September, 2015

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Sunday September 27th. The Blood Moon

Tuesday, September 29th, 2015

This turned out quite different than I had expected. I, and many others, were positioned on the high knoll above the entrance to the Gig Harbor Bay. Expecting it to come up over the Cascade Mountains. But we did not discover the sliver of the moon until the sky darkened and it was already a ways up over the horizon.

Here first two shots taken Saturday evening to test the location where it was to rise over the Cascades. I had hoped to be able to get Mt.Rainier in with the moon, but by the time the moon rose high enough, the mountain would be dark on Sunday.

over Browns Point, Tacoma, Pt. Defiance

over Browns Point, Tacoma, Pt. Defiance

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over Pt. Defiance

And the Eclipse:

Time exposure.

Time exposure.

 

L.R.: Vashon Isl, Browns Point, Pt. Defiance, Salmon Beach

L.R.: Vashon Isl, Browns Point, Pt. Defiance, Salmon Beach

 

 

 

 

 

 

Richard Gillette, who had his set up right next to me did a full video of the Eclipse at: https://youtu.be/GbZaCqTwM00

You can find his e-mail address in the comment on yesterday’s blog. He does superb drone videos/photos, good for your events or real estate pictures.

Thursday September 24th. The Mural is done.

Thursday, September 24th, 2015

Sunday Sept 27: If you are visiting this blog for the first time because of today’s Face Book post, and you have an interest in the Croatian Gig Harbor connection, you might like to follow my two week sailing trip through the islands in Croatia, finding Gig Harbor roots. Go to June 2012 on this web site: https://cometosea.us/?m=201206

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Today Lita Dawn and Bob Henry signed their Jane and John Henry to this impressive project.

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Last weekend was the annual Jack&Jill informal sailboat race of the Gig Harbor YC. My Jill stood me up, so I sailed a Jack& Nil race. We had great wind conditions. It took around 2 hours to sail on Saturday, mostly down wind to Des Moines. And against the wind back on Sunday from three to four hours.

Just about 200 yards from the entrance to the Gig Harbor Bay a Humpback Whale surfaced and then showed his large fluked tail. I did not have my camera in the cockpit because of the rough conditions and I could not leave the helm. It spouted a few times. Then I heard that this whale has been seen in the area off and on for the last 2 weeks. But a search for it on Monday did not turn up any sighting for me.

getting ready to start on Saturday, picture by Sheila Schultz

getting ready to start on Saturday, picture by Sheila Schultz

Mark Lindeman making Margaritas with his two cycle gas engine driven blender

Mark Lindeman making Margaritas with his two cycle gas engine driven blender

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I harvested my first, for the season, Porcini mushrooms (Boletus), at least I think they are. If this is the last blog you read, it might have something else. They grow on the church property, that might be my saving grace.

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Monday September 14. A geography lesson on Refugees crossing from Turkey to Greece.

Monday, September 14th, 2015

This morning I listened to my NPR station on morning addition on my today’s subject. Contributed by Peter Kenyon and Joannna Kakissis: http://www.npr.org/2015/09/14/440173512/migrants-set-off-for-europe-despite-others-tragic-tales

grdodec

Greece counts about 6,000 islands of which about 275 are uninhabited. I cannot find a count of the Turkish   islands but besides a few in the Turkish Sea of Marmara  and two or three Turkish islands at the the Greek  side of the Dardanelles Strait and half of Cyprus, plus a few uninhabited rocks of the Turkish coast there are no Turkish islands on the Mediterranean Coast. The about 600 mile Turkish Black Sea coast has no islands,  and for that matter, practically, neither has the Georgian, Ukrainian, Romanian or Bulgarian Black sea  coast.In the Greek War of Independence between 8121 and 1832 the Ottoman Empire was pushed back to the  Turkish mainland. Before the advance of the Roman Empire the Greeks had colonized most of coastal Turkish territory in the Mediterranean. Ephesus, Antioch, Colossus, Myrna, Tarsus, Philadelphia, etc. were all familiar names in the New Testament they were all part of the Greek sphere on the now Turkish mainland.

I did not know this when I sailed in October 2011 from the Greek Island of Samos, which at its closest point to Turkey is only separated by less than one mile…, via the Turkish mainland harbor of Gümüşlük to the island of Symi, on my way to the Turkish resort town and popular snow bird marina of Marmaris. Symi is surrounded by the Turkish mainland.

I thought to my self, after I had put the anchor down in the small bay on Symi: “These two week charter boat sailors don’t have a clue on the proper display of the courtesy flag”. They were all flying the Greek courtesy flag. But then I discovered that I had once more illegally entered Greek territory. The Greek Orthodox monastery on shore woke me up. I had been kicked out of Greece on the island of Mitilini on my way from Istanbul, because I was unable to show proof of liability insurance. See previous blogs at: https://cometosea.us/?m=201110&paged=2

You can get a feel of the wind and sea conditions the refugees face, reading through this period from Istanbul to Marmaris and back to Chios in October/November 2011 and then again from Chios to Leros via Samos in April 2012. In the summertime there is a steady strong northerly blowing and in the fall strong storms kept me in port for weeks. The Mediterranean threw more nasty storms at me than the Atlantic, Pacific or Indian Oceans I have crossed and in the end managed to wreck “Fleetwood” on November 16, 2013 near Ibiza.

Now, after sharing my geography and history lessons, I want to abuse you from my soap box. When the whole Charlie Hebdo story enfolded, I commented that I was relieved that our president was not in that picture of all the “who is who” of the European Community. The below picture reflects my reaction to the same, overly spontaneous, reaction to the refugee problem. Particularly by Merkel and Hollande. It sounds so good, but how do you control the flood gates and the perils of this journey?

EU-leaders-migration

I believe the new British approach to bring the refugees directly from the holding areas on the Syrian Turkish border, Jordan and Lebanon makes much more sense. And I hope that the Unites States will do better than the current 10,000 suggested visas.

One of my FB friends posted a FB link https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10204577442212183&set=a.2243004070761.2104764.1117871446&type=1 that makes me sick and wanting to cut the land lines and sail away as far away from these shores as I can. Particularly when you read the venomous and ignorant comments. The picture shows the destruction of the Twin Towers and accuses the President of wanting to admit 10,000 potential terrorists. If anything showed us how easy it is for a foreigner to enter the United States to learn how to fly an airplane, it was 9-11, why would you bother to apply for a refugee visa? How did the couple million illegal immigrants make it into this country?

For a little more positive news: I am done with the English version of “Soloman”, I just have to do a thorough check through the 385 pages and then make the call for the volunteer editors.

 

Thursday Sept. 10. Another gorgeous day in Gig Harbor.

Thursday, September 10th, 2015

But the down side of all this sunshine is that I get too  distracted. But yet, I’m now in “Soloman” in the summer of 2013 with just the trip down the Rhone and then to “Fleetwood’s” resting place on November 16, 2013. Stay tuned. When this is done I hope to spend a few weeks sailing in the late summer quiet. I have not had any offers yet for a ride to Port Townsend this Saturday. I had planned to go there as part of a cruise, by boat, but the book and a couple other dates in the next two weeks nixed that.

Here are a few more pictures on the Finholm Market Mural project.

Just 105 days until Christmas.....

Just 105 days until Christmas…..

Lita Dawn Ancich

Lita Dawn Ancich

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Tonight's in the Harbor Race

Tonight’s in the Harbor Race

 

Tuesday September 8. Think Snow.

Tuesday, September 8th, 2015

The below picture of Mt. Rainier shows the first snowfall since May, down to 5,000 feet. Last week it was still full of bare spots.

Can anyone give me a ride to the Pt. Townsend Wooden Boat Festival this Saturday from Gig Harbor? I do not have a car, just for the day. http://nwmaritime.org/events/wooden-boat-festival/

And a few pictures of the progress on the Finholm Market mural. Last week the rain interrupted the progress.

Sept 2nd

Sept 2nd

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