SHIP'S LOG:
Well everything seems to have fallen together to make departure for the Southland eminently possible. I survived last night and that wasn't easy. Last night the "tattered remains of Hurricane Nicole" arrived in Connecticut and was actually more nasty than "Hurricane" Earl! Surviving would have been a no-brainer if I was on the mooring. As it was, I was tied up to the dock. Loading all the last minute stuff and getting through all those last minute projects required that ABISHAG be tied to the dock. And with the launch not running during the week, ferrying a lot of stuff out to her on the mooring would have been difficult and surely, as these things always seem to go, some recently purchased item would have disappeared overboard during the transfer from dinghy to boat. Again, being at the dock made it so much easier.
Thus it was that ABISHAG was at the dock on Thursday when I brought down the last load of stuff for the trip to the sun. I was actually in the clubhouse check the weather forecast on several different websites as the weather, to quote one of the club members down checking their boat, "reached a new low in crapitity!" It didn't rain but the wind quickly climbed to 30 knots straight up the river meaning that getting ABISHAG out to her mooring would not have been a serious problem but the row back in would have all but been impossible, especially as the "occasional gust" began a steady and swift climb from 35 to 50knots! Inflatable dinghies are notoriously bad for rowing, yet even in a rowing scull, in the time it would take to reset the oars after a stoke the wind would blow you backward past any distance forward you had made. It would have been the old one step forward - three steps back.
And while I was dithering about staying at the dock or on the mooring, the few people here left and that made the decision for me. I would have to stay at the dock. This meant doubling and, in some cases, tippling up on the lines. It meant taking down the dodger and the awnings. It meant spending the nice again jerking and dancing, listening to the boat moan and groan and the lines screeching every time they want taut. It was not a restful night to say the least. But I survived and more importantly, so did ABISHAG. Now all we have to do is survived the day as the storm slowly peters out . . . . and get some more docklines as a couple have seen their last storm.
Tomorrow is food day as I will stock the boat for the trip to Norfolk and then it is departure day on Sunday about 10am. Off to Milford and then to Norfolk and then, to quoted the helmsman in MOBY DICK, "Up helm, and around the world!"
Friday, October 1, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
ELECTRICITY IS STILL VOODOO! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
To quote another sea captain, Captain Binghamton of "McHale's Navy" fame, I could just scream! The short is not in the 110AC outlets. The only good thing about that is that when I went to LOWE'S, I didn't have the money to buy the GFI - Ground Fault Interrupter - outlets and it turns out that they were not needed! Disconnecting the white neutral wire from the outlets, rendering them non-functioning, allowed ABISHAG to plug into the dockside power and charge the batteries. Connecting the white neutral wire produced an immediate tripping of the dockside circuit breakers. The fault as it turns out is, by all current indications -no pun intended - in the inverter itself. This was indicated by the fact that the ground connection for the case showed a 80db resistance which indicates a short to the case on the inside. Could be a wire with broken insulating. Could be an extraneous single strand of wire that got inside during manufacturing. Could be a stray screw or washer or some metal part that is loose inside. Chuck had me go down inside the "In-Law Apartment" and disconnect the inverter "from the grid." Bizarrely, the 80db short disappeared when he went looking for it again with the inverter completely disconnected from everything. Re installing it did not reproduce the 80db's, but once again connecting the neutral blew the dock. Unfortunately, if I go south, there simply isn't enough time to send it to the manufacture for repairs. I am going to have to live with a system works to 2/3 of its functions. When I am off dockside power, I can reconnect the neutral and run the inverter and use the outlets. when I am on dockside power, I have to disconnect the neutral and the batteries get charged. What I can't do is do both with the neutral connected.
I also made another disturbing discovery that is sort of electrical. The propane system hasn't been working and I found out why. The propane system which runs the stove and oven, is fed off of two propane tanks set in a lock built into the deck. Two hose run from the tanks into a regulator to which propane flows. At the bottom of the regulator is a solenoid valve that controls the flow of gas from the regulator to the stove. The regulator is controlled by a monitoring panel that opens and closes the solenoid valve on command and which will also shut it off if it detects leaking propane inside the boat. This is a safety feature. Since propane is heavier than air, if it go into the boat it would sink into the lowest part of the boat - the bilge -awaiting a stray spark or flame and then blow the whole place to kingdom come. Following the torrential rains of "Hurricane Earl," something got into the propane locker and plugged the drain. I opened the locker and the water was up to the top. The propane regulator and solenoid are housed in the lock and as a result, the propane regulator and solenoid drown. It means that the propane system wasn't working because it was dead and so it is new regulator and new solenoid time! AH the Fun of boat ownership!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
To quote another sea captain, Captain Binghamton of "McHale's Navy" fame, I could just scream! The short is not in the 110AC outlets. The only good thing about that is that when I went to LOWE'S, I didn't have the money to buy the GFI - Ground Fault Interrupter - outlets and it turns out that they were not needed! Disconnecting the white neutral wire from the outlets, rendering them non-functioning, allowed ABISHAG to plug into the dockside power and charge the batteries. Connecting the white neutral wire produced an immediate tripping of the dockside circuit breakers. The fault as it turns out is, by all current indications -no pun intended - in the inverter itself. This was indicated by the fact that the ground connection for the case showed a 80db resistance which indicates a short to the case on the inside. Could be a wire with broken insulating. Could be an extraneous single strand of wire that got inside during manufacturing. Could be a stray screw or washer or some metal part that is loose inside. Chuck had me go down inside the "In-Law Apartment" and disconnect the inverter "from the grid." Bizarrely, the 80db short disappeared when he went looking for it again with the inverter completely disconnected from everything. Re installing it did not reproduce the 80db's, but once again connecting the neutral blew the dock. Unfortunately, if I go south, there simply isn't enough time to send it to the manufacture for repairs. I am going to have to live with a system works to 2/3 of its functions. When I am off dockside power, I can reconnect the neutral and run the inverter and use the outlets. when I am on dockside power, I have to disconnect the neutral and the batteries get charged. What I can't do is do both with the neutral connected.
I also made another disturbing discovery that is sort of electrical. The propane system hasn't been working and I found out why. The propane system which runs the stove and oven, is fed off of two propane tanks set in a lock built into the deck. Two hose run from the tanks into a regulator to which propane flows. At the bottom of the regulator is a solenoid valve that controls the flow of gas from the regulator to the stove. The regulator is controlled by a monitoring panel that opens and closes the solenoid valve on command and which will also shut it off if it detects leaking propane inside the boat. This is a safety feature. Since propane is heavier than air, if it go into the boat it would sink into the lowest part of the boat - the bilge -awaiting a stray spark or flame and then blow the whole place to kingdom come. Following the torrential rains of "Hurricane Earl," something got into the propane locker and plugged the drain. I opened the locker and the water was up to the top. The propane regulator and solenoid are housed in the lock and as a result, the propane regulator and solenoid drown. It means that the propane system wasn't working because it was dead and so it is new regulator and new solenoid time! AH the Fun of boat ownership!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
ELECTRICTY IS STILL VOODOO! ! ! ! ! ! !! ! !!
SHIP'S LOG:
About 99% of all of the electrical systems on ABISHAG, as with most boats, run on 12 volt DC power, which comes from the batteries on the boat. Even when the engine is running, like the diesel-electric motors on the WWII Submarines, the engine merely charges the batteries from which 12 volt DC power is drawn to run the electrics. There is, however, a provision to to run regular household items and appliances, which use 110 volts AC, and that is "there Inverter!"
"The Inverter" is a magical box which transforms 12volt DC from your boat's battery bank and converts into 110 volt AC. The magical "Inverter" will also take 110 volt/30amp AC power that you find on most commercial dockage and, if you "plug your boat in," will convert it magically into 12 volt DC and charge your batteries. A true miracle of nature . . .sort of.
A year ago. the old inverter on ABISHAG, 32 years old at the time, gave up the ghost and was unceremoniously "deep sixed" for a newer model. It was installed rather easily and took over the job and has performed admirably. Or so I thought, o foolish me! It converted 12 volt DC to 110 volt AC, a service that I actually used only rarely for the microwave or using the computer onboard. But having been tied to the dock the last week, I thought it foolish to not make use of the electrical service supplied by the club to keep the batteries happy and full charge. However, I found that whenever I tried to "draw upon electrical sustenance provided," I would trip the breakers on the dock. It was something that made the other users of the system mildly upset to say the least. Obviously, I had a problem, or I should say ABISHAG did!
Not wanting to delve into fooling around with AC voltage, which ever book on marine electrical systems warns in VERY BIG PRINT can kill you, I enlisted the assistance of one of the club's electrical witch doctors to deal with the voodoo problem. Chuck, God bless him, got down in the "In-law Apartment" of a cockpit locker which the "Magical Inverter" lived and through a long process of trial and error narrowed down the problem. I spent the whole time running down the dock to reset the breakers and jumping down bellow to reset the electrical panel switches every time the got trip which was countless it seemed. The upshot of it all - it turns out that among the three outlets that are used for 110volt AC items & appliances, there must be a short. The Inverter is working correctly in all other aspects but as soon as the outlets are hooked up to the AC bus, breakers trip everywhere. So tomorrow, it is off to HOME DEPOT to buy three new outlets with GFI (Ground Fault Interceptors). On Thursday, Church and I will wire them in and if the fault was there, it will be fix. If not, then the old wire will be remove, new wire will be run and all will be right with the world.
About 99% of all of the electrical systems on ABISHAG, as with most boats, run on 12 volt DC power, which comes from the batteries on the boat. Even when the engine is running, like the diesel-electric motors on the WWII Submarines, the engine merely charges the batteries from which 12 volt DC power is drawn to run the electrics. There is, however, a provision to to run regular household items and appliances, which use 110 volts AC, and that is "there Inverter!"
"The Inverter" is a magical box which transforms 12volt DC from your boat's battery bank and converts into 110 volt AC. The magical "Inverter" will also take 110 volt/30amp AC power that you find on most commercial dockage and, if you "plug your boat in," will convert it magically into 12 volt DC and charge your batteries. A true miracle of nature . . .sort of.
A year ago. the old inverter on ABISHAG, 32 years old at the time, gave up the ghost and was unceremoniously "deep sixed" for a newer model. It was installed rather easily and took over the job and has performed admirably. Or so I thought, o foolish me! It converted 12 volt DC to 110 volt AC, a service that I actually used only rarely for the microwave or using the computer onboard. But having been tied to the dock the last week, I thought it foolish to not make use of the electrical service supplied by the club to keep the batteries happy and full charge. However, I found that whenever I tried to "draw upon electrical sustenance provided," I would trip the breakers on the dock. It was something that made the other users of the system mildly upset to say the least. Obviously, I had a problem, or I should say ABISHAG did!
Not wanting to delve into fooling around with AC voltage, which ever book on marine electrical systems warns in VERY BIG PRINT can kill you, I enlisted the assistance of one of the club's electrical witch doctors to deal with the voodoo problem. Chuck, God bless him, got down in the "In-law Apartment" of a cockpit locker which the "Magical Inverter" lived and through a long process of trial and error narrowed down the problem. I spent the whole time running down the dock to reset the breakers and jumping down bellow to reset the electrical panel switches every time the got trip which was countless it seemed. The upshot of it all - it turns out that among the three outlets that are used for 110volt AC items & appliances, there must be a short. The Inverter is working correctly in all other aspects but as soon as the outlets are hooked up to the AC bus, breakers trip everywhere. So tomorrow, it is off to HOME DEPOT to buy three new outlets with GFI (Ground Fault Interceptors). On Thursday, Church and I will wire them in and if the fault was there, it will be fix. If not, then the old wire will be remove, new wire will be run and all will be right with the world.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Back Home On The Hook!
SHIP'S LOG:
Friday saw me getting ABISHAG back out to her mooring from her week stay at the dock. Thursday night a gale moved through the area and for a couple of hours Thursday night, it was really honking. Winds were around 30knts and the gusts hit 45- 50knts. This drove home one of the not good things about living on the dock, the movement of the boat in wind, heavy wind. Normally, on the mooring, she would swing and point into the wind and ride easier. At the dock, she couldn't quite do it, and would snap her lines, bounce against the pilings, moan and groan. While the wind blew, it was not a pleasant stay and I didn't get to sleep much before 1am. Truth be told, sleeping on the boat at the dock was not as comfortable as sleep on the boat at the mooring.
I got a lesson in boat handling as I was leaving the dock from Greg Roth. He single-hands a lot and had good, practical advice. Unfortunately, it was a lot to absorb in one sitting but even with the mistakes getting away from the dock, I could see the wisdom of it. It will take some practice but it isn't rocket science either.
I have made arrangements to go south and stay north for the winter. Which way I will go is yet to be decided though I will have to make the call in a week to 10 days. By that time the two hurricanes, Igor and Julia, will be far otut of the picture and the way south will be open. My cousin Bob and a friend of his, who race sailboats a lot, will be going with me and I hope to pick up another warm body for the trip. It will be a short trip: down Long ISland Sound, out through Hell's Gate and New York Harbor, down the Jersey coast, down to Newport News, VA. in one shot. Bob estimates 48 hours which ain't bad. The crew will go ashore at Newport News for the trip home(by land) and I'll begin the trip south down the Intra-Coastal Waterway (ICW). Mile #1 of the ICW is in Newport News and from there it will be day trips all the way to where "the water no longer freezes in the bilge!"
If for some reason God decides that I should stay north, ABISHAG will haul out in Old Saybrook at Between-The-Bridges Marina and I will stay aboard until it gets too cold and then find another place to crash until spring. Basically I am set to go either way. Now I just have to decided which way to go, or rather try to get a real sense of what God wants and go with it.
I called several old friends last night (HI, CLIFF!), some of whom i hadn't talked to in quite a while. It was great to hear old voices again, but it would be better to visit face-to-face again. I will have to do it soon.
Yesterday, an "articulated" oil barge ( an oil barge with a slot at the back into which fits the tug that moves it) came into the river. Right in front of the club, she dropped anchor. The tug disengaged itself, came around to the side, rigged a tow line, spun the barge around and hauled it back out of the river. I am not sure what that was all about, except maybe he came into the wrong river and didn't think he could maneuver the barge from the normal position and just did what he did to get out safe and sound. In spinning the barge he came exceedingly and uncomfortably close to the boats mooring farthest out in the river. But no damage was done.
There is an honest to goodness cruise ship in New London. It appears to be anchored off Fort Trumbull and the Coast Guard Station. It appears to be the same ship that has docked here the last few years, letting people off to enjoy down town New London, or go to Mystic Seaport and Aquarium, or loose their money at the casinos. It looks totally out of place, too big to fit so to speak. The top deck looks as high as the road bed of the Gold Star Memorial Bridges that spans the Thames and that is TALL!
Friday saw me getting ABISHAG back out to her mooring from her week stay at the dock. Thursday night a gale moved through the area and for a couple of hours Thursday night, it was really honking. Winds were around 30knts and the gusts hit 45- 50knts. This drove home one of the not good things about living on the dock, the movement of the boat in wind, heavy wind. Normally, on the mooring, she would swing and point into the wind and ride easier. At the dock, she couldn't quite do it, and would snap her lines, bounce against the pilings, moan and groan. While the wind blew, it was not a pleasant stay and I didn't get to sleep much before 1am. Truth be told, sleeping on the boat at the dock was not as comfortable as sleep on the boat at the mooring.
I got a lesson in boat handling as I was leaving the dock from Greg Roth. He single-hands a lot and had good, practical advice. Unfortunately, it was a lot to absorb in one sitting but even with the mistakes getting away from the dock, I could see the wisdom of it. It will take some practice but it isn't rocket science either.
I have made arrangements to go south and stay north for the winter. Which way I will go is yet to be decided though I will have to make the call in a week to 10 days. By that time the two hurricanes, Igor and Julia, will be far otut of the picture and the way south will be open. My cousin Bob and a friend of his, who race sailboats a lot, will be going with me and I hope to pick up another warm body for the trip. It will be a short trip: down Long ISland Sound, out through Hell's Gate and New York Harbor, down the Jersey coast, down to Newport News, VA. in one shot. Bob estimates 48 hours which ain't bad. The crew will go ashore at Newport News for the trip home(by land) and I'll begin the trip south down the Intra-Coastal Waterway (ICW). Mile #1 of the ICW is in Newport News and from there it will be day trips all the way to where "the water no longer freezes in the bilge!"
If for some reason God decides that I should stay north, ABISHAG will haul out in Old Saybrook at Between-The-Bridges Marina and I will stay aboard until it gets too cold and then find another place to crash until spring. Basically I am set to go either way. Now I just have to decided which way to go, or rather try to get a real sense of what God wants and go with it.
I called several old friends last night (HI, CLIFF!), some of whom i hadn't talked to in quite a while. It was great to hear old voices again, but it would be better to visit face-to-face again. I will have to do it soon.
Yesterday, an "articulated" oil barge ( an oil barge with a slot at the back into which fits the tug that moves it) came into the river. Right in front of the club, she dropped anchor. The tug disengaged itself, came around to the side, rigged a tow line, spun the barge around and hauled it back out of the river. I am not sure what that was all about, except maybe he came into the wrong river and didn't think he could maneuver the barge from the normal position and just did what he did to get out safe and sound. In spinning the barge he came exceedingly and uncomfortably close to the boats mooring farthest out in the river. But no damage was done.
There is an honest to goodness cruise ship in New London. It appears to be anchored off Fort Trumbull and the Coast Guard Station. It appears to be the same ship that has docked here the last few years, letting people off to enjoy down town New London, or go to Mystic Seaport and Aquarium, or loose their money at the casinos. It looks totally out of place, too big to fit so to speak. The top deck looks as high as the road bed of the Gold Star Memorial Bridges that spans the Thames and that is TALL!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Race Committee Boat
SHIP'S LOG:
Being the Race Committee Boat for one of the Major Regattas of the area cna be a lot of fun, so long as you are willing to all but surrender complete control of your boat to someone else.
Saturday ABISHAG had to be at the dock, in a reserved slip, by 1300hrs so that the Race Committee could begin her transformation. Truth be told, they really didn't get there to almost 1700hrs(5pm) but made up for being late with a whole lota race stuff that had to find its way aboard. Having created all this new space by restoring all my stuff, that filled up all the new empty space with their stuff. There were two wooden b oxes filled with wooden placques, bearing numbers and letters an d symbols and signs and class designations that would all be used to mark out the course for the various classes of boats in the race. There was also the course board upon which the aforementioned course(s) would be set up for the races to see and record sxo that each would know where they were going. There were large flags on long poles that represented a dozen or so letters and numbers which would actually be used to indicate which class was starting when, when a start was good, when here was a recall, when was the time for preparation and when the race began for each class. With some 58 boats ranging in size from 23 - 50 feet. it would be chaotic asnd dangerous to have tme all start at once. Basically, the slowlest classes start frist, the fastest last, so that, hopefully, they all finish fairly close together and the Race committee doesn't have to sit there too long waiting for the very last boat.
The also brought rod holes in which to insert that flag pole and affixed these on stanchions all over the boat. They removed my BBQ grill so that could make use of more stanchions and removed my club burgee, which was judged "too small" and replaced it with one of more "impressive" size. Evidently size does matter!
They removed my navy chaplains pennent and replace it with the Blue, White and Red "RC" flag denoting the boat as the Race Committee BOat. (Hitting the Race Committee boat during the race is an automatica disqualifier!) The also put on boat several bags filled with radioes, air horns, shotguns(2), shot gun shells(blanks), mapes, tons of paper work relating to the race, along with beer, soda, wine, water and lots of ice, both cubes and blocks. Their work completed, they left to get some sleep as we had an early day tomorrow.
I had to be up and running by 6am or I would be shut out of the bathroom in the club house by the crowds. I finished up by 6:45 when the coffee (yeah!) and doughnuts made their appearnace. By 8am, the Race Committee in toto wasdescending o the boat. There was the TYC Race Secretary(Cal), the Race Coordinator (Judy), the three recorders (Sylvie, Caroline, & Maryellen),
the Race Time Keeper(Jeff), the Gunner(Bob) - he obviously fires the gun at certain times during the starting procedures and at the finshish, and two extra hands(Lois & Paul). So there were 10 people on the boat for the race. The good thing was they brought food for 20!
We got away from the dock without injuring anyone or anything and headed out toward the "vicinity of Vixens Ledge." We got out there and the wind was a steady 15-18knts out of the East and the Race Secretary and Race Coordinator spent 15 minutes determining the best course. Once that was determined, I moved ABISHAG to the Starb oard end of the starting line they had laid out and the anchor was dropped. We anchord in 41 feet of water and the "hands" put out about 100 feet of rode. This was nowhere near enough to hold 11 tons of boat for long so eventually, after things were settled, I ha dot let out more to keep us from dragging. A moving Race Committee boat, that is one end of the start/finish line, is not a good thing.
For about an hour, we just waited around while the racers swept in close to the boat os that the recorders could mark them present. In a pretty good breeze and chop, having a 44 foot bat dive down toward you and then peel away at what seems like the last second can be a bit unnerving.
Once it was determined that it was 10:55, something decided not by a clock but by the Rce Time Keeper, the countdown began which would send of the 6 classes of boats in five minute intervals.
1.) Five minutes before the start of the first class, the warning signal was given - the class flag was displayed and the gun fired;
2.) at 4 minutes, the Preparatory signal was given - Flag "P" was displayed and a short horn blown;
3.) qt 1 minute, the One Minute Signal - the Flag "P" was taken down and the a long horn blown;
4.) at zero, the Starting signal - the Class flag comes down and the gun is fired.
That whole sequence was done for each of the 6 classes and they were all off to the races. After that, there was nothing for us to do but monitor the radio for disasters, eat lunch, drink wine and beer and soda, watch the racing if interested and share war stories of what it was like in our youth when we were "serious" racers.
The race was over in 4 hours. One boat had its steering cable part and so lost steering during a spinnaker run. They had "an exciting moment or two" before they got things under control, though they had to send for a tow to get back in. One boat had its prop shaft become disengaged from the transmission - probably hooked a lobster pot at speed, but were very lucky it didn't pull the prop shaft our of the boat. Odds are that had it, it would have sunk the boat. They got back safe and sound, though damp! Another boat got a lobster trawl - a line containing several pots - wrapped about its keep and were unable to disengage it and so limped back to the club, taking consolation in what they were dragging. A few more of the small boats found the wind and waves too much( some boats like "the Ensign) don't have automatic drains and you have to bail the water out or sink!) and "retired" from the race . . . . and were first to the open bar, chowder and chicken wings!
The racing was spirited, the results were close and were headed in and were at the dock by 1530hrs. The Race Committee then stripped the boat of all of their paraphernalia and were gone. It was a great time and I was happy to help out and the party afterward was superb!
The only down side is that it is now Tuesday and I still haven't gotten ABISHAG back together yet!
Being the Race Committee Boat for one of the Major Regattas of the area cna be a lot of fun, so long as you are willing to all but surrender complete control of your boat to someone else.
Saturday ABISHAG had to be at the dock, in a reserved slip, by 1300hrs so that the Race Committee could begin her transformation. Truth be told, they really didn't get there to almost 1700hrs(5pm) but made up for being late with a whole lota race stuff that had to find its way aboard. Having created all this new space by restoring all my stuff, that filled up all the new empty space with their stuff. There were two wooden b oxes filled with wooden placques, bearing numbers and letters an d symbols and signs and class designations that would all be used to mark out the course for the various classes of boats in the race. There was also the course board upon which the aforementioned course(s) would be set up for the races to see and record sxo that each would know where they were going. There were large flags on long poles that represented a dozen or so letters and numbers which would actually be used to indicate which class was starting when, when a start was good, when here was a recall, when was the time for preparation and when the race began for each class. With some 58 boats ranging in size from 23 - 50 feet. it would be chaotic asnd dangerous to have tme all start at once. Basically, the slowlest classes start frist, the fastest last, so that, hopefully, they all finish fairly close together and the Race committee doesn't have to sit there too long waiting for the very last boat.
The also brought rod holes in which to insert that flag pole and affixed these on stanchions all over the boat. They removed my BBQ grill so that could make use of more stanchions and removed my club burgee, which was judged "too small" and replaced it with one of more "impressive" size. Evidently size does matter!
They removed my navy chaplains pennent and replace it with the Blue, White and Red "RC" flag denoting the boat as the Race Committee BOat. (Hitting the Race Committee boat during the race is an automatica disqualifier!) The also put on boat several bags filled with radioes, air horns, shotguns(2), shot gun shells(blanks), mapes, tons of paper work relating to the race, along with beer, soda, wine, water and lots of ice, both cubes and blocks. Their work completed, they left to get some sleep as we had an early day tomorrow.
I had to be up and running by 6am or I would be shut out of the bathroom in the club house by the crowds. I finished up by 6:45 when the coffee (yeah!) and doughnuts made their appearnace. By 8am, the Race Committee in toto wasdescending o the boat. There was the TYC Race Secretary(Cal), the Race Coordinator (Judy), the three recorders (Sylvie, Caroline, & Maryellen),
the Race Time Keeper(Jeff), the Gunner(Bob) - he obviously fires the gun at certain times during the starting procedures and at the finshish, and two extra hands(Lois & Paul). So there were 10 people on the boat for the race. The good thing was they brought food for 20!
We got away from the dock without injuring anyone or anything and headed out toward the "vicinity of Vixens Ledge." We got out there and the wind was a steady 15-18knts out of the East and the Race Secretary and Race Coordinator spent 15 minutes determining the best course. Once that was determined, I moved ABISHAG to the Starb oard end of the starting line they had laid out and the anchor was dropped. We anchord in 41 feet of water and the "hands" put out about 100 feet of rode. This was nowhere near enough to hold 11 tons of boat for long so eventually, after things were settled, I ha dot let out more to keep us from dragging. A moving Race Committee boat, that is one end of the start/finish line, is not a good thing.
For about an hour, we just waited around while the racers swept in close to the boat os that the recorders could mark them present. In a pretty good breeze and chop, having a 44 foot bat dive down toward you and then peel away at what seems like the last second can be a bit unnerving.
Once it was determined that it was 10:55, something decided not by a clock but by the Rce Time Keeper, the countdown began which would send of the 6 classes of boats in five minute intervals.
1.) Five minutes before the start of the first class, the warning signal was given - the class flag was displayed and the gun fired;
2.) at 4 minutes, the Preparatory signal was given - Flag "P" was displayed and a short horn blown;
3.) qt 1 minute, the One Minute Signal - the Flag "P" was taken down and the a long horn blown;
4.) at zero, the Starting signal - the Class flag comes down and the gun is fired.
That whole sequence was done for each of the 6 classes and they were all off to the races. After that, there was nothing for us to do but monitor the radio for disasters, eat lunch, drink wine and beer and soda, watch the racing if interested and share war stories of what it was like in our youth when we were "serious" racers.
The race was over in 4 hours. One boat had its steering cable part and so lost steering during a spinnaker run. They had "an exciting moment or two" before they got things under control, though they had to send for a tow to get back in. One boat had its prop shaft become disengaged from the transmission - probably hooked a lobster pot at speed, but were very lucky it didn't pull the prop shaft our of the boat. Odds are that had it, it would have sunk the boat. They got back safe and sound, though damp! Another boat got a lobster trawl - a line containing several pots - wrapped about its keep and were unable to disengage it and so limped back to the club, taking consolation in what they were dragging. A few more of the small boats found the wind and waves too much( some boats like "the Ensign) don't have automatic drains and you have to bail the water out or sink!) and "retired" from the race . . . . and were first to the open bar, chowder and chicken wings!
The racing was spirited, the results were close and were headed in and were at the dock by 1530hrs. The Race Committee then stripped the boat of all of their paraphernalia and were gone. It was a great time and I was happy to help out and the party afterward was superb!
The only down side is that it is now Tuesday and I still haven't gotten ABISHAG back together yet!
Friday, September 10, 2010
Getting Better . . . . Slowly
SHIP'S LOG:
This week is a week without the launch, at least until Friday night. It means having to get across the 100 yards or so from the boat to the dock. Trying to steer a 39 foot, 11 ton boat into a dock (a wooden structure that goes "squeak" or "thud" when hit) without hitting it more than a very glancing blow, so that you can step off and tie the boat securely and safely to it is not a skill that people are born with. It comes with practice, practice, practice! And I have had a lot of it this week. I can't say that I am necessarily any better than I was previously, but it is not as terrifying as it once was. It is definitely a skill I am going to have to acquire some proficiency at if I am going to go South - still a possibility - as I will have to do it at least to pickup fuel. Still it is hard to be comfortable with something that doesn't have any "brakes!" Only throwing the boat into reverse, playing the wind and the current and praying really, really hard can keep disaster at bay. The again, they don't always work and I have the scars to prove it! Well, not me but ABISHAG.
The wind has been honking all week and there have been small craft warnings up. The weather has gotten a wee chilly and it definitely seems as if fall's acommin'. I find this most depression and long for the hot and humid days of summer. What happened to them? Hopefully, they will return for one last go-round.
This week is a week without the launch, at least until Friday night. It means having to get across the 100 yards or so from the boat to the dock. Trying to steer a 39 foot, 11 ton boat into a dock (a wooden structure that goes "squeak" or "thud" when hit) without hitting it more than a very glancing blow, so that you can step off and tie the boat securely and safely to it is not a skill that people are born with. It comes with practice, practice, practice! And I have had a lot of it this week. I can't say that I am necessarily any better than I was previously, but it is not as terrifying as it once was. It is definitely a skill I am going to have to acquire some proficiency at if I am going to go South - still a possibility - as I will have to do it at least to pickup fuel. Still it is hard to be comfortable with something that doesn't have any "brakes!" Only throwing the boat into reverse, playing the wind and the current and praying really, really hard can keep disaster at bay. The again, they don't always work and I have the scars to prove it! Well, not me but ABISHAG.
The wind has been honking all week and there have been small craft warnings up. The weather has gotten a wee chilly and it definitely seems as if fall's acommin'. I find this most depression and long for the hot and humid days of summer. What happened to them? Hopefully, they will return for one last go-round.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
End Of Summer
SHIP'S LOG:
It is the end of summer . . .at least at TYC and insofar as launch services are concerned. From now until the end of the month, the launch will only be running Friday evening through Sunday evening. Other than that, how one gets from one's boat to land and back is solely up to you. It comes down to swimming - nice on hot days but not very good if you want to carry something with you; using the dinghy - better, certainly drier; and bring to the boat to the dock. I am trying to work out a routine, bringing the boat in in the morning so I can "perform my morning ablutions" and then either go sailing or take the boat back to the mooring, and then using the dinghy if I need to go ashore later in the day. It was always much more comfortable calling for the launch!
ABISHAG is going to be the Race Committee boat for the Commodore's Race on Sunday and with 10 people coming on board, along with all the Race Committee paraphernalia, a major cleaning and storing project is underway. At 30 feet, most people think that it is a fairly large boat. However, she is only 11 feet wide and was not designed with a lot of space for a lot of people. Even with all the rearranging, it will be a bit of a squeeze come Sunday. Hope it don't rain.
I have to cut about 6 inches of the Mizzen boom. Despite previous surgeries, it is still causing problems with the vane on the Wind Steering system. This will also necessitate a trip to the sail loft to perform surgery on the mizzen itself.
There are small craft warnings out again today as there have been since Friday. These are not directly related to the hurricane but they are here none the less. The 15-20 knot winds, with higher gusts are out of the SW and are creating rather rolly conditions in the river which is not all that calm in the best of times.
No decision yet on the future. It is still a fifty-fifty toss up. I can't even say which way things seem to be leaning. it is a dead bang tie.
It is the end of summer . . .at least at TYC and insofar as launch services are concerned. From now until the end of the month, the launch will only be running Friday evening through Sunday evening. Other than that, how one gets from one's boat to land and back is solely up to you. It comes down to swimming - nice on hot days but not very good if you want to carry something with you; using the dinghy - better, certainly drier; and bring to the boat to the dock. I am trying to work out a routine, bringing the boat in in the morning so I can "perform my morning ablutions" and then either go sailing or take the boat back to the mooring, and then using the dinghy if I need to go ashore later in the day. It was always much more comfortable calling for the launch!
ABISHAG is going to be the Race Committee boat for the Commodore's Race on Sunday and with 10 people coming on board, along with all the Race Committee paraphernalia, a major cleaning and storing project is underway. At 30 feet, most people think that it is a fairly large boat. However, she is only 11 feet wide and was not designed with a lot of space for a lot of people. Even with all the rearranging, it will be a bit of a squeeze come Sunday. Hope it don't rain.
I have to cut about 6 inches of the Mizzen boom. Despite previous surgeries, it is still causing problems with the vane on the Wind Steering system. This will also necessitate a trip to the sail loft to perform surgery on the mizzen itself.
There are small craft warnings out again today as there have been since Friday. These are not directly related to the hurricane but they are here none the less. The 15-20 knot winds, with higher gusts are out of the SW and are creating rather rolly conditions in the river which is not all that calm in the best of times.
No decision yet on the future. It is still a fifty-fifty toss up. I can't even say which way things seem to be leaning. it is a dead bang tie.
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