just a thought
Some years ago - never mind how long precisely - having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen, and regulating the circulation. Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off - then, I account it high time to get to the sea as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball. With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship.

- H. Melville (Moby Dick, 1851)

update 9-18-2006
what can you say...still hanging in there. and still loving it. the weather could be nicer, the temp could be warmer... but it could always be worse. it's all perspective training anyway, right? the rain and the chill just make the nice days that much nicer. and as kodiak fall goes, this has been great. hell, it was 65 and sunny for two days last week. in september. sweet....

the boat life is great. harder...sure. less comfortable...often. gotta say, waking up to water dripping on your head from condensation isn't something i was familiar with before this! but the satisfaction at the end of most days is worth it. spending the day working for yourself, not for monetary gain, but for practical and immediate reward. something is broken, you fix it. something is in need of attention, you attend to it. spend some time learning about weather, because it is important (not in the abstract...like should i take my umbrella to work. more along the lines of can i get anything done outside today or do i need to secure the boat (house) against the elements!). and there is so much to learn. it never seems to end, its all important and we love it. took a little getting used to. like most people, i was used to being more directed in my life. get up, go to work, and have your day more or less lined out for you. not having that, actually having to direct the course of our own life, is a great, if somewhat foreboding, experience. takes a little while to figure out that no one is there to direct it, to schedule it, to check it...except you. on the up side is of course that your day belongs to you...you can spend it reading, or sleeping or watching movies...all very important endeavors. time to do it all in measure. sweet.

hope all are well and happy. stay in touch...

scott
kodiak, ak

"There is nothing so distressing as running ashore, unless there is also doubt as to which continent the shore belongs."

august update
august is upon us and the summer is screaming to a close. and what a crappy summer it has been so far. rainy and cloudy and blustery and chilly. you gotta love kodiak! had a tough time getting away from the pier. we have been cycling between no wind and 30+ knots. not much in the way of middle ground there! have managed to get a few projects done on the boat. that and have read a whole lot of books. always a bright spot there if you look for it. end of this month i go on terminal leave from the coast guard. what will i do with all that free time?? surely cheryl will find things to fill those idle days...

life on the boat continues to be glorious. such a change of lifestyle. more with less. a joy to be somewhat separated from the drive to consume. actually went to walmart the other day and DIDN'T BUY ANYTHING (gasp, horror). just no room for it. how sweet is that. now let's see how long it lasts! cheryl off next week to take a sailing school north of seattle. that will be great. sure she will return chock full of new info and great ideas. still hoping to get in some sailing and at least a couple of trips (locally) before the icy grip of winter puts a damper on that activity. will keep you posted....

thought for the dAY:

in theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. in practice, however, there is....

update 07 July 2006
greetings all. life here in the higher lats continues unabated. summer's still not kicked in fully. lot of rain, lot of fog. kinda pissing me off! have had a few good chunks. memorial day rocked, week (10days??) of glorious, sunny weather, followed of course by 3 weeks of rain/mist. 4th of july weekend great, now back to the gray though...

spent the 4th anchored out at kitoi bay, north of kodiak about 30 miles, on afognak island. to say it was wonderful is to understate it by a mile! sunny, warm, calm...and unencumbered by humanity. hell, we couldn't even pick up the radio in there....sweet. got so warm that we indulged in a spot of what i like to call "naked buccaneer wine fest"...don't ask. suffice it to say when the temp reaches 78-ish, the sun is out, and one is miles from others...the pirate flag goes up, the clothes come off, the wine comes out....and it's downhill from there!! a good time was had by all...

living on the boat has been great. a complete change of lifestyles. have found that one can comfortably live on not much electricity, not much water and very little from walmart. we are turning into the consummate non-consumers...i know...very un-american! damn the man! having a great time...will compare that to the dead of winter!

added some new pics to the pics page for everyone's viewing pleasure, hope you enjoy. to all our family and friends...thanks for your interest and support. stay in touch!

scott and cheryl
s/v celestial sea
kodiak, ak

update 15 June 2006

holy #%^@ batman! we did it. we live on a boat! closed on the house.
everything is shipped, stored or on the boat. no going back now! how
very cool...

as predicted, the weather gods have slapped us, abeit mildly. going on 6
straight days of rain/mist/fog...no end in sight. ahhh, life in kodiak.
this too shall pass. life onboard is all we thought it would be. more
difficult, for sure. but more deliberate as well. when it's nice it is
glorious. when it's not...well you certainly are aware of it! that 300
yard walk up the pier to the car is particularly special early in the
morning in the rain! can't wait 'til winter....that will be a REAL
treat! wouldn't trade it for the world though...

update...

managed to get the aforementioned winches installed. damn they look
good! working on upgrading our reefing system, pretty much waiting on a
break in the weather. pieces and parts at the ready. next biggie will be
working on consolidating and improving our storage, the seemingly
endless process of finding the best place for our stuff. wish us luck!

scott and cheryl

"On the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more
intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much - the wheel,
New York, wars and so on - whilst all the dolphins had ever done was
muck about in the water having a good time. But, conversely, the
dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than
man - for precisely the same reasons."
Douglas Adams, The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy

update 5/17/2006


Finally, the weather seems to have broken (I say that quietly, fearfully
looking at the sky, waiting for the weather gods to slap me back to
reality for daring to suggest that winter might actually be over!). 55
and sunny for the last 5 days, not what everyone would consider
"summery", but positively balmy by Alaskan standards! Enjoying it while
we can...
Living on the boat now 5 out of 7 nights, still loving it. Still finding
places for everything, still struggling through projects, still working
out the seemingly endless myriad of details that pop up when one decides
to alter one's lifestyle radically (who knew that we needed so many
clothes just to go to work?!?), still working it all out. Still
laughing, still having a good time.

Latest big projeCT:
Replacing the big sheet winches. Boat came with two old Lewmar 48
winches, good winches, but after sailing her for a season, we decided to
upgrade to larger, self-tailing winches, easing the burden on the "winch
wench" (often yours truly!!) and making the boat a little more
double-handed crew friendly. Decided on Lewmar 54 self-tailing winches,
and damn they look good! Removing the old winches went reasonably well,
only had to drill out one stubborn bolt (there is always one!). Filling
the holes is presenting the problem. Like trying to fill a ball point
pen with peanut butter. Hoping to have it all worked out and new winches
installed by the weekend, on the outside chance there is weather to
sail....

Stay tuned for more...

Scott
Kodiak, AK
5/17/2006


Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely
in a pretty and well preserved body; but rather to skid in broadside,
thoroughly used up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming --- WOW ---
WHAT A RIDE!!

oh...my...god....
Topic: not a blog, just the haps
are we really doing this? are we nuts? three weeks and we will be living on the boat. six weeks, and the house will be sold and we will HAVE to live on the boat. talk about burning your bridges. have reduced our possessions to several boxes of "must not get rid of" items, arranging storage in arkansas (not as crazy as it sounds...not knowing where we might blow ashore, AR seems centrally located). taking the plunge is cathartic, if somewhat terrifying. but it is the choice we have made and we are so excited to go that we are about to burst. this summer will see us sailing at every opportunity and working on our home (das boot) in the spaces between. next winter will see us freezing our tiny little butts off, sailing when we can and preparing our selves and our chariot to cast off the dock lines to sail about the world. and the next spring...aloha, mr hand. off to warmer spots and a more interesting (albeit extremely pared down) existence. we hope to share that here (and on our main site) with all our family and friends, old and new. and, hopefully, read what you have to say back about it. so post away....

scott and cheryl
s/v celestial sea
kodiak, ak (for now!!)