Sigh of Relief

Relief at last. Lisa back home.


Cool sky.


Believe it or not, this is the low tide following the high tide/surge combo that flooded the road. As you can see, we are very hard aground. The waterline is at the blue stripe just above the maroon bottom paint.

The stain on the lower bow is tannin from the ICW. You can scrub all you want and it won't come off. You need to use a solution that contains muratic acid among other things (On-Off is an off the shelf product most of us use). This has to be followed with a good wash down and then a wax job. We are scheduled to do this in Deltaville where I can do the work myself. I will also do a lite compound and buff job before the wax. We can't stand it when she looks like this.

The reason you may not be able to tell the bottom is maroon, is that the bottom is dirty. I try to control that the best I can wielding a long handle brush/scraper from the dinghy. It's hard work and the growth is back within a few days. New bottom paint will help. In the Bahamas I dive on it with snorkel and fins and use a scrub pad. In New York waters I become germaphobic. I need sensitivity therapy.

You can see the fenders I tied to the dock. On the port side I tied 2 spring lines mid ship, 3 bow lines, and 4 stern lines. The bow and stern lines also double as spring lines to varying degrees. That took up all the room on the port side boat cleats. On the starboard side I had 2 bow lines. There was a very nice Hinckley parked on that side that got hauled out at the last minute, so I was able to get a long breast line and stern line to take the pressure off the fenders and dock if the wind came from the north. All the dock cleats were only screwed down, so I tied the fenders to them. Then I ran the boat lines through holes drilled in the top of the dock so I could tie directly around the structural beam.


Sunset the day that the storm passed through. 

Not long after we returned to the boat the winds picked back up and stayed in the mid thirty knot range with gusts in the mid 40s. This lasted past midnight and then the wind died giving way to a beautiful sunny Monday.

We begin the process of putting her back together. 

Since the canvas was down, we polished the stainless on the bimini and dodger and Lisa worked really hard scrubbing the canvas on the dock. When we put the canvas back up we sprayed it with 303 to make sure it stayed waterproof. It looks new again. It's amazing what you can do when you have unlimited fresh water.

The Return Home

Before leaving the shelter, I was able to talk to a police officer who gave us hope that our marina did well in the storm. At this point we were still unaware that a tropical storm hit us and not a cat 1 or possibly 2 hurricane. We left the gym late morning.

A Slovakian lady we met at the gym was kind enough to give us a ride to Shore Road which was still flooded when we got there. After being dropped off, we headed back up the hill to try and get around the flooded sections of Shore Road.


More flooding. This was close to high tide one day before a new moon. At this point the tide had begun to recede, so we knew the worst was over.


That must be Geraldo Rivera ignoring the officer ordering him over his loud speaker to "get out of the water". What would we do without brave men willing to step in the water, against all odds, to show viewers it's wet? 

As we made our way to the boat, there was very little wind, and on and off very light sprinkles.


This is a view of our boat (just to the left of the middle of the picture) when we left her, hoping it wasn't for the last time. You can see that the poles on our side are longer than the ones on the other side and in the rest of the marina.


This is a shot on our way back--the moment we knew for sure that she was OK. 

Our number one concern had been that the water wouldn't rise above the poles on our dock causing the floating piers to float away with boats attached. Our number 2 concern was that the piers on the other side of us would not float over their pilings, then bash into our dock and break it up. At this point, the water had already dropped a couple of feet. So, the poles on our side had a few feet to spare even at peak tide/surge, but some of the ones on the other side were within 10" from the top. The worst part of the storm hit within an hour of high tide. With the new moon a day away the tidal range was close to 10 feet, plus the 5 foot surge.

Bad Girl

We were in Oyster Bay, NY when Irene decided to schedule an appearance with the mid and upper east coast of the US. Our plan was to make the short trip to Port Washington on Manhasset Bay, restock with food and supplies then return to Oyster Bay and sit out the storm.

After a lot of back and forth we decided to get a slip at Manhasset Bay Marina for a week. There are no good choices. We thought about a mooring ball, but in storm conditions the short scope of the mooring ball system generates huge shock loads on your cleats and snubbers. Also, you can't see the gear that is under water to see how it has been maintained--and then what happens when the ball and pendant goes under with high tide and a surge? You are also a target for any upwind boat that breaks free (this is true with almost any choice).

We inquired about getting hauled out, but the yard was not going to haul out boats for this storm. They later changed their minds and did continuous haulouts for 3 1/2 days. I did not press them on it because I have mixed feelings about haulouts for hurricanes where boats can get blown over on top of each other like dominoes. I also observed the yard was not chaining the jack stands together. After seeing the havoc Ike left in Texas, we were first hand witnesses to what happens to boats on the hard when the water gets up to their level. Not pretty.

My first choice would be floating docks, but only if designed by the same firm that did the docks at Waterford Harbor in Kemah, Texas. That's the only marina dock system I've seen that is designed properly to withstand storms with lots of surge. When I become Marina Czar I will mandate that this design be followed by all marinas. Only marina owners that are "friendly" to me will qualify to be grandfathered in with their sub par standards.

We spent a couple and a half days of securing the boat, dealing with fenders, stripping her of her canvas, solar panels, sails, and in general reducing her windage, removing and capping the dorades, taping the covers on the exterior instruments, taping around the hinges on the hatches (which tend to leak when the canvas covers are off), taping the main hatch boards together etc. With this done and front end of Irene only hours away, the time had come to bid our fair but robust lady adieu. It wasn't easy to turn our back on her, but we made the decision to prepare her well then leave if the winds were forecast to be hurricane force.

Our destination was the gym at the local high school. We were fortunate to get a break from the rain as we made our way up the long hill. The temperature was nice, but the humidity was 100%.


I'm about to offer the owner of this van a trade--everything in my bags, plus all the money in my wallet for his rusty old van. If he were to refuse, I would throw in a sailboat along with the 4 days we had left at the marina. Alas, he was nowhere to be found.


Let's go Vikings!! Lisa, the refugee. Sounds like a Tom Petty song.

We were surprised to see the Red Cross was coordinating this event. I assumed we would be talking to the principal, a nurse and maybe a librarian who would make us all hush. Then we saw all these army type cots. The Red Cross folks really did shine. We were very impressed. They worked hard all through the night and were Texas nice--though not from Texas.


They took my basketball away and made me sit in the corner and read a book. Why do old people hold the book so far away even when they wear glasses? Answer: need an armrest. 

They called the gym a dormitory and lights were supposed to be out by 10 pm. So, with the lights out, you see the reflection of several hundred iPods bouncing off the ceiling, little boys running around with flashlights, stomping on roaches that dared to come out at night, large families with young kids competing to see who could cry the loudest and most often--with their parents either urging them on, or just doing the ignore them thing that only the parents can do. Where's the librarian when you need her?

Then there was the lady who for many years has never missed a meal, or dessert, or snack. It must have been hot because she insisted on sleeping on her back with her arms above her head. Since her dress was sleeveless, it was obvious to all that her razor budget got transferred to the food budget. The scissor budget as well, because she was waaay into scissor territory. The shear budget as w---oh, never mind. OK, all this could describe me, but I don't go sleeveless and I try to keep my pits closed in public. She was on the cot next to Lisa. Lisa spent most of the night in the cafeteria or roaming the halls.

Actually, it was amazing how well things went with so many people in such close quarters. And if you were a parent with the ability to tune out the constant screaming of some youngsters, it would have been somewhat amusing. We lost power at 2 am, but the maintenance guy and the Red Cross soon had a generator running so they could keep the fans going.

When we left the boat, we thought she had a decent chance to survive if the surge didn't exceed what was forecast on the weather sites we study. After arriving at the gym, the locals put the angst in us with "assurances" that the surge is always bad in Manhasset Bay. We had not heard that before and had deduced the opposite. Needless to say, I spent most of the night going through the different possibilities. What to do if the boat gets totaled. And worst case scenario, what to do if she's badly damaged but not totaled (very likely because she is built like a tank and not cheap enough for the insurance company to flippantly write off).

Throughout the night we were getting conflicting reports about the storm. As it turned out, Irene hit us as a tropical storm and not a hurricane. As far as I know, the mooring fields and the marinas all survived just fine. But we didn't know any of this until we got back to the boat.


These are MREs (meals ready to eat).

Inside these bags are 2 small cardboard boxes and another plastic bag. One box contains the meat--like a hamburger or chicken dumplings. The other contains rice or similar. Then there is a packet of crackers with jam and a cookie or similar. They even have a packet of red dye that is raspberry flavoring you put in water. It will stain a cafeteria table for sure. We didn't open ours.

The last bag is the magic. It's hydrogen something. You put a little water in it to activate the bomb, stick your meal in it, wait 5 or 10 minutes and you have a hot meal.


You can see smoke coming out of the top of the box. 

Lisa made me taste one of the meals. She said I needed to get into the spirit of things. I just wanted my Greens Plus bar and peanut butter crackers.

The Big Day

The wedding was beautiful--and this coming from a guy who doesn't like weddings much. We are very proud of Robert (OK now he's called Rob) and Rachel, and are confident they will have a wonderful life together.


Shortly before the wedding. Robert (the groom), Ruth (the proud mom), Ryan (best man and best MC) and a bottle of water.


A spy snuck in to catch Amy in the off-limits paint room.


Amy looking pretty in her bridesmaid dress after the ceremony.


Rachel and her dad.


The Bride and the Groom on their way to the limo.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Actually, make that dinghy, train, airtrain, plane, and automobile. With the boat safely anchored in Oyster Bay, Lisa waved good-bye to me from the platform at the train station as I made my way to Texas. I took credit for bringing with me the first day in 30 something that Dallas failed to hit the 100 degree mark. My sisters and Mom made it in earlier that day so maybe it wasn't all me. Anyway, I was thrilled that it only made it to 99.

The following evening was the wedding rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner. It was dressy casual affair. Normally this would mean my good flip flops, but in this case it involved hard shoes, long pants and a shirt that buttons all the way top to bottom.


Ryan was having a hard time knowing what socks would go with his outfit. Since he just had one from each pair, and they were both sort of black, the only question was which foot to put the puma on. Never mind that they were 6 or 8 inches too low.


Part of the army of men charged with escorting the ELEVEN bridesmaids. Not a typo.


Some of the bridesmaids


Ryan, Rachel, Robert and Amy.


The happy couple--smiling because they knew this would all be over soon.

One Small Step...

After a short stay in Manhasset Bay, we made brief stops in Oyster Bay and Port Jefferson before settling in at the Fish Tail.

Two years ago, while in Oyster Bay, I stopped at a barber shop and inquired how much for a haircut. Turned out the barber was a Russian and he did not answer my question, but in his best KGB accent told me to sit down. I sat down. He cut my hair. He told me to buy a bottle of shampoo with garlic in it. I bought the shampoo. I don't know how much the haircut or the shampoo cost because it was a package deal. I'm certain it was a good deal He told me so. He did a good job on my hair, but I was just happy to still be alive as I walked out the door.

Here it was, 2 years later, and I was desperate for a haircut. My friend has apparently done well, because his shop has been nicely remodeled, his brother is now working with him, the KGB attitude has toned down significantly, there's no garlic shampoo stacked on the walls and there seems to be plenty of customers. After another excellent job on my hair he even bid me farewell and hoped to see me again soon. Whaaaat a country. Anybody need some 2 year old garlic shampoo?

We had a nice sail to Port Jefferson where we anchored north of the large mooring field. Although the guides make it sound like a good spot to anchor, we think the harbor bottom is full of trash. Our first time through we witnessed a large sailboat bring up a tire that was wrapped around his anchor. Our second time through the same thing happened to us. On this occasion we brought up a 6 foot long piece of 2 1/2 inch diameter stainless steel cable. Almost broke our boat hook in the process of getting it off the anchor. Next time we will anchor in the Setauket area a bit to the west.

The forecast looked good for a nice 50 + mile sail to Orient Harbor. The winds were supposed to turn SW at 10 to 15 in the afternoon which would be OK until we exited Plum Gut at the 40 mile mark. Then we would have to turn SW for the last 10 miles. Plum Gut is only a mile or so long but can have currents over 5 knots--although they are normally in the 3 to 4 knot range.

We shot through Plum Gut with no problema-- but after hanging a right we had muchas problemas. The wind was indeed from the SW, but it was blowing 25 to 35 and with a strong contrary current, the waves were very square. We have seen more than our fair share of square waves, but these were the squarest waves we've seen and they were less than a boat length apart. The combination of wind, closely spaced square waves and strong current knocked our speed down close to zero--and we were getting beat up. We tried several different strategies and sail combinations, and ended up tacking back and forth with a reefed staysail and motor. For a while, we were doing well to achieve 2 knots of speed before the next wall of water met the bow and effectively brought us to a halt. To make matters worse, we were dodging lobster pots which were very difficult to see and avoid in those conditions. As we pounded our way closer to land our speed gradually picked up to 3 knots and then eventually 5. Our ordeal mercifully came to an end as we rounded the lighthouse and anchored in the lee of it's spit. The wind continued to blow in the mid 20s through the night but we were safe and secure.

This has been a terrible year for flies. Do they sense a dying country? I think not. Their eyes are too big to have room for brains. Or maybe their brains are in their eyes. Anyway, we thought about buying a horse tail that we could operate with batteries, but couldn't find one. So we thought we would try a weapon from yesteryear.


They were not very productive. We killed 100 times more with the swatter. We actually planted some flies on the tape with the hope they would attract their friends. We watched some of them work their way off of the fly tape and fly away. Did they do that in the old days or is this tape kinder and gentler--more humane?

After a stop in Sag Harbor we moved a few miles to a bay near the town of Southold. It was time for the big test. We couldn't find a place to leave the dinghy, so I dropped Lisa off with her map in hand.

Our handicapped parking space.


One small step for... One giant step for... OK, a bit dramatic. But a HAMMY is a HAMMY. I'm proud to say Lisa aced her test. She is officially a geek! Not that there's anything wrong with that...Now I feel worthless. I need some chocolate.


Hiding under a cloud in Sag Harbor.

We moved on to Three Mile Harbor and made several treks into East Hampton from there. Walking down the side walk, I overheard 1 old codger say to an other "we can't even go into most of these stores". Right there with you buddy. Lots of stretched faces in this neck of the woods.