Working, Dining, Cooking and Sailing... slowly

This weekend I was ready and packed everything before work started on Thursday morning, allowing me to leave right after quitting time.  In turn, that enabled me to get down to Osprey Point in time for dinner at the Osprey Point Inn.  I had their "Porterhouse Style Chop" and it was incredible as usual.  On the way back to the boat I did a bit of iPhone photography seen above and below.

Later in the evening, I had my nightcap from my favorite flask (yes, I am now a smuggler, I guess).

Friday was a solid workday with some meetings crowding out my normal lunch run to the liquor store. (For some reason I get an adolescent thrill each time I say that... those in the know... well... know.)

It's been a while since I had the Samyang Fire Ramen, so I tried that for lunch.  

Oh... my... god.... 

Feeling returned to my mouth mid-afternoon.  

I like the taste of these - I think it's a characteristic of mouth feel... the fire blends well with a smoky/oily taste.  They're better than my staple (the Shin Ramen) spicy noodles... I just need to remember to only use part of the hot sauce.

After work, Maryanne stopped by and performed my VSC.  This is a service where volunteers from the US Coast Guard auxiliary or the Power Squadron stop by and check your safety systems (number of life jackets, fire extinguishers, distress signals), discuss and check required waste stickers and management plans, as well as discussing environmental issues.  

Of course the real benefit is getting the boat owner to do the checks themselves before the volunteer arrives.  (I discovered that I must have lost the tie down to one of the head discharges... I'm guessing when they winterized it.  I keep a variety of wire ties on-board, so this was quickly fixed.)

In the end everything was good.  (I also realized during the interview that I had not checked navigation lights.  I don't sail at night, so I never thought of it.  Fortunately all lit up.)  I received the coveted VSC sticker which when placed on the port side of the mast, is said to ward off evil spirits like patrol boats (encouraging them to bother other boaters).

I celebrated the VSC by going to Bay Wolf Restaurant, a local German/Austrian restaurant by the blinking light in town.  I had the french onion soup and a filet.  It was good... but I keep wanting this to be a better restaurant experience than it usually is.  

A lot of the restaurants in town are complaining that "nobody wants to work anymore", and that was the theme here... a very limited menu and no substitutions.  I think the owners were the waiter and waitress.  I don't want to get too much into politics, but maybe more owners serving as waiters and waitresses may be the key to breaking the stagnation of labor wages, encouraging more people to "want to work".

I returned in time to do a QC check on the other set of Adirondack chairs for a bit.

On Saturday morning, I filled the water tanks, made a mental note to see about another cleat on the dock (new thicker dock-lines are a mess now), and then I finally set sail.

As you can see, there was essentially zero wind.  OK, it averaged between 2 and 3 knots with occasional guests to 4.1 knots.  I did pull out the sails, but my top speed (SOG) was 1.3 knots.  That very well could have drift from the current.

One impressive feat I accomplished was I did a self-tack at 1.3 knots.  

It literally took 8 minutes, but after telling Otto to mark the new course, and thinking for sure I was stuck in irons, eventually (on sail power alone) I was pointed in the right direction and back up to 1 knot or so.

Zero wind on the water... 0.4 kts of speed in the lower right.

In the past week the temperature had changed and Saturday it climbed from the low 60s last week to the low 90s (reported to go higher on Sunday).  I crashed after getting back shortly after Noon.  I typically do not react well to heat the first time or two each season.

After a lot of water and a long nap in the AC, I decided it was my turn to cook.  I used our new Instant Pot to prepare steak (sear setting) and mushrooms and nuked some stir fry vegetables.

It was a nice dinner as the sun set.

After cleaning up from cooking, I went out to the cockpit and just sat back and watched the boats pass on their return from sunset cruises.

I realized that sitting in the cockpit, feeling a gentle breeze blow by, saying hello to passers by felt a lot like doing the same thing from my old front porch with Dad.  Of course the scenery has changed, but that relaxed summer evening lazy feeling was wonderful - and nostalgic.

Sunday morning, I packed it in and headed home.  There was supposed to be decent wind - and also temps in the mid-90s, but I didn't want to push it and feel miserable for most of the week.  I also had a young friend coming over for help with her upcoming interview (something I've done for the younger whippersnappers for a while now).  A lot of people I know are seeking, searching, angling, maybe even just dreaming about new positions.  It's going to be an interesting summer.