Kaimusailing

Another cold snap descended upon us with a gale warning to boot. Unfortunately, although content with my little propane heater warming the galley, I needed to go to shore for supplies. The tide was going out and the wind was also against me as I rowed the Sumnercraft dinghy in to the boatyard. I didn't get very far when the starboard oarlock came loose. As I tried to put the loose screws back in by hand, the tide and wind drifted me out toward the St Marys River, the wrong direction. When I started rowing again, more gently, the oarlock came loose again. This general process continued until I was in the docks of the shrimp boats, downstream of the boatyard. I kept at it, and also poled the dinghy along in the shallows, made some progress along with some backwards drifting, and eventually got to the boatyard. There was almost no one there in the cold wind.
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I got some fiberglass resin and a small bottle of catalyst along with a bag of fiberglass microfibers and went back to the dinghy and reseated the screws of both oarlocks in fiberglass putty. Now the question is will the mixture set up in the cold. How long will I have to wait until I can get back aboard Kaimu.
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I ran a few errands and gathered provisions for tomorrow. It was chilly and windy and I knew it would be difficult to stick around in the yard, but more difficult to set off and have the oarlock fail again while rowing in the cold. Then I was offered a taste of meatballs aboard Capn Jane's boat, which was well heated. How nice. Afterwards I went down to the dinghy and found the cup of resin left over from the repair was hard as a rock. The oarlock would be too, but I was gentle with it. I didn't have to row very much, the wind that was against me, and the tide, were now propelling me to Kaimu. Nothing went wrong and I was aboard. I had brought small propane tanks filled from the pizza oven's propane tank and now had 7 of the small tanks on board. I would need them as the temperature was falling and forecast to hit 34 in the morning.
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I had purchased a book by Commodore Ralph M. Munroe who was born about 100 years before I was. There was a mention of him when I was doing research for outrigger canoes and when I read the excellent Sharpie book by Ruell Parker, he had a lot to say about Munroe, and referenced Munroe's book "The Commodore's Story". I was able to purchase it for $14 although newer copies were available for about $45. It was published in 1930 and chronicles the early days of Biscayne Bay near Miami. It is Munroe's autobiography with added chapters by Vincent Gilpin. I read the book in two days, staying aboard Kaimu with the heater running full blast. What an excellent book. It comes from the days when there was no rail or road service in much of South Florida. Munroe includes a lot of history of his family in England and Scotland and continues with the Munroes who were active in the American Revolution. His grandfather kind of invented the pencil in America when the War of 1812 cut off the supply from England, the only source of natural occurring graphite.
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My friend, Capn Tom Malkin, decided to fly in to visit and as I planned out the next few days the boatyard said they were ready to haul me. A flurry of activity. I had to finish preparing the mooring so I could drop it with its buoys, etc., intact, and I didn't want to reanchor afterwards. After I coiled the mooring's hawser and my spare anchor chain that was still snagged, I tied a line on them and rove the line through the mooring's buoys. I let the mooring drop, but I made a miscalculation and had the hawser and chain on opposite sides of a stainless rod and snagged there. I carefully took the line out of the buoys and chain and hawser and made it all up again. Then I let it go.
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Kaimu began drifting with the last of the incoming tide and I slowly made my way in a large arc from the middle of the North River Marsh to the docks and the crane staging area. A large LCM landing craft, also called a Mike boat, that had to leave the staging area for me to pull in for the crane, wasn't moving. I was going as slowly as possible. I thought about how my deceased brother handled ships in close quarters as a harbor pilot. I had to move just fast enough to maintain steerage and even at that slow speed I had to make another circle out to where I had begun. The phone rang. The crane operator said the LCM had an engine problem and couldn't leave the staging area. They suggested I tie up at the floating dock. I smoothly nudged Kaimu up to the dock and they handled my dock lines. We were closer to being hauled out, but still not hauled out.
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Tom had arrived at the boatyard and we toured throughout the yard. He is very knowledgeable about sailing and boats, so it was entertaining for him. He is a chatty sort and we spent a lot of time talking to the yardbirds. Later we went shopping for pizza ingredients. Pizza night this week would be a pizza bake off between me and Tom. He is always bragging about his pizza. Now we'll see.
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The image is from saatchiart.com and is titled Pizza Tank by Will Depaula of the US. It is not for sale.