06.09.2002
finally caught up with Fig for my birthday. geez, that only took two weeks. ;) there are, in fact, times that my Rock Star Lifestyle gets in the way.had a lovely chat at the local Maison Blanc, and got some very nifty gifts. a marque for the MG that i will someday own, mounted for current viewing pleasure, a lovely book on sailing - this one has not only a chapter on knots, but two on wind. sounds silly, maybe, but you try to steer a 35' boat with no real concept of how the wind blowing in your face works with the sail. it's a lot trickier than it appears.
and the piece de resistance was a gift that only two or three people will really get. he went to a chandlery, got a cleat, mounted it on a pretty piece of mahogany, and tipped a line to go with it. yes, folks, i have my very own cleat. no boat, but a cleat. now i'll have to get a coffee table to put it on, so that i can practice my knots. :)
yes, it is a very cool gift. i will say, he was a bit twee about the details, lining up the screws just so. but it's still a very cool gift.
funniest touch? the name. he put a name on the cleat. the HMS Ophelia. *grin* funny. no, that's *funny*.
figuring out the wind is a tricky thing, and it'll take lots of practice to get that one. however, knots are a bit more manageable. i actually got a great book on knots today. i was wandering thru Curious George, looking for something for my niece, and tripped over the Klutz book on knots.
Klutz is great. remember how they started with the juggling book? they have all sorts of dandy books now. and the knot one - comes with a few lengths of line, good directions, and very heavy posterboard pages with holes in them, so you can practice.
so i bought it.
doesn't really matter that it may be aimed at kids. it's a great practical way to learn.
i'll be stashing that in the sail duffel for tomorrow. and now, it's off to the store to shop for the sail.