Passing The Time

You know who I am, you know how I make a living

-------

Hard as it is to believe, the first draft of this entry was written by hand, on an honest to god piece of paper. My computer at work was being serviced and, as a result, I was forced to use an actual pen. I forgot how nice it is to really jotted down my thoughts, as opposed to typing them.

I did find it amusing and disturbing that I barely remember how to write. For at least the last 10 years almost everything substantial I have written has been typed. My handwriting looks like a cross between the scribbles of a preschooler and the pictographs they found in that cave in Spain. To make matters worse, my hand started to cramp. All this makes me wonder if people will even know what a pen is by the time my daughter has children.

I haven't had much time to work on the Mermaid lately. I have been in marathon meetings at work and the baby has been keeping us awake at night, so I am a little beat. I did get outside last night though, for a few hours at least.

I snuck out to check on the battery and I ended up losing track of the time. I didn’t come in until almost 10. I caulked the windows and resealed the through hull, just to be on the safe side. I also started to remove the old pin striping from the port side of the hull. It actually came off pretty easily; I used the power washer on it. I still need to scrap off some left over pieces, but it is going ok. I am a little concerned about ruining the gel coat, though, if I do scrape it. Truthfully, I am a little scared to try.

I have a half-day on Friday – part of my company’s summer hours program – and Matt is coming over Sunday morning to help my raise the mast. I am getting pretty psyched, I think two more weeks and I will be good to go. I need to call Keith at the yard and check the status of my mooring. For those of you who are keeping track, I got a 77 dollar bill from the marina for some new chain and a coupling.

On an unrelated note, Matt asked me to post a link to the grog recipe I found. For those of you that don’t know, grog is the preferred beverage or pirates. It is made from rum, water, sugar and spices. We have a running joke going that I am a pirate, and that the Coast Guard will sink me by the end of the season.

This irresponsible rumor stems from my desire to buy a cannon for the front of my boat. They actually sell them. Small brass cannons that really fire. No cannonball or anything, but they make a hell of a lot of noise and a huge plume of smoke. Sounds like fun huh?

This conversation quickly degenerated into arrrrs, name-calling, and threats of keelhauling. Normal car pool stuff, but my membership in the brotherhood of the coast was firmly established.

I also promised Matt that I would post some information about Jawsfest, which is a celebration of Jaws, the movie and the book, that takes place in Martha’s Vineyard. Unfortunately it is cancelled this year, as Peter Benchly , the author, recently passed away. Instead they are running the “Monster Shark” tournament . First prize is a 31-foot fishing boat, worth 130,000 dollars!

There is also the Stan Rogers Folk Festival in Nova Scotia. Rogers specialized in what I call pirate music, sea shanties and the like. He is worth a look if you are feeling nautical.

Sorry about all the links and general silliness. I was only passing the time.



UPDATE: I called Daniel Row again, or at least his proxy WC Hall. Hall’s number is, according to my phone, the place where Row called from when I spoke to him a couple of weeks ago. There was no answer. Matt has proposed a rescue mission… details to follow....