Saturday, July 18, 2009

The Giri Afloat

The Giri, with new navy blue hull, is once again afloat with mast repaired and interior restored. "The repairs will outlast the boat." said Tom. "I won't have you cursing me in the middle of an ocean, blaming me for your sinking!" The repairs are probably worth more than the boat too but it's once again a world class off shore cruiser that can go anywhere in the world. It's limitation is again the skipper who sails her. I'm thankful to Tom, Dave, Barry, Andrea, Graham,Luke, Bob, Tim, Eric, Randy, Laura, and everyone else who helped work on the boat or provided moral support. My terrific bank manager, Lloyd, from Scotia Bank will be once again pleased that my asset is more than a holy hole in the water. Structually sound and physically restored it will still take some days of restoration and outfitting to make it ready for sailing. A week afloat though and the bilge is still dry. The new mast head light is a fair beacon. And Tom and Dave assure me that despite a war reminisicent of Ghost Busters they've exorcised the head of any leaks, old hose, cracked fixtures, or ancient holding tanks that could cause old smells to arise. Fresh smells will now be unimpeded by lingering scents of old glory. I can't wait to take my place upon the throne.
Louis returned from an unforgettable three week cruise of thenorther Georgia Strait islands with Linda and told me summer on the water is still as beautiful as ever. For now I'm just thankful the boatyard blues are over. The pain was excruciating. A bit of a rebirth experience. I looked at the Giri yesterday and it was almost like having an old dog go into the vet for surgery and come home wagging like a fresh young puppy. She's looked at me expectantly, eyes shining, ready to fetch an ocean.

3 comments:

bobbi said...

Congrats!

Sans Absynthe said...

It took me awhile to find any posts about Giri's land-side sojourn. I am honoured to be the second name in the list of notables. Tom most certainly deserves the marquee for his "yeoman" service, having spend more than 40 days toiling away in a tin can roasting pan! I was somewhat more fortunate having decided to travel back to the park daily rather than endure the hardships of life at sea next to a busy steel bridge. I should send you some of the myriad photo's I took throughout Giri's ordeal Bill.

I'm off to assist your Boatswain again this morning while he attempts to make a large maroon heap of British nuts and bolts works sufficiently well enough to merit the title of touring sedan. Perhaps I'll drop in again to your literary sounding board a bit later Bill. I'd love to take a bit more time to describe some of the shenanigans enjoyed while making Giri whole and sound. Until then...

Cheers!

Dave.

haykind said...

Dave, Can't look at the deck woodwork without appreciation for your many coats. It was great having you in on the land adventures. Despite winter I've had the GIRI out at Christmas to Salt Spring Island and then to Nanaimo and Salt Spring in Feb. So far we're still afloat. Bill