What a Difference a Week Makes

Good morning everyone. My usual apologies for the lapse in the blog. The transition from summer to winter has been especially fast… all of one week. And to be truthful I have needed a break although I haven’t really found it yet. The intensity of the end of this season was quite a shoulder full. This last week has not been much of a let up in the action either as the cold weather has us racing to get things under cover. We have been working every day and well into some evenings. All of that is personal choice of course but the cold weather has set in faster than usual this year and the weather changes so fast that a day can make a huge difference. To prove my point I enter exhibit A, the scene from the schooner last Saturday and exhibit B, the scene from our deck this morning.

There is an emotional let down to the end of any season and with the loss of our beloved Mary the let down has been harder than ever. I will miss her. I will miss sailing. I will miss all of you. I have not had much time to process anything. Our season is a long one and yet so short. This summer flew by faster than ever. And the blistering pace of this last week has not given any of us time to celebrate or reflect on the joys of the season. But the cover is on, the winter mooring lines are in place and now the snow can fly. Your schooner is safe in the harbor.

We have many projects over the next few weeks and I will do my best to get back to writing. Thank you for your patience.

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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