A coming attraction...

A very clear example of the downside of profit based medicine and insurance, a neat trick, and Jon Stewart gets to the point...

This looks rather tasty...



Listening to Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes

So it goes...

A bit of evolution on the rig...

Robert Reich makes some sense, a doll for an uncertain future (spelled zombie apocalypse), and the Bahamas does something right...

Hey. I'm the first to admit that a lot of my thought processes involve cunning plans having to do with making my lifestyle better while throwing less money at it. You might say one of my favorite mantras is "live better, spend less" which is a bit more positive than my other old standby of "I will not be ripped off"...

I'm currently working on some changes to the new rig on "So It Goes" which went from a standard CAL 34 rig (until mast fall down go boom) which was replaced by a keel stepped "Simplicity rig" and now being reworked to a "Simplicity rig on a deck stepped mast in a Wharram-esque tabernacle".

With me so far?

The reason of going back to deck stepped is all about the fact that we were quoted nearly $500 to step or unstep the mast... Yowza! I'm sure you'll all agree that the yard in question is somewhat pyratical and only an idiot of the first rank would pay that sort of money for less than ten minutes of crane time.

Not being an idiot of the "first" rank (as hard as I try I can't seem to get past the third level) there was no way I'd ever pay that kind of money. The simple fact that they were asking that kind of silly money was enough writing on the wall to make me think long and hard about a rig I could not step or unstep by myself if needful.

Being able to step/unstep your mast whenever needed has a lot of advantages and being in the Caribbean during "H" season it is not lost on me that tucked back in the mangroves I'd be even safer if I could drop the mast and stow it on deck. Better yet, if I need to sort something out with the masthead light, paint the mast, or redo a halyard it all becomes somewhat easier...

Now that the new tabernacle is almost ready for prime time, I've been thinking how a pair of beaching legs would also be a very handy accessory allowing us to dispense with more than a few haulouts (spelled saving a lot of money) as long as I have a reasonable beach and a few feet of tidal range.

Sounds like a plan...

Listening to Dave Davies

So it goes...

The bookstore blues and Jewish Pirates...

One thing that St Thomas has going for it is a pretty decent bookstore in Dockside Books. That said, the last few times I have visited with pockets full of money earmarked for book buying binges, has gone mostly unspent.

Now I'll get serious for a bit about the real hardships of life afloat! It's not storms and hurricanes or pirates and villians the real downside of sailing around and living on a boat is simply that keeping abreast of the arts is seriously problematic! Movies, books and music are the real thorn in the whole paradise on a boat gig!

At least St Thomas  has a bookstore... St Martin for all of its hip and jet set styling is a bookstore-free zone! So  St Thomas and Dockside books get some brownie points but I still don't have any books to read... So how does that go?

The real problem lies in the realm of publishing as these days every book seems to be a serial publication... Sound of head hitting bulkhead... So, while at the book store every book I picked up that looked interesting seemed to be the third or fourth book in a series. Which is OK if the bookstore in question has the series in stock as I'd simply buy whatever series interested me. On the other hand, I have been carrying around the third book in a series that I've read the first book but don't want to read the third till I have read the second... ARRRGGGHHH!

Of course, we boat folk do a lot of Amazon and Barnes and Noble, but the costs of shipping and just the fact that mail drops are at best somewhat problematic makes for big orders and long waits to be able to pick them up. While I do like Amazon and Barnes and Noble, neither store has the touchy feely and serendipitous experience that I find needful in finding new and different books to read...

Case in point, just as we were about to leave Dockside books there was a book on the end of an aisle just crying out to be picked up and read. "Jewish Pirates of The Caribbean" a book I had never heard of and one that had eluded my many pirate history searches in both the Amazon and Barnes and Noble search quests. But that is how bookstores work... You go to pick up one book and discover something you did not even know you are looking for... So it goes!

I'm looking forward to sinking my teeth into "JPOTC" as it looks like a goodie... I'd always known Jean LaFitte was Jewish but thought he was something of a one-off and I can't wait to learn more...

Somalia pirates...

One thing we get asked about a LOT is what do we do about pirates here in the Caribbean. Truth is, outside of certain Government officials and some so-called marine professionals here in the Caribbean there is really not piracy in the accepted sense. Which is not to say that there are not some villians who operate off boats but they are more akin to muggers than proper pirates.

Not so off the coast of Africa. These days prudent cruisers are giving Somalia a wide berth! Today's Big Picture has some awesome pictures of what modern day piracy really looks like..Riveting stuff!