They say that "absence makes the heart grow fonder." In my experience, I'm skeptical. I think its more likely to do the opposite. Spirit of South Carolina has been outta sight/outta reach for six months now. With each passing month I'm afraid that for many of us,, that emotional attachment to our ship can't help but start diminishing. Me? - I've been going down almost weekly to bring Hunter his mail, and work a small project or two, so my bonds get regenerated just as often.
She really is coming back. I wish I could say exactly when. when it does,, I expect there to be just a short notice. It would be great to have a significant contingent of volunteers there to welcome her back.
Even if you couldn't make that date, I invite you to come on down to the dock, at your convenience if just to get another look at her. I'm confident that just that little gesture will stir up in you the same excitement, curiosity that brought you aboard the first time.
And nothing regenerates a good memory like family pictures, or boat pics. Click on the Ship's photo album tab at top of this blog and browse thru a few pics. Guarantee, like a puppy pics, you won't stop at just one.
Last thing, in reactions I've gotten from some of you, there's been profound discouragement in how you've perceived volunteers to be regarded, as an integral valued component in this ship's life. Twice, during deliveries, the pro's have declined to include us in the operation. Our projects at shipyard seem to be invisible to the rest of the schooner's world. Well, "what else is new".
Nothing's changed, really. The pro's doing the delivery to and from Thunderbolt have contracted to a very specific mission to hard parameters; efficiency, cheap, tight schedule, safety, low risk. Any unknown quantity introduced into that mix, adds some risk. Volunteers, for all my bragging about you, remain an unknown quantity to them. I saw that attitude bear out and reinforced when I joined the "A-team" crew for the delivery down here. When the delivery is done.. They will be gone, and it'll be our ship once more.
And, things are about to change. Pre-shipyard, the ship had been in a limbo for three years, with no sign of a shift in fortunes. As you've read in this blog, things are shifting, for the better. Volunteers will be involved. I hope to see all of you on deck to be part of it.
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