The Sea Otter

Had a visit from a Sea Otter. Spotted him at the entrance to the Marina before He drifted over to The Bridgeman with something like an oyster or crab shell in His mouth. A sort of lackadaisical drifting on his back as if he had not a care in the world. As he drifted closer to the dock I could see that he was a big boy and wondered for a moment whether or not he was really a seal. But then I noted more of the puppy like characteristics of an Otter. Interesting that most all species of life on this planet have a set of eyes, a set of ears, a nose and a mouth to chew with. This Otter no doubt was fully aware of his environment and split real quick when he observed motion on board The Bridgeman.
Made progress today varnishing with Cetol the Port Side upper cabin teak embellishment railing. Completed first a review of the sanded areas and hit them again with 120 grit paper using the 5" orbital sander. Then I brushed the areas clean several times and masked off the surrounding areas with blue painters tape. Also taped clear plastic to the lower cabin wall and over the teak deck areas to make sure drops of Cetol did not run off. Used a 1 inch tapered brush for the best effect. Only applied one coat. Started with a second coat but the application appeared gummy....so I decided to hold off. Will wait for tomorrow and apply a second coat after rubbing clean with a Marine solvent. Looks very nice.
Also sanded smooth the 2 foot square section of the teak deck where I had applied the sandable teak deck caulking between the deck strips. Then I applied Teak Oil to this section just to see the effect. Sure enough, the deck was starving for oil and attention. The Sun is hard on substances in this world. Teak decking included. The Bridgeman decks are now 33 years old. Same age as Jesus Christ when he set foot in the ancient lands to deliver a message of Peace and a Gospel of Good Tidings. I am hopeful that my care of The Bridgeman decking will be a resurrection of its own accord. It would cost a fortune to install a new teak deck. So in my view, I will simple care for every strip of teak until all of the individual parts come together with fine new seams of teak deck caulking positioned to the left and right of every strip and the collective whole then hums to the tune of Mahler's resurrection symphony. Restoring a teak deck is a bit like dentistry. Decay sets itself in play and the Dentist removes the decay and carefully bonds new filler to a sculptured surface. Presently I am the Teak Deck Dentist. I use a simple tool that I found in Home Depot that is shaped like a V-Blade to pull out the old caulk. I then insert the new Boat Life Black Teak Decking Caulk and rub it smoothly into the joint. I make sure I apply an ample bead and then let it cure for 24 hours. Then I sand the caulking residue and the teak deck strips lightly to get a fresh clean-cut look and feel. It also looks like the hours of 3pm to 7pm are my favorite working hours of the day and the most productive. This is the time for sanding and varnishing and for careful on my knees work pulling out all the old stripes of teak caulking I find it best to sand and varnish port side, and in contrast, to work on teak deck restoration on the starboard side. An East/West routine.
Listening to music also helps. For teak restoration, I recommend a mixture of Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, Alice Cooper, Def Leapord, Sting, Little Hatch and the House Rockers R&B, Marianne Faithful and a bit of Pearl Jam, Van Halen, Aerosmith, Bob Dylan and Stevie Nicks.
Wrapped up the evening with a walk over to the Skip Jack Inn. Walked a bit along the sand beach to watch the Cranes. Like the Otter, they seem well adept at life. They sit solo on some rock or sand bar where the water has ebbed away at low tide. With patience, they wait for sustenance to swim by as a present for an early evening meal. God almighty seams to provide each species their just nourishment proportionate to their needs and their relationship to him.
In closing, I am thinking of Aristotle. He believed in the Golden Mean. The point of balance which existed on neither too little or too much and in his belief that it was the purpose of each Man and Woman on this earth to find happiness in doing something that made them feel happy about life and challenged them to be the best that they could be in doing whatever skill they felt they could do best. I pondered today the subject of youth. Our own youth. Seems for the most part our time in youth is concerned with the "I" and never with the "We". How many years I wasted in the pursuit of the evil "I" as opposed to dedicating my life to the perpetuation and to the care of the goodness of the collective "We". Oh well, the good news is that we can change. Just takes courage and right action. And habitual right action in the view of Aristotle....leads to happiness in this life.