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May 20, 2009
Wind?
I checked the marine forecast this morning. At 6:15, sipping Mulligan Brew. (Mulligan Stew, our dear friends in Vancouver, introduced me to stovetop espresso in a Bialetti coffee maker. Hence, Mulligan brew). This coming weekend is a long weekend for us "displaced-in-America-Canadians". The forecast? No wind. Good gravy.
The weather today was awesome, and with the long weekend, followed by a 10-day journey out Long Island Sound to Block Island, maybe Nantucket, Cuttyhunk, Martha's Vineyard. It was time for a major provisioning. So I reserved a car and hopped on an early train to Stamford.
I picked up the rental, went to the boat to fetch canvas bags and unload the junk I brought from the city (organic spelt pretzels, organic sumatra coffee, etc which I simply cannot get in Stamford). Then to the storage locker to drop off gear (bottom paint, etc which we won't need until spring 2010). Then to Home Depot in Norwalk. Then to the wine store. Then to West Marine. Then to the grocery store. Then back to West Marine because I forgot to get silicone grease. Then to the boat.
I ate sushi in the car on the way back to the boat. Swerved to avoid unfortunate pickled ginger mishap.
I unpacked, unpackaged, portioned meats, loaded the fridge and freezer, and stowed wine wrapped in bubble wrap. I discarded the waste (no cardboard on the boat - bugs lay eggs in the glue).
A rope clutch that I did my best to install on the mast required my attention. The screws I had used were too long, and my search of virtually every hardware store south of 23rd Street turned up the right length. I finished this little job, used the spinnaker halyard to support the boom, and ran the topping lift through the rope clutch. In English? I did a bunch of fiddly stuff that really didn't change much and spent money doing it. Welcome to owning a boat!
We think we had a twist in the mainsail halyard, so I lowered it, raised it, lowered it and raised it again to see if I could work it out. I think I got it, but it will take come load on the sail this weekend to see if I got it right.
In Oyster Bay last weekend, the anchor jumped off the bow roller. Chis did his best to use the boat hook as a lever to get the anchor back on the roller. The anchor was simply too heavy. I climbed in front of the bow pulpit and heaved the thing back on the roller. Everything was covered in muck (to be clear, it smelled like shit). When we cleaned everything up, the telescoping boat hook would no longer retract. There was a pretty significant bend in it.
So I got back in the car, and returned to West Marine to get a new one. I left the old bent one at the top of the dock in hopes that someone will use it. For something.
I returned the car, hopped on the train and am home. Sunburnt (again). Tired (too much fresh air?). I checked the weather forecast (it is my home page). South 10-15 knots on Saturday and Sunday makes me giddy!
Posted by dave at May 20, 2009 08:04 PM