New stuff and boat woes

Hello everyone...Today is finishing up for us. Actually, Karen is already in bed and I'm still not tired. There's been some neat stuff happening for the last couple of days and I thought I'd share some of the things I've got accomplished. Unfortunately, I had hoped to include pics of some really neat boats we've seen over the last couple of weeks but our internet connection has been realllyyy sloooowwww. It will have to wait until next time.

First, I'm working my way through the nightmare of loading videos onto YouTube for everyone's pleasure. So many error messages, load times that exceed my imagination/patience, etc. Anyway, I have been able to get more of them on the site and you should be able to access them through the link on the upper right side of the blog page. Of course, they are quite "amatureish" (is that a word?) but I hope to improve their quality as time goes on. There is an option for this blog layout that allows the video files to be displayed right on the blog, but I noticed it takes forever for the buffers to load and play...I'm sure there's a better way to do the videos and I will keep looking for it.

Secondly, I've added a section onto the right column of the blog, about half way down, called our "Picture of the week". This week's pic is one we received some time ago in an email. Don't remember who sent the email, nor do I know who should get credit for it. I thought it was hilarious and can't imagine how the shot was made.

We've had some rain the last few nights and this helps to clean off the salt water that's on the boat from sailing in the waves...I know, it's just one of the crosses we must bear...but having the salt washed off allows us to wax the topsides and the cabin of the boat. Last Saturday evening, I was reading a novel (The Rising Tide, by Jeff Shaara) and relaxing. The rain started and I noticed some of the ports on the sides of the cabin top were dripping rainwater. They hadn't before, so I started mopping up the drips, and then it dawned on me that the leaks were probably due to the bug screens being removed that morning...the rubber seal between the screens and windows that closed had been squished too tight and they hadn't expanded back out yet. A little massaging of the seals and everything was fine.

Then Sunday evening, I heard a rattle on top of the boat like someone had dropped a rock on it. I finally found the "nut" after 5 minutes of searching with a flashlight. What kind of nut, you ask? It was a 1/2" nut, and not too many things on the boat take a 1/2" nut, except the bolt that attaches the mainsail and the boom onto the mast! We had just spent the day running with the sails up, under 20 knots of wind and 6 foot waves. The nut fell off after we made it into our anchorage. The fact that it hadn't bounced off of the boat was amazing. Even more than that, if the nut had come off during the sail, I'm sure the sail would have pulled the pin out of the attachment flange and the whole "shootin' match" would've gone: sail, boom, then some shrouds, possibly even the mast itself (like a cascade of dominos). I reinstalled it immediately and thanked the Lord for saving us again. Needless to say, I picked up some Loctite today and will lock it on for good. This is just one of the thousands of examples of how the Good Lord has watched over Karen and I since we've been together. We've been told that these things happen. It's just part of boat ownership.

Karen has been cooking marvelous meals for us, and some of them she has shared with some of you...Chicken over a bed of broccoli...homemade tortillas and refried beans...her famous tacos...breaded pork chops and mashed potatoes...and her fried chicken...mmmm!!! I, luckily, have a fast metabolism; otherwise, I would weigh 250.

Hopefully, I will be able to upload some more videos and pics for the blog in the next few days...and like SM said it all of the time to the pilots....Seeee Yaaaa!