What now?

Okay. It has been a while since I posted. We have been on the hook for approximately four months now. In December, we had to move off the dock at the City Marina because my contract ended with CCSD. With all of my projects completed and no more money in their coffers, I was no longer employed. Christmas consisted of a discount steak and potatoes, no gifts for each other. I qualified for unemployment with South Carolina but once again, they succeeded in making it impossible for me to file. In January, I was contacted by an employer to work remotely. I've worked with them before and really like the tech manager. Between my work and family, we were able to survive. Things that have broken since we have come out on the hook, the Westerbeke engine, the marine stove (back to cooking on the Coleman propane stove again), new leaks, packing gland needs to be replaced, Mike got stranded with a single oar and no power for the dingy, my laptop keyboard for the second time, my cellphone, and me. I have a new cell phone. Mike figured out the battery problem, but the motor still isn't strong enough to counter wind and currents unless everything is perfect. Mike was able to catch mullet twice with the cast net. I spent $150 at the doctors getting a UTI treated. I have been working a little with a company in California and making between $17 and $380 a week. Never sure how many hours I might get but I'm always ready to work. Not enough to survive on. Not enough to fix our boat and the stove. I had a chance at a job that would pay well and pay for lodging for four days a week. I thought that this was the chance I needed to help pay for survival for six or nine months. Plus, the job was going to be a challenge. I was really looking forward to pushing up my sleeves and getting into a project that had little or no documentation. It is a tech writer's dream. I had a great phone interview and was asked to come to Jacksonville for a second interview. I made arrangements and spent $180 of our remaining money to get there. The client canceled because of a death in the family. We lost the money. Second chance for an interview came this week. Monday, I received a message that they wanted to interview with me on Thursday. I was overjoyed. I made reservations for a rental car and my niece graciously invited me to stay with her. I was looking forward to seeing her and her daughters. I printed out my Google maps today and Mike dropped me off on the dock. I took the Yellow Cab to the Avis office. The taxi drive was really nice. He was in the Marine Corps some 20 years ago. We had a nice talk and I truly enjoyed the ride. It was nice to speak to someone outside of the boat world. He dropped me off and wished me luck. I take out all of my paperwork and put it on the counter. The agent is on the phone explaining rental rates. Not a problem, I'm 20 minutes early for my reservation. I ask the rental agent if I can pay cash for the car because I want to use the debit card for gas. He told me no. They don't take cash. Okay. No problem. Then he told me that because I'm using a debit card instead of credit card, there would be a credit check and a $200 would be held on the account. That was a problem. He looked at me kindly and said that my credit rating wasn't high enough. He suggested Hertz would let me rent if I had full coverage on a car that I owned. I thought that giving my car up was the most humiliating experience I had ever had, but we called them and told them to take it back. This was far worse. This was crushing. I thanked him and headed out. I called Mike and told him what had happened. I was trying not to cry. He told me to come back to the dock and he would pick me up. I stood there on the sidewalk for a good ten minutes deciding whether to go to Crisis Ministries or go to my husband. I called Yellow Cab and asked to be taken to the City Marina. I chose to stay with my husband. The taxi driver was very nice.

Going on the hook

I'm sorry that I haven't posted in a while. We've been working on getting everything ready to go on the hook. Work has slowed down and we won't have the money to pay slip rent for January. We went on a short and exciting cruise toward Fort Sumter last week. After about an hour motoring in the harbor and getting used to the feel of our boat, steam started coming from the engine compartment. We decided to put up the sails and killed the engine. It was a wonderful time and we finally tacked back to a good area and dropped anchor. We watched the sunset and listened to the quiet. It was so different from the marina. With no more traffic noise from the bridge, the only sound was the slapping of waves against the hull and the purr of the wind generator. Note: Bob, you were right. Mike got thwacked on the head by the wind generator. There wasn't any blood, but it did give us a new respect for the whirling blades. The next day, Mike figured out that raw water feed wasn't cooling the engine. We called BOATU.S. for a tow back to the slip. The wind and tides were not good for sailing back to the marina. The towboat operator was experienced and brought us safely back. Mike started digging into the engine and found that the impeller was missing a piece of metal/key. He created a fix from an old screwdriver and got the motor up and running again. Mike still has to go up the mast to install the masthead light. Then we go grocery shopping one last time using the courtesy van and fill up on diesel. After we finish prepping, we will be going on the hook in the harbor. We will pay the dinghy fee so that we can tie up our dinghy at the marina and get fresh water and wash clothes at the Variety Store. Mike will have to bicycle to Harris Teeters for any groceries. By the way, a big thanks to everyone who sent us Christmas cards. A big thank you to Thomas who sent us a wonderful food basket. We are still enjoying the fruit and treats. Happy holidays to all!

Just a cup of water

Water is a precious commodity on a sailboat. Bathing, dishwashing, clothes washing, and drinking are nearly impossible without a goodly supply of freshwater. In the old days, before Sovereign, we had a dishwasher, a refrigerator with a cold water and ice dispenser in the door and 2 mini-refrigerators, 2.5 bathrooms (2 full baths with showers), a huge double-sink in the laundry room, an inground pool, and a clothes washer. Presently, we have a 65 gallon water tank, no hot water, a Coleman plastic folding double-sink, a bucket and washboard for clothes, and an antique refrigerator about half the size of those used in a college dorm room. All of our water comes from a water hose at the marina dock. A recipe for bathing – First I boil 4 cups of water and pour into one of my two blue and white camping pots. Then, I add enough cold water from the garden hose to make it warm. I take the pot into the cramped water closet where everything is moved out of the way. I then pour the first ½ cup of water onto my head. I shampoo first and then scrub the rest of my body with soap. I normally use another ½ cup of water during this process. Then, a ½ cup at a time, I begin rinsing from head to foot. Finally, I tip the pot over my head and it almost feels like the fleeting memory of a full shower. Total water used equals approximately 6 cups. The final part is turning on the head bilge pump to whisk the grey water away. I sometimes dream of bubble baths. I’ll describe dishwashing, drinking water, and clothes washing in the next post.

A two Afghan night

Before Mike left to go sailing, he removed the wind scoop and put a tarp over the v-berth hatch. The theory being that tarp would keep rain off and I could still have the hatch open to keep it cool. It works really well if the rain is coming straight down. There are a few small holes in the tarp but not enough to cause a problem. However, the tarp is so low and tight it is a struggle to get the hatch closed. The hatch is a big, heavy piece of fiberglass and awkward to move at the best of times.

At 2:15a.m. I woke up to the sound of thunder and flashes of lighting. A big thunderstorm was starting. I jumped up and closed the forward hatch as the wind started driving rain in. Then went back to the v-berth to close the hatch. The rain started in earnest as I reached up to start closing the hatch. I struggled for five minutes with rain whipping at my face and shoulders. I couldn't get the hatch to budge. My hands were slippery, rain was coming into my bed. The lightening began striking closer and closer. I grabbed my big, blue afghan and covered as much of the hatch as I could. I held it in place until the wind died down a bit. After about 15 minutes the Afghan was damp enough to stay in place. I dried off and got back into bed hoping the afghan would hold.

At 3:15 a.m. I feel the splat of water hit as the afghan reached total saturation and began dripping water into the v-berth. It is still raining. I grab a new afghan, push the saturated afghan out of the way and cover the hatch with the new afghan. I hold it in place until I'm sure that it isn't going to blow away. I finally get back to sleep ignoring the occasional splat of water. The alarm goes off at 4:19 a.m. and I hit the snooze button. I do that several times and finally just turn off the alarm clock.

I wake up at 5:30 a.m. I'm not going to work today. I have to empty out the hatch cover, take the tarp cover off, empty the dinghy before it sinks, and take the afghans to the laundry, What a marvelous start to a Thursday morning.

I haven't heard from MIke since Friday. I'm worried that he has been going through some of these thunderstorms at sea. I bet he isn't having fun either.

The Beginning

A poem by Richard Harvey
The Sea Gypsy

I AM fevered with the sunset,
I am fretful with the bay,
For the wander-thirst is on me
And my soul is in Cathay.
There ’s a schooner in the offing,	5
With her topsails shot with fire,
And my heart has gone aboard her
For the Islands of Desire.
I must forth again to-morrow!
With the sunset I must be	10
Hull down on the trail of rapture
In the wonder of the sea.