Docks, Volunteering, Good Book

I)  Docks, docks, docks…..
 Review:
1) September, 2003
        It starts….40’ section of dock immediately upstream of the dock house falls apart.
        Dock repaired in time for 2004 season.
2) April 15, 2010
       A light at the end of the tunnel….Gov. Deval Patrick visits CBI and announces the state’s commitment to replace the docks.
       $3.5 million of state funding contingent on CBI and The Esplanade Association (TEA) raising $500,000 private match.
        David Mugar and Solomon Fund immediately pledge $100,000 each.
 3) June 1, 2010
        CBI launches $100,000 in 100 days campaign to raise money from CBI community.
        TEA and CBI collaborate on other fundraising initiatives.
 4) June 23, 2010
        Deadline for sealed bids from contractors due to DCR.  DCR receives several qualified bids.
The next step will be for the DCR to issue a “Notice to Proceed”.  I am hopeful that we will learn about that immediately after July 4…..patience may be virtue but sometimes a little immediate gratification would be nice!

II) Volunteering
Boat sign-outs in 2010 are running approximately 20% higher than in 2009. That is a lot more wear and tear on our equipment. So a couple of reminders:
 If it’s broken report it.  There is a “Broken Boat Book” at the dock house.  It is our log of what needs fixing.
Help us fix things.  A lot of volunteers donate oodles of time over the course of the season and it always seems that we need more.  If you have time, enthusiasm, handy skills, and would like to make an impact at CBI that you can touch and feel, contact Marcin Kunicki, volunteering coordinator (among other things), or Greg Tobey, Director of Fleet Maintenance.
marcin@community-boating.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
greg@community-boating.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

III) Good Book.
 Mary’s Voyage, by Mary Caldwell and Matthew M. Douglas, published by Sheridan House.
I didn’t know anything about this book when I bought it. I bought it for my wife Mari in the hopes it would have a positive influence on her, you know, give her focus (come on honey let’s go sailing!).  She read a couple of sections to me and I promptly stole it from her and read it quickly cover to cover. Very interesting and enjoyable story.  Mary sails across the Pacific in 1952 with her husband and two small sons, one of whom is seriously sick on a small sailboat.  Did I mention that she was also pregnant?  Things go about as you might expect, like the time it was “too quiet” down below and upon investigation dad discovered the two boys had disassembled the sextant.  Little parts rolling around the bilge. Isn’t that neat?  Aaaaaaggghhh! Oh well, it just meant island hopping across the Pacific by ded reckoning. (for the uninitiated ded (sometimes written dead is short for deduced) is simply plotting you progress on a chart based on your estimated course, speed, leeway and current.  It’s accurate for a few hours and then slowly, eventually after a few weeks you should know where you are give or take a few hundred miles. Now where was that atoll supposed to be?  They saw pacific islands, and met islanders which still had been untouched by modernity. None of us will ever be able to repeat their experiences.  It left me a envious.  Let me know how you like it.
 Charlie