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.