02.09.2002
feeling kinda
we went sailing today, despite forboding skies. hell, you're on the water, you're gonna get wet anyway, right?
the first sign that the day wasn't going to go well was when i walked into the boom. made quite the lovely echoing thunk, that. the boom, not my head. eh. i still don't pay attention to everything that i should on the boat. particularly the boom, when one is navigating out of the marina.
i ducked below right after that to mess around with something, not sure what, and along came sign number two. the Cap'n was shouting. he never does that. the sail and engine didn't quite cooperate, and we dinged into another boat. other boat is fine, his boat has a minor split along the rail. but damn.
and of course, these things always happen in threes, right? as we were coming into a tiny harbor to moor for lunch, we discovered number three. it had actually happened around the same time as the first two, but we didn't find it until we tried to take down the main sail. somehow, we fucked up the halyard to a fare thee well.
grrr. shit. fuck. damn.
the Cap'n had me take the helm while trying to repair the halyard, which freaked me right out, as i haven't learned anything about the chokes yet. right. two chokes. old fashioned engine. or at least i think they're both chokes - there are two levers. i know nothing about either one of them. jeezum. nervous making to be steering a boat that not only doesn't have a brake, but that i can't throw in reverse. gah.
we got into the harbor and managed to moor (that was the easy part). and then much deliberation ensued. turns out that we had managed to get the final wrap of the halyard jammed under two previous wraps. don't even ask - none of us could figure out how that happened, either. which meant we were trying to devise devious ways to relieve the tension on the cable and shim over the two wraps in order to get out the critical one.
after some deliberation, we decided to have lunch. :) it was a good decision. i munched on a roast turkey, Swiss and Branston pickle sandwich whilst pondering, then figured out the stove on board and made some tea to take off the damp edge. as soon as i poured the water, i said to the Cap'n 'nothing is burning!' - since Lapsang Souchong has a tendency to smell like smoldering firewood.
many options were explored, no progress was made, and we ended up sailing back under just mainsail instead of jib. god, i love rolling up wet sails! ;)
the skies didn't really open until we got back to the marina, of course. i've rarely been so wet in my entire life. GGB came over from the next boat to give us a hand, and the four of us spent the wetter part of an hour trying to jigger things. bottom line: hacksaw. *grimace* hey, at least i learned how to splice a messenger into the remains of the halyard. that must count for something, eh?
so, i'll offer to the Cap'n tomorrow to pitch in for the replacement halyard. he'll probably say no, but i figure it's the least i can do.
here's how wet i was: when i got back to the car, i grabbed the shop towels out of the trunk, got into the car, stripped down, towelled off, and drove back wearing a clean, dry t shirt and dry socks. yup. because my neighbors have probably already seen me in the altogether, and i was so not planning on stopping anywhere before i got home to a hot shower.
