Lubberly in Texas
I had a sweet Valentine's Day out in the ranchlands of Texas. The object of my affections and fantasies of warmth while I'd been battling the icy winds south of Cape Cod last month treated me to love and attention and lots of great stuff that he burnt on to DVD's to take with me, plus he sharpened my knives, fed me mangoes, took me out for scampi, cheesecake, and a movie, and accompanied me on a tour of a local winery. We visited thrift stores for a day, and I managed to land myself a sexy Dickies jumpsuit. We talked about movies, books, philosophy, survivalist stuff, tall ships and...(sigh)... the French Revolution. I stocked him up on banana-chocolate chip pancakes and took some sexy pictures of myself to leave on his computer. It was pretty great. Pics later...
Kellick
Got this in an email from Michael Kellick today.... SCaRee!!
"I just got back from the Bering Sea last night. We had a little trouble up there. On a moonless night in 18' seas a rogue wave smashed into our wheelhouse like a forty foot fist, dumping eight thousand pounds of water on our first mate, who happened to have the watch. The window in front of him busted inward and sent him over the back of the captain's chair. We lost all electronics and steering for several moments. It was tense, but we're all okay."
"I just got back from the Bering Sea last night. We had a little trouble up there. On a moonless night in 18' seas a rogue wave smashed into our wheelhouse like a forty foot fist, dumping eight thousand pounds of water on our first mate, who happened to have the watch. The window in front of him busted inward and sent him over the back of the captain's chair. We lost all electronics and steering for several moments. It was tense, but we're all okay."
I Saw This Coming
Got an email from a crew still on sloop Providence. That boom finally gave out. The preventer wore through, the boom swung free and shattered against a backstay. The crew was OK though. The boom is as big as the Lady Washington's.
The Whole Story
Believe it or not, I was not drunk in the picture below. However I was taking pictures of myself in a bathroom stall in New Orleans. That would have made more sense were I drunk. Several of the pictures below came out too small after editing them at photobucket.com, but the energy to redo it all was seriously lacking.
I went to the chiropractor today, got xrays and an adjustment, plus a treatment from a funky electode machine that makes you feel like there's one of those Star Trek ear bugs crawling around in your back. I am wearing a neck brace. My uncle says to me on the phone: "My neck stiffens up all the time. You know what helps me? More work!" Me telling him I might not be able to help him pack a shipment this week was pretty much ignored, I think.
My story of Mardi Gras goes like this...
My old friends from my life in Hawaii, Mikey Pru and Scuba Steve, along with two friends of Scuba's - Shamus and Jack, invited me to go with all of them to Mardi Gras in New Orleans this past weekend. There are two weeks of festivities prior to Fat Tuesday, and the last weekend is the best time to go. We squished into the rental car and set out from Austin for the 10 hour drive. 10 hours is not such a big deal around here. It's Texas after all. It's all relative.
In the car, Scuba and I discussed his 3 week trip last month where he volunteered aboard my favorite tall ship, brig Lady Washington. He met my favorite bosun Dreadlocks, and said that although they argued, they respected each other's work ethic. John Boy crewed with him for only 2 days and taught him the most. He, like everyone else, enjoyed living with blacksmith and classical music expert Jim Rich. Sounds like the long "lets hash this all out meetings" at every meal were a bit exasperating to my straightforward ex-navy diver friend, but his most loved new friend was definitely Myuh. I think he wanted to take Myuh home with him.
So we're on our way to Louisiana, with these two Navy pilots in the front of the car. Jack drove 100 mph most of the way, but I'd never felt safer. Although did you know that you can graduate college, join the military, and almost immediately start flying planes? With no prior experience. Huh. Pru, Scuba, Jack & Shamus are all true Navy boys. Even though Pru and Scuba are out of the military now. Their main goal at Mardi Gras was to get laid. It's all they talked about. They spent the ENTIRE weekend trying to get laid. It was like watching the Discovery Channel. Jack wore a predatory stare and placed himself in a central location on Bourbon Street, trying various manuvers to get the attention of the finest females. Thankfully, Shamus and Scuba relied on their sense of humor rather than their scoping and hunting skills to land females. They were slightly more successful than Jack and Pru, but NONE of them got any action. While it's comfortable being the girl that they "don't have to treat like a girl" by putting on false airs of gentlemanliness, I can't help but sincerely wish I was a lesbian after a weekend with these boys.
On Friday night we arrived late and walked to Bourbon Street, where thousands upon thousands of partiers yelled at the people on balconies above. The balcony people swung beads around and pointed to anyone on the street that seemed appealing - trying to get the women to flash, and the women on the balconies trying to get the men to pull down their pants! Scuba, who is one half French, admonishes all flashing, but we were still all there to check out the party. Did I mention that it's legal to carry alcohol outside in New Orleans? We carried 2 bags of beer and pulled from it throughout the night. I hear they only recently outlawed drinking and driving. There were still plenty of people on the road with 40's, driving along. Strangely though, airplane bottles of liquor are illegal in Louisiana. They must not believe in going small when it comes to partaking.
At 2am the guys all went into a packed club called Razzoos, and I walked the 2 miles through downtown New Orleans back to the hostel. I got lost, and almost hit by a trolley. In the morning we headed straight to the parades. The parades here happen every day in the two weeks prior to Fat Tuesday. Up to 4 parades per day through downtown and along St. Charles. They all have different names, like "Iris" "Isis" "Tuck's" "Proteus" "Orpheus" and my favorite, "Endymion". The parades consist almost completely of highschool bands and tractors pulling floats that look like they were built around double decker buses. The front of the float will have giant whales or 3 headed dogs, or some goddess or god, and that theme will cover the float. On each level, on both sides of the float there stands several costumed people - white masks with eye and mouth holes, wierd hoods and gowns (like a cross between the Flying Nun and the KKK). They throw out beads at the screaming and hopping crowd. Scuba blew a kiss to an old lady on a float and landed the biggest beads I'd ever seen. Each float plays music, too. The college and high school bands were great. Those girls dance like the creole or voodoo spirit is coursing through their veins. There's beads hanging from all of the bandmembers, and their instruments.
I hadn't seen a city party like this since WTO. Because much of WTO was actually high spirited and not riotous or angry. It's fascinating to see people take over a city - no cars, businesses mostly closed, cops just standing by. After all the parades end, the streets are covered daily with more litter than WTO ever produced - maybe more than Seattle itself could produce in weeks. You absolutely can not walk without crunching broken and full strands of beads, the bags they came in, beer cans, paper cups, hot dog wrappers. It's 2 miles of this. Then hundreds of uniformed locals come out with street sweepers and have the whole place looking great within hours.
My hurt neck kept me in bed for several hours on saturday, but since this was my first time to see Mardi Gras, I decided that I was going to endure the pain and just go out and see more. I caught the last half of Endymion, collecting beads, but not too aggressively due to my neck. I then met the boys who were BEYOND wasted from drinking all day, yet still truely dedicated to getting some "action". We walked Bourbon Street again, then went to a little bar by the hostel called Igor's, then went to the hostel and barbecued steak at 4am. This is what the boys had bought to eat: Scuba was wise in bringing his barbecue, and on that they cooked 2 cans of baked beans, 2 cans of corn, one package of rib steak and one package of chicken legs. We didn't have any salt and pepper for the meat, but Shamus is fluent in Japanese and found two Japanese hostellers with spices to join us for steak. After that I took another long hot shower and hit my rack.
Our final morning found us at the Trolley Stop Cafe on St. Charles. Our waiter was a rockabilly local and reminded me of Nick from Magoo's, in Hawaii. He decided he was going to order for the hungover and sick Pru, along with giving him lots of advice for dealing with his sickness. This waiter was awesome - Pru was all sick and refusing to eat the patty melt that the waiter ordered for him, seriously advising us to actually hold him down and force the food down his throat in order to make him feel better. We left a good tip.
The guys let me ride shotgun the entire way home, due to my obvious immobility. Scuba and I talked more about boats, we looked at swampland, and Pru took over the stereo with his ITrip in the backseat.
I want to go back to New Orleans on my own, and stay at a hostel. There's so much to see there and I didn't even get a taste of it. I'm glad I went though, because it opened my eyes to yet another place worth spending more time in.
I went to the chiropractor today, got xrays and an adjustment, plus a treatment from a funky electode machine that makes you feel like there's one of those Star Trek ear bugs crawling around in your back. I am wearing a neck brace. My uncle says to me on the phone: "My neck stiffens up all the time. You know what helps me? More work!" Me telling him I might not be able to help him pack a shipment this week was pretty much ignored, I think.
My story of Mardi Gras goes like this...
My old friends from my life in Hawaii, Mikey Pru and Scuba Steve, along with two friends of Scuba's - Shamus and Jack, invited me to go with all of them to Mardi Gras in New Orleans this past weekend. There are two weeks of festivities prior to Fat Tuesday, and the last weekend is the best time to go. We squished into the rental car and set out from Austin for the 10 hour drive. 10 hours is not such a big deal around here. It's Texas after all. It's all relative.
In the car, Scuba and I discussed his 3 week trip last month where he volunteered aboard my favorite tall ship, brig Lady Washington. He met my favorite bosun Dreadlocks, and said that although they argued, they respected each other's work ethic. John Boy crewed with him for only 2 days and taught him the most. He, like everyone else, enjoyed living with blacksmith and classical music expert Jim Rich. Sounds like the long "lets hash this all out meetings" at every meal were a bit exasperating to my straightforward ex-navy diver friend, but his most loved new friend was definitely Myuh. I think he wanted to take Myuh home with him.
So we're on our way to Louisiana, with these two Navy pilots in the front of the car. Jack drove 100 mph most of the way, but I'd never felt safer. Although did you know that you can graduate college, join the military, and almost immediately start flying planes? With no prior experience. Huh. Pru, Scuba, Jack & Shamus are all true Navy boys. Even though Pru and Scuba are out of the military now. Their main goal at Mardi Gras was to get laid. It's all they talked about. They spent the ENTIRE weekend trying to get laid. It was like watching the Discovery Channel. Jack wore a predatory stare and placed himself in a central location on Bourbon Street, trying various manuvers to get the attention of the finest females. Thankfully, Shamus and Scuba relied on their sense of humor rather than their scoping and hunting skills to land females. They were slightly more successful than Jack and Pru, but NONE of them got any action. While it's comfortable being the girl that they "don't have to treat like a girl" by putting on false airs of gentlemanliness, I can't help but sincerely wish I was a lesbian after a weekend with these boys.
On Friday night we arrived late and walked to Bourbon Street, where thousands upon thousands of partiers yelled at the people on balconies above. The balcony people swung beads around and pointed to anyone on the street that seemed appealing - trying to get the women to flash, and the women on the balconies trying to get the men to pull down their pants! Scuba, who is one half French, admonishes all flashing, but we were still all there to check out the party. Did I mention that it's legal to carry alcohol outside in New Orleans? We carried 2 bags of beer and pulled from it throughout the night. I hear they only recently outlawed drinking and driving. There were still plenty of people on the road with 40's, driving along. Strangely though, airplane bottles of liquor are illegal in Louisiana. They must not believe in going small when it comes to partaking.
At 2am the guys all went into a packed club called Razzoos, and I walked the 2 miles through downtown New Orleans back to the hostel. I got lost, and almost hit by a trolley. In the morning we headed straight to the parades. The parades here happen every day in the two weeks prior to Fat Tuesday. Up to 4 parades per day through downtown and along St. Charles. They all have different names, like "Iris" "Isis" "Tuck's" "Proteus" "Orpheus" and my favorite, "Endymion". The parades consist almost completely of highschool bands and tractors pulling floats that look like they were built around double decker buses. The front of the float will have giant whales or 3 headed dogs, or some goddess or god, and that theme will cover the float. On each level, on both sides of the float there stands several costumed people - white masks with eye and mouth holes, wierd hoods and gowns (like a cross between the Flying Nun and the KKK). They throw out beads at the screaming and hopping crowd. Scuba blew a kiss to an old lady on a float and landed the biggest beads I'd ever seen. Each float plays music, too. The college and high school bands were great. Those girls dance like the creole or voodoo spirit is coursing through their veins. There's beads hanging from all of the bandmembers, and their instruments.
I hadn't seen a city party like this since WTO. Because much of WTO was actually high spirited and not riotous or angry. It's fascinating to see people take over a city - no cars, businesses mostly closed, cops just standing by. After all the parades end, the streets are covered daily with more litter than WTO ever produced - maybe more than Seattle itself could produce in weeks. You absolutely can not walk without crunching broken and full strands of beads, the bags they came in, beer cans, paper cups, hot dog wrappers. It's 2 miles of this. Then hundreds of uniformed locals come out with street sweepers and have the whole place looking great within hours.
My hurt neck kept me in bed for several hours on saturday, but since this was my first time to see Mardi Gras, I decided that I was going to endure the pain and just go out and see more. I caught the last half of Endymion, collecting beads, but not too aggressively due to my neck. I then met the boys who were BEYOND wasted from drinking all day, yet still truely dedicated to getting some "action". We walked Bourbon Street again, then went to a little bar by the hostel called Igor's, then went to the hostel and barbecued steak at 4am. This is what the boys had bought to eat: Scuba was wise in bringing his barbecue, and on that they cooked 2 cans of baked beans, 2 cans of corn, one package of rib steak and one package of chicken legs. We didn't have any salt and pepper for the meat, but Shamus is fluent in Japanese and found two Japanese hostellers with spices to join us for steak. After that I took another long hot shower and hit my rack.
Our final morning found us at the Trolley Stop Cafe on St. Charles. Our waiter was a rockabilly local and reminded me of Nick from Magoo's, in Hawaii. He decided he was going to order for the hungover and sick Pru, along with giving him lots of advice for dealing with his sickness. This waiter was awesome - Pru was all sick and refusing to eat the patty melt that the waiter ordered for him, seriously advising us to actually hold him down and force the food down his throat in order to make him feel better. We left a good tip.
The guys let me ride shotgun the entire way home, due to my obvious immobility. Scuba and I talked more about boats, we looked at swampland, and Pru took over the stereo with his ITrip in the backseat.
I want to go back to New Orleans on my own, and stay at a hostel. There's so much to see there and I didn't even get a taste of it. I'm glad I went though, because it opened my eyes to yet another place worth spending more time in.
Mardi Gras Photos
I'm still working out the whole size conversion thing. Give me time. These are way out of order too...
Below are people on a balcony on Bourbon Street, throwing beads at the people below. The guys with the really big beads are hoping to entice some well endowed women to bare all in return for sweet beads.
I didn't ask these guys what they had to do to get all these beads!
From the "Iris" parade
People here bring or rent ladders and end up catching more beads from the tall floats. 
Confetti over a parade on St. Charles street. 
The drill and cheer teams with the high school bands were awesome dancers. 
Check out the trash after the parade! The city has clean up down to a science. All this is gone within hours. 
Bleachers are built over the sidewalks and outside lanes of St. Charles. You have to walk under them to get around. 
Me with my beads! OK YES I did have to flash for those big silver disco ball beads. 
Scuba Steve and Shamus with their hair of the dog, sitting on the rental the morning we left. 
The Marquette Hostel where we stayed for 2 nights. 
Next door to the hostel. 
Beads on the trees. 
Best french toast I've ever had - Trolley Stop Cafe on St. Charles Street. 
Another house by the hostel
Scuba Steve driving us back to Austin through the swamp. No gator sightings. 
Pru at the bar where he works. 
Me in the reflection - in my uncles semi truck cab. 
View from the truck cab 
N'awlins Mardi Gras
Here are several pictures from my time aboard sloop Providence last month, plus some that are out of order - taken before I left Seattle.
Mardi Gras was pretty amazing to see. Biggest party I've ever seen, for sure. We just got back - I'm going to figure out how to download the pics and post them up here tomorrow.
I got a TON of beads. All you have to do is reach your hands up and grab them because people in the parades on the floats and on the balconies on Bourbon St. are constantly throwing them at everyone. The streets are covered with beads after the parades. There were 3 parades each day this weekend.
I was jumping up to catch some beads... and I think I sprained my neck. I could barely move yesterday, even after washing down an Aleve with a beer. So it's to the hospital with me tomorrow. My neck was already pretty screwed up from the massive amounts of heavy lifting I'd done in January, but this did me in.
Mardi Gras was pretty amazing to see. Biggest party I've ever seen, for sure. We just got back - I'm going to figure out how to download the pics and post them up here tomorrow.
I got a TON of beads. All you have to do is reach your hands up and grab them because people in the parades on the floats and on the balconies on Bourbon St. are constantly throwing them at everyone. The streets are covered with beads after the parades. There were 3 parades each day this weekend.
I was jumping up to catch some beads... and I think I sprained my neck. I could barely move yesterday, even after washing down an Aleve with a beer. So it's to the hospital with me tomorrow. My neck was already pretty screwed up from the massive amounts of heavy lifting I'd done in January, but this did me in.
Green Sport Coat
This is my second night drunk in Austin. We are driving to New Orleans tomorrow for Mardi Gras. I've never been to Mardi Gras so I'm pretty stoked on the idea.
Scuba Steve and I went to "First Thursday" on South Congress. After some beers we met Pru and headed to Georgia's birthday party.
I've got a great feathery mask to wear this weekend. Steve's got a sweet green sport coat, and I don't know what Mike has to wear. These two guys from Corpus Cristi just drove up tonight. I guess they are pilots in the Navy and friends of Steve. It's time for bed so's we can function tomorrow.
Scuba Steve and I went to "First Thursday" on South Congress. After some beers we met Pru and headed to Georgia's birthday party.
I've got a great feathery mask to wear this weekend. Steve's got a sweet green sport coat, and I don't know what Mike has to wear. These two guys from Corpus Cristi just drove up tonight. I guess they are pilots in the Navy and friends of Steve. It's time for bed so's we can function tomorrow.
Thoughts on Music and more
Thoughts on Music.
There are 4 people in my life with the best taste in music. EVER. They also have a degree of COOL that is incomparable.
Mike Wurn, Mike Prusaitis, Jesika Rowley & Ian Spain
Who I'm listening to lately: Lots of Postal Service and Merry Prankster and Heavenly. I'll be looking for some Adam Green cd's soon.
Yeah, I'm using real names now. So far I haven't pissed anyone off (that I didn't want to, anyway). Except NANETTE BROWN-CLAMPITT who is actually pissed that I'm not writing about her MORE.
I'll still use code names sometimes. In more delicate situations.
Oh! Nate wrote me. He and Sara are herding sheep or something in Spain. Moving around a bit. And I heard that a Semester at Sea boat was hit by a rogue wave off Hawaii. I think it was NOT a sailing vessel though.
I've been having really spectacular dreams lately. Happy, fun, and of True Love, even. I had a dream where my high school boyfriend Richard and I were married, and having trouble, and he was very calming and straightforward, saying not to worry so much and that I should focus more on friendship rather than romance. It was so vivid that I thought maybe he'd died in real life and come to give me some last words of guidance or something! I thought I should email him, but it would probably freak him out, so I didn't. Richard is a LOT different now than he was 13 years ago. I had fantasized about going out with him again a few years ago, but we are completely different people, and not compatible. But back then - well, breaking up with him is unfortunately a regret in my life. Anyway, in the dream I felt such complete love - not just for him, but, I don't know, just total, complete love and happiness and contentment. I thought even though it was a dream, I've now experienced that. It was nice.
There are 4 people in my life with the best taste in music. EVER. They also have a degree of COOL that is incomparable.
Mike Wurn, Mike Prusaitis, Jesika Rowley & Ian Spain
Who I'm listening to lately: Lots of Postal Service and Merry Prankster and Heavenly. I'll be looking for some Adam Green cd's soon.
Yeah, I'm using real names now. So far I haven't pissed anyone off (that I didn't want to, anyway). Except NANETTE BROWN-CLAMPITT who is actually pissed that I'm not writing about her MORE.
I'll still use code names sometimes. In more delicate situations.
Oh! Nate wrote me. He and Sara are herding sheep or something in Spain. Moving around a bit. And I heard that a Semester at Sea boat was hit by a rogue wave off Hawaii. I think it was NOT a sailing vessel though.
I've been having really spectacular dreams lately. Happy, fun, and of True Love, even. I had a dream where my high school boyfriend Richard and I were married, and having trouble, and he was very calming and straightforward, saying not to worry so much and that I should focus more on friendship rather than romance. It was so vivid that I thought maybe he'd died in real life and come to give me some last words of guidance or something! I thought I should email him, but it would probably freak him out, so I didn't. Richard is a LOT different now than he was 13 years ago. I had fantasized about going out with him again a few years ago, but we are completely different people, and not compatible. But back then - well, breaking up with him is unfortunately a regret in my life. Anyway, in the dream I felt such complete love - not just for him, but, I don't know, just total, complete love and happiness and contentment. I thought even though it was a dream, I've now experienced that. It was nice.
Pinch its Cheeks
The Bristol to Stamford transit during the BLIZZARD OF '05!!! Woo hoo!
but first, a few good quotes from the crew...
Sam L. on Bristol, RI: "This town is so cute I could just pinch its cheeks!"
Canuck Sara the cook on Gumby Suits: "I love the smell of neoprene in the morning"
And the adorable Chris Mancini wrote a lovely song called "Penguins of the Providence", but it's too long to post here and I don't remember all of it anyway.
Back to the transit...
gumby suits, -20 farenheit, 2 on, 2 off. Need I say more?
but first, a few good quotes from the crew...
Sam L. on Bristol, RI: "This town is so cute I could just pinch its cheeks!"
Canuck Sara the cook on Gumby Suits: "I love the smell of neoprene in the morning"
And the adorable Chris Mancini wrote a lovely song called "Penguins of the Providence", but it's too long to post here and I don't remember all of it anyway.
Back to the transit...
gumby suits, -20 farenheit, 2 on, 2 off. Need I say more?
Teletubbies at the Tiller
Hmmm, so is it going to be today, or WHAT? Captain says maybe.
We went out for italian last night. Had an awesome pizza with goat cheese, garlic and italian sausage. "Leos" in Bristol makes a fine red sauce.
Now the idea is to stand watch IN GUMBY SUITS.
This is NOT what I signed up for. Yesterday we got a full rundown on what happens if we end up in the freezing Atlantic. I know all this information is good to have. STILL....
So we all have brand spanking new survival suits. We loook like orange teletubbies. Sinky Winky. Cap is looking for ski goggles for us to wear. Have I mentioned that the quarterdeck has no bulwarks and rests about12 feet off the water's surface? No better place to soak up that wind chill.
Sam said "If I didn't die on Bounty, I'm not going to die on this boat!"
Rhett at the La France Cafe brought us some more dvds to watch. I walked all the way to Blockbuster yesterday (1.5 miles) and couldn't find a copy of Captain Ron for sale. Nobody on this boat has seen it!
Some old salts were brought aboard yesterday to speak with the captain about best course options... I hear there's an "inside passage" over here, too. Long Island Sound to Chesapeake Bay or something like that. We'll to that, OR we'll go way offshore. I hate to say it, but at this point I'm not totally comfortable being offshore. It'd be different if I was on the Lady. Everyone's like "we're not going to make Alabama on time, going six knots the whole way" but I said once we got some good wind and following seas we might double that. This IS the same hull as the Lady, is it not? They say Providence has never topped 11 knots, but she's never traveled much, either.
So... if you find yourself standing on a wharf in Long Island Sound or near Baltimore, look for an old fashioned sloop with a couple of 3 fingered orange aliens at the helm. We'll call her the S/V Hazmat.
We went out for italian last night. Had an awesome pizza with goat cheese, garlic and italian sausage. "Leos" in Bristol makes a fine red sauce.
Now the idea is to stand watch IN GUMBY SUITS.
This is NOT what I signed up for. Yesterday we got a full rundown on what happens if we end up in the freezing Atlantic. I know all this information is good to have. STILL....
So we all have brand spanking new survival suits. We loook like orange teletubbies. Sinky Winky. Cap is looking for ski goggles for us to wear. Have I mentioned that the quarterdeck has no bulwarks and rests about12 feet off the water's surface? No better place to soak up that wind chill.
Sam said "If I didn't die on Bounty, I'm not going to die on this boat!"
Rhett at the La France Cafe brought us some more dvds to watch. I walked all the way to Blockbuster yesterday (1.5 miles) and couldn't find a copy of Captain Ron for sale. Nobody on this boat has seen it!
Some old salts were brought aboard yesterday to speak with the captain about best course options... I hear there's an "inside passage" over here, too. Long Island Sound to Chesapeake Bay or something like that. We'll to that, OR we'll go way offshore. I hate to say it, but at this point I'm not totally comfortable being offshore. It'd be different if I was on the Lady. Everyone's like "we're not going to make Alabama on time, going six knots the whole way" but I said once we got some good wind and following seas we might double that. This IS the same hull as the Lady, is it not? They say Providence has never topped 11 knots, but she's never traveled much, either.
So... if you find yourself standing on a wharf in Long Island Sound or near Baltimore, look for an old fashioned sloop with a couple of 3 fingered orange aliens at the helm. We'll call her the S/V Hazmat.
Icy Cold
Notes for today:
it's still cold in Bristol, RI. 4 degrees, I think.
Met a great guy named Noah here at the La France cafe. Check out his adventures at wholeearthadventures.com
The Beard says he's going to buy a sailboat and moor in Seattle. Why don't we start a new ex-Lady community at Shilshole?
Michael Kellick is on a cargo ship in Alaska. He's going to try and get hired for these Disney flicks being made in the Caribbean (word from Mark Griffin).
We are still waiting for a few more degrees to come our way. Like 60 of them maybe. I had to furl the inner jib and could practically break my fingers off by the end of that. Ever tried to take a shower in a balaclava and wool sweater? Don't work to well.
Love yas
it's still cold in Bristol, RI. 4 degrees, I think.
Met a great guy named Noah here at the La France cafe. Check out his adventures at wholeearthadventures.com
The Beard says he's going to buy a sailboat and moor in Seattle. Why don't we start a new ex-Lady community at Shilshole?
Michael Kellick is on a cargo ship in Alaska. He's going to try and get hired for these Disney flicks being made in the Caribbean (word from Mark Griffin).
We are still waiting for a few more degrees to come our way. Like 60 of them maybe. I had to furl the inner jib and could practically break my fingers off by the end of that. Ever tried to take a shower in a balaclava and wool sweater? Don't work to well.
Love yas
I'm down with L. Francis
I had first watch: midnight, 10 degrees farenheit. Icy deck. Freezing sleet and wind. Woohoo! Bring me that warmer horizon!
The alternator started smokin. Bristol, RI, here we come. Here we are. It's Herreshoff's hometown and he has museum here, but it's MLK day so I have to wait until tomorrow to check it out.
Chris is watching Kill Bill back at the boat. I found free internet! This is the first time that's happened since Peter Island in the BVI!!! I'm so freekin happy!
I'm going to go back to the sloop and find the leather punch and make myself a new sheath.
Pray for warmth!
The alternator started smokin. Bristol, RI, here we come. Here we are. It's Herreshoff's hometown and he has museum here, but it's MLK day so I have to wait until tomorrow to check it out.
Chris is watching Kill Bill back at the boat. I found free internet! This is the first time that's happened since Peter Island in the BVI!!! I'm so freekin happy!
I'm going to go back to the sloop and find the leather punch and make myself a new sheath.
Pray for warmth!
Sailorspeak
The crew is good. The cook has provisioned. I'm stoked to go!
Releathering jaws for Dizney:
Do not remove boom. Remove old leather and the two rusty plates holding the port side of the jaws together (big crack). Cut new leather, seine twine it into place, let it rain, let it freeze. Leather is now (kind of) molded to jaws. Do not bed nails or bolts. Just get that shit on there. Scream bloody murder at copper nails for a whole day. Take a day off. Hmm- on the cracked side the nails go in better! A little TOO easy (cracked, sitting in the rain for a year on the hard......you know what I'm getting at). Bolt metal plates back on and cross fingers? Bend on sail and voila! Movie-perfect.
So tomorrow we leave. Dizney sent us 3 bottles of champagne after harrassing us all day about the satellite phone not being hooked up and ready to go.
We watched Master & Commander last night and ate ribs from a place called "Smokey Bones".
We told a lot of "Ant" jokes. You have to think of words that have the word "ant" in them. Like this: A drunk and disorderly ant? "BelligerANT". A non-profit ant? GrANT. You get the picture.
I really have NO time for emails. Providence, RI is not conducive to public email access.
Suppposedly we're going to Norfolk, VA for showers and fuel.
Releathering jaws for Dizney:
Do not remove boom. Remove old leather and the two rusty plates holding the port side of the jaws together (big crack). Cut new leather, seine twine it into place, let it rain, let it freeze. Leather is now (kind of) molded to jaws. Do not bed nails or bolts. Just get that shit on there. Scream bloody murder at copper nails for a whole day. Take a day off. Hmm- on the cracked side the nails go in better! A little TOO easy (cracked, sitting in the rain for a year on the hard......you know what I'm getting at). Bolt metal plates back on and cross fingers? Bend on sail and voila! Movie-perfect.
So tomorrow we leave. Dizney sent us 3 bottles of champagne after harrassing us all day about the satellite phone not being hooked up and ready to go.
We watched Master & Commander last night and ate ribs from a place called "Smokey Bones".
We told a lot of "Ant" jokes. You have to think of words that have the word "ant" in them. Like this: A drunk and disorderly ant? "BelligerANT". A non-profit ant? GrANT. You get the picture.
I really have NO time for emails. Providence, RI is not conducive to public email access.
Suppposedly we're going to Norfolk, VA for showers and fuel.
Almost outta here
The internet access here is painfully slow, so I'm kind of writing to people/everyone in hopes that they might check the blog!
We don't sail until Saturday now - it's been a long week of maintenance/prep. We tuned the rig, and I've been working on re-leathering the jaws WITHOUT REMOVING THE BOOM FROM THE MAST, THANK YOU! Damn ALL copper nails!!!
The digital camera that Yuri sent is awesome, thanks again, Yuri. Everyone loves it and is using it and we're setting ourselves up for premium tech abilities.
Our last crew to arrive was Richard "Rusty" Rice, who has crewed aboard Niagara, Lady WA, Adventuress, Zodiac. He showed me pictures on his computer of Halie on Niagara, plus old pics of Captains Gary and Mason and Evil.
The crew is sleeping on board for the first time tonight. We have a lot of ideas: We've already laid out plans for a series of movies called Sailortown, with a Tom Waits style chantey opener, of which we will also have a kazoo version where we dance around with knees locked. The second version is the secret handshake for our new tall ship sailors union, or "Guild" as we prefer to call it. Tomorrow is our first day off. DAY OFF! Did you hear that? Yep it's true. Only one week and I get a day off! Sahhh weet!
Chris Mancini's jokes"
Why does snoop dogg carry an umbrella?
For Drizzle!
Why don't italians like jehova's witnesses?
Italians don't like NO witnesses!!!!!
gots to go.
We don't sail until Saturday now - it's been a long week of maintenance/prep. We tuned the rig, and I've been working on re-leathering the jaws WITHOUT REMOVING THE BOOM FROM THE MAST, THANK YOU! Damn ALL copper nails!!!
The digital camera that Yuri sent is awesome, thanks again, Yuri. Everyone loves it and is using it and we're setting ourselves up for premium tech abilities.
Our last crew to arrive was Richard "Rusty" Rice, who has crewed aboard Niagara, Lady WA, Adventuress, Zodiac. He showed me pictures on his computer of Halie on Niagara, plus old pics of Captains Gary and Mason and Evil.
The crew is sleeping on board for the first time tonight. We have a lot of ideas: We've already laid out plans for a series of movies called Sailortown, with a Tom Waits style chantey opener, of which we will also have a kazoo version where we dance around with knees locked. The second version is the secret handshake for our new tall ship sailors union, or "Guild" as we prefer to call it. Tomorrow is our first day off. DAY OFF! Did you hear that? Yep it's true. Only one week and I get a day off! Sahhh weet!
Chris Mancini's jokes"
Why does snoop dogg carry an umbrella?
For Drizzle!
Why don't italians like jehova's witnesses?
Italians don't like NO witnesses!!!!!
gots to go.
Baseball meets Hanukkah
My friend aboard a favorite boat of mine had this to say about my other friend, who is currently volunteering aboard the same boat:
"Steve is so good that after 5 of the HC crew got dimissed today and they wanted some fill in crew Steve is going over for the transit to San Diego. He is aces. He came to the P party as a parinoid prospective parent. stuck a banana in his jeans wrapped a condom around it and carried a EPT test in his pocket. I forgot to mention that he put hand lotion on the banana. Thanks again."
I said:
"Sounds like he's just what the boat needed!"
New England is COLD right now. Getting ready to sail soon. One of our crew, Ian, had some good Krunch stories to share from last summer in Baltimore when Krunch was on Clipper City. Another crew, Sam, was in Key West with Bounty last month and ran into - you guessed it - everyones favorite curly haired smooth talkin canadian, "BASEBALL" at a Hanukkah party with the crew of America. Small world it is!
"Steve is so good that after 5 of the HC crew got dimissed today and they wanted some fill in crew Steve is going over for the transit to San Diego. He is aces. He came to the P party as a parinoid prospective parent. stuck a banana in his jeans wrapped a condom around it and carried a EPT test in his pocket. I forgot to mention that he put hand lotion on the banana. Thanks again."
I said:
"Sounds like he's just what the boat needed!"
New England is COLD right now. Getting ready to sail soon. One of our crew, Ian, had some good Krunch stories to share from last summer in Baltimore when Krunch was on Clipper City. Another crew, Sam, was in Key West with Bounty last month and ran into - you guessed it - everyones favorite curly haired smooth talkin canadian, "BASEBALL" at a Hanukkah party with the crew of America. Small world it is!
Good GU
Physical exhaustion! I haven't been able to sleep more than 2 straight hours all week. Eagerness? Anxiety? Not sure. I'm wrapping things up here, plus doing things like going to dinner with my dad and using that gift certificate for a massage. THANKYOU MISCHKA! Mischka at New Seattle Massage is a great massage therapist. I can look both ways now! We were scheming on how to get a certain movie company to hire her for on-site therapy.
My plane leaves early tomorrow, right when we're supposed to have the first snowy, icy day of this winter. Then, of course, I connect in Chicago and deplane in Boston, finally. It's already freezing here and I'm pretty sure it's a teens bit colder in those places. If I end up stranded in Chicago or Boston, my uncle The Trucker will arrive there a few days later and rescue me. Then put me to work collecting cargo from Brooklyn's finest warehouses. I'm praying for warmth!
But buying for ICE. Dad bought me neoprene gloves and a wool full-face/head covering. I bought some GU and those hand warmer packets. Hope the GU is good.
Uhh... I watched "Troy" last night. That crazy Brad Pitt. He's a good actor though. The lug rigs were interesting. Some of the fight scenes looked very well choreographed, and some sucked. I liked how if something unexpected happened the two giant armies would look at each other and shrug their shoulders and pretty much say "shall we continue the fighting this time tomorrow?" and stroll back to their domains.
Yikes I promised to call Princess of Mars cuz she might stop by tonight... plus I still have to phone my mom. I don't know when I will have internet access again. Hopefully within the next week. If not, then it might be a few weeks.
Love, Kim
My plane leaves early tomorrow, right when we're supposed to have the first snowy, icy day of this winter. Then, of course, I connect in Chicago and deplane in Boston, finally. It's already freezing here and I'm pretty sure it's a teens bit colder in those places. If I end up stranded in Chicago or Boston, my uncle The Trucker will arrive there a few days later and rescue me. Then put me to work collecting cargo from Brooklyn's finest warehouses. I'm praying for warmth!
But buying for ICE. Dad bought me neoprene gloves and a wool full-face/head covering. I bought some GU and those hand warmer packets. Hope the GU is good.
Uhh... I watched "Troy" last night. That crazy Brad Pitt. He's a good actor though. The lug rigs were interesting. Some of the fight scenes looked very well choreographed, and some sucked. I liked how if something unexpected happened the two giant armies would look at each other and shrug their shoulders and pretty much say "shall we continue the fighting this time tomorrow?" and stroll back to their domains.
Yikes I promised to call Princess of Mars cuz she might stop by tonight... plus I still have to phone my mom. I don't know when I will have internet access again. Hopefully within the next week. If not, then it might be a few weeks.
Love, Kim
Ringing it In
What a difference a day makes. This day would be last Friday. I decided on that East Coast job, as opposed to the new local foot ferry that was going to hire me as a glorified waitress who momentarily throws a dockline. Thursday night on the Bainbridge ferry a drunk guy sat next to me and said he'd been in Seattle all day taking care of some "legal" business, and then proceeded to ask me for my number. I thought "This is a sign... I shouldn't take the local job". Then the next morning, the much more promising offer came (blue water sea time, PotC work). Yippee! And my whole attitude has changed.
Man, have I been in a BAD MOOD for 4 months! There was one week in August, hanging out on the Lady, and laughing with Captain "M"ahvelous, that everything was just stellar, but since then, I've been pretty pissy. This wasn't fully realized until after the joy of having a new boat job to go to REALLY set in.
So on with the New Year and Fresh Starts. I've erased all of last year's posts after printing them and filing them in my little Treasure Chest (can't learn from history if you totally forget about it!), and I've changed my blog to being archive-free. I'm forcing myself to Live In The Present, plus I don't want things I said on an emotional whim in the past to be taken so seriously. This blog is here because I like to write about what I'm thinking or feeling or experiencing at the time. But thoughts progress, feelings change. What's a mind worth if you can't change it?
In other news, it was Captain "G"roovy's 50th birthday this weekend. Myself, MarkO & Streams, Ta, the Sigmeister, Nan, Big Brian and a seafaring couple named Marilyn & Larry all gathered round (with fire extinguisher ready) one of our favorite Lady captains while he used all the breath he had to put out the fire. Streams made a killer cheesy-rice pasta lasagna and Ta made a chocolate cake from scratch. A few of us spent the night up there in PT, and Ta made Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal for breakfast. I'm completely sold on this style of oatmeal now. In the morning, before the Sigmeister attacked me, I read the preface to a '58 Bowditch and learned the history of navigation and a short biography of Nathaniel B.
If I had known that I'd be going up to PT more than an hour in advance, I would have contacted Macke, Johnsson & Sparkle, but instead I drove around to their respective dwellings and found them not home or maybe asleep. Sparkle's tancook whaler is looking pretty sweet these days. The cockpit is redone and beautiful. I hear he is buying an old BMW motorcycle as well.
Last day at work. Guess I should actually WORK, then!
But before I go, I should say that only 5 posts will remain on this blog, then they will disappear into limbo. AND... Strange Girl has emailed me from Auckland! Here's a good part of her update:
2JAN04
So, we've finished our first 2 trips that were as different as night and day. The first (or Xmas cruise) was a 5-day trip that had a wet and rainy start which was followed quickly by a Xmas gift sunshine that lasted throughout the trip. The voyage crew was lively and the boat was full. We ate well and had a HUGE holiday meal that was well-received and enjoyed by all. Big turkeys and lots of mashed piotatoes and stuffing. Due to a unseasonally cool Auckalnd summer, it was too cold to linger on deck for long, but the cozy main salon down below made for many a late night of conversation, wine and laughter.
Each day the boat took VC nad some permanent crew ashore for hikes or lounges on the beach and hills in Hairaki Bay. Teh city of Auckland has a huge land mass area and for the captial of the country? it is simply massive. It spans a great deal of the Hairaki Bay which is like a very shiort trip into another world -- very similiar to my last summer discovering the Channel Islands of the coast of Southern California. So close, but SUCH a another world. Unlike Cali, Hairaki Bay islands have been discovered by the greater population of Aucklanders and I've heard numbers 1 in 4 people in the area have access to a boat. There are a lot of boats out there, but there is so much land and water that I've yet to feel crowded. Many nights if I hadn't known that only around the leeward tip of an island anchorage was the pointed peak of the Skytower looming over Auckland, I would have thought myself lost in the tropics - well a very cold version of the tropics.
The "bush" as it's called (forest/woods), have ancient palm ferns that tower over you as you hike through, usually straight up the hill (at a 30-degree angle). The combination of lots of rain and alternating sunshine makes for clean air, lots of rainbow and colors and hues to the skylines that I think no camera may ever capture. This seems to be a land of rainbows, which I'm learning is a codeword for a shitload of rain - all the time.
We got a paper to check movies times for our one night off in between holidays and read about the Boxiung Day Tsunami. Being so close to SE Asia, this news has hit NZ hard, as well as the rest of the world I'm certain. It's a left us all in awe of the power of the ocean that we plan to sail on for the next year, grateful that if the boat was in blue water, we'd never even notice a ripple if it was to pass under us and again in awe and deep sympathy for those lost and still dealing with the aftermath. Simply unimaginable.
Still the boat sails, and after a quick reprovision, (called re-vittling here) we headed back out for our New Years trip, with a smaller group and quicker crew. We sailed through a full day of cold rain and then we're allowed some rainbow weather for the rest of the trip - no sunburns. We had a nice quiet night watching fireworks from several different ports and then had some actual sunshine. We docked today and are re-vittling and then heading back out tomorrow morning for the Bay of Islands, the Northern tip of the North Island of New Zealand. I hear it's MUCH warmer up there- closer to the equator and beautiful. Although there's very little of even Auckland that's I've found ugly.
Happy New Years and best wishes and love to you all!
Man, have I been in a BAD MOOD for 4 months! There was one week in August, hanging out on the Lady, and laughing with Captain "M"ahvelous, that everything was just stellar, but since then, I've been pretty pissy. This wasn't fully realized until after the joy of having a new boat job to go to REALLY set in.
So on with the New Year and Fresh Starts. I've erased all of last year's posts after printing them and filing them in my little Treasure Chest (can't learn from history if you totally forget about it!), and I've changed my blog to being archive-free. I'm forcing myself to Live In The Present, plus I don't want things I said on an emotional whim in the past to be taken so seriously. This blog is here because I like to write about what I'm thinking or feeling or experiencing at the time. But thoughts progress, feelings change. What's a mind worth if you can't change it?
In other news, it was Captain "G"roovy's 50th birthday this weekend. Myself, MarkO & Streams, Ta, the Sigmeister, Nan, Big Brian and a seafaring couple named Marilyn & Larry all gathered round (with fire extinguisher ready) one of our favorite Lady captains while he used all the breath he had to put out the fire. Streams made a killer cheesy-rice pasta lasagna and Ta made a chocolate cake from scratch. A few of us spent the night up there in PT, and Ta made Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal for breakfast. I'm completely sold on this style of oatmeal now. In the morning, before the Sigmeister attacked me, I read the preface to a '58 Bowditch and learned the history of navigation and a short biography of Nathaniel B.
If I had known that I'd be going up to PT more than an hour in advance, I would have contacted Macke, Johnsson & Sparkle, but instead I drove around to their respective dwellings and found them not home or maybe asleep. Sparkle's tancook whaler is looking pretty sweet these days. The cockpit is redone and beautiful. I hear he is buying an old BMW motorcycle as well.
Last day at work. Guess I should actually WORK, then!
But before I go, I should say that only 5 posts will remain on this blog, then they will disappear into limbo. AND... Strange Girl has emailed me from Auckland! Here's a good part of her update:
2JAN04
So, we've finished our first 2 trips that were as different as night and day. The first (or Xmas cruise) was a 5-day trip that had a wet and rainy start which was followed quickly by a Xmas gift sunshine that lasted throughout the trip. The voyage crew was lively and the boat was full. We ate well and had a HUGE holiday meal that was well-received and enjoyed by all. Big turkeys and lots of mashed piotatoes and stuffing. Due to a unseasonally cool Auckalnd summer, it was too cold to linger on deck for long, but the cozy main salon down below made for many a late night of conversation, wine and laughter.
Each day the boat took VC nad some permanent crew ashore for hikes or lounges on the beach and hills in Hairaki Bay. Teh city of Auckland has a huge land mass area and for the captial of the country? it is simply massive. It spans a great deal of the Hairaki Bay which is like a very shiort trip into another world -- very similiar to my last summer discovering the Channel Islands of the coast of Southern California. So close, but SUCH a another world. Unlike Cali, Hairaki Bay islands have been discovered by the greater population of Aucklanders and I've heard numbers 1 in 4 people in the area have access to a boat. There are a lot of boats out there, but there is so much land and water that I've yet to feel crowded. Many nights if I hadn't known that only around the leeward tip of an island anchorage was the pointed peak of the Skytower looming over Auckland, I would have thought myself lost in the tropics - well a very cold version of the tropics.
The "bush" as it's called (forest/woods), have ancient palm ferns that tower over you as you hike through, usually straight up the hill (at a 30-degree angle). The combination of lots of rain and alternating sunshine makes for clean air, lots of rainbow and colors and hues to the skylines that I think no camera may ever capture. This seems to be a land of rainbows, which I'm learning is a codeword for a shitload of rain - all the time.
We got a paper to check movies times for our one night off in between holidays and read about the Boxiung Day Tsunami. Being so close to SE Asia, this news has hit NZ hard, as well as the rest of the world I'm certain. It's a left us all in awe of the power of the ocean that we plan to sail on for the next year, grateful that if the boat was in blue water, we'd never even notice a ripple if it was to pass under us and again in awe and deep sympathy for those lost and still dealing with the aftermath. Simply unimaginable.
Still the boat sails, and after a quick reprovision, (called re-vittling here) we headed back out for our New Years trip, with a smaller group and quicker crew. We sailed through a full day of cold rain and then we're allowed some rainbow weather for the rest of the trip - no sunburns. We had a nice quiet night watching fireworks from several different ports and then had some actual sunshine. We docked today and are re-vittling and then heading back out tomorrow morning for the Bay of Islands, the Northern tip of the North Island of New Zealand. I hear it's MUCH warmer up there- closer to the equator and beautiful. Although there's very little of even Auckland that's I've found ugly.
Happy New Years and best wishes and love to you all!
2005!
I just accepted a job on the East Coast- going south and staying down there for a while! I leave Seattle next week and the boat sets sail next weekend.
Sunshine Mountain sent me new digital camera (so awesome) so I'll be able to post lots of pics after this first big offshore voyage!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!
goodbye 2004! Good riddance to quite possibly the worst year of my life!!!!
At the beginning of the year, I read a horoscope that read "2004 will be a difficult year for you". NO KIDDING! No other year has presented more negative personal challenges with "friends", family, relationships, than this past year. I've learned to not give everyone the benefit of the doubt if I see red flags, to trust my instincts, to not put people on pedestals and instead to realize that I'm not always perceptive of sociopathic behavior.
I've learned to NOT take the number #358 bus again. Ever. They should seriously hold Narcotics Anonymous meetings on that bus. Last night we had a police escort even.
And my New Years Resolution is to LOOK FORWARD, not back. I read an article about a girl who's gone on lots of boring dates. She said "I learned that the next date would be 2 hours of my life that I would never get back" which sounds cheesy, but true. And why not think of every hour that way?
To sea! To sea!
Sunshine Mountain sent me new digital camera (so awesome) so I'll be able to post lots of pics after this first big offshore voyage!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!
goodbye 2004! Good riddance to quite possibly the worst year of my life!!!!
At the beginning of the year, I read a horoscope that read "2004 will be a difficult year for you". NO KIDDING! No other year has presented more negative personal challenges with "friends", family, relationships, than this past year. I've learned to not give everyone the benefit of the doubt if I see red flags, to trust my instincts, to not put people on pedestals and instead to realize that I'm not always perceptive of sociopathic behavior.
I've learned to NOT take the number #358 bus again. Ever. They should seriously hold Narcotics Anonymous meetings on that bus. Last night we had a police escort even.
And my New Years Resolution is to LOOK FORWARD, not back. I read an article about a girl who's gone on lots of boring dates. She said "I learned that the next date would be 2 hours of my life that I would never get back" which sounds cheesy, but true. And why not think of every hour that way?
To sea! To sea!
