Windjammer Rainbow

Good Morning Everybody. Keep the woodstoves burning. 0 degrees in the darkness of the dooryard. Today is a day to run errands in town after a few days in the office. We have meetings here and there and then home as quick as we can. Our summers on the boat are precious. We love the bay. We love the people. We love the sailing. It is a part of who we are. But home is where at least part of our hearts is and our time home in the winter is cherished as well. I am already counting the days left in our wintertime at home with a mix of sadness and joy. Soon enough crew will be arriving and we will be back on the schooner working away to get ready for the season. Kaitlyn painted windows here yesterday. She is doing a great job.

The Appleton Volunteer Fire Department is a small group of amazing men and women working hard to keep the town safe. We have fun working together. I am always reminded of the power of people energy when I am down at the station. And for part of my year the guests that step aboard the schooner share that same special energy with us. Like a childhood snowstorm that stops all the busyness in our lives, windjammer vacations give us a chance to just sit and enjoy others. Sailing the schooner together, raising and furling sails, tacking topsails, helping out in the galley, it is all the fun “work” we share. When we sing or stand out in the rain, or watch as the sunsets over the western horizon; all of these events become our common ground. Community is a funny thing, we need it, we crave it, but darn if it doesn’t take some intentional energy to create and recognize. Around our street we mostly keep to ourselves as we let our lives get busier and busier. But come the first and third Tuesday of every month we go down to station for training nights. And come this summer we will have guests from all parts of the world climb aboard ready for the adventure to unfold, ready to share with others, and my heart will be thankful for all that you folks bring to my family.

My apologies in advance. I don’t know who took this human rainbow picture but they captured the essence of this morning’s blog.

Have a great day. Be well. Do good.

Comments

Hail Mary

My heart is heavy with sadness as I write this particular blog. Since the beginning of August our dear friend and cook for the last 12 years, Mary Barney, had been struggling with cancer. I have intentionally respected Mary’s privacy and I apologize to you for not sharing any news about Mary’s health sooner. On Monday afternoon Mary passed away very peacefully at home, surrounded by friends and “family”. Her departure was as graceful as the rest of her life. Many people, including Jen, have been doing heroic work to support Mary these last few weeks. Oddly enough Mary was never very excited about transitions though this was about the fastest transition she ever made. And as I struggle to let go of Mary I realize I am terrible with transitions as well. We used to joke about how we liked things just the way they are, thank you very much, so why change what is working already even if it might be less labor intensive. Hard works is its own reward. I used to joke about getting Mary a Cui

Fall Maintenance

Good morning everyone. The sun has been kind to us these past few days and the crew has been spending much time aloft prepping and painting the mast heads and tarring the rig as part of our annual fall maintenance schedule. They were a little silly on tar fumes by the end of the day hence the rat board dance moves. Am I the only one who is reminded of Willy Wonka's little friends at the sight of the crew in their tyvek suits? Schoona-loompas? The smell of tar, after all, is what we sailors live for. Extracted from the stumps and roots of pine trees through dry distillation pine tar will cure what ails you especially some skin conditions and any emotional maladies from being too long away from the sea. All we know for sure is that Mary Day’s rigging is kept hail and hearty by coats of tar mixed with boiled linseed oil. Notice that I specified boiled linseed oil and not raw linseed oil. Tar mix with raw linseed oil will not “kick”. Don’t ask me how I know this… just take my wo

Oh Captain, Oh Captain, Please Don't Rumba!

Good morning everyone. Another 6” of snow fell this weekend and we took a few hours to enjoy the wonders of winter here in New England skiing in the woods. The full Wolf Moon on Saturday causing astronomical high tides plus a 1’ tidal surge brought by the low pressure system meant we had tides over the bulkhead in Camden. At low tide just the opposite happens and the tides dip well below normal. I was able to step to the docks from the beach and get aboard the schooner on Friday after work and all was well. I had an interesting email this morning from a wonderful gentleman looking for a vacation to replace a now defunct “windjammer” sailing experience that formerly sailed in the Caribbean. He sent us a very humorous swashbuckling note, complete with colorful pirate party images, wondering if we might be able to fill the void, complete with canons and limbo parties and would the captain be leading the rumba line? I regretted to tell him that we probably did not offer the booty he was

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