Perspiration, then Inspiration...

We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action.
  - Frank Tibolt

The quote above popped up on my iGoogle home page this morning, and it's really tuned-in to my thinking these days.

A couple of weeks ago, the 1st Mate and I joined a group of cruising folk at a local pub and the instigator of the event, Jimmy B. of the Morgan 28 OI "Anne Marie" started bragging about my watercolor art.

He suggested that I start painting for money, and turn the money into materials and extra labor for the Green Flash project. That idea has been slowly revolving around in my brain since I heard it. One of the things I like to paint the most is water and boats, and there's a lot of that around here... this painting was done in Northern California. Unfortunately, I don't have a scanner large enough to accommodate this painting, so the photograph shows artifacts from lighting and the glass in the frame... and the colors are a little off. Oh well.

There are quite a few large yachts in the marinas hereabouts, whose owners may provide a market for my work.

Nothing would please me more than to be able to hire an army of workers to unleash on the Flash project. And painting for money can be fun. 

In other news, the 1st Mate and I are making plans to attend LoretoFest for the first time in late April. LoretoFest has been known as a big party for cruising families and musicians, with lots of performances and potlucks, boat races, etc. We'll leave San Carlos Easter week aboard SV BLISS and slowly cruise down the Baja coast to Loreto. If the 1st Mate approves, we'll continue down to her favorite city of La Paz for some R&R after LF concludes.

Back at the anchorage: Day 1

Sat. Mar 13, 2010  11:20 am CST

19° 8.835 N 104° 43.010 W

A month to the day I left San Carlos, I left Barra de Navidad for places south. This time aboard the sailing vessel BLISS. 

This morning I got  up at 6:30 and spent three hours doing final packing, loading (extra chain, fresh water), and saying goodbye to friends. Fred came to the marina and helped with dock lines, and with the high tide I had plenty of room to motor slowly through the canals of Barra to the sea.

Close in (within 4 miles of the Barra headland) there was a lot of confused currents with an occasional large wave, but it's always like that, and my practice is to motor out to the big Pacific rollers before hoisting sail. Today the wind was almost right angles to the waves and trying to bring BLISS' nose to the wind meant lying abeam to the sea (bad idea). I split the difference by swinging the boom as far starboard as it would go, moving the lazy jacks to the mast and hoisting. That worked well, and my thoughts are that I might keep the jacks there until I drop sail.

I'm currently motorsailing SE at 4 knots for the the anchorage at Santiago.

5 pm Update-

Settled into anchorage at Santiago Bay, took a few minutes to find an open network, but I did. This evening I'm going to pick up the boat a little. In my hurry to get out of the Cabo Blanco marina on the tide, I just threw stuff onto the v-berth. CB was driving me crazy.

I'd spend two days scrubbing the boat and the next day some guy upwind of me would start a trash fire and then leave it to smolder and die. That would usually take all day, smelling the smoke and the boat would be filthy again.

Here in Santiago it's the waterski boats who throw in a tour of the anchorage to whomever they're towing. There's three big power boats and three jetskis here towing people through the cruising fleet. But it's better than the smoke and it looks like they're having fun. At sundown they'll leave us in peace.

Thanks to the 1st Mate for introducing me to Hunt's boxed tomato sauces. They're good, easy and fast. Hard to beat.