SHIP'S LOG:
I got up this morning around 6:30, made morning coffee, and sat up in the cockpit listening to NOAA and watching the dawn. Unfortunately, just after dawn, all hell broke loose. Some cold front that had been forecast, by you know who, came through like I am not quite sure what, but it wasn't weak. The rain fell(almost an inch in an hour) and the winds blew and I mean seriously blowing. Later weather reports pegged the gust between 55 - 60 mph. It was "blowing stink" as they say up in God's country.
I threw one a rain jacket and turned on the engine because it was clear that ABISHAG was dragging. She hadn't broken loose but it was clear that she was moving a little with every gust. I checked the anchor rode and it was taut and the anchor weight rode was taut as well. There was no way I could reset them right then. I let out some more rode but it really didn't correct the situation. I was still moving toward BRIGADOON.
I put the engine in gear and moved to take the strain off the anchor rode. That stopped the backward drag but it really didn't alleviate the situation. I also had no way to know how long this particular "non-forecasted" storm would last, a few minutes or a few hours or all day. By now I was soaking wet on top of all the rest, the blown rain and spray having found every point of access in the rain gear. In between the gusts, I worked the anchor out. I first brought in the anchor weight and then in small steps the anchor itself and motored around the other boats in the anchorage, trying to find a good spot. As I passed by one boat, the owner commented "Looks like you had a bad time of it there, but you did good getting out."
After a few circuits of the anchorage, which was a small pocket of deep water surrounded by shallows, I headed back to where I had been, knowing that if I could get the anchor to bite, I would have swing room in the wind. I made the mistake of dropping the anchor where I wanted the boat to be rather than dropping it where, after the rode played out and the boat settled in place, it would be where I wanted it to be. The anchor bit and held but playing out the scope left me too close to BRIGADOON and another boat in too much wind. ABISHAG "sails" a lot at anchor, even with the anchor weight, and in all this wind , she was really dancing.
After about 45 minutes, I knew I would have to haul the anchor move and reset. The rain had stopped at this point and I couldn't get any wetter, so I hauled up and move and dropped the anchor. Got a good bite and played out the scope and ABISHAG settled in place just about where I had wanted her to be. It was then a question of taking bearings and making sure that she was staying in place. I did and she was and once that was confirmed, the wind gust stopped and the the wind settled to a reasonable 20-25 and gust to 30. By evening, it was down to 5-10. Whatever this front was, it produced one of the greatest sunsets I have ever seen. I tried to get pictures and if they come out I will upload them.
The weather tomorrow is supposed to be breezy but after this morning, it will have to really be breezy to be of much concern. Jerry was unable to kick free and the batteries will have to wait until tomorrow. I got to meet t5he owner of BRIGADOON, a Fryda(?) 41, who lives in an apartment ashore while he readies his boat to got to Panama. His name is Brad Smith and he has a Pyrenees Dog named "POO" who is as big as a horse and is still a puppy. He lives a shore and comes out to the boat to work.
Despite the "exciting adventure" of this morning, I think I would rather be on the hook in a storm than at a dock. My caprails are scared and stripped of finish from the days spent on docks before and during this trip. Having the boat bang against the dock and fight the docklines holding her in place can't be a good thing. On the hook, sure you may drag but at least the boat gets to react naturally to the weather and so is under less strain. Hey, it's just my opinion.
Tomorrow, I will help Brad install an ARIES Wind Vane he bought and I will pick up my batteries so that ABISHAG will be well again. Supposed to be back in the mid 70's again and no rain.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Just Another Day . . . . .
SHIP'S LOG:
Got up before dawn this morning, but then I do most days. I had coffee, listened to the weather and watched the sun come up. A great way to start the day.
I spent an hour watching the pelicans and terns(?) feeding around the boat. They slim along the surface, raise up to 10 or 15feet and then dive into the water. I don't know how often then connect with their meal target but on occasion you can see one of the smaller birds(terns?) with a fish in its beak, flying away pursued by several others squawking. The little birds are delicate in their fishing, often making a catch without hitting the water but the pelicans literally crash in head first and make a heck of a racket. Every now and then, one will do so right next to the boat. You sort of catch it out of the corner of your eye and then there is a big splash. When they come up empty, I seem to get a look from them that it is somehow all my fault they missed.
Today I had to re-rig the dinghy davit lines. They were wearing at one end and so I had to reverse them. This meant a little marlinespike seamanship activity, creating a a loop in one end and undoing it at the other. It was a nice exercise, done in sunny mid-70's and high humidity. It was almost like summer back home, August-like. Truth be told, it was almost too much. Yesterday, I got a "summer headache" from not drinking enough water and the humidity and temp today forced me to guzzle water to keep from getting a second. I have to get back into the summer mode of thinking. I also had to lash up the port half of the rear edge of the Bimini. Usually, the back edge is held in place with a zipper closure, but they have split and the zippers won't hold. Bob & Fred lashed the starboard side way back in Cape May and I finally got around to the port side in Ft. Pierce. I may be slow but it gets done . . . . eventually.
All the ports on ABISHAG are open, keeping her will aired out and comfortable down below. There has been little wind to speak of but that is supposed to change tonight. There will be "a cold front passing through" which will bring the possibility of rain and thunderstorms(mostly north of Ft. Pierce) and some more wind(15-20) out of the southwest. Unfortunately, the road-stead where I am is open to the south west which means short,choppy waves and rocking and rolling.
Jerry & I will be picking up the batteries tomorrow afternoon and ABISHAG should be all better soon after that. Having spent over 90 days aboard on this trip, I have worked out a way to do things, when and how. It is uncomfortable to have to change things around and do this differently like this. I am, as they say, out of my comfort zone. But as with the same situation ashore, there ain't much you can do but learn to enjoy it.
Got up before dawn this morning, but then I do most days. I had coffee, listened to the weather and watched the sun come up. A great way to start the day.
I spent an hour watching the pelicans and terns(?) feeding around the boat. They slim along the surface, raise up to 10 or 15feet and then dive into the water. I don't know how often then connect with their meal target but on occasion you can see one of the smaller birds(terns?) with a fish in its beak, flying away pursued by several others squawking. The little birds are delicate in their fishing, often making a catch without hitting the water but the pelicans literally crash in head first and make a heck of a racket. Every now and then, one will do so right next to the boat. You sort of catch it out of the corner of your eye and then there is a big splash. When they come up empty, I seem to get a look from them that it is somehow all my fault they missed.
Today I had to re-rig the dinghy davit lines. They were wearing at one end and so I had to reverse them. This meant a little marlinespike seamanship activity, creating a a loop in one end and undoing it at the other. It was a nice exercise, done in sunny mid-70's and high humidity. It was almost like summer back home, August-like. Truth be told, it was almost too much. Yesterday, I got a "summer headache" from not drinking enough water and the humidity and temp today forced me to guzzle water to keep from getting a second. I have to get back into the summer mode of thinking. I also had to lash up the port half of the rear edge of the Bimini. Usually, the back edge is held in place with a zipper closure, but they have split and the zippers won't hold. Bob & Fred lashed the starboard side way back in Cape May and I finally got around to the port side in Ft. Pierce. I may be slow but it gets done . . . . eventually.
All the ports on ABISHAG are open, keeping her will aired out and comfortable down below. There has been little wind to speak of but that is supposed to change tonight. There will be "a cold front passing through" which will bring the possibility of rain and thunderstorms(mostly north of Ft. Pierce) and some more wind(15-20) out of the southwest. Unfortunately, the road-stead where I am is open to the south west which means short,choppy waves and rocking and rolling.
Jerry & I will be picking up the batteries tomorrow afternoon and ABISHAG should be all better soon after that. Having spent over 90 days aboard on this trip, I have worked out a way to do things, when and how. It is uncomfortable to have to change things around and do this differently like this. I am, as they say, out of my comfort zone. But as with the same situation ashore, there ain't much you can do but learn to enjoy it.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Death Onboard!
SHIP'S LOG:
It is with a heavy heart that I must announce the "death" aboard ABISHAG of House Battery #1 and even more tragically, House Battery #2, unable or unwilling to go it alone, has decided to join its compatriot Deep-Cycle heaven. Truth be told, neither has been all that well recently, though House Battery #1 has had the worse time of it. With all the charging that has been done while the engine was running, it gassed off lots of electrolytes and had to have them replaced with increasing regularity only to finally succumb this morning at about 10am. In that House Batteries were link in parallel as the House Battery Bank, #1 drew down #2 to the point that it just couldn't stand on its own. The funeral will be Thursday when they will be returned to the West Marine Store (Ft. Pierce) and replaced with younger, healthier Batteries.
I was hoping that they would have lasted a little bit longer, say until I got back to Connecticut but it just wasn't in the cards. Such is life I guess and it could have been worse. I could have been at sea. I could have been in Georgia. At least I am in a place where the transfer and replacement can be done with a minimum of fuss and bother. Still, it is a royal pain in the butt and a financial kick in the head. Thank goodness the isolated Started Battery did not join the other two in their betrayal.
Other than that little bit of nonsense, it has been a pleasant day, a little over cast but hot and humid nonetheless. I have a few more projects to take care of and do a little more reading, but on the whole it is still a pleasant day. The prospects for tomorrow appear to be more of the same. Ah, the travails of winter in Florida!
It is with a heavy heart that I must announce the "death" aboard ABISHAG of House Battery #1 and even more tragically, House Battery #2, unable or unwilling to go it alone, has decided to join its compatriot Deep-Cycle heaven. Truth be told, neither has been all that well recently, though House Battery #1 has had the worse time of it. With all the charging that has been done while the engine was running, it gassed off lots of electrolytes and had to have them replaced with increasing regularity only to finally succumb this morning at about 10am. In that House Batteries were link in parallel as the House Battery Bank, #1 drew down #2 to the point that it just couldn't stand on its own. The funeral will be Thursday when they will be returned to the West Marine Store (Ft. Pierce) and replaced with younger, healthier Batteries.
I was hoping that they would have lasted a little bit longer, say until I got back to Connecticut but it just wasn't in the cards. Such is life I guess and it could have been worse. I could have been at sea. I could have been in Georgia. At least I am in a place where the transfer and replacement can be done with a minimum of fuss and bother. Still, it is a royal pain in the butt and a financial kick in the head. Thank goodness the isolated Started Battery did not join the other two in their betrayal.
Other than that little bit of nonsense, it has been a pleasant day, a little over cast but hot and humid nonetheless. I have a few more projects to take care of and do a little more reading, but on the whole it is still a pleasant day. The prospects for tomorrow appear to be more of the same. Ah, the travails of winter in Florida!
Monday, January 3, 2011
Dropping The Hook For Awhile!!!!
SHIP'S LOG:
I finally got out of Vero Beach City Marina on Sunday. It is a really very nice place in a very nice town and I can understand why people go there and really hate to leave. But leave I did and my finances are grateful.
The run to Fort Pierce was but a short 14 miles. I had a conversation with the Ft. Pierce Bridge Tender. Most of the "opening bridges" along the ICW require you to give the name and home port of your vessel, why I am not sure. But when I said "New London, Connecticut" he told me about his daughter who had just finished her medical residency at Yale- New Haven Hospital and was now "going out to work of a living." He said that he didn't envy the debt shoe had to pay off but figured she would and then "she can support her mother and me in our old age."
I called Jerry as I was approaching the South Bridge and and he was just crossing it. He pulled into a part near the former sewage treatment plant and waved and directed me into a channel that lead to Faber Cove which is where he keeps his boat. After things were all squared away, Jerry and I had a long talk that went pretty much the whole afternoon. I got the "quick and dirty" tour of Ft. Pierce. Evidently, it had suffered some rather serious damage during the 2004 hurricane season but a lot of rebuilding has taken place since. It was sort of "urban renewal by hurricane tidal surge." Still there are a lot of places that need work. For while the tidal surge was "only" six feet, the agreeably low and flat Florida landscape doesn't present much in the way of deterrence to incoming water surges. There is a lot of rebuilding going on but there are also a number of places, condos and the like, that were built but haven't sold. I gather from Jerry that some great deals can be had from people who bought on speculation and are now stuck with a property they don't want.
Jerry and I watch football and talked, had a couple of drinks and talked and had dinner( he made steaks) and talked. It was really great to finally get to see him again. It sort of hit me when I got back on the boat that my major goal has been reached. Since the start of the trip, when anyone asked, I always explained that the one thing I wanted to do was to get down to Ft. Pierce and see Jerry. When his wife died a couple of years ago, I was unable to make it down for the funeral and really was able to get down before this moment. Jerry and I hit it off well and I found Rite, his wife, a joy. And I was deeply touched when she died. And now I have made the "pilgrimage" to Fort Pierce and I have seen Jerry and there is a sense of completeness in it all. I will spend a few days here and will stay in the area at least until the 21st. Jerry has remarried and his wife, Lucille, is a teacher in California and will keep her job there until she retires. So they have a bi-coastal marriage and every few weeks, one or the other makes the cross country trek to visit the the other for a few days or weeks or month. Lucille will be flying in on the 15th and we have made a date to meet so that, as she says, she "can meet the guy who makes Jerry laugh on the telephone."
Today was a rather slow day. It was in the 70's so it is hard, after all the cold weather, to get up the energy to do all that much. I got my log book current along with the Engine Log, did maintenance on the batteries, blew up the dinghy, took a nap, talked with the crew of "SACAJAWEA" a Bennetau 38 from South Africa and read. I looked at the charts for the rest of Florida and couldn't work up much enthusiasm. Roland and Ron will be coming down to Port St. Lucie at the end of the month and that's about 20 miles as the dolphin swims and I am sure that we will get together if for no other reason than they will by me dinner . . . . even if they don't realize it yet.
It is a strange feeling that now that I have seen and talked with Jerry, and we will get together several times over the next couple of weeks, I am not sure about wanting to cruise all the way down to the Keys and/or Key West. I have been at this since October 3rd, some 93 days and Key West is still a couple hundred miles away. Perhaps it is just fatigue speaking, after all except for recently, it has been travel every day. Perhaps after several days of quiet and rest, the nice weather will draw me on. Perhaps the condo association and the local civic ordinances will get me gone( Strangely, Florida seems to be doing everything it can to hamper the recreational boating industry). Perhaps the "itchy foot" & "traveling jones" will crop up again and I will see if I can find another place to go aground. Who knows? Maybe I should have another goal . . . .like meeting Jimmy Buffett?
I finally got out of Vero Beach City Marina on Sunday. It is a really very nice place in a very nice town and I can understand why people go there and really hate to leave. But leave I did and my finances are grateful.
The run to Fort Pierce was but a short 14 miles. I had a conversation with the Ft. Pierce Bridge Tender. Most of the "opening bridges" along the ICW require you to give the name and home port of your vessel, why I am not sure. But when I said "New London, Connecticut" he told me about his daughter who had just finished her medical residency at Yale- New Haven Hospital and was now "going out to work of a living." He said that he didn't envy the debt shoe had to pay off but figured she would and then "she can support her mother and me in our old age."
I called Jerry as I was approaching the South Bridge and and he was just crossing it. He pulled into a part near the former sewage treatment plant and waved and directed me into a channel that lead to Faber Cove which is where he keeps his boat. After things were all squared away, Jerry and I had a long talk that went pretty much the whole afternoon. I got the "quick and dirty" tour of Ft. Pierce. Evidently, it had suffered some rather serious damage during the 2004 hurricane season but a lot of rebuilding has taken place since. It was sort of "urban renewal by hurricane tidal surge." Still there are a lot of places that need work. For while the tidal surge was "only" six feet, the agreeably low and flat Florida landscape doesn't present much in the way of deterrence to incoming water surges. There is a lot of rebuilding going on but there are also a number of places, condos and the like, that were built but haven't sold. I gather from Jerry that some great deals can be had from people who bought on speculation and are now stuck with a property they don't want.
Jerry and I watch football and talked, had a couple of drinks and talked and had dinner( he made steaks) and talked. It was really great to finally get to see him again. It sort of hit me when I got back on the boat that my major goal has been reached. Since the start of the trip, when anyone asked, I always explained that the one thing I wanted to do was to get down to Ft. Pierce and see Jerry. When his wife died a couple of years ago, I was unable to make it down for the funeral and really was able to get down before this moment. Jerry and I hit it off well and I found Rite, his wife, a joy. And I was deeply touched when she died. And now I have made the "pilgrimage" to Fort Pierce and I have seen Jerry and there is a sense of completeness in it all. I will spend a few days here and will stay in the area at least until the 21st. Jerry has remarried and his wife, Lucille, is a teacher in California and will keep her job there until she retires. So they have a bi-coastal marriage and every few weeks, one or the other makes the cross country trek to visit the the other for a few days or weeks or month. Lucille will be flying in on the 15th and we have made a date to meet so that, as she says, she "can meet the guy who makes Jerry laugh on the telephone."
Today was a rather slow day. It was in the 70's so it is hard, after all the cold weather, to get up the energy to do all that much. I got my log book current along with the Engine Log, did maintenance on the batteries, blew up the dinghy, took a nap, talked with the crew of "SACAJAWEA" a Bennetau 38 from South Africa and read. I looked at the charts for the rest of Florida and couldn't work up much enthusiasm. Roland and Ron will be coming down to Port St. Lucie at the end of the month and that's about 20 miles as the dolphin swims and I am sure that we will get together if for no other reason than they will by me dinner . . . . even if they don't realize it yet.
It is a strange feeling that now that I have seen and talked with Jerry, and we will get together several times over the next couple of weeks, I am not sure about wanting to cruise all the way down to the Keys and/or Key West. I have been at this since October 3rd, some 93 days and Key West is still a couple hundred miles away. Perhaps it is just fatigue speaking, after all except for recently, it has been travel every day. Perhaps after several days of quiet and rest, the nice weather will draw me on. Perhaps the condo association and the local civic ordinances will get me gone( Strangely, Florida seems to be doing everything it can to hamper the recreational boating industry). Perhaps the "itchy foot" & "traveling jones" will crop up again and I will see if I can find another place to go aground. Who knows? Maybe I should have another goal . . . .like meeting Jimmy Buffett?
Friday, December 31, 2010
When Is A Mosquito Bite A Good Thing ?
SHIP'S LOG:
When is a mosquito bite a good thing? When it happens on December 30th 'cause it means you are some place warm!
I left Melbourne sort of early, about 8:30 for I had a little over 30 miles to go to get to the Vero Beach Marina. The day before up at Cocoa Village Marina, the Wrightmans - those of Canadian extraction and the gift of Christmas Cookies, had mentioned that friends of their had tried to get into the Vero Beach City Marina for a mooring ball and found that they were filled up. This is rather surprising because it is one of the only places I have heard of of the ICW that rafts-up boats on mooring. For those not in the know, rafting up means putting multiple boats together on one anchor or in this case on one mooring. So not wanting to be left out i n the cold, as Vero is also one of those places with a dearth of anchoring spots, I called ahead and secured a mooring. I wanted to get there as early as possible as I wanted to be the first on the mooring if there was going to be a raft up. I had a help of problem with the mooring in St. Augustine. It took me three shots to get the pennant and I figured if I had to do something like that again, it would be better not to have another boat as a fixed target to run into. ( I am definitely going to have to look into getting another boat hook for such eventualities.)
The weather was supposed to be partly cloudy and it certainly was that. It was also relatively warm. However, the wind (what there was of it) was out of the east and off the ocean and at times it go cold on the Indian River. For the most part, it was just partly cloudy, eventually becoming completely cloudy and you know what followed then. Due to the fact that Florida is so agreeably flat, I could see it raining miles ahead on either side. I was just hoping that it "would miss me" and I would get in safe and dry.
As I turn into Bethel Creek were in lies the Marina, it began to rain and it continued through the whole mooring process. Luckily it was not a hard rain. Luckily also there was no other boat on the mooring. Luckily, there was also on wind and I picked up the pennant on the first try and was tied down, safe and sound in moments. It was the easiest landing I ever made.
One interesting and rather weird note: a few miles before Bethel Creek, at marker "128" there is supposed to be a big rock right in the middle of the Channel of the ICW. It is only 5 1/2 feet below the surface at MLW and the locals, according to the guides, call it"the rock pile." It is recommended that you keep to the "Green Side " of the channel until you are well passed 128. Knowing how much I like to kiss the bottom, I did exactly that and as I did two locals came by. They passed very close to the "Red Side" certainly because I was going at steerage, but it was clear that they knew about the rock and were avoiding it. The thing I can't understand is that since it is there, why don't they remove it or at least put a marker right on it. Not all my guides mention it so I am sure that someone has come by at speed and done some serious damage to his or her boat for no good reason.
I am spending another day at Vero Beach City Marina and will proceed on to Ft. Pierce on New Years Day. I was able to get to the market on the city bus line "which is free" and pick up some of my basic need. The cruisers here have a Thursday Happy Hour which last a lot longer and you can get your hair cut and style by one of the lady cruisers. Vero Beach is a good stop and has everything you need to cruise. But lots of the people have been here for weeks, even months. It is one of those "good harbors" you have to be careful about. It is too easy not to leave.
Someone rowed up to me this morning as I was sitting in the cockpit and it turned out to be "Skip", one of the guys who man the West Marine Store in New London. He is down here, avoiding the winter in New England and is working in the West Marine Store in Ft. Pierce and living on his boat in the Vero Beach City Marina. He said that he had passed me way back at New Port News. He had tried to hail me but we were not able to make contact. Sometimes, no matter how far you go, you are always being surprised by running into people you know. Make you feel less lonely and alone.
When is a mosquito bite a good thing? When it happens on December 30th 'cause it means you are some place warm!
I left Melbourne sort of early, about 8:30 for I had a little over 30 miles to go to get to the Vero Beach Marina. The day before up at Cocoa Village Marina, the Wrightmans - those of Canadian extraction and the gift of Christmas Cookies, had mentioned that friends of their had tried to get into the Vero Beach City Marina for a mooring ball and found that they were filled up. This is rather surprising because it is one of the only places I have heard of of the ICW that rafts-up boats on mooring. For those not in the know, rafting up means putting multiple boats together on one anchor or in this case on one mooring. So not wanting to be left out i n the cold, as Vero is also one of those places with a dearth of anchoring spots, I called ahead and secured a mooring. I wanted to get there as early as possible as I wanted to be the first on the mooring if there was going to be a raft up. I had a help of problem with the mooring in St. Augustine. It took me three shots to get the pennant and I figured if I had to do something like that again, it would be better not to have another boat as a fixed target to run into. ( I am definitely going to have to look into getting another boat hook for such eventualities.)
The weather was supposed to be partly cloudy and it certainly was that. It was also relatively warm. However, the wind (what there was of it) was out of the east and off the ocean and at times it go cold on the Indian River. For the most part, it was just partly cloudy, eventually becoming completely cloudy and you know what followed then. Due to the fact that Florida is so agreeably flat, I could see it raining miles ahead on either side. I was just hoping that it "would miss me" and I would get in safe and dry.
As I turn into Bethel Creek were in lies the Marina, it began to rain and it continued through the whole mooring process. Luckily it was not a hard rain. Luckily also there was no other boat on the mooring. Luckily, there was also on wind and I picked up the pennant on the first try and was tied down, safe and sound in moments. It was the easiest landing I ever made.
One interesting and rather weird note: a few miles before Bethel Creek, at marker "128" there is supposed to be a big rock right in the middle of the Channel of the ICW. It is only 5 1/2 feet below the surface at MLW and the locals, according to the guides, call it"the rock pile." It is recommended that you keep to the "Green Side " of the channel until you are well passed 128. Knowing how much I like to kiss the bottom, I did exactly that and as I did two locals came by. They passed very close to the "Red Side" certainly because I was going at steerage, but it was clear that they knew about the rock and were avoiding it. The thing I can't understand is that since it is there, why don't they remove it or at least put a marker right on it. Not all my guides mention it so I am sure that someone has come by at speed and done some serious damage to his or her boat for no good reason.
I am spending another day at Vero Beach City Marina and will proceed on to Ft. Pierce on New Years Day. I was able to get to the market on the city bus line "which is free" and pick up some of my basic need. The cruisers here have a Thursday Happy Hour which last a lot longer and you can get your hair cut and style by one of the lady cruisers. Vero Beach is a good stop and has everything you need to cruise. But lots of the people have been here for weeks, even months. It is one of those "good harbors" you have to be careful about. It is too easy not to leave.
Someone rowed up to me this morning as I was sitting in the cockpit and it turned out to be "Skip", one of the guys who man the West Marine Store in New London. He is down here, avoiding the winter in New England and is working in the West Marine Store in Ft. Pierce and living on his boat in the Vero Beach City Marina. He said that he had passed me way back at New Port News. He had tried to hail me but we were not able to make contact. Sometimes, no matter how far you go, you are always being surprised by running into people you know. Make you feel less lonely and alone.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Yes, Virginia, Ther Is A Santa Claus!
SHIP'S LOG:
Yes, there really is. He gave me a free night in the marina and Mrs. Claus gave me two bottles of wine. On top of the plate of Christmas Cookies, it was a pretty good haul.
Yesterday, it was bleeding cold again. Somehow, ice covering a dock in Florida in wrong. It is just wrong. Today however, the warmth started to sneak in and with no wind, it was time to make a dash south, for as we all know, good harbors rot ships and men.
It was a short 20 mile dash to Melbourne, the home - for all you motorcyclists of Bill Lane - and I am sure known for many other things none of which I can now recall. The trip was boring, especially after the start when I went aground in the MARINA! They have a bit of a shoaling problem at the entrance to their basin and I kissed it on the way in. I made a big wide turn on the way out and went aground on another shoal. This can't be good for business. It took a little effort but after about 10 minutes I got off and underway. It would have been major league embarrassing to have to call Towboat/US to haul me off in a marina!
Do you know that dolphins have bad breathe? I supposed that fish do too but who would know. Dolphins, on the other hand, as air breathing mammals, expel their breath into the air just as we do. They do it out of the blow hole on the top of their heads and when they do it right next to your boat . . .. UGH, the stink is incredible. SCOPE! LISTERINE! SOMETHING! ANYTHING!
The terns were playing dodge the boat again today. They games involves a game of follow the leader as they line up along one side and then dart in front of the boat and letting out a squawk. They they shift to come in from the front and dart across the bow and squawk. This was the third time this has happened and it is really weird. Thankfully they don't keep it up for long.
I am the only boat tonight anchored off Melbourne in the Indian River. I've got the whole place to myself. I am not sure what to do with it.
Yes, there really is. He gave me a free night in the marina and Mrs. Claus gave me two bottles of wine. On top of the plate of Christmas Cookies, it was a pretty good haul.
Yesterday, it was bleeding cold again. Somehow, ice covering a dock in Florida in wrong. It is just wrong. Today however, the warmth started to sneak in and with no wind, it was time to make a dash south, for as we all know, good harbors rot ships and men.
It was a short 20 mile dash to Melbourne, the home - for all you motorcyclists of Bill Lane - and I am sure known for many other things none of which I can now recall. The trip was boring, especially after the start when I went aground in the MARINA! They have a bit of a shoaling problem at the entrance to their basin and I kissed it on the way in. I made a big wide turn on the way out and went aground on another shoal. This can't be good for business. It took a little effort but after about 10 minutes I got off and underway. It would have been major league embarrassing to have to call Towboat/US to haul me off in a marina!
Do you know that dolphins have bad breathe? I supposed that fish do too but who would know. Dolphins, on the other hand, as air breathing mammals, expel their breath into the air just as we do. They do it out of the blow hole on the top of their heads and when they do it right next to your boat . . .. UGH, the stink is incredible. SCOPE! LISTERINE! SOMETHING! ANYTHING!
The terns were playing dodge the boat again today. They games involves a game of follow the leader as they line up along one side and then dart in front of the boat and letting out a squawk. They they shift to come in from the front and dart across the bow and squawk. This was the third time this has happened and it is really weird. Thankfully they don't keep it up for long.
I am the only boat tonight anchored off Melbourne in the Indian River. I've got the whole place to myself. I am not sure what to do with it.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Well, We Didn't Get The Snow, But . . . . . .
S H I P' S L O G :
It didn't snow in Cocoa Beach but the wind sure did blow. I was hoping, indeed expecting that the front passing through Saturday night/Sunday would blow itself out and more "normal" winds would present themselves today. Well, the chances of that were slim and none and slim left town.
I got up this morning and walked down the dock to the sauna & showers and there, right there on the dock by a faucet was a puddle of ice and an icicle hanging all the way down to the water! I am not sure exactly how cold it got here last night but it had to be in the 20's. And the wind, it keep howling all night. Of course, it was blowing through the masts and rigging of all the boats in the marina and produced some incredible noise. It almost sounded like a crew of "foley men"( people who produce sound effects for movies and TV shows) hard at work, working over time no less.
When I got back and had breakfast, I kept listening to the weather and looking at the water and the wind. I was in a marina slip. To get out I would have to back out into a fairway about forty feet wide. ABISHAG is 39 feet, 41 with the dinghy on the stern, and the wind was coming right down the fairway. It was a steady 25-30 with gusts still to 40. No sailboat backs up well and ABISHAG perhaps a little less well than most. And at 11 tons, once she gets moving, that's a lot of kinetic energy underway. In little or now wind, it wouldn't be terribly difficult, even for me who has not had a lot of practice pulling off this particular maneuver, but in the wind we had today, there was not way I could pull it off. Indeed, a couple from Canada( the one's whose daughters made the Christmas Cookies) were going to leave today but also postponed because of the wind. The fact that it was also bitterly cold again helped make that decision.
So Melbourne will have to wait a day. The wind has now died down and, while it is still cold and getting colder, tomorrow the temp is "supposed" to get up into the high 50's and the wind is "supposed" to be no more than 10. My finances have taken a bit of a beating but perhaps I win Powerball or Megabucks, though I haven't bought a ticket.
In any event, It will be Melbourne tomorrow, Vero Beach the day after and Fort Pierce after than. NOAA promises that by Wednesday the weather will settle back into the seasonal mode with temps in the 70's. While I'll believe that when I "feel it," it does give me hope. Of course, I would be more hopeful if the NOAA weather reports stopped talking about how to recognize the signs of frostbite and how best and carefully to use space heaters. They seem a bit inconsistent. Me, I think I'll sleep in the sauna . . . . .if there is room.
It didn't snow in Cocoa Beach but the wind sure did blow. I was hoping, indeed expecting that the front passing through Saturday night/Sunday would blow itself out and more "normal" winds would present themselves today. Well, the chances of that were slim and none and slim left town.
I got up this morning and walked down the dock to the sauna & showers and there, right there on the dock by a faucet was a puddle of ice and an icicle hanging all the way down to the water! I am not sure exactly how cold it got here last night but it had to be in the 20's. And the wind, it keep howling all night. Of course, it was blowing through the masts and rigging of all the boats in the marina and produced some incredible noise. It almost sounded like a crew of "foley men"( people who produce sound effects for movies and TV shows) hard at work, working over time no less.
When I got back and had breakfast, I kept listening to the weather and looking at the water and the wind. I was in a marina slip. To get out I would have to back out into a fairway about forty feet wide. ABISHAG is 39 feet, 41 with the dinghy on the stern, and the wind was coming right down the fairway. It was a steady 25-30 with gusts still to 40. No sailboat backs up well and ABISHAG perhaps a little less well than most. And at 11 tons, once she gets moving, that's a lot of kinetic energy underway. In little or now wind, it wouldn't be terribly difficult, even for me who has not had a lot of practice pulling off this particular maneuver, but in the wind we had today, there was not way I could pull it off. Indeed, a couple from Canada( the one's whose daughters made the Christmas Cookies) were going to leave today but also postponed because of the wind. The fact that it was also bitterly cold again helped make that decision.
So Melbourne will have to wait a day. The wind has now died down and, while it is still cold and getting colder, tomorrow the temp is "supposed" to get up into the high 50's and the wind is "supposed" to be no more than 10. My finances have taken a bit of a beating but perhaps I win Powerball or Megabucks, though I haven't bought a ticket.
In any event, It will be Melbourne tomorrow, Vero Beach the day after and Fort Pierce after than. NOAA promises that by Wednesday the weather will settle back into the seasonal mode with temps in the 70's. While I'll believe that when I "feel it," it does give me hope. Of course, I would be more hopeful if the NOAA weather reports stopped talking about how to recognize the signs of frostbite and how best and carefully to use space heaters. They seem a bit inconsistent. Me, I think I'll sleep in the sauna . . . . .if there is room.
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