Yoga, a broken Windlass, and Diving

DAY 6

FINDING MY YOGA
Six days into the trip and I'm starting to feel like I'm truly on vacation. Decompressing from the hectiness of daily life takes time - the first few days spent "on vacation" are caught in furiously accomplish things, as if still under the pressures of a schedule. The rush-rush mentality carries on until you truly slow down.

The beach at Albert's

This is best done by staying a whole day (at least) in one place. On this fine Monday I stayed all day at Albert's, which required some discipline, for the south swell was on the rise. But this is what a commitment to relaxation requires. Besides, I figured the Labor Day weekend crowd was going to be mayhem.

I paddled the dinghy to shore - using a kayak paddle, since one of the aluminum oars broke the day before I left. The beach is narrow and full of cobblestones, with a thin track of sand at the top spanning 30 feet. Being on terra firma is a delight. I do an hour of yoga, and explore the fresh water spring coming down the hill.

BROKEN WINDLASS
The boat anchored next to the Pearl is a 36ft Islander with father and son on a 2 week trip. They are most enthusiastic about un-jamming my windlass, which has been a source of agony. The day before I had anchored in deep water and the fingers in my left hand got caught between chain links and windlass spokes which sent me hollering in pain. So I was excited to fix the problem.

The funky windlass - lever on the left, stick on the right.

The neighbors brought over their toolbag and un-jammed it, as well as showed me how to use it properly. Nevertheless, the set up of the windlass is poor and it keeps sucking in the chain such that gets it stuck constantly, unless I use a stick to prevent that from happening (for 10 minutes I used my fingers then realized that was a bad idea).


DIVING AND A-FISHIN'
In the afternoon we went fishing, by going on an assault armed with 2 hawaiian slings and a fishing pole in the nearby rocks. The swell made visibility poor, but in 20 feet of water we were able to spear a rock fish and a sheepshead. With the lure on the end of the rod I caught a small sea bass.

Aboard their sailboat, which is considerably roomier than mine, we prepared oven-baked fish along with pan-fried potatoes and carrots, garnished with avocado. By the time I left, the stars were twinkling bright, before the moonrise; so I pull out my star book and gaze at cassiopeia, scorpio, and of course the big and little dipper, the North Star just above the steep hills surrounding our quiet cove.