Time and busy winds moving quickly as Northeasters come in cycles. The winter winds have been wicked this past month. The boat remains at the wharf, vulnerable. We are hoping the winds leave her undamaged. So far, so good.  We are transitioning, hoping to have the engine back in the boat before Christmas, then the real work begins for Dave. He's already put new fuel tanks in. What a job. Thanks to Mike Winkler, Jon Salvador, Marcey's Oil, and Wesley Medieros, we are off to a good start.  RC Motors is completing the engine and we are hoping for a Christmas present, having the engine back in place will be wonderful. In the meantime we find surprises everywhere. Dave is using space from the previous tanks which were much larger, for the hydraulic tank, he's installing it now. We will be carrying 500 gallons of diesel fuel. Sometime in the coming year we are hoping to rig the boat with sails, but one thing at a time, engine first.  We need the engine for fishing, but perhaps we can use sails for transitioning, for efficiency. I know we both love to sail, so its something we are looking forward to trying.

Transitions, land and sea, can have strange effects on the body. The inner ear can give you sea-sickness. When everything is moving, the feeling can causes other types of illusions and body distortion. On a  trip last September from Martha's Vineyard to Provincetown I had an unusual experience, at least I wasn't fearful of the feelings that I felt that day. Now, I think I know why old sailors call the boat 'her', as if it were alive.  I was sitting on fish boxes watching and listening as the world pass under, above and beside me. I watched the water as it undulated, peaked, cupped, crested, and waved. The constant motion caused an optical illusions, for what else could I call it. When I looked from the sea to the railings, the wooden structure that caps the sides of the boat, the wood became alive. As I looked at the Richard & Arnold, I could see the wood in motion. The wood was moving, swirling, swinging like a body dancing. It appeared as if the molecules in the wood were moving together as part of the world. I watched what shouldn't be moving - move. Not like the whole boat was wobbling or that the vessel's structure was shaking, more like the planks that made up the boat were still alive. It has got to be one of the strangest experiences I've had while out on the water and I've had a few. The illusion was most likely optical, but perhaps it was my overactive imagination. Whatever the cause, she came alive to me.

The Richard & Arnold is waiting patiently. She's doing just fine.

Heading in the right direction

We're heading in the right direction again. After a couple of weeks of "Oh M,G. The doctor said what?" Not only has it been awfully cold, but we spent hours in the E.R. then an overnight in Boston hospital only to be told that once every 10 or so years they see someone like Dave. Can't explain it, but looks like you're going to live. Our medical event has put life and death in perspective and now we can get back to where we were before all this medical broo-ha began. Even with the bitter cold, the engine is back in the boat. Shelves have been built, fuel tanks installed, batteries in place, hydraulic tank in place. Now fuel lines, hydraulic lines, and about a million other things and then the boat will be moving on her own again. I know for a fact that this will be the last in a long line of updates and overhauls to our dear Richard & Arnold. The new wheelhouse seems much bigger, although it is only six inches bigger on each side. I wish I could help out with the work, but Dave said I should just keep writing. He's doing all the work so that he can again go fishing this spring and summer to pay for next winter. In the fall we have plans for a trip south. It will be the reward for all the effort. I'm so proud of the work that's been done to the boat to preserve her. She's almost 90 years old and the way she's been maintained she'll last another 90 years. Hopefully she will have someone like Dave to take care of her. We are working to make it possible to take the boat on a trip. Heading south next fall to see friends and meet new ones. We have a goal, a destination and the willpower. I know I have at least one more adventure in me and I know Dave wants to have one winter when he won't have to shovel snow.
My latest book is just about done, I'm on the fourth rewrite. It has been professionally edited and now I move toward publication. I'll do the same as I did for "Nautical Twilight". I'm too old to wait for an agent or publisher to find me. I'll put it out there and hope for the best, just like we are doing with the boat.  Stay warm everyone, Fair winds and God Speed.
I am pasting part of the cover for the book, The Fishermen's Ball. Let me know what you think.