Last night I spent 1 1/2 hours on the phone with Jimmie McManis,* getting updates on all the tallshippy haps. He's on Linx* right now with a guy named Craig as relief captain, whom he loves, and M.Kelick as regular captain. Plus some good and bad eggs from all over on deck. He's only been there a week and there's already trouble. Not caused by him, though. As he put it, it mostly has to do with "VAGINA" (some guys are getting none, some guys are getting more than they agreed to). Anyway, he's on for this summer's west coast events and it'll be great to see everyone up here.
Week in review:
Last Saturday, with the help of Nan, Brian, Fish and KT1, my new home was delivered to a marina in Seattle, where I now live aboard. It wasn't easy. Going west across the Sound was easy, on the smooth-bottomed Newport 30 captained by Brian. Cold, but easy. Comparatively, anyway. We arrived at my boat and rigged the derelict-looking girl with found objects, then back to the Newport for tea and cocoa before beginning a true slog north. Once out of the ferry lane and flukey winds in Eagle Harbor, we found this girl points at... about... 60 degrees? Yeah. To her credit, she needs a rig tune, new sails, and comments were definitely made about how we were carrying our very own Rocky Coastline/Shellfish Restaurant below the waterline. Right off we looked over and saw clusters of mussels bigger than my head. My brilliant idea was to scrape the windward sides with one end of a pole while heeled. Which maybe accomplished sloughing 1/100th of the growth.
At this point we realized that the little critters might actually be helping to keep the rudder and keel attached to my vessel, so we abandoned the sloughing and spent the next 6 hours beating OFF the wind, no sexual innuendo intended. Three hours into it the crew on my boat completely lost morale when we looked across the Sound and saw the Eagle Harbor buoys slightly north of our position. To my credit as captain I did manage to find the most effective trim position - main sheeted fully to WINDWARD and giant genny leading as far aft and tight as she could go. That might give you an idea as too how stretched the mainsl was. The most important thing was that we made it. My crew disappeared before I could blink one eye and I sat there, tired but relieved. Now I sleep aboard and it is cold, but I am happy. That might have something to do with quitting my job too, but it feels really good to wake up at the marina and just be on a boat all the time again.
So I trained the new guy how to deliver wine, and on Friday the boys and I went to Ohana for pupus and blue hawaiians. Saturday night I bartended for a few hours at Old Engine Adrian's "May The Fourth Be With You" party (it was on the 10th this year). That was good fun but I regret not wearing a costume. I didn't even know it was a costume party until earlier that day when I took the time to actually read the bulletin to find the address. Then again, Adrian wasn't even wearing a costume. He was sporting a big shiner courtesy of the dumpster kicking his ass, though. Leah* successfully pulled off a look that artfully combined a 1920's pin-up flapper girl with Raquel Welch's character in One Million Years BC. At 11pm a bearded lady took over my bartending position and a little while later I took off. Adrian had an awesome setup down in Georgetown, with bonfire, stage and shows, smoke machine, stage lights and effects, plenty to drink and even a giant rented steaming hot tub. The party was scheduled to go on until 9am but honestly, I'm not much of a partier. Wish I was sometimes. I've never had much stamina for endless partying.
On Sunday I joined Nan, Brian & Thad at their mountain property east of Seattle. We finished digging 18 holes for the pier block foundation, then after several calls to my father and all of us trying to decide the best way to fill these holes, we set to work laying gravel, rebar, and mixing concrete BY HAND in each hole. It wasn't as hard as it sounds, but that's because we're all sailors and pretty damn tough. To put it in perspective, 18 year old Thad got tired before we did. He and Brian actually had to BEND rebar, using the truck rack. Ever tried to bend rebar? It's not easy. I lasted one or two sticks before I predicted I'd inevitably pull yet another important muscle attached to my neck/spine.
Here's Nan & Brian digging so vigorously that the camera can't even focus.
Thad, me & Brian digging, prepping holes.
Thad and I posing
Self portrait while Nan checks hole depths.
Me carrying sack of cement (80 pounds!). I think I'm clenching my buttcheeks for added strength.
Brian and Thad bending rebar. Brian must be sore today...
Nan making decisions. Check out those beautiful trees!!
For Mother's Day Thad wrote his mom a really loving and eloquent letter, commending her ambition and follow-through on so many daunting tasks over the last few years. He's a great kid and he truly respects his mom. It's nice to be a part of their extended family :)
Similar to the Mexico project, this cabin will at times be available for Nan, Brian, and K.Landen's friends to use. Both places will be offered as guest accommodations based on the "Sweat Equity" you have accrued, depending on availability. Next weekend we'll be mixing and pouring the concrete for the piers, then over Memorial Day Weekend, some of us are camping out while building the ENTIRE CABIN!! Just like an Amish barn-raising, eh? Should be a blast - join us!
.................*names have been misspelled to protect folks from being googled....................
One of my best friends over the last 8 years got married today. It was beautiful and I cried a few times. I've also felt a teensy bit self pitying because it's just weird to call each other best friends for years, then not be her closest girlfriend at a time like this. Not that I deserved to be Maid of Honor. I couldn't have done all that Jen did, being way out in Seattle, not knowing hardly anyone here, and not being able to afford flights to attend any of her 5 bridal showers nor her 3 bachelorette parties. Much less arrange them, like Jen did. I think if I had a chance to go back and do things differently, I would have attempted to come out for the bachelorette party weekend. During the wedding ceremony, the toasts, and then the next day at Pat's parents house for breakfast, I felt deeply upset that I had missed out on being closer to Pol throughout the prior parties, planning and preparations. At times our differences seem pretty strong - she's a CPA, now married and planning on having a family someday, living in the house Pat built in rural Michigan, mostly hanging out with his large family or her family or all of their Michigan State friends - all from Michigan and all still living there. Most of them married. I'm completely on the other end of the spectrum with my vagabond lifestyle, disconnected family, disinterest in the institution of marriage and the idea of having my own children. But past all that, we get along very well and understand each other for the most part. Both of us, like many of my close girlfriends, have this similar trait that bonds us to other slightly introverted or inexplicably different women. There's lots of women who are touchy feely, like to whoop it up and "go dancing!" and have this really typical gregarious sisterhood that we never truly connected with, so we found other women who were socially similar. I'm not really explaining this well. It's not that we're missing something. It just feels different. Nan, Pol, Sasha and Sone would all understand what I'm saying. Our lifestyle differences are huge but our communication and understanding are spot on. It was hard not spending more intimate time with my friend whom I rarely see. I felt really selfish. And when I said goodbye yesterday morning I felt very sad. We both cried and for a second I felt like I was losing her forever but that's probably not true.
the flight from seattle to phoenix was one of the best as far as views go. plus i had my whole row of seats to myself, while enjoying the movie chocolat. Here's Mt. Rainier, and windfarms along the Columbia.
Fish and I went sailing on his boat Friday evening.
They are delivering a 47' yacht named Bright Ayes to New Jersey from the Bahamas.
Nickle just sent me a pic he took of me at Ohana last week. The guys really liked the cyborg eye thing I had going on.
At this point we realized that the little critters might actually be helping to keep the rudder and keel attached to my vessel, so we abandoned the sloughing and spent the next 6 hours beating OFF the wind, no sexual innuendo intended. Three hours into it the crew on my boat completely lost morale when we looked across the Sound and saw the Eagle Harbor buoys slightly north of our position. To my credit as captain I did manage to find the most effective trim position - main sheeted fully to WINDWARD and giant genny leading as far aft and tight as she could go. That might give you an idea as too how stretched the mainsl was. The most important thing was that we made it. My crew disappeared before I could blink one eye and I sat there, tired but relieved. Now I sleep aboard and it is cold, but I am happy. That might have something to do with quitting my job too, but it feels really good to wake up at the marina and just be on a boat all the time again.
Here's Nan & Brian digging so vigorously that the camera can't even focus.
Thad, me & Brian digging, prepping holes.
Thad and I posing
Self portrait while Nan checks hole depths.
Me carrying sack of cement (80 pounds!). I think I'm clenching my buttcheeks for added strength.
Brian and Thad bending rebar. Brian must be sore today...
Nan making decisions. Check out those beautiful trees!!
For Mother's Day Thad wrote his mom a really loving and eloquent letter, commending her ambition and follow-through on so many daunting tasks over the last few years. He's a great kid and he truly respects his mom. It's nice to be a part of their extended family :)
