SHIP'S LOG:
Well, as of Monday evening, Labor Day, I am alone at TYC. The launch has stopped running its regular summer schedule, which means that there are fewer people coming down to take out their boats for a sail during the week. The Galley is closed and that means that fewer people are coming down to sit on the beach and enjoy the weather. It has also rained like hell for the last two days which means that no one in their right mind has been down. Me? well, being out on the mooring, I have had to bring ABISHAG herself into the dock in the morning to perform my "ablutions" and have kept her there most of the day, spending my time online or reading in the c0omfort of the clubhouse. It can be a wonderful thing to be able to sit and be still, not having to deal with the rockin' and rollin' caused by the ferries going by. Tommorow promises to be a sunny day . . .according to NOAA, and if it is, it will give me the opportunity to do some long overdue maintenance on the dinghy so that I can forego bring ABISHAG into the dock.
I am experiencing "loneliness" with everyone gone now. It is much like what I felt at times on the ICW trip. There is a difference between being alone and loneliness. Being alone is actually beneficial as it helps me get and keep my head clear. It provides me with the means of doing what I want, when I want which surprisingly can be something that can be rather hard to achieve at times. I can sail or not, I can read or nap, I can do work or just sit and watch the clouds roll by. It is very refreshing and very satisfying. Loneliness on the other hand is a drag, a real downer. Let's face it, we all need people sometimes. And even though I knew what was going to happen after Monday, I was sort of not prepared for it and it hit me hard. But this too will pass as on the trip. And as on the trip, after awhile, it will be almost preferable . . . . . at least some of the time.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
WINTER!
SHIP'S LOG:
Great Weather Weekend ! ! !! Real Rail Down Sailing! Sun Shining - Wind Blowing - Just Great! ! ! !
And we are up to "ISSAC" and none have come north. How great is that?!?!?!?!
The season is fast coming to an end. Already, TYC is quiet. The beach is almost empty. The Galley is selling little in the way of eats. The launch drivers are bored to tears. And Labor Day will mark the end of real launch service. No more 9-9 launch service seven days a week. There will be a simple limited scheduled on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays z\and that will be it! I may actually have to get the dinghy in shape to be rowed. All things being equal, I'll be head north up the Connecticut River on Columbus Day Weekend, probably leave Saturday and arrive(just where I am not sure yet!) Sunday, over-nighting in Hamburg Cove again, feasting on Chateaubriand and wine for Saturday dinner. And I am not kidding, as Bob's wife, Livy, is one heck of a cook. Not being much of a sailor, she sends Bob and the Chateaubriand and stays home.
There is a strange feeling that is going around as the end of the season approaches. It is something akin to loosing the desire to sail as there are so few days left to do so. Gone is the feeling that you could just come down any time and go sailing, whenever the notion hit you. Now, at the very least, you have to watch the clock as Sunday is around 7:40pm, maybe less and it gets dark. One cannot just "go," one hasalso to plan to come back. And it is gettting chilly. True, during the day it can still hit the 80's, but at night, or at least by 3am, a blanket becomes a smart choice. It is the presage of winter, not Fall, WINTER!!!!!!!!
Great Weather Weekend ! ! !! Real Rail Down Sailing! Sun Shining - Wind Blowing - Just Great! ! ! !
And we are up to "ISSAC" and none have come north. How great is that?!?!?!?!
The season is fast coming to an end. Already, TYC is quiet. The beach is almost empty. The Galley is selling little in the way of eats. The launch drivers are bored to tears. And Labor Day will mark the end of real launch service. No more 9-9 launch service seven days a week. There will be a simple limited scheduled on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays z\and that will be it! I may actually have to get the dinghy in shape to be rowed. All things being equal, I'll be head north up the Connecticut River on Columbus Day Weekend, probably leave Saturday and arrive(just where I am not sure yet!) Sunday, over-nighting in Hamburg Cove again, feasting on Chateaubriand and wine for Saturday dinner. And I am not kidding, as Bob's wife, Livy, is one heck of a cook. Not being much of a sailor, she sends Bob and the Chateaubriand and stays home.
There is a strange feeling that is going around as the end of the season approaches. It is something akin to loosing the desire to sail as there are so few days left to do so. Gone is the feeling that you could just come down any time and go sailing, whenever the notion hit you. Now, at the very least, you have to watch the clock as Sunday is around 7:40pm, maybe less and it gets dark. One cannot just "go," one hasalso to plan to come back. And it is gettting chilly. True, during the day it can still hit the 80's, but at night, or at least by 3am, a blanket becomes a smart choice. It is the presage of winter, not Fall, WINTER!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
I Have Decided To . . . .
SHIP'S LOG:
. . . .Not to go South for the winter! I have worked out some arrangements for a winter residence and since the cost between going and staying is about the same, I have decided to stay. True, I will have to deal with the winter weather but I just can't work up the enthusiasm for making the trip South. I may help some others make the trip, at lest part of the way but going all the way and staying, well I am just not up for it.
Now I will have to go through the process of selecting a boatyard for the winter. Yankee Boatyard has already sent me a contract for winter storage and maintenance, so the time is coming to make the call. I am not particularly thrilled with the prospect of the trip up and down the Connecticut River and would love to have a location down near TYC, but there is nothing within my price range. Unless I discover something location that I missed year, it will either be back to Yankee or to the Midway Marina a little father down the river. Though it is not September, time is moving fat and I have to get the info now and make the decision. I hate being put on the spot.
. . . .Not to go South for the winter! I have worked out some arrangements for a winter residence and since the cost between going and staying is about the same, I have decided to stay. True, I will have to deal with the winter weather but I just can't work up the enthusiasm for making the trip South. I may help some others make the trip, at lest part of the way but going all the way and staying, well I am just not up for it.
Now I will have to go through the process of selecting a boatyard for the winter. Yankee Boatyard has already sent me a contract for winter storage and maintenance, so the time is coming to make the call. I am not particularly thrilled with the prospect of the trip up and down the Connecticut River and would love to have a location down near TYC, but there is nothing within my price range. Unless I discover something location that I missed year, it will either be back to Yankee or to the Midway Marina a little father down the river. Though it is not September, time is moving fat and I have to get the info now and make the decision. I hate being put on the spot.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Rain Day Blues
SHIP'S LOG:
Today it is raining, then again it really has rained, at least a little, all week. Each day we got some rain and there is nothing more depressing that being on a sailboat in the rain. Now it is true that at times, when you have been sailing a lot, that it is wonderful to get a "lay day" as they refer to it on the racing scene. It is a day when you can do all, well at least some, of those little jobs that you have been putting off, general housekeeping chores and the like. I still have yet to put away last weeks clean laundry. It sits, inconsolable, on a corner of the settee in the aft cabin. Of course, the pile is growing smaller as it gets used up and eventually it will all be transferred to the laundry hamper for a trip to the laundry, but that's another story.
There is of course the "floors" that need sweeping and washing, trash cans that need cleaning, sinks and counter tops and toilets that needs scrubbing, and dishes and cups that need washing. You know, basic house cleaning. I am constantly amazed at the "dust rhinos" that show up and wonder from where. You would think that a quarter mile from the shore, they would have real trouble "migrating" this far, but they show up in absolute "herds" and in the strangest places. For some reason one of their favorite places is underneath the teak grating that is the cockpit floor. It is important to roust them out of there for when they get soaked from rain or spray, they cover the scuppers that drain the cockpit and plug them. It takes about four inches of rain to then flood the cockpit and pour over into the cabin below. Clearing the scuppers is easy but handling that hairy mass is disgusting. The rhinos love obscure corners throughout the boat but for the most part tend to congregate toward the aft. This is undoubtedly due to the fact that with the forward and aft hatches open, the wind whistles through the boat fore-to-aft driving the "herd" before it.
Thus a good, rainy day is a day when you can accomplish a lot of need work that seems less important when the weather is fine for sailing. Then again, it doesn't always rain during the day. At night on those nights when rain is forecast be NOAA(Ha!), I usually close the forward hatch and just leave one port open in the aft cabin and the most aft hatch, over my berth, open. If NOAA gets it right, as highly improbably as that seems, rain will wake me and I get to close the hatch. The rain drums on the hatch and the cabin heats up(body BTUs). The when the rain stops, the silence is deafening, I open the hatch again and go back to sleep often to be awaken by a later shower. The process can go on all night and is not fun.
When I got up this morning and called the launch, I noticed that a boat further down in the mooring field had a small problem. It's Genoa had begun to unfurl and if left unfurled, it would beat itself to death, or cause itself some damage. I had the launch operator take me out and I fixed the problem. The problem was actually caused by the fact that the owners of the boat were new to sailing as were the others present that i noticed when I was on the boat. The furling line was simply to short which prevent the sail, when furled, to be secured with several loops of the jib sheets warped around it. The jib sheets were also led incorrectly and the brake on the wheel, intended to keep the wheel from turning and thus the rudder from swinging, while tightly applied, did not in fact keep the wheel from turning. Just like on a car, the brake shoes needed to be replaced. So I secured the wheel with some line. I have done such rescues" several times over the course of the summer and I am thinking that I may start a "marine service" for the people in mooring field.
It is going to rain all morning, be cloudy all afternoon, and rain again tonight. What a drag!
Today it is raining, then again it really has rained, at least a little, all week. Each day we got some rain and there is nothing more depressing that being on a sailboat in the rain. Now it is true that at times, when you have been sailing a lot, that it is wonderful to get a "lay day" as they refer to it on the racing scene. It is a day when you can do all, well at least some, of those little jobs that you have been putting off, general housekeeping chores and the like. I still have yet to put away last weeks clean laundry. It sits, inconsolable, on a corner of the settee in the aft cabin. Of course, the pile is growing smaller as it gets used up and eventually it will all be transferred to the laundry hamper for a trip to the laundry, but that's another story.
There is of course the "floors" that need sweeping and washing, trash cans that need cleaning, sinks and counter tops and toilets that needs scrubbing, and dishes and cups that need washing. You know, basic house cleaning. I am constantly amazed at the "dust rhinos" that show up and wonder from where. You would think that a quarter mile from the shore, they would have real trouble "migrating" this far, but they show up in absolute "herds" and in the strangest places. For some reason one of their favorite places is underneath the teak grating that is the cockpit floor. It is important to roust them out of there for when they get soaked from rain or spray, they cover the scuppers that drain the cockpit and plug them. It takes about four inches of rain to then flood the cockpit and pour over into the cabin below. Clearing the scuppers is easy but handling that hairy mass is disgusting. The rhinos love obscure corners throughout the boat but for the most part tend to congregate toward the aft. This is undoubtedly due to the fact that with the forward and aft hatches open, the wind whistles through the boat fore-to-aft driving the "herd" before it.
Thus a good, rainy day is a day when you can accomplish a lot of need work that seems less important when the weather is fine for sailing. Then again, it doesn't always rain during the day. At night on those nights when rain is forecast be NOAA(Ha!), I usually close the forward hatch and just leave one port open in the aft cabin and the most aft hatch, over my berth, open. If NOAA gets it right, as highly improbably as that seems, rain will wake me and I get to close the hatch. The rain drums on the hatch and the cabin heats up(body BTUs). The when the rain stops, the silence is deafening, I open the hatch again and go back to sleep often to be awaken by a later shower. The process can go on all night and is not fun.
When I got up this morning and called the launch, I noticed that a boat further down in the mooring field had a small problem. It's Genoa had begun to unfurl and if left unfurled, it would beat itself to death, or cause itself some damage. I had the launch operator take me out and I fixed the problem. The problem was actually caused by the fact that the owners of the boat were new to sailing as were the others present that i noticed when I was on the boat. The furling line was simply to short which prevent the sail, when furled, to be secured with several loops of the jib sheets warped around it. The jib sheets were also led incorrectly and the brake on the wheel, intended to keep the wheel from turning and thus the rudder from swinging, while tightly applied, did not in fact keep the wheel from turning. Just like on a car, the brake shoes needed to be replaced. So I secured the wheel with some line. I have done such rescues" several times over the course of the summer and I am thinking that I may start a "marine service" for the people in mooring field.
It is going to rain all morning, be cloudy all afternoon, and rain again tonight. What a drag!
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
The Days Of Summer Are Passing Fast . . . .
SHIP'S LOG:
Yesterday was actually a day that I had to drive around and do somethings and "day" is the operative word. While it actually felt "good" to be driving a car, the world, or at least the DOT, local and state, conspired against my getting anything done in a rapid manner. I would have thought that if you are going to rip up a street or twelve, that it might be nice, especially if they are main thoroughfares, that they might want to do so when there was little or no traffic. Alas, such was not the case.
I suppose that it was probably a matter of over-time pay for the police and the road crews and whatever crews there were down in the trenches that were being dug. Still in all it seemed that it would have been better for all concerned to have done the work in the evening after the beach and business traffic had lessened. I certainly would have appreciated it for it seemed that every time I tried to get around a work site, I ran smack dab into another one. Very frustrating.
The boys & girls at NOAA had a moderate success this morning. Yesterday they forecast rain/thunder & lightning during the late night which came right on cue. They also predicted severe thunder storms in the morning. It hit about 7:/30am and we had torrential rain and 40 knots of wind for about 30 minutes. All during it, NOAA had an up-to-date forecast going on and even got the exact minute of the the cessation of rain in New London. The can be uncannily accurate and detailed in at-the-moment forecast but they still seem to have real difficulties with forecasts that go beyond a few hours. I am not sure why, perhaps it is just the nature of he beast. They forecast for the day predicted thunderstorms at 10am and it was sunny and bright with nary a cloud in the sky. They predict more thunderstorms at one and 5pm. It is a crap shoot!
Yesterday was actually a day that I had to drive around and do somethings and "day" is the operative word. While it actually felt "good" to be driving a car, the world, or at least the DOT, local and state, conspired against my getting anything done in a rapid manner. I would have thought that if you are going to rip up a street or twelve, that it might be nice, especially if they are main thoroughfares, that they might want to do so when there was little or no traffic. Alas, such was not the case.
I suppose that it was probably a matter of over-time pay for the police and the road crews and whatever crews there were down in the trenches that were being dug. Still in all it seemed that it would have been better for all concerned to have done the work in the evening after the beach and business traffic had lessened. I certainly would have appreciated it for it seemed that every time I tried to get around a work site, I ran smack dab into another one. Very frustrating.
The boys & girls at NOAA had a moderate success this morning. Yesterday they forecast rain/thunder & lightning during the late night which came right on cue. They also predicted severe thunder storms in the morning. It hit about 7:/30am and we had torrential rain and 40 knots of wind for about 30 minutes. All during it, NOAA had an up-to-date forecast going on and even got the exact minute of the the cessation of rain in New London. The can be uncannily accurate and detailed in at-the-moment forecast but they still seem to have real difficulties with forecasts that go beyond a few hours. I am not sure why, perhaps it is just the nature of he beast. They forecast for the day predicted thunderstorms at 10am and it was sunny and bright with nary a cloud in the sky. They predict more thunderstorms at one and 5pm. It is a crap shoot!
Monday, August 13, 2012
NOAA Has Outdone Itself!
SHIP'S LOG:
My friends at NOAA have really outdone themselves this time. After getting Friday's forecast WRONG, they proceeded to be about as wrong as you can be on Saturday. It didn't help out TYC members' Race & Bar-B-Q as many people have to come a a distance and make their determinations to stay or go based on the weather forecast which is based on the NOAA forecasts. NOAA's forecast for Saturday in New London was fro cloudy skies with thunderstorms by 1pm that would last most of the afternoon and evening. Do I have to tell you it didn't happen? Do I have to tell you that what actually happened was 180 degrees from what was forecast? It is enough to make you wonder what they get paid to do!
Inspite of the distressing forecast, we had a pretty good turn out and the races went on, under sunny skies, as did the BBQ. Those who came had a great time and even paid for the DJ to extend his tour. It probably would have gone on past 10pm but TYC is having a little "conflict with a neighbor and it was suggested that we not "irritate him."
Sunday dawned cloudy after a drenching rain during the wee-wee hours, but by noon, it was bright and shiny again. It was a great sailing day. There were lots of sailboats out but strangely, most were operating with just one sail. It seemed as though, with the month of August fast receding and having been "screwed" out of a good day on Saturday, everyone wanted to sail but having no place really to go, decided to do so slowly.
Would that humidity would go away. Even with the rains that we did have, the humidity is still with us. "Supposedly" the harsh, dry weather of the mid-west is headed here and it would actually be a treat is the humidity goes away. It would be nice for all the dampness in the boat to dry out finally.
My friends at NOAA have really outdone themselves this time. After getting Friday's forecast WRONG, they proceeded to be about as wrong as you can be on Saturday. It didn't help out TYC members' Race & Bar-B-Q as many people have to come a a distance and make their determinations to stay or go based on the weather forecast which is based on the NOAA forecasts. NOAA's forecast for Saturday in New London was fro cloudy skies with thunderstorms by 1pm that would last most of the afternoon and evening. Do I have to tell you it didn't happen? Do I have to tell you that what actually happened was 180 degrees from what was forecast? It is enough to make you wonder what they get paid to do!
Inspite of the distressing forecast, we had a pretty good turn out and the races went on, under sunny skies, as did the BBQ. Those who came had a great time and even paid for the DJ to extend his tour. It probably would have gone on past 10pm but TYC is having a little "conflict with a neighbor and it was suggested that we not "irritate him."
Sunday dawned cloudy after a drenching rain during the wee-wee hours, but by noon, it was bright and shiny again. It was a great sailing day. There were lots of sailboats out but strangely, most were operating with just one sail. It seemed as though, with the month of August fast receding and having been "screwed" out of a good day on Saturday, everyone wanted to sail but having no place really to go, decided to do so slowly.
Would that humidity would go away. Even with the rains that we did have, the humidity is still with us. "Supposedly" the harsh, dry weather of the mid-west is headed here and it would actually be a treat is the humidity goes away. It would be nice for all the dampness in the boat to dry out finally.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Well, THat Was Special! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
We had a nice little storm that came whistling through this afternoon. It lasted about 30 -45 minutes and dropped about 2 inches of rain. Had wind gusts to 60 and, since it was headed dead north, it came right up the river with nothing in the way. It really made the boats in the mooring field dance around. I happened to be aboard when it it and it felt like old times down in Florida. . . . . only it didn't last as long as some of those blows. It was however of sufficient force that I actually put the key in the ignition just in case the mooring lines parted and I had to start the engine and drive around until the storm winds dropped. But, all was fine and, as I said, it was a short term blow. Despite all the rain that fell, it didn't do much for the humidity but then again, it is August!
We had a nice little storm that came whistling through this afternoon. It lasted about 30 -45 minutes and dropped about 2 inches of rain. Had wind gusts to 60 and, since it was headed dead north, it came right up the river with nothing in the way. It really made the boats in the mooring field dance around. I happened to be aboard when it it and it felt like old times down in Florida. . . . . only it didn't last as long as some of those blows. It was however of sufficient force that I actually put the key in the ignition just in case the mooring lines parted and I had to start the engine and drive around until the storm winds dropped. But, all was fine and, as I said, it was a short term blow. Despite all the rain that fell, it didn't do much for the humidity but then again, it is August!
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