All is Lost -- a movie review

All Is Lost, a film starring Robert Redford, where he utters only one line on screen, is well worth seeing.  Though I had seen some sailors complaining about the movie on various, I decided to see it anyway.

Why?  Sailors are a curious bunch.  Some have little experience, some have crossed oceans, some just happen to own boats that never really leave the marina.  In that spectrum of being a sailor, there is one thing they seem to have in common.  They all have an opinion, be it about anchors, anchoring, dinghy selection (how to spell dinghy), what sails to use, whether to use a drouge in heavy weather, how far to travel off shore when heading south along the pacific coast; it's a continuum of surety in opinions sometime informed and sometimes not.

Translated, this means that ten sailors, when faced with a hypothetical situation, will argue for ten different solutions to that problem.  When faced with the story of another sailor, they will frequently proclaim from on high that their solution is the only one and the other sailors solutions are borne out of ignorance.  It's a function of the fact that not every problem has a single solution and the inherent dick sizing that is brought into the equation.

Such is the case with the sailor (we never know his name in the movie) in All Is Lost.

There are also criticisms of the movie too, for continuity and other reasons.

Let's just leave aside the fact that bashing one of the most decent and realistic sailing movies, even though it has flaws, doesn't exactly support the complaint of, "why don't we see more good sailing movies?  They all suck!"

This movie does not suck.

All Is Lost gives us a pretty realistic portrayal of a sailor facing his death at sea.

Is the sailor perfect?  Does he always make the right decisions?  Is he equipped and practiced enough for the voyage he is currently undertaking?

That decision being; sailing alone, crossing oceans, with times when no one is on watch.

He is not perfect and neither are all his decisions.

We don't know why he is out there in a Cal 40 that looks quite worn and underequipped.

The movie starts off with a calamity that could have been wholly prevented, were someone on watch.

From there we see him quietly, sometimes grimly, solve each problem as it presents itself.

There is damage to the boat, equipment failures, tactical decisions, injuries, some plain blind luck, and rotten luck.

Then again, luck isn't something that just happens to us.  It's the product of our experience, preparedness and mindset.  If we are lacking in some or all of those things, we have bad luck.

The sailor has "bad luck".

Sometimes he is capable and makes decisions I would make.  At other times, I'm not so sure I would take his course of action.  At other times, it's something I clearly would not do.  Then again, I have not been out there.  Since he is in the middle of the Indian Ocean, he got there. That means he's seen and done things that I have not.

The sailor's bad luck doesn't make the movie bad.  It turns his story into a classroom, with lessons piled upon lessons, some of them brutal and direct, some of them subtle and hidden.  It will take more than one watching to get them all.

Is the movie without continuity errors?  No.  Is it the perfect example of a prepared and experienced offshore sailor, facing the ocean with a high level of competence, serving as a perfect example to the public of how we wish to be seen?  No.

That is not a bad thing.

One can pick at the movie.  One can even pick at Redford for his perceived liberalism (yes, some have done so already but that has nothing to do with a man lost at sea).

One thing that is true is that we are watching a man at sea, one who is where most of us will never go, dealing with each turn against him with a quiet determination that most of us would be lucky to demonstrate were we in his situation.

Robert Redford is perfect in this role.

And the lessons...the lessons.  That is why it's worth watching.

So much going on

So much going on on Brigadoon.

• new winches
• new bimini
• bedding stanchions
• went to the Perry Rendezvous
• had a great sail back, with a reefed main, at 6.2 knots
• Kerry drove the boat better than I ever have
• things are good, plans made, plans executed, debt being paid off, and visions of the oceans of the world in our heads...

and more...

This boat, my home, is wonderful.

Living in the World

On Brigadoon, we live closer to the world, more in it, attached, in tune, connected.  It's raining now.  I hear the rain on the decks, pattering against the pilot house roof, on the ports, making ticking sounds on the bimini cover.  When we lay in bed the rain is just a few feet above our heads, pattering us to sleep, whispering against the hull...

Too many insulate themselves from the world, only looking out their windows, entering the world from in their car, from their open garage door, only to return again at the end of the day, in the same car, through the same garage door.  Some do go outside, disconnecting themselves from their computers, from their games, the TV, but only for short periods of time.

Us, we are always "out".

On Brigadoon, the world's water supports us.  We move with it almost incessantly.  The breezes push on the mast, sing in the rigging at times, swaying our home this way and that.  The water is not only all around us.  We are literally in the water.  When you sit in the cabin of Brigadoon your waist and legs are actually below the lake surface.  You are in the water, supported by it, held up, encircled.

The rain continues to patter as I look out the pilot house, over the lake, towards the city.

Brigadoon rocks gently as one or the other of us moves about inside, the weight shifting us this way and that, moving in, part of, being in, the world.

And Miles to Go Before We Sleep...

Brigadoon underway with her new sails.

Upgrades, upgrades and more upgrades.

Captain Fatty Goodlander, one of the penultimate sea-gypsies of our time, speaks frequently about building boats that are safe and strong.  It's our goal that Brigadoon will be as safe and as strong as Bob Perry originally designed her to be, along with anything we can do to enhance the already excellent design.

It's said, by Beth Leonard, I think, that buying a cruising boat more than ten years old means you are going to end up committing to a set of upgrades.  The estimated cost of those upgrades is likely to approximate half the value of the boat.  

You got me right.  If you buy a used yacht for $100,000.00 you will end up spending another $50,000.00 on necessary upgrades and maintenance.  Why so much?

It's unlikely the sails on your yacht are new, or even in very good condition.  The cooking range is years old.  The batteries in the house bank and to support engine starting are a few years old.  The wiring to support the current house bank may not be up to snuff.  Hoses get old.  Faucets corrode. The cushions are likely old and shot. Stainless steel standing rigging gets brittle with age. Running rigging does not last forever and, especially if you live in the Northwest, do you really want sheets and halyards that are green from mold and mildew over the winter?

We've had Brigadoon since November 1, 2010.  We are over two and a half years into ownership. When I heard this number I started thinking about all the projects we have tackled in that two and a half years.  I talked this over with Kerry, my wonderful first mate. 

We added up the following changes to Brigadoon:

• Brand new hand made sails from Carol Hassee and crew of Port Townsend Sails.
• Haul-out and new bottom paint completed at CSR Marine, in Seattle.
• Removal of old head/hoses and the installation of a Nature's Head composting toilet.
• Fuel polishing to clean up the fuel system so we don't have yet another engine outage while under sail, like what happened on our first big vacation.
• Replacement of every single piece of running rigging; all the sheets and halyards.  Every.  Single.  Piece.
• Installation of a NMEA 2000 network, along with new hull fittings and mast instruments, including three Garmin GMI10 displays.
• Brand new interior cushions, all custom made by Pam at Vashon Portage Canvas.
• Brand new PFDs (6).
• Two new memory foam mattresses.
• Dyneema-based lazy jacks, designed, made and installed by yours truly.
• Jack lines, designed, made and installed by yours truly.
• Topping lift for the boom, designed, made and installed by yours truly.
• Dyneema-based lifelines designed, made and installed by yours truly.
• Dingy motor by Electric Paddle along with a new 35 amp/hour battery.
• Ground tackle upgrade with the installation of our shiny, new and very functional Ultra Anchor.
• A new faucet for the galley.  The old one was clogging and difficult to use.
• A new range for the galley. The old brown porcelain Hiller range was literally rusting out on it's mounts, didn't cook very well, was untrustworthy and ugly.  We replaced it with a beautiful, brand new stainless steel Dickenson Caribbean two burner stove.
• Bimini frame, free-sourced and installed.  I still have to hand-sew the cover. 
• This does not count the numerous tools, shackles, pad-eyes, screws, nuts, bolts, and sundries to allow us to complete small repairs and maintenance.

We added this up.  When we got to the number, I watched in amusement as Kerry's eyes got wiiiiiddddeeee.  It was really funny.  But it made sense.  This was all necessary.

This all cost real money and, we are not, in any sense of the word, rich, or made of money.  But we had a plan.  The costs are not being piled on credit cards.  We paid for most of this with cash;that we saved and planned to spend.  Most of these were not surprises in any way.  The ones that were -- well, we paid that purchase off quickly.  It's the whole idea of making her better, but not going into debt to do it.  The Freedom Project is about, at the end, owning a safe and strong boat and not owing anyone any money -- anymore -- ever.

And we are not even done.  We still have to:

• Replace all the stainless steel standing rigging.
• Replace every single hose on the engine and all the belts (possibly upgrade to a serpentine belt.)
• Replace the alternator with a more powerful unit.
• Replace Wee Brigadoon, our beautiful little lapstrake dingy with an active rescue Portland Pudgy dingy/lifeboat.
• Remove all the old and blistering bright-work (varnish) and decide how to finish the boat.
• Reseal the decks before it's too late to do so.
• Rebed and reseal every single stanchion to stop leaks into the boat.
• Install a new, heavier duty, bimini frame that can stand up to offshore conditions.
• Solar power.
• Wind power.
• Windvane steering.
• New digital Radar.
• and so on as we discover what we can do to...

Make Brigadoon as safe and strong as we can, making her as capable as she can be, so the only weakness is us; our skills, our knowledge, our commitment to the Freedom Project and our goals.  That we are working on too.

There lots to do and still time in our plans to do it.  Brigadoon can take us far -- and she will.   We only have to prepare her and ourselves and the world will eventually be ours.

Security and Cruising

It's always interesting to get into discussions of the dangers and risks of cruising.  There are actual risks of theft and violence out in the big bad world, along with plenty of horror stories to back them up. People come up with all kinds of different solutions; automatic deck lints, tacks on the deck, electrified lifelines, and carrying weapons on boats.  

And, the thing is, the work-ability of some of these aren't the technical implementations but the human factor.  Sure, you can set up surveillance systems to monitor your boat, anti-boarding systems to keep uninvited boarders off the boat, and implement various self defense measures if they are on board.

But you have to look at the situation you are facing, or are likely to face, in order to be effective.  You also have to look at yourself and what you are able, especially willing, to do.

The continuum of risks is broad. The spectrum could be:

1. A simple attempt at non-violent theft.  This is just stuff.  It might be stuff you really like or stuff you need.  It's your stuff and you don't want it taken.  This kind of theft doesn't want you around.  If you are around, they will go where there is no risk of conflict. These are cowardly thefts.  They tend to happen to the less vigilant.  
2. It could be theft in mind, backed by defensive violence.  This is an added risk that this kind of thief, while not wanting to run into you, will have no problem whatsoever with using violence to escape with your stuff.  They may not be willing to kill you but they will fight you directly instead of just trying to run off.
3. Then there is the theft where they will maim or kill you to get your stuff.  They don't care of you are there.  They might even plan for you to be there.
4. Let's not forget boarding for rape, kidnapping or simply outright murder.

Items 1 and 2 can be mitigated by staying away from high-crime areas, being very visible on your boat, practicing vigilance, and making it clear that you protect your boat and the people aboard.  These kinds of thieves don't want conflict.  They don't usually carry weapons.  They are opportunistic in nature.  Likely, as others have pointed out, they could also be other cruisers.   We like to be a friendly lot but, don't forget that people who pretend to like you can also be casing your place for a future theft. Your best defense here is to deny them the opportunity.  They will go hunting somewhere else for friendly and less vigilant folk.  

Item 3 represents the horror stories we have heard, where pirates or boarders will have it in their plan to simply kill you and take your stuff.  The only defense you have against them is not being where they are, demonstrating a strong enough deterrent that they will go hunting elsewhere, or be capable enough to defend yourself if you are approached or boarded.

Item 4 is pure self defense.  They don't want your stuff so much as they want you, or your wife, or your daughter.  They are hunting you, not your stuff.  Best thing is to be where they are not but, if you present a good target, I hope you are capable of defending yourself.

This brings us to handing out violence terrible and deadly.  Are you ready to do that?  Are you willing to literally run someone through with a pike?  If you carry a firearm, are you well trained in it's use?  Do you know how to bring it to bear in a combat situation?  How well would your firearm (unless it's an AR variant) fare against a pirate with a AK?  I'm not asking these questions from an air of superiority but engaging you to seriously ask yourself these questions.  You could have the fanciest pike, the best gun, in the world.  If you aren't willing to tear up the center of mass with that pike, or rounds from your weapon, it's useless to you. Keep in mind that video games, as violent as they may be, don't prepare you for face to face violence.  Only training or pure survival does that.

There is nothing wrong with talking about self-defense, even using deadly force to defend you or yours from grave bodily injury or death.  I support your right to survive, even if it means the unfortunate death of your assailant.  

The very serious question is: are you ready to do that?

The protective measures we choose, no matter what they are, are our personal decisions as captains/cruisers/travelers.  It matters not so much which tactic or strategy we choose as much as if we are comfortable executing it.  It's much like the PFD statement that says the best PFD is the one you will use.

I've been involved in law enforcement and personal security.  I've been ready to defend myself and others by bringing violence to bear as effectively and directly as possible.  Contrast this with my personal wish for non-violence and it's a bit of cognitive dissonance to those that don't understand it.  The thing is, my very job, the places I needed to go, had a high likelihood of violence.  Whether it was a felony traffic stop or patrolling a fence line in Iraq, I was placing myself in an environment where violence was likely.  I put myself there.

But back to real risks and the likelihood of same for us as cruisers (or homeowners for that matter).

The advantage of this, instead of what I describe above, is that cruisers can usually choose where we cruise.  One of the most effective survival tactics is to avoid the risk all together.  If you don't fall off the boat, you are less likely to drown.  If you don't pass though a gang-infested part of an inner city, you are less likely to be a victim of gang violence.  If you don't cruise in areas where poverty or opportunity have contributed to high crime rates, you are less likely to be a victim of violent crime.  Now, none of this blames the victim of violence.  I can't stand when people do that.  It does, however, speak to how we can lessen the likelihood of being a victim of violence.

While I'm perfectly capable of defending me and mine, I'd really rather not if I have a choice.

The world is large.  We don't have to go everywhere.  

Relationships and Cruising

This was recently posted by our friends on Windtraveler.

The sea finds all weaknesses: in boats, in people and in relationships. You have to be sure you have the skills to sail the boat, to fix it, to navigate, to get along in foreign cultures. But you also have to be prepared to come face to face with yourself, to discover things about yourself that you do not like and to work to change those things. You have to be ready to confront any weaknesses in your relationship and to address those in a situation where you are together 24/7 in sometimes highly stressful situations where your lives depend on one another. Cruising will not fix a broken relationship – it is far more likely to rip it apart along the fault lines. But where a basis of true respect and caring exists, the experience of cruising together can create a real partnership and eventually transform that into the kind of soul-deep bond that most people dream of but only a handful ever achieve. In the toughest times, when you think that you can’t do it or that your relationship cannot survive it, commit and commit again, knowing it will be worth every moment of doubt, pain and discomfort. In the best times, which come far more often, don’t forget to dance on the foredeck under the stars, to make love in the cockpit caressed by the tradewind breezes and to say “It sure beats working,” at least twice a day!" 

- Beth Leonard, from the Interview with a Cruiser Project

A sense of accomplishment.

It's not often we get this opportunity.  While Brigadoon is a "well found" boat, we have quite a large list of items, some large, some small, that we are focusing on to make her "safe and strong."  Safe and strong, in the words of Capt'n Fatty Goodlander, equals seaworthy.  Seaworthy makes Brigadoon a better boat.  It makes her better able to take care of us.

So we have this list, a prioritized list, of things that Must Be Done, things that We'd Like to Do, and things that we Will Do After All the Others Are Done.   You can call it, Must, Should and Maybe lists.

As of today or tomorrow, we will have crossed off three Must Be Done things off our list.  They are pretty big things.  The details are unimportant for this post but, what is important is we did them.  That's right. We can have all the lists we want, all the wishes we care to plan on but, if we don't execute those plans we will fail.  The most important thing, our goal, our path, is to make Brigadoon as solid, secure, maintainable, and up to date as we can.  It means spending our dollars very carefully, in a clear priority, with a clear goal in mind.

That means work -- hard work.

The thing is, after each job is checked off, no matter how large or how small, it's an accomplishment.  That means, for me, that it's now Something I Don't Have to Do!  It's Done!

And that is worth the work.

More to come on Brigadoon Upgrades soon...