SHIP'S LOG:
I have just noticed that the last couple of entries are not to be found! Let's hear it for the Internet! It is not there was anything terribly earth shattering in any of them but it is nice when my typing, which is an effort, gets out to where it is supposed to be.
Friday was hot and humid and I went out sailing. Doesn't sound like all that much but if you were trapped ashore, without air conditioning, then you know better!
Saturday was when New London hosted its SAIL FEST celebration. This year, they were able to secure a few "tall ships" for a parade up the river to the center of the city. "Tall ships" needs a little explanation. Evidently there are tall ships and then there are TALL SHIPS, ships classified as "Type A Tall Ships." In the parade we had two(2), the bark EAGLE and a similar sized training ship from Brazil, whose name I have forgotten. In addition to these, there were somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 smaller tall ships, ranging from the AMISTAD, the schooner BRILLIANT from Mystic Seaport, and the private yacht, TICONDEROGA. Sprinkled among them were several small Navy ships from the Naval Academy at Annapolis and a modern Naval Assault ship, the CARTER HALL. Sadly, the whole parade sort of unraveled as the Eagle, which had been anchored in Niantic Bay Friday night with the other tall ships, had trouble raising her anchor and it delayed the whole parade for a of couple of hours. The ships got strung out and actually, aside from the two Class "A" tall ships and the CATER HALL, it was difficult for a none sailor to figure out which ships were in the parade and which were part of the spectator fleet that was everywhere. Still, everyone seemed to have a good time and there was a lot of eating and drinking and parties where everywhere.
Saturday night was also the night of the New London Fireworks for the Fourth of July. This meant that every square foot of beach front and/or lawns that had a view of the appropriate part of the river where the fireworks would be fired off was much sought after. This meant that TYC, its beach, clubhouse, pier and boats were Ground Zero. To keep control, entrance onto club property was restricted members and their guests and those who obtained a guest mooring for the night.I had "gate " duty, putting wrist bands on "the elect" and turning away those who tried to crash. Counting the members who came down and went out to their boats for the show, plus all those on the property, we had somewhere in the neighborhood of 400 people on our little "slice of heaven." The fireworks were marvelous. It was clear that it would be a fantastic, better-than-average show as the company which put it on, ha a "disaster" on the 4th in San Diego when, because of an "electrical malfunction," all of the fireworks went off at once with the throwing of the first switch. It must have been spectacular!but I was more than happy with the show we experienced here.
Sunday was Hazy, hot and humid and once the crowds thinned out, I sailed up to look at the tall ships docked about a mile from TYC. Several of the schooners were taking people out for a cruise down to the mouth of the Thames and then back and I went along in ABISHAG a couple of times. I can say for certain that now ABISHAG and I exist in numerous cellphones.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Happy 5th OF July
SHIP'S LOG:
As is traditional at TYC, the Fourth of July meant a race, the Bradbury, and as there was racing there also needed Race Committee-ing. Since I neglected to get a rating for ABISHAG, and since I didn't have crew for the event(tough for anyone to get on a National Holiday), I worked race committee. It was not a difficult task. Indeed the hardest part was waiting for the boats to finish after the start. They had a 13 mile or so course and once they started, the Queen Merry was abandoned and we retreated to the Clubhouse where the appearance of the first boat signaled a return to the Queen to record the order of finish and record times. Not a particularly taxing task. Then it was ashore for the traditional post race cookout which was stupendous.
Strange things about this fourth was the real lack of fireworks. New London's will come Saturday night but usually the locals will fire off their stockpiles on the fourth after sundown. There were a few, and I emphasize "few" but no more. Usually, they keep up long into the night but not so this time. I found it peculiar. Even the guy down the beach with the honest-to-goodness canon let loose not a broadside. It was pretty much a "silent fourth of July."
As is traditional at TYC, the Fourth of July meant a race, the Bradbury, and as there was racing there also needed Race Committee-ing. Since I neglected to get a rating for ABISHAG, and since I didn't have crew for the event(tough for anyone to get on a National Holiday), I worked race committee. It was not a difficult task. Indeed the hardest part was waiting for the boats to finish after the start. They had a 13 mile or so course and once they started, the Queen Merry was abandoned and we retreated to the Clubhouse where the appearance of the first boat signaled a return to the Queen to record the order of finish and record times. Not a particularly taxing task. Then it was ashore for the traditional post race cookout which was stupendous.
Strange things about this fourth was the real lack of fireworks. New London's will come Saturday night but usually the locals will fire off their stockpiles on the fourth after sundown. There were a few, and I emphasize "few" but no more. Usually, they keep up long into the night but not so this time. I found it peculiar. Even the guy down the beach with the honest-to-goodness canon let loose not a broadside. It was pretty much a "silent fourth of July."
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
The Tale Of The Dinghy
SHIP'S LOG:
I finally secured my dinghy! It has been wintering in the backyard of Tommy Welsh and doing quite nicely from all indications. The incredibly slow leak is still there in the front air tube but aside from an invasion of spiders and other creepy-crawlies, all of whom were banished with a water hose, she seems in fine shape.
One oar is firmly attached and the other isn't. The oarlocks are glued to the dinghy and are composed of a little socket in which is inserted a threaded metal rod. This goes through a hole in the oar and there is supposed to be a screw cap on top to keep the oar from lifting off the rod when one is rowing. The port side unit is complete with the rod going through the oar but the cap is missing from the end of the rod. I had a large acorn nut which had "just about" the same threads and I screwed it on. Unfortunately, "just about" and "exactly the same"are not equal. I doubt seriously whether that nut will ever unscrew which means that oar is going no where any time soon.
The threaded rod is missing from the starboard side socket. It appears as if the rod was merely "glue in place in the socket and it has disappeared. I am not sure if such was the case when I hauled it last fall but I think that it might be. The dinghy currently resides on a painter off the stern of ABISHAG. I will have to haul it to the dock and get it out of the wet. I will probably drill, if I can manage it, through the bottom of the socket ad run the longest machine bolt I have through it, and through the oar, and secure it in place with an aircraft nut( the type with the plastic inside to keep it from unscrewing) or use two nuts, one for a locking nut, to keep the oar in place. Before I can do it, I have to go an get a foot pump for the dinghy. When I got the dinghy out to ABISHAG last week, I didn't put her up on the davits. I want to run a support strut or wire to the stanchions to which they are attached, to insure against the stanchions cracking again and needing to be welded. (It was so much fun the first time.) I left the foot pump secured in the front of the dinghy and it was there Sunday morning but not when I checked Sunday night as I return from show. In between , I worked the Governor's Regatta and we had a hell of a blow which followed. We had a couple of wind gusts that probably hit 50mph and while it didn't flip the dinghy, it evidently bounced it a lot. The "free oar" which I had secured with a line, was floating in the water and the pump was no where to be seen. Thus it is that a new pump needs to be procured. It is always something, ain't it!
I finally secured my dinghy! It has been wintering in the backyard of Tommy Welsh and doing quite nicely from all indications. The incredibly slow leak is still there in the front air tube but aside from an invasion of spiders and other creepy-crawlies, all of whom were banished with a water hose, she seems in fine shape.
One oar is firmly attached and the other isn't. The oarlocks are glued to the dinghy and are composed of a little socket in which is inserted a threaded metal rod. This goes through a hole in the oar and there is supposed to be a screw cap on top to keep the oar from lifting off the rod when one is rowing. The port side unit is complete with the rod going through the oar but the cap is missing from the end of the rod. I had a large acorn nut which had "just about" the same threads and I screwed it on. Unfortunately, "just about" and "exactly the same"are not equal. I doubt seriously whether that nut will ever unscrew which means that oar is going no where any time soon.
The threaded rod is missing from the starboard side socket. It appears as if the rod was merely "glue in place in the socket and it has disappeared. I am not sure if such was the case when I hauled it last fall but I think that it might be. The dinghy currently resides on a painter off the stern of ABISHAG. I will have to haul it to the dock and get it out of the wet. I will probably drill, if I can manage it, through the bottom of the socket ad run the longest machine bolt I have through it, and through the oar, and secure it in place with an aircraft nut( the type with the plastic inside to keep it from unscrewing) or use two nuts, one for a locking nut, to keep the oar in place. Before I can do it, I have to go an get a foot pump for the dinghy. When I got the dinghy out to ABISHAG last week, I didn't put her up on the davits. I want to run a support strut or wire to the stanchions to which they are attached, to insure against the stanchions cracking again and needing to be welded. (It was so much fun the first time.) I left the foot pump secured in the front of the dinghy and it was there Sunday morning but not when I checked Sunday night as I return from show. In between , I worked the Governor's Regatta and we had a hell of a blow which followed. We had a couple of wind gusts that probably hit 50mph and while it didn't flip the dinghy, it evidently bounced it a lot. The "free oar" which I had secured with a line, was floating in the water and the pump was no where to be seen. Thus it is that a new pump needs to be procured. It is always something, ain't it!
Monday, July 2, 2012
Ah! Summer!
SHIP'S LOG:
The last three days have been brutally hot and humid, far more like August that the end of June and the beginning of July. The good news is that going but for a sail was a wonderful way to cool off. The bad news is that every sail comes to an end. But so long as I stayed "aboard" the weather was bearable. It was so hot and humid, beach members didn't even show up to use the beach. Evidently a room with an air conditioner was a better option.
The Governor's Regatta was this weekend(Sunday) and there was a lot of hustle and bustle to get everything ready and in place. I worked on the Race committee again this year. Once again, I was "in charge of weather," though why they think I have any more "pull" than anyone else is beyond me, as well as working the "Windward Mark" boat. We almost got shut out of the job as the way the wind was coming, it was better to use an official Government mark(buoy) for the windward mark and for us to set one ourselves. But after the race started, the wind got flukey and died down quite a bit, so that it was necessary to shorten the race for the Ensign Class, a group of boats onlyy22 feet in length. In the light air they would have had real trouble not just finishing the total course but then they would have really been delayed going the 2 plus miles back to TYC.
It turned out to be good decision to shorten the race for them as about an hour after they got back to the club and all the crews from all the boats were ashore enjoying food and drink, a storm hit. Lots of thunder! Lots of lightning! Lots of wind! Lots of rain. It would have been nasty and dangerous for the Ensigns, indeed anyone, to have been caught out on the water in that storm. But it was a lot of fun to watch from the safety of the clubhouse ashore!
The last three days have been brutally hot and humid, far more like August that the end of June and the beginning of July. The good news is that going but for a sail was a wonderful way to cool off. The bad news is that every sail comes to an end. But so long as I stayed "aboard" the weather was bearable. It was so hot and humid, beach members didn't even show up to use the beach. Evidently a room with an air conditioner was a better option.
The Governor's Regatta was this weekend(Sunday) and there was a lot of hustle and bustle to get everything ready and in place. I worked on the Race committee again this year. Once again, I was "in charge of weather," though why they think I have any more "pull" than anyone else is beyond me, as well as working the "Windward Mark" boat. We almost got shut out of the job as the way the wind was coming, it was better to use an official Government mark(buoy) for the windward mark and for us to set one ourselves. But after the race started, the wind got flukey and died down quite a bit, so that it was necessary to shorten the race for the Ensign Class, a group of boats onlyy22 feet in length. In the light air they would have had real trouble not just finishing the total course but then they would have really been delayed going the 2 plus miles back to TYC.
It turned out to be good decision to shorten the race for them as about an hour after they got back to the club and all the crews from all the boats were ashore enjoying food and drink, a storm hit. Lots of thunder! Lots of lightning! Lots of wind! Lots of rain. It would have been nasty and dangerous for the Ensigns, indeed anyone, to have been caught out on the water in that storm. But it was a lot of fun to watch from the safety of the clubhouse ashore!
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Summer In New England!
SHIP'S LOG:
Not all the "fun stuff" is done on the boat! aye, there be stuff at the Club to do! And since I am down here more or less full time, I volunteered to help. It was very good of me considering how beautiful was the weather and also the fact that the "stuff" meant putting down a new sub-floor upstairs in the Club. The old run had been ripped out and before the new rug could be properly laid, a sub-floor had to be installed. The major problem was that the second floor of the Club tends to be an oven. Short of air conditioning the place, not a likely scenario anytime soon, one had to resort to open windows and fans and even these tactics are really not much of a help. It was bleedin' hot outside, and humid too, and that just made the second floor worse. Add to that the dust of 75 plus years that seemed to have accumulated in every crack and crevice and which seemed to regenerate no matter how many times the floor was swept, and it was, several times.
To say that everyone sweated freely is to "damn with faint praise" and still, even taking it easy and drinking copious amounts of liquids, I actually think I experienced a little bit of heat stroke. When the "project" was finished, I took a cold shower and retired to ABISHAG, where the cool winds blew, and took a long nap.Truth be told, I didn't feel completely right even the next day and so I took it rather easy.
The weather has been "different." Monday we got whacked with a storm, actually just the edge, which still dropped 5 inches of rain and blew like stink. There was a lot of thunder and lightning to the north, but none that was really local. All the rain that fell on the hills rushed down, over flooded the sewers and ran down the Club's drive way and cut a nice little trough to the water. And there was wind! we had some gusts to 40knots and perhaps more. It made for interesting sleeping aboard. If the rain, thunder and lightning had continued, I probably would have slept ashore but as it was, I slept aboard, rockin' & rollin'!
Tuesday was bright and clear but just as windy as the front moved away. Lots of boats went out and turned right around and came back. It was one of those strange days such that when you were in the wind, it was cool and comfortable and when not, it was almost unbearably hot. O well such, as they say, whoever "they" are, is summer in New England!
Not all the "fun stuff" is done on the boat! aye, there be stuff at the Club to do! And since I am down here more or less full time, I volunteered to help. It was very good of me considering how beautiful was the weather and also the fact that the "stuff" meant putting down a new sub-floor upstairs in the Club. The old run had been ripped out and before the new rug could be properly laid, a sub-floor had to be installed. The major problem was that the second floor of the Club tends to be an oven. Short of air conditioning the place, not a likely scenario anytime soon, one had to resort to open windows and fans and even these tactics are really not much of a help. It was bleedin' hot outside, and humid too, and that just made the second floor worse. Add to that the dust of 75 plus years that seemed to have accumulated in every crack and crevice and which seemed to regenerate no matter how many times the floor was swept, and it was, several times.
To say that everyone sweated freely is to "damn with faint praise" and still, even taking it easy and drinking copious amounts of liquids, I actually think I experienced a little bit of heat stroke. When the "project" was finished, I took a cold shower and retired to ABISHAG, where the cool winds blew, and took a long nap.Truth be told, I didn't feel completely right even the next day and so I took it rather easy.
The weather has been "different." Monday we got whacked with a storm, actually just the edge, which still dropped 5 inches of rain and blew like stink. There was a lot of thunder and lightning to the north, but none that was really local. All the rain that fell on the hills rushed down, over flooded the sewers and ran down the Club's drive way and cut a nice little trough to the water. And there was wind! we had some gusts to 40knots and perhaps more. It made for interesting sleeping aboard. If the rain, thunder and lightning had continued, I probably would have slept ashore but as it was, I slept aboard, rockin' & rollin'!
Tuesday was bright and clear but just as windy as the front moved away. Lots of boats went out and turned right around and came back. It was one of those strange days such that when you were in the wind, it was cool and comfortable and when not, it was almost unbearably hot. O well such, as they say, whoever "they" are, is summer in New England!
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Sailing! Sailing! Over The Bounding Main!
SHIP'S LOG:
Boy, there is nothing like a brutally hot and humid day to We make one appreciate being on the water!
We were blessed yesterday with a day that was closer to mid-August than mid-June. It was hot! It was humid! And there seemed little prospect of a breeze. The prospects were not good and the choice was simple: "die" ashore or go for a sail.
The difference between being on shore and being aboard ABISHAG was amazing, especially considering how chilly it actually was only a day ago. Still setting the boat up for sailing did generate a fair amount of sweat! But once sails were up and the wind filled in it was nothing but wonderful.I went that was for an hour or so, then over there for another hour or so, back across here and then back up river, before cranking on the engine, dropping sail and motoring to the mooring. Surprisingly, and contrary to the Weather forecasts (NOAA hasn't gotten any better!) there was plenty of wind "out there," probably topping out at 20knots, enough to put ABISHAG's rail down and get her moving to almost 8 knots, which for her is some serious kind of speed,
People often ask "where did you go?" Truth be told, it is "the going" not "the getting" that is the enjoyment. Hazy as it was out there, I could look west and not see the Shore and could imagine that I was in the middle of an Ocean somewhere and just enjoying being there. And the weather outside, on the water was wonderful. It was cold and breeze and even though it was still humid, it bothered me not at all. Coming back in did. When I got within a mile of land, I could feel the heat and the cool almost went away.Once I was completely in the river, it basically did go away and once the boat was moored, and I was ashore, it was almost like I had never been out.UGH!
Today is supposed to be an equally hot and humid type day, so you know where I will be! May you be cool wherever you are!
Boy, there is nothing like a brutally hot and humid day to We make one appreciate being on the water!
We were blessed yesterday with a day that was closer to mid-August than mid-June. It was hot! It was humid! And there seemed little prospect of a breeze. The prospects were not good and the choice was simple: "die" ashore or go for a sail.
The difference between being on shore and being aboard ABISHAG was amazing, especially considering how chilly it actually was only a day ago. Still setting the boat up for sailing did generate a fair amount of sweat! But once sails were up and the wind filled in it was nothing but wonderful.I went that was for an hour or so, then over there for another hour or so, back across here and then back up river, before cranking on the engine, dropping sail and motoring to the mooring. Surprisingly, and contrary to the Weather forecasts (NOAA hasn't gotten any better!) there was plenty of wind "out there," probably topping out at 20knots, enough to put ABISHAG's rail down and get her moving to almost 8 knots, which for her is some serious kind of speed,
People often ask "where did you go?" Truth be told, it is "the going" not "the getting" that is the enjoyment. Hazy as it was out there, I could look west and not see the Shore and could imagine that I was in the middle of an Ocean somewhere and just enjoying being there. And the weather outside, on the water was wonderful. It was cold and breeze and even though it was still humid, it bothered me not at all. Coming back in did. When I got within a mile of land, I could feel the heat and the cool almost went away.Once I was completely in the river, it basically did go away and once the boat was moored, and I was ashore, it was almost like I had never been out.UGH!
Today is supposed to be an equally hot and humid type day, so you know where I will be! May you be cool wherever you are!
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
ABISHAG Is Home . . .And Now Me, Too!!!!
SHIP'S LOG:
As of yesterday, June 18th, at approximately 2:30pm (14:30Hours) I am official and relatively completely, ensconced aboard my floating home. I have slowly taken a few days to transport "all" - perhaps "most" would be more accurate - of my worldly possessions from dry land aboard. Slowly but surely, items were moved to the places they resided last year and ABISHAG is feeling more like home.
Of course, everything has to work itself out again and I am sure it will take at least a few days to get back into the routine of living aboard. I have to get into the mindset of "not taking for granted" and always checking. Over the weekend, I left the power on and some breakers open and ran the house batteries down to about 75%. It would not have been of any real importance except for the fact that the Wind Generator isn't generating anymore. I am not sure why. Fred and I( which means Fred) tried to figure out what the problems was but there was no joy. All of the "parts" that are down at deck level are all as they should be which leaves those parts that are in the generator itself high up on the mizzen mast. If it can't be fixed from deck level it is going to have to remain "non-functioning." To get it working again, I would have to got to a boatyard where they would either take the mizzen mast down( $450 to drop and re-set the mast) to remove the generator (at $60-80/ hour) so that I could package it and send it to Arizona where the KISS Company resides. What that would cost I have no idea. They would then determine whether or not it was possible or economically sound to
pair the unit and then send it back with a bill for services.I don't even want to think about that one! And the it would have to be re-installed ($450 plus the $60-80/hour) and checked out by the yard electrician ($60-80/hour) to make sure everything was doing what it should be doing. Since I haven't been contacted by the Prize Patrol from Publisher's Clearing House, I am going to have to simply manage the electricity better and charge it from the engine when needed. Of course, I just absolutely hate the fact that something is not working on the boat, especially because there is noting I can do to fix it. But since there is nothing I can do about it, I'll simply let it go. I can't control it and so I am not going to worry about it.
As of yesterday, June 18th, at approximately 2:30pm (14:30Hours) I am official and relatively completely, ensconced aboard my floating home. I have slowly taken a few days to transport "all" - perhaps "most" would be more accurate - of my worldly possessions from dry land aboard. Slowly but surely, items were moved to the places they resided last year and ABISHAG is feeling more like home.
Of course, everything has to work itself out again and I am sure it will take at least a few days to get back into the routine of living aboard. I have to get into the mindset of "not taking for granted" and always checking. Over the weekend, I left the power on and some breakers open and ran the house batteries down to about 75%. It would not have been of any real importance except for the fact that the Wind Generator isn't generating anymore. I am not sure why. Fred and I( which means Fred) tried to figure out what the problems was but there was no joy. All of the "parts" that are down at deck level are all as they should be which leaves those parts that are in the generator itself high up on the mizzen mast. If it can't be fixed from deck level it is going to have to remain "non-functioning." To get it working again, I would have to got to a boatyard where they would either take the mizzen mast down( $450 to drop and re-set the mast) to remove the generator (at $60-80/ hour) so that I could package it and send it to Arizona where the KISS Company resides. What that would cost I have no idea. They would then determine whether or not it was possible or economically sound to
pair the unit and then send it back with a bill for services.I don't even want to think about that one! And the it would have to be re-installed ($450 plus the $60-80/hour) and checked out by the yard electrician ($60-80/hour) to make sure everything was doing what it should be doing. Since I haven't been contacted by the Prize Patrol from Publisher's Clearing House, I am going to have to simply manage the electricity better and charge it from the engine when needed. Of course, I just absolutely hate the fact that something is not working on the boat, especially because there is noting I can do to fix it. But since there is nothing I can do about it, I'll simply let it go. I can't control it and so I am not going to worry about it.
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