A new blog and a new post about an old love of mine.
Now with a little more computer savvy I’ll try again to stimulate not only myself, but also others. So have a look at http://everbeentosea.wordpress.com
A new blog about an old love .
The new blog is at its infant stage and your input and interaction will help to nurture its growth.
- fun on the water
- with music and a natural mystic floating through the air
- …we sail back into the ages.
- With the air blowing through your hair
- You too, may experience the magic.
New format… new style…
new adventure…
about living on the water…
about the thrill of sailing…
about exploring the Gulf Islands and the
Salish Sea…
…helping one another and working together…
environmental issues,
and about you,
to get involved, to share and
if you never been to sea,
here is your chance to get experienced,
you might just love it.
If to be poor and content is to be rich,
I still got a long road ahead of me.
This new blog about an old love is to be a combination of creative writing, a diary or log-book, communicating with friends, advertising the pleasure of sailing, sharing interesting information and creating a platform to connect with likeminded people. It works best with feedback.
Alternative solutions needed
Is oil the root of all evil?–…
…or is it our desire to live as powerful and comfortable as possible. How important is your level of comfort, when it comes with an enormous price tag, the possible destruction of live on this planet. We are at war over the last remaining resources, rather then unite and find alternative solutions to nurture this home planet and the survival of man-kind. Will we end up another civilization that self-destruct and varnished in it’s prime? 
We are not yet aware of the consequences of our our constant and ignorant interference with this fine-tuned balance in nature we have on this Earth (or we like to ignore the obvious out of convenience).
Ignorance is not bliss, but will punish us all along the way.
What does it take to wake up and root out the evil.
Thought of the day:
Mankind might still have a chance to survive, if only we all cared a little more about this Earth and ALL life it contains and a little less of ourselves as individuals.
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Winter is showing:
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…first with the snow we had for a few days and now with winds and 2-3’ swells at the end of the bay. I’m worried seeing my little sailing slope tossed around with the mast and bow still being as weak as they are. Yes, this job on the Puffin has to be priority, now with the next break in the weather. It is still amazing to me how much preparation it takes at times, to accomplish the smallest task, once you are on the water.
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Rain and wind in the forecast with the odd winter gale thrown in for good measure. As long as we can keep afloat it’s all part of the fun.
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Power got restored, but the wind is still howling. The Escape is bouncing even back here in her sheltered mooring. …Living simple is a task.
Absolute Madness,…or just another small side effect of “21scentury schizoid man”
I watched a documentary about some people having a relationship on Facebook. Once confronted with the real world it turned out to be a long and confused story which contained a lot of lies and fabrications. Are some people living such boring and dissatisfied life’s that they have to invent an alternative. Pretty sad I say. This new media and social networking seems to be the breeding ground for misrepresentation and deceive. No wonder I was always a little sceptical and shy in front of the computer where one can’t separate the truth from fiction anymore.
A shipping container lost off the coast of California in 2004 is now teeming with underwater life, say scientists who returned to it with a robotic sub.
However, it is unclear whether the “artificial reef” that the container provides is a beneficial one.
Containers could provide a “stepping stone” route for invasive species to colonise new areas, the team says.
The unique study sheds light on the problem of the estimated 10,000 such containers that are lost each year.
It is estimated that some 200 million shipping containers are used globally each year, and that at any one time, between five and six million containers are in transit.
Tyre tracks
In February 2004, the container ship Med Taipei set off from San Francisco. Caught in a storm on its coastal journey to Los Angeles, 15 containers broke free and were lost near Monterey Bay.
Four months later, on a routine remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) dive by scientists from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (Mbari), one of the containers was spotted at a depth of 1,300m.
The container – listed as housing more than 1,000 tyres - appeared to be in pristine condition, but the Mbari team resolved to return and assess the container’s effects on life on the seafloor.
Gary Webb
Last week, Andrew DeVogelaere of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and colleagues from Mbari took the Doc Ricketts ROV back to the site.
“What’s normally down there is gently rolling, soft seabed covered with an amazing amount of life – there are these clear sea cucumbers every few feet, beautiful pink crabs, tubeworms,” Dr DeVogelaere told BBC News.
“Now into that you’ve dropped this hard substratum, this container, and on that you’ll see other species like Neptunia, a large whelk that lays its eggs on the container, and it also seems some large crabs and octopus then move in and are feeding on the whelk.”
Doc Ricketts sub (MBARI) The submersible Doc Ricketts returned to the site seven years later.
While some efforts at “artificial reefs” elsewhere in the world’s oceans change the biodiversity in a particular ecological niche, Dr DeVogelaere explained that it is unclear whether the container’s presence presented a benefit.
“When you have large expanses of one kind of habitat, it can create a ‘biogeographic break point’ – you have species distributions that are abundant in one area of the coastline and then they disappear.
“What could be creating breaks – (preventing) invasive species moving from one area to another – is an expansive habitat, and in this case we may be creating stepping stones across that for the ecology to change. What concerns me is that we might be changing this ecology before we even understand it.”
Given the growing preponderance of containers on the seafloor – some 10% of which may house materials toxic to marine life – the find has spurred the researchers to examine the shipping industry itself.
“They’re going to be sitting in the bottom of the ocean for hundreds if not thousands of years, and building up through time,” Dr DeVogelaere said.
“What concerns me is that we might be changing this ecology
before we even understand it”
Has it been another year already again?
A year ago I got this here laptop and joint a new digital world. So far I still know very little about the endless possibilities and can barely navigate the surface. What I do know: … from bushwhacked “Hill-Billy” to novice sailor,… from “land-lubber” to simple “live-aboard” in a small sloop on the water, then to navigator on the Salish Sea and to Blog-writer has been quite a stretch and an adventure that is still as exciting as ever.
Three years ago I decided to live on the water;
the thought to go sailing was only secondary at the time,…
never thought I could get that excited about anything ever again, or have that much fun .
I love that little 23’ Crown Sloop “Puffin” to go sailing with, but to spend long, cold and dark winter month
The “Escape” (a 30’ Monk) has been heaven sent. Now, for the first time since I left my mobile on the West Coast of Vancouver Island several years back, I feel like I’ve found another home.
I was trying to get a video clip of the boat as an intro onto the blog. Still figuring out the details and how to…, hopefully one sunny day soon.
Lets hope I can keep them afloat…
Since both boats are made out of wood, I just doubled all maintenance and repairs.
Never a dull moment, always something to do…
Some advice for the off season sailing, winter month and darkness mode:
Contemplate and reflect of what you are doing, what you would like to do and what you could do better.
… how to fight depression:
Rule # 1, keep busy, push yourself (physically and mentally) out of the space you are in.
A good manifested manic depression makes your brains go in circle (short circuited).
…snap out of it : concentrate all your thoughts on something entirely different.
Couch and armchair seem to be physical crutches from which the short-circuited brain gains it’s strength.
… snap out of it: go skydiving, change your altitude and attitude, change your body chemistry and get those build in morphs going.
If all fails, burn down the house.
You and your brains will get rebooted, kick-started back into it’s original survival mode.
Could it be, that we have been overrating happiness and convenience a bit to much, that we destroyed a natural balance within ourselves and now suffer the consequence?
thought of the day:
never stop moving with body or mind
less you’ll die.
When your boat said enough is enough…
When a man comes to like a sea life, he is not fit to live on land anymore.
Dr. Samuel Johnson
Season Greetings from Cow Bay
So it finally happened, while moored at the dock, the fore stay cleat snapped ( a stainless steel buckle broke in two ), …
Stays are holding the mast and boom in place. The slope has eight, a forwards one, at stern one that splits into two and three on each side.(When your stays are compromised, your sailing vessel is weakened)
…like the Puffin telling me “No more sailing until I get fixed, or I’ll snap the mast and turn it into splinters…”
Coming into the harbour with very little wind and calm sea
…slow, but steady…
Thank God this lovely Crown slope is build like a tank. Yet, even so she is quite though, constant natural deterioration and my abuse on top of it, left their ugly scar’s and it is time for a complete overhaul. From bow to stern I see weaknesses and damage to be fixed.
Yes, I have to admit, I love the extreme. Not that it doesn’t scare me when there are strong winds and turbulent sea ahead of me, but it also gives me a rush and a different awareness. To feel fairly save sailing in any weather, you want a sea worthy (size doesn’t really matter) and a strong craft.
“There’s no thrill in easy sailing when the skies are clear and blue,
there’s no joy in merely doing things which any one can do.
But there is some satisfaction that is mighty sweet to take, when you reach a destination that you never thought you’d make”
Unknown
…across the bay,
…a little tree house paradise,
back to nature…
Thought of the day:
Watch out: Indifference kills ambition, you become so bored and lazy you can’t enjoy living anymore.
Look what happened to me last summer (part “B”)
Never to old to start something new.
If it was not for the desire to experience something new, we would all still be living in caves. 
Kedging
The art of getting yourself afloat again once you are grounded. With the help of anchor and winch, you pull yourself back into deeper water.
Didn’t know they have terms for all the silly mistakes I’ve done already. But trust me, it isn’t as easy as it sounds and you’ll have to be fast & efficient, or you might have no boat left to kedge.
.” 
“Not all who wander are lost“ JRR. Tolkien
Even if we don’t like it, some things are meant to happen, so we can learn from them.
A work in progress…an art form out of the past (sailing that is).
Patients can save you a lot of grieve…
So, what really happened the other day ( already heard all kinds of rumours). My little crown slope breaks loose of its anchor and starts drifting. An unexpected westerly wind creates instant turbulence and it’s not easy to chase down my run-away boat with a canoe. Meantime the wave action is increasing and this is no joy ride but turns into a treacherous balancing act (don’t make a mistake, you are almost there..; don’t give up, you are almost there..). I love my “Puffin “ too much to let her drift of to timbaktoo without the captain.
When I finally get close, I only have a few seconds to get a hold of her in this choppy sea, I fail, don’t get close enough and shoot right past. What disappointment, what frustration,..(if only..) Just try again. Paddling backwoods (got more strength to move against the current and the wind that way) a passing motorboat slows down and is willing to help. The bow-line of my canoe is at the stern (I know, very confusing, but I found the slope can pull the heavy freight-canoe better that way) and I get it across to the motorboat in little time. Everything seems to be going just fine despite the rough water.
Now for the second try, we’re coming closer to the “Puffin”, but I can see the disaster coming. The wake of the motor boat is swamping me full of water. My screams: “I’m sinking, pull me closer” are answered by action and I get a grip on a handle at the stern. Within seconds the canoe is sinking underneath me, but I’m able to pull myself unto the motor-boat. Not only have I lost my dingy, but everything that was in it as well. Furthermore I’m soaking wet…(if only…). Still, no time to quit now. Since there is no other way, I will jump across when we get close enough.
Well, determination pays off. I get on board of the “run-away”, change into semi-dry clothing (there is a big difference between soaking wet and semi dry), pull the anchor and half a mile of chain & line in, set sails and get going against the wind. As abrupt as it began the westerly wind dies down and I’m still out 3 N.M. at Separation Point (yet, 3 miles with no wind and no motor can take forever). And all this misery because my motor broke down. Some 12 hours later I finally manage to hit “Bluenose Marina”, cold, tiered, wet, but home!!! My new home is on the “Escape”, a 30 ‘ Monk (mahogany hull )which I will introduce soon.
“If only..” I’ve had a little more patients, all of this could have been avoided. When I anchored the “Puffin” last (it was less then halve a mile from her mooring-buoy), I left her in a bad spot ( I was tiered drifting in front of the harbour without a motor). Wouldn’t you know it, shortly after I had dropped the anchor, enough wind came up to carry me to her secure and proper place.
The worst, but at the same time the best teacher there is…
Your mistakes and mishaps, even if they are of a negative nature, extremely destructive at times and can be quite painful, are a valuable tool. A stubborn man might repeat them several times before he seriously will make an effort to avoid them, hence a lesson well learned. Not that I encourage you to do wrong in order to find out the consequence. One should try to pick up a general knowledge of what and what not to do in order to avoid accidents. Yet no
matter how much you may know or how much you remember, there is always more.
Nothing is as powerful as experience. Some things can’t be taught in a classroom, they have to be experienced. Often the idea of looking foolish, ignorant and outright dumb to our peers prevents us of trying something new. It scares us to that extreme that we rather pretend to know all about it, but are not really interested, then admitting the truth, that we actually know little, would like to find out more but wont try (out of fear of what the neighbour might think or what we might look like).
If it was not for the desire to experience something new, we would all still be living in caves. I would have never gone sailing and definitely would have never started a blog (since my knowledge of computers is extremely limited). All the mistakes I’ve done so far (or still doing on a daily base) will not prevent me to acquire new skills, but help me to become a better blogger, a better sailor and maybe even a better person.
I can well imagine of how this blog might look like to a professional writer, but so what, it might improve yet.
All for the love of sailing…
How wet can it get?
Ever slept in damp clothing,
… bailed water half the time you are awake,
… only to be rained upon some more?
What does it take to be a sailor?
…to be able to grin & bare it, no matter how hard it seems,
… to embrace the storm & shout for more,
… to be alive.
So, lets go sailing (making sure the boat can take the weather)…we are not suicidal…just love to live intense…the adrenaline, the juice of live flowing freely.
Sam, the man made me aware of my past by sharing this link with me and I’ll like to put it out there for all : http://manlymedia.com/documentries/sombrio
When I’m reading all those comments and how it affected people who came across Sombrio Beach , the freedom it represented and how much was lost when they reformed the beach, it still makes me a little sad, … on the bright side of the road:
Nature is enduring, people that are close to her are in general very hardy and freedom loving human beings (… and once this seed is strong enough it will grow, continue and flourish on some other shoreline).
Nowadays I’m sailing along the Gulf Islands and up and down the Straits, still searching. I find like-minded people wherever I go.
http://andreaspuffin.wordpress.com
It was never about rejecting all progress, but to question a society that uses all means to destroy this Earth, desensitise the public from nature and their alternative life-styles they may adopt.
Peace, love and freedom (not just a nostalgic phrase out of the past) but a dream that will never die.
How long does it take to learn how to sail? (part 2)
On the 12th of June I published a post with same title. Now with another 5 month of sailing under the belt, I like to add to this subject.
When you fully understand how the tidal currents, the wind, the shape of your sails and your tiller move your boat, you are halfway there.
Since those conditions are constantly changing you want to be able to react fast when needed.
If now by any chance you could eliminate all human mistakes (which will never happen), you would be almost there. So, what I’m trying to say here:
It all depends on your ability how you can cope with your mistakes and how fast you can correct them. At the same time nature itself may test you,…
If you want to learn how to sail, you have to go out there and say goodbye to your fear that you may lose control or do something wrong.
Above all, you have to be able to take all kinds of punishment and suffering in order to experience ultimate joy and sometimes even bliss.
So, how long does it take to learn how to sail, maybe a lifetime, who knows, I don’t, I’m still learning. Maybe I should ask my sailing guru Will.
