Postby Linda » Mon Aug 20, 2007 1:09 pm
The Wisconsin Highland games are coming up in early September, but I don't think I will be making them as the yacht club where I keep my boat , "the working man's yacht club" with trestle tables instead of nice dining room tables, is closing out the season with several dinners. We have to do 50 hours of work at the club each year as part of our membership. Labor Day weekend at the yacht club there are three dinners going on: pig roast, lassanga diner, steak dinner - one each night. So I will be helping with serving and clean up to get my hours in!
My boat is now a Coast Guard Auxiliary facility and on its first 'training patrol' we had a case right as we left the break water. Not much of a case though, only loaned them a paddle. It was a small boat with engine trouble and needed an extra paddle to maneuver back to their slip. Funny, we got the paddle because 'alternative propulsion' is required for a CG facility and the paddle satisfied that requirement. We were laughing at the fact that a paddle would not move our 26' cabin cruiser should WE have engine trouble, we would require a tow. But the paddle sure came in handy for this other boat.
Then we practiced man overboard drills. I had the helm as I am in coxswain training. It took several passes to come right along side that fender we threw overboard to practice with, at clutch speed, engine in neutral. You can't see anything small like a fender or a Human in the water next to the boat because of the flare of the bow. You have to depend on your crewperson hanging over the rail on the bow to tell you how close the victim is. The person hanging over the rail on the bow used to be me. Ah for those simpler days of a simple crewman!
I am reading what is supposed to be a very good Romulan book called 'The Final Reflection'. It has a lot of Klingon culture stuff, if anyone is interested in that.
Working on a major fan fic project. Two-thirds done. Hope to put it up in the not TOO distant future.