The Anecdotal Life Part.33

Almost too much to tell. Finally conquered a good bit of the social phobia blocking my way in terms of parties at the marina. Admittedly, it was a small crowd this time, but it was definitely my speed. I told fortunes and danced my blue brains out on the back porch in a group dancing situation. When they started some dorky, slow dancing I booked for my boat.
Two days before I had made one of those horrible mistakes all women dread when coloring their hair. Light brown sounds innocent enough doesn't it? Well, ha! It turned pitch black , with clear indications of heading south into purple and blue. And I was only halfway into the process. My niece called exactly then and gave reams of immediate and useful advice on how to rescue what had been my blonde persona. I managed to beat it down into a muddy dark brown and was glad the party was in the evening.
Why is it always me? I am on my way to a hairdresser this morning to change what is now steel grey.
I spent Monday taking lessons on, off and about the boat. I darted back home to begin a course in Seamanship with the Annapolis Power Squadron that evening and they politely let me know that I should have taken another course before this current one and would I please take two at once immediately and both to be followed by a GPS course. I suspected when they realized how green I was, and it doesn't take long to do that, and that I was in charge of a thirty-four ft. boat, they wanted to protect the boating populace plus environs as quickly as possible. Subsequently, I am awash in incoming information, more terminology, books, and trying to beat my problems with directionality while I attempt to tie the different knots. My two cats love the lines I'm working with. My living room is a funny mix of leftover Mayan furniture and themes from my housewarming and navigational materials and tomes. Who woulda thought? What surprises me is how much I love it. My mind has been sleeping or distracted way too long. " look out fellas here she comes"
Copyright: September 27, 2006

The Anecdotal Life Part.31

"On the road again," whoa , and probably with a flat tire to deal with at the end. It wasn't looking too good this A.M. However, driving gets me back to center. Especially, across the endless miles of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan. It's wierd the way the mind works or at least mine. I spent the week crying and worrying about the health of my sisters and then it was "suit up and show up" time and I left for the North. I sailed through everything I had to face. Annie has an oxygen sign on her door now, but didn't require any while I was there. We had a good time together and I used the questions I needed answers for about boating maps and navigational terminology to pass the longer hours away. We watched Michigan trounce Notre Dame and the Tigers beat the O's. Ordinarily, I am for the O's, but not when it's the Tigers.
My niece, Ginger, a reading teacher, poured over my new Chesapeake Chart Book with me since she has fifth graders coming to her for study hall. Neither of us knew enough about geography, but we each knew enough to help each other. We used up all her dictionaries to figure out the difference between an octant and a sextant. Finally, on the umpty-umph trip across Michigan, from Lansing to Grand Rapids, I called my brother-in-law and sister in California and they poured through two more dictionaries. Ruthie found it. It seemed simple.As near as we could tell, the octant could figure out latitude and the sextant, developed later, figured out latitude and longitude. I suppose some smart apple will elaborate on that, but temporarily I was satified. My other niece, Lizbeth, told me logarithms could be solved through Google if it ever comes to that when I get to the math of course plotting.
Then finally, I went to West Marine's store when I got home to Annapolis and a member of the coast guard and two clerks helped me understand the "rose" on the map better in plotting a course. I only needed isinglass cleaner, but because I was just a beginner in boating, they gave me a free boat toolkit for being an almost new boater. That was very kind, but pushing it some. I learned what a leap second was ( sort of). Why did they have to name measurements on the map in minutes and seconds anyway? Some guy did that; I'll bet. I even have devices for hanging up the hoses and electric cords, got the cover fixed and drapes cleaned. And don't tell me, I already know, there's lots more to it all than even that. On Monday morning I am scheduled with a Captain to learn more about piloting. EEk. Somewhat nervous, but ready to have at it. It's time.
Copyright: September, 20, 2006.

The Anecdotal Life Part: 30

A friend recently said, " Lighten up Jacqueline!" How do you lighten up around 9/11 or with terminally ill siblings and friends? Sometimes I feel like "I am the only running footman".Well the truth is you can, of course, and you can't let the guilt get you for skipping away for a while. Skipping away is what I got to do Sunday on a really sweet yacht with the unlikely name of BayBus. The part that gets to your heart is the ingrained kindness of the friend to treat you, distract you, and teach you about boating. Though I wish to God and soon, that I will get the opportunity to learn it all a little more incrementally. The terminology, in and of itself, is staggering.
However, it is always so amazing how something that puzzles you becomes more illuminated seemingly out of nowhere. Wandering through my favorite habitat, the library, I grabbed a book on George Washington and just for the heck of it, one on John Paul Jones. What an interesting pain in the butt he was. But lo and behold, the book turned out to have a small description about navigation that helped me understand the term , azimuth. ( A little bit. ) I had looked it up in the dictionary and in the holier than thou ( and me included ) Chapman book of piloting and all they both said was it had to do with the horizon and something about a thing being two ticks off azimuth. Well, whoopee. I am pretty sure I am more than a few ticks off azimuth anyway, especially since trying to figure it out. I read it to my more professorial sister and she didn't get it either. So here's the bit I read in "John Paul Jones" by Evan Thomas.
" John Paul's deliverance from the hardship of the lower deck was a brass instrument called an octant. His ascent began the moment the master of the "Friendship",Captain Robert Benson, summoned him to the rail of the quarterdeck one day when the sun was at its zenith, pointed to the horizon, and handed him the tool navigators used to find their way on the trackless sea."
"The octant could tell a mariner the angle of the sun to the horizon at high noon..." and so forth about their ability to ascertain latitude but forget longitude, which they couldn't figure. I bet that could wreck their whole afternoon. Nevertheless, I began to get the picture. Would you believe that very octant is on view over at the Naval Academy near me in Annapolis? Guess where I'm going today.
Copyright: September 13, 2006

The Anecdotal Life Part.29

Went to the marina last night for a meeting. What I love about boating or being near or on the water was happily available. If you're lucky you get a panoramic view and that we've got in spades. A harvest, orange moon loomed over the smooth glassy waterways. No highway sounds, just a few chirps here and there and some squawks from disgruntled ducks having it out with each other. As I walked down the pier something fat plopped into the water next to me. I was startled and couldn't begin to guess what it was, too dark for that. Further along the pier I was confounded to see a row of ducks all sleeping on a boat line that was partially submerged and had been strung from the piling to the dock in order to separate one berth from another. They seemed to use the line for support and also to keep themselves from floating helter skelter. As much as I have encountered the ducks here in Annapolis, I hadn't seen that happen.
Quiet times like that are good times to think. Yesterday I had been flung a gauntlet by a friend who had seen through a lot of excuses on my part when it came to piloting my own boat. Apparently he'd seen right through to the coward within. Part of me still thinks he's a little cockeyed in demanding so much, so soon. I personally think a few steps or rehearsals would be wise, but he had me for the most part. I was particularly fearful of docking. He blew away the perfectionistic blockages I was busy building. However, even though, I am still scared, I realized really good friends don't let you run away. Failure only comes from not trying; not from trying and goofing up. True, I don't want to knock everyone off pier A, but they better don their life vests, and throw out more fenders, because I know I will be attempting something soon.
I do need to practice planing again, since my boat began overheating at that point and we had to quit and go back. Futhermore, I fell apart at that same point on my friend's boat when I attempted planing. Trust me, confidence is lacking there. I know I have never had the wheel when it comes to docking so challenge or not, we need to come to a compromise, but one without dodges on my part. It ought to be an interesting argument.
Copyright: Sept. 9, 2006