Happy 2016, moving to Eleanor!

Moving day on a boat is a funny thing. One doesn’t necessarily change their geographic location, just the structure around them. Carla and I are really looking forward to moving onto Eleanor. It’s a home we will have together from the beginning, and a new flow of energy in 2016, so excited!

The work in the yard was grueling, hot, and utterly exhausting, Carla and I are thoroughly knackered but Splendid needed some well deserved Love. I was hoping to take a few weeks off to rest but my visa is up and I’m flying to Florida between the 5th, and 12th of January. I’ll go put my hands on Eleanor for a day or two and dream of sailing her south in a few months.

I’m planning on sailing Eleanor down to Panama in March. I want to give the Caribbean some time to cool off her Christmas winds and begin a spring weather pattern. I’m hoping to catch a late cold front and ride it as far east as possible. Getting to the windward passage is usually a motorboat ride and it would be nice to save the fuel. Saving the fuel also is saving time as finding fuel comes with so many other delays like, changing oil, belts, motor problems and getting stuck at some Caribbean bar drinking beers and looking at your boat at anchor for weeks on end. All good times but I’m going to treat this trip like a delivery and make good time. Best to treat the motor like the auxiliary form of propulsion that it is.

I’ve finished the first draft on my script “The Minimalist Sailor” and hoping to complete the film in late 2016. It’s a fairly large and ambitious project and pulling it off will take some effort but I really like the way it’s taking shape. Carla is pulling some amazing musicians together for the score. I need 6 weeks or so to polish the script and to figure out how I’m going to pull it off technically. I’ve been looking at cameras hard, technology changes so quickly. I’m looking to shoot on a Canon C300 with external Atmos recorder (10 bit 1080p) I’m upgrading my editing system and building my computer (Thor) into a pelican case so I can easily throw it into the dinghy and take it with me where ever I go. It’s going to be like a large laptop as I’m building a 17″ MacBook display into the inside cover. I won’t use it as my primary screen but if I need a stable power source for rendering I can bring it to a friends house and let it work for hours or days on end. The Minimalist Sailor is a feature-film project and won’t be anything like my last two PBS films. I’m excited to get back to fictional story telling :)

My father is nestling into the Caribbean lifestyle well. His cardiologist took him off of his blood thinners as he has no stress these days (no Fox News) and is on a very healthy diet of whole foods and peace. He spends most of the day in his hammock overlooking the Caribbean reading his kindle or watching the birds and monkeys in the trees. In the morning he usually goes for a snorkel or kayak. He will be celebrating his 84th birthday in a few weeks, not such a bad life at that age :)

I haven’t been writing many blogs as I just haven’t had the time. If I haven’t been working on the script, I’ve been working on Splendid or getting my father set up in his new lifestyle. I’ve been so busy sometimes I just want to pull the plug on it all and go fishing. Plenty of time for that on Eleanor after Splendid is sold and my film is in the can.

Hope everyone’s holidays are going well and plans for the new year include pulling the plug and living simply on the sea.

Peace, Love, and Coconuts.

Sail Far and Live Slowly.

-alex