Weekend a trois
2004-05-24

Sunday morning was cold and gray. I woke up early, way too early and tried to get back to sleep but it was a losing battle. I popped my head out the hatch and found what I expected, fog. It was the kind that settles over everything like a blanket and just drains the life out of things, and muffles all sounds, that kind of fog.

I was hoping it would lift a bit before we had to leave, and we did have to leave. We had committted to taking my mom to my nieces graduation in western Mass. and there would be hell to pay if we didn't make that. Sigh...

Around 7:30 I got up and used the head on shore. Then I began packing up the boat while M.E slept. When she got up a little after 8:00 the visability was maybe a quarter of a mile. I knew it would be worse on the outside.

While she grabbed a quick bite, I started the engine and cast off the docklines and we slowly motored out of the harbor. I had both GPS's fired up and got out the charts. I hate sailing in fog.

We were forced to reduce our speed to match how far we could see. At times it was only a few hundred feet tops. Lobster pot floats ghosted by shrouded in mist. The only sound was the turning of the engine and the pumping of the exhaust water. My eyes began to hurt from straining at nothing. Only the instruments clicked of the miles.

We got up about half way up the bay and I looked at the chart, we were along side Phils' can, the one he could never find, but now where his remains will well, remain forever. I didn't expect to see it, but M.E. called out, hey look a can, and sure enough, there was a hole in the fog right over the very spot.

I fondled the rememberence card in my pocket and thanked Phil for the gift and almost as soon as I did, the shoreline popped out from behind and we motored right into visability of at least a couple of miles. A gift from an old friend?.

Now that I could see, I increased the engine RPMs and we headed towards home at top speed, already an hour behind schedule. M.E. got ready packing up the boat. By the time we hit them mooring, we were ready to leave.

I called the launch and he said he'd be right there. We saw him go out. We saw him come back. What we did not see was him coming to get us. Apparently he forgot. Kids...

We drove home as fast as was prudent. M.E. jumped in the shower first and then I took mine. 5 minutes tops. We got dressed and blasted out the door. We needed gas, ugh!!! We pulled into mom's at ten to noon, ten minutes early.

They weren't ready and even worse my sister was MIA. So now we waited and waited and finally left just in time to see her pull up dressed in jeans and a ratty old t shirt. So we waited while she got dressed and headed off again.

Traffic was awful, I guess everybody in the world was graduating Sunday. it took almost two hours to get the school. We walked the quarted mile to the tent it was being held in when my mother announces that the invitations are in her purse which is back in the car so I headed back.

By the time I hoof it back and forth in the 85 degree heat, they are all gone. They didn't need the invitiations. Now you know why my family is best taken in small doses. By now I'm hungry (no food all day, hot, and my back is killing me so of course they sit us in those plastic chair with no back support.

M.E. goes on call at 7:00 and the graduation starts late. We finally see her get her diploma, snap a few pictures and keep one eye on the watch. M.E. is gatting antsy. I do a quick count, no way we are going to see the end.

I make arrangements for mom to get home and have to take sis with us because there are no more seats and we head off. We finally got back home a bit after 6:00 and after we dumped off sis we had to hit someplace to eat. We walked in the door at exactly 7:00. she never did get called in. I'm still tired today.

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