The Tin Clock

[mike cunningham]

I just scored an antique E.N. Welch carriage clock called the Little Lord Fauntleroy. This is the same clock and vintage as the tin clock Slocum carried around the world. The original sank with Spray but mine is the same model built in the early 1890s. I will find a nice nest for it aboard Jacqueline.

Interesting story re the tin clock in Ocean Navigator from 20 years ago.

https://oceannavigator.com/searching-for-slocums-clock/

 

[BobJ]

That's very cool Mike! As I fight with technology trying to meet PacCup's latest requirements for onboard e-mail, etc., Slocum's reasons for the clock resonate!

 

[Philpott]

That is a very cool little clock, Mike. Are you in Australia now?

Speaking of technology, I checked out a little doohickey from the Oakland Public Library with my library card. It's half the size of my iphone, and is a Verizon wifi hot spot. Amazingly, it works here on the water in the Delta.



And no, I am not required to pay for T Mobile service for it to work. Amazing.

 

[mike cunningham]

Yea Bob, it will be a reminder that technology is not the be all and end all. I can use the reminder!

I tried but couldn't resist buying it when I came across it online. As the article author noted, you never know if you'll have another chance.

 

[mike cunningham]

Not off to Australia yet, headed out on the 25th of July. Speaking of which, funny situation with my Brother in Law. He was an airline pilot flying for Air New Guinea for many years. The Australian and PNG Covid quarantine requirements got so lengthy on his two month tours that he just gave up and retired. He is now driving a dump truck in Brisbane to keep himself busy. From flying people to driving dirt.... Well, at least he is working. I, on the other hand, have been wasting money on sailboats and tin clocks since I retired. Having said this, I've found that wasting money is hard work, but someone has to do it.

Re T-mobile, nice. I am a Tmobile customer and just turned off Comcast (hooray) and am now getting internet via relatively new T-mobile wireless service which is cheaper and works fantastic. Similar to your device, I also use my phone hotspot when out and about on the water.

Sounds a little antiethical to the "tin clock" philosophy though. We should probably be ashamed of ourselves.

 

[mike cunningham]

Jackie, I reread your post. You checked that thing out from the library?!! That is a pretty awesome library resource. Too bad they don't check out rafts, epirbs, and SOLAS pyrotechnics.

 

[BobJ]

Jackie, that doohickey reminds me of the white doohickeys we won at the BYC Midwinters. We're supposed to lay the phone on it to charge.

I keep trying to plug its cord into my phone to charge it, but it doesn't charge. I think I got a bad one.

I'd post a photo of it but, you know...

 

[mike cunningham]

here is the original clock drawing in "Sailing Alone Around the World"

 

[Philpott]

Yeah, Bob, that never worked for me, either. But I appreciated the gift from BYC. And thank you for collecting mine for me.

Here's my adventure du jour:



Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's the new ladder for Dura Mater. 10" in between and I'll use a fender to offset it from her hull. I removed my stern ladder in order to install Good Boy, my windvane, so I'll need something to climb back up after swimming.

It's 77 degrees here already, with 14 knot wind out of the wsw. I'm waiting a bit for the water to go thisaway instead of thataway, gonna sail over, take a looksee at where boats are already rafting up for the fireworks Sunday. There will be an airshow by the Patriots, too. They usually fly right before the Blue Angels during Fleet Week.

Woke up this morning to find a blue heron walking by my boat on the dock, keeping his eyes down on the water for breakfast. So far, with the wind, no bugs.

 

[Intermission]

Mike, I'm guessing yours cost more than that, especially since it has better face. Congratulations!

Double handing a gaff rigged Tahiti Ketch down the coast of Baja in '89, the skipper used two $15 Casio watches in their original clear plastic boxes, that he kept in a drawer. He knew the +/- deviation for each one, and had a receiver to get WWV.

My, how times have changed.

 

[Philpott]

That is a pretty awesome library resource. Too bad they don't check out rafts, epirbs, and SOLAS pyrotechnics.

There are five separate library fees listed on my property tax bill in Oakland. Often, when I ask for a book, they have to order it from some other library. Like the Jack Reacher series: Not really the kind of book my neighbors read ;-) I can also order tools from the Oakland Tool library up at Telegraph and Claremont.

Maybe I'll type in: Life Raft, see if Sal's is listed as an approved source. As for pyrotechnics? Well, they are being sold up at the local grocery in Rio Vista. I'll bet you can get 'em in Discovery Bay, too.

Ok, gotta go try out that new, high end ladder of mine.

 

[Dazzler]

Jackie - Good luck at Mandeville. It can get VERY crowded. I like the east side of the tip about 200 feet north of the cut. You can come in very close. I like it there for swimming because there’s enough current to keep the water moving, but you may need to put out a fender on a line for aid in getting back to the boat. The cut is surprisingly deep. I once saw the HAWAIIAN CHIEFTAIN there.

You probably figured-out by now that that ladder will need some weight on the bottom rung.

I liked the story of how Lee Child came up with the name Jack Reacher. I think it was in the preface to the first book.

I’m off tomorrow for a three week adventure delivering a big trawler from Port Townsend to Juneau. Could be interesting…

 

[mike cunningham]

Jackie - Good luck at Mandeville. It can get VERY crowded. I like the east side of the tip about 200 feet north of the cut. You can come in very close. I like it there for swimming because there’s enough current to keep the water moving, but you may need to put out a fender on a line for aid in getting back to the boat. The cut is surprisingly deep. I once saw the HAWAIIAN CHIEFTAIN there.

You probably figured-out by now that that ladder will need some weight on the bottom rung.

I liked the story of how Lee Child came up with the name Jack Reacher. I think it was in the preface to the first book.

I’m off tomorrow for a three week adventure delivering a big trawler from Port Townsend to Juneau. Could be interesting…

A good spot to watch the fireworks and well protected from the NW is the channel on the west side of Wards island. You get a great view of Hilton from about a mile upriver. Depth is around 10 to 12 feet at low tide. It is right off the Stockton deep water channel so very convenient. Not much fetch from any direction. You are well out of the craziness.

 

[mike cunningham]

I received my little tin clock today. It runs and keeps decent time...130 years old...so cool.

Here is another picture, next stop is Jacqueline but maybe not. The little ticking sound...