tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59104086736366228312024-03-13T07:41:29.826-07:00The Adventures of Sailing Vessel MachaArihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514069453976373599noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5910408673636622831.post-52115023407102901062010-05-20T13:31:00.001-07:002010-05-20T13:40:42.831-07:00If I Could Just Accomplish One Simple Thing Today...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S_WcgBMvTFI/AAAAAAAAAeg/T7HcIQUl0KA/s1600/IMG_1348.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S_WcgBMvTFI/AAAAAAAAAeg/T7HcIQUl0KA/s400/IMG_1348.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473452996030319698" border="0" /></a>So often, owning a boat feels like a chicken fight with Entropy.<br /><br />The other day I was stomping around in the dark, perhaps on my way to change a crappy diaper, perhaps on my way to do some other chore. My foot caught a piece of wood trim near the base of the companionway ladder and cracked a big piece right off.<br /><br />That was weeks ago. Work, grad school, baby all intervened. I just got around to gluing and clamping it today. Ah, the small satisfaction of a day where I fix more than I break!<br /><br />Now going to attempt a rescue mission for a kerosene jug that was glassed into the stern anchor chain locker when we had the cockpit redone. It won't fit through the access hatch, so I've got to cut it into tiny chunks, then mount a strong eye down there so we can secure the bitter end of our rode. Any chore that can be done with a Sawzall is typically a good chore!<br /><br />- AriArihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514069453976373599noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5910408673636622831.post-37475673424929320362010-05-13T10:59:00.000-07:002010-05-13T15:29:34.692-07:00Yemaya's First Sailboat RaceEver since Yemaya was even tinier than she is now, she has laughed whenever she gets a gust of wind in her face. She closes her eyes and puffs out her cheeks and sputters and chuckles. It was so funny that we made up a rhyme to go with it:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Breeze in the face</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Breeze in the face</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Just enough for a sailboat race</span>!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Last night Yemaya got introduced to the thrilling white-knuckle world of sailboat racing... which for her was much the same experience as the thrilling world of sitting in the backseat of a car on land...<br /><br />Our courageous crewmember had all the latest high-tech sailing gear:<br /><ul><li>Stuffed dog. Check!</li><li>Rattle ball. Check!</li><li>Jingle bell bracelet. Check!</li><li>Soggy Ak-Mak cracker to slowly masticate into paste and rub into carseat. Check!</li><li>Mama's sunglasses to open. And close. And open. And close.... Check!</li><li>Jammies in case I fall asleep. (Don't worry, I won't) Check!<br /></li></ul></div></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S-w_MwLZJII/AAAAAAAAAeY/DhiKo_HzJTY/s1600/IMG_0405.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S-w_MwLZJII/AAAAAAAAAeY/DhiKo_HzJTY/s400/IMG_0405.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470817135671977090" border="0" /></a>We weren't planning to fly the spinnaker, but Yemaya held onto (and chewed on) the pretty yellow pole topping lift just in case.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S-w_Lmoey-I/AAAAAAAAAeI/wUpPlsi7i3k/s1600/IMG_0403.JPG"><br /></a>Since beer can racing on the Oakland Estuary is such a serious, competitive pursuit, I diligently printed 2 out of 3 of the available documents on the oyc.org web site:<br /><ul><li>Course Map. Check!</li><li>Sailing Instructions. Check!</li><li>Fleet Assignments. We'll never need that...</li></ul>Flash forward to 6:25pm. We are circling the starting line with a few dozen other boats of varying sizes trying to find other boats that look "like us." I see a Santana 25. That's gotta be similar rating to a Santana 22. I sail close enough and ask "Do you know when we start?" He replies "Are you racing non-spinnaker? You guys are all Fleet A. That was your warning gun." Doh! We were kinda slacking because, being slower, we're usually among the last boats to start. We are nowhere near the start.<br /><br />Minutes after our starting gun, I'm still singlehanding the boat towards the line while Sarah breastfeeds Yemaya down below. It's a little dodgy trying to steer and trim both sails while peeking underneath our 155% Genoa. The two boats that started on time are miles ahead of us, but miraculously there are boats behind us too!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S-w_Lmoey-I/AAAAAAAAAeI/wUpPlsi7i3k/s1600/IMG_0403.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S-w_Lmoey-I/AAAAAAAAAeI/wUpPlsi7i3k/s400/IMG_0403.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470817115929758690" border="0" /></a>In light wind, less-wetted surface trumps longer waterline. In our small, stripped-down boat, slowly but surely we pull away from the pack of longer, heavier keelboats. The wind is coming over Alameda instead of down the Estuary, so what would normally be an upwind-downwind course is a reach both ways. The wind direction favors a genoa over jib+spinnaker, and later we even pace some of the spinnaker fleet.<br /><br />Some of the racing highlights were slaloming the narrow gap between two Columbia 5.5's, rolling one to windward and one to leeward, while the baby shrieked "DADADADA" (I'll never get tired of hearing that!) and the other yachtsmen looked on in horror at being overtaken by a floating pack-n-play.<br /><br />We finished just as we started, with Sarah down below breastfeeding Yemaya. The race instructions specify two laps around the course, but we heard a horn as we finished our first lap. "Hmm, I guess that's it." We looked around and kept sailing just in case, but it seemed the other boats are dropping headsails and going home.<br /><br />In the end, we came in just ahead of the middle of the pack. But I think we won a moral victory for proving we could sail well with the baby, and enjoy almost every minute of it!<br /><br /><table style="font-family: arial; font-size: 8pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 128); font-weight: bold;" border="1" cellspacing="0" width="830"><tbody><tr><td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b>SAIL #</b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b>SKIPPER</b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b>BOAT NAME</b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b>BOAT MODEL</b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b> RATING </b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b>FINISH</b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b>ELAPSED</b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b>CORRECTED</b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="left"><span style=""><b>PTS.</b></span></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b>COMMENTS</b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b>YC</b></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center">562</td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center">Joey Hansen</td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b>Magic</b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b>Mercury</b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b>234</b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b> 19:22:10 </b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b> 0:52:10 </b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b> 0:41:15 </b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center">1</td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><br /></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><br /></td></tr> <tr> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center">18686</td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center">Fred Minning</td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b>Svenska</b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b>Peterson 34</b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b>123</b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b> 19:17:49 </b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b> 0:47:49 </b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b> 0:42:05 </b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center">2</td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><br /></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><br /></td></tr> <tr> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);" align="center">53</td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);" align="center">Ari Rubenstein</td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);" align="center"><b>Mardi Gras</b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);" align="center"><b>Santana 22</b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);" align="center"><b>237</b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);" align="center"><b> 19:27:56 </b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);" align="center"><b> 0:57:56 </b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);" align="center"><b> 0:46:52 </b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);" align="center">3</td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);" align="center"><br /></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);" align="center"><br /></td></tr> <tr> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center">3674</td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center">Robert Hamner</td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b>Pequod</b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b>Catalina 27 Tall</b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b>189</b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b> 19:33:31 </b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b> 1:03:31 </b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b> 0:54:42 </b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center">4</td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><br /></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><br /></td></tr> <tr> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center">18020</td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center">Roger </td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b>Mystic</b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b>Newport</b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b>177</b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b> 19:35:56 </b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b> 1:05:56 </b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b> 0:57:40 </b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center">5</td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><br /></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b>SSS</b></td></tr> <tr> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center">157</td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center">Leroy Gilles</td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b>Summerplace</b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><br /></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b>198</b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b> 19:37:27 </b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b> 1:07:27 </b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b> 0:58:13 </b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center">6</td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><br /></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b>EYC</b></td></tr> <tr> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center">285</td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center">Warren Taylor</td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b>Kiwa</b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b>Ericson 32-2</b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b>183</b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b> DNC </b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b> : </b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b> : </b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center">8</td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><br /></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b>OYC</b></td></tr> <tr> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center">535</td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center">Paul Mueller</td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b>Iskra</b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b>Mercury</b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b>234</b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b> DNC </b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b> : </b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><b> : </b></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center">8</td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><br /></td> <td style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="center"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />It was amazing how Sarah multi-tasked between sailing and mothering. At one point she was literally trimming a genoa sheet with one hand and a putting on a puppet show with the other. Damn. There are moments in any marriage where you think, "If I wasn't already married to this woman, I'd get down on one knee right now..."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S-w_MA7zhyI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/v-KvCu-eN5Q/s1600/IMG_0404.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S-w_MA7zhyI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/v-KvCu-eN5Q/s400/IMG_0404.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470817122990130978" border="0" /></a>Arihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514069453976373599noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5910408673636622831.post-81228910627549019792010-05-05T19:06:00.001-07:002010-05-11T15:30:59.876-07:00Great Vallejo Race<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S-gz-sKm2XI/AAAAAAAAAdo/sCTD7AfD8A0/s1600/mud.jpg"><br /></a><br />I think Craig said it best: "These two sailing days are ones to remember as the good old days!"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S-gyRPu-JII/AAAAAAAAAdg/_ldLTS1WIFg/s1600/chorus2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 235px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S-gyRPu-JII/AAAAAAAAAdg/_ldLTS1WIFg/s400/chorus2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469677019304174722" border="0" /></a><br />The intrepid crew of Chorus raced downwind from Berkeley to Vallejo on Saturday, and back upwind Sunday.<br /><br />Conditions on the first day were gorgeous: warm sun, flood tide with us, just enough wind to move the boat at a good clip, but light enough wind to make spinnaker handling drama-free.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S-IkneYA4XI/AAAAAAAAAdQ/Mg-LK9l-qb0/s1600/21038388-20100501_140320_0806.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S-IkneYA4XI/AAAAAAAAAdQ/Mg-LK9l-qb0/s400/21038388-20100501_140320_0806.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467973158168486258" border="0" /></a><br />When we arrived, we saw the entire boat population of the Vallejo Municipal Marina had been emptied out. (Where did they all go?) which left room for hundreds of race boats of every size, shape, and age to raft up in every available slip (and even rafted four deep in the fairways.)<br /><br />We stayed for a few beers and deadly Tequila Sunrises. Toby the dog ate about 30 leftover sparerib bones, to his later intestinal distress.<br /><br />The single and childless among us rocked out in Port Costa at a bar and former-brothel-turned-hotel, while Sarah and Yemaya and I headed back to Macha for bedtime stories and diaper changes.<br /><br />Sunday morning's low tide was VERY low. On the way out of the marina, boats were getting stuck in the mud left and right.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S-gz-sKm2XI/AAAAAAAAAdo/sCTD7AfD8A0/s1600/mud.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 280px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S-gz-sKm2XI/AAAAAAAAAdo/sCTD7AfD8A0/s400/mud.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469678899542022514" border="0" /></a><br />Anticipating problems, we pre-emptively warped the boat around so she'd be pointed straight out the fairway. We moved all crew to the shrouds, and gunned the engine full forward. (Hey, isn't this blog supposed to be about engineless sailing?!?!?! Well, I'm not so purist as to refuse rides on beautiful sailboats with engines!) Another boat was already stuck in the middle of fairway, so we aimed for the narrow space between the boat and the dock. With about a foot of clearance on either side, the skipper of the other boat started yelling "What are your intentions?" In fact, I think our intentions were all too clear!!! Despite our strenuous hiking, we slowed slightly as we dragged the tip of our keel in the mud. Rock the boat slightly, we inched slowly, slowly forward. Freedom.<br /><br />The second day's race opened with an exciting downwind start under spinnaker, followed by a run down the channel between Vallejo and Mare Island. Bain, our mast man, re-injured his knee, so he went below for Ibuprofen and beer while the remaining three crew members multitasked for the douse.<br /><br />The finish was amazing. Latitude was reporting that about 200 boats finished within 20 minutes. Ahead of us, we caught sight of Kame Richards on Golden Moon and our moral and spiritual advisor Peter English on Sunda, so we figured we were headed towards the line even if we couldn't see it through all the traffic!<br /><br />We finished 2nd for our class, 3rd overall for PHRF boats. Not bad for a bunch of Uzbeks!<br /><br />- Ari<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S-RGAJDYPiI/AAAAAAAAAdY/velPRWFR-IY/s1600/Uzbekistan.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 394px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S-RGAJDYPiI/AAAAAAAAAdY/velPRWFR-IY/s400/Uzbekistan.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468572815778659874" border="0" /></a>Arihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514069453976373599noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5910408673636622831.post-49068164126272207652010-04-27T17:03:00.000-07:002010-04-27T17:46:15.755-07:00Sailing with BGIers<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S9eFHcrGlAI/AAAAAAAAAdI/fQf8KhAmGX8/s1600/IMGP0853.JPG"><br /></a><br />A few weeks back, I went sailing on the Tuna with friends from <a href="http://www.bgi.edu/">BGI</a>. We had a great time dodging cargo ships on the Estuary. It was really cool to see the team dynamic we've developed in writing papers and case studies together transferred to the water. We then went back to Macha for Solar Curry. Aw yeah.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S9d-2LVFV8I/AAAAAAAAAco/-U_40d6uT70/s1600/IMGP0850.JPG"><br /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S9d-1jsMXHI/AAAAAAAAAcg/d7ni5tggIuU/s1600/IMGP0849.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S9d-1jsMXHI/AAAAAAAAAcg/d7ni5tggIuU/s400/IMGP0849.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464976131416153202" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S9d-3FTuIQI/AAAAAAAAAc4/Llw85zrGDSA/s1600/IMGP0852.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S9d-3FTuIQI/AAAAAAAAAc4/Llw85zrGDSA/s400/IMGP0852.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464976157620183298" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S9d-2r7z3FI/AAAAAAAAAcw/2-pkHhtxBf8/s1600/IMGP0851.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S9d-2r7z3FI/AAAAAAAAAcw/2-pkHhtxBf8/s400/IMGP0851.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464976150809009234" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S9d-2LVFV8I/AAAAAAAAAco/-U_40d6uT70/s1600/IMGP0850.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S9d-2LVFV8I/AAAAAAAAAco/-U_40d6uT70/s400/IMGP0850.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464976142056642498" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S9eFHcrGlAI/AAAAAAAAAdI/fQf8KhAmGX8/s1600/IMGP0853.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S9eFHcrGlAI/AAAAAAAAAdI/fQf8KhAmGX8/s400/IMGP0853.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464983035839943682" border="0" /></a>Arihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514069453976373599noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5910408673636622831.post-2166179977866683042010-02-19T11:54:00.000-08:002010-02-19T14:31:26.883-08:00Wooden Boat Forum: Sailing with No Engine?<span style="font-style: italic;">(This blog post is a slight edit of a response I wrote on Wooden Boat magazine's online discussion forum. You can find the whole conversation </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.woodenboat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=107357&highlight=engineless">here</a><span style="font-style: italic;">.)</span><br /><br />We have a fiberglass hull, but I read this forum because I love OTHER people's wooden boats, and because wooden boat geeks frequently have insights and wisdom to share about gaffers, traditional seamanship, etc.<br /><br />I was really very impressed to see how respectful and thoughtful this thread was! Normally, discussions of engineless sailing quickly devolve into explorations of alternative propulsion (electric engines, bicycle geared propellers, cold fusion drives, etc.) -- which respectfully is a completely different topic than sailing without any sort of engine.<br /><br />Nevertheless, the various forum posters collectively enumerated many of the tropes, misunderstandings, and frequently asked questions we hear about sailing without an engine.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">"For open water sailing the engine is just dead weight and wasted space, but if you routinely sail where there is lots of traffic and tricky channels, the engine is a piece of safety equipment and definitely worth the trouble."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">"For long distance stuff an engine is nice. I remember reading something by the wife of the builder of the Spray replica Scud, about how painful it was to sail past beautiful Pacific atolls because they would have needed an engine to get in or out."</span><br /><br />What I love about these mutually contradictory opinions is that they really elluminate the difference in philosophy between cruising by motorsailing, and cruising under sail.<br /><br />Yeah, it's too bad that there are parts of the world that you can't get to with an engineless sailboat. But, if you're a skier, it's also too bad that there are parts of the world that don't have snow.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S37b5zwYxMI/AAAAAAAAAaQ/scyk9VkQLZ0/s1600-h/no-snow.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 538px; height: 403px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S37b5zwYxMI/AAAAAAAAAaQ/scyk9VkQLZ0/s400/no-snow.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440027186102322370" border="0" /></a><br />If you're a surfer, it's too bad that there are beaches in the world that don't have waves.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S37b6YaXLrI/AAAAAAAAAaY/KfybwoR8OmY/s1600-h/no-waves.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 537px; height: 357px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S37b6YaXLrI/AAAAAAAAAaY/KfybwoR8OmY/s400/no-waves.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440027195942055602" border="0" /></a><br />But for sailors, skiers, surfers, and anyone else who takes part in a weather dependent sport, it seems to me that seeking out or waiting for proper conditions is part of the sport.<br /><br />I choose to focus on all the places in the world I CAN sail to, rather than the few places I can't. And I also realize that as my skills improve, there are more and more places I can get in an out of. For example, the latest edition of the Pardey's book describes sailing in and out of the coral atolls described above.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">"For me using the engine is largely a safety thing."</span><br /><br />Another way of saying this is: "Every time I motorsail somewhere that an engine is REQUIRED for safety, I'm implicitly trusting my life to my impeller, my fuel filter, my alternator, etc., etc." Modern diesels are pretty reliable, but there are still way to many single-points-of-failure for me to feel comfortable trusting my life to one.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S37iKE43fPI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/ycfNlAkYwLw/s1600-h/wrecked-ingrid.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 459px; height: 405px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S37iKE43fPI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/ycfNlAkYwLw/s400/wrecked-ingrid.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440034062648966386" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I've heard somewhere that mountaineers say, "it's never the first thing going wrong that kills you, it's the third thing going wrong" I would argue that motorsailors often forge the first few chain-links of a tragic cascading failure without even realizing it, by placing their craft into a pickle they can't safely sail out of. By the way, this is true whether or not they actually even use their engines when sailing. The point is if and when they NEED their motor, they are literally betting their boat and maybe their lives that it will start on cue.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">"Our Great Grandfathers sailed in a world with far far fewer vessels in it."</span><br /><br />Not necessarily true. At my marina in Alameda California, there were more (and bigger three masted) sailboats at the turn of the last century than now. You could practically walk across the Oakland Estuary on the decks of the Alaska Packer fleet tied up there.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S37b5kB46sI/AAAAAAAAAaI/RJIcFC6Do4c/s1600-h/Alaska_Packers%27_Fleet_in_Harbor_Oakland_Cal.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 554px; height: 348px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S37b5kB46sI/AAAAAAAAAaI/RJIcFC6Do4c/s400/Alaska_Packers%27_Fleet_in_Harbor_Oakland_Cal.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440027181880765122" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Of course, in those days there were harbor pilots and warping bollards and skilled line handlers, etc. See below.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">"Yacht harbours are no longer set up for pure sailing."</span><br /><br />That is definitely true!!! If you want to sail without an engine, you need to be choosy about where you keep your boat. Mooring or anchoring is definitely easier than docking. We keep our boat in a marina, but we shopped around carefully for an end-tie that would be easy to sail in and out of. Again, I think this is part of the sport for me. I would no more choose a slip I HAD to motor out of than I would choose a bicycle trail I HAD to drive to. Interesting thing is that side-ties around here seem to be easy to find, since the long walk from the parking lot is perceived to outweigh the short sail from the Estuary... :-)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S37gCJ1jfbI/AAAAAAAAAa4/-at82oxuHgk/s1600-h/macha-sidetie-closeup.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 338px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S37gCJ1jfbI/AAAAAAAAAa4/-at82oxuHgk/s400/macha-sidetie-closeup.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440031727515041202" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">"If you work for a living and need to get back, you probably could use an engine."</span><br /><br />I totally agree. This is the main argument I see for engines. This is me trimming a gennaker with my teeth AND rowing so I could get home in time for a school-related conference call. Sarah was on baby duty down below.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S37b6qFYsWI/AAAAAAAAAag/VxQSBv_OALg/s1600-h/ari-rowing.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 541px; height: 405px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S37b6qFYsWI/AAAAAAAAAag/VxQSBv_OALg/s400/ari-rowing.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440027200685912418" border="0" /></a><br /><br />But there is a difference in priority between boaters and sailors. If there is light wind, I find it insanely challenging and fun to try to keep the boat moving. If there is NO wind, I'd rather be reading a book than motorboating. And if there's an irreconcilable contradiction between working for a living, and sailing, who to say it's the sailing in your life that's the problem? :-)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">"What did our great great grand fathers know about sailing that we dont? they sailed up the rivers what did we loose when the engine became king?"</span><br /><br />Ultimately, this is why I sail engineless. I want to learn how to SAIL. If those salty old buggers could do it back in the day, why can't we?<br /><br />I hear a lot of people say things like, I can't sail engineless in (location X) because there are currents of up to X knots here and the wind is unpredictable. I always want to say, "Yes, the moon's gravity also affects the ocean near where I live!" Pretty much anywhere you go, there will be tidal currents.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S38QXp5NXDI/AAAAAAAAAbg/bdX0-UdNzuM/s1600-h/dodds-narrows.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S38QXp5NXDI/AAAAAAAAAbg/bdX0-UdNzuM/s400/dodds-narrows.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440084873455688754" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S38QXKozsMI/AAAAAAAAAbY/qvSj1H8aEHk/s1600-h/porlier-pass.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S38QXKozsMI/AAAAAAAAAbY/qvSj1H8aEHk/s400/porlier-pass.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440084865065398466" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />Pretty much anywhere you go, the weather man's forecast will not be 100% right. And yet, intrepid sailors have historically ventured into all these areas. (Hopefully at slack tide!!!)<br /><br />To quote <a href="http://shoal-waters.moonfruit.com/#/...aff/4514024607">Charles Stock</a>:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"the cruising man will take a fair tide as naturally as he selects the up or down escalator at the underground station depending on which direction he wants to take."</span><br /><br />When people say they NEED a 50 horsepower engine to stem a 5 knot tidal current, to me it's like saying you need a gasoline-powered pogo stick to go up a down escalator!<br /><br /><br />- Ari<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S37gluTEjoI/AAAAAAAAAbI/LacRa7bU8Ys/s1600-h/gas_powered_pogo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 272px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/S37gluTEjoI/AAAAAAAAAbI/LacRa7bU8Ys/s400/gas_powered_pogo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440032338597940866" border="0" /></a>Arihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514069453976373599noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5910408673636622831.post-67807096718281792392010-02-02T15:24:00.000-08:002010-02-02T15:25:12.084-08:00Scull This<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qTSg9iIqkl4&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qTSg9iIqkl4&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Looks like the oarsmen is relocating his floating home as well as a goodly number of his neighbours.Arihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514069453976373599noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5910408673636622831.post-53306997141601490372009-12-15T10:10:00.000-08:002009-12-15T21:37:58.534-08:00The Stone Age Didn't End for Lack of Stone<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://gickr.com/results2/anim_30baf8be-ed6c-8a14-d94d-baf4933d7ea4.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 295px;" src="http://gickr.com/results2/anim_30baf8be-ed6c-8a14-d94d-baf4933d7ea4.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">"The Stone Age didn’t end for lack of stone, and the oil age will end long before the world runs out of oil."</span></span><span style="font-size:180%;"><br /></span><br />This fabulous and pithy quote from former Saudi oil minister Sheik Ahmed Zaki Yamani in a 2005 New York Times article '<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/21/magazine/21OIL.html">The Breaking Point</a>' is often trotted out by those who wish to ridicule the concept of peak oil.<br /><br />The quote itself is a wonderful piece of rhetoric. It uses the literary device of parallel structure to make a point that is concise, funny, and dead wrong. It contains an unwritten appeal to technology and to linear historical progress (after stone comes bronze and after oil comes hydrogen.) Unfortunately , this otherwise perfect sentence falls victim to the fallacy of False Analogy. One could unpack the sentence further to make this logical error stand out in greater relief:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">"Stones are not scarce. Therefore the reason for the end of the stone age was not scarcity. Therefore all resources are not scarce..."</span><br /><br />The conclusion simply doesn't follow from the first two premises.<br /><br />Until now, that's been my pet peeve with this particular quote. But now, in a news headline worthy of <a href="http://www.theonion.com/">The Onion</a>, it now appears that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia IS actually suffering from a shortage of stones! (specifically rock and gravel for concrete construction)<br /><br /><a href="http://agmetalminer.com/2009/12/09/saudi-arabia-runs-out-of-sand/">Saudi Arabia Runs out of Sand!</a><br /><br />You can't make this stuff up!<br /><br />- AriArihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514069453976373599noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5910408673636622831.post-15248730622400161572009-10-16T14:26:00.000-07:002009-10-16T14:28:42.219-07:00Peak Oil DebunkedI still can't tell if this is a joke.<br /><br /><object height="370" width="450"><param name="movie" value="http://www.liveleak.com/e/37c_1218367837"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.liveleak.com/e/37c_1218367837" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="370" width="450"></embed></object><br /><br />"This video exposes the eco-socialist Gaia conspiracy to rob hard working Americans of God-given V-8 power and tax them into the poorhouse. Combined with the Global Warming hoax, this will bring our ravenous economy to a halt by 2016.<br /><br />Don't believe the Marxist geologists with their sky-is-falling doomsayerism. T. Boone Pickens got lucky with some price pickings, nothing more. Technology has act More..ually made oil easier to find every year and high prices are not due to extraction costs. They are the result of Green Hollywood propaganda attached to hidden tax code amendments after the recent Democratic takeover."Arihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514069453976373599noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5910408673636622831.post-59984029854865681542009-09-10T23:01:00.000-07:002009-09-10T23:01:56.570-07:00Solar CookingAri asked me to post this here, but I also posted it on my new, more baby centered blog, Boat Mama, <a href="http://boatmama.blogspot.com/">http://boatmama.blogspot.com/ </a> You are welcome to keep up with our silly baby posts there. They are mostly intended for those who want to know what our daughter is wearing at all times. If you happen to be one of the three people that read this blog we didn't know if you needed that much baby all the time.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ss-4tmju-MY/Sqnbxhto5PI/AAAAAAAABDA/qcagqA62C9g/s1600-h/IMG_0807.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ss-4tmju-MY/Sqnbxhto5PI/AAAAAAAABDA/qcagqA62C9g/s200/IMG_0807.JPG" /></a>Anyways, Ari bought us a solar cooker a few weeks ago. He found it on some boat website I think (perhaps Ari can fill in the details). It is called Hot Pot and comes with a metal reflector and a glass bowl and lid that a black bowl fit inside. So far it has just been taking up space on our boat. In fact, Ari was quite surprised when I used it today. In his own words he said, "I just assumed you thought it was another one of my crazy ideas." Well, it was not a crazy idea at all. More like a miracle in cooking.<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ss-4tmju-MY/Sqnb0HepAII/AAAAAAAABDI/PPnUl2Cr_0k/s1600-h/IMG_0808.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ss-4tmju-MY/Sqnb0HepAII/AAAAAAAABDI/PPnUl2Cr_0k/s200/IMG_0808.JPG" /></a>I decided to start with something simple and that would not be inedible if it didn't really cook all the way. I picked veggies enchiladas as my first solar cooking project. (To be honest I have made some kind of solar cookies at some workshop I went to, but I was only sort of involved.) True to my boat cooking principles I like to see how many "bilge ingredients," canned goods, I can use in a recipe. These enchiladas are about half from the bilge, half fresh. I did not use the pickled asparagus in the end because I felt like it was plenty of food, but I know it would have been great too. I took maybe five minutes of prep including cutting the mushrooms, broccoli, cheese, and red peppers, and then making the layers. The five minutes of prep puts it in a special category of good boat cooking in my mind.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ss-4tmju-MY/Sqnbqrq1-_I/AAAAAAAABCw/LNT3-SoJPU0/s1600-h/IMG_0811.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ss-4tmju-MY/Sqnbqrq1-_I/AAAAAAAABCw/LNT3-SoJPU0/s200/IMG_0811.JPG" /></a></div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ss-4tmju-MY/Sqnblr20x2I/AAAAAAAABCo/Nf4EvKmFLwg/s1600-h/IMG_0815.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ss-4tmju-MY/Sqnblr20x2I/AAAAAAAABCo/Nf4EvKmFLwg/s200/IMG_0815.JPG" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ss-4tmju-MY/SqnbtUdZoBI/AAAAAAAABC4/9Hdh_srXrTo/s1600-h/IMG_0810.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ss-4tmju-MY/SqnbtUdZoBI/AAAAAAAABC4/9Hdh_srXrTo/s200/IMG_0810.JPG" /></a>We had some errands to do during the day and I intended the enchiladas to be dinner. The recipe I used as a guide suggested two hours of cooking. The book also suggested that you can sort of use the sun as a timer and turn the solar cooker so that when you put it out the sun is not directly hitting the cooker and it is turned towards where the sun will be when you really want it to start cooking. So, I put it out about 11:30am (see the first close up of the cooker) and turned it so that it would be in direct sun what I guessed would be a few hours later. We returned from errands around 3:30pm and Ari was already hungry because he had gone without lunch. The enchiladas looked cooked and when we took off the lid they smelled yummy and I stuck my finger in and it was HOT! (I want to buy a little thermometer that I can just put in there with the food.) The cheese on top was starting to brown and the top tortillas were a little crispy. I was surprised how wet the bottom layer was, but I read that all the water will come out of the veggies in the cooking process. The lid is tight so none of it evaporates.I served it up with sour cream and salsa. Ari said it was the best, and only, solar cooked meal he has ever had. And it really was great. A few bites were too hot to eat with out blowing on themwhich really surprised me. I will definitely make solar enchiladas again. <br />
In case you want to do some solar cooking of your own here is my recipe for what it is worth. But, I recommend using what ever you have in your bilge. And for you land lubbers out there I sure your cupboard has some cans dying to be used as well.<br />
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Solar Veggie Enchiladas<br />
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5 Corn tortillas (I recommend 6, but that was all we had)<br />
1 small can green chillies<br />
1 small can enchilada sauce<br />
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes<br />
1/2 jar roasted red peppers (about equal to one red pepper)<br />
4 brown mushrooms<br />
1 small bunch of broccoli<br />
1/2 cup cheddar cheese<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ss-4tmju-MY/SqnbROoM2II/AAAAAAAABCQ/Zo7pAWEAnlI/s1600-h/IMG_0824.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ss-4tmju-MY/SqnbROoM2II/AAAAAAAABCQ/Zo7pAWEAnlI/s200/IMG_0824.JPG" /></a></div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ss-4tmju-MY/SqnbOurHG8I/AAAAAAAABCI/tmbGQjEVOuM/s1600-h/IMG_0825.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ss-4tmju-MY/SqnbOurHG8I/AAAAAAAABCI/tmbGQjEVOuM/s200/IMG_0825.JPG" /></a>SalsaSour Cream<br />
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Cut up all veggies and cheese into small pieces. Lay down two tortillas in bowl. Put half of each of the veggies in a layer in top. Pour over half the enchilada sauce and sprinkle on one third of the cheese. Lay down two more tortillas. Layer on the rest of the veggies, pour on the rest of the sauce, saving just a little to go over the top, and one third of the cheese. Lay down the last two tortillas and sprinkle on the remainder of the cheese and enchilada sauce. Place solar cooker in the sun for 2 hours or more until the cheese is melted and browning and the inside is hot. Serve with salsa and sour cream.<br />
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</a></div>Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14599605773292619580noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5910408673636622831.post-64039886995483767332009-08-31T14:18:00.000-07:002009-08-31T14:27:07.615-07:00Anthropological Field Guide to Common Peak Oil Debate ParticipantsThis post was inspired by the now infamous <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/25/opinion/25lynch.html">Michael Lynch piece in the New York Times</a>.<br /><br />Rather than a point-by-point scientific rebuttal of every point in his op-ed (which is hard because it's relatively "content-free"), I decided to answer the more pressing question: "Who the heck is this idiot and what's his angle?" To help, I compiled a field guide to the types you're likely to encounter while reading about Peak Oil.<br /><br />(Spectrum is from total denial to extreme paranoia)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >Abiotic Oilers:</span> Related to creation scientists, these folks believe that oil is not a "fossil fuel" but is generated deep in the earth by mysterious geological processes. No really. There's plenty of oil, we just have to put on our tin foil hats, drill deep down into our Flat Earth, past the underground cities of reptile aliens who control our secret Zionist world government, down into the petroleum-rich "Creamy Nougat Center" of the planet.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >FUD Peddlers</span><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">:</span></span> Snazzy professional deniers on the payroll of the PR/consulting firms in the high-stakes "denial racket". Given enough money, a good haircut and well tailored suit, these guys can wedge a crowbar of doubt between the links of even the most obvious chain of causality: cancer and cigarettes, processed food and obesity, carbon emissions and climate change, finite oil reserves and oil depletion, gravity and falling down, etc.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">BAUers:</span></span> Peak oil? Never heard of it. Go away, I'm watching American Idol and microwaving a Hot Pocket, in the back seat of my Hummer. Unfortunately, this group is also known as "Nearly Everyone You've Ever Met in Your Life."<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Drill Baby Drillers:</span></span> These folks get that our dependence on foreign oil is a problem, but haven't yet gotten that we depend on oil because... um, we don't have that much NON-foreign oil. (The U.S. only has 3% the world's proven oil reserves, and it's sure not for lack of looking.) Like the old aphorism says "Wish in one well, and piss in the other. See which one fills up first."<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Not Yetters:</span></span> Of course the world will reach peak oil... decades from now. Plus, we have 400 years of coal. Often Oil Company CEOs or OPEC oil ministers. (For example Shell CEO recently reassured the world press that we have 40 years of oil left -- when did 40 years become the foreseeable future!!!)<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Government Softpedalers:</span></span> It is vital for our national security that we strive for energy independence. But not THAT vital. Certainly not important enough to switch party affiliations or anything. Please go back to worrying about your job and health insurance.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Free-Market Cornucopians:</span></span> If the world demands energy, the free market will find a way to supply it. Likewise, if three hungry economists are locked in a bank vault, the free market will provide them a sandwich. (Of course, this turns out to be true if the first two economists decide the third would look good between a couple slices of bread -- see "Doomers, Cannibalism" below.)<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Techno-Utopians:</span></span> The world's oil production will peak (or has peaked) but it's no big deal because we'll just run our "hyper cars" on <a href="http://www.superinteresting.com/">organic bat spit</a> or cold fusion or nanotechnology or hemp seed oil...<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Peak Oil Liters:</span></span> Of course I don't believe in that lunatic Peak Oil theory (because then I'd be ostracized as a weirdo). I just believe that over time, oil will get more and more difficult to extract... so we won't be able to pump quite as much as we used to... and therefore energy will be really expensive... and it will have far reaching economic effects on our society. (Dude, that's Peak Oil in a nutshell!) Like the many "postfeminists" women I have met who vehemently shirk the feminist label because they don't want to seem extreme or strident, but certainly want to be treated as equals, and can't really name any substantive disagreements they have with the central tenets of feminism.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Just the Facts Ma'am'ers:</span></span> In this camp I would include the originals like King Hubbert, Colin Campbell, and Matthew Simmons. They noticed and spoke up about the geological facts, without drawing a lot of far-out sociological inferences. (And really, I think that's the strongest critique I have of "peak oil theory". The geological science seems rock solid (groan, sorry), but does that mean that X, Y, or Z will happen in N decades from an economic/political/historical perspective?)<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mainstream Gentle Nudgers:</span></span> Well spoken, reasonable sounding guys like Jeff Rubin, who has done a lot to promulgate the view that due to peak oil, everything in your life will change without standing wild eyed on a soapbox screaming "OH MY GOD, EVERYTHING IN YOUR LIFE WILL CHANGE!!!!"<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Locavore Mafia</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">(a.k.a. Bike-Lane Fundamentalists):</span></span> Peak oil is here, and will fundamentally shift our civilization. But that's good, because our civilization sucks and the SUV-driving earth rapers out there deserve to suffer for their eco-sins! Once the global economy collapses, finally we'll be able to get a decent salad!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >Long Emergency Preppers<br />(a.k.a. Kunstlerians/Orlovians):</span> Things are going to get crazy!!! We could see the collapse of nation states, and certainly things will be different and harder than we've ever seen in our lifetimes. Time to start stocking up on canned food and learning to scavenge wild foods.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Neo-Malthusians:</span></span> Ditto. Oh yeah, we've also massively overshot the non-petroleum carrying capacity of the Earth, and are headed for a massive die-off. Time to get your swine-flu vaccine.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Doomers:</span></span> We are so completely screwed that it’s not even worth planting a community garden. We are headed for the neo-neolithic ages, so better get ready to fight tooth and nail for a good cave. Complete collapse of the grid will be followed shortly by roving hordes of cannibal former-suburbanites.Arihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514069453976373599noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5910408673636622831.post-82266666476794361112009-07-15T11:21:00.001-07:002009-07-15T11:47:04.004-07:00Welcome Yemaya<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ss-4tmju-MY/Sl4j8urctEI/AAAAAAAAA6o/HPB6WgdIeRc/s1600-h/IMG_0428.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ss-4tmju-MY/Sl4j8urctEI/AAAAAAAAA6o/HPB6WgdIeRc/s320/IMG_0428.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358760132846859330" border="0" /></a>Yemaya was born July 11! She is healthy, happy and very cute. So far she seems happy with life on the boat. Ari and I are never far and there is plenty of milk, blankets, diapers, and arms to hold her. She has not been bothered by the piledriver that has been here since we came home. Although, I do think that Ari and I will go crazy soon. Luckily, they work very fast and it seems in a few days they are likely to be finished.<br />It is one of those hot weeks here in Oakland so by mid afternoon we are quite toasty on the boat. My sister brought us a fan and some ice yesterday that really helped morale. I hope that global warming gives me a break soon and we have some nice cool Bay Area summer days that I love.<br />One of our neighbors saw Ari on the dock and asked him how things are going. Ari explained the crazy cycle of sleeping a few hours at a time and then tending to Yemaya's needs. Our neighbor suggested it was like single handed sailing. At the very least Ari and I are practicing a watch schedule for cruising. Ari does better at the 2-6am shift than I do.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ss-4tmju-MY/Sl4jfu6mXKI/AAAAAAAAA6g/VKukBlR5ku0/s1600-h/IMG_0554.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ss-4tmju-MY/Sl4jfu6mXKI/AAAAAAAAA6g/VKukBlR5ku0/s320/IMG_0554.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358759634694200482" border="0" /></a><br />So far we have been able to cram all the needed baby items onto the boat and have turned down all sorts of offers of unnessasary baby junk. Of which there is no short supply. The baby industrial complex will cretainly be one of the first to fall in the peak oil scenerio. Everything is made of plastic and apparently we "need" the items for our babies survival. How anyone ever raised a child with out all the junk is hard to say, but I am sure that many, many generations of humans came about without it all.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ss-4tmju-MY/Sl4jBAtOBHI/AAAAAAAAA6Y/grhyj4EN10I/s1600-h/IMG_0486.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ss-4tmju-MY/Sl4jBAtOBHI/AAAAAAAAA6Y/grhyj4EN10I/s320/IMG_0486.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358759106893972594" border="0" /></a>Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14599605773292619580noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5910408673636622831.post-67577591124398836272009-06-24T15:56:00.000-07:002009-06-26T10:47:13.265-07:00Volitan: Bad Design, Wharram: Good Design<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SkKvZf5R4xI/AAAAAAAAAXA/-0-WlLrgQNE/s1600-h/volitan-eco-boat1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SkKvZf5R4xI/AAAAAAAAAXA/-0-WlLrgQNE/s400/volitan-eco-boat1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351032159862907666" border="0" /></a><br />This Volitan boat is featured prominently on a number of <a href="http://www.igreenspot.com/volitan-the-futuristic-eco-friendly-boat/">"Green Design" blogs</a>, as well as June's Pacific Yachting magazine. I saw it at the checkstand while buying lines at West Marine. Google "Volitan boat", you'll find it.<br /><br />This is literally the dumbest boat design I've ever seen. Where do I start.<br /><p>First., we already have an existing technology for eco-friendly boat propulsion. They’re called “sails”. Hey genius, you're 5,000 years behind the news...</p>The site touts the twin 225 horsepower electric engines. At approximately 746 watts per 1 horsepower, that's 335,700 watts. Judging by the picture, the wings are about 92 feet tip to tip by about 10 feet wide. That's 920 square feet of solar panels, or about 86 square meters. Because of the X-wing design, only one of the wingtops will ever be facing the sun. (And the solar panels on the bottom of the wing never will be, what's that about?) At a charge rate of 150 watts per square meter per hour times 43 square meters, and assuming climate and weather allows 10 hours of direct sunlight per day, you'd need to soak up over 5 days of blazing sunshine to motor for one hour at full throttle. Well, maybe that tiny wind generator at the top of the mast will help. Or maybe you can throttle WAY back and just kinda bob around...<br /><p>Notice the entire boat is enclosed:<br /></p><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SkK0X-GtMwI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/Hs5tRmPP1ZA/s1600-h/volitan5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 312px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SkK0X-GtMwI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/Hs5tRmPP1ZA/s400/volitan5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351037631170687746" border="0" /></a><br />Less usable deck space than a Colombian Narcosub:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SkK0JjQlA2I/AAAAAAAAAXI/MpDyBIlC3wk/s1600-h/narcosub.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 337px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SkK0JjQlA2I/AAAAAAAAAXI/MpDyBIlC3wk/s400/narcosub.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351037383446168418" border="0" /></a><br />This starship/greenhouse design makes it impossible to actually interact with the ocean. Now in order to "sail" (I cringe at the thought of using that term to describe motoring VERY slowly while powered by tiny windmill) you'll no doubt need a bunch of sensors to let you know wind direction and force, sea state, etc. Since the "sails" are solid (and not foil shaped -- how's that gonna work?!?!?!) they offer no visual or auditory feedback that you're luffing or stalled. More sensors I guess? The systems are all electronic and hydraulic. And new and custom and untested and non-redundant. This is the type of thinking that Michael Pollan describes as splitting a holistic, elegant solution into multiple, discrete problems.<br /><br />The sheer dimensions are ludicrous: a 100' boat with a 92' beam -- good times docking this beast! The building materials are pure Unobtainium and the scale guarantees that only billionaires will be shopping for this marvel of sustainability.<br /><br />Shift your eyes away from the big picture down to the details: Where are the deck cleats to tie this montrosity to a dock? Where's the anchor windlass? Missing are the myriad and sundry details that allow you to live, work, and play on a boat. Has this guy ever even been on a boat? The propellers are at the very bottom of the x-wing keels. Hmm, do you think over hundreds of years, naval architects might have found propellers mounted just under the surface, directly behind the keel/skeg to be a little less, um, exposed? Can you imagine trying to navigate kelp or crab pots or coral reefs with fragile ducted fans on underwater stalks as your primary propulsion?<br /><br />The kicker is that Volitan won the International Design Award for the best transportation vehicle of 2007!!! This abortion is the symbol of everything that is wrong with "sustainable design" : the belief that giant, expensive, overengineered gadgets are the solution to the world's problems. It's clearly dreamed up by an industrial designer with a deep, abiding hatred of everything <span style="font-weight: bold;">boat-like</span> about boats...<br /><br />Sigh... OK... done ranting. For a link to a guy who HAS advanced the art of sustainable boat buidling, check out <a href="http://www.wharram.com/">James Wharram</a> (the guy often credited with the catamaran revival of the 50s and 60s.) Lately he's been doing great work designing boats to revive sail-powered trade routes in the Pacific.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SkK2MoS92VI/AAAAAAAAAXY/Et5rx11S-Ck/s1600-h/jw2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 149px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SkK2MoS92VI/AAAAAAAAAXY/Et5rx11S-Ck/s400/jw2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351039635361225042" border="0" /></a>His designs are an elegant blend of high tech, low tech, tribal tech. When you look at his boats: the lines, the simplicity, the ruggedness and yet performance, they're clearly drawn by the hand of a man who's been to sea.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SkK39a-6v1I/AAAAAAAAAXg/3PL2rYj256U/s1600-h/wharramcats.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SkK39a-6v1I/AAAAAAAAAXg/3PL2rYj256U/s400/wharramcats.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351041573112692562" border="0" /></a><br />One of the things I've learned my involvement with open source software as well as boats: the best human tools come from thousands of incremental improvements made by generations of average working people working and living with the product, not from ego-driven idiot-savants incented by the marketplace to create mystifying objects of passive aggressive novelty, rather than simple, honest artifacts of enduring utility.<br /><br />Incidentally, I believe Macha, descended as she is from hardworking channel cutter and sailing lifeboat lineage, is an another example of evolutionary rather than revolutionary design. The builder and previous owner Jay definitely added some cool innovations, but the basic design is pretty darned traditional. In sailing her, and living aboard her, even still when I'm faced with a new situation or a new maintenance/repair task I'll frequently notice some new detail replete with robust elegance, and think "Oh... that's why it work's like that..."<br /><br />A well designed tool or vehicle should feel like that to own. It fills you with confidence that generations of intelligent people have stood in your shoes, experienced the pickle you're now in, and tried their best to design and build for it... Good, traditional, evolutionary yacht design is a subtle, nonverbal communication from a lineage of seafaring forefathers, quietly whispering reassurance when the sailing gets rough. "Don't worry, this boat can take these conditions." In contrast, when I look at a boat design like the Volitan, (or a Hunter, or a MacGregor 26X), I feel like I know more about boats that their designers. And that frankly scares the hell out of me, because I certainly don't know much!Arihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514069453976373599noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5910408673636622831.post-48365601801736921912009-06-10T11:28:00.001-07:002009-06-11T11:49:41.646-07:00Top 10 Reasons I'm Having a Kid Even Though the World is Going to ShitThis is a repost from an another forum, in response to a dear friend who called BS on me. I was taking the position that overpopulation is a central, but often unspoken issue in the context of sustainability, economic justice, limits to growth, etc. And she replied, "Wait a minute, how can you say that when you're having a baby any week now?!?!"<br /><br />Disclaimer: I say "I" and not "WE" in the post above cuz this is how I feel about it. Let's see if Sarah has a follow up post...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/Si_-jhgnq1I/AAAAAAAAAVQ/60-YEB-FPAo/s1600-h/Red_eyed_tree_frog_edit2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/Si_-jhgnq1I/AAAAAAAAAVQ/60-YEB-FPAo/s400/Red_eyed_tree_frog_edit2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345771168956132178" border="0" /></a>(As a quick aside, we've nicknamed our soon-to-be baby "Tree Frog" because we know her primarily by her kicks and jumps, and because her legs and butt seem about as long and boney as picture above)<br /><br />So here, dear friends, are the Top 10 Reasons I'm Having a Kid Even Though the World is Going to Shit:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SjFRGWbmhgI/AAAAAAAAAW4/mCrGmCSakqE/s1600-h/USA.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 120px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SjFRGWbmhgI/AAAAAAAAAW4/mCrGmCSakqE/s400/USA.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346143402207905282" border="0" /></a><br />10 - Because I want to. I'm an American damn it! It's my God-given right to do what I want whenever I want. You're not the boss of me and I don't have to tell you why. If I ever feel twinges of guilt in the middle of the night for the way I live, I can always fall back on my fancy education or hire a shrink or a life coach to help me muster rationalizations to justify my actions. Just joking. (An alternate #10 for a lot of folks might be "because the condom broke" or "because I live in a Red State where we learned that storks bring babies", but Sarah and I were actually trying.)<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SjAfCvU7LbI/AAAAAAAAAWg/WwEFQR0c__U/s1600-h/beach.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 246px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SjAfCvU7LbI/AAAAAAAAAWg/WwEFQR0c__U/s400/beach.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345806889613209010" border="0" /></a><br />9 - Because I'm curious and in love. When all is said an done I want to have a kid because I have a deep longing to see what a tiny human being comprised of half me and half the love of my life will be like. I literally can't wait to meet her, take care of her, teach her, learn from her, love her.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SjAgx1AH3_I/AAAAAAAAAWw/mJAS8RzRYtk/s1600-h/venus.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SjAgx1AH3_I/AAAAAAAAAWw/mJAS8RzRYtk/s400/venus.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345808798102052850" border="0" /></a><br />8 - Because my parents did. And their parents did. And their parent did... It's a tautology to point out that all of us were born to people who consciously or otherwise ended up as parents -- but still, it's pretty cool. Each of our matrilinear mitochondrial DNA stretches back in an unbroken lineage that started with the first single celled mother of all life. I'm not saying that the purpose of human life should be procreation, and I'm DEFINITELY not saying that the only purpose of procreation should be creating life. (that wouldn't be fun) But, I'm saying that we're wired such that the instinct to procreate and therefore create new life as a frequent side effect is incredibly deep and primal. Capitalize the "L" in Life and it approaches religion for me... If this all sounds like heteronormative biological essentialism run amok, let me say that recent evolutionary studies in "community selection" seem to confirm that it literally does take a village to raise a child. There are many ways to serve nascent Life; parenthood is just one... The world needs aunts and uncles and teachers and mentors and role models. And yes, we'll be calling on all of you loved ones to fill those roles...<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SjAeV_QlQMI/AAAAAAAAAWY/N8S5soKUgZY/s1600-h/OurGang4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 307px; height: 234px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SjAeV_QlQMI/AAAAAAAAAWY/N8S5soKUgZY/s400/OurGang4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345806120795848898" border="0" /></a><br />7 - Because kids don't know any better. I was just listening to a public radio show with people telling their childhood stories about growing up in the Depression. The common theme was that it was a fun time to be a kid: lots of family/neighborhood togetherness, simple games & activities, etc. Kids that grow up during crises or wars always seem to find way to enjoy life and have fun. When I was in middle school, I was on a school trip to the parliament buildings in Quebec City when an ex-soldier burst into the room next door with a machine gun and started killing people. In retrospect, it seems pretty scary. But at the time, we were in the next room, so heard shots but didn't see any blood spatter or dead bodies, didn't really believe the guy would kill us, and it all just seemed like a cool adventure. I remember hiding under a table and really wishing I was hiding under the same table as this girl I had a crush on. I was listening to a neuropsychologist on the radio the other day who categorized stresses as either Positive, Tolerable, or Toxic. The first category are normal emotional growing pains. The second category are major life traumas, but which can be overcome with good family and community support. The third category are deep traumas like abuse, neglect, etc. What stuck me was that the researcher used hurricane Katrina as an example of a "Tolerable Trauma." I was heartened, because I think most of the problems our children's generation will face will similarly fall within a tolerable range. Our kids will adapt to the unfolding post-peak-oil & climate change world and will have challenges, triumphs, loves, losses, depressions and exhaltations just like any other generation.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SjAZi4yeEGI/AAAAAAAAAVg/8Dj4kc27iBo/s1600-h/circus.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SjAZi4yeEGI/AAAAAAAAAVg/8Dj4kc27iBo/s400/circus.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345800844839096418" border="0" /></a><br />6 - Because it will be a wild ride. Why deny the next generation ringside seats to the greatest show on Earth: the collapse of postmodern global capitalist civilization? The next few decades will be fascinating!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SjAcLf4ZyTI/AAAAAAAAAV4/0bFufwda5OQ/s1600-h/bosch.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SjAcLf4ZyTI/AAAAAAAAAV4/0bFufwda5OQ/s400/bosch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345803741550987570" border="0" /></a><br />5 - Because limits to growth are soft not hard limits. The population of humans this gorgeous little planet can support is not a number, but a spectrum of numbers. On one side of the scale, a pristine Earth ecosystem with a "leave no trace" standard of nomadic human civilization would probably allow a human population in the high hundreds-of-thousands to low-single-digit millions. A sustainable Earth ecosystem with decentralized agrarian societies based on permaculture principles could probably support a human population in the hundreds of millions. If everyone lived the way North Americans currently do, the earth could probably support about one billion people. With two-thirds of the Earth's population living on two buck sa day with a lifestyle resembling a scene from a Hieronymus Bosch painting, we've proven we can support high single digit billions. If we choose to transform our planet into "Factory Farm Earth (tm)", exploiting every photon of sunlight, every drop of water, every speck of ore, eliminating in the process every "competing" species, we can probably support many tens of billions of people. Note that we're currently on trajectory for the final and most extreme scenario. Good times.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SjAdKxYlvoI/AAAAAAAAAWI/54m2Z-MpNDM/s1600-h/geological_time.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 347px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SjAdKxYlvoI/AAAAAAAAAWI/54m2Z-MpNDM/s400/geological_time.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345804828581150338" border="0" /></a><br />4 - Because human timescales are different than geological, civilizational, or even historical timescales. The problem I see with dismissing peak-oil or climate-change believers as "doomers" or "neo-millenialists" is: it's like the proverbial wheezing, hard-drinking, 400-pound, 4-pack-a-day-smoker, bacon-double-cheeseburger eating, stunt-motorcycle riding, chainsaw juggling, shark wrestling, russian-roulette playing guy who says to his doctor's repeated warnings, "Well, this lifestyle hasn't killed me YET, so I don't think it ever will..." When religious leaders tell me the End is Nigh, I blow them off. When scientists tell me so, I listen. The heuristic "this is the way things are; therefore this is the way things will always be" is one of humanity's most odious varieties of stupid. As many people point out, people have been having these end-times debates for a long time... but only a long time in human terms. Climate change is happening in a geological blink of an eye. But in human history, uncertainty of plus-or-minus a generation or two means that my kids' might be relatively unaffected by the unravelling future, and MAY not be part of the generation to be left without a chair when the music stops. Maybe even their kids?<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SjAYP2VkFZI/AAAAAAAAAVY/UwAEZADiTDM/s1600-h/Whitney-Houston.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 318px; height: 398px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SjAYP2VkFZI/AAAAAAAAAVY/UwAEZADiTDM/s400/Whitney-Houston.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345799418251842962" border="0" /></a><br />3 - Because kids make us think differently about our lives and our place in the world. You really can't argue with Whitney Houston that "children are the future." Without some sense of responsibility for the legacy of coming generations of human and non-human life, I believe people on average would be LESS eco-correct, MORE hedonistic and self-indulgant. I mean, why turn down the thermostat, carry around goofy looking water bottles, carpool, etc. etc. if my life, right now, is all that matters?<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SjAd9RcyroI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/1WPfX4H2_L8/s1600-h/modern-times.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 310px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SjAd9RcyroI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/1WPfX4H2_L8/s400/modern-times.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345805696182169218" border="0" /></a><br />2 - Because maybe our kids can fix it. I've been watching the bailout and the futility of trying to sustain the unsustainable, and at this point I'm not even sure what "fix it" means any more. Perhaps "heal it" is a better phrase, since mechanistic rather than organic thinking seems complicit in this epic mess. Maybe we've passed the point of no return, but maybe we haven't. If anyone can do it, our kids can.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SjAb6oku9qI/AAAAAAAAAVw/QahgkYjs3f0/s1600-h/tree-planting.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 298px; height: 291px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SjAb6oku9qI/AAAAAAAAAVw/QahgkYjs3f0/s400/tree-planting.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345803451826632354" border="0" /></a><br />1 - Because I'm an optimist. No, really. Look, I think a lot of people (and frankly a lot of people especially in the sustainability movement) don't understand the difference between thinking and feeling. I THINK (in simplistic terms) that the world is going to hell in a handbasket (for all the usual reason: peak oil, climate change, economic meltdown, yada yada yada.) But I FEEL challenged, curious, engaged, and even cheerful about the coming changes. I don't feel postive for any particular REASON (because then it would be thinking, not feeling...) but because the basic orientation of my personality is optimistic (underneath the crustiness.) To recap: what my rational thought leads me to believe will happen (or not happen) in the future is not, I repeat, not what determines my place on the optimist-pessimist spectrum. The attitudes, feelings, and most importantly ACTIONS with which I meet the future ARE. I'm often accused of being a pessimist, but like Jay (a sailing peak-oiler friend of ours who's now homesteading in Hawaii) says "Pessimists don't plant trees." I think that goes double for raising little humans...Arihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514069453976373599noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5910408673636622831.post-70800493390774085542009-06-01T11:10:00.000-07:002009-06-10T12:02:33.155-07:00Volvo Ocean Race GameThis online video game is currently destroying my life: <a href="http://volvooceanracegame.org/">Volvo Ocean Race Game</a><br /><br />It's a deceptively simplistic flash game. All you do is point your boat and pick your sail. But, the addictive part is that it happens in real time, with 300,000 real time competitors and real time wind downloaded from real life GRIB files. All this encourages sleep deprivation (which I keep telling Sarah is good practice for the baby.)<br /><br />For a sweet, brief, moment at the start of Leg 7, I was tied for #1 (with about 10,000 French teenagers I'm sure)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/Si_5al09A5I/AAAAAAAAAVA/FbZGUiKO934/s1600-h/volvo-ocean-race-start.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/Si_5al09A5I/AAAAAAAAAVA/FbZGUiKO934/s400/volvo-ocean-race-start.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345765517938197394" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The exigencies of my job, relationship, social life, and need for sleep conspired to distract me from the game. I went aground, and have fallen back to #30,113. Still, I'm finding it's a great way for us cubicle-bound sailors to experiment with VMG and route strategy.Arihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514069453976373599noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5910408673636622831.post-23078889509726155522009-05-25T17:52:00.000-07:002009-06-08T11:01:13.038-07:00Master Mariners Regatta 2009<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/Si1B5cDMRII/AAAAAAAAAUw/EU2mr9IHqxM/s1600-h/chorus-mm09.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 264px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/Si1B5cDMRII/AAAAAAAAAUw/EU2mr9IHqxM/s400/chorus-mm09.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345000787796575362" border="0" /></a>On May 23rd, I got to crew on Bradley's boat Chorus in the wooden boat regatta sponsored by the Master Mariners Benevolent Association.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SisS2EzBqxI/AAAAAAAAASI/gt9a9D9r8ho/s1600-h/IMGP4708.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SisS2EzBqxI/AAAAAAAAASI/gt9a9D9r8ho/s400/IMGP4708.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344386103015222034" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SisS12DYDBI/AAAAAAAAASA/Jm8OwIfOsVo/s1600-h/IMGP4707_edited.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 160px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SisS12DYDBI/AAAAAAAAASA/Jm8OwIfOsVo/s400/IMGP4707_edited.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344386099057265682" border="0" /></a><br />My dad was in town, and despite the overcast, chilly weather it was simply a great day of sailing with some great friends, and the man whose infectious love of the water got me into sailing, windsurfing, and all manner of ocean-based activities in the first place: my father.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SisTjlS3qHI/AAAAAAAAASo/VIqrcHWfI3I/s1600-h/IMGP4722_edited.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SisTjlS3qHI/AAAAAAAAASo/VIqrcHWfI3I/s400/IMGP4722_edited.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344386884832831602" border="0" /></a><br />It was an amazing learning experience to sail with such a wide variety of boats: large, small, old, "old at heart". There were boats from such venerable SF Bay one design classes such as the Bear and the Bird boats, there were gaffers in all shapes and sizes, lovely schooners and piratical square riggers.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SisUGw96C2I/AAAAAAAAATY/zDvoAVZuPIo/s1600-h/IMGP4732.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SisUGw96C2I/AAAAAAAAATY/zDvoAVZuPIo/s400/IMGP4732.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344387489261554530" border="0" /></a><br />It's a fun-loving event, as evidenced by the "potato rounding rule." Less weatherly old girls who can't quite round the weather mark can opt instead to throw a potato at it. Close counts; just like in horseshoes and hand grenades.<br /><br />I was on foredeck for the first time; and had many fumbles and recovery due to my unfamiliarity with the role and various equipment gotchas.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SisUHULdtyI/AAAAAAAAATo/bbZ8-G2x0Bw/s1600-h/IMGP4745.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SisUHULdtyI/AAAAAAAAATo/bbZ8-G2x0Bw/s400/IMGP4745.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344387498713659170" border="0" /></a><br />Bradley was on the helm, Craig trimmed spinnaker.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SisUHZiBx4I/AAAAAAAAATw/8bz823Ir46Q/s1600-h/IMGP4746.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SisUHZiBx4I/AAAAAAAAATw/8bz823Ir46Q/s400/IMGP4746.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344387500150474626" border="0" /></a>Aaron, who I've sailed with on the Ultimate 24, was on mast.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SisUGSVZwTI/AAAAAAAAATQ/Jg5jj9bvAmM/s1600-h/IMGP4731.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SisUGSVZwTI/AAAAAAAAATQ/Jg5jj9bvAmM/s400/IMGP4731.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344387481038602546" border="0" /></a><br />Our tactition (as well as moral and spiritual advisor, hehe) Peter English, sailed such a perfect course that despite our (I should say my) clumsy hoists and douses we won our class by 6 seconds.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SisUXoJ8cdI/AAAAAAAAAT4/cxprHq7SfUo/s1600-h/IMGP4748.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SisUXoJ8cdI/AAAAAAAAAT4/cxprHq7SfUo/s400/IMGP4748.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344387778953900498" border="0" /></a><br />It was a literally photo finish, with the second place Farallon Clipper right on our quarter as we heard the shotgun blast signalling our win.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SisUYEYnLII/AAAAAAAAAUQ/X7_ETbzJakY/s1600-h/IMGP4756.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SisUYEYnLII/AAAAAAAAAUQ/X7_ETbzJakY/s400/IMGP4756.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344387786531613826" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We relaxed as we sailed down the Estuary to the post-race party at Encinal Yacht Club. Seeing the stately wooden craft rafted up three or four boats deep, I was reminded of the pictures I've seen of the three-masted Alaska Packer ships that used to raft up in the spot now inhabited by our marina. It was easy to half-close my eyes and daydream about a not-so-distant past and rapidly approaching future where "wooden boats and iron men" (these days a growing sisterhood of "iron women" too!) are central to Alameda's economy and culture.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/Si1RvIz5HVI/AAAAAAAAAU4/leXi2CllaVk/s1600-h/Alaska_Packers_Association_Alameda_California_S789.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 256px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/Si1RvIz5HVI/AAAAAAAAAU4/leXi2CllaVk/s400/Alaska_Packers_Association_Alameda_California_S789.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345018203019484498" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SisUYFMGezI/AAAAAAAAAUY/lTz23xlRDfc/s1600-h/IMGP4763.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SisUYFMGezI/AAAAAAAAAUY/lTz23xlRDfc/s400/IMGP4763.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344387786747575090" border="0" /></a><br />That night we enjoyed a celebratory dinner and reception put on by the Encinal Yacht Club.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SisUc6mN47I/AAAAAAAAAUg/ugoKDXA0Ngc/s1600-h/IMGP4767_edited.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SisUc6mN47I/AAAAAAAAAUg/ugoKDXA0Ngc/s400/IMGP4767_edited.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344387869803668402" border="0" /></a><br />It was a great weekend with friends and family, and a great introduction to racing! We plan to practice as a team until we get our symmetrical spinnaker mojo working better!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SisTjxI_jbI/AAAAAAAAAS4/czKYiW4oDpU/s1600-h/IMGP4724.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SisTjxI_jbI/AAAAAAAAAS4/czKYiW4oDpU/s400/IMGP4724.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344386888012631474" border="0" /></a>Arihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514069453976373599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5910408673636622831.post-39353813400659435672009-04-22T17:36:00.000-07:002009-04-22T18:04:19.465-07:00Baby AboardOur biggest question about having a baby has been how to keep her safe in the marine environment. We have bought all six books that I could find on Amazon about cruising with children. Clearly tons of cruising families have lived with children from newborns to teenagers on sailboats. And it just so happens that everyone that writes a book about it says it is a great experience. If anyone knows of a book about how unhappy a family was cruising with children, let us know. <br /><br />Most of the suggestions I have read have been the same. To sum them up:<br /><ul><li>Put the kid in a life jacket when underway.</li><li>Devise some kind of toddler harness and tether system when ever kid is above deck.</li><li>Teach them to swim.</li><li>Teach older children to row the dingy. Started by having them practice row with the painter still tied to the boat. As they get better give them more line.</li><li>Put netting up around the life lines.</li><li>Lash a car seat above or below deck.</li><li>Have some kind of playpen area, either a commercial "pack and play," or create one in a bunk with netting or lee cloths. <br /></li><li>Bring things to entertain them like toys and books.</li><li>Let them participate in sailing, steering, etc. But don't push it because it is really not that fun for kids for very long periods of time.</li><li>Find other kids and cruising families. Meet up with them again if possible.</li><li>Hide fun treats and toys to take out for long passages and bad weather.</li></ul>In addition I have found some unique ideas online. One family created a flotation system for the car seat, and tested it in the pool. Not sure if we will do this, but it does seem like there is an untapped market for various baby flotation devices. I really enjoyed one families description of buying an immersion alarm for their three year old. I won't ruin the funny part, so you can read it yourself. On one online forum I found some interesting posts including one that has some pictures of hanging the infant seat in the companion way. I'm not sure that the carseat companies have safety tested all the ways that parents are using the seats on boats, but it does make me think.<br /><br />Carseat flotation<br />http://www.sailjazz.com/editorial/read/27<br /><br />Immersion Alarm (LOL)<br /> http://www.weliveonaboat.com/2008/07/keeping-kids-safe-on-a-boat.html<br /><br />The V-Crib<br />http://www.searoom.com/sail_baby.htm<br /><br />Comments by Gaff Cutter family and Hanging Carseat<br /> http://www.ybw.com/forums/showflat.php/Cat/0/Board/pbo/Number/397323/an/0/Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14599605773292619580noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5910408673636622831.post-62822229754641317452009-04-20T20:24:00.000-07:002009-04-20T21:16:34.477-07:00What is it like to live on a boat?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ss-4tmju-MY/Se1AV1IDOFI/AAAAAAAAA5I/kA0c-7neSv8/s1600-h/IMG_0348.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ss-4tmju-MY/Se1AV1IDOFI/AAAAAAAAA5I/kA0c-7neSv8/s320/IMG_0348.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326984678031439954" border="0" /></a>Our friends and family have been asking what it is like to live on our boat. We have been on our boat almost two months, and I keep waiting for the boat to be clean to take pictures to post. Well, today I decided that we should just tell the truth. Neither Ari nor I excel at picking up. We even got rid of most of our stuff, and yet there is still clutter.<br /><br />So life on a boat is exactly like life on land, we are surrounded by junk. Above is our Nav desk where we we put project and mail junk. Ari has been constantly doing projects since we moved aboard. I doubt we will ever really clean this area up.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ss-4tmju-MY/Se0-8jTWzOI/AAAAAAAAA5A/Up84zG30WQc/s1600-h/IMG_0344.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ss-4tmju-MY/Se0-8jTWzOI/AAAAAAAAA5A/Up84zG30WQc/s320/IMG_0344.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326983144238664930" border="0" /></a>This is the "nursery." Most day we keep this clean, but today is laundry day, well really yesterday was. We have friends who are expecting a baby a month after us, they already put the nursery together, we try and keep it clean.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ss-4tmju-MY/Se1BPSQ6KDI/AAAAAAAAA5Y/Yh-Y_kQL0QA/s1600-h/IMG_0343.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ss-4tmju-MY/Se1BPSQ6KDI/AAAAAAAAA5Y/Yh-Y_kQL0QA/s320/IMG_0343.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326985665105766450" border="0" /></a>Here you can sort of see our bed. I didn't make it up all nice, but it is small. I bought a foam mattress pad to make it softer. We have to tuck the full sized pad in to make it fit. We have worked out a clever system of taking turns sleeping on the inside and outside throughout the night. I think soon I will be too pregnant to sleep on the inside. It is getting hard for me to roll over when it is time to switch.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ss-4tmju-MY/Se1CObHljaI/AAAAAAAAA5g/gZ3tRN5D3L0/s1600-h/IMG_0322.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ss-4tmju-MY/Se1CObHljaI/AAAAAAAAA5g/gZ3tRN5D3L0/s320/IMG_0322.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326986749814345122" border="0" /></a>Despite the mess we are loving living on the boat. Like tonight when Ari took the little boat out for a row, and later a sail. The sun was setting, it was warm, and we enjoyed a cool drink on deck afterward.<br /><br />We are excited for the little one to join us on our adventure. More pictures of boat life soon.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14599605773292619580noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5910408673636622831.post-4049399627190754942009-03-01T11:30:00.000-08:002009-03-12T08:51:18.749-07:00Sailing Home<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/Sa7NfQaX0dI/AAAAAAAAAQU/zq7LcwsTLu8/s1600-h/IMG_0554.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/Sa7NfQaX0dI/AAAAAAAAAQU/zq7LcwsTLu8/s400/IMG_0554.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309406947581612498" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/Sa7Ne1ioUII/AAAAAAAAAQM/Jy1HTYsd19E/s1600-h/IMG_0551.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/Sa7Ne1ioUII/AAAAAAAAAQM/Jy1HTYsd19E/s400/IMG_0551.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309406940368490626" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We had a great sail back from Berkeley to Alameda with our friends Bradley and Craig. I love sailing with those guys. Bradley is like some kind of crazed sailing prodigy: he's only been sailing for a couple years, but he brings so much passion and intensity to it that he sails way better than folks I know who have been sailing for decades. Craig is a super experienced, experimental, and intuitive sailor. I'd sailed with him a bunch on my old Catalina and his old Catalina, but it's only in sailing with him on engineless boats that I really began to appreciate what a truly gifted sailor he is.<br /><br />While the wind was light, we warped from one side dock to the fuel dock. Basically, this involved giving the boat a giant bobsled shove and letting it coast around a corner and upwind to the fuel dock. We kinda bungled the maneuver. We had two crew aboard, but the two "pushers" failed to jump on in time, so we had to sprint around the docks to get in position to catch Macha. We got to the other side of the dock in time and no J24's were harmed. Phew.<br /><br />We debated just sailing out, but we had previously arranged a tow out of the breakwater from Steve, the guy who did our cockpit. He arrived in a vintage wooden mini-tugboat and, as soon as the towrope was made fast to our samson post, dragged us straight upwind at 4 knots. It was only the second time we've towed the boat. It's always a blow to the ego, and reinforces the perception that engineless sailors get towed everywhere. Still, it really helped, as the flood would otherwise have been setting us right into (through) the pier. Basically, it turned what would have been a two day sail into a one-day sail.<br /><br />Once past the end of the Berkeley pier, I faced a moment of truth. The winds were REALLY light. Should we drop the tow rope now and sail behind Treasure Island? (much shorter, but less wind) Or radio Steve and ask for a further tow around the front of Treasure Island? It made me realize that the reason I don't have an engine is the same as the reason I don't have a TV or a Playstation. Not because I'm a self-righteous purist, but because I find it REALLY hard to "unplug" from addictive technological conveniences...<br /><br />With some urging from Craig, I decided it was time to stop motoring and start sailing!<br /><br />With the extremely light wind, we got to rotate through every sail: main, topsail, staysail, jib, yankee, tow staysail, asymmetrical kite. Great learning experience!<br /><br />We ghosted along, drifting with the current with just enough way on to keep steerage. We ran a slow-motion slalom course through the anchored construction barges near the Bay Bridge construction.<br /><br />As we got closer to the bridge (right by Clipper Cove), we picked up the strongest wind of the day (probably 7-9 knots) which we used to maximum effect to work Westward to pass through the upwind gap in the bridge. Once on the other side, we drifted again until the flood carried us out of the wind shadow of the island. We bore off on a broad reach towards the entrance doused the headsails and hoisted our giant asymmetrical spinnaker to fly wing-on-wing.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/Sa7NeWjWoKI/AAAAAAAAAQE/ZRLa8XYD52k/s1600-h/IMG_0549.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/Sa7NeWjWoKI/AAAAAAAAAQE/ZRLa8XYD52k/s400/IMG_0549.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309406932050026658" border="0" /></a><br />At one point coming down the Estuary, Craig suggested we take down everything except the kite so it could draw better. I was skeptical to take down the mainsail, since I figured we had more sail area going wing-on-wing, and that raising the main again would be a pain. But with so many crew aboard, I figured it was worth the experiment. Wow -- we instantly gained a half-knot. We had been pacing a pretty little navy blue Etchells the whole way down the Estuary, but we figure we would have beat them if we had taken down the main sooner.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/Sa7Nfmx7KnI/AAAAAAAAAQc/t9cf0_4jVv0/s1600-h/IMG_0557.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/Sa7Nfmx7KnI/AAAAAAAAAQc/t9cf0_4jVv0/s400/IMG_0557.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309406953585977970" border="0" /></a><br />Then the wind died completely, and as the current was about to change, we towed ourselves with the dinghy lashed on the quarter for a little while. Again, I felt like I was cheating by using the outboard. But it ended up being a great exercise: we now know that in near-perfect calm the 15 horse two-stroke can push the big girl at 4+ knots. Something to add to our bag of tricks...<br /><br />As we towed ourselves deeper into the Estuary, our wind came back and we sailed with the kite, dowsing it to put up tow staysail to slow ourselves, then lining up for final approach under bare poles.<br /><br />Home sweet home!Arihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514069453976373599noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5910408673636622831.post-25755430817218247002009-02-23T14:55:00.000-08:002009-03-12T09:11:12.352-07:00Cockpit Work IV<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/Sbk0CUhpTAI/AAAAAAAAAQ8/2p9sZ_SkG7U/s1600-h/macha_haulout_289.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/Sbk0CUhpTAI/AAAAAAAAAQ8/2p9sZ_SkG7U/s400/macha_haulout_289.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312334449934420994" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/Sbk0CEOVCUI/AAAAAAAAAQ0/_ml4Ox_1gL0/s1600-h/macha_haulout_288.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/Sbk0CEOVCUI/AAAAAAAAAQ0/_ml4Ox_1gL0/s400/macha_haulout_288.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312334445558434114" border="0" /></a><br />Wow. It's coming together beautifully. The cockpit is not 100% done, but the boat is sailable. Which is good, because we're moving aboard this weekend and we need to move her... We're hoping for some Westerly or Northwesterly wind.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SaM_B_FYICI/AAAAAAAAAPU/05w9Bh4ztdM/s1600-h/macha_haulout_268.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SaM_B_FYICI/AAAAAAAAAPU/05w9Bh4ztdM/s400/macha_haulout_268.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306154089318981666" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SaM_BU-4EGI/AAAAAAAAAPM/24vX-osSXQI/s1600-h/macha_haulout_265.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SaM_BU-4EGI/AAAAAAAAAPM/24vX-osSXQI/s400/macha_haulout_265.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306154078017425506" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SaMy86CyfpI/AAAAAAAAAO0/zLK3DZZIF6c/s1600-h/macha_haulout_250.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SaMy86CyfpI/AAAAAAAAAO0/zLK3DZZIF6c/s400/macha_haulout_250.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306140807927070354" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SaMy8tFxZMI/AAAAAAAAAOs/MFGxpii4eCM/s1600-h/macha_haulout_249.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SaMy8tFxZMI/AAAAAAAAAOs/MFGxpii4eCM/s400/macha_haulout_249.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306140804449920194" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SaMy8eF6iaI/AAAAAAAAAOk/UyMeNNXHvtg/s1600-h/macha_haulout_248.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SaMy8eF6iaI/AAAAAAAAAOk/UyMeNNXHvtg/s400/macha_haulout_248.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306140800423987618" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SaMyzVdTZiI/AAAAAAAAAOc/q8qRcHfwFDQ/s1600-h/macha_haulout_227.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SaMyzVdTZiI/AAAAAAAAAOc/q8qRcHfwFDQ/s400/macha_haulout_227.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306140643487344162" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SaMyzNMj75I/AAAAAAAAAOU/AY9dIKeEzPU/s1600-h/macha_haulout_226.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SaMyzNMj75I/AAAAAAAAAOU/AY9dIKeEzPU/s400/macha_haulout_226.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306140641269641106" border="0" /></a>Arihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514069453976373599noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5910408673636622831.post-75212462388917636312009-02-07T20:40:00.000-08:002009-02-25T12:44:48.527-08:00Chorus Sea TrialThis weekend we got to crew on Bradley's recently purchased 1958 Kettenberg 38 "Chorus". Wow. What a boat! I hope Macha's not listening when I say she's the prettiest boat I've ever seen. (There's different kinds of beauty, and Macha is still the boat of my dreams...)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SaWZJrPeFTI/AAAAAAAAAP0/FlTFjKIjGXs/s1600-h/chorus_241.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SaWZJrPeFTI/AAAAAAAAAP0/FlTFjKIjGXs/s400/chorus_241.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306816127431480626" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I wasn't familiar with Chorus' boat racing record, or the sterling reputation of her previous owner Peter English in the San Francisco sailing community. So for the last few weeks I had been gently teasing Bradley based on all the stereotypes I had rattling around my head about wooden boats. "Biodegradable hull." "Needs some TLC." "Get the bilge pump handle and the varnish brush ready." Bradley would ask for advice on whether we thought Chorus was a good investment. Finally, I said "No boat is a every a good financial investment. But if it's love, it's love, and nothing I can say or do will change your mind."<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SaWZJDXamsI/AAAAAAAAAPs/ONlPyXx8uG8/s1600-h/chorus_242.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SaWZJDXamsI/AAAAAAAAAPs/ONlPyXx8uG8/s400/chorus_242.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306816116727388866" border="0" /></a><br />All joking aside, it was clear as soon as we laid eyes on Chorus that she wasn't just any neglected wooden "project boat." From stem to stern, every brightly finished inch of her radiated an aura of meticulous care.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SaWZI4UsvbI/AAAAAAAAAPk/roVJ1UlykSY/s1600-h/chorus_232.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SaWZI4UsvbI/AAAAAAAAAPk/roVJ1UlykSY/s400/chorus_232.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306816113763204530" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SaWmWWvl_AI/AAAAAAAAAP8/kpVp_fIqLDw/s1600-h/chorus_233.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SaWmWWvl_AI/AAAAAAAAAP8/kpVp_fIqLDw/s400/chorus_233.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306830638918532098" border="0" /></a>Her narrow beam and graceful overhangs looked fast even tied up to the dock.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SaWZIozWV2I/AAAAAAAAAPc/yk6v6JqWPvk/s1600-h/chorus_234.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SaWZIozWV2I/AAAAAAAAAPc/yk6v6JqWPvk/s400/chorus_234.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306816109596792674" border="0" /></a>Her running rigging and deck hardware indicated that rather than a flimsy showboat, this was a boat that had been set up to be sailed well and sailed hard.<br /><br />Actually, while Macha and Chorus are very different boats, I think they both ooze with character and purpose. In Macha's case, that purpose is to be a home on the water: a comfortable, maneuverable and decently quick "Ark" for a nomadic family of seasteaders.<br /><br />Chorus' purpose, as best I can tell is to be a wolf in sheep's clothing. It would be easy to see all that gleaming Mahogany and think "What a charming old boat." But if you're on the racecourse when you have that thought, watch out!<br /><br />While Chorus is currently the flagship of the Master Mariners Benevolent Society (a group devoted to restoring and racing classic wooden boats), according to Peter she's aroused come controversy because she's TOO fast.<br /><br />Below the waterline, she has a faired keel and a carbon fiber elliptical rudder has replaced the original keel-hung barndoor. Her stick is aluminum, rigged by Peter's childhood friend, Scott Easom. Her running rigging is all modern low stretch cordage, and her sails are all high-tech laminates. (As white as possible, to stealthily mimic Dacron from a distance.)<br /><br />In short, she's the sailboat equivalent of dropping a V8 in a ford model-T to make a hot rod!<br /><br />Chorus has won a number of local PHRF races and even raced in the 1996 TransPac.<br /><br />We had a great spin from Sausalito around Angel Island and back up Raccoon Straits. Bradley was obviously thrilled to take the helm of his new baby, and Peter was obviously happy to know that the boat that has meant so much to him is going to a good home. From the sounds of it, he'll continue to be involved with Chorus as he shows Bradley the maintenance routine, introduces him to the Master Mariner crowd, and maybe sails some races.<br /><br />Chorus has got a really nice feel. We found it pretty easy to get her going 6.5-7knots upwind. With the fancy rudder, she's got a really nice helm feel: responsive but solid. Aparently with spinnaker up she'll do 12-13 knots.<br /><br />P.S. Speaking of Master Mariners, Bradley told us that one of their board members saw Macha tied up in Berkeley. Thinking, "What a beautiful old gaffer", he walked up to leave a note inviting us to Master Mariner events. When he got closer, he knocked on the hull and realized she was old growth fiberglass. Hehe.Arihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514069453976373599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5910408673636622831.post-67134050811950192012009-01-28T15:28:00.000-08:002009-02-20T11:47:08.685-08:00ChorusOur buddy Bradley is buying this Kettenberg 38:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.spauldingcenter.org/boatfinder/2008/11/10/kettenburg-38-chorus-for-sale/"> Kettenburg 38 “Chorus” for sale </a><br /><br />Can't wait to crew on her!<br /><br />- AriArihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514069453976373599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5910408673636622831.post-6514423075223562632009-01-28T15:19:00.001-08:002009-01-28T15:28:36.268-08:00Cockpit Work IIIDespite the rain, it's coming together. Steve and assistant David are doing great work.<br /><br />- Ari<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SYDot3XB7uI/AAAAAAAAANY/pe-Fwiu2s_c/s1600-h/macha_haulout_181.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SYDot3XB7uI/AAAAAAAAANY/pe-Fwiu2s_c/s400/macha_haulout_181.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296489036440006370" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SYDouk8Xr1I/AAAAAAAAANg/Gh4NLEjdXZA/s1600-h/macha_haulout_183.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SYDouk8Xr1I/AAAAAAAAANg/Gh4NLEjdXZA/s400/macha_haulout_183.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296489048676216658" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SYDpo2Yy_MI/AAAAAAAAAN4/yXxQcRdb1r4/s1600-h/macha_haulout_184.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SYDpo2Yy_MI/AAAAAAAAAN4/yXxQcRdb1r4/s400/macha_haulout_184.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296490049791261890" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SYDowmpFIMI/AAAAAAAAANw/4yrLZtdCDTc/s1600-h/macha_haulout_186.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SYDowmpFIMI/AAAAAAAAANw/4yrLZtdCDTc/s400/macha_haulout_186.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296489083491918018" border="0" /></a>Arihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514069453976373599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5910408673636622831.post-39774717608001415172009-01-15T22:18:00.001-08:002009-01-15T22:35:21.416-08:00Cockpit Work IIAt this point it would be easy to think "Holy !$@#%YY%Q, what have they done to our boat?!?!"<br /><br />However, an even more natural reaction (at least for for us) is, thank God we paid a professional to do this...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SXAoOMt_H1I/AAAAAAAAAMw/UfgoJWg9ZT0/s1600-h/macha_haulout_177.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SXAoOMt_H1I/AAAAAAAAAMw/UfgoJWg9ZT0/s400/macha_haulout_177.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291773786557718354" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SXAoN4qqppI/AAAAAAAAAMo/fIUD4WPcbl0/s1600-h/macha_haulout_175.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SXAoN4qqppI/AAAAAAAAAMo/fIUD4WPcbl0/s400/macha_haulout_175.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291773781175084690" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SXAoOokIe6I/AAAAAAAAAM4/Mgz_ocQdZUc/s1600-h/macha_haulout_179.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SXAoOokIe6I/AAAAAAAAAM4/Mgz_ocQdZUc/s400/macha_haulout_179.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291773794032581538" border="0" /></a>Arihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514069453976373599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5910408673636622831.post-76476820338882104732009-01-12T22:00:00.000-08:002009-01-15T21:44:25.690-08:00Cockpit Work IHere's what's going on so far.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SWxGNeODFsI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/laDu_9OgZ8k/s1600-h/macha_haulout_167.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SWxGNeODFsI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/laDu_9OgZ8k/s400/macha_haulout_167.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290680859517720258" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SWxGMwB8GAI/AAAAAAAAAKI/yfY1ld-I9Qc/s1600-h/macha_haulout_166.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SWxGMwB8GAI/AAAAAAAAAKI/yfY1ld-I9Qc/s400/macha_haulout_166.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290680847118899202" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SWxGKcaAU3I/AAAAAAAAAKA/Kbzx5EoU6k4/s1600-h/macha_haulout_165.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SWxGKcaAU3I/AAAAAAAAAKA/Kbzx5EoU6k4/s400/macha_haulout_165.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290680807491392370" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SWxGKBE1paI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/CfssoNSuMdQ/s1600-h/macha_haulout_164.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QkV7Z5jI7zA/SWxGKBE1paI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/CfssoNSuMdQ/s400/macha_haulout_164.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290680800154854818" border="0" /></a>Arihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514069453976373599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5910408673636622831.post-75495627630735103692009-01-11T23:41:00.000-08:002009-02-25T13:15:40.209-08:00Financial Crisis and Peak OilA friend recently wrote about the "Current Financial Crisis" in another forum. After posting a littany of economic horrors from the news media, he asked rhetorically:<br /><br />"Does anyone know where some optimistic/realistic writings might be?"<br /><br />Well, embedded in that question is the assumption that optimistic=realistic. That assumption in turn is rooted in our unique historical perspective about progress, prosperity, etc. The narrative we've lived our whole lives is about to begin a new chapter.<br /><br />I believe every generation has an intuitive feel for the "speed" of history. I believe rate of technological change provides the externally measurable benchmark for that subjective experience.<br /><br />My great-grandparents were surprised that certain technological breakthroughs made their lives slightly different and better than their parents. For example, on one side of the family they were able to travel between Europe and North America by steamer, and on another side of the family they were able to work in factories in addition to farms.<br /><br />My grandparents became used to sporadic but not infrequent change. My grandfather on one side was fascinated as a kid by crystal radios and cameras. They adapted to cars, planes, TVs, etc. Still, every new labor-saving device, transporation method, or entertainment medium was met with surprise and delight (or horror in the case of "improvements" like the machine gun and atom bomb.)<br /><br />By my parents generation, change was expected. Linear change that is. They grew up with expectations of predictable, incremental technological improvement. Cars and planes got bigger and faster every year. Radios went stereo and TVs went color. But still, you could chart your expected life's course by observing where technology stood today, and extrapolating a straight-line trajectory towards the future based on the steady rate of technological improvement. Often, these predictions based on linear extrapolations are hilarious to us now: moon colonies and flying cars and house-cleaning robots and atomic powered everything...<br /><br />(I should say I've been blessed to grow up in a family where ecological and social limits to economic growth were part of the dinner table conversation -- I'm talking about the generational Zeitgeist.)<br /><br />I believe my generation, our generation, expected exponential or even chaotic growth. As a computer geek, the career to which I've devoted the last fifteen years of my life literally did not exist when I was in high school. (I choose to believe that fact and not my restless and cantankerous nature is why my guidance counsellors had nothing to say about what I should do with my life...) Our generation has an intimate, intuitive feel for revolutionary technological change. We understand in our bones that if you invent something cool on the Internet, tens of millions of people can hear about it and just start using it overnight. We've seen world-changing innovations and micro-trends and global one-hit-wonders bloom overnight like mushrooms on a lawn and then fade just as rapidly. For the most part we've grown comfortable in a world where things get faster at an ever-faster rate.<br /><br />Which brings us to now, and which brings us to oil. Because we tend to think of technology as separate from energy, when the two are inextricably tied together. The reason we DON'T have flying cars or moon colonies or jetpacks is NOT that the technology wasn't there. It's that while a '57 Cadillac with fins and a "four-body" trunk was a profligate and wastefully inefficient use of fossil fuel, a flying car is SO wasteful as to be completely insane. (There is also a human factor : most Americans I see cell-phone-chatting and Dorito-munching and honking and running into each other on the freeways find two-dimensional travel plenty challenging thank you very much...) We cannot and must not abstract the technological innovation necessary to invent our toys from the fuel needed to run them.<br /><br />So, thinking ahead to future generations (as I find even a wriggling ultrasound salamander-fetus in my wife's womb forces me to do), what civilizational "velocity" can we expect? What rate of technological change will feel natural to my children? To my grandchildren?<br /><br />There are a number of possible trajectories.<br /><br />The simplest is we could imagine human technological progress as a parabolic arc -- the plot arc of a Greek tragedy. We achieve our greatest ease and comfort and speed and energy usage (we will continue to argue whether that happened in 2005 or the 2010's) and slowly, we lose steam. The coal-generated electrical lights dim and we fade back into a preindustrial past. World population and technology use decreases to a level sustainable by a "solar economy." (Remember, at the end of the day, the only 2 energy inputs we have as a planet are solar and nuclear).<br /><br />A variation on this theme is a more sudden and calamitous crash. In financial terms, we're already starting to hear mutterings... Instead of a "V-shaped" revovery versus a "U-shaped" recovery, what if we're looking at an "L-shaped" non-recovery? An idea I just picked up from my dad: the tipping point between gradual decline (managed contraction) and cataclysm will have to do with social cohesion. A few years back, power to a large swathe of Eastern Canada was knocked out due to a giant ice storm. For the most part, communities pulled together. People were skiing or snowshoeing to their neighbours, making sure everyone was safe, warm, had food and water, that the elderly and the sick were OK. In the United States... not so much... The response in NYC after 9/11 was amazing and inspiring -- everyday heroics and simple kindness turned a major metropolis into a small town for a few weeks But then you have the counterexamples like Katrina where the social fabric broke down completely within days. In this country we have such a history of NOT caring about each other, and such a bat-shit crazy obsession with violence and firearms, that I basically feel most US citizens are a few hot meals away from looting, murder and mayhem of all kinds.<br /><br />A third scenario, and the most hopeful one, involves the simulaneous growth and dematerialization of our economy. Simply put, we could trade less atoms and more bits. That's the geeky way of putting it. The woo-woo way of putting it is that "primitive" societies with limited material economies had rich economies in information: relationships, art, music, myth, ceremony, food!. We can have unlimited growth in human culture and science without digging or drilling ever more out of the Earth if we have technology which is focussed "inside" instead of "outside." Technology that allows us to communicate without travelling. Technology that allows us to improve our lives without destroying the lives of our human and non-human neighbours. This could work in a financial as well as technological sense. For example, Polynesians had the concept of "mana", a broad-reaching spiritual concept roughly translated as personal power and social status -- almost a spiritual currency. Mana could be won, lost or exchanged through various social transactions or acts of bravery, artistry, or generosity. The First Nations of the Pacific Northwest have a similar notion of social hierarchy, and one's social standing can be enhanced by potlatch, or competitive gift giving. I believe humans will always be motivated by rational self-interest, but it's easy to imagine myriad ways in which we could harness human greed and self-interest to a spiritual currency in which personal "mana" is earned by giving rather than taking. All very utopian stuff, and I'm not optimistic that "NASCAR nation" is going to have this ego-shattering, soul-opening epiphany the next five to ten years; which is unfortunately when it would need to happen.<br /><br />Notice that one scenario I didn't mention is the "Dallas" ending. We wake up tomorrow and it was all a dream. The stock markets recover. Oil prices stay low. Obama fixes everything. Rainbows and puppy dogs. Hydrogen powered flying cars even? I don't think this will happen, even though I fervently want to allow myself to believe it will. I'm a geek; geeks trust numbers. We can achieve a lot of things as a civilization, but I don't think we can achieve more than 87 million barrels per day of petroleum production. The decline rates that the IEA have estimated for fields using modern technology are 6-9% per year. For fields using more traditional methods, it's 3-5% per year. Let's be extremely generous and assume that at some point in the next few years we plateau at 87mbpd, and start seeing annual declines of 3% (for comparison, the "demand destruction" that caused the fall in price from $147 to thirties is estimated at 3.5%) So in 200x (could be 2008, could be 2015) we're looking at:<br /><br />87.00 mbpd<br />84.39 mbpd<br />81.86 mbpd<br />79.40 mbpd<br />77.02 mbpd<br />74.71 mbpd<br />72.47 mbpd<br />70.29 mbpd<br />68.19 mbpd<br />66.14 mbpd<br />...<br /><br />Assuming even this very generous 3% rate of production decline, within 23 years we're at half or our current production. If the rate turns out to be 6 percent, that halving will happen in about 12 years. So while I can't predict the future, what I do know is that my children, and your children will know in their bones this inexorable "compound interest in reverse". There are a lot of people talking about running our current civilization on hydrogen, or ethanol, or biodiesel, or organic bat-spit. But you'll notice very few of them are engineers. While there is theoretically enough solar energy hitting the earth every day to power our entire civilization, there are a lot of theoretical and practical limits to doing so. I believe we are looking at a massive wind-down of our civilization -- whether orderly or not.<br /><br />Honestly, I'm not sure how to wrap up this train of thought. Except that I want my kid(s) to know how to make things, how to do things, how to go places (without petroleum), how to get along with people. Understanding is great if and only if it helps them actually live in the real world. Otherwise it's just mental wanking.<br /><br />Some things I've been pondering lately. Very concrete, down-to-earth stuff:<br /><br />- Where does my food come from? My friend Carrie once asked me to identify some green stuff in our friend Dan's garden. I answered "salad". That doesn't bode well for my health and safety in a post-peak world... I need to learn about gardening, permaculture, gathering, fishing, etc.<br /><br />- Where does my water come from? I recently learned that my island-suburb of Alameda has about 75,000 people and no natural fresh water sources. Of course there are a lot of flat roofs that could be fitted with catchment tanks for the rainy season, and from what I've heard, aquaducts are incredibly low in energy usage and pretty easy to maintain. Still.... A meme I just heard from Jay's blog: In hawaiian "wai" means water, and "waiwai" means wealth. (Reduplication is used to indicate "more".) I always joke with my family and friends in Eastern Canada that the Great Lakes are the "Saudi Arabia of fresh water." In contrast, most of So Cal would be a desert without irrigation, and parts of North Cal aren't too much better. Our multi-year "drought" may turn out to be the new normal. ("drought" is the ecological equivalent of the euphemistic and optimistic term "<span style="font-weight: bold;">current</span> financial crisis")<br /><br />- What do I actually know how to do? I.e. with my hands, in the physical world. That's not to say that the liberal arts are dead in the post-peak world, just that literacy or math, or perl scripting, or accounting, or economics or theoretical knowledge of any kind will help me only insofar as it allows me to be more efficient, productive, graceful in procuring food and shelter. An perfect example for me of "practical theory" is celestial navigation: a science handed down from the ancients which requires skills in geometry, arithmetic, astronomy, and geography. Some would even say the skill of locating yourself within the celestial spheres even has spiritual dimensions. Oh yeah, and it will get you home when the batteries die in your GPS. (Or when the GPS satellite fall out of orbit and no one has the money or rocket fuel to put 'em back up.)<br /><br />- What do I actually own? Until this year I calculated my net worth by tallying a bunch of numbers on my brokerage statements. This year, I find I'm "taking stock" of my actual physical resources. I have a property that I rent out. I have a boat. I have a bunch of tools and even know how to use most of them. The thing I don't have is arable land. That's a conscious strategy; we've made the decision that rather than committing to a particular homestead location, having a boat allows us to go where we need to go. It's a calculated risk. Particularly in the US, having farmland close to a big population center could be economically advantageous in the next couple decades as "farmer's markets" become the way most people get food. On the other hand, you could end up overrun by urban hipster refugees ready to kill for a Venti latte. I'd prefer to keep my nomadic options open...<br /><br />- Who are my friends? Who are my enemies? How do I feel about violence?<br />Y'all may have seen the riotting going on in Oakland lately. Without condemning or condoning looting (but while vehemently condemming shooting an unarmed kid in the back!!!) I have to acknowledge certain potentially unbridgeable rifts in my community and in this country. This nation was founded on treating people of certain races and classes as a waste by-product of agriculture and industry. (Van Jones and others are doing amazing work at trying to "close that loop" -- but quick enough?) Since they've been treated as disposable for generations, I can't rely on my neighbours to treat me any differently when push comes to shove. On the violence/self-defense front I have a longstanding fear of and abhorence for firearms. But like all this peak-oil crazy-talk, I think it's good to go into this new world consciously. Sarah and I had a conversation awhile ago about about guns, and both decided we didn't ever want to own one. But I felt better having talked about it -- it was a conscious decision rather than sleepwalking. Most people I know who own farms seem to have one around. For us, again, the boat seems like a good short term strategy; Oakland could be burning to the ground, and if we're anchored a few hundred yards off Treasure Island we'll miss the worst of it. Greg, an in-law in Canada (who's a sustainable-fund manager) has been predicting this meltdown for years and has a friend who describes "tank-and-a-half" strategy. Basically, if the average car holds 10 gallons and goes 20mpg, in the event of a complete urban shit-storm you need to be able to go at least 300 miles to get out of the epicenter of the craziness. So he keeps a couple of jerry cans of gas in the trunk. When I talked with friends last year about keeping extra food around the house, folks responded with jokes about Mad Max, and with suggestions that community gardening rather than six weeks of canned goods are the long term solution. True; but in order to execute the long term strategy, you need to make it through the short term happy and healthy. I believe that in the next twelve months we could see interuptions in gas supply at the pumps. (Long story and a topic for another post -- but Ukraine and the recent bankrupcy of a major refinery on the US West Coast give clues how oil expresses it's dual nature as a recently-deleveraged-investment-vehicle and a necessary-for-survival-fuel) If that happens, I don't think US cities will be a safe place to be. Just getting through the first few weeks could make a big difference.<br /><br />My point in all this is that it's better to have the conversations, make the decision, get the experience, and tools, and training NOW. I believe it will be much harder to "wing it" five to ten years from now.<br /><br />- AriArihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514069453976373599noreply@blogger.com1