by Judy Handley | Sep 3, 2015 | Cape Cod, Sailing Logs Year 10 |
Day 328, Year 10: From the Beach to Boston and Back
Date: Thursday, September 3, 2015
Weather: Sunny, Temp Still in the 80’s F,
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, MA
There was plenty of activity today from going to the beach with the boys to driving to Boston to pick Mark up from a procedure that was delayed by more than four hours. The delay meant we just got home at about 11 pm. So it was also a l-o-n-g day.
Mark and I went to Heather and Jed’s as usual this morning and then the boys and I took Mark to the bus station to catch a bus to Boston. He had to be at Mass General at 1 pm and I needed to take care of Sam, Jonah, and Ollie, so the bus seemed the best solution. The boys and I then went to Wood Neck Beach. The tide was coming up and it was the highest tide I have ever seen there. The incoming tide made for good in-coming current riding, but the water was moving super fast—too fast for me to able to safely ‘catch’ Jonah. He is light as a feather and just doesn’t have the strength to fight the current. So he only rode the current in a couple of times. It was just too strong for Ollie, but Sam enjoyed a few rides. At some point, I realized that the tide was coming up so high that the parking area was covered in water. So we all started walking towards the parking lot so I could move the car. About that time, we spotted Melissa Keefe, Heather and Jed’s neighbor, with Molly and Joey. The boys were super excited to have beach friends, but first, Melissa and I both had to move our cars. Once that job was done, the kids really enjoyed playing together at the beach. Just after noon, the tide started to turn. Now the water in Lazy River was rushing out to sea and it was much deeper than normal. But Melissa and I decided that we would let all but Ollie ride the current. She would stay at the starting line and I would stand in the middle of the ‘river’ downstream keeping kids from riding out to sea with the strong current. The problem was that the kids started down Lazy River before I could get to the end point, so Sam, Jonah, Molly, and Joey almost zoomed out to sea. Melissa rushed to help me and people on the beach also pitched in. I first caught Jonah and sent him back through the current where a young man held on to him for me. Melissa caught Molly and Joey and another boy held on to Sam. About this time our friend Jane Woodin waved from the opposite shore. The current was just too strong and there was no way I could over to her side to say hello. Besides, I was still saving kids from the current. So I’ll say it now, “Hello, Jane.” She had the ‘minis’, her four year-old twin grandchildren, but they were sensibly playing on the beach, not in the rushing current, and being four, they seemed to be absolutely fine with that. It is tough with the age differences between Sam, Jonah, and Ollie. The things that are appropriate and fun for Sam, and mostly appropriate for Jonah (with a little help), are just not appropriate for Ollie. So when I am by myself with them, I am stretched to the max trying to let Sam and Jonah do one thing while Ollie is doing another. It will always be like this, but as Ollie gets a little older, I think it will get easier.
At 2 pm, Jed came to be with the kids and I left for Boston to pick Mark up. I mentioned in last night’s log that he was having a liver biopsy and having what I called ‘radiation seeds’ implanted. We found out today that the ‘seeds’ are tiny gold stones. So now Mark has “three gold stones” implanted in his abdominal cavity. These are not radioactive. They simply help triangulate the exact location where the radiation beam should be focused. They also did a liver biopsy. But all of this was done after he had to wait in the waiting room all afternoon. There was an emergency situation with the person scheduled in the imaging operating room before him and it was not until after I arrived and waited with him for another hour that they took him in. That was at 5:15 pm, but he was out in one hour as they promised and was allowed to head home much sooner than they had said. He is fine other than being on pain meds for a sharp pain in his left shoulder. Evidently there is some connection between the liver and the shoulder area and the pain made him very uncomfortable. But once he took the pain meds, he was fine. After an hour and a half in recovery, we were allowed to head home. We stopped along the way to get dinner. They gave him a sandwich and some juice after the procedure, but since he had not eaten or had anything to drink since midnight, he was still a hungry bear. This living with cancer thing is just sometimes no fun at all, but somehow Mark goes through all these procedures with grace and no complaints. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be a good patient like him. And I hope I never have to find out.
Tomorrow we will celebrate the end of summer and the end of Camp Oma for 2015 as school here starts on Tuesday. The temperature is supposed to drop about ten degrees tomorrow as the winds will be blowing in fairly strong from the North. So I don’t think we are going to the beach tomorrow. I haven’t fully decided yet, but I think we will head to Hyannis to play mini-golf at Pirate Cove. But, shhhh, don’t tell the boys. I want it to be a secret until we arrive tomorrow morning.
by Judy Handley | Sep 2, 2015 | Cape Cod, Sailing Logs Year 10 |
Day 327, Year 10: A Winning Equation
Date: Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Weather: Sunny with Haze Around the Horizon, Temp 80’s F,
Location: Back Home in Quissett Harbor, MA
4 days + 3 boys + 2 grandparents + 1 boat = A Super 10 Sailing Vacation
We had a super sailing vacation with the Goldpebbles. We were very unsure as to whether Ollie would hang in there for the duration, but that ended up a non-issue. All three boys were fantastic for the entire time. So next summer we will plan to go for a full week. It was such a special thing to be able to share our sailing lifestyle with the grandkids. We are with the boys every day in the summer, but it is quite different and very special to live with them day and night.
We returned to Quissett Harbor just after noon, and after taking all the gear to shore and eating lunch aboard Windbird, we headed home. Ollie got his nap and Sam and Jonah just enjoyed being home. At 5 o’clock we headed to Woods Hole to meet up with Jed. Heather is attending a conference in Woods Hole this week, but had time at 5:30 to meet up with Jed and the boys. Mark and I then headed back to Quissett to have dinner with Bob and Beth Lux. These are friends from the Concord (NH) Yacht Club that are keeping their boat here until the end of the season. Beth brought a great chicken casserole and we added the trimmings. We had a great evening together. We spent way too much time tonight talking about our vagabond life, so when we get together the next time, we told Bob and Beth that they were going to have to tell us stories of their sail around the world. We look forward to spending more time with them when they are here in Quissett.
Tomorrow Mark has to return to Mass General. We didn’t know he was going to have to do this until yesterday afternoon, but after checking with his radiation oncologist today, we were assured that we need to this this. Mark has to have what are called ‘radiation seeds’ implanted for the targeted liver radiation therapy and he has to have a liver biopsy that will guide future chemo therapy.
by Judy Handley | Sep 1, 2015 | Cape Cod, Sailing Logs Year 10 |
Day 326, Year 10: Day Three with Sam, Jonah, and Oliver
Date: Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Weather: Sunny with Bright Blue Skies, Temp 80’s F, Wind 10 SSW
Location: Moored in the Outer Harbor, Cuttyhunk Island, MA
Tomorrow will be the last day of our sailing vacation with the Goldpebbles. We thought we were stretching it by doing four days and nights, but I think all three boys would be fine for a full week. I’m sure they miss mommy and daddy and are anxious to get home, but none of them has mentioned that. They have had happy days, and other than a misjudgment on our part tonight, the nights have been happy as well. The only wake-up during the night was last night with Ollie asking for water. But once I gave him a drink, he was back to sleep in a wink. So just before bed tonight we gave each boy three hip-hip-hurray’s for doing such a great job. We celebrated Ollie going to sleep at night in his own little ‘bunk’ (although he ends up with Oma after he goes to sleep), Sam being able to start the dinghy motor, and Jonah’s willingness to now drive the dinghy and to try and start it (and he almost did it once today). And then it was little Ollie that suggested that they give four hip-hip-hurray’s for Oma and Granddad, two for Oma and two for Granddad. He sure knows how to make points. Sometimes Ollie does and says things way beyond his three years. This morning the boys were talking about all of the things they ‘needed’ in order to have a good day. Ollie chimed in saying, “All I need is love.” Where that came from is way beyond me!
Since the boys have been sleeping in a little longer than usual, our mornings have been getting off to a bit of a slow start. Sam always gets up first, then Jonah and Granddad, and then Ollie and me. Since I am the Captain Cook (Sam’s new name for me), breakfast doesn’t happen until I get up. This morning after breakfast, we all headed to shore to walk up to the lighthouse. There were ripe blackberries along the path, but it was much too prickly for Jonah and Ollie to pick their own. Sam won’t touch a berry or any of what he calls ‘wet fruit’, so he missed out on that treat. At the top of the hill we reached the lighthouse. At one point in time, there was a lighthouse, an oilhouse, a keeper’s home, and a fog bell. All that is left now is the lighthouse. The current tower was built in 1891, but the lighthouse has been in existence since 1759. We walked around the lighthouse and then followed a stone wall that led us to an old cemetery. The gravestone was for Joseph Gane who died on September 10, 1817. Jonah noted that he had the same initials as himself, JG. Sam constantly reminded us to be respectful and not walk on the graves. And Ollie had a million questions about what it means to be dead. Whew! I was glad when we then walked back to the lighthouse. But we found the herd of cattle that graze here blocking our path. One of them was particularly upset with our arrival and his bellow scared the boys. Sam walked on with Granddad, Jonah reluctantly followed, but Ollie needed me to carry him through the herd. Once through that little dilemma, we successfully reached the beach and the dinghy.
After having lunch in Tarpaulin, Granddad raised the anchor with the help of three deck hands and we were off for Cuttyhunk. It was time for Ollie’s nap but he insisted that he needed to go on the foredeck with Sam and Jonah and look at the water. Once we got up there, I realized that I might be able to get him to nap on deck. So I went back for a blanket and pillow. For a bit he layed on his stomach and just stared out at the water. There was a gentle “swish, swash’ sound as we motored into the calm sea and before I knew it, he was sound asleep. I laid down beside him to make sure he didn’t roll overboard, but then Sam and Jonah joined us. Sam took my place beside Ollie and actually fell asleep. Jonah rested but didn’t sleep and I put up a sunscreen to keep them all from boiling in the sun. I used the piece of material I bought in Thailand and have used as a portable sunscreen ever since and some study clothespins to make the sun cover. How delightful it was to watch the boys enjoying the sights and sounds as we moved through the water. It was one of life’s most peaceful moments.
Once we reached Cuttyhunk, we headed to town to get ice cream cones and broccoli to have with dinner. We then went to the beach and wiled away the remainder of the afternoon. The plan for the evening was to watch the movie, E.T., while eating dinner. This was the misjudgment on our part. E.T. was much too scary for Sam. Ollie and Jonah wanted to watch it, but Sam almost had a complete breakdown just listening to the movie. I had forgotten just how scary the movie was and felt terrible for making that choice. But everyone survived and we had s’mores to top off the evening. That made up for the misjudgment in the choice of a video.
by Judy Handley | Aug 31, 2015 | Cape Cod, Sailing Logs Year 10 |
Day 325, Year 10: Fishy Day Two with Sam, Jonah, and Oliver
Date: Monday, August 31, 2015
Weather: Partly Sunny with Haze, Temp 80’s F, Wind 15 WSW
Location: Anchored in Tarpaulin Cove, Nashon Island, MA
Our sailing vacation with Sam, Jonah, and Oliver is going along as planned and so far, all three boys are hanging in there. Ollie has stayed with us on the boat for a night at a time in the past, but otherwise, he has never been away from mommy and daddy. So I think we are all a little surprised that he’s doing so well with multiple overnights. He is a little trouper. He sleeps with me when on the boat, and this morning the two of us didn’t get up until 9 am. I heard Sam get up around 7:15 and then heard Jonah and Granddad get up at 8:00. But Ollie was still sound asleep and I fell back asleep as well. Lazy us! Tomorrow morning all three boys are very excited about walking up to the little lighthouse on the southern end of the cove and then the plan is to sail down to Cuttyhunk and spend the last night of our sailing vacation there. We will return to Quissett on Wednesday morning and hope to get the boys home to play with neighborhood friends on Wednesday afternoon. Then after a night at home, they might return to Windbird for another couple of nights. We’ll just wait and see. Sam declared at one point today that he thought he should just live on Windbird, but then later in the day I heard him talking about how excited he will be to get home. He loves the fact that he can now pull-start the old Yamaha dinghy motor. We had always said that he could take the dinghy out by himself once he could start it. But we had no idea that would be so soon. He goes out by himself rowing the dinghy, but letting an eight year-old drive a 15 hp motor makes me just a little too nervous. Maybe next year.
It was just after noon when we arrived at Tarpaulin, so we ate lunch and then headed to the beach. Granddad had to stay on the boat to work on a boat problem. The knot meter stopped worked just before we got to Tarpaulin, so as soon as we arrived, Mark checked to see what the problem might be. The knot meter had a piece of plastic pipe stuck in it, but that wasn’t the only problem he found. The thru-hull in the same compartment supplies salt water to the forward head and the connection between the hose leading to the head and the thru-hull was leaking. It completely fell off when Mark touched it as it was rusted through. After spending the afternoon searching for the right parts to fix it, Mark gave up and just turned off that thru-hull. So we are down to one head for now. Thankfully we have two. The boys and I had better luck on the beach. We took their fishing poles to the beach, but the tide was going out and it was very shallow. They finally realized that they were not going to catch fish from the beach, so they changed course and had a great time catching tiny fish with their nets. At first only Sam was catching silversides, but then Jonah started catching a smaller minnow. They looked a bit like baby searobins, but we weren’t sure. We didn’t get back to Windbird until 4 pm and then the real fishing frenzy started. We got the squid bait out of the freezer. Jonah used a scup rig and Sam used a new lure that we weren’t sure would work. But right off the bat, he caught a nice, big scup. Jonah was then desperate to catch something and wanted to change his lure, but Mark convinced him to stick with it and he soon started reeling in scup. Ollie had not seemed too interested in fishing, but Sam worked with him a bit and he decided he would like to catch one. While doing this, Sam caught a small sea bass. I then pitched in to help, and soon Ollie brought in a scup. All three boys were so excited. We went to the beach to clean the fish and it was almost dark by the time we finally ate. But there were no complaints as catching and cleaning fish was definitely a goal the boys had set for this sailing vacation. Ollie is the only one who really ate the fish. Sam tried it and then gave it a pass. And our almost vegetarian Jonah really wasn’t interested in trying it at all. There are more bones than fish, but I found the taste okay. And we froze the sea bass and one large scup to share with Heather and Jed.
We are doing a bit of rocking and rolling tonight here in Tarpaulin Cove. I sure hope it doesn’t get so rolly that it wakes the boys up. If it keeps up as it is now, it should just rock them deeper into slumber.
by Judy Handley | Aug 30, 2015 | Cape Cod, Sailing Logs Year 10 |
Day 324, Year 10: Day One with Sam, Jonah, and Oliver
Date: Sunday, August 30, 2015
Weather: Sunny and in the 80’s F, Wind 15 WSW
Location: On a Mooring in Great Harbor, Woods Hole , MA
We all made it through the first 24 hours of our sailing vacation with the Goldpebbles! Sam, Jonah, and Oliver are doing great as little sailors. We invited Heather and Jed to have dinner aboard Windbird tonight and the boys enjoyed acting as hosts for mommy and daddy. Even little Ollie is doing great. Mark put a reef in the main before we left Quissett as it looked a little wicked out there. But it was fine and the boys listened carefully to all directions and seemed to enjoy being out on the water. With the reef in it was calm enough for us to go out on deck until we reached the Woods Hole Cut. Then we got back in the cockpit for the transit in the fast moving current. In just over an hour and a half after leaving Quissett, we picked up a mooring in Great Harbor off Woods Hole, and were on our way out to Devil’s Foot island in the dinghy. We packed a picnic lunch and spent the afternoon out there. Sam fished. Jonah caught crabs. And Ollie put on all the gear for snorkeling but never got the mask on to suit him and soon abandoned that idea to join Jonah in catching crabs. We also watched the ‘show’ going on around us. A sailboat went aground right in the harbor and a motor boat went aground out in the cut. TowBoatUS and SeaTow were very busy this afternoon. The tide was going down and it was a super low, thus the groundings. Or maybe it was just that people simply can’t follow the marks. After dinner with Heather and Jed, we all went to shore to walk to get ice cream. After finishing our ice cream treats, we left Heather and Jed to listen to the live outdoor music at the restaurant across from the ice cream shop. I think the boys are enjoying their sailing adventure and Heather and Jed are enjoying the freedom of life without kids for a few days. And, of course, we are enjoying sharing our sailing life with the boys. It’s a win, win for all.
by Judy Handley | Aug 29, 2015 | Cape Cod, Sailing Logs Year 10 |
Day 323, Year 10: Sailing Vacation with the Goldpebbles
Date: Saturday, August 29, 2015
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Temp in the Upper 70’s F
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, MA
Tonight is the beginning of our sailing vacation with the Goldpebbles. We’re not sure how many days and nights Ollie is in for, but Sam and Jonah should be with us until Wednesday. We had originally planned to meet them in Boston on their way home from Maine and sail home from there. But when we really thought it through, the sailing days would have been too long. We adjusted the plan to have very short sailing days and lots of time to play on beaches and fish. As soon as we set foot on the boat this evening, Jonah exclaimed, “It feels so good to be on the boat again.” This comes from a six year-old that even last year was often reluctant to spend the night. Ollie and Sam agreed with him, but we will just have to see how many days Ollie will stick with us. Tomorrow we sail through the Woods Hole Cut and into Woods Hole. We will not go into Eel Pond, but will anchor out in Great Harbor. Sam and Jonah are very anxious to visit the little island in the harbor called Devil’s Foot. When we kept our boat in Eel Pond, we often took the dinghy out to Devil’s Foot. But we haven’t been back since we moved to Quissett last summer. Ollie has been to Devil’s Foot, but he was too young to remember it. So everyone is excited about tomorrow’s plan. Heather and Jed will join us onboard for dinner giving Ollie a chance to jump ship. But we’re hoping he will stay with us. On Monday we plan to sail down to Tarpaulin Cove, another favorite of Sam and Jonah’s, but another place Ollie doesn’t remember. If he stays with us we might return to Woods Hole on Tuesday so he can see mommy and daddy. So the plans for Tuesday and Wednesday are flexible for now depending on how Ollie is doing. I think as long as we are fishing and find a beach to play on each day, the big boys will be happy, so going a longer distance is probably not necessary. We’ll just see how things go. But Mark and I feel similar to Jonah. “It feels so good to have Sam, Jonah, and Ollie on Windbird with us.” And the full moon rising as we headed out to the boat in the dinghy was just beautiful.
