The Adventure Begins

Final Solomons Sunset

After much deliberation, alot of preparation, and just a little bit of procrastination, I have decided the journey begins tomorrow. I have been watching the weather, and tomorrow is the best day out of the next 5 - supposed to be 61 degrees, mostly sunny, and even tho the winds are not going to be what they had called for 5 days ago, there is supposed to be a good breeze, 5-10 out of the S-SW. I have wrapped up most of the major projects that I needed to get done before I got underway - the windvane is improved and mounted, the whisker pole is now on a track and stows vertically at the front of the mast, the radar reflector is permanently mounted on the mast as well. I have spent the day working, the afternoon fueling, and this evening and tonight will be stowing gear and sorting all this junk out.

I have come to one major conclusion at the end of this day, I have way too much JUNK on board this boat. I think I have room to stow all of it for now, but alot of it has been on board since I moved aboard, and has yet to be used. So, it has got to go. I am a bit of a pack rat, so many treasures, so many plans and ideas, but, I just dont have room for all this stuff. Now the good thing is that I will be off loading some stuff with Beth once I reach Hampton Roads. I will not have any further use (until I sail back north in the spring) for my microwave, the heaters, the hotplate, toaster, and all the electric appliances that take up so much damn room.

So this evening will be spent stashing all this stuff, and trying to get it all put away and ready for sea. Quite a task, and I am sure I will be up til all hours of the night trying to get it all done.

But tomorrow is the day. After months of talk, and planning, and work, I cast off in the morning, by 8am I hope, and begin my journey south. The first real stop will be Hampton Roads, Portsmouth to be exact, and then on to Elizabeth City. A few nights there, and an emptied out storage unit later, and I will push on to Manteo for a few days. From Manteo to Edenton for a day, and then on to Morehead City/Beaufort, where I will head out into the Atlantic for my main run south. With all the stops, and the visiting, I figure I will be in the Atlantic in 2 weeks, and hopefully in Florida waters 5-6 days after that.

The Blessed Boat

Yesterday morning - thanks to my sister Liz - Arden, myself, and Spook were blessed by Father Dan, Liz's parish priest. I was really glad she had suggested it and organized it, God knows I am going to need all the help I can get over the next few months.

I spent the late evening hours on Sunday, and the wee hours of the morning Monday straightening up the deck of Arden, getting rid of building supplies, packaging, old parts, etc. I found that my milk crates, as great as they are for storing things aboard, would not fit through the lazerette hatches, or the inside doors to the lazerette areas either. So, I skillfully broke out the Skil saw, and made them fit. (as I did so I was reminded of the movie "The Grinch" - the original with Lon Chaney, where he hacks and cuts at the antlers until there is little but a nub on the poor little dogs head) I cut and I hacked, and soon I had a smaller, shorter milk crate that fit just fine.

In went some thinner, a few paint cans and junk. Odd fittings and hoses and an old inflatable pump. The decks had been cleared and the lines were tied tight, any left over messes were all tucked out of sight.

So the best laid plans of mice and men, right? Yesterday started out all gray and overcast, and I knew that rain was in the forecast. Now my vision of blessing the boat took place on the dock and out on deck, Father with the Bible, I had assumed a vial of Holy Water, and a few other items to help Arden and crew make the voyage safely. Say a few words, sprinkle Holy Water, and perhaps even a bit of Latin thrown in. Nothing at all about heading down below, and of course nothing in there about rain either. What I had not counted on was Father Dan.

Did I mention it was raining? I am on the way to the boat when I get the call from Liz that they are almost to the boat. By this time the skies had opened up, and it was really coming down. Liz and Father Dan were there when I pulled in, and after a few greetings, Father Dan just had to joke me about the van. I don't think I have ever mentioned the van on here, but suffice it to say it is a bit of a cross between the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo and the old pick up truck from Sanford and Son. It is a functional vehicle, my shop, wet weather transportation, and a storage unit, but nothing to brag about what so ever. So this is my introduction to Father Dan - who I might mention is about my age, extremely out going, and has an extremely sharp wit. I pick up on all of this in seconds.

I outfit Father Dan with a spare foul weather jacket that is neon yellow, quite a contrast to the clerical clothes he was wearing, and we three head to the boat. I was good all the way until we got aboard the boat - it was obvious we were headed below, which was still a wreck from all the work I have been doing. I had not even touched the interior of the boat, because in my mind we were going to do all of this outside. I could not have been more mistaken. I have to hand it to Father Dan - he took it all in stride, the clutter, the parts, the dishes in the sink and the unmade bed. He was very curious about how I was going to do everything, from navigation, to communication, to sailing alone out on the open ocean. I also think Father was a bit amazed at the fact that I have lived aboard for just about a year, in such a small boat. I kind of compare my living quarters to that of a studio apartment, just on a bit smaller scale. Father then opened a small box he had brought, and gave me a St. Benedict crucifix, and a St. Benedict medallion to wear. Turns out this is the same cross used in exorcisms, and is a very powerful Catholic relic. The box contains a description of the history of the medallion and the crucifix, and a translation of what is inscribed on both. Father Dan said a few prayers, and then sprinkled Holy Water around the boat, and the sprinkled the boat with Blessed Salt. That was a new one to me, I am not sure of the significance of the salt, but I will leave that to the experts. Father Dan left me with the remainder of the Holy Water and salt, and then we talked again for a bit before he and Liz had to leave. Father said to use the water and the salt in times of trial out there when I am sailing, I hope that the need never arises, but it is good to have something to fall back on should things get extremely bad. It was a very interesting meeting, and I am glad I got the chance to not only meet Father Dan, but to have him come and bless my boat and the crew before we head out.

Here is the inscription on the crucifix:

Around the circumference of the medal are the letters VRS NSMV SMQL IVB
which are the intial letters of a Latin exorcism:

Vade Retro Satana
Nunquam Suade Mihi Vana
Sunt Mala Quae Libas
Ipse Venna Bibas

Which means-
Get behind me Satan
Don't try me with your stupidity
What you are pouring is evil
Drink that poison yourself

Like I said, very powerful stuff, and dating back many many years. Again, I can use all the help I can get.

Getting Ready To Go On Down South

So here we are on another Sunday evening, time for another edition of Sailcloth. This week went by extremely quickly, seems like they all have been as of late. I had a fairly productive week at work, and a good week working on Arden.

I finally got the water pump in for the engine, and although the service was prompt, the pump came in a day, I was not overly impressed with the pump I got, or the way I was led to believe I would not be charged a core charge, and only found out the next day when I checked my account that I had paid a core charge. However, I have the pump, and it is on, so I suppose I can't complain too much. I also gave the engine and transmission an oil change, always good to start out with fresh fluids, and changed all the filters as well. I took the time to plumb in an oil pan drain hose this time, that way I won't need to use a pump to drain the oil from the engine, that is always a problem on boats - if you dont have a drain you have to pump it out through the dipstick tube, there is never enough room to reach the oil pan plug, if there is one.

I am trying to wrap up as many projects as I can, and it definitely seems like the clock is against me, some days I look at the time and swear those hands are just moving 100 mph. One new project I did start though, and plan to complete tonight, is a search light that will mount on the bow pulpit, it goes on a piece of plywood that can be installed or removed as the need arises. I have installed a 12v plug forward to power it, and I am running wires tonight to have that tied in to the bow lights. The 12v plug is weather proof, and installed in a compartment Gary had built into the capstan mount. It all worked out very well, and should be pretty corrosion and water resistant. I figured I really needed the search light for my run down "the ditch", I plan to make the stretch from Chesapeake to Elizabeth City in one day, and I know once I clear the South Mills lock, it will be just about sundown. We will see how that works out, and if it really can be done. I hope so, don't really feel like making the canal a 2 day event.

I have also been going over the stuff I have on the boat that makes dock life so good, that won't be making the trip with me. The list started off pretty small, but has grown considerably. The hot plate, toaster, coffee pot and microwave are all getting loaded into the van. The electric heaters, alot of supplies I haven't used so far, and knick knacks are going as well. I have not installed the Treadmaster nonsklid yet, and I doubt I will over the winter, so it will probably come off the boat and get stored as well. My library is coming off, but that is getting replaced with new books - the ones onboard have all been read, or it turns out I didn't want to read them anyway. When I am in Portsmouth and Elizabeth City I intend on hitting my favorite used book stores, Jeannie's Used Books in Ptown, and The Recycled Reader in E City. I discovered Jeannies back when I was working in Iraq, I would buy about 15 books per trip there, and Jeannie always had a good suggestion for my travels. The Recycled Reader was a recent discovery, I found them not long after I moved to E City, it was good to have another used book store not too far from where I lived, I go through so many books that I'd go broke if I had to buy them all at list price.

Party Time!

This weekend was also the time for my going away cookout - all of the marina regulars, well the folks on the 3 docks next to me, came and we had a really good season ending bbq. Chip and Jim cooked while the rest of us ate and drank, those two guys are really hot on the grill. Jim brought some marinated venison, it turned out extremely well, and I was hoping to have some left overs this morning for breakfast, but there were none to be had. The night got pretty damn cold, and of course I didn't need to remind everyone that I was heading south, where it is WARM! It is nights like the ones we have had lately that really reinforce my need to migrate. We did have a migratory visitor join us at the party, a really really big swan paddled his way over to the bulkhead near us, and of course everyone had to feed him. I dont think I have ever seen a wild swan, it was really a neat thing having him show up. I suppose there were about 15 people or so that showed up - Jim and Sue, Mr. Jim (Jimmy the Greek), Chip, Eric and his family, John Baum and his girls and girlfriend, John's friend Keith and his wife, who just moved a new boat into the marina, Steve and Mitch from Cimaise, and I think there were a few others as well. We all had a great time, and it was a really good send off. I received quite a few going away gifts, mostly of the alcoholic variety, most notable was the bottle of Ouzo from Mr. Jim. I think my wine cellar is pretty well stocked now, and with the way I drink, it will last a very long time.

So here we are, Thanksgiving coming up, and my departure from Maryland just around the corner. As it stands, my goal is to sail on Saturday or Sunday of next week, Monday on the outside. right now the forecast is clear, with winds out of the Northwest, hope that forecast holds and I will be on a beam reach down the bay.

A bit of this and a bit of that - The Haves and Have Nots

Tonight I sat down to write, and really can't narrow down what it is to write about in general, so this will probably be a bit of a hodge podge of random thoughts, ideas and observations.



The other day while my boss and I were bringing a boat around to the boatyard, we both made an observation at just about the same time - if there was ever one thing that could absolutely distinguish between those that have and those that don't, it is the world of boats. It is easy to assume that those that have the huge boats, the mega yatchs, the big cruisers and the like, are in the category of the "haves", while those that have small run abouts, daysailers the odd john boat and such are in the category of the "have nots". At first I thought this myself, and agreed with it, but all of that is relative. Kind of like old Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol", I would just about bet that the "haves" with their big ungainly boats, just don't have as much fun out there on the water as the "have nots". How can boating be fun, when there is nothing to it? Between the cruise control, the autopilot and the paid crew, how much fun can flaunting the size of your wallet really be? Or having to make a million preparations just to clear the dock for an afternoon sail or run on the river? I have seen more genuinely happy people out there in relatively small boats having an absolute blast, with just what they have. So where does that put me? I guess I might fall into the category of the "have somes", but I know when I am undersail, be it for a longer cruise or just a weekend sail, I am really happy and feel genuinely fortunate to have what I have.



Speaking of having some, I wanted to make note of the fact that I have some really great people out there supporting me and pulling for me, and helping me along the way. I'd like to especially tip my hat to a few folks that have really helped and made all this possible.



First off I'd like to wish a happy birthday to my sister, tomorrow she turns _ _ and I would like to wish her a great day. This blog is entirely possible thanks to her setting it up and kicking me in the butt to write. I'd also like to say thanks for all the hospitality she and her family (Stuart, Callie, Andrew, Emily..and Cleo the Cat) have extended me and Spook during the past 8 months here - some great meals, a laundry, the ability to get in out of the wet, and a place to sew. Thanks Liz, and happy birthday.



I'd also like to thank my Mom and Dad - I'd like to thank my mom for worrying about me, God knows someone needs to, and for just being my mom, and to my Dad for offering insight and being there when I needed a hand. I don't think I'd have a love for the ocean and boats like I do if it weren't for my mom and dad.



I really have to say thanks to Gary and Alice, without them all this would still be a dream - courtesy of them I have a this wonderful boat - my magic carpet ready to take me off to far away lands and great adventures. She really is a great boat, and I can't thank them enough for her.



Beth and Mike, thanks for being there, for still accepting me, and for a great dog and a good horse, it has been a long ride and sometimes a bumpy one at that. I know I have thanked you guys before, but I figured I'd just say it one more time.

To my friend Ali, for lending an ear and a great cold remedy, and for having patience. I promise there will be a cup of coffee or two, and maybe a beer and a rueben. Thank you for the great stories, and a good laugh when I really needed it.

It is almost time to go, and I would suppose a bit of the butterflies are starting to settle in, I know there are so many things left to do, but they will come in their own time I suppose, Arden is definitely more capable now than the was a year ago, and she was probably ready to go then. I would say that a boat is a never ending evolution, as you go along you find things that could be done differently or better, or see some great idea you just have to use on some other boat. I guess there are always loose ends to tie up.

Arden's engine water pump came in today, I suppose it will be installed tomorrow during lunch, it really is not that hard a job - 5 bolts, a gasket, one hose and a gallon of antifreeze - but the trouble that could have caused underway.... I was reminded once again at just how expensive boat life can be at times, it seems that anything with the word "marine" tacked on it seems to cost 5 times what it would for a car or a house or anything else in this world. I guess I was lucky finding the water pump for $225, I was quoted $718 from one outlet and $528 from another. I guess when it all is said and done I could have made do and just sailed, but I do need the engine for charging batteries if nothing else. I'm not quite sure if I am good enough yet to sail into the slip, if I had to I suppose I'd make it happen, but I am much relieved to have an engine in good health again.

Well I guess that will wrap it up for the evening, Spook says it is time to go for that last walk for the night, God knows she will wrestle with me for half the night if we don't go burn off a bit of that energy.

Safety Weekend

The November nor'easter finally blew itself out Friday night, after over 3 days of rain and wind...and a lot of misery here at the marina. It wasn't bad enough that I would come home from work soaked and chilled, but, it is a bit more miserable on the boat when it is wet than in a house. Boats, due to their construction, often times get a lot of condensation aboard when it is damp out - usually it is warmer inside than out, the inside of the hull is cool, and much like that cold drink in the summer, the boat starts to "sweat" - on the inside. Usually it isnt too bad, and only lasts for a day or so, but as wet as it was outside, and all the wet stuff aboard (wet clothes, wet shoes, wet dog...) I actually had to break out towels to wipe down the interior walls. It got to the point on Thursday night where I actually had a drip onto my bed and I realized my pillow was soaked. Not fun, and, the entire boat got a wipe down after that.

So the rain tapered off through Friday night, and Saturday came with a light mist and over cast skies, but no real wind and no driving rain. The boom tent I had made at the end of the summer held up really well, I left it up to help shield the cabin from some of the rain, and, I wanted to see how durable it was in the wind. It did really well and took no damage, even in the few 50 mph gusts we had. I can't say the same for my flag, it looks a bit worse for wear, and I will have to replace it before I sail. I did come up with a good solution for flag wear though, when I get the new flag I am going to run it through the sewing machine to reinforce the stripes and the hem. Maybe that way it will last a bit longer and hold up better in high winds. The weather having broken allowed me to get out and get back to work on the boat once more. Saturday's main project ended up being the safety net for Spook. This net runs the length of the boat, all the way forward to all the way aft, and is woven through the lifelines and the stanchions that support the lifelines. Now you might ask, how hard can that be. Well I can tell you, much harder than it seems. Much. A lot. So much, that it became an aggravation. The boat is curved, and the net is flexible, so no worries, right? Wrong. It was definitely a process of trial and error to get it to fit right and to look right. But, after several attempts, I got the starboard side done, and luckily for me the boat is symmetrical, so the port side was much easier. I just had to count the number of knots between stanchions on the stbd side, and then copy it on the port side. 100, 101, 102, 103, the phone rings, I lose count, and have to start over again. Then I ask my friend on the other end of the line to keep track of the numbers I am calling out, and I still got it messed up. Somewhere between 29 and 39 I missed some numbers, and it threw it all off, again. I finally got it all straight, and the started on getting it all secured. It was a good bit of rope work to get it all secured to the stanchions, and I was not overly impressed with my knot work, but it is secure, and I can always work on the knots and lashings as I sail to get it looking absolutely ship shape.

Sunday came, and the weather was gorgeous. I was up at 5, and by 6 I was showered, Spook had gotten her morning run in, andwe were ready to start work on the boat again. Since the day was so nice, and the weather so good and warm, I figured it was a good time to do a bit of bright work. The dorade box (cabin ventilator) that I had stripped and epoxied a few weeks ago was ready for vanish, almost. The final coat of epoxy I had applied blushed out really bad, and needed to be sanded down. So here I am, at the crack of dawn, up at the picnic table sanding away. Once again I was reminded what a beautiful piece of wood it was, it has incredible coloring and beautiful grain. (pictures coming soon) I applied a total of 3 coats of varnish Sunday, I need to do a light sanding and put on a final coat this week. While I was doing all this brightwork I decided to conduct a bit of an experiment. I have used varnish before, and a product called Cetol. Cetol is supposed to last as long as varnish, and have alot less upkeep, and the application is supposed to be easier. I will attest to the ease of application, but, so far I have not been totally impressed with its performance. Cetol now comes in several colors and finishes, I prefer the Natural Teak. It used to only come in this very bright, very ugly orange, and they also have a clear, that is supposed to be similar to varnish. N0w I have heard that if you apply the regular type of Cetol, and then cover it with Cetol Clear, it lasts longer. It does not say on the label that you need to cover it in clear, so I didn't originally. And, the clear makes the final product extremely slick, not something you necessarily want on a boat. So here is the experiment. I applied straight varnish to the dorade box and the cabin hand rails today, and I also put a fresh application of Cetol on the cabin top drip rail and hatches. I am going to watch their performance, and see which lasts longest for me. Both applications got three coats of finish, so it will really be an apples to apples comparison. I may up the ante by doing the forward section of drip rail with a coat or two of clear, and see how all three compare.

Sunday was also a good day to clean the bottom of my inflatable dingy. I had used it most of the summer when I sailed, and I was not as good about hauling it out after use as I probably should have been. It has been out of the water for about 2 months now, but I never really seemed to have the time to get it cleaned up, so I tackled that Sunday mid morning, or should I say rather it tackled me. I was really impressed with how few barnacles I had on the bottom of it ( yes it was floating beside the boat long enough to get some barnacle growth) and I had thought they would be very hard to remove, but the edge of the scrub brush and the pressure washer took care of those quite nicely. What did surprise me though was just how tenacious the dried slime was. Here in the central Chesapeake Bay we get really good growths of slime on the hull. This stuff grows fast, grows on everything, and, as it turns out, once dried has better adhesion properties than epoxy. It took about an entire bottle of bleach, a lot of scrubbing, and the wonderful pressure washer to blast all this stuff loose. I suppose it is all a learning experience though, I will definitely think twice before I leave the dinghy in the water for any length of time again. They make an anti fouling paint for inflatables, but I am not sure if I am ready to experiment with that yet. To add yet another chore to the list, I decided that since the dinghy was now clean, what better time to test the outboard. Now I have come across a fairly new 6hp outboard for the dinghy recently, and I got it for a pretty good deal. It was left unused for a year or so, but, it looked good, and seemed to have no outward signs of neglect or abuse. Knowing that I would probably be facing some old gummy fuel issues, I tore down the carb, cleaned it, and then tried starting it. It started and ran, but I still had a few fuel related problems. It didnt want to idle, and, it really liked the choke lever. Not a bad thing if the dinghy is idling at the dockside, but, since it is a sizable engine for my dinghy, and, it needs to be at almost 1/3 throttle to get it into gear and keep it running, my test flights were rather comical. At first it was trimmed wrong, so as I put it in gear the nose on the dinghy rose up at an alarming rate to an alarming angle. And this thing moves. really moves. The only immediate cure was to let of the throttle, which got the engine to sputtering. So back in the throttle, and off to the moon again. On off, on off...I was hanging on, trying to keep it running, trying to stay aboard,and the whole time looking like a bobble head doll as the the dinghy rocked and jerked across the marina. The guys on the docks were rolling watching me ride this bucking inflatable bronco, so much so that one of them asked if I wanted my motorcycle helmet for the next test run...

So the final accomplishment for the weekend was a set of jacklines for me. Jacklines are lines or lengths of nylon webbing that run the length of the boat so that one can attach a tether from their safety harness to this line, and therefore be tied to the boat at all times. I had planned to use nylon webbing, because it lays flat on deck and wont be a trip hazard or an ankle buster. So when I was in Annapolis the other weekend, I picked up 80 feet of 4500 lb nylon webbing at Sailrite. I measured out the lengths I needed, so while I was up at Liz's Sunday, I made use of her sewing machine and sewed loops into the ends of my cut lengths of webbing. I was really pleased with how they turned out, and they will be a huge safety addition to the boat. Spook has her netting, and I have my tether and jacklines, so I have not too many worried about the two of us staying aboard.

Quite a busy and productive weekend, no wonder I seem to be more tired on Monday morning than I was on Friday afternoon....

Boat Songs

Well tonight's blog post is being written offline, as my net is, as usual, sketchy during this storm. Yes, I plug in to whatever WiFi my antenna can pull up, as there is no dedicated service at the marina, and there is usually a bit of residual (read free) internet floating around. I don't pay for service, so I guess I am a pirate, but I figure I am saving about $70 a month, and although my internet connection is intermittant, it usually is not as bad as it is right now. Tonight it is bad because I am bouncing around in the remains of what was hurricane and then tropical storm Ida, which is now a N'or Easter stalled somewhere between Georgia and North Carolina. Seems that what was supposed to be an evening of steady rain is now going to be 3 days of steadier rain. Go figure, I have things I need to do, and not only am I fighting the clock (daylight savings having gone away) I am fighting the calendar and now the weather too. And how can it be a N'or Easter if it came from the southwest? I know, I know, the winds come in from the northeast, but the storm came in from the southwest. Maybe a southwester just doesn't roll of the tongue as well, heck if I know.


This post was going to be about boating music, but I need the net to reference some of the lyrics I wanted to plagiarize. I mean use. I mean use as example of good songs to sail to. No matter, we will slog on regardless, and hopefully the lyrics will be correct, and if I just happen to butcher them, I apologize ahead of time.

Have you ever noticed that so many songs that reference sailing and life at sea are soaked in lyrics extolling alcohol? From pirate ditties to the entire Jimmy Buffet library, the songs we sing, listen to and love all seem to portray us as a bunch of drunkards and scallywags. "Yo ho ho ho and a bottle of rum" otherwise known as "Fifteen Men on a Dead Man's Chest" has to be the most widely known song associated with seafaring. A true classic, evokes visions of pirate ships, scallywags and vagabonds. Jimmy Buffet captured the spirit of island hopping in his songs-sun, sand, island beaches, coconut oiled, bikini clad island girls...ok, my mind wanders, but you get the point. Now there is a huge cross over of country music singers singing about the islands. What the Caribbean has to do with country music I( have no idea, i bet there isn't one country music station in all of Jamaica, ( I am going to find out first hand) but the country stars seem to flock to those island paradises and write a ton of songs about island life and living - must be a mental getaway for that cotton farmer in Mississippi while he is working those fields.
So here are a few of my favorites, some new, some old, some of them are kind of obscure, but all are good listening. I am going to include them as links, as I am able, so that you can go to whatever site they are on and listen to what I listen to as I sail aboard the good ship Arden.


Capn Jack's Sailing Song List
Pirates of the Carri bean Sound Track. This is just one song of many I have on my computer, but the majority the songs from the first movie are so powerful, so moving, and so....seaworthy. Whenever I need a lift while sailing or need to feel like I am going faster than I actually am, I will play this on the stereo. Besides, I was Captain Jack a long time before he was.

When the Sun Goes Down - Kenny Chesney and Uncle Kracker define my image of island life - this is why I am going where I am going.

I can't include all the Jimmy Buffett songs I love, but here are a few...

Margaritaville - the classic Jimmy Buffett song. We all have heard it, we all know it, and in some way, we all love it.

A Pirate Looks at 40 - Jimmy Buffett
Changes in Attitudes, Changes in Latitudes - Jimmy Buffett
Son of a Son of a Sailor - Jimmy Buffett
Volcano - Jimmy Buffett
Bama Breeze - Jimmy Buffett - from what I have been able to find on the net, the Bama Breeze is actually the Flora-Bama Lounge, in Perdido Key in Florida, six feet from the Alabama state line.
Boat Drinks - Jimmy Buffett
Its Five O'Clock Somewhere - Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett - Just one more reason to break out the blender and make a pitcher of cold smooth ones.
Toes - The Zac Brown Band - what a great modern island song. Another country crossover.
Annapolis Shuffle - Them Eastport Oysterboys - These guys are great! They are a duet out of Annapolis (of course) and perform original song written about life on The Bay. I would definitely recommend looking them up, and getting a CD of your own.
Backcreek Crab - Them Eastport Oysterboys - I think there is a Back Creek in every county here in MD. I know there are crabs in every creek here in Southern Maryland. This is a tale of my summer here...
A Good Hat, A Good Dog, A Good Boat - Them Eastport Oyster Boys - need I say more?

These are just a few of my favorites, good songs to listen to under sail, or on a rainy, windy night riding out a N'or Easter at the dock or on the hook.

A Pirate Looks at Forty

Mother, mother ocean,

I have heard you call,

Wanted to sail upon your waters

since I was three feet tall.

You've seen it all, you've seen it all.

Watch the men who rode you,

Switch from sails to steam.

And in your belly

you hold the treasure

that few have ever seen,

most of them dreams, Most of them dreams.

Yes, I am a pirate

two hundred years too late.

The cannons don't thunder

there's nothin' to plunder

I'm an over forty victim of fate

Arriving too late, arriving too late.

But I've done a bit of smugglin'

I've run my share of grass.

I made enough money to buy Miami,

But I pissed it away so fast,

Never meant to last, never meant to last.

I have been drunk now

for over two weeks,

I passed out and I rallied

and I sprung a few leaks,

But I've got to stop wishin',

Got to go fishin', I'm down to rock bottom again.

Just a few friends, just a few friends.

Instrumental

Now I go for younger women,

lived with several awhile

And though I ran away,

hey they come back one day.

And still can manage a smile

It just takes awhile, just takes awhile.

Mother, mother ocean,

after all my years I've found

My occupational hazard being my occupations

just not around.

I feel like I've drowned, but I won't wear a frown,

(No way Jose)
I feel like I've drowned,

Oh I've got a night off to get in trouble in old Boston Town…
Aaarg!

21 days to go...or so...

Albert Einstein was right on the money with the Theory of Relativity. You might ask what in the world that has to do with me, Spook and Arden. Believe me, everything. I made this amazing discovery this afternoon: the speed at which the hands on the clock move is directly relative to whether it is a weekend or a workday. Just a few moments ago it was Friday afternoon, I was sick as a dog (sorry Spook, its true) and I couldn't imagine how I was going to get anything done this weekend. Now it is Sunday nite, the sun has set, and another work week begins in a few short hours. Now I am no science whiz, and it is beyond me just what E=MC2 really means, but I really am tired of it screwing up my weekend.

All that bellyaching aside, it was a good weekend. I fought the sniffles and a killer sinus headache (its time for a word from our sponsor, Tylenol Cold and Flu) but I managed to get a good bit done. For starters, my son Mike and his friend Neil came up Saturday. I haven't seen Mike since I sailed down to Norfolk in May the last time he was on leave. If you don't already know it, Mike is a member of the United States Coast Guard, and he is stationed all the way across the country in San Diego, aboard the USCGC Hamilton. Mike and Neil came up to cart the junk that is not making the cruise back down to Va Beach. Now mind you, we did more than clean out a storage unit - I gave them a tour of my little town, had a great cookout, and of course, got them to give me a hand working on Arden. It was a great visit, and it reminded me just how much I miss having him around. To continue with our theme tonight, just how quickly time passes...May was just a little bit ago, just over a year ago he helped me finish up Arden prior to moving her, his bootcamp and high school graduation seem like yesterday, and I still remember taking off of work to put his butt on the school bus for the first time when we lived at Chick's Beach in Va Beach.

Thanks to Mike and Neil's help, Arden now has a stern pulpit. It is, I suppose, a prototype, being bolted together with fittings from West Marine, but it is a sturdy barrier between me and Davy Jones, and once I haul out next year, I will have it welded up and made as one piece. I have a few design ideas that will have the wind vane, the boom kin, and the stern pulpit all merged into one welded stainless steel unit. I was also able to get the auxiliary water tank installed today, at the sacrifice of some of the aft storage area. I'm not sure how I am going to address the lost space, the tank would not go where I had originally wanted to put it, so it ended up taking some of the space where I was storing tools and some of my spare gear. However, it gives me another 39 gallons of water that will not only help Spook and I survive out on the open ocean*, but will also serve to balance Arden out a bit. If I haven't mentioned it before, when Arden has a full load of water aboard, with her original tank only, she is down by the bow by about 2 inches. The water tank is all the way fo'ard against the stem, and at 45 gallons, that puts a ton of weight (360 lbs to be exact) way up where there is little buoyancy. Now she is just riding low all over, but, as long as both tanks drain at the same rate, she will remain better balanced, and I hope that will make her sail on her own a bit better. During my sail to St. Michaels with Liz, Arden was so well balanced - I suppose the wind was right, the sail set was right, and the Gods were with us - that by using my tiller lock she sailed herself for about 6 hours.

Touching briefly on the windvane steering unit: Last spring I downloaded Walt Muir's plans for the 20/20 windvane unit. I really liked the idea of having the wind steer the boat as well as power it, and being a notorious tightwad, I just couldn't see spending $4500.00 on a Monitor, Aries or Navik unit. So I found this website, and made one. And it works. Really works. On the big "Sail Up The Bay" the windvane did about 80% of the steering.

The Windvane Unit is the gizmo right behind the rudder.

I have found that when close hauled, I can sail tighter to the wind by about 4 or 5 points - the windvane is at its best then, and, it reacts much faster to gusts and wind shifts than I ever could. I am beefing the unit up a bit before sailing south, replacing some of the original parts with stronger ones, even though it did fine in a N'or Easter on the way up the bay, I am concerned with its durability on an extended passage. I think it is one of those things I will continue to tinker with as time passes, until I get it where I want it. I think all told, I have under $150 dollars tied up in it now. Here is a brief video of the windvane at work:

And finally for the night, when I was working on the water tank, I replaced the old seawater hoses for the cooling system since I had enough 3/4 inch hose, and, the hoses were right there where I was working. I started the engine to check for leaks, and that was when I discovered that the coolant pump is going bad. Its not leaking - yet - but it is making noise, and the bearing is obviously bad. Better to find that out now, than out on the water, where it would undoubtedly fail just when I need it most. One more project for the list..
As of today I have about 21 days to go. I am counting on leaving the weekend after Thanksgiving, give or take a few days waiting on a good weather window.
*Normally at dockside, giving no thought to water conservation, rationing, or how wasteful I am, Arden's 45 gallons of fresh water lasted about 3 weeks, 4 on a stretch. I am not sure how long that would have lasted at sea when that water would have supplied bathing water as well as water for cooking and such. I will touch back on this at some point during the cruise and update just how long 84 gallons of water lasts us.