James Brown is groovin' in the background, it's one of those days. This will be a multi-blog, a bit o' everything.
BOAT WORK, Important Suff First...
We took HP out for a spin this morning. It was good to get on the move again. I had done some re-rigging on both the jib and the staysail and have been itching to see how everything worked. We woke up to a nice breeze. The first one in a while we've had blow through in the morning. We pulled chain and the Delta anchor, slipped the line and the Bruce anchor marked our spot. We headsailed down the St. Mary's into Cumberland Sound, everything working flawlessly. Made a quick jaunt into the Atlantic to see the sights. Heard on the VHF that a sub was coming in and the area needed to be cleared. Instead of hanging out in the rapidly heating day to watch the Navy exercise we decided to head back while the wind and current were with us - rare of us to have them working together in our favor.
Had a nice sail back to the anchorage. Put up jib, staysail, and main. Winds were light but it was worth it. It was good to get out again and play.
I installed some new LED lights in the cabin. Brighter than the incandescent and burn about 1/10 of the power. A much needed change aboard. Genset is currently purring, working faithfully again.
Heather has been industrious. She repaired 2 Windscoops (aka Mexican Air Conditioners - pictures available for the asking) Repaired a tear in the zipper-stitch of our dodger. She's also been busy archiving our photos.
Stuck Inside Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again
Bob Dylan sure knew what he was talking about. We're waylaid. Heather cracked her lower back molar on a popcorn hull. Shattered it, really. It will either take a root canal or an implant. Both quite expensive. Belt straps will be tightened for a while but as she really likes this dentist & the staff, we're going to have him do the work. So we'll be here for at least a couple of weeks. We'll do more of these daysails, have to to keep sanity in check.
Being here ensures I will dive the bottom and clean it well, change the shaft zinc, etc. Not looking forward to it as visibility here is near nil. Oh well.
My Gift To You
Go outside after dark and sit for a few minutes sometime between now and Aug. 12. The Leonids meteor shower is on its way. The peak is usually on my birthday, Aug. 11. I have noticed many shooting stars in recent nights. I awoke last night (3 am actually) to whe windscoop flapping and went above to switch its direction. Saw one of the most brilliant light shows ever. Even though the moon was full which made the sky fairly bright, about every 10-20 seconds there was a brilliant streak across the sky. I sat on deck for about 15 minutes admiring the celestial light show.
Give yourself a treat and go out to enjoy the splendor of nature.
Trials of Vevela the Orange
Vevela is back to her old self, better than ever actually. She has a vitality I have not seen since she was a kitten. She's active, bouncy, kittenish, almost. We're both pleased. Thanks to the girl at the Submarine Museum for recommending her vet. And we both swear she has lost a pound or two.
It's Hot
I'm done. It's too hot. No proofing today, the greay matter will overheat. My fingers are melting to the keyboard. One last thing, though, we're curious about who reads this thing. We've gotten a few random emails from family, friends, and strangers, who commented on various things. But if you've read our blog more than once, maybe drop a line and let us know.
B_H_Rayburn11@yahoo.com
OH, and so far, Brian's mother is the only one to honor the pay-for-privilege of the Chippers Salt & Vinegar crisps. I have two bags left and savoring them. Thanks, mom.
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