Dancing with Hurricanes

After a few hours in the office this morning I’ll be heading to the airport for a weeks work in Philadelphia. Before I go, I’ll be doubling all my dock lines and centering the boat in the slip.

Hurricane season is no joke down here for the boaters. I am lucky in that I live in the best hurricane hole on the Texas Gulf Coast, but that doesn’t mean I can afford to get lazy about boat prep. As a standard, every time I leave for more than a day, I fill the water tank, charge the batteries to full, shut down everything but the bilge pumps, add additional dock lines including extra spring lines, and center the boat in the slip giving it as much room to move and dance as possible.

Dolly is on the way towards South Texas, but these forecasts have a habit of changing. If you want to keep a close eye on the storms down here check out the National Hurricane Center. The do a great job of tracking these lows from their earliest formation out in the Atlantic or sometimes even over Africa. Have a good week and go sailing.

LW

Where to begin?

For starters, I withdrew from consideration for a promotion at work. I’ve always been driven to climb the corporate ladder and this marks a major shift in the path I am on. The surreal part is trying to explain that I withdrew from consideration and was not passed over. Simply put, I don’t think people believe me. Such an action is outside the character my colleagues have come to know. It doesn’t help that I am not yet sharing my real reasons for withdrawing. I’ve been explaining that, “I am holding out for a management position” or “I am not ready to commit to an ill defined, new position for two years”, none of which ring quite true.

The other side of the story is that the position had come down to a heads up competition between me and a colleague I have a great deal of respect for. I could not in good conscious compete for a job, possibly pushing her out of hers, knowing I am leaving soon. I couldn’t think of any way to cut it where that could have been considered anything but a vile move. That’s not how I want to make an exit.

I am also coming off of two weeks of boat work. Actually, the work days were punctuated by weekend sailing trips. It felt really good to get the old girl back on the water. Three weeks ago was the first time I’ve left the dock since I sailed to South Padre. That was just over six months. I made a lot of progress, but far short of what I wanted to get done.

A few big projects included installing the new chartplotter and removing the old gps, flushing and rebuilding the old watermaker, replacing the secondary anchor line, replacing the boom topping lift and its blocks, pulling out 20 years of wiring that was no longer in use, repairing the air conditioner, installing the new shower bilge pump, changing the engine oil and filters, and a few other miscellaneous items. It was good progress, but there is so much more to do.

As a start, I just put in orders for quite a bit of new equipment. I bought an Elliott six man Solas A canister life raft I’ll deck mount, new stainless steel cowl vents for the main cabin, a hand held gps mount for the nav station, new blinds for the fixed ports, and Kiwi Grip so I can redo the non-skid surface of the decks. I am really racing the countdown clock. I am feeling the pressure to get it done like I’ve never felt pressure for any other project. I am pushing to get the decks done and re-caulk all of the deck fittings and chain plates. I need to get this boat water tight.

On a similar, but different note, I think I am going to drop about 1K for a little portable Honda 2000 watt generator. I can set this on the deck at anchor and use it to power the battery charger and refrigerator and freezer. The only other option would be to run the engine for two hours a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. I am scared of my engine with ~9000 hours on it. That’s a lot of hours for original equipment. I think Rusty the Westerbeke can make it, but I don’t want to ask him to push the boat and keep my food cold. I can’t afford a repower.

There are about 55 projects on the To Do list and despite knocking them off as quickly as possible it is growing, not shrinking. I have to find a way to fly my storm jib. I have to redo the opening ports. I need safety netting along the lifelines. As for the rest……I’ll just do the best I can and sort it on the way.

I am finally going to D.C. to meet the people at SOS Children’s Villages USA. It’s important to me to meet people in person. Especially considering how much this organization is shaping the course and content of my voyage.

The new website isn’t up yet. It’s coming along, but taking far longer than I’d hoped. If there is anyone reading this good at slinging code who can help me set up an embedded google map and blog, both of which must be capable of being updated via basic text email or SMS/Text to an email address, I could sure use your help.

Reading back through this I realize I went on quite a ramble. I think writing helps me solidify my thoughts. I am tired and a little overwhelmed and it is showing. Despite it all, I am much more excited and thrilled to be seeing it come together than anything else.

I am going to try and sail around the world. I am leaving in November.

LW

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Proudly Introducing Our First Major Sponsor – Emily Nash Photography

I first met Emily Nash when she was doing corporate photo shoots in Albuquerque, NM. The University of New Mexico’s Anderson School of Business hired Emily for all of their shoots, including my EMBA Graduation.

The first thing I noticed about this lady was how much fun she was having with what she was doing. The second thing was that she was not taking your typically boring graduation/business shots. Emily built a business combining an amazingly creative eye, a natural talent for working with people, and an incredibly sharp business mind into custom photo shoots that yield unapologetically bold and unique images.

Showing no fear, Emily agreed to come to Kemah from Austin, where she now resides, and join me for a three day cruise. The resulting images went way past my highest of expectations. I think she really captured the feel of what Sailing for SOS is trying to accomplish. Em, I am forever indebted.

If you have photographic work to do and want to work with the best in the business, contact Emily Nash Photography. http://www.emilynashphotography.com/

Emily Nash
505.907.6011
emilynash@mac.com

Galveston kids eat anything.

Yeah, so we did offer the kid 20 bucks to eat the fish. I think he would have done it anyway. Spent the weekend sailing around with the photograher for the new site. Great shots, I'll post a few images shortly. In the mean time, enjoy.

It's confirmed.......I am a nerd.

Want to know how much of a geek I am? Here is what I’ve been doing on a Wednesday night while on vacation. So I want to swap all my lights out to LED so I can take it as easy as possible on the batteries. It’s an easy formula, Amps = Watts/Volts. My battery bank is around 530 Amps. My battery voltage is 12 volt and is relatively constant. So, if you take your average 20 watt halogen light it burns 1.67 amps/hour. I also had a few 50w bulbs that burn 4.17 amps/hour. With a total of 7 of these fixtures this type of amperage draw really adds up.

Your average LED bulb will run around 1 – 5 watts or the equivalent of ~.3 amps/hour. That’s a big savings. The only problem is finding a good LED light that puts out anything even approaching the output of a 20w or 50w bulb. For a long time I didn’t think they existed. After a few bum LED bulbs I stumbled onto a small business run by a cruiser who specialized in these bulbs. He sent me a few to play with, actually I bought them to play with, and the results are below. I am not naming the company because there is one bulb in particular I’d like to use all over my boat. Sponsorship anyone?

Ok, so to get some thing approaching an unbiased, uncorrupted, analytical result I used my new camera. I plugged in a standard 20w bulb in one of my fixtures and found the settings that would yield the best possible picture. Now admittedly, this is somewhat biased because I chose to use the 20w as the control, but hey, I had to start somewhere. Anyway, after a few test shots I ended up with an f-stop of 16, 8 second shutter time, and ISO 800. That might mean something to you photogs. For the rest of us it just means I didn’t change the camera settings for any of the following pics.

This is the control with the 20w.

Here is a picture of the 50w. Somewhat brighter, but hardly worth it for the extra 2.5 amps/hour. Not to mention the fixture actually started smoking since it hadn’t had the 50w bulb in it before. These things will melt your face off.

Now the real telling photo. I bought this little gem, an 18 LED cluster, off of ebay and got two for $10. They were supposed to be equivalent to a 20w bulb, but as you can tell, it’s hardly visible at all. Junk.

I am impressed with this bulb. It has nine of the Surface Mounted (SMD) LED lights and is still a warm yellow, but not so much as some others. It’s not the same as the 20w, but for 2 watts or 0.17 amps/hour it’s a real winner. I’ll just plug two of them in.

Finally, I had high hopes for this bulb, but it let me down. It is a 33 LED cluster, but it is so yellow that the light just seems dirty. It was also the most expensive bulb in the lot at ~$50 USD. The other draw back is that it is so heavy it works itself out of the fixture and falls if not very well secured. Fortunately this one never hit the ground.

So from left to right you have the 50w Xenon, 20w Xenon, 18 LED cluster, 9 SMD LED cluster, and the 33 LED cluster. Anyone else want to buy the 9 SMD LED cluster? Let me get my sponsorship request letter back to the business owner and see what we can do. They’ve been extremely patient with all my question and have shipped the orders right out. Good people to work with. I’ll keep you posted.

Tomorrow’s TO DO List

Almost my entire day today went to working for Thermo. It’s OK since I still need to pay for everything, but I feel really behind on my projects for this week. I just laid out my plan for tomorrow and probably a good deal of Friday. Here it is: Pump Out and flush the head lines, change engine oil and starboard racor fuel filter, pull two more loose sets of wires running aft on one side and to the engine on the other, pull the anchor and wash off the mud, install the new secondary anchor rode and line, rebed the cockpit scuppers, install the new shower bilge pump, run up the mast and fix the new boom topping lift, run the new reefing lines, and clean out and rebuild the old PUR Powersurvivor 35 Water Maker. I’ll be renaming her Jargo soon.

Two Weeks

I’ve taken this week and next week off of work and will be focusing on boat projects. I’ve got projects lined up and ready to go as soon as I start giving them some attention. I am kicking today off with the installation of my new Garmin GPSMAP 545. I’ll follow that up with new gauges and alarms for the oil pressure and engine coolant temperature. After that comes another trip up the mast to redo the main boom topping lift. I bought a rebuild kit for the water maker and will try to bring that system back to life. I am excited. Big progress coming.

Not much new on the Cynthia Woods investigation from below. It does look like the keel was brought up with the keel bolts and backing plates still attached. I am not investigator, but that tells me that the fiberglass on the hull of the boat failed where the keel was bolted. It’s rumored that the backing plates were undersized and should have had one large plate for the installation instead of single smaller plates for each bolt. You can think of the backing plates kind of like big washers on smaller nuts and bolts. They distribute the load of the keel across a larger surface area.

Go Sailing.

LW

Gulf Coast Sailing Accident

I’ve been reading as many of the news releases as I can find this morning regarding the sailing accident during the Race to Veracruz involving a Texas A & M sailing team. One man lost his life and everyone wants to know why.

No conclusion can be drawn yet, but evidence is surfacing indicating the boat, Cynthia Woods, had been run aground between 3 – 10 times prior to being donated to A & M in 2005. In 2007 the ship was run hard aground doing damage to the keel again. It us unknown at this time how well that damage was repaired prior to the offshore race this June.

The keel was found in ~110 feet of water by the same offshore salvage company that towed the boat out of the gulf. The U.S. Coast Guard and A & M will use the keel to try and determine why the keel separated from the boat.





Those are the facts as I understand them from the available news this morning. First, no boat that gets used along the Texas Gulf Coast is going to avoid running aground. The inland waters are shallow and it is going to happen. I’ve been aground two or three times since I’ve been sailing here the past two years. However, Cynthia Woods is a Cape Fear 38 and has what is knows as a bulb keel. It is bolted onto the boat and has a long stretch of material before it connects to a bulb at the bottom with the majority of the weight that acts as ballast.

This design is a great, fast design for boats operating on deep, open water. I don’t think it belongs in a fleet sailing in shallow Gulf Shore water or going far offshore. This design is the polar opposite of the full keel design I wanted for my cruising boat and found on my Allied Mistress. Bulb keels cannot take repeated grounding and maintain structural integrity.

I want to make it very clear, every boat design is a good design when it is used for sailing where and how it was designed. There is nothing inherently wrong with this design, but I think it was a donated boat put into service in a region unsuited to it. The builder has stepped up and is helping extensively with the investigation.


Changing tacks for a moment, I finally got my boat out of the slip again. Something happens when this boat gets out of the marina and out sailing or lying to anchor. I love this boat. I’ve been confusing everyone calling the boat by both the names Romance & Jargo. I haven’t formally changed her name yet because I want her to be mine, not the boat I bought, before I rename her. I think I am getting close. I am making a list of projects to do that include a few new items. One of them is finding and installing low oil pressure and engine temperature alarms to let me know before major engine damage occurs. I am looking forward to a two week vacation where I can do nothing but focus on boat projects.

Determination and Persistence

In the past few months/weeks I’ve rebuilt the windlass, installed a new starter and solenoid, installed a new macerator pump, purchased and bottom painted the dingy, replaced the dingy davit lines, replaced the spinnaker halyard and block, repaired the main, mizzen, and geneoa, applied for my ships radio and restricted operators permit, found and purchased an auto tuner and pactor modem for the HF, replaced the lazy jacks, replaced the mizzen staysail block, run halyard wrap preventers across the mast steps, replaced the main and mizzen sheets and halyards, lubricated both main and mizzen mast tracks, replaced the radar, purchased, but not yet installed the new GPS, installed the new AM/FM stereo and iPod player, started converting LED lighting, begun sending out sponsorship packets to a few vendors, had the bright work done, got my sextant, almost replaced the shower sump (again), purchased and about to install 300 feet of new secondary anchor line, and last, but certainly not least, gotten the test site up for the new website!

The test site is only an infant, but it represents the change from designing the new site to building it with real, substantial code. There are a lot of tweaks to be done and some fairly complex coding to be built in, but it’s a good start. Check it out over the next few weeks and please give me some feedback on it once it gets filled out a bit more.

One other thing I did this past week was get my first sponsorship rejection. The cool thing is I am almost has happy as if I’d gotten the sponsorship. Not that I am done trying with this particular company, but for everyone that says “No”, I am that much closer to finding the one that says, “YES”.

The one thing that I have not been doing is sailing. It’s a problem that has come to a head. I’ve been so lost in working on the boat I’ve lost sight yet again of how important it is to enjoy her some as well. An old friend of mine is swinging through town this weekend for a job in Houston and I’ve committed to taking us out sailing. It’s about time and come hell or high water, it’s time to fill the sails.

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race” - President Calvin Coolidge

Tragedy over the weekend.

Word came out Saturday that one of the boats from the Regatta de Amigos or Race to Veracruz (http://www.veracruzregatta.com/ ) was missing. I think everyone from Galveston to Houston was holding their breath until some news, good or bad came in. Stories like this always remind you of your own mortality. Going offshore is no joke, even in the best of conditions. I think the best thing that can be taken from this is you cannot over prepare yourself or your vessel. Yes, at some point you just have to go, but there is no excuse for not taking every caution and care your budget and time allow.



Sailor called 'hero' for helping save 5 others
By MONICA RHOR, Associated Press Writer

GALVESTON, Texas - Four students and a safety officer had less than a minute to escape their sinking ship once it began taking water during a regatta on the Gulf of Mexico, the safety officer said Monday.

The survivors praised the boat's other safety officer, 53-year-old Roger Stone, for rushing them off the craft within seconds of realizing it was taking water, putting their lives ahead of his own. Divers pulled his body from the boat Sunday afternoon.

"Roger was a friend, a great sailor, a good coach and a true hero," safety officer Steve Conway said on NBC's "Today." "Our hearts and prayers go out to his family in their time of loss."

Conway said the students kept their composure over 26 hours in the choppy water. They used belts and rigging to hook themselves together, with the five men sharing four life vests, Conway said. He told them stories to keep them encouraged.

"They remained positive, they didn't panic," Conway said. "They kept working as a team and helping each other."

Three of the students — Steven Guy, Joe Savana and Travis Wright — attend Texas A&M at Galveston. The fourth, Ross James Buzbee, attends Texas A&M in College Station.

Buzbee said Conway kept their spirits up while they waited for rescue.

"Steve, he told us stories to keep us entertained and to keep us focused," Buzbee said on "Today." "It basically gave us a positive outlook on everything."

The five spent Sunday visiting with family and nursing minor sunburn and dehydration.

R. Bowen Loftin, CEO of Texas A&M at Galveston, expressed condolences to Stone's family — including his wife and two children — in a message posted on the school's Web site.

"We hope they can take some comfort in knowing all five survivors of this tragic accident credit Mr. Stone with heroic efforts that were instrumental in making possible their survival," Loftin said on the school's Web site. "We now know that Roger Stone died a hero in the classic sense of the word."

Conway is the director of computer information services at Texas A&M at Galveston and assistant coach of the school's Offshore Sailing Team, the school said. Stone was another of the team's assistant coaches, according to the school Web site. He also was a logistics officer at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, according to the UTMB Web site.

The search for the sailors began Saturday morning after the 38-foot sailboat Cynthia Woods missed a radio check. The boat, which lost communication around midnight Friday, was one of 26 vessels competing in the Regata de Amigos. The race from Galveston to Veracruz, Mexico, has occurred every even-number year since 1968, according to the regatta's Web site.

Loftin said Conway used a flashlight to signal Coast Guard searchers. The five stayed afloat in 4- to 6-foot seas, Loftin said.

Coast Guard officials said the keel of the overturned vessel was ripped off, indicating the sailboat may have hit something in the water, according to the school. Race director Kevin Box said the loss of the keel can cause a boat to overturn in seconds.

Conway said it was "premature to speculate" about whether the keel broke off before the Coast Guard completes its investigation.

A helicopter crew from Air Station Houston pulled the five men from the water 23 miles south of Freeport about 2 a.m., Coast Guard Petty Officer Renee C. Aiello said Sunday. They had drifted about five miles northwest of their capsized boat.

In an interview Monday, Lt. Justo Rivera, the helicopter pilot, said his crew searched the Gulf of Mexico for two hours before they had to return to their Galveston base to refuel. The crew resumed their search when Petty Officer Louis Bishop, the flight mechanic, spotted the flashlight's tiny glimmer.

Only after Chief Petty Officer Albert Shannon, the rescue swimmer, dove in did the crew learn there were just five people in the group.

"It hurts not being able to save that one individual," Rivera told reporters.

The regatta, sponsored by the Mexican government, continues into next week.

___

Associated Press writers John Porretto in Houston and Linda Franklin in Dallas contributed to this report.

A quick video walk through.

Smashed it!

No, not the boat. In an effort to keep up the motivation to get in shape I entered into another 5K run. This one was done locally by the Houston Astros. The cool thing is that I recruited two of my friends to come with us and by race day we were a four pack. Three of us ran, one of us walked, and we all had a really great time.


My finish time for this one was 29 minutes and 23 seconds as compared to my last time of 31 minutes and 52 seconds. That’s a 2.5 minute improvement! I am pleased. I also got confirmation that I am the “Ideal” man. At least that’s how I am interpreting the results from the free body fat analysis I got at the race. Apparently I am ideal, I knew it all along, but now I have independent confirmation.

So what’s the next step in the quest for fitness? We are getting the band back together for another 5K on June 28th up in Deer Park, TX. There are a few new additions that will be running this one. Apparently the word has spread how much fun we have at these things. I know, hard to believe considering how much I don’t like to run. Must be the camaraderie of the thing. If anyone wants to come out with us, all are welcome.

There is one other idea brewing that seriously scares me. Somehow, someone got the idea that we should do one of these things called a sprint triathlon. They have three back to back events including a 500 meter swim, 16 mile bike ride, and a 5K run. I don’t have a bike which is my first excuse. I am sure I can come up with more in the next few weeks. There is one scheduled up in Katy on July 13th. Hummm…..

Unabridged Sterling Hayden: What choice will you make?

Ideas can change the world. I’ve always liked quotes because they are typically the distillation of an idea into a single shot of wisdom. The Sterling quote from the last post was from a friend’s blog, but was picked up by another blogger I’ve got a lot of respect for. Her post reminded me of why I started writing in the first place. It isn’t to bore you with details about boat work, but to try and inspire you, even just one of you, to take a chance and go after the dream you may have put on the shelf.

To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest. Otherwise, you are doomed to a routine traverse, the kind known to yachtsmen who play with their boats at sea... cruising, it is called. Voyaging belongs to seamen, and to the wanderers of the world who cannot, or will not, fit in. If you are contemplating a voyage and you have the means, abandon the venture until your fortunes change. Only then will you know what the sea is all about. I've always wanted to sail to the South Seas, but I can't afford it." What these men can't afford is not to go. They are enmeshed in the cancerous discipline of security. And in the worship of security we fling our lives beneath the wheels of routine - and before we know it our lives are gone.

What does a man need - really need? A few pounds of food each day, heat and shelter, six feet to lie down in - and some form of working activity that will yield a sense of accomplishment. That's all - in the material sense, and we know it. But we are brainwashed by our economic system until we end up in a tomb beneath a pyramid of time payments, mortgages, preposterous gadgetry, playthings that divert our attention for the sheer idiocy of the charade. The years thunder by, The dreams of youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on the shelves of patience. Before we know it, the tomb is sealed. Where, then, lies the answer? In choice. Which shall it be: bankruptcy of purse or bankruptcy of life? - Sterling Hayden in Wanderer

Conventional dogma tells us to go to school, get a degree, get a good job, get married, buy a house, have 2.5 kids, and he with the most at the end of it all wins. What if you took a step back and looked at your daily, weekly, and monthly routines? What could you be doing if you didn’t have credit card payments, house payments, car payments, gym payments, HD TV cable bills, and the rest of it? It’s our very desire to accumulate objects that eventually traps us in our routines.

In Walden Thoreau referred to those who chase comforts as though comforts themselves were life like this, “With consummate skill he has set his trap with a hair spring to catch comfort and independence, and then, as he turned away, got his own leg into it. This is the reason he is poor; and for a similar reason we are all poor in respect to a thousand savage comforts, though surrounded by luxuries”.

As I ponder my trip safety often comes to mind. What must I do eliminate risk where I can? All the toys, life jackets, life rafts, EPIRBS, and other things we buy to keep us safe are a poor substitute for taking responsibility for our security. Knowledge and experience are the only real safety nets any of us have. Henry Ford said, “If money is your hope for independence you will never have it. The only real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability”.

As some point people have to make a choice. Stick to the safe and secure that is known to you. Even if this isn’t providing you happiness or fulfillment it’s the path most people take. The other option? Choose. Choose to make the life you want. This requires thought, effort, and a sustained commitment to your dream. You have to ignore those who tell you that you “can’t” or “shouldn’t” do something. Your true friends will listen to you and encourage you. Whatever your dream is.

"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless deeds and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now."

- Johann Wolfgang Van Goethe

Allied Rally and the stars.

10 Allied Sailboats got together earlier this year in Florida. They put together this little video that shows the boats, the owners, and a few arial shots taken during thier sail. Wish I could have made it. I do love the lines of these old boats.




Progress continues. The windlass is back on the boat and rebedded. I scrubbed the dingy down last night and will be adding a coat of MDR Amazon's inflatable anti fouling bottom paint this evening. Money continues to hemmorage, but I've just added a small video camera to the boat stores called the Flip. http://www.theflip.com/ I also purchased a sextant as a back means of navigation to the two GPS units I've got on board. I like the idea of being able to navigate by the stars the way the ancient mariners did. Now all I have to do is learn how to use it.

Rust, powder coat, and Sterling Hayden

Powder coating isn’t as durable as I was hoping it would be. The previous owner found an ancient manual windlass off a 60 foot boat and mounted it on the front of Romance. I like having a manual windlass and this one is super heavy. The only bad thing is that the windlass has been allowed to rust, a lot. I needed to pull it off the boat to get it cleaned up. I was going to just hit it with spray paint, but decided to spring for sand blasting and powder coating. Turns out cast iron isn’t a good candidate for powder coating. It degasses and the finish is pretty fragile. Not good for something that takes much abuse like a windlass. Oh well, so I’ll have to hit it with paint every now and then. It is still a significant improvement over where I started.

The other thing I had to do was get two teeth welded up on the main cog. I found a good machine shop that welded lots of new metal back on where the old tooth used to be. Once enough material had been built up he ground the metal into the same shape as the rest of the teeth. This way the windlass won’t skip when I am actuating the lever. By the way, the windlass is the big winch that pulls up the anchor and chain.



I was cruising a few blogs and rediscovered one of my favorite quotes.

"I've always wanted to sail to the South Seas, but I can't afford it." What these men can't afford is not to go. They are enmeshed in the cancerous discipline of "security." And in the worship of security we fling our lives beneath the wheels of routine - and before we know it our lives are gone.

The years thunder by. The dreams of youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on the shelves of patience. Before we know it the tomb is sealed. Where, then, lies the answer? In choice. Which shall it be: bankruptcy of purse or bankruptcy of life?

-Sterling Hayden (1916-1986)

It’s still hard for me to part with so much hard earned money. This quote reminds me why I’ve made the choice I have. At the end of my days the size of my bank account is of little consequence. I want to enjoy the time I’ve got. Five months to go….tick, tick, tick.

The Rock

I am back in town for the long weekend after several days working in the San Francisco Bay area. I finally made good on a promise to take two of my good friends out sailing. I've always heard that the San Fran Bay was a difficult place to sail with high winds and very strong currents. We rented a Hunter 31 and ventured out in winds that were sustained 25 - 30 knots and gusting higher. Once we rolled up the jib and proceeded under full main sail alone we were perfectly powered for the conditions.

The wind was out of the NW which made it really hard to beat up the bay from Alameda, CA where we started. We did make it under the Bay Bridge and got about a mile off Alcatraz before we turned around and headed back for the relatively sheltered waters of the lower bay. It was a beautiful day and I can't wait to do it again. I want to sail around Alcatraz and Angel Island.

On another note the boat work continues. I am shooting for finishing up the windlass rebuild and getting it mounted, splicing the radar cable back together and cleaning up the harness, and installing my new Garmin 545 GPS chart plotter. I've got three full uninterrupted days to work on the boat. Let's see what I can make of them.

Getting things in order.

The boat work goes on, but I’ve started a new focus as well. I still haven’t fully sorted out my personal business such as getting mail, arranging my finances for long term cruising, or figuring out how I’ll stay in communication.

I did take one giant step towards being ready this week. I paid off my boat! I had been hanging onto the loan both because it was a low interest rate and I needed the tax deduction. I also use ING to save the cruising kitty and was doing pretty well on the interest I was accruing until the past few interest rate reductions by the Fed. http://home.ingdirect.com/ If you are saving money in a savings account that is only paying 1% check out the high yield checking account that is closer to 4%.

I took a hard look at my spending and cut out a few others luxuries like the gym I never go to. In about 3 hours work I saved myself over $450 in monthly payments I didn’t have to be making. It’s time to start spending like I am already cruising. My savings is going to have to last.

My next step is to find a real estate agent in Dallas who can sell a little condo I rehabbed up there right after grad school. I got a great buy on it, but the home owners association is making it impossible to keep it as an investment property. They are assessing so many fees they’ll effectively drain my kitty if I don’t get rid of it. Plus, I really don’t want to have to worry about managing business affairs here at home while I am out sailing. I think the extra work now to get clear of a few things will pay off in the long run.

I bailed out of the race to Veracruz. It would have required me to take two weeks off of work in June that I really can’t spare. That’s when I need to be closing business to pay for the rest of the repairs I still need to make. Instead, I am taking two weeks off in July when I can work uninterrupted on the boat. I can’t wait to be able to give it that kind of focus.

The TASS sailing club is running town to Freeport, TX over Memorial Day. I always come back from a trip rejuvenated about working on the boat. I think it’s time to give the old girl a kick and go sailing for a weekend. I got the old windlass torn down which is a story I’ll save for another post. This weekend is focusing on finally knocking out the radar and hopefully getting the windlass rebedded on deck. Cheers Everyone. Here’s to living life debt free!

Lee

Want to hear the story behind naming the boat Jargo?

THE DAY I RODE JARGO
Originally Written November -1963
By Grace Rice

Edited here by Lee Winters

Editors Notes: The man referred to in this story as “Lum” is Christopher Columbus Winters, my Great Grandfather. He was the last man in our family to be invited to the Indian dances, he carried a bullet in his neck for 30 years as a souvenir from a poker game, and carved a life for his family on the plains of southwest Oklahoma.


On the evening late the 4th day of April, 1921 my mother, husband, and three small children decided to go to the cellar as there was an ominous cloud in the northwest. We lived in low land and the cement cellar was about 100 yards from our home. My husband didn't think it necessary to go to the cellar, but I told him that it is always the unexpected that happens. Sure enough the unexpected happened early next morning.

We stayed for awhile at the cellar that evening and nothing happened. Howard, our two small children, and I came back to the house to sleep while my mother and four year old son Dennis stayed at the cellar, black cloud still in the sky. I lay down in my clothes thinking we might have to make a run for the cellar yet again. I slept through the night dreaming that the earth was parched dry. Howard, always an early riser, got up at 5:00 a.m. yelling that water was running all around our house. I woke just as the water was coming over the floor.

There was a great cloud burst many miles up river and the water rose at one foot per minute. I told Howard to stay calm, but to go immediately to the cellar and raise the door. Howard made it to the cellar but couldn't make it back on account of swift water. I went to a kitchen cupboard and placed two gold rings on my fingers I always took whenever I left the place.

I moved by the children’s beds where my two babies were sleeping. One bed had already begun to float. I felt the need of prayer and I prayed earnestly and silently to be rescued. As I said, “Thy will be done” I heard a voice outside. It was a neighbor riding another neighbor’s horse as he couldn't get to one of his own. This horses name was Jargo and he was 16 ½ hands high. He was a high strung nervous type and he stood on his hind feet twice as I was being helped on him.

This man, Lum, was raised on this river and he was an excellent swimmer. He left his own family safe and dared the raging waters to come in for us. I took hold of a small part of Jargos’ mane and carried the two year old in front of me. Lum carried the baby Earl who was 3 months old that day. The older part of house was creaking and breaking away scaring Jargo as we were trying to mount. Never the less, we started out downstream. Lum told me “Grace we will make it out all right, but it will be down the river a mile."

We had gone about three hundred yards when Lum told me to look back. Our home, where we were just standing, was gone. It had just hung for a few minutes on a pump in the yard.

Lum swam and carried the 3 month old baby until Jargo pulled all four of us near a slough 1/4 mile down. The slough had collected flood debris of all kinds and Jargo was going full blast when he hit the drift and came up and over, backward. Lum had only a rope around Jargo's neck, but knowing he would have to maneuver and manage Jargo he had given me both children just before we hit.

When we did, I came off but held onto a tiny bit of mane. Jargo was scared and he ripped, circled, squealed, and nickered. He circled three times and I washed down stream over him again and again, but held on. It is true that a drowning person will cling to a straw.

I dropped my baby the 1st time I came off, but grabbed the two year old Buddy with my left hand. I couldn't speak for a time, but when I could I screamed that I'd lost my baby. Lum said, “I've got your baby”. Jargo eventually broke through the drift and Lum said, “Grace, Jargo is going to make it”. I said do you think the baby will be alive? He told me no, but it was a consolation to know we even had it.

When we finally made the waters edge Jargo stopped, riderless. Lum and I both fell to the ground breathless from the ordeal. That’s when I saw Lum uncover my baby’s face. His gown had washed over his head smothering him, but also keeping out a lot of mud and water from my baby’s lungs. Miraculously, I saw my baby gasp and start breathing again.

I was looking at them under this horse, Jargo, as we rested a few seconds. Lum didn't get up for awhile as he was more exhausted than I. The veins in his temples stood out as big as a pencil is around. An elderly man met us there and I told him to take off his jumper to wrap my baby in and take him to the Carroll’s home as quick as he could. He did, but he later told his wife he thought the baby was dying while he had it.

Lum soon overtook me and took Buddy out of my arms going ahead of me to the Carroll’s home. When I arrived Lum was trying to kindle a fire and had stripped Buddy putting him in bed. Mrs. Carroll was changing Earl into dry clothes, an old dress she was wrapping around him.

Amazingly, the water kept rising and we all had to leave the Carroll house heading to another place up the road. The water was side deep to the horse as we went. Someone led my horse and carried Buddy. Someone else carried Earl on another horse as the water rose higher and higher. The men built rafts and one man tried to get to my husband, mother, and four year old child still on the cellar roof, but the water was still raging and too swift.


We found Howard standing on top of the cellar with water already above his knees. They stood there until about 5:00 p.m. when the water went down a great deal. A few men rode horses into the flood and took a boat with a rope tied around the saddle horn.

My mother and Dennis sat in the boat while Howard rode a horse out. Howard had to borrow some of Lum's overalls as he was out there in nothing but his shirt and underwear. My mother had only her coat and a little over $80.00 in the pocket. We not only lost our home and everything in it, but our chickens, turkeys, and corn in the barn. All went down the river including our 3 month old white shepherd pup that was found next day floating on the base of our dresser. He growled and showed his teeth at the man who tried to approach him, but was plenty glad when Howard rescued him. I cried when Howard brought him to me on the horse he was riding. This dogs name was Rufe, and we always cared a great deal for old Rufe.

There were more than 50 people stranded on each side of the river. A good many silent prayers were offered on that day. People were good in both counties to us. I had 29 quilts sent to me besides mattress, pillows, clothing, feed, chickens, cash and everything else. I could go on and on.

We never did go after some things people had asked us to come get such as feed and a few other things. We were all thankful to be alive, and I said it took everything but us and our debts, but we made a good crop and a better price in 1921.

Howard said one thing was for certain; we won’t ever live in lowland again. I still dream of living on that place, especially when I am troubled or sick. I guess that day left an impression that will always be in my sub-conscious mind. One thing is for sure, I believe that prayers are answered. I am not the best of person, but I always felt like I must be a Christian and I have lived a long time now and can count many, many blessings.

God Bless You,
Mom

P.S. Lum lived 40 years to that day an unsung hero - May God rest his soul.

Projects, projects, projects.

Sorry I haven’t blogged in a little while. I’d actually cranked out two new entries, but somehow they were not on my laptop any longer when I went to finally post them. I don’t have many IT problems considering I sell software so this one kind of befuddled me. Oh well.

I am back from a week on the road in Seattle for work. I’ve got a lot of history wrapped up in that town. I kind of felt like I was chasing ghosts around the restaurants, pubs, and hotels near the Pike Market. I met and somehow lost someone very special in that city years ago. Oddly enough, we reconnected over the phone this week and it was good to hear her voice.

I am back on the boat now, and after a day that reminded me why I don’t want to sell my days to the corporate world, am ready to dig in full force on boat repairs. Here is the immediate plan of attack. First, use the borrowed Electrician’s Fish Tape to run a new messenger up the mizzen mast and get the radar signal cable run. This project is starting to drag on longer than the eternal autopilot instillation. I am really hoping I can do it with the Fish Tape so I don’t have to pull the mast. Second, pull the old, rusty windless off the bow of the boat and get it over to the powder coater. She is a great manual windless that is incredibly oversized for my boat and I love it. It’s got lots of rust scale, but it’s a beautiful piece of machinery. Third, I’ve got to paint my dingy. That’s right. I have to paint it. No, not the tops but the bottom. See, if you leave a dingy unused for too long it starts to grow barnacles and sea grass. So, I’ll paint the bottom with anti-fouling paint to keep it nice and clean. Now I just have to scrub off all of the weed that’s already accumulated.

Nose to the grindstone time. I can hear the clock ticking.