Anahi Toledo Salgado, Communications Coordinator of the DIF: "All the time we speak of humility that describes people like you, who always seek to exploit all journeys in life, to cover benefits to others, unknown, such as our trustees chaired by Mrs Wendy Carbajal, First Lady of Municipality and Mr. Jose Angel Lara who coordinates the Civil Protection Directorate of…

The Captain and Darya Light - grinding the mill-scale off the steel to prep the final patch of port side bottom for priming. A good day! Picture by Melissa Ann Fleming.…

Evelyne- Looking at checking out the gold coast in that area south of P.Vallarta? Just curious... Shouldn't be travelling much given my current checking account, but sure could get a ticket for C.Rica if you are on the home stretch. I always thought the section of Panama south of there is awesome except for the heat and lack of winds? Hows the crew situation?

hi,

My sailboat,  "AWA"  a Trimaran Telstar 8m, is now sailing the beautiful bays of Huatulco for some months.

As a former full time yacht delivery Captain I discovered how important practical trouble-shooting and survival skills are in disaster relief. When Hurricane Andrew hit Florida I had just trained as an EMT in preparation for sailing with the team I had formed to do the next Whitbread race. I spent six weeks camped out in the disaster zone and was inspired to make a major career change and seek more medical training. I think people who have spent many years dealing with extreme challenges at…

Yes indeedy! We will actually be able to communicate with the away party...

We're so grateful to BenQ Solar. They have given us a veritable farm of six solar panels, 240 watts each, for almost a total peak of 1.5kW in free energy from the sun! We are going to weld up a steel pipe frame above the flybridge…

I was listening to the New Man podcast today on an interview of an ex-pro surfer on how he found his life calling.  He ended up traveling to Indonesia right at the time of a tsunami and founded a non-profit saving lives by distributing potable water filter.  I was really inspired by his story and will definitely explore working with them to help deliver the filters to coastal communities in needs.  Here is his web site, Waves for Water:…

Click here to see the article, which is on SAIL Magazine's online site now and is a possibility for the September print edition!…

Thursday, 17 May 2012: BYM Product and Industry News

Not only does it make great products, Seattle-based SmartPlug Systems is doing good work, too.

Three Sheets Northwest magazine, 17-May-2012.

MANILA,  - Thirty fishermen were missing and hundreds of travellers were stranded Saturday after tropical storm Mawar dumped heavy rains across the Philippines, forcing flight and ship cancellations. The storm blanketed large parts of the main southern island of Luzon and central Visayas province with up to 25 millimetres (an inch) of rain an hour overnight, the state weather bureau said. At least two domestic flights were cancelled while more than 500 people were stranded in ports after the…

I bought a 51 foot ketch in 1992 and lived aboard that boat for 8 years, sailing over 22,000 miles via the Caribbean, Panama, Hawaii and Mexico, eventually ending up in San Francisco. The day I took delivery of the yacht, I walked down the dock at Branston, Connecticut, and as I got closer to my beautiful new boat, I discovered she was on fire... It turned out that the shore power connector had a bad connection and it had heated up. I can't remember if I'd already arranged insurance, as I'd…

ReliefWeb alert

· 967,000 children under the age of five are estimated to suffer from acute malnutrition, with 267,000 children at risk of dying without proper nutrition interventions.

· A huge outbreak of measles is now under control, reports WHO.

· 13 children were killed and another 12 injured by land mines or unexploded ordnances (UXOs) in the first three months of 2012.

· UN Deputy Humanitarian…

National Geographic: More frequent floods and droughts expected in Southeast Asia. Click here for article.

International Rescue Group is going to be needed - we're fighting as fast as we can to get our first rescue boat in operation, commissioning date now October 28th after sea trials.…

This is what International Rescue Group is formed to do - bring help to coastal communities after this kind of disaster.…

the Mad Machinist Matt McMurfin spent the night and this morning tearing down and rebuilding a Hynautic steering pump and 950PSI relief valve. These pumps cost over $1,200 new, so I went on eBay and after about 9 months found this one for $50 that had been on a sunken boat for a while, enough time for the pump's anodized aluminium faceplate to corrode badly. After purchasing a couple of seal rebuild kits for $39 each, Matt took the pump apart after much working at it with anti-seize solvents…

Gates know a worthwhile cause when they see one - I just got a call and they are sending us, free of charge, machinery including belt drive and sprocket components that were literally breaking our bank!! Thank you, thank you Gates.

Captain Ray