MASTER AND COMMANDER

The Nutmeg (Working title) was finally put to its paces today. Here she is in all her 14 foot of finery, having just been taken out for 6 hours of sea, or in this case, lake, trials. Huzzah!

The great moment, arguably 35 years in coming (that's how long I've wanted my own boat) came after a full hour fiddling with rusty turnbuckles. I have little good to say about rusty turnbuckles, other than this is the ideal name for a geeky porn star. If you check the Alaskan tool kit of the mind, you will discern the solution: WD-40 (The other choices were duct tape and vise grips). Standing rigging problem adequately if not elegantly solved, it was time to launch.

A beautiful day it was, as you can see, but as I lowered the 500 lb riveted, wood and glass sloop into the water with an unassuming hand truck (and pulling the neat trick of not having a heart attack in the process) the wind naturally died. I spent two hours in enthusiastic drifting, turned down two towing offers, and with the moral authority gained therin the wind came up and the Nutmeg danced and burbled across the old Navy floatplane bay at Sand Point, named, of course, after all the sanding one does on one's boat.

She's got an odd helm, due to her dual leeboards, and digs a trifle by the head, but points like a champ and is amazingly stiff and stable. She's slow and steady, but up for heavy weather. Three can sail comfortably. The Nutmeg is the very sort of robust picnic boat pictured in the 3rd article in the July 1947 Popular Mechanics.

Aye! What a Glorious Sea Bitch! as mother sun appeared underneath the cloud layer and the wind sang, pushing Nutmeg past the NOAA headquarters and bearing down on the dog beach, the one beach where the dogs can go in Northeast Seattle. I waved to a cute little kid on the other beach, turned, and headed back running free, literally into the sunset.

[ Huzzah! Huzzizzle! I am heartily glad to hear of it. I wish you great joy of it, Sir. Howsomeever, I was not able to access the photo on Yahoo! -- some sort of permissions problem, no doubt. -LoM ]

{My Compliments to you Sir, and if you would be so good as to inspect the site again, I trust you will not be brought by the lee. -FSL}

[Can scarcely be improved upon. Except you should wear an eyepatch... - Dr. X]

[Aye, and a tricornered hat. -UttDC]