Keepin up, or trying to...

Ah, “the list.”  I try to think of it as “entertainment.”  Which, may be all that living amounts to:  full immersion entertainment.  Have i already said that?  Well, it’s a theory.

So what has cropped up lately?  Sea Cow’s inflatable floor had a leak i tho’t i had fixed.  On my third attempt to patch it i used a clamp to squeeze the patch over the leak for 24 hours while the glue cured – it worked!  Once again testing Cody’s hypothesis that inanimate objects don’t have a chance...against us animate ones (i’m sure there are exceptions).  My underwater camera quit.  Did i mention that my foul weather pants leak badly?  And my klean kanteen now leaks.  Little things. 

But the big one is that the hydraulic rams that hold the backstay tight began leaking.  A backstay is a necessity if the mast is to continue to stand.  I’m in the process of chasing a fix for this, maybe as late as the Virgin Islands?  Or, if my next crew can bring parts or replacements to me, in Puerto Rico.  Either way, there’s a lot of water between here and there.  So i’ve jury rigged a fix for the backstay (borrowed the blocks and tackles from the running back stays and cranked pressure onto them with the big winches).  While it appears to be a good temporary fix, it may dictate sailing more conservatively…at least until i learn to trust it.  And at least we’re not losing any more hydraulic fluid. 

Etcetera, etcetera.  Each thing crops up and demands attention.  And offers an experience if not a lesson.  I am paying attention.  And hopefully learning.