Mourning the loss

[Hughman]

of a $30 Woodenboat hat bought at Newport. plucked from my head by a rampant jib sheet in 30kt. winds.

It's drifting out with the tide, bound for Brooklin, goin home...

Sigh.

[Domesticated_Mr. Know It All]

Well....it lived a short life and was buried at sea. :D
May it rest in peace. ;)
What's the replacement?

[Hwyl]

A missed opportunity for a M.O.B. drill---shame on you.

[Ian McColgin]

On a rough romp over to the Vinyard my crew lost the Figawee hat that had been lent her by another friend. I wrote this for her to memorize by way of apology. Must have worked - they had an intense though now over romance.

The Loss of a Figawee Hat

My shame, my horror, as the wind blew hard,
So hard. I was sick when the wind caught the brim
And in that heartbeat your hat flew
Off my head, astern, to briefly swim
Before in water rough and wild and dank
We lost its sight and pray that painlessly it sank.

Had we but done overboard drills,
Were we prepared as sailors should be,
Were we that day sailing for more than cheap thrills,
And trying not to toss our bowels upon the sea,
Perhaps we'd have sprung in action toward
That momentary plaintive cry, "Hat overboard."

But no sooner than we knew it'd flown,
We're sorry, in that sickening sea it drowned.

[Ken Hutchins]

Ok Hugh, sounds like it is the one I was wearing, you liked it and said you were gonna get one. smile.gif Right? So I know that hat has a string thingy to tye it down under your chin so it won't fly off. :D :D Sorry to pick on ya like that, the devil made me do it. tongue.gif

Oh! I forgive ya you were so happy to be out sailing, happy sailing. smile.gif

[Bruce Hooke]

Back in the late 80's I was the paid crew for a guy who worked for Goldman-Sachs. He had a (cheap plastic) hat brim thing that he sometimes wore sailing that had his employer's name on it. One day a gust of wind caught it and into the water it went and before anything could be done it was out of sight. After a moments pause he simply commented:

"Goldman-Sachs.......................liquidated!"

We had a good laugh over that one. 'Tis too bad that the piece of plastic in question is most likely still around somewhere cluttering up the environment.

[Fitz]

Here's a tip for a HLPD - HAT LOSS PREVENVTION DEVICE. I call it a "Hat Grabber".

You know those ID tags that you get at professional shows etc. that are clear plastic name tag pockets with a metal clip that clips to your shirt pocket?

Well, pull the metal clip off a spare one and attach a cord to the clip about 8 or 9 inches long. Attach other end of the cord to your favorite hat.

When hat is in use in windy conditions, clip the cord, tied to your hat, to your shirt collar behind your neck. When calm conditions rule, the cord raps and stows neatly around the plastic head adjustment thingy on your favorite baseball cap.

I use mine all the time skiing, paddling, etc. and it has saved may favorite hat on numerous occasions.

[NormMessinger]

Regarding lost hats:

Ian, I can just hear that poem being read by Baxter Black. He would do it justice. :cool:

Hugh, $30?! I thought I heard you say you got a bargain. ;)

Our clan was on one of those glass bottom dive boats out of some place in southern florida out bound for a reef when son Wes's western style straw hat blew off into the water. The captain noticed, did a wheelie (man over board maneuver) with that big boat, a crew person (euphemism for girl) hooked the hat as we went by and we were on out way again. Such a deal. The hat wasn't worth much more than the fuel it took to turn around.

Interesting aint it that hats from this part of the country where spit draws thirsty birds wear hats that float whereas hats that go to sea don't.

[Bruce Hooke]

I believe this is an old Bill Mason trick...glue a small piece of ensolite foam inside the hat...enough so that it will float. Of course this method works better with a canoe, where it's generally easy to get back to the hat in the water, than it might from a larger boat where simply finding the hat again could be more of a trick.

[Tom Hunter]

I have not lost a hat yet.

But I have sunglasses stored safetly on harbor bottoms from Rockland ME to Mystic CT and many in between. Its a comfort to me knowing that I always have a pair nearby...

[Hughman]

Ian, I am moved by your hat poetry. So, to accompany the caulking iron at work today, I give you this poor attempt at..

Hat Haiku:

Slapped, Flap. Off it flew

Hat endured seconds of life

fell exhausted, drowned.

[Hughman]

Originally posted by Ken Hutchins:
So I know that hat has a string thingy to tye it down under your chin so it won't fly off. smile.gif String? the one that stows neatly in the crown? :rolleyes:

[Hughman]

Originally posted by NormMessinger:


Hugh, $30?! I thought I heard you say you got a bargain. ;) Well Scot said it was, so it must be true, right?

[Ian McColgin]

My favored hat is the Quaker Marine 'North Atlantic' because it has enough brim to keep rain from rolling over my brow but small enough that I can easily see the sails. About the size and shape of the 'greek fisherman's cap.' And I got for Mary Ellen that top of the line WB cap with the leather bill and all.

I equipped both is functional chin straps. These work on billed caps but not of fully all the way around brimmed hats.

I have a very slipper head and could never get hats to just stay put. i kept adding chin straps that worked but never looked right when not in use until I figured out the right way looking at Dad's old Army Air Corps 'fifty mission' hat made back when they knew what a chin strap was for.

What are now decorative tabs on hats with a strap over the brim were originally the loops where the strap from one side embraced the strap from the other. The straps should be on rivits so they can rotate easily. The rivits should be just ahead of the ear. In the 'up' position, the loops at each end of the straps are only an inch or so away from the rivit for the opposit strap.

Slide the loops to each other to lengthen the straps and it will reach under the chin.

In good leather or in straps made of light line with loops of taughtline hitches there is enough friction that once under the chin and snugged up the strap will stay.

On my hat I made the strap of a dacron tape and found I had to get the size just right as it's slippery.

No more lost hats.

[Ian McColgin]

Norm, I much admire Baxter Black and have used tapes of him as guides to a nice pacing and intonation. Most of my poems benefit from that calm, let the words do their work, style than from more over-the-top theatricality, though some, this hat poem and the coffee poem, can be well recited either way.

Hugh haiku
Is good for you
and me.

[Hwyl]

The tifter of a sailor called Hughman
spun off downwind. when it blew man
Hugh cared for nought
though solace he sought
It's lucky it wasn't a crewman

[Hughman]

smile.gif