Thursday, March 19, 2009

Water Week

Click on photos to enlarge!Work boats wrestle barge off my stern.


"A sailor afloat is a prisoner in danger of drowning."

Dr. Johnson





Barge in place, ready to make NOISE!

“You don't drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there”
Edwin Louis Cole



Crane tops the masts.

“Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it”
Lao Tzu




For those of us who live afloat, water is a potential adversary that must always be regarded with respect, like cooking fire. Bringing it aboard in the sheep's clothing of plumbing, inviting it inside the hull, is a folly that only domestic comfort could demand and be granted.



Rust, too, never sleeps nor ever awaits an invitation. Under the tutelage of water and rust, my past week has been something not entirely unlike imprisonment, giving me an appreciation for the lives and contributions of galley slaves throughout the ages.



As many of you know, there has been major harbor construction all around me for weeks now. Cranes and compressors to the front of me, heavy equipment to my rear, powerboats scant feet off of my stern as they wrestle the work barge (above) near enough to send vibrations racing through water, hull, and finally into my nervous system. And it has been rather nervous of late as you might guess!



So I was delighted to escape with a gal pal for a few quiet hours of palliative acquisition (shopping) today-a-week-ago. It was upon my return aboard that this saga really begins; the incessant jack hammer & diesel assault had only been softening me up for the main event. . .


Know that feeling of returning home wishing only for a cup of tea? Well I soon forgot my cuppa when I noticed the diminutive lake growing in my engine room!


The mechanical castanets of doom outside mocked me with their inescapable chattering as I switched on the savior pump. With so much noise, I couldn't discern the potentially home-saving hum of the pump. Then slowly, too slowly, the lake began to recede.


The lake had formed while I was away and all shore-water coming aboard turned "off." This meant that wily water had wormed it's way through quarter inch steel and tons of cement. The real question? When might the full "gush" finish the job?


It takes a lot to get the favourite husband to come home early. He loves what he does, and has a position of some responsibility. But water aboard is code for "get back here NOW!" And it worked.


Pumps should be automatic. I should be a best selling author. We don't always get what we want right away. Careful timing showed that I had two hours between manual pump outs. Not too bad: I could leave the boat for an hour, and sleep in two hour shifts. Husbands need their jobs and so get to sleep through - only fair. The first night was not too bad. A float switch was acquired and a repairman contacted.


With Miss Kitty, this computer, and everything we own aboard, I was ready to do what it takes. Lionesses always protect the cave. I only hoped that the suddenly puny-appearing pump would hold up and adhere to my 2 hour feeding schedule. Then the water speeded up.


Repairmen running true to form, Sunday rolled around without a resolution. Hubby stayed aboard to meet and greet (and pump) while I was paroled for about seven hours of socialization, secure in the knowledge that the problem would soon be solved. . .


The lack of sleep, and underlying tension (grab EVERYTHING and RUN!) finally broke over me like a trunami as I returned home to more repairman excuses and a 2o minute interval on the pumps. Electric back-up pump in place, and a timer at hand I settled in for an all-nighter. Two hours of sleep seemed so luxurious now!


I watched a fascinating documentary on TV about Henry Langois and the Cinematique. Virtually the first person to grasp the curatorial value of film, he set out to preserve these fragile documents of volitile nitrate stock. His story played a central role in the cultural upheavals of the Sixties, it seems, and I revelled in the footage of Parisian students rioting in grainy black and white footage. I read the English subtitles until it was time for the next pump-out.


Hubby found me twilight-dozing at 5am with the alarm ready to "beep" and kindly took over as I dozed a couple of hours before my trip to the home supply depot super store for another back-up pump, back flow limiters, and a crate of amphetamines.


When I returned home, the auto pump was finally auto pumping. That sucking sound you hear is the song of my freedom! The eminent emergency was now just a fun water feature. I always wanted to raise carp at home for fun and profit! Meanwhile, the harbor was still too churned up and opaque from rain to send a diver down. That would take another day to accomplish. . .


Yesterday, Tuesday, the diver found a suspicious spot below and plugged it with special boat-bottom magic sealer. The regular sucking noise of the pump slowed down like a patient returning from the brink of death and breathing normally again. . . And so we passed a second full night of blessed sleep.


Today we are drying out, I could even leave the boat all day if I wasn't so wasted. Drier weather has returned too, bringing back mesmerizingly blue Waikiki skies. The blessed, soothing Trade Winds have been filling back in all day. Paradise regained - for now. LOL!


So now you know why this blog missed posting on Tuesday. Hope you understand! And the construction? It's down to a dull roar today - but at least I'm free to leave. . . For now ;-)

A L O H A! Cloudia






16 comments:

  1. Water...The substance of sustainable life on the planet. On some days it is like mothers milk, allowing for health and prosperity to thrive. Other days it is like a drunken uncle crashing the black tie get together. Either way though it is better to live atop the aquarium than in it.

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  2. What a crazy adventure. A spill is enough to show that it doesn't take a lot of water to create a lot of damage; a flood or the like is exponentially worse.

    Your experience became an amazing story. Thanks, Cloudia.

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  3. Yes, I did wonder what happened to you. So that's what it was. Too bad, Cloudia. Pretty scary, too. Living on a boat is not as romantic as some people think.

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  4. Oi Cloudia, this post has cured my house (boat) envy. What a situation you had! I pray that little patch holds.
    Funny, just yesterday I wrote about the ship that brought me to Israel and about her eventual fate. Lehavdil--not that there is any similarity in your story and hers!

    Be well and safe.

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  5. I love it - "The mechanical castanets of doom". You have a beautiful way with words, Cloudia. And I'm so glad that your engine room is once again high and dry!

    peace - D

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  6. Oh ..what an adventure .. did anyone from the barge work crew apologize for causing this? I didnt think so.

    SO glad you are drying up ... LOL ... xox

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  7. I like the thought of living on a boat but I wouldn't like the work.

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  8. What a nightmare. We had a friend who lived on a wooden sailing barge near here, which sank unexpectedly (sorry - that's not a cheering thing to write, is it).

    Before my father's boat was kitted out with a proper flood alarm (the prop gland had a way of leaking), we used a simple bell, with contacts attached to a clothes peg and separated by a soluble aspirin. Any water disolved the aspirin and completed the circuit.

    (Your book just arrived from Amazon. Looks great, although I have another to finish before I get stuck in).

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  9. Wow Cloudia, things that should have been obvious I guess, but I just never thought about the upkeep and potential "water issues" of boat living. Thanks for a lively post, and glad it had a happy, and dry, ending!

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  10. Can't live without it, but you don't want it on your boat like that!

    Glad you are still afloat.

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  11. Wowsers Cloudia,

    Pretty exciting stuff, Aquagirl, though much better, for you and your family and your home, when it is all over.

    Are you able to sleep soundly, or are you still spooked? I wish you only the best.

    I am still a bit unclear on the concept of the source of the water, though.

    Was this a pump issue where you were getting back flow, or do you need to put your home into dry dock to find the leak and fix it?

    (I am sending best wishes for a quick and inexpensive fix.)

    As much as I sit enthralled by your description (castanets of doom? Magical.), I am quite concerned. I am sure all of your readers are.

    The only really good thing that I can think of is that the water battles should be over, as water has now lost the recent battles it has staged on all three state of existence fronts.

    What do I mean by that?

    Well, first, I battled water in its gaseous form, in a sense, if you recall, when the typhoon burst into my home in Hong Kong.

    Then, second, Junosmom battled water as ice, water in its solid form, when the icy cold front hit Kentucky and forced Junosmom from her home.

    Finally, and third, you have now battled water in its liquid form.

    And it sounds like you have won.

    Maybe we can move onto the next level and battle something else, something other than water.

    Like sand, maybe.

    Or daiquiries.

    We send love, warmth, and best wishes to you and yours, from Hong Kong to Hawaii.

    Tschuess,
    Chris

    Postscript

    Pommes is quite concerned about Miss Kitty and wants another picture to make sure that she is safe.

    Make it wallet-sized, said Pommes.

    Hmm. We may have an issue...

    Post postscript

    Sorry this was so long.

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  12. Walking Man: You've TOPPED yourself today! (Hope it was my prose priming your pump)
    A gem of a comment - several actually. You made me feel better. Thanks!! Aloha my friend.

    Thank YOU, SANDY! Your response matters to me, and gladdens me also.

    GiGi: You said a mouthful!

    Dina: I often think of your courage in living et Eretz Israel! I'll check out that post. Thanks for your valued visit/comment. I love how you open the world to me, and your links to Iranian bloggers too. ShalomAloha

    Thanks, RiverPoet! Honestly I don't know where such phrases come from (my novel "Aloha Where You Like Go" is FULL of them) I'm just profoundly grateful that they DO come! Just like I am about YOUr visits! Gifts All!


    Daryl: I assumed that all the vibration had something to do with it too!!!!!!!! Hubby doubts it. I say: let the lawyers decide!
    I love how you think, your blog, your comments & around the B-sphere. Here's a "Woodstock Attendees Coolness award" for YOU, Sistah.

    Charles: You'd fit right in around here! I need a crew beyond the useless miss Kitty. My husband's know-how & friends have kept us afloat since '92.

    Brother T: So good to see you, cousin!
    "we used a simple bell, with contacts attached to a clothes peg and separated by a soluble aspirin. Any water disolved the aspirin and completed the circuit."
    Your Dad's boat you say? You are full of wonders; what an illustrious Ohana. I so enjoy following your blog-life! Thanks very much for "jumping into the taxi" of my book. I hope it rewards your kind attention richly! Warmly,

    Deborah: That's me, here to keep my blog pals from making any rash moves in their lives. Thanks for your kind attention and always worthwhile comments. Aloha

    Bubble Wench: I love seeing your face here! Thanks, Honey. That mousie you posted yesterday was chi chi!!

    Chris: Don't apologize for your lengthy treat of a comment! Usually we take on zero water -so auto pump was not important. Just a suck now and then was more than sufficient. We've spent some of the most, um, Challenging moments of life (saying something)in dry dock and are intimately familiar with the roof below. We should be OK till the next dry, Thanks, really!

    Great synthesis of the 3 states of water, 3 posts! I enjoy your wide-ranging mind. Today, Walking in Waikiki I wondered who but me would be interested in certain antique facts I was pondering. "S. Chris!" I realized!
    Pommes: Get PLANNY pics of da kitty gal all ovah da blog archives; though she's asking about you. . . and . . . Posing fetchingly (yes you are!) as I blog this......Aloha & take care of your parents, Pommes!

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  13. Dear Cloudia,

    Glad that all is well then, on the boat.

    I've only toured drydocks as an interested, and not personally involved, third party. I doubt I would understand the full mental significance of seeing your home from underneath, especially as I have lived an exceeding peripatetic lifestyle for my whole life.

    (Gypsies, like sailors, stay in the same home, only the land beneath the heads is always changing.)

    Pommes has been caught trolling the archives frequently. Or maybe he just likes playing with mice?

    Tschuess,
    Chris

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  14. Good gracious. What an experience! I hope you both stay dry. I too have never considered the problems of living on water.

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  15. Even in paradise, the elements have a way of reminding you that they are boss, don't they? Thank you for sharing. While I daydream about your boat life, I should add in some of the reality. Your blog reminds us that Hawai'i is also a place where people live, have construction cranes and inconveniences, not just a vacation spot. I suppose all places have their challenges, even if outsiders don't see them at first.

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  16. Water troubles know no bounds! I've got tap water problems where I drank city water out of the tap and got sick, so had the City water inspector come out to test the water in the apartment. Worse case scenario if chemicals are found in the water, every tenant in the building will have to move out and the landlord has a hefty financial problem with replacing all the pipes.

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