My first 3 boats were named “On Location” 1, 2, and 3. My voice mail always said “ Hi, I’m not in right now as I’m on location, please leave your name, phone number, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can”.
So I was either at work or out on the boat and didn’t want to be bothered. Pagers & cell phones were for work and if I was on the boat they were off!
Well here are a few photos from the “TMS” (The Minimalist Sailor) set. Not such a bad place to be working on the tiny one palm tree island. I was discussing the differences (pros & cons) between hard & soft dinghies.
Well it’s been holiday season onboard Splendid. Before we left Linton, I didn’t remember to get Carla a birthday present so I had to 
make one.
I decided to surprise her with a Tagua necklace. Tagua is a large seed that grows in the rain forest. People often refer to it as “vegetable, or poor man’s ivory” as it looks like ivory and is used for jewelry by various indigenous cultures. Truthfully I like it better, and think the ivory should stay with its rightful owner, the elephant. 
The necklace is a simple scene of a whale’s tale diving. I wear a whale’s tale necklace carved from whale bone that I picked up in Tonga a few years back. I had been thinking of making Tagua jewelry a few years back to supplement my income, and I’m thinking about it again after making this piece. I’m really happy with the way it turned out.
We have done a little celebrating & work, and made a mold for the brim. Before one starts a canvas project you should make a mold out of plastic so you know what you’re getting into and what the project will turn out like. Once finished its easy to cut up the plastic in order to get your pattern for the Sunbrella.
When I designed the dodger I had a zipper attached in the front so I could later build a “brim”, like the brim of a baseball cap. The brim will allow us to keep the front panel of the dodger open so we can keep airflow in the aft cabin during the rain. We bought some tan Sunbrella for the project a while back and Carla’s becoming a ninja with the sewing machine.
Well tomorrow I’m 47, I can’t believe it. In three years I’ll be half of 100 
Well I must say I’m happy to be where I am and doing what I’m doing. I tell myself the same thing every day “ I am such a lucky man”.
Carla’s visa is up on the 2nd of next month and has to leave the country and return. I’m thinking of possibly sailing down to Zapzurro Colombia or returning to Linton where Carla could catch a bus to Costa Rica and back. I really want to go to Zapzurro but there is no wind this time of year and it would be a motor-boat ride. Motor boat rides are fine but would end up costing about $300 in diesel. So we may be returning to Linton for a few weeks???? There is a time lapse shot I want to get there of the anchorage to show how various hull designs act in a squall (wind 
change/increase).
In this photo I’m trying to convey the correct way to drink a rum & coke. Bottle of rum + can of coke + paradise = Happy Birthday 
Peace & Love from The San Blas!
Sail far & live Slowly
alex