July 12, 2010 night

The "Elusive"

Is it a weak character, or am I just plain loyal?  I didn't break the news.  I was chicken.  We are working so well together and they are really counting on me being part of the crew.  When I returned to the boat this morning Alberto walked by me on his way to the bathroom.

"We are all working.  Where have you been?", he scolds me in Portuguese.


"Levantei as cinco da manha", I answer back in his language.  (I got up at 5 am.)

After eating a can of salmon and a handful of almonds and cocoa beans I get right to work sanding the boat.  Actually not the whole boat, just the top rim that is painted a dark green.

As the sun rises in the sky the sweat drips more and more heavily.  I recall my boss at a company I used to work at telling me that he could envision me on some far away beach sanding a boat like in the final scene of the film "the Shawshank Redemption".  Well, now I'm doing it.

"Shawshank Redemption II"

Zach, a neighbor who has his sailboat docked here at the marina, spent some time visiting us.  He is quite a character.  Reminds me of a cross between Christian Slater and Brian Van Holt (an actor I worked with who played the role of Butchie on the TV series "John from Cincinnati".  Zach is quite experienced on the sea.  He tells me of being caught by a tornado a little over a week ago while on his little sailboat outside of the harbor.  He says that the dingy was lifted 10 feet out of the air.

Zach pulls out another can of Budweiser from an ice-filled bucket.  There seems to be little that he doesn't reveal about himself.  From his proud claim to frequent drug use and promiscuity to his history of being married and divorced five times.  He tells me he's writing a novel based on his life experiences addressing topics such as politics and life at sea.

"So I understand you're the star of the show", he states adding that they are really counting on me to be a part of this project.

"Yes, we're supposed to do a documentary", I answer.

"What does your wife think about you being gone four or five months at sea?", he asks.

"Four or five months?", I exclaim.  "It's only supposed to take two to three months."

Zach breaks down the itinerary to me addressing the fact that it's hurricane season and there will be times of slow progress, not to mention the total distance of 6,500 nautical miles.  I start thinking about what Zach has said.

"If I didn't have children here, I would go in a heartbeat", Zach continues.  "It's an opportunity of a lifetime."

Zach (right) chatting with Ricardo and I on the "Elusive"