SHIP'S LOG:
Of course you would not know it from the water temperature, which is 70 for the first four feet and 40 below that, but from the air temp which is in the high 70's and wonderfully, mildly humid. It feels like Summer!
To celebrate, I locked my keys in my car! I called around and finally found a friend who had AAA and an hour or so free. The came to my car, right outside TYC, made the call and we waited and idly chatted for a good 50 minutes. The AAA guy showed up and it took longer to fill out the paper work than it did for him to open the car. That's twice no in the last 30 days that I have had a senior moment and locked my keys in the car. When I had the little blue Hyundai Hatchback P.o.S., I never locked the hatch and so could always access the inside. I am going to have to train myself to manually lock the doors and not use the electronic lock switch.
I check with the House Chairman and I got permission to salvage a few scraps from under the clubhouse. These will work perfectly to make the slating necessary to put the ceiling panels back in place. ABISHAG locks a little ratty with everything stuff in the bow and I want to get it over and done with.
Still no word from my orthopedist on the results of the MRI. It will probably be a few days more before I hear the "hopefully" good news.
My medical certification for the Launch Operator License arrived in the mail today. Boy, they are sure dragging this thing out. The launch goes into full-time service Friday and Wayne is getting a little nervous.
Monday, June 16, 2014
Friday, June 13, 2014
Blah!
SHIP'S LOG:
Well, this has certainly been a crappy week! That is to say the weather has been crappy. Winds were supposed to top-out at 10 knots but have been blowing a steady 15 with gust to 25! The wind was supposed to come out of the south, but it has been mostly from the East/North East which in the Thames sets up a nasty chop . . . not good for sleeping. And the there is the rain which has happened several times every day this week. It is sort of like the old joke that goes: it only rained twice this week, once for three day and once for four. And when there has been no rain and no wind, we have had fog. right now from high atop the clubhouse, I can barely see then end of the dock. this should make it "simply wonderful" for all those involved in the Off Sounding Race. Today they are supposed to race from Watch Hill to Block Island. Right now, it would be more a drift than a race and in the fog as well.
Joy of joys, I got an email from the Coast Guard stating that my Merchant Mariner's Certificate, with the Launch Operator endorsement, has been approved and issued. I have been working on this since February!What a paper chase. Hopefully, the actually papers will show up this week and that's a good think too because we will be going to full time launch hours on the weekend and I have to carry the license with me when I operate the launch. We only have two launch operators currently and they have been getting worn from just the limited hours currently in place.They could use the help.
Oh, by the way, let's hear it for "snail mail." The License obtaining process could be done electronically on-line or the old fashion way by way of the Post Office. While I have a computer, i didn't have access to a scanner nor a printer so had to opt for the old fashion method. The other three "candidates" all chose to do it electronically. It would appear that old fashion beats new fashion as none of the others have gotten notification of approval and issuance. How 'bout that!
Well, this has certainly been a crappy week! That is to say the weather has been crappy. Winds were supposed to top-out at 10 knots but have been blowing a steady 15 with gust to 25! The wind was supposed to come out of the south, but it has been mostly from the East/North East which in the Thames sets up a nasty chop . . . not good for sleeping. And the there is the rain which has happened several times every day this week. It is sort of like the old joke that goes: it only rained twice this week, once for three day and once for four. And when there has been no rain and no wind, we have had fog. right now from high atop the clubhouse, I can barely see then end of the dock. this should make it "simply wonderful" for all those involved in the Off Sounding Race. Today they are supposed to race from Watch Hill to Block Island. Right now, it would be more a drift than a race and in the fog as well.
Joy of joys, I got an email from the Coast Guard stating that my Merchant Mariner's Certificate, with the Launch Operator endorsement, has been approved and issued. I have been working on this since February!What a paper chase. Hopefully, the actually papers will show up this week and that's a good think too because we will be going to full time launch hours on the weekend and I have to carry the license with me when I operate the launch. We only have two launch operators currently and they have been getting worn from just the limited hours currently in place.They could use the help.
Oh, by the way, let's hear it for "snail mail." The License obtaining process could be done electronically on-line or the old fashion way by way of the Post Office. While I have a computer, i didn't have access to a scanner nor a printer so had to opt for the old fashion method. The other three "candidates" all chose to do it electronically. It would appear that old fashion beats new fashion as none of the others have gotten notification of approval and issuance. How 'bout that!
Monday, June 9, 2014
A Little Of This And That
SHIP'S LOG:
I spent the weekend on the mooring trying to find a place for all the stuff I brought aboard. I might have gotten 75% of it stored away. Actually that is pretty good since I still have another load up at Russ' and I can't even consider bringing it down until all this stuff has found a home. And that won't really happen until the ceiling panels are back in place and on and on and on it goes.
Even with the Thames River roll, sleeping on the mooring is the best for rest. Even the rolls are pleasant on the mooring when you get into the rhythm.
The knee is better but not great. The cortisone seems to have relieved most of the irritation which is good, but I am beginning to think that there is either a tear in the meniscus, or a piece is detached or there is a bone chip floating around for no good reason. Rather than the whole knee being sore, there are various spots which seem to trade off on being sore. Walking is actually a bit of a chore and I find it surprising how tiring it can be. The fact that the pain may less but really never disappear completely reminds me, dare I say it, of my hip prior to its replacement. That is not a pleasant thought at all. I haven't had ABISHAG out for a sail yet as I do not trust my knee when moving around on deck. The Doctor said the knee is sound but the pain, with an occasional bolt, causes the brain to tell the knee to buckle and it could do so at a most inopportune time, Since I sail by myself most of the time, it isn't something I want to take a chance with just yet. Hopefully the MRI will discover the source of the irritation and pain and it can be dealt with quickly.
Despite the knee, I went racing with Jim Avery in the CHILI Series on Sunday and we won both races, on corrected time of course, but we won. Not bad, not bad at all.
The CHARLES W. MORGAN, the oldest commercial vessel in the US and the last wooden whaling ship is doing shakedown day trips out of New London. It is impressive to see her under sail and moving with surprising speed for something so large driven only by the wind. She'll head out in a could of days for a summer tour of New England waters before she goes back to Mystic Seaport for good.
I spent the weekend on the mooring trying to find a place for all the stuff I brought aboard. I might have gotten 75% of it stored away. Actually that is pretty good since I still have another load up at Russ' and I can't even consider bringing it down until all this stuff has found a home. And that won't really happen until the ceiling panels are back in place and on and on and on it goes.
Even with the Thames River roll, sleeping on the mooring is the best for rest. Even the rolls are pleasant on the mooring when you get into the rhythm.
The knee is better but not great. The cortisone seems to have relieved most of the irritation which is good, but I am beginning to think that there is either a tear in the meniscus, or a piece is detached or there is a bone chip floating around for no good reason. Rather than the whole knee being sore, there are various spots which seem to trade off on being sore. Walking is actually a bit of a chore and I find it surprising how tiring it can be. The fact that the pain may less but really never disappear completely reminds me, dare I say it, of my hip prior to its replacement. That is not a pleasant thought at all. I haven't had ABISHAG out for a sail yet as I do not trust my knee when moving around on deck. The Doctor said the knee is sound but the pain, with an occasional bolt, causes the brain to tell the knee to buckle and it could do so at a most inopportune time, Since I sail by myself most of the time, it isn't something I want to take a chance with just yet. Hopefully the MRI will discover the source of the irritation and pain and it can be dealt with quickly.
Despite the knee, I went racing with Jim Avery in the CHILI Series on Sunday and we won both races, on corrected time of course, but we won. Not bad, not bad at all.
The CHARLES W. MORGAN, the oldest commercial vessel in the US and the last wooden whaling ship is doing shakedown day trips out of New London. It is impressive to see her under sail and moving with surprising speed for something so large driven only by the wind. She'll head out in a could of days for a summer tour of New England waters before she goes back to Mystic Seaport for good.
Friday, June 6, 2014
More Fun Than A Barrel of . . . . .
SHIP'S LOG:
I can't remember when I had so much fun as I did yesterday. Through the generosity of a very dear friend, I had the 3/5 of a Marine Unit I needed to procure the three necessary batteries to get ABISHAG's heart going again. It was merely a matter of going to get the proper sized/powered/warrantied batteries up at WALMART. Yes, I know, but they do sell stuff cheap.
The batteries aboard are down below in the "In-Law" apartment, the rather large, but not quite large enough, cockpit locker. There are several different connections to the batteries linking them to chargers and monitors and the wind generator and to get them out of sequence or reconnect them wrong when installing the new batteries would be a bit of a disaster. and knowing how I view electricity anyway (it's all voodoo), there are three was of insuring or trying to insure you get it right. The first is to draw a diagram and take a "selfie." This shows how everything looked before you started to disconnect wires. The second is to tie the leads together with wire ties as they come of each individual stud. The third, and the one which I chose, is to got get the new batteries first, drag them down to the boat, haul one old battery out and replace it with a new battery, putting the proper wires on the proper studs. You have to picture doing this in a closet, squatting, unscrewing nuts off and on battery terminals, nuts that are two different sizes so you don't put them on the wrong stud, then lifting 55 to 60 pounds of dead weight out and then in and making all the proper connections. Try lifting 50 pounds onto the kitchen table while sitting on the floor, with a sixty watt bulb providing all your light. Fun, ain't it?
By the way, did I mentioned that it was raining? Not just raining rain but down-pouring in bursts. So I got soaked during the procedure. But it didn't end there. When you buy a battery, there is a "core charge," a fee for the disposal of the battery when it's time is up. By hauling the old batteries back to WALMART, I got a refund of the "core charge." In the rain. 180 pounds!
The downpour also indicated that while butyl tape might make a a good sealer for deck hardware and the like, it is no good as caulking. My carefully caulked hatches are leaking again. I am going to have to remove the lenses completely, take out all the caulk and sealer and re-bed the lenses.I think that this time, in addition to the caulking/sealer, I will also set several screws in place to hold the whole mess together. Nothing like over-kill!
I can't remember when I had so much fun as I did yesterday. Through the generosity of a very dear friend, I had the 3/5 of a Marine Unit I needed to procure the three necessary batteries to get ABISHAG's heart going again. It was merely a matter of going to get the proper sized/powered/warrantied batteries up at WALMART. Yes, I know, but they do sell stuff cheap.
The batteries aboard are down below in the "In-Law" apartment, the rather large, but not quite large enough, cockpit locker. There are several different connections to the batteries linking them to chargers and monitors and the wind generator and to get them out of sequence or reconnect them wrong when installing the new batteries would be a bit of a disaster. and knowing how I view electricity anyway (it's all voodoo), there are three was of insuring or trying to insure you get it right. The first is to draw a diagram and take a "selfie." This shows how everything looked before you started to disconnect wires. The second is to tie the leads together with wire ties as they come of each individual stud. The third, and the one which I chose, is to got get the new batteries first, drag them down to the boat, haul one old battery out and replace it with a new battery, putting the proper wires on the proper studs. You have to picture doing this in a closet, squatting, unscrewing nuts off and on battery terminals, nuts that are two different sizes so you don't put them on the wrong stud, then lifting 55 to 60 pounds of dead weight out and then in and making all the proper connections. Try lifting 50 pounds onto the kitchen table while sitting on the floor, with a sixty watt bulb providing all your light. Fun, ain't it?
By the way, did I mentioned that it was raining? Not just raining rain but down-pouring in bursts. So I got soaked during the procedure. But it didn't end there. When you buy a battery, there is a "core charge," a fee for the disposal of the battery when it's time is up. By hauling the old batteries back to WALMART, I got a refund of the "core charge." In the rain. 180 pounds!
The downpour also indicated that while butyl tape might make a a good sealer for deck hardware and the like, it is no good as caulking. My carefully caulked hatches are leaking again. I am going to have to remove the lenses completely, take out all the caulk and sealer and re-bed the lenses.I think that this time, in addition to the caulking/sealer, I will also set several screws in place to hold the whole mess together. Nothing like over-kill!
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
ABISHAG's Cardiac Incident
SHIP'S LOG:
Well, the electrical system is "kaput," at least as far as the batteries go. They are as dead as dead can be!They are good for nothing at all, save as "an exchange" when I buy replacement batteries, saving me the cost of the "core fee." I will have to come up with something in the neighborhood of $350 and haul 180 pounds of batteries out of the boat and back and forth, from the store to the boat, to get everything up and running. It is the fun of boat ownership!!
Well, the electrical system is "kaput," at least as far as the batteries go. They are as dead as dead can be!They are good for nothing at all, save as "an exchange" when I buy replacement batteries, saving me the cost of the "core fee." I will have to come up with something in the neighborhood of $350 and haul 180 pounds of batteries out of the boat and back and forth, from the store to the boat, to get everything up and running. It is the fun of boat ownership!!
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Some Good/ Some Bad!!!!!!
SHIP'S LOG:
As I write this, I am safely ensconced in the Club House at TYC and can look out at ABISHAG as she bobs gentle in a slip. Yes, we have made the long and arduous trip from Yankee Boatyard to TYC and have lived to tell the tale. The we is "friend Fred", his car battery, ABISHAG and I. We journeyed this past Sunday and it was a wonderful trip. The weather was perfect and considering what it could have been, it was a joy.
I went to the boatyard on Saturday after I got a call From "ABE the yard guy" who informed me that he had launched ABISHAG . . . only 3 days late. That was no big deal, they have been behind because of the winter, what has passed for a SPRING and the fact that the Connecticut River has come all over a ragin' rapid. I bent on the Genoa, the Main and the Mizzen and we were set to sail over the horizon. Truth be told, I had screwed myself. On Friday, I had mistakenly uncoiled the furling line from the drum, for some reason thinking that this was necessary before bending on the Genoa. I could not have been more wrong. Having bent on the Genoa, hoisted to the top, I discovered that to furl it properly, I either had to drop it, pull the furling line onto the drum, raise the Genoa and furl it, or laboriously wrap the furling line around the drum by had and then furl the sail. I don't need to tell which I did, just imagine the worst way to do it, and you will have your answer. Of course, since the sail is just back from the sail-maker, who had put on a new UV cover, it did not furl correctly the first time. Nor the second! Nor the third, after which I said "The hell with it" and left it.I chalked it up to the fact that it is an old furling system and that the boat needs to be dead into the wind for it to work properly and the fact that the UV Cover was new and need to "be taught" how to lay when furled. This proved to be true as it furled perfectly at the end of the journey.
I got a call from "Josh," the electrical guy at the boatyard. He said that my batteries were all "bad." Actually, it wasn't much of a surprise as he disparaged them last spring and the only thing that kept them semi-functional was the wind generator. But after a winter sitting in storage, even hooked up regularly to a charge, they wouldn't light he light you'd find inside a refrigerator.we had to take the battery out of Fred's car to jump start ABISHAG and less we get caught in a dire situation, carries the battery with us on the trip. Once the engine was going, the was no real need for electricity as a diesel engine doesn't need electricity to run, though it is nice to have to make the radios and the GPS function. The alternator "charged the batteries"during the 8 hour trip, but it was like pouring water into a bucket with a large hole it it. If you waited too long, the "juice" would all disappear ad there would be nothing to crank the engine, which on ABISHAG takes a lot of "oomph!"
We got down the river with no problems in about 4 hours, got out into Long Island Sound, set the sails and screamed along for all of 15 minutes, when the wind decided to take a holiday and go "somewhere?". We tried sailing in the zephyrs. The rolling was awful. We tried motor sail but what wind there was would not co-operate. So eventually we simply motored. Thank goodness we had enough juice in the batteries to get the engine running!
We got in about 6pm and after securing ABISHAG in a slip, jumped in the car so that i could get Fred back up to Portland where his car was. His was the second of the "Two-car-Samba," leave one car at TYC, drive the "crew" to Portland, leave the car, sail the boat to TYC, get in the car left behind, and drive back to Portland. We grabbed a couple of grinders for the trip and Fred probably got home about 9pm!
Monday for me was a day spent hauling "boat stuff" down from Roland's and Russ' ad dumping it into ABISHAG. I had hoped to spend today putting everlasting in order but I had to clean TYC . I also had to see a doctor for my knee(s). They have been seriously bugging me for two weeks now and I finally decided to get then checked out. The young Doctor who did my hip four years ago, poked and prodded and x-rayed and finally decide that there was nothing skeletal that was causing the pain. He shot me up with cortisone and scheduled an MRI to see if we are looking at a cartilage problem. I'll have to wait until then to give a definite answer. Until then, I'll hobble along. Hopefully the cortisone will kick in a day or so and I'll be right as rain. The last thing I need is surgery.
As I write this, I am safely ensconced in the Club House at TYC and can look out at ABISHAG as she bobs gentle in a slip. Yes, we have made the long and arduous trip from Yankee Boatyard to TYC and have lived to tell the tale. The we is "friend Fred", his car battery, ABISHAG and I. We journeyed this past Sunday and it was a wonderful trip. The weather was perfect and considering what it could have been, it was a joy.
I went to the boatyard on Saturday after I got a call From "ABE the yard guy" who informed me that he had launched ABISHAG . . . only 3 days late. That was no big deal, they have been behind because of the winter, what has passed for a SPRING and the fact that the Connecticut River has come all over a ragin' rapid. I bent on the Genoa, the Main and the Mizzen and we were set to sail over the horizon. Truth be told, I had screwed myself. On Friday, I had mistakenly uncoiled the furling line from the drum, for some reason thinking that this was necessary before bending on the Genoa. I could not have been more wrong. Having bent on the Genoa, hoisted to the top, I discovered that to furl it properly, I either had to drop it, pull the furling line onto the drum, raise the Genoa and furl it, or laboriously wrap the furling line around the drum by had and then furl the sail. I don't need to tell which I did, just imagine the worst way to do it, and you will have your answer. Of course, since the sail is just back from the sail-maker, who had put on a new UV cover, it did not furl correctly the first time. Nor the second! Nor the third, after which I said "The hell with it" and left it.I chalked it up to the fact that it is an old furling system and that the boat needs to be dead into the wind for it to work properly and the fact that the UV Cover was new and need to "be taught" how to lay when furled. This proved to be true as it furled perfectly at the end of the journey.
I got a call from "Josh," the electrical guy at the boatyard. He said that my batteries were all "bad." Actually, it wasn't much of a surprise as he disparaged them last spring and the only thing that kept them semi-functional was the wind generator. But after a winter sitting in storage, even hooked up regularly to a charge, they wouldn't light he light you'd find inside a refrigerator.we had to take the battery out of Fred's car to jump start ABISHAG and less we get caught in a dire situation, carries the battery with us on the trip. Once the engine was going, the was no real need for electricity as a diesel engine doesn't need electricity to run, though it is nice to have to make the radios and the GPS function. The alternator "charged the batteries"during the 8 hour trip, but it was like pouring water into a bucket with a large hole it it. If you waited too long, the "juice" would all disappear ad there would be nothing to crank the engine, which on ABISHAG takes a lot of "oomph!"
We got down the river with no problems in about 4 hours, got out into Long Island Sound, set the sails and screamed along for all of 15 minutes, when the wind decided to take a holiday and go "somewhere?". We tried sailing in the zephyrs. The rolling was awful. We tried motor sail but what wind there was would not co-operate. So eventually we simply motored. Thank goodness we had enough juice in the batteries to get the engine running!
We got in about 6pm and after securing ABISHAG in a slip, jumped in the car so that i could get Fred back up to Portland where his car was. His was the second of the "Two-car-Samba," leave one car at TYC, drive the "crew" to Portland, leave the car, sail the boat to TYC, get in the car left behind, and drive back to Portland. We grabbed a couple of grinders for the trip and Fred probably got home about 9pm!
Monday for me was a day spent hauling "boat stuff" down from Roland's and Russ' ad dumping it into ABISHAG. I had hoped to spend today putting everlasting in order but I had to clean TYC . I also had to see a doctor for my knee(s). They have been seriously bugging me for two weeks now and I finally decided to get then checked out. The young Doctor who did my hip four years ago, poked and prodded and x-rayed and finally decide that there was nothing skeletal that was causing the pain. He shot me up with cortisone and scheduled an MRI to see if we are looking at a cartilage problem. I'll have to wait until then to give a definite answer. Until then, I'll hobble along. Hopefully the cortisone will kick in a day or so and I'll be right as rain. The last thing I need is surgery.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Really, What Are The Odds?
SHIP'S LOG:
More busy work today. Russ brought down all of the Cushions and helped me hoist them into the boat. I took the afternoon to set them all in place which is a lot easier with nothing in the boat.
Fred stopped by to schmooze. He brought the Honda Generator back which he repaired. But rather than hoist it up into the boat, we decided that it would be simpler to wait until Saturday when we could simple set it aboard from the dock.
As of 4;40pm. ABISHAG wasn't in and so we await tomorrow.
I locked my car keys in the car. So I asked josh if he could help me out. It was certainly a fool's errand but lo and behold, he has a complete "Jimmy kit!" What are the odds of that? He had never used it and it took awhile but eventually , actually less than 10 minuets, the P.O.S. was open again.
I haul a load of stuff from Russ' basement tomorrow and hopefully ABISHAG will get splashed.
More busy work today. Russ brought down all of the Cushions and helped me hoist them into the boat. I took the afternoon to set them all in place which is a lot easier with nothing in the boat.
Fred stopped by to schmooze. He brought the Honda Generator back which he repaired. But rather than hoist it up into the boat, we decided that it would be simpler to wait until Saturday when we could simple set it aboard from the dock.
As of 4;40pm. ABISHAG wasn't in and so we await tomorrow.
I locked my car keys in the car. So I asked josh if he could help me out. It was certainly a fool's errand but lo and behold, he has a complete "Jimmy kit!" What are the odds of that? He had never used it and it took awhile but eventually , actually less than 10 minuets, the P.O.S. was open again.
I haul a load of stuff from Russ' basement tomorrow and hopefully ABISHAG will get splashed.
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