A Cautionary Tale

If a man buys a boat, he's going to spend a lot of time working on it.

 

Then, he's going to need a vehicle with enough power to pull it to the water.

 

When he gets the vehicle, he'll probably ask you to sew an anchor rode bag for some rope.

 

When you've finished the anchor rode bag, he'll think it a good idea that you know how to drive the boat as well. So you'll take weeks of lessons on Boating Essentials and learn all about charts and plotting and buoys and daybeacons and how to avoid the chunky bits that litter the ocean waters.
 

He'll want to eat well out on the boat, so he'll give you some boating cook books for Christmas (at your request). 

If you give a man a boat.

(with a nod to If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, by Laura Numeroff)

Boating in November

After church on Sunday morning, we thought to invite some friends out for coffee. They had a better idea. So seven of us met at the marina and clambered aboard their Nordic Tug. We set course for Fulford Harbour on Saltspring Island.

The cool frost of early morning gave way to sunshine. In the distance, Mount Baker (in Washington State) shows off her snowy garb.
 

We women (3) sat outdoors while the men discussed boat technicalities in the cockpit. Our faces lifted to the warm sun, blankets (barely needed) around our legs, we sipped mugs of tea or coffee and marveled at the beauty around us. We talked an awful lot, too.
 

Lunch at the Rock Salt Restaurant was delicious. I had an Saigon Chicken Salad, lovely with Asian flavours of ginger, peanut, crispy vegetables and grilled Naan bread.
 

Light began to fade as we headed home. 
 

The sun slanted low across the horizon, turning the water to liquid steel. 

This weather is unusual  - we're normally inundated with rain by now. I'll not complain one iota! 

I'm thinking of all my friends south of the border these days as you prepare for Thanksgiving. I hope your preparation is full of joyful anticipation.

Do You Have $95 million to spare?

 Before I get to what this post has to do with the title I thought I'd show you a photo of Tim with our two granddaughters, each wearing a little dress made from one of his worn out shirts (The parts that wear out are the cuffs and collars, leaving lots of perfectly good fabric to work with.) This link will take you to the original post (but no tutorial.) We had a fun lunchtime barbecue with the family (minus two).

In the evening Tim and I went downtown to walk along the Inner Harbour. One of us loves looking at boats and the other one loves taking photos. A massive yacht was tied up to the dock. These masts rise nearly 200 feet into the air.
 

The boat is a mega yacht, the Athena. I looked it up via Google, and as of last summer, it was for sale for just $95 million. So if you have some spare cash lying around, this boat could be yours. Click on the link for more information, and to see some wonderful photos of the yacht under sail. At the time the article was written, the Athena was the largest sailing schooner in the world. Since then, other yachts have surpassed it in size. Now it's only the 4th largest.
 

After oohing and aahing at the boat and strolling along the water, we took a front row seat at a restaurant. It felt almost like being in Europe watching the tourists and locals alike pass by. Above was our view - the Inner Harbour with the Legislature behind it. It was a great way to spend Father's Day.

I don't have $95 million, but I'm blessed to have a wonderful husband and a wonderful father, and to see my daughters married to loving men, and my son following in his father's footsteps. It's not something I take for granted. Thanks be to God.