Many thanks to Tammy for helping crew the boat across the bay. And a great big thank-you to the TMCA Club for helping us get in the slip. Margie ran the camera and moved the vehicles so everything was in position and ready.
I rolled out the jib at marker 2 and sailed all the way to Morgans Point at about 5 knots. We sailed on the jib only since the winds were blowing 15 to 20 knots and we made good time. This is the first sail this year and it was a lot of fun.
Have you heard the term "Peak Oil" or "Peak food" this video explains it very well. If you really pay attention it also explains how the global economy works but alas it also explains how these systems will fail. It has too folks, there is only so much you can take out of this big ball of resources we call Earth.
This video takes a look at the future of energy and food production in the world. I have not seen a presentation that takes the the problems we face and explains them so well. I highly recommend taking the 33 minutes to watch this video. I fear too many will start to watch it and turn it off too quickly (and stick their heads back in the sand), because they don't like the message. I have studied the facts behind this video for a long time, and I cannot find one overt error in the information presented. All I am asking is for you to become aware of the issues, become knowledgeable on the information. This is the only way out of the crash I see coming our way. Yeah... it's a bit of a downer, but unless we actually understand the problems, we will never create a solution or an alternative. Posted by John K (Temperate Climate Permaculture)
Hi folks, I agree with John K and the video, but the title of the video is wrong because with God and Jesus Christ there will be a tomorrow. but... my worry is that... our lot in life may be to go through the terrible collapse this film predicts and I share this kind of stuff in hopes it will help you cope and prepare for it. If we don't have to face this, then so much the better, but just in case we do, then its best to know what we are up against. Some solutions are offered at the end of the video.
Please watch this video, the middle and end are the best parts.
I heard this song, then read the lyrics, and then pondered the world we live in.
These lyrics are from the group Gotya and the song is Eyes Wide Open
I added a new verse as a question for all of you.
Question?
Do we need to worry?
Is this something for our mystery?
Is this our story?
Will this be our history?
Gotya - Eyes Wide Open
So this is the end of the story
Everything we had, everything we did
Is buried in dust
And this dust is all that's left of us
But only a few ever worried
Though the signs were clear, they had no idea
You just get used to living in fear
Or give up
When you can't even picture your future
We walk the plank with our eyes wide open...
Some people offered up answers
We made out like we heard, but they were only words
They didn't add up
To a change in the way we were living
And the saddest thing-
Is all of it could have been avoided
But it was like to stop consuming is to stop being human
And why would I make a change if you won't
We're all in the same boat, staying afloat
For the moment
And we walk the plank with our eyes wide open, we..
Walk the plank with our eyes wide open
With our eyes wide open we...
Walk the plank, we walk the plank
Sailing from Key West Florida to Galveston Texas Single Handed.
This purpose of this trip was to move my newly purchased boat from Florida to my home in Texas. This boat was in the middle of a complete refit when I purchased her so nothing electrical in the boat works and there is no plumbing. I spent several weeks in Florida just getting the items I absolutely had to have for an ocean crossing working and nothing else. This was a "roughing it" sailboat trip, none of the nice and comfortable things usually found in a yacht were in this boat. This trip with perfect winds should take 6 or 7 days but I was planning for a bit longer and was figuring on 8 to 10 days but I didnt step off the boat until 18 days later.
No Wind !! Nothing, nada, negative windspeed, zero, no blow no go.
I was not prepared nor had it ever entered my mind that the wind would not blow at all in the Gulf of Mexico. I knew their might be some slow days but I was not ready for days and days of just sitting and baking in the sun. I didn't have any light air equipment on board. The Jib was only 100% size and 9 ounce cloth and just hung there like a big claw in the light air.
Adventure Tips
bring more wind next time!
Edit Added: 2/5/2012 - The question I have been asked the most since my trip is "Were you scared" and/or "Were you afraid you were going to die" The answer to both is NO, although I thought I might die of boredom just sitting waiting for the wind to blow.
I had one little scare one evening when a minor little rain storm came through. I was at the mast putting in a reef and one large wave came through and rolled the boat really hard and I lost my grip on the mast. I went over backwards landing on my backside at the edge of the deck. My jack line and tether worked like it was supposed to and kept me from falling off the boat.
Edit added: 2/5/2012 - Looking back: The worst part was after I entered the oil field and quit sleeping. You cant believe how much stuff is out there 300-400 miles from Galveston and I was afraid to sleep for fear of hitting something. I was suffering from sleep deprivation and I really wanted to find a way to sleep so I contacted a rig tender workboat, hoping that I would be able to tie off to him and sleep. He was busy and couldn't really help but I must have sounded really bad to him over the radio and he contacted the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard met me about 100 miles from Galveston and towed me in. I slept hard for the 12 hour tow into Galveston. I only got up to close the hatch because we were in a strong storm with rain, winds, and lightning.
I did know the storm was coming by listening to the radio, and I was getting prepared for it. My plans were to reef and heave-to, which slows the boat down to a slow drift and go to sleep while the sun was out and the weather was pretty. Then I would be awake and rested when the storm rolled in late that night. Luckily the Coast Guard showed up while I was getting ready so I didnt have to do anything but go to sleep.
Edit Added: 2/5/2012 - The whole story is written in the map markers along with photos, so if you want to know what really happened you need to zoom in the map and read my notes on each marker.
You will really need to zoom the map in and move your mouse over each of the markers to read my notes about this trip. These markers on the map are my check-in "ok" markers from the satellite spot tracker device and some are really close together because I did not move very far due to NO WIND!!!!!!!!!!
Here is a link to a really nice article about Permaculture. This article will give you a brief insight into what permaculture is and how it is used.
This article did a good job of leaving out the "cultural" aspects of permaculture but it still had to allude to it a bit. Permaculture was early adopted by the hippie - tree hugger types that want to sit around and hold hands and sing songs and then think they are saving the world with permaculture. I dont buy into all that garbage, because there is "real science" behind permaculture principles and that is what I am interested in.
Click the link below to read the article and then take a look around the tcpermaculture.com site for more info about the "science of permaculture".
We planted 100 Pecan Trees on our farm here in Texas. This video shows the family planting trees and our Jack Russell dog having a lot of fun. I tried to video-document where each tree was planted and sped up the video 3x times so it would not be so long. I also tried to add a little comedy along the way. Ok very little comedy! Ok its more fun than a funeral. Ok If you like this better than watching grass grow then please leave a comment below the video. Thanks!
Do you want to know why you have that gnawing pit feeling in your stomach? Do you want to know why you have that feeling that everything in this country/world is wrong. Do you want to know what you are really losing. Watch this video as Jack explains what is really going on. This info may help you make better informed decisions and choices if times get tough or even if they dont.
Margie and I built a greenhouse table this weekend so that we would have a place to put all the seedlings we will start next month. It will be a very busy February and March starting seeds for the garden plants. Please see our garden calendar at the bottom of this page and the coming events shown on the right. I am going to use this calendar as my working calendar so it will be updated often.
The table is treated 2x4's, 8 feet long and 30 inches wide with and upper and lower deck. The decks are made from heavy gage welded wire so water will run through.
The tank in the right of this photo is the beginnings of a future project, "Aquaculture" where we will grow live fish and vegetables together. More info later.
Margie and I got the swales planted with a few things we could plant in winter, more to plant this coming spring. Margie does a great job showing you around the swales in this video. Also this is the first video to show the finished second swale.
We now have two swales working together to harvest water and make the whole area better for growing fruit trees, berries, perennials, and annuals. This will eventually grow into a food forest that doesnt require irrigation. We will plant companion plants that help each other and that will make it low maintenance also.
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This is a really nice film about gardening and using permaculture techniques. I use many of the ideas shown in this film for my garden. But what I especially liked is the way this film ties everything back to God and doing things the way God intended. Try these ideas in your garden, they really do work.
Well first of all this guy can talk about dirt and cow shit and make it sound really interesting and usually his podcasts are about some topic I have recently been thinking about and he can verbalize what I would like to say. I tell ya, if I could speak better than Jack I would steal his job, LOL but I just dont have that talent. So you will see me post lots and lots of Survival Podcast links on my page because Jack is saying stuff that I wish I could say.
I agree with Jack about 95% of the time although he left me sitting on the side of the road when he got on the Paleo Diet wagon. The guy has lost 75 pounds on this diet so its something I probably should look into but dang it I'm just not ready to give up my biscuits. LOL
I think many people are afraid of the word "survival" but Jack has a well rounded philosophy about it and its just common sense and not a tin foil hat because the sky is falling. Jacks tag line is " Helping you live that better life if times get tough or even if they dont" Makes perfect sense to me. So I would recommend Jack and The Survival Podcast to everyone at: http://thesurvivalpodcast.com/
Creating a permaculture swale. The ditch is laid out on contour flat and level and marked with flags. The swale is dug on the uphill side of the flags and the berm is built on the downhill side of the flags. The idea is to capture water running down the hill and have it soak into the berm that is planted with fruits and berries.
Video about my Garden Swale
How do Swales Work
This is the the way a swale should be built and planted. This photo is from Bill Mollison's book "Introduction to Permaculture"
I am interested in the "science of permaculture" but... I am not interested in the "cultural" aspects that some have about permaculture such as tree-huggers, hippies, pseudo-religious ideas and militant eco-fanatics approach to conservation.
