..."to the vagrant gypsy's life"... WHERED THE SUMMER GO?

Whered that come from?

My boat was a motor scow, it was one of those "lobstahboat conversions'. Wed goall over 9as long as the diesel money allowed

I sold it buy a drill rig for a series of projects and, we never rebought. We rented for several yers and then quit long vacations up in Maine.
Our friends sail boat is a Pierson (I believe that was the name). They bought it from another party and have had it for aboout 5 years. He keeps updating the electronics. If you havent sailed lately, the gizmos that are available today are just amazing.
If Columbus had one of the new gps and eather units, hed hve saild right up the Potomac and docked on Pa Avenue. Sat maps and photos with almost real time capabilities .

It's cause we like you.

Carry on, grumpy.

Im not grumpy Goddamit. I miss my boat.

OK, OK, get another boat (I say as if I think that is either wise or easy).
I've not been a boat captain but I've known a few.

There was my uncle Felix, my father's older brother, the one who got to stay in school when the mother got sick (diabetes, died a decade later) and managed her care.
I liked Felix, the few times I met him. After he was advised to leave the California bar and did (I checked) (he had worked with Dan O'Shea, probably something to do with Selznick), he took to sea, and captained the Hawaiian Farmer vessel.
He offered me a free trip, and I wanted to go, but my mother said no. They were all busy trying to keep me out of the convent around then.

My dad had a good friend who was captain of the/or one of the subs at the bikini bomb tests, Jim Roche. He joined the jesuits thereafter and manned a church in the hollywood area of LA, Blessed Sacrament, I think. George OB and I had a short talk about that; if I remember he didn't like him. I have my own reasons, but I don't mean to disregard him.

Both of my cousins, man and wife, are captains, lower level, which involved some stuff with the kids. Bossy people, but they seem to have worked out well.

My business partner's son worked his way up re tonnage. He's the one who when manning a boat with sporty types, quit.
Don't trust me, I don't know since I wasn't there.
But he couldn't stand that the owner let the passengers use baseball bats to swat tuna..

I was thinking how much I enjoyed reading your posts and then found that little gem from McTag. It summed it all up.

Ditto.

When I was on a boat in the Navy, we paid our own guy to plot navigation, while we had fun mopping the floors and dancing the hornpipe.

Well, today we leave for a few days of river riding with some friends as part of an organization that celebrates the "Batteaux" .These were river boats that were used to ply the Piedmont rivers of the Appalachian foothills in the colonial nd during the "canal" eras. A batteau is a long narrow poling boat with large cargo area (usually for barrels) and a hoop like dwelling area , which makes it look rather like a conestoga wagon on water.
These boats were pretty ;long (40 to over 80 ft) and, what makes em unique) they were keelless, so they could sorta just slink "caterpillar style " making their way over rocky shoals and shallow falls.
They were usually lashed together for the long quiet stretches and unlshed so they could slink over the fast water zones and falls.
Were going on a "Sojourn" down the Western Appalachian portion of the Potomac (The Rappahanock is still a bt high and loaded with standing waves)

These boats can take at least stage 3 river and short stretches of 4's
Were going to be on a 60 footer thats about 7 feet abeam.

Its supposed to rain on Tues so well see how wet and disgusted we get. There are a few portges with camp areas that have Adirondack shelters that we have been told are reserved for us .
We should be bck on Thurs. Im taking my tablet in a diving bag so I can take some pictures .They wont be great but theyll be something e can show here when we get back.
Its NOBARS country so fones are a waste in the hills.


Next Sat is the Potomac Batteaux festival and I have no idea where. I assume its in W Va or Va on some crook of the river. Maybe Harpers Ferry, I dont know.

Have a great trip. Take pictures of your catch and don't forget the sunblock!

well, were at a motel in Frederick Md, the rin is just beating the crops down. We probably wont get going till sometime tomorrow so were skunked, Were gonna go see Jurssic World tonite (even as I know its gonna be a dumb movie)

Them grizzlies could be troublesome in an open boat.

Well, that trip was a comp,te bust. We managed to take a short ride on the damn thing, but it rained a lot along the mountain (even though the rain was generated to the W of the flanks of the ridges, it popped along the valleys and we got dumped on. SOOO, maybe some other time.

We did manage to see JURASSIC WORLD . Dont ask.
INDOMINATORSAURUS rex, indeed

we were able to take a 2 day overnight on the batteaux fleet. Pretty cool, we had a healthy rain on tues am an we returned on thurs to miss the reaaly bad storms. The large James River (or Potomac) batteaux, ar built long and fairly beany with NO KEEL PR CENETR STAYS. SO they "Hog" theor way over the rpids and the swift eddies. We put in each night nd had a nice meal . Personal hygiene was not a problem. There were facilites every ten miles or so by the riverboat company.
We came bck to DC on Thurs and stayed at the Mayflower (dont ask, it was an occasion). They have the best brekfsts.
We went to see "The Woman in Gold".
This movie hs been panned as poorly made and overly maudlin (I admit that I did tear up at the end). I diagree with the critics . This was one of the best movies about a real event in the big circle of WW II events.
Helen mirrin was outstanding nd so was the relatively new actor who played her attorney.
If you see one movie this year, see "Woman in Gold"

The Mayflower was my dad's favorite hotel, so when husband and I went to Washington back in the eighties we checked it out (though not staying there, that was a tacky Holiday Inn instead). Makes me smile to see you mention it.

thanks for the review

took a couple days and went ragbag boating to Long Island and back. No capt Queeg, these folks were just happy as a seagull with a frenchfry. We went all different directions and finally decided on Point Orient. or Judy Point in RI. We saw many many whales, they were already heading south nd so were some of the porpoises.
WE DID NOT see Mary Lee, the tagged Great White that every newspaper has been tracking.

Lotsa work to maintain a boat like that (it was 63 ft) and had a series of sails that were stretchy yet firm in the wind. We wanted to use a spinnakr but this was not even needed.

cught some nice mackerel fairly deep (300ft +/-)(this must be what the whales were chasing).

I just have to think that its gonna be another damn cold winter

I feel for you down here where even the beach breeze is a scorching sirocco.

This winter might bring the Big One-hurricane

I saw that movie, I knew the story and the back-story.
Amazing. The German and Austrian museums are still at it.
The movie was a bit disjointed, it looked to me like it was finished in a hurry, but nevertheless I liked it a lot.

are we on the same threadline?

I think youre talking about Woman in Gold?

I think it had to be disjointed because it covered a whole bunch of years fighting Austria and its army of kangaroos

Yes, the film about the ownership of the Klimt painting starring Helen Mirren.

I'm not sure what you are referring to about the army of kangaroos. Every now and then in the papers there is a story about how current owners of nazi-looted property are reluctant (to put it mildly) to face up to investigation of how they came by it.