TRANSLATIONS

Nocturnal emissions (las poluciones nocturnas; emisiones nocturnas): I get crash- tired at 8 pm and so head to bed (that's "V-berth" to you), but then, when JJ's energy for projects runs its course and he crawls in beside me, can't fall asleep cause he's so twitchy (inquieto--such a perfect word, with its seeming cross between unquiet and anxious). We've both been exhausted (agotado) but lying awake for hours (muchas horas). Then, after finally achieving sleep (sueño) disturbed by distorted dreams (pesadillas distorsionadas), I have been waking up around 4:00, desperate for a pee (hacer pipi), which is wholly inconvenient (incómodo; inoportuno), because peeing (orinar), whether urgent night-peeing or more leisurely day-peeing, involves climbing down 12 feet of ladder (escalera), walking the equivalent of 1.5 city blocks (cuadras) across the randomly cobbled gravel work yard, reeling one's night-blind stagger in enough to edge sideways (oblicuamente) through the 1-foot opening in the gate (la verja), widening bleary eyes to punch in the code to the bathroom (baño; servicio), and racing the giant cockroaches (cucarachas muy grandes) to the toilet (el inodoro--"inodoro": what a fantastic language!).

Vocabulary Lesson: Please select the correct definition for each term. Extra points for distinguishing between Spanish and Nauticalese.

1. Perchas/Ganchos
(a) parakeet accessories
(b) clothes hangers
2. Sujetapapeles
(a) papal subjects of conversation
(b) paper clips
3. Tijeras
(a) collective noun for women from Tijuana
(b) scissors
4. Enchufe de tres poles
(a) very Polish something-or-others
(b) electrical adaptor (3-pronged; male)
5. Depth sounder
(a) aforementioned 3-pronged male part
(b) electronic device that measures the distance to the ocean floor
(c) both of the above
6. SSB
(a) single sideband radio
(b) full name: SSBCD (Shit-Scaring Border-Crossing Device), a pre-owned
purchase one makes in one country (hoping it will allow one to
communicate with other boats and, if one gets it set up and working
right, send emails), then protects in a rag enclosed in a plastic Ziploc
bag and agonizes about whether (1) to declare to avoid being accused of
importing potentially sellable contraband ($1300.00 used; $2800.00
new), or (2) to consider permissible/legal as defined on a list one saw
somewhere--but can no longer remember where--of equipment that is
"acceptable" because necessary to the upkeep and maintenance of one's
boat.
7. Wet Sanding
(a) a voluntary task an unsuspecting landlubber enters into without knowing
what it is because it sounds less daunting than installing a depth sounder
or understanding SSB technology and trauma
(b) spending hours spraying water all over the hull of a 10-ton boat
suspended above you in a sort of cradle consisting of a system of thin
pads the size of cocktail trays supported by a series of spindly-looking
metal tepees, then reaching overhead to scrub the streaming hull down
with sandpaper and green scrubbies, creating a sea of instantly-
staining, highly-toxic run-off that rivals henna and tattoo ink as a skin
colorant
8. Buganbela
(a) name of pretty insect
(b) phonetic spelling of bougainvillea, sighted on hand-printed sign in
Nogales