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RESCUING A TITAN

5/29/2017

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Carol and I went to the boat this weekend.  To work, relax, see some friends, and plan our next steps.  Memorial Day weekend is a pretty big deal in the little town of Oriental, and we were looking forward to it. 

I got sick.

​Not the kind of overwhelming, debilitating sick that makes you wish for a new body, but the low grade, annoying sick where you are trying to convince your wife that you are "fine.  Why?"

​We got there on Saturday afternoon.  There is a restaurant in Oriental called The Silos.  It is built inside a couple of farm silos.  They host a musical event they call "Silospalooza".  Basically a bunch of local bands playing a variety of music over Saturday and part of Sunday.  I was looking forward to kicking back a few and enjoying a bit of music.  Alas, it was not to be.

​We did see a few people we knew.  Kyle and Sandra from Point Marina were at the free docks, and we had a drink with them at the Tiki Hut.  We ran into Buddy (of teaching Carol how to sail Sea Bird fame) and caught up with him in the parking lot.  We took a visit to Point Marina and saw David and Bobbie, who we haven't seen since we were docked there, planning our departure.  We managed to schedule some time on Sunday with Scott and Deb of Paradise Cove.  I'm real sorry we missed them, but by Saturday night, even I was beginning to doubt the "fine" mantra.  We had supper at M&M's, (of which I ate about half) and retired early.  I had a restless night with lots of dreams that all ended badly.

​The next morning (Sunday), I was up before Carol, but later than usual for me.  Determined to keep our schedule, I brought coffee and breakfast back to the boat.  I then proceeded to aggressively lie around doing nothing while Carol made plans for us to meet up with Deb (and their son, Cooper) for the afternoon (Scott was tied up) and then the both of them for the evening.  I got to thinking.  Around 11:00 I asked Carol if I had a fever.  She felt my head and picked up her phone and started texting.  "Does that mean yes?"

She rolled her eyes.

I took a nap.  I NEVER take naps.

​I woke  couple of hours later feeling much better.  After lounging around for a bit, I decided to take a shower.  After the visit to the bath house and a fresh change of clothes, I almost felt human again.  A device charging issue presented itself on board Sea Bird, necessitating a trip to the car to retrieve a charging cord. 

That is when fate called on me.

​As I was turning the corner from my finger pier, I heard a splash.  Now this is the Pamlico Sound, and there are fish jumping (up to and including dolphins) so this did not really register.  I was simply thinking "wow, that was a big one".  Then I heard someone say "Where is the nearest ladder?"  That got my attention.  Someone is in the water.  My mind went into overdrive.  Then he said "My dog fell in the water."  Oh.  OK.  But still, very important.

​So I located the nearest ladder, he directed his dog, Titan,  (a beautiful probably 90 pound white Labrador-looking) to swim to it, and got into the water and put the dog's life jacket on.  Another dock neighbor presented us with a rope and I lowered it down to him to tie around the lifting handles on the doggie designed life preserver.  "You gonna tie a bolan?" asked my fellow rescuer.

​Now for those of you who do not know (or for some reason have not guessed because I am one of them) sailors are a strange bunch.  We will welcome anyone into our world regardless of race, creed, rum consumption or temperament.  But you have to know certain things.  One of them is knots.  Sailors love knots.  And the most basic of all knots is a bowline.  It is a beautiful knot, designed to put a loop in the end of a line that will not slip or collapse, and is easy to untie even after weeks under strain.  So he started tying a bowline.  A couple of times.  Then my compatriot started the scene from Jaws where the boat skipper is trying to teach the landlubber how to tie a bowline.  "The rabbit comes out of the hole, goes around the tree, and goes back down the hole."  The guy in the water just looks up and says "I'm under a little pressure."  "Good point", I thought.  How many of my landlocked friends could easily tie even a bow while treading water and calming a dog that weighs almost half what they do?  I said "It's OK.  Good practice for when you are on a pitching deck at sea in the dark  Take your time."

​After a couple of deep breaths he presented us with an expertly tied bowline, and we hoisted Titan back to the dock, where he promptly treated us to an impromptu shower as a reward for fishing him out of the drink.  I returned to my task of retrieving the charging cord for Carol's IPad. 

​Today I am fully recovered and ready to make serious progress on the boat.  But of course, all I did was drive home.

​With the knowledge that I have done my ancestors proud.  I have rescued a Titan.
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sails in the bedroom

5/7/2017

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It's May already.  Carol has her garden in.  We have been eating some amazing salads, with a few different kinds of lettuce (ask Carol) and kale.  We eat it while it is still, basically, alive.  (For my vegetarian friends, I often wonder how this is better than eating something that is dead.  Both are, to me, delicious.) 

A lot has (and has not) happened since we were last together in December.  How have you guys been?  Time to catch up.

What has happened?
​Carol and I are, once again, alone in our home.  The project to help and heal the family that has been living with us is, for the most part, over.  While they are not to the point where we would like them to be (who ever is?), they are for the most part making progress.  Time for them to fledge and make their own way in the world, once again.  We have high hopes.

What has not happened?
​EVERYTHING on Sea Bird.  The plan (I know, Steve, God is laughing) is to take her south this winter, somewhere warm.  Florida, Boot Key Harbor, Dry Tortugas, and Bahamas have all been discussed.  The Minor Problem is that nothing has been done in the way of repairs and upgrades in the two years (two years???) since we have been back.  She needs some attention.

​The Major Problem is what to do long term.  It has become apparent that we are not going to cruise year round.  Because I'm a Pirate married to a Farmer, we are going to have to split the year up.  Growing season in NC.  Cold season in...Someplace Warm.  Thanksgiving and Christmas in NC with family.  Some time each year in New Jersey with the Jersey Girl. 

So what happens in between?  Do we leave her in Oriental (a place we love)?  Do we move her to a place that is less than a FIVE HOUR drive from our house?  Little River, SC, is near where my Dad lives and can keep an eye on her (FOUR HOUR drive).  Do we move her to someplace like Titusville, FL, where the weather is almost always better in the winter than NC but the drive is brutal (although there is a cheap flight from an airport near our house that puts us there in under three hours)? 

​The Major Problem is left for another day.  Time to work on the Minor Problem.  It's not so minor.

​You will remember that Carol has taken a contract job.  It is technically scheduled to end in September, but looks like it will actually end in July.  Our lease at the marina ends in June.  As we are probably going to move the boat (somewhere) south, we don't really want to sign another yearly lease.  So it looks like I will move aboard the boat in July, living in the boatyard on the hard, while my bride is back home.  This is not my ideal living arrangement.  It is certainly not her ideal situation. She is...whining.  A little bit.  Approaching a full pout.

​I don't really see any way around it.  Things have to be done.  Some by the boatyard, some by me, but done they will have to be if we are going to be traveling south and back in NC for Thanksgiving.  And as we all know, things on a boat never go according to the plan.  At least not my plan (Thanks again, Steve.)

​So a few days ago, I went to see her to say hello.  I gave her decks a thorough scrubbing.  I got the dinghy up and running and once again hanging off the stern on the davits. I stuffed the sails into the back of the Jeep and brought them home for inspection.  Couldn't see out the rearview mirror for the trip home.  (FIVE HOURS) 

​I had two very restful nights of sleep on the water.  With a touch of salt.

​So now the sails are in the empty bedroom that once housed grandchildren.  One project over, another begun. 

​We are looking forward to it.
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