He packed more boat parts than clothes and had 2 checked bags that just met the weight requirements. The second bag he was going to carry on containing a starter motor for the engine didn't quite make the cut. The problem is the motor weighs about 60lbs and would be considered a 3rd checked bag if he were to check it with the others. If a bag is over 50lbs it's a $200 service charge. If it's a 3rd bag it's $200. I'm not sure if they add them together or just charge once, but he didn't want to find out. So he tried to carry it on. We thought he had it and then saw the massive security officer walking the bag with my Dad back around the security check point where we intercepted him and went with Plan B. (It's an opaque item so he has to check it)
Plan B was for me to take it with me... well sort of. The original idea was for me to check it with a couple other parts and another bag for me. This would mean a $50 extra bag plus the fee for it being between 50 and 70lbs. It can be done except my extra bag is already full of docking line, a sleeping bag, a fuel injector, and 2 or 3 books on Greece and Turkey. So Plan B has taken on many forms and may still change as the week progresses. Dad figured that there were only a couple of parts he needed from the motor. There are a lot of little parts and while the people at the local diesel shop advised against taking it apart and putting it back together, Dad called Bruce from his layover in O'Hare and asked him to pull off the necessities. So now Plan B is for me to bring about 10lbs of stuff from the motor along... the real trick will be getting everything from the airport to the boat... (the term pack mule comes to mind)
The boat is supposed to be located on land right now having the bottom pressure washed and painted. If you aren't aware of what happens to a boat that has been submerged in the water for an extended period of time, consider this an education lesson - barnacles.
A barnacle is a marine crustacean of the subclass Cirripedia that usually has a calcareous shell and attaches itself to ship bottoms, or other man made structures in the water. They eat plankton and use the surface of the boat as an anchoring position by attaching themselves as a fixture of the hull with a natural cement like secretion. While I'm sure barnacles are an important part of the marine ecosystem they aren't so great for the bottom of a boat. That extra lump of cement reduces a boats performance by adding weight and as a results uses up a lot more fuel. The Pipedream holds about 200 gal of diesel... imagine going to a tank to "fill her up" knowing you aren't getting the best "mileage" you can because a crustacean decided to claim your boat for him and 200 of his closest family members and friends. On top of that, when they do get knocked off in the water they sometimes take a little bit of paint with them. The paint on the bottom of the boat, aside from its aesthetic purposes, keeps the steel the boat is made of from rusting, thus preventing damage and holes where water can enter. Barnacles are a nuisance and not one of our marine time friends.
It's small, but there is a possibility that the boat will not be where my Dad left it. I know it may be hard to believe that one could misplace a 45ft sailboat, but there are machines there that can pick it up and move it like the claw moves a small plastic alien (I don't think the boat squeaks... I'll have to check on that). Right now our hope is that it is in the same marina where he left it and that the bottom is finished and smooth.
I suppose we will find all of this out tomorrow when Dad arrives in Rome.
In the meantime I'm on a search for last minute supplies. Words of wisdom - don't try to buy long underwear in Florida at the end of August... it's not one of the easiest things to locate. If there was time a simple online order to L.L. Bean or Cabellas would suffice, but there just isn't time.
I leave in one week... let the emotions begin.
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