10/21/2010, from stuff to junk
I'm meeting the welder at our sea-train cargo container this morning so he can cut his way into the unit. I know that the traditional way to open a locked door is to simply use a key, however, what fun would that be and it would also require me being able to find the key! The plan of zipping down to Bakersfield and grabbing some things quickly out of our 53ft shipping cargo container fell to pieces when our key was no where to be found. The locksmith laughed and we cried, so the only option left was to call out a welder to cut off the protective steel plate that protects the lock from bolt cutters! It's a great security feature with only one big downside; it also keeps us out if we loose the key!
When we loaded the storage unit over two years ago, we simply couldn't imagine parting with all of our material treasures, but time and perspective has turned our treasure into junk that we hoped to find stolen upon our return. This change in perspective isn't something unique to us, but something we find common among cruisers. Some common worries when casting off are the "stuff and space" worries. How will I get along without my stuff and how will I survive living in 150 square feet when my house was 2000 square feet? After a year or two afloat, the question fades away and is commonly replaced by the questions: Why did I have all that stuff and what did I do with all that space? We have found that most of the fears and worries new cruisers have are based more in trying to figure out and imagine how they can take their land based lifestyle aboard than on the realities of cruising.
I can't help but laugh at the irony of me having to spend money to cut my way into a steel box filled mostly with stuff I've forgotten about, stuff I don't need and stuff I don't want. The things I'll do to dig my bread maker out of storage! But hey - waking up to the smell of cinnamon raisin bread while at anchor in Mexico is a powerful lure!
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Comments [4]
10/19/2010, Numbers updated through Sep 2010
What's worse? Siting in Seat 38B on a flight from Maryland to San Diego or sitting in the Jaws of a Megalodon Shark?
That's a close call, but one thing is for sure. It would be worse to have a dream of casting off cruising but never go because of a misconception that you have to be "rich" to afford to go! This is why we enjoy posting our Cost of Cruising numbers because it helps people see what it really takes to fund a Cruise!
We spent $1156 in September, which seems to be righ in line with our monthly average. Fuel was a HUGE number in September and partially reflects the larger boat's increased fuel usage and our motorboat trip from Mazatlan to the Bay of Los Angeles. Could we do it for 1/2 of what we spent in Sept? Absolutely and if that was the only way we could afford to Cruise we would.
Link to Updated Cost of Cruising Numbers
There won't be an entry for October, as we have been off the boat for the entire month, but we will pick things back up in November. If I was to post our October costs, with the Biz trip to Maryland, well let's just say our hotel in Annapolis cost more than it cost us to Cruise in September, not to mention all the Crab Cakes I ate!
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10/17/2010, Rare...but it happened in Costa Rica
The following is a report from Bruce on SV Two Amigos giving the details of a recent Pirate Attack. I often talk about having never heard of such an attack, and this is certainly the first. Bruce's below email was sent out to the Yahoo South Bound Group this morning. Calling it a Pirate Attack rather than a burglury, car jacking, home invasion robbery, or mugging makes it sound worse, but we need to keep perspective and not over-blow the issue. Crime happens in every US and world town on a daily basis and despite this scary event, crimes against cruisers are still a rarity. What makes this story news worthy IS the fact that such crimes are so rare.
Folks,
Last night was both exciting and costly for us here in Costa Rica. We were anchored off the beach at a resort town of Quepos. About 7:30pm while it was dark and we were below watching a movie, we were silently boarded by 6 or more heavily armed bandits carrying shotguns and pistols. They had been observing us for two days it appears. We were duck taped and because they were worried about me I received extra tape plus electrical ties and had two armed guys watching me. They took our 3 computers, cash, and all the boat electronics including radar, chart plotter, 2 ham radios, boat vhf radio, 2 handheld vhf radios, a Pactor modem, inverter, 3 cell phones, 2 handheld lights, and our copy machine. One of the bandits was crazy and probably on drugs, waiving a knife and pistol and constantly making threats. They also took our large dingy but I was able to recover it on the rocks by the beach later. They tried to steal the engine but it was too heavy.
We have filed the police reports but have little hope of seeing the items again. The most important thing is that Clark, myself and a guest are still alive especially since I gave them a hard time.
Our plan is to initially get a handheld vhf and gps. With those and our paper charts we can continue. We will gradually replace the stolen items as we progress along.
We will also now move at least every two days in case we are surveiled again.
To say we are disappointed in Costa Rica is to put it mildly.
Until I get a new notebook computer we will be limited to Internet cafes- Until we replace the Ham radio we will be off the net.
Just another exciting day!
Crazy Bruce and Clark
Two Amigos - a lighter boat now.
Bruce Stevens
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