Oyster Bay

Still alive. Staying on the Nyckel until probably the 13th of Sept. Then off to spend a couple days with Augie, and eventually get home, pack my shit up, and fuck off to parts unknown. Currently docked at Oyster Bay, on Long Island, a crap little town I must say. It doesn't even have a whaling museum. I swear to God, if we see a single whale on the way down to Lewes, I will take the Zodiac out and harpoon it with a ship's knife. And then eat it off the capstan, render the blubber into whale oil, and make a mint -- definitely enough to pay off officials on an epic run from the law to the Cayman Islands. I bet I could make a bitchin' harpoon out of a whale's own jaw.

This is what New Bedford does to people. It turns them into whalers.

Post-Boat

Hey, there, guys. I realize I forgot to post when I was leaving for crew training aboard the Kalmar Nyckel, but now I'm back again. For ten days. Then I'm going back to the boat for a week--which should be enough to tell you how much I liked learning to sail her. I think I have my ultimate can't-find-a-job fall-back plan: live on a recreation 17th-century Dutch pinnace. (Honestly, what do you think half the people who live there now are doing? Exactly that.)

So from 18-25 August, I will be on the boat again. This time, she's docked in P-Town! Yay, gay! I hear the Cape has some fantastic waters for sailing and lots of wind, for all that you have to weave between the lobster pots. There will be one constant crew, too, instead of the large number of day-volunteers who come for a sail or two and then leave for awhile. That means we'll get really, really good at working together. Yay, mastery of all boat-knowledge!

In the meantime, I'm finally getting around to writing the term paper I was supposed to have finished months ago and putting together some final paperwork for Jordan (like a visa). Never ever again in my life will I ever take an incomplete. They are horrible and bad for you.