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Showing posts with label Scuttlebutt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scuttlebutt. Show all posts
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Sailboat Maintenance Flowchart
The three most important products to have on a sailboat...each has multiple uses. There can never be enought of the one in the middle on-board.
Friday, March 18, 2011
How Life Changes and a Code to Live By for Cruisers

Cruisers go through a life-bending transformation as they move from land-based living to full-time cruising. The metamorphosis begins with real and imagined anxieties, fears, dangers and unknowns. The physical part of adjusting to cruising soon wanes, and cultural and lifestyle issues become front-and-center…sometimes to the point of questioning the reason(s) for being out there. Slowly and gradually, the sunsets take center stage, stress melts, and the winds of the oceans mold the cruiser into a human more connected with nature, more self-confident, and more self sufficient.
For those doing it for the first time, here are some tips and thoughts on what to expect.
My Name is Sue from Moonbeam, How Do You Do
Eventually, you get to the point where you forget your last name and it does not matter because all cruisers want to know is your first name and the name of your vessel. Last names become a blur in the sunset. If available, your ham or SSB call sign will be also be useful. Write your last name down somewhere on a piece of paper and put in a safe place, since you will need it eventually when returning to land-based life.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Bankruptcy of Purse or Bankruptcy of Life?
To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest. Otherwise, you are doomed to a routine traverse, the kind known to yachtsmen who play with their boats at sea ... cruising, it is called. Voyaging belongs to seamen, and to the wanderers of the world who cannot, or will not, fit in. If you are contemplating a voyage and you have the means, abandon the venture until your fortunes change. Only then will you know what the sea is all about.
Cast Off
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bow lines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
by Mark Twain, Author
A Salty Nautical Tale
There were two twin brothers named Joe and John. Joe was an old salt and was the owner of a dilapidated old boat. It came to pass that John's lovely wife died the same day that Joe's boat sank in San Francisco Bay.
A few days later a kindly old lady met Joe on the street and mistaking him for John said, "I am sorry for your great loss. You must feel terrible."
The Sound of the Sea
My soul is full of longing
For the secret of the sea
And the heart of the great ocean
Sends a thrilling pulse through me
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Poet
Ode to Rope
As I cast off for that very first time,
The "rope" in my hand has now become "line".
And hauling the sails to the top of the mast,
That "rope", now a "halyard" holds strong, taught and fast.
Then sailing in brisk winds full force on a beat.
The sails are trimmed in by that "rope" that's a "sheet".
And now at my anchorage with sails safely stowed,
I trust in that "rope" that now serves as a "rode".
Through all my life I will never lose hope,
Of a reason or time to play with a rope.
The "rope" in my hand has now become "line".
And hauling the sails to the top of the mast,
That "rope", now a "halyard" holds strong, taught and fast.
Then sailing in brisk winds full force on a beat.
The sails are trimmed in by that "rope" that's a "sheet".
And now at my anchorage with sails safely stowed,
I trust in that "rope" that now serves as a "rode".
Through all my life I will never lose hope,
Of a reason or time to play with a rope.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Character Counts
Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end.
There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days.
All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass to someone else.
Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance.
It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed.
Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear.
So too, your hopes, ambitions, plans and to-do lists will expire.
The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.
It won't matter where you came from or what side of the tracks you lived on at the end.
It won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant.
Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.
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