"What does a man need - really need? A few pounds of food each day, heat and shelter, six feet to lie down in - and some form of working activity that will yield a sense of accomplishment. That's all - in the material sense, and we know it."

-Sterling Hayden, "Wanderer"

Nautical Fashions

Here in Southern California the warm weather is just around the corner. Please, please, fingers crossed. And for anyone who says it's already here, No. 70 degrees does not count as summer weather. I want to sweat standing still, to not worry about having a damn cardigan handy should the sun pass behind a cloud.

I would like to soon be sporting any of these fun nautical-inspired fashions.

(side note: this was my first attempt at creating an "inspiration board" and I'm giving myself a little pat on the back for my efforts, thankyouverymuch)

Summer Sailing Jams

I recently was introduced to some new music from a band called Tennis (incidentally this came by way of a new friend in my sailing navigation class). The husband and wife duo's music was inspired by a sailing adventure they took upon graduation from college.  They sold their worldly possessions, bought a sailboat, and embarked on an extended trip along the Eastern Seaboard. After returning to land, they began to write and record songs based on their adventures . Their music is full of fun sailing references, but that is not why I love it. It's her sweet airy voice and the innocent pure sugary retro-pop goodness.

It's also just so romantic, no?

Anyways, I can't wait to be floating along or anchored off the Catalina shore this summer, sunning myself to these sweet tunes. (I'm not sure if the linked video is the official one, I think probably not, but I like it quite a bit all the same) Enjoy!

Speaking of shatterproof...

Wine is my alcoholic beverage of choice, so once it was certain we were moving onto a boat, I knew I needed to find a suitable drinking vessel.  I'm not a wine snob or anything, but drinking out of a tervis tumbler or plastic cup just doesn't give one the same experience as a nice piece of crystal or glass. Enter the Govino stemless go anywhere wine glass. The govino wineglass is made of some fancy, scienc-y plastic that is able to reflect the wine's color and aromatics much like crystal. And, it's unbreakable, and it's reusable, and it's recyclable! I'm a pretty big fan, and was even more excited to see that they are now making go-anywhere champagne flutes too!


govino

I wish this was a photo of a typical Satuday morning, and maybe now that the weather is warmer (and I've negotiated my way out of working on Saturdays) it will be.

Last weekend Westbrook and I made our first hot breakfast on the boat. Nothing too fancy, and no eggs, because they've really been putting me off lately...I digress. Just some pancakes, maple sausages and lots of butter and syrup. The blue aluminum plates, which are our main dishware on the boat (gotta go with the unbreakable variety when living on a moving object) were a hand-me-down from my grandmother, who purchased them at a thrift store during the 70s. I love thinking about the stories they could tell.

Getting started

(photo courtesy A.Gordon)

4 months ago two Los Angeles apartment dwellers decided to act on an impulse. We purchased a sailboat (a 1980 36' Lancer), found an available liveaboard slip in Marina del Rey, and moved on. 

This is a blog about the trials and triumphs of Pistachio at Sea.