The pasture across from our house in a blanket of mist this morning. These mornings are starting to get a bit chilly, even if the days are still hot.
A Halcyon Morning
The pasture across from our house in a blanket of mist this morning. These mornings are starting to get a bit chilly, even if the days are still hot.
Sailing the "Grebe"
After much work, some hastily done, my rescued Mariner 19 got some time on Little Traverse Bay this summer after years of disuse (more on the boat to come). It is a joy to sail and seems to be a hit with the whole family. Now that she has proven herself, I think I'm ready to allocate a bit more time into further work on her. I hope to record further repairs, restorations, and improvements to the "Grebe" here.
The Vintagent Features the Janus Documentary
The vintagent has selected our documentary for his new website!
Mast Raising on a Chrysler C22
A friend brought his sailboat by for a preparatory daysail last Sunday. We are planing a 3-day voyage from Grand Haven to Saugetuck in two weeks and I wanted some experience with the boat prior to taking it out on Lake Michigan. After the relative ease of mast raising on my very light little Mariner 19 "Grebe", I was not prepared for the operation it would take to step the heavy mast on a Chrysler C22. The C22 is a trailer sailor, but about as big as they come. Heavy, well ballasted, and rigged for adventures further from shore. We spent 3 hours test stepping and lowerering the mast in my driveway and decided against doing it all over at the boat launch without a bit more research... We managed to jury rig a gin pole and mast bridle out of a 2X4 and some spare line, but it was not a perfect system, and was quite nerve racking to raise and lower. Turns out we were very close to figuring it out, but not quite. Apparently the C22 mast can be stepped single-handed with the right experience and equipment. I will say, once everything was rigged, it was a very straightforward operation, perhaps easier even than the Mariner. You're just dealing with four times the weight. With a bit of research and sketching, I look forward to trying this again and actually going sailing in this great boat.
Back out of all this now too much for us
I have been thinking a lot lately about the incredible waste of time represented by "social media". While I have not yet reached the ultimate goal of no cellphone or perhaps a "dumb" phone, a return to the old blog and a more mindful online interaction is perhaps a good first step. I have finally been able to divest myself of the burden of Facebook (I may still forward posts there and maintain desktop interaction with friends and family that I would not otherwise be able to stay in touch with) and am planning further online self-emancipations. But this old blog has always been a source of enjoyment and a meaningful way of sharing thoughts, experiences, information, and intellectually stimulating stories, etc. from the internet. The internet does, after all, provide an incredible resource when used responsibly. As always, this is more a series of spontaneous, informal pensées than a polished essay, but at least it won't be a "status update" (thinking about it, what a ridiculous term that is). So, there it is. In the words of Frost, "back out of all this now too much for us"...
Color Coordinated
Our customer, Mark, picked up his Halcyon 250 today in his matching 80's Ford pickup.
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