Wednesday, June 15, 2005


A much more interesting picture of the Bay Bridge, Maryland. Photo by Laurence.

Dawn over the Chesapeake, taken by Laurence on Sunday, June 12.

Monday, June 13, 2005


Laurence returning from the depths below deck.

Nearing the Bay Bridge

Cap'n Laurence at the helm

She's a bit closer...

Good morning. Well, I had great hopes of posting audio blogs all weekend, but for some bizarre reason the blog access number did not work, so no audio blogs. (I don't think you can blame the user for this one!) Nothing really that riveting happened: no storms, no injuries, no accidental warping of the ship's hull, etc. It was just a lovely weekend, worth mentioning quickly and simply.

We left Baltimore in the early afternoon without event. Still cursed with the triple H's (as we are today, too), the breeze on the water was refreshing. The water was filled with pleasure craft, but none so special and unique as the Wendy B -- I do acknowledge the allure of an old, sweet tug! Whenever we tie up we have people waiting for us with questions, hoping to be asked on board. Anyways, we chugged down the Chesapeake and anchored out in the Eastern Bay at night, about 1 mile offshore. It was beautiful -- once we did all of our little chores, like trying to figure out how to turn on the anchor lights (we gave up), we sat on the back deck and looked up at the stars. No light pollution, few clouds, and an infinite expanse of mystery. It was so lovely it made my heart ache.

Sunday was equally uneventful and lovely. We pulled anchor at 6 am (why do they always insist on waking up so bloody early????) and made it to our destination to the boatyard in Cambridge, MD, about four hours ahead of schedule. Home by 7 pm. Wonderful.

I am a little overwhelmed at work at the moment, so this is going to be it for now... I'll let you know when our next adventure will be. If she's going to have body work done in Cambridge, we probably won't bring her back until early August, but things may change.

Enjoy!

Friday, June 10, 2005

Wendy B, Leg 3

The entire Washington, DC (aka "Swamp from Hell) area has been stricken by a case of the triple H's: hazy, hot, humid. In spite of this, we're heading up to Baltimore tomorrow to bring the Wendy B a little closer to DC, but not quite to DC itself. We're getting an estimate on painting the hull, so she'll have a nice little vacation on the Eastern Shore while the crew slaves away at the bureaucratic grind. (Grr.)

So I will be Tugboat Julee once again. The concern: the boat is HOT when the engine is running, which was wonderful when it was 30' at night, but means there is no escape from the heat over the weekend. I think we'll be sleeping on deck at night, which might be a bit of a mosquito-fest for the local bloodsuckers.

I will do some audio posts over the weekend and try to borrow a digital camera... More tomorrow!

Tuesday, June 07, 2005


A pensive Julee relaxing on the back deck, Manhattan behind her. Note the !!#$(&!! outboard motor behind her -- we should have thrown it over the railing!

Next trip!

Good morning, sunshine. Sunshine? Hello? It's a classic HHH day in DC: hazy, hot, hellish (humid). Summer is here and I'm ready to be on the water.

We're going to bring Wendy B a little bit closer to home this weekend by bringing her into the Chesapeake with a stopover at a shipyard for an estimate on painting the hull. This means a nice, lazy weekend on the water, which is what I desperately need. I don't think I've been home for two consecutive weekends in a row for over two months now, which is beginning to wear on me slightly, but what a delight to be Tugboat Julee once again...

Friday, June 03, 2005

Friday morning, Westport

My task for today is to pull together a consultant team to go out to East Africa and revitalize a project. I dreamed about this last night, which is never a good sign, but I was greeted by an e-mail from Mali this morning that brings another team member on board. Now for the last person... Hooray!

I have decided that I infinitely prefer tugboat Julee over stressed out worker bee Julee. (Of course, tugboat Julee is usually stressed out in other ways, and dirty, but she has a certain charm and charisma I find appealing.) Now to find the balance between the two! Anyways, Wendy B will make the last leg of the journey in mid-June and then she'll be in Washington. I've already alerted Laurence that I plan on spending every weekend on the boat; the entire SW boardwalk feels so different and alien from the rest of the city; I can almost convince myself that I'm somewhere else when I'm there. Ah. Sweet escape.

Must get a little more work done here at the hotel before going to work... More anon, o breathless readers.