A neat little boat...

Krugman gets it right, a campaign ad of note, and a warning to be taken seriously...

This is a very cool boat.

Mark Smaalders sure designs nice boats.

I'll just add that one of the most memorable and enjoyable moments I've ever had on a boat was in France talking with friends, drinking hot spiced cider, and eating fresh-out-of-the-wood-burning-stove bread in a similar sized gaffer while it snowed outside. Yeah, I really like this boat,

Listening to Frank Waln

So it goes...

An energy-passive water harvester...

An amazing exercise in horrific tackiness while preying on and exploiting grieving families,  something very much worth a read, and some troubling Coast Guard news...

They had me at energy-passive.




Listening to Richard Swift

So it goes...

About the gaff rig...

Some profits being made, not expecting this will surprise anyone, and Sailing Anarchy asks the question:  "Just how much more damage and disrespect for our oceans can you take from this criminal?"...

I'm often amazed at the general ignorance of people who tell me that the gaff rig is an inferior design. Especially because most of those people have never sailed a gaff rig or, in some cases, even seen one, you know, actually sailing.

So, for those folks here's an excellent gaff rig primer from "How To Sail Oceans" ( a youtube channel worth perusing).



Listening to a "Jones" playlist

So it goes... 

A film you might have missed...

A very timely question, something from the "Can't even organize a piss-up in a brewery" department, and stuff everyone should know about plastic in our oceans...


Following Seas Trailer from Araby Kelley on Vimeo.

Listening to Loma

So it goes...

Two very cool outboard solutions...

Wendig with some advice I really needed today, a soundtrack we should not be letting happen, and because, you know, aliens and stuff...

A new video from James at Atom Voyages showing a very nice outboard installation you might want to check out.



If that doesn't do it for you Far Reach Voyages has what may be just the thing.



Listening to Howlin' Rain

So it goes...

R2AK...

Some good points being made, a little bit of hope, and a question I seem to be asking myself a lot lately...

Good stuff!

You're still here?

Listening to a Tim Buckley song

So it goes...

Something you might want to know about...

Very well said, the stupidity it burns, and in the "Just follow the frelling money" department...

La Longue Route 2018.

More a pilgrimage than a race. What's not to love?

Listening to Flow Tribe

So it goes...

a race of note and a luddite pleasing app...

A depressing note, EBM on  the subject of "hearts and minds" and in the  "racist, misogynist, bigoted cult of personality that worships Trump" department...

I'll admit I'm sorta/kinda looking forward to the upcoming Golden Globe race in the hopes that it will give a shot in the arm to the idea that seamanship actually matters. Plus, it really should be a pretty good race and is more or less accessible to folks who actually have to work for a living and not just the same old same money wins and rich folk behaving badly affair which seems what most racing has become these days.

On the subject of eroding seamanship skills I'm actually quite impressed with the newish FastSeas routing app as it seems to do the required job for an affordable price (or free) so you might want to add it to your tool set and check it out.

Listening to Fármacos

So it goes...

On DIY not only being a cheap-seats hobby...

Some recent historical perspective, a story worth reading, and in the "pictures & video of kids in dog cages might give the wrong impression" department...

I've gone on record about my feeling for what passes for foul weather gear in these modern times and, while not exactly a Luddite, I do find myself an unhappy camper when it comes time to purchase new gear.

The thing is what I want is something like this...

Pretty much just a cagoule and this one is available as a pattern from Rain Shed. As it happens, Green Pepper also does a nice pattern for an anorak/cagoule that looks like it would do the job...

So, most of the hard work is already done for me except for bringing the whole cagoule-as-boat-foul-weather-gear into the current century. Now, as someone who once-upon-a-time used to design mountaineering and backpacking gear for a paycheck, all I have to do is what everybody else does in the design world which is to look around and steal other people's ideas and, hopefully, improve on them in the process.

The first place to look, for me at least, is the folks at Stormr who seem to be making the best foul weather gear around. If you don't know who they are check this out...



Seriously, they had me at the word n-e-o-p-r-e-n-e. Not just the smarts of using neoprene either they really seem to have done an excellent job on the details. Chief of which is using wetsuit zippers and as Stormr's parent company is in the business of making wetsuits they actually seem to understand the concept of making foul weather gear that is designed to get wet (unlike these guys). Really, if Stormr made a cagoule style I'd be all over it but, as they don't, I'll have to get creative and get the sewing machine out.

The thing to keep in mind about DIY is that it is not just about saving money but a whole lot more about getting something that suits your needs more precisely than what's available on the market and doing it yourself is very much a satisfying pursuit in its own right. In this case, I know exactly what I want and have a few extra ideas that may improve it as well so I'll enjoy the process and what's not to love about that?

Anyway, hopefully sooner rather than later, I'll let you know how the new cagoule works out...

Listening to some covers from 1978

So it goes

A boat sized router table...

EBM with some concise situational awareness, Badtux nails it, and  a pithy (but true) observation...

This looks like just the thing.



I've even got space aboard to stow it when not in use.

Doing the happy dance.

Listening to Itsuro Shimoda

So it goes...