Happy 5th OF July

SHIP'S LOG:

As is traditional at TYC, the Fourth of July meant a race, the Bradbury, and as there was racing there also needed Race Committee-ing. Since I neglected to get a rating for ABISHAG, and since I didn't have crew for the event(tough for anyone to get on a National Holiday), I worked race committee. It was not a difficult task. Indeed the hardest part was waiting for the boats to finish after the start. They had a 13 mile or so course and once they started, the Queen Merry was abandoned and we retreated to the Clubhouse  where the appearance of the first boat signaled a return to the Queen to record the order of finish and record times. Not a particularly taxing task. Then it was ashore for the traditional post race cookout which was stupendous.

Strange things about this fourth was the real lack of fireworks. New London's will come Saturday night but usually the locals will fire off their stockpiles on the fourth after sundown. There were a few, and I emphasize "few" but no more. Usually, they keep up long into the night but not so this time. I found it peculiar. Even the guy down the beach with the honest-to-goodness canon let loose not a broadside. It was pretty much a "silent fourth of July."