No More Chirps in Boatyard Purgatory
For a week after Poe died, it felt strange when I’d return to Swell–no more chirping, no more fishy stink, and no more fuzzy head popping up? Instead I found only piles of progress-less projects staring at me. Despite grinding off the recent epoxy job and making a more precisely-fitting steel washer, the ‘extracteur’ continued […]
Extracteuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuur!!! Say it with a french accent…it’s kinda fun.
So…I carried the broken parts back across the yard. Everyone looked over at me curiously. “Extracteur!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” I yelled. They just wrinkled their foreheads and went back to whatever they were doing…I’m like a bad rash around …impossible to get rid of… So next, Make the washer out of a thick piece of steel. Reinforce and […]
The ‘VIP yard’
After a weekend spent indulging in the rare angle of wave energy produced by the latest cyclone that turned southwest, I busily made the final preparations for Laurent, the yard’s in-house glasser, to get started cutting away the shaft log the following morning. The week prior, the mechanic had helped me remove my transmission, to […]
NISHA Fizzles, OLI bites
“There is only room on the back lot of the yard,” Karin said. “And Nisha has been downgraded. Are you sure you want to haul out now?” “Yes.” I replied. “I’m here, so let’s just do it.” The crew hauled Swell and transported her to the back of the yard near the street. …Nisha passed […]
“5 Squalls from the Northeeeeeeeeeeast! 4 Tahitian Roosters, 3 Frenchmen in Speedos, 2 Wrong Motor Mounts…and the Jimmy Buffett Christmas Album on Repeat!!” (sung to 12 Days of Xmas tune)
“Melekalikimaka is the thiiiiiiing to saaaaaaaay, on a bright Hawaiian Christmas day…” Jimmy Buffett’s voice was carried off into the gusty NE winds. It was a longstanding tradition in the Clark household on Christmas, that the Jimmy Buffett Christmas album was played over and over until we all hated every song enough not to want […]
Holiday Madness: Island Mamis in Mumus
Despite that I miss my family during the holidays, I certainly don’t miss the consumer madness that shrouds that of year in the U.S. My gift gathering was limited to one trip to town and as many gifts for the kids I know around the boatyard that I could fit in my bike basket. But […]
Back to the Blue(s) :(
The next morning, alone aboard Swell again, I happily sorted and sifted the towering piles in an effort to restore livability and order to my sacred little space. “Hmm…that’s odd…I could have sworn that box of tea wasn’t munched yesterday?” More clues followed to conclude that there was yet another rodent aboard. I sighed and […]
Back to the Blue!
Once the blue bottom paint made it to the island, I slapped on one coat all over and finished up the final touches to make her ready to launch again. Friend Jesse Horton, who I hadn’t seen since the submarine ride at Cocos Island, happened through the area on business the day Swell was ready […]
Ah, Rats!
Happy New Year!!! Still catching up… The rat battle wasn’t won easily. Each morning I’d arrive to Swell to find a new trail of munched and pooped on items. I imagined them at night, passing the cashew bait they’d stolen off the trap, kicking back on my pillows, chuckling and reminiscing about the good ol […]
