<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[SputnikTravels]]></title><description><![CDATA[Sputniktravels]]></description><link>https://www.sputniktravels.com/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Wed, 03 Jun 2026 18:54:41 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.sputniktravels.com/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[Life in boatyard]]></title><description><![CDATA[I remember when I drove one of those big wapko trucks in a coal mine in Tumbler Ridge as one of my summer jobs while going to university.  I was not built for those trucks so I sat on a large phone book in order to be high enough to see over the steering wheel. When I stood by the truck wheel I barely reached the midpoint - the trucks were that big. The job was pretty monotonous - driving the truck to a shovel to be loaded with coal or waste and then driving it to an area to be dumped. The...]]></description><link>https://www.sputniktravels.com/post/life-in-boatyard</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69f6026150a86bfc55a74885</guid><pubDate>Mon, 04 May 2026 04:22:11 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/ff61a7_95b42596deb5408e9f60e79e8a137150~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>svsputnik1</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Retirement]]></title><description><![CDATA[I have got to slow down more, I am thinking to myself as I am yet again running for a ferry. Rushing and trying to fit in all the things seemed to be a key feature of my regular work life and here not even two weeks out, the pattern continues to exist. Will we get through the long list of tasks before we set out?  Who knows? Likely not. We will have to prioritize and let things go, put attention where it needs. What I want in this new stage is to allow myself to change rhythm, slow down,...]]></description><link>https://www.sputniktravels.com/post/retirement</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69de59c6cee1d9a6a67318ac</guid><pubDate>Tue, 14 Apr 2026 17:37:29 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>svsputnik1</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Order out of chaos, and seamanship]]></title><description><![CDATA[The view looking aft (toward back of the boat) from the galley. Yes, that’s our toilet seat lid.  And some jumper cables (handy for various things), an autopilot control box, a steel tube for operating a windlass (winch for raising/lowering an anchor and its chain), a drill, even a very heavy lead diver’s weight belt: things not normally foind in proximity to a kitchen (“galley”, on a boat).  There’s a reason for this chaos: almost nowhere else to store stuff temporarily while many various...]]></description><link>https://www.sputniktravels.com/post/order-out-of-chaos-and-seamanship</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69d5159fdea6fa9cd956ee34</guid><pubDate>Tue, 07 Apr 2026 14:45:47 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>svsputnik1</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Easter, a non-traditional holiday]]></title><description><![CDATA[Well, it’s Easter morning, and who should pay a surprise visit during an unexpected (but planned) hydrocarbon transfer operation, but His Honour, The Easter Bunny.  “What,” you ask, “is a hydrocarbon transfer operation?” Why, sucking all the many, many litres of toxic diesel fuel in your boat’s giant fuel tank into large barrels, spilling some of the stinky, oily fuel in the process, cleaning out the fuel tank, and then returning the fuel to your tank - all to ensure trouble-free operation of...]]></description><link>https://www.sputniktravels.com/post/easter-a-non-traditional-holiday</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69d2cf5d79d08557ea7fab43</guid><pubDate>Sun, 05 Apr 2026 21:15:55 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/ff61a7_5ed775cd1c1a450bb14123e043257a9d~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>svsputnik1</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Preparation]]></title><description><![CDATA[It seems as if we have been preparing for this adventure forever.  The one where you untie the lines and sail off into the sunset.  The one that we have been thinking about for almost 30 years, ever since Sputnik came into our possession.  The one where the seemingly endless replacing, repairing, sanding and scraping is finally good enough and we can untie the lines.  We are not there yet.  Not quite.  Although Jud left his employ in December and has been working full time on readying...]]></description><link>https://www.sputniktravels.com/post/preparation</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69acbebe9992c96cd84b716f</guid><pubDate>Sun, 08 Mar 2026 00:40:27 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/ff61a7_5ad6726aa69647ed99557079625564ce~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>svsputnik1</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>