On not being a true believer...

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Pretty much says it all, dumb as a bag of hammers, and in the "paid administrative leave" department...

I apparently cause some folks problems where rigs are concerned. My crime being that I find merit in a lot of different rigs which in today's "there is only one true path" mindset world is considered a heretical sin of a high order.

For example, I don't get on very well with folks enamoured of the junk rig. That being said, I do happen to think junk rig makes a lot of sense and, while I'm a member of the JRA (you really should be as well), I just don't quite fit in because I don't fall into the idea that the junk is the "BEST" rig religious fervor party line. My take on the rig is that it's certainly a good rig and, in some cases a "best" rig for someone's particular circumstance but, like all rigs, it is far from perfect.

The balanced lug rig, which you probably know happens to be my favorite rig and far and away more powerful and cost effective than the junk, is still far from being a perfect rig. I love the rig but I'm not going to embrace the rig with a religious ecstasy that blinds me to it's disadvantages or other rigs good points...

Comparing the two, I have to admit I feel the balanced lug makes more sense if you honestly compare their strengths and weaknesses. But more about that another day...

I could go on with any number of sail types and rigs... gaff, Bermudian, wingsails, etc, which all have their strengths as well as weaknesses, but you get the picture...

The real truth of the matter is all rigs make sense in most situations and not so much in others. Not addressing this fact is counterproductive to getting the most out of whatever rig you happen to have or are thinking about using. The bottom line being that the more you know (spelled s-a-i-l-e-d) about all of the available rigs out there the better off you'll be.

Listening to 6 String Drag

So it goes...


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Interesting...

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An enlightening read, substituting moralizing for morality, and in the "ask your doctor" department...

Some interesting alternative thinking...



Listening to Wharfer

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I heard the news today...

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What we could/should do, what's being done instead, and a very, very good point...

Ted Irwin RIP

Listening to the T Sisters



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So, just how did old school sailors in a hurry tack a dipping lug rig?

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Just one thing you should read today...

This is just amazing.



Maybe it's time to reevaluate how we think old school sailors actually sailed?

Listening to some Neil Young covers

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and in the not-everyone-wants-you-to-anchor department...

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Unspeakably heinous acts in California, stuff you need to know, and something worth the time it takes to read...

Over at SailFeed there's a very good piece about anchoring laws in Florida and everyone really needs to read it. More importantly, folks on boats really should get vocal with the various Powers That Be and let them know how you feel... It's important.

Just to show you that political anti-anchoring skullduggery is not just a Florida thing but a problem worldwide... Voile Magazine has a story about 20 Euro a meter anchoring charges per night (or in non metric that's $228. a night to anchor your 32-foot boat). Being that, if it were to happen, it would also include a sizable chunk of the Caribbean (St Martin/Martinique/St Barts/Guadeloupe) so you might find it a needful read. For those who don't read French you'll find that Google Translate does a good enough job to make sense of it all.

Talk about interesting times...

Just in...
Good news about the twenty Euro a day anchoring tax is that it did not go through (more information here and here). That said, it does not mean they won't try it again...

Listening to Bob Dylan covering Frank Sinatra

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A good, if pricey, idea...

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A good question, needful reading, and about that skidmarks in your coffee cup idea from the Republicans...

Over at Navagear Tim writes about a newish product I've been looking forward to seeing called the SeaBung.

It's certainly kind of cool and it is a major improvement over the standard wooden bung that we've all been using since Columbus first cruised the Caribbean.

It's also sorta/kinda e-x-p-e-n-s-i-v-e for what it is. Especially for something so easily copied by any industrious boat owner with a bent for DIY and five dollars or less in his/her pocket.

Just saying...

Listening to "Pops" Staples

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Some more from the Eco Sailing Project crew...

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Not good at all, the reason you won't be seeing a lot of rocket science coming from Texas in the foreseeable future, and in the dueling debt department...



Listening to a medley of soul, funk, blues and folk

So it goes...
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