by Judy Handley | Jul 29, 2015 | Cape Cod, Sailing Logs Year 10 |
Day 292, Year 10: New Temporary Address
Date: Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Weather: Beautiful Day with Just Enough Wind for a Great Sail
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, MA
At the end of a very busy day, Windbird has a new temporary address. We had a great late afternoon sail up Buzzards Bay from Quissett Harbor to Fiddler’s Cove. Tomorrow morning the boat will be hauled so we can assess the damages from our collision with the wind about a month ago.
I had just about finished writing tonight’s log when my computer turned itself off—out of power. And I lost the entire log, so this second edition will be a short one. We started off with breakfast with friends Jon Greenberg and Connie Rosemont.
I then had a marsh explore with Sam, Jonah, and Ollie and good friends Bruce and Jane Woodin who were there with their grandchildren, Aurora and Jasper. We took Sam to class, delivered Heather and Jed’s van to Fiddler’s Cove, stopped by Heather’s work for a little video session of the boys with Heather, and got back to Quissett just in time to get ready for our sail. Heather and Jed arrived and off we went. Once we arrived in Fiddler’s Cove we all got into Heather and Jed’s van to go to dinner at the Beach House and then drove back to Quissett to pick up the other cars. Ollie had a mini-meltdown as he had thought he and his brothers were sleeping on Windbird tonight. So we packed the boys in our car and they are now sleeping soundly here on Windbird. I was going to go get them early in the morning so they can watch Windbird being hauled out of the water, so Ollie’s idea of an overnight was perfect. But if Oma is going to be ready for another busy day, I’d better get to bed!
by Judy Handley | Jul 28, 2015 | Cape Cod, Sailing Logs Year 10 |
Day 291, Year 10: Last Day in Quissett Harbor . . . for a Bit
Date: Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Weather: Sunny Early, Then Overcast; Rainy Late Afternoon
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, MA
Today was our last full day in Quissett Harbor for a bit . . . maybe two weeks, maybe more. We’ll know more about a return date on Thursday once Windbird is out of the water and the damages from our grounding can be assessed. So we had one last morning of fun here with the boys. Today’s big activity was filling the dinghy with water to try and sink it. And then, of course, getting the water out of the dinghy and back into the harbor.
Mark joined us on shore for part of the morning and then the boys and I took off on an explore down the beach, through the woods, and across to the beach on the other side of The Knob. Sam wanted to snorkel off that beach as Heather has told us that it is a bit of nursery for baby fish. Sam didn’t see any babies, but he swears he saw a very big fish. Whatever, it is great to see him snorkeling and free diving. Jonah, Ollie, and I just enjoyed the beach and then we returned to the other side and back to Windbird. The boys were hungry and they ate and ate and ate. It was overcast this morning, so it felt cooler than usual. They wanted chicken noodle soup, so I heated one can, then two, and then three. Three boys ate three cans of Campbell’s chicken noodle soup, ate crackers with cheese and bacon. Sam had to leave for class at that point, but Jonah and Ollie continued by eating more bacon, drinking Kefir, and then eating fruit. The boys had decided to go home for the afternoon to ride bikes. We went home but the bike riding never happened. And by the time Mark and I left, it was raining. The rain was preceded by some serious rumbling, but the thunder settled down once the rain started to fall.
Tomorrow morning we are meeting friends from our days in Concord, NH at The Fishmonger Café in Woods Hole for breakfast. Jon Greenberg and Connie Rosemont now live in the DC area, but when we all lived in Concord, Jon worked at New Hampshire Public Radio with Mark. He is now with PolitiFact, a fact checking organization, in the DC area. We haven’t seen Jon or Connie since 2005, so we have lots of catching up to do. After breakfast, Heather will deliver the boys to Woods Hole to meet up with me and then we will be off to Wood Neck for a low tide morning explore. In the afternoon, Heather and Jed will join us in Quissett and we will sail north to Fiddlers Cove.
by Judy Handley | Jul 27, 2015 | Cape Cod, Sailing Logs Year 10 |
Day 290, Year 10: Rainy Day Activities
Date: Monday, July 27, 2015
Weather: Rainy Morning, Clearing in the Afternoon
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, MA
Rainy day activities were the name of the game this morning. Mark and I didn’t hear the thunder in the wee hours of the morning, but thunder and lightning woke Heather’s crew at 4 am and there was not a lot of sleeping to be done from then until time to really get up. Ollie was the problem as he was scared and just could not get back to sleep. Heather has to be out of the house by 8:00 am on Monday mornings as she is on the air at 9:00. By the time Mark and I arrived at 9 am, Ollie wanted to immediately show us the fantastic wooden block castle he had built with his dad. All of the boys had already been out playing in the rain, so once we arrived, they were ready for an indoor activity. They all headed to the basement to work in their wood shop. Jonah brought the little boom box to the basement so they could listen to music while they worked. We got everything set up and there was a lot of hammering while listening to one of their favorite CD’s. Then all of a sudden, all three boys were making music with their tools. The Home Depot 5 gallon buckets that they were using as stools all of a sudden became drums and the long pieces of wood they had been nailing together became drum sticks. Sam discovered that he could hit the heads of two hammers together making a great sound to keep the beat while Ollie and Jonah beat their inverted buckets. Jonah was the conductor and at some point he ran upstairs to get real drum sticks. The result was quite impressive and I joined in by clapping my hands. That is, until I realized that I really needed to document this on video. So I got my camera and tried to capture the moment. We probably played music for more than 15-20 minutes and then decided that they the rain had stopped enough to allow us to ride bikes.
Unfortunately by the time we got the bikes out and went upstairs to get shoes on, it was raining harder again. Oh well, by now it was time to get lunch for Sam and head out with the gang to take Granddad to work at West Marine. I didn’t expect Mark to make it for more than an hour today as he was really weak, but he actually made it from 11 am to 7 pm. Thankfully for him, this was his last scheduled work day for a while. Sylvia, the manager, is having to cut back and this will work out great for Mark. He loves his work at West Marine, but this new chemo regimen is taking its toll and he needs more rest.
The boys and I dropped Mark off at West Marine and we headed to the Woods Hole Aquarium, trying to catch the 11 am seal show. No go. I forgot that the aquarium is closed on Mondays, so instead we went to the Buzzards Bay Coalition and played in the touch tank until time to walk Sam to the 12 noon class. An hour and a half later, Jonah, Ollie, and I picked Sam up and headed home for more bike riding and a nap for Ollie. So despite the rain, we had a fun day. The afternoon cleared allowing us to play outside. Tomorrow might be another rainy day, but we are going to hope for weather that will allow us to have a fun day here in Quissett Harbor. On Wednesday afternoon we sail Windbird from here to Fiddlers Cove and on Thursday morning, Windbird will be hauled for bottom repairs. So tomorrow is our last day on this great mooring in Quissett’s inner harbor. When we return in late August, we will once again be in the outer harbor. So we’ll make the best of tomorrow.
by Judy Handley | Jul 26, 2015 | Cape Cod, Sailing Logs Year 10 |
Day 289, Year 10: Happy Birthday, Olivia!
Date: Sunday, July 26, 2015
Weather: Overcast
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, MA
Tonight we went to Olivia White’s 78th birthday party. She is an amazing woman and we wish her the happiest of birthdays. I can only hope to be as healthy and happy as Olivia on my 78th.
Mark went to work today but couldn’t make it all day. His energy level is really being affected by the chemo treatment. I was supposed to be on Windbird, but I ended up at Heather’s with Jonah and Ollie while Heather, Jed, and Sam went to Hyannis. Luckily I was headed to downtown Falmouth to a Car Show with Jonah and Ollie when Mark sent a text asking where we were. We ended up meeting him at the Car Show and bringing him home with us. Sam came home from Hyannis with a brand new bicycle. He was one happy little boy.
by Judy Handley | Jul 26, 2015 | Cape Cod, Sailing Logs Year 10 |
Day 288, Year 10: Messing About in Boats
Date: Saturday, July 25, 2015
Weather: Sunny, Windy, Cooler—High Temp 72 degrees F
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, MA
Today was all about messing about in boats . . . breakfast in Windbird’s sunny cockpit, early morning kayaking and “dinghying” around the harbor, and just generally enjoying life on the water. The morning got off to a good start thanks to me and to Jed. Sam is notorious for getting up EARLY and when you are in the confines of a 42-foot sailboat, keeping an eight year-old early riser quiet while everyone else sleeps can be quite a challenge. Add a six year-old brother who sometimes gets up early as well, and you have double trouble. Last night I told Sam and Jonah that if they got up early this morning they could play Minecraft on our phones if they were very, very quiet. This is a video game that is very popular with the young ones. Sam and Jonah are allowed to play it once in a while, and since they love playing it so much, it is a treat to get time to do this. So I figured this morning was the perfect time. They were up sometime between 6 and 7 am and were fairly quiet for over an an hour without any adult intervention. I got up just before 8 o’clock and started fixing breakfast. Shortly after that, Jed got up and he ‘policed’ the crowd while they were eating. Heather and Ollie slept in a little longer and finally, just before 9 am, Mark got up. By this time Sam was off to the beach in the kayak and Heather and Jonah swam to shore. At least I think that was the order of events. Whatever, Ollie wanted to go in the kayak, so we took the dinghy to shore for the big boys and Heather and we took off in the kayak. It was a beautiful, quiet ride and Ollie really did hold his own paddling. We paddled to the rocky islet in the middle of the harbor that the Goldstone boys claim as their very own island (only visible at low tide) and we watched three strikingly beautiful birds, American Oyster Catchers, using their long, bright orange beaks to feast on clams for breakfast. The last time I saw oyster catchers was in New Zealand, so this was a special citing. Sam and Jed went to the dock in the dinghy to do a little fishing while Jonah and Granddad played chess and ate pretzels in the cockpit. As I heard Heather saying at this point, it was a most civilized morning. But it had to come to an end as the whole gang was invited to an 11 am birthday party. The Goldstones took the dinghy to shore and left Granddad and I on the boat. They were having such a good time that they wanted to return after the birthday party. Mark and I both actually took naps and then regrouped for the afternoon. Heather and Jed had offered to do the work if Mark wanted to go out sailing, but he really didn’t feel up to it. This new chemo treatment is much harder on him and he just needs more rest. So when H, J, and boys returned, we headed to the beach, leaving Granddad to rest. The temperature today was only about 72 degrees F, a good 10-15 degrees cooler than the past few days, so Ollie and Jonah eventually got cold and wanted to go back to Windbird. Jed and I stayed on the beach with Mr. Energy, one Samuel Goldstone, who moves so fast that he wouldn’t know if he was cold. And just as I was thinking of going back to the boat, Brian Keefe, H & J’s next door neighbor, arrived on the beach with his two little ones, Molly and Joey. Eventually we all ended up on Windbird for an impromptu party of sorts. The five kids were a bit rambunctious at times, but I thought they played amazingly well together in such a small space. At one point they were all on deck and Jonah started singing the sea shanty, “What Shall We Do with a Drunken Sailor?” Heather had just said something that prompted Jonah to sing, “Put her in the brig with the captain’s daughter”—and Sam immediately retorted by saying to Jonah that she (mommy) WAS the captain’s daughter. We all got a good laugh out of that one and then the pirates continued marching around the deck singing the shanty. Before the Keefe’s headed back to shore, Molly was doing some art work with Jonah and she wrote a thank you note to Mark and I—totally on her own. She and Jonah are the same age and I was pretty impressed that a six year-old would think to write a thank you note just for having her onboard the boat. And four year-old Joey hugged me when he was ready to leave. I see him almost every day at Heather and Jed’s, but this was my first hug. Good kids.
So it was a delightful day in Quissett Harbor messing about on boats. Many of the smaller classic sailboats that call Quissett Harbor their home were out and about this afternoon, so we enjoyed watching them as well. All in all, it was just a good day.
by Judy Handley | Jul 24, 2015 | Cape Cod, Sailing Logs Year 10 |
Day 287, Year 10: Enjoying Quissett Harbor
Date: Friday, July 24, 2015
Weather: Yet Another Beautiful Day
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, MA
It is 10:30 at night and all is well on Windbird. Heather and Ollie are asleep in the v-berth. Sam and Jonah are asleep on the settees in the main saloon. Jed is in the cockpit reading. I am in the bed in the aft cabin writing this log while Mark is sleeping beside me. It was a great day. Heather and Jed dropped the boys off this morning and then they headed to work. Mark stayed aboard Windbird to rest while I went to the beach with the boys. We played on the beach until time for Sam to head to Woods Hole for his School of Science Class. While he was there, the rest of us went into Falmouth to the supermarket and then went to Belltower Park to have lunch and play until time to Pick-up Sam. We then returned to Quissett for more afternoon fun. Sam can now take the dinghy across the harbor by himself and Jonah can steer the kayak alone. Ollie desperately wants to be able to do everything his big brothers can do, but unfortunately he has to rely on them to take him along for at least another year or two. Thankfully, they are willing to take him along. When Heather arrived in the late afternoon and Sam took the dinghy to shore to pick her up, I think she was amazed at his ability to handle the dinghy alone. And then Jonah swam with Heather from the beach out to Windbird. He had on his ‘swimmies’ but just the fact that he was willing to be in water over head was amazing. He has always had more than a healthy fear of water, but this summer he is getting over that. We had a great evening, even fit in a little fishing at the end of the day, and will start again tomorrow morning.
