Letter to an old friend

Thank you for the birthday wish.  You're right.  The dairy farmer hours I keep prevented me from seeing your message until this morning – 4 AM.

 

It was my intention to spend this day away from the marina to work on the condo, but a last minute charter on the Hunter 41 came up and I was asked to handle the briefing.  I spent some time at the condo yesterday instead.  After this morning's briefing I'll spend the rest of the day servicing the Yanmar engine and the Fisher Panda generator on the Hunter 44.  That boat will sail to Mexico in just over a week.  There are a couple more engines I need to work on this week before I begin teaching a six day cycle of ASA classes on Sunday.  And there's more work for me to get done on the condo before then too.         

 

Lately, when I'm not working at the marina, I'm working on the condo.  I expect this will go on until after we move, sometime next month.  I can't give myself a weekend at the track, as I'd like.  But I have looked ahead on the calendar and identified a weekend when I think I can get away – May 26 & 27. 

 

I feel the need for a weekend at the track.  Lately I've found myself thinking, I should sign up for a CCS event.  That's the race organizer in this region.  I let my Oregon race license lapse this year, but I applied for and obtained a CCS racing license.  It wasn't really my intention to race.  I simply want to hold on to some credential for racing, just in case.  I've said to myself (and Cathy) that I was done with racing.  Doing track days would be enough.  But recently I've been reconsidering that notion.  The bike is ready, though not very competitive with more current bikes.  Still, I think I could get respectable results.  I'd just need a set of DOT race compound tires.

 

Racing is a lot of fun.  Much more intense than a track day.  You naturally push yourself much harder.  Of course the risk of crashing or getting tangled up in someone else's crash is also much greater.  But I love the close riding, dog fighting intensity of those first couple of racing laps.   I'll do a trackday weekend and hopefully get it out of my system for a while.          

 

Your weekend in Kamloops sounds delightful.  As for winter, well the only part of that I miss is the occasional opportunity to drive in low traction conditions.  Winters in Portland are mild, so there weren't many of those.  Winters in Portland were mostly cooler temperatures, - usually still above freezing - overcast skies and frequent but light rain.  Last winter – our first winter here in St Petersburg – I was surprised by the occasional cool, even cold, temperatures.  I remember mornings when it was downright cold for sailing.  I wore jeans and my heavy foul weather coat to work many times.  This winter has been very different - very warm.  I think I've worn jeans just once, and never more than a sweater and light wind breaker.      

 

That's weird about the shifter on the Boxter. (I've never driven one.  I'll bet it's a hoot.)  I wonder, what's unique in the linkage for 5^th gear/ 6^th  gear shifting?  I hope your enquiries with mechanics yield help.  

 

I'll come back to your questions about Marilyn's aftermath next time.  But I'll say this now – I stayed in the VI for five more years afterwards.       

 

More soon.

 

RR