SV Serenity: Why a Minimalist Life?

Upbringing

My mom and dad taught me at a young age that moderation is a key to happiness in life and health. Too bad I did not adhere to this in every aspect of my life because its great advice.  Unfortunately, I lived life on the edge and often got burned.  I got in a car wreck and lost a lot of memory and the ability to commit new information to memory.  I have arthritis in joints that I injured in that same wreck.  That was back in 1988 and I’m still paying for it.  It was a complete miracle that I did not become hamburger in that accident.  The back seat behind me was hit by a guard rail support and was bashed down to the frame of the car.  I had no seat-belt on!  The car flipped completely on its side three times up an embankment.  After about a 5 minute blackout, I woke up and staggered away from the wreck dazed and confused.  I was damaged for life.  This made the rest of my life so hard I fell under very hard times.  It was difficult to have attention to detail after that.  I still have an awful time remembering things and staying on task.  It was not until recently when I found a church that I felt were truly following what they preach that I began to heal from all the abuse I suffered.  I hope by writing my blog I will have opportunities to give my testimony about how my church heals me.

Hardships

Personally, I have been through a great many hardships. Many caused by not moderating my wants versus needs. Even though I am doing better now those hardships I experienced made me a stronger person. But also there are consequences for unchecked behavior.  I have become disabled due to these consequences and have to live a hard life of having very little resources and poor health.  These experiences cause me to evaluate situations and ask myself, do I really need this or do I just want it. So now I do things that help expand my mind and grow personally, like writing this blog.

Survival Naturalist

I did not grow up on the farm but we had farms all around us and gave me a love for what grows natural from earth. Farmers had little fruit and vegetable stands selling natural organic foods. I loved to tend the family garden. Food today, most of it makes me ill! Either it has too much sugar, salt, or has toxic pesticide genetically coded into its cells. Being a minimalist for health reasons is something many people can understand.  For my very survival and mental health I live and breath as a minimalist.  Our earth is the only habitable planet within our grasp so we better treat it accordingly.  We can not go on fracking our water tables, burning fossil fuels, polluting the oceans, and eating pork and beef.  The leaders of all these industries benefit by continued consumption.  The own the media and government so we are not hearing the real full story.  Do your own research. If we wreck this planet, there is no planet b.  In the future everyone will have to do their part in lowering our footprint, otherwise we may stamp each other out.

Federal Government Crisis

The impending government engineered shutdown of the United States should be cause for all global citizens to worry. The huge world debt, the outright waist of our natural resources, and impeding global warming that our government is doing absolutely nothing about. From what I read we only got about ten years left of bearable climate. After that we will see drastic crop and habitat failure.  Our government seems unresponsive to the needs of the people, yet panders to multinational corporation with no loyalties to any humans- only to money.  Money is not a thing that offers us sustenance.  When debt makes money worthless how will you eat? The root cause of all our problems is the Federal Reserve and world central banks.  Do your research on the subject of the Federal Reserve and learn why it has nothing to do with government and there is no money in reserve.  It is like the whole world is run by a few powerful men running a ponzi scam on us.  They inflate the money bubble and then call in their bets and let economies crash.  Then they buy up failed local companies and resources for pennies.  So I am a conscientious objector to the whole system.  Instead of consuming, I want to create things.  Instead of wasting resources, I want to conserve them.

Natural Disasters

In Washington, we sit on land that is a subduction zone. That is, the Pacific Plate crust is shoved down under the North American plate. We are likely to get either a 9.0 killer earthquake or an eruption that will make Mt St Helen’s look like a mole hill. Earth quake or major basalt eruption would cause a tsunami that would wipe out even more habitat and infrastructure.  Imagine the devastation and inability to use your phone or roads.  What will you do?

My church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are preparing for the most likely disaster- a super earthquake of 9.0 or more. They have given us training to have clean water and food storage. How to cook when the electricity no longer flows into our houses. I learned much from my church.

I know I already brought up global warming but this is one of the main reasons for my mission.  Global warming is a real thing.  We will get weather patterns more extreme. The oceans are rising and sea-life is declining.  I want to show the differences in our earth from before humans over-fished and polluted our oceans.  I would like to see the world and meet people in far away Islands before things get impossible to do so.  We are definitely in the end times.  We are destroying our planets ability to sustain us.  I want to show ways to reduce our footprint on the earth and still have a lot of fun and personal growth.  I seek the life of a minimalist.  I want to survive as long as possible.  Don’t you?

Thank you for reading my blog.  If you like where I am going with this won’t you please consider subscribing to my blog.  My blog is free to subscribe and I do not keep your personal info.  The only data I keep is your email address so that you get a link to my latest post as soon as its published in your email.

South Puget Sound: Hope Island State Park

Latitude: 47º 11′ 7.8″ N (47.1855)
Longitude: 122º 56′ 0.99″ W (-122.933)

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SV Serenity sails toward Hope Island Marine State Park. Photography by Kenny Howard

Hope Island Marine State Park is a treasure for Olympia and Mason County residents to explore and discover. This is the first Island State Park that I landed and explored extensively from 2016 to present. I have been on this Island several times and enjoy its peaceful beauty and majestic trees. There are campsites you can use at night and day use picnic tables to have a lunch and meditation.

My favorite thing to do in the sound so far is hunting for good crab. This past year crabbing season was closed but when open I always set a pot or two off of this island. The catch has not disappointed so far. In fact, I have great success finding them each time I pull up my simple hoop traps. I like using the hoop traps because it is impossible for a crab to become entangled and forgotten. The crab can get away anytime until you are attending to the trap and pull it up. Other traps may be set and if the tide or current takes your trap away all the crabs caught will die. So its something to consider when crabbing. A hoop trap it’s not really a trap in a set position. It’s only a trap when you pull the trap up. Below is the first crab I caught in the sound. It had only one claw and covered in barnacles so I thought I would return him to its natural habitat. I would also like to thank my neighbor Colleen Murray for donating the crab traps which she had not been able to use. As a perk she gets an occasional fresh crab!

A crab in a hoop trap
A Crab in a Hoop Trap

Hope Island Marine Park has trails to explore. There are three environs to discover- old growth forest, salt marsh, and over one mile of beach. The trails and two park service employed to answer questions and maintain a fruit orchard. I am sure they do much more than this and you can talk with them about their duties when you visit. The impression I got with them about their work was they loved what they do and are exceedingly happy. The next time I travel there I will ask for a video interview. They are interesting people!

My friend Celeste went one afternoon to the Island with me on the Serenity. She found it a great place to meditate. It is all so peaceful and tranquil. The beach in some places is made from pulverized seashells from years of harvesting shellfish when it served as a major source of food for that native population. The Squaxin Island Indian tribe own the nearby island named after themselves. They have a lot of resources preserved on this island. One day at nearby Boston Harbor I watched a boat dock from this tribe and they had a huge catch of salmon they caught off their island. When you are meditating you can imagine what life was like back then with no city buildings and lots of nature living all around you.

So if you are near this Island I recommend this place to you. Stop in for a visit and bring a friend. But most of all leave your worries behind. Hope Island will help you melt all your troubles away. Thank you so much for reading my blog. If you like the story please give me a like and subscribe to my blog at my home page. Thanks!

South Puget Sound: Westbay Marina

Westbay Marina is located on 2100 West Bay Drive in Olympia and advertised as a most friendly marina in the area.  As a resident here going on my third year I have to agree, it is very friendly.  They also have a new website which you can find here. (Westbay Marina Website) Buying and maintaining my first big boat was pretty intimidating for an old fart with new ideas.  But this marina, its staff and community here were very helpful.  I feel the staff has gone the extra mile to make Westbay a friendly fair priced marina.  Therefore, I recommend Westbay Marina to everyone.

Most visitors who come to Westbay come for the great restaurant we enjoy here called Tugboat Annie’s.  The next thing popular here is the the rentals of kayaks.  For only $20 you can rent a kayak and go exploring.  My favorite place to explore nearby is Priest Point Park.  This park gives access to beach and mud flats, preserves the Olympia waterline and wildlife of a mud flat environment.   Unfortunately this part of the sound, Budds Bay, is polluted and closed to shell-fishing.

A Sea Lion baths lazily in the sun at Westbay Marina
A Sea Lion Baths Lazily in the Sun at Westbay Marina

The great blue heron is a big bird found though-out the sound.  Its my favorite sight for wildlife in the sound.  There are a few of them perched on select trees near the marina and within Priest Point Park.  The bird has a huge wing span and a funny throaty squawk.  The great blue heron gives the capitol of our great state a wildlife friendly feeling.  With the capitol dome in the background and the heron soaring and squawking about I find incredible to find them in one view.

Indeed our capitol politics are quite progressive. Pacific Northwest Bulkworks is cleaning a contaminated waterline and raising areas that will suffer rising ocean-levels that global warming is causing. I am not crazy about all the noise made by the barges and massive earth moving machines. Dropping huge boulders onto metal and concrete barges makes a lot of noise disturbing the tranquil peace one can seek at the marina. However I believe the project is a much needed development for all residents of Olympia. At least we have a city that is being proactive and taking initiative on a clean environment.  Besides there are more peaceful places in the South Sound to enjoy peace and tranquility.

I hope you will check my home page and subscribe. That way you will get an email when I write my next posts. I will begin to cover all the Island State Parks available only to those willing to sail, power, or paddle to them. Thank you so much for reading my blog and feel free to comment below.

Uniqueness of My Blog to Other Sailing Blogs

I want to thank God for getting me this far. One of the things seperating my blog from the rest is that I am currently disabled. One of my former employers was commercial printing shop before color photo-copiers became the mode of printing for small businesses. I injured my back beyond fixing and an auto accident gave me head trama and made my back injuries much worse. The head concussion made my brain work way less efficient and I have an impossible time staying on task because my pain overwhelms me and I have to walk away. Its impossible to find employment at age 57 with all these issues. My hope though is I can find a way to sell my photos and video blogs and monetize my dream.

Another difference is that I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. So my videos will not have scantily clad girls and heavy drinking of alcohol and parties. Overall I am on a personal mission to explore culture and see how much ordinary Pacific Island peoples have in common beliefs in culture. I want to travel and join the local LDS churches and volenteer to help local members. I want to show tbat no matter where in the world the Serenity travels my church follows the same guidelines of volunteerism, service, and good will towards our fellow humans no matter their beliefs. I love my church and testimony of the Christ like attributes of my churches organization. I find it easy to follow this church because its members stive to be Christ like. The bible states that you can tell who is following Christ by observing their deeds. As Jesus says, “Come follow me!” I hope you will follow my blog and help me attain my dream of sailing and exploring the world. Subscribe to my blog and get emails when I post a new adventure.

A Christmas Carol

During the holiday season I met an angel named Carol. We had a long discussion about health and eating healthy. She visited Sailing Vessel Serenity and enjoyed what I had so far. She then bought me a nice portable heater with a simulated fire hearth. It really helps my writing to stare into the flames and get motivated. I am writing this because when Carol left she chose anonymity and I lost contact with her. So I write this post to thank her for all I learned from her. Thank you Carol for your kindness.

Simulated fire under my dining table

We spoke about healthy eating and I was drinking Swiss Miss hot cocoa. I complained about my IBS symptoms and Carol mentioned that the soy emulsifier listed in the hot chocolate was causing the damage to my intestines. After we spoke I researched this and found the root of the problem with this ingredient. Seems most soybeans are GMO products which have round up residue on them. The distillation process of soy emulsifier concentrates this poison making it more lethal to persons already stressed to get sick. My body rejects this poison and it makes me rush right to the bathroom. I experienced cramps and painful bowl movements. It was horrible! I really can not thank Carol enough for helping me with this critical information. I now buy my hot chocolate at Trader Joes that use organic lecithin instead.