La vids es aci (Life is so).
My creative plate cant be any fuller. I’m working on the new TMS (The minimalist sailor) film, book, website, and the new face of Project BlueSphere. The plan is to spin Project BlueSphere into a venue that will unite sailors around the world through a multi-lingual social networking platform. I also want to offer low-bandwidth technology (compressed email & weather) for cruising sailors and provide an inspirational space (Words, Pictures, and video) for them to share their adventures and lives upon.
I’m going to focus my efforts on educating sailors and potential cruisers on the benefits of voyaging and living on less through the new (not yet launched) TMS website. My team and I refer to The Minimalist Sailor as “TMS”, and Project BlueSphere as “PBS”.
I really feel that I stumbled through a hidden doorway of the matrix back in 2003 and have been living a privileged lifestyle for the past decade. I’m seeing a definite trend of younger 
cruisers with little financial means and I love it. I want to support it, nurture it, and make it a real possibility for interested people.
The hardest part of “unplugging” is the psychological one. Leaving everything you have been told to be true your entire life behind and living simple, healthy, and happily in the world, despite western thinking and the boarders it has created. No more running on a hamster wheel, no more social or religious guilt, and no more boarders. I believe in a better, free, and less-complicated world. I know its not for everybody, but it is for the ones who dare believe in it.
Living as I do is not easy. It requires dedication and hard work. Yes, there is plenty of time spearfishing and strolling down beautiful beaches, but it also involves being in a hot engine room in 15’ seas, nauseous, burnt, and exhausted. It also means giving up luxuries like climate control, a car, cable television, hot showers, an over-stuffed couch and so on. Is it worth it? Well that’s for you guys to decide. One thing I hate about sailing magazines is the editors don’t approve the real stories because they are in the business of selling the dream and the expensive boats and gear associated with it. Would I trade the itch & burn of fiberglass on my skin for a 9-5 job, not on your life. I’ve just finished a complicated 3 day fiberglass project and I’m going to reward myself with some spearfishing and beach-strolling time with my girlfriend. I like being in control of my own time.
If I don’t stir up any charters in the next week or so I may head back to Linton for the holidays. I’m really in need of some decent bandwidth to make my digital universe and plans a reality.
If you need to burn a few minutes on a new idea check out what Jacque Fresco is doing at http://www.thevenusproject.com/ .
“The Venus Project offers a comprehensive plan for social reclamation
in which human beings, technology and nature will be able to
coexist in a long term, sustainable state of dynamic equilibrium”
I dig it!
Cheers.
– alex
By the way I know many people have had problems logging in and commenting in the past month or so. Our data base is reaching its limitations and we are in the process of launching a new site that will keep up with the growing demands of PBS.
Cheers
from jason near Kent State. Hey Alex. What happened to the motorcycle. I don’t remember you talking about it for awhile?
My bike is back in Linton. I’m trying to decide if I keep it once we leave Panama. It’s a yamaha DT 175. I really love it. It’s bulletproof, simple, and carries Carla and I well. We use it to go shopping so we can avoid the chicken bus :) I could easily break it down and transport it on Splendid.
Keep the bike. Why not a charter to or from Cartagena? From would probably be better. The most beautiful city in Latin America and the San Blas sandwiched around 4 days of open ocean sailing. Seems to me like a dream vacation for a sailor.
Gary,
I do like the idea of keeping the bike for sure.
Been doing some glass work on the rowing dinghy, I do love that little boat.
We may head back in a week or two. Ive had a bad time with electronics over the past month. My MacBook, iPod, and now my battery charger have gone to wherever they go when they die. Carla wants to buy some sunbrella for a few sewing projects. The sacrificial suncover on the roller jib is in bad shape and Im going to go with an ATN genoa sleeve.
atninc.com/atn-genoa-sleeve-sailing-equipment.shtml
The weight of the sunbrella on the jib just isint for me. It really bites in light air sailing and colapses the sail.this way I can have a number of head sails without the disadvantage of the sunbrella on them and just have one cover.
Peace
The problem with your electronics may be more complex than they appear at first glance. You may correctly assume that salt air can wreak havoc on micro-circuitry, however that may not be the issue. As far as I’m aware, iPods have hermetically sealing cases – or are at least moderately insulated against air flow. While I may imagine a charger or a laptop, (which have fans and air recirculation through sensitive components,) succumbing to atmosphere induced degradation, it is unlikely that your iPod would. You may want to take a look at other factors. What’s the quality of the AC you’re feeding your electronics? I’m assuming that you’re forced to do a DC to AC to DC conversion to get juice into most of your plug-in electronics. Somewhere along this chain you may be introducing current with a choppy sine wave in it. Anyway, I’m not sure you have the testing equipment you’d need to correct this, but it might help just to be aware of the problem.
Also, I think you should keep the motorcycle. If you ever end up in Africa, it would be a helluva memory to remember zooming along the Ivory Coast on your little 2 banger…
Yodamouse,
I have a gremlin or two living in my electric system but my inverter is pure sinewave. My iPod was 6 years old so I’m guessing it was just time. The iMac was the same vintage and a hand me down from a friend. My backup (non sine wave) inverter was my charger and probay 15-20 years old. I think things just happen in 3’s :( I need a starting battery too so I have to pull a few things togeter. As I said in the blog, cruising isint easy but well worth it in my opinion.
Peace