deja vu

I am almost positive that I've been here before...

The flight from Atlanta to Dubai was regrettably turbulent-free, and we arrived practically on time. I flew Delta this time around, so I didn't run into any flight attendants named Guido. From my recollection of the Emirates flight, I think that there were more Americans flying on Delta. It was particularly great to find that there were no screaming children stomping about the economy cabin on my Delta flight. Overall, I suppose I would fly Delta to Dubai again; although, I do miss my free Emirates Airline socks.

After an excruciatingly long queue for Passport Control, I raced to collect my bag, narrowly saving it from the "return bag to behind the carousel's wall" monster. I scanned the crowd that lined the exit towards ground transportation. Which driver had been sent to pick me up? None of the faces looked familiar until a waving arm caught my attention: Abhi!  My return to Dubai was starting much like my first trip. Only the hot, moist air stood between juxtaposing the two arrivals.

I was greeted by Bijou the waiter by name as I walked into the hotel. Huzzah! The new management kept almost all of the staff from when I was last here. At the end of February, there were strong rumors of the new management cleaning house at the beginning of March. It will be good to see all of them again. I checked in and was surprised to find that I would be staying in my old room, too.

The staff and room number may not have changed, but the room furnishings had! New furniture including two chairs and a side table sat to the side of the door. The TV was upgraded to a better flat screen, and I counted more English-speaking channels.

I opened the door to the bathroom. Yikes. The vent fan was left off, so a mass of stale air had accumulated. The temperature outside wasn't that bad; it was just odd for it to be so warm in the middle of the night.

George and his family arrive Friday, while Captain Scott is on holiday until Sunday. My first item of business is to get a haircut. We'll see if the deja vu continues...

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Posted in: Delta Airlines,dubai,Emirates Airline,sharjah,traveling

stick to the script

Over the last 48 hours, I have often reminded myself to stick to the script. You see, readers, since returning from Pawleys Island, South Carolina after the Fourth of July, the schedule on on the First Coast has been chock-o-block. While the circumstances that led to what some may call a hectic schedule are a touchy subject with at least one reader, it will suffice to say that time on the First Coast was more limited than I had anticipated.

But let's talk about what's been going on!

The parentals and I made the annual trek up to Pawleys Island, South Carolina on Friday, July 2. Pawleys, for the Google Maps challenged (though, do see below) is about 90 minutes north of Charleston, SC. The tiny barrier island is generally calm and peaceful until the summer months when residents escape and rent their beach homes to visitors. Pawleys is great for relaxing on the beach, resting on the porch swing, or floating down the "crick." (Creek, y'all.)

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The Johnson Family is gracious to host us each year at their beach home, even though the place is packed with family. When we get there we become honorary members of the family, make ourselves at home, and dine on all of Mrs. Johnson's great food. The Fourth of July on Pawleys Island is a scene right out of the Music Man (mostly). The patriotism on Pawleys Island that weekend may have been the greatest concentration in the State of South Carolina. (After all, the island is only 0.7 square miles.)

We had a great time there (even if our trip up cut my time at home a bit shorter). The Griswolds returned to the compound late on Monday evening.

Okay. It isn't quite Harold Hill, but this parade had America written all over it.

The combination of getting back late on Monday coupled with leaving early on Friday meant that I had my work cut out for me if I wanted to see all of the people that were on the list. (There wasn't really a list... well, there wasn't a written list.) Starting Monday night I started making plans to cram as many people into the next 36 hours as I could. This is when sticking to the script became really important. My days were planned down to the quarter-hour, and tiny deviations could cause more disruptions than a heat wave in the Northeast. (Shout out to those readers who lost power over the last few days. The Hippie would want me to remind you of the benefits of home-installed solar panels.)

Tuesday was a busy day. I woke up around 7:30 am to make a 9:10 am dental appointment in Jacksonville. I promised Cindy at Huckins Yacht Corporation that I would stop by and update her on my work with Haida and the Webb semester. My time with Cindy was limited by an 11:45 am appointment at the Apple Store to drop off my PowerBook to send to Apple Depot for extended refurbishment. I kept eying my watch (iPhone) at the periodontist's office. They were running late by almost 30 minutes. Every minute that tic-tocked by meant less time to talk to Cindy.

When I finished with the appointment, I raced over to Huckins. It was great to see the yard and some of the remodeled offices. Huckins is a fantastic family company. They do great work, and they're designers and craftsmen you can trust. (/shameless plug)

Unfortunately, I started to deviate from the script... I arrived 15 minutes late to my Apple appointment. On arrival, the concierge told me that I probably would need to make a new appointment, but I explained the situation and the obvious time constraints. Success. I dropped off the PowerBook and continued back on schedule to my next destination: lunch with Mary Kraack.

There was a small side trip on the way to see Mary. Back in May while I was down in Houston for the Offshore Technology Conference, my iPhone 3G became an unwilling participant in an experiment with gravity. One cracked screen later, I mustered every ounce of self control and vowed to hold out on repairing or replacing the phone in anticipation of the iPhone 4's imminent release. Tuesday was the scheduled delivery date of my replacement iPhone, and I was checking the delivery status habitually. I stopped by the house to check on arrival and waited there for Mary to call back about lunch.

Mary got back with me around 3:00 pm, and we agreed to scrub the lunch plans so that I was able to keep my dinner plans with Kyle DuBose. In the meantime, the iPhone arrived, and I spent the next hour getting it setup. (Ok. The phone was up and running within minutes, but I had to take time to tinker with all the new features. -- If you're an iPhone 4 owner, let me know so that we can use FaceTime on our next call.)

Dinner with Kyle went according to the script. We met at Osaka, had a leisurely hibachi dinner, and caught up on the last year's worth of living. (Yup, it really had been that long.)

I made a house call to spend time with Nana before heading to the CCHS Theatre to catch up with MK. She's operating a spotlight for Cinderella (Ash Girl), and she seems to be enjoying it. After rehearsal, Mary, Paul, and I were delighted to be joined by Jeremy Douylliez, a recent graduate of Camden County High School and, basically, the coolest people in the theatre department. We talked about his new adventure at Piedmont College and life after Camden. Dinner with the Kraacks and Jeremy was refreshing, and I hope to be able to get the group together again.

Paul took this picture of Mary and I with the iPhone 4.

By this time, the script had run out -- 11:30 pm. I was tired, but a text message earlier in the day had alerted me that my 9:00 am Wednesday appointment with Troy was canceled. After some quick decision making, I decided to forgo a little sleep and go meet up with Troy. Three hours later, I was really tired, but the deviation was worth it!

Wednesday morning started slowly because of the late night. I did some laundry, and prepped the iPod for my ensuing 16 hours of flying. I managed to grab a quick lunch with Brad before heading down to the airport. Silly rules about checking in 90 minutes for international flights really shouldn't exit. (Yes, they probably should.) My time on the First Coast ended as I passed through security and on towards the gate.

My time at home was frenetic, and I think that this quick trip home really represented the epitome of my personality. When I look back over the last several days, there were so many great moments. The script didn't allow for not-so-great moments, and that's why I stuck to it.

Next stop: Dubai.

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Posted in: first coast,leisure photos,script,traveling

victory in newport

I pulled out of Newport, Rhode Island on a crisp Thursday morning after spending the last two days working with David Pedrick, a Webb alumnus from the Class of 1970 on the Haida project. One of my tasks this summer is to move the watertight bulkhead arrangement project along so that ABS can approve construction drawings, and Haida can be one step closer to satisfying the most stringent, modern rules and regulations. David and I spent time in February surveying Haida to determine the least obtrusive locations to install additional watertight bulkheads. For the non-naval architects in the readership, watertight bulkheads allow a vessel to be compartmentalized under the main deck to increase the survivability of the vessel in the event of a breach of the hull. Yes, it's the same concept that almost worked for the RMS Titanic. For compartmentalization to work, the entire compartment has to be watertight. In other words, water should not be able to spill over the top of one bulkhead into the next compartment. This past week we laid the proposed bulkheads over a general arrangement of the vessel to see how the bulkheads would affect crew and guest movement and piping and ducting runs. I will use these preliminary drawings in Sharjah to assess whether the proposed locations are the most convenient for ease of construction.

The buzz word this week has been "iterative," as in design is an iterative process. Iteration works well on paper and computer screens. In AutoCAD, mere key strokes and mouse movements can reposition the bulkhead in seconds. When one starts to iterate a design that has already been built, complications arise, particularly in ship design. On a ship, yacht, or even your neighbor's small fishing boat, each system interacts with all of the other systems. A minor change to one component will likely require a change on several other components in other systems. Again, iteration or design changes work well on paper. System changes in the real world can require removing existing systems to gain access to change the design. Do that over and over again for, say, ten years, and you can see why a solid design plan can make the difference between a quick refit and a long overhaul.

Newport offered many new experiences to me beyond working in David's office. On Lynn's recommendation, I had lobster quesadillas at the Red Parrot on South Thames Street. I toured the Newport Shipyard and saw a great collection of 12-m America's Cup boats. David was a principal member of the design team for several of the boats; he had a story for each boat we encountered. (The weather was overcast on the day that we looked at the 12-m boats; I'll take pictures when I return to Newport in early August.)

The Red Parrot

Of course, that same crisp Thursday morning that I was trying to make way for New York to fly home, the BMW Oracle racing team landed in Newport as part of the victory tour. Although the impressive catamaran wasn't in attendance, the fruit of BMW Oracle's hard fight was – the America's Cup trophy. The stately, silver cup stood atop a carbon fiber pedestal -- a true juxtaposition of the old world tradition and modern technology. After meeting a formidable “who’s who” from the sailing community, I loaded up the Jeep and raced back to Glen Cove to catch the train for my flight home.

The America's Cup

I’ll be home for five days before flying over to Dubai. Those five days will be my summer vacation, so I won’t be updating the blog during that time. Rest assured, we’ll have plenty to discuss once I get back to the Middle East. Enjoy the Fourth of July weekend!

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Posted in: america's cup,haida,leisure photos,newport,traveling

thesis adventure

What started as a simple day trip to Mystic, CT for the 19th Annual WoodenBoat Show metamorphosed into an epic three day adventure over land and sea to ports of call including Greenport, Orient Point, and Shelter Island, NY and East Lyme, New London, and Mystic, CT (plus some small towns on back roads between Mystic and New London). In May, the thesis team of Dixon, Lachtman, and Mouravieff (henceforth, Lidia, Andy, and Hampton) made plans to attend the WoodenBoat Show as a means of conducting parametric research for our senior thesis project. Lidia, Andy, and I are designing a solar-electric, wooden launch for our thesis. Our thesis will take the design from blank paper screen to construction-ready drawings. In order to do that, we need to know something everything about wooden boats. Because we all are aren't great wooden shipbuilders, there's a very large stack of books to read.

Each year, WoodenBoat magazine in association with the Mystic Seaport produce the WoodenBoat Show. The show is an excellent opportunity to see hundreds of wooden boats built by professionals, museums, families, and individuals. We thought it would be a great way to see, feel, smell, and hear about wooden boat building. (Don't worry there's great food in the adventure so as not to leave out our fifth sense.)

The day before the boat show, invitations to Seth Cooley's and Schuyler Needham's houses in East Lyme, CT and on Shelter Island, NY prompted our day trip to grow.

Thursday evening we chilled at Seth's house on the water in Connecticut. Seth took us out for a quick round of wake skating and wake boarding under a great sunset. After it grew too dark, we sat around Seth's patio while his dad grilled steaks and steamed lobsters. Dinner was fantastic, and it marked the beginning of a great weekend of food. (I told you we used all five senses.) Some other Webbies joined us for dinner, and it turned into a Webb party complete with a girl visiting from Scotland. The talking and games went late into the night until the thesis crew realized that we had to be up and out early in the morning.

King Neptune with a creature from the deep

More pictures from the entire trip can be viewed here.

Getting to Mystic from East Lyme is a snap. I-95 provides a quick, 15-minute link between the two towns. That is, it provides a quick link if there isn't a fuel tanker that spills diesel fuel all over I-95 two exits before Mystic. The tanker accident effectively shut down the interstate, prompting us to "choose our own adventure" on the back roads to Mystic. Can you imagine a time without a dash-mounted GPS? Technology has improved our lives in so many ways -- the only problem being that it has improved ALL of our lives, including the other 10,000 cars trying to go north on I-95. The traffic planners that mapped out the road(s) to Mystic didn't plan on that kind of traffic volume. We crept along to Mystic as the day approached noon. Finally, we ditched the Jeep just west of the Mystic drawbridge and decided to walk the last 1.5 miles to Mystic Seaport.

Our walking adventure commenced directly after the "where can I park so that the Jeep is still here this afternoon?" adventure. I'm glad we walked -- we found a great deli/ice cream shop at the drawbridge, the Mystic Drawbridge Ice Cream Shop.

The boat show proved to be quite a success. We talked to some folks, took a ride on a repowered electric launch from 1903, and learned a few things about boat building. I even had the opportunity to listen to a launch operator who spoke in stream of consciousness. A real (GHP) Commie treat!

The 19th Annual WoodenBoat Show at Mystic Seaport

We packed up for the New London-Orient Point Ferry to head back to Long Island. Schuyler invited us to Shelter Island to see the custom boat shop and meet another wooden boat designer who used to work at Sparkman and Stephens. Shelter Island was a nifty place, and I can understand why so many people vacation there in the summer.

Shelter Island's Coecles Harbor Marina under moonlight

Our thesis adventure drew to a close the next morning as we shoved off for Webb. Lidia and Andy had to get back early for family and travel obligations. I, on the other hand, had time to burn as I waited for the next leg of my summer travels to begin.

What do you see in the clouds reaching up to the Moon?

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Posted in: ferry,mystic seaport,shelter island,thesis,WoodenBoat

at it again

It has been a few months, admittedly. To those (to one) of you who have frantically wondered what happened since Day 4 in Egypt, I've got a quick summary in this post to bring you up to speed.

After leaving Dubai at the end of February, classes resumed in full force. This semester marked the beginning of the Webb Trifecta: ship design, marine engineering design work, and thesis. Over the duration of sixteen weeks, our class completed conceptual designs for six different "small" ships, a preliminary design for a product carrier fire main, and researched and selected thesis topics. We also continued to take classes like hydrodynamics, ship structures, and American government. The end of the semester ended in its usual whirlwind.

And now, I'm at it again. Most Webbies take the summer for themselves and turn down job offers. We all need a certain amount of decompression time after the "total emersion" curriculum. Be it an indicator of my mental health: my decompression starts with three days in Newport, continues with 5 days at home, jumps to the Middle East for 30 days, hops back to Newport for another 7 days, and ends with Leadership Week back at Webb on the 16th of August. Now, in words, that doesn't look too daunting, but don't forget that I have to travel to all of these places. It's a 4.5-hour drive from Webb to Newport (on a good day), and a 15-hour flight to Dubai. Did I mention that when I go "home" that I am actually only spending two days in Georgia and the rest in Charleston? Yes, my decompression is a little spastic.

Why do it? Well, the Haida project is super cool, and I get to go back to Dubai for a month. (Regrettably, in the middle of the blazing summer...)

So what do you have to look forward to seeing and reading this summer? I'm covering a smorgasbord of destinations Newport, Mystic, East Lyme, Glen Cove, Shelter Island, Jacksonville, Kingsland, Charleston, Pawley's Island, Dubai, Sharjah, and who knows where else I might land.

It's game on, readers. There's a world out there for making waves, and I'm at it again.

Sunset at Webb Institute

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Posted in: announcements