Regatta Wrap up

The wind has been coming from the North now for about 24 hours, and we are tucked well away from it behind the huge hill upon which sits the famous George Town Monument. The monument is really just an obelisk, put there many years ago before GPS systems so that sailors might have a visual clue as to where they were. Regatta week is winding down, and Wayne with it. Our regatta week woes started with the implosion of the propeller on our new dinghy motor. A shear pin malfunction is about all I know. It would have been darn close to impossible to get a suitable replacement part (a small plastic propeller) shipped to us in any reasonable amount of time for less than about $100. So, we decided to upgrade from a 3.5 horsepower motor to an 8! The guy who sold it to us blew town the next day after claiming it had worked great for him. For about a day, we were in heaven! Then one of our very astute boating friends said he heard a whine characteristic of a lack of oil in the bottom shaft assembly. This nice guy was willing to help Wayne pull the dinghy up on the beach and haul the motor onto a picnic table to perform the necessary maintenance. It took about 20 minutes, after which the 2 men brought the motor back to the water for a little test. Holding onto the motor, they started it up in neutral and checked the functioning. Wayne’s buddy Doug said, “OK man, now shut er off…” Woe to the Wayne. His brain transmogrified this simple command into an error so incomprehensible that it is to be the main joke at the Variety Show tonight. To wit, instead of pushing the little red button which would have shut off the motor, Wayne’s hand somehow selected the option of pushing forward the lever which would in fact put the motor in gear, thus causing 8 hp of propeller power to spin wildly under the water. Of course the guys both let go of the thrashing motor, but Wayne’s brain went even further to instruct him that he should somehow try to tackle the beast. “Get the f**k away from it, man!!!!!”, yelled Doug. Luckily Wayne came out of the experience with a bruised and abraded right leg but no permanent damage. The motor itself gradually choked with water and stopped, at which point the guys dragged it back out to the picnic table – but now the task at hand was a 2-hour cleaning and attempt to extract every bit of water and salt from the important parts. This seemed to work and Wayne took it for a test drive. During the test drive, the propeller on the “new” motor decided it was time to quit as well by slipping out of sync. Doug jury-rigged it with some screws and the guys ordered a new propeller from Nassau, which should arrive tomorrow on the “Grand Master” which is the primary source of supplies for all of George Town. Since then, it has alternately worked and not worked, started and not started, and has generally been an excruciating pain in the ass. There is a medical term for this sort of ass pain – exquisite tenderness. Any thought of dinghies, dinghy motors, propellers or the like puts Wayne into a funk of monumental proportions, which brings us back to our anchorage at the monument. In just a few hours, we will complete our Regatta Week activities by taking the stage for our one shining moment of glory, singing the George Town Blues. We debuted the song aboard Free Bird in front of about 120 dinghies at George Town’s first ever rock-n-roll dinghy drift and have not stopped to receive compliments since. Folks tell us we are sure to be the big hit of the Variety Show tonight. This is taking for granted the idea that we are actually going to be able to get there. Soon I’ll be waking the captain from a well-deserved nap to prepare for the show and give us about an hour’s lead time for what should be a ten minute dinghy ride. Yes, Regatta Week has been fun – yesterday we participated in the Sand Sculpture contest and the Arts and Crafts fair. Wayne sold two wall pieces and I just about cleaned out my entire inventory, so it hasn’t been all bad. If I can, I’ll post up a picture or two of some of my friends modeling my jewelry.

I should also mention that we were aboard our friends Gord and Suzanne’s boat last night (Camelot II) enjoying a delicious stew and a few hands of euchre. The boating community has repeatedly come to our assistance with rides here and there, offers of dinner when we run out of food, offers to use the internet, technical advice and assistance – you name it these guys are great.

Sorry about the length of this post, but it is now Wednesday and we brought Cassie over to the town side of the bay in the hope of getting her “gassed up” (with diesel) and ready for the trip home. It is blustery, the wind from the SE and coming 20 to 25 knots. Why did we think this was a good idea? I guess because we want to be ready for the good weather window coming up this weekend. We found that a number of huge luxury ships are docked at the rickety George Town facility, some right in front of the gas dock. Rather than attempting to sneak in there and possibly do major damage, we have elected to throw out the anchor and wait out the blow. It should settle down tonight and we’ll reassess and try to gas up tomorrow.

Our tune was a big hit last night! People want us to record it and then send it to them on MP3 format. I am hoping our son Thomas will help us do this, being the computer whiz he is. One guy suggested we get electronic boat cards with the song on a little chip. Perhaps if we should win the lottery or some money just falls out of the sky. For the present moment, however, all monies continue to be poured into the hole in the water which is known as the boat. We know this to be par for the course, and are slowly resigning ourselves to the realities of boat life. But there are always upsides! Tonight is karaoke night at Eddie’s Edgewater, and since we’re over here anyway we might just be adventuresome and go. Fred’s (my bridge partner) three charming daughters are here and we’ve been hanging around with them a bunch. They are three young professional women; one just got her PhD in Latin American Studies, one works for the Mayor of New York City – Bloomberg, and the third is just out of college and cutting her teeth in the big bad world. They are a lot of fun and very bright to boot so here’s hoping they might show up as well for another night of silliness and singing.