It all started so innocently, I was attempting to get my two young dates to give up their impossibly teeny bikinis with dares of jumping off the side of the ship and skinny dipping with me.  Of all the people I know I hold the record for getting complete strangers naked and doing stupid shit with me. I had invited a few of my girl friends over for a last ho-rah on my friends ship before they set sail for Sitka Alaska.  The ship has a Jacuzzi mounted on the roof above the bridge.  Put 5 guys in a jacuzzi with two cute little girls and a cock fight is bound to break out.

It started with us insulting each other, then we started insulting each others mothers.  One thing led to another and we were making ridiculous dares.  When a life jacket was shoved in my face I knew it was getting serious.  Anyone who knows me knows my absolute fear of water, they also know I’m always the first one in.  So there we were wet and shivering standing at the edge of the ship staring into the dark void.  I couldn’t actually see the water but I knew it was there somewhere, I kept thinking um.. gee doc, the last thing I remember is…  All I had to do was jump and gravity would show me the way.

Against the bold, daring is unsafe. 
~Ovid

I pulled out the  double dare in a last stitch effort to get the last of the tough guys standing at the edge with me to back down.  Then I heard the most dreaded words of all, the triple dog dare.  I was mid flight falling through the black of night before he finished, the air time was amazing.  My body split the icy water in perfect form and I heard Tanner hit the surface before I rose back to it.  It was freezing but the adrenalin had taken over as we laughed and splashed at each other.  We swam to the safe haven of the ship when we realized the deck was several feet up.  We were tied to the saw-tooth with no dock near enough to swim too.  Captain Erik came down and pulled my 150 lb body out with one arm but the two of us couldn’t get tanner out.  We ended up hanging a ladder over the side and with-in minutes we were all back in the Jacuzzi warming our frozen bones.  Just another day in the life…

Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.
~Cecil Beaton

But for you it’s probably a no-brainer.

    The Universe

Triage,  is the process of determining the priority of a boats’ upgrades based on the severity of their condition. This rations a boats maintenance efficiently when resources are insufficient for all to be upgraded immediately. 

The` is officially a voyaging yacht.  My broke bank account is soon to have a few freedom chips, not as many as I would like but enough to start provisioning.  My priority’s are as usual dogie food and treats for 4 full months.  A few cases of wine, a case of whiskey, one full bin of fun munchies and 4 cases of beans rice…, ie boring but sustainable food.  I have been sailing with zero safety equipment but that is going to change as I can’t afford the potential ticket I would get if I get caught.

I plan to fill every nook and crannie of the boat.  I am tuning her rig and getting the bugs out.  I still have no water tank, oven, blah blah blah, but we are ready and sea trials start this week.  There is still lots to do before departure but it has all started, from here on out its one hour of fun for every one hour of work.  I’m so excited today as I have just received a new book thanks ken.  I am also buying a new/old camera today for 25 bucks.

If we fasten our attention on what we have, rather than on what we lack, a very little wealth is sufficient.

~Francis Johnson

This little gaffer sailed around the Cape Horn and is representative of Port Townsend.  Every corner, nook, and cranny of the marinas and boatyards here are filled with nautical history.  I had made an impromptu trip here to refinish the interior of a 26′ Falmouth Cutter.  Now a whole week later, back in Bellingham it all seems like a dream.  I locked myself inside the boat with great music and went to work, varnish shavings covered every inch of the boat as I stripped out 20 years of neglect.

I had my bike with me and explored every inch of PT, I have been hoping to spend a month here in the spring working on the boat before setting off to explore the Salish Sea.  My real dream is to spend one last winter in PT before sailing down the coast.  Port Townsend is a sailors mecca.  The two top places I have wanted to live and sail for a few months are Port Townsend and San Francisco.

I spent a good amount of time talking with local sail makers and riggers hoping to set my final budget.  I was quoted just under 11k for a new suit of working sails, not just any sails but the finest sails made, lets just say I will be using what I have for now.  I was fortunate enough to visit several other Falmouth Cutters and was reminded of how much I prefer the simplicity of my boat.  By the time I left town I had crossed nearly every item off my must have list, and transferred them to my someday list.

I had many revelations on this wonderful working vacation but the biggest one is that there is one thing still missing from this boat and I intend to keep it that way…

I keep sailing on in this middle passage. I am sailing into the wind and waves in the dark. But I am doing my best to keep my boat steady and my sails full.

It didn’t take long for all the disaster scenarios to unfold.  You can’t possibly go to sea without a life raft, E-pirb, AIS, GPS, VHF, HAM, radar, Sat comm…I would love a life-raft, and maybe even a E-pirb but for now its not going to happen. I have 4000 miles of coastal cruising before I turn left.  Sure I would sleep better having all these things but I would also sleep better in a bigger boat and…

I stared at this flimsy little peace of rubber and thought, no way in hell I’m getting into that.  My boat is my life-raft, I have done everything right and in the process of completely rebuilding her I have touched every inch of her.  I know I have the tools to work on her because I have done everything myself.  The windlass was the last peace to the puzzle.

The one peace of safety equipment I truly wish I had is a self steering wind vane.  I am hoping to spend next winter in Port Townsend before heading south, maybe I will come across a nice used one, if not I will use sheet to tiller steering.  I’m constantly surprised by how comfortable this little boat has become.  At sea I feel a sense of security more than any boat I have ever sailed.  As I wrap up my last few projects I know we are both ready as we will ever be.

Only the insecure strive for security.
 ~Wayne Dyer

What is it about society today that everybody thinks they can control you, tell you what to do or how to act.

How can a society that exists on instant mashed potatoes, packaged cake mixes, frozen dinners, and instant cameras teach patience to its young?
  ~Paul Sweeney

There are so many things in this world that inspire me, a beautiful smile, a warm balmy wind blowing through my hair, fire in the sky.  I have spent half my life in constant wonder of all  the beauty this world has to offer.

I just may be the pickiest giant pain in the ass on the planet earth when it comes to accepting love..  How is it that I can go years without the faintest flicker in my heart, then instantly fall deep into love so blind I can feel it engulfing my body like the deep blue sea?

It happened with the suddenness of a broken shoe lace.  I woke up this morning to a balmy breeze gently blowing through the marina.  Today I knew that my hibernation has officially ended, the long cold winter has slipped into spring.

I have closed the door on the cold and embrace spring with every ounce of my mind, body, and soul.  I have been freed from the grips of the empty void.  The snow blankets the earth every year to mend and repair the destruction done by man and animal alike.  After so many months protected by the cold, life emerges once again wholesome and healthy.  My roots are strong and winter has made me stronger.  Spring is in the air.

A little learning is a dangerous thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring.
~Alexander Pope

shttp://lindapasquariello.com/2012/01/24/680/

I’m sitting at my desk looking at a two hundred thousand dollar unsigned contract that I just tore in half.  I was offered full funding to open a film studio based out of Portland, my one year contract to start this firm was a dream come true, money, fun, security, travel.  In addition to the start up money there was quite a healthy pay schedule for me including all relocating costs, living expenses and a free car for a year.

Why would I turn my back on such an opportunity?  Fear, apprehension about the future, fear of failure, fear of success, fear of leaving, fear of staying.  I wonder, will my boat every be ready, will I? Setting off as a solo sailor has a small amount of risk attached but its my dog I worry most about.  I know I can take care of myself but can I keep her happy, safe, and comfortable?  The list of fears is so long I could write a book.  From the start I have known that I would fit the boat out as I coastal cruise so what am I waiting for?

There is a calm sea in my mind, the tide is pulling and The` is patiently waiting.  I’ve given myself till May 1st to get all my ducks in a row.  If I can make enough money I will make a stop in Port Townsend to replace my pintles and gudgeons, an expoxy job and add a water tank.  If I don’t have the money it will have to wait.  My short sea trials have been going well but I want  to feel the long pacific rollers under my keel, and the wind on my back.

There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures.
                                  ~William Shakespeare

“When you focus upon anything at all, Alan , it’s like a call goes out to every corner of the Universe, summoning ideas, strength, courage, insight, resources, and whatever else is needed to complete the laser beam of your concentration. If it’s an answer you need, it will be forthcoming. If it’s a choice you have to make, your options are calculated and recalculated under each scenario. If circumstances need to be arranged then every soul on the planet is consulted. And if it’s help you need… we’re already there. 

When you focus upon anything at all. 

Not bad, huh? 

    The Universe”

I decided to play hookie from work and clean up the boat.  The afternoon sun warmed my shirtless body and life was perfect.  I jumped on Schwinnie and headed into town in search of a yummy dinner.  People were everywhere, it was nice to see skin after so many days of snow and cold.  Its looking like I will be out of here sooner than I thought.  So much to do so little time.  I’m trying as hard as I can to stay focused as summer is right around the corner.  I have given notice to the marina so who knows where I will drop the anchor next.  The sun is calling my name and the wind has offered me free passage.  Close your eyes and imagine, can you see me now?

When we love, it isn’t because the person’s perfect, it’s because we learn to see an imperfect person perfectly.

I made it just clear of the break water when the wind died all together and I started to drift towards the Jetty.  Nothing I could do but drop the anchor and wait for wind.  I went below to cook some warm soup when I heard a boat approach.  I was offered a tow and a glass of scotch, which I gladly accepted and was towed back to the slip.  I’m gonna have to get a sculling oar or small motor soon as I can’t stand being tied to the dock any longer.  Today I’m going to give it another try.

My first pair of Xtratuf’s