Climbing Heights and Other Tasks by Karen Posey - May 23-27, 2015

The title of this trip report is “One Can Have As Many Adventures On Land As On The Water”.  Subtitle is “If You’re Going To Brag, You Should Balance That With A Little Self-Deprecation As Well”.

Murph did return to the boat from Columbus, OH on May 23 as planned.  However, the train to

Savannah was late and so he missed the 6:30am bus from Savannah to Beaufort.  The next bus was not leaving until 7:30pm, so he decided to hitchhike (one of the few disadvantages of cruising, i.e., no car). He made and held out a sign that said “BFT”.   Fortunately, after approximately an hour, he was given a ride by 2 young marines who were headed for the Marine Air Station just outside of Beaufort (yea, Marines!).  When they arrived at the marina, they came aboard the boat and we enjoyed an hour of conversation and coffee on a beautiful sunny morning.  Great young men!

OK, here comes the self-deprecating part (though mild, I must say).  I had a document on my laptop that I wanted to print, but of course, no room for a printer onboard.  So I stored the document on a flash drive, we borrowed a car from the dock master (this was on May 23), and drove to Staples to have them print the document.  It was a loaner car that the marina owner had bought to replace the one that broke down when we were on the bridge 2 weeks earlier.  We hated to borrow it because we didn’t want to abuse the privilege, but it was available, so we did.

Later that day (May 23), I realized that I did not have the flash drive.  I called Staples and, of course, they had it.  Now this would not be a big deal, but again, NO CAR.  :-(   The next day, with great hesitation, we asked to borrow the car again so that we could retrieve the flash drive. While there, we also purchased a box of sheet protectors.

Later that day (May 24), guess what we realized.  You got it…we did not have the sheet protectors. I called Staples the next morning (May 25) and asked if they had the sheet protectors.  Of course, they did.  There was no way we were going to ask to borrow the car again.  So I asked the customer service rep if she could simply return them for me and credit my VISA.  She was kind enough to do so.  I then told her the story of the flash drive as well.  I suggested that they position someone at the exit to the store and whenever old people leave, they should ask them, “Do you have everything??”

OK, here comes the braggin’ part. Please pardon my self-promotion, but given my fear of heights, I

Murph climbing the mast

Murph climbing the mast

Murph climbing the mast

had to share this.  One of the many boat repairs that we have been dealing with since Murph returned is repairing the anchor light.  Murph devised an ingenious fix and climbed to the top of the mast, which is 45ft above the water, this morning to make the repair (photos attached).  One of the “fun” parts about the climbing task is the amount of exercise you get, and it is surprising how much you sway back and forth as the wind blows.

I told Murph  that I would like to climb the mast as well.  He actually had another repair to make that required a climber.  (The task was to untangle the lazy jacks, which create a cradle that the mainsail drops into when it is lowered.).  So I harnessed up and climbed up as high as the spreaders (approximately 2/3 of the way to the top of the mast), where I was able to accomplish the task.

Karen Climbing the Mast!

Karen Climbing the Mast!

Karen Climbing the Mast!

I had hoped to continue climbing to the top, just for the feeling of accomplishment, but the height and the swaying were beginning to get to me a bit and my arms were TIRED, so down I went.  I guess I’ll have to work out more with those weights before I attempt this again. 

View looking down from top of mast

We still have MANY repairs to make before we can get underway, so expect to be here at the marina for 2 more days.  As they say, “Cruising is working on your boat in exotic places.”