Friday, January 30, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Make ready for the Chesapeake: May 1-4
'tis Stuckie here,
Make ready, kiss your wenches a fair-de-well!
The ships sails to destinations ripe for plundering on May 1.
On April 30, the crew will wrestle for hammock selection aboard Selene.
Selene is a might longer and with more beam than any other vessel that this spirited crew has mastered before. Yes, but the crew will be ready.
Provisions will be acquired by various "legal" means.
The provisions list will be sent out in the next few weeks.
Perhaps some crew could lend a hand?
NO STINKING LIGHT beer was the call last year. And so, it will be. Stuckie needs no mood of mutiny on his vessel.
~~~ ~~~~ ~~
I've placed a deposit on Selene.
Anybody hit the lottery recently?
AAaaaarrrgh! Three months more.
Check out my blog site!
http://www.georgesneighborhood.blogspot.com/
Sail on,
George
~~~~ /) ~~~~
~ ~~~ /) ~~~ ~
~~ ~~~ ~~
Make ready, kiss your wenches a fair-de-well!
The ships sails to destinations ripe for plundering on May 1.
On April 30, the crew will wrestle for hammock selection aboard Selene.
Selene is a might longer and with more beam than any other vessel that this spirited crew has mastered before. Yes, but the crew will be ready.
Provisions will be acquired by various "legal" means.
The provisions list will be sent out in the next few weeks.
Perhaps some crew could lend a hand?
NO STINKING LIGHT beer was the call last year. And so, it will be. Stuckie needs no mood of mutiny on his vessel.
~~~ ~~~~ ~~
I've placed a deposit on Selene.
Anybody hit the lottery recently?
AAaaaarrrgh! Three months more.
Check out my blog site!
http://www.georgesneighborhood.blogspot.com/
Sail on,
George
~~~~ /) ~~~~
~ ~~~ /) ~~~ ~
~~ ~~~ ~~
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Sailing the Chesapeake
The dates are firm for the annual cruise of the Chesapeake.
This year, we will venture south.
On Thursday night, April 30, the crew will arrive at Annapolis Bay Charters.
Our sailing journey will begin on May 1 and continue until Monday, May 4.
Friday: Annapolis to Cambridge
Saturday:Cambridge to Solomons
Sunday: Solomons to Herrington Harbour South
Monday return to Annapolis.
At this time, we have a crew of eight.
If the crew grows to ten, we will split the crew and rent two boats.
I've placed a verbal request to reserve Selene, a forty-five foot Jeanneau.
Stuckie
~~~/)~~~~
~~ ~~~ ~
This year, we will venture south.
On Thursday night, April 30, the crew will arrive at Annapolis Bay Charters.
Our sailing journey will begin on May 1 and continue until Monday, May 4.
Friday: Annapolis to Cambridge
Saturday:Cambridge to Solomons
Sunday: Solomons to Herrington Harbour South
Monday return to Annapolis.
At this time, we have a crew of eight.
If the crew grows to ten, we will split the crew and rent two boats.
I've placed a verbal request to reserve Selene, a forty-five foot Jeanneau.
Stuckie
~~~/)~~~~
~~ ~~~ ~
Monday, December 29, 2008
Christmas Experience: Victory over Sludge
There is no place like home for the holidays.
We had a wonderful Christmas week with all of the children and grandchildren visiting.
Kieran, Elodie, and Zoe were a delight.
Of course, no holiday would be complete without the plumbing emergency.
On Christmas Day, the already sluggish kitchen drain slowed down to a clog after I permitted some chopped Kale to slip by the strainer.
On Friday, opening the sink trap revealed a long lost silver butter knife.
While replacing the trap nut, the pipe crumbled in my hand.
It was apparent that all of the pipe work below the sink was in the same state of decay.
Off to the hardware store.
New replacement pipe, a pipe snake, and Liquid Plumer.
After re-assembly of the pipe and lots of plunging, no results.
Janie was preparing her Korean Dinner while I'm doing this.
Dinner was great just no place to wash dishes.
Janie sugested that I call a plumber; but, my DIY middle-age-man ego resisted.
Afterall, it was me verses sludge. How could I surrender.
Saturday was get serious day.
In the basement, there is a clean-out plug at the end of the twenty foot drain pipe.
I knew that this was the solution.
After clamping my adjustable wrench to a 6 foot pry bar using antenna "U" clamps, I was able to get it loose. After ramming a rod and then a 15 foot snake down the horizontal length of drain pipe, I was sure that "victory-over-sludge" was mine.
Now for the wet trial. Close everything up and run the water. The result was the same, still clogged.
Time to call a plumber? Ego aside, why not? John called his plumber friend, Hal. Hal recommended using a bladder thinggie. Off to Sears this time. They had no idea what I was talking about so, I bought a longer flat wire snake. These may work on larger pipes but it couldn't go around the tight turns in a 2 in pipe.
Once again stymied. After several failed snake probes, Alastair, my new consultant, and I decided to get a longer auger snake. We needed to get to the very end of the drain pipe. That would be about twenty feet.
This time back to Lowes. Just above the snakes was an assortment of the bladder devices that Hal talked about. We bought one. We also bought to a twenty-five foot auger snake.
These bladder things are really neat. It's like a 6 six inch ballon made of thick hard rubber. You place it on the end of your garden hose. Then, you insert it in the pipe and turn on the water. The water blows up the bladder and seals the pipe. At the end of the bladder is a hole that allows a stream of water to enter the sealed pipe. As the water enters, the pressure in the pipe increases as the clog resists. Eventually, the clogged pipe will reach 40- 60 psig. In our case, it was well before that when the clog blew out. To make sure, the pipe was clear, we removed the bladder and ran a full flow garden hose in the pipe. Clear! Clear! Clear! A plumbing miracle for $12.95.
The wet test was successful. A full sink drained in seconds. I just needed to clean up all of the black slit on the basement floor. Many thanks to Alastair for his support. John, thanks for calling Hal. Drew thanks for all of the plunger help on day one. Janie was right: call a plumber, even if it is just for advice.
Morals:
1) Get advice form someone with experience.
2) The right tool will do it every time.
Merry Christmas, plus tax.
We had a wonderful Christmas week with all of the children and grandchildren visiting.
Kieran, Elodie, and Zoe were a delight.
Of course, no holiday would be complete without the plumbing emergency.
On Christmas Day, the already sluggish kitchen drain slowed down to a clog after I permitted some chopped Kale to slip by the strainer.
On Friday, opening the sink trap revealed a long lost silver butter knife.
While replacing the trap nut, the pipe crumbled in my hand.
It was apparent that all of the pipe work below the sink was in the same state of decay.
Off to the hardware store.
New replacement pipe, a pipe snake, and Liquid Plumer.
After re-assembly of the pipe and lots of plunging, no results.
Janie was preparing her Korean Dinner while I'm doing this.
Dinner was great just no place to wash dishes.
Janie sugested that I call a plumber; but, my DIY middle-age-man ego resisted.
Afterall, it was me verses sludge. How could I surrender.
Saturday was get serious day.
In the basement, there is a clean-out plug at the end of the twenty foot drain pipe.
I knew that this was the solution.
After clamping my adjustable wrench to a 6 foot pry bar using antenna "U" clamps, I was able to get it loose. After ramming a rod and then a 15 foot snake down the horizontal length of drain pipe, I was sure that "victory-over-sludge" was mine.
Now for the wet trial. Close everything up and run the water. The result was the same, still clogged.
Time to call a plumber? Ego aside, why not? John called his plumber friend, Hal. Hal recommended using a bladder thinggie. Off to Sears this time. They had no idea what I was talking about so, I bought a longer flat wire snake. These may work on larger pipes but it couldn't go around the tight turns in a 2 in pipe.
Once again stymied. After several failed snake probes, Alastair, my new consultant, and I decided to get a longer auger snake. We needed to get to the very end of the drain pipe. That would be about twenty feet.
This time back to Lowes. Just above the snakes was an assortment of the bladder devices that Hal talked about. We bought one. We also bought to a twenty-five foot auger snake.
These bladder things are really neat. It's like a 6 six inch ballon made of thick hard rubber. You place it on the end of your garden hose. Then, you insert it in the pipe and turn on the water. The water blows up the bladder and seals the pipe. At the end of the bladder is a hole that allows a stream of water to enter the sealed pipe. As the water enters, the pressure in the pipe increases as the clog resists. Eventually, the clogged pipe will reach 40- 60 psig. In our case, it was well before that when the clog blew out. To make sure, the pipe was clear, we removed the bladder and ran a full flow garden hose in the pipe. Clear! Clear! Clear! A plumbing miracle for $12.95.
The wet test was successful. A full sink drained in seconds. I just needed to clean up all of the black slit on the basement floor. Many thanks to Alastair for his support. John, thanks for calling Hal. Drew thanks for all of the plunger help on day one. Janie was right: call a plumber, even if it is just for advice.
Morals:
1) Get advice form someone with experience.
2) The right tool will do it every time.
Merry Christmas, plus tax.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Results from Santee, October 2008
Money Detail Summary:
Scoring results
Scoring results Tournament Players:
It was an exceptional year.
Three things went well for me this year: the weather, the weather, and the weather.
I would like to tell you how much I enjoyed watching others winning my money; but, screw you.
Everything is listed in order of
Top money winners.
· Phil goes GREEN! Known as “wind mill”, Phil won stroke play on the last day to knock out Sal as money leader. That’s why he is the PHILMEISTER!
· Thom the newcomer takes a few bucks. Four greenies. But, we expect that from a low handicapper. Scramble leader.
· Glennie helps cover the high cost of New York living by overcoming his new handicap. Good show! Always a top three player.
· Did Sal choke on the last day? He was the “dog with the bone” all week. Someone has been taking lessons. Nice bone, by the way!
· Ray, the Official Champion, by winning match play in the first flight. Next year, match play will mean BIGGER money! No Greenies?
· Girts finally breaks even. Plus $16 dollars. Wow! Now he can bail out a bank.
Losers are next:
· Charlie: after last year, he still is positive on cash. Almost a break-even this year.
· Donnie: Looking good, just not winning the big bucks. Tied with Thom with four Greenies.
· Bill: In the pack, $18 dollars short on break-even. Get on the winning scramble team and your there.
· Chris, nice tan, a good week to absorb sun rays. Not a good week for winning big golf money.
· George, yes me. Truly a Suck-oh tournament. Next year, I go fishing with Bill. Got, lucky on the Scramble.
· Stu joins me in the basement. We are proud financiers of the tournament. Next year can’t come soon enough.
All things considered, the money winning was well balanced. 6 in the black; 6 in the red.
Everybody won at least half their money back.
I personally thought that the match play would widen the gap between winners and losers; but, it doesn’t appear to have.
The top six all played from about plus 2 to plus 3. So, better performers did win more money. OK, that’s the way it should be.
The next four were within 5-6 strokes of their handicap. Ok, too.
We won’t talk about the last two.
Greenies were spread around also.
The consensus is that match play was a good idea. More prize money next year for match-play? I like it!
Your comments are sometimes welcome. Email if you like. I just might reply.
All hail the Philmeister. He is our leader. Our guiding light. Our big money winner!
George, aka G-Man.
It was an exceptional year.
Three things went well for me this year: the weather, the weather, and the weather.
I would like to tell you how much I enjoyed watching others winning my money; but, screw you.
Everything is listed in order of
Top money winners.
· Phil goes GREEN! Known as “wind mill”, Phil won stroke play on the last day to knock out Sal as money leader. That’s why he is the PHILMEISTER!
· Thom the newcomer takes a few bucks. Four greenies. But, we expect that from a low handicapper. Scramble leader.
· Glennie helps cover the high cost of New York living by overcoming his new handicap. Good show! Always a top three player.
· Did Sal choke on the last day? He was the “dog with the bone” all week. Someone has been taking lessons. Nice bone, by the way!
· Ray, the Official Champion, by winning match play in the first flight. Next year, match play will mean BIGGER money! No Greenies?
· Girts finally breaks even. Plus $16 dollars. Wow! Now he can bail out a bank.
Losers are next:
· Charlie: after last year, he still is positive on cash. Almost a break-even this year.
· Donnie: Looking good, just not winning the big bucks. Tied with Thom with four Greenies.
· Bill: In the pack, $18 dollars short on break-even. Get on the winning scramble team and your there.
· Chris, nice tan, a good week to absorb sun rays. Not a good week for winning big golf money.
· George, yes me. Truly a Suck-oh tournament. Next year, I go fishing with Bill. Got, lucky on the Scramble.
· Stu joins me in the basement. We are proud financiers of the tournament. Next year can’t come soon enough.
All things considered, the money winning was well balanced. 6 in the black; 6 in the red.
Everybody won at least half their money back.
I personally thought that the match play would widen the gap between winners and losers; but, it doesn’t appear to have.
The top six all played from about plus 2 to plus 3. So, better performers did win more money. OK, that’s the way it should be.
The next four were within 5-6 strokes of their handicap. Ok, too.
We won’t talk about the last two.
Greenies were spread around also.
The consensus is that match play was a good idea. More prize money next year for match-play? I like it!
Your comments are sometimes welcome. Email if you like. I just might reply.
All hail the Philmeister. He is our leader. Our guiding light. Our big money winner!
George, aka G-Man.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Miracle on Alley 11
Tuesday, December 8, 2008.
It happened. Next to a hole-in-one, the only other sports once-in-a liftime event that I could experience, would be bowling a 300 game.
12 strikes in a row. 300! true, true.
Yes, I have lots of witnesses.
George
It happened. Next to a hole-in-one, the only other sports once-in-a liftime event that I could experience, would be bowling a 300 game.
12 strikes in a row. 300! true, true.
Yes, I have lots of witnesses.
George
Monday, December 15, 2008
Some photos from CatAway on the Carib1500
George goes shopping for dinner. (Second day of fishing.)
Fresh Mahi-Mahi !
Waiting for the weather to clear, CataAway at Hampton VA, Bluewater Marina.
Ken, the skipper, checks and lubricates the working rigging of the mast.
It's a lot higher that you first think. Ken is 6 feet tall. Use that as a gauge.
Fresh Mahi-Mahi !
Our fleet takes on the Navy's fleet. Day one out of Norfolk.
Waiting for the weather to clear, CataAway at Hampton VA, Bluewater Marina.
We were here from Wednesday evening until the following Friday.
Ken, the skipper, checks and lubricates the working rigging of the mast.
It's a lot higher that you first think. Ken is 6 feet tall. Use that as a gauge.
Ken at the top. No fear!
The Chesapeake late afternoon on Wednesday, on our way from Annapolis to Hampton, VA. Winds were 20-25 knots most of the day.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Departure Set
Never mind Paloma.
We will be leaving Hampton, VA on Friday, November 7.
At 11:00 AM, 45 boats will assemble for the start at Thimble Shoal.
This may be my last blog entry until the BVI's.
Stuckie,
~~~/)~~~
~~~ ~~~
We will be leaving Hampton, VA on Friday, November 7.
At 11:00 AM, 45 boats will assemble for the start at Thimble Shoal.
This may be my last blog entry until the BVI's.
Stuckie,
~~~/)~~~
~~~ ~~~
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Update, November 2, 2008
Nothing new to report. We still expect to depart on Thursday.
The delay has given us more time to tune-up the boat.
Water speed sensor replaced, stored Dingy outboard, tightened trampoline net, etc.
I even learned how to grease head pumps.
stand by, George
~~~/)~~~
~~~ ~~
The delay has given us more time to tune-up the boat.
Water speed sensor replaced, stored Dingy outboard, tightened trampoline net, etc.
I even learned how to grease head pumps.
stand by, George
~~~/)~~~
~~~ ~~
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Update November 1, 2008
Due to a LOW developing along the coast, our departure has been delayed until Thursday. The weather experts here expect the system to have passed to the north by that time. Unfortunately that means that we sit in Hampton, VA now, instead of the BVI's later.
George
~~~/)~~~
~~ ~
George
~~~/)~~~
~~ ~
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