Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Georgetown, Exumas, Bahamas

0 nm
Wind: E-NE 10-15 knots, occasional showers

Our motivation to get out of Georgetown seems to have disappeared. Or at least Karl’s has--I’m getting more and more antsy. I want to get things done and get out of here. We’re a team, however, and I can’t make him do anything he doesn’t want to do. His occupation for the day was finishing Catcher in the Rye. one of the many paperbacks that I brought for him to read. He read it in three days, which is an all-time record. I joke that he’s turning into me. He props up his legs in the vee-berth under the hatch and reads for hours at a time. Now he’s tackling a Theodore Dreiser novel. I’ll get him a Ph.D. in literature yet.

My one accomplishment for the day was working on scraping the bottom of the boat, something that we’ve been putting off for a while. The water’s so clear here that every time we dinghy up to the boat we can see just how furry the bottom’s getting. The plus side is that it’s so clear that you can scrape it easily. I practiced my diving and breath-holding abilities, still not exactly up to snuff, but I was at least able to get down to the bottom of the hull for a quarter of the boat. Karl’s doing the waterline, which is easier for him to reach with his ears.

The best part of it was the cloud of tiny yellow-tailed fish that began to follow me as soon as they figured out what I was doing. “Look!” I could almost here them say. “This giant fish is making lots and lots of algae! Yummy!” They would even dart in between my hand holding the scrubbing pad and the hull to get the big juicy bits and a couple of times I almost mauled them. They were good at getting out of the way, though, and after a while, I turned around to make sure they were still down-current from me, eating happily. I felt a little guilty because I knew all that scum was growing on copper-based paint. I hope that it doesn’t hurt them.

I kept going until I started getting itchy under my bathing suit, which always makes me think about all the microscopic organisms living in the vegetation, all of the ones I’m angering and disturbing with my vicious destruction. I’m sure they get riled up and drift through the fabric of my suit where they get revenge by biting me. That, and I saw a crab that was living on the hull, the size of my thumbnail, and that freaks me out, too. So I gave it up for the day and figured that I had done my part. I’ll get better as time goes on, I know, and eventually I hope I’ll be able to get down to the bottom of the keel. In the meantime, I need to work on increasing my muscle mass so I’m not quite so buoyant. I’ll never get a job diving if I need an eighty-pound weight-belt.

Dinner was the unfrozen lamb chops in the uniced icebox, which were still delicious and did not make us sick. I pushed it even further by leaving two of them cooked for lamb stew tomorrow. It’s astonishing how good fresh meat tastes when you haven’t had it in eons. We’re both big meat-eaters, but the last couple of months have turned us into virtual vegetarians. Five miniature dried shrimp in a bowl of rice is our protein ration for the day. We have eight dozen eggs now, so that should help us out a lot. Vegetarian fried rice with egg is a lot better than without.

So tomorrow, maybe I can convince Karl to get our butts in gear. If we keep pushing, maybe we can get out of here by Friday. Maybe.

1 comment:

Paul and Lois said...

So Karl, Melissa has infected you with literature? Watch out, she'll be taking you to Thailand next. - well come to think of it, she's already working on that project, too.

Have either of you read any of the 90 PG Wodehouse novels? They are really light but pretty entertaining. Mom and I listened to one on tape, "The Girl on the Boat." It doesn't really have that much to do with a boat, but was kind of funny and we enjoyed it enough that Mom checked out two other titles on the next road trip to Michigan.

We were up with the clan celebrating, Jennifer and Mike's wedding shower. Adam and Tiffany hosted it at their house. It was actually quite fun. Alicia and Tim had organized a "newly wed" type question and answer game. All the the young couples were put on the spot. First the men were sent away and the girls were asked embarrassing questions, then the process was reversed. Erica and Jordan were doing really well until the final round. When Jordan was asked (in Erica's absence) what part of his body she would have changed if given the chance. He responded, "my torso" (Adam had just mentioned his abs or lack there of). When the women came back they all answered and when it came to Erica she answered "his lazy gene." I felt sorry for the poor guy but somehow he came out smelling like a rose! He laughed it off and Adam and Aaron both really let him know that they were sympathetic with this rough treatment at the hands of a pesky wife.

We missed you and everyone asked about your where abouts - which we didn't really know how to answer - maybe next time you can be with us so you can answer for yourselves. Melissa, the wedding is in September, the whole clan will gather again for that except, I'll be in Greece for the opening of the new hospital wing.

We were just praying for you both as we walked along Havencrest Rd., especially with Chantal working up a flurry! We don't know where you are so can only entrust you to our God.

prayers and wishes for many blessings.

Dad/Paul