Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Water! Water Everywhere!

SHIP'S LOG:

It is still raining! Most of southeastern Connecticut and seemingly all of Rhode Island are being washed away. I am wondering about ABISHAG as she is all but cut-off to access by car. Route 1 is your basic small(sometimes not so small) stream over-flowing its banks and of course is the demarcation line between the coast (and the marinas where be the boats) and the rest of the North American continent. And as they say all over New England, "You can't get there from here!"

One good thing: ABISHAG was stored in the water. This means that she rises and falls with the level of the water. Though I have seen no news with this regard, it is possible, and it has happened before, that boats stored ashore have had their blocks and support stands washed away causing the boats to fall over. It is also a very rare event for only one boat to fall. If one goes, packed as tightly together as they are, others usually follow. The downside of being in the water is the potential for damage from the flotsam and jetsam that gets washed into the river and down stream by the flooding. One thing in ABISHAG's favor is that she is moored on the downstream side of the dock so the dock, as well as those boats moored on the upstream side of the dock, provide her with considerable protection from damage by floating debris.

Of course, with fixed docks - that is docks that don't rise and fall with the tide or increased water levels - she is fixed by docklines that are set for the normal range of rise and fall. Hopefully, the yard people have been diligent about monitoring the conditions and have made the adjustments necessary. Of course, with the brokers who are trying to sell her having their office right in the same yard as ABISHAG is moored, and not 200 yards away, there are an extra set or two of eyes and helping hands. If, for whatever reason she or another craft breaks loose, she could suffer a lot of damage and cause a lot as well. And with no insurance . . . . . AH, the fun of boat ownership!

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

I can't begin to express how sick I am of the current weather. The gray skies and rain and cold and wind are incredibly depressing to me. And they make my new hip ache! Well, not necessarily the hip but all of the stuff around it that got cut and stitched. It is not real pain, just achiness which only adds to the nastiness of the present climatic situation. Crutching around on but one crutch is encouraging but it will still be a couple of weeks before the mobility is sufficient for me to really get out and moving. Then it will be down to the boatyard to do the spring work and get ABISHAG launched. If it is sunny, I won't care. As long as there is no rain and at least some sun, I won't care. It will probably seem enjoyable to get to work at last.