Compromise!

I had dinner with Steven again last night and had a look over the next revision of the web site. I think he got it right. Again, these pictures are place holders only and will change on a regular basis. I'll use them to let people know when the blog has been updated or there is a new SOS site visit coming up. I like it.

Six Month – 32 Years

I’ve been leading a double life for the past year. On one side I’ve been working like mad for my company trying to earn as much as possible and advance my career. On the other hand I’ve been preparing a boat and making a plan to cut loose from that life to go cruising and help others. Things feel like they are coming to a head.

I turn 32 on Thursday. I’ve spent last Friday and yesterday interviewing for a couple of management roles both in the U.S. and in China. I don’t know if I’ll be offered the jobs yet, but it is a real possibility. At the least I think I’ll be offered a job handling a few accounts globally instead of on the west coast like I’ve been doing. The juxtaposition of the activities I fill my day with can hardly be reconciled for much longer. I will have to choose a path.

Thursday is May 1st. Not only is it my birthday, but it marks six months until I am supposed to cut loose and head to my first stop in Mexico. This is a bit of a reality check as I need to accomplish at least twice as many projects as I knocked out in the past year. I can do it, but it is time to put my head down, and grind out the remaining items on the punch list.

It’s time to go to work. For now, I’ll keep selling during the day and refitting the boat by evening. Below are a few shots I took for the photog classes I enrolled in. I like my camera.

I’ve got some pretty cool readers.

First, thanks to everyone who provided comments and email feedback. That post got far more of a response than any yet to date. This whole blog thing is a lot more fun when I hear back from you so keep it up. The feedback was intelligent and valuable to me, so thanks. I’ve really got to give Steven Malm, my web designer, some credit. I really like both designs. He came up with two templates that match the basic requirements we discussed.

Having said that, my personal taste seems to run against the grain. I really like design #1 with the white background. One reader called it, “simple and smart” which is kind of the look I was leaning towards. However, based on the overwhelming support by you, the readers of these blogs, I am going with design #2. Steven and I will work to tweak it a bit, but we’ll probably keep with the basic three image format with a slightly modified header, and textual excerpts from the daily blog and children’s blog to help draw readers deeper into the site.

I got a lot of comments on the eagle and I couldn’t help but laugh a little every time. I don’t know if we’ll actually use any of the three pictures that are on the template now. Steven just grabbed three pictures to plug in while he was working on the layout. Most likely it will be some version of a pic of me with my blog text below, a SOS child from the next site visit I am going to make and a letter from that child telling about themselves, and finally a boat pic project details. The end result will be a hybrid somewhere between the two styles. Maybe a white background version of the three image layout? We’ll see. Steven’s got a much better eye for design than I do so I take most of my cues from him on this one.

In a random twist, I am now legally ordained. Yep, you can call me skipper, captain, or even Reverend! Two of my good friends are getting married a year from now in April. They wanted a non religious ceremony and a way to keep it on the lighter side. So, yours truly will be consummating, no wait, I mean solemnizing the wedding. This is going to be fun. I should just be ready to cross, or just finished crossing the Panama Canal so it will be a good time to come home before I head into the Pacific.
I went to my second photography class last night to learn more about photographic composition. It wasn’t much better than what I got off of google, but still helped a little. I am supposed to snap a bunch of pictures highlighting the various aspects of composition and we’ll review them in class next week. I think that will be more helpful than anything. Hopefully I’ll be able to start posting some more interesting pictures in the next few weeks.

And now, having already removed the old Furuno 1621 radar dome from the mizzen mast, I’ve got to climb back up it with the new one and get this project crossed off my list. I almost had a heart attack when I looked at the little counter in the top left last night. It slipped below 200 days and I didn’t even notice. The Race to Veracruz is June 6th and I’ve got a lot to do to get this boat offshore ready again.

I need your feedback! Leave comments, send email etc.

I sat down with Steven this morning to look over the ideas for the new web page layout. Two in particular stuck out. I am not telling you which one I like. They are pretty different and the text on each along with the pictures will change, but they both give an idea of the layout format. Let me know which one you like the most and most importantly, why.



Option 1:



Option 2:

Give me some real feedback on these. I need your help. You can comment directly on the blog by hitting "comment" below or email me directly at r.lee.winters@gmail.com.

Proof!

T-shirt in hand, keys in the pocket......next time I'll be more prepared. On another note, I just got my AB 10.5 foot RIB dingy and I love it. This is a part of boating I haven't explored at all since I moved onto my boat. Running at 20 knots across Clear Lake exploring all the small canals and bayous is a great way to spend an afternoon. There are about 20 different places to pull up and eat around here if you have a good dink. Now I just need to make it legal by registering it.

How not to prepare for a 5K.

First, don’t stay up until 2 a.m. the night before. Sleep is one of the most critical elements of feeling good for a days run. Second, do not confuse carb loading with beer loading. Despite how much fun it is to see old friends again, Miller Lite is not appropriate fuel for running. Third, if you are used to eating a regular meal of two eggs, yogurt, and an orange don’t think cramming a power bar in your mouth is going to provide you with stomach ache free running. Forth, stretch. This seems obvious as you’ve done it before every other run you’ve ever made, but that leads me to number five. Five, leave at least two hours before the race. I got there so late that I had to run from the parking lot a mile to the registration booth. Once I got my shirt banner and shoe tag I ran outside thinking I had a minute to stretch. Nope. No sooner had I found a small spot to sit than someone yelled, “GO” over a loudspeaker. So, shirt in hand and cold unstretched legs, I ran across the starting line. Six, no matter what, take the time to use the restroom before you start running. It’s not like I had an accident or anything, but I was far from comfortable.

Now that we’ve covered what not to do, the good news is I ran non-stop and completed the race in exactly 31 minutes and 52 second coming in 222 out of a field of 498. That time tells me I kept my training pace of almost exactly 10 minutes per mile. Given the slightly less that stellar preparation I gave myself the day before the race I am excited to do another one more locally. There is one benefiting a local dog rescue organization at the end of April I think I’ll try. Despite a difficult start it felt really good to come across the finish line with everyone cheering the runners on.

On another note, I just spent the morning with Lori Brewer of Waterford Portrait Design. Lori is a professional photographer who very generously donated her time and talent to taking pictures of me, Georgia, and the boat for the web page. We should have the shots back in a week or so and I am still hoping to have the new website up by the end of the month. I snapped a quick shot of Lilly, Steven, and myself. These two have been a world of help in putting me in contact with resources, watching Georgia when I travel, and obviously the logo and web page. Thanks guys. Your help is greatly appreciated. Special thanks to you too Lori. Your professional eye will make all the difference.

Finally, I’ve registered three different names to host my page. I will make them all redirect to the final page, but I am curious which one people like best? Which is the easiest to remember and least confusing?

http://www.sailing4sos.com/
http://www.sailingforsos.com/
http://www.s4sos.com/

What is accomplishment?

My 5K race is this Sunday. I have not yet run 5K on the road, but I’ve been using the treadmills at the hotels I stay at while traveling for my day job. I just cranked out my first ever 5 kilometers or 3.1 miles. It’s supposed to be much easier on a treadmill than on the road, but I am still feeling pretty good about it. If you are interested at all in starting to run then I highly recommend www.marathonrookie.com. They give you complete training schedules and can also hook you up with all the races around the nation if you want to enter a run.

Going from very poor cardiac condition to 5K ready in five weeks also got me thinking about accomplishment. The running website also gave me the following quote to think about when it got hard to get motivated to run.

"Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired in the morning, noon, and night. But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired."
- George S. Patton, U.S. Army General, 1912 Olympian.

It’s always easier to do nothing than it is to make a choice to change. Despite the difficult nature of making such a decision and putting in the effort to see it through comes the sense of self gratification. I apply this to my own life with both the running and the Sailing for SOS project. I’ve never been happy with my career choice, but despite that it’s extremely hard to carve out a new path. I know so many people who hate what they do, but choose the security of the known over taking a chance to try something different that might bring happiness. One smart lady put it this way.

“Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's when you've had everything to do, and you've done it. “
- Margaret Thatcher

Whatever it is you want to do, make a plan to make it a reality and take action on that plan. It’s amazing how quickly you’ll find energy to give the project you never knew you had. I guess it’s a quote day. One last one to finish off.

“Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.”
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Happy Birthday Dad!

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Happy Birthday to Max Winters! That's my Dad.

Short post today. I am just finishing off some breakfast this morning then I am headed up to Houston for a photography class. I put a little money into a really good still camera, a Nikon D40x. The Houston Center for Photography has basic and intermediate classes so I am starting at the most basic class they offer. Hopefully the effort will show up in the pictures I post.

On another note. I am selling the 12 foot, rigid fiberglass dink that come with Romance. It's way too big for the deck when I am offshore and I can't leave it on the davits when I am sailing in open water for fear a wave could crash in it ripping it off the transom. I should get my new AB 10.5 foot dingy next week. My neighbor needed one as well so we pooled our purchasing power and got a pretty good buy. Can't wait to go for a ride. When you are out cruising your dink is just as important as your car is to you today. I got a good one.

Less is more

This is true more often than we might think. It’s a concept I am struggling with almost everyday for the past few weeks. My departure date is almost 8 months away now, but I really feel like it will be here tomorrow.

Six years. I’ve been planning this and working to make it happen for six years. In that time I’ve almost gotten married, but ended a four year relationship, held three different jobs, lived in three different states, lived in four different cities, finished an MBA, learned how to sail, owned two boats, rebuilt and learned to ride a motorcycle, and bought the boat I think can take me around the world.

I am trying to reconcile 8 months with the need to see and spend time with my family and friends, find and secure sponsors, finish the four dozen projects on the boat, make enough money in my present job to pay for all that still needs paying, finish the website and solidify the partnership with SOS Children’s Villages, give up a six figure salary, raise the media machine I need to get donations going to SOS, learn how to take good photographs, hire a professional photog to take pics for the website, take some writing classes, and generally keep a good handle on reality.

I’ve been running more and more lately. I don’t know how to describe it without sounding a little touched, but whatever the thing is that pulls me to go sailing is also pulling me to run. The closer I get to it the more I feel it. Sailing, and running, has become a need. They are no longer a want or desire, but things I know I have to do. I literally feel pulled to do them just like a fish on a hook. Hopefully I won’t end up in a frying pan.

I’ve been using the marketing side of my brain the last few hours trying to figure out how I can add to the draw of the blog and get more readers involved. I think the best idea is to have the site sponsor an individual child from each country I’ll be visiting through SOS Children’s Villages. http://www.sos.usa.org/. If I can do this I’ll be able to generate a dialogue with a child under the care of SOS learning about them before I arrive. That way when I do get there we’ve already got something of a relationship and I can get to know them much better in the short time I’ll be at their village. This should also give the readers a chance to get to know the kids better.

The other little known aspect is that my pup, a 10 year old Siberian husky will be making the trip with me. If I can get the some publicity with dog and animal lovers it’s a huge market to break into. That should add huge numbers to the readership. For those who have no idea why I am concerned with readership, well, it all boils down to charitable donations. In the end, part of the measure of success for this trip will be the amount of dollars donated by my readers to the multi-national 501(c)3 non-profit SOS Children’s Villages. I need my trip to be about more than my personal gratification.

It is all coming together. It’s going to be a long push between now and November, but it’s happening. It seems like I’ve lost a little of the whimsy that I usually have and no doubt there is a little stress to pull everything off, but it is all really good. I can’t wait to go sailing.


UPDATE: The above was written last night as I was flying to San Francico for work on Easter Sunday. I’ve been smiling all day. I had a great talk with the folks at SOS Children’s Villages and I got a little more reassurance that we are all on the same page with the project. The sent me a picture of a little girl that lives in Limon, Costa Rica. That is one of the sites I’ll be visiting on my route to the Panama Canal. Kind of pulls at the heart strings huh?

I’ve really got a problem.

But it’s boring to lead a blog with the problem of the day. Despite my problem, want to know how I can tell I am in a good mood? When’s the last time you gave your shopping cart a big shove and jumped on not to jump off again until you almost cream some random car in the parking lot? That was me coming out of the Target today. It’s been awhile since I’ve done that and I used to do it all the time. I highly recommend it.

Now, on to the problem. I already said I set a lot of goals for myself. I just found out there is a single handed race coming up on April 18th. Single handed is when a person sails a boat by themselves. Something I do quite a bit. It’s called the Conundrum because there are 3 oil rigs you have to sail out to and sail back from one at a time. The trick is to determine what order you should go after them. Hence the name Conundrum. I’ve got a lot of work to do to get the boat ready for an overnight sailboat race, but I’d sure like to try my hand at this one. Not so much because of the competitive nature of the race, but just for the experience. It will also make a good shakeout sail before the Veracruz shakeout in June. A shakeout is a sail designed to test the limits of the boat. This would also introduce me to other single handed sailors so I can see how they rig their boats.

Speaking of getting ready, I continue to make progress in spurts. I’ve had minor back pain since I moved onto the boat and I am almost 100% sure it’s from a crappy foam mattress I sleep on. I just lugged my v-birth (the front of boats are pointy so they call it v-birth) mattress to a mattress factory where they are making me a custom mattress. Random note, stomach sleepers should sleep on firm mattresses, not soft mattresses.

Most excitingly, I think I am going to buy two new sails. I am on a sailboat after all and it seems that if I should be investing refit money anywhere, it should be new sails. I met the owner of Banks Sails Clear Lake and he has been extremely helpful. First, I need to replace the 30 year old furling system that rolls up the sail on the front of the boat. Once I do that I’ll make a new headsail (headsail is the front sail) specifically designed for Jargo. (a.k.a. Romance) As of today, I have no means to rig my storm jib which is kind of critical if and when I ever get caught in a storm. Mark from Banks showed me an easy way to bring my inner forestay back into play so that I can use my old hank on sail. This gives me a secure means to fly a very small foresail when winds pick up over 35 knots. I’ll also finish up my sailing rig with a new mizzen for the back of the boat. With a heavy duty cruising mizzen, new 130% genoa foresail, and storm jib this is going to be one hell of a sailboat.

I’ve also kept up with my running. I am in week three of five weeks before the 5K and I am really starting to feel the difference. Not only do I have more energy and am generally in a better mood, but my knees are killing me! I broke down and went to a running specific store to get my feet measured and my stride analyzed for a good pair of shoes. I hope they make the difference. I’ve got chicken legs.

I hope everyone is well and keep in touch!

Lee

Jason just sent me a few shots from our sail down to South Padre.

This was the sunset on the first day just as we came around Galveston through the jetties and out to sea.

Of course we hoisted our spinnaker just at dark. Boy, that was stupid. I had to cut the dousing line on the sock that knocks the air out of the sail to get it down. First and last time I ever try to fly a spinnaker at night.

Pretty first night.

One incredible sunset in Padre wasn't a bad pay off. Not to mention fireworks for New Years and meeting some other great cruisers who were hanging out down there.

I never met a goal I didn’t like.

There is no question I get infinitely more accomplished when I have a well defined goal set in a realistic timeframe. That little statement is a pretty big self insight I am starting to really understand and use. Enter the Regatta de Amigos.

This little race, http://www.veracruzregatta.com/, is a 630 nautical mile sail due South from Galveston, TX to Veracruz, Mexico. I got turned onto this race by friends of mine looking for crew on their boat. Instinctively I said no way. My immediate thought was I could never get two weeks off work to go sailing, and if I were to take that kind of time off it needed to be spent pulling my own boat together for cruising. About the time this thought solidified in my jello like mind, I remembered that without a real goal, set in stone, I don’t necessarily make the best progress. So, why not take the time off to go to Veracruz?

Here is where my thought process stands today. It’s March 8th, almost exactly three months before this race kicks off. Even if I were to take a week or two off and do nothing but work on the boat, I don’t think I would get as much done as I would if I were preparing it to take myself and crew on this regatta. I’ve already two friends volunteer to crew which give me plenty of hands, help, and makes it a real commitment. It would also be a great trip to build on the experience I gained from sailing to South Padre.

I made up another quick map in Google Earth below. The black line was the Harvest Moon Regatta from Galveston to Port Aransas. The white line was the 520 mile run, down and back, to South Padre. The red line would be 1,260 miles, down and back, from Galveston to Veracruz. This would be another great shake out to test all the work I’ve done since the Padre sail.

Another reason this is looking more appealing is that I don’t think I will have time to hit the western Gulf Coast of Mexico when I go on the big cruise. This way I get to see some of this country before I set off down Central America.

I’ve gone running five days this past week. The Dallas 5k helps keep me focused on getting up each morning to make my progressively longer runs. I think I need this race to keep me focused on getting my boat ready.

Glutton for punishment

I get seasick. I know this. It’s unfortunate, but very manageable. The only reason I mention this is because it prompted a visit to the doctor for some meds. What I wasn’t ready for was stepping on the scale in his office. I am by no means obese, but for the fist time in my life I topped 200 lbs. Not out of the ordinary considering I am 6’1, but still about 15lbs more than I carry at my target weight of 185.

I’ve also notices I’ve been feeling a little overwhelmed with everything I need to do to prepare for this trip, including making the money to pay for it. It sounds crazy, but the only thing I could think of to deal with it was to do more. It sounds counter intuitive, but I know I am out of shape right now. I figure if I can spend 45 minutes to an hour every day getting back in shape I’ll be much more productive than I currently am with the rest of the hours in a day.

Of course I signed up for a race. Only the fear of public humiliation can force me to put running shoes on in the morning. Plus, combine that with a chance to spend some time with good friends in Dallas and this is a sure winner. So, April 6th I’ll be heading up to D-town for the Big D Challenge. http://www.texasmarathon.com/ It also seemed somewhat serendipitous that this race is exactly 5 weeks away and Marathonrookie.com proposes a 5 week training schedule to go from non-runner to 5K ready. That’s three miles. Yeah, I had to look it up too.

On a totally unrelated note, I love me some pork chunks. I tell you what, I was incredibly skeptical about this canned meat idea, but they are actually very good. This wouldn’t have been discovered if I had followed my first instinct to though them all away after taking the lid off the pork chunks. The picture below doesn’t even do justice to how disgusting this tin of meat looked. It almost appeared cancerous with the little white specs of fat clinging onto it. Nevertheless, I put it in a pan with garlic, onion, a can of stewed tomatoes, salt, pepper and served it on top of a bed of couscous. Outstanding. It was really good. I’ve already gone through the beef chunks and boneless chicken and I can seriously give this stuff a good recommendation.

On another front, I’ve been thinking about how I want to document my trip. The blog was the primary outlet for relaying my experiences, but I keep thinking about the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words. I agree with this when the photographer is competent. I am not a competent photographer. I also shelled out a few more dollars than I was expecting for a good digital SLR camera. This will let me take some professional quality pictures along the way. To make sure I didn’t just buy a really expensive point and shoot camera I enrolled in three classes at the Houston Center for Photography. First up, camera basics. Followed a month later with basics of composition. Hopefully this will let me bring you, dear reader, a story that is aesthetically pleasing as well.

Now, I am off to hoist myself up the mizzen mast to try and install my new 16 mile radar. Wish me luck. I’ll leave you with a quote from Francis Chichester. Chichester sailed round the world making only one single stop in Australia.

Nobody, I am sure, can be more aware than I am that my time is limited. I don’t think I can escape ageing, buy why beef about it? Our only purpose in life, if we are able to say such a thing, is to put up the best performance we can – in anything, and only in doing so lies satisfaction in living. – Sir Francis Chichester Gipsy Moth Circles the World

Planning ahead: Pork Chunks!

All is well, but I've been pulled back into my day job in order to get this trip paid for. I've still managed to answer a few questions surfing the web even if I am not physically working on the boat. One question was what kind of canned meats and cheeses were available in the U.S. for provisioning. I found a site called http://www.internet-grocer.net/ and made a small purchase. I can't wait to see how my pork chunks cook up. mmmmm. I couldn't resist and cracked right into one can of Kraft's pasteurized process cheddar cheese spread. This stuff is exactly what comes in the individual singles packs. Not bad, but I wouldn't want to live on it. It does make a mean grilled cheese sandwich.

Other than ordering chunked meat, I've been pulling together some charts showing the Central American Coast and three different cruising guides that cover my course from South Padre Island, TX all the way down and through the Panama Canal. I am having a hard time balancing how many stops I want to make along this trip. I'd love to hit every little port so I can see more of each country, but on the other hand picking a few ports will let me stay at each longer really getting to know them. I think I am already leaning towards the latter option. I did a whirl wind backpacking tour of Western Europe as far east as Prague when I was just out of college. It was a great trip, but it was too much to fit into 2 months. I think I'd rather get to know the people and places I visit more deeply than is possible with rapid fire visits down the coast. Yo necessito estudiar mi espaniol. Adios!

Lee

Another Vote!!!

I don't know why these are coming out orange. The logos will be the same blue used in the logos below. Just voting on the style for now. Please cast your vote to the Left!


LOGO #1 LOGO #2

Struck by lightening.

No, not the boat. Me. That is the closest possible way I can describe the feeling I’ve had the last two weeks. I think it started with getting motivated to start working on the boat. I knocked out the macerator pump, that’s the one that pumps the sewage off the boat. Nasty, nasty job, but I got it done after finding several leaks that had to be fixed. Unfortunately, I figured out that the holding tank leaks so I need a new 15 gallon bladder tank to replace the old one. I also got the lines replaced for my main sheet, mizzen sheet, and running back stays.

I called the guys over at Blue Water to help me with the starter which has been malfunctioning occasionally since I bought the boat. We got the old starter pulled, rebuilt, and reinstalled along with a new solenoid. In the most frightening moment of my short boating career, I pushed the button to test the install and heard nothing but a click. Knowing something wasn’t right I dropped down below to have a look and realized I couldn’t see being engulfed in smoke. I grabbed a fire extinguisher and opened the engine compartment expecting to see flames, but there were none. In fact, aside from the smoke all seemed OK.

Apparently, new starters need a lot of amps to turn over the first time. The bad news was my older wiring had such a large voltage drop due to corrosion that the starter didn’t get full power when I hit the ignition button. What did happen was a total meltdown of the starting wire that runs from the solenoid to the starter, the battery selector switch, and my engine temp and oil gauges. Oh well, better at the dock then at sea. Now at least I know I’ve replaced the weakest link in the starting circuit.














Amazingly, the feeling I’ve likened to being hit by lightening didn’t come from my close call with an electrical fire, but with the interaction I’ve had with several people over dinner last weekend. I finally got a chance to sit down with my web designer and review his draft logos for the sight. I was impressed. I’ve copied three of them in below and would love some feedback. These are being revised based on some input from me and others so the final draft should be coming soon. Knowing I don’t have any creative talent myself I invited the crew of Transcend from the South Padre trip and one of their friends. What started out as a discussion about which logo looked the best turned into a full on brain storm about how to make this trip happen and make the absolute most of it. To Jesselyn, Sharron, Joe, Lilly, Steven, and Jackie, thanks. Your enthusiasm means more than you know.

So, coming off that dinner/logo meeting I’ve started filling out the paper work to incorporate my own 503c non-profit allowing readers to purchase shirts and such to support both SOS and myself. It’s a way people can give a fully tax deductible donation that keeps me sailing and gives directly to SOS. It’s going to be a pretty cool logo. I’ve also drafted my first press release. My feeble mind was just planning on sending the release to the sailing mags and the non-profit mags, but the group is going to help me get this out all over the place. Sponsorship for the trip is starting to look like it might actually be a possibility. Timing on the first media blitz is going to be pretty crucial. I don’t want to get fired before I am actually ready to go. Then again, that might make for an even more interesting story.

















The end result of all this activity is that the reality of this project is sinking in. It still seems surreal that I’d quit my job and try to sail around the world to help orphans. Crazy huh? I am really starting to love the work I am doing to get ready for this trip. Somehow, it’s taking on a life of its own. I don’t really feel like I am pushing anymore, but that I am being pulled to it. There is lot’s to do, but it’s getting easier, not harder.

I am going sailing.

Lee

Wow, that smells like…….!

Big couple of days this week. I haven’t been on the road due to a cancelled business trip so it has felt like found time and I’ve taken advantage. I went to talk to the guys at Blue Water and realized I could spend a week on this or have them over for an hour and a half and have it done. Needless to say, they come over the next day and took the old starter off the boat. I am having it rebuilt for $200 and a rusty spare rebuilt for $280 so I should have starters covered. They’ll be back and installed with the new solenoid by the 15th.

I also got motivated and spliced in my new main sheet, ordered the hardware for a new mizzen sheet setup, and tackle for both of my running back stays. The hardware will be here Friday and I’ve already got the line ready to splice in. I also started to tackle a job I’ve been dreading. The fear of a 15 year old macerator pump and what may lie inside is paralyzing. Ok, I know I don’t always slow down to explain all the sailing lingo, but this one is worth it. A macerator pump has two purposes. On fishing boats they use them to drain live bait wells of anything that may still be in them. They are really good at it because the little blades inside chop everything up and make it pump out the hoses nice and easy. Fish and all. The second use is to empty the holding tanks on pleasure boats like Romance. Yep, septic.



















So, I donned a pair of fashionable latex gloves and started wrenching the old pump out of the boat. Guess what came out with it? You got it. Goo. Lots of very old, very smelly, gut wrenching, vomit on the spot, poop. I almost had to toss the whole damn sailing thing out the window. However, fortified by a cerveza, I rushed back into the head and wrapped the offending rags and pump in plastic trash bags and got it off the boat. This maneuver was followed by a quick epoxy job to shore up the mounting plate for the new pump and in it will go, tomorrow.

While that all dries I’ve dropped a couple of oil absorbers down into the bilge to try and mop up what amounts to way too much oil. I’ve been checking out a product called BioSok that is supposed to use bacteria to breakdown the hydrocarbons into non toxic compounds. I am a science geek. This stuff excites me and I can’t wait to try it.

Feeling pretty good.

It’s amazing what a couple of days of sunny, warm weather do for my motivation. The boat and I both smell like diesel again and I like it. On the way home from Padre I had a filter clog and had to switch over to the second Racor. This is a great redundancy that saves a lot of time. I dug in today to replace both filters, but of course my starter solenoid is finally out for good which means I can’t bleed the system. I’ll give the old girl something, she didn’t leave me stranded out there in the Gulf. The only break downs I’ve had all occurred at the dock. Anyways, I swapped out both filters and learned a little more about my fuel system. It’s still dirty so I need to keep lots and lots of filters on board. I’ve also got an electric pump to help bleed the system, but only up to the injectors as I need the starter to bleed past the high pressure fuel pump. I’ll head to Blue Water tomorrow to order a new solenoid.

I can really feel the clock ticking. This is the first time I’ve ever seen the expanse of a year in front of me and realized how quickly it would all pass.

The logo for the new website should be done next week and an amateur photographer is going to come by the week after to take some pics of the dog and I on the boat. I’ll send them into Latitudes and Attitudes and hopefully get the site launched by March. I am expecting things to go into high gear as the weather warms up and am getting my game plan in place.

Waxing philosophical

Something has been bothering me and I haven’t been able to crystallize what it is. I’ve known for a long time that the U.S. economy is based on capitalism. In other words, consumer spending is what keeps the U.S. going. If something happens that makes consumers stop shopping, like a pack of bad loans or a terrorist attack, we may run into a recession. Today congress passed an economic stimulus package of 1.5 Billion dollars. Most of that will come in the form of tax breaks for big business, but another chunk boils down to giving free money, $1200 for couples and $600 for individuals, to the people and telling them to go shopping. Go buy a LCD TV for the sake of your country.

I am not smart enough to think this through to any logical conclusion, but it doesn’t seem like it’s possible to sustain this model indefinitely. At a minimum, one of two things if not both need to occur for continued growth of the U.S. economy. First, people have to start spending more of their total income. I don’t know how this one works. It seems like people have already surpassed what should be a spending maximum. I don’t know how many people I hear about who spend will beyond their disposable income and run up huge credit card debts. The mortgage crisis is another example. People thought the housing boom would last forever so they bought way more house then they could afford and foreclosures now show a double digit increse.

The second option is to make sure we have a rapidly growing population adding to the work force resulting in more people out there shopping. I don’t have any numbers to back it up, but I though the U.S. and most western nation’s populations were declining? A lot of younger generations are holding off longer and longer on marriage and having children later in life. This combined with the aging baby boomers would significantly reduce the number of spenders we’ve got.

Up until I bought the boat and started the refit I’ve never been a big spender. I used to read financial planning books like we were about to loose them all. I even pass them out to friends of mine because the issue of personal finance is an important one to me. No one has found a better system than capitalism, but shouldn't we be looking pretty closely at it? The politicians argued for awhile about whom to give the rebates to because they didn’t feel those above a certain income level would pour the money back into the economy. People who tend to be financially savvy save, not spend. It’s the bunch in the rat race that the money is mostly targeted to. These are the people that drive the economy. They can’t get ahead because they buy cheap consumer goods that break in a year or less leaving them no better off had they not had the money at all. Those considered wealthy buy things that make money. They spend it, but they spend it on things that show a return on the money like property and businesses that feed the consumer market. Their money earns interest, they don't pay it.

Something seems wrong to when the best thing we can do with 1.5 Billion is to give Johnny Suburb a check for $600 and send him off to get an iPhone. Here is the message from my soapbox. If you haven’t already started really securing your financial independence and need help understanding how, go get a book called The Wealthy Barber. It’s an easy read with 10 things you can do today to get your finances in order.

Oh wait, this is a sailing blog. Ok, I read the above mentioned book about six years ago and now I am about to go cruising at 31. It wouldn’t be happening if I hadn’t learned early on how to manage my money. I think this is a skill common to a lot of sailors I’ve spoken to.

My parents called my Lucky Lee…

Lucky Lee stuck for more than just the alliteration. I have a habit of falling into good things. I am lucky. Always have been, but then again I also believe that luck favors the prepared mind.

It’s Sunday morning and I am flying out to California for a business meeting tomorrow. I am on the cattle cars that fly the skies, Southwest Airlines, and settling into my seat I pulled out a book called Blue Latitudes. The next thing I hear is a voice from the passenger beside me saying she’d read it and wanting to know if I was a boater. With a cheerful voice I responded absolutely and that I was even crazy enough to live on a 39 foot sailboat. With that she sent an equally charming smile back my way and confirmed that she too lived on a 54 foot sailboat. I like this lady already.

As more and more people file onto the plane the previously empty seat between us gets taken by another business traveler not all too thrilled to be sitting between us. Mostly immune, we carry on as she fills me in on the details of her 3 year cruise from California down Mexico, out to the South Pacific Isles, up to Hawaii and back. We’ve been sharing boat pictures on our laptops and of course I am full of questions in anticipation of my own cruise.

Now, sailors are typically always pawning off the dog eared copies of the various sailing mags we have about us. I wasn’t all that surprised, but very grateful when she reached into her backpack and pulled out a recently read copy of Latitudes and Attitudes. She indicated she’d been looking for a person to give it too and that she worked for the magazine. Robin, as I should be addressing her, then asked me to send in a picture and she’d get it in for me. Little did I know I was sitting next to the Publishing Manager for one of the top two cruising magazines. What a break.

My new evening project will be to pull together a quick and dirty press kit to send to Robin. I’ve been reading through the sailing mags websites looking for contacts exactly like Robin and now I come to find myself sitting next to the person I’ve been looking for. I really need my logo and web page up so I can start drumming up some interest in the SOS Adventure. My dad always used the old cliché, “I’d rather be lucky than good any day”. I am hoping I can be both.

BM Boat Works, Y.E.S., and Blue Water Ships Store

I've had a few people asking me about who they can trust around Clear Lake, Texas for boat work. I've been through the ringer here knowing squat about boats when this all started. At first, I hired BM Boatworks, run by Ben Miller. BM did do a good job on some basic blister repair and the bottom job. I wouldn't use the same paint he used again but the work was fine. However, I was less happy about some electrical work he had done. The ST 60 instrument pack was installed well, but he didn't bother to run the wires along the existing wiring harness. They ran them across the water and fuel tank back to the board, the shortest distance and in my opinion poor quality work. I also purchased a 3K prop based on his recommendation that it would fit. It didn't. Fortunately MaxProp only charged me for the shipping. In short, bottom job, sure, anything else.....Call William Hensley at Blue Water Ships Store.

William Hensley used to work for Y.E.S., but Blue Water fired their entire service division and brought in William to rebuild it from the ground up. He is salt of the earth and will do the job correctly the first time at a reasonable price. I used to be evangelical about not using Blue Water which is kind of funny considering that is the only place I'll let my friends go now. Blue Water were the jack holes that tore out my old transmission and broke off a thru hull in the process leaving my boat with out power and slowly sinking. They then cut the line feeding the salt water wash down pump leaving my boat with air conditioning, but slowly sinking without power to get to a yard for haul out.

William fixed me up. I had to leave town for a business trip and they had the boat towed, thru hull replaced, and back in my slip in a day. The also reinstalled my new transmission in a day and it was perfectly done. In short, don't waste time or money going for a discount deal on boat work. Call Blue Water, but if William has moved on, I would too. And No, I am not affiliated with them in any way.