Kaimusailing

My shoulders ache when I scrub the overhead on Sunsplash. It is an unexpected torture, I am doing the easiest job, following my usual order of work, the hard or offensive jobs get done last, the easiest jobs are done right away. Maybe not right away.
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To get anything done is rewarding no matter if it is a critical essential job or something like cleaning the overhead. They ask me, I thought you were going to haul the boat out and get the bottom scraped and painted. Yes, but I'm starting to realize I'm older now, no longer the boatworker hell bent on accomplishing everything by the end of the week, there is more to life, if you want to enjoy it.
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In about 6 weeks I will be at the same time of year as last year when I sailed down to Crisfield without an engine and needing all sorts of work done on the boat. If I can pick up then, in 6 weeks, where I left off, and accomplish more in the mean time, I can be happy with that. The hot humid weather makes us pace ourselves and it's better to work on the less strenuous jobs now, save the strenuous for cooler weather. That's my rationale.
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The life here in Crisfield is different and others have said they tell would be visitors, there's nothing here, and the reply is maybe that's a good thing. It's like Crisfield is in a time warp, still in the 50's, oblivious to the modern world. The modern world responds by coming to Crisfield. The weird thing is that people come here from Ocean City, and Ocean City is where the DC and Baltimore crowd go to get away.
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I notice the intersections are a little more busy, I can't count on riding through on the bike. It's also more brutal riding when it is hot and humid. The past couple of days I've taken refuge in the boater's lounge, a converted laundry room. It is air conditioned. I can get the Olympics on the flat screen tv. I spent a while watching the men's mountain bike race while laundry was in the real laundry room over by L dock.
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In spite of the heat I finished scrubbing the overhead in Sunsplash's cabin, scrubbed the remaining handrail, a central teak plank, not sure what it's there for, and the inside portion of the Dorade vent. After the scrubbing I masked it all off and applied the tung oil finish from Minwax. The handrail had been strangely pale blond on one end and I had bought some stain to match it with the rest. When it was wet with the scrubbing cleaner and rinsed with water, it was darker and matched the rest. I didn't stain it. After rubbing on the tung oil, it looks pretty good, ready for another coat.
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I rode to the store in the heat because I was almost out of water again. By the time I got back I was dehydrated and feeling weak. I stopped in the boater's lounge to watch some olympic sports. I went out again later to get more wine. I had a late lunch with ham and cheese and a glass of merlot. Then I put another coat of tung oil on the cabin teak.
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The marina's internet has been down for weeks, they said it would be fixed this week. Not today. So, my cell phone data which I never get near to exceeding was at the exceed point. I didn't dare use it. I finally dared to watch a video that my friend tom sent me, titled, "Sailing Fast". It put me over the do not exceed limit. I checked my phone account and I was into a 2 gigabyte additional add on data that I had bought some time ago under similar circumstances, but hadn't used, I was now using it. I sent him back a video from YouTube, a race against 3 fast boats, a Moth, a 49'er, and a kitesurfer. Very fast. I can't sail any of those.
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I took the masking tape off the port handrail in the cabin, off the inside teak plate of the Dorade vent, and off the plank running down the center of the overhead. No seepage of tung oil under the tape. The teak looks great. The overhead looks great.
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The next day the weather was nice but humid again and I was OK until I started to do anything. I scrubbed the interior part of the companionway and a couple of the hatches of the engine compartment. These are like trapdoors attached to the base of the galley island cabinet, under which the engine lives. They were removed during engine work to gain further access to it. They were dark and after cleaning with Awesome cleaner and scrubbing, drying, got a coating of tung oil finish. After a second coat they looked warm and reddish, like mahogany. They are teak of course, and there is a lot more teak in the cabin.
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I had started a while ago on the galley sink counter, only doing one end. I cleared the counter off, throwing everything in a bin, then recleaned it all with Awesome cleaner, sponged off the grubby mess after scrubbing with a brush and a scotchbrite pad. After letting it dry it got a coat of tung oil, then later a second coat.
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I had to run to the store the next day for water and groceries. I was dehydrated. I won't drink the dock water, maybe if it's boiled for coffee. On the way back I ducked into the boater's lounge, the converted laundry room, air conditioned, and watched the US Women's National Team tie the Netherlands in a soccer match, then win in a penalty kick shootout to go on their way to the semifinals. I consumed a pint bottle of water.
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Back aboard Sunsplash I found I only had a small amount of wine left, I went out and purchased another box of wine. I returned to the boater's lounge and watched golf. It wasn't that great but it was cool in there. I ended up taking my laptop computer to the Red Shell Shanty at opening time, 4 pm. I remember they had a wifi password on the wall behind the bar, what wifi is that? The marina's wifi has been out of commission for weeks and I don't have unlimited data on my phone, only 25 gigs. I had hit that limit. It turned out the Shanty's wifi didn't have a name identifying it other than a generic Spectrum name, along with ten or so other Spectrum wifi networks. I was able to log on and the signal was very good. Yay!
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I was the only customer at the bar and had, of course, an Orange Crush, and ordered, instead of chicken wings, chicken strips, specified Buffalo wing sauce. The bar said she hated when business was slow, I said, it won't be slow. CM's mom said she would be here after a glass of wine at the gift shop. The shop owner was coming into the bistro. Then her male friend came in. More people came in, and they all left to eat and drink outside in the heat.
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I consumed my chicken strips with Buffalo sauce. The chef, also named Andy, was going by and I said, put this on the menu with some blue cheese and julienned celery, hey that's a good idea, he said. They took my empties away, I had another Orange Crush and went out to join the group out there. "They would get pissed off if I didn't go out there to piss them off". The bar just looked at me.
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The same old crowd assembled, some out of cars that just pulled in. Eve, the artist, and her friend, CM's mom, and a fellow that I can't name, all had come from drinking champagne at one of the shops, a weekly happy hour, and going to a new crab place, but too packed, both in parking and inside. Here they let loose.
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I continue to be introduced as 'He lives on a boat here in the marina". The conversation vacillates between going to the new crab place or going to the old Cap'n Tylers, now the Fisherman's Grille. Unnamed male fellow says no way to the grille. We retreat to a table more out of the descending sun. Flies arrive in droves. We try to cover our drinks and food with napkins, then have to cover the napkins with various utensils. A breeze periodically comes in and blows things around. Food is ordered.
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The sun gets lower. I pay my bill and CM's mom's while inside ordering another Orange Crush. I want to go out and do something. I return to the outside table which has been mostly cleared. The conversation argues on and on about hair care products. Deaf male fellow either can't follow it, or doesn't want to. Then they start talking about their dogs and dog poop. The sun is almost setting, I say goodbye and head off to the City Dock on my bike. When I return they are all gone.
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We had agreed to have a pork loin roast dinner at Eve's house the next day. CM had said she might stay in Baltimore this weekend. Wish she was here. I brought a box of Pinot Grigio to Eve's house. She had her new grill ready and had basically two pork loin roasts wrapped in bacon and a slew of veggies in aluminum foil in the grill. She had her wonderful jalapeno poppers in the oven in her kitchen. The unnamed fellow was here and another artist showed up. The CM's mom arrived with a huge surprise, it was Cornelia Marie in a blue pattern dress with her hair done up. She made an impact.
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I had brought enough wine for the dinner party, but everyone else did too. Eve had a paying guest who joined us and helped with some of the table chores. She got her money's worth. Great dinner, well oiled conversation.
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The image is of one of the newly oiled doors.