JULY 16th, 2009 . . . .7AM ! ! ! ! !

SHIP'S LOG:

Well, finally, summer will begin . . . in July, no less. it is not the calender summer start date but the date when ABISHAG makes her entry into the water. Actually, her second entry. Last week, she got he bottom wet only to have a thru-hull hose give way and so was immediately pulled and store on land again. It is a lot easier to replace the hose that split ( after making sure it was the hose and not the thru-hull itself that let go) on land than in the water. Then it became a matter of scheduling . . when the yard had the time to splash her again. It turned out to be this Thursday at 7AM! ! ! !

The weather Thursday is not expected to lend itself to a cruise up the Sound to New London which isn't a bad thing as I need a day to get the boat ready. I need to bend on the sails and make sure all the furlers work. this is something you can't do when the boat is on the hard, especially when she is 10 feet in the air. It wouldn't take much of a breeze to topple her off the stand and onto her side on the ground. I also need to tune the rig, a necessary step in keeping it upright and on the boat. Again it is a task that needs to be done while the boat is in the water. It allows the hull to take the proper shape and the masts to sit plumb.

Thursday will also be the time to run the engine and make sure all of the systems are up and running - charger, radios, GPS, and the like. I do not anticipate any problems but then again . . .
on the way home from Bridgeport, I was running the gauntlet that is I-95 through New Haven, when the guy in front of me slammed on his brakes because the guy in front of him slammed on his brakes because the guy in front of him slammed on his brakes for some unknown reason and so I did the same. Unfortunately, we all slid together bumper-to-bumper-to-bumper-to-bumper . . . . at less than 5mph as no one's airbag deployed. Do to the fact that I was driving the P.O.S. Hundyai, I got the worst of it. I slid into a Volvo which is like hitting a brick wall. It was an exciting adventure in which no one was hurt though the first guy, the guy in the BMW did cry a lot. The state police were very efficient and the whole thing took about 1 1/2 hours to wrap up. It was just one of those things that happen and the insurance companies will sort it out. I just didn't need it . . . . .Then there was the lost filling but that's an entirely different story.

CAPTIAN'S PERSONAL LOG:

I am desperately trying to figure out the point that God is trying to get across. It has taken forever to get ABISHAG ready but the weather has been crappy. And what's with the car accident just as she's ready to go into the water. I am really looking forward to sailing as I need the time to think.