Wednesday Storm?
14 July 2021 | Somers Cove, Crisfield, MD
Cap'n Chef Andy | Storm
We got together for another boat ride at Cornelia Marie’s mom’s house on the water near the Small Boat Harbor. Eve, the artist, and her black lab dog were there and her dog and Nori the wonder dog began playing, loudly. It was hot and humid outside and there was a sense that everyone wanted to stay inside. We had a vague idea of steak and salad dinner, but it was too early for that. Eve and CM took the lab to stay at home and they also were picking up ingredients for a special drink.
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It turned out the drink is called Cranberry Moscow Mule. It had cranberry juice as well as cranberries, muddled mint, vodka, ginger beer, and other ingredients. It is shaken over ice. Very unique flavor. We sat in two groups, the ladies at the kitchen island and Buster and I at the dining table. The ladies were chatting away, Buster and I were mostly silent. Eventually it was time to prepare dinner. I was allowed to operate the timer for the minute steaks. The steaks were fried a bit, then sliced into bite sized chunks after resting. The salad included tomatoes from CM’s garden and a homemade blue cheese dressing.
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As it cooled outside later and the sun dropped lower we went out on the dock. CM got into the skiff and someone asked if she was going to start the engine. She dropped the engine from itsa tilted position and pull started it. I had one of the bow lines off and grabbed the other. We offered to take anyone out for a quick ride, but no one wanted to go. The stern lines came off and then the spring line. As we started out from the dock I could see Nori looking anxious on the dock. A short distance away is a floating dock, and I waved back to the group on the dock. Nori took off when I waved and raced down the dock onto the floating dock. CM swung around and Nori leapt on board. We headed West directly out of the Small Boat Harbor entrance toward the setting sun. It was breezy and after a short run we turned back. Nori jumped off at the floating dock and we returned to CM’s mom’s dock and tied up.
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It was the end of a fun weekend. Can’t expect one like that again, but maybe. The forecast was for a hot week. No Thursday storm.
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It was hot aboard Sunsplash. I needed to reorganize my a/c in the quarter berth, the plastic panel I had taped up had fallen down. I also had to repair a canopy inherited from the previous owners. It is a rectangle with 3 crosstubes of PVC, one at each end and one in the middle. One of the crosstubes was missing and its pocket, kind of like a batten pocket, was ripped open along a seam.
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I got the Singer 4423 sewing machine out and set it up. I had it on board to make a dodger. After some trial and error I sewed the seam back together. I had purchased a PVC pipe to replace the crosstube. I think the canopy was designed to sit on top the boom and shade the cockpit. I turned it 180 to have it shade the cabin top. All this work was making me a sweaty mess. I was out of water.
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I rode to the grocers and got water, steaks, spinach/spring mix greens, a bottle of balsamic vinegar, a box of Good Seasons Italian dressing mix, and more packing tape. When I returned I drank a pint water bottle just like that. I was dehydrated.
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I was out of salad dressing and I had an empty bottle from Food Lion Balsamic Vinegrette. I like to make my own dressing using a packet of Good Seasons, a cup of olive oil, and a cup of balsamic vinegar. I rested before setting out again for some wine to go with the steak salad.
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When it is hot it is not unpleasant to go for a bike ride. You need water or some like a drink of water/fruit juice, 50/50. Riding along creates a breeze on your face, just keep drinking water. When I stop I feel really hot. Can’t ride forever.
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One respite from the heat is to duck into the boater’s lounge, the laundry room that now has no laundry machines but does have a flat screen TV, coffee table, and sofa, and is air conditioned. The Tour de France is on almost every day, ending before noon, and if we are suffering from the heat, look at what these young bike riders are doing. At least they get paid for it. Today was Bastille Day and two French cyclists were trying to win, they rode out to a good sized lead. The commentators said, correctly, that it would be unlikely for them to win. It was a brutal climb up the Col du Portet, how could anyone catch them. As it played out, three riders were strong enough to erase the leaders and leave everyone else way behind. And these were the contenders, Tadej Podocar, leading the tour in the yellow jersey, Vingegaard, had to look up how to spell his name, wearing the white jersey of the best young rider, but he was only wearing it because Podocar had the yellow, Podocar holds both the yellow and white jerseys, and thirdly was Richard Carapaz, a climber riding for the Ineos team, which has had a disastrous tour, losing their main contenders. Unbelievably these three rode up a 10 percent grade trying to shake each other off, accelerating as much as they could, then looking back and the others are still there. Carapaz wasn’t taking the lead very much, he was using the others to lead him out. Disgraceful. Then he jumped ahead as if he would drop them behind. But Podocar and V. kept up, and in the end Podocar accelerated and sprinted to the top of the climb, to the end of the stage, riding in yellow, leader of the tour, putting time between him and eveyone else. He has more than a 5 minute lead going into the last stages of the race.
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After watching boring bike racing for about an hour I did the other tasks, then the ride to the store, and now I am sitting in the cabin with a fan on me, a lot like being in the boatyard in Georgia. The way to get anything done is to work for a bit, then rest for a longer time, 15 minutes or more, cool off a bit, if you can, then do some more work.
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Felt like maybe I needed to eat, late afternoon, no lunch, which is normal, steak in the fridge, 50/50 spinach/spring mix in the fridge. Did a few tasks in the humidity. Started the Coleman Camp Grill, $82 at Walmart, steaks were not on sale, but only $11 for a couple of good looking NY strips, one on the grill, ground pepper and garlic powder, sizzling, timer set for 2:30, wine decanted into the 900 ml carafe. Newly made dressing shaken again, poured over the greens, not too much. Flip steak, forgot to season the other side, kill the grill with 15 seconds left, let it rest, still sizzling a little. Finally, just take off that little end of the steak that is not connected to the rest, a little sizzling morsel. Yum.
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Work on the steak and salad. I am devouring it. Just like I guzzled water before. Now some wine, goes well with all that. Needed it. Watching the highlights of today’s Tour de France stage. Finished late lunch, early dinner. Looks dark out there to the West. Then the wind starts howling. Well, this was not in the forecast, wind really picking up. Go up on deck, take a few photos with the Galaxy phone. Run forward to tie down loose canopy, flapping around like crazy. Notice the canopy is a mess. Middle crosstube missing. Wind hitting us, whitecaps in the marina. Work my way around the boat. I know this is the time to assess. What is happening? Looks like a blast from the NW.
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Grab the boathook and start looking for the missing crosstube. It’s maybe $2.95 of PVC, but don’t want to go shopping for it. The wind is blowing across the dock at 45 degrees from left to right as I walk toward land. I then turn right and on my way to the next dock see the crosstube floating next to a motor yacht. It is moving away. I don’t run, but get there to pull it up with the boathook. There are a few drops of rain. I wouldn’t mind being drenched right now, sweaty and hot.
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On the way back with the crosstube and the boathook, a fellow comes down to K dock to check his boat. He is young, his boat is really nice, a workboat with “John 3:16” on the bow. We talk and he says, have a good one cap’n, just the same for you.
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Back on board. Take a photo of the storm setting sun. Maybe no Thursday storm to set off a great weekend, but a Wednesday storm will do just as well. The photo is of the sunset, the storm is still in progress.