by Judy Handley | Sep 21, 2013 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 8 |
Day 322, Year 8: Eve of Autumn
Date: Saturday, September 21, 2013
Weather: Another Warm, Sunny Day with Periods of Threatening Clouds
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
It is once again that time of year. Even though we got a good dose of cool weather last week and felt like it was fall then, tomorrow is the official autumnal equinox. It’s time for fall sports, falling leaves, a cup of hot tea, and time for Windbird to start preparing for the sail south for the winter. We went into town early this morning to watch Jonah play soccer and then spent a couple of hours delivering things to storage and sorting through things we want to sell. Then we returned at high noon to watch Sam’s soccer game. Six year-olds actually play a game and they play hard. Sam’s good friend Sebastian is on his team as well as Audrey. Audrey and Sam were together at the Woods Hole Daycare Cooperative and they are really good friends. It was great fun to watch Sam, Sebastian, and Audrey together. It seems just like yesterday that they were all two.
Mark and I switched off kicking a soccer ball back and forth with Jonah, and when the hour was up, we were all exhausted. But the boys still had enough energy to walk across the street from the soccer field to the beach where they spent the afternoon ushering out summer in style. Tonight Heather, Sam, and Jonah are doing a sleepover on the boat while Jed is at home with Ollie. Oliver is now 18 months old and Heather is trying to wean him from nursing at night. She’s been working on this all week, but when he knows she is in the house, he wants nothing but mommy. We’ll see how the night with momma not at home works out.
by Judy Handley | Sep 20, 2013 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 8 |
Day 321, Year 8: Boat Work Day
Date: Friday, September 20, 2013
Weather: Another Warm, Sunny Day
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
It was a productive day of boat work. We filled the water tanks—washed down the deck—sanded the aft cabin floor to get ready to varnish—got rid of our old, rusty anchor chain and installed the new chain—got rid of a bunch of books and other miscellaneous unnecessary gear. So Windbird is riding higher in the water than usual as we continue to take things off. We removed 300 feet of rusty anchor chain but only installed 200 feet of new chain, plus a 100 feet of rope. That reduced the weight onboard by 150 pounds. I don’t know how much the ‘stuff’ we are taking off weighs, but it is considerable. I’m sure I’ll find a way to put more back on than we are taking off, but it feels good to get things off the boat that we really no longer need. And we made the decision to stick with the West Marine dinghy that we ordered earlier this week. So that was our day.
Tomorrow morning and early afternoon are soccer times for Jonah and Sam and we will probably go in to see Jonah play in the morning, go to storage to take things there from the boat, and then hang around to see Sam play in the early afternoon. The forecast for tomorrow afternoon and Sunday looks like rain, but we’ll just wait and see what really materializes.
by Judy Handley | Sep 19, 2013 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 8 |
Day 320, Year 8: Dinghy Decision Made . . . Maybe
Date: Thursday, September 19, 2013
Weather: Warm, Sunny Day
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Well, we thought we had made a final decision on what dinghy to purchase, but this morning we got a call from the Falmouth West Marine store telling us that somehow the dinghy we ordered yesterday was not on the delivery slip for tomorrow’s delivery. That means our dinghy won’t be here until next Friday. Bummer. We have to inflate our current dinghy every time we get into it and that grows old quickly. But more than that, my first thought was, “Is this a sign that we should not be buying the West Marine dinghy? Should we reconsider and get the Caribe that has 17-inch tubes?” I mentioned this to Mark in passing and then later in the day, he asked me if I thought we should reconsider the Caribe. So we are mulling this over for the night and will re-decide tomorrow. We made a decision, but we might not stick with it.
I had a chiropractor appointment this morning. This chiropractor uses the same technique as Dr. Troxell in North Myrtle Beach and Dr. Saggiotes in Concord, both of whom have done miraculous things for me. But Dr. Perras is a bit younger and adds technology to the mix. His diagnostic tools are hooked into a computer which allows the patient to get a print out of the results. All three chiropractors that I mention here use the Activator approach. The Activator is small handheld spring-loaded instrument which delivers a small impulse to the spine. It sounds a bit like voodoo, but it does work for me. So I am a believer. I went for an introductory appointment today just to meet the doctor and see if I would want to use him if I have another issue with my neck or lower back and I definitely will. Mark went to see him yesterday for neck issues that are keeping him awake at night. And last night, he slept better than he has for weeks. So he is becoming a believer as well.
Mark spent his morning shaving the floor in the aft cabin that needs to be refinished and put on a coat of epoxy. Mid-afternoon, Mark and I went to pick Sam up from school and spent some special time with him. We walked along as he rode his bike and then we headed down to the cranberry bogs to see what is happening there. The cranberries are looking like they are ready to harvest. We talked, threw rocks into the pond, watched a couple of guys fishing for bass, and just enjoyed the time with Sam. He is growing up so quickly and we feel really lucky to be able to be here for part of every year to watch that growth in Sam, as well as in Jonah and Oliver. Our favorite quote from The Wind in the Willows might have to be amended to say, “There is nothing, absolutely nothing half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats . . . and messing about with grandchildren.”
Ziggy and Coco, our grandchildren who do not live on the Cape, attended Auntie Kath’s wedding today in the New Forest in England. Ziggy was the ring bearer and he looked so handsome in the photos. Katherine is Jo’s younger sister and today she married Tom. They have been together for something like sixteen years, since high school, but have just now decided to make the union ‘official.’ We wish them the greatest happiness. And when you see the photos, I’ll tell you up front that YES, Tom is really that tall!
by Judy Handley | Sep 18, 2013 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 8 |
Day 319, Year 8: Dinghy Decision Made
Date: Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Weather: Sunny Day, Warmer Than Yesterday
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
We did it. We ordered the West Marine RIB-310. It meets 3 of our 4 ‘bottom line’ criteria for the perfect dinghy for us and the price was right.
+Number 1—rigid inflatable (hard bottom) versus a dinghy that can be rolled-up
+Number 2—light enough for us to handle but heavy enough to carry our 15-horse motor
+Number 3—made of hypalon (UV resilient) versus PVC (not UV resilient)
–Number 4—16-inch tubes versus 17-inch tubes (provides a more stable, drier ride)
We got Numbers 1, 2, and 3, but not Number 4. Later in the day after we had placed our order, we got a call from a friend who could get us the Caribe that would meet all the criteria at the wholesale price, but that was still twice what we are going to pay for the West Marine dinghy. It was a hard deal to pass up, but ye old budget said to stay with the West Marine RIB (rigid inflatable dinghy). If I get a little wet going to and from shore in rough seas, I’ll just have to remember that sailing is a watersport and grin and bear it.
The rebuilding of the aft cabin floor is completed. This just involved the floor on either side of the entry way leading from the aft cabin to the aft head. We thought we were going to strip the varnish off the entire head floor and a section of the aft cabin and then apply epoxy and varnish. But in the rebuilding process, where epoxy got on the unfinished wood, it matches the rest of the floor just fine. So Mark will epoxy the top of the boards that need refinishing, lightly hand-sand the varnished floor boards surrounding those boards, then put a coat or two of varnish on all. This is a two to three-day job rather than a week-long job, so that is good.
Mark spent his morning going to a chiropractor for a neck and shoulder issue and I went to Heather’s to continue our Wednesday house cleaning frenzy. In theory, I am supposed to get to spend time with Ollie while Heather cleans, but when momma is at home, Ollie prefers momma. So we switch off spending time with Ollie and cleaning. This is our third Wednesday with three to go, but somehow we don’t seem to be making the progress we had hoped. The old saying that something will not get done, not even in a “month of Sundays” applies here. All of the projects we had hoped to accomplish will never get done in a “month or even six-weeks of Wednesdays”—but we’ll make a dent. Today we got the tomato sauce canned, the last of the kitchen cabinets that are used for food storage cleaned, and one of the two downstairs closets cleaned out. Inch-by-inch, we’ll get there.
Tomorrow it is my turn to go to the chiropractor. The neck issues that I had last winter in South Carolina have not returned, but I want to check-out the chiropractor here just in case I might need him at some point. I should have made this appointment back in July after my last appointment at the Spine Clinic at Mass General, but it has taken me two months to find the time to make the call.
In one month from today, we should be headed south—weather permitting. Mark has a routine CT scan on October 15 and an appointment on the 16th with his oncologist in Boston. We will then head back to Windbird and make our departure as soon as the weather looks good. October 18 is a full moon, so that sounds like a great time to start the passage to the Chesapeake Bay. But that means that we have just one month left to get ourselves ready. Windbird is always ready to sail, but we have that list of boat jobs that we hope to get accomplished between now and then. Time to get busy!
by Judy Handley | Sep 17, 2013 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 8 |
Day 318, Year 8: Galley Slave
Date: Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Weather: Sunny Day but Cool, High in the 60’s F, Low in the 50’s
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Even though I was working in a land based kitchen today, I definitely felt like a galley slave. I completed blanching, peeling, deseeding, and pureeing the 33 pounds of tomatoes I bought yesterday for Heather and Jed. I will continue working on that job tomorrow by cooking down the sauce, adding the other ingredients, and canning the finished product. While working on the tomatoes today, I was also making a triple batch of granola and preparing an early dinner for Heather and gang as Heather and Jed had a Meet the Teacher Night at Sam’s School at 6:30 pm. As with the sauce, I didn’t complete the job with granola either. I have more granola that needs to be baked tomorrow. And tomorrow is the day of the week that I have ‘donated’ to Heather to help get some of those big house cleaning jobs done.
Before going to Heather’s this morning, Mark glued down the teak floor boards that he had removed in order to reinforce the sub-flooring in the aft cabin and I did some cleaning and organizing in the v-berth. In one-month from today, we could be sailing south and we certainly aren’t ready to do that right now. But one day at a time, we’ll get the jobs done. Tomorrow we will make the decision on which dinghy to buy. Economics is guiding our decision. What we want, we know we can’t afford. It boils down to two things—choosing between the two materials that dinghies are made of (PVC versus hypalon) and deciding on a tube size we can live with. Tonight the West Marine Rib-310 that is made of hypalon but has only 16-inch tubes seems like our best bet. But we did get an email from friends here on the Cape that have a dinghy they would like to sell, so tomorrow morning we’ll check that out before making the final decision.
by Judy Handley | Sep 16, 2013 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 8 |
Day 317, Year 8: Fall Weather Has Arrived
Date: Monday, September 16, 2013
Weather: Overcast with Light Rain Early, N Winds Increasing to 20-25
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
The north winds are blowing tonight and with them comes that chill that tells you fall is here. I’m sitting here with my polar fleece on. We still have the boat wide open, so even though it is 65 degrees inside, the wind blowing down the companionway is ten degrees cooler. We heard from Chris and Geoff on Shambala today and Chris said it is very ‘cool’ in Nova Scotia and that they are definitely not going to sail on to Newfoundland. All she said was, “What were we thinking.” It looks like we have a couple of more days of this and then it warms up a bit. But it is that time of year, so those warm days become treasures.
Mark put the thinking about dinghies on hold today and went back to rebuilding the floor in our aft cabin. He is making progress, but it is not a simple task. We’re hoping to have the work done this week, but refinishing the floors in the aft cabin and head will have to happen later. This puts extra pressure on Mark to do the job as neatly as possible so we can live with it for now. We picked up 33 pounds of organic heirloom tomatoes this morning from Peach Tree Farm and I spent part of the afternoon starting to process them. That job will continue tomorrow. When they are all blanched, peeled, deseeded, and pureed, I can then start cooking them down to make sauce. The actual canning will probably happen on Wednesday. Mid-day we met EJ, the dinghy repairman, to exchange dinghies. He returned our dinghy and picked up his dinghy which he loaned us while he was trying to repair Baby Bird. He was able to slow the leak down a bit, but she still deflates enough over a few hours that we have to pump her up every time we get into her. This is probably going to push the dinghy decision back to the forefront pretty quick.
We had an early dinner at Heather and Jed’s this evening and then kept the boys while H & J went to meetings. They both went to a 6 pm Parent University meeting to learn about the school system’s new math program. Heather came home after that, but Jed had to stay in town for a Board of Selectman’s meeting. Jed is the current Chair of the Board of Health for the town of Falmouth and they are still dealing with a wind turbine issue. Long story short, the town bought two wind turbines that are a bit outdated and the vibrations and noise level from them have caused health issues for citizens who live near-by the installations. After a long heated battle and a public vote to keep the turbines running, tonight the Board of Selectmen made the decision to run the turbines during the daylight hours and to extend the hours they are run overnight. We were all sharing the one car today as H & J’s van is in for some body work and a rental is not available until tomorrow. This meant that Mark and I had to stay in town until Jed’s meeting was over and he could bring us back to Woods Hole. Two families trying to share one car is difficult, especially with all of our crazy schedules. The crazy schedules continue tomorrow. We will again have dinner at Heather and Jed’s and then keep Jonah and Ollie while Heather, Jed, and Sam go to Sam’s elementary school for a “Meet the Teacher” night. Those lazy days of summer are gone.
