Hull YC MA: Thur 24 Jun – Clear and Windy, Punchy Skies, SW 15 – 18

Awake at 0430 trying to determine how to employ my time until 0800 when the launch runs and we go ashore for showers, an online fix, and human contact. Before we can determine these imponderables, it’s 0915 and another 4.75 hours have vanished into the “Do More Silly Boat Stuff” cavern. This happens every morning except Sundays during Lent.

John is working the early launch shift. He just turned 73, tells me he feels 15, and proudly mentions that his son is running his own fishing boat (Mass lobster, not Maine!). Since I am 67 going on 12 and clearly the junior crew member, I do not argue with his suggestions. John grew up in Compton RI and his father once cut ice in winter for shipment to the Big Cities. He was familiar with the area near Westerly where my father’s friend Jake lived and where I spent many a summer day getting addicted to and instructed by, the water.

After what seems a long time I am released from laptop prison and return to the boat and the wind. Things could be, and likely soon will be, worse.