Thursday

Grumpy showed up.  Grumpy showed up late.

Grumpy had been trying to teach Royal the word NO all day.  Apparently the rest of the family has a different method than using that word.    Also his in-laws are living with him for the next two months.  It was mentioned that they and Carol are now DEAF.

Laura showed up and was fussy about the big winds and no ice.  We called Grumpy to bring ice and he said who cares and hung up on us.  He didn’t bring ice.  Laura went on a hunt and handled the ice.  The beer would be cold at the finish.

Grumpy asked ME what I wanted him to do.  Grumpy - “you used your name to sign up”.   To my defense -  I called him twice a week and I wasn’t sure he wanted to get on a boat for a while.  I was going racing.  I didn’t know the rule about who is the skipper if the skipper races none of the races. 

Grumpy - “Do you want me to do foredeck or something?”  I assured him I wanted the best driver on the boat to drive.

Later I learned he had put in the f’ing alternator by himself earlier.  5 damn bolts and all of them a bitch.

We watched Mattraw try to sail out and hit the outside of the finger and then blown back to The Deck. 

It took us a ½  hour to get the cars on the Jib.  ‘Someone’ had put them on the tack the first time.  The second time he was swearing so bad it took longer.

We couldn’t get enough speed up to get out going forward so we opted for the stern first maneuver.  All the way out - until we hit middle of the Columbia.  Engine only quit a few times.  It wasn’t pretty but watching guys like Maguro beat the shit out of themselves on the dock – well, it worked. 

Laura kept whining ‘we are not going to use the chute – right?’ – Grumpy agreed with her.  I set up for the chute and just mumbled.

At some point before the first race I sprang a serious leak and was spewing blood all over.  For some reason Laura doesn’t like blood or guys who suck blood off their fingers.

We found some tape and stopped the leak.

Phuriously Phast nailed the start.  He was awesome.  Scraped off Gwair and made them go around at the start mark.

Great first leg.

Grumpy said – let’s try the chute. 

I did a shitty job getting up the first time and a shittier job the second time but we ran it for two legs.  My bad on the takeups.

We finished down in the back.

Thursday, 2014 

Grumpy left the boat.  Freddy showed up out on the water.  That is why we sail.  You can leave the shit behind.  Fred was ready for the next start.

1:45 seconds to the start.  Freddy says – ‘Skippy pack the chute”  I knew better than to argue but I sure didn’t like it.  I sat there and said “I fucking hate this” for 1:35 seconds,  got it done and to the front of the boat. I mumbled the whole time.  Sometimes I feel like Stumpy in the movie Rio Bravo.   A John Wayne/Dean Martin film.  Can someone give me a little consideration some times?

Phuriously nailed the start again.  A little questionable on rights but who is counting?  Denny, you would have been horrified.  We left the fleet.  They went left we went right in a wind shift.

We were first to the mark.

I nailed the takeup.

Then another horrifying thing happened.  We left the fleet again.  Everyone went Oregon and we went Washington because of an accidental Jibe that we handled well.  A damn Ranger was in our wind so we went Washington more.  By this time Laura was chipping on Freddy a little.  My montra was – “we are committed.  Let’s go with it”.  Freddy drove great.  We were at the mark first.

Then the shit hit the fan the Fraculator was not cleared.  It tangled twice.  My bad.  I know to check those things.

Everyone later said that Freddy was banging his head and rolling his eyes.  But, he kept his mouth shut.  I was too busy to see him.

We muscled thru it and ended up as a 2.  I think we were 1 but Huseby put the Stink Eye on the committee boat and they folded like a Catholic Virgin.

The cold beers that Laura got us were the best ever.  Do you think that Sandy and Laura could handle a polygamous marriage?

Freddy bought me a martini afterward.  First one I had in a month and life was good.

Denny, I miss you too.  Come home soon. 

Katy says hi – I gave her your quote - they threw a bunch of Cal20 guys out on Thursday and it might be a game killer at The Deck.  We were  late.

Laura, thanks for everything.  You’re awesome.