Why Knot Swims Tomorrow

The mast head stuff is all installed and now we are waiting for the Pro Furl.  It was supposed to be here last Friday,   In keeping with the normal boating karma something has to delay even the best plans.  It is now supposed to be here tomorrow.  So far, the yard has exceeded our expectations.  As a result, we have asked them to do some additional stuff like dressing out some dings in the keel which were showing rust in weird places.  I know you are thinking said places are on the bottom of the keel but that is not so.  They were in places not normally exposed to stuff in the water.  Most of the time one would ignore small spots on a cast iron keel but Why Knot has been through enough to deserve a bit of a pedicure for a warm fuzzy. 

Today, a Katrina boat arrived in the yard.  Yes, they are still being repaired.  This one has had two owners since she was found on a city street in Mississippi.  The major hit was to her keel where the aft part was bent about 45 degrees.  That must have made steering fairly lively. 

WK goes back in the water tomorrow.  That means we are out of the hotel and back to the liquid world of short showers, small spaces and wonderful night's sleep aboard a rocking platform.  We must re-provision since all of Bear's wonderful provision went south during the time WK was unplugged.  A jar of cherry NyQuil spilled in the forward head and at first glance, looked like blood.  It ran out of the cabinet, down the bulkhead and into the shower sump.  Wow, that was an instant shocker.  It looked like someone slaughtered something in there.  The thing is that we cannot get all of out of the boat until she swims and is level. 

Another couple we met in the yard will go back in the water before the end of the week and they are heading the same direction, only faster.  He is 77 years old and actually soloed the Pacific in a Tayana 37.  Before that as a Naval Officer, he had a very interesting billet (duty).  He was a Destroyer Escort Captain whose mission was to visit South Pacific islands previously occupied by Japanese during WWII.  They were tasked to survey the islands for active Japanese soldiers.  They actually found combatants long after the war. 
I got very little done aboard today due to several conversations with other victims, workers and dumb  _sses like me.  It is actually therapeutic to be amongst others with dinged boats.

As she now stands, her shiny new mast, rigging  and bow rail have made it possible to approach Bristol if the crew is willing to do their part.  We are most excited about getting back underway again.  Yesterday, we visited Biloxi, Mississippi to look at the harbor there.  We met the Harbor Master and the renovated harbor.  Just now, they are recovered from Katrina. 

We hope to be underway on Saturday at the latest.  It is a bit of a curse to set sail on Fridays, particularly with bananas.