Not noticed–blending in–perhaps incognito. That’s what I’d like to be. Traveling with Mahdee is NOT the way to be low profile. Driving Buttercup doesn’t help either.
Category Archives: Musings
Blogging
I began blogging in 2006 because I didn’t want to forget. I wanted to document the process of rebuilding our 1931 schooner Mahdee. I suspected it was going to both be a frightful and a wonderful project—and it was. At first I put up a website with lots of photos of various projects in play, then a blog with more words and less in the way of photographs. We started out password protected so only those of you who could be bothered with registering and remembering a password would come and see what we had to say about life’s happenings while rebuilding Mahdee. We relaunched the boat and then decided to open up the blog to the world. Still shy, we’ve kept the script in place which precludes search engines from indexing the site. That’s fine with David and me. Low profile. Good for now.
I’m in the process of reviewing the blog and deciding what to do with it. Though we have many, many interior projects to do and lots of sailing adventures to enjoy, we don’t have boat project after boat project to discuss day after day on the blog. Weird little stories about finding Irish Felt, uses for beeswax, and the sweet smell of wood…less and less of those stories unfolding each day. We’re still living aboard Mahdee and finding life aboard a 1931 schooner to be perfect for us.
We’re now nested into a little harbor in the San Francisco Bay area for the winter. With Mahdee’s big projects completed and only little ones ongoing, we’re restless for something new and challenging. David and I briefly entertained the idea of sailing off to far away and exotic places and then said “nah, now is not the time.” Now is the time for new challenges in other areas of life. We have neglected interests and hobbies as well as professional growth as we focused on Mahdee’s many needs. Now, we’ve begun to resume the fun hobbies of our pre-Mahdee life as well as to get back into the swing of the working world. So, it looks like 2012 will be a life on a 1931 schooner with a modern twist. It will be fun to blog about our happenings. Yes, there will still be stories about beeswax and boat projects. Whether anyone enjoys reading about the next phase—I don’t know. But I began blogging in 2006 because I didn’t want to forget.
Moments
The other night, we watched a PBS special about the naturalist John Muir. In my 20’s, while hiking and back country skiing the Sierras, I loved reading Muir’s writings about experiencing nature in the mountains of the Sierra Nevada. Muir was inspired by what he saw and he was a knowledgeable naturalist.
Rain, sunshine, fog, or even in the black of night, this nautical world aboard Mahdee is full of awe-inspiring moments in which I realize we really know pitifully few facts about the natural world that surrounds us.
It’s the same conversation at sea, at anchor, or at the dock…
Did you see that bird? What is it?
There’s that seal again. Was it a harbor seal?
Look at the sunshine glistening on the water. I think that’s a whale.
I think that one is a great white shark. It’s white. It’s a shark. Therefore…?
That sea otter looks comfy in that bed of kelp, doesn’t he? What’s he eating?
Look at the moon glow on the water. Um, that reminds me…what’s a neap tide?
Those thunderheads are magnificent. I hope there’s no lightening.
Those tidal swirls are really pretty, aren’t they?
It’s so calm—the water is like a mirror.
Those waves are amazing. When did we last check the weather?
Come look at this hawk soaring. That IS a hawk, right?
That one must be a great white heron—do they come in white?
See the little fish hiding under the keel? We must need to clean the bottom again.
The fog is peaceful today.
A few things only happen attached to land…
Look! there’s a humming bird buzzing the cut flowers in the cockpit vase!
And a few only at sea…
It’s so black—there’s only the sound of wind, canvas, and water.
No, I don’t know much, technically, about what’s happening all around me—but I am really enjoying it.
