15 minute boat jobs

Howdy Folks,

As mentioned in the previous post, today was a busy day of meeting with boat contractors, to plan our refit.  Between meetings we decided to knock out a few "quick' projects...when will we learn?

Kara, spent a couple hours brushing on 303 protectant on the current original dodger.  We're trying to get another year out of it and it leaks when it rains which is a drag.  This should help solve that problem for the immediate future.  We'll call that one a success, good job chicky!

While she was doing that, I decide to tackle something that's been bugging me for a while now.  We have an engine driven Sea Frost refrigeration system.  It works great and freezes a huge block very quickly if we're running the engine.  It will also run off the inverter but takes longer to freeze the block and eats power.  Part of the refit will likely include a DC option...but I digress

So we've replaced all the zincs on the boat with the exception of the one for the Sea Frost cooling tower, because much to my own embarrassment...I wasn't exactly sure where it was...and it's been eating at me.  So I today I found it in the engine compartment...imagin that...an engine driven refrigeration system that runs of the same raw water input...is actually located next to both of those things...who'd a thunk it.

Yours truly - beginning the zinc removal process

Sweet, changing a zing, I'll be done in 15 minutes chicky and then maybe we can go sailing.  I consulted the 15 year old xerox copied owners manual for instructions.  Let's just say they where less than clear, so I took my time interpreting them and finally figured out how to remove the zinc.  The problem was, when I unscrewed the bronze plug that I should hold the zinc, from the housing...no zinc.  Oh shit...am I in the right place or is there a bigger problem?  On closer inspection I realized the zinc had simply snapped of while I was removing the plug, at least I'm in the right place.  How hard could this possibly be?

Now we have two problems to deal with.  1) There's a big chuck of zinc in the cooling tower and I know if we leave it in there, it'll clog the system and likely cause major damage.  2) The threaded hole in the bronze fitting appears to be a single solid piece of zinc, the threads for the new zinc aren't even visible since a half inch of the old one snapped off flush with the plug...good times.

Oh well, one problem at a time.  First let's get that zinc out of the tower.  Problem is the hole in the tower is small enough you need to be a freaking smurf to reach in and actually do anything.  So I waste a bunch of time trying to fish the cigar shaped zinc out of a little hole.  The small diameter means it's only coming out if it's oriented perfectly (picture trying to pull a cigar out of a hole that's barely large enough to accommodate it's circumference, upside down and partially obstructed (of course).  After brushing up on my impressive sailor's (swearing) vocabulary...I ask Kara if she'll give it a try.  Fortunately, her fingers are small enough she can reach in and feel around a bit.  After removing the intake house from the housing we have a larger hole to work with and more importantly two holes on apposing sides of the tower.

Did I mention this is a stupid design?

So like a racoon with a shiny object, Kara goes to work fishing around inside the housing trying to push the broken pieces out.  After an hour...or more of work and missing a few layers of skin from her fingers, it's out and we're good to go.  Did I mention she's a trooper and this is a stupid design?

The remains of the zinc

So now all that's left is to remove the broken piece from the plug. so we can screw in the new one.  Problem...it's perfectly flush with the brass plug that it mounts in.  After a little research I realize that zinc melts at a significantly lower temperature than brass.  Time for a run to Home Depot for a blow torch, this is where I'm really glad we chose Kemah and the marina we did to keep Vela while we prep her for departure.  We thought very hard about going to Port Aransas instead, due to the fact that it's a cool little town with a  much more chill vibe (which we prefer).  We chose Kemah because it's close to Houston where our company has an office we can work out of, and it has access to just about every kind of boat related gear/service you could ever need...so yeah that's paid off 1000 times already.

Let's get this party started

Fortunately, our marina has a nice little work bench with a table vice for us too use.  After 45 minutes, the majority of the zinc has dripped out on the concrete under the vice.  Problem is...most...is not the same as all.  The threads are still too gunked up with zinc to install the new zinc.  Looks like I'm headed back to the store for a tap and die set.  Oh and I also left my drill at home, because you know...we live there and stuff.  So we find the tap/die kit and sweet talk our way into using a cordless drill and a table clamp in the store (flash back to our departure and bumming a clamp at lowes to replace the propane Solenoid).  But hey, this looks good, lets go knock this out.

Heating the zinc

Finally starting to melt

Bombs away

The aftermath

Back aboard Vela, the Zinc fits perfectly and 10 minutes later, we're able to run the engine and fridge compressor and...no leaks success!

So that 15 minute job only took...a little over 8 hours.  Sweet, lets grab some grub and drive the 4 hours back home.   Yep, prepping for cruising is pretty freaking glamorous.

Suffice it to say that from now on, I'll be replacing that zinc on a VERY regular basis, to avoid a repeat.

Anyway, thanks for stopping in and if you actually made it this far, let us hear from you.

-Erin

Welcome to 2016 - A look ahead

Howdy Folks,

I'm sitting here in front of a nice warm fire New Year's morning, in Marble Falls TX.  All our friends have just left after our annual New Year's party and some homemade breakfast tacos.  Now, it's time to kick back relax a bit and absorbe the fact that it's freaking 2016.

When Kara and I first seriously discussed the idea of extended cruising, it was always a kind of ethereal 'plan'.  You know the type...that sounds like fun, we should really figure out a way to make that happen.  Then it settled in that this really was something we could do, but only if we did something to actively make it happen.  So we got serious about actually learning to sail our little Catalina 22 around the lake, saving as much $ as possible and started shopping for a middle boat.  Something bigger (mid 30s) to learn on for a few years before we actually bought a much bigger (we probably need at least 50ft...or so we thought at the time).  We could do all that and aim to actually leave in 2020 (typical 5-6 year plan).  The more we looked and read the more we kept thinking about that old tired advice of go small, go cheap, go now...

The thing is, I think it feels like old tired advice because you see and read it everywhere, once you get serious about really investigating the cruising lifestyle, it's literally everywhere.  Everyone says, we should have gone sooner.  So we really thought about that and made the decision to give that advice a shot.  The great thing about life and boats is that everyone's ideas and perceptions are different.  Guaranteed that we all picture something different when we think small and cheap.  For us it meant finding a much smaller boat than we originally pictured for ourselves but that we believed we could be comfortable on.  This originally brought us to Vela (then Baboo).  We figured, this is plenty of boat for us.  I mean sure we'd love a sugar scoop stern, and a pilot house,  and the newer bigger boats for 2-3x the $ are super nice....but we can be happy (we think) with much less.  So we opted to spend less on the boat and start getting her ready for an earlier departure date.

Some of the best advice we got, came from our virtual friends over at Totem.  We've never actually met but reached out to Jamie for some advice on new sails and while we ended up going with a local loft to get that local connection, we really appreciated Jamie's willingness to share what they've learned on their voyage.  His advice was to pick a date, not a year and a month but an actual day on the calendar.  Something you can point to and say, we're going then.  Otherwise it's just to easy to drag your feet and think we'll get to that...we still have years.  Once there's a date and you compare that date against the todo list, shit gets real.  But it also gets exciting.

So this year, we really get rolling.  The new sails should be ready in the next couple weeks and we just removed out staysail boom to get ready for them and clean up the deck a bit..  We have a new dodger and bimini in the planning stages and have started planning the arch that will be built and installed in the March/April timeframe.  We're hunting down the largest solar panels we can realistically fit, currently thinking 3 large panels in the 300-350W (each) range for the top of the arch.  Followed by a wind gen and davits.   That project will also include a full electronics upgrade, swim platform and windvane...so by far our biggest ticket item.

At the same time, we're planning to put our pretty little lake house (where we currently live) on the market (April/May) and move into our condo (currently rented out but the lease ends in May).  This start our downsizing process and by getting us back to Austin means we'll be an hour closer to the Vela, two hours closer on the round trip which will make it easier to get down and be productive on those work weekends.

So for us, 2016 is going to be a big year and that's really sinking in for me as I sit in front of this fire and think about the year ahead.  I'm pumped and while I know it will be an expensive and likely stressful process, it's that date that has my attention.

April 26 2017, is right around the corner...lucky us!

Planning the refit

Howdy Folks,

We've been busy getting things rolling with refit projects for Vela.  Our local sail loft, Banks Sails here in Kemah, is working on our new set of $ail$.  So we're looking forward to putting those to use pretty soon.  As part of that project we're still working on the design for the Asymetric spinnaker, stay tuned for that one.

As part of the new sail project, we'll be removing the staysail boom to free-up some deck space.
According to the rigger who came by today, we'll be able to keep the sail self tacking (with the new sail cut correctly) and get rid of the boom, so it feels like a big win.  In the past, having a dinghy on deck has meant the staysail was out of commission, this will address that.  What's the use of a cutter rig if you can't use your staysail offshore...when you need it most?

We've also been working with a local stainless shop to build an arch for our new solar panels and  wind generator.  It will also include a new set of davits.  Vela came with a set of davits but they don't really get the dinghy up high enough for our taste, and they're not the most sturdy design.  Moving them up to the arch and removing the stern ladder will allow us to open up the stern pulpit a bit.  As part of the project we're also planning to add a removable swim platform with it own ladder.  We'll also be replacing our existing stern rail seats, in an effort to get a more usable shape (deeper) and move them further back to gain some room.  Last but not least, we'll also be raising the back of bimini a bit to gain a bit of headroom when using the stern seats.  It currently hits me about mid-forehead when sitting in the seats.  It's turning out to be MUCH more expensive than we where originally thinking, but it's an important addition and we want to ensure it all works well and is solidly built.

It looks like we've also found someone to help us with the planning and installation of all the electronics upgrades.  One of the things Kara and I are both adamant about is that we're involved in the refit and know where EVERYTHING is.  Every connection, component, wire, splice, etc...  Someday, we know we'll be out there when something stops working and we want to be able to troubleshoot it on our own.  After talking with several other local sailors, we found Gary and he's going to help us with the entire process.  So there's some big changes in place for Vela in the coming months.  Our current 'plan' is:

• Arch - local custom
• Solar Panels - TBD
• Wind Generator - Silent Wind
• Chart Plotter - B&G Zeus 2
• B&G WiFi Module for phone/tablet control/visibility
• Move wind/depth/knot meter to companionway (from helm) - B&G Triton 41
• Charge controller - Battery monitor
• Radar - B&G 4G
• Water Maker - TBD, Likely Spectra 12v
• Much larger next-gen Anchor - TBD - Mantus or Rocna (73lb)
• Much larger Windlass - Lighthouse 1501
• Updated battery bank - Currently all lifeline
• AIS send/recieve - TBD

Essentially our plan is to hemorrhage as much $$$ as possible for the next year and if we survive that...do some cruising...or at least that's what it feel like at this point ;)

4-26-2017 By Kara

"Four, twenty-six seventeen" Like Dorothy clicking her heals to get home, I repeat my chant hoping that my mind will take me to a better place then the present stressful rat race.  April 26^th, 2017 is our target date to leave our current life behind, to transform and to explore the world.  

“I can put up with just about anything for 18 months if I know it will all change”, I think as I receive another elbow jab from my fellow airplane passenger while on the way home from everlasting work travel.   I’m not quite sure what happened, my career used to be important to me; it used to be fulfilling.  I was excited to help my customers solve a challenge or to ‘own the room’ with a 500 person audience.   Maybe it was process or lack of resources, but something killed my motivation.   Perhaps, it was when I took a step back, looked at the bigger picture of life and asked, “I am alive, but am I really living?”

My old soccer coach was diagnosed with ovarian cancer a few weeks ago and is under going Chemotherapy.  She was fit and lived a healthy lifestyle, but is still staring death in the face.   My dad died of cancer before 60 and I have numerous relatives and in-laws that either succumbed to health issues before their time or have trouble doing everyday tasks because of their declining health.  I am often reminded that you are only guaranteed this moment; the next might not happen.  Life is too short not to live out your dreams so we are going sailing and are untying the lines in April of 2017.

What’s the significance of 4/2017?   Our original goal was to retire early and go sail.   We could possibly leave in 5 years and 2020 sounded like a nice round, safe number to shoot for if we had to put a number on it.  The more that we researched the more we kept hearing “Go small, Go cheap, Go now!”  Not a single item we read made us think that we needed to wait longer or that cruising was a bad decision.  Advice from our cruising friends that are in mid-circumnavigation was to put a specific day month year on our plan to leave.  After careful consideration on Vela’s necessary improvements, the best time of year to sail through the gulf, and personal preparations (house / condo / family) we decided on 4/2017.  The 26^th just happened to be a random date in the last week of the month and we aren’t necessarily set on that date, but it gives us a day to shoot and plan for.

Yes some parts of this will be difficult, yes there is real work involved, yes we are not nearly prepared, yes I’m nervous yet excited, but also yes, we can do this!  As Walt Disney stated  “The way to get started is to quit talking and get doing” and thus I am going to stop typing and get doing.

Fireworks, Sailing, and Appeasing the Gods

Howdy again folks,

As I mentioned in the last post, we've had a busy couple weeks.  While it's great to catch-up on boat projects, we kept hearing rumors about folks that actually....(gasp)...left the docks with their boats and did fun things on them.  So instead of just talking about all the cool things we wanted to do, Kara and I decided to dedicate this last weekend to actually enjoying some time on the boat.

Kara was in Houston for work and had a hotel right next to our office Thursday night as a result,  As it turned out, all my meetings where all virtual on Friday, so after work Thursday night I loaded up the truck with boat stuff and drove down to join her in her hotel room.  We both had pretty busy afternoons but where able to leave the office around 4 and head down to Kemah (it's about an hour drive).  So Kara headed to the boat and kicked on the AC and fridge so they'd have time to cool down.  We hit the liquor store, grocery store, and Home depot for a new deck wash hose...way cheaper than West Marine for that kinda stuff.

Then we got down to the boat, got everything stowed, grabbed a bag of ice which the marina sells pretty cheap, reviewed the charts to figure out where we wanted to anchor for the fireworks, fired up the Yanmar, untied the boat and headed out.  We where pleasantly surprised at how much cooler it was once we got out of our protected marina.  The wind was a good 15+ knots and not as humid as we've come to expect from Houston, which was great.  We headed out through the Clearlake channel, under the the 146 bridge and into Galveston bay.  The wind had been blowing long enough that there was a pretty decent wind chop, so we opted to just head over about 1/2 mile off the kemah boardwalk and set the hook.  Once we got the anchor set and the boat settled into the wind and waves, it was pretty darn comfortable.  So we made a couple rum and diets, fired up the grill and cooked a few beef kabobs, which despite my hatred for our current magma gas grill, turned out pretty well.  I know I shouldn't hate something as simple as a grill and it's nothing against magma but I really miss charcoal and am so spoiled with my big green egg, that I find the lake of temperature control on this grill to be frustrating.  But by flipping the kabobs every 5 min or so, they turned out pretty well and we just had time to finish our dinner and make another drink before the fireworks started.  We've been talking about going out to watch the fireworks for so long, that it was really nice to finally be out, sitting up on deck with a cold drink just enjoying the cool(ish) breeze and a full (blue) moon.  It was also nice of the Kemah boardwalk to sponsor these fireworks which they seem to do every Friday night in June/July.  We can usually see them just by walking across the little street at our marina, but it's way nicer to enjoy them from the boat on the hook away from the dock...for a change.

After the fireworks we just sat and talked for a while and watched as all the boats went in.  Once the herd had thinned out a bit we pulled up the anchor and the deckwash and did our best to get all the chain back in without bringing up half of Galveston bay with it.  The bottom is a really fine black mud and it's almost impossible to get it all off in the dark.  We where thankful for our newly installed LED deck light which definitely made the job easier.   Once the anchor was stowed, we motored back to the marina and safely tied up back at the dock to conclude our first night time docking process with just Kara and I as crew.  Obviously this was a pretty simple little trip, but we really needed it and it felt great.  So did the AC and showers once we where back at the dock.

The next day we got up early, cleaned the remaining mud off the ground tackle and deck.  We then went out to pick up a few things for the day.  Jason and Autumn (Kara's brother and sister-in-law) had called and wanted to come join us for a sail and the renaming ceremony later that night.  So we picked up some champagne, snacks and got the boat ready to leave the dock for a second time in less than 24 hours...crazy stuff.

Once Jason and Autumn got there, we fired up the boat cast off the lines and motored out to the bay again.  This time though, we raised the sails and noticed how much easier it all was with our nice clean winches.  Yep, should have done that one a long time ago!  At first we only had 5-8 knots of breeze but it was enough that we where at least moving, so we where finally able to shut off the motor and enjoy the piece and quiet.  As the afternoon went on the wind picked up a bit and we where able to maintain a good 5-6 knots which was nice.  That in combination with good weather, great company, and some excellent beers that Jason brought along, made for an excellent afternoon of sailing.  We where out for about 4 hours and as the wind was dieing down, decided to head in and get ready for the renaming ceremony.

Once back at the dock, we got the AC cranking and got out of the heat for a while(100F / 37-38C).  While we where picking up food for the evening we heard from our friends Heather and Michelle and they wanted to join us for the festivities, which was great.  We all met back at the marina and as the sun was setting had our renaming ceremony.  Where we thanked the gods for taking care of our boat (previously known as Baboo) and requested they strike the old name from their roster and that she hereby be known as Vela...and may your watchful eye always bless her in her new life with us.  The full ceremony we used is here, it was the perfect combo of fun/silly/respectful that we where looking for.  In the process we got to meet a few new marina neighbors, who stopped by to share in the fun, food and cold beverages.

Welcome Vela - We're looking forward to many adventures together in the future.

All in all it was a great time and instead of being known generically as the boat, she will from now on be referred to by her new simple and beautiful name Vela.  Which we chose because we wanted a short simple and pretty sounding name.  It also means has several meanings.  One being Latin for the sails of a ship, which is where the name of the constellation comes from.  The other being "she who watches over" (which is the one I really love).  So for us it works on many levels, plus we just like the how it sounds and spelling it phonetically on the radio couldn't be much easier.

So, welcome Vela!  Long may we sail safely with her and may her new life with us take her to far away lands and be filled with love, laughter, happiness and of course adventure.

Of course first, we need new sails...and a few other things but more on that...next time!

Maintenance in the heat that is Houston

Howdy Folks,

Thought I'd check in after what's been a very busy June for us.  For various reasons we weren't able to get down to the boat for about a month, so for the last 3 weekends we've made the 8 hour round trip drive from the house to Kemah and have been whittling away on the projects.

The first two weekends, we pretty much didn't do anything fun and just worked on the boat.  We've cleaned and lubed all 8 winches (4 self tailing and 4 standard).  This was a fairly nasty job that we'd been putting off but we knew it needed to be done.  Essentially we just dissembled the winches 1 at a time and tossed the parts in a bucket to let them soak in either gasoline or mineral spirits to degrease it a bit and took everything up the one of the deck area our marina provides.  The decks are elevated so they get a decent breeze, the view is good and most importantly they provide a bit of share.  Then we scrubbed them clean with green scrub pads and a toothbrush.  Then after a quick rinse in some warm (as if there's another choice for anything outdoors during the Houston summer) soapy water.  We re-greased the gears (lightly with a brush) and oiled the pawls and springs and reassembled everything.  This really isn't a challenging job, but it's fairly time consuming and was super nasty.  Our goal is to do them more regularly form now one and to just tackle them 1 at a time so it's not such a downer.  But hey, the winches truly sing now and are much easier to use.

Winch disassembly

Dirty pawls, these should not have been greased, just lightly oiled.

Kara, finishing this one off the right way

We also got both settees in the main saloon re-upholstered and are super happy with them.  We used a very light colored Ultra leather, we went with their Brissa Distressed and really like the feel of it.  It feels like really buttery soft leather but has all the benefits of Ultraleather, so should last for a long time.  We also had the cushions redone, so it's much more comfortable now.

Kara went up the mast to the spreaders (We've been taking turns on this one) the mast climber really makes this nice as mentioned previously, but this was her first time up the mast.  So she climbed while I spotted with a safety line on the winch (not required but well worth the effort for the piece of mind).  She replaced the steaming light and deck lights, so for the first time since we've owned the boat, we have a functional deck light...nice.  We've now replaced almost every bulb on the boat with a new LED and have several spares squirreled away, so our power consumption and heat generation from the lights has come WAY down.

Kara on her way up to replace some light bulbs.

We also re-sealed the fridge doors with some new rubber (weather) stripping.  Kara cut and shaped a new gel infused memory foam mattress topper for the forward bunk that we sleep on.  This thing is great, much more comfortable and the gel means it sleeps cooler, which is a welcome improvement for me ;)

Then we finally took the time to position permanent dock lines to make it easier when bringing the boat back in.  We'd been using extra long dock lines and using them for double duty, so our bow line would come to the dock cleat and then back to the boat as a rear spring, with a similar process on the stern.  This meant we needed fewer lines, but was a huge PITA if you need to adjust either line.  To say we should have made this change,  much MUCH sooner is a massive understatement.  We've gone out several times since and putting the boat away is now about a 5-10 minute process compared to...well longer before. 

We've also been working to narrow down our list of "Must do" boat projects before we can leave.  I'll share more detail on this later but one of the things that's been on the list for a while now is to have our chainplates inspected and potentially replaced, since the boat is 15 years old, we where assuming this would need to be done before leaving.  We've been dreading this, since Island Packet used internal chainplates that are fiberglassed in place.  This is great from a protection perspective as long as they are well sealed and bedded but makes them very expensive (~$10K) if you need to replace them.  Anyway, we had a rigger come out that's experienced with IP chainplate replacement and he inspected ours and showed us what great shape they where in.  We couldn't see the entire chainplate (fiber glassed over) but we could tell that the exposed areas below the deck where in great shape.  He said based on how they looked and that they're made out of 316 stainless, that he didn't see any reason to replace them.  Prior to 1998/1999 they where made out of 308, which doesn't hold up nearly as well.  We just need to keep them well bedded and should be in good shape moving forward.  Thank you Mr Bob Johnson, we love the quality and attention to detail that went into our boat!  Not to mention, saving $10k on not having to replace the chainplates, means more for the cruising kitty!

Inspecting the chainplates.  We also checked them out from the inside.

Here's a bad chainplate from an IP he did earlier this month.  They used to make them out of 308 stainless, ours are 316 and fortunately in almost perfect condition.

The other big job we finally got done was a getting our new name on the boat.  We originally where just going to order some generic vinyl lettering of the web, but didn't like how they turned out and realized that for a little bit more we could work with a local artist who worked with us nailing a design we really liked and then custom cut everything in his shop and applied it all, and we both love it.

Putting on our new hailing port

So that was two full weekends of boat chores and maintenance, without ever even having the time to leave the marina...which kinda sucked to do, but the progress has been great.  We decided that this weekend we'd focus on actually getting out and enjoying the boat.  So stay tuned, the next post will have anchoring, fireworks, sailing and the renaming ceremony.  But more on that...next time.

I also made my first trip to the top of the mast, to check our halyards and a few connections up there.

A little morning inspiration

Howdy Folks,

It's been a while since I've updated the blog.  Kara and I have been spending a lot of time away from the boat lately. Spending time with friends and family, dealing with work drama, and enjoying some time at the lake while we still have the place.  We've also started selling things that we no longer need/use and that of course has led to a lot of talking and planning about our eventual leaving.  

We've been talking a lot about moving up our time frame from 5 years to the 2-3 year range and while that seems daunting at the moment, I think in our hearts we both no it makes the most sense for us.  Before we can leave we have some big projects to tackle but we'll get into that later.  For now I just wanted to share a quote that I find really inspiring.  For Kara and I it's easy to get wrapped up in prepping for the journey, you always feel like if you work just a little longer you'll be able to afford X or be more secure in your future.  But the future is always uncertain, and there's more important thing in life than a big fat bank account.  I think this quote from Sterling Hayden does a great job of capturing that, and while it's hard advice to follow, that doesn't take away from the value of the message.

-Enjoy-

“To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest. Otherwise, you are doomed to a routine traverse, the kind known to yachtsmen who play with their boats at sea... "cruising" it is called. Voyaging belongs to seamen, and to the wanderers of the world who cannot, or will not, fit in. If you are contemplating a voyage and you have the means, abandon the venture until your fortunes change. Only then will you know what the sea is all about.

"I've always wanted to sail to the south seas, but I can't afford it." What these men can't afford is not to go. They are enmeshed in the cancerous discipline of "security." And in the worship of security we fling our lives beneath the wheels of routine - and before we know it our lives are gone.

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. But we are brainwashed by our economic system until we end up in a tomb beneath a pyramid of time payments, mortgages, preposterous gadgetry, playthings that divert our attention for the sheer idiocy of the charade.

The years thunder by, The dreams of youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on the shelves of patience. Before we know it, the tomb is sealed.

Where, then, lies the answer? In choice. Which shall it be: bankruptcy of purse or bankruptcy of life? ”

― Sterling Hayden, Wanderer