Project BlueSphere

Well the artwork isn’t done but I spent a few hours putting together a flyer for “Splendid sailing”. I will put it up at various youth hostels and hotels. Every referral gets $25.00 a head, I’m sure I’ll do fine. I’m not so happy with the shape colors yet but you get the general idea. […]

RASSENFRAGIN ^$*$)(W(*&$(*^%*&)E)(*&$&W$$!OPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Sorry I have to vent a bit! Well guys, here it is. The IRS is seizing my assets and I’m a very bad man! I came to Panama city to get my health stuff done and now I’m sitting in a $15.00/night hostel (not bad/cute girls) with $4.19 in my pocket (not […]

As many of you know I used to write for Latitudes & Attitudes, and will most likely do so again. One of the best pieces of cruising advice they give is “Attitude”, that’s what cruising its all about, and its true! Change Latitudes, change Attitudes! I meet so many cruisers who just don’t adapt to […]

Well its been an interesting week. I had a great crew and made some new friends. We spent our first day of our 5 day charter in the western Lemons. There is a small bar/internet hut, good snorkeling, and beautiful surroundings. Then we went to Chichime, boy was it blowing! When we got to Chichime […]

Here is Splendid as she sits off of the island of PorVaneer in the San Blas. I almost didn’t make my charter. I ran around like a madman all day yesterday and when I got home I pulled the Yamaha 9.9 and put it in the cockpit and put the dink on deck. I got […]

Wow, what a day. Up at 5am and off to the dentist. I’ll add prices as so many people seem to be interested about health care costs in South America. I told my dentist I was concerned the root canal was bad and my bone infection was spreading to my brain as my ears were […]

I wish I could paint a picture of tonight. A beautiful sailboat anchored under a million stars. The sound of the jungle and a good solid wind blowing from the east. The smell of fire, sea, and earth fills the air and my ipod is playing in the background. As usual I’m being introspective while […]

Well I’ve been trying to figure out why my engine has been hunting (for an RPM) lately and I found the reason. I over tightened the lid to my racor filter and cracked it at some point, the fuel system is sucking small bits of air. I ordered a new lid ($24.00) and slathered silicone […]

All good things come to those who wait. I have a small charter the 10th threw the 14th ($150/day), and another March 30 threw April 4th. My job on the ship looks like its a go as the drug test can take place on the ship. When I get back from the job in the […]

  Where else can you find such tasteful artwork? Panama is planning on taking over the busing business and take it away from the independent business man, that really breaks my heart, and will rob some very important culture from this amazing country. An old American school bus is a families livelihood and they take […]

I know I had decided to continue my journey without an H2O maker but opportunity presented itself and my good friend Roger traded me an old Sea Recovery system for a few days work when he hauls his new boat in March. It’s a 110 system and all I need to get it going is […]

When you live as close to nature and the weather as I do you can understand why people of the past worshiped the sun. After so much rain the sun seems like a kiss from the Gods! The days seem so much brighter (literally) and my luck has seemed to take a turn for the […]

Well, you’ve heard me talk about a Tayana 37 more than once. Here is Primo. She is anchored in Linton and has been for a few years. I spoke with the owner because I just hate to see such a fine boat go un-loved. I spoke with him on the phone and he has done […]

My friend Alex is Flying to Rio (Brazil) on Tuesday. After that I’m going to wrap up a few things and decompress in the San Blas for a while. I want to pull the plug on everything for a few months. The root canal and visit from Alex cleaned me out financially and when I’m […]

  Do I look like Frankenstein or what? So many cruisers are afraid of foreign medical care and I want to share my experience this morning. Well I had a bit of an emergency on Saturday. My tooth which started to feel better took a turn for the worst and abscessed. It felt like I […]

Happy New Year everyone! With every passing year I aspire to learn a little more of this beautiful blue Sphere I sail upon. The last year was one of great personal contrast. I’ve had some really amazing experiences in 2010 and I also lost things so very precious to me. My favorite time in 2010 […]

The locals are dumb founded. The weather just wont quit this year! My friend Alex arrived in PC this morning and I’m stuck on the boat for the next 36 hours. I really wanted to be at the airport to meet her but unless I surfed onto the beach it just isn’t happening. I had […]

Well its that time of year again, and a good time to make a New Years resolution. Every day is a good day to make a resolution but many seem to like change with a new calendar year. Want to go cruising? Make definite plans, put some money away every month for your boat. I […]

Well, it seems the rainy season has turned! Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day. I got all of the sopping wet, moldy, smelly things off of Splendid and went to the French marina to do laundry. A great weight has been lifted now that I can dry out a bit :) It still rains but […]

I just got internet back this morning, the phone has been spotty but I managed a few calls and emails on the iphone yesterday. It’s still raining but “they” are saying after Wednesday the season should turn and the bulk of the rain should be behind us. I haven shot a fish in weeks as […]

I’m stuck on the boat so I’ll write a long blog. There has been bad flooding in Colombia and many have people died from this low-pressure system before it arrived in Panama. I don’t know what’s been going on in Panama because the phones and internet have been out for over 48 hours now, but […]

It pays to be in the right place at the right time. It just witnessed this Cal 46 (Perkins, water maker, genset, blah blah blah, GEORGIOUS BOAT) sell for 20k. Not many people get a better deal than I did on Splendid, but this was one of them, what a great cruising boat. It needs […]

My GOD has it been raining. The wet season is supposed to be over by the end of January but it did get a late start this year, and the Gods are determined to drench the hell out of me and my soggy boat! It is good weather for staying in and working though. I […]

I was about 1000 miles out of the Galapagos when I took this picture. I remember this sunset so vividly because I was so very far away from anything. Just myself, Namaste, and the greatest ocean in the world. I got bad news from my friend Jamie today. He lost a friend (Rex) at sea […]

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I’ve been invited to a friends house for turkey and drinks. I’ll get some video of the “babies” . She has three sloths as pets, they are very cool animals. I’m really excited about making a few bucks with the videos. I am going to take your suggestions and play with the […]

MOOWHOHAHAHA. This is the first time I’ve asked for money for anything but my films (feature length) and it is working. I’ve made $21.00 in two days. It may not seem like much to you but it makes me quite happy. If I can make $50.00 a week I almost double my income. I am […]

It never does end does it? I’m excited about having an autopilot again but I’m itching like crazy. I had to cut, grind, and re-shape the little bulk head I made for the linear drive to mount to. You can see the drive running horizontally at the top of the picture under my drill. I […]

Autonomy at sea, a guide to living free while sailing the world. The cover is rudimentary, but i like to post pictures with my words. Writing my book is turning out to be quite an experience, I’ve deleted every word that I’ve written over the previous 6 years as well as the old title “SALT” […]

Sunshine on my shoulder makes me happy :) This picture was taken this morning. A rumor going around that the trades may fill in early this year. The last two days have been magnificent. I took a dinghy ride through the mangroves yesterday to the French marina (Panamarina)  to do laundry. They also have a […]

  I battling with a few titles to my book, but the one that seems to be in the lead is “Autonomy at Sea, a guide to living free and sailing the worlds oceans” I’m hoping to have it available for download just after the new year. I live a very free life and I […]

Living close to nature is a really wonderful thing. The howler monkeys were celebrating the passing of the weather this morning. They make a horrific shriek, and there were hundreds of them going about it as the sun was coming up. Their howls are usually annoying, but I could relate to them this morning. I […]

I know it doesn’t look it from the picture but there is a nice swell coming from the NW. This swell will hold me prisoner on Splendid for the next 3-4 days. I just cant get to shore unless I want to land in a tumbling mess. Splendid is comfortable with a slight roll. We […]

The sky this morning…, kind of spooky eah? There are no hurricanes in Panama but they do come close, not too close though :) I’m sure I’ll be feeling the effects of Thomas in the next few days. If the swell comes from the WNW getting to shore is impossible and I’ll be stuck on […]

This is how I feel at 7am waiting for the first bus to Panama City. I set an alarm for 5:30 so I have time to drink a pot of tea and make breakfast.  I don’t like to rush anywhere and need a good hour of peace in order to face the bus and madness […]

Man I feel stupid today. I’ve been stressing about buying a $70.00 3G (SIM) modem since I got to Panama 4 months ago. I’ve been using the internet at my friends house in town but it’s not always running and she is not always home. It’s a pain to hike up there every time I […]

Man a little sunshine goes a long way! I found a little camera in Guin’s things, I don’t think she would mind me taking a few photos with it. Today is a computer day. I’m working on getting a news letter out and figuring out some new upgrades on the website. I’m hoping to take […]

I hate, I hate, I hate working with fiberglass! I’ve been diving into some leak projects. Some of my port lights are leaky. I’ve changed the gaskets which fixed most of the leaks but a few are coming from the outside seal. When I glassed up the cabin house I glassed around the port light […]

Jim Morrison said it best. “People are strange, when your a stranger, faces look ugly, when your alone” Venus is in retrograde around here and there is some weird energy floating around. A boat in the anchorage was robbed at gunpoint two nights ago. It was an “expensive” looking cabin cruiser and It’s kind of […]

What is it with all the bats? In Venezuela cruisers have experienced large vampire bats entering their boat at night, climbing into their bunks, and suckling. That doesn’t sound like fun! We have vampire bats here too. The fruit bats are swarming around like gang busters. I like them around because the also eat mosquitoes, […]

  I’ve been thinking a lot about my next film. I still have some footage from the South Pacific, however a few of the tapes were broken by my camera and i need to figure out how to fix them. I’m going to takes some of those clips and post them on the internet as […]

The sun is the center of it all. The energy that gives everything life, the birthplace of spirituality, and is shared and loved by every living thing on this earth. It’s been over a week since I’ve seen the sun, felt it touch my face, or warm Splendid’s decks. The wind is gently blowing from […]

Wow has it been raining, the wet season is in full swing. There is a low-pressure system hanging around that just wont give! The rain has been coming down in sheets for the majority of the past three days. I also caught the flu about three days ago and I’m just getting over it. I […]

“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to loose” (Janis Joplin, “me and Bobby Mcgee”). Can you believe this was me? I was about twenty six shooting my student film “Quiet Winter”. I remember that day, all I wanted to do was make films, what happened? I haven’t been watching any movies lately. I used […]

Project BlueSphere has been such an amazing experience for me. I had no idea when I started it that it would have ever grown into the positive influence in my life that it has. I’ve been up, down, and all around. I believe I’ve been honest and not producing a “look at me I’m sailing” […]

I had a good day hunting yesterday. I found a portion of the reef that is filled with caves and large fish. I came across the largest puffer I have ever seen, must have been twelve pounds. They are such funny fish. They have big sad eyes and remind me of a golden retriever without […]

I’m sorry for not posting lately, but this last month has been exceptionally arduous. This is the first time I haven’t wanted to share my feelings, but I suppose I must say something. I don’t think Samantha and Guinevere will return home. No matter how hard I wish it I’m not Guinevere’s father and he […]

My spear-fishing has been successful and I’ve been eating fresh fish every day. I’m trying to transform my thoughts and heart to Splendid and doing what I came to Panama to do, getting her ready for a life of world voyaging. I’ve ventured farther and deeper into the reef and it has rewarded me with […]

I have something to say sooner than I had expected. I believe there is a point in my ramblings, at least one that I am looking for. I’m still in Isla Linton contemplating the last years of my life. I’ve done my fair share of drinking and feeling sorry for myself but I believe it […]

I’m sorry for not posting lately, but this last month has been exceptionally arduous. This is the first time I haven’t wanted to share my feelings, but I suppose I must say something. I don’t think Samantha and Guinevere will return home. No matter how hard I wish it I’m not Guinevere’s father and he […]

Man have I been busy! I’ve been a electrician, mechanic, plumbing,  mammajamma! These days with the girls gone have been difficult. I’ve been quite introverted, not saying much to anyone, and uber-focused on my work. My goal is to get the little Kubota charging twelve volt and running the fridge. I don’t know if I’ll […]

Boy have I got myself into a mess, I have all the wires in the engine room torn apart and I’m rewireing the whole can of worms. The little kubota is installed in the lazerette and running well. I still need to hook up the fuel lines as it is running off of a gravity […]

All I can say is ‘thank God’ for the iPhone, oh yeah and all the good people at apple. I traded a mizzen for a defunct 2g (thanks chuck), and my buddy had it fixed for me (thanks David). How did I ever live without one Sam and Guin are gone and I’m able to […]

Well I’m getting into my small diesel (4.5HP) Kubota refrigeration/Alternator/watermaker project. I have the engine sorted out and rebuilt. It starts right up and should provide many years of dependable service. My project is taking up the entire cockpit and it is quite a mess. I was going to install it back in the main […]

Well Sam and I are going to take off for Isla Linton tomorrow. We found her a cheap flight on Spirit ($100.00)heading back to the states in a few weeks. I’m going to stage out of Isla Linton or Portobello for the time she is gone and work on my fuel tanks (cleaning), and my […]

Today was the day to mow the lawn, or in my case, clean the bottom. I have an awesome hookah (sea breath) system with 50’ of hose. It makes the process so much easier. It took me a few hours but we have a clean bottom. Buddy and Gina went back to Florida yesterday. They […]

What a great week it is turning out to be. Buddy and Gina made it here from the states fore a week and are having a blast. I picked them up in Carti after they had an adventurous Jeep ride through the mountains from Panama city. After visiting a small store we took off for […]

Sam and I left Isla Linton on Tuesday. We were having trouble finding a water source and rain wasn’t frequent enough to fill Splendid’s tanks. Someone told us of a marina under construction (Green Turtle bay) and that we could stay there for free and get water. ‘Free’, I’ve never herd of a free marina? […]

It was really nice to shop in Panama city. We’re back after nearly 6 hours of bus rides and carrying lots of bags. The last bus was awful as we were packed in like sardines, standing, and sweating, ARRRRGGGG! Yesterday was a bus day again as we went to Colon for food shopping (3 hours […]

Sam and I have been a bit under the weather for the past week. We have had a low grade something and motivation to do anything but watch movies and lay in bed has taken over. We are on the up-side of it and are planning to go to Panama city on Monday. We have […]

Well its been a few weeks since we have been in Panama and boy is it nice. Fish & lobster has become the main staple of our diet. We left for Isla Linton in Panama (About 40 miles out of the San Blas) a few days ago, and I caught a nice tuna on the […]

Its hard for me to explain my feelings with words this day, but I’ll try. If a man could love a place, the San Blas are it for me. The sun is a friend, the rain sweet, and the sky bluer then anywhere on earth. All things here make up my “Shangri-la”. When my time […]

Plans on a sailboat seem to change with the wind. We are staying in Cartagena a few more days. Guin is flying back to the states with her dad for the summer. He is arriving here on Sunday. Guin is excited, and sharing her love is part of having a child that isn’t biologically yours. […]

My dreams are growing near as we prepare to sail for the San Blas islands of Panama. Ever since I made the decision to sell Namaste in Tahiti I have been longing to return to the tranquil islands, and people of these magical islands. Once Sam and Guin entered my life my dreams became more […]

Will it work, or will we have to hand-steer the next 250 miles? I’ve been working on the “tiller pilot –  windvane” project for a few days. I’ll eventually have something fabricated out of stainless and make it pretty, but for now a 2×4, some paint, u-bolts, and a piece of plastic will have to […]

I decided to take a day off of working on the boat to show the girls the old city yesterday. We took a taxi to the old “walled” city of Cartagena. Sam and Guin are amazed at how wonderful Cartagena is, and I had forgotten how much I love this city. We walked the old […]

Wow, where do I start…? ‘I guess at the beginning’. We left Port Antonio Jamaica at about 3:30 am last Tuesday morning. We ghosted out of the harbor in complete darkness. No moon was to be found and I was relying on my chart plotter and Garmin charts. I knew they were accurate as I […]

Well…, we are off in the morning or later today. Humpty dumpty is all back together, our spirits are high, and we have visions of the San Blas islands dancing through our heads. The weather along our route is good until about Friday/Saturday. The last few days may be light wind and squallie. We may […]

It’s nice to be sipping fresh Blue Mountain coffee:) Well I’m making way on the transmission project. It was certainly the oil cooler. It was mixing sea water with the gear box’s oil. At this point I’ve got another oil cooler installed after a lot of running around, finding parts, and sweating in the Jamaican […]

Believe it or not my prop is under this knot of net. I got in the water today with a sharp razor knife and started hacking away at the mess. I did manage to give myself a good cut in the process. I was hoping to cut the net away and sail off in a […]

Well…, we are here in Port Antinio Jamaica, and it is GLORIOUS!! The Bad news is that I unknowingly got a fishing net caught in the prop and fried our transmission. I dont know what we are going to do. We have stamped in for 3 months with a possible 6 months. I dont have […]

Well…, we are here in Port Antinio Jamaica, and it is GLORIOUS!! The Bad news is that I unknowingly got a fishing net caught in the prop and fried our transmission. I dont know what we are going to do. We have stamped in for 3 months with a possible 6 months. I dont have […]

Well this is it. We checked out of the Bahamas today. We are off for Jamaica in the morning and the Caribbean sea :) All I can say is we have had a blast. We’ve maid friends, swam, sailed, loved, and laughed. What more could you ask for? We went into Matthew town this morning […]

Well we left Clarence town (Long Island) on Thursday. We had a stiff 20 knots of wind from the East and made it to Acklins island at about 21:00. It was beautiful sailing in under a nearly full moon. Guin and I spent most of Friday fishing off the stern using a barracuda I caught […]

What a glorious time we’ve had. Conception island was magnificent, secluded, and peaceful. We had the island to ourselves for the first day, then another few boats showed up…, we never met them. We snorkeled every day and Guin got to snorkel with a baby sea turtle, it really made her day. She is really […]

Well its time for us to continue our journey South. We will be away from internet for a while but our spot will be on, be sure to check out our position as we travel. We will be leaving today for Clarence town which is about 75 miles away. The wind is light and progress […]

You guys want to see something cool? Check out Aquagen’s diesel watermaker, Refrigeration compressor, alternator, emergency  150 gal/min bilge pump and more setup! This thing is awesome!!! If I had the money I would most certainly buy this. I’m not interested in having a generator onboard. I don’t like 110 on a boat. The little […]

Wow, what a cool new feature. Producing DVD’s is an expensive way to deliver content to an audience, not to mention slow with the added expense of shipping and handling. Now you can download the BlueSphere films to your computer or iphone for only $9.95 each! I love the internet! We also still have 20 […]

As allays I air on the side of safety. Not that sailing in 30 knots is dangerous but not as comfortable as I like, yup, I’m a whimp :) We are waiting another week before sailing South. Hopefully the wind will cool off a bit. My ear infection is still bugging me and I haven’t […]

This is a test sent from the orbcomm satellite network.

What a great Easter. Sam and her friend Britta organized a pot-luck / Easter egg hunt. The kids were in a group running around the island  like a pack of dogs. They ran the stretch of the beach a hundred times, jumped off the docks, played in the sand, it was really a beautiful thing. […]

Happy Easter everyone. We are having Easter on the beach with friends today. Everyone is bringing a dish and we are hiding eggs for a hunt. All the kids are coming. We are looking at departing later on in the week after the east wind dies and making way for rum key. Ive been dreaming […]

  I really don’t know how to explain how wonderful our days are. We are making so many new friends. Guin is going to the beach with Taylor, Jackson, Owen, Avery, Kayley, Alina, and Madison today. George town has really turned out to be “kidtastic”. In this picture Guin and Owen are swimming on the […]

If you go to “BlueSphere TV” under the members tab you’ll see “Log 12” on the right side under recent videos. It’s a bit over 13 minutes long. Sam’s mom is here and having a blast. We are doing the usual swimming, snorkeling, cooking, laughing and so on. Today was racking day and we bottled […]

Three days of hard work and I’ve painted the bow and did the non-skid. If I only had more paint I could finish the boat, ARRRGGG! I’m using mothane and love it, it’s a really good paint and under $100 a gallon. I’ll have to have some shipped to Panama so I can finish the […]

I must say, I really like Georgetown. Georgetown itself isn’t much but Stocking island is great. It seems that the harsh cold fronts may be gone for the season and some moderate cold front are blowing through. The cold fronts provide good opportunity to sail south and east as they provide South, west, and North […]

Wow, it’s hard for me to put the last month into words. I’ve felt so disconnected from cruising over the past few years but I feel at home and free once again. The days are slowly drifting by to the sound of laughter, wind, and the taste of salt on our lips. We gaze at […]

Wow, no internet connection for a while. We are in Little Farmers kay just 40 miles north of George Town. I’ll post a big blog and pictures, wow, so many great pictures when we get to Georgetown in a few days. Guin is an Expert snorkeler and today is her birthday, she’s 5, I cant […]

This is what my sunrise looked like this morning. Believe it or not I managed to find just enough of a WIFI signal to squeak out a log this morning. The Ubiquity Bullet was a really good choice for me and I’m quite happy with it. We found friends from Nassau at Norman’s and spent […]

Well…, we have been in Nassau for a week or so now and it is time to move on. The Exumas are a spot I missed for the most part on my last trip through the Bahamas. Many say they are the most beautiful cruising grounds around, we’ll see. I will be able to start […]

I woke up this morning with quite the smile. Splendid is happily anchored off of the Green Parrot bar & grill (free WIFI) in paradise, and my family is centered and happy. What else could a man ask for? I have to talk about Guin a bit today. She really is such an amazing and […]

Wow, what a night! The wind started blowing a gale around 11pm. I don’t worry so much about dragging because of our 85lb Supreme. A boat next to us was getting quite close and I was worried about hitting. I got in the dink and drove over to him. Looking at our GPS I noticed […]

Sam, Guin, and I had a great day walking around Nassau yesterday. We had some ice cream, a few beers (not Guin), and walked till we couldn’t walk any more. Nassau is not the peaceful island retreat that we have been searching for but will do for the moment. We will be off to the […]

A new day. This is what our approach to the Bahamas looked like Sunday morning from Splendid’s cockpit. Our first night was peaceful however the wind decided to blow once again. We have been greeted with wind and rain. The wind is blowing hard 30+ from the South and I am very thankful to have […]

Woot, we’re here. We left Dinner key at about 1am and arrived at Cat key arount 3:30. The wind was on the nose and the waves would knock our speed down to just a few knots at times however the ride across the gulf stream was not so bad. I’ve done bad in the gulf […]

Well, Sunday looks like the day to cross the gulf stream and to the Bahamas. The winds will be light from the east, shifting to the south Monday, and north on Tuesday. Today I’m going to top off the fuel and water and head over to no-name harbor on Key Byscane. Guin’s Dad is comming […]

In one more day Splendid will be perched in “no-name” harbor waiting for a weather window to cross ovewr to the Bahamas. It dosent look like we will see a good window until early next week, maybe the weekend. We cant have any wind with a northern component We had a nice day with friends […]

Wow…, have we been busy the last week. Splendid is provisioned. I have extra belts, hoses, oil, and filters. The cruising kitty is pretty slim but we have enough food to last us 5-6 months. We are off to Lauderdale / Miami this morning. By mid week we will be looking for a window to […]

The last step before taking a long trip is provisioning. Sam found a great discount grocery here in Stuart and we have fully taken advantage of it. I’m not 2 proud to say we shop at Good will (it’s awesome) and discount food stores. We are working hard on doing what what I wanted to […]

I know, it’s funny…, why should I be stressed right? I always get stressed before a trip. I was a stress monster leaving Panama to cross the Pacific, and as well when I started my journey in 2003. Now I have a whole new boat and a family. It’s just part of it I guess, […]

One of the best parts of Project BlueSphere, from my perspective, is I get to converse with a large pool of sailors and I need some advice. Here is the question: I have no way of equalizing my batteries and I can tell that my 1 year old bank of Trojan T-105’s is not holding, […]