Fun on Forgeover

A Month for Tattoos

Thu, 23 Feb 2017 04:27:42 +0000

The exchanging of tattoos has been one of the absolute highlights of my time here in Cape Town. It started with a promise I made to Brady, back in Durban, to finish his calf tattoo. Once that was complete, Brian and Karin wanted ink too, and then it seemed like every second or third night, someone was getting inked.

We only have a few days left here, but the queue is still forming. It’s been gratifying to see my skill improve (marginally perhaps) and to share in the incredible bond of trust and openness that this ritual engenders. Huge gratitude to these special people who have shared their skin and trusted themselves to mark mine! <3

Madagascar's End

Wed, 02 Nov 2016 08:25:04 +0000

This is where we bid au revoir to this country that has fascinated us with its warmth, diversity, creatures, landscape, and spirit. Majhunga, a city that cruisers alternately describe as “too dangerous” or “enchanting” is far from the crystal clear water of Tany Kely, but promises an easy clearance and provisioning for our trip across the Mozambique channel.

Ready as we are to see what lies beyond this next horizon, I feel now that our time here was too short. There were so many places that we sailed by that I would have liked to have lingered in, and so many conversations that (due to my failure to learn the local languages) were not had.

Jump for Joy

Wed, 04 May 2016 09:36:04 +0000

We have an odd tradition on Convivia. I would like to believe that it was modeled after a trait I picked up in my wilderness canoeing days, but really , it is probably more just good fortune. We tend to set a day for departure, work our butts off to make that schedule, and then we realize that we have no real imperative to leave. So we postpone a day. This day, is a special kind of day because unlike other chilled out days, we really didn’t expect it (even after many many iterations). So we end up swimming around the boat (because Fatty is often either on deck or hipped and ready) eating popcorn, and generally being a family of extreme leisure. This photo pretty well captures that spirit.

Chillin' in Thailand

Tue, 22 Mar 2016 03:20:37 +0000

The pace of life aboard Convivia has shifted. The hectic days of boatyard stress are behind us, as are the days in the Marina, fixing those last few (critical) systems. We’ve found a sleepy beachfront to anchor in front of and, with no transportation, have settled into leisurely days of kids floating beside the boat, easy conversation, and no plans to speak of.

This transition to cruising-proper is one that you can’t see but in hindsight. I think it started three or four days ago when we returned our scooter. It was given a boost by our recent depletion of funds, which strengthens our resolve to stay put. We’ve got another kid boat nearby (Quasar) so ours have a friend to occupy the day. They come home exhausted and hungry, and crash out early, leaving plenty of time for Vick and I to play games and share a couple of ciders.

The Best Thanksgiving Ever

Fri, 28 Nov 2014 13:26:05 +0000

Thanksgiving is the best holiday ever invented. Full. Stop. Granted it may come from questionable roots, but what it has become to my family and friends, is a holiday centered around gratitude, relationships, and gluttonous consumption of delectable foods. For a family that has named its home and lifestyle Convivia (a party centered around food and friends), it stands to reason that this holiday would be significant, and for me it is doubly so.

North Enough!

Wed, 25 Jun 2014 05:46:23 +0000

We spent a few lovely days at Middle Percy Island. We visited the legendary A-Frame, took a long hike up to the Homestead to visit Cate and John, and the Roundhouse to visit Steve. It was a lovely island with a storied and rich history and the current leaseholders were warm and hospitable. I’ll look forward to going back on our way south. Sadly, weather and internet forced us onward. We stopped in Scawfell Island for two days, but the internet there was too sporadic to support my work, so we were northbound again. When we arrived in Thomas Island, with it’s workable internet and gorgeous coral beaches, we knew we had made it to “North Enough.” Our weeks of searching were over. From here on up to Townsville the weather will be warm enough for Vick, the connectivity conducive to my work, and the flora and fauna rich, diverse, and unusual enough to hold the kid’s interest for days on end. Here are a few photos of our journey from Keppel.

Best Day Ever

Sun, 22 Jun 2014 01:19:06 +0000

I have a hard time assigning superlatives. I tend to experience life in an abstract way that doesn’t depend heavily on specific, quantifiable metrics. So when I say that this was the best day ever, take that with a grain of salt. There were other best days. They might have been better, who knows. Not me :)

Today started slowly, in the usual ways. After coffee and breakfast I headed up to the cockpit to knock a quick tiller repair project off the list. With that success behind me I focused on the horizon.

Another Post About How Awesome Brisbane is (i know…)

Fri, 25 Apr 2014 02:34:07 +0000

So this just popped up in our back yard. It’s been behind a fence for months now, slowly coming to form. I didn’t pay much attention but today I took the kids over there so Vick could have some space to put the boat back together after last weekend. This is what I discovered.

And some genius solved a problem I had never even acknowledged was a problem. You know those noise makers that they sometimes have at playgrounds. The ones you want your kids to play because it seems indicative of an interest in music, until you realize it’s just their normal desire to make as much noise as possible.

(A)Typical Sunday

Sun, 09 Feb 2014 16:26:35 +0000

Olive wanted to make an explosion. Ruby remembered that you can win mentos at the arcade. I thought, “it’s about the most expensive way to do this experiment but it makes a great story” so off we went.

July - August In Photos

Fri, 09 Aug 2013 16:34:53 +0000

School Holiday

Sat, 13 Jul 2013 18:25:47 +0000

School Holiday is our family’s newest novelty. Vick braved the first week (of two) on her own. It was cold and rainy and they spend a lot of time baking and visiting the museums. By the end of the first week though (despite heroic displays of positivity) it was getting pretty clear that if we the three of them spent the next week on the boat, in the rain, it was not going to be a good scene. We consider ourselves to be pretty stout, flexible cruiser types. When the condensation gets so thick that it starts collecting as drops on the overheads, we grin and bear it. But this wet season seems to have started when we arrived in Australia and 7 months later, is still going strong.

Photos: Port Vila, Vanuatu & Chesterfield Reef, New Caledonia

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 20:37:14 +0000

We’ve got a wordy type post in the making. In the meantime you can feast your eyes on some photos from Port Vila and the most spectacular Chesterfield Reef. Chesterfield was a safety option for us on our passage to Australia. I was pretty sure that we wouldn’t stop there but as we got close fate forced our hand. Am I ever glad it did. Chesterfield deserved a week but we had only a few days to enjoy it. We made good use of the time, fixing boat problems, snorkeling, beach combing, and hanging out with our friends on Britannia. Our time was up too soon and we headed out into some nasty weather to make it to Australia before the rally ended. Next time around we will definitely make more time for this sweet spot!

Last Days in Tonga

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 14:55:08 +0000

I Should Get a Haircut EVERY Year

Fri, 31 Aug 2012 13:20:46 +0000

The Tropicana has become our hangout. It’s got good espresso, Internet, courtesy flags, a gluten free sensitized owner and is very cruiser friendly. Add to that the fact that Lisa(the owner) is our goto girl for local information and you start to see why we stop in every time we walk down the street.

So yesterday we were walking down the street, the kids were doing well, and we had a few hours to kill before the laundry would be ready (or so we thought). I realized that it was high past time to get that haircut I had been talking about for the last 6 months. Knowing that Lisa would be able to point me in the right direction, I popped my head in and asked the question. “…the guy in the back is a barber,” she answered, turning back to her bookkeeping.

Whales

Sat, 25 Aug 2012 13:44:55 +0000

The aluminum tour boat pulled along side Convivia at nine am on a cool wet morning. It was the first gloomy day in 5 days and we wished we could change our reservation. Unfortunately we had put our money down and were committed.

As the drizzle pelted our eyes the Operator (guide) gave us the spiel and implored us to help keep a lookout for whales. I got the kids settled and poked my head out into the spray to keep watch. I was struck by how fast we were moving. The boat’s 20 knots could have been 100. After moving no faster than 9 knots for weeks, it felt like we were flying. Soon we saw our first spout and doubled back to take a closer look.

Suwarrow, a Photo Recap

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 13:36:11 +0000

We arrived in Apia, Samoa early in the morning yesterday. Thankfully the internet was fast enough here to upload a few photos.

Cooks Bay, Mo'orea & Fare, Huahine

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 12:21:34 +0000

Mo’orea and Huahine are my favorite islands in the Societies and close to my favorite in French Polynesia. They both have a laid back air and, as much as any of these heavily visited islands, seem less fatigued by the demands of tourism than I would have expected.

All that being true, what really made these spots shine was the social life. After the Rendevouz lots of boats hung around and made their ways, more or less together, through the remaining islands. In Cooks bay a few of us centered our daily activities around the Bali Hai Club. We sat by the pool while the kids ran and swam, made new friends, and generally took it easy for almost a week. We even got a rental car for an afternoon and toured the island.

Stretching Our Legs

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 20:39:17 +0000

The idea was to get off the boat and stretch our legs. We had been to swim with the rays the day before, but that doesn’t really count. Our feet hadn’t touched land in a few days and we thought a little walk would do us good. The Mo’orea Agricultural Center looked like it was close to the head of the cove we were anchored in, so we hailed Wondertime and met at the beach in our dinghies.

The Frankenfold Myth

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 01:54:25 +0000

When I talk about our time in Papeete (Tahiti) I am inclined to describe it as all work and no play. When one is bogged down with projects like the Frankenfold (a.k.a the mainfold from hell), it is easy to forget that much fun has also been had. So before elaborating further on All The Fun® allow me to describe this particular bit of boat owner’s misery.

Frankenfold

Convivia has had numerous small fresh water leaks since we bought her. These have been dealt with more or less as they came up, and along the way I have even managed to improve on the system. On passage we started to develop a leak at the kitchen faucet, the location and disposition of which made it very difficult to fix. The short term solution was to decommission the faucet. Plumbing then took top priority on my project list. I had plenty of time to think about how best to address the situation. I wanted to remedy the existing problem and also make a substantial improvement to the overall stability of our ship’s pressurized water system. Ultimately this would have meant removing all of the hose and replacing it with Sea Tech hose. This being the middle of nowhere, I was not holding out of that. Plan B was to replace as many of the nylon fittings as I could and add a manifold as close to the pump as possible. After several (though it seemed like several hundred) trips to several hardware and marine stores, I was able to get all of the part together and complete the project. The result (as seen below) is not beautiful, but it works and solves a problem that would have been inevitable had I not taken the time.

Another Chapter in the "Why Love Mexico" Series

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 06:00:06 +0000

I know, I’m a broken record, but I feel I underestimated Mexico and want to shout its praises for all who, like me, didn’t know what they were missing. I know I’m not that first to blog about this, we aren’t even the first to get video, but still this is special.

I took this footage after a long, stressful and slightly anti-climatic day. Afterwards I felt renewed, and ready to rock some bureaucracy. I can’t say public transportation in the USA ever gave me that much!

Los Fralies to La Paz… in Photos

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 15:56:44 +0000

Okay here is another installment of …in Photos. I may have to add some to this gallery, so feel free to check back in a few days.

Convivia Coffee is Born!

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 15:44:23 +0000

For the last year or so Victoria and I have been harboring a secret desire. We hoped to combine our love of coffee and our new nomadic lifestyle and create from the union a more perfect coffee. Over the last week that dream has slowly become a reality, but it has been a long and trouble fraught journey.

The project really took form when I discovered that there was a guy, in Georgia, making a small (4 lb) coffee roasting drum out of 304 stainless steel that was designed to fit into a backyard bbq. I started fantasizing about custom ordering one for my little SeaBQ, but got a little overwhelmed by the details.

¡OMG That's a Lot of Photos!

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 21:30:39 +0000

Okay, it’s been a long time since I had enough bandwidth to upload photos. Now I have this Telcel data plan and I’m going to put it through it’s paces. So here it is folks, all of the pictures from San Diego through Puerto Los Cabos… after the break

Sorry for all of the duplicate subject matter. I got a little lazy towards the end.

Days -1 through 1

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 21:51:31 +0000

In lieu of a real post I present this photo montage of our last 3 days.

Messing About In Boats

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 06:53:19 +0000

There is a distinct playful, childlike pleasure to be found in sailing a small boat. Sailing a bigger boat is blissful, calming, empowering, but it requires serious prep, planning, and attention too.

When Olive woke up on Monday morning and exclaimed “Today looks like a GREAT day for sailing,” I immediately petitioned the Interwebs for local friends with boats. You can imagine my elation when, a few hours later, a Facebook friend (Diana Roberts) offered up Liliana, a Herreshoff 12.5 (aka, Buzzard’s Bay Girls Boat) for our pleasure.

Ship's Log: April 2-3 — Horseshoe Cove

Sun, 03 Apr 2011 22:24:39 +0000

“Olive, what was your favorite part of today?”

“Anchoring out. Don’t you think it’s everyone’s favorite part? I bet everyone in the world loves anchoring out.”

We almost didn’t anchor here. The Cruising Guide to San Francisco Bay, had more caveats than usual for this anchorage— Don’t even attempt if it’s foggy; you might get sucked right out the gate as you approach; the Coast Guard won’t take nicely to your presence on their side of the anchorage; etc.. After calling ahead (another recommendation from the guide) we were told that we were more than welcome to anchor, but there was a lot of surge, a few other people had called that day, and there was a pile of flotsam tied to a mooring out in the middle of the harbor that they were worried might work itself loose. But sure, come on down.

Cabin Fever Relieved

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 08:10:52 +0000

Sunday’s plan was to take the kids on a hike while Vick got some stuff done around the boat. Around 10:30 I got the kids dressed for the day and up to the car. Sitting in the parking lot looking out at the storm clouds moving over the Bay, I suggested to the kids that maybe today wasn’t the best day for a hike. We decided the the California Academy of Science was a safer bet and drove in to San Francisco for a day of museuming fun.

Sailing Other Boats

Mon, 21 Mar 2011 21:47:15 +0000

“Ya think we should go out sailing tonight?” This kind of question only has one right answer. I checked with Vick quickly and when I got the okay I popped back up the companion way to give that right answer.

Thirty minutes or so later Ruby, Olive, Victoria, and I joined Chris on her Ranger 26 for an early evening sail. The wind was howling in the harbor so we donned our foulies and embarked with a week’s worth of snacks and things to distract the kids. We motored out the channel and set the sail in about 2 seconds flat. Chris had her all set up for a reef, and within another minute we had the genny out and the main tied down. I love smaller keel boats. We had an exhilarating beat upwind towards the Berkeley Pier and then tacked and fell off to a reach that tucked us in the lee of Treasure Island. Once we got on a starboard tack everything settled down and we took hoods off and loosened our coat collars.

Ship's Log: China Camp — Take One

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 22:05:54 +0000

I am super King Kamehameha bushed; just completely wiped out from an overflowing fun (as Ruby would say) weekend. So I’m going to cheat and give you a little photo essay. Hopefully, one of the family or I will come back and fill in the details.

In the meantime, check out these beautiful photos.

Farewell Britannia

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 21:41:01 +0000

Today we helped cast off the bow lines of Britannia, Amanda and Krister’s Canadian Seacraft 36. They have begun their two year trip around the Pacific.

On November 22 I wrote this, “Last night we had a great time laughing and comparing notes with Amanda and Krister from s/v Britannia. We’re making it a habit of meeting and befriending people that are about to sail to Mexico though. I’ll have to spend some time thinking about friendship among people on the move.” Little did I know then how much fun we were getting into. We snuck our friends though our forward companionway many many times after the kids were all snug in their berths for the night. We’ve shared margaritas, bottles of wine, cups of coffee and lots of long talks, laughter, and smiles so big that our cheeks hurt.

The Paper Bag Princess: A Play in One Act

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 17:27:58 +0000

It’s the rainy season and several people have expressed curiosity regarding how we might be surviving the inevitable cabin fever. I’ve been very carefully dodging this questions because I have no experience to base my conjecture upon. This weekend we had our first substantial rainstorm (complete with thunder and lightning). As a result I can now say that we can make it two or three days without completely loosing our minds. You may however opt to disagree after watching the following video (after the break)

Ruby Takes to the Sky

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 08:36:07 +0000

Photo Highlights: Santa Cruz Cruise

Thu, 28 Oct 2010 15:41:22 +0000

Olive Takes a Shot

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 20:05:04 +0000

Just you know, he insisted on doing this. It was completely unprompted.

Knock Knock

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 16:00:13 +0000

Olive: “Knock Knock”

Me: “Who’s there?”

Olive: “Banana”

Me: “Banana Who”

Olive: “Aren’t you glad I didn’t say Orange?”

At this point I’m thinking, at least he got the right fruit in there but Olive scrunches up his forehead as I fake laugh and says “Daddy what’s the real joke?” So I decided to humor him again.

Me: “Knock knock”

Olive: “Who’s there?”

Me: “Banana.”

Olive: “Banana who?”

Me: “Knock knock”

4th of July Weekend in Photos

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 17:37:41 +0000

A Working Vacation

Sun, 09 May 2010 22:03:33 +0000

This is the first chance I’ve had to sit down at my computer in six days. When in the last 15 years have I been able to say that?

This vacation was certainly unique. Since it was a last minute (we decided at lunch two days before departing) decision, the expectations were low. Regardless, none of us were prepared for the highs and lows of this last week.

On the high side:

Pre-K Geography

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 06:50:05 +0000

Believe it or not this was spontaneous. I have no idea how Olive knew where the pirates are or where Hawaii is. I guess unschooling is working for our family.

Are the Kids ready?

Sun, 18 Apr 2010 23:03:29 +0000

If you’ve been wondering how the kids feel about this transition…

[cue cheesy infomercial voice] …and if you liked “going marina” you’ll love some of these other instant classics.

“I can’t wait to tell Anika about Oakland, there’s so many things to see” — Ruby

“Me going to live on a sailboat… with no bathtub” — Olive

“I’m not sure which of my things I’m going to sell quite yet, but I’ll think about it” — Ruby (spontaneously)

Catalina: The Passage.

Sun, 27 Dec 2009 16:40:10 +0000

We arrived in Two Harbors last night, just after the sun went down. We left Marina Del Rey around noon and motored out of the immense harbor. When we got to Santa Monica Bay, I briefly doused the engine to get a sense of the wind. We headed up and set the main. The wind sustained us for all of 15 minutes (at a measly 4 knots) before it died out completely. I reluctantly conceded that there was no chance of making it to Catalina on wind power alone and powered up the diesel.

The Blue Bunny — Olive' First (collaborative) Story

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:58:50 +0000

We had a really first rate dinner at Amber tonight. When we arrived (at 5:15), there was one other family there and we were seated in the very back corner of the room reserved for families with little kids that look like trouble. Ruby was wearing her pink flower rain boots, mini-skirt, and a blue tee-shirt. Olive was sporting the ripped play pants and a dinosaur shirt. I really can’t blame them for seating us in the back corner, and it did nothing to dampen our enjoyment of the meal. The waitstaff positively doted over Olive. She played it cool, not answering their questions, but turning around to gawk at them when they walked away.

CupcakeCamp 2009

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 21:31:33 +0000

Today started off just like any other Sunday. We scrambled around to get dressed and ready for the Coffee Social and then to get Vick out the door to the Farmer’s Market. All of our friends came over for coffee and much fun was had. Then at 11:30 we kicked everyone out so we could hop a train to San Francisco.

We caught the 12:19 train to SF and hoofed it to Automatic @ Pier 38. We arrived just a few minutes before the Camp started and there was already a line out the door. At 2 (on the nose) the line started moving and within a few minutes we were all crowding the tables for the first round of cupcakes. Ruby and I opted for Taro cupcakes and I was quite surprised that I really liked it. Vick stood at table 3 and waited for the Cheesecake cupcakes but they never came.

Throw a Party, Invite the World

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:53:44 +0000

Years ago Victoria and I heard about a long standing Bay Area soup night. The premise is that the host makes a big pot of soup and invites anyone to come eat. Some people bring other food, others just eat. Since there is no controlling who came there are endless possibilities for social and intellectual cross-pollination . This idea settled deep into my consciousness and made a home. I’ve been carrying it with me for years, and talking about it from time to time.

Father's Day @ Hidden Villa

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 21:38:05 +0000

I started out the day, as I do most every Sunday, with the Coffee Social. Since the kids are finally over the chicken-pox we had a great turnout, and I got to spend most of the morning lounging around with coffee, chocolate crossiants, and friends. Early naps provided a little needed excuse to read more of my latest addiction .

Somewhere around 4 we packed up our things and headed over to Hidden Villa for the Banana Slug String Band’s Annual Father’s Day concert. I don’t know why I love this event so much. Maybe its sitting on the most lucious green organic lawn in the world, embraced by mountains all around. Maybe its the huge jar of margaritas Vick brought. Perhaps its the happy kids (myself included) running around without a care in the world. Whatever it is, I really look forward to this event. Every year I meet a couple of other dads that seem genuinely happy to be fathers.

Monte Bello Test Hike

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 23:14:27 +0000

On Sunday Ruby and I headed out for a test hike in Monte Bello Openspace Preserve. The hike starts a few thousand feet up, close to skyline, and heads deep into the mountains above Silicon Valley. I was impressed with Ruby’s ability to hike for several miles (4 to be precise) without a complaint. The hike was a consistently steep upward slog on the way in, and a nice downhill run on the way out. We stopped about every quarter mile for a snack. I’m not sure that Ruby was tired, or hungry. I got the feeling that she just liked making camp for a minute. Some of our snack stops were barely enough time to catch our breath, but it seemed to be enough for the boo. Here’s a picture of us at the “Last Muffin Stop” which was actually the third from last break of the hike.

Secret Garden

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 07:44:23 +0000

Victoria and I built a secret garden in our back “yard” yesterday. Vick has been talking about this for a few weeks/months now and the weather and my new found productivity finally converged in a favorable way. I can’t wait to see what it looks like in bloom.

Ruby Earns Her Yellow Belt

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 22:57:22 +0000

I was as surprised as anyone when Ruby was called up to test tonight. She was asked to perform four forms and do some rolls. I was completely floored when she executed two forms that I didn’t even realize she could do. Her Uke (Jonathan) was fantastic, as usual, and really helped her to be her best, but in the end, it was all Ruby. She is now 10th Kyu. Congratulations sweetheart!

Ruby and the Jedi Mind Trick

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 20:36:25 +0000

It all started last weekend when Ruby and Anika started angling for a sleepover
No Ru, you didn’t have a nap today and it just wouldn’t be a good idea, Vick calmly states.
I will have a sleepover, Ruby corrects.
Ruby, listen to your moma, she said no, says I.
Daddy, Anika and I will have a sleepover tonight, she insists

I don’t know exactly how it happened but the next thing we know Jennifer is trying to figure out how to ride three kids home on her bike, and we were all happily joking about the padawan in our midst. The force is strong with this one. After three or four more successful executions of her new skill, I felt compelled to impress upon her that no sometimes does mean no. You can guess how that went.

Halfy Birthday to Olive

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 20:29:05 +0000

Olive rang in her 1.5 year birthday like a princess. I arrived home to both kids yelling “ta-da” and showing me their beautifully painted faces. .
We had some wonderful fajitas for dinner and then a 6 minute chocolate cake with home made whipped cream for desert. Olive reveled while Ruby led the group in a round of Halfy Birthday to Olive…