After reading this article I was stunned to yet again hear of another person who otherwise seems like a caring concerned individual turn to hate when confronted by a monster.
The fact is there are monsters everywhere. We all probably know a few: individuals that leave nothing but suffering of one kind or another in their wake. Sometimes the scale is colossal, as in George W. Bush; sometimes it’s just your latest boss.
These people are easy to hate because of the swath of destruction they leave. But if you hate them not only do they win –you become one of them, albeit with a different politic – but you also further their agenda.
People have the common and mistaken belief that hating monsters is okay because it’s an act of resistance to their atrocities. They think that by opposing the malignant ideas they can defeat them. But they are missing the whole point.
Monsters can have truly frightening and ugly ideas and beliefs. They are all over the ideological and political map, but their speech and behaviours always reveal a complete lack of compassion, a dehumanizing of the Other, and a willingness to use oppression, violence, and inhuman means to support their beliefs. Behind all this is hate.
The ontology of hate is fear, which is a very complex beast to deal with, but which almost always manifests as hate. A good metaphor is that of infection. In a manner recalling the action of a virus, hate can attach itself to almost any belief system, and it’s only purpose is to replicate. Read that again. Hate exists to create more hate, full stop.
In the above article, you have people hating over conflicting ideas and beliefs. But what they don’t understand is that the hatred really has nothing to do with the topic at hand. Hate has just used an incendiary politic to spread itself, because it’s particularly effective. It’s like Cholera spreading among weakened people fleeing a natural disaster. Politics is a fertile ground for infections of hate to spread.
But hate doesn’t need anything so dramatic. Hate can emerge because you drive a nice car. Or because of your gender or sexual orientation. Or any one of a trillion reasons, none of which by themselves are important. Hate could care less what carrier it uses as long as it is effective.
So as long as words you read, speeches you hear, or actions you see cause hatred of the perpetrator to emerge inside, you have now become part of the problem. There’s no doubt that the world is full of appalling things but you cannot focus on the carrier – the hateful actions – because they are only the symptom of the “infection”.
There’s a saying among Christians about hating the sin and loving the sinner. That’s very good advice regarding hate: love those who hate and despise the hate that has infected them. As far as I can see that’s the only way to stop it from spreading. It makes no difference whether monsters deserve our compassion; as long as they are carriers, it’s up to us to minimise their damage they inflict and the first step is not become carriers ourselves. Or the result is what we currently have in the world: ideologies and beliefs that come and go, but the hatred carries on.
By the way: we are looking for passengers for our new venture: I'm sailing around Vancouver Island next month and if anyone would like to book a section of this amazing trip, give us a shout at 250 858 4978. There are pics in this blog from September 2009 showing our trip last year. Trust me, you don't want to miss it.
It happened after the break-in. Talk about unintended consequences. That was so disturbing to Tracy that it tipped the scales for her. I’ve always known that our life aboard was somewhat of a challenge at times, especially for her, but this was unexpected.
I have always checked in with her now and again about how our life aboard is for her. Partly because I love her and am concerned about how she is doing, and partly because I don’t want to be blindsided.
I knew there would be a time when we would have to move off our boat, but it was only a few months ago when I last checked with her and everything was fine. Normally summer is the best time for living aboard but the costs associated with replacing our recent losses, as well as the violation of our space, has changed things in a way neither of us expected. Tracy can’t explain it, it simply is.
In some ways this presents a quandary and in other ways there is none. Some men would simply tell her that this is where he lives and if she wants him she has to adapt. I’m not that man. Because I love Tracy I put her first. But it hurts.
Thing is, it’s far more than simply a boat; it’s my home, and for me, the very best home I’ve ever had. We’ve lived aboard for over 3 years now and for the first time in my adult life I don’t want to be somewhere else. That’s pretty significant.
I’ve never had a home that lasted more than four years before I moved on, in part because I was living like everyone else and it didn’t fit for me. This lifestyle is ideal for me and I’ve never been happier.
That in itself is a good thing but I have to admit that moving off has it’s own advantages. Maybe I’m a little young yet to “settle down” if that’s what we were doing. By moving out I’m forced to continue wandering.
At this stage I have no idea what we will do and where we will go. I will purchase another sailboat of course, but one smaller. If we aren’t living aboard I sure don’t need 36 feet to fulfil my sailing dreams.
So here’s the details:
Link 2000 battery monitor
New Centaur 50 Amp 3 stage smart charger
4 6Volt 240Ah Workaholic deep cycle batteries
5 solar panels
2 solar panel regulators
Outboard motor hoist
New Hot water tank
New Norcold fridge/freezer
Full canvas enclosure.
New Standard Horizon CP180 chartplotter
New Humminbird depthsounder/fishfinder
PSS shaft seal
New diesel injectors
New electric fuel pump for engine
New zincs engine and prop
Maxprop folding prop
New Vetus tapset for head
Dickenson propane heat
Propane system rebuilt 2008, 2009
New mainsail halyard and reefing lines
Removable baby stay and twin running backstays
Mainsail serviced 2008
New glow plugs
Newer alternator 2007
Lifelines replaced 2007
New tachometer
Starter replaced 2009
Raw water pump rebuilt 2009
Hydraulic backstay (rebuilt 2009)
New gauges 2007
New macerator pump, holding tank, and level indicator 2007
All through-hull ball valves replaced 2007
Switchable Racor secondary fuel filters
Simrad radar
Interphase GPS
CO and propane sniffers
Uniden VHF 2007
Lewmar windlass 2007
Sony stereo and 4 speakers
All portlight gaskets replaced
B&G Network Pilot below deck autohelm
Hull scraped and sealed with layers of epoxy (no pox)
Rudder rebuilt.
Transmission and V-drive recently rebuilt.
Starter replaced 2009
New engine mounts 2007
New prop shaft 2007
New waterlift muffler 2007
Offshore main, staysail, working jib, 150 genoa, asymmetrical spinnaker with snuffer
300’ chain rode and 40lb CQR
100’ spare rode and Danforth anchor
Harken roller furling
New mast light
10 & 20 lb propane tanks
Insulated backstay
Hot/cold pressure water
Tons of spare parts.
Well maintained 1980 CS 36 Traditional in excellent condition. Designed by renowned marine architect Ray Wall, Fainleog is a sturdy and heavily constructed offshore veteran. Our vessel is unique in that the chief purchaser for CS yachts had her built to his own specs, which included replacing plastic portlights with aluminum ones and installing a babystay and running backstays
Large tanks: 75 gals water and 35 gals fuel. The interior is rich with teak and shows quality of workmanship. Galley with fridge/freezer and Force Ten propane stove. A full chart table. Lee cloths are installed for the midship berths, and extra stowage has been built for offshore sailing. Shoal draft fin keel and partial skeg hung rudder. Tons of lockers and storage.
The engine has been well maintained and is in excellent condition (I have pictures of the cylinder walls that shows no detectable wear).
Those who follow this blog know I have put a great deal of time and money in maintaining and upgrading this vessel and it is with much reluctance that we are offering her for sale. One of the advantages of living aboard is that I know the moment something goes wrong, and I usually have it fixed within the day.
$79,000.00 or trade for a smaller vessel plus cash. We can be contacted at 250 858 4978.

I just spent 8 hours in the bilges of my boat installing a new hot water tank. I’m exhausted, scratched, bruised and cut up. It was so difficult reaching anything, it really felt like a maddening, futile effort. It’s still not done as I have yet to reinstall the steering cables. It was also the hottest day of 2010, which broke a record going back 70 years.
That’s one day I’ll never have again.
It’s got me thinking about what I do, and why. I mentioned in an earlier post about being handy and how “handy” that is, but now I’m not so sure. This is the first time I think I’ve ever critically examined this propensity of mine. Oh sure, I’ve known for a long time that it was at least in part due to my blue-collar heritage, but it’s more than that.
Of course it’s part of being human to use tools to make things and repair things. I’ve been doing that ever since I was a little kid. It used to make my parents so mad when they would find out that I took the toaster apart or the TV or some such device. Of course I was fascinated to see all the bits inside, but I had no idea how to put things back together once it was apart.
They also supplied me with a succession of Meccano sets, so I was really set up to be a man with tools in my hands. My first career was as an electronic technician.
I went ahead and got a forestry degree and BFA in fine arts, but somehow couldn’t shake the need for a tool in my hand.
There’s a real power in being able to repair almost anything, but what I’m starting to wonder is if these things should really be repaired. If these things should really exist. I have to admit it was nice to drag my battered carcass into the shower at the end of the day, but I’m not so sure it worth all the all the complexity. I did have the option of the solar shower in fact.
I’ve kept countless cars on the road and several motorcycles and scooters. I’ve done a ton of home renovations. Maybe these aren’t such good things. Our lives are so incredibly complicated and much of the complication is about owning stuff and making money for stuff. If not for that hot water tank, I would have this day back.
Not all things that need repair are superfluous, but it seems to me a lot that I’ve repaired aboard this vessel are. The whole thing about spiritual evolution is simplifying one’s life and spending more time in inner communion. Labour can involve this as well, but there is peaceful labour and there is traumatic, and today felt like it was in the latter category.
Thing is, at this point in my life I’m not sure I can change. I’m not sure yet that I want to. I’ve taken great pride in my ability to fix anything, but maybe all along I was being a fool, and life was getting the last laugh. I’m wondering if the need for repairing so many things is evidence of too much complexity, too much stuff.
Maybe working with machines is not such a grand thing. Maybe it’s time I put down the tools and worked more with imagination in my writings, and with more human souls. Sure I’m most comfortable with the workings of devices but perhaps that’s a weakness that I need to confront rather than continue indulging.
The break-in we suffered a few weeks ago just keeps on stinging. I went to download some pics for this post from my camera only to discover that the douchebag stole the adapter cable. We have several such cables for various pieces of equipment and he took them all. So the equipment is useless until we buy new cables. Tracy already had to buy a new AC adapter for her cell. Why the hell would someone rip off a bundle of adapters and cables when he doesn't have the equipment they are for? It just causes pain and inconvenience and they have no value. The worst part of this is that this guy wasn't the only thief. The cost to replace these things is ridiculous. The manufacturers resist any attempts at universalising them so you have to purchase specific OEM cables at outrageously inflated prices. Bah!





A lovely still morning. Several sailboats already departing the harbour. Some cloud, some fog.
I’ve been grappling with some significant issues of late, especially in regards to my path. I feel I’ve slipped off of it, and landed with a hard thump. I’m trying to just accept it as simply another part of my learning but it’s challenging. I know this stuff so why do I keep going astray? It would be easy to blame an obsessed and obsessing culture but people have had to deal with that for ever.
All the shiny toys and things are compelling but also a real source of misery, like when we had our dinghy and outboard stolen. And then there’s the money issue; no matter how much I bring in it just gets swallowed up, and I know there is no end to that.
I love my vessel and our home, but it’s such a burden. So much money seems to soak into it, and most of my money comes at a real cost to me. Funny how after almost 40 years of searching and a great many careers that I really haven’t found much work that I would do regardless if I got paid or not, and to me that’s the only work that’s valid.
It would be easy for me to judge myself for that, see it as a weakness, if not for the fact that wage labour is something that’s been around for perhaps 200 years, if that.
It's not like I'm lazy at all; I'm always working on something, it's just that most of what I really enjoy doing doesn't pay that well, or more accurately, once it becomes work for someone else's money the joy goes out of it. Maybe it's me, maybe it's the money; I don't know.
Nobody said that sensitivity and awareness would make life easy; on the contrary it can make life much more difficult. Being unaware allows one to fit into a social mold much more easily.
This has been a very expensive summer. Loss of a dinghy and motor. We need a new genoa. Our insurance came due and it was increased 50% to cover the cost of taking out clients. General repairs and maintenance. We will need a haulout and bottom paint. And our hot water tank just blew. This last one we just discovered-the water pressure pump was sounding strange and the bilge pump was running. Almost immediately I suspected the tank but hoped it was just a broken water line. No such luck.
And as fate would have it, the tank that sits in there now is a round Raritan model, which sells for over a grand. I can get another tank for $250.00, but it’s square. How I’m going to make that work, I have no idea!
I know I have to change things. Simplicity is the key for a joyful life and there is nothing simple about a sailboat. I love sailing so much but I suspect the cost exceeds the benefit. In fact I tell myself this often, but a part of me refuses to listen. Maybe I’m not ready yet to let it go, although it would feel like a relief. Maybe I would then be confronted with more freedom and the anxiety that would produce; what would I do without so much time wrapped up into my boat and making money for the boat?
We’ve replaced the dink with a Sabot sailing dinghy. I’m not sure how well it will work as it’s a very light craft, but we’ll see how it goes. It’s brand-new, never been in the water and is the most outrageous colour. It had never been rigged so I had to install a boom, outhauls, downhauls, mainsheet etc. Because it’s a hard shell dinghy I wrapped the edges with pool noodles! I’m looking forward to trying it out.
