I HATE SHOES

I tied an extra stern line to the Winchelsea this morning before going to work, there are 50 knot winds forecast for this afternoon. See the image for the line arrangement I have. The lines I drew multiple times represent the thicker lines that I have, the thinner lines with a single line. Basically, the name of the game is to keep my boat well away from the Big $$ Boat to my left. I'm pretty sure she'll be just fine, but it never hurts to throw an extra one on there just to be sure. Of course, any comments/criticism as to my dock line arrangement are very much appreciated. The wind will be coming over her starboard bow, which is the same side that the wharf is on, so that will break up the wind (and definitely the waves) some.

Over the past few weeks, I've really started to adjust to living on the Winchelsea . I've grown accustom to the squeaks, moans and groans of living on a boat in the water (and the ferry from Salem blowing its horn at 6:40 AM each weekday as it pulls into the wharf adjacent to mine). Maria figured out how to use the propane stove that is installed on the boat, so no more camping stove! I've also recently bought a pressure cooker (saves a lot of propane, so they say) and am starting to cook more meals on board. I am switching to a more vegetarian diet, especially when cooking on the Winchelsea because 1) cooking meat smells more, 2) meat costs more, and 3) meat is less available when out at sea (trying to simulate actual cruising conditions). The one exception I will make to this is fish for obvious reasons, plus its my favorite food. In place of meat, I have been introduced to textured vegetable protein (TVP) which is a soy product containing protein "equal to that of

Internet has arrived on the Winchelsea in the form of, well, I'd better not say for fear of my cellular service provider finding out. That should clue you in as to how. As far as an update from before, the fumes are gone! I had someone come take a look at it while I was gone and he reported no fumes and no leaks in the fuel system, so its all good! I've also decided to not use a kerosene heater. At $140 (with shipping) for the heater and at least $12 for a Zipcar each time I would need to fill the 5 gallon container. This really puts it out of competition with electric heat. Plus the pain of refilling it every 12 hours of use, and the potential smell, its just not a good idea. I'm hoping for a mild winter and that I'll only need this heat for the next 3 months (optimistically). It is cozy in here with two 1500 W electric space heaters and, most importantly, a large electric blanket. The electric blanket really takes the chill out of sleeping down here. In other news, t