Mo Mods

More pictures of the bowsprit and the dodger. Water beads up on the GORETEX really nicely. I need only to change some of the placements of the velcro that holds the dodger on to the frame and cut a small hole for some lines to run through and add pockets and I'm done with it.
The Bowsprit is amazing. I ran two jibs for a long time, and though its tough to tack with both of them out there, I can manage. The boat really is fun when I have it sailing that way. And pretty, I think.
Behind the dodger, its much warmer than it used to be, and the windows are convienent, because you can see through them nicely, and they don't have to be that big to work. and the walls don't block them off when you sit on the seat. Its a bit crowded under the dodger, I will have to be careful not to bump my head.

Mods

I've been working hard on upgrades, and just today (with a lot of help from Alan) I put on a new Bowsprit (see picture) which has a bunch of cables attaching it all over for lots of strength. So since its all so super strong now, I've put the rollerfurling jib out on the end of it. I took it out for a little sail this evening and lo and behold! It works like a dream! Now I have two forestays, which are the cables that attach to the top of the mast and come down in the front of the boat. One attaches to the front, and one out on the bowsprit. (forestay and spritstay) So the roller is running up the spritstay, and I can still run another jib up the forestay, making this boat into a cutter rig. The only trouble is that when I tack, I have to slide the entire outer sail through the narrow gap between the spritstay and the forestay, which is not as easy as I would like. And I need to get longer lines, and make a new attachement point on the boat for the "sheets" which are the lines that pull on the Jib to make it tight.
You might also notice a little black blob just in front of the cockpit in the above pictures. I made a dodger! In these pictures its not finished, but I taped it on to see what I needed to do to fit it perfectly, and now I'll sew in the attachement points so it will stay put for good.
I only need to make the windvane and I'll have all my projects for this trip done!

Continuance in Seattle

I've been in Seattle about 3 weeks now, but really its been more like one and a half, because I just went on this week long trip aboard Augusta, a 40 ft sloop owned by a friend of mine's father. I'll be leaving this place in about a week and I have a ton of projects to work on, but life for me is excellent right now. I took some pictures from the sailing trip, so here they are...
We went from Seattle northbound, stopping at Smith Island to see some eagles, then we headed up into the San Juan Islands, and finally went over to Bellingham. We brought some Hulk gloves for fighting.
I also went up to Bellingham to visit my dad, and saw his solar power plant he's built, and it looks really good, despite the cloudy weather. And I took out my friends from the East Coast, Lyra and Andrew, for a sail. Andrew looks great in the captian's hat.

The projects I want to complete are going to make my boat awesome. I'm going to re-make the Bowsprit for Altair, putting in one that is 4 feet long, and then transferring the Genoa (big front sail) on its roller-furling out to the end of that. I'll still have my normal forestay, so the boat is as strong as it used to be, but I can use it to fly two jibs at the same time, like a Cutter rig.
I'm also building a Dodger, which is like a windshield for the boat, but its made of cloth instead of glass or hard plastic. I've already bent some stainless pipes for the frame, now I need to make the cloth part. It will make things much warmer and dryer while sailing.
And the third thing is to make a Wind Vane. The one on Augusta really impressed me, and I think I can copy it pretty easily and make one myself. Its design is this, but it costs $4595 to buy one, so I'll see if I can make on for less.
If I can get all that done in the next week I will be much pleased.

Return... and planning

I'm back in Seattle! I drove in almost a week ago, and then promptly got very busy getting all my stuff moved and sold and re-boxed. I found some letters from long ago that made me remember, I found some pictures I can scarcely believe are of me, and looked at all the things I've done long long ago, back in High School and before...
On my way up the coast from LA, I stopped at my sister's place in Marin county, near San Francisco. We went out on bicycles and had a good ride out in the headlands and the city, and then we went over to Angel Island, the only green island in the San Francisco Bay, where we climbed to the top. Its amazing up there, with the wind and fog whipping around, and the city poking out occasionally. There was a race we watched go around the island, fast sailing boats sliding past and popping their spinnakers made for exciting (but cold) watching...
After that, I drove up to Oregon, then to Olympia, then to Seattle, and it rained the whole time. What a bummer.
But I've become accustomed to the weather up here now. I didn't think I would be able to, but I guess its not that hard.
As for the pictures, well, there are still Elephant Seals on the Big Sur coast (south of San fran) and then Rachel let me borrow a superman suit to ride in, so I had to get a picture, then there are some from Angel Island. Rachel took the flower picture and a few others. Angry is cool, right? Unfortunately I didn't get to keep those glasses.
Oh, and as for the future...
I plan on leaving Seattle soon. I'll get everything moved to a good storage place in Bellingham (my parent's place) and then get on the boat and sail around all summer. I'm going to leave my moorage April 15th, so I'll start then.
I'm going to go up to Alaska. I thought about it last summer, but didn't have the guts to actually do it, but I feel much more confident now. I'll start to head north in the beginning of May, and get up there in June. Then I'll spend most of june and July sailing around the inside areas near Juneau and Petersburg and then sail back south in August. Maybe I'll continue south after that, but I am not sure yet. I also got a lottery ticket today, the first one I've ever had. I was going to buy it, but Alan bought it for me, so I still haven't bought a lottery ticket. So if I win, then I'll get to do this kind of lifestyle for a lot longer.

LASIK

I just got laser eye surgery, yesterday. I spent $3,390 on it (no tax) and I'm not quite sure yet, if it is worth it.
Here's how it worked:
First I went in for the consultation and they tried to convince me that everything was grand and going to be perfect and fine and such. They did a really good job of it all, so I was convinced, and I just had to find the money. Then I went in, they made me sit about 30 minutes and have eye drops numb my eyes and I go into the operating room. There are two tables, two machines. One is the flap cutter, it works by making small bubbles in the eye so that the doctor can use a spatula to open up a flap. Perforations. El Doctor takes a thing and shoves it on my eye (owch) and it sucks onto my eye, making that eye blind (as in dark) because it changes the shape of the eye, then it locks to the laser machine and makes the perforations. They do both eyes, and I am feeling ready for a break, but we're just halfway done. Its been about 10 minutes now, and a total of about 30 seconds of laser on time.
Then I get up and they walk me over to the other machine, the cutter machine. I line up my eye with a green laser light and the doctor holds my eye open and uses a little spatula to tear open and lift the flap. It sounds painful, but my eye is numb, so I'm not supposed to feel it. Except my left eye wasn't so numb, so I could feel it. Then they tell me to hold REALLY still and look at the green beam. DON'T MOVE!
14 seconds of laser on time, I can hear it and smell the burning, its a high power laser for sure. Then they eye is done, they drop some drops in under the flap for antibiotics and lay the flap down again. Then he checks the position of the flap, apparently it sticks to the eye like velcro, so there is no need for glue. It will heal in a few weeks.
The other eye, same story.
By now my eyes hurt a lot, and when everything is done, I go sit in a room waiting for Jeremy to come get me and take me back to his place, where I try to sleep with these eye gaurds on to keep me from rubbing my eyes. Now I can go around and do most anything, but they want me to keep sunglasses on when outside and "no-rub" things on when I sleep and take these eye drops for two weeks. I have an appointment today to see how the flap is healing and if its still centered (I think).
My vision is perfect. Better than I can ever remember it to be. It is like a brand new pair of glasses I haven't gotten used to yet, where everything is crystal sharp. I feel like running around and going surfing, but I won't be going in the water for 7 days, on risk of infection under the flap. Bad news, that would be. I can do most anything, but I think I'll take it easy for a couple days, and try to keep dust and anything out of my eye.
Here's a close-up shot my brother took, as well as one yesterday, try to see the flap if you can...(he's a pro, here's his website, if you're interested. That is his wedding page, his other one is jeremylloydphotography.com)
So tomorrow I will leave this house and drive north up the Big Sur coast toward San Francisco.

More pictures

I forgot to put these up in the last post. The order might be skewed, but I took one on the bus ride back to San Jose (where I flew out of) then one in the airplane looking at LA. The city looks very small from the air. Also I included two pictures of myself surfing, taken by a friend in Pavones. The second one, where I'm looking back, thats because I'm WAY out in front of the wave, thats why its so small. The break is funny like that, it is small until its barrelling over you.

America!

I'm back in the USA, and I am cold. Man is it ever cold here. I got back and shivered for a day and then got some clothes washed so I could put them all on. The Poof- my down vest, is my best friend again. Why is it so cold here?
I also went into a supermarket yesterday, and it was exciting. High aisles stacked with all sorts of goody goody food. Millions of choices, everything something that I cannot get so easily in other places, but the prices! A little steep, wouldn't you say? I probably can't get on spending nothing anymore. Cash is a funny thing. Its wierd having money that is green. And everyone reveres the American Dollar down in central america, so when I see it I think expensive. I haven't been in the ocean here yet, but for sure I will be saddened by its frigidity.
In the line at the supermarket, I spoke to the cashier and she understood me, and that is a wonderful thing. My spanish isn't that good, but I can understand some things, but speaking in english makes me so happy now. In fact, there are a ton of things that make me happy about this country. I was in line behind someone who didn't seem to see those things, and I imagine that I was similar, and will be again. But we have so much. We can go into a store and get things that people in other countries cannot. We can pay convienently, without having to bring a huge bucket of money around. People don't try to steal things when we aren't looking (at least not as much). I have a Car! Holy cow is driving a wonderful feeling! The smurf rocket is chugging along wonderfully, I can put stuff in it and nobody takes it out, I can go places far away on roads that are paved. I can buy a new hard drive for my computer, then connect to the internet easily. I can listen to music. So things are wonderful here, when you look at it a little closer. Cold, but nice.
I will stay with my brother in LA for a few days, I think we'll go diving on saturday, and then get into the smurf rocket and head northbound up the coast.

The End is near

It is the beginning of the end. I have 2 more days here, one day of travel, and then I fly from this country. As if to sense the ending, all of my things are breaking.
The casualties: My Ipod. missing in action.
Hat, shoes, knife, also missing.
My computer. Severly wounded. Condition is critical, but there is some hope, if I can get it to the USA before too long.
Fins: One is gone, presumed dead, the other is soldiering on.
Contact lenses: One still remains(right eye). Many have deserted the cause.
Speargun: The tip is gone, stuck in a fish, but its will is strong. Hope remains.
Surfboard: Dinged, dented, beaten and bruised, but still it floats, and is in one piece.
backpack: Most Holy, dirty and covered in oil (cooking oil).
Machete: Rusted.
Me: Somewhat tan, except for my nose. Torched there. I have much stronger arms from paddling all the time, but my frisbee skills are gone to waste. I need to throw. Soggy. I spend most of my time in or under water. My feet are always sore, but I walk barefoot on the rocks all the time.
So I welcome the end, despite how nice this trip has been. Sometimes its good to go home and replenish.

Banana Bread

So, as some of you all might have noticed, I typically run into trouble, ask for help, and then ignore any advice that is given to me and figure out the solution by myself. So too have I solved the Banana Bread problem. It vexed me for quite some time, I recieved many good recipies (That I haven't looked at yet) (except for your's, mom) but I didn't follow any of the recipies.
I made my own!!
Here follows the new method.
1)Mash up a bunch of bananas in a bowl, using a dirty old fork, because thats all you have to mash with.
2) Add a bunch of sugar. LOTS.
3) add a healty chunk of butter, and use the same dirty old fork for mashing it up with the other two ingredients.
4) add two eggs or maybe one, depending on how much you make.
5) add pancake mix. Enough to make it just too thick to pour proper, then add enough water to make it pour.
6) a little bit of salt.
7) take a frying pan and add a bunch of oil, then pour a slice in and turn it over when you think its ready.
The wonderful thing about this is that it is pre-sliced banana bread.
each slice is cooked on both sides, and a tinsy bit gooey in the middle.

I've made it twice now and its turning out quite well.

Dead Weight

I have a new anchor. My trustworthy, loyal, helpful, and friendly computer is dead. So I probably won´t post pictures for the next couple weeks. Its a funny problem, perhaps fixable, but I´m not too optimistic. Anyways, the waves are good and the water is clear at times for fishing, and I´ve been getting lobsters and fish pretty easily. The swell isn´t that big, so I can get a 30 second ride in, but when it gets big there is the possibility of a 2 minute or more ride, because this point is a really long break.
Yesterday I had something strange happen to me. I was diving for lobsters, and i managed to get ahold of one, near the end of my breath. I was about 10 ft down, but there were 6 foot waves also, and I finally got my hands on this little guy and I had been down too long. So when I get free of the rock and to the surface I was hungry for the air, and I made it up. Not too bad, but then after that, for the rest of the day, my balance was WAY off. Not just a little sea legs, I was plastered drunk. My ears were telling baldface lies to my eyes, and anytime I would walk around or turn my head I almost got seasick. It was exactly like being inside a boat that is pitching and heaving, but you can see the insides where nothing is moving and you want to get sick really bad. But this was just walking around.
I don´t know what it was. I cleared my ears just fine, and I´ve been down for that long before, but something about this time messed me up. Any ideas anyone?
Since I don´t have my trusty laptop alive and well, I think I´ll have to go after one of those small nettop computers, the ones with about 10 inch screens. I think thats a better fit for what I want to do anyways.

Final Destination

I am back in Pavones, where I was about 5 weeks ago, and I intend to stay here for the rest of my time in Costa Rica. I have failed in a few things; I never took language classes, but my Spanish is not too terrible, I have learned some. I also did not make it to the Caribbean coast, but it has been raining and flooding over there. I never have gone to the highest mountian, nor intend to. Most of my time has been spent on the beach.
But I am looking towards home again in my mind.
Mostly I look forward to the things I cannot get here. I miss banana bread. I caught a whiff of something that was like it and it is consuming my mind. There are bananas here, and sugar, and everything, but I don't have a recipe, (hint hint but you must send it text or something, I have slow internet) and I don't have an oven or a pan.
I miss bacon. Its here, but expensive. Maybe I'll break down in a few days and get some.
I miss candy. Oh, how I miss candy. It is like missing alcohol or cigarettes for some other people, but I cannot get the right kind of jelly beans down here. They don't have good candy. Outrageous. I miss security, but since I'm staying in a place for a long time, I think I'll have a little bit more of that. Its not the same, though.
I miss having a car, being able to go all over the place so easily, but it makes me think about how pampered a life I've been living if these are the stupid things I miss. I can live without them, but I still miss them.
And I miss Altair. My Life on Water is not the same without her support. I have a board to stand on, but no mast to climb, no halyards to hang off of or sails to fill.
I have three weeks left here, and I intend to surf everyday I can, and dive as much as I can, but paradise would be having a sailboat down here, I think.

Sick

It came slowly, sneaking through the night. First I went to bed feeling full, and the full feeling persisted for a while, making it hard to sleep. Then I am tired to the extreme, having got interrupted sleep for the past 6 nights. Now I know. Its 2:00 am or so and I am not going to be able to sleep through this, it is a matter of time. I can hope, so I go to the bathroom and sit down to see if it will come out the normal end. It does, surprisingly, with a torrent of water. Not a good sign, but I think it is the food I ate last night still. I go back to bed, and sit there a while, then I can feel my heart beating in my stomach. Something is inside and wants out. It will not go down. I return to the bathroom a few more times, but it stays inside, and the rear end leaks fluid. Finally I KNOW. I sprint to the bathroom and lean over to feel my insides grab with all their might and push. They push again, and again. I don’t know how many times, but it doesn’t come easily. I ache inside, my nose is burning and filled with bits of bad smelling things. I go to the sink and try to dig them all out, then go back to bed. But it is not enough. There is still some left inside, something that laughs at my torment, something that tickles my bouncer, slowly getting him angry. It is dawn now, and I go outside to see the lights, and a friend out there has some water, so I ask for some of his “clean” water, because I have just now discovered that you shouldn’t drink the water here.
I drank the water. I thought that in Costa Rica, the water standards were government mandated, and all tap water was supposed to be tested and drinkable. It has been in all the other places I’ve been, certainly more remote (some of them). But I forgot. Years ago, the entire Peninsula was cut and cows were planted for fast food. The entire peninsula. So now I am downhill of where cows once were. A bad combination. I forgot. Damn.
Maybe its that, maybe it’s the food I ate last night. I feel a squeeze and understand that the leftovers are now going to come out. I run.
Leaning over, I spout water, almost clear, but smelling bad, one, two, three times, then I am empty. Still the bouncer tries to throw the empty air out the door. I ache inside. I am weak, I just lost something like a gallon, and there is no water for me to drink because the stores are still closed.
I go back to bed and get two hours of fitful sleep. When will I get my due? Now I am sitting here, tired, but sleepless, full of water again (and orange juice) but wondering when I will spout it back. I can feel it staying in my stomach. It doesn’t go down. I hate my bouncer.
Dieing Continued…
One of my roommates gave me a pill to take. It’s the first pill I’ve taken in a long time. Hopefully it will do some good. Its supposed to be an antibacterial, so if I have some sort of Bacterial badness because of the water, that will (hopefully) fix it. Its called Guanil, made by Entero. Guanil sounds like something from the bad side of a bat. Hopefully it will do some magic. I hate being sick. Fever, sore throat, and maybe some weakness, that is too bad, but throwing up is just not something I ever want to do again. In my last hours of life I am of course writing the details, but also I just watched King Kong. Some people don’t like that movie, maybe its too long and boring (which would prolong my life, according to Dunbar, (from Catch-22)) but something about it really catches me. I was looking for the plants in the tropical jungles that are in the movie, but I didn’t see any that I recognize. Maybe I’ll finish up my time with some more Peter Jackson, and watch the Lord of the Rings. (if I make it that long)
Abatement
I still live! Last night I slept, and it was wonderful. Its been 5 days since I had a good night. I ate yogurt, bananas and apples. Soon I will move on to harder food. I went for a walk, but I think I need to rest today as well. Yesterday I could hardly walk, and I was dizzy all the time, but now I can walk just fine, though I am not as strong as I want to be. I’ll go surfing tomorrow.
Atonement and resurrection
The blood that flows through me now is like transfused from an athlete! I feel new. This morning I took a long session surfing, which was maybe the best session I’ve had in a long time. I also almost got a job at the hostel, I think I might be able to get one, but maybe I don’t want one. I can get free room and some money, but I have to work 8 hours a day, which is no good. It might be better for me to pay to stay and have the time for myself. All I have is another month.

I am all better now. But I think I'll leave this place soon, despite it having pretty good surf. I don't like the smell.