Project BlueSphere

I couldn’t have started this journey without my brother-in-law Nico. Thank you for all the help brother (not in-law). Nico returned home yesterday, however he left me with a solid plan. This past week I felt like Neo walking through the matrix for the first time being guided by Morphious. Thanks for taking my hand […]

   I’m Back in the USA for the first time in about 7 years. Believe it or not I’m still happy after having  strangers ruffle through my personal belongings, pat down my privates, and radiate me with scanners 3 times upon entry. New York is my home, I was born at doctors hospital (Manhattan) on […]

We bought a new boat, a 1975, WestSail 42 “Rocinante” (Don Quixote’s horse), WAHOOOOOO!!!!!!! I don’t often use the label “God” because it causes so much commotion amongst people. Even though I strongly disagree with organized religion, I am the most spiritual man I know. I refer to God as nature, and God has spoken […]

But only for the next couple days. I have a very narrow opportunity to get into a slightly bigger and heavier boat in the next few days. Carla and I have been dreaming of Greenland, Alaska, and Patagonia. The truth is I’ve been thinking of steel, and heavier boats and we have a crazy possibility […]

I’ve been spear-fishing for about 20 years, maybe a few more. I can hunt around 40′ deep and hold my breath for about a minute and a half, nothing special. I always manage some food (fish/lobster) unless I’m being lazy and just don’t want to clean smaller fish, the big fish lay deep. However put […]

I’ve never really written about health onboard because I’ve always been quite healthy for the most part. I did have a battle with malaria in Colombia a few years back but aside from the occasional flu, and dealing with my asthma in a moldy environment (rain forest humidity on a boat) life has been pretty […]

As most of you know, you won’t just read of beautiful beaches, palm trees, and sugar-plum fairies here at my blog. I like writing about real life, and real life voyaging abroad. Losing Robin Williams to suicide has really affected me, and given me strength to write about some things that are difficult for me […]

Arrrggg! I have a rat on board. At least I think it’s a rat, some kind of rodent for sure. It must have swam and climbed the anchor chain while I was gone. I’ve set two snap-traps, and a glue trap. It keeps taking the food without triggering the traps, and stole food from the […]

Sorry for the long delay in a blog update. I’m finally home after a 6-week stint trying to deliver a boat to Nicaragua and I have so much to talk about! The past 6 weeks have been tough as the boat I was to deliver had been severely neglected. The rudder post was broken as […]

It was a slow morning today. I woke up a few times in the night to thunder, lightening, and rain hammering Splendid’s decks. I love the squally weather, I always have. In the height of the worst squalls and lightening I stand on the foredeck and let the cold rain sting my bare skin, it […]

Carla went to the States this morning for a few days to see here niece’s first birthday party. She is bringing back a ton of bits for the boat, and hopefully a treat or two : ) We have a charter in a few weeks then we’re immediately off to Linton where I will leave […]

Carla and I are really enjoying the charter boat life. My old friend David and his wife Cindy came for a week visit and we picked up the wayward Charlie and his daughter Monica. We all had a wonderful time swimming, eating (lots of lobster), snorkeling, exploring islands, and and drinking wine ;) David is […]

I just love this photo I grabbed during the first rain of the season. I never thought I’d ever conjugate a sentence using the words “young-people”, but hell, I’ll be 49 in July. My last charter, Jared, is only 20 years old. He is really a great kid. All he really wants to do is […]

Carla’s sister (Juli), husband (Juano), 4 year old (Ramiro), 2 year old (Celeste), and 3 month old (Sol) left this morning. They live in the mountains of Patagonia and have never experienced something like San Blas. I must say, I think the 11-day holiday on Splendid was a success! I don’t know if you remember […]

Well I got my new Icom IC-M802 SSB radio and I must say I’m more than excited! I’m looking forward to simplifying my life of paying for wi-fi, mobile data, cell phones, pre-paid phone cards, 12v DC chargers, and AC (whatever country I’m in) chargers, stressing that there is no coverage in a given anchorage, […]

I’ve had such a big response to my “Minimalist marine electronics” series of blogs I feel I need to expand. I will be compiling all of the “Minimalist marine electronics” blogs into a video, and incorporating with another series of blogs and video I’m working on, “The marine SSB”. I’m forging the two together because […]

My ships clock was on the blink and needed attention. I met a great sailor who specializes in repairing ship’s clocks and wanted to share his information as he is just opening a shop. I have an old Chelsea and really miss hearing the ships bells. There is just something about a proper clock playing […]

Go minimal! I’ve been writing this blog for over a decade now, and many of you know I research, research, research before I buy or build anything. I travel the world with far less financial means (less than 8k a year) than 95% of the sailors I know. And when I do buy something for […]

It’s 4:30 and I’m wide awake. It’s normal for me to be up so early, as this is my day-dream time. My days have a definitive pattern. I wake up quite early. My day-dreams run wild like a broken tap in the early hours of the morning and are usually connected to my night-dreams. I […]

  TEAM SPLENDID: Bart, Danja, Thomas, and Sabine. Thanks for an AWSOME time! We had a beautiful week providing a 5 day kite-boarding charter which we landed through, and shared  with Nirvana charters. We had a lovely crew from Belgium, Switzerland, and Holland. Two couples on Splendid and six guys on Nirvana’s boat. Carla and […]

So Carla and I have returned to the San Blas after being away for 10 months. We have only been here a few days and the decompressing magic of the islands is saturating deep into my soul. The last 3 days have been filled with the silence of the Caribbean sea crashing against the reef […]

Carla and I have been working like dogs! A few weeks ago I opened the cockpit floor to install a generator and found that I really didn’t like how the cockpit floor was constructed. Somebody during the life of Splendid moved the binnacle forward 18 inches which was the right thing to do, but they […]

Well, we got an opportunity to do a 5 day, 2-couple charter in a few weeks. Which means we are off to the San Blas next week. Carla’s sister, husband, and 3 kids are also coming to visit us from Patagonia in March. I’m really excited about them coming as they have never experienced something […]

All I can say is WOW, I feel like I’m floating on happiness! Splendid’s refit is at the point of making her pretty. Carla and I have been discussing various painting configurations for hours on end and we FINALLY found the right way to paint, not to mention the right paint itself (Sikkens two-part polyurethane). […]

Once again I find myself facing a new year and my own reflections. This is the time of year I keep myself in check to make sure I don’t slip from my objectives and loose sight of my path. How was my 2013 I ask myself? Well, quite honestly it was F’n amazing. I spent […]

Carla and I have been burning the midnight oil, and from both ends. The Pacific is in our thoughts and dreams daily! Carla wants to go surfing. We accepted a small loan to get Splendid into real shape for chartering. Her hull looks like crap and it’s time to change that. I have some good […]

  Since I unplugged in 2003 I’ve learned so much of the world. The heavy fog of judgment & ego has slowly given way to peace & understanding. The deafening voice of the system has quieted over the years and I was finally able to find what I was looking for! The pursuit of Love […]

In 1962 Tony Bennett  sang “I left my heart in San Francisco” for the first time. Today…, if I was able, I would sing that I left a piece of my heart in a small cabin in the mountains of Patagonia. As most of you know I am somewhat of an anarchist. I believe I […]

I don’t know where to start. I LOVE Argentina, not to mention Carla tambien! The first thing Carla and I had to do as soon as we got to Buenos Aires is to go to a government office and apply for our wedding. As soon as pen touched paper we realized this thing is really […]

Well guys I’m on a plane for Argentina in a few hours and I’m having major separation anxiety (Splendid). I love to travel but I’m a home-body at the same time. Kind of like a wondering turtle with his house on his back. As you know the sea has been calling me hard for years, […]

This picture was taken by my friend Nick the day I left Mystic, CT. (2003) for the world. I refer to it as the “Day number one” picture. When I think back to who I was then, a decade ago, to who I am now, time stops as I could ponder the differences for an […]

So Carla and I are busting-ass getting out of the Bambu house, finishing the Dinghy, and preparing for our trip & marriage. As most of you know, I don’t like moorings & docks. Well I’m a big fat hypocrite because I’ve just put down a mooring. I hired a few local guys to fill 4, […]

I’m going to Argentina at the end of the month and I’m freakin’ as to all the work I have to do. The dinghy project is at the top of the list. Rebuilding the Dyer midget, as usual, was/is more work than I had expected. Carla and I are sooooo excited to have her finished […]

Well its been big family fun around here lately. Carla’s brother, wife, and 3 month old daughter came for a few weeks and her mom is here for a few more days. Carla is really close to her family and I’m gaining so much from this relationship, really AWSOME people. I’m so excited to go […]

Life has never been better. I proudly have .62 cents in my bank account. I’m waiting on some cash from running the house and some insurance money for saving that boat from sinking a few months back. But at the moment I have .62 cents in the bank and $38 bucks in my pocket. Guess […]

It’s 4:30am and as usual my brain tugs at my sleep, my thoughts a thorn in the night. I’m getting married in a few months. For the first time I’m in a relationship that works. We both have the same dreams & life philosophy. We are both travelers, independent thinkers, students & teachers. We know […]

The “light at the end of the tunnel” is blinding me! As you guys know in 2007, on the island of Tahiti, I made a decision to trade “Namaste” for a larger boat that I could grow old and retire on. My plan was to buy a fixer-upper, and take 2-3 years off of sailing […]

Adventure is where you find it. Although I’ve been spending more time off the boat in the last month than I ever have I’ve been buying boat stuff, supplies, and still finding some time for fun. Carla and I took a jungle tour with our friend heather the other day. I find the jungle covered […]

This is Lucky. She is an old mutt that Carla and I inherited with the Bambu house, she is our dog until November. She prefers the boat to land and loves to drive with her head out the window and stand on the front of the dinghy with sea spray in her face. She smells […]

I threw a party for Carla and my birthdays last night. Carla is on July 11th, and I’m on the 14th. I invited 7 of our friends. Believe it or not, two of them had birthdays this week as well, so it turned out to be a quadruple birthday party, man do I have a […]

I’ve always wanted to have a restaurant & bar and the next 5 months may satisfy that urge. http://panamaguesthouse.com/ Our first week at the bamboo house has been work, work, work. I think its funny when people say a boat is a “money pit” or a “hole in the water you keep pouring money into”. […]

I’ve become afraid of writing out to do lists as they can be intimidating. My daily routine consists of waking up each day and playing with my charting program, pouring over world charts, and dreaming of where to sail. This acts as my inspiration to break out the tools and work for 5 hours or […]

If you’ve been reading me over the years you know I have a simple altruistic perspective on life. I really believe in living small, green, free, while helping others along their path. I know it’s a good philosophy as my karma is rewarding Carla and I ten-fold. It may seem that I don’t worry about […]

Sorry I’ve been quiet, but either Carla or I have been sick with the Flu for weeks. It was a particularly tough battle as I got it twice. We are just coming out of it. NO FUN! I’m really looking forward to getting back to working on our new gourmet galley, especially as our stove […]

These past few weeks have been riddled with hard work, living in a disaster area, fresh water, Love, and a change of season. The rainy season is here once again. The steady trade wind has made way to variable squally-wind, lightning, thunder and rain. All that being said it’s my favorite season. I sleep well […]

After years of scrounging parts, re-building pumps, and designing a watermaker system we are making water (22GPH)! If you were to go out and buy a system like this you would be looking at eight – ten grand for an off the shelf watermaker. Water makers are pretty simple. You need to push sea water […]

On Splendid, the galley is the center of our home. Both Carla and I are food people and believe the key to health is the food we consume. Many people treat food as just fuel and are more than willing to open and heat a store-bought can of something and consider it food. Not on […]

Well, we have been back in civilization for a few days now and I’m knee-deep in boat projects. The two major ones I’ve started is building a new dash and re-wiring the engine. I’ve got a set of new Faria gauges which will look pretty sharp once I’m done. The big job however is building […]

No images today, just words. Carla and I were watching a movie last night (No strings attached). It was shot in LA and Santa Barbara. I lived in Santa Barbara for four years while attending college and spent my adult life in Southern California. The movie got me thinking of how far, and for how […]

I’m back after 10 days of chartering, and yes, I have 10 people in the dinghy. I got a call from an agency that needed help with a charter as they were a family of nine. Actually two families. One with two kids, the other with three. I got the family with two on Splendid […]

Hummmmm, here’s a fresh topic for Project BlueSphere. Carla and I have been together for 14 months now and have decided to take our relationship to the next level. We are planning to be married in Buenos Aires Argentina on November 23rd, 2013. No church, just a simple afternoon tea-party with a judge, family, and […]

Peter and Kathy were fantastic guests to have for a week. We had very strange weather the first few days resulting in rain and 47 knots of wind. The local weather men are still scratching their heads. Peter and Kathy were happy to have the weather as they are considering buying a boat in the […]

Okay guys, I have to go on a little more about how cool my girlfriend is. She’s like Da Vinci with a Sailrite sewing machine. Carla is turning into a total pro when it comes to canvas work. She doesn’t like handling large projects like dodgers & sails, but when it comes to cushions, winch […]

I just want to say how happy I am with my Sea Breathe hookah system. Talk about a piece of gear that pays for itself. I’ve been using my sea breath for 5 years and have really grown to rely on it. I’m out of bottom paint so I’m cleaning the hull every month and […]

ARRRG, THE BILGE! The bilge on any boat is a horrible ship-hole. A stinky, oily, mildewie hole, and in my case, my bilge is 40 years old. All the paint has chipped away and it catches every piece of gunk that falls through the floor boards, and has been doing so for four decades. Whenever […]

We are gearing up to launch “The Minimalist Sailor” soon and I want to explain a little about what it actually is. The Minimalist Sailor is a philosophy, and one geared for developing a life-path towards freedom while voyaging the world. I was recently talking to a Kuna about the changes I’ve seen here in […]

Well, it has been an interesting week. We had some friends visit for a few days. Jean (France) and Ivonne (Germany). Jean is a sailor in Europe and I finally got to sit down and talk to someone about the reality of sailing the Med. I’d love to visit Europe but I always hear the […]

A watermaker is an expensive piece of gear for a voyaging sailboat. By no means do you need one to take off into the world on your sailboat, but in my case, it is becoming more and more of a necessity. The more time I spend away from the dock in remote areas, the more […]

Every day I’m here, I’m in awe of the magical beauty of the San Blas Islands. It truly is paradise for the voyaging sailor. I say “voyaging” sailor and not “cruising” sailor because they are two very different things.  The voyaging sailor is one who is able to look after his own ship. The “cruising” […]

Well the dry season is here and it’s time to paint Splendid’s hull. Splendid was born in China and I’ve always gone with a Chinese color theme ( black, gold, and red). As you all know I have a “Shrimp boat” mentality when it comes to paint. I don’t want to look like the rich […]

Carla and I have been together almost a year. We met last January 12th and it stuck like super glue. Needless to say I’m looking forward to 2013 living and loving in paradise with my bonnie lass! All I can say about Carla’s Dad is what a great guy! Man I hope to be in […]

“If a job’s worth doing, it’s too hard”. – Scott Adams I took this photo in the Galapagos in 2007. This Ecuadorian man told me with pride he had been a digger since he was 9 years old. His right hand is covering the stump where his left forearm used to be. “I’m still an […]

My SEC licenses are long expired and you shouldn’t take financial advice from a washed up ex-broker/financial advisor, not to mention a guy with less than $250 to his name. But I do have some thoughts, and remember, This is NOT a recommendation! It’s been over a decade that I woke up and had the […]

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 […]

“To know how to free oneself is nothing; the arduous thing is to know what to do with one’s freedom” – Andre Gide   It’s hard to explain living with the Kuna in this magnificent place. Life here is so simple, slow, nourishing, and natural its hard to describe with words, perhaps this photograph will […]

I know I’ve been quiet for a few weeks but I’ve had a guest. We had a nice motor-sail from Linton, caught a big barracuda which fed us for nearly the whole time, and had some good laughs & discussions. We spent a fair amount of time with my Brazilian friends from “Brava” and had […]

Sorry it took a while to get a new blog up but my laptop screen has totally gone the way of the doe-doe! My guest (Mike) arrived and all I can say is we are having a blast. We stayed in a nice hotel and went out to the casino in Panama city. I took […]

  I know you want to see pictures of paradise but today you get this. I nice cup of mate goes a long way when its raining like hell. I sat protected in the cockpit enclosure sipping mate and watched the sky fall for hours yesterday. The seawater became brown with mud from the local […]

If I had an evil stepmother she would banish me to the engine room, WHAT A CRAPPY PLACE TO WORK IN! Luckily when I get out of such an evil ship-hole I have a real princess to reward my efforts with te frio (cold tea), a warm smile, and lunch. There is an extra 30 […]

Okay, I have to admit something, we got a $100 washing machine. I know, I know “minimalism” right? Every time we go to the French marina to do laundry it ends-up costing about $40 for 3/4 loads, and takes 3-6 hours (waiting). They only have 2 washers and 1 drier. They have the only paid […]

Wow, it’s been an experience reading my own blogs and writing this book. It’s not so often one dives into their past and micro-analyzes it in such detail, it’s a healthy process. Now I know why some people keep a diary. It’s a positive tool and we can use it to understand our lives on […]

I know I’ve been quiet, but I’ve been hyper-focused on writing. I’m taking a break from the film for 6-8 weeks and going to release a book before Christmas. My web developer and close friend emailed me all of the blogs in a word document as we are revamping the website. As soon as I […]

Well I just got one of the most important pieces of cruising gear out of the way. I now have a Cat 1 ACR Globalfix ipro 406mhz satellite EPIRB with internal GPS. What a long way EPIRBS have come since my old ACR satellite2. This is one -if not the most- important piece of cruising […]

I’ve said it a thousand times and I’ll say it again. I’m such a lucky man! Instead of making money we are making music, films, and I’m writing. A number of people have suggested that I compile the blogs and put them in a book format, which I am. I’m also telling the story of […]

Well, dreams of the Pacific are getting me up before the sun. I make coffee and pour over charts, pilot charts, and historical weather data. The decision to travel east towards Africa or West returning to the Pacific is coming to an end. However I’m working on a new concept for Splendid’s Pacific crossing. I […]

The Holstee manifesto. I’ve never heard about it and don’t know how popular it is. As you know I don’t read papers, watch the news, or keep up on current events as I live in my own life and time.  Someone mentioned this manifesto in the last blog and I just had to post it […]

Cruising (Freedom), saved my life! Today I want to talk about health (physical & mental) and cruising. Most of us live in a complicated world of fossil fuel consumption, radiation, phones, faxes, email, traffic, alarms, pollution, bills, sub-human food quality, and stress. We combat this with alcohol, tobacco, drugs (Legal and illegal), and entertainment (television, […]

Well Carla took her first step to learn how to sail. I put her in the Dyer, set it up, and towed her out of the anchorage (it’s tight in here). As soon as I started towing her I noticed she was passing me (down wind) and threw the painter in the Dyer. She’s a […]

Dare to push the button? Day in and day out over the past decade I’ve talked to people who share the same dream as I do. People who want to be free to sail the world and just can’t figure out how to take the first step or actually cut the dock lines. I keep […]

Well the last blog, Dinghy Vs. the Inflatable, was a popular one. It took me a really long time to “get it” as the immediate benefits of an inflatable are so apparent. But in the long run the hard dinghy has so many more advantages, and is far, far, far more economical and practical. My […]

A few days ago I was shooting the dinghy segment of “The Minimalist Sailor” and running through the pros/cons of both types of boats. After editing it I decided to heed my own advice. I’ve retired the inflatable for a while. Its deflated & stowed on the back deck and the Yamaha 9.9 is in […]

I have an opportunity if I have any daring & spontaneous readers. Carla is going to Miami on the 2nd for just over two weeks to visit Family. I’ve been planning on going to Linton in the next few days to do some shopping and drop Carla off, however she can as easily leave from […]

I’m relearning the “live slowly” part of my mantra. Sun, clouds, rain, stars, birds, planes, and satellites pass overhead, and I notice them all. We are anchored far from other boats, check the current position page. We are surrounded by peace & harmony. Carla and I are just livin’ plain slow. The day may bring […]

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 […]

I’m in the middle of a great book, “The Education of Little Tree” by Forrest Carter. Carla bought it for me as I’m such a fan of indigenous living. It reminded me of this funny clipping I found on-line a while back (click on it to enlarge). The book is set in the 30’s and […]

There has been a little magic blooming in my world. For so many, many, years now I’ve been wanting to get out of a deflatable, and into a proper sailing dinghy. Well that day has come, Splendid’s tender is a beautiful Dyer midget. She needs a little work but everything is here and she sails […]