Moonrise is on the hard! Sure, we’re selling this boat, but since we haven’t found that one special buyer yet, we’re going to be sailing her until we do. I still want that trip down the west coast this summer. Summer is coming! Adventure awaits! Therefore, she needs her bottom cleaned and painted, and needs a small repair to the fiberglass where I had a close encounter with an uncharted rock up in Barkely Sound. It was a small thing, but we wanted to take care of it.
Here she is, being lifted out of the water. Watch Mike. He is positioning himself for the best possible view of her hull as she is lifted. He cannot wait!
So stay tuned! This story is unfolding even now and we’ll post full lurid details, complete with photos of her bare hull! Meanwhile, would you let this man take you home?
We pulled the dingy onto the muddy shore at Penrose State Park, looking forward to a hike to the other side of the little peninsula. We hoped we’d see other boats from the Puget Sound Cruising Club anchored there as we were supposed to be there for a raft-up. I’d spent the better part of the previous evening sick as a dog and, feeling more myself, it felt good to get off the boat and stretch my legs. The park was filled with Memorial Day revelers and several dinghies were tied up on rocks on the other side of the cove. Together we pulled the dingy up onto the mud and looked for a place to tie up.
Me: ” Honey, there isn’t any place to tie off Puddler in this part of the cove. Maybe we should move it closer to those rocks with the other dingies. The tide is coming in.”
Mike: “Naw, let’s just pull it up further onto the beach. We won’t be gone that long.”
Me: ” Are you sure? That seems a little risky to me.”
Mike: “Here’s a rock. I’ll tie it off here. See? Okay, let’s go.”
Always trusting my husband to know what is best, I trudge off with him, ever the ‘dutiful’ wife. Hahahahahaha!
Love is frequently blind.
We spent the next hour hiking the woodsy trail, enjoying the sunshine and remembering why we still live in the Pacific Northwest, in spite of the hateful winters. If only it were like this all the time! We began to think of all the folks we know who live in other parts of the country, never having known the joys of Pacific Northwest Cruising in Good Weather. With newlyweds Tate and Dani of Sundowner Sails Again in mind, we assembled this collection of Northwest archetypes to give them an idea of what they are missing by living down south. Some folks would call these photos ‘ubiquitous’, but I prefer the more academic, intellectually stimulating term ‘archetype’ as it more accurately reflects the esoteric symbolic nature of these images and also allows me to use big words. If you are more on the side of ‘ubiquitous’, you can skip the next part and cut to the video at the end.
Archetype of Haughty Eagle in Craggy Tree; archetype of limitless freedom, our national bird, and my personal totem animal.
Archetype of Weathered Driftwood Archway on sand and shell beach; symbolic of hidden mysteries, doorway to homes of native gnomes, elves, and fairies, symbolic of entries into other realms.
Archetype of the Meandering Forest Path; symbolic of the uncertainty of the future, also of worlds between worlds and the interconnected-ness of all things.
Archetype of the Partly Submerged Rock; symbolic of danger lurking beneath the surface and also watching the hell where you are going.
Feeling the pressure of time, and the ever increasing wind, we headed back to the other side of the park. As we emerged from the forest we could see the beach where we left Puddler.
Mike: There’s Puddler. Looks like we got back just in time, the tide really came in fast!
Me: It looks like Puddler is…… floating?
Mike: Maybe just a little. We’ll make it in time.
Me: Are you sure? He looks like he’s really floating pretty good. Actually, there appears to be a lot of water between Puddler and the beach.
Mike: He’s headed out to sea!
Me: Hurry! He’s getting further out from the beach. I think you will have to swim for it. (Naturally I assumed it would be Mike doing the swimming, since he built the dingy.)
Mike: Wait, he’s slowing down, I think he’s moving in our direction!
Me: Call him! Whistle for him! Use your magic to bring him to you! You can do it, I believe in you! Reach your hand out to him and call him by name! (I clap my hands loudly, believing in Mike with all my heart.)
Does Mike have magic powers over his boat? Watch the video and you be the judge, along with our audience at the site, the South Sound Sailing Society. (Maybe we should join their group since we found them easily, plus they had a tasty looking potluck on the beach.)
Hi there blog readers. So earlier this week Mike posted about the kinds of books one needs in a good boat maintenance library: the kind my husband likes to read. Books like [amazon_link id=”0071475354″ target=”_blank” ]Marine Diesel Engines[/amazon_link] by Nigel Calder are light reading for Mike. He loves to snuggle down on a rainy day with a good book, and since he’s already read the entire Oxford English Dictionary, fine print edition, this book on diesel engines will do.
This is where we part company. Unlike Mike, I did not grow up reading the dictionary for entertainment. No, I grew up reading Nancy Drew, like all red-blooded American women my age. If my husband had read The Hardy Boys rather than the dictionary and various other reference materials, we’d probably be on the same proverbial page about good literature and what constitutes reading entertainment.
Good reading!
There are two basic problems here. First, Mike has the kind of brain that can pick up a book like Marine Diesel Engines and understand what the bloody hell the author is talking about. He can see it in his mind as Nigel waxes poetic about tracing fuel lines, Pneumatic Sensors, and Flexible-Impeller Pumps. When Mike reads about ‘four-cycle’ engines, he knows the author is not talking about permanent press, delicate, pre-wash, or soak. The term ‘planetary transmissions’ does not, to him, mean that Mercury is retrograde until August 2012.
Now, I don’t want to be accused of stereotyping here (a crime that never goes unpunished in our household), but I submit to you that part of the reason we are different this way is that Mike grew up a boy in Tennessee. He carried a knife because it’s a useful item. He cut his teeth on screwdrivers, pliers, hammers, and their ilk. While he was busy taking things apart, I was busy putting things together in artsy craftsy ways. My tools tended toward needles, thread, scissors, and glue with the occasional wood thrown in as a test. I think you know what I’m saying here without getting into the whole ridiculous nature/nuture argument, as if there is a way to separate those things. In a nutshell, Nigel speaks Mike’s native tongue. I, however, am from a different planet altogether.
Here’s the other reason I will never be able to get cozy with a book on diesel engines. My brain cannot cope with it. I believe this issue is more closely related to the whole ‘native tongue’ issue than to my ‘native intelligence’, but regardless of that it’s a good thing I have a rather decent amount of self-esteem or I’d be pretty upset. I mean, who wouldn’t like to think they could get cozy with diesel engines at any time, any place?
Rather than try to explain, let me illustrate the difference between what goes on in my head when I’m reading such a book and what goes on in Mike’s head while reading the same passage. I use a passage on page 36 of the book, under the heading ‘Wet and Dry Exhausts’ ( It certainly does!).
Mike’s brain:
“Noise is a rather complicated business, but one of its major causes is the velocity with which gases exit an engine. Another is the sudden pressure changes created as each cylinder discharges its exhaust gases. Decreasing the volume of the gases or expanding them into a larger area reduces velocity. A certain amount of back pressure in the exhaust system smoothes out pressure changes.”
My brain:
“Noise is a rather complicated business,……. I need to think of something to take to the brunch on Sunday. It shouldn’t be egg based… Shit! What did I just read? Focus, Melissa, Focus!….Noise is a rather complicated business, but one of its major causes is the velocity with which gases exit an engine. Another is the sudden pressure…..I forgot to take the clothes out of the dryer. Damn! Now I’m going to have to get out the iron. No, I’ll just run them through the dryer again…. A certain amount of back pressure in the exhaust system smoothes out pressure changes. I need to add coffee to the shopping list. And I need to make sure the long underwear is on the boat. I think I left my sailing jacket there, but better check the closet to be sure. Crap! Noise is a rather complicated business….”
No, Nigel. Noise is really rather simple. But reading this book is a VERY complicated business for me. I think I will go makes some dolls.
