Friday, May 16, 2008

The Old Fart Club


Grampa Speaks:

Visit with Scott on the occasion of his officially joining the old fart club (as he puts it)

The Salty Sea Dog, Sho-Me, and I paid a visit to Split Decision today to celebrate the big 40 and inspect the boat to see how he and it survived the trip. Both look in fine shape.

We embarked on a short sail (motoring) over to the Broadway Pier, where we expected to tie up and walk the short distance to the Wharf Rat, a favorite of Scott, me, and Sho-Me. Unfortunately we did not get far before the motor began missing and stalled out. Scott observed that we were apparent jinxes for his boat and began working on the motor after anchoring. I guessed that the problem sounded like water in the gas, and that may be it, but the full diagnosis is not in. After drying the spark plugs and letting the cylinders dry out (while we enjoyed a beer), we started up again toward Broadway.

But alas, the same thing happened again after beginning well. So repeat the previous paragraph, but change the last sentence to back to the marina.

And alas, again, repeat the previous paragraph, at almost back to the marina. But we did finally make it back.

When we (Scott, me, and Sho-Me) went to Nick’s, the bar/restaurant just up from the marina, we found discrimination is alive and well in Baltimore. Poor Salty Sea Dog was not permitted to join us on the outside patio and had to sit out lunch in the truck (more to add insult to injury, the truck belongs to Wookie, my regular truck dog).

But we enjoyed a couple of beers and fish sandwiches and good conversation about Scott’s adventures and plans, and my plans for retirement.

See the attached photos to see Scott actually at work.




Pic of Grampa and his Admiral:

11 comments:

Amy said...

Retirement? Finally following in the footsteps of your son?

Sho-me looks very happy on the boat.

NautiG said...

I was glad grampa got an authentic experience on the boat. It wouldn't seem right if we had an uneventful cruise over to Fells Point.

I'm not sure what the problem with the engine is. It's been pretty trusty since I replaced the spark plug boots in St. Augustine.

Rose said...

Happy 40th Birthday Scott!

Rose said...

Also, a pic of Scott and Grandpa would be nice. I do not think I have seen a recent pic of Grandpa ever on the blog.

Lou and Meg SV *Starrider* said...

Scott,
Happy Birthday! Glad to see your trip had a safe ending. Sorry to see your engine was acting up again. I wonder if it was bad Karma? I will be keeping an eye on your site for when you are prepared for your next passage. I think you will be passing NJ for that one. Maybe we can sail out and join you for a portion of your trip north.

Take Care,
Louie

NautiG said...

Rose, as intelligent and boat smart Sho-me is, he couldn't quite figure out how to wrap his paws around the camera for a pic of Grampa and me together.

Louie, I'll keep the gps updated, and hopefully get the boatcam working consistently again. So you'll know where we are. I'd love to drop by for a visit. We should be leaving for NE the beginning of June.

Anonymous said...

Hey Capt. OLD Fart,
You made it..................
Both from your trip and now your
( O L D ) Not..
Happy B. Day 40 Just a punk.
A salty Young Punk...
Hey the Big Memorial Day Pic. is Back at our house on the 26th
Hope you, Amy, any of the friends are able to come on down.
Baseball,Crabs and venison are the order of the day.
Got to run
Allison is waiting to be picked up.
OS

NautiG said...

Older Salty,

You'll always have more "street cred" in the Old Fart Club than me, no matter how hard I try.

Maybe we'll sail down for this year's Memorial Day festivities!

Anonymous said...

Scott,
I'm going to be dropping M.A. off at the senior prom. at the Htatt at the inner harbor tomorrow (Sat)
are you around - maybe we can hang out? 7:30ish
O.S.

Rose said...

A great pic of Grandpa and his admiral. Nice to finally have a face to the name on your dad :)

Mr. Fred said...

Hey Dude!
How's it going. I miss South Ann Street and our various walks around Fell's Point. Always a thrill as you would smack the rear fender of a car and piss off the driver. Well, it only happened one time. No one got injured. It all comes with the Scott territory. Not that I am complaining. Stay in touch. All is well here. If you want to take a road trip - come on down. We can play some Guitar.