Words Can Not Describe...

Oh boy there's so much to write about in one post. It's funny that after kind of having a crappy day on Friday. The last few days have been the best days I have had all year long! I have had so much fun! It all started on Saturday afternoon. I got to hang out with some friends that I haven't hung out with in a long time, as well as meet my friend Lyndsie's roommate Katie.

Sunday morning I had an early appointment to teach a few people to sail (Edward & Lori). I had been in contact with Edward earlier in the week and he had encouraged me to invite a few people to join us. I couldn't think of two better people to invite along than Katie and Lyndsie. They both have such great and fun personalities! So after getting the boats rigged up, we pushed out onto the lake with very light breezes which made it a bit difficult to teach them how to sail in. But I got the basics down with them and came back in and got Edward and Lori going on their own catamaran. Unfortunately Katie had to leave for work at the boat change and shortly after she did the the winds picked up and provided some great sailing. For the rest of the morning I taught Lyndsie how to sail while we chased down Edward and Lori (who I think really enjoyed themselves and hopefully have a new found love for sailing).

Later that evening the winds really started to pick up. So My good friends Kevin, Russell, Phil, and Caleb decided that we would go down and have our own little mini regatta. We raced out to the point of Tubbs Hill, and then from there just decided to go crazy since the wind was so good. We continued to race back and forth all hooting and hollering as we passed by each other. As the evening progressed the sunset filled the western skies with amazing hues of orange and red which shined down upon the clear waves turning it into a seemingly burning sea. All the mean while a slight sprinkle created a vibrant full rainbow that encompassed the entire eastern horizon. As the sun finally dropped below the skyline we all slowly headed for shore. As we started putting our boats away there was only smiles to be seen all around. I do think that for the five of us that were lucky enough to be out there that evening it will be a day we recall until the day we die

So even though I had an amazing weekend my luck continued into this week. Monday afternoon the wind had picked up again and Kevin and I decided to go back out for the afternoon and sail after being still ecstatic about the evenings sailing events before. After a quick jaunt and chat on one of the cats we decided that today was gonna be the day that we were gonna take the laser out for a spin. Since she had been sitting lifeless on the beach all year, we had a bit of a hard time finding all the rigging to get her going. But after a little digging around the shack we found the things we needed to get her back to sailing shape. And even though the laser is typically a one man sailing vessel, Kev and I decided that we would try our hand at two manning it. So we shoved her off shore and squeezed on board which wasn't quite roomy but definitely enough room for the two of us to work with me trimming the sail and Kev working the tiller. After a handful of tacks we were nearly halfway across the lake from the shack when we realized that the cockpit looked like it was getting a bit full of water. So we both bailed out as much as we could by hand and continued to sail about. A few minutes later we noticed that the rail of the boat was considerably closer to the water than when we started. It was clear that we were taking on water! So we made the quick decision to make a B-line for the shore. We limped our way to the shore slowly watching the deck of the laser get closer and closer to water level. As we approached a slew of pylons about a fifty yards out from shore, I heard Kevin say, "umm dude...I can't steer the boat anymore. The tiller isn't doing anything anymore..."  We were just being pushed around by the waves and wind in our sail. After nearly missing a pylon, I did my best to manhandle the sail and guide us into the beach and not onto the rocks a handful of yards to the left. And as if it were the scene from Pirates of the Caribbean, Kev and I stepped off onto shore just as the deck of the laser crested under the water. Since it was totally full of water, I wouldn't have been surprised if it had weighed nearly 1000 lbs. Either way even with the two of us trying, we couldn't budge the thing. After sitting and laughing at what had just happened we rounded up enough line to hook up the laser and pull her up onto the beach with an old wench that has been there forever. After finally getting it above the water line we went down to find where it was leaking, and in about two quick seconds we had our answer... Being the fools that we are and in our rush to get out on the water we had forgotten to put the drain plug in. We both instantly burst into laughter! We let it sit and drain on the beach for a good thirty minutes, all the mean while shaking our heads and laughing. Once it was done draining we again headed back out for a few more hours of sailing and good times.

And so I have had the best few days of the year all in a row. I could have never dreamed how great this week would be but I am very thankful for what it has been already. As always I want to wish you all the best things in this world every single day. And just remember it's the little things in life that you sometimes forget that mean the most....like drain plugs! Have a great day everybody!

-Jesse

A bit under water...

Now what?

Too much fun

Thank god for wenches!

Umm yeaaaah...we're dumb

Some things just seem to get to me...

This blog in a lot of ways has become sort of a journal for me. I feel like I share a good deal of things on here through writing that I just can't come out and say. A lot of times it's the things that I'm really feeling or thinking that come through on the blog when everywhere else I am seemingly a much brighter person. Don't get me wrong I try to be a light to those around me everyday because honestly how else am I going to see the change in the world that I want to see. But a lot of days when it boils down to it I am honestly plain out sad, lonely, downright depressed. I get angry and frustrated with things just like anyone else does. And today was honestly one of those days. It's hard for me to understand how someone can get to me so much even after so long of trying so hard to make that not so. After not talking to someone for a few months and working on going my own direction in life, I was confronted today with an anonymous text message about someone that was not pleasing at best. I found it to be petty and distasteful. Yet instead of replying a few choice words to the person who sent it. I simply conveyed to the person to whom I'm sure it originated from that It was unnecessary and I did not enjoy it. What else could I have done? I mean sure I could have been a total jerk and all but since I would never wish things like this on anyone else I will not allow myself to do anything in response...plus I still care very much about this person and even if it means having to brush petty things like this aside. I only wish the best for this person everyday and for them to be happy. The worst part about any of it is that it seems to get me down for a few days which seemingly effects everything I do. I feel like I make leaps and bounds of progress on not letting things like this effect me and yet I see set backs like this all the time. I have found that writing on this blog and having a journal in general seems to help me a lot! I seem to have some sort of separation with things that trouble me when I write them out, whether they actually go away or not. If people read my posts or not I still feel a bit better every time I post. And for those of you who do follow and read my posts and convey words of wisdom and such...I appreciate it more than you all will ever know. As always I want to wish every single one of you the best every day! Have an amazing day!

-Jesse

Motivation to chase dreams...

(http://smileysproject.com/Committed__Fifty_Classic_Climbs_of_North_America/Committed.html)

I came across this site last night at work. I was pretty inspired to see that there are other people out there chasing what most people see as impossible dreams. I probably watched about ten videos on there site last night and couldn't help but think how great it would be to sail around adventuring and climbing and surfing and whatever I feel like doing and posting up videos on my blog. This is what I hope to be doing sometime in the future. Here's one of there videos for you to take a peek at and hopefully it motivates you as well...

Lotus Flower Tower from Mark Smiley on Vimeo.

As always I wish you all only the best everyday. Have an amazing day!

-Jesse

Perno a lo loco...

As the title suggests I have been bolting things down on deck like crazy! With the seasons starting to change the rains and storms will soon be on their way so I have really been trying hard to get the boat buttoned up as soon as possible. Obviously not everything can be bolted down with just myself but almost everything that could be I have done in the past week. The best part about bolting tons of things down is that you really start to see things coming together, and you can stand back and in-vision what sailing it is going to be like. I also went in to West Marine on Friday and picked up my new V-berth flexible water tank. With the intentions of building a long term blue water voyaging boat and having to carry large volumes of water, this was about the only option for a boat of my size. The new tank is 31 gallons so hopefully I will be able to find a spot for another tank under the cockpit. Hopefully I can get a tank that's at least 25-30 gallons. This will put me around the 60 gallon mark for totally water tank capacity, which is what Don has advised me to shoot for. Of coarse I will be trying to engineer a rain water collection solution for my boat but with a total of 60 gallons of fresh water I should be able to make any passage without really having to worry about water. I have been thinking about what I'm going to do for fittings and and supply lines for the water system and while at Lowe's the other day I came across some really cool fittings that are push together type fittings. I do believe that they're call Shark Bite fittings...not sure though? They work with polyurethane pipe which is really easy to work with. As I come closer to putting in the water tanks I'll go into further detail into how things work out. As for now I will post up some pictures from things I've been bolting down this week. So as always I wish you all only the best everyday. Have a great day!

-Jesse

P.S.-Getting a huge glob of 5200 in your hair is not the most desirable thing to do in the world...Just sayin

Wenches getting bolted down

Chain plates

A look back from the bow

Life lines starting to get bolted down

Travelers

Rudder assembly

A look at the overall of the boat

The mess that is building a boat...haha

Chainplate backing plates

Chainplates

Mast plate and hinges getting put in

Bow rail and cleat going in.

One of my best trips to date...

Here's a video from a trip a few friends of mine and I did a year ago. The trip has been one of my favorite trips I have ever done. It was a ton a fun and I think the video does a pretty good job of expressing the good time we had. Hope you all enjoy.

-Jesse

City of Rocks, ID from Glenn Landberg on Vimeo.

Not a bad way to live...

Well I tackled another day/night of working on the boat again today. I've been struggling with keeping on track on getting things done on it lately. But while sitting around at work today thinking about the boat, I realized that I am pretty much building a home for myself. I mean that's the end goal is to have it to the point where I can live aboard and sustain myself for long periods of time. It makes me kind of laugh because I made a post a while ago about how I felt a bit different than others. I've had a lot on my mind lately and while working on the boat tonight, I realized Ive already lead a pretty great life. I mean by the age of 24 I will have build two live aboard sailboats. I've raced downhill mountain bikes semi-professionally. Climbed remote peaks, rock, and ice throughout the west that are so beautiful that most will never see. I've kayaked and guided on whitewater trips on beautiful scenic rivers. Hunted and taken not only one but multiple trophy animals. I've been chased down a stream by an angry bull moose while fly fishing in montana. I've learned to play the guitar. Surfed waves in Hawaii and Oregon. I've know the pain of losing people close to me and having to watch a close friend die before my eyes. Known what I was to have loved someone with all of my heart and have my heart broken. I know what it's like to have my body entirely shut down and not know how to talk, who I was, how to spell or write, have my entire body be in searing pain, and be struggling for every gasp of air I took not knowing if the next would be my last. I've seen the highest of highs and the very lowest of lows. But when looking back at what my life has been so far even with the good and bad...It's still an amazing life. By the time I turn 24 in December I have accomplished more than most will in a lifetime. I am truly blessed not only to have been able to do even half of these things but to have such amazing people in my life to share some of these things with. You are all great people and I hope to be sharing stories and adventures with many of you in the years to come. As always I wish you all only the best things everyday. Have an amazing day!

-Jesse

I've been watching the heck out of this video lately. This band is so good that I though that I might just share it with you. Hope your having a great day!

Caught in a funk...

I seem to be stuck in some kind of funk lately. I have been having an exceedingly hard time being motivated to do anything lately. I think part of it is that I have been fairly isolated lately. Other than the few days a week that I'm working now, I hardly see or talk to a soul. It seems hard for me since I am the type of person who enjoys having others around. I enjoy sharing my life with others and hopefully occasionally bringing a smile to a few faces and a bit of joy to there lives. As well as the isolation I seem to have a lot of other things lately that have been increasingly weighing on my mind and heart. All on top of the stress of trying to build my boat and pay bills and do it all on somewhat of a timeline that I have in mind. As far as the boat goes I have been working pretty hard this week so far on it. I made templates for the bunk, the v-berth partition, port and starboard cabinet faces and counter tops. I did have Glenn's help for a bit to make a few templates which was nice. Once I had all my templates ready I transferred them all over and cut them out. After cutting out the cabinet faces I took the time to plan out what I'm going to do with each one. The port side cabinet (which will also be my chart table) I measured and drew out a compartment that will be underneath the cork board counter top that will hold my charts, laptop, and hopefully all my navigation tools. Over the last two evenings I have started putting the v-berth partition and bunk face into place with filler and will hopefully be glassing them into place within the next few days. I have been putting some late nights in on the boat lately (2-3am) which just seems to be the best time for me to work on it lately. Since I can't seem to sleep lately it's kind of helped keep my mind off the things that seem to haunt me most nights. The boat unfortunately has to be moved back out to my aunts house at the stateline on friday so it will make working on the boat that much harder for me. The idea of cleaning all of my junk out of one of the 1/4 berths and sleeping on it some nights has been running through my head. I think that if I can stay motivated I should be able to be finished to the point of being able to sail by mid to late October...hopefully. I want to make sure to thank any of you that take the time to read my obnoxiously long posts sometimes. This seems to be a bit of a way for me to reach out to the outside world. I'll try to do my best at being more entertaining occasionally. I have just been feeling a bit stressed out lately and somewhat down. But just remember that no matter who you are I still wish you only the best things in life everyday. Have a great day!

-Jesse

P.S.-I am very happy to report that Kevin & Phil have both taken on new sailboat projects of their own. I'm happy and excited to see them getting into working on sailboats and taking an interest in sailing. I see the three of us hopefully having some great sailing stories to share in the years to come.

Kevin & Jordyn helping out on the boat.

Helping Kevin load up his new Vanguard. (He got a deal he couldn't refuse)

Getting the face of the "Annie Bunk" on.

Things We Sometimes Forget...

This past week has kind of been a strange week for me. I have felt very unmotivated, detached, and alone. I don't know how to describe it exactly but I had a strange feeling all week. And on Thursday evening I learned that a good friend of my had passed away. I have been fairly detached from social society lately with not having a facebook profile and not really having a reliable phone or even using it when it does decide to work properly. It's strange to me that without those things life changes so drastically. I mean all that I really do anymore is work on the boat, work, and hang out at home with my dog. I think that even more so now that I have been detached from social networking I value my relationships with people. I know that most times when people cross paths with someone they haven't seen in a while they always ask how they have been and what they've been up to...but we all know that most really don't care one bit. It makes me sad that people have become so seemingly connected that they really just don't care what people do because they will see there feed on facebook. I mean what happens when they're gone.....Then what? Are we nothing more to others anymore than a few words on the internet? What happens when the feed ends? Or does it really matter because you have 500 other feeds that will take the place of that? Sometimes I wonder if anyone even noticed that I even left facebook or if anyone even cares? Sure I can realize the power of a few simple words even if it is via social networking. And to be honest I tried so very hard to make posts when I had facebook that would be a light for others and be uplifting for those who may see it. But unfortunately I think that social networking has shaped or society into something quite strange to say the least. Hardly anyone that has a facebook or twitter or whatever uses it to be a light to others. Almost everyone you see only posts to complain about something or to get some sort of recognition for something they've done and hear how great they are or see how many people comment on there posts because that must mean of coarse that they care about them. Maybe I'm just ranting or whatever but I just find it funny that when people no longer see your feed, you seemingly no longer exist. You could just as well be on the opposite side of the world even though you most likely live in the same town or in a place that you could easily simply call, text, email, or god forbid even go as far a maybe even sending a letter. So yes yes I know that I'm ranting but the whole point of this post is to hopefully bring to light a bit more appreciation for the people around you. You never know when they may no longer be there. Their feed may end one day or even worse they could no longer be here all together. I know that this is something I have been working on lately but maybe it's time to start thanking some of those people that constantly put a smile on your face, or that call and see how you are in good times or bad, or that lend an ear or a helping hand when needed. Don't be afraid to tell someone how you feel or that your grateful for the things they do. I know I'm probably not one to talk because I'm still madly in love with someone that I don't talk to and can only wonder and hope that she is living life to the fullest and is undeniably and amazingly happy everyday. I just hope that I convey to everyone in life how much I appreciate them and how thankful I am to have met them. So while I'm at it I really wanna thank Kevin and Jordan for all their help on the boat lately, Don for all of his help and guidance, the man who gave me my boat in the first place Ron, my parents for putting up with me and my boat, all of you who take the time to read my posts, and pretty much anyone who brings that little bit of light to any of my days. This is more than I could have asked from any of you and is very much appreciated. I hope that I can bring light to your days someday. As always I wish you all only the best. Have a great day!

-Jesse

Regatta First Timer

So I got the privilege to take part in being crew for North Idaho College's boat "Study Aboard" in the Spud Cup regatta this past weekend in Sandpoint. The crew consisted of myself, David Witt, Paul Chivvis, and our skipper Jon Totten. To say the least it was a huge learning experience for me! The first day was hectic for sure not only had I over done it more than a bit the night before but we didn't have much practice as a team together on the boat. This made things like flying the spinnaker crazy! The winds were fairly strong the first morning which made it quite fun other than the occasional leaning over the side to hurl and feeling like I was going to die. I feel like I rallied well and pulled my weight. After the races there was food and good times provided by the organizing group for the race, not sure who was putting it on? But they sure did a great job. I was fun for me to chat with a lot of seasoned sailors and racers that have been around for a while. I got a lot of good information about sailing in Mexico and good tips for cruising in general. The second day of racing we got up early and got out on the water for an hour of practice before the rest of the fleet. This was more than valuable for us as a team. By the time of our first race on the second day our crew was working like a well oiled machine. It was fun to have things going so well and everyone knowing almost exactly what we were doing and when to do it. Jon did incredibly well at dictating what he wanted us to do and exactly when to do it. Unfortunately the winds were not what they were the morning before and made the second days races a bit of a grind. Even though we didn't do incredibly well in our class it was fun for us to duke it out with a few boats in our class every race. I think we all learned a lot and I think we plan to come back next year with more practice and hope to be far more competitive. After returning last night Kevin and Phil came over and helped out on the boat for a bit. Well Phil just kinda talked on the phone and hung out but it was good to have him there. I think that the boat has definitely helped lite a fire of sailing in him. Kevin and I worked on finishing up bolting down the starboard toe rail, which let me tell you is no easy task...Holy cow! I think that may be about all for now...but as always I wish you all the best. Have a great day!

-Jesse