SHIP'S LOG:
The last three day have been very, and I emphasize, VERY hot and humid. In fa, they have been rather brutal. And I guess that I ever gt around to consuming as much fluid as I thought I had to stay healthy. This morning, after doing my clean-up of the club, I wet out to do a little shopping before heading off to a family gathering. However, it was not to be.
By the time I got back from the short trip I was dizzy and feeling faint. My stomach was flipping and I felt rather poorly. I started to get cramps in my neck and leg. Talked with one of the clubs members, who is a nurse and she felt it might be a mild case of heat exhaustion.SO basically I spent the day laying I the shade of the bimini on my boat n the cool breeze consuming copious amounts of fluids and taking aspirin. I seem pretty much alright now. I must betaking in enough fluid because I have to pee. They say in the army, in ho weather situations, that you aren't drinking enough if you ain't got to pee. Trust me, I am drinking enough now!
Friday, July 5, 2013
Monday, July 1, 2013
It Is Monday Morning, What Do You Expect!
SHIP'S LOG:
Today was a day of. . . .I'm not sure what. To begin with my computer committed suicide. I am not sure how or why but the "motherboard" won't talk to the hard drive. In fact, the "motherboard" is in denial that there is even a hard drive in the computer. Luckily, when I bought it, I signed up for "concierge" service which means that since the phone the guy couldn't fix it, they will be sending a "concierge" tech person to me and he will fix it on site! rue it will be two or tree days, but what the heck. It is better than me send the computer to DELL And f you happen to be wondering how I am getting online, why I am simply using the old computer that is several years old and went up and down the ICW and is full of all types of gremlins. But it still works well enough some of the times for me to do the things I need to do.
I am beginning to suspect that my newly re-built wind generator as crapped out again. It doesn't seem t be tuning as it should. I don't know for sure as there really hasn't been a lot of steady wind but I am beginning to suspect that such is the case. If it is, it means it gets to take another trip o Florida for a re-build of the re-build. I will have to contact Josh up in Portland and talk with him about it. with my luck, there was a 30 warranty and that's sure past!
And the crappy weather continued all day. The week ahead doesn't look like it holds much in the offing either. It has been a really strange and crappy summer, weather - wise, so far and I hope that things get themselves straightened out soon. If it rains tomorrow, it will be a good day to do laundry I suppose. Wen you live on a boat, it s just one of those rain day things to do instead of sail! Bah! Humbug!!!
Today was a day of. . . .I'm not sure what. To begin with my computer committed suicide. I am not sure how or why but the "motherboard" won't talk to the hard drive. In fact, the "motherboard" is in denial that there is even a hard drive in the computer. Luckily, when I bought it, I signed up for "concierge" service which means that since the phone the guy couldn't fix it, they will be sending a "concierge" tech person to me and he will fix it on site! rue it will be two or tree days, but what the heck. It is better than me send the computer to DELL And f you happen to be wondering how I am getting online, why I am simply using the old computer that is several years old and went up and down the ICW and is full of all types of gremlins. But it still works well enough some of the times for me to do the things I need to do.
I am beginning to suspect that my newly re-built wind generator as crapped out again. It doesn't seem t be tuning as it should. I don't know for sure as there really hasn't been a lot of steady wind but I am beginning to suspect that such is the case. If it is, it means it gets to take another trip o Florida for a re-build of the re-build. I will have to contact Josh up in Portland and talk with him about it. with my luck, there was a 30 warranty and that's sure past!
And the crappy weather continued all day. The week ahead doesn't look like it holds much in the offing either. It has been a really strange and crappy summer, weather - wise, so far and I hope that things get themselves straightened out soon. If it rains tomorrow, it will be a good day to do laundry I suppose. Wen you live on a boat, it s just one of those rain day things to do instead of sail! Bah! Humbug!!!
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Fog! Fog! Wind! Rain! More Fog! !! ! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
The last few days have been a strange combination of weather. The mornings have been especially foggy. Not just the common morning fog you often get the summer, but long-lasting, can't-see-your-hand-in-front-of-your-face type fog. About 80% of it burns off the river by noon, but it remains in place on the Sound. Strangely, we are getting some crackerjack winds which normally tend to blow the fog away but the don't seem to be able to do so. The heat and humidity which create the fog over the cool water seem to be able to produce it fast than the winds can blow it away. Strange!
We lucked out on Saturday for the inaugural Calvin Brouwer Memorial Race. We woke up to on and off showers, and rain, and wind, and it looked as though we were going to have a not fun time. The fog was so thick that the fellow that was to be stationed at the windward mark in his boat couldn't make it over from Pawcatuck where he lives, at least not in the boat he was planning to use. since I was working with him and my boat was here, we decided to use mine. A Bimini and a dodger is a good thing to have in the rain.
The Race Committee Boats left about 9:30 and got to Vixen's Ledge by 10 and we motored around while the Race Committee tried to decide on a course and then set it up in an attempt to get the race off at noon. Since John and I were the Windward Mark Boat, once the starting line was set, we had to "race" out 2.5 miles from it to drop the Windward Mark. One the way out, I had to tie the TETRAHEDRON, a large floating geometric shape that looks like two triangles stuck together, to 100 feet of line and to an anchor and get prepared to drop it on command once we got on station. we would then sit there, make sure it didn't move, and record all the boats that went around it to make sure no one took any shortcuts. The Race Committee had just begun the starting sequence for the first class of boats when the wind shifted and a whole new course had to be laid out. In the end, they decided to use a government mark off Fishers Island and we had to motor over there an do the recording of the boats going round the mark. It can be a tad on the boring side, but the rain had stopped and the wind had picked up and the sun had come out and there is something very entertaining watching a whole bunch of boats trying to round a mark at the same time at high speed. Words, but no paint, were traded and everyone made it safely to party at TYC after the race.
This morning looks to be a repeat of the past few - lots of fog, humidity, little air and growing heat. This is the strangest summer weather-wise I can remember.
The last few days have been a strange combination of weather. The mornings have been especially foggy. Not just the common morning fog you often get the summer, but long-lasting, can't-see-your-hand-in-front-of-your-face type fog. About 80% of it burns off the river by noon, but it remains in place on the Sound. Strangely, we are getting some crackerjack winds which normally tend to blow the fog away but the don't seem to be able to do so. The heat and humidity which create the fog over the cool water seem to be able to produce it fast than the winds can blow it away. Strange!
We lucked out on Saturday for the inaugural Calvin Brouwer Memorial Race. We woke up to on and off showers, and rain, and wind, and it looked as though we were going to have a not fun time. The fog was so thick that the fellow that was to be stationed at the windward mark in his boat couldn't make it over from Pawcatuck where he lives, at least not in the boat he was planning to use. since I was working with him and my boat was here, we decided to use mine. A Bimini and a dodger is a good thing to have in the rain.
The Race Committee Boats left about 9:30 and got to Vixen's Ledge by 10 and we motored around while the Race Committee tried to decide on a course and then set it up in an attempt to get the race off at noon. Since John and I were the Windward Mark Boat, once the starting line was set, we had to "race" out 2.5 miles from it to drop the Windward Mark. One the way out, I had to tie the TETRAHEDRON, a large floating geometric shape that looks like two triangles stuck together, to 100 feet of line and to an anchor and get prepared to drop it on command once we got on station. we would then sit there, make sure it didn't move, and record all the boats that went around it to make sure no one took any shortcuts. The Race Committee had just begun the starting sequence for the first class of boats when the wind shifted and a whole new course had to be laid out. In the end, they decided to use a government mark off Fishers Island and we had to motor over there an do the recording of the boats going round the mark. It can be a tad on the boring side, but the rain had stopped and the wind had picked up and the sun had come out and there is something very entertaining watching a whole bunch of boats trying to round a mark at the same time at high speed. Words, but no paint, were traded and everyone made it safely to party at TYC after the race.
This morning looks to be a repeat of the past few - lots of fog, humidity, little air and growing heat. This is the strangest summer weather-wise I can remember.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
SHIP'S LOG:
well, the rain forecast for Wednesday did arrive. . . .and lasted about five minutes. Rather than clear the air it added eve more humidity and improved the situation not at all. As for the Wednesday Night Races, it was more of a Wednesday Night Drift. The breeze rarely got as high as 10knots and then only in what, with some humor, you might call "the gusts." Even though the current was pretty much slack for the entire time, everyone had to "battle" against it and pretty much were defeated by it. Pile ups at the marks were awful with everyone trying to round without hitting the mark of other boats. The problem lay in the fact that with so little wind and all of it being "disturbed as the boats jockeyed at the marks, it got to the point that everyone was loosing steerage and the fact that no one whacked into someone else was nothing short of a miracle.
The other complicating factor was the passage of the ferries, There were six(6) that went in and out during the "race", disturbing the water and making it lumpy. If you had a nice, fast racing hull boat, you were effected too much but for most of us, hitting the ferry wakes was like running into a stone wall. All you drive and momentum disappeared in a flash and you just wallowed until you could get moving again. The big, old style ferries tried to creep by, staying out of the way as much as possible and the high-speed catamaran ferries weaved their way right through the fleet, blocking wind and making wakes and generally making a mess of things. Near the end of the race, with skies darkening, the wind died and the boat owner decided that it was time to pull the plug. We were far and away the last boat so our quitting the race gave us a DNF - Did Not Finish - which penalized us no more than if we had finished the race in last place. It also got us in to the dock and ashore for dinner before the rains came.
The next few days of weather are "supposed to be" filled with rain and thunderstorms, according to NOAA, and hopefully it will break the humidity. Saturday is the Calvin Brouwer Memorial Race and I am working on the Mark Boat. Being out in the rain in an open boat for four or five hours is not a lot of fun, so I am praying that the rain holds off until the race is done. Then it can be a "Dark 'N' Stormy Night" while everyone drinks "Dark 'N' Stormy Nights."
well, the rain forecast for Wednesday did arrive. . . .and lasted about five minutes. Rather than clear the air it added eve more humidity and improved the situation not at all. As for the Wednesday Night Races, it was more of a Wednesday Night Drift. The breeze rarely got as high as 10knots and then only in what, with some humor, you might call "the gusts." Even though the current was pretty much slack for the entire time, everyone had to "battle" against it and pretty much were defeated by it. Pile ups at the marks were awful with everyone trying to round without hitting the mark of other boats. The problem lay in the fact that with so little wind and all of it being "disturbed as the boats jockeyed at the marks, it got to the point that everyone was loosing steerage and the fact that no one whacked into someone else was nothing short of a miracle.
The other complicating factor was the passage of the ferries, There were six(6) that went in and out during the "race", disturbing the water and making it lumpy. If you had a nice, fast racing hull boat, you were effected too much but for most of us, hitting the ferry wakes was like running into a stone wall. All you drive and momentum disappeared in a flash and you just wallowed until you could get moving again. The big, old style ferries tried to creep by, staying out of the way as much as possible and the high-speed catamaran ferries weaved their way right through the fleet, blocking wind and making wakes and generally making a mess of things. Near the end of the race, with skies darkening, the wind died and the boat owner decided that it was time to pull the plug. We were far and away the last boat so our quitting the race gave us a DNF - Did Not Finish - which penalized us no more than if we had finished the race in last place. It also got us in to the dock and ashore for dinner before the rains came.
The next few days of weather are "supposed to be" filled with rain and thunderstorms, according to NOAA, and hopefully it will break the humidity. Saturday is the Calvin Brouwer Memorial Race and I am working on the Mark Boat. Being out in the rain in an open boat for four or five hours is not a lot of fun, so I am praying that the rain holds off until the race is done. Then it can be a "Dark 'N' Stormy Night" while everyone drinks "Dark 'N' Stormy Nights."
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Summer In South Carolina
SHIP'S LOG:
Tuesday turned out to be a bad day after all. No rain and high heat and humidity. It was in a word "BRUTAL!" I think I actually came close to heat stroke or heat exhaustion or another one of those "heat" impacts. I was dizzy and listless all day. I consumed incredible amounts of water and sweated it all out as fast as I drank it. It was a mid-August day in South Carolina!
I was really hoping that we would get a thunderstorm last night. I had all the ports and hatches open in the hopes of enticing a deluge to fall butt no joy. They got creamed inland, especially around Vernon and above, but down here there was only heat lightning. NOAA is predicting a thunderstorm today, late in the day, and it will probably happen as today is Wednesday and Wednesday is racing night. So far, they have had no wind, too much wind, good wind that faded, just enough wind to move a boat at a snail's pace and one great night. It would seem as though we are "due" for a thunderstorm.
I spent part of yesterday afternoon trying to track down a drip leak. Water is dripping into the bilge and I can't find out where it is coming from. The limber holes, those holes in the structure of the boat that allow for water in the bilge to end up in the deepest dart, the sump, are not all level and some times impede the water flow so that water collects in gets released only when the boat rocks. I went around sopping up all the water I could find and pumped out the bilge and I still can't find out where it is coming from. It is not the stuffing box, it is not the rudder shaft, it is not any of the thru-hulls I can find. It just shows up. Thus again, I will spend some time today trying to track it down, inside the boat, contorted in the bilge, one a hot, humid, summer afternoon. ARGH!
Still no nibbles on ABISHAG, so by then end of the week, I will have the broker drop the price again. Only Publisher's Clearing House can save me, but the odds of that are slim and none, and, as they say, "Slim left town!"
Tuesday turned out to be a bad day after all. No rain and high heat and humidity. It was in a word "BRUTAL!" I think I actually came close to heat stroke or heat exhaustion or another one of those "heat" impacts. I was dizzy and listless all day. I consumed incredible amounts of water and sweated it all out as fast as I drank it. It was a mid-August day in South Carolina!
I was really hoping that we would get a thunderstorm last night. I had all the ports and hatches open in the hopes of enticing a deluge to fall butt no joy. They got creamed inland, especially around Vernon and above, but down here there was only heat lightning. NOAA is predicting a thunderstorm today, late in the day, and it will probably happen as today is Wednesday and Wednesday is racing night. So far, they have had no wind, too much wind, good wind that faded, just enough wind to move a boat at a snail's pace and one great night. It would seem as though we are "due" for a thunderstorm.
I spent part of yesterday afternoon trying to track down a drip leak. Water is dripping into the bilge and I can't find out where it is coming from. The limber holes, those holes in the structure of the boat that allow for water in the bilge to end up in the deepest dart, the sump, are not all level and some times impede the water flow so that water collects in gets released only when the boat rocks. I went around sopping up all the water I could find and pumped out the bilge and I still can't find out where it is coming from. It is not the stuffing box, it is not the rudder shaft, it is not any of the thru-hulls I can find. It just shows up. Thus again, I will spend some time today trying to track it down, inside the boat, contorted in the bilge, one a hot, humid, summer afternoon. ARGH!
Still no nibbles on ABISHAG, so by then end of the week, I will have the broker drop the price again. Only Publisher's Clearing House can save me, but the odds of that are slim and none, and, as they say, "Slim left town!"
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Tripple H
SHIP'S LOG:
Man has it been hot and humid the last few days! The prospects don't look any better today. And even getting out on the water won't help much as the wind is practically non-existent. It is a day for fans and AC and cold drinks. It is the type of weather that just drains you of all energy and enthusiasm. ARGH!
Man has it been hot and humid the last few days! The prospects don't look any better today. And even getting out on the water won't help much as the wind is practically non-existent. It is a day for fans and AC and cold drinks. It is the type of weather that just drains you of all energy and enthusiasm. ARGH!
Monday, June 24, 2013
There Is Nothing quite Like An Early Morning Swim!
SHIP'S LOG:
Saturday and Sunday were almost mirror images of one another. The winds were the same; the wind direction was the same; the tides were the same; and both days were really quite good for sailing. There were times when the wind went light and other times when we had some real gusts, but overall the wind was perfect.
There were a surprising number of boats out over the two days, both sail and power. I say surprising because it seems as though a lot of boats of both kinds are still on the hard. I would say we have about 80% 0f the moorings filled at TYC but as I sail and/or drive along waterfronts, I still see lots of boats still under wraps. I find it strange as it can't be much if any of a savings to leave the boat ashore. You still have to pay for storage and insurance, so you might as well put it in the water. At the very least you can go and sit on it from time to time and enjoy the cool breezes. I can understand powerboat fuel costs. A "cabin cruiser" type of boat on an overnight to say Block Island will eat up $300-400 in fuel alone, but one can still "lounge" at the marina dock and commune with friends of a summer's day. After all, with all the money one sinks into a boat, pretty much any boat, all the cost of maintenance, fuel, storage, hauling & launching, taxes, insurance, dockage, etc, one could never financially justify the cost-per-hour-used of boating. The only thing worse would probably be an airplane. So you don't try to justify it, you just enjoy it!
I went for my first swim this morning . . . unintended. I was motoring into the dock from the mooring in a dead flat calm when I ran over a mooring and got hung up on the pennant. I simply didn't see it and that was after two cups of coffee!I tried reversing the engine but I was hooked for sure. So it was drop the boarding ladder, done swim suit and face-mask, and go over the side to unwrap the pennant from my prop. thank goodness there was no damage to the prop, the shaft or the mooring pennant. Actually, the water wasn't too, too bad . . .for the top four feet or so, but below that, BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Saturday and Sunday were almost mirror images of one another. The winds were the same; the wind direction was the same; the tides were the same; and both days were really quite good for sailing. There were times when the wind went light and other times when we had some real gusts, but overall the wind was perfect.
There were a surprising number of boats out over the two days, both sail and power. I say surprising because it seems as though a lot of boats of both kinds are still on the hard. I would say we have about 80% 0f the moorings filled at TYC but as I sail and/or drive along waterfronts, I still see lots of boats still under wraps. I find it strange as it can't be much if any of a savings to leave the boat ashore. You still have to pay for storage and insurance, so you might as well put it in the water. At the very least you can go and sit on it from time to time and enjoy the cool breezes. I can understand powerboat fuel costs. A "cabin cruiser" type of boat on an overnight to say Block Island will eat up $300-400 in fuel alone, but one can still "lounge" at the marina dock and commune with friends of a summer's day. After all, with all the money one sinks into a boat, pretty much any boat, all the cost of maintenance, fuel, storage, hauling & launching, taxes, insurance, dockage, etc, one could never financially justify the cost-per-hour-used of boating. The only thing worse would probably be an airplane. So you don't try to justify it, you just enjoy it!
I went for my first swim this morning . . . unintended. I was motoring into the dock from the mooring in a dead flat calm when I ran over a mooring and got hung up on the pennant. I simply didn't see it and that was after two cups of coffee!I tried reversing the engine but I was hooked for sure. So it was drop the boarding ladder, done swim suit and face-mask, and go over the side to unwrap the pennant from my prop. thank goodness there was no damage to the prop, the shaft or the mooring pennant. Actually, the water wasn't too, too bad . . .for the top four feet or so, but below that, BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
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