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| Saturday: trying not to be passed |
The weather has been near perfect the past few
days. After already having a week of hot
weather (well over 90 degrees F) with high humidity, the highs have only been
in the low eighties. The humid is still
high, but not at the 90% range, and the wind has provided a steady
breeze. The trees are most lovely when
their tops sway in a 15-20 knot wind. It
is warm enough that the sand gnats are not a problem and windy enough that mosquitoes
and other biting flies are grounded. At
night, it cools off and with the moon still in an early stage of waxing, the
summer constellations are out. We have
had some purely magical sunsets. Several
days ago, I was leaving the island right after the sunset and while crossing
the causeway, the marsh was all golden pink color. As I was driving and in a hurry (and without
a camera), I didn’t have time to find a place to pull over and snap a photo,
but it look liked something Pat Conroy would describe. Last night, while walking the dog, I took a
photo of the sunset from my iphone, (which has a pretty nice camera for a phone).
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| Saturday evening sunset |
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| Dennis adjusting the jib We just can't quite catch up as we try to steal their air... |
I have been sailing almost once a week. The sail club regularly mixes up teams and
boats (there are nine Rhodes 19 boats). Some
of the boats are better than others (especially since about half the boats have
newer sails). It seems that the boats I’ve
been on recently have all been ones with older sails that have lost their crispness. It is a
little frustrating when on a beat and you are always tailing a boat that can point higher
than you, but there is some satisfaction about giving them a
run for their money. Besides, there is pleasure just being on the water.
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| Going up... |
I am in the second phase of my training as a volunteer
fireman. As I noted a few months ago, I
became a basic fireman in February and am now studying and practicing to become
a panel operator. This will allow me to
drive and operate the trucks. Although
this position will keep me further away from the fire, it's probably good because my diabetes
(with the possibilities of low blood sugars) could make me a liability to
others if I was inside a building on fire. We've not had any major fires since I've been in the department, but last week as the heat was breaking, we had several homes struck by lightning but thankfully none of them caught fire, only experiencing electrical damage. Here is a photo of me learning to operate our ladder truck. I still get kicks from heights!
Enjoy a few more photos of Saturday's sail… In this race I snapped the shots, I wasn't on the helm or jib and we were not flying a spinnaker and my main role was to lean over the windward side to provide stability providing me time to snap a few shots.
Have a great week!
Great photos indeed, have a fantastic week!
ReplyDeleteAnd may you have a wonderful week, too.
DeleteWhat amazing photos. I write for a marketing firm. One of their clients is a company that recruits volunteer firefighters. I've learned so much about how difficult it is to find firefighters in general in many towns and how they rely on volunteers to keep things safe. It's very important work.
ReplyDeleteHere, the dept is mostly volunteer, but there are two paid firefighters on the island at all times and they take out the first two trucks (of four) so that the rest of us can just go to the site of the fire. Because so much of the island is "wired" with alarms, most of our calls involve faulty alarms!
DeleteIt must be nice to be able to go on these adventures so often. You live a very exciting life. Good luck with the second phase of becoming a volunteer firefighter! I think that's amazing. :)
ReplyDeleteI am fortunate to be able to be on the water so often, whether it is in a sailboat or a kayak.
DeleteLana and I went out walking yesterday in the woods. The humidity was extremely high. I was drenched within a few minutes.
ReplyDeleteI spoke too soon, the humid started building again today and after a few minutes of working in the yard, I was dreanched.
DeleteGood luck on becoming a panel operator. Loved the pictures.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mary.
DeleteBeautiful sailing pictures! I envy you that. Good luck on your training. Being on the fire department is a big responsibility. Let us know how things go with your training.
ReplyDeleteThanks, I didn't have much time as my first responsibility was to help us win! We never won this week, but we did put in some close second place finishes.
DeleteAwesome sailing photos! My son and I are talking about taking sailing classes this summer.
ReplyDeleteIt is a great feeling to be in the wind and to feel it work for you! Enjoy and let us know how it turns out.
DeleteGreat stuff, Sage. The ladder looks pretty high. I think I'd be learning how to drive the truck, too.
ReplyDeleteI gotta learn the summer constellations. I don't think I can see Orion anymore, can I?
The ladder was only starting to go up at this point--it went all the way up and out--90 feet. Orion was sent to his grave by a sting from the Scorpion (whom you see on the southern horizon during summer, when the hunter is buried). Pegasus, Lyra, Cygnus are some to look for.
DeleteHaving been born and living all my life in the center of this country, everything you wrote about (except the firefighter stuff) seems written in Greek. But I know that you've been sailing and it looks like fun to me!
ReplyDeleteYou'd enjoy sailing, when I was writing about pointing higher, I was referring to a boat's ability to sail closer to the wind direction. You can't sail into the wind (that's the no-go zone) but you can sail to either side of it on a beat or close haul.
DeleteSo nice that you have embraced your new community like you have. I'm glad you and your family love it there. It's a beautiful area!
ReplyDeleteThanks, and I hope you enjoyed Blackmarr's book on your Memorial Day weekend!
DeleteLooks like great sailing. Good luck with the rest of your fire fighter training
ReplyDeleteThanks, it is interesting work, and so unlike anything else I do
DeleteLove all the sailing pictures! The weather certainly has been good for it.
ReplyDeleteYes, soon it will be even hot to sail, especially on those summer days with little breeze and you sweat as you pray for a breeze!
DeleteYou have got so many good things going on now. And I also noticed the dichotomy of sailing and volunteering as a fireman. Water and fire, two opposite elements. :-) Plenty of food for thought there.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from London.
Yes, the two elements are something to ponder and you can add in earth as hiking is another favorite activity.
DeleteLooks beautiful where you are. You are shooting for excitement in your life!
ReplyDeleteArlee Bird
A to Z Challenge Co-host
Tossing It Out
Live is an adventure to be embraced!
DeleteWonderful pics. I'd love to go sailing since we have beautiful water views where I am. I'm glad the weather is nice. Our weather has become too hot already.
ReplyDeleteThe humid is back up this week, but the temperatures have remained mostly in the mid-80s, so not too bad.
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