That hyena needs to go

After some morning boat chores and errands (and a surprise visit from Fran :) I got busy polishing the stainless steel. all. afternoon. long.  It took me three trips around with three different products and I still only managed to get the side stanchions and bow pulpit done.  Tomorrow I will tackle the cockpit.  Marquesa is getting all shined up to go cruising!

I did take a quick break after round two to go look at One Gallon Don's lazy jack system.

Lazy jacks are a system of pulleys and lines...

That form a "basket" to catch your mainsail.  It's great for someone who single-handles their boat.  It also is a much safer option for quickly dropping the mainsail in a big blow when reefing the main is no longer an option.  Now if we drop the mainsail, I take the helm and Cap'n goes on deck to gather and bungee the sail to the boom.  The mainsail on Marquesa is too big for me to handle.  On our previous smaller sailboats (a 22' Chrysler and 25' O'Day) it was my job to be the first mate and take care of the sails on deck.  The biggest concerns with Marquesa's main is not only is it so big it can drop in the water (which makes its even more heavy to try and manhandle ), if you happen to step on the sail as its laying on deck, it's like standing on ice.  If you aren't extra careful, you could be the one that ends up in the water.  Given that the mainsail has only been used one season, this is especially true.  So, as an added safety measure for cruising to far away places, we simply need a set of lazy jacks.  I hope we can make them ourselves.

While I was polishing away on Marquesa today, Donnie left early this morning with Kenny, Big Ken, and Chuckie baby to go fishing.  It has blown down here so much, there has been very few days to comfortably be out on a fishing boat.  Besides, Kenny has been besieged with boat problems like us, and it has been in and out of the shop for over a month.  They finally caught a break, got out on the water, and caught some fish.  Donnie said the fishing was hard, but Kenny got a mess for a fish fry, and we also got some for us to have for lunch tomorrow.  I have been so hungry for some fresh fish!

Cap'n got home and I finished up just in time to grab a shower and watch the sun set.  Then we were off to the Hurricane to pick up pizzas.  Tonight was Friday night pizza night and a movie at Big Ken and Lucille's.  They have a beautiful condo on Angler Drive, just down the street from Dave & Diane's, Bryan and Polly's and Mamaw & Paps.  There's is the perfect place for a gathering, and tonight we were celebrating.

It was Ron's birthday...how do you like our redneck candle?!

We ate ourselves silly, had a lot of laughs and watched Life of Pi.  I really enjoyed the movie.  It had a lot of religious undertones, and it was an incredible survival story...but that hyena?  He had to go...there were times I had to close my eyes.
Seriously though, it was a very thought-provoking movie, and I would recommend seeing it.

I tried on a pair of "barefoot sandals" that Mamaw and Diane made for me.  They needed to size them before Diane put on the finishing touches.  I love them! 

Sister love, Lucille and Frannie :)  I hope Emily and Ellen remain as close as these two.  It must be nice to have a sister and built in best friend...

Speaking of the girls....I wanted to share a quick prayer and praise before I call it a night.  Ellen's last day of school before spring break was today.  She has had an exam or paper due almost every day.  Some days she had two exams, so she has had a stressful week.  This morning she took her last exam, and left for Indianapolis.  She had a Dr's appt. and a 3:00pm interview with WISH-TV Channel 8 for a summer internship.  The praise is within five minutes of the interview, they offered her the summer intern position!  They were very impressed by her resume and all that she has accomplished while at Purdue.  She was squealing over the phone; she was so excited.  On her way to Anderson to visit her sister, Emily, she got caught in rush hour traffic.  It had been stop and go for miles, and she was messing with her GPS trying to see if there was an alternate route she could take, when BAM! she rear-ended a pick up truck in front of her.  She is fine, her car is not.  She was pretty shook up when she called me.  She had a headache, but said she'd had a headache most of the week anyhow.  Her airbag did not deploy, and she thinks she was only going about 25mph when she hit.  At any rate, she just needs an extra prayer as she figures out what to do next.  Ironically, when she called me thirty minutes previously, we were talking about her need to perhaps look into buying a more fuel efficient car since she will likely be commuting to Indy this summer.  Who knew she would be faced with car issues so soon?!  God did, no doubt.  At any rate, she is not hurt, cars are irreplaceable, and she handled the situation really, really well.  Her sister came to her aid and met her and the tow truck at the interstate.  So all is well and ends well.   G'nite, y'all :)