#clew crew

[mrwooglewogle]

[stillanobsession]

Things I Never Noticed About Treasure in the Royal Tower

Isn’t it like idk hard to purchase a tower from another country and transport it to the US? Especially in the 20s?? Like wouldn’t the French government be like no

I wish we could have Hiked to Butter Lovers Lake. I will now forever wonder if it was yellow

None of the activities mentioned in the Wickford Castle brochure Nancy can do

I all my game plays as a child till high school I never noticed the operator number on the phone, and have only in the last few years realized you could call the front desk

For just arriving Nancy really made herself at home unpacking all of her things, she’s even got mail on the vanity 

How on earth does Nancy sleep with the broken radiator hissing like that???

Did Dexter know about the hidden study in the library?

The bugs have names!

I get that what Dexter did was bad, but completely disowning him and annulling the adoption seems a tad bit excessive

I never realized you could blow the candle out in the secret room, I always left with it still burning

When does Hotchkiss sleep? If she is in the lobby from 3-6am and then begins working again once she gets back to her room that's like half the night. Does she take a mid afternoon nap?

Did Lisa know who all had medallion pieces of the tiara? Or was it just a coincidence that she happened to visit the castle after Dexter and Jacque got hired and Hotchkiss decided to travel there to work on her book? Cause her plan would not have worked otherwise

How did Jacques not hear Nancy banging on the door after getting locked outside?

How exactly did Lisa just follow Nancy down into the tunnel leading to the tower? Like it doesn't make much since that she would just know Nancy preset the elevator to be on the middle floor so she could go in through the library, crawl through the vents, and then go through the hidden door usually blocked by the elevator?

[ashlynk26]

Does the Nancy Drew games work on laptops?

[mrwooglewogle]

This is giving some real “whales rule” vibes

[mrwooglewogle]

[stillanobsession]

Things I Never Noticed About Danger on Deception Island

This was the second Nancy Drew game I ever played and it still remains one of my favorites. The overall game storyline is amazing, I love how it incorporates the mysterious appearance of the orca with the history of the area. But man is there a lot of back and forth traveling.

I never caught that Katie’s research was on deep sea parasitic growth or that she even did research at all

The sad part about playing this game is knowing you grew up in Washington, but you never went to the Puget Sound Islands or had clam chowder 

Apparently you can have a PhD on the study of sea monsters

Nancy's fixation on finding Andy Jason all because of a business card

The audio game really should keep the ones lite you have correct if you miss one

So how long would Hilda have waited for someone to piece together all her coordinates and discover the box on the hidden beach before taking matters into her own hands?

I always forget Hilda was the mayor

I just gave Katie a sandwich without leaving to go make a sandwich…

This is the second Nancy drew game I’ve ever played and I’ve only ever been able to trigger the convo with Holt about the Atlantic Herring once

It would be so nice if you could leave/enter underground tunnel from the lighthouse without having one of the two doors be locked

So what exactly was Andy's plan after purposely bringing Nancy to where he was doing the smuggling? Did he really think his men would kidnap her as soon as she was on board?

[ltwilliammowett]

"Two, six - heave"

As is usual with sailors, the person at the head of the team usually calls out the "two, six" part. All members move their hands up the line, ready to pull. This is followed in a natural rhythm by the "lift", which is shouted by the whole team together. At this moment, the team simultaneously leans back on the line and uses its leg muscles to exert a powerful pull on the line. This coordination takes some practice, but the difference in applied force between a group pulling as individuals and a skilled team pulling together is very large.

There is no standardised tempo or cadence for the term as this depends on the task at hand. For example, hauling in the topsail requires a long, heavy pull; if the team is not to be exhausted halfway through, the leader must ensure that the pace is slow enough to keep the whole job going. Hauling in a clew line, on the other hand, is relatively quick and easy, so the singing can be quite fast. It is also not always necessary to use this type of hauling for the entire job; often the first part of the job can be done by simply pulling hand over hand, while moving to a co-ordinated hoist for the final tightening.

After a line has been pulled taut on a ship, it is usually attached to a belaying pin.

In the UK, the term has a broader meaning and is often used in any situation where co-ordinated hauling is required, often involving seafarers, but almost as often when 'civilians' are working together.

It is widely believed that the term dates back to the orders used when firing shipboard guns in the British Royal Navy. According to this story, the team of six gunners had numbered roles. Once loaded, it was the job of the men numbered two and six to hoist the cannon (co-ordinated) out of the gun port for firing, requiring a simple effort for light guns and one pulley per man for larger guns. However, there are a number of problems with this theory: Firstly, two men would not be enough to pull out a cannon that could weigh more than two and a half tonnes. Secondly, the numbers two and six would be on the same side of the gun (the even numbers on one side and the odd numbers on the other). Thirdly, the use of the begirff, because in the literature before the First World War, but especially before 1911, the term is not mentioned and certainly not in the nautical sense. The first nautical use of the term only dates back to 1968, before which it was often associated with prisoners and railway construction work in Asia.

In square-rigged sailing circles, the idea was expressed that it could be a shortening of the French "tout de suite", which is often anglicised colloquially to "toot sweet" and means "immediately". It has also been surmised that it was originally the French "toutes six houle" (all six heave), but what "six" means is unclear as there is no evidence that it was an order to a gun crew.

[mrwooglewogle]

It’s gonna go from this

To this

Real quick

You find yourself in some trouble. This person has come to your aid.

[wandering-words]

prompt 25 for avanine 🤭

(We talked before and you know I already got this one so thanks for sending in a backup request!)

This fulfills prompt 27 - humming/singing.

Set after 2x09 Sick Day.

~~~

Janine talked to the camera crew more than most of the staff at Abbott Elementary did. 

Even Ava, the one who invited the camera crew to film the school in the first place, had a picture-perfect mask to present to the camera. She was a showman first and foremost, it was how she’d survived and gotten to where she was now, but Janine wasn’t used to projecting a personality to the camera. 

She could barely find people who saw her for her and didn’t tease her for it. Even Tariq, the man she dated for nearly twelve years, didn’t really know who she was. Janine was so used to giving and giving and giving to the people around her, her boyfriend, her mom, the staff, the school, and no one seemed to give back, just sucked her energy out of her like a clew of leeches without wondering how she was doing. 

Maybe it meant she projected too much of herself. Maybe people were too quick to dismiss her trauma, her cries for help, all of it. And maybe the camera crew weren’t really her friends, but at this point it was her only outlet to express herself, though a part of her knew logically that the camera crew were listening to her so that they could also extract knowledge that would better their Abbott Elementary documentary. 

The camera crew was meticulous, filming them from 7:30 when school started to when the kids were let out at 2:30. There were also other extraneous filming times when some of the staff members interacted outside of school, but generally the filming schedule was largely the same. Janine was impressed at how they were able to find the most dramatic moments of the school day and compile them into 25 minute episodes. 

Janine was one of the staff members that did talking heads the most, who shared her stories the most, who they painted as the protagonist despite Ava’s protests. 

Part of Ava’s TV persona was hating Janine, but Janine couldn’t help but feel like it was personal. 

The camera crew was suspiciously protective of their camera footage (the teachers saw the documentary as episodes were airing), but Janine was able to pull some strings to change that the day she got sick and couldn’t make it into school. 

She knew Ava liked sabotage—even if she didn’t, she performed it flawlessly—and Janine wanted to make sure that it didn’t affect her class’s learning.

When Janine returned to Abbott that Monday, she asked two of the crew members if she could see some of the footage of Ava being a substitute teacher, just to make sure that everything was running smoothly.  

Members of the camera crew shrugged, picking out pieces of footage they’d collected from the day and showing Janine the parts they planned to air. 

What Janine didn’t expect was the lump that rose in her throat when she heard Ava playing her coloring playlist for the kids, singing along softly to “Pick Up Your Feelings” by Jazmine Sullivan. Janine couldn’t help the shy smile that spread over her face when she heard Ava attempt the vocal run, not doing a half-bad job at it. 

It was a surprisingly wholesome moment. Watching Ava’s tough exterior go slightly softer for the kids made an unrecognizable feeling travel through Janine’s veins and she felt a smile tug at the corners of her lips. 

Ava was genuinely trying, and even though it was likely for the kids’ benefit rather than Janine’s, Janine couldn’t help but feel as though she’d seen a vulnerable moment from the taller woman, watching the showman mask crack just a bit so that the kids could be comfortable learning from her. 

Janine was a bit too good at forming unhealthy attachments to people. Barbara was the closest to a mother figure she’d ever had, Melissa was the hard-assed aunt she never had, Gregory was… a great friend, and now she was feeling some type of way about Ava. 

She just knew that her affection wouldn’t be reciprocated because Ava had made it pretty clear that she hated Janine’s guts. 

Janine came back her usual sunshiny self, and she was pleasantly surprised when Melissa and Barbara welcomed her back. Not quite with the most open of arms, but Melissa’s small smile and Barbara’s fond gaze were more than enough. 

The more surprising reaction was Ava’s: she walked into the lounge with her usual swagger, but she was quiet. As she poured her usual mountain of sugar into her otherwise black coffee, her eyes were glazed over, a victim to her own thoughts. 

What was even more surprising was that not only was Ava quiet to everyone in the staff room, but she usually had a few petty insults ready to snark out before she left, and she didn’t even look at Janine before she was swinging open the door and heading back to her office. 

Janine looked directly at the door, not realizing she was lost in her own mental world of wondering where Ava was, what she was feeling, why she was even wondering what Ava was feeling, when she heard Melissa’s smug voice break through her thoughts. 

“You’ve been staring at the door as if Ava’s coming back.” 

Janine felt her face flush and she looked down demurely, but not before she heard an “mmm” from deep in Barbara’s throat, agreeing with the redhead. It was then that Janine tentatively moved from her chair, opening the door and making her way to Ava’s office, feeling her throat constrict and her entire body growing more and more tense with each step. 

She also felt the faint bass and heard the soulful voice of Jazmine Sullivan, though muted, coming from inside Ava’s office. Janine noticed Ava humming along as she flipped through paperwork, and Janine felt some of the tension in her body melt when she noticed Ava being so… unconstricted. Free from her usual unaffected, snarky mask. 

It made Janine’s heart constrict with a new feeling, adrenaline pumping through her veins and making Janine feel a way that she’d only before felt when in the presence of Tariq or Gregory. 

But why Ava? 

“What the hell are you doing out here, Janine?” Ava said, opening the door to her office and looking at Janine with an unaffected expression, her mask effectively slipping back into place. 

“Uh…” Janine wracked her brain for an excuse, “I wanted to thank you again for watching my class. You didn’t have to do that.” 

Ava rolled her eyes. “Actually, I did. I’m not having the superintendent try to fire me again.” Her words were hard but her eyes were soft when she looked at Janine. She looked back at the documentary crew, the one she hired, before snapping at them to cut the cameras. 

To Janine’s surprise, they actually did turn off the cameras. Maybe it was because Ava was ultimately paying them to do this and she would likely try to cut their wages if they filmed her without her consent, but either way, Janine watched the tension seep out of Ava’s shoulders. 

“Thanks, Janine.” 

Her eyes were still soft when they looked at Janine, and Janine felt as though her entire body had been set on fire. 

Janine was so tempted to throw her arms around the taller woman, hear her heartbeat thumping in her chest, feel the comforting weight of Ava’s head resting on top of hers, feel safe, but before she could destroy any sense of self preservation she had, Ava was gone.

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Today in Christian History

Today is Thursday, February 22nd, 2024. It is the 53rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; Because it is a leap year, 313 days remain until the end of the year.

1072: (or the 23rd) Death of Peter Damian, in Faenza, Italy. A reforming monk of the Benedictine order, he will be remembered chiefly for De divina omnipotentia which questioned the limits of the omnipotence of God (e.g.: can God change the past?) and will be declared a doctor of the church in the nineteenth century.

1225: Hugh of St. Cher dons the habit of the Dominican order. He will become a notable Bible scholar and head a team that will create the first really useful Bible concordance.

1297: Death in Cortona, Italy, of St. Margaret of Cortona, a Franciscan tertiary, who had established a hospital for the poor.

1632: Zuni Indians (tribe pictured above) kill Francisco de Letrado and dance with his scalp on a pole. He had been among Spanish missionaries attempting to impose a Christian regime on the Pueblo Indians.

1649: The Westminster Assembly adjourns, having held one thousand one hundred and sixty three sessions over a period of five years, six months, and twenty-two days. They were known for their solemn fasts and long hours of prayer.

1703: General Codrington bequeaths two plantations in Barbados for medical mission work to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, on condition that professors and scholars be maintained there to study and practice medicine, surgery, and divinity in order to “endear themselves to the people and have the better opportunities of doing good to men’s souls whilst they are taking care of their bodies.”

1822: Samuel and Catherine Clewes Leigh sail into a New Zealand Bay to begin work among the Maori. Samuel’s Ill health will force them to leave the following year, but the mission will continue under other workers.

1845: Death in London of Rev. Sydney Smith, wit and literary critic, author of The Letters of Peter Plymley. He had once tied some antlers to donkeys to pretend they were deer when an aristocratic lady was visiting. His daughter wrote, “My father died in peace with himself and with all the world; anxious to the last to promote the comfort and happiness of others. He sent messages of kindness and forgiveness to the few he thought had injured him. Almost his last act was bestowing a small living of £120 per annum on a poor, worthy, and friendless clergyman, who had lived a long life of struggle with poverty on £40 per annum.”

1870: Missionary James Gilmour sails from Liverpool to work in China and Mongolia. Made chaplain of the ship on which he is sailing, he shares the gospel with every member of the crew during the night watches.

1892: W. T. Satthianadhan, a leader of the Church Mission Society in Madras, relapses into a serious medical condition and will die within days. He had been a representative to Anglican councils in England, author of books in Tamil and English, an educator at Madras University, vice-president of the Tamil Central Church Council, and founder of benevolent associations.

1901: Charles and Lettie Cowman arrive in Japan where they will become co-founders of the Oriental Mission Society.

1911: Death in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, of Frances E. W. Harper, an African-American woman who had labored in the anti-slavery cause alongside workers such as Julia Ward Howe and Frederick Douglas. She had published a volume of poems when twenty-one years of age.

1930: Soviet agents arrest more than sixty Orthodox clergy and laity in Tomsk for “counter-revolutionary agitation” and “grouping of church people.” They will execute fifty of these individuals.

1954: The first “Voice of Tangier” program airs over a 2,500-watt transmitter. Programming is broadcast in Spanish and English. Within two years, the station will be broadcasting in more than twenty languages.

[mrwooglewogle]

genuinely what is going on in the her interactive teespring

[thesailstore]

Sailing Downwind Blissfully: The World Of Spinnaker Sails

The spinnaker sail, a colourful and expansive sail that billows out in front of a sailboat, is a striking and distinctive sight on the water. But what exactly is a spinnaker sail, and how does it work? Let's delve into the world of sails and explore their functionality and purpose.

The Anatomy of a Spinnaker Sail

A sail is a large, balloon-like sail designed to catch the wind at specific angles. It is typically made from lightweight, durable materials such as nylon or polyester. The sail consists of three primary parts: the head, the tack, and the clew.

The head is the top corner of the sail, which is usually attached to the spinnaker halyard. The tack, located at the bottom of the sail, connects to a line called the tack line. The clew, positioned at the other bottom corner, connects to the sheet, a line used to control the sail's position and shape.

When and Why to Use a Sail?

Asymmetrical Spinnaker sails are specifically designed for sailing downwind, where the wind is coming from behind the boat. They are not suitable for upwind sailing due to their shape and design. When sailing downwind, using a sail can significantly increase a boat's speed and performance.

One of the key reasons sailors opt for sails is to harness the wind's power in light wind conditions. Spinnakers are especially effective when winds are light and variable, as they can capture even the slightest breeze and convert it into forward motion.

Setting Up a  Sail

Setting up a sail can be a bit more complex than handling other types of sails. It involves multiple lines and careful coordination to ensure a safe and efficient launch. Here are the basic steps to set up a sail:

Attach the halyard to the head of the sail.

Secure the tack and clew to their respective lines.

Hoist the sail using the halyard.

Trim the tack and clew lines to control the shape of the sail.

Adjust the sheet to steer the boat and maintain proper sail tension.

Sail Handling Tips

Sailing with a sail requires skill and practice, but the results can be incredibly rewarding. Here are some essential tips for handling a sail effectively:

Communicate with your crew: Good communication is crucial when handling a spinnaker. Make sure everyone on board knows their roles and responsibilities.

Watch the wind: Keep a close eye on wind conditions. Spinnakers sails are most effective in light to moderate winds. Be prepared to douse the sail if the wind picks up too much.

Be patient: Setting up and taking down a  sail can take time, so be patient and take it step by step. Rushing can lead to mistakes.

Practice gybing: Gybing with a spinnaker can be tricky. Practice gybing manoeuvres in a controlled environment to gain confidence.

Sail Safety

While sails can be exhilarating, safety should always be a top priority. Here are some safety precautions to keep in mind:

Wear life jackets: Always wear appropriate safety gear, including life jackets, while sailing.

Use a harness and tether: When sailing in heavy winds, it's a good idea to use a harness and tether to prevent falling overboard.

Have a safety briefing: Before setting sail with a spinnaker, provide a safety briefing to your crew, emphasising potential risks and how to respond to emergencies.

Be ready to douse the sail: If the wind suddenly increases or a situation becomes dangerous, be prepared to quickly douse the  sail.

The spinnaker sail is a versatile and dynamic addition to a sailor's toolkit. Understanding its purpose, setup, and handling is essential for maximizing its benefits while ensuring safety. With practice and experience, mastering the art of sails can elevate your sailing adventures to a new level of excitement and performance. Whether racing, cruising, or enjoying the open water, the sail is a fantastic tool for capturing the wind and gliding gracefully across the waves.

[boutny]

Mast-er-ful, mast-er-less

The planned route - as long as we made good progress along the South Coast, it seemed achievable

Boutny was on a buoy in Falmouth harbour, where she had hosted Anna and Esme while I was in Scotland for a few days. The first week of September looked just right for completing Boutny's voyage of the summer - the plan had been to get from Faro to Brightlingsea in Essex, and it looked as if Wednesday to Sunday would bring 70 hours of Southerlies and South Westerlies, and then maybe 30 hours of Easterlies. So if Boutny made the 200 miles or so to Dover in the 70 hours, the Easterlies would allow us to make Brightlingsea the next day after turning the corner from the Channel to the North Sea.

That was the plan. And as I have quoted before on this blog - what does God do when they want to laugh? Watch people making plans...

I emailed the group of potential crew the weekend before, and I was delighted that John once again put his hand up. He knows Boutny and he knows me, and he is both a hugely useful person to have aboard and a great sailing companion. We took the overnight train, me from London, he from Basingstoke and met up at 7am on Truro station, where we connected with the train to Falmouth.

Lovely way to travel ... except sleeping while sitting is an art

We got to the quayside too early for the late-rising water taxi. The port was still and we had a little bit of a ticking clock - we needed to get to Madgik, John's boat, to collect his wet weather gear before his mooring dried onto mud.

Waiting for the water taxi at Falmouth town pier

The wind started light, and the dolphins accompanied us out of the Fal estuary.

The first of many dolphins who'd accompany us over the next 36 hours

We soon got the big Spinnaker up, and it would stay up from about 11 on Wednesday to 5am the next morning. We had a full supermoon and a blue moon, and despite cloud cover, the night Spinnakering was magical. Here we are in the evening, the filming obviously designed to show how well we eat on Boutny.

The moon, of course, also meant Spring tides, and one of the challenges of the route is that the tides around the headlands can be pretty ferocious. Portland Bill is the famous tidal race, but the other headlands have mini versions of these going too.

The Samsung phone camera trying to cope with a moonlit sail. Of course, the sky was grey-black, not that absurd blue it has filled in

It settled into wind with rain, and was surprisingly wonderful sailing. John surfed some lumps and thought he might have broken at Boutny speed record. When I was helming, I preferred to gaze at the sea and make the occasional tiller correction to maintain our heading. We hit the contrary ebb off Salcombe, and despite Boutny giving every appearance of powering through the water, the lights ashore were hardly moving. I took down the Spinnaker early in the morning because the wind was backing, and we needed to stay offshore to clear the Portland Bill tidal race by a (very safe) 15 nm.

We hit the ebb again off Portland in the early evening of Thursday, and we were looking forward to the turn, and being powered at speed. By then, the wind was fresh, and we had taken a little gib in and taken the foresail down entirely to have a calm night. There was a messy swell, and to stop unwanted sail movements, I had tethered the clew of the main to cleat on the outer beam. We were powering along very nicely, John and I chatting in the cuddy. We reckoned we were in with a chance of making Dover before the winds turned.

And that is when it happened.

A great cracking sound.

"That's the mast breaking!" was John's immediate thought. I was not sure - maybe my echo-location is not so good. We were frozen for a moment.

"Do you agree I should take the main down?" I asked.

Yes, John agreed, and I pulled the main down as fast as I could. We looked up, and there was the crack. About 2m from the top of the mast, a great big split in the planking.

"How are we going to stop that falling on top of us?", asked John, very sensibly...

As quickly as I could, I took a hoist from the foremast, secured it to a hoist on the main, and pulled both of them up - if the top of the mast was going to finish breaking off, it would dangle off the foremast rather than fall onto us into the cuddy.

We sailed into Portland Harbour on the gib. The tide turned in our favour and we made 4kts-5kts and arrived around 11pm. Enough time to anchor safely and get a good night's sleep. The next day we had the wonderful surprise of finding a really helpful crane crew at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy - hugely recommend the place - and the split mast was soon lying flat on Boutny's deck. I will be repairing the mast, and inspecting the foremast thoroughly, over the next few weeks in Portland.

So ... what are the lessons from this adventure?

The first is simple - be patient. Boutny spent 18 months on the hard in Sete. I really went over the hulls and decks thoroughly. But for some reason, I never decided to take down the masts and give them the same treatment. Soon before launch, in June last year, I had gone up the masts and found a bit of rot here and there as well as traces of old repairs.

My departure had been delayed by all sorts of frustrations - mainly to do with a bad choice of epoxy primer undercoat paint - and I was feeling frustrated. I should, of course, have decided then to take the masts down and give them a good servicing. But my impatience to get going led me to the wing & prayer strategy instead. Very short-termist, obviously.

But not just short-termist - just misguided. When sailing, the point is not really to get anywhere. The goal is the way. The end is the means. The means is the end. So frustrations like that, of having one more step before being ready, really have no place. So maybe the second lesson is to have a regular reminder when wishing for speed: are you actually constrained? are you doing this for the way or the end?

Of course, on Friday morning in Portland, I started out with feelings of frustration - I had to jettison all those plans I had related to Boutny having reached her winter destination ... I would be able to empty her of 18 months of accumulated stuff, I would be able to start to think about the rain-cover/tent, indeed, I would be able to plan the proper refurbishment of the masts.

But the more the day progressed, the more I found myself surrounded by the helpful crew at the academy, and the more I reminded myself that my destinations were fictions, on this adventure with Boutny, the happier I found myself in Portland Harbour. I quickly started to look at it as somewhere that might be home for the winter, and what had seemed in the morning like a disaster was now appearing in a quite different light. So maybe if I had been able to do that in June last year, I would not have been in Portland that day at all.

Evening on a visitor buoy in Portland Harbour; the guys in the boat were catching Bream, the kite in the background had delighted us all evening with their foiling.

[mrwooglewogle]

[mrwooglewogle]

Making my man smokey proud ;)