Hey Tom,

I went up my mast to replace the Safety Orange panel I have near the top, which becomes faded after a couple of years... It's an awkward job, it requires dealing with about a dozen tiny machine screws & washers, and the typical contortions involved... I've always hated going up the rig, but by the time I was nearing the end of this chore, my hands began shaking to the extent that it became tricky to re-thread the tiny screws (although an extra cup of coffee to 'fortify' myself beforehand that morning probably didn't help (grin)) As always, a big relief when my feet hit the deck again, and the one good thing that always comes out of going up the rig, is the sobering reminder that I really don't need a bigger boat, and a higher mast to scale... But at the end of it all, I really have to wonder, how much longer will I be able to do this sort of stuff myself? 10, 15 years from now? Hmmm, I don't know about that... OK, the weather has been so shitty around here this spring, I haven't been getting as much outdoor exercise as usual, but still - I really felt this one more than usual...

Of course, I had forgotten to treat the fabric with some 303 UV Protectant beforehand, so I'll have to go up again to do that... LOL! But the breeze had come up by the time I thought of that, and it's been blowing ever since, so that's my story, and I'm sticking to it...

Ever since Hurricane Sandy came through here last fall, it's really accelerated my feeling that time is running out quickly, and things have changed forever... My neighborhood will never be the same, there seem to be virtually no boats that have been re-launched yet around here for the summer... I was planning to do a big cruise this summer up north, and hoping to get the necessary early start for a change, but as usual other stuff has gotten in the way... I've got a boat to bring north from Trinidad first, and another short delivery after that, and then my brother and his wife will be visiting on over the July 4th holiday, before they board the QUEEN MARY II for an anniversary trip to France, so I certainly won't be leaving here before then...

Oh, well - maybe next year... but, yeah, I'm definitely feeling like everyone else, that the number of 'next years' appear to be dwindling fast... (grin)

best regards,

Jon