Day 190 - Boaty McBoatface — Captain Father John

Miles cruised 0, fuel purchased $0, slip fee $130, daily high temperature 88° f

It was another perfect day in Stuart. Priscilla and John continued the condo search with the help of Dan and Iris. We found the once in a lifetime opportunity condo with a “wide water” view of the Saint Lucie River. The sellers accepted our offer.

View from our screen porch of the Saint Lucie River

Dick and Candy Smith drove over from Mount Dora to visit with us. Iris arranged another magical evening at Getting Crabby. The crab bisque is the best.

We still need a little work from Solomon to change the Racor on the generator and blow out the vent on the starboard fuel tank. We have been having a lot of blow back while filling that tank. The plan is to have breakfast with the Smiths and Carlsons and cruise to north to Vero Beach on Saturday.

Bonus story and photo.

You may have seen Boaty McBoatface in the news recently. This story started when the British Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) opened an Internet poll for naming suggestions on their brand new $287 million polar research vessel. Quickly, Boaty McBoatface rose to prominence, fueled by viral posts on the potential name of the British government’s newest research ship. Despite many comments and stories surrounding the merits of naming the ship Boaty McBoatface over more traditional names, one cannot deny the publicity this has provided to the NERC.

When James Hand offered his suggestion for the new ship’s name, he likely did not foresee the popularity it would soon garner. NERC has James, who is a public relations professional, to partially thank for their sudden popularity. Regardless of the final ship’s name, NERC has been given crucial and valuable publicity on a topic worthy of our attention.

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Carl (Chef) Wooden – quote of the day.

Time is more complex near the sea than in any other place, for in addition to the circling of the sun and the turning of the seasons, the waves beat out the passage of time on the rocks and the tides rise and fall as a great clepsydra.” – John Steinbeck

Clepsydra (literally “water thief”), the Greek word for water clock. Also, in ancient Greece, a device (water thief) for drawing liquids from vats too large to pour, which utilized the principles of air pressure to transport the liquid from one container to another.

John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. (February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American author of twenty-seven books, including sixteen novels, six non-fiction books, and five collections of short stories. He is widely known for the comic novels Tortilla Flat (1935) and Cannery Row (1945), the multi-generation epic East of Eden (1952), and the novellas Of Mice and Men(1937) and The Red Pony (1937). The Pulitzer Prize-winning The Grapes of Wrath (1939),[2] widely attributed to be part of the American literary canon, is considered Steinbeck’s masterpiece. In the first 75 years since it was published, it sold 14 million copies.

The winner of the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature, he has been called “a giant of American letters”.[5] His works are widely read abroad and many of his works are considered classics of Western literature.

Most of Steinbeck’s work is set in southern and central California, particularly in the Salinas Valley and the California Coast Ranges region. His works frequently explored the themes of fate and injustice, especially as applied to downtrodden or everyman protagonists.