Leftovers from a Brisk Day

A brisk day on the water!

It was almost cold enough for a jacket,more like early Spring.But the visability was unlimited with a light chop. Friday afternoon is my favorite time to get out on the water,light boat traffic is the norm. Scanning the docks,nooks & crannies can result in something I've never seen before.It's good to see the youngsters learning how to fish.With video games now entrentched into the youth of today, it's nice to see them getting outdoors getting some fresh air! Anyway...instead of spelling out captions for the photo's ,I'll let the pictures talk for themselves.

Always Ready !

Semper Paratus....Always Ready is the US Coast Guard's motto! Sometimes we take the Coast Guard for granted,we know they are here....ever present. Always a fixture in Gloucester harbor.Men & women from all parts of our country serving our country,city and state. They save lives,directly and indirectly pure and simple. Simple....maybe not exactly but always training in all weather for the call they hope never happens. But with humans being human and weather being what it is you know it's a matter of time for them to go to action. With the CG helo flying over my house about 30
minutes ago,I thought I'd bring out some photos of the Gloucester Coast Guard.

Dockside !

I forgot to clean the rails!And the never ending chore of owning a boat. Headed down to the boat with the intention of going for a short spin around the harbor.But with winds gusting over 30mph and cleaning chores yet to be done, it was a few hours at dockside cleaning and taking in the surroundings. Today I had my first visitors of the season,two white ducks! And saw a fixture in the harbor go by,the boat "Samay". Rigged for any marine creature, he goes out daily never leaving the confines of the harbor harvesting everything from stripers to lobsters.

I'm in !

Finally I wet the hull,the latest I've ever launched her. And I learned a lesson....Don't wait for the maple buds to open! Yesterday I cleaned her again and those damn buds made a mess again overnight! Anyhow she floated off the trailer with ease and she ran great. I was surprised how little smoke from last years gas there was. I did throw in some gas treatment when I winterized her and that probably helped. First turn of the key and it started right up. A short trip along the river and thru an open Blynman Bridge and a wave to the bridge tender and I was back in Gloucester Harbor.Thanks to my niece Kailey and her fiancee Seth who went along for the ride,they provided me a ride back to the boat ramp to pick up my truck & trailer.
No time for an excursion,they had dinner reservations,it was a direct ride to the dock.

Almost There!!

You can blame it on the weather and you can blame it on family commitments but this year it's been a bear trying to plan prep work and launching. I'm almost there,with one set-back. After I removed it's winter cover two weeks ago I washed the interior only to discover the maple tree above had deposited loads of buds making a mess inside! Back to scrubbing and washing this morning and all that stuff. Then after searching my home & shed for one roll of painters tape I thought I had, it was a trip to the Building Center for a roll. $9.95...OUCH!!!And I thought gas at $3.99 a gallon was bad!

The waterfront has lost a friend

Mark S. Williams author of F/V Blacksheep, a wonderful story of growing up on the Gloucester waterfront and his exploits lobstering has passed away.Here are a few pictures of his lobster boat F/V Blacksheep.