AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!

SHIP'S LOG:

It is bright and sunny, warm and windy off St. Kitts. The Christmas Winds are up and if one wanted to push it, and it would be a easy push, one could make St. Barts in time for cocktails. But who wants to push it or go anywhere on New Year's Day . . . . .. . especially after last night! WOW!

Well, enough of fantasy. Reality rears its ugly head and ABISHAG is still in Mystic. And it is in the 30's. And the wind is cold. And it is raining/snowing/sleeting. And though it is warm inside the boat, it isn't quite the same. I am sure you can appreciate that!

Sorry about the long time between postings, but then it was Christmas and other things became priorities. True, I hadn't expected to be here (there?) for Christmas but here I was, trapped by the lack of an appropriate weather window. So I had the gift of celebrating with family and it was a great time. It also meant that not a lot was done on ABISHAG. I have discovered that my great propane locker reconstruction was " flawed." Actually it was too good in that I extended it just a little bit too far and as a result, it doesn't drain. This is not a good thing. It is not so much the water, for the water will not bother the tanks or the hoses. It is the fact that since it won't drain, should there be some type of propane leak in the locker that is where the propane will remain. It will not drain harmlessly overboard. The longer it stays in that situation, the greater the risk that it will find some way into the boat and down into the bilge and there await a spark. And should the spark be provided, well lets just say it could ruin my whole day. So, I am in the process of repositioning the drainage system which entails drilling and hole cutting and a "little fiberglass work." and it is even more fun in the snow and cold.

Since I will be living on ABISHAG starting tomorrow, I also have to install a CO2 detector. The re is a propane "sniffer" already in the system, CO2 can be almost as nasty since you can smell it and it can/will kill you. Buttoning up the boat to keep the water out, keeps everything else in and in the middle of winter, it is a little difficult to ventilate the boat and not end up freezing as a result. I am sure you can begin to understand why I wanted to be "South" by this time.

Living on the boat will allow me to finish a couple of big projects and star digging into the never-ending boat maintenance projects. The two biggies are the water maker installation and the SAT phone installation. I have everything I need and now will really have the opportunity to finish them both off. I'll just have to see how long it takes. As you know, any work on a boat takes at least double the time you plan and three times the cost you estimated. By Spring??? God only knows and he ain't saying!

I've downloaded a couple dozen movies off the Internet so I will have some entertainment. After all I can't work all the time. I have also downloaded the manual for the SSB radio (one didn't come with the boat) and if I have connected it correctly, I'll try making contact with cruisers and the various radio nets for cruisers and just try to get into the mind-set.

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

It is really frustrating to still be stuck here. It was really what I didn't want to happen. Trying to figure out what God has in mind is an exercise that has stumped theologians far greater than I and I don't really expect to do it, but it looks like that I'll sure have the time to try. I suppose that the simplest answer is thatg God is giving me the time to learn how to live in a 39ft boat, not campout but live. I am sure that I could do so where the temperature is over 70, but for some reason God wants me to do it here. So here I'll do it.

NOT A GOOD DAY!

SHIP'S LOG:

It actually got a few degrees above freezing today and the boat was moved. We didn't go all that far, maybe 300ft upriver to "C" Dock. ABISHAG will be there until we start the sailing part of the journey. I have discovered that the "radiator/heater" works very well. I am not quite sure of the amp draw, but it certainly produces more than enough heat to keep the main cabin very comfortable. All the electrics are up and running. There is one strange thing though, when you put on the circuit breaker for the cabin light something turns on with a "beep" signal somewhere in the boat. What it is, I have no idea, but it must be either the Propane System Power Panel or the Refrigeration Power Panel indicating that it is now "On." Unfortunately, neither panel lights up so there is no way to know which one it actually is. The Propane System doesn't yet have the solenoid hooked up yet but the "sniffer" is, still no lights on the panel. The Refrigeration system is now "winterized" and so it won't be any time soon that I will be checking that out. It is bothersome to not know what is what.

One little project I never did get around to finishing was the winch for the main sail out haul. Now I may be paying the price. The Mainsail doesn't completely furl into the mast as it is supposed to. Usually, the last 5-10 inches remains exposed, covered as it is with UV Protection Sail Cloth. There is just a little bit more than that exposed and I want to unfurl and then re-furl the main properly. Just pulling the main out haul doesn't move it. Wrapping in on the winch and pulling doesn't move it either. However, since I didn't fix the winch, I can't crank it, can't use the power of the winch to get the mainsail unfurled so I can re-furl it. looks like that letting this project go because "it really isn't absolutely necessary" turned out to be less than a good decision on my part. The snow and ice and cold will make the project all the more fun to do now!

Friend Kenny got the speakers in and they work just fine, great in fact. Nice to have tunes on ABISHAG. All the radios work now, though there is no manual for the SSB. I am going to have to find and down load one so I can find out whether or not the thing works. If it doesn't work, it will be the tuner according to the people at DOCKSIDE ELECTRONICS. Their suggestion if such is the case is to drop it overboard! It is a dying technology and it is better to go with the SAT Phone. I have the SAT Phone now and will be installing it over the next few days. This will allow access to email and the Net as well as phone calling throughout the world. It will be great . . . . if I ever get out of Mystic.

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

The sadness of the day comes from a phone call I received Wednesday afternoon. The call informed me that Dan Grandy had suffered a massive heart attack and died at his farm in Georgia. I met Dan at the Chapman School last March and he became a good friend. He was a delivery captain and was extremely knowledgeable about all things boating. He was very supportive of what I was planning and there was hardly a week when I did not get at least an email from him urging me on. I last talked to him this past Monday when he talked me through an electrical installation. We had plans that when I got to Fort Lauderdale, where the boat he ran was based, we would have venison burgers and beer to celebrate my trip. I last saw him over the summer when he had brought the boat to Newport for some summer cruising with the owner. He would have come with me to bring ABISHAG up from Annapolis but the owner had a trip that he wanted to make and Dan, naturally, had to take him. It was his job after all. I was really looking forward to seeing Dan again and, after the burgers and beer, to go sailing with him for a couple of days. I am really saddened by his death.

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS!

SHIP'S LOG:

There is something wrong about there being snow on teak decks! I was hoping that when I next saw snow it would be on a TV in a bar in the Caribbean somewhere! Needless to say, I am not happy.

Friend Kenny is coming by to install some speakers so that I will have tunes on ABISHAG. Strangely, when the boat was sold, the previous owner took out the speakers but left the radio/CD player. The cold weather makes working on the boat difficult but the heat has been on all weekend and it shouldn't be too, too bad.

The transmission filter with the hole in it is gone and replaced with a newly manufactured piece. This will keep the oil from dripping into the bilge where it ferments and begins to stink. That problem is solved and the water that ends up in the bilge should now be fresh and sweet smelling . . . . Yea, right! Another good point about being "stuck" in Mystic is that I got the opportunity to replace several of the engine hoses which looked problematic.

Getting to the boat today, I found the deck covered with several inches of ice. There would have been more but the gunnel is only so high and the rest got washed overboard. The nasty little storm of Sunday really coated everything and the ice got in everywhere. It plugged all the deck drains and scuppers causing the ice to build up. Even the cockpit, with the Bimini and dodger, was filled with enough ice to cover the teak grating. The electrical cable from the boat to the dock was covered by a layer of ice and snow and when it was laid out, it wasn't supported. As a result, it disconnected from the dockside terminal and there was no electricity going into the boat from whenever it disconnected until I re-connected it today. The weight of the ice, along with the fact that the ice "stuck" it to the deck, along with the movement of the boat in the wind, was just enough to disconnect it from the terminal. Disconnecting shut down the power panel which has the invert switch on it so the "radiator/heater" it was powering shut off and the boat was "just a tad cool' to say the least. Reconnecting the power activated the inverter and the radiator and produced a modicum of heat. I was hoping that the boat would have been "comfortable" enough to work in, and it probably would have been had the heater remained on since Friday. It was another one of those plans that went astray.

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

I don't want to say that I am slow on the uptake or anything like that, but I am beginning to suspect that maybe, just maybe Mystic will be the farthest south I get before Spring. Considering I had thought that the middle of October would be late to make a start, the present situation really makes that laughable. I was going to start living on the boat this week, but considering that it is not suppose to even make it into the 30's for a high, I have decided that discretion is the better part of valor. Somehow, shoveling snow off the boat and hissing blue breaths were not images that ever crept into my mind when I was sweating up a storm back in August and September. while I was working on the boat today, in the bright sunshine, I was listening to the marine radio and they were talking about a gale off shore for today and tonight, and high winds for the rest of the week. I looked over the route for the hundredth time and wondered what it would be like out there today. "Not pleasant" was about the best I could come up with. Boy, I would hate to make a start and then get stuck somewhere. I can see such an event as putting a real damper on the whole enterprise. It is why I wanted to get away before it got anywhere near this cold. I am not a winter person and I hate the cold. I also miss the sun, being a sufferer of S.A. S. (Seasonal Adjustment Syndrome). When we have so few hours of sunlight, I get the blahs and it is tough to get motivated to do much. Every little job becomes a major project and frustrating in the length of time it takes to get it done.

Still the thought of seeing palms trees, discarding shoes, jackets and long pants for short, sandals and T's has the power to keep me working at it. I guess the 6months of work I was going to do in three is going to take 6 after all. I'll be moving the boat into wet storage....when it gets warmer!

THE WORK GOES ON!!!!

SHIP'S LOG:

Well, it's like this ...... The only electrical items that need to be connected are the GPS, (A second)VHF & SSB. Two 12 volt outlets need to be wired, and one of the 110 outlets needs to be replaced and that's it. However....... there is the engine! The engine runs strong and is in good shape but it doesn't heat up. Now this may seem like a non-problem, but it is how the hot water is made hot. Even putting the boat under a load, doesn't really raise the temp all that much. The hoses that circulate the water through the engine and into and out of the hot water tank don't seem to be getting particularly warm. It is probably due to the fact that it is winter, but it makes it difficult to know if the temp gauge is working correctly and accurately or even working. It doesn't help that one of the hoses decided to split and spray coolant and/or raw water everywhere. Fun, fun, fun... I am not sure if I can take anymore fun!

I am finally hooking up the solenoid and hoses for the propane system for the stove. I have gotten a double system so that I can monitor both tanks at the same time and can switch propane sources without going through the process of disconnecting one tank and re-connecting to the second tank. I will be installing the system today and then, after checking the solenoid and the "sniffer," will fill the tanks. I am planning a little cooking experiment if all goes well.

The electrician was very impressed with the refrigeration system. He noted that another boat in the yard has the same system and he refers to it as "golden." Now, I still don't know that it actually works. The electrician winterized the system but didn't try it out, still he was impressed by the system. He noted that it uses a "a lot of electricity, but you have a lot." Actually, at this point it is colder outside the fridge than in. Following the raw water line for the system, there is a fixture in the line at the thru-hull. It looks like the top of a raw water strainer. Unfortunately, the container with the strainer in it is no where to be found. It means another trip to the chandler.

I still have a leak problem, actually two. The main hatch and the companionway hatch still are leaking. I am having trouble tracking down the leak from the companionway hatch as it is very clear that it is traveling from somewhere else. Tracking it down means taking down some of the headliner, not something i want to do right now. The main hatch over the table in the salon still leaks. I have sealed it inside and out side and water is still making its way in, less than before but it is still coming in. I am almost a loss to figure out what else I can do to stop it. I may have to do a new hatch come spring.

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

I am planning to move on to the boat. Getting used to living on the boat and adjusting to the confines is important. I have already identified two spots where I tend to whack my head and have to get used to ducking automatically when I go through these spots. Arranging stuff on the boat will also be served by this. I am still looking for a couple of bungee cords that I carefully put away a couple of weeks ago and I have been unable to find since. Getting into the routine of checking and doing preventative maintenance is also something I need to work on. There are a whole host of things that need to be learned and discovered and this will be a great opportunity. Plus, if I get a break in the weather, I can start off at a moments notice. Of course it will sort of be like living in a tree house in your backyard, I will have access to everything I need, but I need to develop the lifestyle of living on the boat. It should be rather interesting in the Nor'easter expected this weekend!

AND SO IT GOES!!!!

SHIP'S LOG:

I really do hate getting a cold. To avoid this very thing is one of the reasons that I wanted to head south. "Ah, but the best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray"....just ask George.

I made the mistake of going to the boat on Friday. I had made the last "major"purchase (the inflatable dinghy) and wanted to drop it off at the boat rather than leave it in my car. Good idea but bad timing. It was cold and snowy and I had not completely gotten over the cold and I have paid for it over the next few following days. From the quick inspection it appears that everything is done (hopefully) but I won't know for sure until I talk with the electrician. But there really, really can't be that much left undone, can there be?

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

Anchoring! How exactly is one person to set an anchor on a 39ft sailboat? And how is one person to retrieve said anchor? In calm air? In a bit of a blow? For some reason, I have been thinking about anchoring a lot the last few days. Surely it is an important topic, but I have worked out how I will be doing it. Having done the vast majority of my sailing solo, I have had to work out such problems several different time on the various boats I have owned. While size and weight are significant factors and have to be a major consideration, the steps to that dance have already been choreographed. The most important thing is planning, knowing what you will do and how you will do it ahead of time. The second most important thing is patience, as are the 3rd, 4th & 5th.

I have been following the weather more closely the last 10 days. The weather is going to be the hang up I fear. Getting to the Chesapeake will be key I feel. Up here in the great Northeast, the weather has become freezing and very unstable and makes getting away rather hard. I would really like 4 days of stable weather. That should get me to the Chesapeake even with the diminishing sunlight. Once there, the only real problem will be Ablemarle which, because it is open and shallow, is susceptible to winds and storms and can be nasty. Still in all, better Ablemarle Sound than Fishers Island Sound.

I will be heading down to the Shipyard tomorrow and I'll find out where the boat and I stand. And after that, well it depends on what i hear.

I WAS AFRAID OF THIS - PART II

SHIP'S LOG:

Well, I was afraid of this! The weather has become freezing cold (what a surprise in December!) and the work is not quite done, so I am still here and will be here at least through the middle of next week! I have had to "winterize" the boat, not a big deal and easily reversible, but it is what it signifies - Winter is here big time!

I have been unable to get down to the boat for the last few days as the "cold & flu Season" has claimed me as a victim. I presume that the work has pretty much been completed but I assume that it is all not done. In one sense, I would rather that it not be completed as it would be a painful thing to be ready to go and yet be unable to go because of the weather. If I am feeling up to speed I will head down tomorrow and check out just where we are.

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

The days have become more winter than late Fall and I am beginning to wonder whether or not I will be able to actually get away. The heating on the boat is enough to take the raw edge of the chill off making it not uncomfortable inside, but on deck, in this current weather, will be just a little raw. If I can get a break in the weather for 4 days to a week, I can get to where the weather will not matter as much but it might be a bit much to hope for. This does not make me happy, but it also gets me thinking about the why. What is God trying to get me to think about, to deal with, to grow into this time? I haven't quite got that figured out just yet but now it looks as though I will have the time to figure it out.

I WAS AFRAID OF THIS!!!!

SHIP'S LOG:

No change in the boat since the last post. Hopefully today the electrician will be finishing his work and it will all be done by the end of business Wednesday.

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

I was afraid that this was going to happen, both the weather and my health have gone into the crapper! Since Friday the weather has been in the low 30's and there has been snow and freezing rain on and off. It really hasn't been conducive to hauling stuff down to the boat and finding places to stow it. For those of you who have not walked down a cock in the winter, nothing ices up quite like it. You get that constant coating from the wind-whipped-water, so even if the yard did ice removal, their efforts would be thwarted before they were finished. And as difficult as it can be going down a main dock, the finger docks (those along side the boat) are even more fun, being narrower and often floating ( they move with the movement of the water). Trudging down such a structure with an armful of stuff and expecting to get it all safely on the boat( and yourself as well) is to be foolishly optimistic in the extreme. Adding insult to injury, I have come down with the first cold of the season. Nothing serious, just one of those 24-to-48 hour-fever-&-chills-two-exits-no-waiting type that is guaranteed to just make you feel miserable. What is frustrating is that this was the very thing I was trying to avoid by heading south. I had hoped that I has seen my last snow (fat chance), my last ice (except in a glass full of rum) and had my last cold/flu season. Had everything gone the way I had planned, I would have seen my first "Green Flash" by now, but we all know about "having a plan." Hopefully, both the boat and I will be up to speed by mid-week and, with a break from Mother Nature, heading south this coming weekend.