garcia
| Vessel Name: | garcia |
10 October 2020
Update
Hi All, I feel rather remiss for I didn’t realise until a nudge from Keith Longson that my last blog is very out of date. Its partly because I do a lot of writing for sailing magazines and having updated through that medium had, in the back of my mind, spread the news.
04 June 2020
Foraging
With partial lifting of restrictions, I was able to go foraging off the beach and caught this beauty in the form of a 2kg spider crab. The flesh is tastier than a lobster and I look forward to going back in for more although I shall wait for my new wetsuit. Its a bit colder than the Bahamas!!!
18 May 2020
PEARL IS FOR SALE
This year the Bahamas, prior to Corona, was a time of reflection out of which we have decided to sell our lovely Pearl of Penzance. As with all these things there were many factors but the driver is changing family circumstances.
18 May 2020
Fledging
All our bird boxes have been taken and fledging has already begun – this little fella needed a bit of help and I am pleased to report that it all turned out well for him. This year has brought more woodpecker than I have ever seen and they are hammering away at the bird boxes to feed on the babies. So far the boxes have held up but some are looking very battle weary. Next year we will have to put chicken wire around the boxes for protection.
18 May 2020
Fred Flintstone
One of the symptoms of Corona is that the supply chain for spares has been effected. One of the cutting deck wheels on my mower gave up the ghost and with the grass growing like mad I needed a solution. Thoughts of good old Fred Flintstone inspired this oak wheel which looks like it will last forever.
BATH
The other amazing thing was the size of the ship building business so far inland. During the second world war Bath built 82 destroyers. They also built fishing boats and Harold Vanderbilts famous Americas Cup yachts Endeavour and Ranger.
As we have sailed these parts I have often reflected that the trees we are seeing are not as mature as I would have expected and the answer lies in ship building. Hundreds of huge sailing ships were built in Bath and they hoovered up woodland in the process. This picture gives you an idea of their size thanks to the life size sculpture representing the six-mast, 426ft Wyoming which could carry 6,000 tons of coal.
Bath was built around ship building and in an old sketch of the town you can see the rope works that ran right through its center. John D Smith spent 45 years spinning 64,940,666 fathoms of thread walking ten miles a day totaling a staggering 140,850 miles. Half of it backwards….the equivalent of nearly three times around the world backwards.
The picture also shows the modern and busy ship building industry that presently exists to churn out US Navy ships. That’s Pearl on a mooring to the far right.
