Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Departure!





I am just about to leave, in about two hours I'll leave Seattle, heading towards Alaska. For such a momentous occasion, I had a little party last night, where I got a bottle of cheap champange and smashed it across the bowsprit. Or tried. WOW, they make those bottles tough. So what really happened is that I broke the aluminum casting that I was banging it against. I don't use those castings much anyways, so it's rather funny. I don't know what to do with the sparkling wine now.
Is it a bad omen that a boat is so happy with her name that she doesn't want to be re-christened? Or that a bowsprit doesn't want a proper start? I think it is all in the spirit of conservation, and Altair certianly is a conservationist.

5 comments:

Rachel said...

Chris,

Don't the people who do this sort of ritual usually just break the top off of the bottle... I didn't think they smashed the whole bottle upon the boat with the intent to break the boat... but, then, maybe they were actually testing the integrity of the boat...

have a great trip! Hope to see you in August. Love, Rach

Unknown said...

Dude,
You used a bottle to BREAK YOUR BOAT?
Nuts!
~R

Danny Blanchard said...

Upon relaying the story to my dad, he told me of yet another maritime tradition about how the first boat a person attempts to christen is often attempt with a bottle that is not a "Christening Bottle." In most instances this is a one-time occasion, but some folks may take more than a line chalk to get the point. Such bottles can be had at places like Captain's Nautical Supply, or perhaps elsewhere. Who'da thunk it?

Anonymous said...

CHRISTIAN, YOUR PHONE IS DEAD. IF YOU GET THIS BEFORE I TALK TO YOU CALL ME IMMEDIATELY. YOUR BOAT'S ADRIFT!!

Alan

Unknown said...

Hey x good to see you off on adventure. hope your boat isn't really adrift.