Places, Pinatas and Pickles.

It's flippin' cold here this morning. Temperature in the boat is 75 degrees F. That's 20 degrees lower than a couple of weeks ago! These cold fronts have a lot to answer for.

There is frantic work going on around the marina as a new floor in the Cayuco Club goes down in preparation for the big Halloween party this evening. Cruiser's are huddled below decks as they put the final adjustments to their costumes, it looks like being a vintage year! There are a number of children around so this evening there will be a 'pinata' for them to beat hell out of and enjoy the candy shower that will be released...

This is the first time in our cruising career that we will be in the same place for a second season. It is quite a strange feeling. We always knew that after a few years of self-indulgence it would be necessary to halt for a while to complete the work that TBH started out doing. We had no idea when we left Europe that this is where we would end up! Even now I have to do a double take regularly as I look around me. This is about as far from our previous lives as I could have imagined. I had thought we would possibly be stopping in Australia or the USA but look how wrong I was!

The tomatoes continue to thrive but the cold weather has slowed down ripening. I only have 2 beginning to change colour alough there are 90 in total on the plants. I have looked out a recipe for green tomato pickle so looks like next week the boat will be reeking of boiling vinegar. Not my favourite scent!

Tribes and temperature.

Although the hurricane season officially comes to a close at the end of next month many cruisers seem to be aiming to head out at the end of THIS month. Perhaps like me they were under the impression that the season ended tomorrow(!). Thanks to 'ranting sailor' for pointing out my mistake...wonder where I got that idea from, or have they changed the date when I wasn't looking!Also as we aren't moving anywhere just yet I wasn't really paying attention- well that's my excuse anyway!

But as Mother Nature is never that confident on dates we will continue to keep a close watch on the weather forecasts. A fellow cruiser reminded me yesterday of the excellent weather site www.passageweather.com. This is an extremely easy to use, and in our experience, accurate weather forecasting site for sailors. Highly recommended.

So there are levels of frustration in the Marina as those who consider the season a prison sentence or find that they dislike the place they have chosen to hole up, champ at the bit to get going. The weather here isn't co-operating right now. There is a particularly nasty 'Norther' blowing down from mainland USA. Apparently temperatures in Texas were as low as 30 degrees Fahrenheit yesterday. That enables the strong winds and inclement weather to make it as far down the Caribbean as Guatemala. It is noticeably chilly here and the temperature over in the restaurant at coffee this morning was a cold 74 degrees F!

We,as usual, have a lot of other things to be thinking about! I was happy to receive a delivery from Amazon yesterday. It seems to work very well sending stuff from the USA to Guatemala so long as you use normal surface mail - not one of the DHL style services. They always tend to get hung up at Customs in the city.

Amongst the books we received was Tribes by Seth Godin. A fascinating new publication that talks about the changing world that we live in and chronicles the effect that the internet, blogging and the like are having on the social interaction of us all. It is a good read and contains some thoughtful messages.

I particularly like his description of the groups of people that he describes as 'sheepwalkers'! Wish I had coined that word...

'A sheepwalker-someone who fights to protect the status quo at all costs, never asking if obedience is doing you any good. Sheepwalkers don't do very well these days'.

Conception,complexity to completion!

What an amazing world we live in!

TBH has developed and written his new book and software, 'Yala-how to manage complex relationships' as we have sailed the oceans enjoying the cruising lifestyle.The whole process from conception to completion has taken place in a virtual world.

In the real world whilst all this marvellous creativity has been going on we have been sailing across oceans seeing no land for days at a time, sometimes we have been anchored off remote desert islands, and sometimes tied to docks in the deepest jungle settings. Who ever thought it would be possible to do all this whilst indulging our love of sailing and passion for the sea.What extremely lucky people we are!

The book is printed in Canada, can be bought via Paypal from anywhere in the world, the money is transferred automatically to a bank account,the book is then dispatched from the UK and we never physically touch a thing. Wow!

We have kept up with the latest world developments via the internet, we have used other cruisers as proofreaders and sounding boards(thank's guys!).

Reviewers across the world contact us via email, skype, blackberry. We can even send the whole book electronically if necessary. The software and the licence to use it are distributed by email.

So its exciting days for us as the orders begin to arrive and the virtual 'kerching' of the cash register finally echoes in our boat! So far response has been very positive and I am delighted for TBH. It has been a long task distilling so much thought and information into an easily digestible form. I am very proud of him

Man or Sheep?

Some years ago I was active in the local political scene where I lived in the UK. One of the first activities that I took part in was knocking on doors to canvas votes for my party.

It was an illuminating experience. I was given a number of streets in a very upmarket part of the constituency. Here houses were valued at maybe a $1,000,000 or more, remember this was over 15 years ago... Sitting cheek by jowl these identical Georgian style homes were occupied by high wage earners, business owners, professionals. The success stories in the community. As I walked up and down the streets I was struck by the uniformity of everything and I was shocked. In each driveway sat a similar make of car, in most cases a BMW or Mercedes. Most were black or dark blue, the then fashionable colour. Each porch was filled with a planted urn or hanging basket with similar flowers blooming magnificently.

Knocking on the substantial hardwood doors the view as they were swung open was scarily similar. A pastel fitted carpet, brass and glass furnishings.I ended the day in a thoughtful frame of mind as I pondered why these 'achievers' were so pack like in their desire for conformity. After all if judged on a material level these were the success stories of my community and yet there was a barren sterility in their display of wealth. Why?

It made me think about the 'flock like' mentality of being a human being.You are no doubt familiar with the scenario of group think, it happens everywhere from the nursery upwards and we are faced with the consequences of subscribing to the popular view, or not, at every turn of our lives. There is no doubt it is far easier to run with the crowd, few repercussions, a sense of comfort and identity but what happens in the long term?

The results of incrementalism are well documented, the rise of Nazism, the bigotry of discrimination, the persecution of those with different beliefs. And yet everywhere in our daily lives we see these events and remain silent. What is it that we are so scared of? Do we fear 'being different', standing out?

As the world melts down around us, economically, politically, socially, blame is being thrown around in every conceivable direction. Is that just? Don't we all share part of the blame? The rise of the bland group think, the desire for social acceptability has gone beyond the pall. What happened to the days of acceptable differences?

I see more and more groups of people who simply cannot cope if your vision is different to theirs. The"either you are with us or against us" attitude of George Bush, the fear of speaking out against obvious violations of human rights. Where does it end I wonder? If we don't have the courage as ordinary human beings to think as individuals, to comment on events and viewpoints what will happen to society? Will we turn around one day and see that by our dereliction we have been the architects of our own demise.

There is a real fear amongst many people we meet to articulate their true feelings. I find that difficult to understand, as you are no doubt aware its not a problem that I have! Or do I? There are many occasions when I do not commit my thoughts to paper as I fear they will be just too radical and uncomfortable for those around me. Time to change!

We are a gregarious animal and too easily processed. We need to create a place where it is safe to exchange dissimilar views. TBH has made this subject his life's work. And sometimes it can be quite difficult to live with for us more ordinary mortals!

To speak out and raise an uncomfortable or unpopular truth is wearing. To stand up against drugs, even though many see cannabis smoking as a pretty vice not a crime, to find old men exploiting young women unacceptable, to say openly that one disagrees with the populist view.....

But the truth is always defined socially. It is the group dynamic that dictates what is acceptable. If nobody ever questions then we have no discourse, no focus for thought, we become mindless.

Our future as a human race must depend on the development of a much greater collective Mindfulness of what we say and what we do.

Hugo Boss.

Can you imagine having to effect repairs of this magnitude just weeks before setting off on a race around the world? Makes me feel cold just thinking about it, but good luck to them.

HUGO BOSS Damage Report

It has been a week since the incident involving a French fishing vessel and HUGO BOSS. The team at Alex Thomson Racing have been working around the clock to manage the repair to the boat. HUGO BOSS was moved from her temporary home in the commercial docks of Les Sables d'Olonne to a local boat yard called 'Feeling' owned by Alliaura Marine on Tuesday. The 25 strong build and operational team is now in place and work on HUGO BOSS is underway.

The build team set about cutting a section of the damaged hull yesterday (23/10/08). The damaged area, approximately 3.5m x 2m, has been removed and prepared for the new single skin to be fitted. The section which has been cut, is larger than the damaged area itself, this is needed in order to create a structurally sound section when it is re-built. The single skin, (made from carbon fibre), has been manufactured from the mould of another Open 60; Generali. A team from Multiplast in Vannes, France have been producing this new section. It is expected to be delivered to HUGO BOSS later this afternoon (24/10/08) and the team will begin work fitting the new skin on Saturday morning. Southern Spars New Zealand, have produced the new section of mast which will be delivered to Les Sables d'Olonne on Sunday evening. The team headed up by David Barnaby from Southern Spars have already begun preparing the damaged sections of the existing mast, and the sleeve repair process should begin on Monday (27/10/08).

Other suppliers such Future Fibres are hard at work to deliver components to the team on the ground. For Future Fibres this requires replacing all the rigging to the boat in time for the race start. "Hugo Boss is an extremely important customer for Future Fibres. The moment we heard about the incident we began to prepare the for an emergency set of rigging around an already full production schedule. Once the call came from Alex giving the go ahead we started work immediately. The complete set of rigging will be dispatched within six working days. Future Fibres CEO, Ewan Mclellan, owner Tom Hutchinson and myself will be in Les Sable for to ensure there are no last minute problems. Everyone at Future Fibres wish Alex and his team the very best of luck with the repairs to the boat and look forward to seeing him on the startline!" Miles Amin, Technical Sales, Future Fibres.

The priority for the team on the ground right now is to manage a strong repair, but also a fast one. This will be a difficult to balance, but crucial to the team's goal of making the start line. Once the structural repair has been completed the boat will need to be lifted back into the water and the mast stepped. It is crucial to the preparation for the Vendée Globe that the team at Alex Thomson Racing has the opportunity to test the boat on the water before the start of the race on November 9th.

"We have a team working around the clock to get the job done. There are a huge amount of logistics involved, not only in getting all the parts here, but making sure they are here on time. If the repair goes as planned, we hope to have a small window in which to test sail the boat and make sure the systems are in working order. This will be crucial in making sure the repair has been a success," Harry McGougan: Operations Director.

Sharkwater.

It is what we would call in Ireland, a soft day, here on the Rio. That's raining to you and me!

As the water continues to rise we are in danger of having the power on the dock switched off, the cables are very nearly submerged.

So feeling rather lazy we decided to watch a new DVD that TBH was given for his birthday. Sharkwater is an extraordinary documentary produced by a passionate young cinematographer/shark enthusiast called Rob Stewart.

He chronicles the appalling slaughter of the worlds population of sharks and uncovers a massive illegal shark fin racket based in Costa Rica. It is well worth watching. The photography is stunning and the message disturbing.

Rumble in the Jungle...

Well a bit of a gurgle at least! Yesterday was TBH's birthday, and this year it was a big one. No less than 60 years old. A bit of a shocker that as I still believe he is firmly stuck in his late teens, I know the body is a bit older and worn but his mind is amazing! Always learning and engaged he remains an enormous challenge to live with(!).

So what were we to do to celebrate such a momentous occasion? No question one of TBH's favourite pastimes is sampling good food so with the collusion of Jim and Marco here at Mario's Marina we plotted to throw a superb dinner amidst the jungle setting.

Weeks before the event shopping expeditions were orchestrated to Guatemala City as ingredients were sourced for all TBH's favourite dishes. The catering staff entered in to the spirit as they talked about how to bring the whole thing in to being...

And what a triumph! Thank you so much to everyone. To recreate a world class meal down here was amazing. Mario's found ice buckets and candles, tablecloths and decorations. I was simply delighted with the effort that they put in to making the night such fun.

TBH had no idea that we were going to be joined by a group of friends and was stunned when he saw the magnificent spread that we had prepared for him.

So we began with garlic infused jumbo shrimps, delivered to the marina early that morning fresh from the ocean. These are one of the regular dishes here and absolutely wonderful. Alongside that we enjoyed platters of smoked salmon with freshly baked brown bread.

Our main course was fillet of Nicaraguan beef, seasoned and grilled whole then served in steaks, accompanied by jacket potatoes with sour cream and a selection of fresh local vegetables.

On to Mario's signature dish of Key Lime Pie. if you have never tasted this confection then you haven't lived. The knowledgeable Guatemalans who visit the Rio often drop in with an order for a whole pie when they are here, they know a good thing when they taste it! To help that slide down we accompanied it with Sarita's vanilla ice cream (TBH's favourite).

A short pause and on to a selection of cheeses and fresh ripe local melon. And finally to the birthday cake. A wonderful 'tres leches' cake that is traditional at Guatemalan celebrations.

All with the excellent wines that Mario's now stocks and a toast in the champagne that Jim and Marco sourced in the city.

...we made a bit of a mess with the 'pistole de confetti' that shot wads of sparkly stuff across the table and in to uncovered wine glasses, and a great time was had by everyone, most especially the Birthday Boy, who it was all for.

Happy Birthday!