Salt Life

 I really do have salt water running through my veins.  There is no where that I feel more comfortable than in a sailboat on salt water.  It smells good, it feels good.  The salt water spray, sun on my skin, wind blowing.  Amazing. 

The kid had a long weekend, so we loaded up and headed to the coast.   Arriving Friday evening, we settled in and waited for Saturday morning to roll around.   The wife woke up with a headache, so the kid and I reluctantly headed out the door without her. 

We drove out to the Isle of Palms Marina to set the sailboat up and go for a sail.  This was the first time that we had launched from the marina so it was a new experience but everything worked out great.  We paid the launch and slip fee and were able to not only launch the boat every day, but we trailered the boat and left it at the marina.  Super convenient. 

 The downside was that we were pretty far from the Charleston Harbor, it would be a full day trip to get there and back.  Not out of the question, but I don't think the wife and kid want to be out there that long.  One day maybe. 

We launched the boat and headed up the Intercoastal Waterway.  Lots of other boats around, sailing yachts, fishing boats, the Dewees Island Ferry.  We had to motor the first 15 minutes before raising the sails because we were heading straight into the wind.  After getting under sail we tacked up into the opening of Dewees Inlet and closer to the private island.  All of a  sudden we started seeing dolphins.  They seemed to be swimming and feeding all over the inlet. 

We tacked back and forth a couple of times before heading back the the marina.   The ride back was amazing.  Running from the wind which was blowing about 15 mph at this point, we picked up some speed and were skimming across the water.  The kid was having a blast, which was a very successful breakthrough. 

 On Sunday, we headed to the Patriot's Point memrial/battleship tour.  We had promised to take the kid there.  My advice, if you are thinking about visiting is, don't.   We ended up walking around for about 5 hrs, looking at the inside of ships.... painfully boring.  Spare yourself the agony and spend the money on some crab legs.   (don't get me wrong, I respect the armed forces and the men and women who have died and who still fight for our freedom.  But, I can think of better ways to show my respect that to walk around looking at bunks, galleys and heads...) 

The day was saved when we finally headed back to the marina and hoisted the sails.  With the wife aboard this time, we again headed out to Dewees Inlet to look for more dolphins.  We were rewarded and sat in amazement, watching the sleek creatures surface withing 10 feet of the boat. 

 Monday, we were back on the water.   The wind whipped up to 25+mph, so we didn't even raise the sails, just motored around a little bit before packing up and heading towards our mountain home. 

 On the way out, we stopped at the beach to play around and ended up saving a bunch of starfish which were trapped in quickly draining tide pools.  We also found a sand dollar, some horseshoe crabs and sea urchins. 

I cannot wait to get back.  We need to find a little bit more affordable lodging though.  That would be awesome!

Slow Bloggin'

My blog has definitely slowed down quite a bit lately.   My life has changed though and I'm not sure you want to hear about it.  I started writing to talk about daily life and my adventures.  I still have daily life,  most of it pretty boring and my adventures have all but vanished.

Take today for instance.  I dropped the kid off at school before the sun had officially risen.  I went back home and ate a bagel (my go to breakfast) and coffee.  I went to The Bicycle Thrift Shop and worked on some bikes,  then went to Liberty Bikes to pick up some donated bikes and gear. 

After that, I went back to the shop to drop off the donations.  I then went to The Regeneration Station to check on the booth there.  Then I went to my office to work on e-mails etc. 

I squeezed in a 40 minute run, had some lunch, did some more boring office work.  I often stop around 2pm and realize that I am close to putting in an 8 hr work day.  But then remember that I still have another  8hrs to go before bed. 

I pick the kid up from school, do some yard work, take the family out to dinner for some pizza.  The wife heads to work her night shift, I take the kid to the park to play soccer.  We hang out at the park with a bunch of other neighborhood kids.

A quick stop at the Oakley Food Market ( livin' on the edge I know) for some ice cream.

Then back home for the bed time routine.  

And, that is why I'm not blogging much at this point. 

I hope that I will be having more adventures in the future and can entertain you some more! 

Sailin'

Got out to take a spin in the boat the other evening.  That boat is sweet.  I'm dreaming of a multi day coastal trip now..... 

There were several other club members out on the water enjoying the evening.   At least 3 of them tried to sail near me, in the same direction,  testing to see how their speed measured up to mine.   I out ran all of them!!  Sorta funny. 

Ridin'

I should probably consider riding more than once or twice per week if I am going to have any fitness by the time the stage race rolls around.  But, for now that can wait.  It was a long,slow ride up and over Beaucatcher, then up Elk Mtn.  But I did it, and I enjoyed being out. 

My running legs are definitely better than my riding legs at this point. But, if I remember correctly,  in the past, my running legs have transferred well to the bike.  Should be seamless when I start training again. 

For now?  I'm just ridin'.

O'day Daysailer Project

 One day this boat followed me home.  I couldn't turn it away.  I was attached to the Widgeon, but this boat was better suited to my growing family.  But, it needed a lot of work. I went to it.  Bleach, soap, scrub brush, sweat.  Took it out for a spin and found out that it leaked.

The hull was painted (for no good reason) with 3 coats of thick rust oleum like paint.  

 I trailered the boat and headed home.

 After some ingenious rigging with straps and ratchets, I got the 500 pound boat up on it's side and started sanding. 

The first coat went ok,  I had to buy a radial sander. 

 The second coat was a bit tougher and I was feeling discouraged.  I dove into the 3rd coat.

 I had started the process with 60 grit sandpaper and was working up to 2000 grit wet sanding.  5 different grits to finish it out.  But,  I wanted to make sure that I was going to end up with a good outcome so I finished up a little square.  Once I rinsed and dried it, I could see the reflection of sky and trees in the shine on the hull.  I got really excited.  

 I finally got it complete sanded down and polished up to a shine.  I removed the center board and found a big crack in the hull which I epoxied. 

Finally got it back down to the lake recently and out for a ride.  The Widgeon is fun to sail, but I'm going to enjoy this bigger faster boat.  The family is too.  Can't wait to get it down to Charleston!

Runnin'

I ran today.  Not enough space to carry a camera so you get no selfie. Right about an hour before getting to work. 

I went out to the shed on Saturday and started cleaning some stuff out.  I took a bunch of cycling clothes and part to The Bicycle Thrift Shop.  Kind of weird donating to myself.  I didn't take a tax credit for it, so I think its legit. 

I also pulled out some family "heirlooms".  

Lots of random stuff.  I'd like to find out what it is all worth, but don't know how to go about doing that.  It would be awesome if it were a small fortune, and I could pay off the house!   I'm not counting on it though.

Some of the stuff is made in France, Austria and Switzerland, while some is made in Japan..... Oh well,  back into the shed it goes.

I'm trying to figure out what is next.  My birthday is coming up and I always do some sort of adventure to celebrate.  I'd like to to the Art Loeb Trail but logistics are pretty tough for that one.   I also thought about running the Black Mtn Trail up to Mt Mitchell and back.  So many options.  I've only been riding about 1-2 times per week so a bike adventure does not look too good. 

I think I am finally seeing the light at the end of the funk tunnel,  that's exciting!

Fall Is Here

Here we go.  Fall is in the air, and I've been in a funk.  I'm not sure why.  I think it is a combination of lots of things and I'm plain worn out.  From the playground build last winter/spring, the busy summer and now the push to raise the funds for the swingset,  I realized that I have not had much time for myself and have not had many personal successes, as far as athletic endeavors, this year. 

I finished the stage race and that was great, then I finished ORAMM which was great too.  But,  I didn't get much else done.   Probably the least amount of events that I have done in a year, in a very long time. 

I didn't think I would miss it too much, but I do.  I love the specific training leading up to the event, then the actual event. 

I have accomplished a lot this year for the greater good, and that has been time and energy well spent.  I'm going to have to look for some more balance next year though. 

Balance is so important in every aspect.  

I've gotten back into trail running, as I often do this time of year.  I'll run for another month then start focusing on the bike again,  keeping running as an option for when the weather turns nasty!