O What A Day! O What A Night!!

SHIP'S LOG:

5:30 AM Monday Morning . . . . and I awake to pouring rain! More rain! God and I have a serious discussion and the rain ends by 8:30AM. Following the morning ablutions, I brought ABISHAG to the dock and filled her water tank. She was now all ready to depart. I walked out to where my car was parked, intending to drive to CVS to pick up a few things and to the bank to pick up some cash. As I walked to the car I received a sign that it was time to leave . . . some dear person had sideswiped my car leaving a streak of white paint down the side and taking out the driver's side mirror! Was that a sign or what??????

I did my tasks and got back to TYC and parked the car. Friend Ray would be by to pick it up in a day or so and it was time to pick it up and keep it safe until I need it again . .. months from now! Down to ABISHAG, engine on, line off, back out of the slip, transmission to forward and out into the river. It was SEPTEMBER 29th - 9:35 AM - "D-DAY & H-Hour".

There was no real wind so I motored down the river and headed west down the Sound. I am on my way! Huzzah!!!!

I motored for about and hour and the wind started to fill in. Off Millstone Nuclear power plant in Waterford, I raised the sails and shut down the engine. The wind really filled in and I was on a beam reach (wind coming directly over the side) and with the tide rushing down the Sound, I started moving at over 8knots! It was glorious! It was as I hoped it would be!! It was as I wanted it!! HUZZAH!!!!!!!!

As I sailed down the the Sound, I was passed by a fleet of 12 Meter Yachts, the former boats of the AMERICA'S CUP Races. No names were visible but the sail numbers indicated that they were #15, #16, #18, #20, #21 & #22. I'll have to look them numbers up and see which of the 12's there were. They must have been racing though from where and to where ( possibly Newport) I have no idea but it was terrific to see them sail by and to get a wave from the crews. We are sailors all!

Early in the afternoon, the wind began to die and, as it did, for some reason I was assaulted by the last horseflies of summer. I must have been 5-6 miles offshore (taking advantage of the tide going down the Sound) and I have no idea where they came from or how they got there. They were obviously trying to get ready for winter because no matter how may times I shooed them away (evening turning 5 or 6 into ex-horseflies). I spent most of the afternoon dealing with them. They were the worse part of the day . . . so I thought.

By 4PM, the wind had died sufficiently to make arriving at New Haven in daylight questionable and so I kicked on the Iron Genoa ( the engine), motoring toward the days anchorage. The sun was going down - right into my eyes - and so I kept a little more out in the Sound to avoid dealing with the Thimble Islands ( some "islands" and lots of rocks). With the sun going down in my eyes and holding out into the Sound, I ended up missing the mark at the mouth of New Haven Harbor that marks the main channel into New Haven Harbor. Rather than looking right (toward the shore) for the mark, I was looking left (further out into the Sound) for the mark. Those who have never tried to find a mark don't understand how difficult this can be at times.

As the sun went down, all of the flashing marks came on, blinking in their own rhythm. Some red and some green. Some 2 seconds, some 2.5, some 4, some 5 or 6. The darker it got, I lost depth perception and the more difficult it became to figure out which mark was closer and which was farther away. Not being able to find the New Haven mark, which should have been visible to my left (wrong!), I kept heading west. I began to doubt my GPS ( Global Positioning Satellite) handheld receiver ( which said I passed it) and went below to check the chartplotter (big brother of the handheld). The Chartplotter indicated I passed it. #%&*%$! I suspected that I was too far out and that I missed the mark. I figured that I was an hour's worth of motoring passed where I wanted to be. Now that the sun was down, I would have to motor to a mark and identify it. From there, I would pilot my way from it to the where I wanted to go.

The wind was now blowing again and motoring right into it, I was getting water over the bow and one out of every seven or so right in the face, something like the the trip down Delaware Bay last year. An hour and a half got me to the end of the western breakwater and moved along it until I got to the main channel. I found the main channel ( I was very proud of myself) and headed into New Haven Harbor. It is a little difficult at time heading into a harbor following the blink lights on the marks with the lights of the city as the background. More than one sailor has run their boat aground following a "flash mark light" which turned out to be a Rolling Rock Beer neon sign in the window of a harbor bar. But slow and steady eventually gets you there. I made my way up the harbor channel till I got to the waypoint I had marked and turned into the area behind the breakwater. I had made it, even in the dark! I really felt great. It was the first big step on the journey. Now all I had to do is anchor.

I checked the depth sounder and when it read 16feet I stopped ABISHAG and dropped the hook. I have down this more times than I can count and the procedure is always the same. i used the danforth-type anchor because it is supposed to be better in the soft mud and the New Haven Harbor bottom is mud - black, soft, stinking mud. The hook hit the bottom and I let out some extra line and tugged as the boat drifted back. It seemed as if it had bit so I let out more line and tugged some more. Felt good. I let out a total of 60ft and motored backward and ABISHAG swung on the anchor, the sign that the anchor had dug in. I let out more line so that I had 120ft of line in the water. That gave me a 6-to-1 ratio ( 6 feet of anchor line for each foot of water depth) which is an excellent ratio. And, on top of that, I put a kellet, or anchor weight, on the line. The extra 30lbs dropped the angle at which the anchor pulled, increasing its effectiveness almost double. I checked and everything looked great and I went below to start supper, make some calls and started the blog.

I made some calls letting Russ and my sisters know I was safe and sound. I started the blog and as I was typing, I happened to look at the depth sound on the chartplotter. It read 15ft . . . . then 14ft . . then 12ft as the boat swung at anchor . . . .then 10ft . . .then 9ft . . was I dragging? How was that possible? The 7ft!!!!!! Holy Crap! I shot up into the cockpit and there off to the side where the huge boulders that make up the breakwater I anchored behind! Bloody hell . . .down into the boat and grabbing the key to the engine, into the ignition and as I turned it, ABISHAG struck the breakwater. CRUNCH! !@ ! !! !. Engine on, into gear and the prop must have hit the ricks and the engine stalled out. Tried again. Stalled again! It was time to get help!!!!!!!

I got a hold of the COAST GUARD and sat inside ABISHAG, bouncing up and down on her keel on the rocks, waiting for the Coast Guard to arrive. As quickly as they could ( 30 minutes - let's hear it for government cut-backs) the Coast Guard arrived and asses the situation. Luckily, ABISHAG was beam to the rocks so that the keel kept the side from impacting the rocks. Still she was bouncing up and down on the rocks. The sound inside was something you need to experience but I pray you never do. Every time the keel bounced on the rocks, everything in and on the boat rang! Not being able to see, I could only imagine the damage being done. That bang, a hole in the side. Than slam, snapping off the rudder. That crash, the bending of the shat and the destruction of the prop. Imagination is such a situation is awful. I kept checking lockers and the sump to see if water was coming in. I couldn't believe it was still dry. Waiting was horrible. Looking at the rocks and feeling all of the impacts, I expected that it was only a moment before there would be a gush of water and it would be a total lost.

SEATOW showed up and we had to wait for high tide (11:30pm) before they could get me off. It was the worst time, waiting til I could get off. High tide came and the tow began and off she came. I went below and looked for water again and found nothing! Whew! Now the tow began to Bruce and Johnson in Branford. New Haven, despite being a major seaport, really didn't have a facility to care for a boat like mine. The two took an hour and I took the time to discuss the situation with a claims representative. What a great conversation that was!!!!! The best part was that the policy will pay for the salvage and the repairs! Let's hear it for insurance.

I got slipped into a slip at Bruce & Johnson, tied up the boat, and went to sleep. I got to sleep maybe by 3AM and was up at 6AM. Took a shower and cleaned up the boat. There was lines everywhere, the anchor line, the kellet line and the anchor were in a mass up on the foredeck. Inside the boat, everything was on the port side of the boat as I had to move it all to check for leaks. About 8AM, Jeff and John came by. It was clear quickly that both of them really knew what they were about. The check the boat and said that they would haul it at 11AM for a survey for damage and evaluation.

At 11AM, ABISHAG was towed to the service yard and set in the travel lift, and raised out of the water. It felt like going to the doctor. All that banging, all that bouncing, all that slamming! How bad would the injury be? Slowly up she rose out of the water and . . . . and . . . . . Wow, no holes. Hallelujah! A careful examination showed that the keep took most of the damage. Luckily, the slamming was on the lead billet in the keel. The fiberglass on the bottom was scored and cracked. The rudder was still in place but was also scored and gouged and the rudder shaft moved inside the rudder. The prop had a bite out of it and one of the fasteners used to hold it to the shaft was missing. The prop was loose on the shaft and it appeared to be more worn than damage. It would have to be removed, along with the shaft ( to see if it was straight and fair) and sent to a company to see if they need to be refurbished and/or repaired. The prop may have to be replace with a new one but because it was already in a worn state, it may not be covered by the insurance. It is a special feathering prop, usually found on racing boats, and would cost $3,000 to replace. If it can't be fixed or refurbished, I'll have to buy a standard fixed blade prop. There were a few more scrapes and gouges but there was remarkably little damage. Considering what it sounded like and what my imagination suggested was going on, it could have been a lot, LOT worse.

No one could figure out why the boat dragged. Nor could I. And all would impressed by the the strength of ABSIHAG and how well she took the pounding. It will take a week, maybe more to effect repairs and Ken came by and picked me up and took me to my car. I went off afterwards to find a place to crash.

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

Having not eaten all day Monday and most of Tuesday, and running on 2-3hours of sleep, and dealing with all the worry and anxiety, I crash and slept 12 hours. Waking up, not on ABISHAG, was a shock and a big, bitter disappointment. God and I had a big discussion about the situation but I can't quite figure out what God is trying to tell me. Hopefully it is not that this is not what i should be doing. I have a friend who want to marry a guy but wouldn't take the hints from her friends that he was wrong for her. Even when the church she was to be married in burned down she didn't take the hint. It turned out to be a bad marriage and they eventually divorced. I hope putting ABISHAG on the rocks was not God's way of dropping a big hint that I am not getting the plan.

I say one thing though, all of the little frustrations and problems and difficulties that i have had to deal with over the last year made it a lots easier to deal with this situation. I didn't explode. I didn't sink into deep depression. I am not too worried about what lies ahead. ABISHAG will get fixed and I will get going South again. If it doesn't happen this week, it will happen next week. God's in control and when God decides it is going to happen it will happen. I say that i have enjoyed meeting the two guys that ran the SEATOW boat ad the guys at the boatyard. True, I would have better liked not to have met them in this way, but they were wonderful people and it was a joy getting to know them. I guess this is part of the plan. I can't wait to see what other wrinkles God has in mind.