Sail Far Live Free

Sundowners at Sundown (by K. Walters in Punta Gorda, FL)

"We all walk in the dark and each of us must learn to turn on his or her own light." -Earl Nightingale Flashlights are seemingly simple devices charged with a straightforward task of providing light on demand. The new Pelican 7000 LED flashlight is my favorite for three reasons: brightness, toughness, and size. Pelican says this pocket-sized flashlight puts out 602 lumens of intense LED light. In fact, this is the first tactical light from Pelican to break the 600 lumen output barrier. I don't have a way to test for lumens and frankly, I'm not sure what a lumen even is. But what I do know is that this flashlight is seriously bright. In fact, bright enough to be used for a spotlight. For some perspective, two other very impressive lights I've tested in the past ( Inova XO3 and Streamlight Waypoint Spotlight ) put out 200 and 300 maximum lumens each respectively. So the Pelican 7000 is indeed very bright. Pelican 7000 LED Tactical Light And it's pe

"I'm back to my deck shoes with holes in the toes. Fish on the line, sails in the wind. Cooler of beer on beach with my friends. Back in the sunshine again." - Lyrics from "Back in the Sunshine" by Jim Morris I knew it was going to be an epic getaway when one of our friends said, "I could pee on her, but it would smell like coffee and feel less weird if Kevin did it." So, I reluctantly mustered up the courage and wrung out a kidney in an empty water bottle. I then proceeded to pour my pee on my wife's neck and shoulders. Does urine really take away the stinging from a run-in with a jellyfish or is that a myth? Scientific American says it's a myth , but we were nearly 5 miles offshore and Erin's shoulders and neck were on fire from the man-o-war she just snorkeled through. Actually, Erin's analogy was that it felt like someone was putting out a pack of Marlboros on her skin. The good news was that she didn't show signs of goin

"Dear ocean, thank you for making me feel small." (Photo from Islamorada, FL by K. Walters)

"The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe." - Gustave Flaubert So true. My writing forces me to examine my beliefs and my inner thoughts. That's free therapy and part of what I enjoy about blogging. But I learn just as much about my own beliefs from reading what others write. And so, it's that time of year again. No, I'm not talking about New Year's resolutions, fruit cake or boat shows. It's time to give some love back to the sailing blogs I've enjoyed following during 2014 and look ahead to other blogs that should provide new cruising adventures in 2015. (Need to catch up on the best blogs from 2013 or 2012 ? What are you waiting for!?). SFLF's Best Sailing Blogs of 2014: Sailing Totem : The s/v Totem crew has been cruising and blogging since way before 2014 and probably should have showed up on my annual "best sailing blogs" list sooner, but nonetheless, here they are. Inspiring stories, practical