by Judy Handley | Jul 18, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 270, Year 9: Sandwich Glass Museum
Date: Friday, July 18, 2014
Weather: Sunny Day, High Temp in the 80’s
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, Massachusetts
The one thing we will all remember from today is that Sandwich is the oldest town on Cape Cod, established in 1637. Almost a hundred years later, in 1825, the Sandwich Glass Manufactory was opened and only a year after that it was incorporated as the Boston & Sandwich Glass Company and became world renowned for its pressed glass products. That was our history lesson. In addition, we got see a glass blower demonstrate different ways of making glass. Jonah was much more interested in the history and glass blowing and Sam was more interested in seeing the special exhibit of model ships. After watching the glass blowing demonstration, Granddad and Sam headed to the ship exhibit while Jonah, Ollie, and I watched a video about the development of the town of Sandwich. We then joined Sam and Granddad at the ship exhibit. I think Sam’s favorite model was the Albatross, the first ship built by the US government for the sole purpose of ocean research. It was built in 1882 and assigned to the Woods Hole Institute. In its 30 years of research, it traveled a million miles collecting marine specimens. Jonah’s favorite model ship was a whaling boat. And Ollie was just happy to be with his big brothers and loved everything.
We returned to Falmouth in time to get Granddad to work at West Marine at 1 pm and then we headed home for Ollie’s nap time. Jonah had his year 5 check-up with his pediatrician this afternoon, so Heather came home early to take him to that. When they returned, Sam, Ollie, and I went to the beach while Jonah stayed home with Heather. Actually he ended up going to a neighbor’s house to play soccer and Heather actually got an hour of ‘alone’ time and read a chapter in a book. As she pointed out, this is a rare occurrence for her and she was refreshed by her little break. So it was a successful day for all.
Tomorrow afternoon we are going sailing. Well, at least we are hoping to sail. The forecast does not call for much wind, but we have invited Bruce and Jane Woodin to go out with us and then return to Quissett Harbor for dinner aboard Windbird. Wind or no wind, I’m sure we will find a way to have fun just messing about on a boat.
by Judy Handley | Jul 17, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 269, Year 9: Back to Beautiful Summer Weather
Date: Thursday, July 17, 2014
Weather: Mostly Cloudy Morning, Sunny Afternoon
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, Massachusetts
There is no doubt that summer weather here is fantastic—not too hot—warm days, cool evenings–blue skies, bright sunshine, just perfect. Now put yourself on one of Cape Cod’s beaches or out on a sailboat and you have the perfect combination for summer enjoyment. This is the fourth summer we have spent here. When we first returned from sailing around the world, the summers here seemed too cool for us. But we have acclimated to life outside the tropics, and now the summer weather here seems perfect. We finally understand why so many people flock to Cape Cod in the summertime.
If you keep up with our logs you might remember how surprised we were the first of May when Windbird was hauled, bottom painted, and put back in the water within 24 hours. Well . . . that was efficient, but not a good thing. We have had a lot of growth on the bottom which should never happen just after being hauled and painted. We looked up the specs for the paint we had applied and it calls for 48 hours to dry in 50-60 degree temps like we had back in May before going back in the water. Mark called the service manager at Fiddler’s Cove yesterday and left a message on his answering machine explaining our problem. The manager looked up the paint specs, recognized that they had made a mistake, and called today to tell us that they will haul and repaint at their expense. The haul out happened during the time we were meeting with the doctors at Mass General to figure out the next steps in Mark’s cancer treatment, so we really didn’t give the bottom painting our full attention. We are grateful that Fiddler’s Cove is so willing to correct their error without us having to force the issue. Now we just have to figure out when this can be done. We’re thinking that if we could get Windbird back to Fiddler’s Cove just before we leave for Williamsburg next week that the work could be done while we are gone.
Mark worked at West Marine this afternoon, but this morning he stayed on Windbird and continued his boat work—cleaned water filters, took out a leaky footpump from under the galley sink, and continued to analyze the refrigeration issue. The frig is working okay right now–not great, but definitely okay. So we might let it go and see what happens or we might order the very expense electronic module. We’ll wait a few more days and see how things go before we place that almost $300 order. A new foot pump is much more reasonable, so we will go ahead and order that. Sam, Jonah, Ollie, and I spent a relaxed day at home playing soccer in the backyard and doing art work with the new supplies that I bought this week. Jonah was so excited to use oil pastels and then mix that with water colors. Sam just draws ships and jets—his current fascination. During Ollie’s naptime the big boys played in the backyard and I hardly heard a peep from them. They played together better than I have ever witnessed and then when Ollie got us, we headed to the beach close to home, Menauhant, to play in the waves. This beach is on the Vineyard Sound and always has waves rolling in. Both Sam and Jonah took their body boards out and tried to ride the waves. This is the first time I have ever seen Jonah be so willing to go out by himself. He hates to get his head underwater and I kept telling him he might fall off his board and go under. But he was willing to take the chance today. Go, Jonah!
Tomorrow we are going to the Sandwich (name of the town) Glass Museum to watch glass blowing and to see the ship model exhibit. Sandwich is located up near the Cape Cod Canal and the Canal is celebrating its 100th year of operation. I’m not sure how much history the boys can tolerate, but the glass blowing demonstration should grab their attention and I know that their current fascination with ships that also spark some interest in the ship models.
And speaking of ships, I want to once again mention the newly restored Charles W. Morgan whaling ship. This is the last of the wooden whaling ships in this country and as I mentioned in a log last week, Heather was invited to go out on the Morgan in search of whales. And did they ever find whales in the Cape Cod Bay! She was on assignment doing a report for WGBH-TV and that report aired tonight. If you are interested in learning more, go to: http://wgbhnews.org/post/charles-w-morgan-century-old-whaler-returns-sea
by Judy Handley | Jul 16, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 267, Year 9: Discovery Center, Aquarium, and Library Sing Along
Date: Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Weather: Overcast and Humid, but No Rain . . . Yet
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, Massachusetts
Jonah has been requesting a day in Woods Hole to visit the aquarium. Today was overcast and misty, so we made this our Woods Hole morning. We started out with M&M cookies from Coffee O and then walked down the street to visit the Buzzards Bay Discovery Center. The creature featured today was the scallop—the only bivalve in Buzzards Bay that can swim. It does this by opening and shutting its shell to propel itself through the water, and the scallops in the Touch Tank demonstrated this opening and shutting for us as we held them in our hands. After holding the scallops, a horseshoe crab, a sand dollar, sea stars, and a whelk, we walked through town to the Woods Hole Aquarium. We arrived just in time for the seal show and then we battled the crowds in the aquarium. I guess everyone had the same idea—ugly day, go to the aquarium. But Sam and Jonah had a great idea. We worked our way through the crowd of people and went upstairs to the Touch Tank first. Then when it got crowded upstairs, we went back downstairs. Sam, Jonah, and I have been to the aquarium many times, but I haven’t been there with Ollie since he was a baby. He loved it all, but as 12 noon approached, he was getting tired. So we walked back through town, got yogurt and watermelon at the store, and had a picnic lunch behind Redfield. This is the WHOI building where Jed works. Ollie and Jonah both went to sleep on the way home. After nap, we headed out again. The public library has programs for kids on Tuesdays from 3 to 4 pm and Heather met us there this afternoon. All three boys, as well as Heather and I, really enjoyed the Rock-It Science Sing Along. The presenter managed to be just crazy enough to keep the kids engaged and at the same time worked in a few science facts. He played different instruments and involved audience (kid) volunteers. I loved the Boomwhackers. These are tuned percussion tubes—hollow and light weight and tuned to musical pitches by length. But what the kids liked most was that you could hit yourself on the head with the Boomwhackers and make noises. Another big hit was the theremin. Named after inventor Leon Theremin, this device was one of the first electronic instruments, and the very first one to be mass produced. It looks like an antenna and as your hand gets close it magically starts making ‘music.’ Actually there are two antennas and they sense the position of your hands and control frequency and volume. After the show, he let all of the children come up and experiment with the position of their hands in relationship to the theremin to make crazy sounds. It was fascinating to see how the different children approached this task. Bravo to the Falmouth Public Library for presenting another great program for children.
Today’s rain looks like it is going to fall tomorrow, so I’m preparing for a quiet rainy day at home with Sam, Jonah, and Ollie. Well, it might not be quiet, but we’ll immerse ourselves in rainy day projects and have fun. Mark went to work at West Marine today and that went smoothly. He’ll return to work on Thursday, but tomorrow he might stay on Windbird to work on a long list of boat projects.
by Judy Handley | Jul 16, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 268, Year 9: Rainy Day
Date: Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Weather: Rain, Rain, and More Rain
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, Massachusetts
We finally got our rainy day. The rain started in the middle of the night and continued on and off all day and evening. Mark and I had early morning appointments for a yearly check-up with the dermatologist. Thankfully, no problems there. We then went into town to do a little shopping and then I took Mark back to the boat before heading to Woods Hole to meet up with Jed and boys. The shopping in town was to buy new art supplies for Sam, Jonah, and Ollie, and we went home to try them out. This actually engaged the boys until lunch time. After lunch, Ollie went down for his nap while the big boys decided to put on their snow pants and winter boots and go outside to play in the mud.
Mark spent his day on the boat doing projects. The latest problem is that our refrigeration compressor has not been working properly. When we got home yesterday, the frig temp was in the 50’s. Last night we opened up the area where the compressor is located and this morning Mark bought a block of ice and put it in the bottom of the frig while he worked on the problem. He emailed the service people at Frigibar from whom we bought the refrigeration system and they got back to him immediately. The technician talked him through troubleshooting and it was decided that the compressor is probably not the problem. Since Mark had replaced the original thermostat with a digital one, the technician recommended that he reinstall the original to see if that solved the problem. Switching the thermostats took most of the afternoon, but it didn’t solve the problem. So now what? It was too late in the day to make contact with the technician, but Mark knows that the next step will be to get a new electronic module—a box on the side of the compressor that controls it. Magically tonight everything seems to be working. That could be because we have opened up the area where the compressors for the frig and freezer are located. When the water and air temperature get warm, we always seem to have frig issues, and in the past opening up this area has helped. Maybe that is the solution this time. Whatever, Mark will continue to work on the problem tomorrow. Today Mark also did more head rebuild work. He rebuilt the forward head a week or so ago, but was still not working properly. And the toilet in our aft head has also gotten hard to pump, so he worked on both of those problems. He works at West Marine tomorrow afternoon, but he will stay home in the morning to continue dealing with boat issues. While he does this, I’ll have another fun day with Sam, Jonah, and Ollie.
by Judy Handley | Jul 14, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 266, Year 9: Stoney Beach and Late Afternoon Pilates
Date: Monday, July 14, 2014
Weather: Overcast, High Temp in the Upper 70’s
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, Massachusetts
Despite the overcast conditions, Oma, Granddad, and Company (Sam, Jonah, Ollie) had a great day. Sam started his morning with his class at the School of Science and from there we all went to Stoney Beach in Woods Hole. We had planned a short stay, but we were having too much fun to leave early. All three boys had on their shorty dive skins and right away Jonah unzipped his and rolled it down so he would “look like a real diver.” And of course, Ollie had to do the same thing. But once the activity level increased, the dive skins went back on and the fun began. Friends Cole and Leo were there and they had a big bucket and nets and were trying to catch minnows. Sam and Jonah joined them and had a great time stalking the little fish. They slapped the water with their nets, half stunning the little fish, and dipped their nets and came up with the catch. Ollie dug and dug with his new shovel and joined the big boys for an explore on the rock jetty. As I mentioned we had planned to leave early and stop by Walmart to do a little shopping. Somehow in the past couple of weeks we have managed to lose Ollie’s body board and he really wanted a new one. We had promised to stop to get one on the way home, but it was past lunch and nap time, so we had to boogie on home. While the boys ate lunch, Granddad went back into town to get Ollie a new board and Ollie was so delighted that he held onto it while I rocked him to sleep for nap. While Ollie slept, Sam and Jonah had a little screen time on mommy and daddy’s tablets while Oma did a little laundry and then we wrote and drew in their summer journals. While we did this Granddad ran a couple of errands—one of which was to go buy a new phone as his old one just stopped working today. With the variety of activities, the days pass so quickly and there is never enough time to fit in everything we want to do. But we are working hard at having a great time doing whatever. Tomorrow and Wednesday could be rainy days, so we have planned indoor activities. Granddad goes back to work for the first time at West Marine tomorrow, so I’ll have the three little ones on my own. We are going to the Discovery Center in Woods Hole for a ‘Creature Feature’ and then on to the Aquarium. Then we’ll head home for lunch and Ollie’s nap. After nap, Heather is going to meet me at the public library for a Rock-It Sing Along. When we heard about it last week, we thought it had something to do with rockets, but tonight when I read the description, I saw that it is just a play on words. Sam might not be too happy about this as he is really into rockets, but Jonah and Ollie will love the music. The challenge this summer is finding activities that are equally attractive for a 2, 5, and 7 year old.
When Heather got home from work this afternoon, she invited Jonah and Ollie to do pilates with her. Ollie decided that he needed to wear his winter flannel pajamas with footies. It was hot and humid, but he didn’t let that stop him. Jonah didn’t last long with the exercises, but Ollie stuck with momma through most of the routine. So go our fun and crazy summer days . . .
by Judy Handley | Jul 13, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 265, Year 9: Life Should Always Be Like a Beam Reach
Date: Sunday, July 13, 2014
Weather: Another Gorgeous Day, High Temp in the Low 80’s, Very Windy
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, Massachusetts
Today we had our first sail out of Quissett Harbor since arriving here in early May.. Heather, Jed, and boys arrived just before 11 am and off we went. We knew it would be a short sail as there was a small craft advisory going into effect at 11 am, so our plan was to sail out until the 30 knot gusts actually arrived and then sail back. We sailed out under a reefed main and staysail on a beam reach and it was delightful. It was so perfect that Mark commented: “Life should always be a beam reach.” Obviously he was enjoying this first sail of the summer. And we actually sailed out just behind Jim and Suzy on Reveille. They sailed on across Buzzard’s Bay, but unfortunately the gusts came at 11:30 am and we jibed and headed for home. Jonah is a very reluctant sailor who has had some rough sails on Windbird, so we are trying hard to give him only positive experiences to turn his view of sailing around. We picked up the mooring at 12 noon, only an hour after we had dropped it, but all of us were invigorated by the fantastic sail. As soon as we were back on the mooring, we had a Skype video call with Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco. That is always more fun when the little cousins can watch each other on the screen. After the call we had lunch and then Ollie went down for a nap. Heather and I took Sam and Jonah to the beach while the ‘big’ boys—Granddad and Jed—had a little nap with Ollie. By 3 pm, the Goldstones were headed home so that they could watch the final game of the World Cup and Mark was deep into a sewing project to reinforce some seams in out dodger. When we got back in from our sailing foray, I asked Sam and Jonah to use fresh water to wash the salt water off the boat. In doing this, a seam in the dodger gave way due to stitching that has been weakened by the sun and that needed to be repaired before the rains some tomorrow night or Tuesday. That filled the rest of the afternoon. The sewing wasn’t all that much fun, but the day was quite delightful despite the required work.
