worry not, my dear 4 followers

thursday and friday we were at sea, (that is sailor lingo for no wireless).
short story,
rob graduated and we are tired ... more details later

flurry of activity

another one bites the dust

crunch time

rob cramming

will grading

"not too shabby", says will



as rob follows capt will up the staircase he turns to me and whispers,
i made a 97!
bare boat 101, 102, 103 down!
on to course 104!

the law of large

as a mere bystander in this epic tale i have derived that 99% of becoming certified to sail a big boat involves "how to stay out of trouble". 
hours and hours are spent on tedious things like water currents, channel markers (incredibly confusing); lights (red, green and/or white) - together, alone or combination - they all mean different things; depth gauges (very important); and all sorts of other stuff that, ignored, would make a nice little outing morph into a potential disaster. 
make that certain disaster.

and the last thing good capt will wants is a disaster on his boat! 
speaking of capt will, he is so cute, 27 years old, owns the charleston sailing school, employs several other captains to teach, (he fired the one that crashed his boat into the bridge) and maintains three boats, er sloops. he is also chief provision gatherer, laundress, mechanic, secretary, and carries many other titles that i cannot fathom (note nautical term).
yesterday as we came back in from a jaunt, the tide and current provided not-so-perfect conditions for parking this 44 footer into the slip at the marina.  capt will took over the wheel and the throttle and whipped this baby into the slip - in reverse.  meanwhile, our new neighbors in the adjacent slip were enjoying an evening beverage and watching the sun set.  later they were still wide-eyed at the sudden flurry of activity upon watching an approaching boat heading right toward them, backwards, but settling, ever so delicately into the slip.  we are in good hands.

i got to sail!!

soon-to-be-certifiable , oops, i mean certified

wind machine?

i ascended the staircase, i.e. shin buster, from the salon (real term) and entered the classroom on the porch (probably not a real term).
on my way out for a stroll and not wanting to interupt ...

classroom

capt. will asked me to put a quarter in the wind machine while i was out - i've scoured this marina with a pocket full of quarters and there is absolutely no wind machine - he must be thinking of another marina :)

pupil, tired pupil

staircase / shin buster

teacher

no place for sissies

... or whiners
... or people who are accustomed to a bathtub
... or people who are accustomed to a real mattress
... or people who bruise easily
... or people who are claustrophobic

this morning rob asked if i'd had enough coffee as he was poised to dump it down the drain.
"do i look like i've had enough coffee???"
he poured me another cup, patted my sore back, kissed me on my dry, cracked cheek and happily went off in search of capt. will

how fortunate for all of us that i am not one of those people mentioned above!

little kitchen sink

master suite

note kitchen sink is about the same size as the cave, er master suite!!

it's all good!
we take the big boat out into big water today.
capt. will has provisioned us very well.
i'm reading a good book and enjoying the scenery, although not simultaneously.

ahoy, y'all !!

good day

rob passed his little test so we're on to bigger things tomorrow.  he starts with capt will first thing and they will go over chart work. this was new to rob. he has not studied the chart work part of the text book.
guess what he is doing right now ....
we met a couple from rock hill - their boat is totally cool - geothermal heat and AC.
didn't see assistant russell this afternoon - the mast must be ship-shape.  :)

Capt Monty

Rob and Capt. Monty are out for the day on the 35 foot sloop.
I've elected to stay aboard the larger vessel with shade, AC and worthy assistant Russell.

photos

Good Capt Will
behind him the bridge that "folded" his mast
he was not aboard that fateful trip

i'm fairly familiar with a keyboard but not so with a laptop.
i accidently "published" the last - first, only - post.
oh well, nothing like diving in!

Pat, Rob and Captain Monty

It's the day after Labor Day and I'm sitting on a 44 foot sailboat in the Charleston City Marina.
Rob is currently "in the classroom" taking a written test with Captain Monty  After he aces the written test he and Captain Monty will take a 35 foot boat out into the harbor / ocean and Rob will acquire the credentials that will send him further up the ladder to becoming a captain worthy of sailing this 44 footer on which I am atop.
note:  Russell, Captain Will's worthy assistant just walked up - like I said, we're docked at the marina.
Russell tells me that the last person who took out this 44 footer sailed it straight into the bridge of the James Island Connector and lopped off the really tall pole in the middle of the boat. * see photo of really tall pole in air *
note:  from this point further i will attempt to use the proper sailor lingo.
This person who had previously been certified, NOT by Captn Will, just sailed right under the bridge and as Russell says, "it just kind of folded in half".
These masts are not cheap.  $25,000.00  Capt. Will has insurance but the deductible is huge.  Fortunately the person who crashed his boat - sloop - felt bad about it and paid the large sum.  So, it appears that Rob and I are the first folks to take out the sloop with the new mast.  Russell is here to make sure it's attached properly before we head out to the big water. 
note #3 think it make be a good idea to give Russell a little compensation, on the side.
Capt. Will just boarded the sloop.
Must see what he wants.
Over and out, for now.