by Judy Handley | Oct 30, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 357, Year 7: Windbird Survived Sandy
Date: Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Weather: Mix of Clouds and Sun with Periods of Heavy Rain
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
We are so thankful that Windbird survived Sandy with no apparent damage.
Our daughter drove down to Woods Hole this morning and called to let us know
that everything looked just fine. We were relieved, but still anxious to
get home to see the boat ourselves. We stopped at Heather’s for dinner and
didn’t get home until well after dark tonight, but with the help of an
almost full moon we could see no problems. I have to say that it was an
overwhelmingly wonderful feeling to see Windbird shining in the moonlight.
She’s been good to us and we love her like she is our best friend. We’ll
check further in the daylight tomorrow for damage, but if there is any it
would be where the fenders rubbed against the hull. In South Africa, the
AwlGrip paint job was dulled in a couple of places where the fenders rubbed
against the hull in 50 knot winds. According to Heather, Woods Hole only
got gusts to 60 knots yesterday with sustained winds somewhere between 30
and 40 knots. Thankfully we didn’t get hit with the intensity projected.
But our thoughts are with those that did. We now have to turn our attention
to getting Windbird put back together for a Saturday departure for our sail
to South Carolina. So much time and so little to do!
Mark also survived his three-month post-chemo check-up, but once again, he
did not get a full green light. The radiologists now think they see
‘something’ on his lungs. The oncologist really doesn’t think it is
anything to worry about, but ‘me worry’ anyway. She thinks it might be
inflammation from the parathyroid surgery. But just in case, Mark now has
to return to Mass General right after the first of the year for another full
scan. Either the spot on the lung will have disappeared or it will have
developed into something that can be identified. So we have appointments on
January 3 and 4 and will fly back from South Carolina for that. If all goes
well, we will be back in South Carolina and ready to head further south to
Florida and the Bahamas no later than the middle of January. Mark is
totally optimistic as is his oncologist, so the show goes on.
by Judy Handley | Oct 29, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 356, Year 7: Feeling the Effects of Sandy
Date: Monday, October 29, 2012
Weather: Foggy, Misty Rain, Windy with Major Gusts
Location: At Home with John and Sue Reed, Cambridge, MA
It is 3 o’clock in the afternoon and we are already feeling the effects of
Hurricane Sandy here in Boston. First the electricity went off. Then we
saw a fire truck at the end of the street and we think a branch fell on the
electric line triggering a fire alarm and possibly causing the power outage.
Next we were sitting in the kitchen when we heard a crunching noise. This
time the top of a neighbor’s tree fell right into the back of John and Sue’s
house and tore down the electric wires to this house. This meant John had
to turn off the main to this house. So even if the neighborhood electricity
comes back on, John and Sue won’t have electricity. For that reason, I’m
sending this log now just in case I run the batteries down checking the
weather.
The morning was a success. We took the T (subway) into Mass General this
morning and they immediately took him in to do the CT scan. We were
grateful for that as we learned on the way into town that the T was closing
down at 2 pm. We got on the T at 1:30 for the return trip, so all is well.
We were sure glad we didn’t have to walk! We had hoped to have lunch at the
hospital, but there was no time for that, so we thought we would eat at a
sandwich shop at the T stop in Porter Square where Sue and John live. But
that was already closed. The only thing open was a grocery store so we got
a huge salad at the salad bar and bought a sandwich to split. It is about a
half mile from the store back to John and Sue’s and during that walk the
wind started to pick up and gusts began. The first big gust took my breath
and made me shudder to think what might be happening to Windbird. Of
course, even if we were there we wouldn’t be able to do anything, so we just
have to focus on the moment and hope for the best.
Heather had to go to work in Woods Hole this morning and she got photos of
the dock and Windbird from across the way. As you will see in the photos,
she wasn’t able to get out to the boat as the walkway was already flooded
with water at high tide. Those pics are shown here.
by Judy Handley | Oct 28, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 355, Year 7: Weather Problems
Date: Sunday, October 28, 2012
Weather: Overcast; Windy with Misty Rain Late Afternoon
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Right now the weather seems to be causing all of us problems. Justin and
Jo’s Monday morning flight to New Mexico was cancelled. In fact, United
Airlines cancelled all their flights out of Boston on Monday and Tuesday and
most flights on Wednesday. After being on hold for six and a half straight
hours today, Justin found out that the earliest flight home for them will be
on Friday. We love having the extra time with them, but we know it is
always very frustrating and disappointing to not be able to return home when
planned. They seem to be taking the delay in stride but we know it is hard.
Ziggy was looking forward to Halloween at home and Justin gives a TedX Talk
on Saturday with a required dress rehearsal on Friday at noon. He won’t be
in Santa Fe until late in the afternoon on Friday, so he is going to call
and see if they can waive the required rehearsal. He has put a lot of
effort into preparing for this and will be truly disappointed if he doesn’t
get to do it. Then there is Mark and me. Our planned Thursday departure
for the sail south is now rescheduled tentatively for Saturday. And right
now we are in Boston spending the night on the hope that Mark will still be
able to get the scan tomorrow. Boston schools will be closed and the
officials are asking that no one drives in the city. Unlike New York City,
Boston can keep its public transportation system up and running without the
fear of flooding. So we will use the T to get to Mass General tomorrow.
We had dinner with the kids and then took off for Boston as it is very
possible that the bridges to the Cape will closed tomorrow due to high
winds. So we headed to Boston tonight and will stay until late Tuesday
after all of Mark’s appointments are over. Since most everything is closed
tomorrow because of the hurricane, we are just hoping that things will go on
as scheduled at Mass General.
A great part of our day was spent getting ready for Hurricane Sandy. Mark
is worn out from all the work and we still don’t feel like she is tied as
good as she ought to be. But it is as good as we could given our location
between a power boat and a dock. We simply ran out of space on the cleats
to secure any more lines. The forecasts tell us that the highest wind
speeds in Woods Hole will be tomorrow and there could be gusts to 90 miles
per hour. We worry about Windbird and are nervous about the fact that we
can’t be there. We’ll just have to hope for the best and get home as soon
as we can on Tuesday to check for damages-hoping, of course, to find none.
by Judy Handley | Oct 27, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 354, Year 7: Celebrations . . . and Weather
Date: Saturday, October 27, 2012
Weather: Lovely Weather-The Calm Before the Storm
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Today went from hurricane preparation to downtown Falmouth Halloween fun
with the grandchildren to more hurricane preparation and then on to a 38th
anniversary celebration hosted by Heather and Jed. It was by far the best
anniversary dinner we have ever had-mussels as an appetizer, lobster and
filet mignon, rice pilaf, and an arugula salad with dried apricots.
Delicious. There was Chocolate Decadence for dessert and a toast with our
favorite wine, Pouilly Fuisse. Wow! What a day.
Mark and I started our day by surveying the boat and making decisions about
exactly what we would do to prepare for the coming storm. The forecast
keeps adjusting, but by this morning it looked to us like we might get 50
knot winds, but maybe not. Tonight the forecast is back to wind gusts of 70
knots. But we made our decision to stay on the dock and not go out to a
mooring. Buzz, the Woods Hole Marine owner, told Mark this morning that
they are trying to get boats in to the dock, not out. So we started
securing the lines. Before we could get very much accomplished it was time
to go to Heather and Jed’s and pick up Justin, Jo, and crew to go to the
downtown Falmouth Halloween ‘parade.’ Parade just means lots of little ones
dressed in their costumes walking from store to store to get candy. Ziggy
went dressed as a Lady Bug. Sam and Jonah both went as Emergency Medical
Technicians in blue scrubs Heather made for them yesterday. They couldn’t
decide if they wanted to be doctors, male nurses, or EMT’s, but the blue
scrubs worked for all three. Heather dressed as the ocean and Oliver was
her Nemo. Jed wore the wizard costume that has become a tradition in our
family. Mark wore it for many years starting somewhere back in the 1980’s
and now Jed has adopted it. Coco was dressed in pink, so I decided that she
was a princess. The ‘parade’ was a low key event, but the by the time
Ziggy, Sam, and Jonah had eaten a great deal of their take, we walked back
to one of the churches on the green and relaxed with Sam, Jonah, and Ziggy
bounced and bounced in the Bouncy House. No better way to get rid of the
sugar highs. While sitting in the church yard, we came up with an elaborate
menu for our anniversary celebration, and then Mark and I went back to
Windbird to try and complete the hurricane prep while the kids went home to
prepare the dinner.
Hurricane Prep-We are not taking down the sails, but Mark did a meticulous
job of wrapping them with line so they should be fine. I took down most of
the cockpit canvas and stored it below. By the time we did these things, it
was time to head to Heather’s. We arrived just in time for the mussel
appetizer and then the delicious food just kept on coming. The filet mignon
was the most tender I have ever had and the lobster was wonderful. Sam,
Jonah, and Ziggy had lobster races before the lobsters went into the pot and
Sam had a touch time with this. He really wanted to eat lobster, but not
lobster he had played with. Always a dilemma for me as well. But I dove
right into the lobster and enjoyed every bite. After dinner Justin shared
the contents of a birthday book that we have been trying to complete since
July. It is still not done, but it was so nice to let Mark start reading
through the messages sent to him from family and friends. He can read more
tomorrow when we take Justin and Jo to Boston. They were able to change
their late Monday afternoon flight to an early morning one, so we will take
them up and they will stay in a motel near the airport. At this point, we
are planning to drive back home to be on Windbird tomorrow night, but we
will have to drive back to Boston for Mark’s scan on Monday afternoon. The
two bridges that link Cape Cod with the rest of Massachusetts close if the
winds are greater than 70 miles an hour, and tonight the forecast is back to
showing 70 miles per hour sustained gusts on Monday. It looks like it
shouldn’t get that windy until late afternoon, so we are going to chance
driving north on Monday in all the rain.
Tomorrow morning we will finish hurricane preparations and then go to
Heather and Jed’s to pick up Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco. They decided to
spend another night there as Ziggy, Jonah, and Sam have started really
enjoying their time together. We will bring JJZ&C back out here to Woods
Hole to say farewell to Windbird and then we’ll head to Boston. All the
while, we will be watching the weather forecasts hoping that we don’t have
to stay in Boston tomorrow night as well.
by Judy Handley | Oct 26, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 353, Year 7: Visit to the Children’s Museum
Date: Friday, October 26, 2012
Weather: Beautiful Day with Temps in the 60’s
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Today was Ziggy’s day to do what he wanted and that was to have a breakfast
picnic on an island and then spend the rest of the day at the Children’s
Museum. So that is what we did. I got to spend most of the museum time
holding Coco while she slept. It was a grandmother’s joy. We got take-out
from the local Indian restaurant for dinner and had a feast at Heather and
Jed’s Then the little ones watched Madagascar III while eating popcorn.
That made for a peaceful end to the day. JJZ&C are spending the night at
Heather and Jed’s tonight. Mark and I will spend tomorrow morning preparing
Windbird for the upcoming weather event and then we will rejoin the crew for
a mid-day Halloween parade in downtown Falmouth. Tomorrow night we gather
again at Heather and Jed’s for dinner and then we batten down the hatches
and get ready for windy, rainy weather.
by Judy Handley | Oct 25, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 352, Year 7: The Weather Factor
Date: Thursday, October 25, 2012
Weather: Beautiful Day with Temps in the Lower 70’s
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
The weather was gorgeous today which allowed Justin, Jo, and Ziggy to explore Eel Pond and beyond in the dinghy. Justin took Ziggy across to Naushon Island. We thought they were going to Devil’s Foot, but Justin misunderstood the directions and went on across the cut. The waters in the cut can be dangerous if you have a motor failure, but all went well for them. They even got to see harbor seals basking on the rocks. But at the same time as were enjoying this incredibly beautiful day, we were getting weather reports about what is to come. And it doesn’t look good. It is certain that we won’t be leaving here next week, but what is uncertain is just what we will need to do to protect Windbird. If we get a winter storm and Hurricane Sandy all at once, it could be very bad. So we will watch the weather over the next couple of days and make our decision as to what to do with Windbird on Sunday. On Monday we are supposed to be taking Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco back to Boston so they can fly home and to have Mark’s three-month post chemo scan done. We’re still hoping to be on track for this, but the weather rules. We will just have to see how things unfold.
Oliver and Jonah spent the morning on Windbird and Jonah and I went to the aquarium. That is where we heard about the possibility of a hurricane headed our way. They were preparing the seals at the aquarium to move into an indoor pool. We also had other visitors today. Sue McIntosh that works with Mark at West Marine happened to be in the Captain Kidd with a friend when Justin and crew were there for lunch. The friend, Beth Sweeney, had seen Jo and Coco climbing out of a sailboat, so she asked her if she was Mark’s daughter, figuring that not too many sailboats have babies visiting. Jo explained that she was the daughter-in-law, and then when Mark and I returned from a trip to Falmouth, Justin saw us on the street and told us that Sue was in the Kidd. They weren’t sure which boat was Windbird, but they figured not too many boats have babies visiting. We were so glad that Sue was finally able to ‘meet’ Windbird and we enjoyed meeting her friend Beth. Beth works in Woods Hole for NOAA Fisheries and Sue explained that she also carries a bit of history. Her father, Major Charles Sweeney, was the flight commander for Bockscar, the B-29 bomber that dropped the atomic bomb over Nagasaki in World War II.
