by Judy Handley | Jan 23, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 76, Year 7: Back to Boston Tomorrow
Date: Monday, January 23, 2012
Weather: Mostly Cloudy Day, Temps in the 40’s with Drizzle
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, N Falmouth, MA
Mark and I go back to Boston tomorrow to meet with Mark’s surgeon and his
oncologist. Because this is a first time meeting with the oncologist, we
are not certain just what to expect. We don’t know if there will be
additional testing like the PET that helps determine more precisely where
cancerous cells are in the body or if there will be a recommendation to
start chemo right away. Obviously we are anxious and will feel much more
relaxed after tomorrow’s appointment.
The weather this morning was sunny, then cloudy, and as the afternoon
progressed, there was a fine drizzle coming down causing snow fog. It is
supposed to get warmer overnight with a high in the 50’s tomorrow morning.
Then in the afternoon it should get sunny and the temperature will drop.
Weird winter weather.
We’ll send a log tomorrow as soon as we return from Boston letting you know
what we know.
by Judy Handley | Jan 22, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 75, Year 7: Happy 5th Birthday to Sam
Date: Sunday, January 22, 2012
Weather: Partly Cloudy Day, Temps in the 30’s
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, N Falmouth, MA
We celebrated Sam’s 5th birthday today. Heather’s flight did land in
Providence last night at midnight and after getting her car shoveled out,
she made it home just before 3 am. She was a little tired today, but worked
like a trouper to get Sam’s super cute caterpillar cake decorated. Just
before three in the afternoon, we all head to the Cape Cod Children’s Museum
for Sam’s party. Heather had arranged for this knowing that it would be
very difficult to get home in the middle of the night and have the house
ready for a party in the afternoon. Wise choice. Sam wanted a small party
with just his very best buddies and they did have a great time. We had a
party room where the kids had cake and ice cream and Sam opened presents,
but the rest of the time they were free to roam the museum and enjoy.
Before cake and ice cream, Jonah decided to put on one of the NASA astronaut
suits. He looked so adorable. After presents were opened, all the boys
decided to become astronauts in full dress and blast off into space. Then
they headed under the sea in the museum’s play submarine. We were at the
museum this past summer when Justin, Jo, and Ziggy were here visiting, so
even though cousin Ziggy couldn’t be there today, we had memories of our
visit during the summer. We ended the day with a sushi dinner, Sam’s
favorite, and he ate six pieces of salmon and four pieces of octopus.
Heather and Jed gave Sam a Matchbox Sky Buster’s Aircraft Carrier which he
absolutely loves. So it was a very happy birthday for our favorite five
year-old.
by Judy Handley | Jan 21, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 74, Year 7: BIG Snow
Date: Saturday, January 21, 2012
Weather: Overcast with Snow All Day, Temps 25 to 35 degrees F
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, N Falmouth, MA
Yesterday we woke up to sunny skies with a little snow on the ground. This
morning we woke to a snowy sky with lots of snow on the ground. And the
snow has continued the entire day. I think we have gotten about 8 inches of
the fluffy white stuff. We haven’t tried to move the car today as the snow
plows weren’t on the roads. I guess they were waiting for the snow to stop,
but that hasn’t happened. So we didn’t get to see Sam on this birthday, but
I know he is one happy little five year-old. He certainly got his wish for
snow. The snow is supposed to stop around 8 pm this evening and we should
have sunny skies tomorrow afternoon for Sam’s party. It is a good thing the
party was planned for tomorrow instead of today as it would surely have been
cancelled today. The only complication now is whether or not Heather’s
flight will get in tonight. She was flying from Raleigh, North Carolina to
Atlanta and then leaving Atlanta around 8 or 9 pm tonight arriving in
Providence just before midnight. She was going to try and change her ticket
but the last I heard she wasn’t getting a lot of cooperation from Delta.
Sam’s party is not until 3 pm tomorrow, so even if she does get stuck in
Atlanta, maybe she can still fly in tomorrow morning.
We made a big mistake by forgetting to get a shovel, but we are improvising.
We have a boat hook with attachments and one of them is a deck scrubbing
brush. Today it became a broom of sorts and I pushed snow off the dock with
it. The docks here are wood, and ice builds up on them quickly.
We are on a finger pier and from the steps to the main dock is about 12
feet. There is about another 15 feet of main dock to be cleared. And then
there is what I call the “bridge” that is hinged and raises and lowers with
the tide. It is about 20 feet long. All of that is metal and has to be
cleared of snow. The last 20 feet to the car is a brick walkway and I
figure we can just trudge through the snow on the walkway as the ice doesn’t
build up on it like it does the dock. It all seemed like a short
distance until today when I had to clear it with a push broom! And there
was so much snow coming down continually all day that I couldn’t even get a
photo to document it. I’m sure it will all still be here in the morning and
I will get photos then.
I just talked to my sister Patsy in North Carolina and they enjoyed a sunny
70 degree day today. When the sun is not shining, we can’t get the inside
of the boat up to 70 degrees when it is below freezing outside, so needless
to say, we were a bit jealous when my brother-in-law Joe said he was sitting
around wearing shorts. Best not to think about it. We are just hoping that
the warmer-than-normal weather we have been having this winter returns soon.
by Judy Handley | Jan 20, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 73, Year 7: It Snowed Last Night
Date: Friday, January 20, 2012
Weather: Sunny with Temps Hovering Around the Freezing Point
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, N Falmouth, MA
When I taught first grade and it snowed overnight, we always sang a song
that said, “It snowed last night. It snowed last night. The sky bears had
a pillow fight . . .” I was singing this to Jonah this afternoon and Sam
looked at me as if I were a bit daffy. But when I explained that the
feathers in the sky bear pillows looked like snow, he got it. And we did
have snow, but less than an inch and icy. It was a bit of a problem for
Mark and me early this morning as we hadn’t really prepared for the icy bit.
We have a set of polyethylene dock steps to get us from the dock to the deck
and they were covered in ice and on the side of the boat hidden from morning
sun. The first thing I do every morning is get up and go up to the club
house to the bathrooms to do morning ablutions. I tried stepping out in my
Birkenstocks and came right back in. I put on my boots with good treads and
tried again. No luck. I could tell if I stepped out I could possibly slide
into the water. No thanks! So I got a container of kosher salt and
sprinkled it all over the dock steps and the dock as far as I could. It
took about an hour, but the salt worked and we were able to step on to the
dock and walk very gingerly up the ramp to the car. We were headed to
Hyannis to do a little shopping and we added de-icing salt to our list. We
went to Home Depot and bought calcium chloride pellets that are slightly
less harmful to plants and the aquatic environment than plain old rock salt
(sodium chloride). Neither is good but we really have no alternative unless
we just stay on the boat during icy weather. We can shovel when there is
more snow, but this morning’s snow had already turned to ice by the time we
got up. The forecast for tomorrow is 100 per cent chance of precipitation
calling for 4-6 inches of snow and ice pellets. I had planned to ask Jed if
we could borrow a snow shovel, but I forgot. So if we can’t get out
tomorrow morning, we’ll have to call Jed and have him bring a shovel and dig
us out! Oh, the joys of winter. Sam is all excited because he thinks “the
sky” is sending him snow for his birthday. There was a big snow during the
night leading up to the morning of his birth and it looks like we are going
to have a repeat for his 5th birthday tomorrow. Since Heather doesn’t get
home until early Sunday morning and Sam’s birthday party is on Sunday
afternoon, we are downplaying the actual birthday tomorrow, but “the sky” is
honoring his true birthday and bringing him the gift of snow.
It was so cute today when Sam talked about “the sky” bringing him snow. And
then I read Jo’s latest Facebook entry.
Ziggy: Mummy, won’t you get me a glass of water with a straw?
Jo: Can you say the magic word? (meaning “please”)
Ziggy said: Abracadabra!
After spending time with Ziggy over the holidays, I think what he really
said was more like “Abadaba”, but close enough and just too cute.
by Judy Handley | Jan 19, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 72, Year 7: Cape Cold–Not the Tropics
Date: Thursday, January 19, 2012
Weather: Alternating Sunshine with Overcast Skies and Snow Showers
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, N Falmouth, MA
The weather forecast for the next few days is definitely reminding us that
we are on Cape Cod and not in the tropics. The forecast for tonight is for
snow, for tomorrow the forecast is for snow, and for Saturday, more snow-not
much snow, but maybe enough to remind us that this is winter. Just reading
the forecast made Mark cold and then I caught him looking at the photos in
my little 2012 calendar hanging on the wall. I bought it in late summer so
I could write down future appointments and chose it because it was the right
size and had photos of tropical beaches. I didn’t realize at the time that
there is no mention of where these beautiful beaches are located. Mark was
looking at the pictures with lust in his eyes. I interrupted his moment of
lust and we then had fun attaching our version of where these various photos
were taken . . . Chagos, Madagascar, Chagos, the Loyalty Islands in New
Caledonia, St. Lucia in the Caribbean, Kroko Atoll in Indonoesia, Fiji,
Vieques in Puerto Rico, Chagos again. I must make a mental note to produce
my own calendar for next year using our photos. It would make a great gift
and make me feel warm on a cold winter’s day.
Last night before shutting down my computer, I checked email one last time.
There was an email from our good friends Gerry and Donna Beauregard on Scot
Free II. They are in Cochin in India and we last communicated with them in
early December before we knew that Mark had colon cancer. Their two adult
children were flying to Cochin from Canada to do inland travel with them
over the holidays, so I knew we wouldn’t hear from them for a few weeks. I
was so excited to see an email from them, but when I opened it I was no
longer so excited. While traveling, Gerry had a stroke. Thankfully they
were in a place where people spoke English and they could get good medical
care. There was a stay in ICU, but Gerry is now doing great. They are back
in Cochin and instead of leaving their boat there and returning home for a
few months, they are going to take the boat back to Thailand with the help
of their son Klinton who is still with them. I wrote back and told them
about Mark’s cancer diagnosis. We are used to emailing each other about
sail plans, not health issues. I guess it is a sign of our ages, but a sign
I could do without. We are so happy that Gerry is doing so well. Gerry is
too good natured to let a little stroke get in the way of fully enjoying
life. We’re with you on that one, Gerry. But, this was the second email
from good friends this week with news of serious health issues. A very good
friend of mine from New Hampshire wrote and brought me up-to-date on her
husband’s bout with cancer during the past year. So we are sending our most
positive thoughts out to these good friends who are fighting the fight. We
know they will win.
by Judy Handley | Jan 18, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 71, Year 7: The World’s Best Mooring
Date: Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Weather: Partly Sunny, Windy, Temp Dropping Again
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, N Falmouth, MA
It’s that time of month. The new Cruising World magazine arrived and I was
immediately drawn to the article by Webb Chiles entitled, “The World’s Best
Mooring.” He pegs that at 35 degrees, 18 minutes S by 174 degrees 7 minutes
E in New Zealand. Webb Chiles has circumnavigated the world five times, but
I wonder if he has ever spent time in Malaysia and Thailand. We’ve only
been around once, and New Zealand was a wonderful place to visit, but it
wouldn’t be our choice as the world’s best mooring spot. We’d move that
spot a little further north and east. We know the exact spot where Webb
Chiles’ boat is moored. When we first arrived in New Zealand, we anchored
just in front of the gumdrop-shaped Pine Tree Island that is featured on the
first page of his article. We traveled further south to Whangarei for a few
months, but when we returned, we anchored just behind his boat, The Hawke of
Tuonela. Our recorded latitude was 35 minutes 18.57 degrees S by 174
degrees 7.82 minutes E. We truly were right behind The Hawke of Tuonela
claiming Boston as its home port. So we saw the same things he sees, we
just saw them differently. Don’t get me wrong. It is a beautiful place on
this planet Earth. But there are other equally beautiful places that are
warmer and those would get our vote. I found it interesting that the photos
in the Webb Chiles article were so similar to our photos. The article
certainly brought back a flood of memories.
There was no rain today and the sun shone through a partly cloudy sky. But
north winds started blowing around noon and the temperature starting
dropping shortly thereafter. Mark and I picked Sam and Jonah up from school
and spent the afternoon with them at Heather and Jed’s. Heather flew south
this afternoon, so Jed is alone with the boys tonight. We’ll be back with
them tomorrow afternoon and we’ll be busy baking birthday cupcakes for Sam
to share with his friends at school on Friday. We came home from New
Zealand for Sam’s birth on January 21 in 2007. It’s hard for us to believe
that was five years ago.
