Sunday - A Day Of Rest & Quiet

SHIP'S LOG:

Today was a non-movement day. After the fireworks and partying of last night, the massive boating congestion in the river Sunday morning, the Sailing of the fourth Annual Maritime Cup Race in the afternoon, it was a nice day to be restive and quiet.

It was a clear and humid free day which pleased everyone and rather breezy at the start, which pleased the racers, and though the clear skies and low humidity, the breeze did not, disappearing about half way through the afternoon which was also about half way through the race. It's not that it disappeared completely, but it dropped to a sufficiently low value as to make it difficult for some of the larger, heavier boats to go much more than current speed. Still in all it was a nice day to be on the water whether you were racing or cruising or simply sitting on your mooring.

I have been using the Mizzen a lot more of late and decided that it would be a good time to do some maintenance on the rig. I popped and re-greased the winches that control the Mizzen Sheet. I lubed all the blocks that are part of the Mizzen sheeting arrangement. I also lubed the blocks that are a part of the running backstays that are attached to the Mizzen Mast. As is so typical as to be expected, the simple maintenance uncovered a few other things that needed to be attended to and repaired. Actually replaced.

The sheaves(wheels) in the blocks(pulleys) of the port side running backstay are frozen in place and broken. No amount of PB Blaster could break them loose, not that it really mattered as the sheaves themselves were chipped along their edges. Since there is really no way to replaces them, the whole block needs to be replaced. Same is true for a block in the Mizzen Sail Sheeting system - frozen, chipped sheave . . . replacement needed.

Such discoveries during routine maintenance, often tend to bring the routine maintenance to an end, less more stuff to be replaced be discovered. It is not that it won't eventually get replaced, it is just that it is disheartening to find stuff that needs replacing without the means to do the replacing. Sunday however, since I was at work on the Mizzen, I decided to go all the way and repair the tear in the sail I found the other day. It might sound dramatic, but it is rather simple:
1.) Find tear;
2.)Cut appropriate size patch of sail repair tape;
3.) Place flat surface under sail at tear;
4.) Remove Backing from patch;
5.) Apply patch to sail at tear. All Done!

A boat sailed into TYC fresh from Bermuda which means they have to clear through US Customs before the crew can be landed. It was surprising to realize that despite the fact that the US Customs Bureau maintains an office in New London, actually the old Customs House in the Nation, there really isn't any staff here full-time. A US Customs guy had to come all the way from Newport, RI, through late Sunday Afternoon, I-95 Traffic to make sure the crew wasn't smuggling in a nuke or drugs in the US. The process was over quickly and there was no hitch, but it did engender lots of conversation on the porch, about how easy it would be to just sail in from anywhere and not check in. Who would know? This lead to one of the seasoned old guard, whose involvement with the Navy, the Sub base, EB and the City of New London, to inform us, in a very general, non-specific way, of the numerous safety precautions and electronic surveillance in that exists in and around this little strip of America. As he noted, "You have no idea what really exists under the water in the river." I always suspected that the Thames was not as wide open as it seems. What leads one to believe that it is is the total absence of visible surveillance and weapons. Believe me, I have looked but I probably don't know where to look. True, right after 9/11, a whole bunch of sandbag revetment's went up around EB and one both shores but they were rather quickly gone. "Thank goodness too as though pimply-face, 18 and 19 year olds who manned the positions with machine guns, were way too nervous and excitable.)

I am not sure whats the drill for today. Right now it is foggy again but is seems to be burning off. A Seawolf is moving up the river right now. If things go as they did last week, there will be more coming in and out. Not something you want to deal with on a foggy day. After all, there is no specific foggy horn sound for a sub. So if you are in fog and you don't hear anything, it could be a sub!