So my posts for the next month will probably be few and far between as I am intending to do the National Novel Writing Month project.
The idea is to write approximately 175 pages (50K words is the actual goal) in a month. That probably won't leave me with much time for a whole lot of other writing so I thought I'd let you know.
I read about it from Captain JP and after perusing the site for a bit, I thought I'd give a try. You know, really ease into writing the great American novel and all that.
Now I just have to figure out what I'm going to write about...
I'm forcing myself to make an entry on Fridays if I've been too busy during the week to post so... yeah.
Boat Show was ok this year. Not nearly as much free stuff but some kick-ass boats! My friend and I went on an Oyster and all I can say is "Holy Shit". We went on the 72 or the 885 (it was massive) and oh my...it was a floating mansion. Massive galley that is at least twice as big as the one in my apartment, at least 10 comfortable berths, 3 bathrooms and a huge lounge area with 2 desks. Also, biggest, and most extensive, electrical panel I've seen in my life. Got to witness the boat show breakdown as well which was pretty cool.
Also, Girlfriend and I also had a fantastic sail this past Sunday. It was 65 degrees and sunny. Not a cloud in the sky! Wind was 5-15 setting out with gusts up 20 knots.
Surprisingly, this was our first sail together just the two of us and what a pleasant sail it was! Girlfriend and I switched helm and trimming duties a few times and we beat a couple of other boats out on the Magothy.
As we were coming back in and the wind was a steady 17 knots and I saw another puff about 3 boat lengths ahead, I decided to furl the headsail. Reef early Reef often right? Well...once I saw that most everyone else still had their headsails up, I unfurled the jib and we still beat the other boat that was gaining on us. Surprisingly, we pointed quite a bit higher which was a nice change. I'm so used to being outpointed on Wednesday nights it was nice to be ahead and pointing better. I've been thinking about doing the Wednesday night races on the Magothy instead of in Round Bay; maybe I'll give it a bit more thought. Take Surprise out, put her through the paces, get a solid Wedneday Night Series crew and we might just FLY LIKE A G6!!!
Might I add that my docking skills were top notch, even in the 4-7 knots we had as we pulled up to our slip. Kinda bummed out the guy across the dock who was waiting for me to finish docking before he left. Looked like was waiting for me to screw up but maybe he was waiting to lend a hand... Either way I rocked it so no need.
Sadly no sailing this weekend as I'll be heading up to landlocked PA for a weekend retreat at a ski lodge with some college friends and I'm already in the mood if you can't tell.
The Irwin 35 I went to look at last weekend was in pretty bad shape on the inside. There was so much water damage on the inside that I didn't bother taking pictures. It would take a minimum of 25K just to get the boat up to ok, excluding the sale price which, after the guy saw his boat, I'm sure would come down anyway. It seemed pretty obvious that guy hadn't been down to his boat in probably close to a year; if not longer.
I don't want to put all my savings into a boat that is iffy in the "will it float?" category. If I'm going to take the leap and go for it; I'd love for it to be a Valiant. The Rob Perry design and solid construction really have me won over. I basked in the glory of another one of those beauties at the boat show the following day and all it did was remind me what I'm shooting for. The guys who were showing the boat were a bit more snotty than the guy last year but that doesn't stop the boat from being gorgeous.
I know that the smart thing to do would be to buy a house that would only appreciate in value over the years (unlike a boat), eventually sell the house and buy one helluva boat. Try and get a job on a yacht and get my sea time in for my Captain's license in the mean time I suppose...It just really sets me back in the ability to just loose the dock lines and go.
With the approach of fall, the start of the Annapolis Boat Show, Pumpkin lattes showing up and my endless quest for The Great Pumpkin (beer), one that is just right, I was feeling kinda like a "Bonfire".
"You don't believe the story of the Great Pumpkin? I thought little girls always believed everything that was told to them. I thought little girls were innocent and trusting." - Linus
