Well, That Was Interesting! ! ! ! !

SHIP'S LOG:

Yesterday, or more correctly last night, we got spanked with a nice little storm. The wind blew a steady 30-35mph and there were gusts that actually hit 50! The wind was out of the South and so it shot straight up the river, with nothing to stop it. Indeed, the banks of the river actually funneled it making it even more severe. The river was filled with white caps and  everyone's boat was  hobby-horsing something fierce on their moorings.

I wasn't on my mooring. I was at the dock which is usually something I avoid when there is a storm. Out on a mooring, the boat reacts much more naturally and there is less strain on the pennants and the boat itself. However, my friends at NOAA had assured everyone that there would be horrible rain and wind" on Tuesday morning and that it would last all day. I wasn't too keen  on being stuck all day aboard and surely  didn't want to try to dock in high wind and seas and so I went in early. I got all tied up and secure and waited for the "storm" to hit.  while I was waiting, Charlie Wargo came done to get some stuff off his boat and recommended that I should turn ABISHAG around so that she was facing out of the slip as opposed to being pointed into it.Though the wind was blowing out of the South, Charlie was sure that as the storm front passed through it would clock around to the North and that ABISHAG would ride better pointed North than south. In addition, it there was a problem during the storm, it would be a lot easier to just drop the lines ad drive out rather than try to back out.  Well, it did make sense and so, with Charlie's help, we took ABISHAG out, turned her around and backed in. It took three shots but we got her in as Charles gave me a lesson on how to do it.  It was really interesting and it seemed as though with a little practice, it would be the way to do it in the future. Maybe.

The wind and the storm didn't cooperate with out effort as the wind continued to come out of the South. It slowly built all day and by evening it was raining too.  ABISHAG was well centered in the slip and while she did some rocking, it seemed a lot less that I would have expected, even less that she probably would have done on the mooring.  Still sleep was less than easy and though I did doze during the night, I was awake for most of it. It was sort of like being on the ICW again! We got hit with a good 2 inches of rain. I know this because my cockpit is a rain gauge.  With her stern tied into the wind, the rain just filled the cockpit. Something akin to "hairballs" restricted the scuppers and the cockpit filled.  About 3am, when the wind from the south subsided, I went to check things out. I lifted the hatchboard and water from the cockpit spilled into the cabin. Not a lot, but enough so that accompanined by colorful language, I got the scuppers cleaned and watched the water drain away. (I am still at a loss as to where these" hairballs" come from. It is a mystery.)

At 5:30AM, after a coupled of hours of no wind, the wind machine turned on again like someone threw a switch. This time, it WAS out of the North. I guess Charles was right. I'll have to check the weather to see if  I can make it back out to the mooring later today.

I Think Fall Is Here!

SHIP'S LOG:

Over the weekend, the weather made a serious turn  . . .  for the worse, we.., at least as far as I am concerned. It went out of its way to remind me that winter is coming and I hate winter. How can you like winter whne you have to abndon shorts and t-shirts and sandles  for socks and shoes and long pants and  glo0ves and winter jackets and woolen hats andall the rest. Ugh!

True, it didn't get below freezing but last night it got down to the low 50's and with the wind out of the north west, it was not cool, it was cold.  But I guess there is little I can do ablut it except endure.

Looks like I will be headed back to Yankee Boatyard up in Portland for the winter hauling. I'll be making the two day trip with Fred, Thalia and Bob.  Perhaps there might be a few more as we will be going on Columbus Day Weekend which is traditional the last "cruise" weekend for TYC.  We'll overnight Saturday in Hamburg Cove and on Sunday, when most of the others, if there are any other, head back down river, we'll head up river to Yankee.

I really hate the thought of hauling out, if only for the fact that it costs money. $29.50/foot plus assorted and sundry other costs for services rendered or to be done over the winter/spring. If I could instantly transport the boat and I to Mile Marker "#1" at Hospital Point in Hampton Roads, Virginia, the start of the ICW, avoiding the sail down from Connecticut, and insure that there would be no repeat of the winter weather of the previous trip, I would do it in a heart beat. That was the worst part of the trip going ( Bob & Fred can attest to that) and returning. But then again, it is not possible and so it really doesn't matter. I get to do winter in Connecticut again. Last year wasn't so bad, . . .  .still.

Summer IS Gone!

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.

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!!!!!!!!

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.

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!

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!