the danish outpost
updated when time and inspiration allow. latest and greatest always in the blog.
don't give up the chips!

17.08.2002

feeling kinda how a girl feels

birthday countdown: 2 days.

Lukey's boat is painted green,
Ha, me boys!
Lukey's boat is painted green,
It's the prettiest boat that you've ever seen,
A-ha, me boys a-riddle-i-day!
A-ha, me boys a-riddle-i-day!

Lukey's boat's got a fine fore cuddy,
Ha, me boys!
Lukey's boat's got a fine fore cuddy,
And every seam is chinked with putty,
A-ha, me boys a-riddle-i-day!
A-ha, me boys a-riddle-i-day!

- Lukey, from Great Big Sea

and a fine day on the water it was, me boys. :) i couldn't have asked more out of the day. well, except for perhaps some chips.

see, naturally, i got a late start. always happens, despite the best of intentions. i threw together some food, went to make a sandwich, and discovered that the bakery fresh bread had gone moldy overnight. bleargh. chucked it out, grabbed a lot of water, and headed out the door. even running behind and getting snarked off at the shitbox Hyundai who kept doing 60, then 40 then 60 with no way for me to pass him, i saw some beautiful things. there's a lovely stone bridge tucked off in the woods down by one of the exits. never noticed it before. looked pretty in the morning light.

made it down in semidecent time, caught up with Chica's wife and the Cap'n, and headed out to the boat. i'm starting to get the hang of where things are, how they work, how to get the sails up and the boat ready. it's nice to know a little more each time. and what a blessing to have B along, because she could take the helm while the Cap'n showed me how to do various things with the main sail. got the sails furled, the Cap'n took the helm, and i ducked into the galley to sort out food.

you can see what's coming, can't you? i made the tactical error of packing things up without the benefit of caffeine. so i brought mustard, but no sandwich makings. i also brought a nifty salsa... and no chips.

it became sort of the running joke of the day. i joked that we should find some spanky looking boat and board them just for the chips. 'pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?' and when we took a swim break, i nearly took one of the two jars of salsa and paddled over to the huge yacht where they were having a cookout in the back.

even funnier was the sloop that was sort of kind of following us. the sails were reefed down, and it didn't appear that the crew was altogether sure of what they were doing. it was a three master, dark paint, and two dark pennants on the stays. i said they might be skull and crossbones, so shouldn't we really try to board them? after all, they looked nearly abandoned, and we'd end up with a nifty new boat. come to find out, when they pulled into the harbor behind us, one of the pennants was really a skull and cross bones! the Cap'n said it was a good thing we didn't try to board them, because if they remembered any history, they'd likely shout 'don't give up the chips!'

we also had an unexpected passenger - a little grasshopper who came along for the ride. Bertrand was hanging on for dear life as we went down the bay. unfortunately, he didn't last the trip. but he did get a decent burial at sea. :)

despite the relative novice status, both B and i, we did good. really good. we made everything work. and we stuck the anchor on the first shot. when we got it, i looked around at her and said 'damn! we're excellent!' so nice to try something new and have it work. i figured we deserved a big gold star for that one.

the swim break was lovely. paddled around, played Frisbee (much more challenging when you can't really get your arms free), and hung out on a float that the Cap'n tossed alongside. i looked over at one point, and B had her arms wrapped around it (it's a sort of long sausage pillow thingie), with the most blissful smile on her face. i think she may have had a good day. i know i certainly did. laying out in the sun, looking up the main sail, just relaxing... i got a good shot of the sail, and will post it when i get the film back.

the only real adventure was nearly getting sparred by some numnut in a boat far too big for his skills. we didn't even hear him coming, despite the fact he was under motor. he missed our boat by a scant 6 inches. and this is when i realized all over again what a great teacher the Cap'n is: he just looked at the other boat and said 'hmm. well, that wasn't good.' he's so calm in the face of things that it makes it very easy to learn from him. you mess something up? he'll point out that usually, it's done a bit differently. and he takes the time to explain things when he has time. lovely.

one of the things he wanted to teach was me how to steer the boat, both up and down wind. the downwind part was pretty easy. you're going along with the wind, and it's pretty much gently prodding to keep the boat on course. the upwind is much more challenging, and i'm thankful it was a calm day. we were making about 5 or 6 knots, so it was pretty speedy (by my reckoning), but there weren't any huge waves. oh, my, tho... it was so much tougher to keep on course. poor B - i think i made her a bit queasy what with me pitching the boat all over the place. figuring out the sail/rudder balance was much tougher. i killed a few snakes on that one. but the Cap'n said i was doing pretty well for a first try, which i'll take as encouragement.

all in all, a pretty blissful day. and i've realized that swimming in the harbour, where i can't touch ground, has helped ease the trepidation of sliding overboard. i know i can deal with it, should it happen. it shouldn't, as i have pretty decent sea legs, and can maneuver around the deck even when it's on a pretty good pitch. still and all, it's nice to know that i'd do okay.

i was exhausted in a good way by the time i got to my parents. walked in just as they were turning in, said hi, and got myself a sandwich and a shower, in that order. god, that sandwich tasted good. and the shower? blissful. i've rarely been so happy to stand under warm running water.

i do believe i'll sleep damn soundly tonight.

yesterday :: tomorrow

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� 2000-2002 by eac. feel free to link to my site; if you do, please drop me a line.
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listening to/watching: waves against the hull
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