by Judy Handley | Jun 29, 2015 | Cape Cod, Sailing Logs Year 10 |
Day 262, Year 10: Gardening Grandmas
Date: Monday, June 29, 2015
Weather: Cloudy Early, Then Sunny; Temp Barely 70 degrees F
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, MA
Late this afternoon I was at Heather and Jed’s weeding in the vegetable garden in the backyard. Jed’s mom is visiting and she was in the front yard planting new perennials in Heather’s bee garden. Heather got home about that time and announced how glad she is that her children have two gardening grandmas. Tomorrow Marti and I are going to share the grandma child care duties, but maybe by the end of the day we’ll get a chance to get back to our gardening. The vegetable garden definitely needs our attention.
Mark took me to shore at 9 am so that I could head to Heather and Jed’s to fulfill my Camp Oma duties. We got ready to go to the beach and then headed to Quissett to pick Granddad up and take him to work at West Marine. Then Sam, Jonah, Ollie, and I spent the rest of our morning at the beach here in Quissett Harbor. The boys played so nicely together, so it was a joy to just watch them.
Heather came to the beach to pick Jonah up just after noon as he had a check-up with his ear specialist, and soon after, Ollie and I took Sam to Woods Hole for his first Science School class of the summer. He is enrolled in the Woods, Field, and Pond class for the first session. The Science School is in the same building that serves as Ollie’s preschool during the school year. This made Ollie very curious about what Sam was doing there. Explaining what a ‘class’ is to a three year-old is an interesting experience. He finally understood when I said Sam was going to learn new things.
The reality of what happened to us last Tuesday evening is just now beginning to sink in. The cost of the TowBoat US rescue is at least $200 per foot which translates as $8,400 minimum. Our TowBoat US insurance will not cover the cost because we dragged over rocks. Evidently it has to be a ‘soft’ landing for the TowBoat insurance to kick in. So this means we have to file a claim with our regular boat insurance. They are not being very responsive, and we haven’t even started talking about the repairs to the bottom of the rudder and the keel. I have a feeling this is going to end up to be a very expensive wind storm for us.
by Judy Handley | Jun 28, 2015 | Cape Cod, Sailing Logs Year 10 |
Day 261, Year 10: Another Big Blow
Date: Sunday, June 28, 2015
Weather: Overcast with Rain, Windy Overnight, Temp in the Upper 60’s F
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, MA
What is it with this weather? We have been living aboard Windbird in either Eel Pond in Woods Hole or here in Quissett Harbor since the summer of 2011. We have weathered a few hurricanes that passed close-by and when I look back in my logs, I see no wind stronger than 35 knots with gusts to 50 even when the hurricanes were passing. This past week we had wind greater than 75 knots on Tuesday night and last night we had 50 knot winds. No hurricane, no tornado, just a lot of wind! Windbird is now in the inner harbor at Quissett on a 1,000 pound mooring, so last night we didn’t drag, but we were awakened by things crashing to the floor as Windbird heeled over in the strong wind. We can only remember this type of thing happening to us once before in the last twelve years of living aboard and that was when we were at a dock in Simon’s Town, South Africa. While there we had sustained winds of 35 knots, with gusts to 40 and 50, for a week or so at a time. But that was South Africa where this is supposed to happen. When we went to shore this morning to take Mark to work, we drove through downed tree limbs just like last Wednesday morning. If anyone has any insight into what is happening, please let us know.
After I took Mark to work this morning, I went to the grocery store. Then I came home and cooked all day in preparation for a very busy week. Our Australian sailing friends, Geoff and Chris of Shambala, should be sailing into Quissett Harbor sometime this week on their way to Newfoundland. And then on Saturday, our friends Kevin and Claire of Merganser will arrive . . . by car, not by boat. In addition, Mark works three of the next five days and Camp Oma is up and running in full gear. Thus, the Sunday cooking frenzy so we’ll have something to eat at the end of these busy days.
by Judy Handley | Jun 27, 2015 | Cape Cod, Sailing Logs Year 10 |
Day 260, Year 10: Jonah’s Cheetah Birthday Party
Date: Saturday, June 27, 2015
Weather: Overcast with Rain Late Evening, Temp in the Upper 60’s F
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, MA
Jonah’s cheetah-themed birthday party today was so much fun. Jonah loves cheetahs, so having a cheetah theme party was his idea. He wanted to have a cheetah chase (cheetahs chasing gazelles) and then he wanted the ‘cheetahs’ to feast on the ‘gazelles’ they caught. This was to be accomplished by having the ‘cheetahs’ eat watermelon. Sounds a bit too realistic and gory, but everyone had fun doing it. Grammie Goldstone added to the fun with two games. The first was Pin the Tail on the Cheetah and the second was using water pistols to put out a wild fire on the savannah. The fire was a lit candle and I couldn’t believe how hard it was to put out the fire. But the kids kept lining up to try again and again. The pottery cheetah items Heather found at a neighborhood yard sale last weekend added to the theme and the Wild Kratts cheetah chocolate cake she decorated was a huge success, as well as absolutely delicious. The day was not without problems, but as they say, “All is well that ends well.” And Jonah had a really great afternoon. After the party, Heather and Mark fell asleep on the living room sofas. Heather is not sick, just exhausted. Mark’s cold is still taking its toll on his energy level, but he is hoping to go to work at West Marine tomorrow and make it through the day. Here’s hoping.
by Judy Handley | Jun 26, 2015 | Cape Cod, Sailing Logs Year 10 |
Day 259, Year 10: Happy Birthday, Jonah
Date: Friday, June 26, 2015
Weather: Overcast, Drizzly Morning; Sunny Afternoon, Temp in the Low 70’s F
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, MA
Today was Jonah’s 6th birthday and a happy birthday it was, indeed. I’m copying here Heather’s birthday wish to Jonah that I copied from her Facebook page. It sums him up perfectly.
My sweet Jonah bear is
a lover, an imp, and a truly free spirit
a fruititarian with an unparalleled sweet tooth
a kindergarten graduate
happiest in his birthday suit
SIX!
Happy birthday, my beautiful boy!
We started the morning by watching The Lego Movie that Mark and I gave all three boys. About the time the movie ended, Molly and Joey from next door came over to play. Actually Sam ended up going with Joey to his house to play with Legos and Molly, Jonah, and Ollie stayed with me. Just after noon, Grammie arrived and we all had lunch. Jed’s mother comes only once a year to visit, so it is a very special time for the boys. When Jed got home from work, I left to go pick-up Mark and we returned for the present opening and for a Friday birthday taco dinner. We will return tomorrow early afternoon for Jonah’s birthday party with friends. But we will get a slow start in the morning, letting Mark sleep in as long as possible. He has a full-blown summer cold and needs to rest as much as possible.
by Judy Handley | Jun 25, 2015 | Cape Cod, Sailing Logs Year 10 |
Day 258, Year 10: First Day of Camp Oma 2015
Date: Thursday, June 25, 2015
Weather: Sunny Day, Temp in the Upper 70’s F
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, MA
Oma’s summer camp has begun. Yesterday was the last day of school, so today I had all three boys and we were off to the beach early in the morning. Mark was supposed to work today, but he has a terrible cold and needed to deal with the Yamaha dinghy engine that got submersed in salt water night before last. So he stayed home today. He moved Windbird onto a mooring in the inner harbor and stopped at the boatyard dock on the way to fill up with water. He got the Yamaha to the dock and it is now soaking in fresh water and will be picked up tomorrow to be worked on. Hopefully it is not ruined. In the meantime, Heather and Jed’s 4 hp Mercury motor is serving us just fine. We are so thankful they had this motor in their basement as rowing a rigid inflatable to and from shore is just too hard. It is fun to paddle about, but when you really need to get somewhere on time, the difficulty of getting there takes all the fun out of it.
Tomorrow is Jonah’s 6th birthday. Jed’s mother arrives around noon and then the birthday celebrations will begin. The party is on Saturday, but we’ll give Jonah his gifts tomorrow evening. So there should be lots of fun ahead in the next couple of days.
by Judy Handley | Jun 24, 2015 | Cape Cod, Sailing Logs Year 10 |
Day 257, Year 10: Day After
Date: Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Weather: Mostly Sunny Day, Windy, Temp in the Upper 70’s F
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, MA
I feel like I have a ‘day after’ hangover. Last night was quite a scary experience and it is going to take a while to recover. But TowBoat US did dive on Windbird today and the underwater photos show that the damage is really minimal compared to the experience. The rudder obviously ground itself on rocks for a couple of hours and the bottom edge is badly frayed, but otherwise there are just scrapes and gouges along the bottom of the keel. Lucky, lucky, lucky. We had to row to shore this morning since our dinghy engine spent time underwater last night and as we rowed in, it was obvious that the rest of the harbor went basically unscathed. The boat beside us lost its dodger and one other boat drug on its mooring, but Windbird was definitely singled out. Why us? Probably because we were directly in the path of whatever and we have so much windage—the cockpit enclosure and the stack pack for the mainsail provide great places to catch wind. But I think it was more than that. There are trees and large tree limbs that were downed in this area last night and the electricity was off for some time. The National Weather Service is gathering data from last night evidently thinking we had some sort of unusual occurrence, and I would definitely agree that it was unusual—not quite a tornado, but almost. Sure hope we never have to live through that again! Rick, the harbor master here, is going to help Mark out with the dinghy engine tomorrow morning and he is going to move us into the inner harbor for the next month to give us a chance to recover. Rick and Weatherly work hard at making sure all of the moorings here are well maintained and after talking to Rick today it is obvious that he feels terrible about what happened to us. But it was not his fault. It was a freak of nature that couldn’t be prevented. Regardless, he wants us to move Windbird into the inner harbor for the next month to a mooring that is available until late July. He also wants Mark to bring the dinghy motor in early tomorrow morning and he will have someone haul it ashore and will provide a place to soak it in fresh water. After that, we will have to find someone who can check it out and hopefully get it running again. He also shared with Mark how frightening it was to be in a house last night when the wind was at its height. Rick and Weatherly live just across the street from the boatyard and every lot on that street lost huge tree limbs that came crashing down. Rick said he just went to the chimney and held on tight as the house vibrated from the strong winds. Once they subsided, he got in his tender and came out to help us.
Mark had a full day of chemo treatment today. This was the first treatment with Irinotecan added to this regimen and it took six hours. I had no idea it was going to take that long and Mark was not answering my phone calls—not intentionally not answering, but just not hearing the vibration mode. So I was worried sick by the end of the afternoon. Heather stepped forward today and was my super hero for the day. Sam and Jonah had their last morning of school. Sam went home with a friend, Jonah went to the beach with next door neighbors, and Heather, Ollie, and I drove out to Quissett Harbor at 2 pm. I stayed in the van with a sleeping Ollie and Heather got in the dinghy to row it out to Windbird to be there when TowBoat US arrived to dive on the bottom. The wind was strong from the SW which meant she was rowing right into it. I would never have been able to do that, and even she was struggling. But all of a sudden the TowBoat US boat was coming into the inner harbor. She waved them down and explained that she was our representative and Dan invited her aboard and towed the dinghy out to Windbird. He dove on the boat, reported back to Heather, and she called me on her cell phone to give me the updates. It soon became obvious that the damage was not disastrous and soon Dan returned to the boatyard dock with Heather and Windbird’s dinghy in tow. He then showed me the photos and I was quite relieved. Little Ollie slept in the van while all of this was going on, and when he woke up, he wanted to see the tow boat. Heather took him out on the dock to see it and then it was time to hustle back to East Falmouth to pick Sam and Jonah. Heather then insisted that we head to the oncology center to check on Mark. He was walking out of the building as we drove in, so I got out to drive him back to Heather’s. There we finished an email he had started to the insurance company and got it sent off before the 5 pm deadline and Heather carried their 4 hp Mercury motor out to the car. She was convinced that Mark was going to further injure his shoulder rowing out to Windbird in the strong winds, thus the loan of the motor. It hadn’t been started for a few years, but once we got it on the dinghy, it started right up. And she was right. It would have taken us forever, plus strained muscles, to get out to Windbird rowing against the wind. Thank you, Heather, for all of your support and help today.
It is too soon to tell what kind of side effects Mark is going to have with his new treatment, but he is fast asleep already tonight—exhausted. He was supposed to go to a 6:30 am meeting at West Marine, but instead he will get our dinghy motor to shore to start the repair process. He will then go to work at West Marine at 9:30 am and hopes to be able to make it through the day. I’ll be off to the beach with S, J, and O. It is the first day of Camp Oma.
Note: Today’s photos show Ollie getting a set of ‘big boy’ Legos as an end-of-the-school-year present. He opened his present when we first arrived in the morning and Granddad helped him build before taking off for his treatment.
