Documentary: Chasing Bubbles

Recently I came across this great documentary: Chasing Bubbles.

Alex Rust

It is

A documentary about the journey and spirit of Alex Rust, a farm boy turned day trader from Indiana who, at 25, abandoned his yuppie life in Chicago, bought a modest sailboat, and set out to sail around the world, learning as he journeyed.

says IMDB.

Pretty amazing that the movie is available for free. Would have paid to see it.

The movie can be watched on YouTube and Vimeo.

Btw, as a side note, the Vimeo app for Amazon Fire Stick is really primitive, no search capability?!

Anyways, I might even watch it a second time, it is very inspiring, and poses some very good questions.

Enjoy!

Dry while on the water

Warning: another rant ahead! :-)

Result of mixing alcool and boating

So, everyone knows it, drinking and boating do not mix. While I am very social and love sundowners as much as anyone else, I am always appalled at  the normality of seeing drinking and boating.

My rule is: if I am boating, I do not drink alcool, period. Exception are when anchored or docked for the night. If I know I will be boating, no drinks. I even buy de-alcoholized beers for that effect, as I really enjoy the taste of beer.

Its not even what I see in person. I do watch a lot of YouTube videos, and frequently I will see people on passages drinking wine and such. This is a no-no in my book. I praise my favourites world sailors Paul & Sheryl Shard of Distant Shores as NOT doing that.

Just yesterday, in the news, a bozo stranded his Mega-Yacht stranded on Beach at Palm Beach Inlet in Florida!

If you still want to drink, there is even a Boat Sober app which provides a Blood Alcohol Estimator that allows the user to estimate their BAC based on their gender, body weight and how many drinks they have consumed in a specific period of time. This tool is only that….a tool. Be aware though, that you can be arrested for a BAC less than the legal limit if you show signs of impairment. And it really is not about getting arrested, drinking while on the water increases the chances of an accident or drowning. And nobody wants increase those odds.

Cheers! (when anchored or docked for the day)

Mind your wake

Warning: Pet peeve rant ahead!

Now, that's a wake!

One of the things that frustrate me, is the wake that boaters generate. I should really take a picture of the "No Wake" sign on waterways that's being tossed around by someone's wake.

Where we are in the canals, for some reason, the boats most oblivious to causing wakes are....surprise...sailors! Yes, that is a surprise, as I was (still am) a sailor. So that really pains me.

I learned early in my sailing days about the damages a wake can create. Way back when I learnt sailing, I used to often take a Laser  and explore little bays, go where other boats could not go. I just enjoyed being in nature, I would see big and small fishes in the small bays, and then as I was in a tiny bay, I would feel and see the effects of a boat buzzing by. I literally saw and felt the effect on the environment....motor boating is not natural and disturbs ecology.

And in the modern society, well, wakes also damage the shore walls. Requiring maintenance and update.

I am now, a power boating, tho I still sail occasionally, but I am probably anal about looking behind me to make sure there is no wake to disturb nature and boats docked.

Take to extremes, it can caused a lot damage, such as what happened last week Italy (on Aug 28, 2016).

So, yes, please mind your wake.