The Anecdotal Life Part. 57

The other morning in an unlikely break from boating chores I reamed through my closet clearing out old or unused articles of clothing for the second hand store. ( to make room for some new ones of course) I tried on my favorite camel colored skirt , a Ralph Lauren, that I got for 75% off in a wild sale at Macy's. I zipped it up and it slid to my hips. I grabbed it before it hit the floor. What!? I checked to see if , indeed, it were the same old skirt. I stared in the mirror. I hadn't weighed in at any less lately, even though I was attempting the fitness center and the labors of the boat. I wrote my niece and basically said "WHAT!?" to her. She is busy being a mommy and a microbiologist at UC Davis in California, but used to be a physical therapist. She said " way to go , you have exchanged fat for muscle and lost inches, but because muscle is dense.. you didn't necessarily lose pounds." Well, that may be all very well in physical therapy terms to learn that I had literally worked my behind off, but I still weigh 142.5 pounds and that matters to me. Now, I am built more on the lines of a fireplug. Like solid, is the way I read that.

Oh well, my not so little baby boat is launched and awaiting a new automatic float thingy that gives some sort of tip off to my boat that there is too much water on board and the bilge pump kicks off. Also, I need finally to fix the horn; obviously, so I can at last blow my own horn. Ha!
Yesterday, I got up at the crack of dawn, thanks to Winston, my cat, and beat it over to the Annapolis Power Squadron yard sale. I made out like the proverbial bandit. I got tools for navigation in a mahogany box that must have cost someone a dear penny,(but not me), an extremely pricey adaptor for an embarassingly small amount, a bar keeper( brand new) for someone's Christmas present, superior tie downs( brand new) and an electronic compass etc, etc. etc. They were quite tickled with me and said " that will be $101.00." I said, "How about $75.00?" They were no longer tickled with me. The gentleman said " I cannot accept such an offer for the sake of the squadron" and then said," $90.00." I said, " I'll take it." and beat a delighted and hasty retreat for home and then off for dinner with Holly and Howie ON MY BOAT. Ha!

The Anecdotal Life Part. 56

One of the toughest times in boating ( aside from docking your boat when hampered by strong winds, currents and with God knows how many onlookers) is getting it ready to launch . So I was washing, waxing and definitely waning as I finished polishing up my 34 by 12 and a half foot boat. I made the mistake of using turtle wax which is supposed to stay on for 12 months. Well it sure does! I needed a sand blaster of some sort to get the excess off, but it was only me and what was left of my hand. I finally tried a vinegar and water solution and had no idea if there was any wax left when I was done. By then I didn't give a whack either... looked shiny to me. I signed all my email for the rest of the week," love, Lefty". I wouldn't have been so frantic, but my boat was to be launched April 15th and I had just made it. Realize, I wasn't the one who had chosen the date. There was some sort of mix-up in the Marina's front office which caused a switch from May 15th to the April 15th date and forced me to do doubletime.
However! April the 15th was a Sunday and they didn't launch on Sunday the man said, and furthermore, as if to underscore that bit of unexplainable news, it roared rain from a Nor'easter all day and on Monday which is the marina day off anyway. At the moment it is blowing mightily some more and so all that wouldn't have been possible in the second place. I had wanted May 15th. The big consolation in all this is that, one, I missed all the worry of seeing one's boat through a storm. I hadn't really picked a bad date after all, though maybe May 1st may have been a hair better. No more April dates for me. Poetically pretty as April may be; it has a vicious side. "April is the cruellest month" may well apply to boat launchings. I never intend to be among the first in the line-up again. "Slow, but sure", that's me. At any rate I'm sure I'm slow....
Copyright: April 16, 2007.

The Anecdotal Life Part. 55

Barnacles are gone, and half the hull is cleaned of debris, but I learned a boating lesson about finicky weather and staying tuned to the radio without even having to go out on the water. I was so proud of myself Tuesday morning for choosing such a perfect day from the ABC weather map. I kept my radio on as I drove up to the Middle River area. Good thinking. Just as I cleared the Key Bridge, the announcer said something like-- Wonderful weather today with the notable exception of the Northwest Chesapeake which will be covered over by an incoming "marine layer from the Atlantic." No! I shouted. Looked up and forward and there it hung, a mile or two ahead of me. Dark lowering clouds, gusty winds, fog, (with all its concomitant dews and damps) and I had spent too much on gas to turn back. I swear it only surrounded and mainly subsisted over our marina. I worked on the leeward side of the boat as much as possible, scrubbing the lower side of the hull that I wouldn't be able to reach once the boat was launched. My right hand and lower back decreed how much I could do for the day, but rotten weather didn't help. I did the best I could, then limped on home. I drove down the marina road, turned the corner and it was instantly a perfect spring day, glorious sun included. Unbelievable.
Boating has its moments.
A friend from Michigan sent a letter about a cruise he and his wife went on. Her main complaint was about how difficult it can be to board a boat. Oh yeah, I remember that. I wrote back that it had taken three guys to get me on and off the boat the first time I tried. Of course, it was a grey, blustery day on Barnegat Bay and my slip was right smack on the front corner that caught every little or large incoming wave...and there were soooo many. One of my friends needed four guys to get her off the boat and another pitched straight forward into the drink attempting to disembark. Not all on the same day, thank heaven. Boating ain't for sissies. Which begs the question, "what am I doing in this sport?" Hopefully getting over being such a sissie and besides I can't help it. It's fascinating. I love the water.
Copyright: April 5, 2007