Cocoa to Stuart

After leaving Cocoa we spent several days at Fort Pierce. Fort Pierce has a class A inlet, so we have anchored there several times, but it's the first time that we took the dink to shore. There is an excellent coffee shop, and a nice park by the water. In general it's a nice town to stroll around, although like nearly every town we stop at, they have many vacant store fronts and office buildings. The "Kinder and Gentler One" is achieving his goal.

We don't like the St. Lucie Inlet, so we stayed inside as we made our way to Stuart. The Stuart mooring field was full when we arrived at the St. Lucie River, so we made our way several miles up the North Fork where we anchored for a couple of days. Our arrival brought with it several days of heavy rain.


The sun tried to make a rare appearance shortly before it's bedtime.


We moved to an anchorage across from the mooring field so that we could keep an eye out for any boat that might vacate a mooring. But mostly we saw more rain and clouds--and a rainbow. 

The seas offshore were still high so boats headed to the Bahamas were staying put. Tuesday we walked to a doctor's appointment, then hauled our laundry to town, and were prepared to head to the Dinner Key mooring field in Coconut Grove, but as we returned with our clean laundry we spotted an empty mooring. We made record time weighing anchor (I even chucked a very muddy Danforth anchor that game up attached to our anchor) and were soon attached to the mooring without having to shove anyone out of our way.

The fuel injectors on the Yanmar were due to be cleaned and have the spray pattern tested, so I pulled them and then Lisa and I made the 5 mile bike ride to the injector shop. They were ready to be picked up after a couple of days, and we were glad we didn't have to buy new nozzles. We were also relieved that the engine started after I reinstalled them.


The injectors before being serviced. Notice the carbon build up on the nozzles.

Thanksgiving in Daytona

Warning: Global Warming is back (or is it Global Warming Inc.). Our first three fall seasons away from Texas have been quite cold, but this year has been very pleasant so far.

Our trip from St. Augustine to Daytona Beach was uneventful, other than a little mishap at the Coronado Bridge in New Smyrna Beach. A few minutes before we arrived there, a beautiful 44 foot sailboat knocked over a large "no wake" sign that was right in front of the bridge. The sign ended up under water in our starboard side of the channel. It was not a problem for us, but the bridge tender got a bit excited. We felt bad for the crew that hit it. Of course the Coast Guard had to be involved since one of their signs had been hit. The current is very strong there, and I think the tender faked them out a bit on the opening--told them to proceed, then had them hold up and wait for another boat.


Waiting for the bridge in New Smyrna Beach to open. Close to the bridge on the right, you can see part of the structure that used to hold the "no wake" sign.

We were safely anchored in Daytona Beach, and with Thanksgiving a couple of days away, Lisa thought we should find a Cracker Barrel that was serving the traditional meal. With the magic of Google Maps she found one that was within "walking distance" of our anchorage. It was near the Daytona 500 Speedway--trust me, it takes a while to walk around that complex. From our anchorage, it ended up being 11 miles round trip, but we got to sit down and eat at the halfway point. The Cracker Barrel baked pies through the night for a month to be ready for Thanksgiving. That way they could use all the ovens just for pies after the regular cooks went home. I was very surprised that many people went there for the Thanksgiving meal. They were having a big classic car show at the speedway next door which contributed greatly to the long waiting line.

From Daytona Beach, we made a short 20 mile trek to Cocoa. This was our first time to stop at Cocoa, and we really wanted to check out their famous hardware store. It is really something else. They have countless wrenches as big as motor cycles, and they have many items that I believe have been on their shelves for 20 years. Lisa and I could only think of the nightmare at inventory time--and why would they keep stuff that doesn't move. But it's a cool store, and they have things no place else would stock.

The End. For now.

St. Simons to Daytona Beach

The sidewalks of the St. Simons area took quite a beating courtesy of my Tevas and Lisa's Keens. They may have suffered more tonnage damage from the Tevas, but were definitely more offended by the Keens. They are turquoise after all.

We debated making a short move to Jekyll Island where we could rent bikes to explore the island, but in the end we settled for a 40 nautical mile jaunt to Fernandina Beach. Since we did this outside, nearly half of the trip was going out the St. Simons Inlet and coming in the St. Marys Inlet, but the water is deeper out there. We like deep water. It also gave us a couple of hours to make water.

Normally, we rent a mooring when in Fernandina, but they were all full, so we anchored in 32 feet of water in a river just outside the mooring field. We weathered a short spell of nasty winds and then moved on towards St. Augustine. Dawn arrived 2 hours before low tide, which would have put us in a very thin part of the ICW at the wrong time. So, we went outside again.

The St. Augustine Inlet is not a class A inlet, and although it is used often by large (not ships) boats, it has claimed it's share of victims over the last couple of years. They have the money to dredge it, but the environmentalists and home owner associations keep fighting the city and making attorneys and study groups rich. Lisa called a Tow Boat US captain for advice on the inlet, and it didn't take him 2 seconds to convince her to use the St. Johns River Inlet (near Jacksonville) instead.

We should have stayed on the ICW. We underestimated the effect of the 5-7 foot swells colliding with the strong ebb in the St. Marys Inlet. We took quite a beating until we were able to leave the channel and bear off to the south. The fog was quite dense as well, and we were thankful that we had radar.

When we reached the shelter of the St. Johns jetties, things smoothed out and our muscles (yeah, we still have a trace of them left) were able to relax. A quick check confirmed we still had all of our teeth. Our plan was to anchor in an ox bow about 13 miles north of St. Augustine and then move on to St. Augustine the following day. We arrived in early afternoon and were the first boat in the anchorage, but we by sunset we had 10 neighbors.

Sunrise at the ox bow. A single-hander brought this pretty yawl in just before sunset the previous day.

Fog was forecast for the morning, but not much showed up. 

There is no doubt that St. Augustine is a tourist town, but it is fun to walk the streets, look at the shops, and wonder why people would buy any of that junk--except for Kilwins ice cream. It is also amusing to enter the art galleries and watch the attendants stare at the Tevas/Keens, work their eyes past the sunglasses dangling from a shirt button, then past the backpack, then on up to the hats, force a smile and then quickly move on to the next couple with designer clothes and redesigned body parts. But that's only at the galleries. In general, neither Ethan or Billy Ray would feel out of place in town. It really is a nice town.


A westward view from a coffee shop.


An eastward view from a coffee shop. OK, another slow picture week.

We enjoyed 2 days at St. Augustine, then moved on to Daytona Beach via the ICW. Daytona has the coolest marine store in the whole entire universe.

One Front Plus Two Fronts Equals Two Fronts After Another

We left Belhaven under sail, and with the exception of motoring through a 12 mile canal, we were able to sail all the way to South River where we would hole up for the next onslaught of bad weather. Broad Creek would have been more convenient, but since it lies so close to the very busy ICW, we thought it might be too crowded for our liking.

After 5 very windy days and nights in South River, we were presented with a small window to make an outside run to Wrightsville Beach. We took advantage of a chilly but beautiful day to make a run to Cape Lookout Bight where we would stage for an early morning departure to Wrightsville Beach the following day.

Unlike our previous visits to the crowded bight, we were the only boat in the anchorage. Our 3:40 departure the following morning, brought terrific sailing for the first 3 hours, then the wind gave way to trawler weather. Fortunately, the forecast of 30 degree morning temps did not appear, and it was a spectacular day even though we had to play trawler for most of it.

As we neared the Masonboro Inlet, we had a strong urge to keep on going. The sea was comfortable and the weather beautiful, but a gale was forecast so we continued through the inlet and on to the refuge of Wrightsville Beach.

As forecast, the gale did arrive and brought with it some excitement, or stress, or angst depending on your disposition. This is a very popular anchorage, which translates into very crowded--especially in the midst of the southerly migration of 150% of all Canadians, and 125% of all Northeasterners. That's NFL math. It really does add up.

Thankfully, for the couple of days of big wind, most of the boaters anchored in a responsible manner, and a surprising number paid attention to the conditions. The few that dragged were on top of the situation pronto. Just before dusk, an unmanned (but not derelict) race boat began dragging through the anchorage. It started out near the bridge and dragged a mile or so until it ended up on an empty dock. One trawler had to weigh anchor and move to avoid being hit, and a catamaran ran one engine to swing over a bit to avoid a collision, but that was the extent of that.

A half hour later an unmanned McGreggor 26 took the same path through the anchorage until it's anchor caught the anchor rode of a trawler that was in his path. The rest of the night was spent on anchor watch until 4 or 5 am when the winds subsided to the mid 20s.


A calm Wrightsville anchorage after the winds laid down and many boats had cleared out.

We waited a couple of more days for the seas to subside (the Coast Guard reported some 28 footers) before making our way to St. Simons Georgia. To avoid a long detour around the Frying Pan Shoals, we took the ICW to Snows Cut, then sped down the Cape Fear River where we passed Southport before entering the Atlantic Ocean. At one point we were registering 10.4 knots with the aid of the ebb on Cape Fear River.


ICW on the way to Snows Cut. 

Once again, we were blessed with nippy, but beautiful weather with a nearly full and then full moon lighting our way for the 2 nights "outside". It was rolly with wind waves from the northeast being somewhat affected by the southeast swell from the tropical storm 700 or so miles to the southeast. It was basically a dead run, so we were yawing quite a bit. With the genoa poled out to windward, and the main secured to leeward, we had an exciting wing and wing sail until the late afternoon. At that point the waves were slamming our stern around causing the wind to periodically show up on the wrong side of the sails. Not good. So we took the pole down, dowsed the main and ran with the genoa. At some point the waves persisted in causing the genny to collapse so we reverted to motoring with a reefed staysail. We had tried gybing back and forth for a while, but on the one tack the beam seas were no bueno for our healtho. And we don't have a new genoa in our budget. After a period of motoring, conditions improved and we were able to sail the majority of the way.


Sunset on day one.

Our GPS/Chartplotter crashed at 2 pm yesterday, so I had to revert back to the old fashion way of navigating--I rebooted the chartplotter. I don't know if it was caused by the failed FEMA test or not. But instead of conducting a test, FEMA could save a lot of hassle if they would just get China to show them how our system works.

It's hard to capture a swell in a picture unless you have another sailboat posing in the adjoining trough--which we didn't.

We timed our Wrightsville Beach departure to catch a fair current down the Cape Fear River. The plan was to reenter at St Simons, Fernandina / St Marys, or perhaps St Augustine depending on our speed. It turned out we made very good time, but the word was out that Fernandina was very crowded, and I couldn't convince the Weather Babe to use the St. Augustine Inlet, so...we did my least favorite thing. We slowed down on purpose. Like I said before, our fast is slow, so to slow down from slow makes me crazy. We like St. Simons anyway. An hour after sunrise we were anchored in the Frederica River. Four hours later we had finished 6 loads of laudry, showered and made it back to the mothership before the winds and chop picked up.

We will sit out the next front which has already appeared, before moving on.

Back On The Trail Again

By Thursday evening, the strong winds had blown themselves out, so we kept our Friday splash schedule. The previous Friday, the 50 ton travel lift blew a hydraulic line while hauling out a 30 ton Tayana 55. The lift has an emergency brake system so the vessel was not dropped, but since it was a Friday afternoon the Tayana along with her Aussie owners spent the weekend in the sling.


The trees trying to change into their fall colors.


The flying dink back where it belongs.


Our new 60lb Manson Supreme gracing the bow. Gracing?? How can an ugly anchor... oh well.


Back to the water. It was a special day, so Lisa let me wear my "big boy" jacket. 

A few days earlier, I had repositioned the jack stands so that I could paint under their original position. Those spots are often painted while the vessel is in the sling headed back to the water. This doesn't give the paint much time to dry, but the method supposedly works. The only spots I had to paint while in the sling were where the bottom of the keel was resting on blocks.

Fortunately, our Friday splash was uneventful. After a short motor around the small bay to make sure all systems were working properly, we dropped anchor right in front of the boatyard for the night.

Early the following morning we headed for ICW mile Zero in the city of Portsmouth. It was a good feeling to be back on the water. We left Portsmouth in the dark the next morning with the hope of arriving at the lock before it got too crowded.

But...the previous afternoon a barge damaged the lock, so it was closed until divers could make repairs. Even though you can't see through the water there, the divers had to wait for the sun to come up before they went to work. So much for beating the crowd. Fortunately they had it fixed within an hour of getting wet, but then we had to wait another 1/2 hour for the northbound traffic (1 boat) to be locked through.

Our lock through was very crowded with both sides full of boats including a raft up, and a few had to wait for the next go around. There is a bridge just south of the lock that is supposed to be synchronized with the lock, but the tender wouldn't open it for another 22 minutes after our exit from the lock--was he trained in New Orleans? There is very little room there for that many boats to hold position with the current and wind, but we survived. When an upscale 40 foot sailboat nudged between us and the trawler next to us (with one foot to spare on either side and with the anchor on his bow roller one foot from the trawler in front of him), Lisa did her teacher act--went forward with boat hook in hand. After a short conversation with the man on the foredeck of the sailboat, she learned he was upset because the trawler had passed him exiting the lock. I won't say the teacher shook the boat hook at him, but she did have a very firm grip on it, and informed him he better not hit our boat. I was more worried about him forcing us onto the rocks, but he finally backed off.

Eight or so miles down the way a large go-fast boat got too far to one side and went aground (presumably on a tree stump) at high speed. Another large go-fast boat pulled him off. I'm not sure why he didn't sink.
Our anchorage for the night was at the dreaded mile 61 on the ICW. That's where the midges basically ruined our lives this spring. We took all our enclosure down this time with the hope that the wind would keep them out of the cockpit and thus not mess up our canvas. All was good the following morning. I think the cool weather helped.
After raising anchor we had a fantastic broad reach sail to the Albermarle Sound where we turned more to starboard putting the wind on our stern. We sailed a bit off course with the main and genoa about half way across the Albermarle, then dropped the main so we could go directly downwind with just the genoa. It was a wonderful sail. We kept sailing about half way up the Alligator river before we had to turn the engine on. We made it to Belhaven late in the afternoon. Another long day, but it was beautiful.

We were disappointed to find the Laundromat closed. Irene sent 3+ feet of water into the building which seems to have ruined their machines.

This is our third day in Belhaven. The strong southerlies have subsided and it will turn cold tonight. We plan on leaving in the morning for either Broad Creek or South River. Then we hope to head to Cape Lookout Bight, before leaving for Wrightsville Beach.

Pop The Clutch and Go Already

Assuming that we have not forgotten anything, our work on the boat is basically done, but we're reluctant to drop her in the water because we know that the first swell will mess up her shine. 

There is a storm headed our way in the next few days, so we have decided to push our "splash" day back until Thursday or Friday when we hope the weather will have tired itself out. We should have been well on our way south, running from the onset of the cold season, but oh well...we've been plenty cold in Florida too.

For nearly 3 years our 55lb Delta anchor has kept us safe through many storms as well as the normal everyday/night weather that was thrown our way. I like the Delta a lot, but we had 3 instances (no harm done) in a one month period that has caused some uneasiness to creep in. We decided to buy a 60lb Manson Supreme to replace the Delta. The Manson Supreme has had rave reviews, so we hope it performs well. Most problems arise when the wind or tide shifts directions--often after many cycles--and the anchor has trouble resetting. Over all, our Delta has held and reset well, but I feel like George Steinbrenner---when your ace closer blows a few saves, can him and get a younger overpaid stud to get the job done. That is basically what we have done. But I do feel like I've thrown my best friend under the bus.

We have met several interesting people while here in the boatyard. There are a couple of boats from New Zealand, one from Tasmania, Australia, Sweden, Germany and France. I still don't speak Australian, but I have begun to think in Australian.


Peter, the Tasmanian Devil, with his sweet wife Kay.

After touring America and a bit of Canada in a van, they bought this Irwin 38 center cockpit, and are quickly whipping her into shape for their journey back to Oz. They have already made one trip from the US to Australia in a Hunter 34. Peter has many very long passages under his belt, has been around Cape Horn, and well, let's just say he's not uptight. Now I'm going to the mall to buy Rosetta Stone so I can learn to speak Australian.

Hard Aground...in a good sort of way.

We are still in shock over what was brought up attached to the underside of our boat at haul out. While the memory still gives us the shivers, Nicki May is beginning to look prom ready. As someone once said, "she sure cleans up well."

We have had varying amounts of rain nearly everyday, so the trick is to be ready when the rain stops or nothing will get done.

The topsides (waterline to deck) have been acid washed to get the tannin stains off, then a normal wash, then buffed/polished with Presta Ultra Creme Light, and finally followed by 2 coats of Collinite Fleetwax (the hard paste stuff), with a third coat from the waterline plus 18 inches.


Applying the wax.

The smooth sections of the deck and cabin top got the same treatment, but only one coat of wax. I never saw the Karate Kid, but I did see the ads. I'll take the kid on any day. I can go clockwise, counterclockwise and left or right handed--all day and then some.

I also spent several hours sanding the bottom of the boat by hand. Mostly a waste of time. Plenty of red came off but I couldn't get it smooth. We use a hard paint and I really need to invest in an orbital sander to make any headway.


The dinghy got a good cleaning as well. 

The fiberglass bottom got an acid wash, buff, and a couple coats of wax. The hypalon was a bear to clean, but it finally looks acceptable. We took advantage of a rare low humidity day, and applied 2 large hypalon reinforcement patches on the tubes where they come into contact with the davits. The 2 part epoxy we used does not tolerate humidity--really should be done in a garage or a shop where conditions can be controlled, but we don't have a garage. Sigh.

I also added 4 new lifting ubolts which are in a slightly different location than the originals. They were installed after this picture was taken.

We installed a new pressure water pump and a new accumulator tank. It was a luxury to have an unlimited water supply while trouble shooting the pressure water system.

Lisa scrubbed the side panels of our enclosure--the sections that hang down from the bimini and dodger. She did the dodger and bimini while at the marina for the hurricane.


I got 1 gallon of Trinidad SR bottom paint on before we sort of shut things down for a mini road trip. I will finish the bottom when the rain takes a break. The bottom paint contains 70% copper (which repels barnacles) and some other smelly stuff in it that repels slime. It really stinks for the first couple of days.

This side of the rudder has not been painted with the new paint yet.

Earlier this summer, Lisa got her Technician's license to be a hammy while in Southold, NY. We thought we were set, but should have read the directions. The Technician's license is only good for a hundred miles or so. Could have bought 2 cans and a string. So, Lisa got the study guide for the General test. While I was working outside the boat she was studying for test number 2.

Test day was October 8th in Davidson, Maryland--about 150 miles northeast of the boatyard. We took advantage of a weekend rate from Enterprise, went to the test site, took the scenic route home through the Blue Ridge Mountains, and of course made the obligatory stops at Walmart and Home Depot.


The testing site was kind of out in the sticks--pretty sticks though. We were glad we left early enough to find an alternate route, as part of the road was washed away not far from our destination.


Lisa exiting the Anne Arundel Amateur Radio Club where she aced her test. 

We spent that night in a hotel, then had a beautiful drive through the mountains the following day. Though not in full fall dress, the trees are changing and are quite stunning.

Shower Time

We have been having problems with our knot meter for nearly 2 years now and are on our third paddle wheel in less than 3 years. The paddle wheel contains a magnet in one of it's 4 blades which enables the knot meter to count the revolutions and thus figure out the speed of the vessel through the water.

When our first one quit working in less than a year, I pulled the knotmeter out of the hull, left the blank plug in the hole, took the wheel off the knotmeter, then left it on the nav table. After several days out of the water, the magnet busted out of it's hard plastic housing making the problem obvious. Somehow saltwater got inside the paddle wheel and caused the magnet to rust, which then caused it to break out.

Our second one didn't work very well either. It always read slow then it got to where it wouldn't read at all. While in the Bahamas, I visually inspected it many times with snorkel and my fish killing fake feet, and all seemed well. We bought our third one when we got up north but were not able to get it to read while under way. With it laying in the bilge, we could flick it with a finger and speed would register, but got nothing underway. Plenty of water would come in through the hull when installing, so that wasn't the problem. I got in the dinghy with my long handled brush and would swipe in it's general direction, and Lisa would see speed readings on the instrument panel.

We decided to wait on buying a whole new knot meter until after our haulout--just in case we saw something obvious obstructing the flow of water in front of the paddle wheel.

Hold off on lunch for a second.


This is not the armpit of an East German female Olympic shot putter, but rather the marlon thru-hole (with blank installed) for our knotmeter. We are hoping our problem is solved, but no guarantees. Word is, NYC had a significant sewage spill--that may kill some things but it makes other things grow rapidly.


Underneath all that "hair" is a bronze strut. At least the strut won't get cold.


Another disgusting shot of the prop, strut, shaft and zincs. Man, I hate global warming. Or is it cooling...I can't keep it straight. Oh now I remember...it's global fluctuation.


Mike pressure washing the bottom.


Backing up the hill to her parking spot. I wish she backed up this nicely while in the water.

I've spent a couple of days getting the last of the barnacles off, sanding part of the bottom, polishing the prop, and acid washing the tannin stains off the topsides. She's not ready for the prom, but she's getting there. We've had rain the last couple of days, but the next step is a very light compound polish and then a wax job. Our new bottom paint should be here by Monday, but we won't apply that quite yet.

So far we like the boat yard here very much. The folks are very accommodating and friendly. Our fridge/freezer is being used as an ice box (ie buying ice every other day) since it is keel cooled and we are not in the water. There is a washer and dryer here as well as restrooms/showers. It's a bit primitive but better than camping. We have unlimited water for boat projects, but it is not really potable, so we have to use our good water sparingly. They will lone us a truck to get good water from the local fire station.

Port Washington to Deltaville

After constant consulting with her Kindle, the Weather Babe declared that we had a window to start our journey South. The plan was to go from Port Washington to Atlantic Highlands on Friday, then head down the Jersey coast Monday or Tuesday when the swells from Katia would die down. Because we were concerned about excess debris from Irene and regional flooding, we decided to bypass the Delaware Bay route and enter the Chesapeake from the south end.

The forecast predicted too little wind for sailing, but we were anxious to leave the New York City area before 9/11, and arrive in the Chesapeake before the effects of Maria appeared (she ended up staying well to the east).

We had a beautiful day running with the tide through NYC. The East River was quite busy. Before leaving, Lisa had checked Local Notice to Mariners to make sure the authorities didn't shut down the river because of the fast approaching 9/11. It would be a bummer if they made us turn around into a current that is nearly as fast as our maximum speed.

It wasn't long before we saw some of the effect of the flooding in the Northeast. As soon as we passed the Harlem River, which runs between the Hudson River and the East River, the water turned cafe latte brown.

Although the East River was quite congested, the Lower Bay of New York Harbor was nearly vacant. That, along with the brown water gave us an eerie feeling. As Lisa said, it felt like we were in one of those 1970s movies depicting life after a nuke war. We started to wonder if we had missed something on the news. The nearly empty harbor is still a mystery to us.


A very muddy New York Harbor. 

After anchoring in Atlantic Highlands, I had just enough time to run up to the hardware store to fill our propane tanks. We don't like leaving the boat too soon after anchoring, so Lisa stayed with her just to be safe. This is one of the easier locations for us to get propane, so we didn't want to miss that opportunity. There was a chance we would leave the following morning if Weather Underground downgraded the swell alert.

We ended up leaving just before one pm the following day. Our goal was to pass the mouth of the Delaware Bay in daylight the following morning in case there were trees floating around. We also wanted to arrive at the mouth of the Chesapeake at the start of the flood tide.

The water along the New Jersey coast didn't look too good so we decided not to run our watermaker this time around. We saw no trees or debris anywhere near the Delaware.

Our first day and night were very pleasant. We had some pretty decent swells, but they were wide, rounded and far apart--not the washing machine variety. The following day was pleasant as well. Although it was on the nose, we had enough wind to sail slowly. This meant tacking back and forth. In the process we had another bird bum a ride from us. I guess he didn't get the memo.

By this time we were getting Coastguard reports of trees, a telephone pole, and a runaway dock near the entrance to the Chesapeake. At 11 pm the winds picked up to the mid 20s and still on the nose. This made things very uncomfortable the rest of the way to the Chesapeake.

A bridge and tunnel system runs across the mouth of the Chesapeake. There are 3 places for boats larger than small fishing boats to enter/exit. On the western side a small section of the bridge rises to 75 feet. At the other two spots the bridge turns into a tunnel allowing marine traffic to go over instead of under.

We were originally going to drop anchor in the Poquoson River, but decided to carry on to Fishing Bay in Delatville, Va. We dropped anchor, rested up for a day and then headed to Chesapeake Boat Works--a whopping 100 yards from the spot of our anchor. Nicki May was in much need of some out of the water TLC.

We tied up for the night at the dock near the travel lift.


The following morning we guided her around some very sharp steel corners.

Don't eat breakfast just yet.

The keel cooler for our Frigoboat not looking too good.


The same keel cooler after being pressure washed. The sacrificial zincs are in decent shape, but we'll change them before she is splashed.

Girl Invasion

With the hurricane threat come and gone, I woke up one day to the news that something else was about to hit us--company. Lisa and I took a train to NYC to met Karen and Jessea, saw some city sights, then we all boarded another train and returned to our boat.

We didn't have much time, but we hit Penn Station, Grand Central Station, Times Square, Ground Zero and the highlight of the day-- a stop at a bead store.


I was amused as I watched NYC pedestrians bounce off the sidewalk as the backpack brigade plowed through the city.

Give me another month as their tour guide and I think I could convince them not to say hi to everyone they pass on the sidewalk--or maybe not. You can take the girl out of the South, but you can't take the South out of the girl.


Karen, Lisa and Jessea at Times Square. 

As I said before, it was Jessie, then Jessi, then Jessie again. Now I am informed it is Jessea, but that is not official at this time. So from here on I will use Jess until further confirmation.


The ladies couldn't figure out what a cowboy was doing in the middle of New York City.


Jess and her Aunt Lisa gracing a landing at Grand Central Station.

We took the scenic route on the subway to Ground Zero. Karen wanted to see Harlem right? Something about getting on the northbound instead of the southbound.


Lots of construction going on around Ground Zero.


Hmmm. Karen says this is from a wet dinghy ride. Out of respect, we will take her word for it. The chop was up, and she was the only one sitting on the windward side--somebody had to.

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.