Monday, 19 August 2019 --- Summer flying BY 
Wow….. Summer 2019 is flying BY….. It seems like such a long time since I’ve Posted (anything).... WELL… anything to do with the BOAT, or sailing anyway…
It’s not that “boat work” has been non-existent… That, of course, is “IMPOSSIBLE”….when you live on the boat…. Everywhere you look you see something that needs cleaning, or improving. (like: when I was sitting on the aft deck the other night, cooking on the grille…. I looked at the locked, but partially UNSECURED 10 lbs propane tank on the side deck… (So the next day… I found three lengths of SS hose clamps, put them end to end, and secured the tank to the 1 inch stanchion behind it…. OK… that project completed… (one side note… concerning that tank… during that storm off NJ coast, on our way north…(that sank S/V Bertie) that 10 lb tank was turned on it’s side, in place, but rolling on the deck, in the middle of the night -- NOT GOOD!)).
There is, of course, continuous, maintenance items; cleaning the outside (parking lot dirt; tree leaves, and branches (from storms), strata-glass polishing, new foam in the starboard cockpit cushion, re-arrangement and culling of storage tubs (much too much “stuff” carried for years)); cleaning the inside (mildew, and mold from leaving the boat closed up…when we’re away….)
AWAY…. We’ve now (hopefully) completed all of our medical, and vacation trips back to WNY… (with good results… always good to have those)… Lot’s of pICs have been posted for the vacation portion of those trips…(cottage)… Now we can get to work on those lingering boat projects that will be required before we set sail for the south.
Two of the “biggies” (projects) is replacing ALL of the diesel fuel lines for the main engine on AB… and several of the cooling system hoses.
Before we left for the Lake Erie cottage we used the good weather of July to sand and varnish the exterior woodwork on AB.

One of the inside projects that Susan and I are “hot” on this summer is “tossing” unused “stuff” from AB… spices; glassware (well acrylic); can-goods; old parts….(“spares” that I know I’ll never use…(I’ll buy new equipment, IF possible).
We’ve already hit the glassware cabinet hard…. And I’ve “tried” on the spare parts tubs… that will require a second and third PASS… (I’m afraid)….

One of the major projects I thought was going to take $$$ and time this summer was “house batteries” (800 Amp-hours – in two banks)… but, I think we’ll try to get one more season from the batteries that are in AB ( touch wood here !!! )

Pete and Bunny Frahleigh have now sold their home in Amenia, NY, and are soon to be OFF on their new adventure (fixing up their new (to them) Endeavor 43, and getting her ready for the 2019/2020 sailing season…
Bill and Laura S (s/v Second wind) are OFF on an RV trip to New England, and the maritime provinces of Canada… They’ll be back at the end of August, or so…. And readying “Second Wind” for the 2020 sailing season.

The marina life here hasn’t changed much…. Busy on the weekends… and very quiet during the mid-week… the POOL here, is a ‘god-send’ on some of these HOT afternoons…

The climate is changing…. (regardless of what the Administration says)… the temperature swings seem to be getting wilder, and the storms more intense… The Jet-stream is NOT keeping the artic air north…and the sea temperatures are rising…. Greenland’s ice cap is melting at an ever increasing rate…. Could be a good time to “KEEP living on a boat… something floating… because, according to NASA this morning…. IF ALL of Greenlands ice cap melts the sea level could rise nearly 25 feet…. Bad for so many coastal communities.

OK…. Time to get on with today’s stuff….