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Inspection and Load Test

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Good morning everyone. Sorry for the lapse these past few mornings. We passed our Coast Guard inspection with flying colors. The inspector remarked how well organized everything was and how beautiful the boat looked. Our homework these past few months paid off. The crew did a very good job demonstrating the new pumps. We will perform underway drills with the Coast Guard aboard sometime in the next few weeks.

With inspection done by early Monday afternoon we welcomed aboard our first guests, Sawyers classmates and their parents, for an overnight dockside adventure. What better load test for the schooner than a group of first graders. Some of you may well have felt the tremor in the noosphere. Excited is the word we parents use to convince ourselves that we have some control over the barely contained mayhem in front of us and that it really is not as bad as it looks. And we were worried about the Coast Guard. The kids had a blast, the parents and teacher got exhausted and the schooner survived with nary a scratch in the paint. The next morning we cooked blueberry pancakes on the wood stove and gave the kids a chance to climb in the rig. Little kids have no fear. Parents only fear little kids.

So we are putting the finishing touches on the schooner and there are a million details left, food to stow, wood for the cook stove, a few lines we need to re-lead, the jib topsail to bend on. The projects are never ending aboard any boat and we have all summer to pick away at them. By fall we should have the boat ready to put to bed.

Have a great day. Be well. Do good.

Comments

Unknown said…
I think it's just great the way you give to the community. My Granddaughter would be overjoyed, over-awed, over-excited, over-something at the opportunity to spend a night on a ship (I'm not sure she knows what a schooner is just yet. She's only 6 and lives in Huntsville, Alabama where there are no schooners but there are space ships.) I'm glad to see you finally got "Mary Day" on the transom correctly. Did I spy a new addition to the wheel?
May 24, 2007 at 3:31 PM
Chris Cobourn said…
The first grade class, and parents as well, had a great night and morning on the Mary Day, it was a great experience for all, and I know that the children will remember it for a long time! It was also good for me to get the know the other parents more, and it was a great binding experience for all. I know I speak for all when I say thanks to Jen and Barry for sharing their "summer home" with us! And the Mary Day is absolutley beautiful, you can clearly see that a good deal of hard work, craftsmanship, and love, has gone in to the ship!
May 25, 2007 at 5:51 AM
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