Sunday, July 9, 2017

Evanston: GRENDEL revisited; a bargain; a storm

        I’ve written of this beautiful boat, GRENDEL, the prototype Moore 24, before.  Glenn, who bought her last year, just sent me a photo of her after a fifteen month refit.  She looks good for another fifty years.  She also makes me eager to get back and spruce up GANNET, though my efforts will never equal those who worked on GRENDEL.  
        I notice that there is now a hatch on the foredeck.  I had not noticed before that GRENDEL has a port in the side of the hull.  
        Her deck extends further aft than on production Moores, with the main traveler on deck and a smaller cockpit.
        I wrote to Glenn asking about the tiller, which can’t be seen in the photo.  He replied that is out sight coming from the cockpit sole.  On GANNET the rudder and rudder post are higher and nearer the stern.
        I googled GRENDEL and found an interesting article about her and the origins of the Moore 24.  In it you will find, “Let’s build a Wednesday night racer…with complete disregard for offshore sailing.”  Don’t tell GANNET.
        I admire and congratulate Glenn for having lavished time and, I expect, a considerable amount of money on the iconic boat and trust she will bring him sailing joy.

————

        This journal is one of the great Internet bargains.  I say without fear of contradiction that it is worth every penny you pay for it.  Not only do you get my sailing, but you get cutting edge wisdom.  More than fifty years ago I predicted that most of us would become evolutionarily unnecessary.   Long before last year’s election that all societies are plutocracies and democracy has never worked.  And now I have David to thank for this link showing that politicians in Wisconsin are considering legislation not far off my second modest proposal.  While their intent is gun safety and I was aiming (sic) at improving marksmanship, it is only a matter of time.
        I am not going on a crusade about this, but I did google gun deaths and found a table which I find interesting in a number of ways.  Scroll down the page to find it.  That the US is number one in gun deaths and overall homicide rates among wealthy countries is not surprising.  That the Czech Republic is a runaway number two, is.  And if you look carefully at the statistics you will find that in the UK and Japan not only do they not kill with guns, but they hardly kill one another at all.  What is wrong with these people?

————

        I expect that history will recognize June 1, 2017, as a decisive date in the decline of United States world influence.  That was the date the President announced that the US is pulling out of the Paris Accord.
        We will be feared because we spend far more than any other country on the military, but the United Stares is no longer respected.  The other nineteen of the G20 will go forward without us and not just on climate control.  
        The American Century is over, and with Donald Trump as President it should be.
        What liberals don't understand is that Donald Trump is the ultimate American success story.  Most Americans seek wealth and power.  He is among the most wealthy and he has achieved the position of greatest power.  His life experience is that being a lying, self-aggrandizing bully leads to success.  He has no reason to change.
        Any economic system in which such a man is a success is flawed.
        Any political system in which he is a success is fatelly flawed. 

————

        You may recall the storm that decimated a day racing fleet in Mobile Bay two years ago.  I thank Clark for a link to an intense article about that disaster.