Finally got underway heading south into Albemarle Sound. Had a great day sailing (enigne running well too) Winds NE at 15-20 made it choppy but nice to be sailing after so much motoring or motor sailing. Made very good time even with a quick stop for fuel and a pump out.
Elizabeth City had only one marina with a pump out and it was down for weeks. Being there for a week with the engine torn apart and a full holding tank made for some creative tactics. The early opening coffee shop down the block was a very popular spot in the morning for obvious reasons. We arrived after dark at the mouth of the Aligator River Canal thru a very narrow channel with depths outside it as low as a foot. The GPS is amazing, guided us in at night to an anchorage in 7 feet of water (that's the deep spot if you can believe it)
Monday 11-23 Aligator River Canal to Hobucken, NC
Finally a warm sunny day underway. The Aligator River canal is more like 200 feet wide (vs the dismal swap canal which is bearly 50 feet if that. Wide enough that huge 70 foot power boats were passing us some at full speed and close aboard, but most called on 16 and asked to pass so we could pull over. There are sounds between the Aligator River canal and the Pungo River canal, so we got to sail for few hours before motorging again. We decided to press on until dark and made it to Hobucken, NC and anchored in a very isolated spot with no cell phone reception.
Tuesday 11-24 Hobucken to Beaufort, NC
Sailing almost all day in Pemlico Sound and the Neuse Rivfer in a nice 10-15 knot westerly to the Adams Creek Canal. Very pretty here and wide enough for the shrimp boats to pass (which are everywhere, they filmed the shrimp boat segment of Forrest Gump here) The cold weather is still catching up to us especially at night so we are planning on making some miles once we jump offshore tomorrow.
Wednesday 11-25 to Thursday 11-26 Beaufort, NC to Georgetown, SC
Got an early start and as we cleared the channel the coast guard warned of a live fire excercise right on our course. There was a three mile excusion zone that we had to vector around, but no shots across our bow, so I guess we navigated correctly around it.
NW winds started filling in so we started motor sailing and then gave the engine a rest as the wind filled in on a fast reach. Only thing messing up a perfect day was rain, until the dinghy started filling up with water. Winds were forcast to be 5-10 for 2 days so we took a chance on towing the dinghy as it obscures vision on top of the cabin. As we were doing close to hull speed at 7 knots in winds around 15-18 the dinghy centerboard trunk had water jetting up against the poorly sealed cap in the heavy 4-6 foot chop. We had to slow down and pull the dingy along side and bail it and try to seal the centerboard trunk cap with duck tape. This was quite the challenge in those seas. I was on my knees in the dingy with the bailer but felt like I was riding a wild bull. I was properly harnessed into the mother ship at the time but my life still mannaged to flash before my eyes.
Well the best laid plans, as they say... the duct tape wasn't doing enough an with sunset an hour away we decided to take the dinghy aboard. So with the foreboom as a gin pole prevented fore and aft we rigged a 4 fold purchase and a bridle on the dink and hoised it aboard. This took some time to rig and was trying in the rough seas, however the prepartations paid off as it came aboard quite nicely.
We continued to sail until the wind died and motored thru the night around Cape Fear. At 25 miles offshore in the rain there was not much to see except the GPS clicking off the miles. The shoal off Cape Fear extends out over 10 miles and the lighted bouy we picked as our way point was not functioning. Not what you want as the only check on the GPS after 70 miles, we never saw it, but trusted our instruments and kept on trucking. We did 4 hour watches since the cold was bearable with a bunch of layers on and ski gloves.
The wind started filling in and I unfurled the jib from the cockpit at 5 am, and waited for the watch change to raise the other sails. By 8 AM the wind increased to a 10-15 knot westerly, so I decided to fly the fisherman (a sail on schooners which flies from the top of the main and foremast above the gaff. With everything flying we intended to make Charleston by 9 PM, but as the wind abating our arrival time got pushed back to close to midnight. Winds were forcast to gust to 25 by that time and be right on the nose so we reluctantly went to plan B and diverted to Georgetown. This put the wind on the nose, so no sooner than spending a good deal of time getting all the sails up and settleing in for a warm sunny day of sailing off shore we had to change course directly into the wind, and spent another bunch of time getting them down and furled.
This is much tougher in an inflatable life vest/harness tethered in to the jack lines in rough seas than on Lake Winnipesauke that I have become accustomed to.
We were rewarded for our efforts because. soon after we started motoring into Georgetown, a half a dozen dolphins started playing in our bow and stern wakes. This was incredible as they were only 3 feet away from the boat many times and the water was so clear you could see them under the water as well as above. I got some pictures that look pretty neat.
We were warned about how long it can take to get into Georgetown bacause of the curent and long way up river, but not only did we have the current with us but the wind started blowing from the southwest and with the jib unfurled again we were doing 7-8 knots over the ground heading in the channel.
If the winds stay up as they are as I write this (SW gusting to 25) we will stay inside to Charlestown. Lots of talk about the Ben Sawer bridge closing cutting off the ICW from the north, but the schedule keeps being pushed back so now we still have that option.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Elizabeth City, North Carolina
Parts came yesterday but the valve cover gastkets were the wrong p/n so today we received the correct ones. Got quite a scare when 2 cam followers pulled out of the block while retrieving the broken push rods. Nothing like hearing the clunk tinkle of a loose part dropping into the depths of the engine when disassembling. Trying to fish these out with a magnet was an excercise in frustration. Got a hold of them many times only to have them drop back into the block while trying to get them past a choke point. By some grace of God, both of these dropped back into place and right side up before I got them out. When I finally squirmed my way to a point I could look down on them, I couldn't see them, at that's beacuse the were now in position (thank you God) although at the time I was not convinced this could have happened, so I had to do a lot of checking to convince myself that I was that lucky. The engine turned over easily by hand and not crunching could be heard so I completed the assembly of the head with the new head gasket and new torque wrench. The rest of the assembly was less challenging but still tough on the back. Valve adjustment was not too bad, the local mechanic (Dan Daneker from Fathom This 252-426-3586) was on hand to make sure all went well. He helped me bleed the air out of the fuel lines and we fired her up. Must have bleed well since it started much faster than other times the lines have become air bound. Hip hip houray!!
We have been extremely conservative with both batteries all week without any way to charge them, so that we had enough power to go thru the long grinding process of a restart after purging the air. Looks like we did well as we just had enough with both batteries on to fire her up.
Shark has changed his flight from Charlestown to Norfolk and will take the M&M limo right from here to the Airport. Frank Cook is flying in to Norfolk on Saturday and will limo down, so looks like another few days here to make the the connections work.
We are going to treat ourselves to a daysail in Albemarle Sound tomorrow. Can't wait to get off the slip and sail even if it means coming back.
Ta for now.
Will try to do some more catching up on the past days.
Nov. 3 Centerport, LI NY
Took a lay day at my brother in laws. Located one of the last Autohelm drive belts in existance at a marina only a few miles away. With a car at our disposal we managed to avoid another potentially significant dalay. Got the GPS hooked up, and it is great. A Garmin 545 with all the charts on the east coast built in. After spending another restful night with a great dinner from Pat and Linda and good friend Liz Biazi we tried to get an early start for City Island, but alas too many things to do on the boat so another pm start. Had a nice sail in the sound for a few hours until the wind died and motored to the Styvasant Yacht Club and were able to tie right up to their dock and go in town to a great Irish Pub while the Yankees clinched the World Series. The New York fans in the bar were ecstatic.
We left 2 hours prior to the high slack in Hell's Gate to arrive there at slack and had an easy time of it. The trip down the East River was really cool. The UN all the bridges and ship traffic made it an unforgetable experience. The statue of liberty looked great too. Our plan was to sail thru the night with a stiff NW wind to get to Cape May, howerver as we got abrest of Sandy Hook the forcast called for gale warnings so we backtracked a couple of miles and overnighted at a dock.
The winds did hit gale force and I estimated around 40 knots. The harbor is terrible for NW winds and we had a three foot chop at the dock. We had out 7 dock lines and broke three due to chafe and surge strain. Other boats at the dock did not fare so well. As we walked up the dock to get breakfast in town, we heard an alarm going off on one boat. We climbed aboard and found the bilge pump switch and pumped him out. Nobody home at the Marina. As a Seatow boat was tied up at the dock we were able to call him and he had the owners home phone. This guys swim platform had broken off and left empty bolt holes below the water line. We had to wait until 3 pm for the winds to die down to 20 knots so we could take off for Cape May
Parts came yesterday but the valve cover gastkets were the wrong p/n so today we received the correct ones. Got quite a scare when 2 cam followers pulled out of the block while retrieving the broken push rods. Nothing like hearing the clunk tinkle of a loose part dropping into the depths of the engine when disassembling. Trying to fish these out with a magnet was an excercise in frustration. Got a hold of them many times only to have them drop back into the block while trying to get them past a choke point. By some grace of God, both of these dropped back into place and right side up before I got them out. When I finally squirmed my way to a point I could look down on them, I couldn't see them, at that's beacuse the were now in position (thank you God) although at the time I was not convinced this could have happened, so I had to do a lot of checking to convince myself that I was that lucky. The engine turned over easily by hand and not crunching could be heard so I completed the assembly of the head with the new head gasket and new torque wrench. The rest of the assembly was less challenging but still tough on the back. Valve adjustment was not too bad, the local mechanic (Dan Daneker from Fathom This 252-426-3586) was on hand to make sure all went well. He helped me bleed the air out of the fuel lines and we fired her up. Must have bleed well since it started much faster than other times the lines have become air bound. Hip hip houray!!
We have been extremely conservative with both batteries all week without any way to charge them, so that we had enough power to go thru the long grinding process of a restart after purging the air. Looks like we did well as we just had enough with both batteries on to fire her up.
Shark has changed his flight from Charlestown to Norfolk and will take the M&M limo right from here to the Airport. Frank Cook is flying in to Norfolk on Saturday and will limo down, so looks like another few days here to make the the connections work.
We are going to treat ourselves to a daysail in Albemarle Sound tomorrow. Can't wait to get off the slip and sail even if it means coming back.
Ta for now.
Will try to do some more catching up on the past days.
Nov. 3 Centerport, LI NY
Took a lay day at my brother in laws. Located one of the last Autohelm drive belts in existance at a marina only a few miles away. With a car at our disposal we managed to avoid another potentially significant dalay. Got the GPS hooked up, and it is great. A Garmin 545 with all the charts on the east coast built in. After spending another restful night with a great dinner from Pat and Linda and good friend Liz Biazi we tried to get an early start for City Island, but alas too many things to do on the boat so another pm start. Had a nice sail in the sound for a few hours until the wind died and motored to the Styvasant Yacht Club and were able to tie right up to their dock and go in town to a great Irish Pub while the Yankees clinched the World Series. The New York fans in the bar were ecstatic.
We left 2 hours prior to the high slack in Hell's Gate to arrive there at slack and had an easy time of it. The trip down the East River was really cool. The UN all the bridges and ship traffic made it an unforgetable experience. The statue of liberty looked great too. Our plan was to sail thru the night with a stiff NW wind to get to Cape May, howerver as we got abrest of Sandy Hook the forcast called for gale warnings so we backtracked a couple of miles and overnighted at a dock.
The winds did hit gale force and I estimated around 40 knots. The harbor is terrible for NW winds and we had a three foot chop at the dock. We had out 7 dock lines and broke three due to chafe and surge strain. Other boats at the dock did not fare so well. As we walked up the dock to get breakfast in town, we heard an alarm going off on one boat. We climbed aboard and found the bilge pump switch and pumped him out. Nobody home at the Marina. As a Seatow boat was tied up at the dock we were able to call him and he had the owners home phone. This guys swim platform had broken off and left empty bolt holes below the water line. We had to wait until 3 pm for the winds to die down to 20 knots so we could take off for Cape May
November 17 Elizabeth City, North Carolina
We are continuting to experience delays. We left Hampton after the bridges opened, and found the dismal swamp canal closed due to trees down. Opened Sunday morning and allowed up thru the Deep Creek Lock which raises you up 6 feet and had a very scenic ride down the canal.
At the South Mills Lock we had to queue up to wait for the bridge just before it to open. The current was carrying us into the lock so the 4 boats ahead of us started backing up in the current so as not to be carried into the closed bridge. This was a mess as Kia Ora won't back up straight, as she pulls to starboard. So we turned around and motored slowly against the current and could keep station with steerage. Other boats followed our lead but some were too long to do so in the very narrow canal.
The boat ahead of us tied onto a tree rather than anchoring. They were slow to get going and at the extreme left side of the canal so we went past slowly. Just after we passed we heard a couple of loud cracks and crashes. We thought they got caught on an overhanging limb as they tried to shove off, and that was the case due to the current. The only problem as we found out when they caught up to us at the lock was they got hung up so bad on the tree it took their mizzen mast down (holy crap, Marie). They managed to not get any of the shrouds and running rigging fouled in their prop so they made it under the bridge and tied off for repairs just upstream of the lock.
A few miles south of the lock we attempted to pass a slower boat as the canal turned into a river. When we applied full power to jmake the time passing shorter, the engine started making a lot of noise. This noise was framilar as the silencer on one of the cylinders had vibrated loose a few days before and was easy to reattach. So we anchored and when the boats behind us went by we explained we should be able to get under way in a few minutes. Big mistake in hindsight as when we put the silencer back on and restarted the engine it was running on one cylinder and ocassionally popping very loudly back thru the silencer filling the engine compartment with exhaust gases.
So now we realized we were not ok a.nd all the boats that locked thru with us were well down stream. The next lock was 2 hours later. As a power boat passed us we asked about a tow and were told that Elizabeth City had both Tow Boat US and Seatow. So they seemed disinclined to tow us and headed off. So as a BoatUS member with tow insurance, I called the national dispatch number. We found the closest tow boat was in Coinjock which for him at 30 knots was an hour and 40 minutes away. So with Captain Wayne making preparations to come get us, I tried unsuccesfully to get Seatow in Elizabeth City to give me a hopefully cheaper estimate. Could not get thru to them. So $1170 dollars later we got into Elizabeth City at 10PM with my wallet a light lighter.
We were accomodated at the town slips for free and took stock of the situation.
The fellow we were trying to pass was one slip over and gave us some help and local info.
Tied us in with Loyd Griffith at Elizabeth City Ship yard (where by way there are no ships in sight, just a boat yard really) who gave us good advise and encouragement to tackle the job.
I dove into the engine compartment (litterly) and started taking things apart. Took all day to get the head off the engine and found a broken push rod and a bent push rod on the offending cylinder.
As no one would answer at the Volvo Penta parts outlet in Annapolis yesterday, we were only able to get the replacement parts on order for overnight delivery today. Looks like with luck and the good Lord willing we will have the engine running tomorrow eve.
Charlotte and Sue at the Welcome center have been great. They serve beer wine and cheeze and crackers complementary evernight at 4:30 for all the boaters tied up at the town so called "Hospitality Warf". The tradition started with a guy who used to come down and give a rose to each woman who arrived. The now bunch of volunteers to help welcome the boaters are knownas the Rose Buddies.
Well if we have to be stuck somewhere, this is certainly a nice place to be.
Signing off now as I still have more work to do on the engine. The water pump housing is leaking and I now have the time to fix it while waiting for parts.
We are continuting to experience delays. We left Hampton after the bridges opened, and found the dismal swamp canal closed due to trees down. Opened Sunday morning and allowed up thru the Deep Creek Lock which raises you up 6 feet and had a very scenic ride down the canal.
At the South Mills Lock we had to queue up to wait for the bridge just before it to open. The current was carrying us into the lock so the 4 boats ahead of us started backing up in the current so as not to be carried into the closed bridge. This was a mess as Kia Ora won't back up straight, as she pulls to starboard. So we turned around and motored slowly against the current and could keep station with steerage. Other boats followed our lead but some were too long to do so in the very narrow canal.
The boat ahead of us tied onto a tree rather than anchoring. They were slow to get going and at the extreme left side of the canal so we went past slowly. Just after we passed we heard a couple of loud cracks and crashes. We thought they got caught on an overhanging limb as they tried to shove off, and that was the case due to the current. The only problem as we found out when they caught up to us at the lock was they got hung up so bad on the tree it took their mizzen mast down (holy crap, Marie). They managed to not get any of the shrouds and running rigging fouled in their prop so they made it under the bridge and tied off for repairs just upstream of the lock.
A few miles south of the lock we attempted to pass a slower boat as the canal turned into a river. When we applied full power to jmake the time passing shorter, the engine started making a lot of noise. This noise was framilar as the silencer on one of the cylinders had vibrated loose a few days before and was easy to reattach. So we anchored and when the boats behind us went by we explained we should be able to get under way in a few minutes. Big mistake in hindsight as when we put the silencer back on and restarted the engine it was running on one cylinder and ocassionally popping very loudly back thru the silencer filling the engine compartment with exhaust gases.
So now we realized we were not ok a.nd all the boats that locked thru with us were well down stream. The next lock was 2 hours later. As a power boat passed us we asked about a tow and were told that Elizabeth City had both Tow Boat US and Seatow. So they seemed disinclined to tow us and headed off. So as a BoatUS member with tow insurance, I called the national dispatch number. We found the closest tow boat was in Coinjock which for him at 30 knots was an hour and 40 minutes away. So with Captain Wayne making preparations to come get us, I tried unsuccesfully to get Seatow in Elizabeth City to give me a hopefully cheaper estimate. Could not get thru to them. So $1170 dollars later we got into Elizabeth City at 10PM with my wallet a light lighter.
We were accomodated at the town slips for free and took stock of the situation.
The fellow we were trying to pass was one slip over and gave us some help and local info.
Tied us in with Loyd Griffith at Elizabeth City Ship yard (where by way there are no ships in sight, just a boat yard really) who gave us good advise and encouragement to tackle the job.
I dove into the engine compartment (litterly) and started taking things apart. Took all day to get the head off the engine and found a broken push rod and a bent push rod on the offending cylinder.
As no one would answer at the Volvo Penta parts outlet in Annapolis yesterday, we were only able to get the replacement parts on order for overnight delivery today. Looks like with luck and the good Lord willing we will have the engine running tomorrow eve.
Charlotte and Sue at the Welcome center have been great. They serve beer wine and cheeze and crackers complementary evernight at 4:30 for all the boaters tied up at the town so called "Hospitality Warf". The tradition started with a guy who used to come down and give a rose to each woman who arrived. The now bunch of volunteers to help welcome the boaters are knownas the Rose Buddies.
Well if we have to be stuck somewhere, this is certainly a nice place to be.
Signing off now as I still have more work to do on the engine. The water pump housing is leaking and I now have the time to fix it while waiting for parts.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
November 14
Power still out all day in the local area including the club. The local grocery store was closed so a super nice club member Jerry Olsen drove us all the way across town. Some dry counties ahead so we stocked up on the liquid refereshments. Last nite was a gas at the Marker 20 resturaunt. Great live band and the folks next to us were a roudy bunch celebrating a birthday adding to the fun.
Got underway early this morning trying to time the 11 am Deep Creek Lock opening. Finished hooking up the RAM Mic up at the helm and found it a terrific convenience and much safer since with the diesel going you can't hear the VHF going down below. Bridges working again and the Port of Norfolk open today again after being shut down for 2 days, and no hold ups. Lots of traffic on the way and the grand tour of 1/2 the Atlantic Fleet tied up or in dry dock in Norfolk. We passed 3 Aircraft Carriers alone (one looked very familiar re: close encounter of the crunch kind). Upon arrival found that due to trees down in the canal the lock was closed. The Army Corps of Engineers is doing the best they can to get it open for first thing tomorrow.
With some time on my hands I finally got the solenoid for the propane system wired up and cooked dinner on the new Dickenson stove. Wow what a change. It has been taking 5 minutes to warm up a cup of water in the microwave. This new stove has one double burner which if memory serves throws out 10,000 BTU's, and another single. An incredible difference from the old Kenyon alcohol stove and the auto spark ignition very cool.
A little more back tracking to catch up days not posted earlier in the trip
November 1-2 Provincetown, MA to Centerport, LI
Spent some time squaring away the boat, ran the gas line for the new propane stove, resealed the masts at the partners and the center board pendant hause pipe which was leaking badly as the seas were working in and out of the center board trunk.
Tried to fuel up, but found out that in the off season you have to call ahead and get a fuel truck to deliver it to the dock. Departed at 2:30 and had a great broad reach down to the Cape Cod Canal entrance. Autopilot acting up and not reliable. Passed a couple of barges in the canal, but plenty wide enough for both of us. As we headed out into Buzzards Bay the moon came out and made for a cool but pleasant rundown the bay. At midnight the wind started picking up from the east and gave a good boost to our speed. Motor sailed thru the nite past Newport, Block Island, Fishers Island and made the race at the entrance to Long Island Sound around day break. Got quite a scare as the current and chop kept setting off the alarm on the depth sounder even though we were in 200 feet of water. Following current of 3 knots and a fair wind of 25 knots made for a quick run down the sound. Arrived at Centerport, LI under a full moon and had to weave our way thru several hundred moorings, most of which were unoccupied. Entrance to my brother-in-law's channel was dicy as is it un lit and very shallow. Rafted up with his boat at 9 PM and got a well needed shower and dinner after hand steering for 30 hours. The 3 hour watch system seems to be working well.
Power still out all day in the local area including the club. The local grocery store was closed so a super nice club member Jerry Olsen drove us all the way across town. Some dry counties ahead so we stocked up on the liquid refereshments. Last nite was a gas at the Marker 20 resturaunt. Great live band and the folks next to us were a roudy bunch celebrating a birthday adding to the fun.
Got underway early this morning trying to time the 11 am Deep Creek Lock opening. Finished hooking up the RAM Mic up at the helm and found it a terrific convenience and much safer since with the diesel going you can't hear the VHF going down below. Bridges working again and the Port of Norfolk open today again after being shut down for 2 days, and no hold ups. Lots of traffic on the way and the grand tour of 1/2 the Atlantic Fleet tied up or in dry dock in Norfolk. We passed 3 Aircraft Carriers alone (one looked very familiar re: close encounter of the crunch kind). Upon arrival found that due to trees down in the canal the lock was closed. The Army Corps of Engineers is doing the best they can to get it open for first thing tomorrow.
With some time on my hands I finally got the solenoid for the propane system wired up and cooked dinner on the new Dickenson stove. Wow what a change. It has been taking 5 minutes to warm up a cup of water in the microwave. This new stove has one double burner which if memory serves throws out 10,000 BTU's, and another single. An incredible difference from the old Kenyon alcohol stove and the auto spark ignition very cool.
A little more back tracking to catch up days not posted earlier in the trip
November 1-2 Provincetown, MA to Centerport, LI
Spent some time squaring away the boat, ran the gas line for the new propane stove, resealed the masts at the partners and the center board pendant hause pipe which was leaking badly as the seas were working in and out of the center board trunk.
Tried to fuel up, but found out that in the off season you have to call ahead and get a fuel truck to deliver it to the dock. Departed at 2:30 and had a great broad reach down to the Cape Cod Canal entrance. Autopilot acting up and not reliable. Passed a couple of barges in the canal, but plenty wide enough for both of us. As we headed out into Buzzards Bay the moon came out and made for a cool but pleasant rundown the bay. At midnight the wind started picking up from the east and gave a good boost to our speed. Motor sailed thru the nite past Newport, Block Island, Fishers Island and made the race at the entrance to Long Island Sound around day break. Got quite a scare as the current and chop kept setting off the alarm on the depth sounder even though we were in 200 feet of water. Following current of 3 knots and a fair wind of 25 knots made for a quick run down the sound. Arrived at Centerport, LI under a full moon and had to weave our way thru several hundred moorings, most of which were unoccupied. Entrance to my brother-in-law's channel was dicy as is it un lit and very shallow. Rafted up with his boat at 9 PM and got a well needed shower and dinner after hand steering for 30 hours. The 3 hour watch system seems to be working well.
Friday, November 13, 2009
I am beginning to feel like Bill Murry in the movie Ground Hog Day. Every day I wake up and the wind is blowing 40-50 and it is raining like hell. We are still holed up at the Hampton Yacht Club, winds forcast to be 30-40 today. Don't know what the biggest gust was last nite as the power was turned off due to the tidal surge being 5 feet above normal high. So no weather channel and the anemometer at the club was electric so couldn't monitor it. The forcast was for 60 mph gusts and I think we got that. Power should be back on this morning sometime.
Lots of folks showed up last nite for a Storm party at the club. With no power they had candles all over the place and a camp light at the bar. Got a shower with some of the remaining hot water.
The electrical service pods on the floating docks made it thru ok, but the ones on the bulkhead were completely under water and they are 2 1/2 feet tall. A laser came floating by the club and someone waded out onto the sidewalk to salvage it, just to add to the wackiness of the night.
I will try to catch up some of the days in the begining of the trip since we are stuck again today.
October 30
Launched at Great Bay Marina, Portsmouth, NH around 12:30 after the centerboard pendant was replaced while hanging in the slings of the travel lift. Yard adjusted stuffing box in the slings post launch since this was repacked when the replaced the cutlass bearing. New bottom paint looks good.
Fueled up and managed to fit our 9' Eli dinghy on the coach roof under the the fore boom. The dinghy obscures the running lights a bit but, not too bad.
Shoved off at 4 pm and had a fair current to take us down river the the Sarah Lawrence and Memorial Bridges down stream. Cleared the mouth of the river at 7 PM and started motoring into a 20 knot headwind as we attepted to time our arrival at he cape cod canal for 7 am to catch the tide right. Slow progress and very cold and wet making 3.5 to 4 knots thru the night. Haven't used my gps all summer and the fresh batteries which are now dead, spare batterie are somewhere in the pile and piles of gear, so we deadreconned past Cape Ann and out towards the Cape Cod. Put the mainsail up to steady us and required tacking thru 80 degrees to keep it from luffing. Autopilot working hard but well.
October 31 Holloween
Wind building at daylight and decided to duck into Provincetown since we were not going to make much progress aginst the 30 knot headwind. As we reached along the beach into Ptown we got a 2 foot rip in the main. The harbor master put us a a nice slip and we squared away the boat after a tough night.
Quite an adventure finding a sailmaker to repair the sail on a Sat. eve off season. After much checking around and good luck we managed to locate the only one on Cape Cod that could or even would do it, only hitch they were 30 miles away in Orleans. We got a cab and had a nice chat with Rose the driver who was not only in costume like 90 percent of the rest of the adults there ( you know any excuse to dress up in drag is a good one!) but a charter captain for her Island Packet 30 which she has been living aboard for 8 years. Lots in common to talk about on the way.
So I said to Lee the sailmaker, "Not to rush you but the cab driver is charging us $1 a minute to wait". She was very nice and had the sail loft built right into the house, got it done in a jiffy while hubby grilled the chicken. So this little repair cost 35 bucks, but the cab ride was$140, ouch!
Saw a 300 pound tooth fairy (gay guy of course) on our way to dinner at the "Pig". Got entertained by 20 gouls and zombies doing a line dance to Michael Jackson's Thriller. Well the correography was to die for daalhing and they were all well practiced. Quite the sight (where's the camera when you need it!)
Gotta run and work on more wiring. More later
Lots of folks showed up last nite for a Storm party at the club. With no power they had candles all over the place and a camp light at the bar. Got a shower with some of the remaining hot water.
The electrical service pods on the floating docks made it thru ok, but the ones on the bulkhead were completely under water and they are 2 1/2 feet tall. A laser came floating by the club and someone waded out onto the sidewalk to salvage it, just to add to the wackiness of the night.
I will try to catch up some of the days in the begining of the trip since we are stuck again today.
October 30
Launched at Great Bay Marina, Portsmouth, NH around 12:30 after the centerboard pendant was replaced while hanging in the slings of the travel lift. Yard adjusted stuffing box in the slings post launch since this was repacked when the replaced the cutlass bearing. New bottom paint looks good.
Fueled up and managed to fit our 9' Eli dinghy on the coach roof under the the fore boom. The dinghy obscures the running lights a bit but, not too bad.
Shoved off at 4 pm and had a fair current to take us down river the the Sarah Lawrence and Memorial Bridges down stream. Cleared the mouth of the river at 7 PM and started motoring into a 20 knot headwind as we attepted to time our arrival at he cape cod canal for 7 am to catch the tide right. Slow progress and very cold and wet making 3.5 to 4 knots thru the night. Haven't used my gps all summer and the fresh batteries which are now dead, spare batterie are somewhere in the pile and piles of gear, so we deadreconned past Cape Ann and out towards the Cape Cod. Put the mainsail up to steady us and required tacking thru 80 degrees to keep it from luffing. Autopilot working hard but well.
October 31 Holloween
Wind building at daylight and decided to duck into Provincetown since we were not going to make much progress aginst the 30 knot headwind. As we reached along the beach into Ptown we got a 2 foot rip in the main. The harbor master put us a a nice slip and we squared away the boat after a tough night.
Quite an adventure finding a sailmaker to repair the sail on a Sat. eve off season. After much checking around and good luck we managed to locate the only one on Cape Cod that could or even would do it, only hitch they were 30 miles away in Orleans. We got a cab and had a nice chat with Rose the driver who was not only in costume like 90 percent of the rest of the adults there ( you know any excuse to dress up in drag is a good one!) but a charter captain for her Island Packet 30 which she has been living aboard for 8 years. Lots in common to talk about on the way.
So I said to Lee the sailmaker, "Not to rush you but the cab driver is charging us $1 a minute to wait". She was very nice and had the sail loft built right into the house, got it done in a jiffy while hubby grilled the chicken. So this little repair cost 35 bucks, but the cab ride was$140, ouch!
Saw a 300 pound tooth fairy (gay guy of course) on our way to dinner at the "Pig". Got entertained by 20 gouls and zombies doing a line dance to Michael Jackson's Thriller. Well the correography was to die for daalhing and they were all well practiced. Quite the sight (where's the camera when you need it!)
Gotta run and work on more wiring. More later
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Still laying over at Hampton Yacht Club. We had the honor of having the highest wind gust on the east coast last night at 53 mph according to the weather channel. The high tide this morning at 5 am was right up to the sea wall. Forcasting another 1 1/2 feet higher at the next high the afternoon at 5:30 pm. Looks like we will need our sea boots to wade over to the bar. Forcasting gusts today to reach 60 (holy crap!) Fortunately the slip I am tied up to is very strong and very well protected, so no worries about the wind.
The lift bridge in the intracoastal to the south of us won't open until the winds are down around 20 which could be late Friday or even Saturday.
Working on hooking up the RAM Mic today and possibly getting the remote switch for the propane solenoid wired in the be able to start cooking for real. So far we have been using the microwave (draws 86 amps at 12 volts so we need to be running the engine to have that luxury).
We have met a lot of nice folks along the way, many of which are also sailing (read motoring most of the time) south. More later today need to get to work.
The lift bridge in the intracoastal to the south of us won't open until the winds are down around 20 which could be late Friday or even Saturday.
Working on hooking up the RAM Mic today and possibly getting the remote switch for the propane solenoid wired in the be able to start cooking for real. So far we have been using the microwave (draws 86 amps at 12 volts so we need to be running the engine to have that luxury).
We have met a lot of nice folks along the way, many of which are also sailing (read motoring most of the time) south. More later today need to get to work.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
This is a test of my new blogspot
Hunkered down in Hampton, VA at the Hamton Yacht Club. Winds forcast tonight to gust to 55 thru Friday midday, with a storm surge 4 feet above normal high tide. Very safe spot for some very nasty weather.
Pretty cushy in the bar which is only 50 feet away. Haven't managed to drink them out of Sierra Special Pale yet, but I am on a mission.
Pretty cushy in the bar which is only 50 feet away. Haven't managed to drink them out of Sierra Special Pale yet, but I am on a mission.
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