Those of you who remember the column from Bay and Delta Yachtsman will recall my usual cast of characters included the Divine Esther, among others. This is the continuing saga of life on board, uncensored and unedited. I hope you enjoy!

We got mightily hammered last weekend. The weather forecast was for wind, which means nothing to the residents of Oyster Cove, where the hurricane force winds blow from April through September. It’s not uncommon for our afternoon ‘breezes’ top 40 knots. So when the weatherman said it was going to be windy, we just ignored him. Those guys make far too much money to be wrong as often as they are anyway.

 

Gardening and boating don’t usually go hand in hand. However, on the 90th annual Opening Day on the Bay celebration, it was gardening that got me an invitation on board the Pacific Inter Club Yacht Association committee boat.

I have found that there are some crooked yacht brokers out there. You need to be very careful when you are selling your boat to select a broker who is reputable. We happened to run across the ‘other’ kind of broker this past weekend.

There are a couple of things I miss, living on a boat. A bathtub is number one on my list. I remember those days, pre-boat, when I could have a leisurely soak in a tub full of bubbles. While we were hauled last month, and staying at the Howard Johnson hotel in South City, I plunked my big self down into their miniscule excuse for a bath tub. Sweetie walked in and just laughed at the sight of me packed into that tub, like a quart trying to fit into a pint container.

We went over to Oyster Point on Saturday to top off the fuel tanks. Our old trawler is pretty thrifty on diesel, sipping only four gallons per hour at cruising speed. So far as power boats go, that’s not too bad. However, compared to our sailboat that only burned 1/3 per gallon per hour on a 25-horse power engine, it’s a greedy, guzzling hog! I love the comfort of the trawler and it’s a great ride up on the flying bridge, but what fun is it if you can’t afford to put fuel in the tanks?

We have been invaded by an uninvited guest. The "guest' is the most foul odor imaginable that is emanating from the carpet in the forward half of the boat. It is so bad that I am beginning to think it might be an alien life form that has taken up residence. To say that this entity is unwelcome is understating the emotion both Sweetie and I feel at its presence.

I tell people who are thinking about moving on board to bring the things they love and discard the rest. Who needs two blenders, unless, of course, you are my brother-in-law who makes the best blended drinks in the entire world. If you have family heirlooms that have been hiding in the closet, now is the time to bring them out and put them into service. I have been using our wedding china for the entire 20 + years we have been living on board and have only broken one plate, and that was because a guest offered to help with the dishes.