for a dark night
awash in too much nothingness
to be Zen
we’re all so happy to be at sea
the 14 of us plus crew
on a gorgeous day
despite our ages
or a slight chill
stand by
drop the hook
Tag: Fun
At the end of another fine day
I had a good day of photography
a wonderful day overall
How gentle the water surface
a few moments of approaching mal de mer, but no problems
we were lucky, having seven rain-free days,
only some heavy fog in the night and morning
why did the chicken cross the road?
because he didn’t cook it
As a preview of tonight’s aerial show
Here are “four for the Fourth,” a sampling from last year’s pyrotechnics display. The photos were taken from maybe 200 feet away from the firing line on the Fish Pier. It’s always a fine festive event along the waterfront.
Have a happy and safe Fourth of July.
Ready to go
At the Breakwater.
Dropping anchor for the night
As usual, there were kerosene lanterns, which I didn’t attempt to photograph.
And this time, phosphorescence in the water itself. Ditto.
But, as I noted:
unseen, the moon grows more luminus
in night shrinking from day
Small-town festivities reminder
Eastport’s big homecoming week and Fourth of July celebrations are just ahead. We face a long list of events.
The annual all-ages cod relay race, using salmon, is zany fun.
And people turn out for parades.
We don’t know if it really is the world’s largest or even legal, it’s still a good gag.
As well as a few surprises.
A schooner is not a sloop, pay attention
A sloop has only one mast, for starters.
There’s a whole new vocabulary to learn.
It’s a way of looking through the eyes of others.
Those things on the ropes, er, lines are called baggy wrinkles. They protect the lines and sheets, i.e. sails, from harmful rubbing. That is, they’re a furry cover for rope sphering.
Deck prism is another term. It’s a small round window. Here’s how it looked from my bunk. Overhead, people were walking on it.
Hatch is the opening between the deck and the hold below. This one connects by a ladder (not stairs) to cabins (aka staterooms).
Another leads to the galley, which includes what others would call a kitchen.
In passing, with time and the wind
the Stephen Tabor carried
64 cords of firewood at a time
back in the day
oh, look, another damn lighthouse
okey dokey
“ready about!”
Preparing to tack
“press it off!”
“well, that’s backwards”
Food along the way
Every night, the canopy is spread
every morning, stowed away
how he manages a wood cookstove
eludes me
the galley’s tight and must be a hot space
on a hot or humid day
regardless, he starts at 3 a.m.
and there’s coffee by 6:30 all the same
blueberry pancakes, slice of melon
cod chowder, a biscuit
roasted chicken drumstick, asparagus,
a risotto, Boston cream cake
lunch an excellent beef stew
and a great, crunchy sourdough bread
feeling like I’ve been here forever
in a good way
knowing it’s rarely this perfect
“no matter how much I eat
I keep losing weight on this ship”
sez male crew member
the cook’s apron
a variation on his overalls
the cook never learned wood-stove cookery
in culinary school
‘cuz he never attended one
in lighting a cook fire
the secret’s you have to stack
the firewood in tight
the galley’s quite crowded
the French burns four cords in a season in summer
Zen temple abbot and head cook
two most important personages
the cook also helps with the crew
mans an oar
hauls line, as needed
Guest at the helm
Tom, an E.R.
surgeon grew up in Camden
southern California now
capable of handling the helm
the concept of “running
the rail down”
meaning skimming the water
yes, surf
I even got a spree there
where he is
