Kaimusailing

The arborist, boatyard owner, chief crane operator, and manager was hosing the roots of his most recent victim, so I took a picture. The crane is used to hoist the tree, roots and all, right out of the ground. Typically more than half the weight of the trunk and roots is dirt, and hosing the roots washes out the dirt. After most of the dirt is washed away, the trunk is removed from the roots, cut into firewood, and split on a hydraulic splitter. The roots are loaded onto a big trailer and carted away. Meanwhile, gravel and granite chips have to be trucked in to fill the hole left by the roots. The fill is compacted and the result is a very hard surface that can support heavy equipment, such as the travelift, or the big crane.
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These fellows were laboring in very hot weather. The heat index was at about 120 every day, peaking around 2 PM and slowly dropping to only 100 or so by quitting time, which should have been around 11 AM. Thunderstorms might come along and cool things off, but then you can’t do anything out in a downpour. So, while the Georgia Boys do very strenuous work in the heat, the Yankee boatbuilder hides from the heat and does little jobs in the shade.
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I made preparations for a trip to Hawaii, but goofed up the return and will arrive back in the heat of August. Summer is a long process in Georgia. Most of the boaters have left the boatyard for cooler regions and most plan on not returning before September. The boatyard is like a ghost town, anyone who is still here is not out and about. The public library is a favorite hangout. My own reading is on the kindle and I make do with a fan to keep me relatively cool.
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I was surprised that Webb Chiles is on his way to Marathon, Florida, down South in the Keys. The temperature there this morning was heat index of 100, just to start the day, humidity 85 per cent. Yuck. Marathon is great in winter, somewhat hot even then, but in summer it’s brutal.
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Capn “Radio” Bill has resumed his transatlantic voyage, leaving the Azores for the Mediterranean. Captain Kristian reported from New York City, so he has made it most of the way back to Boston. While these sailors have departed from St Marys, others have started coming in, in spite of the hot weather. One boat came in through the shoal that sits right in front of the travel lift well. The deep water is close to shore. After they renegotiated the approach, coming from further upstream and along the shore, they asked if they could be hauled out. They had called repeatedly by cell phone, but the boatyard has been too busy to take new customers, does not advertise, and thus, the phone is not always answered, especially if there is a tree at the end of the crane. So, they have to tie up rafted to another boat or sit at anchor and wait in line for their turn to be hauled out.
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The photo is of a tree on the end of the crane.