The anemometer, a wind measuring instrument at the top of the mast, has not been turning at all this trip, it's actually been in "semi" stuck mode for months but usually turns in higher winds. Not any more. So Jane and I negotiated who got to be the lucky climber, and as captain and boat owner, I didn't get to give the job away. A nice man down the dock loaned me his ATM topclimber, Paul helped me rig it and gather up the repair tools. It took forever to rig the thing, and load me into it, along with Paul's climbing harness attached to a second safety line. There were so many straps and lines around me that it was confusing. Theoretically, all I had to do was stand in a foot harness, lift an ascender up, transfer my weight onto it, then lift a second ascender that held my feet. Forget it. It doesn't work. Took forever, it was set up for a taller person, I had to use the mast to sort of walk my feet up, and it requires a huge amount of upper body strength to hold yourself up against a slightly slack line, as it's impossible to get all the slack out. And there's a learning curve involved. Jane and Paul switched off controlling the safety line, and I moved very, very slowly up the mast. Once I got to the top, I dismantled as much as I could of the anemometer (it was still above my head), cleaned it and lubricated it. It's still not turning, but at least we got some good pictures! Who needs to know how the strong the wind is anyway? I've got a handheld anemometer which is getting dug out of drawers later today.
Nancy missed the whole event, she had a lovely day at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
I spent the rest of the afternoon finishing my book in the hammock on the foredeck, with a beer. While I was there, Vessel Assist came in with a disabled sailboat, it's engine had died. I went over to help them get the boat in the slip, and was able to give the owner advice about repairs. The boat and prop had been caught in kelp at Stillwater Cove and the engine had quit outputting cooling water. Seems a no brainer to me, and I was ready to start pulling hose clamps off starting at the raw water intake, searching for the kelp in the raw water line. He decided that he didn't want to pull the engine apart, and called the same mechanic that had helped us in Santa Cruz earlier in the w
eek. But he came by later with a cold beer for me, in exchange for the advice, so that makes me a paid diesel mechanic! It's really easy to give advice and take a wrench to someone else's property.The day ended with the crew taking me to a great dinner in an old 1840 adobe house in Monterey called Stokes Adobe. Really wonderful dinner, and then an old friend from the food industry picked us up and came back to the boat for a glass of wine. We had some time to get caught up, it was great to see Emil, especially because he is partly responsible for my interest in sailing. Emil is the person who first recommended I read Richard Henry Dana's "Two Years Before the Mast" and it was the beginning of my interest in sailing. Such a fitting end to the day, as I'd spend a part of the day up the mast!
Catherine and Doug will drive down today from the bay area, Jane and Paul will drive their car back. Then tonight, Rick shows up with Nancy's car and she will head home to San Diego. So it's a complete crew change this weekend, and then off to Morro Bay and Santa Barbara.
Two out of three posted photos taken by Jane, as was the great pelican shot from Moss Landing.
