SHIP'S LOG:
Having had a great Thanksgiving, I could think of nothing better than to do more work on ABISHAG as I await the arrival of the new batteries. Hopefully, these will be here Wednesday next and then, again hopefully, I will be off.
Good Friend Ken came by to help with installing the wiring for the speakers for the radio. In that he knows what he is doing and I do not, he threw me out while he did the work. Like I said, he is a good friend! With nothing much to do other than act as cheerleader, I decided that I would rig the signal halyards on the port and starboard spreaders of the mainmast. This would entail my using the self-propelled "Top-Climber." This little device is composed of a couple of rope clutches, a boatswain's seat, and stirrups. By running a line to the head of the mast and down through the clutches and using a "standing-up-&-sitting-down-slide-the-clutches" procedure, one is propelled up the line to the desired height for whatever purpose one had in mind. Since I have a fear of heights and this whole procedure has something of bungee-jumping about, I have been reluctant to do this particular repair. Ken was very good about laying on the guilt trip and since it was clear, sort of warm and absolutely still, I really had no reason to offer for not going up the stick.
It is not a difficult task, at least in wasn't on the video, but it took awhile to develop a rhythm and get moving up the line. The biggest problem, aside from the paralysing fear that increased with every foot up I went, was that unlike the video I kept swinging from side to side. While this turned out to be very helpful in completing the task once I got to the spreaders, it was getting to the height of the spreaders that proved painful. I would get up a couple of feet and then for some reason swing away from the mast and then slowly swing back. If I wasn't quick, I would whack a body part, usually my knees, once my head, against the mast. It was not painful except in a figurative way but it would always knock me off my climbing rhythm, making the ascent longer than it needed to be.
Eventually I got up to the spreaders, about 25ft off the deck and I paused to look about. It was actually a great view and despite my fear of heights and the climbing harness, I really felt secure and could actually do the work. This was a good thing too for I had to let go of the mast with both hands and stretch out to reach the clip where the blocks for the signal halyards were to be affixed. When I pulled out the first block, I discovered that I had rigged it wrong. (Nasty word!)
I had run the line, not through the block, but through the clip that was to attach the block to the spreader. I had woven both ends of the line into a eye-splice and attached shackles. Naturally, I couldn't simple re-run the line correctly, instead I had to undo one splice, remove the line, re-run it correctly, then re-attach the shackle, and finally affix the block to the spreader. I had to do all this laying out in the climbing harness 25ft off the deck. I have a new a profound respect for those in the sailing community who do this all the time, especially this who do stuff like this 110 feet in the air in a squall!
The procedure went off without a hitch save one. Half way through it, I let slip the block More Nasty Words) and it fell to the deck, missing the water I am not sure how. I had forgotten one of the most basic rules of sailing, gravity works! Kenny popped out to check on me just as I let the block drop. He slipped it on the halyard and I got it back without having to descend and reascend.
With the port halyard done, I swung over to starboard, laid out and pulled out the second halyard only to find (Lots of Nasty Word) that I had rigged this one wrong, just like the first. Correcting the problem was no big deal and in a lot less time than I thought it would take, it was done. Then came the fun part, getting down. Actually, it should be easier, a lot easier in that you have gravity working for you. My concern was that gravity would take over and not just assist the descent. It is funny how such a simple procedure of standing-up-&-sitting-down while moving the rope clutches would seem so difficult to coordinate. Once I got a rhythm going it went pretty well . . . . well almost. When I got to the level where I thought I could stand on the deck, I tried to get out of the harness and got hung-up. It was the first time I ever messed up and nobody saw it. It was something akin to the Dance of the Seven Sails but a lot less painful. However, aside from that, everything went well.
Kenny was just finishing up the wiring and it was time to split. I await Wednesday and the arrival of the batteries and battery switch. Once they are in, I will know if the windlass, propane solenoid and refrigeration work. If they don't, corrective measures will have to be taken before departure. I can do without the refrigeration as I have never had it before and have always sail without it. No big problem. The propane solenoid is necessary if I want to cook anything and I have no desire to raise anchor and chain back on the boat by hand, so the windlass must work too. All should be revealed by Thursday.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
Hanging some 25ft off the deck in the climbing harness, I realized that I would have to be willing to do this again. Though the next time I do it, I may not be tied to a dock and it may not be sunny, warm and still. I wasn't scared though I thought I would be. In reflecting on "why not," I came to the conclusion it was because I trusted the equipment, rigged it in the right way, and used it in the way it should be used. But, in truth, it was because I trusted myself. I knew what I was doing and I knew I could do it, and this came from this past summer of learning. I have gown in my sense of self confidence and self-trust. In fact, going up the mast, I kept waiting for the fear to really hit. Heck, swing on that line was enough to give anyone a certain twinge of shall we say concern, and I had that, but not the real fear, fear of falling, that I had expected. Both before the work at the spreaders started and after it was done, I took some time just to hang there and enjoy the view, no rush to get down and "safely" on deck. I really found it surprising and enjoyable. One of the things this whole trip is about developing confidence in myself and dealing with my fears. It may not seem like a big step but it was.
