Thanksgiving Aboard Empress

Marcellite Penhune cooked and served a scrumptious Thanksgiving dinner aboard Empress.  The photos below show the entire spread and Marcellite with the turkey.


Cowboys v. Raiders and the Thanksgiving Spread

Marcellite and her Beautiful Turkey

Guests lift a Thanksgiving toast.  From left, Jim Penhune (John's son), our friend "Beej," Marcellite Penhune, and Tomi Faust (Marcellite's mother).

 

Guests around the Salon Table

For desert, Marcellite made two pies, pumpkin/banana/coconut and mincemeat, and served them with whipped cream.

Marcellite's Homemade Pies

 



Fourth of July Aboard Empress

Longtime friends and the Penhune and Lasensky families gathered aboard Empress to watch the 4th of July fireworks from Sea World, which is near where Empress is tied up in Mission Bay in San Diego. As shown in the photos below, Marcellite Penhune decorated Empress for the occasion.

Empress exterior decorated for 4th of July

Empress interior decorated for 4th of July

Appropriate to the occasion, John Penhune displayed the yacht ensign and the Fourth of July Yacht Club burgee, as shown in the photos below.

Yacht ensign at the stern of Empress

Fourth of July Yacht Club Burgee at Bow of Empress

After an elegant BBQ dinner put on by Marcellite Penhune, we all watched the spectacular fireworks display from Sea World from the boat deck of Empress.  Some of the fireworks are shown in the photos below.

Fireworks from Sea World

Sea World Fireworks Finale

 

 

 

 

Empress has a Pinniped Visitor

When I returned to Empress from West Marine today, I found people from G Dock photographing a large sea lion that was snoozing on the dock near the bow of Empress.  In Quivira Basin the seals normally hang out at the North end of the bait barge and on dock fingers close to the bait barge, although big guys like our visitor often find difficulty finding a good spot, so I guess this one was exploring alternative napping locations.

Sea lion snoozing on dock near bow of Empress

As shown in the photo below, viewed close up, sea lions look like friendly dogs, although they can be aggressive and bite, if scared or provoked.


Our visitor's face close up

After preening for the photographers, our visitor dove in between the bow of Empress and the dock finger - the spot where we often tie up our Boston Whaler tender.  Needless to say, we hope he doesn't come back and jump into the tender.

Sea lion preening on the dock for photographers

When we tied up our previous trawler (a 45-foot Sea Ranger) in Monterey, there was a very large sea lion on the dock finger assigned to us.  When a member of the crew tried to step on the dock with a line, the sea lion growled at him, so we circled around and I called the harbor master on the radio.  To our amusement, the harbor master answered on the radio, "Don't tell anyone I told you this, but when no one is looking, poke him with a boat hook!"  Fortunately for us and the sea lion, it took off when we re-approached the dock.

New Safe Dock Stairs

So that Marcellite's 91-year-old mother and I can board Empress safely at her end tie at the Marina Village Marina, we had Rick Busch build a new set of dock stairs as shown in the photo below.  Rick is one of the marina dock captains who also is very skilled at carpentry and boat repairs, having lived aboard a sailboat for many years.


New Empress Dock Stairs
 

To bridge the gap between the dock stairs and Empress when the wind or tidal current causes her to stand off the dock, Rick cleverly devised a boarding plank that is hinged to the dock stairs and rides on wheels on the side deck of Empress when deployed.  When not in use, the boarding plank folds flat on top of the top platform of the dock stairs.  The photo below shows the boarding plank deployed.

Folding Boarding Plank Deployed

Rick totally enclosed the interior of the dock stairs and provided a door to allow the interior to be used for dry storage as shown in the photo below.

Dry Storage Under Dock Stairs

I am in outpatient physical therapy now and am becoming more mobile every day.  I hope that my next blog post will show me back aboard Empress.

Interior Redecorating

Marcellite Penhune is taking the lead in significantly redecorating the interior of Empress.  The first step was replacement of the carpet throughout the boat with a European product made for marine applications and having a dark blue background and a gold nautical pattern.  The photos that follow show the new carpet in the salon and on the aft stairs.


New Carpet in Salon

New Carpet on Aft Stairs

The next step was reupholstering the cushions in the aft master cabin and the chairs in the salon.  The photos below show three of the reupholstered chairs around the glass table in the aft end of the salon and the reupholstered large swivel chair in the main salon.


Reupholstered Chairs around Glass Salon Table

Reupholstered Swivel Chair in Salon

After that, Marcellite had the old metal blinds on the salon windows replaced with individual retractable cloth shades, so that individual windows can be shaded as need.  The photo that follows shows the new shades on the port side of the salon, first in the up positions and then in the down positions.

Salon Shade in Up Position

Salon Shades in Down Positions

Skipper Injured But Recovering

Back on November 29, 2012, after a day of working on Empress, I slipped on a wet spot on our epoxy-coated garage floor and fractured my right femur just below the ball.  Fortunately, our neighbor of more than 25 years, Dr. Stuart Marshall, an orthopedic surgeon, was home from the hospital early that day and diagnosed my injury as I lay in the garage and ordered an operating room and the necessary repair hardware.  Dr. Marshall did the repair surgery on December 1, and I now am recuperating at home with the aid of a hospital bed, a wheel chair, a walker, an excellent rehabilitation therapist and loving care by Marcellite.  The X-rays below show the fracture before the repair and the detail of the repair hardware.

John Penhune's Fractured Right Femur

Dr. Stuart Marshall's Repair of John Penhune's Right Femur

Thanks to Dr. Marshall's excellent repair surgery and to Ashlee Denaro, the outstanding physical therapist he recommended, I now am ambulating well using a walker and Marcellite is able to take me for outings in the cars to restaurants and Costco, and to view Empress from the marina parking lot.