Not for the Faint of Heart

Organizing a project of this size, boat as well as documentary, is, as I’ve said before, not for the faint of heart. At the best of times it’s crazy making. What off-sets all the insanity is the amazing work that everyone on the crew has been doing. From Matt and Molly at Rubics, to Tony Linder with the fund-raising and sponsor search. To the person everyone has done far more than originally contracted and at a discount price. These are the good guys. The bad guys are something else indeed; yesterday I received a notice form the IRS that an audit which I’ve been trying to appeal for the past 18 months was dismissed. This audit was the result of an error by accountant, a normally very conservative and thorough man. Nonetheless the IRS has found that with penalties and interest I owe an amount that is more than what the new watermaker cost the project. Once again, the illusion of freedom. Under normal circumstance I’d try to fight this with my accountant, but he’s since retired and moved to points unknown. Also under normal circumstance I guess I’d just have to “suck it up” and pay the tax, interest and penalties; but these aren’t normal times in that financial sponsorship has (understandably) been impossible to find and to that date this expedition/documentary has all been paid for out of my pocket. I keep reminding myself that as of June 15th, a lot of these hassles will be left ashore.