A Crappy Day In Paradise, And I do Mean Crappy!

SHIP'S LOG:

The wind decided to come out of the East for the last few days, a rather rare occurrence in these parts and one that never really promise good. It was not only out of the East, it was out of the East at 10 - 15 knots, gusting to 20+, with sunshine and no humidity. In other words, for three days, we had perfect sailing weather and it was perfectly taken advantage of!!!!!!!!

Went out toward Valiant Rock, Great Gull & Little Gull Islands and it was beautiful. The winds were almost overpowering and ABISHAG was really heeling, but by reducing sail, she got back up on her feet with no real loss of speed. Let's hear it for ketches and their evenly distributed sail area! We were doing 4.5 - 5.0 -5.5 headed almost due south. The waves were 3-4 feet so we bashed a little, but it was enjoyable getting water over the deck as she "raced along with a bone in her teeth!" It was comforting to know that the deck was now "basically leak proof, too!"

In all the years I have been sailing in and out of New London and all the times I have encountered the bark "EAGLE", the Coast Guard Academy's training vessel, I have never seen her anchored, with the sole exception of the 2000, when she anchored with the other tall ships in Niantic Bay the day before the parade into New London. But there she was anchored on the western side of Bartlett Reef. Technically she was anchored "in Niantic Bay," but truth be told, she was way out by the reef marker, perhaps almost a mile from shore. I had never seen her in this spot and so I checked it out. It seems that they "always" anchor there when the ship comes back from one of her cruises to allow the cadets to square the ship away before she sails(motors) into New London to dock. I never knew that and it caught b]me completely by surprise.

I took my cousin Tommy, his wife and kids sailing. Tommy has recently gotten into sailing, being part of a crew for one of the boats here at TYC and I think he is thinking of buying a boat for the family. The sail was sort of an opportunity for everyone to get " the sailing experience" to make "popping the question" easier. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves very much and even Andrew, the youngest, who was originally a bit frightened at first, was walking all over the deck like an old salt by the time they reached "burn out."

I have a new addition to the "fix it" list. The hand pump for the aft head is broken. It could be the mechanism for the pump broke. It could be that the rubber diaphragm had ripped after 33 years and needs replacing. It could be that it is just being a pain in the ass. Whatever the reason, it don't work! So it is that it must be repaired. There is one, little, itsy-bitsy problem, it is located behind a bulkhead(wall) which means it has to be removed to be worked on. And that means I have to figure a way to detach it from the back of the wall, without seeing it, and in such a way that following the repair, it can be reattached to it former position of glory. It is amazing how many repairs and maintenance projects that have to be done on a boat, must be accomplished,at least in part, without being able to see what you are doing!

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

Today looks like a crappy day. It is gray and overcast and humid and just plain yukky! It will be a good day to take care of several more projects, specifically the aft head head pump. I am not in the mood to sail today. The athwart seat on the dinghy disappeared and must be replaced.. Electricity is still a mystery to me. Ray and I are having troubles connecting to work on the fridge. I've got a sinus headache. And all my books seem to read the same. It is a crappy day in paradise, and I do mean crappy.