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.

The Pix are Out...

Local photographer (and aspiring rock star) Greg Pyros snapped some photos of the concert (see previous post). Now that it's dipping into the 50s at night, everybody bundled up against the cold... especially those of us who live in Mexico year 'round and walk around comfortably in 100+ degrees in the summer. Anyway, here we are doing our jazz sets...

Benefits

One of the benefits of living in Mexico is good weather.
Also good friends.

The 1st Mate and I elected to perform (along with several amateur and professional bands) in a concert tonight at the Fiesta Hotel in San Carlos. A benefit concert for the local orphanage. Tickets were 100 pesos per person and included two free drinks and free music. A low cost dinner menu was offered and... did I mention the weather was good?  The event sold out.

The entertainment was to start at 5 pm, so at 3 we all showed up for sound checks... at least the gringos & gringas did.  One Mexican group did their sound check at 5 pm. But it's Mexico, and nobody sweats the small stuff... like what time it is.

In this photo, sound engineer Ron Daisley is setting volume levels for the Trailer Trash Royalty band, and yes, they're amateurs. They've gathered each winter for years to play country/western/bluegrass music in their trailer park to amuse themselves and their neighbors.

Between the soundman and the bermuda-short-wearing bluegrass guitar player, sits the 1st Mate chatting with the producer. And you can see it's a lovely location overlooking the Sea of Cortez.

How did we do? Well, the producers want us to come in and spend some time in their recording studio, so I guess it turned out ok. They'll be posting some photos by a very talented amateur (and friend) and some video in the next few days. I'll update this blog then, so stay tuned.

Finally, I had a chance to chat with a sax player about other jazz musicians in the area and I've got some warm leads. Very beneficial for all concerned.

In other news,
I ok'd the adoption of the white puppy we had fostered for a few days.. or a week.

We've decided we'll call her Daisy.

The Design Stage reaches maturity

Like a fine wine, the Green Flash has evolved to a pretty good design. The image below was created in three different computer programs (four, if you count a Windoze emulator). The first was Adobe InDesign CS5 for 2D planning and layouts, then FreeShip for Windows to create the 3D hull, then to Google's Free Sketchup 3D program to create decks, bulkheads, floors, etc.

The rendering above was done in Sketchup7 using a plugin called IDX Renditioner ... a close up of the cockpit is here...

And this is the non-rendered 3/4 view of the Flash without the pilot house in place. The Flash has an inside steering (hydraulic/electric) station for inclement weather and/or night watches.

Directly under the interior steering station is the diesel genset and electric motor propulsion system, in sound proof enclosures.

Now that bulkheads are designed in, I can start creating a shopping list for the materials. The structural bulkheads will be doubled 3/4" marine ply covered in an off white laminate, the others will be doubled 1 inch foam sheets, with the same covering. Deck will be doubled 1" foam sandwiched between layers of fiberglass and/or carbon fiber and epoxy.

After the Electro-Shock Therapy, He Escaped...

The 1st Mate and I have a favorite soap: Dr. Bronner's All-One liquid and bar soap. We buy it at Trader Joe's when we're in Errorzona, the US of A(nxiety). We've been using it for years (I discovered in the 60s) and, this morning, as I unwrapped a new bar of soap, decided to Google Dr. Bronner and see what there is about him online.

Wikipedia says, "Emanuel Heilbronner (who was never really a "doctor") was born in Heilbronn, Germany in 1908."

He migrated to the United States in 1929, dropping "Heil" from his name. As his father was Jewish, he pleaded with his parents to emigrate with him for fear of the then-ascendant Nazis, but they refused. His last contact with his parents was in the form of a postcard saying, "You were right. —Your loving father."

Bronner was the subject of a documentary film,"Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox." From the producers website:

"Dr. Emanuel Bronner was a master soapmaker, self-proclaimed rabbi, and, allegedly, Albert Einstein’s nephew.

In 1947, after escaping from a mental institution, he invented the formula for “Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap,” a peppermint-infused, all-natural, multi-purpose liquid that can be found today in every American health food store. On each bottle of his soap, he printed an ever-evolving set of teachings he called “The Moral ABC,” designed, in his words, “TO UNITE ALL MANKIND FREE!”

A human story about a socially responsible company, “Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soapbox” documents the complicated family legacy behind the counterculture’s favorite cleaning product — Bronner’s son, 68-year-old Ralph, endured over 15 orphanages and foster homes as a child, but despite difficult memories, is his father’s most ardent fan…"

From YouTube, the trailer for the documentary...


The film is available for rent on iTunes...

Procrastination: A Labor Saving Device

Today I decided to remove the remaining 16 foot section of portside deck on the FLASH, and unlike the starboard, I did it without cutting up fiberglass and creating clouds of dangerous dust. It occurred to me that I could just use a hydraulic jack and some jackstands from the car to force the deck off the boat.

And it worked.
If I had done this job in the distant past, I would have continued with saws and drills and all manner of dust generating devices, but I procrastinated. And this way was a lot easier and cleaner. As I dug into the boat, though, I discovered a layer of black mold between two pieces of plywood that had been bolted together.

Since I had removed the decks from the other side, I had fought battles with mold after two major floods, and discovering the other boat, BLISS, covered in mold in Barra de Navidad. My research then had taught me that this stuff was not to be messed with... and that white vinegar was my friend, so I fired up the compressor and fitted my engine cleaning wand with a gallon of vinagre blanco. A few minutes of spraying with the face mask on, and I could leave the mold to die overnight.

So, by putting off the work, I gained knowledge from intervening projects to make the day's work go easier and safer.
By the way, it was a warm and sunny 75 degrees in the ranchitos today. Eatcher heart out!

Danger on the Low Seas

Our Morgan 33 OI series sailboat BLISS is currently moored in San Carlos Bay with a bunch of other boats, and as is normal this time of year, we get "northers." When high pressure builds over the 4 corners area of the US, that pressure is relieved by blowing down into the Sea of Cortez, usually for days at a time. The winds are normally about 25 knots, but gusts to 50 are not uncommon. It makes the Sea a lively place to be and unsheltered anchorages a place to avoid. In the Bay of San Carlos it looks like this:

Note the boat in front of BLISS... it's a Hunter sloop of recent vintage named MYSTIQUE and lies directly upwind of our Morgan. Today I took a tour around MYSTIQUE's mooring ball and discovered the chafing around the thimble (the teardrop shaped metal piece in the picture) had almost cut that line.

Then I noticed the other line holding this boat had chafed and had just two weak strands between the mooring ball and total disaster for the Hunter. And possibly BLISS as well, since it's likely the rope would part in a strong northerly gust and send MYSTIQUE barreling down into BLISS. That's 10-15 tons of sailboat crashing into our Morgan. Not good.

So, I motored back to BLISS and found a heavy 3/4' dock line that could hold up when both of the Hunter's ropes failed and looped it through the hardware and tied it off on the deck.

I checked at the marina office when I got back to shore only to find they had no record of the owner. Later today, I'll jump on the internet and see if I can find a link to someone responsible for this boat... but in the meantime, we'll both be safe for awhile.

ADDENDUM: After an hour of searching the web I found out the boat belonged to a local resident and he's been notified.