2009 Log

6/16/09 - Low gray clouds drifted over Newport early morning, looked like a dirty lumpy mattress. As the clouds hung low over a tall white church steeple I could picture it tearing them, releasing a cascade of white fluffy snow flakes... brrr. Guess we're back north. The furnace ran all night last night as the temperature dropped to 50.

We bundled up and departed for Cuttyhunk at 10am, motoring into the bay where we hoisted our sails. After a couple of hours the wind shifted to our bow, on came the engine and down came the sails. We motored into a strong headwind until 2pm when we arrived at our destination.

We've been to Cuttyhunk a couple of times to find the inner pond so crowded we anchored in the lee of the island. This time we're about a week ahead of season and found the harbor virtually empty. Kewl. The sun came out and the temperature improved to mid-60's. Ruth, Evie and I were able to anchor and go ashore for a walk and some groceries. We found the folks welcoming and helpful. Definitely a place we will revisit - off season.

Ruth's worried about her brother Pat. He's on a respirator and they can't get his breathing normal so he can go off it. The whole family is pulling for him... keep him in your prayers.

6/17/09 - A beautiful sunny morning! We're off to Martha's Vineyard. We hoisted anchor at 8am, motoring to the Vineyard. Naturally the wind was right off our nose; I have no idea how it knows By noon we at anchor in Vineyard Haven.

We got one day bus passes and saw a little of the island with Ev as we rode from Tisbury to Edgartown to Oak Bluff and back. I think Ev was a little surprised at how rural parts of Martha's Vineyard are.

Back in Tisbury Ev treated us to an excellent meal at the Black Dog. From our beachfront window we could watch two black labs play on the sand with two of Black Dog's tall ships anchored in the background. A totally enjoyable evening.

6/18/09 - High overcast today but with favorable winds - hopefully. Off to Nantucket! How's that ditty go? There once was a man from Nantucket... brought codfish home in a bucket?

Reviewing the weather this morning it looks like s nasty little system is moving in tonight. They are forecasting strong NE winds (right on the nose) from Cape Cod to Boston with 10' seas. This would be a nasty run. Ev decided that she's seen enough nasty seas in her 82 years and wanted to take a pass on that run. We sailed to Falmouth, MA, and rented a car so we can drive her to Boston Friday to catch an early flight home. We'll get her down to the Bahamas next winter where it's sunny, warm and great sailing.

We took a driving tour of Falmouth and Woods Hole, making the requisite stop at West Marine before the rain started. Ruth did a great stir fry with shrimp and fresh veggies.

6/19/09 - Overcast with drizzle - your basic ugly morning. The diesel heater had the boat nice and toasty. We drove an hour and a half to Boston's Logan International airport this morning so Evie could catch an early flight back to Denver.

The weather here for the next few days dictated that we'd be driving there some day and she elected to get back to her cats and friends given we'd be holed up in a rain drenched harbor for the rest of her visit. We're glad she came to see us and sorry to see her go.

Hopefully we'll have better weather for her next visit. At least we got a few hours of sailing and a lot of sightseeing in.

On our way back Ruth tried to reach family to find out Pat's status. We're concerned about him as no one, even his doctors, seem to know what's next. We just know he's not a happy camper and wants some sort of resolution.

Updated our itinerary... yup, we haven't learned, still trying to plan. Dah!

Unfortunate call tonight. Ruth's brother Pat has an infection in his heart valves again and they don't think that he'll make it through the weekend. Ruth is flying back out of Boston early tomorrow morning to hopefully get a chance to say goodbye to him.

I feel so bad and so disconnected not being there for Ruth and saying goodbye to Pat. I really enjoyed all of the times we had with him living with us, talking after work, and sitting around in the hot tub. It's all happening way too fast. I know that Ruth will represent both of us with her loving soul. Godspeed to Pat and may cardinals fly above him. (his favorite bird)

6/20/09 - We were up by 4am and on the road by 5, headed to Boston's Logan airport. I dropped Ruth off at United at 6:30am and promptly missed an exit (in the wrong lane) and found myself heading north. I found a turnaround as Ruth phoned. Her ticket wasn't for today as she thought (she was trying hard to see Pat and say good-bye) it was for Monday. We decided she should stay at the airport and try to get back standby as quickly as she could, taking a hotel room if necessary. Another adventure!

Ruth caught a morning flight to Chicago. She tried to rent a car there but it was too costly. She's looking into catching Amtrak to Milwaukee where Angela would pick her up. Enroute she learned the good news that Pat 's doctors had changed his medication last night resulting in a significant improvement in his condition. Right now they are guardedly optimistic he may recover with months of therapy.

I moved the boat to Onset; a nicely protected little anchorage where I'll sit out what is being billed as an unusual gale for this time of the year. Winds are forecast at 20 knots with peaks at 40 knots over the next three days. I'm in 10/14 foot of water (tides) with 75 feet of chain out.

Miles and Laureen are holed up at the Mystic Seaport Museum; a nice sheltered location with lots of stuff to do.

Ruth called around 11:30pm, she had just arrived in Green Bay after a day of surcharges and standby thanks to a computer(?) mess that resulted in her tickets being dated wrong. Tom's original confirmation contains the right dates. Hmmm, another scheme to increase revenues? The guy in line behind her at Boston had the same problem. Ruth played the sympathy card and got on the standby list for $75, he played the indignant card for $150. It's history now, Ruth's safely home and she'll get to visit Pat.

6/21/09 - The weather moved in early this morning, a little later than forecast. I woke to the sound of wind in the rigging and a uniformly grey outside (can't say sky when it comes to the ground, or can I?).

I replaced the aft head the 19th after the pump cracked around the base (4th time, 2 new heads plus 2 additional pump units - and Ruth complains I don't do toilets?). The forward head pump was cracked at the base and I had a replacement in spares. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy - one of my favorite jobs... right in there with choker valves. Anyway, I got the job done so both heads are ready for guests aboard.

Ruth left a message that she'd visited Pat and would be returning to see him in the afternoon with daughter Angie.

The next task was to take the ST60+ Wind master out of the Seatalk loop and power it as a standalone unit to see if it worked - no joy. At least I've exhausted my alternatives before calling Raymarine.

I noticed a dinghy with 3 kids in it being blown across our anchorage in the rain. They were trying to restart their engine. It would run a few seconds and stop. They looked wet and miserable so I launched our dinghy and caught up with them. Turned out to be a young mother with her two children (was I that young once? She looked like their teenage sister). After a quick examination I determined the engine was picking up air but could not figure why so I towed them back to their dock... they were sure glad to get out of the rain.

The wind increased at dusk to an estimated 15 to 20 knots. I read, nice and snug in our heated cabin.

6/22/09 - Monday, the wind continues to rip across the anchorage driving sheets of mist ahead of it. Not much actual rain anymore. This supposed to last until Tuesday night.

We're experiencing stronger winds today. The wind generator has free wheeled a couple of times; that doesn't normally happen until the wind is over 40. The anchor is holding well but the boat is dancing around on the end of the chain like a fawn on ice.

I talked to Raymarine today; they weren't interested in my observations, they just said send the the ST60+ heads and the wind vane in for an estimate on repairs. I'll have to do that at Point Judith as I need someone to hoist me so I can retrieve the vane from the top of the mast. Hope they have more luck than last time when they said the vane was okay (I bought a replacement anyway as the problem was intermittent and wouldn't necessarily show up in tests).

I'm writing an article on boat maintenance on a full-time cruising boat... the biggest ongoing headache is the Raymarine systems. I'll have to give that some thought as I write.

6/23/09 - Gusty winds in the high teens drove waves of showers all through the night. It was like sleeping on a bronco as the boat weaved back and forth on the anchor chain. Enough already! I need to get to Point Judith by Thursday evening. Tomorrow's forecast looks like a go.

If Ruth were here we'd have sailed today; being alone I couldn't chance it as I'd have no backup if something went wrong - of course if she where here we'd have no reason for running today.

Ruth called this morning, relating that the family was getting together to say goodbye to Pat. His body was failing rapidly and they were taking him off the respirator. I talked briefly with his youngest daughter Alex... very hard times.

I spent most of the day writing and pursuing paper deals on Ruth's behalf (mine too as I think about it).

I talked to Ruth later in the day. Pat said if he has another life on earth he wants it to be as an eagle. He passed away early this afternoon. I'll remember him as we last visited - seeming taller than me, more muscled, rugged outdoorsy looking with a wry sense of humor. He was a painter of buildings with the talent to be a painter of canvas.

6/24/09 - The wind has stopped, nada, like it's all been used up the pass few days. The boat is quiet after days of listening to the rigging sing. I was up before the sun; greeted by a sullen gray sky. By 5:30am the anchor was up and the boat headed for Point Judith, 55nm away.

Not much excitement today. Saw a lot of pleasure boats and a stream of tankers, all taking advantage of the calm after the storm. With virtually no wind I ended up motoring the distance. By1:30pm I was taking on fuel and water at Point Judith before moving to a mooring near Rich & Carol's home.

I called Ruth to let her know I'd arrived safely. She told me the funeral will be a week from tomorrow (July 2nd) to allow friends from Utah to arrange to come (Pat & family had lived there for several years). Ironically that's 1 year to the day from his first heart surgery.

The catamaran Salty Paws was also on a mooring near The Great Catsby. We'd met Jim & Bentley in Vero Beach last fall; crossing paths several times in the Bahamas. Jim is a photo artist, Ruth bought one of his pieces last year for daughter Angela.

We all had supper at Rich & Carol's; a fantastic seafood meal and great company!

6/25/09 - Woke to find we were still wrapped in yesterday's dull gray blanket of mist. The exterior of the boat couldn't be wetter if it had poured out.

Rich hauled me up the mast so I could remove the wind vane. Found a broken pin and a lot of corrosion. We tested a ST60+ Wind head with a new vane and cable that Rich had in his parts box and it appeared to work. I ordered a new vane and cable for delivery to Rich to replace the parts he had. Now I need to run the new cable down the mast and mount the new vane. That will probably have to wait for Ruth's return as it is a half day job that requires two people

The boat's been slower than usual; Rich knew of a diver he's used for bottom cleaning and arranged for him to come down. He found a several nice areas of barnacles (especially the propeller) and some grass and cleaned them off. After cleaning we tried a coating of Desitin on the bow and propeller as John swears it retards barnacle growth. We may have to haul and paint in the fall (18 months on the paint by then). That's 6 months earlier than planned - ouch!

Talked to Miles today, they are in Sag Harbor planning on being at Block Island the first. Dave and Leslie, S/V Summersault, have joined them for some cruising. My whereabouts the next week are still up in the air. I'm torn as part of me wants to be at Ruth's side and part wants to protect Buddy and watch over the boat. If I left it, Buddy would need to be boarded somewhere and the boat would have to be at a dock with shore power to protect the freezer, refrigerator and batteries while I traveled. I believe Ruth & I decided it just can't happen.

The sun is out this evening for the first time since since the 20th. Nice! I celebrated with a half glass of wine and a big garden salad as I watched for a soaring eagle.

6/26/09 - Up at 6am to find a high gray cloud blanket and the diesel heater running. Light fog settled in around breakfast time. Rich says welcome to New England.

Thinking back a few days I realized that the catamaran that rode out the storm near me at Onset belonged to the Toews family, www.toewsrus.com. We'd met them near the start of their trip, anchored in Portsmouth, NH. I was going to add their site to our Gemstones, however on checking it out I was saddened to learn they have put their boat on the market. The site is still worth a peek - it's pretty interesting. I e-mailed them and found they had recognized AA but by the time the weather cleared I was gone.

I did wash and helped Rich get his dinghy home for cleaning and engine service while they are traveling. We closed the day with burgers a la Wellman.

6/27/09 - Up before the birds (Buddy was still sleeping). I've been waking up to twilight (yes, there is twilight in the morning). I use to give Ruth a hug and go back to sleep for a couple of hours, but now I find myself getting up and making coffee for that warm feeling.

I was reading a book writer friend Bryan wrote this morning when at about 5:45 bright light filled the cabin. Thinking I was about to be boarded by Homeland Security I jumped up and looked outside. There was a large bright orb lighting the harbor. I looked it up online... it's called the SUN. How quickly we forget. Whoops, fog rolled in. Bye sun. I reinstalled the two wind heads in preparation for running a new wiring harness down the mast and mounting the new wind vane. If I was handier I'd climb the mast, wrap my legs around it and do the wiring... yah, sure.

The crew of Ariel had a fun night last night, fortunately the storm passed south of Point Judith. His report is to the right. Rich and I had seen the storm on TV and moved AA to a heavier mooring - just in case.

The fog took visibility down to 1/4 mile as I crossed to Shelter Island. by the time I completed the crossing at 3:30pm it was sunny and clear. I found a nice anchorage off a nature preserve, me and about 24 other boats... even so, it wasn't crowded. I moved Buddy out to the cockpit to enjoy the sun and boats - she promptly went nuts trying to attract attention. One of these days her wolf whistle is going to get me killed.

I whipped up a nice seafood dinner for one plus a bird, for lunch I had pea soup fog. Not very filling but it does grab your attention.

6/28/09 - Up before Buddy again; darned circadian clock. Got to get that reset. At 5:30 the sky was gray... by 7 the sky had fallen - fog again.

About 9am the fog lifted; I headed out to meet Ariel and Summersault at the green can off the north end of Gardiners Island. The winds were light and they had slips in Montauk so they motored there. I sailed for a couple of hours and motored the last to arrive at my anchorage at 2pm. Nice easy day... nice not to hear the engine much.

I went to visit the crews of Ariel and Summersault finding them up to their ears in housekeeping tasks. After a short conversation with Miles and David I took a quick walk around the Montauk Yacht Club - quite the operation. Then I took a dinghy ride around the harbor - actually getting a look at Montauk. The harbor is home to quite a mix of vessels ranging from large mega-yachts to a fleet of commercial fishing vessels. Montauk is also a big sport fishing destination... it's just a train ride from New York.

Sure miss having Ruthie with me. We still don't have any idea when she'll be back. Pat's funeral is this coming Thursday; after that she has other open ended family commitments. Sounds like she's enjoying the chance to visit her brothers Mike and Dan along with sisters Judy and Susie. Her third surviving brother, Lee, lives in IL.

I'm keeping busy writing 4 articles. Hopefully one or more of them will be published. I have a possible home for a completed 5th (article, not rum)... the editor liked it.

6/29/09 - whoa, major weather mistake. It's 5:45 and no fog. I left for Block Island about 8am. I arrived at noon, having sailed half the 16 miles and motor sailed the rest. Not much wind today but it sure was great quietly slipping through the water listening to Jimmy belt out "I've got boats to build...".

Looking over the stern at Montauk Point I impressed by the history visible there: a light house commissioned by George Washington, a submarine spotters' gun tower from WWII and a large early warning radar from the cold war.

Under a brilliant sun I anchored in 28 feet of water (16' on the chart) in a nearly filled to capacity anchorage. Ariel and Summersault ended up rafted together on a mooring while David waits for the next mooring to open up. Our current plan is to stay here until after the 4th; providing additional housing for Block Island homeless barnacles.

Talked to Ruth this morning, she's trying to figure out when and where to rejoin us. I may have to make a 3 day run to Boston to pick her up. We could visit Kenny G in Scituate on our way back.

Dinner was a joint effort by Laureen and Leslie, served on Ariel. As always the food was delicious and the company pleasant. Had a great night.

6/30/09 - Another beautiful morning. One treasures them more up here than in Florida because they are as rare as hens' teeth. About 9:30am our morning boats began disappearing in the harbor. A ghostly gray blanket was swallowing them up, our morning fog bank had moved in. By noon it was gone and the beautiful day was back.

I helped Miles test the wiring harness on his radar scanner as the unit didn't appear to be working. No joy, everything checked out so we pulled the scanner for shipment to Raymarine. Fortunately he only uses it... daily?

I returned to AA and went to work repairing screens in preparation for having guests aboard later this month. Can't have the critters feeding on them. Other than the wind vane I think we're ready.

Got bored so I went visiting. Miles was troubleshooting his solar array so I played with him for a while. On my way back to AA I saw another looper, Adios II, and stopped and talked to them. I'd read several of their postings on the AGLCA bulletin board and enjoyed the chance to meet them face to face.