Adventures & Opinions
I love adventuring on the seas, in the mountains, and amongst other cultures. I worry about the environment and social injustices. Occasionally, and inconsistently, I share my experiences and thoughts here
Four tips for a good Startup Weekend
Over the last year, I’ve done three “Startup Weekends.” – The idea is to propose ideas, form a team, and then try and create a minimally viable business over the course of a weekend. It’s educational, it’s fun, and in …
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Tips for applying to a job on Craigslist
The following article made it to Best of Craigslist, and for a while was at the top of Digg, and Del.icio.us. Some would say it was good advice, others disagreed, but it was important enough that the Microsoft Recruiting blog …
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Swimming in the Bay…
I used to marvel at people who’d go swimming in the Bay in the middle of the winter. Swimming in frigid murky water with nothing but a swimsuit. I used to think they were crazy, now people think I’m crazy.
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Singlehanding around the Farallones in a Santana 22
Yesterday, I finally knocked off my long standing goal of sailing around the Farallon Islands in a boat I built myself. – Well, kind of, Pip was a re-build, and I motored for a good chunk of the journey, but …
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Tips for driving into Mexico
They say Mexico is the new Colombia. But in December 2011 I drove deep into Mexico and encountered a beautiful and wonderful country with none of the things that I’d been told to worry about.
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Cycling Mexico’s Copper Canyons
Mexico’s Sierra Madre and the Copper Canyons are fantastic cycle touring country right on the doorstep for those of us in the Western US. Don’t be put-off by all the scary news, this is an adventure destination at it’s finest.
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Volunteering with Habitat for Humanity in Nicaragua
In March of 2011, I volunteered with Habitat for Humanity in Nicaragua. I put together this short video as thanks to my friends and family who donated $7500 towards this project.
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Packrafting the Cache Creek Wilderness
Cache Creek alongside Hwy 16 is well known destination for summer recreation. But upstream the road leaves the river, and beyond that is the Cache Creek wilderness, a little known and stunningly beautiful watershed.
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Packrafting : The Escalante River in Utah
The latest weapon in my adventure arsenal is the ‘packraft’ and I couldn’t be more excited. In May we took them out for a first expedition down the Escalante River in Utah.
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Review of the Hennessey Hammock
A hammock is a great alternative to a tent – if you get the right type. REI and other stores will sell a simple hammock for lounging, but if you’re serious about sleeping out, you’ll want to try the Henessey Hammock
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Building a boat in 48hours
What would you do with $3000 and three days to live your dream? This was the challenge posed to me by the Discovery Channel for a show called No Opportunity Wasted in 2005.Watch Video | Photos
Rebuiling "Pip"
In 2008 I bought a cheap run-down 'Santana 22' sailboat. Since then I've spent countless hours working on it, including a major haulout in 2009.
Here's the photojournal
Sea of Cortez on a 17' Catamaran
You don't need a big yacht to go cruising. I think we had more fun with my small catamaran that could be driven up onto a beach.
Building a a 17' Catamaran
In 2002 I built a 17' catamaran from plans by James Wharram - It took about four months, and $3000 in materials.
Bangkok to Nepal by Bike
This is a rather dated story of my bike ride in 1999 from Bankok in Thailand to Kathmandu in Nepal. 5000kms over four months through Laos, China, and Tibet. It's a little dated now, but such a good adventure I wanted to keep it here.
