The Golden Cloud 3/5/13 - Aberaeron MidWales -
60 miles down, ~440 to go.
And So after the madness of the last few days finally I feel prepared to go again. The issue with the cloud's engine turned out to be significantly more minor than originally realised, although the trouble shooting of the engine and fuel system has lead to significant improvements in the engines running and has given me confidence in both the engine and myself.
In my week in Aberaeron (instead of the 12 hours originally planned) has been fantastic, the weather has been great, and the towns folk (especially those of the Yacht Club and the Grandparents of Heather O'rourke) have been fantastic. Not a moment seemed to go by on that mooring where there wasnt some well wisher or sailor wishing me thier best and offering any assistance possible. It just shows how much the sea can bring us together.
And so as i sit in an Arriva bus enroute back from Cardiff after passing my Naval fitness and medical, I am filled with great excitement for the forthcoming week. Billy Whitehouse is crewing with me for a few days, the forecast is sunny, and hopefully the wind isnt as brisk as forecast so we can safely make Cornwall by the week's end.
Mind you, my engine blues continue... The Bus has stopped on the hard shoulder of the M4, "serious engine overheat" maybe i'm just bad luck for these things!!!
Sadly my internets not great but next time i find an Internet Cafe there will be a few photos to put up!
Bon Voyage
Joe
P.S. This Trip is no longer raising funds for Surfers Against Sewage.
sponsor
Showing posts with label eco. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eco. Show all posts
Sunday, 5 May 2013
Tuesday, 26 February 2013
Summer 2013 Plan
The Golden Cloud 26/2/13
What a busy few week's its been since I returned from the land of Ice, and ice, and ice, and oh a bit more ice.
On return from Greenland I decided that this summer me and The Cloud would be going on an adventure. Over a nice cup of tea with a good friend Billy Whitehouse, and then numerous phone calls to charity's and sponsors a plan slowly formulated, and its one I'm now very excited to announce.
Summary: 2300 Mile Anti-Clockwise Lap of the UK leaving 1st of May, doing beach cleans every overnight stop (aim 1000 bags of rubbish) raising funds for Surfers against Sewage, RNLI, Isle of Wight Society for the Blind and The Multiple Sclerosis Society.
On the 1st of May 2013, The Golden Cloud will depart Ynyslas, and after stopping off in Aberdovey, will head South to do a 2300 nautical mile of the United Kingdom, in an anti-clockwise direction. The route according to passage planning software would take 35 days of direct sailing with a vessel profile similar to golden cloud. However, the plan is not to rush this and enjoy the journey as much as the destination. We plan to do 20-50 miles (~4-7 hours) sailing a day, taking advantage of the best weather and tidal conditions, and staying at anchor when it's not ideal.
It also takes in Every Capital of the UK (Cardiff, London, Edinburgh, Belfast) as well as the City's of Bristol, Falmouth, Plymouth, Poole, Southampton, Portsmouth, Brighton, Dover, Newcastle, Liverpool, Bangor etc.
The journey will give us a chance to see this beautiful nation of ours from angles we've never seen it before.
As per normal on the Cloud the journey will be planned as Sustainable, Low Cost and Eco-friendly as possible.
The plan is to live off the sea, fish and forage where possible, we'll even try to grow some veg and mushrooms in the limited space onboard. The plan is to sail everywhere as much as possible without using the motor unless absolutely nessasary (emergency's and tight harbour manoeuvring). All our electric will come from a small solar panel on deck. I'm even looking into changing the motor to a electric one that runs off the panel!
Its planned that we will moor in little bays and harbours instead of marinas and ports, as there is increasing evidence that large marinas are unsustainable, and huge point sources of pollution from oil in bilge pumps, antifoul paints, sewage from sea toilets and litter. We will reduce our impact in this way because the boat has no sea-toilet, all garbage will be recycled where possible and binned, and we will be careful in the use of antifoul paints and bilge pumps. Added to this the anchoring in open bays and smaller harbours means any pollution from us will be a more dilute source and thus more easily dealt with by nature.
We wanted to give something back as part of the trip ans so we decided that we would collect sea-rubbish, an ever increasing plight on the coastal beauty of the world (we even saw it in Greenland!)
After talking to Surfers against Sewage we have decided to do a beach clean at every overnight stop and aim to collect 1000+ bags of rubbish. We want to do this to add to the cause, but also to make our trip a positive one for the environment, making it better after we leave than when we arrive, and to highlight the issue of sea rubbish to a wider audience.
And in the past few hours I can gladly announce the 1st Commercial Sponsor for the Project "The Muckboot Company". The Company are supplying the crew with their specialist, hard wearing neopreyne boots. In Greenland we wore Muckboots for sailing was very impressed, hence going to Muckboot for sponsorship.
And so the next step! Well were currently looking for crew and sponsorship (personal and commercial) for the journey. A just giving site will be set up shortly after we have discussed things through with the charitys. If you would like to become part of the crew, want to help with your local beach clean, want to help out in the organisation, or have any ideas or offers for sponsorship, Please send me an email on joeberpearce@yahoo.co.uk
Looking forward to a Great Summer!
What a busy few week's its been since I returned from the land of Ice, and ice, and ice, and oh a bit more ice.
On return from Greenland I decided that this summer me and The Cloud would be going on an adventure. Over a nice cup of tea with a good friend Billy Whitehouse, and then numerous phone calls to charity's and sponsors a plan slowly formulated, and its one I'm now very excited to announce.
Summary: 2300 Mile Anti-Clockwise Lap of the UK leaving 1st of May, doing beach cleans every overnight stop (aim 1000 bags of rubbish) raising funds for Surfers against Sewage, RNLI, Isle of Wight Society for the Blind and The Multiple Sclerosis Society.
 |
| The Giants Causeway http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Giant's_Causeway_-_geograph.org.uk_-_133.jpg |
The Route plan includes natural beauties like The Scilly Isles, various gorgeous estuaries, Ramsey and Skomer Islands, The White Cliffs of Dover, the North West of Scotland, and the The Giants Causeway to name but a few.
 |
| Seeing the Puffin's of Skomer Island http://www.coolplaces.co.uk/places/uk/wales/pembrokeshire/st-davids/1596-skomer-island |
It also takes in Every Capital of the UK (Cardiff, London, Edinburgh, Belfast) as well as the City's of Bristol, Falmouth, Plymouth, Poole, Southampton, Portsmouth, Brighton, Dover, Newcastle, Liverpool, Bangor etc.
 |
| A personal highlight will be sailing under Tower Bridge Source http://www.travlang.com/blog/category/london-travel-guide/ |
As per normal on the Cloud the journey will be planned as Sustainable, Low Cost and Eco-friendly as possible.
The plan is to live off the sea, fish and forage where possible, we'll even try to grow some veg and mushrooms in the limited space onboard. The plan is to sail everywhere as much as possible without using the motor unless absolutely nessasary (emergency's and tight harbour manoeuvring). All our electric will come from a small solar panel on deck. I'm even looking into changing the motor to a electric one that runs off the panel!
Its planned that we will moor in little bays and harbours instead of marinas and ports, as there is increasing evidence that large marinas are unsustainable, and huge point sources of pollution from oil in bilge pumps, antifoul paints, sewage from sea toilets and litter. We will reduce our impact in this way because the boat has no sea-toilet, all garbage will be recycled where possible and binned, and we will be careful in the use of antifoul paints and bilge pumps. Added to this the anchoring in open bays and smaller harbours means any pollution from us will be a more dilute source and thus more easily dealt with by nature.
We wanted to give something back as part of the trip ans so we decided that we would collect sea-rubbish, an ever increasing plight on the coastal beauty of the world (we even saw it in Greenland!)
After talking to Surfers against Sewage we have decided to do a beach clean at every overnight stop and aim to collect 1000+ bags of rubbish. We want to do this to add to the cause, but also to make our trip a positive one for the environment, making it better after we leave than when we arrive, and to highlight the issue of sea rubbish to a wider audience.
 |
| Beach Litter Picture Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/gallery/2009/apr/08/waste-marine-life |
Added to this we aim to raise money for the RNLI for their work for seafarers, The Isle of Wight Society for the Blind and The Multiple Sclerosis Society for the help they gave my dad when he lost his sight with MS a few years ago, and Surfers against Sewage for there work cleaning up the coast. |
| http://rnli.org |
 |
| http://www.iwsightconcern.org.uk/ |
 |
| http://www.wight-ms.org.uk/ |
 |
| http://www.sas.org.uk |
 |
| http://www.muckbootcompany.com |
And in the past few hours I can gladly announce the 1st Commercial Sponsor for the Project "The Muckboot Company". The Company are supplying the crew with their specialist, hard wearing neopreyne boots. In Greenland we wore Muckboots for sailing was very impressed, hence going to Muckboot for sponsorship.
And so the next step! Well were currently looking for crew and sponsorship (personal and commercial) for the journey. A just giving site will be set up shortly after we have discussed things through with the charitys. If you would like to become part of the crew, want to help with your local beach clean, want to help out in the organisation, or have any ideas or offers for sponsorship, Please send me an email on joeberpearce@yahoo.co.uk
Looking forward to a Great Summer!
Sunday, 27 January 2013
What a Difference a Day Makes!
What a Difference a Day Makes!
The Golden Cloud 27/01/2013
So you may all be wondering why I dragged out a 4 month wait
between the last blog and this one. Well I’ve been terribly busy!
In September 2012, Lloyd of the boatyard offered me a chance
I felt too good to refuse. Golden Cloud, no matter how much we’ve gone through,
with her 5ft8 max headroom is kind of too small. Lloyd himself had a 30ft
Snapdragon for sale. It came with 6ft2 headroom, a toilet, 2 double beds, and
shower. Seemed too good to be true. Lloyd offered me a fantastic price and a
good deal on part exchange. Added to this because of his knowledge that I
couldn’t leave the boatyard without his help, he said I could buy “Ob-la-dee”
in instalments but could move in straight away!.
 |
| Ob La Dee is the big red one in the river |
So on a Sunny Wednesday morning, after thinking it all over,
I called up Lloyd and said I’d like to go ahead with buying ObLaDee. So started
an amazing series of events.
At Lunch time I went to speak to a good friend (Nathan
Thomas) to tell him the news. During this conversation Dr Alun Hubbard (of BBC
Frozen Planet, and Operation Iceberg fame) overheard, and wanted to give me his
10ounces of advice.
Alun himself could be seen as a familiar face, and a
knowledgeable one. As my 1st year degree tutor he told me during a
congratulatory meeting after getting very high results in exams “Joe you
obviously don’t have enough fun, Go out get drunk more often!”, I went from a 92%
average grade at this point to a 67% final grade in my degree so I obviously
follow his advice intently!
Alun has owned the 47ft Sailing Research Vessel Gambo for a
little while now, and was one of my first ports of call when I needed advice on
getting Golden Cloud. His words in December 2011 were… “A boat is a hole in the
ocean that you fill with money” and after hearing what Golden Cloud was like “You
can’t polish a turd”. Spurred on by his positive tone I went ahead and brought
Golden Cloud. His advice was now again coming at the operative moment.
It was however, not quite as I expected. His words were “If
you want to go to Istanbul in a Yacht, take a few months out, join me in
Greenland on my research vessel for the winter!”
It was an opportunity of seeing Greenland and learning a lot
on boats… I couldn’t resist.
Soon I found myself on a train to Keswick in the Lake District.
I was off to buy expedition clothes spending my boat upgrade kitty in the
process. Later I met my parents to clear out Golden Cloud, and tell Lloyd…“For
now I can’t buy your boat!”
.JPG) |
| Half packed bag full of gear! |
3 days later I was in a van with Alun driving from the Cash
and Carry in Aberystwyth to the Container dock in Alborg, Denmark. I manically
searched the internet on my phone, in attempt to learn how to fill in a Customs
Export Form in time for Dover. Between the M25 and the dock I cracked it and we
were on our way.
.JPG) |
| Over weighed wheel axis! |
.JPG) |
| At Dover |
Next day I woke up near just outside Anderlecht, the van’s
axel struggling under the load was wearing the bearings in a eery squeeling
grinding sound woke me. It was now also my turn to drive. So it seemed a
perfect opportunity for Alun to inform me about the issue with the Brakes… Brake
hard and they jam open (not braking), you have to brake slowly, and/or engine
brake (in an Automatic!)… Great for the first time driving on the wrong side of
the road! We had 20 hours left to get to the container port, offload the van
into the container, then get to Copenhagen Airport to fly to Greenland at 9am
the next morning, I’d best get going.
With only a handful of miles to go before the German-Denmark Border
(sounds corny I know!) with Alun back at the wheel it looked like our game was
up…. (Continued in Next Blog)
Friday, 13 July 2012
Summer Time When the Weather's fine!
Summer Time When the Weather's fine!
The Golden Cloud 13/7/2012
Again after a little bit of a wait a return to the blog. Summer is started (apparently no one told the weather) and I've been up to plenty of memorable moments!
Sailing on the River Leri (with Nathan Thomas) (Following floods) Isle of Wight Festival (Mum & Dad, The O'Rourke's, Amanda Bright, and the Lovegrove's) (with floods) Wimbledon (With Dave Westmore) (with prolonged rain and abit of flooding) and then moving to North England to work in rivers (Same week as some floods) .... I guess its no surprise that people have started calling me Noah!
Although the international press may have told you the Isle of Wight Festival was a total wash out, in fact by my recent standards it was lovely! Great music, great friends, great times! And Wimbledon well it was just a walk in the park, I don't know why people make out like Wimbledon has a problem with rain!
After a fantastic few week's I have now I have migrated to the Preston area of England for 10 weeks work. The work is in River Water Quality Monitoring, and is for Aberystwyth University/CREH.
The work is fantastic good fun, and also gives me plenty of time outdoors. It only builds my feelings of wanting to become more sustainable. The Beauty of the wild sections of the river, up in the moors and through the rolling hills. And the contrast of this, to the river's coming out of Urban Areas, and river's that are decorated like Christmas tree's with condoms, pantiliner, baby wipes, and tampons that have floated out through sewer overflows.
It makes you realise how bad our modern, unsustainable, not thinking lifestyles are. It makes you realise, something's got to change.
And so with the money I'm earning from this monitoring to help improve the environment, I will be setting up systems on The Golden Cloud to be more sustainable. Including Solar Panels, hand pumped reverse osmosis pumps for water sources, and onboard propagation for growing my own food onboard.
Fingers crossed I earn plenty of money, and I can put this all into practice.
In other news I'm now on Twitter follow me on@Goldencloud24
Speak soon
The Golden Cloud 13/7/2012
Again after a little bit of a wait a return to the blog. Summer is started (apparently no one told the weather) and I've been up to plenty of memorable moments!
Sailing on the River Leri (with Nathan Thomas) (Following floods) Isle of Wight Festival (Mum & Dad, The O'Rourke's, Amanda Bright, and the Lovegrove's) (with floods) Wimbledon (With Dave Westmore) (with prolonged rain and abit of flooding) and then moving to North England to work in rivers (Same week as some floods) .... I guess its no surprise that people have started calling me Noah!
Although the international press may have told you the Isle of Wight Festival was a total wash out, in fact by my recent standards it was lovely! Great music, great friends, great times! And Wimbledon well it was just a walk in the park, I don't know why people make out like Wimbledon has a problem with rain!
After a fantastic few week's I have now I have migrated to the Preston area of England for 10 weeks work. The work is in River Water Quality Monitoring, and is for Aberystwyth University/CREH.
The work is fantastic good fun, and also gives me plenty of time outdoors. It only builds my feelings of wanting to become more sustainable. The Beauty of the wild sections of the river, up in the moors and through the rolling hills. And the contrast of this, to the river's coming out of Urban Areas, and river's that are decorated like Christmas tree's with condoms, pantiliner, baby wipes, and tampons that have floated out through sewer overflows.
It makes you realise how bad our modern, unsustainable, not thinking lifestyles are. It makes you realise, something's got to change.
And so with the money I'm earning from this monitoring to help improve the environment, I will be setting up systems on The Golden Cloud to be more sustainable. Including Solar Panels, hand pumped reverse osmosis pumps for water sources, and onboard propagation for growing my own food onboard.
Fingers crossed I earn plenty of money, and I can put this all into practice.
In other news I'm now on Twitter follow me on
Speak soon
Saturday, 16 June 2012
Getting a bit choppy
Getting a Bit Choppy
The Golden Cloud 16/6/12
As You may have heard on the national and international news, over the last week or so, the river I call home (the River Leri) has has some serious flooding. Luckily like Noah, I got myself an arc before these floods arrived, and so unlike the villages of Tal-y-bont, Dol-y-bont, Borth and Llandre, as well as the countless caravans who I share the valley with, when the floods came, the water just passed peacefully under my keels!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-18378124
The event was quite exciting and kept me onboard for a few extra hours but other than that was just another adventure!!!
The day when the floods came started like any other at Ynyslas... Windy.
But that day the wind was different, it blew hard and strong, and for once being on the water was quite different to land. Every gust changed my perspective on life, from sea, to sky, to sea, to sky! It was getting a bit choppy.
As I knew I had no chance of paddling ashore as per usual, I decided at that point to row an anchor chain from my boat to shore, that way at least I knew there would be a way out if things went wrong!
In the process of putting in the anchor, I had a bit of a bear grylls style manly moment. A gust of wind (on that day we had gusts up to Force 10!) blew me back on the bank, and as a result I slipped and gashed a hole in my foot. Needless to say in the moment I didn't even notice, but by the time I returned to the boat, it was starting to hurt. So I decided to reduce the gangreen risk, and boiled up some water, put in a dab of flash, and with a scouring pad brushed out all the mud from the river... I must admit it kinda hurt!
Then I settled down with a mug of hot cuppa soup, and got ready to sleep through the storm.
As the night went on, the waters only rose, the tide never went out, Lloyd of the boatyard tried to wake me up by beeping his horn and flashing his lights at me from the bank. He'd been told of what was to come and wanted me to get away to saftey! (although in all honesty I was probably in the safest place!) Needless to say, I slept through it like a baby!
I woke in the morning to the sound of police sirens, then Lloyd tried again, and this time I woke up! He took me to shore, for me to find the area a police cordon and was being evacuated! The flood waters rose all around. We sat on the bank watching it all, as the land around us flooded the boatyard was fine! Maybe I shouldn't be supprised, as Ynys is Welsh for Island, and Ynyslas boatyard was the only land for miles around!
As the morning became evening, and the weather settled, I hoisted my bedding up the mast to dry it out. Tomorrow was another day, and this was just another adventure!
The flood was just another story for the boatyard, but it also brought with it free gas bottles, and firewood, we even saw bikes and tables float by!
Since the floods have receeded, and I've been back to the usual ways, with the exception of the extra fun of collecting tree's from the river and sand bars for firewood!
During my search for firewood yesterday, I also harvested a bucket of Samphire, a small succulent plant highly prized in culanary circles, should go nicely with my dinner!
Onboard the flood showed up a few leaks and a few worries, so I've now wired up the VHF so I can call for help if the worst happens, practised crank starting the engine and rigged up an interior tent so I'm dry from the leaks.
This evening the rains are falling again, and the wind is howling too. Who knows what will float down the river tomorrow!
The Golden Cloud 16/6/12
As You may have heard on the national and international news, over the last week or so, the river I call home (the River Leri) has has some serious flooding. Luckily like Noah, I got myself an arc before these floods arrived, and so unlike the villages of Tal-y-bont, Dol-y-bont, Borth and Llandre, as well as the countless caravans who I share the valley with, when the floods came, the water just passed peacefully under my keels!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-18378124
The event was quite exciting and kept me onboard for a few extra hours but other than that was just another adventure!!!
The day when the floods came started like any other at Ynyslas... Windy.
But that day the wind was different, it blew hard and strong, and for once being on the water was quite different to land. Every gust changed my perspective on life, from sea, to sky, to sea, to sky! It was getting a bit choppy.
As I knew I had no chance of paddling ashore as per usual, I decided at that point to row an anchor chain from my boat to shore, that way at least I knew there would be a way out if things went wrong!
In the process of putting in the anchor, I had a bit of a bear grylls style manly moment. A gust of wind (on that day we had gusts up to Force 10!) blew me back on the bank, and as a result I slipped and gashed a hole in my foot. Needless to say in the moment I didn't even notice, but by the time I returned to the boat, it was starting to hurt. So I decided to reduce the gangreen risk, and boiled up some water, put in a dab of flash, and with a scouring pad brushed out all the mud from the river... I must admit it kinda hurt!
 |
| The cut post cleaning up, was alot more impressive when my foot was covered in mud and blood with the cut open wide! |
Then I settled down with a mug of hot cuppa soup, and got ready to sleep through the storm.
As the night went on, the waters only rose, the tide never went out, Lloyd of the boatyard tried to wake me up by beeping his horn and flashing his lights at me from the bank. He'd been told of what was to come and wanted me to get away to saftey! (although in all honesty I was probably in the safest place!) Needless to say, I slept through it like a baby!
I woke in the morning to the sound of police sirens, then Lloyd tried again, and this time I woke up! He took me to shore, for me to find the area a police cordon and was being evacuated! The flood waters rose all around. We sat on the bank watching it all, as the land around us flooded the boatyard was fine! Maybe I shouldn't be supprised, as Ynys is Welsh for Island, and Ynyslas boatyard was the only land for miles around!
As the morning became evening, and the weather settled, I hoisted my bedding up the mast to dry it out. Tomorrow was another day, and this was just another adventure!
The flood was just another story for the boatyard, but it also brought with it free gas bottles, and firewood, we even saw bikes and tables float by!
Since the floods have receeded, and I've been back to the usual ways, with the exception of the extra fun of collecting tree's from the river and sand bars for firewood!
During my search for firewood yesterday, I also harvested a bucket of Samphire, a small succulent plant highly prized in culanary circles, should go nicely with my dinner!
Onboard the flood showed up a few leaks and a few worries, so I've now wired up the VHF so I can call for help if the worst happens, practised crank starting the engine and rigged up an interior tent so I'm dry from the leaks.
This evening the rains are falling again, and the wind is howling too. Who knows what will float down the river tomorrow!
Saturday, 7 April 2012
The Future
The Golden Cloud 7/4/12
The Future
And so for the last week or so once again I've hardly spent any time on my boat, well save for an evening fighting some metal ontop of the chimney.
Now this time its not the hotel, but I'm residing in a plush Ikea showroom of a house, as I dog sit for a lecturer off on his holidays.
The week has been an interesting one of self discussion over what I want from life, what my aims are, and what I enjoy.
One thing that has been revived spending time in the epitome of all that money can buy (including a double bed sized bath tub) has been my realisation that although its nice, it doesn't make me happy. In all honesty the best bit of the house, has been the view, and you can get a view from a shed, or a cardboard box.
 |
| Lupus the Dog |
A joy of the house/dog sitting has been the time outside walking Lupus the dog. Admittedly the dog itself has been a pain, its a big (expensive) pedigree labradoodle who has defiantly been spoilt every day of its life. Every walk you spend most of the time forward planning how to avoid it seeing that grandma on crutches or that chew-able chiwawa. But on the occasions when I have found a deserted woodland, an empty beach, a open hilltop and the dog runs off, you soon realise how amazing nature's world is, and how important it is to not ruin it.
During this time outdoors I often look out to sea with the water flat calm and a breeze blowing back my hair thinking soon I could be out there. Next on the footpath though is some woodland, and as I walk past the mushrooms, wild garlic, and other abundant food it is hard to forget that my allegiances with the boat are shared between sailing it into the sunset, or using it as a house in a sustainable life onshore.
If any of you are unlucky enough to be a friend of mine I'm sure you will know I have 2 dreams that I want to choose between come autumn (and not the sharing life with a Girlfriend or a Puppy).
With a desire for the opportunity the boat offers me I have come up with 2 plans. Both are based on me saving my wages and using them to invest sustainably to make my future life more affordable both for my wallet and my planet.
Option one
The obvious choice for someone who owns a boat, make the boat seaworthy, sail into the sunset and just keep going... abit like this couple http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17084034
This plan has a lot of merrits, not only how much fun it sounds, but also with the limited space and access to shops at sea, you have to live sustainably to survive.
Option two
I have always wanted land, something inside me wants a small stream or lake, some woods and a horse.
As a youngster who had been brainwashed by society to thinking that a masssive career was all important, I decided I wanted to work my socks off in the city get rich and retire to a large wooded lake. My Dad was going to be the gilly (his job would be to sit all day fishing then tell people how to catch) and mum would be the gardener.
But now this plan has simplified, I just want enough to live. According to the Feudal System of Medieval England that would be about 1/16th of an acre of land for food production, plus a few shared tools, access to a woodland and an ox.
Mark Boyle (Author of Moneyless Man, and Free-economist see www.justfortheloveofit.org) regularly updates facebook with links and sustainability motivation. One quote he posted was that of Mahatma Gandhi "be the change you wish to see". And like Mark I want to see a reinvigoration of society, reconnection between producer and end user, a reduction on reliance of the monetary system, sustainable lifestyles etc.
Now on that line of thought Option one although fantastically amazing I know a boat with humans is always going to need to come ashore, at least to get an orange to stop scurvy. But if I plough my money into a yacht I will have to buy my way on land. To buy i need money, thus a job, and for a job I need a fixed long term abode, and a bank account (all quite hard on the ocean waves)
So Option Two, work my ass off this summer, put all earnings into savings, buy a couple of acres of woodland/pasture. Move my yacht onto the land (temporary structure so no need for planning permissions). Then my life expenses suddenly over time will diminish.
Housing - Land and Yacht owned outright = 0 P/A
Food - crops off the land, foraging, hunting, fishing = small inputs in first year, decreasing through time
Heat - existing clothes replaced by skins and wools from land, fire fueled by coppicing and managing the woodland.
Straight away I bet your thinking How can you afford that on one summer's wages. Well land is surprisingly cheap (<6000 an acre in parts of the UK) and I only need a small amount.
For doing this I will be the change I wish to see, I will need to grow links with the local rural society to survive, I will reconnect with local producers and barter my wears, I will become overtime increasingly dependent of the monetary system and I will grow a sustainable lifestyle....
So for now, I will only pay for things on the yacht, which can be used if the yacht is on land as well... In case I never go to sea in her.
Thursday, 9 February 2012
So you thought it was cold!
The Golden Cloud - 09/02/12
I thought it was cold the other week, how wrong I was!
As per usual many things have changed since the last blog.
A minor alteration of 2 bus routes has meant my future at Ynyslas is in severe jeopardy. Something that for them wasn't a big change and for anyone else probably didn't make much difference has meant a total change of life plan.
A week ago the last bus to Ynyslas was 10.30pm leaving Aber. This meant I had ample time if I wanted it in the evening to go out for a drink with mates, go to seminars at uni, work abit late, have dinner at a friends, have a social life. This week the last bus is 5.40pm. Now if I want to work late, or have a social life, I have option a) sleep on the street, b) beg friends to stay over, or c) leave the bike at Borth station and cycle the final 3 miles in the dark and perhaps pissed. I really can't be planning a life around any of those options.
A further thing that it reduces massively is my opportunities to start a relationship with anyone, as you can't go on a date and be done by half 5! It also means that friends can't come over to see the boat and have dinner, or give me a hand doing it up!
So the conclusion was drawn that I had to either 1) get a car, 2) move to aber marina, or 3) move to aber harbour.
Now each has its positives. A car I can use to transport bulky items and gives me freedom. The marina I can walk onto the boat from nearby pub. The harbour is cheap and close to everything I need.
However, each also has negatives. A car even being relatively conservative would cost £3000 a year, and burns fossil fuels. The marina costs £2500. For the harbour I'd either have to walk across mud, or row to the boat!
Obviously the harbour is the best option, but it's got a major issue, the harbour master is never there!
Anyway I came to the conclusion that ideally the harbour or marina are the best options. On discussing with my employers I found there is a possibility of sharing a mooring in the marina, while I have a large amount of work in the pipeline. As such, moving to the marina seems to be the way its going.
So to move to the marina I need to complete the following jobs.... 1) Paint the Hull of the Ship, 2) Get the Engine Running, 3) Get a Windturbine Rigged up, 4) Get the Mast up, 5) Get in the Water, 6) Sail to Aber.
The first job (and the only job I can complete myself) is the painting. So this morning after getting back to the boat last night, I set about this task.... Unfortunately once again this didn't go to plan.
First job, scrub down the hull... issue 1 hull covered in frost, issue 2 washing up liquid frozen, issue 3 sponge frozen, issue 4 when i've defrosted all the above with water that took an hour to boil on the stove, and start washing, the foam from the sponge freezes, then sponge refreezes.... Something tells me that preparing the boat for sea is going to take longer than I'd hoped!
Will update soon!
I thought it was cold the other week, how wrong I was!
As per usual many things have changed since the last blog.
A minor alteration of 2 bus routes has meant my future at Ynyslas is in severe jeopardy. Something that for them wasn't a big change and for anyone else probably didn't make much difference has meant a total change of life plan.
A week ago the last bus to Ynyslas was 10.30pm leaving Aber. This meant I had ample time if I wanted it in the evening to go out for a drink with mates, go to seminars at uni, work abit late, have dinner at a friends, have a social life. This week the last bus is 5.40pm. Now if I want to work late, or have a social life, I have option a) sleep on the street, b) beg friends to stay over, or c) leave the bike at Borth station and cycle the final 3 miles in the dark and perhaps pissed. I really can't be planning a life around any of those options.
A further thing that it reduces massively is my opportunities to start a relationship with anyone, as you can't go on a date and be done by half 5! It also means that friends can't come over to see the boat and have dinner, or give me a hand doing it up!
 |
| Car |
 |
| Harbour |
 |
| Marina |
Now each has its positives. A car I can use to transport bulky items and gives me freedom. The marina I can walk onto the boat from nearby pub. The harbour is cheap and close to everything I need.
However, each also has negatives. A car even being relatively conservative would cost £3000 a year, and burns fossil fuels. The marina costs £2500. For the harbour I'd either have to walk across mud, or row to the boat!
Obviously the harbour is the best option, but it's got a major issue, the harbour master is never there!
Anyway I came to the conclusion that ideally the harbour or marina are the best options. On discussing with my employers I found there is a possibility of sharing a mooring in the marina, while I have a large amount of work in the pipeline. As such, moving to the marina seems to be the way its going.
So to move to the marina I need to complete the following jobs.... 1) Paint the Hull of the Ship, 2) Get the Engine Running, 3) Get a Windturbine Rigged up, 4) Get the Mast up, 5) Get in the Water, 6) Sail to Aber.
The first job (and the only job I can complete myself) is the painting. So this morning after getting back to the boat last night, I set about this task.... Unfortunately once again this didn't go to plan.
First job, scrub down the hull... issue 1 hull covered in frost, issue 2 washing up liquid frozen, issue 3 sponge frozen, issue 4 when i've defrosted all the above with water that took an hour to boil on the stove, and start washing, the foam from the sponge freezes, then sponge refreezes.... Something tells me that preparing the boat for sea is going to take longer than I'd hoped!
Will update soon!
Saturday, 4 February 2012
Self Preservation Society
The Golden Cloud - 04/02/12
The Self Preservation Society
You may all be wondering why I have not updated for a while, you'd think the coldest week of the year would be a big talking point! Well it would be if I were cold!
The other night I had an indepth boat conversation with another Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences boat person who lives on a 47ft Ketch in Aberystwyth Harbour. He's a lecturer, and researches in Greenland based from said ketch!
His main comments during the conversation were that "I should be careful on the boat, as every man (or woman) has installed inside themselves a certian amount of passion for thier boat. If I were to spend too much time on her, or didn't get back enough good experiences, this passion will waste away and I'll soon be trying to sell a half converted boat!"
With these comments in mind I came into work last weekend, during my shift myself and the boss saw the weather forecast.... minus temperatures, east winds, and snow for the week....
And so just to give the night porter a week off you understand, I offered my services for working nights in exchange for a bed and a round of toast a day! Thankfully the boss accepted!
Thus the last few day's I've taken a welcome holiday from the boat as a Night Porter at the hotel, warm sleeps, hot showers, wifi... this is the life! See how i'm living it up at ... http://www.richmondhotel.uk.com/index.php
With the wifi, I've made steps to insure I don't need the hotel. On Thursday I ordered the insulation for the boat, once installed I should be as snug as a bug in a rug.... mainly as it will probably be summer by the time I'm finished!
Another bonus of the hotel is I've been in easy access of Uni, and as a result I have obviously spent the week not at uni but in the field!
Fieldwork has been slow but beautiful. Days out with friends in stunning (frozen) scenery, by a river, on a van-road-trip, with hot spiced apple and/or cake breaks, and lots of playing with Icicles makes for an awesome week!
Sadly all good things come to an end and so as "the warm air wins" and Aber is drowned in a bath of cold rain, fieldwork is put on hold. But further good news is on the horizon as I see good friends from the not so distant past are headed towards Aber.
A week of frolicking, catching up, and hopefully insulation installation parties are on the way!
Chin up! Worse things happen at Sea!
The Self Preservation Society
You may all be wondering why I have not updated for a while, you'd think the coldest week of the year would be a big talking point! Well it would be if I were cold!
The other night I had an indepth boat conversation with another Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences boat person who lives on a 47ft Ketch in Aberystwyth Harbour. He's a lecturer, and researches in Greenland based from said ketch!
His main comments during the conversation were that "I should be careful on the boat, as every man (or woman) has installed inside themselves a certian amount of passion for thier boat. If I were to spend too much time on her, or didn't get back enough good experiences, this passion will waste away and I'll soon be trying to sell a half converted boat!"
With these comments in mind I came into work last weekend, during my shift myself and the boss saw the weather forecast.... minus temperatures, east winds, and snow for the week....
And so just to give the night porter a week off you understand, I offered my services for working nights in exchange for a bed and a round of toast a day! Thankfully the boss accepted!
Thus the last few day's I've taken a welcome holiday from the boat as a Night Porter at the hotel, warm sleeps, hot showers, wifi... this is the life! See how i'm living it up at ... http://www.richmondhotel.uk.com/index.php
With the wifi, I've made steps to insure I don't need the hotel. On Thursday I ordered the insulation for the boat, once installed I should be as snug as a bug in a rug.... mainly as it will probably be summer by the time I'm finished!
Another bonus of the hotel is I've been in easy access of Uni, and as a result I have obviously spent the week not at uni but in the field!
Fieldwork has been slow but beautiful. Days out with friends in stunning (frozen) scenery, by a river, on a van-road-trip, with hot spiced apple and/or cake breaks, and lots of playing with Icicles makes for an awesome week!
Sadly all good things come to an end and so as "the warm air wins" and Aber is drowned in a bath of cold rain, fieldwork is put on hold. But further good news is on the horizon as I see good friends from the not so distant past are headed towards Aber.
A week of frolicking, catching up, and hopefully insulation installation parties are on the way!
Chin up! Worse things happen at Sea!
Friday, 27 January 2012
Mussels on the Woodburner!
The Golden Cloud 27/01/12
Being tired from a long night chatting through thoughts and religion last night I came home today as early as possible to have a lovely evening by the log burner.
The tide was out upon my arrival home and so I set about a foragers dinner... moules sur le poêle à bois. (Well thats what google translate calls Mussels on the wood burner anyways!)
Recipe number 2! Mussels A La Woodburner!
First walk the 10meters from your boat to the mussel bed!
After a while check the mussels, any that are open take the worst shell off, and keep the meat in the other shell, drizzle over a teaspoon of garlic oily butter, over the meat and put back in the woodburner to sizzle some more.
Once the meat goes abit rubbery and all the fluid is gone, pull out and enjoy!
(Beware shells and woodburner = very hot)
Enjoy the mussels!
Being tired from a long night chatting through thoughts and religion last night I came home today as early as possible to have a lovely evening by the log burner.
The tide was out upon my arrival home and so I set about a foragers dinner... moules sur le poêle à bois. (Well thats what google translate calls Mussels on the wood burner anyways!)
Recipe number 2! Mussels A La Woodburner!
First walk the 10meters from your boat to the mussel bed!
(Mussel bed is the gravelly looking stuff bottom right)
Collect a few mussels, choose the biggest ones as they've had time to live and make plenty of babies. Take only what you need, leave some for tomorrow.
Now bring them home put them in a shallow dish with some oats and slightly salted water, leave for 2 to 10 hours (according to the books i've read, i've heard slightly more and slightly less. Too long and they die, too short and they're full of grit and poo)
(My mussels purging in the frying pan)
After the time has elapsed pull the mussels out, if there open tap them on something hard, they should shut, if they don't discard. Then put them in the wood burner fire box so that the crack between the shells is horizontal.
Shut the door, and enjoy the smells and noise from the stove for 5-10 minutes.
While this is happening finely cut some garlic and some parsley in some olive oil and butter, and cook on the hob
After a while check the mussels, any that are open take the worst shell off, and keep the meat in the other shell, drizzle over a teaspoon of garlic oily butter, over the meat and put back in the woodburner to sizzle some more.
Once the meat goes abit rubbery and all the fluid is gone, pull out and enjoy!
(Beware shells and woodburner = very hot)
Enjoy the mussels!
Cooked Mussels
Empty shells at the end!
Wednesday, 25 January 2012
A Whole New Chimney
The Golden Cloud 25/1/12
The Chimney was soo chock a block with tar it was too tight to fit my finger through!
I blamed the cold pipe, and the boatyard blamed what i burnt!
The issue for me is, thats the build up from 10 days fire!
I cannot afford posh wood from good sources dried in a barn for 38 years! I can afford free wood off the beach, the woods, and the hedge, the end.
So the opinion was taken to enlarge my pipe that way i'd at least have more time between having to clean the pipe, (once a week takes the Michael!)
So out came the plasma gun and the welder and bingo the new chimney was on!
Does it look a bit ott?
Today was a great moment as I got a Whole New Chimney!
I've been having a lot of trouble with this fire, tar flowing out the chimney, back smoking, not drawing, giving me headaches both in anger and in asphyxiation!
So I chatted to the boatyard owner to see if he had any ideas. (After scouring the internet, I'd got some of my own ideas too!)
I thought what the issue was based around the diameter of the pipe and height of the pipe being tooo small resulting in not enough draw, and the single skin of the pipe getting too cold causing the smoke to cool too quickly resulting in tar build up.
The boatyard owner thought the majority of the issue was with me burning wet wood.
So today he said, get the stove out and he'd put you on a bigger pipe....
So I got the stove out! and loooky here...
I blamed the cold pipe, and the boatyard blamed what i burnt!
The issue for me is, thats the build up from 10 days fire!
I cannot afford posh wood from good sources dried in a barn for 38 years! I can afford free wood off the beach, the woods, and the hedge, the end.
So the opinion was taken to enlarge my pipe that way i'd at least have more time between having to clean the pipe, (once a week takes the Michael!)
So out came the plasma gun and the welder and bingo the new chimney was on!
Does it look a bit ott?
New Chimney
Old Chimney!
New one looks a lot more industrial and a little less homely but it most defiantly does the job... exemplified by the logs up the side catching fire just!
Right best be off! Got to get ready for a boat party on someone else's boat
Nos Da!
Monday, 23 January 2012
The Eel Trap
The Golden Cloud 23/01/12
As an avid watcher of River Cottage, one trick I really wanted to try out in the river besides my house was an Eel Trap. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFq-0oUs4gY in this episode hugh makes his!)
So I set about making one for the river... Now Hugh has a lovely trickling brook filled with eels, I have a rageing torrent (outgoing tide) crossed with a millpool (incoming tide). He also has a posh traditional wicker trap, compared to my made out of a tub attempt!
So Step one
Find yourself a suitable plastic tub that you don't mind destroying, and has a whole somehwhere on it where an eel could slip in, but should be above the bed so a crab wouldn't.
This would do nicely...
Next you want to put as many holes in it as possible. So the water can get out when you pull it up and so the smell of the bait gets out.
To do this if you chose a suitable plastic bucket it easy...
First heat up a metal screwdriver...
Next push the screwdriver on the plastic, it will melt through and make a hole
When it's through woggle it about to enlarge the hole... Repeat till the tub is covered with holes.
Then you need to attach it to a rope and something to hold it down....
For the rope attaching cut a whole in the tub the opposite end to the end your entry hole.
thread the rope through, and then make a knot in the rope on the entry hole (in my case also handle end)
Then tie the opposite end to something very heavy to hold the tub down.... in my case I chose a small lobster pot that the boatyard sold me.
Then you throw in some bait to each, find a suitable spot (easy access, deep water) and throw her in, being sure to give enough rope and tieing the end of the rope off somewhere secure.
Wait for a period of time (it's meant to be to the next tide but I got to excited and checked at high tide)
Sadly, Checking both at 9pm and 9am through shear excitement, I found that my luck was not in. in the 2 attempts the Lobster pot caught 8 Shore Crabs, and the eel trap caught nothing!
That said! HFW's River cottage handbook no.5, the edible seashore, does have a recipe for these little shore crab critters "Shore Crab Bisque". However, it calls for 1kg, these did not weight a total of a kg, more like 10g!
Better luck next time!
As an avid watcher of River Cottage, one trick I really wanted to try out in the river besides my house was an Eel Trap. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFq-0oUs4gY in this episode hugh makes his!)
So I set about making one for the river... Now Hugh has a lovely trickling brook filled with eels, I have a rageing torrent (outgoing tide) crossed with a millpool (incoming tide). He also has a posh traditional wicker trap, compared to my made out of a tub attempt!
So Step one
Find yourself a suitable plastic tub that you don't mind destroying, and has a whole somehwhere on it where an eel could slip in, but should be above the bed so a crab wouldn't.
Next you want to put as many holes in it as possible. So the water can get out when you pull it up and so the smell of the bait gets out.
To do this if you chose a suitable plastic bucket it easy...
First heat up a metal screwdriver...
When it's through woggle it about to enlarge the hole... Repeat till the tub is covered with holes.
Then you need to attach it to a rope and something to hold it down....
For the rope attaching cut a whole in the tub the opposite end to the end your entry hole.
thread the rope through, and then make a knot in the rope on the entry hole (in my case also handle end)
Then tie the opposite end to something very heavy to hold the tub down.... in my case I chose a small lobster pot that the boatyard sold me.
Then you throw in some bait to each, find a suitable spot (easy access, deep water) and throw her in, being sure to give enough rope and tieing the end of the rope off somewhere secure.
Wait for a period of time (it's meant to be to the next tide but I got to excited and checked at high tide)
Better luck next time!
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