2009 Log
7/16 to 7/31/2009
This is the current period of our log for 2009. At the bottom of the page are links to this year's pass weeks; our earlier voyages are in Prior Voyages.
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Updated on 08/03/2009
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7/16/09 - We woke to a light overcast with 10 knot winds from the west; ideal for our 13 mile sail to Scituate. At 9am we were on our way. It was a nice sail with the boat moving at 5-1/2 to 6-1/2 knots over the bottom. Twenty minutes from Scituate a 25+ knot wind hit us like a fist, overwhelming the autopilot and rounding the boat up. We quickly reduced sail area and regained our course... now traveling at 7-1/2 to 9-1/2 knots over ground. Very kewl! Picking up the mooring in Scituate wasn't as cool. We got one line first pass, getting the second one aboard and cleated was like fighting a sea serpent as the boat danced around the mooring in the gusts. Great timing, as I finished up on the foredeck it started to sprinkle. I started the hardest part of writing today; submitting to editors. I'll be doing a lot of that over the next few weeks as I try to find homes for my work. Kenny G picked us up for an evening in his newly finished home overlooking the ocean. What a fantastic evening... he's a renaissance man in every sense of the word. 7/17/09 - A nice sunny morning with no wind. What a difference a day makes. Ariel headed to Boston to catch a plane home to WI. We decided to hang around in Scituate another day. We'd been trying to get a pump-out for 4 days... no one would respond or they'd reply they were too busy. Ruth noticed that the air freshener was loosing the battle with something evil and foul so she opened the hatch over the holding tank. The poor thing looked like a balloon; the seals were being taxed beyond their ability. The tank was about ready to empty itself. Three more emergency appeals to the dispatcher and relief finally arrived in the form of a pump-out boat. Then we sanitized the bilges. I finally got tired of the mess the lifejackets and running lights made in the dinghy, so I sewed a storage bag today that snaps under the seat. Finally - should have done it 4 years ago. Ruth was saddened by an e-mail last night advising her that business demands had caused Bill & Jill to cancel their August visit with us. She'd been looking forward to some quality time with Jill for a year; maybe this coming winter. 7/18/09 - It poured last night, buckets of rain washed down the boat. The boat needed it as my barber did my hair last night and it blew all over the place. We left Scituate a little after 9am; sailing south. Light winds, 5 - 8 knots bore us south. As the day progressed so did the winds. Soon we had 24 knots apparent and were smoking south. Not exactly where we wanted to go, but we were getting there fast. Actually, we ended up on the north side of Cape Cod about 5 miles from the canal 2 hours before the tide was in our favor. We hit the canal at 5pm, tide current turned at 7... screw it, we attacked the canal arriving in Onset at 6:30. Kewl! What a phenomenal day of sailing! Our weatherman, now in Boston, had predicted that the wind would be against us... fickle wind, it was our ally. Eight hours of great sailing! Whoopee! The Toews' catamaran Los Gatoews was on a mooring indicating that they are traveling on land at the moment. This is the third time in the past month we've passed in the night. We had just finished dinner in the cabin when Ruth went to the cockpit to tidy it up. She called for me to grab the camera and come up. As I climbed the companionway steps I saw that we were in the center of a large circle of intense red light. Every home around the harbor had one or more red flares burning, all at the same height, around the entire rim of the harbor. We've never seen anything like this before... awesome. 7/19/09 - Another beau...., yah, you know. Actually after last night's display the sunrise was almost underwhelming. By 9:30am we were out of the harbor and heading west in Buzzards Bay (no Buzzards; what early settlers thought were Buzzards proved to be Osprey - hey, they were settlers, not birders). The wind was right on our nose but we decided to sail anyway as it was blowing 15 knots. We had a very nice ride to Cuttyhunk, arriving at 3pm and anchoring in the outer harbor by Copicut Neck. Got to love these names; what happened to normal names like Neenah, Menasha and Pulaski? We went into town, dropped off a dozen books and picked up two. Also bought a smoked bluefish pate'... delicious! Maeve, you need a smoker! 7/20/09 - A little fog over the ocean and Buzzards bay, but nice and sunny at Cuttyhunk. Amy and Lofton come to Newport tomorrow afternoon so that is our destination for today. We motor sailed to Dutch Island, staged for Newport tomorrow. Ruthie went glassing while I did a nasty little repair to the clew of our mainsail. Nasty because it took 2 hours to sew a leather wear patch to the leach at the clew. Better to do it now than tear the clew out. Ruth found a rare glass bottle stopper. Really kewl! 7/21/09 - Woke to light rain; actually it was the middle of the night and Ruth was up closing ports. Woke again to light rain; looks like a wet one today. Rained until mid-afternoon. We moved to a mooring in Newport Harbor so Amy & Lofton could meet us there. Ruth and I cleaned house, Ruth washed her hair and doctored her fat lip. Yup, fat lip... she forgot Buddy is a wild animal last night and got bit on the lip - just enough to draw blood and make it swell (who needs collagen injections?) Buddy is now looking for a new best bud. Amy and Lofton came tonight on the water taxi. The rain held off just long enough to get them aboard. Ruth had a hot spaghetti dinner waiting for their arrival. Great to see them again. 7/22/09 - While it rained almost all night the clouds parted enough for the sun to peek out. Heard noises in the galley... rats? Peered out to find Amy and Lofton making breakfast (hot dogs are now the alternative breakfast sausages?) We wandered around Newport until after lunch time. Stopped in and provisioned before catching the trolley to the harbor - not. Ended up about 6 blocks north of the harbor. Walked to the water taxi for the ride to AA. Last night's spaghetti sauce became meatball sandwiches for lunch - mmmm. Patrick and I had been texting so he knew we were in the harbor. He got some open time so stopped by the say hi. Great to see him - boat life seems to work for him. 7/23/09 - Woke at 7am to overcast skies. Lofton was already up and talking to Buddy. He and I slipped our mooring and headed to Block Island. As we exited Narragansett Bay we hit a wall of fog - visibility ranged from 100 yards to 1/4 mile all the way to Block Island. We anchored in the NE corner of Great Salt Pond just as it started to drizzle. Whoopee! Looks like guest weather today and tomorrow before we see some sunshine. We backed down on our anchor hard as they were forecasting 25-30 knots around midnight. Then we headed toward town in the dinghy, stopping to buy dinner from Aldo the boat-side vender. The boater behind us noted the forecast had changed and a gale was expected late at night. We again headed to town, turning back when it started to sprinkle. Lofton and I went for a boat ride in light rain as he was dying to go fast... and we did. 7/24/09 - At 11:30pm Ruth & I awoke to the sound of our wind generator free wheeling and the wind making our rigging sing. We quickly got up and readied the boat to run if our anchor pulled out. (see sidebar for an account of our evening). We are staying in Block Island today to let the sound settle down before heading east. The sun is shining but the seas are rolling. We'll make it a long day tomorrow going 55 miles to Falmouth. We spent the afternoon on the beach with Lofton. He got to see a flounder being caught - kind of intrigued by the fact both it's eyes were on one side of it's body. 7/25/09 - T-storms rumbled through around midnight; no surprise there. Fortunately there wasn't a lot of wind with it. By 7am we had the anchor up and were underway for Falmouth. Speaking of the anchor, it had dug so deep we had to drive over it to break it out of the clay. I swear I saw a Chinese pigtail fall off it as it broke the surface. We motored almost all the way to Cuttyhunk where we unfurled the headsail to steady the boat's motion. Just past Cuttyhunk we hit a wall of fog... 1/8th mile visibility all the way to Falmouth; of course, this is the stretch with all the ferry and boat traffic. At one point I was tracking 13 targets in a 3 mile range, and that was the ones that showed up on radar. We took a slip in Falmouth so Tom could join us in the evening after a flight to and drive from Providence. Amy and Lofton headed to the beach with their neighbor Sue (her folks have a summer home here); Ruth and I chilled out. Tom joined Amy and Lofton at the beach, returning after supper with their friends. Ruth and I had already hit the sack... old folks. 7/26/09 - Foggy in the morning, we did a little provisioning for Tom's visit. Then I went to the laundry with Ruth and Amy while Tom and Lofton went to the beach to visit Sue and kids. We had great slip mates on both sides of us. Enjoyed visiting with them in the afternoon and evening. Late in the afternoon Tom headed to Boston for meetings Monday while the rest of our crew hung out at the marina. 7/27/09 - Overcast in the morning gave way to sunny haze (it could only happen in New England) the rest of the day. Amy and Lofton went to the beach while Ruth and I read. I took time to do apply another coat of varnish to the bow seat and flag staff as they were showing signs of dulling; salt and sun sure take their toll. We cast off our starboard friends and their 48' Sabre sailboat. What a beauty! A little later a 38' Catalina took their place. Falmouth seems to be the place to provision and take on water. We joined Amy, Tom, Lofton and Joe for dinner at Bob and Fran's (Sue's folks). What a great time! 7/28/09 - Gray sky at breakfast. By 11am we had 8 folks aboard and were headed for Martha's Vineyard. We have a nice leisurely sail past Vineyard Haven, then the wind died and we had to motor. Such is life. We took a mooring in Edgartown and the crowd went to the beach while Ruth and I stayed aboard and relaxed... nice! Very interesting day with 4 kids less than 7 years old aboard. I'm thinking the human species should eat their young. Wow, glad I a grand and not a young parent. Our Falmouth guests took a ferry home while we went out to dinner with Tom, Amy, Lofton and Joe. 7/29/09 - Foggy, misty morning. How does the weather know when we have guests aboard? We hung around Edgartown until 11am, then sailed (yes, we actually sailed) back to Falmouth. Joe was playing his guitar on the foredeck while Tom and Lofton lounged next to him. It was neat to see and to listen to the music drift back to the cockpit. We went to Sue's folks for a pizza dinner. Great time... everyone acting silly and enjoying each other's antics. 7/30/09 - A slightly lighter shade of gray this morning. Joe swears he saw some sun at dawn. Joe headed out around 9:30a. Amy and family headed to a Laundromat so they could pack for the trip home. The boat seemed abandoned... Buddy was searching everywhere for Lofton and the kids. Ruth was busy re-organizing the boat in preparation for heading north again. When the kids (kids?) left we headed for Woods Hole in fog, passing through to Buzzards Bay and sunshine. We sailed to Onset so quickly we decided to run the Cape Cod Canal, anchoring off Plymouth for the night. We've never anchored on the ocean side of the sand spit here but the weather forecast for the next 3 days indicated it would be okay. Time will tell. While we were eating supper we heard our first loon calls of this trip. Their haunting call welcomed us north again. 7/31/09 - Sunny beautiful day with light southerly winds. Where are our guests? I hoisted anchor around 7:15am and headed north for the day while Ruthie grabbed a couple more Z's while I set course motor-sailing toward Portsmouth, NH; a long day's run. By noon our beautiful day had deteriorated to drizzle with heavier stuff on the way. I diverted to Gloucester where we anchored in pouring rain. I heated a couple of cans of chili for lunch - it fit the weather perfectly. About 1-1/2 hours later the squall line blew through with 30 knot gusts and sheets of rain. Luckily an intense cell passed each side of us, sparing us from the highest winds. The storm passed quickly, less than half an hour and the winds were down to 10 - 12 knots with steady rain. Shouldn't be any salt left on the boat after this drenching. |
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It's hard to capture with a camera the effect of hundreds of red flares rimming a harbor. To the human eye it was stunning.
Life jacket bag finally organizes our dinghy
100+ foot ketch dwarfed AA at Cuttyhunk (actually dwarfed everyone). Yawls and Ketches No, yawls are not twin mast boats below the Mason-Dixon line. Both designs feature two masts. On a yawl the aft mast is behind the helm station and is typically much shorter than the forward mast. On a ketch the aft mast is ahead of the helm station (as picture above) and the aft mast height is relatively closer to that of the forward mast. Why two masts? To help reduce the size of the sails for handling. Why the different mast locations? Because they could.
Cuttyhunk's only link to the mainland
12 Meter Heritage was WI based for several years - saw her on Green Bay
Patrick stopped by with their tender - 1200 hp
The ultimate tender adds another dimension - altitude
Another sleepless night... We quickly got up and readied the boat to run if our anchor pulled out. For the next 4 hours we listened to panicked calls "Mayday; help-help-help me; we're sinking; we pulled our mooring out; help us, we're dragging." The emergency resources at Block Island were stretched to the breaking point. Many of the emergencies should have never occurred, the skipper should have been able to handle the situation and the radio calls should have reflected the actual urgency of the events transpiring. I'm betting at least 5 couples will be RV shopping in the near future. Too bad, a little training would have gone a long way. Our instruments were all on and Ruth had the engine running in neutral; we had our escape route planned should we break loose or have boats break loose above us (I'd purposely anchored in a spot with only two boats above us). We recorded sustained winds in the low 30 knot range with gusts to 42 knots (48 mph) accompanied by heavy rain. (We later learned the marina had clocked 56 mph winds.) All over the anchorage and mooring field we could see red & green running lights on as boats powered up as they broke free. Interestingly as many boats had their moorings fail as had anchors break free. Notable because many boaters take a mooring feeling they are more secure than if they anchored. Nights like this remind me how lucky I am to have Ruth as my Admiral.
Joe's going to be smokin' tonight
Joe and Lofton
Having fun yet? Oh yah!
Accompanied by the wind and ocean
Our resident musician unplugged
Sue and Ruth enjoying the sail to Martha's Vineyard. Look closely and you'll see Ryan's hands on the wheel in front of Ruth.
Sue's parents (great company) with Claire Gloucester, MS The home port of the fishing vessel Andrea Gail in the movie Perfect Storm. The movie was based on the loss of the Andrea Gail with 6 hands on board October 3, 1991. Gloucester is still the home port for a fleet of working boats. Prior to our last visit we anchored near the entrance to the Cape Ann Canal, a short cut not all that sailboat friendly. The harbormaster came by and guided us to the anchorage in the inner harbor with the suggestion we use it. The anchorage is on the edge of the working harbor. We have an excellent maritime museum on our port side and a yard with a marine railroad on our starboard. Tall ships are being restored in both locations. Though much smaller than it was in '91, the fishing fleet is still constantly flowing in and out of the port. Near the north end of the harbor stands a large freezer plant and a commercial fish market, a reminder that the hardy folks here still challenge the ocean for a living.
Vessel in yard reflects Gloucester heritage
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