SHIP'S LOG:
As St. Paul says, " Hope is belief in things not seen" . . . like my prop for instance! Another week has dawned and I am still stranded ashore, though I really expect that I will be off this week. After all, the prop was supposed to be "here early next week" last week and the weather for the coming week is to be cold and blustery and Tuesday and Thursday promise "SNOW FLURRIES!" Considering I originally departed on a fine Fall day with the sun shining and the temperature in the 70's it is only to be expected I guess. Then again, every mile traveled brings me closer to warmer weather, sunshine and the absolute need to done shorts and tee-shirts! Ah! Mistaken fools who dream of heaven!
I will give the yard boss a call on the morrow to see what to story is. I am sure that he is doing his best as I am a bit of a bur under his addle, taking up yard space. He can rightly point to someone else in the "chain" for the delay and it will be completely reasonable and rue besides, as he and the yard benefit not in the least by my continuing presence. Of course as Roland mentioned the other night, the next thing will be that the prop is in but the one and only person capable of installing it properly: 1.) is out sick; 2.) is on vacation; 3.) has quit and they are looking for a replacement.
A recent sociological investigation has determined that the Danes are the happiest people in the world. The reason why is that they set their expectations low, so low that they have little trouble meeting them and rarely get disappointed, thus leading to them being happy. I ain't ready to go that far . . . yet.
CAPTAIN'S PERSONAL LOG:
I Fully expect to get the call tomorrow and be gone on Tuesday.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Still Stuck Ashore
SHIP'S LOG:
I am not sure what type of calendar the Yard Boss is using but it is evidently far different that the one I use. Last week, his exact words were "early next week" for the arrival and installation of the new prop. It didn't happen Monday. I didn't really expect it on Tuesday as it was a federal holiday. Certainly Wednesday, Hump Day, would bring the phone call and the good news, but no such luck. Nothing Thursday nor Friday, and now I am into another November weekend. Considering the weather beating up the east coast, it is probably a good thing, but still . . . . . .
I suppose that I could call up the Yard Boss and ask him "what'sup", but again it is probably, out of his control. I am waiting on him, and he is waiting on his supplier, and he is waiting on his retailer, and he is waiting on the foundry, etc. I am sure that all this waiting will serve its purpose though I am beginning to be concerned about what situation, what set of circumstances is going to require that I have such patience.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
It seems like an awfully long time ago now, but that first day sailing, even though it ended not good at all, was wonderful, fantastic, truly everything I wanted it to be. I am really looking forward to another such day. I can't wait to go through New york City, not just because it means I am really on my way, but just to go through that particular piece of water. Seeing the New York skyline, the Statue of Liberty, the Verrazanno Narrow Bridge, Sandy Hook . . . it will be fantastic. And I would like to be able to do it before it gets to the point where I am more concerned about how cold I am rather than what is going on around me. Maybe before Thanksgiving?
I am not sure what type of calendar the Yard Boss is using but it is evidently far different that the one I use. Last week, his exact words were "early next week" for the arrival and installation of the new prop. It didn't happen Monday. I didn't really expect it on Tuesday as it was a federal holiday. Certainly Wednesday, Hump Day, would bring the phone call and the good news, but no such luck. Nothing Thursday nor Friday, and now I am into another November weekend. Considering the weather beating up the east coast, it is probably a good thing, but still . . . . . .
I suppose that I could call up the Yard Boss and ask him "what'sup", but again it is probably, out of his control. I am waiting on him, and he is waiting on his supplier, and he is waiting on his retailer, and he is waiting on the foundry, etc. I am sure that all this waiting will serve its purpose though I am beginning to be concerned about what situation, what set of circumstances is going to require that I have such patience.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
It seems like an awfully long time ago now, but that first day sailing, even though it ended not good at all, was wonderful, fantastic, truly everything I wanted it to be. I am really looking forward to another such day. I can't wait to go through New york City, not just because it means I am really on my way, but just to go through that particular piece of water. Seeing the New York skyline, the Statue of Liberty, the Verrazanno Narrow Bridge, Sandy Hook . . . it will be fantastic. And I would like to be able to do it before it gets to the point where I am more concerned about how cold I am rather than what is going on around me. Maybe before Thanksgiving?
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
And The WORD Is . . . . . . .
SHIP'S LOG:
And the word is . . . . Zip! Zilch! Nothing! Nada! Bupkis!!!!!!!!!!!! As of 10:35AM this date, I have received no word from the Yard Boss that the prop has arrived let alone has been installed, tested, and so the boat is ready to go. ARGH! Ah, such is life. It will get here eventually I know but the waiting is what tends to drive one up the wall. Had this happened in the Keys, or St. Bart's, or Tortola, of course I would not be all that concerned or frustrated. Hey, how could you get upset being "forced" to wait is such locations. As Jimmy likes to sing, it would be "just another shitty day in paradise."
I spent one (1) Marine Unit procuring the last few items for ABSHAG. None of the items were "absolutely" necessary but since I was able to do so, I did it. A secondary anchor & rode, spinnaker sheet, some cordage, some updated flares, fire extinguished, switch for the water maker, mildew control stuff - like I said, not all that absolutely necessary stuff, but nice to have nonetheless. I need to get going before I "fill" the boat again.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
So far, the temperature hasn't really nosedived . . .yet. It was nice that the last hurricane, a post Hurricane Season hurricane by the by, decided to head out into the ocean to die. The thought of dealing with the Jersey Coast and the Delaware Bay with even the leftovers of that storm hitting the coast was not exciting to contemplate. I have three invites for Thanksgiving dinner at three different spots in the Chesapeake and one in Virginnia. There is even some place, I'll have to find it again in the cruising guide, where the people of the town host the ICW Transicents for Thanksgiving. By that time I will probably be ready for a home cooked meal as my boat cooked meals will be rather spare and simple.
I hope I get the word today. I am definitely ready to go!
And the word is . . . . Zip! Zilch! Nothing! Nada! Bupkis!!!!!!!!!!!! As of 10:35AM this date, I have received no word from the Yard Boss that the prop has arrived let alone has been installed, tested, and so the boat is ready to go. ARGH! Ah, such is life. It will get here eventually I know but the waiting is what tends to drive one up the wall. Had this happened in the Keys, or St. Bart's, or Tortola, of course I would not be all that concerned or frustrated. Hey, how could you get upset being "forced" to wait is such locations. As Jimmy likes to sing, it would be "just another shitty day in paradise."
I spent one (1) Marine Unit procuring the last few items for ABSHAG. None of the items were "absolutely" necessary but since I was able to do so, I did it. A secondary anchor & rode, spinnaker sheet, some cordage, some updated flares, fire extinguished, switch for the water maker, mildew control stuff - like I said, not all that absolutely necessary stuff, but nice to have nonetheless. I need to get going before I "fill" the boat again.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
So far, the temperature hasn't really nosedived . . .yet. It was nice that the last hurricane, a post Hurricane Season hurricane by the by, decided to head out into the ocean to die. The thought of dealing with the Jersey Coast and the Delaware Bay with even the leftovers of that storm hitting the coast was not exciting to contemplate. I have three invites for Thanksgiving dinner at three different spots in the Chesapeake and one in Virginnia. There is even some place, I'll have to find it again in the cruising guide, where the people of the town host the ICW Transicents for Thanksgiving. By that time I will probably be ready for a home cooked meal as my boat cooked meals will be rather spare and simple.
I hope I get the word today. I am definitely ready to go!
Friday, November 7, 2008
Light at The end Of The Tunnel
SHIP'S LOG:
I received a call from the Yard Boss yesterday and I got the word: it will be early next week . . . or at least that what he says. I have gotten to the point to where I will get excited only when he calls and says he is splashing the boat. Then again, hope springs eternal.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I have the courses laid out. I have the goal anchorages noted and dozens of ancillary fallback locations. The boat is stocked with eats and water. The only thing missing is the prop . . .and ABISHAG being in the water. I am planning to leave as soon as she is in the water and the tide begins to ebb. That'll get me to the Little Bay anchorage at the Throggs Neck Bridge and the next day through Hell's Gate and on to New Jersey. It won't be September. It won't be October. It won't be the first week of November but it will happen. Huzzah!
I received a call from the Yard Boss yesterday and I got the word: it will be early next week . . . or at least that what he says. I have gotten to the point to where I will get excited only when he calls and says he is splashing the boat. Then again, hope springs eternal.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I have the courses laid out. I have the goal anchorages noted and dozens of ancillary fallback locations. The boat is stocked with eats and water. The only thing missing is the prop . . .and ABISHAG being in the water. I am planning to leave as soon as she is in the water and the tide begins to ebb. That'll get me to the Little Bay anchorage at the Throggs Neck Bridge and the next day through Hell's Gate and on to New Jersey. It won't be September. It won't be October. It won't be the first week of November but it will happen. Huzzah!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Still Waiting
SHIP'S LOG:
I went down again to see ABISHAG and clean some of the seagull detritus off the deck. I shift around some of the stores to balance her out a bit better. I opened the ports to air her out. I brought down the Cruising Guide for Connecticut, New York and New Jersey , plus the Skipper Bob ICW Anchoring Guide and picked up the Cruising Guide for the Chesapeake to Florida and Skipper Bob's Marinas on the ICW. And basically that was all that there was to do. The bottom is painted and the rudder is re-attached. The prop, well that is what I am waiting for and it is coming, but then so is Thanksgiving and I am praying that I leave before then!
I turned over the check from the Insurance company to cover the expenses of the work that has been done. There really isn't anymore that I can do other than up date the electronic charts which I will spend the "waiting time" doing . . . . that and praying that the weather continues mild.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I was watching the yard crews shrink wrap the boats all around ABISHAG. Winter is definitely on the horizon . . . at least in the boating sense. I swore up and down that I wouldn't spend another winter here in the north . . . perhaps God is just reminding me that I shouldn't swear, especially about things over which I have no control. I am resigning myself to a cold water slog which will make the first part of the trip a real drag but it will get better the further south I go. I am getting sick of this scenery and it is time for a change! ! !! !
I went down again to see ABISHAG and clean some of the seagull detritus off the deck. I shift around some of the stores to balance her out a bit better. I opened the ports to air her out. I brought down the Cruising Guide for Connecticut, New York and New Jersey , plus the Skipper Bob ICW Anchoring Guide and picked up the Cruising Guide for the Chesapeake to Florida and Skipper Bob's Marinas on the ICW. And basically that was all that there was to do. The bottom is painted and the rudder is re-attached. The prop, well that is what I am waiting for and it is coming, but then so is Thanksgiving and I am praying that I leave before then!
I turned over the check from the Insurance company to cover the expenses of the work that has been done. There really isn't anymore that I can do other than up date the electronic charts which I will spend the "waiting time" doing . . . . that and praying that the weather continues mild.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I was watching the yard crews shrink wrap the boats all around ABISHAG. Winter is definitely on the horizon . . . at least in the boating sense. I swore up and down that I wouldn't spend another winter here in the north . . . perhaps God is just reminding me that I shouldn't swear, especially about things over which I have no control. I am resigning myself to a cold water slog which will make the first part of the trip a real drag but it will get better the further south I go. I am getting sick of this scenery and it is time for a change! ! !! !
Saturday, November 1, 2008
It's November Already!
SHIP'S LOG:
Well, that was a fast October. I guess that it wasn't God's intention that I stay here to watch the Red Sox win another World Series. I am not sure the reason why i am still here, according to God's plan, but the "secular" excuse is that "I am awaiting the prop!" It should show up sometime this week . . . . . but then again it may not. When it gets here, it gets here and when it gets here, I am gone!!!!
I have laid in a supply of winter clothing, mostly sweats and turtle fur stuff - hats, pants, shirts, etc. - and fuel for the fireplace - pellet logs and charcoal - so I am ready for the cold as it comes. With the shortening daylight hours it means that I must be an early riser so I can do all my cruising in the bright sunshine or at least not in the dark. It basically means that the day hops will be shorter than planned or hoped for. Ah such is life!
A I have mentioned before, the "toughest" part of the journey - the actual sailing part that is - will be the first few days as I go through NYC, down the New Jersey coast and up the Delaware Bay to the head of the Chesapeake at the D & C Canal. There is lots of traffic in and around NYC, there is a lot of open water sailing along the Jersey Coast and not a lot of places to put in, and the Delaware Bay is best done in one shot of 58 miles. A week of nice, relatively warm, settled weather would be wonderful but Ill just have to take what comes. The Chesapeake is loaded, and I mean loaded, with anchorages and marinas and all sorts of services for sailors that are open year round. It is like Narragansett Bay on steroids. Once I get there, I could do 10 - 20 miles day hops all the way to Norfolk and beyond. The weather there will be more moderate than up here and the farther south I go, the warm it should be come. I look forward to the day i "have to" start wearing tee-shirts and shorts again.
O by the way, the check that I thought was from the Insurance company wasn't. Turned out to be a promotional $10 to sign up for a something from Budget Rent-A-Car. If it isn't here by Monday, I'll have to place a call.
Well, that's about it for today. Back to waiting for "the call." Hopefully I will be hearing from the Yard Boss early this week so I can get out of Dodge before the snow actually does fall.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I am getting moderately tired of waiting. I have tried to keep busy, logging every anchorage, marina, bridge, lock, historical sight, point of interest and anything else I might possibly be able to use onto my electronic charts. I am working out the wrinkles in my mail forwarding service and electronic bill paying arrangements. I am trying to figure out what God wants me to learn or do or experience before i get to go. Perhaps it is none of these and it is just another opportunity to practice patience and self-surrender. Not being in control of things, even if such control is really only in your head, is hard. Trusting is hard. Not quite knowing where you are going is hard. I hope it gets just a little easier in the future.
Well, that was a fast October. I guess that it wasn't God's intention that I stay here to watch the Red Sox win another World Series. I am not sure the reason why i am still here, according to God's plan, but the "secular" excuse is that "I am awaiting the prop!" It should show up sometime this week . . . . . but then again it may not. When it gets here, it gets here and when it gets here, I am gone!!!!
I have laid in a supply of winter clothing, mostly sweats and turtle fur stuff - hats, pants, shirts, etc. - and fuel for the fireplace - pellet logs and charcoal - so I am ready for the cold as it comes. With the shortening daylight hours it means that I must be an early riser so I can do all my cruising in the bright sunshine or at least not in the dark. It basically means that the day hops will be shorter than planned or hoped for. Ah such is life!
A I have mentioned before, the "toughest" part of the journey - the actual sailing part that is - will be the first few days as I go through NYC, down the New Jersey coast and up the Delaware Bay to the head of the Chesapeake at the D & C Canal. There is lots of traffic in and around NYC, there is a lot of open water sailing along the Jersey Coast and not a lot of places to put in, and the Delaware Bay is best done in one shot of 58 miles. A week of nice, relatively warm, settled weather would be wonderful but Ill just have to take what comes. The Chesapeake is loaded, and I mean loaded, with anchorages and marinas and all sorts of services for sailors that are open year round. It is like Narragansett Bay on steroids. Once I get there, I could do 10 - 20 miles day hops all the way to Norfolk and beyond. The weather there will be more moderate than up here and the farther south I go, the warm it should be come. I look forward to the day i "have to" start wearing tee-shirts and shorts again.
O by the way, the check that I thought was from the Insurance company wasn't. Turned out to be a promotional $10 to sign up for a something from Budget Rent-A-Car. If it isn't here by Monday, I'll have to place a call.
Well, that's about it for today. Back to waiting for "the call." Hopefully I will be hearing from the Yard Boss early this week so I can get out of Dodge before the snow actually does fall.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I am getting moderately tired of waiting. I have tried to keep busy, logging every anchorage, marina, bridge, lock, historical sight, point of interest and anything else I might possibly be able to use onto my electronic charts. I am working out the wrinkles in my mail forwarding service and electronic bill paying arrangements. I am trying to figure out what God wants me to learn or do or experience before i get to go. Perhaps it is none of these and it is just another opportunity to practice patience and self-surrender. Not being in control of things, even if such control is really only in your head, is hard. Trusting is hard. Not quite knowing where you are going is hard. I hope it gets just a little easier in the future.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
And The Word Is . . . . ..
SHIP'S LOG:
And the word is . . . . . well, there really is no word! The insurance company has sent the check but it hasn't gotten here yet. The letter telling me they were sending the check got here but not the one containing the check! Sigh! As for the prop . . . no word yet! Sigh! I am sure it will be here, at least by Christmas! Til then, it is Patience and Waiting!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
Not much to say. When the prop gets here I'll go. I have picked up some winter clothes and so long as there are no storms, well I'll deal with the temperature. Once I can get into the Chesapeake, then the day hops can be rather short. And the weather will be different as I'll be 150 miles further west and 200 miles further south. The farther away I get from the potential of snow the better.
And the word is . . . . . well, there really is no word! The insurance company has sent the check but it hasn't gotten here yet. The letter telling me they were sending the check got here but not the one containing the check! Sigh! As for the prop . . . no word yet! Sigh! I am sure it will be here, at least by Christmas! Til then, it is Patience and Waiting!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
Not much to say. When the prop gets here I'll go. I have picked up some winter clothes and so long as there are no storms, well I'll deal with the temperature. Once I can get into the Chesapeake, then the day hops can be rather short. And the weather will be different as I'll be 150 miles further west and 200 miles further south. The farther away I get from the potential of snow the better.
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