Up and Away

I was a bit nervous as I strapped myself into the Bosun’s chair last Friday. It wasn’t that I was afraid of heights – I loved roller coasters and climbing (mostly trees) as a kid – but getting hauled up a tall pole on a swaying boat was entirely new to me. One of us needed to go up the mast to adjust the angle of the spreaders and then paint the top of them to protect them from the sun, and while Brian would have willingly gone, I wanted to give it a try.

Once I strapped myself into the chair, Brian began to haul me up using the halyard and another safety line. As I started to rise, I used my feet to work my way from the side of the mast to position myself over the boom. From there it was a straight shot up to the center of the spreaders, which is about halfway up our mast (which is approx. 49 feet tall). The higher I went, the more I began to swing from the rocking of the boat and the wind, so I embraced my primate roots and used my feet to grip around the mast.

I held myself steady between the stays as I checked the angle of the spreaders, and Brian walked up and down the dock to get a better view of their adjustment, hollering directions up to me. I matched up the angles as best I could considering that the spreaders had been handmade by Brian back in Rockville and weren’t exactly the same shape. When we were both fairly satisfied, he lowered me down to take a look for myself. To my relief, they looked much better.

Brian hauled me up again to paint the tops, but I wasn’t the slightest bit nervous the second time around. In fact, I stayed up there for another hour applying two coats of paint on each spreader. I have to say, I rather enjoyed it and the view is quite nice up there.

Also, for those of you who are wondering, we are leaving for Florida VERY soon!