All is right as rain!
I’m sitting on Splendid, swimming in the sea, and listening to the monkeys in the trees from my hammock on the foredeck. Carla did really beautiful fiberglass, painting, fairing, and varnishing work in the aft cabin. If we can make the whole interior look like that Splendid will be one pretty penny!
My mother in law and family are coming to visit close to the end of the month and then my Father will visit for a few weeks, so cool! It’s awesome to have so much Love around!
I have to be honest, I haven’t been motivated to write lately as I had some negative comments regarding our lifestyle. I wrote a blog regarding it and have been on the fence about posting it, but here gores:
01/06/2015 Sitting on a plane.
I’m in Miami sitting on my plane waiting to return to Panama. Believe it or not I didn’t fight with TSA this time. I passed through a complacent American as all that was important to me was to get home peacefully and without incident. Why is it so hard to ask for a regular search so I don’t have to go through the scanner, I waited for over 15 minutes and caved as it was getting late.
These last 4 months have been amazing. Joyful, Loving, exciting, sad, stressful, crazy, and scary.
I’ve reconnected with family that are very important to me, weathered horrible storms, and spent far too much time away from my wife and home. As usual I’ve learned so much and feel I’ve grown substantially. I am however incredibly grateful to return to Splendid and the peace, tranquility, and timelessness of my life in Paradise.
I’ve had a few negative comments lately regarding “living in the matrix”, and accepting donations for my writing and efforts producing my films. I must say it really upset me this time, I found the tone of the comments offensive, not constructive, and haven’t been motivated to write since.
Having one toe in the matrix, and both feet and the rest of my body out does not make me a hypocrite . I’m a hypocrite because I’ve been flying on planes and eating in restaurants? Carla and I combined consume less than 5 gallons a month of fossil fuels when home, I have to explain myself to no one!!
I want to clarify something. I’m not anti-society. I’m not against the mom and pop shops, organic farmers, or people who strive to make life better for themselves and others, nor technology that moves us forward in a positive and clean way.
I do however miss the America I grew up in. I miss the excitement of NASA being the headline on the news, and I miss the freedom to travel within my country without being poked, prodded, and scanned. It just doesn’t feel like home any more. When I return to the United States I see, and feel all the changes all at once. Most of my readers live with the changes day to day and I don’t think they feel so dramatic?
The matrix is “control” and is the antithesis of freedom, it’s not society or humble living!
I’ve dealt with many negative people and comments over the years, and I’m always willing to hear them as I consider myself a student, not a teacher, and I’m more than willing to learn from others. I will admit I don’t like people pointing fingers at me that consume far more than I do and call me or my wife derogatory names. If you want to make comments here I do ask you employ some manners, respect if you can manage it, and to comment gracefully. If you want to pick fights with people stick to facebook. Project BlueSphere is my living room and is a venue where we discuss topics and not choose sides.
I suppose I got upset this time because one of the comments came from a friend that I believe had a difficult time trying to go cruising. I’ve never said what I do is easy, or is for everyone. Nor have I ever said or implied that my way is the only, or “best” way. It is simply my philosophy that I share with others because I believe it works. Voyaging is hard work and takes a dedicated sort of man. Please, please, please read the introduction and philosophy pages above.
My philosophy of minimalistic voyaging, is voyaging at, or below one’s level of means and skill.
The first thing that will ruin your voyaging experience is not being in control of a boat that is too large for you, or not being in control of the systems you have chosen to have on your boat. If you can’t maintain a generator, diesel engine, water maker, or refrigeration yourself, you must learn to live without these things until you take the time and learn how to repair and maintain them.
A big boat with lots of gear at a great price is in no way an opportunity for a voyaging platform. It is most likely a nightmare opportunity, and only an opportunity for the sort of captain that has the experience that can handle it.
If you’re inexperienced, a small simple boat is always the way to go. I also believe a boat that needs work is a positive as it will teach you about it, tell you what she needs, and aid in building your confidence before heading to sea.
Depending on others to help you along the way will get you in trouble as quality help is hard to find, expensive, and most often unavailable. It also limits your cruising experience to service-oriented destinations and you miss out on all the remote areas of the world most of us dream about.
Perhaps I’ve just been too sensitive. The last 4 months have been far too loud, I don’t know how I ever did it in my previous life. The traffic, all the shopping, all the rules, products, and fear. I’ve seen way too much television, and listened to far too many radio commercials. All the flashing electric billboards, people pushing signs in my face, handing me pamphlets, and solicitation calls on my cell-phone are beyond intrusive.
So many emotions have also boiled to the surface of my life reuniting with my father. I’m so grateful that I managed the strength to go knock on his door after 12 years of “writing each other off”. It is such a gift to have him back in my life.
He doesn’t know how to use the Internet nor understand what I do. It’s difficult to explain to someone who has never been on the Internet what a blogger is, or how I try to support my community.
Carla also pointed something out to me. My audience is changing now that I’m married. I’m no longer a single-handed sailor. I’m a happily married man living in paradise with a wife who believes in the same minimalistic path that I do. Together we strive to live as close to nature and with as little as we can. We don’t aspire to what most people want from a voyaging experience, so most likely, many people won’t get much from Project Bluesphere? I want to build a niche community, not a large one.
My plane just took off and is flying over the clouds, I can feel the stress dripping off of my skin
like salt-water after I get out of the sea. I feel much more comfortable living with financially “poor” people. The biggest thing I’ve noticed about being in the United States again is people spend so much money. Even the “poor” Americans I know that have jobs that pay close to minimum wage spend copious amounts of money for crap at Walmart, on packaged, fast, and processed food, fuel, cars, smart phones, Internet, cable, and cosmetic jewelry. What is that?
Why not consume less and afford piece of mind? When one thinks in terms of monthly payments, the truth is, you can’t afford it!
24 hours have passed from my previous paragraph after spending a night at a friends house in Panama City. I’m now writing on a bus to Sabanitas which is where I met my wife over three years ago. The people around me are poor, don’t smell like products, their clothes are
stained, nor have much. I feel a bit guilty writing on an iPad listening to music through $70 headphones. Perhaps I am a hypocrite in some ways as I’m guilty for having more than others? These are basic, practical tools for what I do, though: navigating, writing, movie making. I do believe my heart is in the right place. I’m going to put my iPad away now.
Traveling is my life. All I want is to photograph, film, and write about the world around me while I live simply in peace with my wife. I don’t want an expensive car, house, or comforts that are excessive in any way. I do try and manage a micro-income through my website. If you don’t like what I do here, please feel free to unsubscribe, it’s free, as is membership!
Sail Far and Live Slowly.
– alex