Climbing the Mast

Today is Saturday the 17^th St.Patty’s Day. Jim and I went to the dock to get some work done. Marsh harbor has completed their work on the East Coast Lady, put the boat back in the water and been paid, so our time at the dock is now limited. I made a deal that we would let them do the work if we could do some work at the dock that might take a week or two.  They agreed. This has created a sense of urgency with the other repairs needed to get the lady ready for her maiden voyage. I had a big list of stuff that I needed to do. Jim had some idea of what he was going to work on as well. As we approached the boat I noticed this nice couple I hadn’t seen around before. I introduced myself and they told us how they happened into the marina. They were headed back to their home port up north when they picked up a crab-pot in the Beaufort River while off the coast of Parris Island marine boot camp. This crab-pot fouled their engine and they were stranded till the diesel engine they ordered shows next week. I told them the story of the East Coast Lady and how much we had to do. I started explaining how I tried to run a new main halyard with a tag line and got the tracer line stuck between the sheave and the mast. “I will go up if you want. I always get asked back home for friends”, he said. So I said sure, cause I have never been up there and would not know what to do if I were to get up there somehow. So this guy spent the next three and half hours trying to get this problem fixed. Fantastic couple these two. They were living the dream I have been dreaming for years. They have been out for six months. Imagine six months on the water away from your home. They have a great story to tell. Anyway I invited them to our neighborhood block party and they accepted. We had some more time to get to know them and hear of their cruising life style. I spent the whole day helping him from the deck of the boat while he was aloft. Jim, on the other had been making great headway below. He pulled out the fresh water pump for rebuilding. He pulled the emergency manual bilge for rebuilding. He fixed the electric bilge float. He flushed out the boat like 6 times trying to clean out the bilge. It is a tough stinky job. I will post again on Sunday if I can. Here is a photo of my new best buddy in the whole world. Thanks again for the help.