Monday, June 12, 2017

Evanston: maintenance; repaired; difficult to imagine; wasting your time


        This entry is delayed by a lack of wind in Bermuda.  This afternoon’s first race in the America’s Cup Challenger Final was abandoned because light wind caused time to run out and it was a while before there was sufficient wind for a restart. 
        As you may know, the race and series was won by New Zealand, who now face Oracle in the final.  I refuse to call a team steered by an Australian and run by a New Zealander ‘American’.  
        This continues to be by far the most interesting America’s Cup since Fremantle.  
        I have New Zealand friends who desperately want them to win the Cup.  I have other New Zealand friends who almost as fervently don’t want them to win and bring the circus back to disrupt the town.
        I am looking forward to the final.


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        I don’t often visit the main site, but I have added this year’s passage logs from Durban to Marathon to the logs page, and a joyful photo of me to the photos page.  As I have noted, not all sailing is good, but I’d rather be remembered for joy than despair.

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        Fed Ex delivered a big box today containing three tiller pilots and a masthead wind unit presumably repaired by Raymarine.  I have no way of knowing until I get back to GANNET six weeks tomorrow.
        To their credit I did not get an email or phone call from Raymarine asking, “How in hell did you kill all these things?”  I do have a ready answer:  “I actually sail.”   But it wasn’t necessary.
        I expect that I’ll be sending the tiller pilots back for repair next year from San Diego.

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        Google Alerts emailed me about a site that offers A SINGLE WAVE as a free download.  I clicked on the link and found a review that said, “It is difficult to imagine how he is still alive.”
        I have the same problem.  
        To relate to the previous post, perhaps in my life success can be defined merely by surviving for three-quarters of a century.



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  A reader did me the questionable courtesy of sending a link to a comment in Sailing Anarchy forums.  I view Sailing Anarchy each morning when I have an Internet connection, but I don’t participate in the forums.  This one was about the size of boat to sail around Cape Horn.

And Webb Chiles is an awesome person and a good friend, who I both admire and like, but also a total nut job. 😀 taking what he does as any sort of sane recommendation is hmmm nuts. He is one of the guys I was referencing in 'that other thread' who actually does extremely adventurous in pretty simple vessels - actually walking some of the BS simplicity/resourcefulness talk.

  I recognize the man who wrote this.  
  A good deal younger than I, he and his wife have made two circumnavigations and given up the sea.  
        On the basis of those two voyages, they set themselves up as experts.  I respect what they have done and believe their advice more useful than that of another better known cruising couple.  But as far as I recall we met only once and I would not consider him a ‘good friend.’ 
        For the record, some of you whom I have never met, I do consider good friends.
        I provide all this as a public service.  You are obviously wasting your time reading the words of a total nut job or paying attention to any attempt I  make to share the benefit of my experience on land or sea.  
        Fortunately you can go to Facebook or Twitter where you will not find me.

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        The photo is of Evanston's South Beach to which Carol and I walked yesterday.