January 2018 - A Slow Start

Two trips to the boat, but with only five hours work. The first trip was to remove the heavy snow fall from the top of the canvas cover; but the wind had done this for me so it was only a matter of taking things from home via car to boat and others in the other direction.
The second trip involved getting ice out of the bilge by chopping a hole through the top inch with the marlinspike and using the dink bailing pump to suck out about four gallons of the water blow. I checked out the new end stopper for the small jib sheet traveler to make sure it fits and composed a text to my friend, Ed Spallina, my helper for tough tasks. I will employ him to get frozen bolts out and to fix the arm that guides the chain from the windlass to the hawse pipe.
I finally found the solution to the hand held end of the dinghy oar that lost its rubber cap. I found a large cork which, with glue, will do the job.
And I figured out a better way to keep the thumb cleats hanging inside the forward end of the boom from continuing to chew up the lines that run past them. Plan one had been to drill them out but this would be and would leave a mess. So I figured I could drill the smallest diameter holes through the sides of the boom and put in a bolt that would hold the thumb cleats up and out of the way. The problem with this solution was aligning the two holes which are 4.5 inches apart. The final solution avoids the need for alignment and involves even less weight: I will drill two holes but run a thin line through both of them with a knot on the outside of each end. The line will support the ounce of troublesome weight and solve the problem elegantly. I'll post a picture when it is done.
I also sanded down all surfaces of the largest remaining cabin sole board, and inserted a piece of wood at the bottom of the companionway ladder with a pit I drilled into it to support and lock the ladder into place.

And it was not all boat work. The first membership meeting of the year was followed by my favorite Club party: International Night. The meeting was run very efficiently, democratically and with good cheer by incoming Commodore Peter Trumfio. No rancorous issues, no dues increases or assessments and last year's income exceeded revenues by a few thousand dollars for the third year in a row. If the economy ever comes back and we get back over 100 active members like we had in 2008, we will really be sitting pretty, with funds for new improvements. 
International Night is an organized pot luck with a cash bar and a $15 cash contribution. My food contribution was a large sweet brisket, the recipe I cook for Passover seders; and it was gobbled up which is satisfying too. Lots of delicious food.
Another January evening a group of six Corinthians met for dinner in a Greenwitch Village restaurant to eat and talk about our boating adventures
I was not as lazy in January as it might seem. Six days, two of them for going and coming back, were consumed on a trip to Carlsbad CA, perhaps 30 miles north of San Diego, to visit Lene's brother and his wife.  We could have chartered a boat in San Diego for a few hours, but they declined my offer to do so. We did visit an inlet from the sea where migratory birds rest up, walked along the town beach and visited an organization run by the zoo where we saw two 65 pound tiger cubs playing gleefully. A restful little family vacation.