Guaymas - December

Thanks!

I am back on the boat with all the stuff...  For those taking notes, Thrifty is the only rental car company that would allow me to take a car into Mexico with just a California driver's license and a Visa debit card.  Everyone else wanted a major credit card and/or a return airline ticket out of Arizona.  There are two check points going south for customs.  One at the border and one about ten minutes south of Nogales.  I got the green light each time so no hassles.  The general feel for driving in this area given all the media coverage about how the drug violence has made Mexico unsafe is that it is all propaganda.  I did the trip between Tucson and Guaymas three times as I had to return the rental and get back down via bus and if the number and vibe of the military inspections is any indication, there isn't a whole lot going on.  Even driving in the dark on a Friday night felt fine. 

The rate of exchange for the U.S. dollar is close to 14 pesos.  With fewer tourists and this great rate, Mexico is a deal right now.

The dry and hot climate has had an effect on the boat.  There has been some damage to the rudder as part of the original wood has dried to the extent of cracking through the fiberglass cover and separating from the shaft.  Photos and updates as I tackle this and literally dozens of other projects.   There is a friggin buttload of work!

A big thanks to everyone that made my stint in the U.S. happen.  There is no way I would have been near as successful without the support I received.  It is a nice reminder that the "single handed circumnavigation" really isn't that single handed at all...  Thanks again!

News: Man To Sail Around World To Decrease Awareness Of Important Issues

ENCINITAS, CA—In a completely inconsequential event that has already captured the imaginations of thousands, amateur sailor Michael Gilmer, 29, announced Monday he would be embarking on a sea journey around the world to actively decrease awareness of significant global issues.

Gilmer's expedition, which will cover approximately 28,000 nautical miles and bring absolutely no exposure to any urgent environmental or social causes whatsoever, is expected to last roughly 90 days and draw millions of eyes around the world directly away from events of actual, crucial import.

"I hope to use my lifelong love of sailing to take part in a completely irrelevant novelty stunt that in no way benefits humanity," Gilmer said of the non-news event that will needlessly cycle in and out of the top spot on news websites for weeks. "The goal here is to really make people think about a young, overconfident asshole on a boat rather than any pressing matters of substance that actually affect people's lives."

Added Gilmer, "Even if just one person reads a news article about my pointless ego trip instead of a story about the global financial crisis, then I've done my job."

The utterly irrelevant boat ride, which Gilmer plans to document by video so that people can oc-cupy precious hours of their time watching clips of a self-satisfied little shit in a cramped sailboat cabin as if it were an actual event of significance, will in no way address climate change, ocean conservation, unemployment, workers' rights, cancer research, or any wars or conflicts anywhere in the world.

Gilmer—whose inconsequential personal history thousands of Americans will actively choose to make space for in their long-term memories—told reporters he has been planning his meaningless and distracting journey for quite some time, citing his own completely self-serving narcissism as his sole inspiration.

"I saw so many people out there refusing to take time out of their day for bullshit media sideshow events like mine, and I thought, 'Something needs to be done,'" said Gilmer, whose circumnavigation will actually be covered around the clock by real, paid journalists whose job it is, ostensibly, to bring the most significant issues of the day to the American public. "The fact that I'm getting this much media attention already is a real blessing for me and literally no one else."

A number of major corporate sponsors whose only concern is to have their names attached to a big news story with lots of coverage have already pledged to donate a dollar for every nautical mile Gilmer sails, with the money going to help offset the cost of his travels rather than toward a charity devoted toward the betterment of the human race.

In addition, dozens of major news outlets have already promised they will act astonished and impressed by Gilmer's completely unconstructive accomplishment, a landmark that many, many others have previously reached, going back more than a century, and that is in no way worthy of nationwide, let alone worldwide, recognition.

"It won't be easy of course; there are going to be some rough winds and huge waves that I'm sure you'll hear described as though they were the kind of thing that had an effect on the famine currently ravaging Somalia or something," said the man who with every word he speaks magically decreases the number of words printed on the subject of AIDS in Africa or the potential for democracy in the Middle East. "But whenever things do get hard, I'll just remember what I'm doing this for and take comfort in the fact that the hearts and minds of literally thousands of people are stupidly invested in me."

At press time, something was happening in Washington.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/man-to-sail-around-world-to-decrease-awareness-of,26640/