-world.com/Cruising/international/New-Era-as-Indonesia-welcomes-yachts-up-to-three-years/91791
Anyone who reads Portuguese, this is the blog to my friends Mane & Rafa’s blog page.
http://www.duplaventura.blogspot.com/
MY GOD HAS IT BEEN RAINING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey Alex! I have questions about working on fiberglass decks. This is what I am working with. Some of my stanchions are wiggly and loose, and there is spider webbing of the (paint/gelcoat?) around the bases. My Idea is to remove the stanchion and from underneith glass in a bullnosed backing plate at each stanchion point. Then sand and address the glass from above so the spiderwebbing is blended in. You see I am getting alot of rain water into the bilge and I am pretty sure that it is from the loose stanchions. I am pretty confident that I can make the backing plates blend in to the interior of the cabin easily so that is not really a concern of mine, the concern is the weather and how the moisture will effect any glass repair work that I attempt on deck. how would you approach this decently sized project? It is rainy here and we live in a convergence zone, so it is mostly wet and cold this time of year. How do you do your decks and rub repair? I know it has been rainy where you are at. Oh yeah I dont mind if you miss spell anything as long as I can get the gist of what you are trying to say.. ha
Hello Alex,
It’s great you posted the link for the portuguese sailing blog, I am going to follow their adventures.
Have you heard, Bob sold the Latitudes and Attitudes Magazine ? Thought you’d like to know.
Anyways, Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.
Luis in Toronto
How about “beautiful man/HAPPY ship!” lol Congrats mate, hitting a good place.
Regarding previous post Bob sold Lat and Att? Thats going to take getting used to.
Alex-snag that Taylors stove-its the model 028….. the same one that I cooked on for 10 years when living aboard my Lyle Hess 22 Simpatico…..its fantastic!……take care
Rich……Westsail 28 Zosha, Galveston, TX
I have flown over Indonesia enroute from Port Moresby to Singapore. My neck was sore from staring at the islands below. It looks unbelieveable! Hope you go.
I have flown over Indonesia enroute from Port Moresby to Singapore. My neck was sore from staring at the islands below. It looks unbelieveable! Hope you go.
Isaac
I don’t know that you need to glass in backing plates? Just get some sheet aluminum or stainless and make backing plates, the aluminum will be easier to drill out. I wouldn’t worry about the spider web cracks in the gel coat, just go enjoy the boat for now but defiantly get the stanchions in order. I would be surprised if you had to glass on the top side, if the spider web really bothers you, paint after you pull the stanchions. I’m doing this right now. A few of my stanchion bases are bent (Solid bronze) and I need to bring them into a shop with a hydraulic press to bend them back. At some point in my life I’m going to pull all the chromed bronze and strip it. Why do they/did they chrome such a beautiful metal I’ll never understand?
Just FYI, As you know health has been very important to me and finding natural solutions that fit my lifestyle. I’ve had GERD (advanced acid reflux) for years and finally found something that works like a magic bullet. 3 tablespoons of ACV (Apple cider vinegar) mixed into a glass of water with 1 tablespoon of baking soda twice a day (morning & evening). This works so much better than over the counter antacids I cant tell you, really!
http://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/acid_reflux.html
Anyway I found some REALLY AGGRESSIVE sand that I’m going to test today as my non-skid. If I like it I’m going to finish the decks, should take a week, and as soon as I can get my stanchion bases bent back and replaced I’m going to gear up to make a run to Colombia with some backpackers.
Sorry I haven’t been posting much I’ve been really focused on getting my ship together!
Peace.
Wish i had known about your acid reflux condition earlier. I found the apple cider vinegar solution about a year ago. According to my research (Cooking Channel on TV), the vinegar is highly acidic which triggers the stomach valve to the esophagus to close up tightly. The baking soda is alkaline which balances the acid in the stomach.
I would still lay off the jalapenos. Merry Christmas.
Yo… Ho… Ho…
Digestive Enzymes… Cheap and work like a champ. After you get them going, you can lay off and use them when you want. Nope. Not as cost effective as apple cider vinegar and baking soda, but helps heal the problem and then you’re done with it…
I’m not a doc, but it’s something to research.
Man it would be hard to give up the jalapenos.
Merry Christmas Amigo.
Capt. Paul
s/v Panacea
Happy Holidays my friend.
Merry Christmas Alex.
Merry Christmas, brother.
Hey Alex , your ship looking great , when you ready for chartering my daughter and i are looking forward to a charter in the San Blas , if you continue on a world vogage hopefully you will bring your ship to Australia .
And Merry Chrristmas
Thanks guys, and happy holidays to everyone.
The sun has been out and I’ve been a bit quiet as I’ve been hyper-focused on getting out of here. I need to get ready in the coming weeks to get to San Blas, make a few bucks, and do some filming. I wont take passengers without nonskid and stanchions : )
I’m going to a dinner party at a friends house tonight, aside from that it’s been work, work, work, but I’ve been in a really positive place.
I also tend to be a little quiet around the holidays as the New Year is a time I like to reflect on the past and coming year. The San Blas is my favorite place in the world and its unacceptable I have spent so little time there. After my outside deck & cabin-house work is done (In the upcoming weeks) I don’t need to be so attached to the hardware store. I have plenty of supplies onboard to keep me busy.
I sold my dive compressor the other day so I can put some diesel in the tanks, and its nice not to be tripping over it. I sold it pretty cheap but to a friend I sailed across the Pacific with. Speaking of friends and the Pacific, many of my good friends here seem to be crossing next season. Three years in Indonesia sounds like a blast !!??
Anyway, going to get some projects done before dinner.
Happy holidays.
Cheers
“My goal is to generate a humble income from my words”. It’s spelled minimalist, not minamilist. You better can some more cheap meat.
“My goal is to generate a humble income from my words”. It’s spelled minimalist, not minamilist. You better can some more cheap meat.
Doug, wrighting and spelling don’t have much to do with each other. Many writhers throughout history have been bad with spelling & grammar, I’m not a technical wrighter. That being said I am a bad speller however I do know how to spell minimalist :) , writhing is about content, not spelling, but if you feel some innate need to point it out go for it, there is almost 10 years of blogs for you to go through. I’m typing on an iPhone with bad eyesight and a automatic spell checker that drives me mad. And by the way I dont buy cheap meat.
I hope you re new year is a happy one.
Maybe I need to find an editor?
Sorry Alex I didn’t mean for it to come across as it did. I follow your blog, as I’m sure many of us do, because you have the guts to do what we only dream of. Giving up the security of working for the “Man” to follow a dream is can’t be easy. Your spelling and/or grammar in your posts does not matter to the reader. If however I am a prospective charter client my #1 concern is safety. If I see an ad and the captain can’t even spell “experience” and “minimalist” correctly I’m going to definitely have second thoughts about signing up. I’m not looking to put any pressure on you but your success is important to many of your readers and we are cheering for you. If you can do this then maybe we can to.
Doug,
No worries, what does being a captain and spelling have to do with each other? Also experience appeared twice I’n the flyer, only once was it misspelled (typo), perhaps I’m too comfortable with my readers as I don’t really care so much about my spelling? If you would like I could look for a licensed captain that has a predisposition for spelling & grammar? However I don’t understand the correlation with safety?
Don’t stress it,’it’s hard to rattle my cage.
Cheers M8
Doug,
Funnily enough. Unplugging and giving up the “‘security” is the easy part for me, plugging I’n and giving up my freedom is the hard part. Perhaps I’m a bit simple minded, and don’t think much of the future, but living this way is really easy.
Have a gr8 new year.
I’m not looking to rattle any ones cage here. You should feel comfortable with your readers. Writing style, grammar, and even accidental typos all give your stories character. We both agree that spelling has nothing to do with being a good captain but image has everything to do with getting customers aboard. Given your meager monetary requirements could you get by with nailing your old underwear to the notice board in a youth hostel with “Splendid” etched with dirty bilge oil along the waste band? Probably, along with word of mouth, that would be enough. I’m just saying it’s better to be in a position where you turn down charters than wish you had them. Maybe that’s your subconscious fear. Hmmm. How’s this for a little psychology. The last thing you want is to be too successful at this charter thing. Scraping by is fun, exciting and most of all gives you absolute freedom. Now you have a charter, great, buy some spare parts for my motorbike. Hey someone just emailed, are you free next week? I guess I could be if it means getting a new storm sail how can I say no? Hold it there’s two more emails. Now I’m booked up for the rest of the month, maybe I should get an office and a secretary to handle those missed clients because I was too busy to answer their inquiries. Ok now I’m messing with your head Alex but you have to forgive me. I just finished working 8 days straight with 3 of them 12 hour shifts.
gr8 2012 to you to Alex. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for you and Splendid
Doug,
It is true , I don’t want so much business. I really believe I’n my ” ask for what you need, and not how much you can get” philosophy. Id rather spend my time thinking, writing, cruising then making money. It amazes me how little I need compared to the Alex Dorsey of 15 years ago. I live on much less then I used to spend on my bar bill a year :) less is more and even tho I can’t speal dood I think I’m a good captain :) I do lime the idea of pinning up my undies tho, I bet you I’d attract more business than you would think ?