Amazing! We are spending a lot of time emphasizing what Pat and Ali can't do. I think I perfer to think of all the things they can do! They have safely taken a boat more than 10,000 miles. More than half of that accross open ocean! Think of the skills that DOES take. We don't talk about being able to keep a watermaker running, navigation, piloting, weather routing, keeping ones spouse feeling safe and secure, provisioning, fueling, anchoring, tacking, financing, budgeting, keeping watch, handling leaks, beding hatches, VHF communication, SSB communication, managing electrical loads, keeping diesel engines running, engine maintenance, fuel managment, organizing storage, stocking spares, finding spares, keeping brightwork up, hoisting sails, maintaining sails, keeping sail from blowing out, not running into other boats, not having boats run into you, transiting the canal, keeping warm, keeping cool, refrigeration, not falling overboard, swimming, finding propane, filling propane tanks, pumping holding tanks, keeping the head running, keeping the batteries up, clearing customs, obtaining visa's, scoring beer, scoring pizza
managing tackle, keeping tackle from rusting, managing health, managing perscriptions, fishing, not blowing up the boat, not burning down the boat, not sinking the boat... ETC, ETC, ETC.
I was trying to figure out what I needed splicing for. The only things I could come up with were cosmetic. When I replaced the halyards I just used electrical tape to join the old to the new line. Went through just fine. I'll learn one of these days, but I don't consider it a safety issue, so it is toward the bottom of my list.
The reason I keep reading Bumfuzzles logs are they are so entertaining!!! Pat is a very good writer. I know he does not intend to teach anyone how to sail. I think his intent is to share his adventures with friends, family and people around the world that just might want to say hey! Do some of his points annoy me? yep! Am I appalled some times? Absolutely. But, I read them with my wife and she says, "we know more than they do, maybe I won't be so scared of going offshore!" That is worth more than seemingly 100's of books I have read by the multitudes of experts. We all know you pro's can do it, how about us mortals?
Oh well, enough said. I need to go install the new inverter.
Cheers, and fine sailing to all.
Keith