Skip Grundlock asked me to forward his latest cruise log because his
computer has broken down so here it is . . . Good ole Skippy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~

Good day from the captain and crew, Skippy and Myriam of Flying Swine -
my Morgan OutHouse 41. We just got back from a day on the Intracoastal
Waterway on our way back south. It wasn't a very good day, I'm afraid.

The first thing that went wrong was when we tried to get out of the
slip. The dock lines managed to get all tangled around the propeller
when I threw her in reverse. One of the lines broke off the top of a
piling which was rotted and it got pulled into the propeller and the
shaft got bent and a leak started at the packing gland. So I had to
snorkel under the boat and cut away the mess and then I took a sledge
hammer to the shaft and got it straight again. Then I had to re-pack the
gland but this turned out to be a real chore because the big nut got
rounded off because I turned it the wrong way and the Crescent Wrench
kept slipping and somehow jammed the threads. So I took a sledge hammer
and a big chisel to it and got it off after about an hour. Put new
cotton balls inside and pounded it all back together with the chisel and
sledge and it stopped leaking excessively.

Ready to get underway again we backed out of the slip and, wouldn't you
know it, we back smack-dab into current that took us sideways against a
seawall. We were going pretty fast and got some largish scrapes on the
topsides but no matter, that's the breaks - as long as it isn't
structural damage it can be fixed later - that's the cruising life -
fixing broken stuff in exotic places.

Well we made good progress out the channel to the IntraCoastal but the
chart seemed to be wrong. We were supposed to turn left but the chart
said to turn right. So I checked the radar screen and it said to go
straight. Lo and behold we ran aground with the bow jammed into the bank
of the Intracoastal. I guess somethings wrong with my radar. Something
else on the list to fix tonight when we reach our destination. We called
SeaTow on the VHF to pull us back out into the IntraCoastal but, for
some reason, it didn't transmit. I guess it goes on the list of things
to fix right after the radar. It's always something but that's the
cruising life. So out came the cell phone and SeaTow pulled us off about
an hour later.

So finally we were off and running but then the diesel quit - clogged
filters - no problem. Changed them out but cross threaded on by mistake
and gee what a mess - diesel squirted everywhere when we fired up the
engine. So I got out the trusty sledge hammer and chisel and smashed the
filter on straight and we were on our way again with just a little ole
dribble. No problem - don't sweat the details.

Next, we discovered we were going north instead of south so we had to
fix the compass. There wasn't really much wrong with it other than the
sledge hammer was laid too close to it and made it point north instead
of south. Oh well, that's the kind of thing you can expect to happen
when cruising. Ha ha. Life is a blast isn't it? So we turned around and
headed south again. We were only about five miles north of where we
stayed last night so no big deal. By noon we'll be back where we
started. Isn't life grand?

Well, what else can go wrong. I just dropped the sledge hammer on my big
toe and now it's all blue and swollen up looking like a purple plum. I
think I broke it. Ouch it hurts really bad. I guess it's time to call
911 to get airlifted to an emergency room. Gotto go - more later. Stay
tuned to our next cruising log . . .

Skippy and Crew of the Flying Swine
Morgan 41 #20
SV Flying Swine MI4KKKPC
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"You are never given a wish without also being given the power to
make it come true. You may have to work for it however. Be sure to carry
a large sledge hammer."
(and)
"There is no such thing as a gift without a problem for you in its
hands. You seek gifts because you need their problems."
(Richard Blech, in The Recalcitrant Messiah)