AHOY!

SHIP'S LOG:

O, The Mail! In the last few days, I received in the mail the "West Marine Catalog" and the "Defender Marines Industries" catalog, both fill with stuff I absolutely need to have and need to afford, stuff that I would nice to have but probably can't afford, stuff that is unnecessary but would be wonderful to have and which I can definitely not afford, and stuff that I fantasize about and which would take a visit from the Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol to afford. I actually went and did some "window shopping" at Defenders. O what a terrible place for an impulse buyer who owns a boat. Worse than going to a boat show where, at least, you know that you can't afford anything. I can still remember my first boat show back in the early 80's. I went on a Hans Christian 33 and was just blown away. The salesman offered to take $30,000 off the price if I bought the boat and kept it in the "traveling Boat Show fleet" until the next summer. I had to tell the poor guy that I could afford the $30,000 let alone the $200,000 discounted, Boat Show Special price.

Someone in Rhode Island won the $300+ Million Power Ball prize. I was hoping it was "family" but evidently not. Some of these prizes from Power Ball and Mega-Millions are getting so credulous that if you win you could bailout Greece. Still it would be fun to win one and have a chance to play with it a bit. You could sure to a lot of good with $300,000,000!

If the weather is going to stay the way it is, and I am not quite sure that it will, perhaps I will begin on the boat in the next week or so. The temps might not be warn enough for paint and varnishing, but they have certainly be warm enough to do prep work and mechanical stuff and I am getting itchy to start. It is not so much as I like the work, truth be told I hate maintenance chores, but they have to be done if the boat is going to go into the water. and this summer, owning a "sailboat" as opposed to a "powerboat" is going to be the thing. The cost of diesel in more expensive in marinas to begin with and with the rise in fuel prices now, they out to be brutal by summer. Since it basically costs the same to launch the boat as it does to keep it store for the summer, most people will probably launch though sailors will use their boats far more that powerboaters. The same thing happened the last time the prices for fuel shot up. Still in all, when you have a 55 gallon tank, even if you are judicious about running the "iron genny," any trip to the fuel dock is likely to be shocking to your wallet. O well, that's tomorrow and ABISHAG has a full tank, and tomorrow will have to take care of itself.

While I was at Defenders talking with one of the clerks, he mentioned that he was thinking about doing the ICW. I told him, "Do it! You won't regret it." I was still in Miami at this time last year, tentatively . . . very tentatively . . . making plans for the long trip home. from Miami, it is 1,089 miles to ICW Mark #1 at Hospital Point in Hampton Roads, Virginia. After that, depending on your course and stops, it was another 450+ miles to TYC. It's a long slog especially at 60 miles a day at best.No wonder it was so easy to say the heck with it and take another swim. Like I am sure I said several times back them, "Good harbors rot ships and men." Amen!

Today I am going to work out the projects list and finalize it. One small step to get closer to launching. Even before I can start any projects, I will have to retrieve tools and such from storage and cart them to the boat. Just getting ready to make a start is a project in itself. C'est la vie!