Kinsale Marina

Another beautiful day in Paradise.
Following an evening storm, I find that The Bridgeman is dry. One small leak at the cabin hatch and investigation has revealed the cause. Will add to the list of restoration tasks. The goal here is to keep all water outside of The Bridgeman. That being all water from below and all water from above.
Carried on today with sanding of the upper cabin top teak trim embellishments. What comes to mind is patience. It takes time to get even a small area ready to varnish. One must start with 100 grit sandpaper and move on to 120 and 150 respectively. Caulking has to also be removed where teak sections join. If it looks imperfect, it means that one is racing beyond the point of patience. Our guts tell us always what is right and what is wrong. It we race to the finish line of varnishing without near perfect prep work, we will not be happy. Always best to take the time to do it right the first time. Don't look at the whole sailboat, just look at the individual components that make up the whole. Like the human body. Many parts. It will take time, years worth of time to fully restore The Bridgeman to a near original condition of grace and glory.
Watched a Sea Gull devour a fish this morning. Another Gull was nearby on another piling but did not disrupt. The Sea Gull with the fish managed to consume the fish just by shaking his head left and right to devour as much as possible. No hands. Just beak. At one point he dropped a third of the fish back into the water. I was curious it he would swoop down to consume the balance of the fish but it was not necessary. Off he flew, and with great speed took off to a distant part of the river. How simple life must be to fly with a perfectly engineered body consisting of wings that serve as an airfoil and eyes to spot food and a mouth to consume food. No need really to think about Wall Street or retirement or the news on BBC.
John helped me to take down my Mizzen sail today and then John, Marty and Terry helped me fold her up in preparation for sending her off to be cleaned and tuned up with some new stitches if required. The sail will be sent to a Mom and Pop shop with very reasonable pricing. Also folded up the UV Sail Cover which is very worn. Will take measurements and in time buy a sewing machine to make a new UV Sail Protection Cover out of Black Materials. They will contrast the red masts.
Went sailing briefly with John, Marty and Terry. Strong head winds aborted the sail. Came back in time to resume sanding The Bridgeman. Will resume in the morning and also treat a one square foot section of the teak deck with the Boat Life Marine Caulk just to get familiar with using this sandable teak decking system product which will also be used for crack between adjoining sections of teak.
John was later playing R&B Accordion tunes for Terry, Marty and Myself. Lots of talent. While in the middle of the concert performance I noted the Sea Gulls again. They fly and fly and are always in harmonious union with the world around them. Humans are not in Harmonious union with each other or with themselves or with the world around them. We consume nearly everything in our path. Sea Gulls and Ospreys and Eagles on the other hand are in harmonious union with the world. They are beautiful airfoils on hunting and recreation missions. There is no war between them like the flying Ace's of WWI. Only harmony that is proportionate to the balanced resources of this world.
The Bridgeman is starting to change. I can feel her and she can feel me. Restoration is in motion and union is taking shape just like the part one and part two of epoxy once carefully mixed into a single bonding agent.