It was a beautiful day on the water yesterday.... hardly any wind, sunny & warm. Definition of this for our Florida friends: 69 degrees!
When Captain Lenny let us know he would be free to do more training I immediately started fretting knowing it would be “my turn” at being captain... piloting the boat! The night before I had a headache and in the morning tried to talk Walter into going without me. But I knew I had to do this even though most of the time Walter would be in command I would have to know what to do in an emergency. I actually thought Lenny might skip me taking the wheel but all hope was gone as he called me “Captain” when I boarded the boat. My stomach was now cramping!
I started off on the deck learning to undo lines for departure. Last time Captain Lenny had to stay on the bridge with Walter but this time he was on the deck with me. The main instruction was on the “spring line”.. a very important rope that is attached first when coming into your slip making the boat stay mid-slip while all the other lines are attached. I think I have finally learned the over or under deal on the lines.. they must be done UNDER the rail so as not to pull the rail... I know you are thinking, “well duh!” but when you are actually THERE (& your working with a 71 yr old brain!) it seems confusing....I made the mistake yet again but caught myself the second time and did it right. Hurray! And getting the lines off those piles was so much easier with the “boat hook”! Okay, WHERE was this wonderful gadget when I had to do this last time?????!!!!
First we did anchoring... on our trip we will be “On the hook” most every night so this is important to learn.... what a muddy job! The Neuse River has BLACK mud on the bottom. Prior to yesterday I had pictured myself in one of my many pairs of WHITE capri pants working on deck as we get under weigh.... I don't think so! My hands were black and pants got some mud also.
Once the anchor was down I had to tell Walter when to stop his backing up as the anchor set. There is a certain amount of rode (chain) that must be let out when anchoring over night so the boat will swing in the wind safely. We still need to tape or mark our rode. Having not brought the head sets we invested in we could not hear each other so I tried to do hang signals... seems I can't balance on deck with one hand in the air!.....I am beginning to think that this is like learning to roller skate but the rink floor is moving! It might be a good idea for me to wear a life jacket on deck ALL the time.
Then I was on the bridge when Walter leaves and throws a life jacket in the water yelling, “I have fallen over board!” He stays away and there I am left wondering what to do. I realize I will be in a panic if my husband really falls into the water but I was totally surprised to find out how easily this boat pilots! Captain Lenny was there to show me what to do first... cut the engines back to idle, kill the auto pilot and the thingamabob that slaves both engines together so I can maneuver the boat using only the two gears. I turned the boat around... finding out it keeps moving if you over do this move!... In a panic I will probably be spinning the boat!! I got some practice redoing my turn... had to keep going to side window to see where the bright orange life jacket was located... but I managed to get to it and Walter was “saved”! WHEW!
Back at the dock we practiced getting into the slip without hitting the boat on the dock. Apparently most of the damage to boats happens during this time. Everyone is so nice at this marina... a neighbor was working on his boat and saw us and quickly came over to help us dock... but Lenny shooed him away telling him we needed to practice alone.. oh JOY! We did this several times and I now realize my back is going to hate the deck operations.... lots running aft & forward to grab lines.... lots of bending over to cleat the lines and PULLING them tight. Know any chiropractors that want to crew with us?
Capitan Lenny signed us off to solo next time..... good news and a bit scary but with practice we are hoping to get better and I do have more confidence now that we WILL get more proficient one day.
The neatest thing happened before we left the dock. I met a lady from TX who with her husband lives on a boat at our marina. They started doing the Loop last year but someone in the family got sick so they had to return to TX. They have a home there but stay on boat until January in New Bern and then will come back in the spring and may travel north with us. They came over to our boat just before we left and gave us a “boat card”. This is something a lot of Loopers do.. print up a business card with the name of their boat and info like their cell phones, blog address, etc. But this card was different.. it had a scripture reference on it! I immediately asked her if she knew the Lord... she shook her head yes. How exciting to meet two new friends who love the Lord! We will be getting together with them next week. They have 4 years experience on their boat and we are sure they can tell us many things that will make our adventure nicer.
