Back In The Saddle

Earthling is launched and it feels great. The bottom is clean with a new layer of paint, the top part of the hull is waxed, the zincs on the prop are changed and all the through hulls are inspected. We have lots of mosquito bites on our legs and arms, since Earthling was stored by a swamp! But when she was launched and as soon as we left the marina and got to our anchorage, it was all worth it. There is a lot of work involved to keep a vessel maintained, especially when you have very limited access to resources. When this is the case, you have to do it yourself.  And if you are not handy or rich then forget about it!

Our first overnight anchorage by Norman Island, BVI was quiet, beautiful, calm, and excellent weather. It was a little taste of this adventure before we had to get to work on the boat again.
The first passage from Norman Island to St. Croix involved some 8-10 ft waves and wind gusts up to 27 knots, a few wash-overs and we are salted again.  Now we are in our Caribbean home, St. Croix. We call it this mostly because our friends Tony and  Ellen live here and St. Croix is also part of the US.  As we are pulling into the anchorage area in St. Croix, I'm taking down the main sail and Kelly is behind helm, and next to us is Ron & Karyn on Equinox... these are friends we met 8 months ago in Turks and Caicos. What a small world! Tomorrow we are invited for dinner aboard Equinox.

We will be staying here in St. Croix for the next few weeks to work on Earthling, which involves installing new equipment and repairing. The biggest project is sealing the toe rails and stanchions. This project is estimated to take 7-10 days.

Aboard we have had visitors since we got here. The 2 visitors have been keeping us entertained and they made us throw some of our food away. They must have helped themselves to the boat during the last 4 months. These mice were on the boat before we got back and they thought we were visitors! I like pets but so sorry, not mice. A couple nights in a row we couldn't really sleep peacefully because as soon as we went to sleep these guys would come out and play around in the galley and jump around up and down the stairs. Finally,  we had to get a mousetrap and capture these creatures and feed them to the fish.

The last few days it has been windy. They call them the "Christmas Winds", which is good for us because the wind generator is keeping the batteries charged. No need for fossil fuels to generate energy!

Love from St. Croix

Barnacle Bottom

Bottom paint is the paint applied to the part of the boat that is always in the water. Many things can grow on that part of the boat. On Earthling's bottom we had an barnacle bed growing after we left Luperon in Dominican Republic. This caused the motor to over heat and slowed us down at least a knot in average. It took a few weeks of underwater scraping till it completely was cleaned. On the propeller there was an barnacle an inch wide! First time I looked at the barnacle bed, the bottom of the boat looked like a breathing dinosaur, it was so gross and disgusting, but it had to be cleaned, and I was the one to do it! I was so disappointed that the paint we applied less than a year ago didn't survive this situation. I guess you have to use paint with a lot of 

poisonous chemicals in it to not get any growth on the bottom. But then again, the very strong paints are banned in many countries, and this is probably hurting the nature! This is a dilemma many boaters have. For the last 3 days we have been scraping off the oyster bed's residue and light sanding and then it's ready to paint. We heard of other boats that had the same experience in Luperon. A lesson learned to not anchor for a long time in isolated mangrove areas. If you do, make sure to keep her bottom clean. 

Love from Spanish town        

Back to Earthling life

The weather in Chicago is getting cold and it is time to get back to Earthling life. I love friends and family in the U.S and Iran but I couldn't wait to get back on Earthling and live a stress-free and simple life. Chicago layover was supposed to be only one week but some of the land life responsiblities (work, taxes, business, papers) needed attention so I had to stay 10 days longer. 

Left: Marty Right: Roy 

A few days ago I attended the memorial service for my friend Marty Hastings. Marty was my sailing father in Chicago. He was one of the people that helped me a lot with this adventure. A few years ago I told Marty that I was going to set sail from Chicago with the goal of sailing around the world. Marty believed in me, he helped me with the purchase of Earthling, repairs, and new equipment. The last four years I have been racing on Marty and Donna Hasting's boat, Joie De Vie.  Marty also joined Earthling down in Florida for a week. His positive energy will always be behind my sailing adventures and I will always remember him. Marty will be missed. May he rest in peace. 

Full Moon Party

I missed the Full Moon Party in Tortola last week, which is a big deal down here in the Caribbean, but I happened to attend one of the coolest full moon parties in my neighborhood by Foster beach with my friends Hiba and Asma. It was so amazing to experiance the Rastafarian "hippie" Caribbean Culture in Chicago. Chicago has lots of culture and diversity, you'll find all kinds of ethnic restaurants and that's something I admire about this city, especially with my background.

Kelly & I are with Earthling now on Virgin Gorda, BVI. We are getting her ready for the 3rd leg of this voyage. After a new layer of bottom paint and wax, she will be ready to be launched. We will sail to St. Croix next week and stay there until we're done installing all new equipment and do some repairs. We are looking forward to meet our cruiser friends and other new people in the next months to come.

Love from Virgin Gorda 

Farewell Iran

Tabatabaei House, Kashan

The Iran trip came to an end and time went by so fast. I've traveled within Iran and got to do some things that I like. It feels like I haven't had time to absorb everything yet. I’m glad I take lots of pictures and that I write about my experiences so I can go back to it and relive it.

One amazing experience during this trip, which has been a dream of mine for a long time was to Para glide. Para gliding is flying in a kite off a mountain. We drove 3500ft up the Alborz Mountains on the north side of Tehran and flew down like an eagle with the city below us. I've realized I really enjoy to fly, I must been a bird in the past! I would love to do more Para gliding and get certified. 

Furthermore, I got to do a little project in my parents cottage close to Astaneh Ashrafieh in Gilan. Since I am a water person, I thought our orchard needed a little fountain. A fountain in a little pool would create a sound effect of water running down the stones and it would be a great add on to our home. The fountain project was a good learning experience. I made a 2 feet tall fountain wall with different size river rocks that I collected. This project will be 100% completed next time I visit my parents.

Fin Garden

 I also had the opportunity to give a day visit to "Kashan" with my close friend Peggy. Kashan is located couple hundred kilometers ( 120miles) south of Tehran. Kashan's history goes back to few thousand years as well as many other cities in Iran. Recently in Kashan archeologists found a human mummy, which is estimated to be 7000 years old. This city has many beautiful old architecture. In Fin garden you see water running from a well through creeks among tall pine trees with a classic persian home in the middle of the garden. Kashan is a place worth to see in Iran.

Iran is such a beautiful country with so many resources. Iran lies in a strategic geographical location and it has been the connection between east to west. This land and it's people has been under many different powers and ruled by many different government. This country has been taken advantage off and robbed so many times throughout history. Few weeks ago news released that $3billion is missing in the central bank system. Last week CEOs from 3 major banks resigned. Iran has become an extreme materialistic society. You are judged by who your parents are, what kind of car you are driving, where you live, what you do and how much you own. I have been trying to detach myself from this materialistic world and live only by my needs. I like beautiful things and comfort, but I don't want to find happiness with the things under my possession. I simply have nothing to show, it's just me! In Iran you can't just be you, you have to be somebody else!

People on our planet right now live in controlled societies. We live in a police world and the degree of that is really high on the scale in Iran. Today the situation in the Middle East is in chaos. All the countries in this region are very tense and concerned. In Iran the communication system is controlled. News and social websites like, BBC, Blogspot, and Facebook are filtered. The phone lines between major cities in Iran get interrupted and internet gets shut down during special events. Subconsciously, people in Iran are under constant fear. People are worried about their future and their children's future. People are worried about health care, work, and education. It's kind of part of the culture to be worried.

When you practice compassion, you can feel other people's pain or happiness. In some situations I think I feel worse than the other person since they don't really know in what degree of closed society they live in. For example, when I see a 10 year old girl covered head to toe in black "chador" I feel sorry and wish she could live just a 10 year old child life and had the opportunity to live in a less controlled world. Many people in this society are used to the system and don't realize the little cubical they live in. We all live in a cubical. Our cubical world has different thickness. The walls are very thick in Iran. I hope we can break these walls and let some light in and find peace and freedom. As an Earthling we don't need any borders between the countries on our planet. Everybody should be able to go wherever they like to whenever they like to. When we are not allowed to cross a line then we are more eager to see what's on the other side. I feel bad for many people in Iran and other countries in the world that can't get permission to go to other countries and see the world outside.  When the amount of resources available on our planet is equally distributed between everyone and it’s in harmony with nature then we can live where ever our hearts take us. Then we would not fight, kill, steal, lie, and we all would live better lives in a better world. I am looking forward to that day in my life time.

Love from Iran

View more photos on Earthlingsailor's facebook page

Taarof world

Taarof is a Persian way of being hospitable, polite, and respectful. It's about sacrificing yourself for your guest and to be humble, generous, and a servant. It is a beautiful part of the Persian culture.
Examples of Taarof:
When few people try to enter a door way that permits only one at the time the respectful approach is to let the oldest person enter first, then the guest, and last the host. It's common to see people at doorways insisting each other to enter first and they go back and forth and sometimes this ritual can repeat itself for a long time and can become somehow annoying.
Iranians sometimes get in fight over who is going to pay in restaurants. Everybody is taking their money out and try to tell the cashier to take their money and seldom we threaten the cashier if he/she takes money from the counterpart.
When you shop merchandise at a store in Iran, the cashier quotes the price and also tells you that it's on the house and don't mention it (Ghabel nadare). But at the end you have to pay for the merchandise.
At least but not last, when you are sitting in a gathering and a new person that you know enters, you get up of respect and greet. If the person is older no matter if you know the person or not,  it would be disrespectful to not stand up! Sometimes I think it's better to go to a gathering later than sooner otherwise you have to get up over and over again.

There are so many vocabulary used in Tarof that cannot be translated to english, I don't understand many of the words either. Some of the words are, "Ghabel nadare", which means it's not worth it for you to pay. In Iran you hear ghabe nadare everywhere. If you tell a friend what a beautiful watch she/he has, they usually say Ghabel nadare.
When somebody ask me to say hello to my parents I'll be polite and respond: I will send your greatness (bozorgitoon ro miresoonam). When you talk to someone that hosted you last, you start the conversation with: how are you dealing with our burdan!( ba zahmat ma chetorin)

As a person grown up in a western culture, sometimes Taarof becomes very challenging. You don't know if people really mean what they are offering or it's just a taarof. I usually tell people that I don't taarof, but that itself can be a type of taarof!

I also recognized that subconsciously I have been carrying the taarof culture in my life.
I faced complicated situations outside Iran and offered to pay for things in many situations where nobody else offered so I end up with the whole bill myself.
I would say we do have more of the Taarof culture in the U.S than in Sweden. I like to keep beautiful parts of each culture that I grew up in. There are certainly beautiful parts of Taarof. In the Taarof world I believe you have to mean what you are offering. Don't offer your watch to someone unless you are ready to give it away and don't offer to pay for a whole table unless you mean it and you can afford it!

Love from Taarof world

TABRIZ

Friends and family are so nice and hospitable to me. Everybody want to get together and some want to travel and there are so many places to see.
My best friend Mehdi in Iran, offered to fly me to Tabriz to visit his spouse's family and this ancient city. This was a great opportunity for me to visit Tabriz for the first time. And I had a great time staying with Mehranfar's family and I'm grateful for their hospitality.

Tabriz is in the East Azerbaijan province,  which is the Turkish part of Iran. The first language here is Turkish but everybody speak Farsi as well.  It feels foreign since everybody speak a language that I don't understand.
Tabriz is the 4th largest city in Iran and it use to be the capital of Persia during the Qajar period. The history of Tabriz goes back over 2500 years.

Qajaar House

Everything I ate in Tabriz from fresh Cantaloupe fruit Juice to the Baklava tasted great. I think the food products here in Tabriz are of a better quality than many other places.
Silky cream cheese topped with honey on fresh barbari bread along with tea is the best breakfast you can imagine.
The old Tabriz Bazaar is a must see, it's enormous and one of the largest and oldest in the middle east. It is actually the oldest covered Bazaar in the world.

Kandovan

Another site we visited is Kandovan, which is a village in the outskirts of Tabriz. The homes in Kandovan are carved inside large cone shaped rocks and some are as old as 800 years old. This village is just surreal. These cone shaped rocks must been reefs under water many many years ago.
Furthermore, you don't see as many homeless or panhandlers in this city. The air here in Tabriz is also much cleaner than Tehran or Mashhad.
To see the photo album of Iran please visit earthling sailor page.

Love from Tabriz

Alborz Mountains

So far during the time in Iran I've been on road trips east to Mashhad and north to Astaneh. Mashhad is the second biggest and a holy city in Iran. This city is a religious tourist destination. Many people from all over Iran & Middle east come to visit Imam Reza's shrine in Mashhad. My mother is originally from here and I visit my grandparents and family in Mashhad every time I am in Iran. 

There are several routes leading to Mashhad and to the Caspian Sea on the north. The nature on each road is scenic and unique. The roads go through mountains, desert, and forests . I love the mountains in Iran. The Alborz mountains separates the tropical caspian sea area from the lower Tehran plateau. It reaches several hundred miles east to west and its only few tens of miles wide. You definitely see some spectacular views when crossing these mountains. They are similar to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.

The tallest mountain in the Alborz Range is Mt. Damavand at 18400ft (5600meters) elevation. A lot of  people hike in the Alborz mountains. Hiking in the mountains is one of my activities now, and I always been wanting to clime up to the peak of Mt. Damavand. I will make that dream come true in the near future. 

In addition to the nature, It's the month of Ramadan right now. During this month Muslims don't drink or eat from sunrise to sunset. Nobody is supposed to consume food or drinks in public and restaurants and coffee shops are not serving food for lunch. I would assume restaurant industry's low season in muslim countries is during the month of Ramadan, which ends in few days and it's celebrated as Eyd e Fetr. 

Astaneh Ashrafiyyeh is a town in the Gilan province by the Caspian Sea. The nature here is tropical and you see palm trees around. My parents have a get away home on the country side of Astaneh. In their little orchard here life is peaceful and pleasant. It's far from the city chaos and it's quiet. I like spend my quality time here next to the outdoor fire place and among fruit trees and rose bushes.     

Yesterday we drove back from Astaneh to Tehran and tomorrow we are going to Tabriz in Azerbaijan. 

Love from Alborz Mountains  

Welcome to Tehran

There is so much going on in Tehran. I have been in a slight culture shock since I got here. When you travel to diverse countries in the world, you experience a sense of confusion. I also know that I will be feeling this way when I go back to Chicago or the Caribbean. For me it takes 2-5 days to adjust.
Tehran is the biggest cosmopolitan city and the capital of Iran. Metro Tehran's population is over 13 million people and there are cars and people everywhere.  Many move from all over Iran to Tehran to find better opportunities. Tehran is the sophisticated city in Iran and the class difference is clear and big. You see people driving Porsches that cost 3-4 times more than in the U.S and there are children on the streets begging for money.

One thing that is amazing in Iran is the tasteful fruits. All fruits have certain sweet taste unique to themselves. Now is the season for melons, grapes, cherries, pears peaches, nectarines, berries, apricots,  plums, prunes, apples and so forth. Furthermore, there are different kind of each fruit, like watermelons, honey melons, musk melons(Kharbozeh), cantaloupes and others. In addition, the Kharbozeh from Mashhad tastes different than the ones from Isfahan. We eat fruits like snacks in Iran. There is definitely something unique about the soil in this part of the planet.

Persian culture is ancient, it has been around for few thousands of years. It also has changed throughout history, there has been lots of influence from external forces that has been affecting and changing it. One thing that Persians are holding tight to is their poetry. We are very proud of our poetry and it is a corner stone of our culture. Poets like Hafez, Rumi, Omar Khayyam, Sadi, Ferdosi, and others have a significant meaning in Iran. You find Rumi's and Hafez's books in almost any Iranian household. Their poems are framed on walls and part of everyday expressions. We actually have a divan of Hafez on Earthling.
I just opened a random page in the Robaiyat of Khayyam and it says:

"With them the seed of wisdom did I sow,
and with my own hand labored it to grow,
and this was all the harvest that I reaped,
I came like water, and like wind I go"

Love from Tehran

Time for another home

Time for Chicago visit has come to an end and another destination across the globe is waiting for my arrival.
There has been lots to do in the last six weeks in Chicago. The biggest task was to find someone to take over my business and luckily I did accomplish that within this short period of time.  Furthermore, my passport, driver's license, & residency card was expired and now they are all renewed. On top of that I did the sailing race from Chicago to Mackinac Island and delivered Joie De Vie back to Chicago. I also got an opportunity to fly in a helicopter for the first time with my friend Johnny Wanda last week. Johnny is a chopper pilot, he flew us from Kenosha to downtown Chicago and back. Flying in a helicopter is like being a bird. I never realized that you can fly really low with a helicopter. We were flying as low as the mansions on the lake front and lower than sears tower over Chicago. It was an amazing experience.


I have many friends & loved ones in Chicago and I have been socializing almost every night. Last night we had a go-away party and I got to see many friends. The last few days I have been very overwhelmed and slept very little. Right now I'm flying with Lufthansa airline to Frankfurt, luckily nobody is sitting next to me so I'm laying down on all three seats. There is a gentleman sitting in the middle isles, he is double my size and looks at me like he would love to trade seats. I should tell him I haven't slept for 40 hrs, maybe that makes him less envious. 


Earth is our home planet and within this big picture I have 3 permanent homes and a mobile home. I have lived equal amount of 12 years in each of the permanent homes and started living aboard Earthling a year ago. I was born in Tehran, Iran, grew up in Gothenburg, Sweden and been in Chicago the last 12 years.
As the child to my parents I have a duty to see and stay with them at least once a year. And now they live in Tehran, a place diverse from Chicago & the Caribbean. I will be spending time in the land of Persia for the next 2 months, longest ever since I was 12 yrs old. I will share my experiences with you and I'm hoping to share stories other than what we hear in the media. A more positive aspect of Iran.
Love from the skies over Germany
 

Aboard Joie De Vie

The 103rd Mac race was a race to remember. This Mac race was one of the fastest and the most tragic. No one ever has lost life in this event, but unfortunately this year we had 2 fatal incidents. May them rest in peace.
The race started with south winds and we had the spinnaker up for most of the 49 hrs 20min, we recorded the highest speed of 12.6 knots and almost never saw any speeds below five. After a day of racing the halyard to the spinnaker broke and we almost dropped it in the water.
Thirty hrs into the race we were informed that a storm is coming our way. Now we have to get ready for the storm. There are two main helms men aboard, Randy Hastings and Jim Clauser. Randy has 23 Mac races under his belt and Jim 27. Both very experienced skippers. Jim is so talented behind helm, he sailed through 60-80 mph wind with full main & a small Jib. The storm hit us with heavy rain and high winds. It was like a wall of wind hitting the boat. The winds were so strong that you would think the mast and rigs would come down anytime. My shift on deck ended 20 min before the storm but I liked to be on deck & experience heavy weather. While I'm laying down & looking at the lightning outside I thought I should put my gear on & go up! But then why should I, to get wet and put myself in danger. We have enough people on deck anyway. It was lightning continuously for few minutes, the whole lake and sky was lit up. You almost needed sunglasses, that's how strong it was. From inside the cabin it looked like we were struck by a star war in the space.
Right after the storm, we heard on the VHF radio that a boat was capsized and 2 people were lost. It was a very surreal moment of chock and sorrow.
Some boats were hit so hard that they drifted 10 miles backwards. We finished in the middle of the fleet, part of the faster pack. I look at it as we all won since we accomplished the race. It's not about taking the first place, you can be a winner without being first. Aboard Joie De Vie, we had 8 crew members, next to Randy, Jim, Lee & I, there were also Duane, Kerry, Ilya, & Garret. The crew worked great together and we all had a good time racing.

Mackinac Island, MI

Mackinac Island is a beautiful island. There are no cars or motor driven vehicles on the island. The main form of transportation is horse carriages and bicycles. I bicycled around the Island 13 years ago (first year I moved to the U.S, Kalamazoo, MI).

Grand Hotel's Carriage

This island has a strategic location on the strait of Mackinaw between Lake Michigan and lake Huron and lays between the lower and upper Michigan. The Grand hotel is a must see on the Island and the Rum party for the Chicago-Mac race is held in the hotel's front yard every year. You can not miss the Mackinac Fudge during your visit on the Island. Being on Mackinac feels like stepping back in time.

The delivery of Joie De Vie back to Chicago is a also a highlight. Lee, Jim, & I left Mackinac Island Wednesday morning. First port was Leeland, MI, & then Manistee, and now we are crossing Lake Michigan to Sheboygan, WI.
The sand dunes on the eastern coast of Michigan is spectacular. It's hard to believe that there are so many beautiful beaches and dunes in Michigan. View the full photo album on Earthlingsailor's facebook page. 
Love from Joie De Vie

Chicago-Mackinac Race

Chicago-Mackinac Sailing Race is one of the longest annual fresh water Races in the world. This year is the 103rd Mac race and Chicago Yacht club sponsors this event every year. The Race starts in Chicago and ends in Mackinac Island in northern Michigan. The distance is 333 miles and it will take us 45 to 70 hours to finish. This event has been one of my highlights in the summer in Chicago for the last 3 years. I’m crewing on Joie De Vie, a Beneteau First 36.7 owned by Martin and Donna Hastings. Marty has accomplished 23 Mac Races so far, and he took first place in the section in the year 2000 on the previous Joie De Vie (J105). Unfortunately Marty is not able to participate in this year’s race because of health issues. We are praying that he will be back on Joie De Vie racing the Mac next year. There are over 350 sailboats participating in this event every year.
I have gained most of my sailing experience on Joie De Vie and this has helped me to do what I’m doing, be a free bird and sail off to cruise around the world.
How is racing different than cruising. When we race, we can not have unnecessary weight on the boat, which means, limited clothing, electronics, water tanks are low on water, no laptops, only 8gallon of drinking water for 8 people in 2-3 days and so forth. On Joie De Vie, we do have the luxury of a refrigerator and a stove/oven, but many race boats in this race don’t even have that. I’m very excited to be part of this race and most likely I will do the Mac’s in the future. 
Love from the Mac Race      

Wasteful World

A thought worth to share.

Since I came back to land, I've been running into so many situations where things gets wasted. We waste a lot in our daily life. We waste important resources, such as fresh water, food, paper(trees) and we don't even care about electricity. We use so much fresh water to wash dishes, taking showers, and many other things. 

In the U.S. we have plenty of fresh water. But there are many countries in the world that don't have any fresh water, many places we visited in the Caribbean didn't have a
great deal of fresh water. Living on a boat with limited access to resources, makes one more resourceful! 

Now on land, my conscious bothers me when the water is running wastefully.

It hurts me to see how much food we buy at the grocery stores and restaurants and a lot of it goes in the garbage.

We live in a over-consumption society, way beyond our needs and desires. That's what our system is based on. It's part of our life and such a routine that we don't even see it. We live in a small bubble and feel so secure and so comfortable that we don't want to change. I've been fortunate and got the opportunity to slightly step out of this bubble and this is how I see it! We have to act now as each individual and become more resourceful. 

Love from the wasteful world

Quick Road Trip

As many of you know by now, I love to travel. And I love to travel in a personal vehicle where I'm in charge of my direction and stops. Before I was a sailor I had the dream of driving around the world. I've had this dream since I was in my teens. And I have driven to and through many countries in my life so far. Nothing and nobody should stop one from dreaming!

Swedish Embassy in DC

My Swedish passport was expired on June 13th and that's the day I entered United States from the BVIs. In order to renew it I must go to the House of Sweden in Washington DC. And that is a great reason for a quick road trip and a visit to relatives in the east coast. The overnight passage from Chicago to Winchester, Virginia, took 16 hrs with 4 hours of sleep in the car. This is similar to an overnight passage on Earthling. But sailing 650 miles would taken 10 times longer. Driving and sailing is a form of meditation to me, sailing is more in tune with nature though.
This quick road trip was a great opportunity to give Varaminis in Winchester VA,  Lancaster PA, & Pittsburg PA, a fast visit. They always follow on my journeys and are very supportive. The east cost route is a regular route in my road trip calendar. I have driven this path more than handful times in the last 12 years.

Sunrise on Lake Michigan at the moment of return to Chicago

When I drive long distances alone, I get a chance to connect easier to higher self and channel new ideas and get answers to challenges in life. I think everybody needs to have self time on regular basis.
There will be other road trips on regular and new routes this summer. I will keep you updated.
Love from the Road

Land life

It has been 10 days since we got back to land life in the windy city. The first couple of days I felt lost. There is so much activity and energy around at all the time. You hear lots of noises in a big city. The sounds of combustion engines from cars and buses gets topped off by the police, ambulance, & fire truck sirens 24/7. First time my father visit Chicago 10 years ago, he woke up in the morning & told me to turn on the news because he thought something must been up last night. He heard ambulances and police sirens last night. I said; dad, welcome to Chicago, you will get used to it, and soon you will not even realize it.  
I think, the sirens in big cities puts people in a subconscious plane of fear. Fear factor is a driving force in our world right now, when we fear, we are being controlled easier and we consume more, a perfect approach for a capitalistic system. 

It's almost impossible to reach the tranquility we have on water on land. I already miss the peaceful and non stressful life on water. On water, my "stress" is; the wind direction and it's strength, a good anchorage, if the anchor is set properly, are the batteries charged, and what am I going to make for dinner? The stress on land is time, time and time. I drive fast to get to work on time, no time to make food, no time to do laundry, no time to step out of our daily routine, no time for self, no time for friends, we don't have time because we work all the time. On water, time don't really exist. On water there are two times, daytime and nighttime. Regularly, we have to be anchored before night time and we have to set sail to next port as soon as it's daytime. It seems like on land there is not enough time and on water there is abundance of time. 
I love Chicago and I am really good at living the land life, that's what I've done most my life anyways, but I prefer to live on water. 
Love from Land

Departure Time

Earthling is out of water and we lived on the boat on land over the weekend. It's a weird feeling to stay aboard when the boat is not rocking. It's like being at a very calm anchorage. The wind is blowing on the branches on the trees around us and it feels like the boat is rocking but it's not. The last few days we have been securing the boat for the hurricane season, strapping it down, taking off the sails, the bimini and dodger is removed, in other words everything on deck has been moved into the cabin.
Today, we had to leave Earthling. It was an emotional moment. I can't believe, I sailed all the way from Chicago to the BVI's. I went 1300 miles through Illinois, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, Tombigbee, and Black Warrior rivers south to the Gulf of Mexico, sailed from northern Florida around the keys to Miami and cruised the Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. It took 8 months and around 4000 miles and I did a good portion of it solo. It is a big achievment and maybe that's one of the reasons it feels emotional. I hope everything goes as planned and we can come back in four months and continue this adventure to further destinations.

This morning, we took Air Sunshine's private boat from Virgin Gorda to Beef Island in Tortola, where Adel flew us on his airplane to San Juan. For the first time, I sat next to the pilot in the cockpit for the whole flight, take off to landing. We are so fortunate to have many good friends that are contributing and supporting us. Air Sunshine is one of our contributors and we appreciate their support.
In the next four months, Kelly and I are going to work as much as possible to save up for the next leg. I will keep the blog updated once in a while and update you about other adventures and excitements on land. For now, thanks to everyone that has been taking their time to follow Eartlhing sailor.

Love from the sky

Virgin Gorda

There are charters everywhere in the BVI. Most people that take vacations in this area charter a boat, which is the best way to get around & see all the islands. The charters has an important role in the economy for the BVI's. If I ever came down here on vacation I would definitely charter a sailboat.

One of the attractions in the BVI is the "Baths" in the west end of Virgin Gorda where there are massive rocks piled on top of each other in one place. The way these rocks are laid its absolutely amazing. From the water they are beautiful.  Once you are on
shore you enter the rocks through a narrow passage between two
of these large boulders and the adventure begins.The sea and sun
make there way through the rocks to create dozens of private
beaches or "baths".  You can swim and snorkel between these
massive rocks that go 20-30 ft above & below the water. We had a nice day visit at the baths with our friend Captain Adel. He has been living and flying here in Tortola for 9 years. Adel and I have had other adventures together as well. We drove from Chicago to San Pedro Sula in Honduras 10 years ago. That was a trip I can write a book about. 

Earthling is getting hauled out tomorrow in Virgin Gorda. We will get it ready and secure it on land for the hurricane season and fly back to Chicago on Monday.
We now have an Earthling Sailor Facebook page where our pictures will be uploaded and everyone can view them! Please check it out
Love from Virgin Gorda

Pelican Dance

Imagine your just relaxing on the boat in a secluded anchorage and you keep hearing loud splashes coming from the calm water outside. By the time you turn around all you see is a Pelican bobbing up and down in the water gulping down its fresh catch. This is quite entertaining to watch and it's happening every minute if not more and after many tries we finally captured it.

British Virgin Islands

This leg of the adventure is ending in a beautiful part of Paradise. The British Virgin Islands are absolutely breathtaking. There are many great anchorages around these islands and lots to see.

We have only 10days left before Earthling is hauled out for the hurricane season and then we have to go back to Chicago and work and deal with land life until mid October.
We spent last weekend in Jost Van Dyke racing on our friend's boat "Cayennita Grande".
Tony is super competitive and knows sailing well. He can read the wind, waves, current, where he applies different tactics and he has a great racing boat. We came in first place in all the races. We got a few prizes, one of which is a fishing pole. It's so interesting that certain things we lost a few weeks ago are slowly getting replaced from various sources.

This part of the world is unique.
There are 8-10 major islands and some of them are under U.S territory and some are British. The people in  these islands look very similar and their cultures are close as well. Yesterday we were in St. John (US) and we were picking up roaming cell network from Tortola (British), now we are in Tortola and have AT&T. Last time I was in this area I had to pay crazy charges for international roaming, it's insane, maybe this is a loophole phone companies love! You also have to check out with immigration from BVI if you are going to USVI even if it's for few hours. And then you have to check in when you come back to the BVI and pay another fee. I just don't understand why we have to have these political and economical borders.  I think it's wrong and it's time to change it.
What make better sense,  is if all the network infrastructures in the world could be combined under system and our cell phones could work everywhere without us worrying about roaming. I am also looking forward to the day that the whole planet is covered with wifi network free of charge. Some people might think that one cell company covering the world would be monopoly! Yes thats true, but by the time we have one network covering the planet, our economical system will be different. The economical system existing on our planet today limits us from growth. The monetary system was good in the past but not anymore. The monetary system is wasting 60-80% of our resources on the planet. And I believe this system will collapse in the near future and hopefully a better economical system will take place.
My dear reader, we will discuss the economical issue more and more on this blog as we go.
We are in Nanny Cay right now and it's sunny with a little breeze and a little too hot. The heat is slightly uncomfortable. Last night we decided to go for a dinghy ride to cool down. We left empty handed and came back with 2 big bags of groceries free of charge! As we were rowing under this tiny bridge, in the marina, a couple standing on the bridge said hello to us. They recognized us and remembered Earthling because we were rowing. We have not put the outboard on the dinghy since Dominican Republic over a month a ago. We haven't needed the outboard to get to shore and haven't done long distance dinghy exploring. Rowing is good exercise and not using the outboard is equal to saving natural resources.
Last night we end up walking with the couple we met on the bridge toward the boat they chartered. We went aboard to see the boat and since they were headed back to the US, they offered us to take all the groceries that they would have had to leave. What a beautiful world!
Thanks for reading
Love from the BVI

Caribbean Home

It feels like this leg of the Earthling adventure is coming to an end. It also feels like a big achievement to arrive in one of the important destinations of the original route. Destinations like St. Croix, which is our home in the Caribbean.

Antonio & Ellen Sanpere live here in St. Croix and since we got here we have been staying at their condo. They have been kind enough to offer us a clean hot shower and a comfortable large bed with ceiling fan which is any cruisers dream after months of sailing and living aboard. It feels like home here at the Sanpere's.


The last few days a couple of  projects were accomplished. The new manuel head is in place now. No more bucket! I got a new drill, grill, and other boating gear from Tony. And we will work on many other projects when we come back here for the 3rd leg of the adventure at the end of hurricane season in October.

Right now we are motorsailing sailing to Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands for a sailing race this weekend. Earthling will be the mothership to Tony's race boat, Cayennita Grande.

Love from The Virgin Islands

St. Croix, USVI

Mangos

Mangos
In Puerto Rico it's mango season now. You see mango trees in bloom everywhere and under all of the trees there are tons of ripe mangos on the ground. Just pick one up and eat it!
Mangos are sweet and delicious fruits & there are a variety of different kinds . Last night we actually made chicken in mango sauce with rice and beans. I wish more people could have joined us for dinner. 
We were up the mountains with Tonõ and Carlos a few days ago and they were showing us how Puerto Rican's eat mangos. Mango fruits have a certain fiber in them that get stuck in your teeth. It's difficult to get the fibers out and  flossing is the only way to get them totally out. Our friend Carlos says it's great to eat mangos because it cleans between your teeth. 
On a different note, our head (toilet) broke down the other day. The toilet flush is an electric macerator, which is convenient but uses a lot of energy. I have been thinking to replace it with a manual flush, but wanted to wait till it breaks down first.  Well, that day has finally come. And without a backup. Our only solution to the bathroom problem is now a bucket. Yes, I said it. We now are using a bucket here on Earthling until we get to St. Croix, USVI on Monday where our new [manual] head is being shipped. We are so lucky to have our friend Antonio, who lives in St. Croix to get it through his port supply account. 

So the big mystery still was, what had jammed the head? 
Around the propeller on the macerator there were a lot of threads that were caught in it. I could not figure out where they were from. 
As I'm eating these sweet mangos, I suddenly had a moment of clarity. I told Kelly I solved the problem with the prop in the toilet. The threads in the bathroom were Mango fibers. They were identical to the ones I was picking out of my teeth. 
Ah hah! 
What we learned: 
Mangos + Macerator = Messy job.  
If you have eaten mangos and you have a macerator on your boat, watch out. 
Next port St. Croix, USVI
Love from Mango world

Medalla time

New Friends

Everytime a door closes another one opens. Our experience in Ponce has turned positive. 
The day after the robbery both of us were frustrated and sad and just wanted to leave. But it was not right to leave a new place with an extreme negative experience.

When we were walking back to our Velero (sailboat), we saw a couple of men fishing at the end of the pier. I thought to myself... Wouldn't you like to know who's hanging around your boat?

Based on our cruising experience in different countries the last few months; Locals in Puerto Rico are less open to get to know strangers and outsiders. But once you get to know them they feel like part of your family. 
We walked over to the two men fishing. 
I said, "Hola, are you guys fishing?"
Antonio turned around with a smile and said, "Yes, we are trying."
 Later on we were laughing about the fact that I asked such a stupid question. Of coarse they are fishing!
It didn't take long before we were connected on the same energy level with "Tonio" and Carlos. 
They offered us a beer and showed empathy for what happened to us the night before. Carlos is an artist and has many beautiful paintings. Please visit his gallery (carlossantiagopr.Blogspot.com). 
Tonio is a teacher and he is a copy of my best friend, Marko Lugaric. Tonio's nick name now is Marko! 
The night ended up with all of us on Earthling till 4am talking and having a good time. Now we have new best  friends in Ponce. The following day they drove around showing us Ponce, we went up the mountains by a beautiful waterfall, stopping at a little bar to have some Medalla (Puerto Rican cerveza). The nature of this country is very tropical and up in the mountains it is a rainforest with beautiful lush greenery, vines connecting trees from every direction like spider webs of branches, and Bamboo trees. There are so many types of Mango trees here, we can just stop and have a fresh one right from the tree. 
Carlos and Tonio have been very generous and giving. Carlos came over with a framed painting that he got from a fellow artist, and  gave it to us as a gift. This beautiful piece of art was painted in 1973 by Luis Alonso in San Juan. This is the most special gift I've ever recieved, it makes me emotional to even talk about it. 

We have spent a lot of time with our new friends in Ponce. Yesterday we sailed to Cardona Island, Tonio brought Puerto Rican chicken kabob that we grilled aboard from "Ramon's pincho frente al cash & Carry de Ponce". 
It was their first time sailing and they got to experience our life style on Earthling. In a few minutes from now they are picking us up to go and get some provisioning done and do laundry.

One of our purposes as humans in life is to help each other without any expectations. Giving without expecting is returned 10 fold. 

Love to all our friends and readers

We've Been Robbed

Last night we got robbed. We are docked across from Ponce yacht and fishing club. There are 4 other boats on this dock but we are the only live aboards. We have not been connected to land for a long time so it felt good to find a free dock and step over to land. 
The sounds from all the bars on the board walk a few hundred feet from here was so attracting  that we decided to go for couple of cervezas. We left the boat around 9:30pm and walked over to the board walk. We sat down at a bar where most people were hanging out and had a couple of beers, it was very pleasant. A few hours after it was way past our regular bed time, we decided it was time to head back. As we are approached the entrance to the dock we saw a guy running out and drove away in a hurry. Both Kelly and I suddenly had a bad feeling about that scene. We stepped down in the cabin and saw things thrown around,  it looked like someone has been here. Yes we had been robbed. We were in such shock and couldn't do much. We realized that lots of valuable items were gone. Items such as a handheld VHF radio, 2 fishing poles, heavy duty battery driven flashlight, 2 head lights, iPhone, iPod, laptop, flare gun, a folder of all the manuals for each equipment & boat, and my most important tools the Dewalt heavy duty drill and driver. 
We dont have much to start with and live on a very minimum budget. Now lots of our stuff is gone too. 
The feeling of being robbed is awful. You simply loose your trust for all your surrounding and everyone around you. I couldn't sleep peacefully last night and kept waking up as soon as I heard any little sound. 
Today we made a police report and I really hope at least some of the things get returned. We don't have  insurance so what's gone is gone and some of the things we can't afford buying again. This is a lesson learned and I take blame for that. We just have been too comfortable anchoring all the time and we rarely lock the boat. We should lock the boat no matter for how long or how far we are going. I guess we have been at sea too long and forgot that crime still exists and some people look at us as wealthy because we have a boat. Maybe we needed to learn this lesson sooner with limited loss than later with a greater loss. 

The Mona

 157 miles and 40hrs on the Mona passage brought us finally to Puerto Rico. Fair winds and calm seas were on our side for this passage. Only four tacks were required and here we arrived on Mother's Day to Boqueron, Happy Mother's Day to all mothers. Boqueron is a party town on the weekends and has a beautiful beach. The sound of all the music from the various bars was a nice welcome to this new country. The agenda originally was to be in PR in the middle of March, however there was so much to see all the way here and the purpose of this adventure is to explore and see the world.
The last exploration in DR was the national forest perserve on the southern end of Samana bay. We got to see some beautiful landscape and caves. It seemed not true for this part of the world and it looked more like South East Asia. We approached what looked like a dinghy dock with no sign of people around on one of these many forest covered tall rock islands. So we tied up and started walking the man made looking rock steps. As we looked up all we saw was massive open rock, we had arrived at yet another unknown place to explore. Oh my god it was beautiful. This cave had tunnels to separate smaller caves, it opened to the sky where trees grew straight through the rock all the way from bottom to top. It had parts open to the ocean. Complete with bats and all! It all ended with us meeting some fishermen that offered us shrimp and fish (camarones y pescado) that they had just caught. Dinner was great.
Tomorrow we are sailing to Ponce and another world to explore.
Love from Boqueron!

Samana Orchestra

It's six o'clock in the morning and I woke up by the sounds of the roosters in Samana. It's not one or two roosters, there are hundreds of them. It sounds like a rooster orchestra. I believe every house in Samana has at least one rooster in their back yard. We are anchored 700-800 ft from the city dock but the roosters are so loud that it feels we are on land.
Not only roosters are loud here, everything is loud!
Everybody has motorbikes here and they zip through all over the place. Yesterday we were sitting on the outdoor patio of an Internet cafe and the sounds of soft and loud motorcycles created a motorcycle orchestra. Motorbikes are the common transportation. You will see families of 5 on a motorbike. A lot of things are transported on motorbikes, anything from live animals to propane tanks and so forth. Kelly and I had the opportunity to ride one and it was a great experience.
Dominicans must be very proud of their music. It's good music but it's blasting everywhere. You hear the blasting music even up at 8000ft elevation where nobody would normally live! On the major street here in Samana music starts playing right after the rooster orchestra ends. Some general stores play the music so loud and I believe it's a marketing strategy to get attention and get more customers. To us it had the reverse effect.  We went into the store to look around and the music was so loud that we could not stand it and had to leave. 
All these sounds are ok, but the sound that bothers us the most is the sound of propaganda blasting from the old pick up trucks. It's pre-election time here and one way for politicians to market themselves is to have these recorded voices playing over and over again loud throughout the whole city and throughout the country. What a world we live in that leaders must market themselves and the more resources they have the more propaganda and the more known they will get.

Anyhow, today we are crossing to the national park on the other side of Samana bay, and in 36 hours from now we will say goodbye to Dominican and sail the Mona passage to Puerto Rico.
Thanks to the beautiful country and people of Rep. Dominica.
Love from Samana Orchestra

Challenging passages

Sailing east bound on the north coast of Dominican Republic is slightly challenging. The trade winds never stop blowing here and on the windy days the squalls make it seem crazy to go out sailing. I would not like to make a passage if it blows more than 20 knots in this area. The seas get so choppy and it's almost impossible to not hurt yourself or your vessel. It is what it is; I look at it as training for more difficult passages in the future.

We  were ready and happy to leave Luperon. It's very easy to get stock in places like Luperon. The anchorage was so calm and pleasant that we almost forgot the real deal anchorages.
When we left Luperon it was blowing 18 knots. The boat got washed a few times by big waves. We were motorsailing and for the first time the Yanmar inboard engine overheated. In the middle of all these waves we are engine-less. We had to depend on sailing only and I knew that would put us in anchorage in Sosua after sunset. I DON'T like to anchor in a new place when it's dark. I have done it many times but would always prefer to get to anchorage during daylight. We arrived to Sosua at 8pm and anchored  500ft from a reef. Luckily we knew where the reef was! It always feels good to be anchored after an exausting passage. And ashore it seems like there is lots of life. But we were too tired to go ashore right away, maybe mañana.
With swells still coming in, a swell bridle makes the sleep at night more pleasant. A swell bridle is a type of anchoring technique that puts the noise of your boat into the wave so instead of moving side to side you move up and down.

One beautiful thing with anchoring at night is that when you wake up in the morning you are in a new world. We realized shortly after we woke up that Sosua is a tourist destination. A couple of Tip Top catamarans anchored next to us and people were getting in the water to snorkel and ride the banana boat and do other water sports.
Soon I noticed that the main anchor line was loose; I tried to tie it up and the whole line was detached from the chain. Luckily, there is always a safety line connected to the chain in case one line breaks. The bolt to the shackle connected to the chain unscrewed and the line got disconnected. I put a new shackle in there and I dove to find the old bolt but no luck.

The best time to make passages in this area is at night when the night lee kicks in and reduces the trade winds. But you have to stay close to shore for an enjoyable sail.

Demonstration of inflated PF

Last night we made a passage to Rio San Juan.
The swells were moderate and wind was 8 to 10 knots.
So we had the jib and main sail out and had a good sail.
However, the jib would not fly right and it couldn't adjust.
After an hour of sailing I discovered that the seam that
holds the ring connected to the jib halyard on the top
was coming loose.  By the time we furled in the jib
the top was totally disconnected from the halyard. It's
dark and you can't see much and while we are furling
in the jib, the pull tab to my PFD gets caught on
something and suddenly the life vest blew up. Talk
about when it rains it pours! As I always say, things
break but as long as nobody gets hurt and the vessel
is operable, it's ok!
Today we worked on the jib and had a quick fix for it till we find a sail maker that can sew the seam.
We are staying put here in Rio San Juan till the weather comes down some and then we are going to sail toward Samana.
Love from Rio San Juan

Dominican Republic

 

It feels surreal to be in a country so different from the last one. When you get close to Luperon, you see tall mountains far away, and the closer you get the bigger the mountains are. And we had the opportunity to explore some of these beautiful tall mountains with our Swedish friends during the last few days! Birgitta and Mats on Tarsia III offered to drive us with them in their rental car to explore part of Hispaniola. We drove more than 200 miles on gravel roads up to 8000 ft above sea level. Nature in the Dominican Republic is absolutely beautiful and breathtaking because it rains often enough here to keep every thing green. DR has many resources and looks wealthy, but the population is poor. I'm looking forward to seeing the natives of DR get more access to their country's resources. I believe there are enough resources on our planet for all earthlings. Unfortunately, today we don't have an intelligent management system of the resources on our home planet. Let's look forward to the day where we can have the right management!
Yesterday we were in the capital of DR, Santo Domingo to pick up our friend Dee from Chicago. Now we are three people aboard, it's always nice to have visitors and night passages will be easier. 

Luperon has been our home for almost a week now. And soon we will leave to another port.
Love from Republica Dominicana

Sunset

Sunset behind two clouds that collided with the moon in the sky

Great Sand Cay

Turks and Caicos

Happy Hour at South Side Marina

The Turks and Caicos islands are another piece of paradise. The nature is similar to the Bahamas. There are lots of reefs and coral heads and this is a great place for diving and snorkeling. The biggest difference we have realized is that these islands are more commercialized. There are many high end resorts and tourist activity on the major islands, Providenciales & Grand Turks. "Provo" is too pricy for our taste, but we got to meet very nice people at South Side Marina. Happy Hour at Bob's South Side Marina was certainly a highlight. The cruisers we met there will be our friends for ever.


 

Kelly attracts Donkeys



Salt Fields



Right now we are anchored off Salt Cay. This island use to be the world's largest producer of salt. Now the little town has almost no activity. We met a few Haitians on the south end and found a nice restaurant/bar ran by Porter on the north side. Here on the Salt Cay you see more cows, bulls, and donkeys than humans.

Every time we step a foot on a new island, we don't know what's there or what to expect.

Guest house on Ambergris

A few days ago we were anchored off Big Ambergris Cay. From a distance it looked like there were some very nice houses. We couldn't find any info in the guide books about the island so we had to explore it for ourselves. Within a short time after stepping ashore, we realized the island was private. Our path crossed 1 of the 2 firefighters on the island. Tristan offered to give us a tour on his golf cart. The island is managed by Turks & Caicos Sporting Club.  It definitely had the highest level of infrastructure we've seen on any of these small islands. They had their own water making system, diesel generator that created electricity, sewer system and trash compost system, fire hydrants, a small and a big marina, a private landing strip with 2 fire trucks, tennis courts, and so forth. There were around 350 lots for private vacation homes and maybe 20 were finished. All the homes had their own private swimming pool or jacuzzi. Each lot had a placard in front with the owner's name and where they were from. There were signs from all over the world but mostly Americans. However, the sad news is that the company went under and since June nothing really happens on this beautiful island. The 25 staff on the island are maintaining it for now until further notice. And we were lucky to meet Tristan, whom was so kind to show us around the whole island.

Big Sand Cay is our last stop in Turks & Caicos. It is uninhabited and it's 77 miles away from Luperon, Dominican Republic. We were supposed to sail yesterday but a tropical storm was on the way and it was not a good time to leave. We are planning to set sail toward DR/Hispaniola tomorrow evening for another night sail.
Thanks for reading,
Love from Turks & Caicos