SHIP'S LOG:
In that the triptophan(sp?) has hit big time (that's the stuff in turkey that causes you to go to sleep), I must presume that ABISHAG is say and sound and in fine fettle to begin again our journey south on the morrow. True, I won't know until i get down to Branford tomorrow, but I have no reason to expect that anything untoward has happen that would render unsuitable for the journey ahead. If she is above water, we're going!!!!
If all things fall together as I hope, somewhere between 8 and 8:30AM I shall be away from the slip and on down the Sound toward Little Bay on Long Island next to the Throggs Neck Bridge. At the very least, I am planning to pass New Haven and that breakwater!
Friend Ken will get me down to the boat after I drop my car at Ray's and probably stand at the dock and wave goodbye or make some other appropriately friendly gesture of good voyage. The weather will be less than perfect and a whole lot better than terrible, but there should be no snow. As it is commonly stated by my brethren, "Any day you don't have to shovel is a good day!" so it should be a good day.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I hope I am able to get some sleep tonight. I hope I don't forget anything, at least nothing important. As the chinese like to say, "The journey of a thouand miles begins with a single." But as I have discovered already, you got to watch that first step!!!!
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
"Wednesday's Child Is Full Of Woe"
SHIP'S LOG:
Well, actually, it is not THAT bad! I finally got the call I have been waiting two(2) months for now . . . . ABISHAG is ready! Everything checks out and it is a "GO!"
The call came, however, this morning (Wednesday the 26th) and really too late for me to act upon it. If it had come yesterday, at the end of the yard work day, that would have been one thing. I could have made it to the yard by this morning's sunrise and have been off. I might have even made the anchorage at Little Bay by the Throggs Neck Bridge by tonight and been off through Hell's Gate and New York City on Thanksgiving Day. Maybe I "coulda" been in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade! Santa and me! We both have beards after all. But getting the call this morning, about 9AM really put the kibosh on departing today. I have to arrange transport to the Yard, after dropping off my car, after having packed what stuff I have . . . suffice it to say it would have been early this afternoon, at best, for me to get underway from the dock in Branford. With then perhaps 2 - 3 hours of sailing time, it would have been a rather short day. And rushing to get away is not a good tactic anyhow and so, having waited all this time, I'll wait another 48 hours.
48 hours? Yep! This way I'll get to spend Thanksgiving Day with the family and indulge in one more well-prepared, home cooked meal before I have to depend solely my own culinary devices. (I am not looking forward to scurvy, you know.) And everything will be packed, and all arrangements will be made and in place, and really everything will be ready for "DEPARTURE DAY #2 - THE SEQUEL - CAN HE GET BY NEW HAVEN?" True, I will be sailing in the face of Maritime Tradition which says it is "bad luck" to begin a voyage on a Friday, but then the ABISHAG has been blessed, there is a silver coin under the mast, and a host of other Maritime Traditions that have been followed, so if things don't go quite right, it is really just a matter of my not doing the right thing. While I do not anticipate any trouble, I think that it is fair to say that I am ready for it should any arise. As the helmsman says at the start of the voyage in MOBY DICK, "Up helm and off around the world!" Then again, considering how that particular voyage turned out, that might not be the best quote to go with, as it is something akin to Custer's "Don't worry, I have a plan!"
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
Well, the countdown has begun . . . again. At least I will be getting away before the snow falls . . . around here anyway. The first few days will be the toughest but once in the Chesapeake, it should become more of a regular daily voyage. I am very much looking forward to getting into the routine of voyaging. I am also looking forward to getting into shorts and tee-shirts again. It will be awhile for that, probably not before Florida, central Florida. After all, it was 33 in Orlando one day last week. But just the idea of going, of finally getting the "sailing part" of the journey underway, hopefully for more than a day, is what is so exciting. The experiences of the past year, and especially the past couple of months, have been wonderful. It has changed me a lot and what is going to happen on the sail, what has the potential to happen on the sail, is something I don't know, but look forward to with great anticipation. Whatever happens, it will be a great adventure.
Well, actually, it is not THAT bad! I finally got the call I have been waiting two(2) months for now . . . . ABISHAG is ready! Everything checks out and it is a "GO!"
The call came, however, this morning (Wednesday the 26th) and really too late for me to act upon it. If it had come yesterday, at the end of the yard work day, that would have been one thing. I could have made it to the yard by this morning's sunrise and have been off. I might have even made the anchorage at Little Bay by the Throggs Neck Bridge by tonight and been off through Hell's Gate and New York City on Thanksgiving Day. Maybe I "coulda" been in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade! Santa and me! We both have beards after all. But getting the call this morning, about 9AM really put the kibosh on departing today. I have to arrange transport to the Yard, after dropping off my car, after having packed what stuff I have . . . suffice it to say it would have been early this afternoon, at best, for me to get underway from the dock in Branford. With then perhaps 2 - 3 hours of sailing time, it would have been a rather short day. And rushing to get away is not a good tactic anyhow and so, having waited all this time, I'll wait another 48 hours.
48 hours? Yep! This way I'll get to spend Thanksgiving Day with the family and indulge in one more well-prepared, home cooked meal before I have to depend solely my own culinary devices. (I am not looking forward to scurvy, you know.) And everything will be packed, and all arrangements will be made and in place, and really everything will be ready for "DEPARTURE DAY #2 - THE SEQUEL - CAN HE GET BY NEW HAVEN?" True, I will be sailing in the face of Maritime Tradition which says it is "bad luck" to begin a voyage on a Friday, but then the ABISHAG has been blessed, there is a silver coin under the mast, and a host of other Maritime Traditions that have been followed, so if things don't go quite right, it is really just a matter of my not doing the right thing. While I do not anticipate any trouble, I think that it is fair to say that I am ready for it should any arise. As the helmsman says at the start of the voyage in MOBY DICK, "Up helm and off around the world!" Then again, considering how that particular voyage turned out, that might not be the best quote to go with, as it is something akin to Custer's "Don't worry, I have a plan!"
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
Well, the countdown has begun . . . again. At least I will be getting away before the snow falls . . . around here anyway. The first few days will be the toughest but once in the Chesapeake, it should become more of a regular daily voyage. I am very much looking forward to getting into the routine of voyaging. I am also looking forward to getting into shorts and tee-shirts again. It will be awhile for that, probably not before Florida, central Florida. After all, it was 33 in Orlando one day last week. But just the idea of going, of finally getting the "sailing part" of the journey underway, hopefully for more than a day, is what is so exciting. The experiences of the past year, and especially the past couple of months, have been wonderful. It has changed me a lot and what is going to happen on the sail, what has the potential to happen on the sail, is something I don't know, but look forward to with great anticipation. Whatever happens, it will be a great adventure.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Do You Believe It ?
SHIP'S LOG:
On both Sunday and Monday of this week I went down to ABISHAG. She is in the water and the engine has been run and the prop tested. One more run after a day rest and she should be ready to go. The bilge pump went on twice both days when I was one the boat and I mentioned it to yard boss. He'll check it out during the second running in to make sure the stuffing box ( the fixture in the the hole in the boat through which the drive shaft runs and connects the engine to the prop) and the rudder stuffing box ( a similar fixture for the rudder). It's a minor concern ( no, really) and it will be good to have it checked-out.
I am definitely going to have to put the yard boss on my Christmas Card list. He ate the extra cost of getting the prop right. It turns out that the the specs he got from the original prop manufacture were correct, correct in the sense that that what they should have been, but evidently somewhere between the building of this boat and the installation of the original shaft and prop and my encounter with the New Haven Breakwater the shaft was changed/replaced/re-milled or something. It probably is the reason why the prop and it connection to the shaft wore out. It would take a lawyer to figure out who actually had the ultimate responsibility for the problem, but he was willing to eat the extra, unforeseen costs. And it was an $800 meal!
I laid in the the first few courses into the on-board GPS Chartplotter. I find that it is interesting that the total mileage listed on the on-board GPS Chartplotter and the Offshore Navigation Program on the lap top on the first course differ by 8 miles. This difference is after laying in the same navigational waypoints by latitude and longitude. I am sure that it is a mistaken key-stroke and I will find it eventually, but it is also why I have paper charts as backups.
The main sail jammed again. It happened when I tried to furl it during the approach to New Haven. the wind was really honking and I made the mistake of trying to furl it while the boat was not headed into the wind, thus taking all the wind pressure off the sail. It will furl almost all the way but not completely. Unfortunately, while the sail can be furled in and (completely) out, ABISHAG was in a slip and the wind was blowing over the stern. It was between 10 and 12 knots, gusting to 20 knots, making the correction of the problem nigh on impossible. So I took the main down. when I get on the hook somewhere, with the boat ridding bow into the wind ( a light one to be sure), I'll put it back on. Til then, sailing will be done under "jib & jigger," that is sailing with the sail configuration of the Genoa (the front sail) and the Mizzen ( the back sail). According to everyone that I have read and spoke to, she will sail very well with such an arrangement. I will see.
The Genoa was bent on. I was beginning to wonder if they were every going to do that, but they did. I had to rearrange all of the lines and sheets, for while they were all back, they were not quite the way I have gotten used to having them and working with them. There are a dozen or so lines all over the boast that had to be readjusted and retied. It it amazing how long it takes to get it all done right. Hopefully some time today they will also reassemble the after cabin. They had to pull up all the cushions and hatch covers under the berths to get at the rudder. Of course that mean making a total mess of all the items stored there. Even if they restore the cushions and hatch covers, re-storing all the "stuff" will be my joy alone. Such fun!
A far as I can tell, ABISHAG is ready to go, at least as far as I and the Yard and the Insurance company can make her. It is time to go.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I'm ready. ABISHAG is ready or is supposed to be so. The weather is even co-operating a little in that it has gotten a bit warmer. Time to GO!
On both Sunday and Monday of this week I went down to ABISHAG. She is in the water and the engine has been run and the prop tested. One more run after a day rest and she should be ready to go. The bilge pump went on twice both days when I was one the boat and I mentioned it to yard boss. He'll check it out during the second running in to make sure the stuffing box ( the fixture in the the hole in the boat through which the drive shaft runs and connects the engine to the prop) and the rudder stuffing box ( a similar fixture for the rudder). It's a minor concern ( no, really) and it will be good to have it checked-out.
I am definitely going to have to put the yard boss on my Christmas Card list. He ate the extra cost of getting the prop right. It turns out that the the specs he got from the original prop manufacture were correct, correct in the sense that that what they should have been, but evidently somewhere between the building of this boat and the installation of the original shaft and prop and my encounter with the New Haven Breakwater the shaft was changed/replaced/re-milled or something. It probably is the reason why the prop and it connection to the shaft wore out. It would take a lawyer to figure out who actually had the ultimate responsibility for the problem, but he was willing to eat the extra, unforeseen costs. And it was an $800 meal!
I laid in the the first few courses into the on-board GPS Chartplotter. I find that it is interesting that the total mileage listed on the on-board GPS Chartplotter and the Offshore Navigation Program on the lap top on the first course differ by 8 miles. This difference is after laying in the same navigational waypoints by latitude and longitude. I am sure that it is a mistaken key-stroke and I will find it eventually, but it is also why I have paper charts as backups.
The main sail jammed again. It happened when I tried to furl it during the approach to New Haven. the wind was really honking and I made the mistake of trying to furl it while the boat was not headed into the wind, thus taking all the wind pressure off the sail. It will furl almost all the way but not completely. Unfortunately, while the sail can be furled in and (completely) out, ABISHAG was in a slip and the wind was blowing over the stern. It was between 10 and 12 knots, gusting to 20 knots, making the correction of the problem nigh on impossible. So I took the main down. when I get on the hook somewhere, with the boat ridding bow into the wind ( a light one to be sure), I'll put it back on. Til then, sailing will be done under "jib & jigger," that is sailing with the sail configuration of the Genoa (the front sail) and the Mizzen ( the back sail). According to everyone that I have read and spoke to, she will sail very well with such an arrangement. I will see.
The Genoa was bent on. I was beginning to wonder if they were every going to do that, but they did. I had to rearrange all of the lines and sheets, for while they were all back, they were not quite the way I have gotten used to having them and working with them. There are a dozen or so lines all over the boast that had to be readjusted and retied. It it amazing how long it takes to get it all done right. Hopefully some time today they will also reassemble the after cabin. They had to pull up all the cushions and hatch covers under the berths to get at the rudder. Of course that mean making a total mess of all the items stored there. Even if they restore the cushions and hatch covers, re-storing all the "stuff" will be my joy alone. Such fun!
A far as I can tell, ABISHAG is ready to go, at least as far as I and the Yard and the Insurance company can make her. It is time to go.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I'm ready. ABISHAG is ready or is supposed to be so. The weather is even co-operating a little in that it has gotten a bit warmer. Time to GO!
Friday, November 21, 2008
The Prop Is In . . . .Again!
SHIP'S LOG:
I got another call from John the Yard Boss and the prop came in . . .again. He had it put on and it fit!, so much so that the boat is in the water! ! ! ! ! ! ! Huzzah! They will check it out tomorrow, taking her for a spin, that is if the weather will allow that. Failing that, they will do so Monday and if all is copacetic, (and what are the odds of that?) I am off Tuesday!!!!!!Huzzah!
I'll take the stuff removed from the boat down tomorrow and re-store it so that nothing will prevent me from taking off immediately on Tuesday. I will install the side drapes for the cockpit enclosure so that it will retain the heat better.
Boy am I exited!!!!!!
I got another call from John the Yard Boss and the prop came in . . .again. He had it put on and it fit!, so much so that the boat is in the water! ! ! ! ! ! ! Huzzah! They will check it out tomorrow, taking her for a spin, that is if the weather will allow that. Failing that, they will do so Monday and if all is copacetic, (and what are the odds of that?) I am off Tuesday!!!!!!Huzzah!
I'll take the stuff removed from the boat down tomorrow and re-store it so that nothing will prevent me from taking off immediately on Tuesday. I will install the side drapes for the cockpit enclosure so that it will retain the heat better.
Boy am I exited!!!!!!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
And now For Something Completely Different
SHIP'S LOG:
I got a call from the yard boss yesterday afternoon to tell me that the re-bored prop was in. They fitted it to the shaft and it fit . . .but not perfectly! There was enough of a "wobble" in it to make it not acceptable and so they pulled it off and sent it back. I am happy that they did so because I would want a poorly bored prop to wreak itself and damage the shaft as well some time in the future and so have to go through all this all over again. Disappointing, yes, but I'd rather they'd get it right. I would hate to be whoever the yard boss is dealing with at the "Prop Shop." To say that he is "not happy" is to damn with faint praise. It will be another couple of days and then we try it again! ( There has got to be a Ben Stiller movie in this somewhere!)
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I spent some of the time this week checking out the possibility of doing New Jersey and the DelMarVa Peninsula ( Delaware-Maryland-Virginia Peninsula) completely on the outside (ocean-side). If ABISHAG could do a steady 10-12knots that would be one thing but it doesn't seem that it would be workable at this time of the year for me. It would be shorter by couple of days but I am not comfortable with it. Thinking about it is more a sign of my desire to get going than anything else. I will do the Delaware Bay. C&D Canal/ Chesapeake Bay route. It makes the most sense.
I got a call from the yard boss yesterday afternoon to tell me that the re-bored prop was in. They fitted it to the shaft and it fit . . .but not perfectly! There was enough of a "wobble" in it to make it not acceptable and so they pulled it off and sent it back. I am happy that they did so because I would want a poorly bored prop to wreak itself and damage the shaft as well some time in the future and so have to go through all this all over again. Disappointing, yes, but I'd rather they'd get it right. I would hate to be whoever the yard boss is dealing with at the "Prop Shop." To say that he is "not happy" is to damn with faint praise. It will be another couple of days and then we try it again! ( There has got to be a Ben Stiller movie in this somewhere!)
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I spent some of the time this week checking out the possibility of doing New Jersey and the DelMarVa Peninsula ( Delaware-Maryland-Virginia Peninsula) completely on the outside (ocean-side). If ABISHAG could do a steady 10-12knots that would be one thing but it doesn't seem that it would be workable at this time of the year for me. It would be shorter by couple of days but I am not comfortable with it. Thinking about it is more a sign of my desire to get going than anything else. I will do the Delaware Bay. C&D Canal/ Chesapeake Bay route. It makes the most sense.
Monday, November 17, 2008
There is Good News & There Is Bad News
SHIP'S LOG:
The Good News - the prop came in . . . . . . last Friday ! ! ! ! ! !
The Bad News - it didn't FIT ! ! ! ! ! ARGH ! ! ! ! ! ! !
I talked to yard boss today and he said that the prop came in Friday afternoon and when they tried to fit it, the taper of the bore ( the hole in the prop into which the shaft fits) was wrong. The prop simply would not go on correctly. Who would believe it after all that has gone on? Somewhere way do deep inside something kept telling me that there would still be more wrinkles to come. The yard boss then sent it back to the manufacturer for them to re-bore the hole and "it should be back in a day or so." Everybody who believes that please stand on your head!
Well, I believe it. After topping off the fuel tank, I am planning to depart from Bruce & Johnson Marina in Branford, CT before the week is out, to be through to the head of the Chesapeake by Thanksgiving Day and through the Chesapeake by the end of the first week of December . . . . the George Armstrong Custer "I've Got A Plan" Proviso notwithstanding.
I will be going down to ABISHAG tomorrow and repack everything I took out and store the few new items I bought and generally get things all ready again so that after the prop is fitted and tested, I can fuel up and GO!!!!!!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
Well, it WILL be happening soon, before the week is out. I am going to have to get into the proper mindset to voyage again. Not as simple as it sound, as aside from me Jesus will be the only one aboard and as much as I have requested it, he won't stand a watch, though he is on watch all of the time. My initial biggest fear is going to be dropping the hook for the first time post the New Haven Breakwater. The odds of my screwing up again are astronomically high but odds are odds, no matter how great they are and it will lead to a probable uneasy first night's sleep. One safe and secure anchoring experience will go a long way to relieving that that worry and concern. In any case, my insurance is paid up!
The Good News - the prop came in . . . . . . last Friday ! ! ! ! ! !
The Bad News - it didn't FIT ! ! ! ! ! ARGH ! ! ! ! ! ! !
I talked to yard boss today and he said that the prop came in Friday afternoon and when they tried to fit it, the taper of the bore ( the hole in the prop into which the shaft fits) was wrong. The prop simply would not go on correctly. Who would believe it after all that has gone on? Somewhere way do deep inside something kept telling me that there would still be more wrinkles to come. The yard boss then sent it back to the manufacturer for them to re-bore the hole and "it should be back in a day or so." Everybody who believes that please stand on your head!
Well, I believe it. After topping off the fuel tank, I am planning to depart from Bruce & Johnson Marina in Branford, CT before the week is out, to be through to the head of the Chesapeake by Thanksgiving Day and through the Chesapeake by the end of the first week of December . . . . the George Armstrong Custer "I've Got A Plan" Proviso notwithstanding.
I will be going down to ABISHAG tomorrow and repack everything I took out and store the few new items I bought and generally get things all ready again so that after the prop is fitted and tested, I can fuel up and GO!!!!!!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
Well, it WILL be happening soon, before the week is out. I am going to have to get into the proper mindset to voyage again. Not as simple as it sound, as aside from me Jesus will be the only one aboard and as much as I have requested it, he won't stand a watch, though he is on watch all of the time. My initial biggest fear is going to be dropping the hook for the first time post the New Haven Breakwater. The odds of my screwing up again are astronomically high but odds are odds, no matter how great they are and it will lead to a probable uneasy first night's sleep. One safe and secure anchoring experience will go a long way to relieving that that worry and concern. In any case, my insurance is paid up!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Hope Springs Eternal! ! ! ! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
As St. Paul says, " Hope is belief in things not seen" . . . like my prop for instance! Another week has dawned and I am still stranded ashore, though I really expect that I will be off this week. After all, the prop was supposed to be "here early next week" last week and the weather for the coming week is to be cold and blustery and Tuesday and Thursday promise "SNOW FLURRIES!" Considering I originally departed on a fine Fall day with the sun shining and the temperature in the 70's it is only to be expected I guess. Then again, every mile traveled brings me closer to warmer weather, sunshine and the absolute need to done shorts and tee-shirts! Ah! Mistaken fools who dream of heaven!
I will give the yard boss a call on the morrow to see what to story is. I am sure that he is doing his best as I am a bit of a bur under his addle, taking up yard space. He can rightly point to someone else in the "chain" for the delay and it will be completely reasonable and rue besides, as he and the yard benefit not in the least by my continuing presence. Of course as Roland mentioned the other night, the next thing will be that the prop is in but the one and only person capable of installing it properly: 1.) is out sick; 2.) is on vacation; 3.) has quit and they are looking for a replacement.
A recent sociological investigation has determined that the Danes are the happiest people in the world. The reason why is that they set their expectations low, so low that they have little trouble meeting them and rarely get disappointed, thus leading to them being happy. I ain't ready to go that far . . . yet.
CAPTAIN'S PERSONAL LOG:
I Fully expect to get the call tomorrow and be gone on Tuesday.
As St. Paul says, " Hope is belief in things not seen" . . . like my prop for instance! Another week has dawned and I am still stranded ashore, though I really expect that I will be off this week. After all, the prop was supposed to be "here early next week" last week and the weather for the coming week is to be cold and blustery and Tuesday and Thursday promise "SNOW FLURRIES!" Considering I originally departed on a fine Fall day with the sun shining and the temperature in the 70's it is only to be expected I guess. Then again, every mile traveled brings me closer to warmer weather, sunshine and the absolute need to done shorts and tee-shirts! Ah! Mistaken fools who dream of heaven!
I will give the yard boss a call on the morrow to see what to story is. I am sure that he is doing his best as I am a bit of a bur under his addle, taking up yard space. He can rightly point to someone else in the "chain" for the delay and it will be completely reasonable and rue besides, as he and the yard benefit not in the least by my continuing presence. Of course as Roland mentioned the other night, the next thing will be that the prop is in but the one and only person capable of installing it properly: 1.) is out sick; 2.) is on vacation; 3.) has quit and they are looking for a replacement.
A recent sociological investigation has determined that the Danes are the happiest people in the world. The reason why is that they set their expectations low, so low that they have little trouble meeting them and rarely get disappointed, thus leading to them being happy. I ain't ready to go that far . . . yet.
CAPTAIN'S PERSONAL LOG:
I Fully expect to get the call tomorrow and be gone on Tuesday.
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