Two worlds

The latest cold front hammering the country and bringing freezing temperatures to my Daughters and their families in the Midwest, rolled over us last night. Kintala danced around until mid-morning. Since a soaking wet dink ride with a cool north wind didn't sound like a lot of fun, we put off heading into shore until later. Deb worked on some cleaning. It takes a huge amount of effort to keep the inside of a boat clean and livable. Small it may be, but the constant humidity and the fact that everyplace inside is a "high traffic" area means a constant effort is needed to keep the grunge factor under control.

Very hard to see but the line goes from the aft end of the boom to the bow

Kintala is an equal opportunity boat, but I worked outside today, finishing up some rigging changes. Even back on Carlyle we were careful about keeping the boom under control while sailing off the wind. The lake was a benign sort of place and using the vang as a preventer, even with its mid-boom mount, worked just fine. Our last outside jump in rolling seas suggested that Mother Ocean would require a much more robust approach. As luck would have it Friend Stephen, who Captains a Tartan 42 just one hull number from ours that just happens to be resting at a pier only a few minutes by dink from this very spot, had just the right answer. He was pleased to show it to us when we visited the other day and I shamelessly copied the set-up. My rig isn't quite as elegant since it was put together from spares and extras stashed here and there, but the price was right. Not only are we much better prepared for off-shore work but a few deposits were made in the Black Box as well. The balance in said Black box was, I fear, deep in the red after the anchor dragging incident. Getting the balance back in the black is a high priority. Boat work done we went to shore for some errands.

There is a theory in physics that suggests ours is just one universe of a multi-verse. The idea is that other realities exist in parallel to ours, imaginable, suggested by theory, but forever beyond our experience. A hint that they might actually exist comes from some of the mysteries of gravity, that our universe only makes sense if gravity from the multi-verse is having its effect. Fort Lauderdale has a bit of multi-verse feel about it.

Dink parking is on the east side of the bridge. The east side is mega yacht side, beach side, swank and glitz and Fort Lauderdale wealth side. It is condo, fancy bars, and trendy shop side. We went to the west, looking for a laundry. The one we found was $1.75 per wash, $0.50 per dry, located in a little outdoor mall complete with tattoo and body piercing parlor, nail salon, a couple of sub-shops, and little shops that were anything but "trendy". The difference was stark; no glitz, no flash, Fort Lauderdale working class. One short bridge, two different worlds. It wasn't like the west side was poor or broken down, I've certainly lived in worse. But the rich side of this town is SO rich as to border on fantasy land, some alternate reality. The weight of that wealth bends our world around, its influence felt even if most of us can only theorize that it must be out there, somewhere.

Like some kind of magic machine I can take my little sailboat and park it right in the middle of that alternate reality. I can't really experience it and, truth to tell, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't like it much if I did. But it is fun to look at. Tomorrow we may head east, walk on the beach, and look at it some more.

At the bow it goes around a block and back to the cockpit via a series of blocks attached to the stanchions

When not in use, the eye on the left stows on the boom at the gooseneck. The shackle stows on deck. When in use, the shackle comes up off the deck, attaches to the eye, and continues to the bow, around the block, and back to the cockpit

At the cockpit end, it goes around the last block and is secured at the cleat on the coaming.

A real addition to the safety equipment on deck of Kintala.