The mysterious and honorable office of the Coast Guard Maritime Licensing Wizards have changed my status from TO BE EVALUATED to BEING EVALUATED. What does this mean? I dunno. Except it’s progress. Still no idea on the timing, but at least it may be that someone is actually looking at my application.
In other news, I have been invited to give a talk to The Abundance League in Denver on Tuesday. I shall wax philisophical about my experience with non-confrontational conflict mediation, how it isn’t all about me and the power of Leporidae in tight situations.
Yesterday I arrived in North Carolina. It is so great to visit with C. and S. It’s been too long. I got in a 12 mile ride today on C.’s mountain bike and had my first experience with clip in shoes. Jury is still out. I can see how it’s more efficient. But my toes started to hurt after a while. His saddle is a torture device as well. I miss my Brookes. Wish I had a camera to post some pictures. It’s very beautiful. Very cool cafes and stores. Very diverse people. I like this area, and I could see spending more time here.
Still no word on when I can test for my license. Still says “READY TO BE EVALUATED” on the Coast Guard site. Could be tomorrow…. could be next month… or the month after that.
In the meantime, my traveling continues. I have had a great week in San Francisco. What a difference from LA. JB visited while I house sat JH’s house in Oakland. Got some biking in, some hiking in and some great eats. Chez Penisse, Farina and all the regular great hole in the walls. God I love this town. The market for mariners doesn’t seem very hot. Met with a local captain and got the idea that I am better off working up North as I am doing, and visit SF.
Got down to the White Holly for a brief visit. They are doing some cool work with sharks. I may have to skip LoveFest and crew for Captain Vince. Giving up VIP tix to do so…. but man…. sharks.
And then we get to the DOH. I confused my flights and thought I was sposed to fly out at 0900. No. 0600. Damn. Learned an important lesson. On the phone - US Airways wanted $1200 to fix things. In person at the airport, I was able to get tickets out tomorrow. No charge. The gist is that the people on the phone are data entry, and have no discretion. They can only do what the machines tell them. Which by the speed they work at are probably TRS-80’s strung together with barb wire. No complaint to the people. They can only do what they are set up for. But the guys at the counter at the airport can make it go. But, the policy is that you have to do it within 2 hours. They were kind because it was obvious I tried, and the person on the phone put in a note on my reservation that said so. So, next time I miss a flight, it’s straight to the ticket counter with me. Off to North Carolina tomorrow morning!
Again, more eventful weeks. Had a great time in Black Rock. One of the best, dustiest years yet. Spent last week in SF. Had much much fun. Cooked ribs for a bunch of folks. Helped with B. wine crush in Palo Alto over the weekend. His folks house is really like a mini-resort. Rented a Hassalblad for that. Haven’t got the slides back yet, but it was fun shooting. Hopefully they came out. Went on a great bike ride with my unemployed friends to Sausalito. Really great ride. My goal now is to do a 50 mile ride, then a 100 mile ride late in October (or maybe when I visit North Carolina).
Right now I am in LA visiting a few folks I haven’t seen in years. Having a good time, but more convinced that this area of the world should slide into the Pacific.
So, full week. Some good, some bad. First, I put my application into the coast guard. It took nearly an hour to review the app! It’s all in and looks in order. Now I wait for background checks and the evaluation of my application. Sometime in the next couple of months I’ll get approval to take the exam. Then a week of exams and another torturous wait to get my license. Assuming all goes well.
On the bad side, all of my camera equipment was stolen from the house I was staying at, so expect fewer pictures for a bit.
See ya in the desert.
So, due to mostly technical difficulties I haven’t been able to post. Much has happened. I am on my last trip, and have all my seatime in. Unfortunately I can’t submit my application by mail, so I am waiting to return before I can do that. After that it will be 4-6 weeks before I can take my exam.
I only needed 20 days at the start of June, but couldn’t get a trip till June 13th, then only a 60 day trip. It’s looking like it is going to go late, which is really dragging on me. More on this later, but suffice to say I am ready to get home and get the license process rolling. But this trip keeps getting legs added to it. I don’t think it will end before September, no matter what assurances I get from the office.
Smooth sailing - in fact incredible. Got a couple of not great shots of a pod of killer whales. Saw many humpbacks and dolphins at Cape Spencer, but no great photos. The water is glassy as we cross the Gulf. Going to be in Anchorage in a couple of days.
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Ok, so I have been on a trip since Honolulu… but there was a snafu in the sat phone email, so all my posts didn’t get posted. I have been super busy this week putting all my belongings in storage, and forgot to update this. Now I am off to Alaska again. This is my last trip as a cook — only 20 days to go!!!!!! However, I won’t be back from this trip for 60. Hopefully I will be taking my License exam the week I return. There is a lot of paperwork logistics to figure out though.
I will try to write a more thoughtful post later and see if I can get the satphone to work. Should be able to post some pics when I get to Anchorage in 10 days or so.
Land Ho… So we have made a pretty uneventful crossing of The Gulf. The old man decided to go for Cape Decision instead of Dixon because of a low chasing us, with possible gales, but it’s only putting us back 6 hours or so.
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Leaving Alitak today. Got a couple of days of cargo work in, and now we are steaming at 9.4 knots accross the Gulf. The captain decided to bee line for Dixon Entrance seeing as the weather is so great. If this high stays with us, we should be back in Seattle by the 5th or 6th.
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