SHIP'S LOG:
I received a call from the Yard Boss yesterday and I got the word: it will be early next week . . . or at least that what he says. I have gotten to the point to where I will get excited only when he calls and says he is splashing the boat. Then again, hope springs eternal.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I have the courses laid out. I have the goal anchorages noted and dozens of ancillary fallback locations. The boat is stocked with eats and water. The only thing missing is the prop . . .and ABISHAG being in the water. I am planning to leave as soon as she is in the water and the tide begins to ebb. That'll get me to the Little Bay anchorage at the Throggs Neck Bridge and the next day through Hell's Gate and on to New Jersey. It won't be September. It won't be October. It won't be the first week of November but it will happen. Huzzah!
Friday, November 7, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Still Waiting
SHIP'S LOG:
I went down again to see ABISHAG and clean some of the seagull detritus off the deck. I shift around some of the stores to balance her out a bit better. I opened the ports to air her out. I brought down the Cruising Guide for Connecticut, New York and New Jersey , plus the Skipper Bob ICW Anchoring Guide and picked up the Cruising Guide for the Chesapeake to Florida and Skipper Bob's Marinas on the ICW. And basically that was all that there was to do. The bottom is painted and the rudder is re-attached. The prop, well that is what I am waiting for and it is coming, but then so is Thanksgiving and I am praying that I leave before then!
I turned over the check from the Insurance company to cover the expenses of the work that has been done. There really isn't anymore that I can do other than up date the electronic charts which I will spend the "waiting time" doing . . . . that and praying that the weather continues mild.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I was watching the yard crews shrink wrap the boats all around ABISHAG. Winter is definitely on the horizon . . . at least in the boating sense. I swore up and down that I wouldn't spend another winter here in the north . . . perhaps God is just reminding me that I shouldn't swear, especially about things over which I have no control. I am resigning myself to a cold water slog which will make the first part of the trip a real drag but it will get better the further south I go. I am getting sick of this scenery and it is time for a change! ! !! !
I went down again to see ABISHAG and clean some of the seagull detritus off the deck. I shift around some of the stores to balance her out a bit better. I opened the ports to air her out. I brought down the Cruising Guide for Connecticut, New York and New Jersey , plus the Skipper Bob ICW Anchoring Guide and picked up the Cruising Guide for the Chesapeake to Florida and Skipper Bob's Marinas on the ICW. And basically that was all that there was to do. The bottom is painted and the rudder is re-attached. The prop, well that is what I am waiting for and it is coming, but then so is Thanksgiving and I am praying that I leave before then!
I turned over the check from the Insurance company to cover the expenses of the work that has been done. There really isn't anymore that I can do other than up date the electronic charts which I will spend the "waiting time" doing . . . . that and praying that the weather continues mild.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I was watching the yard crews shrink wrap the boats all around ABISHAG. Winter is definitely on the horizon . . . at least in the boating sense. I swore up and down that I wouldn't spend another winter here in the north . . . perhaps God is just reminding me that I shouldn't swear, especially about things over which I have no control. I am resigning myself to a cold water slog which will make the first part of the trip a real drag but it will get better the further south I go. I am getting sick of this scenery and it is time for a change! ! !! !
Saturday, November 1, 2008
It's November Already!
SHIP'S LOG:
Well, that was a fast October. I guess that it wasn't God's intention that I stay here to watch the Red Sox win another World Series. I am not sure the reason why i am still here, according to God's plan, but the "secular" excuse is that "I am awaiting the prop!" It should show up sometime this week . . . . . but then again it may not. When it gets here, it gets here and when it gets here, I am gone!!!!
I have laid in a supply of winter clothing, mostly sweats and turtle fur stuff - hats, pants, shirts, etc. - and fuel for the fireplace - pellet logs and charcoal - so I am ready for the cold as it comes. With the shortening daylight hours it means that I must be an early riser so I can do all my cruising in the bright sunshine or at least not in the dark. It basically means that the day hops will be shorter than planned or hoped for. Ah such is life!
A I have mentioned before, the "toughest" part of the journey - the actual sailing part that is - will be the first few days as I go through NYC, down the New Jersey coast and up the Delaware Bay to the head of the Chesapeake at the D & C Canal. There is lots of traffic in and around NYC, there is a lot of open water sailing along the Jersey Coast and not a lot of places to put in, and the Delaware Bay is best done in one shot of 58 miles. A week of nice, relatively warm, settled weather would be wonderful but Ill just have to take what comes. The Chesapeake is loaded, and I mean loaded, with anchorages and marinas and all sorts of services for sailors that are open year round. It is like Narragansett Bay on steroids. Once I get there, I could do 10 - 20 miles day hops all the way to Norfolk and beyond. The weather there will be more moderate than up here and the farther south I go, the warm it should be come. I look forward to the day i "have to" start wearing tee-shirts and shorts again.
O by the way, the check that I thought was from the Insurance company wasn't. Turned out to be a promotional $10 to sign up for a something from Budget Rent-A-Car. If it isn't here by Monday, I'll have to place a call.
Well, that's about it for today. Back to waiting for "the call." Hopefully I will be hearing from the Yard Boss early this week so I can get out of Dodge before the snow actually does fall.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I am getting moderately tired of waiting. I have tried to keep busy, logging every anchorage, marina, bridge, lock, historical sight, point of interest and anything else I might possibly be able to use onto my electronic charts. I am working out the wrinkles in my mail forwarding service and electronic bill paying arrangements. I am trying to figure out what God wants me to learn or do or experience before i get to go. Perhaps it is none of these and it is just another opportunity to practice patience and self-surrender. Not being in control of things, even if such control is really only in your head, is hard. Trusting is hard. Not quite knowing where you are going is hard. I hope it gets just a little easier in the future.
Well, that was a fast October. I guess that it wasn't God's intention that I stay here to watch the Red Sox win another World Series. I am not sure the reason why i am still here, according to God's plan, but the "secular" excuse is that "I am awaiting the prop!" It should show up sometime this week . . . . . but then again it may not. When it gets here, it gets here and when it gets here, I am gone!!!!
I have laid in a supply of winter clothing, mostly sweats and turtle fur stuff - hats, pants, shirts, etc. - and fuel for the fireplace - pellet logs and charcoal - so I am ready for the cold as it comes. With the shortening daylight hours it means that I must be an early riser so I can do all my cruising in the bright sunshine or at least not in the dark. It basically means that the day hops will be shorter than planned or hoped for. Ah such is life!
A I have mentioned before, the "toughest" part of the journey - the actual sailing part that is - will be the first few days as I go through NYC, down the New Jersey coast and up the Delaware Bay to the head of the Chesapeake at the D & C Canal. There is lots of traffic in and around NYC, there is a lot of open water sailing along the Jersey Coast and not a lot of places to put in, and the Delaware Bay is best done in one shot of 58 miles. A week of nice, relatively warm, settled weather would be wonderful but Ill just have to take what comes. The Chesapeake is loaded, and I mean loaded, with anchorages and marinas and all sorts of services for sailors that are open year round. It is like Narragansett Bay on steroids. Once I get there, I could do 10 - 20 miles day hops all the way to Norfolk and beyond. The weather there will be more moderate than up here and the farther south I go, the warm it should be come. I look forward to the day i "have to" start wearing tee-shirts and shorts again.
O by the way, the check that I thought was from the Insurance company wasn't. Turned out to be a promotional $10 to sign up for a something from Budget Rent-A-Car. If it isn't here by Monday, I'll have to place a call.
Well, that's about it for today. Back to waiting for "the call." Hopefully I will be hearing from the Yard Boss early this week so I can get out of Dodge before the snow actually does fall.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I am getting moderately tired of waiting. I have tried to keep busy, logging every anchorage, marina, bridge, lock, historical sight, point of interest and anything else I might possibly be able to use onto my electronic charts. I am working out the wrinkles in my mail forwarding service and electronic bill paying arrangements. I am trying to figure out what God wants me to learn or do or experience before i get to go. Perhaps it is none of these and it is just another opportunity to practice patience and self-surrender. Not being in control of things, even if such control is really only in your head, is hard. Trusting is hard. Not quite knowing where you are going is hard. I hope it gets just a little easier in the future.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
And The Word Is . . . . ..
SHIP'S LOG:
And the word is . . . . . well, there really is no word! The insurance company has sent the check but it hasn't gotten here yet. The letter telling me they were sending the check got here but not the one containing the check! Sigh! As for the prop . . . no word yet! Sigh! I am sure it will be here, at least by Christmas! Til then, it is Patience and Waiting!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
Not much to say. When the prop gets here I'll go. I have picked up some winter clothes and so long as there are no storms, well I'll deal with the temperature. Once I can get into the Chesapeake, then the day hops can be rather short. And the weather will be different as I'll be 150 miles further west and 200 miles further south. The farther away I get from the potential of snow the better.
And the word is . . . . . well, there really is no word! The insurance company has sent the check but it hasn't gotten here yet. The letter telling me they were sending the check got here but not the one containing the check! Sigh! As for the prop . . . no word yet! Sigh! I am sure it will be here, at least by Christmas! Til then, it is Patience and Waiting!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
Not much to say. When the prop gets here I'll go. I have picked up some winter clothes and so long as there are no storms, well I'll deal with the temperature. Once I can get into the Chesapeake, then the day hops can be rather short. And the weather will be different as I'll be 150 miles further west and 200 miles further south. The farther away I get from the potential of snow the better.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Still Waiting ( Sigh!) Patience! Patience! Patience!
SHIP'S LOG:
"to wait" - to stay or be inactive until someone comes or something happens.
It is amazing that no where in this entire land that there was one prop such as I had need of for ABISHAG. Not even putting the members of "BOAT-POKERS", an Internet network of professional marine surveyors, on the case could scare up one, even a used one. I am coming to the conclusion that everything regarding boating has three parts to it and that it is a rare event when all three parts line up just right. In this particular case, the three parts were the 1.) the size 22" diameter; 2.) the pitch 17.5 degrees; and 3.) shaft size and taper- 35mm with a 1-10 taper. We ( the Yard Boss, the Boat-Pokers & I) could find props with 2 out of the three but never all three. So it is that I have had to go with the option of having a prop made. It could take up to three weeks and then it needs to be installed. Once done, we wait for the Insurance to send the check, pay the yard and take off again. It will happen, I am sure of it.
I talked with Chuck the TYC Launch Drive who is also heading south. He left 10 days before I struck grief in New Haven and is currently at SHALLOTTE Inlet North Carolina ( Mile Marker 329.5 on the ICW). Chuck has been having trouble with his engine, the injectors on the engine are leaking. It's leaking about a gallon a day and he is going to lay up in North Carolina and replace the injectors. So far this has been the only difficulty he has faced and that the ICW is fine.
ABISHAG has had her bottom painted and all we await is the prop. Waiting, waiting, waiting! waiting! waiting!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
Well, what can I say. There is nothing I can do to move the process along any faster than it is going to go. Eventually the prop will come and be fitted and off I will go. If I had the Marine Units, I think I would just, maybe just might, hire a delivery crew and have them take the boat to Norfolk. But not having the Marine Units and so I'll do it. I am sure that I will get over it once I get going but after sitting "in harbor for three weeks, I am going to have work to "get up for the game." The days are getting colder and shorter and getting South is going to take a bit of pushing. The toughest part is what I face immediately after leaving, getting through New York and New Jersey and up the Delaware Bay into the Chesapeake. After that, it will be a lot easier but it is getting there that I am not looking forward to at this time of the year. I could be sailing in snow! ARGH!!!! true, it will make Key West all the sweeter, it is just getting there that seems to be a pain. It is like being on your back in the March mud, under the boat, sanding the bottom. The only reason that one is able to do it is the memory of the fragrance of the steaks on the grill at anchor. Here's to the memories of Fort Stuart!!!!!
"to wait" - to stay or be inactive until someone comes or something happens.
It is amazing that no where in this entire land that there was one prop such as I had need of for ABISHAG. Not even putting the members of "BOAT-POKERS", an Internet network of professional marine surveyors, on the case could scare up one, even a used one. I am coming to the conclusion that everything regarding boating has three parts to it and that it is a rare event when all three parts line up just right. In this particular case, the three parts were the 1.) the size 22" diameter; 2.) the pitch 17.5 degrees; and 3.) shaft size and taper- 35mm with a 1-10 taper. We ( the Yard Boss, the Boat-Pokers & I) could find props with 2 out of the three but never all three. So it is that I have had to go with the option of having a prop made. It could take up to three weeks and then it needs to be installed. Once done, we wait for the Insurance to send the check, pay the yard and take off again. It will happen, I am sure of it.
I talked with Chuck the TYC Launch Drive who is also heading south. He left 10 days before I struck grief in New Haven and is currently at SHALLOTTE Inlet North Carolina ( Mile Marker 329.5 on the ICW). Chuck has been having trouble with his engine, the injectors on the engine are leaking. It's leaking about a gallon a day and he is going to lay up in North Carolina and replace the injectors. So far this has been the only difficulty he has faced and that the ICW is fine.
ABISHAG has had her bottom painted and all we await is the prop. Waiting, waiting, waiting! waiting! waiting!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
Well, what can I say. There is nothing I can do to move the process along any faster than it is going to go. Eventually the prop will come and be fitted and off I will go. If I had the Marine Units, I think I would just, maybe just might, hire a delivery crew and have them take the boat to Norfolk. But not having the Marine Units and so I'll do it. I am sure that I will get over it once I get going but after sitting "in harbor for three weeks, I am going to have work to "get up for the game." The days are getting colder and shorter and getting South is going to take a bit of pushing. The toughest part is what I face immediately after leaving, getting through New York and New Jersey and up the Delaware Bay into the Chesapeake. After that, it will be a lot easier but it is getting there that I am not looking forward to at this time of the year. I could be sailing in snow! ARGH!!!! true, it will make Key West all the sweeter, it is just getting there that seems to be a pain. It is like being on your back in the March mud, under the boat, sanding the bottom. The only reason that one is able to do it is the memory of the fragrance of the steaks on the grill at anchor. Here's to the memories of Fort Stuart!!!!!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Shows You What I Know ! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
And the hits just keep on coming! I got a call from the Yard Boss today with a "good news/bad news" choice. Despite the best of efforts, he has been unable to find a fixed blade prop for ABISHAG. The good news is that there is a company that can make one but (bad news) it will take three (3) weeks to do it. It will cost $1,00 give or take with shipping, The second option is I can get(good news) a replacement Maxie Prop (a new version of what was on the boat) immediately but (bad news) it will cost about $3,000.
I called my Surveyor School instructor, Jerry Schmitt, and got him the specifics and he is going to try to find one through all his contacts. If he doesn't find one, I am going to have to choose between a three week delay and a $1,000 bill or an immediate delivery and a $3,000 bill. Some choice!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!
I thought sailing and cruising was supposed to be fun . . . at least some of the time. This journey certainly has been not what I expected. There isn't much I can do about it except to go with the flow. I am sure that God has reasons for all this but what they might be I am still not clear about. I know that it is all about me growing and I can appreciate that, but couldn't I do this say in Key west? I guess not or else I would be there and not here. I hate to say it but I am going to have to start looking around for winter quarters as I just may be wintering up here again this year. The thought of that doesn't make me happy, not at all.
And the hits just keep on coming! I got a call from the Yard Boss today with a "good news/bad news" choice. Despite the best of efforts, he has been unable to find a fixed blade prop for ABISHAG. The good news is that there is a company that can make one but (bad news) it will take three (3) weeks to do it. It will cost $1,00 give or take with shipping, The second option is I can get(good news) a replacement Maxie Prop (a new version of what was on the boat) immediately but (bad news) it will cost about $3,000.
I called my Surveyor School instructor, Jerry Schmitt, and got him the specifics and he is going to try to find one through all his contacts. If he doesn't find one, I am going to have to choose between a three week delay and a $1,000 bill or an immediate delivery and a $3,000 bill. Some choice!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!
I thought sailing and cruising was supposed to be fun . . . at least some of the time. This journey certainly has been not what I expected. There isn't much I can do about it except to go with the flow. I am sure that God has reasons for all this but what they might be I am still not clear about. I know that it is all about me growing and I can appreciate that, but couldn't I do this say in Key west? I guess not or else I would be there and not here. I hate to say it but I am going to have to start looking around for winter quarters as I just may be wintering up here again this year. The thought of that doesn't make me happy, not at all.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Yes, I Am Still Waiting! ! ! ! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
The leaves are changing and the temperature is getting colder. The seagulls have been taking serious bombing practice on my immobile boat and still I am awaiting the arrival of a new prop. Truth be told, I am waiting to be told that they have, in fact, found one. Once they get it, it will be on in a flash and then we settle the bill - the insurance company less my deductible - and then I am gone. It can't happen too quickly for me . . .then again, God's time line might be completely different.
For those of you who might not yet quite grasp the expense of "yachting," SEA-TOW sent me a copy of the report of the grounding/salvage they are sending to my insurance company. It is five pages long, some nice pictures and demands a salvage award of $9,500! OUCH! ! ! !
I know that I will be underway soon . . . I just wish I hadn't given away all my winter clothing! ! ! !
The leaves are changing and the temperature is getting colder. The seagulls have been taking serious bombing practice on my immobile boat and still I am awaiting the arrival of a new prop. Truth be told, I am waiting to be told that they have, in fact, found one. Once they get it, it will be on in a flash and then we settle the bill - the insurance company less my deductible - and then I am gone. It can't happen too quickly for me . . .then again, God's time line might be completely different.
For those of you who might not yet quite grasp the expense of "yachting," SEA-TOW sent me a copy of the report of the grounding/salvage they are sending to my insurance company. It is five pages long, some nice pictures and demands a salvage award of $9,500! OUCH! ! ! !
I know that I will be underway soon . . . I just wish I hadn't given away all my winter clothing! ! ! !
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
