Ho-Hum,More Boring Summer Days

SHIP'S LOG:

I wish that I could say that there is a lot to report but there truly isn't.  It is really tough to just go sailing every day and enjoy the summer like this.  Truth be told, the sailing has been a necessity in that the heat and humidity down at the shore has been on the brutal side. The only way to truly escape it is to get out on the water. Even if I don't sail, there is always a breezed at the mooring and by skillfully playing with the hatches and ports aboard, I can get a very good breeze blowing through the boat. The only real problem is that anything wet stays wet, or at least damp, never completely drying out which can make the bedding a tad uncomfortable.

Perhaps the only two things of note this week were the invitation and the sub.The "invitation" was from my cousin Bob who called and asked me to help him deliver a boat from Milford to Brandford. It was not what you might call the journey of the century, but it would have been a nice day trip.  I was on my way down 95 to Milford when a call came from Bob canceling the trip as the rest of the delivery  crew came down with what Bob referred to as "hoof & mouth disease."  He wasn't more specific but the simple truth was the delivery was off until another time.

The second was "the sub." About 3pm Friday, I was off New London Ledge Light when a call came over Channel 16 " the International distress and hailing Channel" which boaters are supposed to monitor all the times. The caller was requesting contact with "New London Harbor Control," identifying himself as being on a Portuguese submarine! It didn't surprise me that Portugal had a Navy but I was surprised that it had a submarine service arm! But sure enough, out came the Harbor Pilot and up came the sub and they met at Buoy 2 at the mouth of the Thames River. It was a small sub, perhaps not even 1/3 the size of a 688 class boat and it was diesel-electric, but it had what appeared to be a fairly modern design. It was interesting that not "protection" was offered and you could get close to the sub, much like you could to the US boats prior to 9/11. I have no idea what it was doing here or where it went, though I suspect it berthed at the sub-base. I probably catch it again when it leaves if it does so by daylight.

One last thing . . . .  NOAA. If anyone listened at home to NOAA or any of the weather forecast based on NOAA reports, no one would have come down to the shore to go sailing or to the beach. we had great wind, clear skies, low humidity; it was an all-round great day to be out and about the water. People who took the chance or who lived close by lucked out. It was outstanding!