Random thoughts and rants on boat design, boat building, and other boat bits for those in the 99%...
Some last words you might want to pay attention to, stuff to keep in mind now that it's Hurricane season, and in the "No Donald you can't sell Puerto Rico" department...
Nautigirl has something on the subject.
Buckwheat Zydeco is no longer with us, a whole lot of sense being made, and in the "I still don't understand why we're not seeing perp walks" department...
So, according to the new October issue of Blue Water Sailing, Barbados has now added a flat $2000 annual fee per boat to the cost of visiting the island. Apparently the powers that be in Barbados think it's going to attract more tourism...
Yeah right!
Offhand, I can't say such antics of clueless bureaucrats on small islands with not much to offer in the grand scheme of things is going to affect me one way or the other as Barbados is just not on my places to windward I ever need to go to.
That said, dumb ideas are a lot like the common cold and tend to spread so I wouldn't be at all surprised to see such silliness popping up elsewhere.
Just saying...
Listening to The Main Squeeze
So it goes...
This from NOAA is pretty interesting, while this a bit droll, and some good thinking about our Ebola problem...
A couple days back we were on the phone with a charter company we deal with in the BVI and everyone except the person on the phone was home sick with Dengue fever. Meanwhile a captain in the Grenadines on a boat we're chartering for a client has been down sick with Chickungunya and we're hearing rumors that Malaria might be back in play down Antigua way.
A big part of the problem down here is that most (if not all) Caribbean nations have had a "pretend mosquito-borne illnesses don't exist" agenda because it might scare away the tourists. Which, of course, made things worse by not addressing the problem. Spray for mosquitos and someone might think you're doing it because you have a problem so best not to. So much easier to simply not report any cases...
Nets and repellent are today's mantra...
Listening to Shovels & Rope
So it goes...
Grand theft Oreo, some seriously scary shit, and something positive for a change...
I heard on the radio the other day that St Croix has twice the number of cases of Dengue fever than the other US Virgin Islands which are having a “a noted increase” in cases...
Scary that.
So is this...
“a noted increase".We've both had Dengue... I was lucky. I just felt really, really shitty for a couple of weeks but my better half had a really severe case that laid her low for a month and a half. There is no cure, no vaccine, and when you get it all you can do is ride it out.
Hey, I'm sure that there is a completely innocent explanation for this sort of thing (and if you believe that you just might be interested in a bridge I have for sale), on disruptive trends, and how bikes can make sense...
This current news over at Noonsite was not exactly the sort of news that fills me with joy.
Having spent a lot of time in the Canary Islands it is one of my favorite places to cruise and hang out. So news that it is becoming less cruiser friendly is not something I want to read about with my morning coffee, but then there it is... Bummer.
Sadly, this is the future we find ourselves in and folks on boats of a nomadic nature who are not on mega-yachts or of the compulsive consumerism form of yachting are going to find that a lot of places are not going to be welcoming them with open arms as suggested new rules (pdf) for the USVI attest.
That said, it's a big world and, if one is willing to cruise hors-piste, there is always a way to make it work. Point of fact it might all even be for the better...
Listening to Bob Marley
So it goes...
Not exactly grassroots support, Sean Lennon has something to say, and this makes my head hurt...
Well, on the new dinghy front we're still waiting for that package of plans to get here from Bermuda. Which is OK as there is no shortage of projects that need doing aboard "So It Goes" but I do want to have the new dinghy a done deal before we relocate over to St Thomas for the charter boat shows...
Speaking of schedules, I've been spending a lot of time taking notes from Jimmy Cornell's "World Cruising Routes" and "Ocean Atlas" but no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to get from point "A" to point "B" without taking some time off to get in sync with the seasonal passage windows. It would seem a side trip to take up some time is called for and, just maybe, Mexico might be just what the doctor ordered.
Listening to Jethro Tull
So it goes...
Some painful ink, this will explain a lot, and Brilliant at Breakfast has a theory...
We've just heard about some political moves to make sailing/cruising/living aboard much more expensive in the USVI...
How expensive you might ask? Well, a quick glance at the new proposed rates would make the USVI a NO FREE ANCHORING zone for anyone who stays over in the USVI. Folks who live aboard in the territory would see an increase (in my boat length niche) in mooring fees of 500% (bigger boats would see increases of 600% & 700%) and that's just the tip of the iceberg as, looking at the whole package, it is something of the death of a thousand cuts sort of thing.
Sadly, the USVI is not alone in getting serious about raising rates to the point where folks simply don't come in unless they have to and then only stay the minimum needed till they can get out of Dodge.
Welcome to the future...
I think we're going to need a smaller boat!
Listening to France Gall (it is Bastille Day after all)
So it goes...
These guys sure know how to run an election, in the Now What department, and Orlov makes some sense... Oh yeah, about that new "TSA Cares" program so a quick spot check here and here reveals it's business as usual and FUBAR. Feel safer?
On a lighter note, I should point out that over at Bilgemunky they are on their 206th program of pyraticaly inspired music... Best to give them a listen!
It would seem "So It Goes" is not the only boat looking to check out Brazil in the not-too-distant future... But, I expect, with recent news regarding the Panama Canal, a lot of folks both trendy and not so trendy are going to be looking further south and the Straight of Magellan is looking more inviting all the time.
and some Telemark skis!Something that made me smile, news from the hardly surprising files, and this will drive you seriously nuts...
Over at the SSCA forum there was a thread entitled Cruising internationally: are we in the end game? and it's sorta/kinda worth a read...
I say sorta/kinda because it's more about opinion, knee jerk reaction and no small amount of snark factor, than actually answering the question. That said, it does clarify a couple of trends that is part and parcel of current cruising thought/culture.
From where I sit there are a lot of problematic issues that folks on boats need to deal with these days if you want to cruise. Worse, it is something of a changing game as those problems tend to mutate and morph faster than a lot of folks can keep up with. So cruising just may not be the right path for those who like a same-old-same-everything-is-logical-and-civilized sort of road trip tourism thing...
For those who like schedules and the same old same, may I suggest the wonders of train travel.
On the other hand, at least for us, cruising has never been simple or normal. There have always been places you could not go because of crime or war, countries that had less than logical visa requirements or catch 22 rules that made no sense, places too expensive to visit, and while these days it might not be hip to admit you're on a budget, I should point out that we have yet to meet a real cruiser that was not obsessed with the cost of stuff. Just a note, those not obsessed with budget are called tourists...
Go back and read some of the early Pardey books like "Serrafyns Oriental Adventure" or "Cruising in Seraffyn" for a taste of how it's all changed but not really changed at all.
Of course, a lot of those places Lin and Larry spent time in are now less than pristine cruising grounds, ruined by over development, commercialization, and hordes of bareboat bozos... But, you know, somewhere else out there is not so popular and just waiting for you to discover it. While it may be out of the way off the various milk runs, unserviced by a "cruisers rally", no bareboat-oriented cruisers guide for the area, or a full service marina/spa, but it's waiting for you and all you have to do is point the boat in a new direction...
For those slow on the uptake, new is the operative word.
Nomadic cultures stop being nomadic when they quit varying their wandering. The first sign of nomadic culture breakdown is when routes tend to become rigid... Just something you might want to keep in mind.
Listening to a David Bowie concert I attended way back when.
So it goes...
It's a whole new world out there, $6 a pound, and, is it just me, or does this news story need a Theremin in the soundtrack?
So, it appears that the new 90/180 tourist visas for Turkey are now a done deal and a lot of folks cruising the Med are going to have to look elsewhere for a place to hang out...
Italy with it's new tax on boats is starting to make the whole Med thing look problematic. With the already ingrained hassles of the Schengen Agreement/Treaty making Europe look less and less desirable as a cruising destination, it's time to start re-thinking our options...
One of the places I've considered as a site to build the next boat is the Philippines as there is an abundance of good wood and a supply link is already in place for epoxy and composite materials. Throw in the fact that the Philippines is something of a cruisers dream (so many islands so little time...) and so far, the zombie scourge of bareboating has not yet taken hold nor appears to look like it will...
And, have I mentioned that growing up in LA in a neighborhood with a lot of Filipino families that Filipino food is one of my favorites?
Gotta be a catch...
One thing I'm not so big on is that they get hurricanes just like we do, though in the Pacific they call them Typhoons and Luzon was just hit by a category 5 storm with sustained winds of over 200 MPH...
