Halfway Rock

Joanne bought me this great reproduction on canvas entitled "Becalmed at Halfway Rock" by Fitz Lane.
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The scene shows ships in the 1850's at Halfway Rock, an island outcropping equidistant from Gloucester to Boston and a few miles outside of Marblehead Harbor, which is the same place that we fish from now.
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We usually start our trips there to fish for mackerel and pollack to use for bait and we've seen a seal on a number of occasions sitting on the rock. And then there is the famous Halfway Rock game, where the winner is the one who consumes the most beers during the five mile trek out to the island.
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It is the landmark that we use leaving Marblehead Harbor for Stellwagen, and signaling the return from that run, which can be very uncomfortable in a rough chop.
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What is bizarrely weird is that Joanne had no idea that this scene was depicted just outside of Marblehead and is a favorite of ours, when she bought the artwork in North Conway. I had a hunch that this was Halfway and Ryan pointed it out last night at dinner. Then we checked for it online for the confirmation.
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Turns out that Fitz Lane painted a number of excellent, mid nineteenth century maritime secenes of the Gloucester and the New England coast, including Mt. Desert Island, Maine, which is our final destination for today.

Tuna Lips said...

Last night after a pile of crawdad's and some luke-warm Piel's i painted a spatter job on my BVDs that rivals anything yer missus picks out at a yard sale in Wherever, NH. I hungs it outside the double wide and Effy Tradwell (whom I pleasured at last years Yankee Wife swap) commented that I have "the stylings of a new age Jackson Pollack." A man fer all the seasonings, TL is.

Norman Carries the Torch

How great was it to watch Greg Norman play so competitively at the British Open Golf Championship?
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As a fellow old guy, I was thrilled to see the 53 yr. old finish in the top five.
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I'm thinking that the 50's are the new 28's.
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Although playing tennis with Ryan, Chris Crawford and Tyler Gill this morning convinced me that the 30's are still way better than the 50's.
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Nothing I can do about it. But nice going Norman.

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BTW, Chrissie Evert is still a Babe.

Annisquam Caution

(Click Map to Enlarge)

I'm considering aborting the Annisquam trip because of the threat of afternoon thunderstorms.

Years ago, we got caught in a squall when we were returning from the Annisquam by circling around Cape Ann. Certainly one of the most terrifying times in my life as a never ending series of ten foot swells threatened to engulf our 21' Mako.

The storm came out of nowhere and immediately the sea changed. If I didn't see it then, I wouldn't believe it now. I never got a chance to put on a life preserver because I was afraid to take my hands off of the wheel even for a second, and nobody else on the boat dared move either.

It was a series of huge waves that the bow had to hit dead on to avoid being swamped. UP, UP, UP then DOWN!!! Over and over again. It felt like we were on the rollercoaster at Canobie Lake Park... but the stakes were much higher.

Joanne found out the next day that a Coast Guard Cutter who was watching our progress was taking odds on when we would capsize. Not "if" but "when".

Ever since then, I've approached the ocean with the respect and knowledge that it has the ability to change and overwhelm you almost instantaneously.

It was terrifying and I had to use all of my superior boatman skills to keep the bow heading into huge swells. Clearly a lesser man would have lost his vessel in this swirling maelstrom, but obviously I prevailed.

Women Priests

So you heard about the three women in Boston who want to be ordained as priests.
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Who do they think they are anyway???
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Women aren't qualified to be Catholic Priests. They can't love God as well as men. They can't preach the Gospel as well as men. They can't distribute the Sacraments as well as men.
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It should be obvious to everyone.
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Just as the Pope and Cardinals are cleaning up the mess of all of the male Priests diddling with children, these pretentious women think that they are qualified to be Priests. I don't blame the Pope for excommunicating these sacrilegious bitches. They should go to Hell for thinking they are good enough to be Priests.
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By the Way, Pope.... Galileo was right. The Earth actually rotates the Sun. You were wrong on that one. But you're right on target with this one. Make sure that you keep these uppity women out of the Priesthood. Keep it pure.

Working on Saturday

I'm working today because tomorrow we are taking the WhaleEye up the Annisquam River in Gloucester with Will and Linda Murray, and Monday, we will be driving up the coast of Maine for a Coast Guard site kickoff.
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So I won't have too much office time in the next few days, and the details really pile up fast. If you don't keep pace, you can be buried in paper easily. I hate to do office work on Saturday and Sunday, but I guess if you fish on Friday, it's only fair.
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Joanne and I will probably spend the night in Bar Harbor, ME and tour Acadia National Park on Tues. This Coast Guard gig is not too tough to take ... between trips to Nantucket and Bar Harbor. I hope we win the job on Block Island, because I've never been there before.

Peeps of the Week - 29

It really feels like mid-summer doesn't it?? I was slepping around on site surveys yesterday and could feel the heat. It would probably help if I was a little bit better in shape.

ANNOUNCING....
Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the 29th week of 2008

Ben Martin
Bob Wojcik
Tommy O' Shea
Jon Bercume
Bob Brown (Automatic Lagavulin Rule)
Pat Piscatelli

I doubt if I'll have the time to Treadmill or Cybex today.

Stalking Stripers

We will be hunting the elusive Striped Bass this afternoon with some worthy Peeps on the WhaleEye.
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I've got some frozen pollack and mackerel from the last trip, which I will cut up for chucks, and we'll head out to Half Way Rock to dip for live liners.
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Then we will dead head for the back side of Cat Island where stripers like to hang out in the gut. That's where we will stake our luck. I'm thinking there's a few thirty six inchers who will be giving it up for the WhaleEye.

Economy

I've now lived in my professional life through a few of these economic downturns.
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It always seems to have some roots in easy credit, then when things tighten up, the assumptions that you made when obtaining the credit dissolve leaving you holding the bag. When you are riding high, it's hard to imagine that it can turn... but it can!!
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Unless you are borrowing for income producing assets, credit can be a dangerous thing. I feel bad for people facing foreclosure, and those looking to invest in foreclosed properties deserve all of the bad karma that they receive.

Bonus Good Time

Joanne and I brought some Nanepashemet Telecom customers to the Boston Yacht Club last night for drinks and dinner. Usually, I pretend to have a good time at these customer activities, but last night, the good time was for real.
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What a bonus!

Tuna Lips said...

Well bully fer you, Admiral Crotchrot, and yer yacht club jerk off party. I figger this plain folk will wine and dine with my clientelists at Red Lobster on Rowt 142, and retire to Hooters for an after supper round of shooters and boobies with the spray on tan. No economic down turn for thems at Hooters.

Tournament Results

All day long, people kept asking me how I golfed yesterday at the Salem State Tournament with Tommy O.
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First things first.
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Tommy got through the whole day without a single kidney stone..... That was a relief!!
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The Kernwood Country Club in Salem is a nice track - very well maintained with fairways that aren't too long and generally open wide.
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I actually had a good day. My bad back held up, and I shot three Pars including one Birdie attempt..( which I then three putted into a Double Bogy).
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My crusher driver skills returned and I generally kept straight onto the fairway with only one miss hit. Our last hole was a Par 3 that awarded a Chevy hybrid ugly car for a hole in one. I parred the hole and then tried to bribe the Salem State Honor students to say it was a winner hole in one. They maintained their integrity, even though I raised the ante to $40 bucks.
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All in all... A golf round that I had anticipated with considerable dread turned into an enjoyable day. Only lost two balls..... Maybe I can golf after all. At least, not suck as much.

Stephan's Ginger Beer Difference

Wojcik and Brown graced the gazebo of the Boston Yacht Club yesterday.... and had their first Dark and Stormies
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There were no incidents and my membership remains in good standing.
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We ran into Chris Crawford, MegaPeep Brian Butler and the Fabulous Stacey, who is due to bring a new Nanepashemet Peep into the world by the end of the summer. Can't wait for that to happen, even though we don't want the summer to end too fast. What a conundrum!
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They make the Dark and Stormies at the BYC with Stephan's Ginger Beer, rather than Barrett's. Stephan's is just a little more pungent and the Two Bob's may have found it to be a bit too strong for their delicate sensibilities.
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But they both toughed it out... each having two before retiring back to the WhaleEye for some more of the Lagavulin that Brown so thoughtfully brought.
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Tomorrow, I agreed to play in the Salem State College Golf Tournament on behalf of the Salem Waterfront Hotel. Mike Rockett sent over a highest quality Footjoy shirt, Jacket and Umbrella. Doesn't he remember that I suck at Golf??? Truly SUCK!!!
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At least I'll be looking good, but that goes without saying.

Cruise gets Stoned

So we plan a nice evening harbor cruise with Tommy O and his lovely wife Linda, and what happens???
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Tommy gets a freaking kidney stone!
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Just because he's doubled over in pain, we have to return to the Village Landing.
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Wouldn't you think that he could tough it out??? I mean.... how bad can a little kidney stone hurt anyway?
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Regardless of the nuisance, I swiftly brought him to the dock and cancelled the night's festivities. I can be the bigger man. Then, just to rub it in, Tommy gets rushed to the Salem Hospital Emergency Room.
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The nerve of some people!
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I hope he's alright though.