I don't know the exact definition or origin of the term "swallow the anchor" but, here is my working definition. Maybe an example would be better. In any marina you'll find a starry eye'd new boat owner prepping and dreaming of fair away exotic locations and the dream of oceanic horizons. Over a period of time, the full definition of BOAT (break out another thousand) starts to sink in and the strain of digging up deep roots starts to weigh. Suddenly storm clouds start to appear on that oceanic horizon. Many times, a wife will start out being supportive, but then realize the irrationality that grips men with boats. Suddenly all weekends are consumed by boat related activities, weekday evenings are spent perusing World Cruising Routes and cataloging years worth of Cruising World. At some point support turns to concern, concern turns to strife and pretty soon a For Sale sign is hung from the bow pulpit. Then someone like me will stride on by and say "Well looks like Jim swallowed the anchor." Get it?
Swallowing the anchor can take many forms. When someone comes home from sea, sells the boat or eases into the life of a land lubber, your getting close to digesting a Danforth. Now take my new (to me) car. This is a sure sign of dust and dirt versus sea salt starting to cling to me. I have not swallowed the anchor yet, but I took a bite out of it. This is fine and on the agenda. At some point all sailors swallow the anchor, but the encouraging thing for me is, I am young enough to yak that anchor back up and head to sea again.
So, I have a special shout out to my dad who did all the leg work for me. Just kind of unfolded this way. I am now the proud owner of a green 2001 Honda Accord with 64,500 miles. Beautiful. I've named it the "Green Manalishi (with the two-pronged-crown)" which is a cultural reference. I have a penchant for naming things, such as my Honda generator is "Big Red" and my old Nissan truck was named the "Silver Bullet." As an aside, I learned yesterday that the "Silver Bullet" has now been re-named the "Puddle Jumper." I have no beef.
I rented a car yesterday and made the four hour drive to my parents house to pick up my car and visit for a day or two. Back to work for me on Wednesday evening followed by a visit from the lovely Janina on Thursday. And according the weather folks the temperatures in Naples will be back in the high 70's by weeks end. Should be a great week indeed.
In the HD video department I am working on a 2009 Video compilation. But this time, I am learning how to create the video soundtrack in Apple Garageband software. The learning curve is a bit steep and it will take time to learn the program. This is another fine example of how starting a sail blog has lead me to develop interests and enthusiasm in unrelated topics. That's how I roll.
Capt Chris
PS: Please don't forget to check out my pictures in My Picasa photo album and to keep up with the latest word you can sign up using my RSS feed. I use Google Reader and love that I can aggregate in one spot all the websites I check out on a regular basis. A real time saver.
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