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These are a few of Erin and Michaels Engagement photos.  Wedding planning is in full swing.  I spent all day yesterday addressing wedding invitations.  Today Erin is coming to Houston to arrange for Michaels ring and a few other details.  It is hard to believe that we will be leaving for Destin, Fla in less than 40 days.   This time has gone by so fast.

Some good pictures to brighten the day:

https://www.facebook.com/media/albums/?id=188168364606531

We haven’t posted in a long time…. things have been less than calm we have had no time for the blog.  Since we last blogged we lost some family members.  Life has not been to rosy for us.  Luckily we were here with our family instead of across the ocean so we could be with and deal with each situation as it came up.  I strongly felt it was time to spend some time at home…. and I’m glad we did.  I feel like it will be a year at best before we go out again.  We will sail locally and discover the Texas coast South of us… but we shant head East for some time.  I’m so glad I have the adventure of our past voyages in the book, we will go again…. but now for a while…. our time will be spent with family and work… both need our attention and we are glad to give it.

OK… no more downers…….  The good news is it looks like things are settling down some.  We still have some hills to climb but we have a very good Sherpa……..  I’m not sure our maker has ever been called a sherpa… but you get my drift.   Our friends have lifted us up through all our trials to an uncommon… I thought about the work “unexpected”.. but it was not… an uncommon ability to bear up under sorrow.   Can I give you silent sufferers some advice.   DON’T.   Just don’t keep your trials secret among those who love you.  Trust me when I say everyone involved in a caring act is blessed.  I’m not saying be a drama queen…… I’m saying honestly share your suffering with friends.  As they lift you up in prayer you can feel it.  What happens is you begin feeling guilty about not feeling bad.  again….. DON’T.  When loving friends cover you in the prayer of comfort… accept the results for everyones sake.

Linda is off the boat for a bit… she stayed at the lake after a wonderful fathers day and anniversary party for my parents.  Linda will go to Beaumont soon to help “E” with wedding stuff.  My mom and dad were married June 13, 1952.  60 years of caring and raising us kids…..

Dad was captain of the Nederland High School football team  (about the time Bum Phillips got his first high school head coaching job in Nederland).  Mom was the head cheerleader……. they were the best of the best in 1951…. cool huh?

Some of the players started wearing face masks when daddy played ball.. but many didn’t.  Leather helments were still around…. Bum and Debbie Phillips are still mom and dad’s friends.  My folks are 78 now, they go to the lake house a lot.. daddy takes care of the place and enjoys driving the golf cart around visiting our good neighbors….. even some of the grumpy ones… lol.  Mom cooks and works on her computer….. quite the internet granny…  we are blessed they like the lakehouse.  If not, the house and property would suffer greatly without their care while I am away sailing or working…..

I know you think you do….. but I have the best parents in the world.

Erin had some great photos made at her engagment shoot.  Here is my favorite:

What a couple huh?

It’s 8:40, I guess it’s close to bed time for me.  I’ll go down and read for a while.  The boat is still in Baytown, I stay on her to work during the week.  I will likely be changing job locations soon.  The current job only last for 4 more weeks at best.  I’ll probably go a bit more South but still in Texas… hopefully close to a good marina.

g’night Rusty

We have several family members with serious health issues so we have been unable to post for a while.  The issues are not resolved but I thought blogging about something totally unrelated to healthcare might be a nice respite.  This is the first time we have lived onboard SYL without immediate plans to cruise.  Due to family health issues not to mention a wedding we are unsure when we will be able to head to deep blue water.  I am finding our needs and therefore our space allocations are very different now then when we are cruising or preparing to cruise.

In the Exuma’s, except for Georgetown, if you want something you best bring it with you and this includes food and drink.  Therefore, we carry enough food to last us several months as well as paper supplies, cleaning supplies, etc.  We also carry more sails and equipment than we use state side.  Having SYL “fully loaded” is not as much as a problem when you live in shorts, bathing suits and are off the boat enjoying the water, beach etc.  However, I am finding life onboard tied to a dock is a very different life style then preparing to cruise and cruising.  Having a boat loaded for cruising does not work when you are tied to a dock.  Just your clothes requirements alone make a huge difference.  I am in the process of deciding what we can off load and how to reconfigure SYL.  I am finding living on SYL tied to a dock is not as much fun……Rusty’s response of course would be “Ya Think”.

With everything you could possibly want a short drive away, there is no reason to have a stockpile of anything.  What we do need more of is “civilian clothes” and much of these “civilian clothes” needs to be on hangers ( mine at least).  This does not sound like a big deal but trust me it can be.  More than once I have had my freshly laundered hang up clothes in a heap and wrinkled because I don’t have a place to hang them.  Can I be a little OCD?……hum….yes.  In the scheme of things these issues are not a biggie…..  But for me right now with so many BIG issues I can do nothing about, it is nice to concentrate for a little while on “problems” I can fix.

Rusty took a Boy Scout sailing troop out on Saturday and they had a blast.  It was about 7 scouts and 2 troop leaders.  I will let Rusty write about their little excursion.

Sea Yawl Later!!

Linda

 Rusty Here… on the weekend.

This weekend was fun.  Since I’m working short hours (for me) only 40 hours a week I have time to do stuff… since I’ve had three days off a week lately.  The weekend highlights included a comfortable visit with friends here in Baytown and a Saturday sail with the local sea scouts.  The energetic band of 14 to 16 year olds is lead by some very nice folks that give their time and effort for a great cause.  Excuse me while I step up on my personal soapbox here for a second……. for those of you not interested in my personal opinion please skip down to the big Asterisk * below where you may resume reading the useless stuff I normally put out… lol.  Feel free to abandon my opinion below at any point~>

What America needs isn’t more government “help” in the form of social programs.  We need more people like Kevin and the other leaders of the sea scouts.  Normal everyday people that care about kids are the right answer to America’s social problems.  I know the economy is tough right now, many young couples and single parents are working hard so “kid time” falls somewhere behind food and shelter…. churches and time generous individuals like our unpaid, unheralded unappreciated youth leaders positively affect children like no government project ever even should.  For the government to do a good enough job of raising our kids for us… it would be so expensive we couldn’t afford it…. Here’s why.  Always remember this…..

A government can never give us anything they didn’t take away from us first, then take their share out for the mismanagement fee, then redistribute the leftovers to us in underfunded ways that usually don’t work.  To prove my point let’s do a little experiment:  Say all you readers need to buy gas for your car every week.. and you decide the government ought to pay for your gas…. OK…, I’ll be “Gas Governor”

So.. everyone start paying me $50 a week (not for gas, but as a vehicle tax)… that way the government can pay for your gas.  Here’s what will happen:  What I’ll do is take a part of what you pay in right off the top as my salary, then I’ll hire a staff to figure out how much gas you really need, then hire secretaries to write you a check each week then if there is anything left I don’t use up figuring out what you need…. I’ll send you money for gas.  THEN, if somehow there not enough money to pacify the now all powerful “Gas Governor’s” constituents…. I’ll either print more money making yours worth less than mine, or borrow from somebody (on your behalf) to keep this scheme afloat.  That’s actually illegal for everybody BUT our government but that’s the way it works folks.

If that scenario makes sense to you I’ll give you my address so we can quickly set up a payroll deduct.  I’ll buy a big new desk and we can all be happy.  That way I.. the “Gas Governor” can take care of YOU and you won’t have to worry about it yourself anymore! 

Hmmmmm… On second thought I think Individual needs are best handled by the individual that needs it don’t you agree?  If that doesn’t work, you can see how things get more expensive really quickly when you “hire it done”.  Now if you still believe in Santa Clause and want me to be your “Gas Governor” to help you because I have convinced you.. the voting public that I will surely take from the rich and give you something you didn’t earn and everything will be better for YOU….. my email address is RustySitton@Gmail.com. Send checks immediately, I take paypal.

What America needs is less “personal government” and more good folks that have the time to pinch hit for tired parents with an empty tank.  NOTE:  I said tired not lazy…..  Often parents just plain old need some temporary help.  When a kid reaches the “break away age” in their mid teens.. I’m here to tell you parents need help from grandparents or good folks in the community.  I don’t care who you are.. Parents of a teenager need help.  And parents… don’t be too proud to ask for help from someone you respect.  If you’re paddling as fast as you can and it’s easy to see that by the sweat on your brow and the wake behind you… people will help you.  Now if it’s not vividly clear that you’re doing all you can… don’t expect others to do it for you. 

It may be that your paddle is broke and you need a new opportunity.. or it may be that YOU need help… your stroke needs to be adjusted so you can balance the canoe and actually move forward… lol.  Whatever it is you need… the government isn’t your answer…… 

Isn’t it funny that the very ones that need the help are the only ones that think they don’t…. right?         It’s like 5 guys sitting around the poker table… each one sitting there looking at the other… looking to see who the sucker is that is going to lose all his money… I’m here to tell you if you don’t see the sucker sitting across the table from you … GET UP AND LEAVE…  YOU’RE THE SUCKER.  The first thing someone off their game needs to know is that they are off their game… when you realize where you are… the road leading up has been found.  There are certainly enough good people out there willing to change a young life… small things effect small people in big ways, making a positive impact is much easier than you think.

I know.. I know… some people you can help to death.. the more you do the less they do… don’t let black holes suck you in and drain all your energy.  My advice on that is only pitch to the ones that are swinging.. willing to hit the ball.  What good is it if you give money or time to someone that doesn’t respect it or you?  Sometimes your best pitches are to the kids of a no-hitter.  Show that kid the possibilities of life, so he can break the string via a different example… kids don’t know what they don’t know.

I’m no anarchist; don’t go to the extreme on me here thinking I don’t appreciate infrastructure and the need to pay for it corporately.  I greatly appreciate electricity that flows to my home, police that keep the peace, the big stuff that makes life easier… But let’s reach out and be a neighbor… and parents….for our personal welfare, don’t expect someone else to raise your kids.  There has always been a small percentage of people that just plain ol’ shouldn’t be parents.  It seems that percentage has become ashamedly high in today’s society.   Sometimes you can help someone to death and the government is blind in that regard.. The bigger the entity unfortunately the harder it is to have eyes to see the difference between those swinging the bat and those working the system.  Individuals are best helped by individuals.

Government’s job should be to build roads, maintain defense… do the “big stuff”.  We shouldn’t look to government (or even our schools) to educate and raise our kid…. Raising a kid takes loving parents and a community of good people willing to expand the opportunities and minds of our neighbor’s kid by showing them our best side… volunteer.  Be a Kevin.

*OK.. I’m done… I’m stepping off my soapbox.  Readers that don’t need something else to worry about…. resume here… lol.

I had a great sail Saturday:  Me, two adults and 7 teenage kids had a ball out on the bay with SYL this weekend.  Those of you that have read my blog before know I am big on having lots of toys and having fun… I’m way too “unserious” for most nautical vernacular savvy club sailors.  No white shorts and navy blue striped shirts for me (unless Linda dresses me)  I go for the fun of it in worn out blue jean shorts and tie dye tee shirt… less of a nautical master of the seas… and more of a what can we do next for fun… Being a large one myself, kids and I get along just fine.

I had the boat set to sail by 2:00, engines down – aft sun shade rolled up – sail bag open – lines minimized – instruments on and ready.  We expected a bigger crowd so Kevin was going to pilot the Sea Scout boat and split the crew between us, but some of the troop were otherwise occupied so we all loaded up on “Sea Yawl Later !!” for the days cruise.   Kevin brought the group together and said “OK what do we need to know”.  I gave a quick rundown on the differences between a monohull and a cat for the kids.. what to expect and some basic operating instructions.  I kept it short.  After that I told them the only two rules on my boat.  #1 The Captain is always right.  #2 If your fun gets in the way of someone else’s fun you lose…..  those ground rules have worked just fine aboard my boat for years.

The wind was prevailing… SE at about 10 so conditions were expected to be nice on the bay.  Getting away from the dock with the wind blowing you toward it can be challenging.  Having differential power I did the “bow rotate” trick I like so much (because nobody has to be on the dock).  I pinned my starboard bow to the dock with forward port engine thrust and kept it in place with balanced aft starboard throttle.  Our docks are soft sided so the pressure against the plumb bow was easy to take.  As far as the kids were concerned… all they expected was a boat ride so the day would be easy to make.  The fun part for me was…. I had a few things planned to make the day better than expected for the scouts.

It was great.. the kids lined up on the front of the trampoline like crows on a wire.. sitting there on the front beam behind the life lines waving their heads off at the passing ships and tug boats.  Our first traffic was a large empty tanker about to enter the ship channel.  Coming the other way, from behind was a tug pushing two barges.  We talked with each other on the VHF radio, the tug passed on the green side with us in the middle.. and the ship in the opposite direction on the red side.  Ship channel and ICW traffic runs channel 13 on the VHF.  I talked to both boats early so we were all on the same page.  Radio work on the ICW is definitely something that takes time to understand.  I have listened to many… many hours of ICW tug boat talk.. so all I did was give the big ships a confidence that I wasn’t about to turn unexpectedly or get in the way, and said it in a way they understood because I used their “language”.  You can do it as a beginner, but not without asking questions to make sure you understand.

In those first 2 miles the sea scouts got to see several big ships and barges up close as we passed in controlled comfort….. The kids on my boat extracted a response I have never gotten from commercial traffic before…. lol.  Big ships blew their massive horns as the kids pumped their hand in the air and waved like carefree teenagers do…. It was great.

Stress free sailing is more easily done with lots of elbow room, so after the second green marker we turned right into the open bay…. away from traffic.  We reached out a couple hundred yards into the open before angling back left to set the main directly upwind.  She set easily with no hang-ups, I cranked the halyard down and fell off to Starboard 45 degrees.  Getting a boost we heard the engines gain rpm’s, that told us the main sail was overcoming the less elegant means of propulsion.  I set “Otto” on the new heading and turned off the engines.  I raised the starboard and Kevin raised the port engine cleaning up our waterline rather quickly.. The sound changed from motor noise to wind noise as we sped away toward Kemah.  The wind was great -10 knots as I expected but what was unexpected was the lack of waves for the windspeed.  We had about a foot of waves on our bow… it was great.  Already going faster than our motors were driving us, the apparent wind was in the kids face and we were gaining speed into it….. 

They were loving it.  I set the jib and stayed 45 degrees off the wind so the sails could get a full bite….. we bumped 7 knots the whole leg.  The more adventurous kids moved to the right side of the tramp.. while the ones that wanted to stay dry moved to the left.  Upwind on a port tack the inside of the starboard bow breaks approaching waves, sometimes they splash up inside the hull.  Every now and then a good one splashes your bottom through the open weave of the heavy plastic trampoline.  Personalities were becoming more apparent.  Some craved all the excitement there was to have… others enjoyed comfortable pants.  I kept the sails loaded up nicely but not in full race mode on this first leg of the jaunt.  I broke out of the channel.. away from other boats… riding the waves listening to giggles from the crew as they talked among themselves now rather than all waving at the big boats.

Reaching our furthest point from Bayland Marina we tacked to port.  This time I drew the sheets in tight and pinched hard to the point of knocking a knot or two off top speed.  I bordered on fluttering the jib to stay slow but still fun into the oncoming wind.  Some kids were asking to go faster, some really didn’t care how fast… some asked could they go swimming, the normal stuff.  In the back of my mind I already had all those answers…. It was yes. 

Before rejoining the channel, I trimmed out nicely and made a short top speed run then fell off 200 yards short of the traffic lanes for the long slow smooth downwind run home.  It’s fun to scream into the wind then turn off completely… the difference is often amazing to new sailors.   Now with the wind behind us the boat was quiet, I turned on 50’s music… the kids took turns hanging their legs in the water off the stern steps.  I passed out bread to feed the seagulls… Life is good.. 

The downwind run lasted an hour or so during the 5½ knot drift I locked in a waypoint that would lead us behind Hog Island – directly across from Barbour’s Cut.  The marina manager had told me about a sandy beach on the backside of the island and my boat is beach-able…. So that’s what we did.  I drove toward the beach until I ran out of water, opened the front companionway and let the bow steps down as my big keels sat comfortably on the sandy bottom.  We set the anchor then the kids immediately scurried down to play in the water and on the long shallow sand bar.  The three adults sat around the decks constantly counting heads.. keeping track of our gaggle.  The troop found all sorts of sea treasure including two short sections of very large rope and countless shells.  I gave out gallon ziplock bags and threw the kayak over the bow for those who wanted to play with it.  

Kevin called time and we all loaded up for the short ride home.  Kids dried off and snacked as we drifted back to the dock.  Once inside the harbor I wondered what the kids in the troop that missed the day trip might hear from those who came.  The leaders thanked me, but unexpectedly… the kids all said thanks individually too.  One of the boys drove the boat the last 15 minutes as I stood behind him.  I picked him because he was one of the quieter ones.  I had little to offer as he skillfully kept her right down the middle…. Good job.

I wish this kind of day for every one of you…. Doing for others yields the sweetest candy you can make.  Hopefully one of these kids will remember the day with enough joy to build a dream for themselves.  Maybe spark a seed of confidence… maybe one of the boys was watching.. forming that dream, inadvertently caught a glimpse of a life they want.  Maybe the key to the culturally expensive “lock of dependency” is simply knowing what you want clearly enough to go for it. 

I remember a pivotal moment for me in the 9^th grade… I know where I was standing on campus when it happened.  That one particular day changed my life.  One of the seniors in my very small school drove up to Ag class next to the old gym in a beautiful red ’69 Chevelle SS 396 with a white interior and two white stripes on the hood.  The car glistened and smelled new inside.  With little thought of anything else that day I decided to figure out how he did that.  That one guy who drove the most beautiful car I had ever seen, did his parents have more money than everybody else….. Surprisingly no.  Hmmm, how did he do that?  I asked around and found out, he worked hard every summer, saved his money and bought it himself.  When the opportunity for me to make money came.. I wanted it.. I was ready to go, I had a dream worth the effort.  Maybe one of these sea scouts like nice boats and can dream big enough to go for it.

Let’s not lose sight of the larger picture… I’m not saying a car or a boat is the answer to society’s problem, but when you live without a dream, it’s easier to live under a dark cloud blaming others.  I believe the set of circumstances (whatever it is) that hooks a boy up to become a plus rather than a minus to society is a life changing event that paints his whole life.

Sea Yawl Later !!   Rusty

Normally, this time of year we are in the Exuma’s.  This is the first year I have ever been on SYL in Texas in May.  It is not even summer yet  and it is hotter than blazes.   I have the AC going full blast and it is still sooooooo hot in here.  Rusty says we will need to make a sun fly………so that is the  very next project….like NOW!  Rusty feels confident that the sun fly will solve the heat issue.

Tonight we have been invited to the West Marine Grand Opening Event.  It should be fun.  Either tonight or tomorrow morning we will head to the lake.  I  will most likely stay there at least thru next week.  I am looking forward to spending some lake time though I would like it better if Rusty could be there.  He is working 4-10’s so he will only be gone for 4 days out of the week.  Last night our dear friends, Tom and Cindy came over for Chicken and Dumplings…..how southern is that?. It was my first attempt and I though I am no Paula Dean they weren’t too shabby either.  At the lake I will continue to nest, work on our taxes and on the wedding.

Next blog I should be at the lake.

Sea Yawl Later!!

Linda

This subject has been brewing with me for several weeks now.  I alluded to it in a past blog.  Now, I find I am going to do something I rarely do, be critical of some one else’s position on a matter.  I started reading a book called “Simply Sailing, A Different Approach To A Life Of Adventure” by Connie McBride.  It is the story of a family who sold everything, purchased a 34 foot cutter, and started the sailing life style.  I say “sailing” because Connie McBride would consider being called a “cruiser” an insult.  I was intrigued initially by the ingenuity of this family and applauded their willingness to embrace a minimalist lifestyle.  The McBrides settled on a policy of if something breaks they simply remove the broken piece of equipment and either do without or as in the case of their head they replaced the head with a bucket.  Thats right, you read correctly, a BUCKET.  Their refrigerator broke, they removed it and didn’t replace it, they use a pressure can and a baby swimming pool for a shower, they removed their steering system because they would have to trust “a stranger” to weld a piece on and replaced it with a tiller, they use kerosene lamps for all lighting including their navigation lights and the list goes on and on.  I really do admire their willingness to sail in 19th century conditions.  What I have a problem with is the “off the wall” rationalization the author uses to justify their decisions and mocking anyone who chooses to sail with a modest amount of comfort and not to mention safety.  Of course all electronic conveniences such as charting systems, anything but a handheld GPS and heaven forbid radar are considered luxuries only cruisers not “real sailors” would use.  They pride themselves in sailing off anchor and into anchor without the aid of a motor (which they do have but pride themselves on rarely using) even in questionable conditions and encourage you to do the same.  I feel a lot of their statements are just plain foolish, some untrue, and a few showing questionable good judgement.

Let me say I am not now nor will I ever be a minimalist, far from it.  I want convenience from my AC/Heat, my watermaker, XM radio, refrig/freezer, my composting head down to my ice maker.  I am not the least bit embarrassed by my indulgences nor do I judge anyone who has more or has less.  Everybody should do as they want and are able but………..DO NOT mock and/or criticize anyone who chooses not to embrace your lifestyle.  I am not a sailor, heck I might not even qualify for a cruiser….but make no mistake, My Rusty can sail as good or better than most…….I stake my life on it every year…….and more telling, I stake my children’s lives on it.

Ok, now I feel better…..

Sea Yawl Later!!

Linda

PS I couldn’t bring myself to finish the book…..simply don’t want the aggravation

It has been blustery lately….  Yesterday was no exception.  Sunday morning we got up early and visited Linda’s brother 30 miles away then returned to the boat for a spirited evening sail.

Linda’s oldest (Stuart) came to visit Sunday evening with a friend.  Most of the TMCA group had left when we got back to the boat after lunch, so I got busy rigging the boat for an afternoon jaunt.   I minimized dock lines.. which was easy because the wind was holding me against the alongside dock.  I left one spring line and the power cord on to make departing quick and easy.

Since we are on the boat a lot, I toss my main halyard around one spreader to keep it from clanging against the mast in the wind… so I shook out my wrap and cleared the halyard for use, rolled the aft biminis up so I could travel the main either way and we were set to go.  I like to warm up the engines a bit before guests arrive so I won’t have to manage chokes and throttles with extra people on deck so I did that…..  After settling the engines I had some time to relax before our guests arrived.

All aboard and I hit the keys.. the motors fired up all loose and ready to go.  I walked the shore power and single spring off, added forward throttle to the port and aft power to the starboard engine to pin my stbd bow against the soft dock and peel the stern away… after rotating my stern 80 degrees out into the previously broadside wind we backed into the basin then we were off.  Exiting Bayland is normally into the prevealing breeze, and today was no exception.  I lifted the main into the wind just outside of the Houston Ship Channel with ease and we were set.

Motoring into the wind showed the heavy air’s speed, but when we layed off 30 degrees to starboard the main popped full it was a whole new ball game, the power of the wind against the sails was awesome.  We motored out at 5 knots but quickly spun up to 7 on the close hauled main.  I backed off on the throttles and switched off the motors, after taking 3 wraps on the jib sheet I released the roller furler.  In this kind of wind you better have a good hold on the sheet before you release the furler or you’ll burn a hand.  With a tight jib sheet we were bumping 8 knots… I lifted the motors and her ears were laid back as all hatches closed quickly amid the quickening bow spray, SYL was sailing! 

I freshened my drink and sat at the table with my guests as we spanked sharply into the wind against shorter than expected waves.  I got up regularly stepping outside to check traffic and depths…. I didn’t have to adjust the helm the full length of the windward leg.  As we approached Baycliff, I turned to port into the wind and quickly dropped the main mid tack.  Of course single handing, the jib backed….. but with our fine forward speed we went thru the wind  nicely.  The follwing seas and still brisk wind kept me moving down comfortably so I left the jib alone until I discussed a fairly true course home with “Otto”.  We agreed on a direction and he took over the helm once again.  Everybody has their pet name for the aurtopilot right?  Mine is “Otto”.

After the first stab at a compass point home, I took up the main sheet slack to steady the loose boom then the jib enjoyed my attention.  She smiled and filled up quickly flexing her muscles while pulling me homeward proud of her singular duty…. gloating to the main over her power (for once)   We eased down wind at 5 to 6 knots under the small headsail alone.  I drew out the evening a bit by lowering both engines as I didn’t intend to tack again.  The crew had enjoyed the brisk upwind, so I knew an extended downwind leg should finish the evening out nicely and I wasn’t that ready to get back….

Checking my breadcrumbs on the gps, me and Otto tweaked in our channel entry point and my duty was done…. more ice, a few jaunts outside to check traffic now and then… double check the depth guage and it was back to the lively chatter inside the cabin.

We love to entertain and be with friends, Stuart and Shea’s visit was truly special.  It capped off a wonderful weekend.  We discussed everything from empathy for the downtrodden to evolution and levels of sential beings….  litterally solved the worlds problem in one fell swoop.  We really like Shea, I hope to see her around some. 

I guess in summary.. after boiling down the whole wonderful evening discussion.. the best quote may have been “kids don’t know what they don’t know”    it was mine of course…. lol.  It’s true too, most kids generally know what to do.. but don’t always do it, right?         Then there’s that realm of knowledge we as adults know that they don’t even know they don’t know…….. We (as adults) know that 5 years down the road she probably won’t even remember that jerk’s name that just broke up with her…. emotions pound at their little hearts way too hard and we know it.  But they don’t know …  the most important thing in their young life is always much too accute, emotions that are so strong they even end some of our children before they have a chance to realize…  “things” will be totally different in a few months.. but we do!   Sometimes it’s hard to remember how emotional and personal things are to our kids because we know…. what they don’t know.  It will all be OK, life goes on and probably gets better than you ever dreamed….

With age and experience comes revalation… remember when your kids decided you are now somehow way smarter than you USED to be when they were 16?… happens every time.  If kids automatically knew that vast amount of knowledge they “don’t know they don’t know”… we could all start out life as grandparents.

Anyway.. the Sunday evening sail ended just before dark as we rotated in front of the fuel docks on our own axis and let the wind drift us into the alongside dock at Bayland Marina once again…. I stepped off the boat like Captain Ron himself landing at the yacht club.  I dropped the dock lines back on, plugged us in and Linda zapped some of my stand up chicken leftovers for dinner.  I wish everyone the weekend we just had.  Thanks to all involved.

Sea Yawl Later !!   Rusty

Yesterday, about 12 boats from the TMCA (Texas Mariner Cruiser Association) sailed/motored from Kemah to Bayland Marina.  Most of the boats came in around 12:00 and spent the day visiting on other boats and generally just having a good time.  We didn’t know many of them so it was good to meet new “boat friends”.   We also had some old friends come by, we put stuff we brought together and shared a great meal on SYL.  

Rusty tried out his new and improved Australian Bar-B-Q Pit.   Australian “Barbies” are really griddles not what we know as Bar-B-Q pits.  All Seawind boats naturally come with an Australian pit.  We really haven’t used ours much but remembered using the BBQ/griddle on the Seawind 1000 “Allons Y!” that we bare boat chartered years ago.   When we first got SYL we bought a West Marine stainless pit and tried to install it but it just didn’t fit our needs.  All the nice stainless grills are just too short to make “stand up chicken”  I knew if Rusty put his mind to it he could figure out a way to manage.  Well, he figured it out and had a “chicken top” fabricated for our grill, basically a taller lid that fits on top the existing lid.  He tried it out yesterday and it worked beautifully.   

He also fixed what he calls “Cajun Sushi” which is boudain sliced in 1″ long chunks then grilled to make the edges crispy.  Served with BBQ sauce and hot mustard on the side, it’s a great throw down starter dish.  This griddle works even better for the boudain because the flat plate doesn’t let the boudain crumble thru like a conventional grill surface.  We had a feast and a great day of fellowship.  Yesterday evening we showed the movie “Captain Ron” on our sail.  This is a shot from the boat as Rusty set up the projector, we had quite a crowd.  Fun day.

The vice commodore came in an outboard, so there were several people sitting on the boat, then a group of other cruisers ganged up and decided to pile on and see how many the small ship would hold.  I think they managed about one person per foot.

Rusty came home last night and put the new floor in the garage and we got everything back, cleaned, wiped and cloraxed.  Rusty got the deck scrubbed.  I just love a clean boat!!!.    Friends of ours dropped by this morning and it was such a pleasant surprise.  They were two men that Rusty and I worked with a year ago.  Good Guys!  It was good to see them.  Then Sally dropped by with cupcakes….We enjoyed the cupcakes with some coffee and visited for a while.  She and her husband will be back this evening for dinner.  It is a beautiful day though a little gusty.  We had thought about taking SYL out, beaching her and cleaning the hull but I think it would be tooooooo cold with the wind ( it has been gusting up to 30 mph) and it is a little overcast.  I think we have enough done for now.

Sea Yawl Later!!

Linda

I am currently taking a break from the unfun part of owning a boat.  I started to say cruising, except the situation I am now dealing with would have been a simple solution had we been on SYL.  Sometime after I left the boat in Destin and during the sail from Destin to Houma in which Rusty and Jono encountered some bad weather and rough seas, SYL took on water in the Starboard stern compartments.  This problem was compounded because we were not aware of the issue until Rusty brought SYL home after being in Houma, La for several weeks.  I didn’t know the extent of the problem until today.  Dealing with water issues on a boat is never fun but to let your “stuff” ferment in water for weeks makes a NASTY problem.  It is without a doubt the one thing that puts me in a foul mood immediately.  Older Seawinds have a known problem of taking on water through a thru hull that the motor steering runs through.  No one has come up with a good solution and I doubt the newer models have this issue.   It usually is not a problem because you catch it early, remove the water and it never gets into the main stern storage.  We have put a false floor in the storage so that if water does come in it doesn’t get into our “stuff” and we just wet van it out.  This didn’t happen this time which alone would not have been a biggie because everything is in open plastic containers that are stacked for easy access.  This time however, water and I mean a lot of water came in through the hatch and all of my containers had 1 to 2 inches of water and it had been sitting there for weeks perhaps a couple of months……..NASTY!!  Everything had to be separated from its box, washed, dried and in many cases scrubbed free of rust.  This area we have converted into our “garage” so it has all the stuff in it the name implies.  Yesterday I finished getting everything out and washed.  The “floor” was ruined and had to be removed and I ran bleach water through the main storage a couple of times.  Today, I looked into the farthest stern compartment and it has about 1′ of water but a least this is not nasty water.  Most everything in it is plastic.  The above pictures are the state of SYL at the moment.  Yesterday, was not a good day.  Today is better.  All the nasty is gone, and as I said I don’t do nasty well.  I have the music on, the day is cool and beautiful and everything is clean……disorganized…..but clean.

Sea Yawl Later!!

Linda