Tag: sustainability

The Natural beats the Artificial.

The Natural beats the Artificial.

Nature is exuberantly creative, inventive and expansive but always, well, natural. The artificial is a human invention. Only humans can and want to escape the natural. Humans pursue the artificial relentlessly. The artificial seems to make us feel secure. Germs are fought with drugs and 

Mine is bigger than yours.

Mine is bigger than yours.

Is it in us on a cellular level that we have this urge to compare? Or is it a left over animal instinct when being the first to eat in a pack meant power and a better chance of survival? Anyone sensitive enough to consider 

No Copper on Our Hull.

No Copper on Our Hull.

In 2020 regulations dictate in Washington State and California that the hull paint on pleasure vessels should be of the non-copper kind and/or have a very slow leaching rate. Thousand of pleasure boats are mostly sitting at the docks and are continually leaching copper into 

The Lost Art of Day Dreaming.

The Lost Art of Day Dreaming.

You might remember a time when sitting around and staring into space was a pastime. A pastime of a time past. Now young, old, women, kids, men, everyone is busy all the time. Every increment of time is filled, with work, commuting, family, entertainment. I 

The Richest Country in the World.

The Richest Country in the World.

Iceland has everything: breathtaking landscape, glaciers, volcanoes, waterfalls, fish, sheep and energy. And so much of it. Countries worldwide try to save energy and find alternative energy sources. Uniquely Iceland will never have to worry about energy nor fresh water. This volcanic island is sitting 

Clothes on board.

Clothes on board.

We don’t have many clothes on board. Most are geared toward living on on boat in a warm climate and some cold weather gear for sailing.  We have enough clothes to last us about 2-3 weeks and all together fit in two large duffle bags 

A Big Scheme.

A Big Scheme.

I cannot help but wonder if everything we have been taught about a successful life is nothing but a big scheme. It seems that only a few and, most often, other people profit from it not us. The perfect life, money and success is dangled in 

Trash on Board, on Land & on the Beach.

Trash on Board, on Land & on the Beach.

Living is minimized on board, we have less clothes, toys, books. But we need equal amount of food. It’s just that on land, we can produce as much trash as we like. On a boat, we keep our trash until we reach land. Some people 

Oh Mango!

Oh Mango!

If there is one fruit I love, it is mango. This south-east asian fruit is cultivated all over the tropics. The mango is an expat like me and having lunch shaded by a mango tree is my kind of paradise. Loreto was founded by Spanish missionaries 

Electricity Junkies.

Electricity Junkies.

We are addicted to it. Me, Radu, our society, we all love electricity. The majority of sustainable energy effort goes towards replacing energy from fossil fuels with electrical energy. Rarely have I seen a community without it. In Bahía Magdalena rattled and huffed a ginormous 

Civilization Wuss..

Civilization Wuss..

Imagine living in 250 sq feet/ meters with your husband and a dog. Imagine your closet contains 10 T-shirts, 7 shirts, 5 shorts, 5 pairs of shoes, a jewelry box the size of a large shampoo bottle. Most of your clothes are sailing and fleece 

Big Ocean. Big Sky. Small Minds.

Big Ocean. Big Sky. Small Minds.

I asked Radu the night before last, if he was ready to go again. The next leg was our third 30 hour passage and the seas were big the last times making our sails exhausting. Yes, he said, he was alright and I was too, 

Plenty of Time.

Plenty of Time.

Radu is learning how to filet a fish, a Pargo rojo (Pacific Red Snapper). We met Antonio, the sheriff of this small village, when he secured our dinghy on the beach the tide had broken loose and was about to float away. They started talking 

A little bit of water can go a long way.

A little bit of water can go a long way.

Personal hygiene on a boat can be a challenge. It’s interesting to live on the water and to have so much water around us and not to be able to use much of it. We have two water tanks of 40 gallons/ 151 liters each 

She Believes in Sustainability.

She Believes in Sustainability.

A while ago, back in San Diego, we had sundowners with a young couple who are renovating their powerboat in our marina. He has been fascinated with motors and is a mechanic from when he was a teenager. She defied her parents and studied marine 

The Airhead Story

The Airhead Story

Thursday 5 FEB 2015 | Boat plumbing nightmare Just ordered our Airhead composting head (toilet). I am elated. Can’t remember ever being so happy about buying a toilet. We moved on the boat a week ago and we have been using nearly only the onshore marina 

Imagining our Future.

Imagining our Future.

We want to imagine how the future and how we can help shape it. How will we live in 50 years? Will we have found ways to sustain our thirst for energy? Or will we have found ways to scale back? What will we drop