Sailing and Being Green

To start off, I hate the term "carbon footprint" and the politicos that fly around in private jets that coined it. I don't think anyone can  accurately measure each individuals impact on carbon monoxide in the atmosphere.
That being said, there is no doubt that there are changes in the weather on our planet. Are we causing the changes?, I don't think we really know. We have about two hundred years of data to look at on a planet that's hundreds of million years old. That doesn't mean that we should do nothing, we are the stewards of this world and its the only home we have, so if we can make a difference, I think we should.

Sailing involves travel by wind power; you cant get any cleaner than that. People who live aboard also live frugally and are usually outside of the consumer driven lifestyle that has created much of the pollution in our world. Although my reasons for transitioning to the cruising lifestyle has less to do with the planet, and more to do with our personal desires, it is none the less, a large reduction in the co2 that we produce today. Sailing will provide a inexpensive means of travel for Martina and I to visit the places we want to see, while compelling us, through reduced space, to live with less.

Many people think electric is the answer, but I disagree. If every car in America was electric, we would destroy the environment through mining for cooper, lead, lithium, and all the other heavy metals used in battery production. We would have to build many more coal powered electrical plants to provide the charging power and in the end would create more carbon monoxide emissions than we already have. Not to mention all of the hazardous waste created in battery disposal.

Our politicians need to stop pandering to special interest groups and corporate donors and establish real and effective policies to find a viable alternative to fossil fuels. We need to search for something different and not just try to make the old better. All the hybrids and electric cars will never be able to effectively replaced what we currently have. Commerce moves on trucks, trains, and ships, all using diesel fuel, and are some of the major producers of soot and pollution. There is no electric alternative to those, so we need something new.

Everyone seems to be on one side or the other on global warming or climate change or whatever else you want to call it. They yell, and show data, and preach gloom and doom, but no one is offering a real solution. We have become a nation that is so consumed with hate for someone else's opinion, that we loose sight of the issue that's in front of our noses? I say its time to return to the America that found solutions for problems, put aside our differences and disagreements and work together for the common good.

I am just a common person who enjoys sailing, but I see the benefit of living a cleaner life and plan to live it in retirement. All I ask of anyone is consider the world you leave your children and grandchildren; because if we don't do anything, we might leave them a dying planet.

Being Prepared

I have watched several videos about ocean sailing in high winds and large waves; how to make sure not to under power the boat because of wind, and leave yourself moving too slow, and unable to crest the next wave, stuck in an ocean sized spin cycle. All the reading and videos in the world; even sailing in high winds on Carlyle lake, are not going to get me the experience I need to live aboard a sailboat on the oceans of our planet.

I am, however, a person that craves experience and likes a challenge, so Martina and I have decided to go and get the experience we need. We are planning in the next few years to take some off shore sailing classes and perhaps crew on some ocean traversing sailboats. There is no guarantee that we will be sailing in big waves or high winds, but to be on a boat away from shore will definitely be a starting point.

 When we began our quest a few years ago on an early April morning in Carlyle, we didn't expect to be sailing in 30 mph winds, 40 degree weather, and 4 foot waves on a small lake either: But we did, and I think we are better sailors given the experience.

So putting ourselves in a situation that can not only challenge our ability, but also scare the hell out of us, will undoubtedly make us better and more prepared to live aboard. We don't plan to be open ocean sailors, but to get from one paradise to the next often requires traversing large bodies of water and could mean several days out of sight of land. In those situations, we have to be prepared for any weather or any size seas.

This past week Aquilon made her way back into the water and thus the sailing season has begun. We have a lot of time to sail and relax before we hit the big time and follow other "Boulder-rites" into the deep blue, but our time is coming, and its coming faster than either of us could have imagined just a few short years ago. So, with a little luck and pure determination, we will soon be cresting those waves like a pro.