Archives
One of the first things people seem to ask, “Why don’t you have roller furling?” Really, it’s just another questionable decision I’ve made over the years. Here’s a fools thought process: With hank on sails it means I have to go forward whenever a headsail change is required, or even dousing a sail. The plus side is it’s not very far. I wrote a piece about working the foredeck of a Thunderbird… Read More
Here is another installment of A Flicka Sails Herself. This one shows the wind vane at work in the light air and the improvised bimini and weather cloths. And then nothing but the Big Blue. I saw a few cargo ships in the first days of the passage in the NE trades. Then it was weeks of seeing no other boats. Not even on the AIS. (When I was looking.) It wasn’t… Read More
Thanks for checking our position. Due to a technological universe far bigger than Sampaguita and Sailing With Josh, it takes a little effort on your part to locate us. Presently we are travelling to French Polynesia. Follow the yellow triangles One day we may figure out how to make this easier for you, but at the time, it is beyond out technical savvy. And the trying has not been any fun at… Read More
“Tack,Tack,Tack.” A friend, reader, and donor commented: “I just don’t know how you provision for so many days, on a 20 foot boat. I’ve never gone more then 7-10 days, that was a catamaran 45′, in the BVI where we moor every night, and island hop.” It sounds to me they have a pretty good start. I didn’t buy a boat yesterday. I started out small and short in my sailing trips… Read More
This was another M. Night Shyamalan moment. He had some great movies, however The Happening wasn’t one of them. The premise was great, the production was not. On the other hand, things like this always make me think of it. I don’t recall what I was doing, but I looked out Sampaguita‘s companionway and there was this flock of birds just soaring over this one particular spot of La Paz. There was… Read More
The dolphins were at it again in the bay this morning. The moon was full over La Paz this evening. In between, I 303’d the dinghy, cleaned some of Sampaguita’s bottom, had pork chops for lunch, grocery shopping at Chedraui’s, met Paola and talked bottom cleaning cost, had a beer with 81 year-old Richard from S/V Firewater on the Club Cruceros patio, congratulated Zach for his incredible dinghy score, hamberguesas for dinner,… Read More
A friend, champion, and donor of mine expressed how he enjoyed reading my blog and getting to know me better. So, I have decided to follow that lead in this excerpt and give a little taste from before there was Sailing With Josh. This won’t make what ultimately brought me to this point in life clear. Personally, I’m not ready for that sort of vulnerability. That seems like a book anyway. Some… Read More
Greetings fellow humans, There is something called the La Paz Waltz. It’s a cheeky way of describing how different boats swing at anchor here in La Paz, Mexico. The music starts when strong wind and current oppose each other. While dancing is fine, kissing is a bit more risque. My neighbors this past Sunday were at it. They may have been smooching. It was a little difficult to tell from my angle,… Read More
What’s the best nation in the world? A Donation. I received my French Polynesia paper nautical charts yesterday. But don’t worry, you can still contribute, they were bought on credit. I’ve attached a couple pictures so you know they’re real. Plus, it’s hard to top the romance and dreaming for an armchair sailor of studying nautical charts of distant lands. Sampaguita does not have an electronic chart plotter. I do have Navionics… Read More
The solar charging system is working like a charm with spares to boot. Thank you so much to those who helped to contribute. I’ve ordered 16 SHOM (Service hydrographique et océanographique de la marine) paper charts of French Polynesia, printed on 02/06/2024 at $42US each on the credit card. They should arrive in a couple days. I mention this so you know how any near future donations will help Sampaguita and the expedition…. Read More
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Sailing With Josh 