Here’s something of a conundrum… You live on a rock with a finite number of resources and there’s plenty of proof that a lot of important resources are either running out or will become too expensive to use in the not too distant future. What do you do? A. Bugger all and continue as normal. …
“The more you know, the less you need.” -Yvon Chouinard Is it just me or does that quote pretty much give away the secret of successful VolksCruising?
I’m pretty sure what appeals to a lot of people in the whole sailing off into the sunset scenario has a lot to do with, depending on your social perspective, either freedom or escape. What was it Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster had to say on the subject of freedom? “Freedom’s just another word for …
The other day I noticed there was a Bolger sharpie for sale up in Alaska on Craig’s list… It got me thinking. First the idea of buying a boat for cheap up in Alaska, sailing it around for the season, and then selling it or even giving it away makes for an extremely cheap five …
Jay Fitzgerald (whose book should be on every VolksCruisers bookshelf) has mentioned that boat size should reflect muscle power and as far he could figure that 1 to 50 was the ratio that made sense. Offhand, I expect he’s pretty close to being right on the money… So, what does that work out to in …
There’s a beat up fixer-upper for sale down here that I’ve had my eye on for a while… a Kenner Skipjack to be precise. As boats go, it is something of an odd duck… Of course, half the reason for my interest is the word “skipjack” which is a hull form that makes all kinds …
The other day I heard that a boat I knew who anchored not far from us in St Martin was in the South Pacific… I mention this because the boat in question was a Belgian canal barge drawing a couple of feet converted into a sailboat/art studio/gallery so hardly what comes to mind when folks …
In Rodger Martin’s recent IBEX talk about sharpies he said something that resonated for me… “In the last couple of years while cruising in the Bahamas I’ve seen that the great majority of sloops motorsail upwind or close-reaching with only the mainsail and downwind with only a jib set. In a month in the Bahamas …
Just out of curiosity I was looking at the list of this year’s ARC Rally boats and it makes some interesting reading… I’ll sum it up this way… Lots of big expensive boats. Now, I’m on record as being a non-fan of cruising rallies. Partly because I don’t feel a lot of folks sailing towards …
Perfection is an interesting and somewhat elusive concept in general, especially when connected to things like boats. From my experience, I put perfection in things of a nautical or marine nature about as likely to exist as honest politicians or pink unicorns… Need I say more? Which is not to say there is not stuff …
