A sailor can't live of fish alone



My dear mom is helping me to assure a balanced diet while under way... We are dehydrating yummy things you can't buy, like cabbage, red bell pepper and un-fried onions. a very yummy treat are dried kiwi fruit slices as well.
She is also showing me how to make chicken preserves. yes, i know you can buy canned chicken, but it's not good. THIS will be good! we got 12 one pint mason jars to fill with delicious chicken breast. then i have to figure out how to protect the glass in the bilge or where ever we'll end up storing it. i can't wait to dish out my yummy mango chicken, 2 months out at sea after tuna, mahi mahi, marlin, ono and swordfish up the ying yang it will be fabulous!

more prep for prep

i got my dehydrator going to dry fruit and vegetables to provide light
and easily stored vitamin sources. i also got a foodsaver vacuum sealer
and ordered 50 bags for it. I'm thinking of buying bulk stuff and pack
it in smaller, managable portions. Tracy is really the onein charge of
provisioning, but she is still so busy with other things that i am
hoping to help with my little ideas and contributions. also, in a house
with a full kitchen i have more possibilities of doing stuff than she
does on the boat. i am also already thinking about hte meals i will
have to cook. i need to make sure that spices and condiments i will
need are on our shopping list. it is so exciting.
tonight we had potential subletters come by and i think we made our
pick. i will call them tomorrow.
life is good

20 million thoughts

it is incredible, all the thoughts that go into a trip of this
magnitude. imagine going car camping for 2 days with 3 people. all the
stuff you need to take, gear, food, clothes, common things, personal
things... then imagine being somewhere for 2 months without being able
to drive to the store. every fucking thing needs to have been thought
about before. it is amazing. so, as we work together on the boat to get
it ready for the trip and any weather we might encounter, i am asking
questions about provisioning, stuff they like to do in their spare
time, etc. and every time i bring something up tracy tells me to write
it down so i can remind her. it is so much stuff... how many rolls of
toilet paper do 4 people need in 5 months?
you get the picture, it is amazingly complex and involves lists and
discussions...i love it!

i'm going sailing again

we are currently preparing departure for mid november.
the boat is "Lord Jim"
the crew will be Holger, Tracy, their dog Moana and me. then a guy named Dennis from New Zealand who will join us in Mexico, and very maybe a guy names Ira from Sausalito who still doesn't know if he can make it.
we are recaulking the decks right now and doing lots of odds and ends work to get thre boat and ourselves ready.
i got a new passport, presciption medication i might need, and my mom, who is in town, is helping me make preserves and dried fruits and vegetables.
the planned route is Sausalito - Pourto Vallarta - Pitcairn - (Easter Island) - Punta Arenas - Brazil