SHIP'S LOG:
It actually is snowing! In one sense that is a good thing. It is after winter and what is winter without snow. IF you are going to have temperatures in the 20's & 30's, if it is January, you should have snow! Snow makes sense of the month and the temperature. Without snow it is sort of weird!
The again, I hate winter! Winter means I never quite get completely warm. winter means sitting and freezing in your car as you wait for it to warm up. winter means worrying bout where you put your gloves and your boots and your hate and your coat. winter means finding every single little crack that lets in the cold wherever you happen to be. winter means having your fingers and toes and the tip of your nose go numb. I hate winter.
The good part about this winter, if such a thing can be admitted, is that it has long delayed in coming and it probably means, hopefully means that it will be quick in departing. Days like today are beautiful with the snow falling and the silence that attends its fall but as beautiful as it might be today, tomorrow it will still be winter and I long for the three "H's" - "Hazy, Hot & Humid!" Oh for one of those days, sitting int he cockpit, maybe under sail, sipping something cold from a tall glass and muttering, "Damn! ain't it hot!" yet glad that it was and not wishing it to end, or really be cooler.
But it is one day closer to spring, one day closer to launching, one day closer to sailing season, so it isn't all bad. Still, it is beautiful outside and maybe, just maybe, I'll go for a walk in the falling snow.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Where's Winter? Who Cares?
SHIP'S LOG:
One of things you miss when you make a Trip like I did last year is getting together with family and friends fr special celebrations. You hear about them second hand via emails and phone calls which always include "You should have been there" and "Everyone was asking for you."Well this year is different and I got to go to a special celebration yesterday, the 50th Wedding Anniversary of Tom and Shirley. Being he "givers" that they are, the thought of their kids surprising them with such an event not what they wanted but their "objections" got overwhelmed by the real outpouring of love and celebration. The felt that they hadn't done anything "deserving" such a fete, but their children, and their grandchildren and their family and friends begged to differ. It was a wonderful time. Perhaps the only down side was that it made me feel a little "old." Then again, I guess I am.
Winter seems to be hesitant to put in an appearance. It seems to get "chilly" for a couple of days but it so far lacks the fortitude to stick around for long. This weekend is supposed to sport temperatures lower than normal but beginning the week will see the temps rise up above the normal to "unseasonably warm." And while parts of the mid-west are to get "substantial snow, it looks as though we are going to get a pass again. Not that I am complaining mind you. Still, what is winter without snow? It is one thing to be in Florida where snow would be an abomination, but here in New England it is the expected norm. I suppose that I should be careful what I wish for as it it is still very possible that we could get blasted. And when we do, if we do, I would be the first to grumble.
Other than that, the days pass peacefully and I am still waiting. I suppose something will happen soon, or at lest eventually, but until it does, I wait. I had a wonderful conversation about Haiti with a table companion last night. He seems very eager to go and experience the place and its people. It is difficult to explain to someone how a people could be so incredibly poor and yet be filled with joy. The things that we tend to worry and fret over, all the things that cause us stress are as nothing to the Haitians. They have sense of peace and joy that is incomprehensible to us of the first world. Maybe he will actually make the trip down though I warned him that it would change him forever. Still, it would be great for him if he made the journey.
It is one day closer to launching, though still months away. I am going to have to start planning the spring projects for they are not months away. With the way the weather is, it is very possible that late next month I can begin at least with those that require "destruction," sanding, scrapping, dismantling, cleaning and the like. It is drudgery but it is what helps to make the sailing season such a joy. There is nothing like laying in the wet mud, sanding the bottom in the cold March wind to make those steaks cooked on the grill in some anchorage taste all the better! AH!
One of things you miss when you make a Trip like I did last year is getting together with family and friends fr special celebrations. You hear about them second hand via emails and phone calls which always include "You should have been there" and "Everyone was asking for you."Well this year is different and I got to go to a special celebration yesterday, the 50th Wedding Anniversary of Tom and Shirley. Being he "givers" that they are, the thought of their kids surprising them with such an event not what they wanted but their "objections" got overwhelmed by the real outpouring of love and celebration. The felt that they hadn't done anything "deserving" such a fete, but their children, and their grandchildren and their family and friends begged to differ. It was a wonderful time. Perhaps the only down side was that it made me feel a little "old." Then again, I guess I am.
Winter seems to be hesitant to put in an appearance. It seems to get "chilly" for a couple of days but it so far lacks the fortitude to stick around for long. This weekend is supposed to sport temperatures lower than normal but beginning the week will see the temps rise up above the normal to "unseasonably warm." And while parts of the mid-west are to get "substantial snow, it looks as though we are going to get a pass again. Not that I am complaining mind you. Still, what is winter without snow? It is one thing to be in Florida where snow would be an abomination, but here in New England it is the expected norm. I suppose that I should be careful what I wish for as it it is still very possible that we could get blasted. And when we do, if we do, I would be the first to grumble.
Other than that, the days pass peacefully and I am still waiting. I suppose something will happen soon, or at lest eventually, but until it does, I wait. I had a wonderful conversation about Haiti with a table companion last night. He seems very eager to go and experience the place and its people. It is difficult to explain to someone how a people could be so incredibly poor and yet be filled with joy. The things that we tend to worry and fret over, all the things that cause us stress are as nothing to the Haitians. They have sense of peace and joy that is incomprehensible to us of the first world. Maybe he will actually make the trip down though I warned him that it would change him forever. Still, it would be great for him if he made the journey.
It is one day closer to launching, though still months away. I am going to have to start planning the spring projects for they are not months away. With the way the weather is, it is very possible that late next month I can begin at least with those that require "destruction," sanding, scrapping, dismantling, cleaning and the like. It is drudgery but it is what helps to make the sailing season such a joy. There is nothing like laying in the wet mud, sanding the bottom in the cold March wind to make those steaks cooked on the grill in some anchorage taste all the better! AH!
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Take Two And Hit To Right!
SHIP'S LOG:
Would that I had something truly interesting to write, but alas! such is really not the case. Perhaps.if I was a political junkie, I could get all into the New Hampshire Primary but it is hard to get excited about it. Now if Ron Paul had won, or Rick Santorum or even Newt Gingrich, but it was the "Steppford" Mitt Romney as expected and some sort of total cataclysm, it will be he for the GOP come the fall elections.And even those will be pretty much of a bore. That will mean that everyone will have to endure 7 months of increasingly negative political ads that will fill every spare moment of air time. I guess there is something good to be said about being without a television. At least we will have the Baseball Season to ease the pain.
Checking back in the log to last year on this date, I found that I was still in Fort Pierce enjoying the weather. I had become rather sedentary and had no reason to move but then one showed up. I had to empty the holding tank. Now that's a reason for making a journey! Then again, it was really living in the moment. Back then, I had to very aware of such things - food, water, electricity, sh*t, garbage, etc - for the simple reason that had to be handled very differently on a boat than on the land. Can't just "run out to the store." You are forced to do a lot more thinking, reflecting actually, and a lot more planning as you have to basically move your whole world to meet the need, whatever it might be. At the very least, it would entail rowing/motoring in the dinghy to the shore and then finding a way to get wherever it was that you need to get to get what you needed to get or get rid of what you needed to get rid of. Now it is very easy to go and get without much thought, but I find I still do the thinking part. I think about what I need, and then where I have to go, and then the best way to get there and all before I head out. Sort of like the UPS guys who plan their route so closely that the endeavor to make only right hand turns all along the way.
Like I said, not much of interest today but enough to let you know that I am alive and well, and that's a good thing!
Would that I had something truly interesting to write, but alas! such is really not the case. Perhaps.if I was a political junkie, I could get all into the New Hampshire Primary but it is hard to get excited about it. Now if Ron Paul had won, or Rick Santorum or even Newt Gingrich, but it was the "Steppford" Mitt Romney as expected and some sort of total cataclysm, it will be he for the GOP come the fall elections.And even those will be pretty much of a bore. That will mean that everyone will have to endure 7 months of increasingly negative political ads that will fill every spare moment of air time. I guess there is something good to be said about being without a television. At least we will have the Baseball Season to ease the pain.
Checking back in the log to last year on this date, I found that I was still in Fort Pierce enjoying the weather. I had become rather sedentary and had no reason to move but then one showed up. I had to empty the holding tank. Now that's a reason for making a journey! Then again, it was really living in the moment. Back then, I had to very aware of such things - food, water, electricity, sh*t, garbage, etc - for the simple reason that had to be handled very differently on a boat than on the land. Can't just "run out to the store." You are forced to do a lot more thinking, reflecting actually, and a lot more planning as you have to basically move your whole world to meet the need, whatever it might be. At the very least, it would entail rowing/motoring in the dinghy to the shore and then finding a way to get wherever it was that you need to get to get what you needed to get or get rid of what you needed to get rid of. Now it is very easy to go and get without much thought, but I find I still do the thinking part. I think about what I need, and then where I have to go, and then the best way to get there and all before I head out. Sort of like the UPS guys who plan their route so closely that the endeavor to make only right hand turns all along the way.
Like I said, not much of interest today but enough to let you know that I am alive and well, and that's a good thing!
Sunday, January 8, 2012
And The Weather In Florida . . . ..
SHIP'S LOG:
I got a chance to get around s see a couple more people who are on "The List" today. It is really something when I show up at their doors. They look absolutely shocked, stunned, like they can not believe their eyes. It is a great way to spend an afternoon, for both me and them.
The weather here has gotten a little bit "warmer" or shall I say unseasonable. A year ago, I was still in Fort Pierce battle the wind and the temps in the 70's. This was the day of the great battery replacement when the "old" house battery bank went away and a new one took its place. After a couple of days without electric "juice in the can" it was great to be able to run things again without firing up the engine or the portable generator. Basically I was still heading south though my pause at Fort Piece and my visits with Jerry had caused a bit of a delay. soon I would touch base with Brad and that would cause even more of a delay as together we worked at getting his boat "seaworthy." There are times when I think about him, whether or not he was able to finish up, whether or not he was able to get away before the local constabulary forced him to have his beast of a dog "fixed?" I will have to see if I still ave his cell phone number ad give him a call one of these days. I tend to think he is probably still on the hook in Fort Pierce, still planning to go but not being quite able to get going yet.
The first of the year brought a couple of big financial blows. The first was the bill for the dues for TYC - $708.63! Ouch! The second was the balance for the hauling, storage and launching from Yankee Boatyard - $786.53! Ouch! ! ! And the third was also from Yankee, the maintenance bill, I mere $663! Ouch!!! Ah, but then it is only money and had I gone south, I would have spent it anyhow. Then again, hauled out in some DIY (Do It Yourself) Mom & Pop boatyard someplace off the ICW down in "sunny Florida" I probably would have already been hard at work with the projects I have planned for the spring. Boy, is that list growing! Then again, it never really shrinks. Every project you begin reveals 3 more that need to be done, usually before you are able to finish the initial project, so it is better to leave it until spring when you can force yourself to stop because it is time to launch the boat. And that's a day that can't come soon enough. Have you noticed that the days are getting longer?
I got a chance to get around s see a couple more people who are on "The List" today. It is really something when I show up at their doors. They look absolutely shocked, stunned, like they can not believe their eyes. It is a great way to spend an afternoon, for both me and them.
The weather here has gotten a little bit "warmer" or shall I say unseasonable. A year ago, I was still in Fort Pierce battle the wind and the temps in the 70's. This was the day of the great battery replacement when the "old" house battery bank went away and a new one took its place. After a couple of days without electric "juice in the can" it was great to be able to run things again without firing up the engine or the portable generator. Basically I was still heading south though my pause at Fort Piece and my visits with Jerry had caused a bit of a delay. soon I would touch base with Brad and that would cause even more of a delay as together we worked at getting his boat "seaworthy." There are times when I think about him, whether or not he was able to finish up, whether or not he was able to get away before the local constabulary forced him to have his beast of a dog "fixed?" I will have to see if I still ave his cell phone number ad give him a call one of these days. I tend to think he is probably still on the hook in Fort Pierce, still planning to go but not being quite able to get going yet.
The first of the year brought a couple of big financial blows. The first was the bill for the dues for TYC - $708.63! Ouch! The second was the balance for the hauling, storage and launching from Yankee Boatyard - $786.53! Ouch! ! ! And the third was also from Yankee, the maintenance bill, I mere $663! Ouch!!! Ah, but then it is only money and had I gone south, I would have spent it anyhow. Then again, hauled out in some DIY (Do It Yourself) Mom & Pop boatyard someplace off the ICW down in "sunny Florida" I probably would have already been hard at work with the projects I have planned for the spring. Boy, is that list growing! Then again, it never really shrinks. Every project you begin reveals 3 more that need to be done, usually before you are able to finish the initial project, so it is better to leave it until spring when you can force yourself to stop because it is time to launch the boat. And that's a day that can't come soon enough. Have you noticed that the days are getting longer?
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
70 Degress, Humid and Sunny!
SHIP'S LOG:
I took a look back at the blogs of a year ago. Ah! That was the life! Vero Beach! Fort Pierce! Temperatures in the 70's! Swimming! Working on my tan! Wonderful! And as you are quiet aware, very different from what I have been experiencing recently! NULITELY - The Industrial Strength Bowel Cleanser! The Colonoscopy it self, though the drugs were very nice! Temps in the teens for crying out loud. Suffice it to say that I do day dream about last year, the good parts especially of which there were many, many.
I have to say that the routine of the trip, while galling at times, did keep things tidy. I have to say that over the last few months, I have lost "the routine" and even the ambition to create an on-shore version. It is not that I "have to do anything," for "wasting time," as some people call it, is not a waste of time at all. I can pretty much do what I want when I want within the strictures of my bank account and the criminal justice system, but being completely "free wheelin'" can be as boring and as unappetizing as any dead end job. And I still have to struggle against "should-ing" on myself. You know, "I should do this" or "I shouldn't do that." Having the free time to do what you want when you want is wonderful as long as you have a sense of what it is that you want. There is a big difference between " being " and "doing" but also as beg a difference between "being" and "rotting away."
The again, i had to pay the bills today. Well, actually I didn't pay them so much as organized to pay them - balancing my checkbook, listing the bills, - that sort of thing. And as the bills get paid online, it really only takes the moving of electrons from here to there, so long as my electrons are the right ones for the right amounts. Of course, it didn't help that "POWERBALL" raised the cost of a ticket. It was hard enough to justify spend $1 when the prize got over $100,000,000. Now with the cost going up to $2, I doubt that I will be able in good conscience to buy why shy of a half-a-billion pay out! It would be fun to win though. I would become a reincarnation of "John Bersford Tipton." Who is he you might ask. Well, if I got the name right (I'm close), he was the fictional "extremely wealthy millionaire" who used to send "Michael Anthony" out with checks for $1,000,000 to be given to randomly chosen people in the show called "The Millionaire." I wouldn't do it randomly though as there are a number of people who I would like to help out and different causes to do something for as well. Who knows, perhaps I may get the chance someday but it will be a tough call at $2 a ticket!
I took a look back at the blogs of a year ago. Ah! That was the life! Vero Beach! Fort Pierce! Temperatures in the 70's! Swimming! Working on my tan! Wonderful! And as you are quiet aware, very different from what I have been experiencing recently! NULITELY - The Industrial Strength Bowel Cleanser! The Colonoscopy it self, though the drugs were very nice! Temps in the teens for crying out loud. Suffice it to say that I do day dream about last year, the good parts especially of which there were many, many.
I have to say that the routine of the trip, while galling at times, did keep things tidy. I have to say that over the last few months, I have lost "the routine" and even the ambition to create an on-shore version. It is not that I "have to do anything," for "wasting time," as some people call it, is not a waste of time at all. I can pretty much do what I want when I want within the strictures of my bank account and the criminal justice system, but being completely "free wheelin'" can be as boring and as unappetizing as any dead end job. And I still have to struggle against "should-ing" on myself. You know, "I should do this" or "I shouldn't do that." Having the free time to do what you want when you want is wonderful as long as you have a sense of what it is that you want. There is a big difference between " being " and "doing" but also as beg a difference between "being" and "rotting away."
The again, i had to pay the bills today. Well, actually I didn't pay them so much as organized to pay them - balancing my checkbook, listing the bills, - that sort of thing. And as the bills get paid online, it really only takes the moving of electrons from here to there, so long as my electrons are the right ones for the right amounts. Of course, it didn't help that "POWERBALL" raised the cost of a ticket. It was hard enough to justify spend $1 when the prize got over $100,000,000. Now with the cost going up to $2, I doubt that I will be able in good conscience to buy why shy of a half-a-billion pay out! It would be fun to win though. I would become a reincarnation of "John Bersford Tipton." Who is he you might ask. Well, if I got the name right (I'm close), he was the fictional "extremely wealthy millionaire" who used to send "Michael Anthony" out with checks for $1,000,000 to be given to randomly chosen people in the show called "The Millionaire." I wouldn't do it randomly though as there are a number of people who I would like to help out and different causes to do something for as well. Who knows, perhaps I may get the chance someday but it will be a tough call at $2 a ticket!
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Almost Christmas!
SHIP'S LOG:
I have successfully avoided "It's A Wonderful Life" for the 47th year in a row . . at least. I am not sure if I have ever seen the film but from all that I have heard, I have no desire to do so.
Over the past couple of days, I have continued to visit people on "the List." The visits for the most part have been short as most are hip-deep in their own Christmas Celebration preparations and I didn't want to tie them up too much for too long. All though have made me promise a longer visit in the weeks ahead. Sounds good to me.
A year ago, I was ensconced in the Cocao Village Marina freezing. I had gotten past the point of being amazed at just how cold the winter was in Florida as the weather had been positively arctic for nearly a month.I can remember thinking that as bad as it might have been for us northerners wintering there, it had to be, and was, far worse for the poor locals. The concept of "winter clothes" and having " a furnace" were completely alien to them. It has been far warmer here this year than down there last year, and so far, no snow. That will undoubtedly change but so far, so good.
Come the first of the year, I will go pay a visit to ABISHAG in her winter quarters basically to see that her deck and cockpit drains are clear so there will no build up of water leading to ice, leading to water getting inside and thus to a whole host of troubles. It will also be an opportunity to sit down and visualize the projects that need to be done come spring. It is not too soon to begin that process as we are, as of today, one day closer to launching. Ah, what a wonderful thought.
I hope you all have a holy and Merry Christmas!
I have successfully avoided "It's A Wonderful Life" for the 47th year in a row . . at least. I am not sure if I have ever seen the film but from all that I have heard, I have no desire to do so.
Over the past couple of days, I have continued to visit people on "the List." The visits for the most part have been short as most are hip-deep in their own Christmas Celebration preparations and I didn't want to tie them up too much for too long. All though have made me promise a longer visit in the weeks ahead. Sounds good to me.
A year ago, I was ensconced in the Cocao Village Marina freezing. I had gotten past the point of being amazed at just how cold the winter was in Florida as the weather had been positively arctic for nearly a month.I can remember thinking that as bad as it might have been for us northerners wintering there, it had to be, and was, far worse for the poor locals. The concept of "winter clothes" and having " a furnace" were completely alien to them. It has been far warmer here this year than down there last year, and so far, no snow. That will undoubtedly change but so far, so good.
Come the first of the year, I will go pay a visit to ABISHAG in her winter quarters basically to see that her deck and cockpit drains are clear so there will no build up of water leading to ice, leading to water getting inside and thus to a whole host of troubles. It will also be an opportunity to sit down and visualize the projects that need to be done come spring. It is not too soon to begin that process as we are, as of today, one day closer to launching. Ah, what a wonderful thought.
I hope you all have a holy and Merry Christmas!
Monday, December 19, 2011
Visiting Here & There
SHIP'S LOG:
I am at last getting around to doing something that I really should have done before this. I have started to visit those who have been my support over the last year. True, I have seen a few, but I ma going to try and work my way through "The List," all those people who have been so supportive of me on my journey. I made four(4) visits yesterday and, as with the previous visits, it was a wonderful experience. And rather humbling too. Everyone was eager to hear the latest news and to hear again the stories of the trip that were given over in the blog. They wanted more stories, more details, more updates, more of everything like that. I wish I could write more about what took place on these visits, but it is really an exhausting thing. I will try and make a few more this week and then probably hold off on the rest until after the holidays.
I am at last getting around to doing something that I really should have done before this. I have started to visit those who have been my support over the last year. True, I have seen a few, but I ma going to try and work my way through "The List," all those people who have been so supportive of me on my journey. I made four(4) visits yesterday and, as with the previous visits, it was a wonderful experience. And rather humbling too. Everyone was eager to hear the latest news and to hear again the stories of the trip that were given over in the blog. They wanted more stories, more details, more updates, more of everything like that. I wish I could write more about what took place on these visits, but it is really an exhausting thing. I will try and make a few more this week and then probably hold off on the rest until after the holidays.
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