by Judy Handley | Jul 6, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 258, Year 9: The Finale . . . Falmouth Fireworks
Date: Sunday, July 6, 2014
Weather: Sunny, Still 20-30 mph Winds
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, Massachusetts
The finale to our weekend were the Falmouth 4th of July fireworks tonight. The fireworks were supposed to be on Friday night, the 4th of July, but we were in the midst of torrential rain from Hurricane Arthur. The date was reset for tonight and we were fearful that they were going to be cancelled again due to high winds. The winds were strong all day, but as evening approached they piped up to the mid-20’s. We had read that sustained winds greater than 20 miles per hour would cancel the fireworks, but the show did go on. And it was windy!
Kevin and Claire left this morning. We always enjoy our time with them and look forward to seeing them again in the Chesapeake this fall on our way south. Mark and I kicked back and had a relaxed day on Windbird, enjoying the beautiful weather. Jed flew to DC this morning and will drive home tomorrow with his mother. She is headed to Maine for the remainder of the summer and Jed wanted to help her get this far. Heather and the boys also had a laid back morning at home, went to a 4th of July party next door at Brian and Melissa’s, and then came out to Windbird for dinner. They arrived just as the winds really piped up and we had a wet ride from the dinghy dock out to the boat, but we dried off quickly and enjoyed the early evening on the boat. Around 8 pm we headed back to shore to go to the fireworks. We decided to drive back to East Falmouth and watch the fireworks on the beach that is very close to Heather and Jed’s. It was a late night for the boys, but at least by being close to home, we were able to get them in bed sooner rather than later. It was a super windy night, but it was warm enough that we were able to wrap in blankets and enjoy the fantastic fireworks show.
by Judy Handley | Jul 5, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 257, Year 9: Fun Day with Kevin and Claire
Date: Saturday, July 5, 2014
Weather: Sunny, Still Windy with 20-30 mph Winds
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, Massachusetts
We had a fun day with Kevin and Claire exploring the Cape. We had lunch in Dennisport with friends (Dave, Gretchen, and 5 year-old daughter Macy) we both knew when we lived in Shipyard Quarters in Boston prior to sailing around the world. Then we traveled on to the ‘elbow’ of the Cape to Chatham to check out the seals at the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge and buy seafood for dinner at the Chatham Fish Pier. Then we drove back to East Falmouth where we had an early birthday dinner for Mark with Heather, Jed, and boys. After dinner we walked to Smitty’s for ice cream and then we finished off the day with a wet dinghy ride back to Windbird. We had to motor into strong winds and choppy seas and the two of us on the windward side got wet. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a wet dinghy ride, so I guess our turn had come. It’s been a short visit with Kevin and Claire, but we’ve made the most of our time together. They leave in the morning as they have to drive home to Ashburn, Virginia in order to go to work on Monday morning. Ashburn is about 45 miles west of Washington, DC, and with 4th of July weekend travelers, it could be a long day home. As always, we have really enjoyed our time together and will look forward to our next meeting.
by Judy Handley | Jul 4, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 256, Year 9: Stormy 4th of July
Date: Friday, July 4, 2014
Weather: Overcast, Windy, and Rainy
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, Massachusetts
It has been a stormy 4th of July. Last night I called Hurricane Arthur by the wrong name. I don’t know where I came up with Hurricane Alex, but whatever the name, we are certainly feeling the results of it right now. In the next couple of hours (currently 10 pm), it will pass by us and head on to Nova Scotia. But in the meantime we are getting 25-35 mile per hour winds. By mid-night the wind should slow just a bit and by morning the rain should stop. And by noon tomorrow, the normal 4th of July weekend activities can resume.
Our morning weather was off and on—sunshine alternating with rain. We went into town to do some food shopping, timing our trip to shore just after a pouring rain. And when we returned, we barely got everything into the cockpit before the heavens opened up with a deluge. Thankfully the rain stopped just as our friends Kevin and Claire arrived. The sunshine was gone, but at least there was no rain. We decided to go into Woods Hole for lunch and made it back to the boat with only minutes to spare before the serious rain set in. It has been raining for hours now and we spent a great deal of the evening in the cockpit just watching the rain and the movement of other boats and feeling the effects of the wind. It gave us a great opportunity to catch up on what has been happening in each other’s lives. Unfortunately we had no 4th of July fireworks, but hopefully that will come later in the weekend.
by Judy Handley | Jul 3, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 255, Year 9: Getting Ready for Stormy Weather
Date: Thursday, July 3, 2014
Weather: Mostly Sunny, High in the Upper 70’s
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, Massachusetts
It’s late and we just finished watching the Boston Pops 4th of July Concert and Fireworks–a day early. Due to the threat of Hurricane Alex, New England has had to make all sorts of changes to July 4th celebrations. We called my sister Patsy in North Carolina this evening to see how they weathered the storm. They got a little rain and a little wind, but nothing severe. But when we were talking to them, my brother-in-law asked what time the Boston Pops 4th of July concert would be on television. We had no idea, but when we got off the phone we looked it up on the internet and found that it was being streamed live. So we spent the rest of the evening watching that and really enjoyed it. But even the day early concert and fireworks were ended early due to the threat of heavy rain from a squall. We still have no rain, but it could hit here soon. The ‘real’ rain will come late tomorrow and it looks like we could get quite a deluge.
We had a low-key day with the boys. We picked Sam up from his early morning science class and met Jed, Jonah, and Ollie downtown to go to the Falmouth Public Library annual book sale. We left an hour later with two big bags of books. On the way to the van, we encountered a carousel ride and Jonah and Ollie really wanted to do this. Sam was not interested, so I took him to the van so he could read through some of the books we had just bought. Heather and Jed suggested that we have a low-key day as the boys seemed tired this morning, so after the book sale, we headed home. After I put Ollie down for a nap, we read and read and read and then decided to inflate a new pool and enjoy a little backyard water play. Heather got home early and helped get the get the pool inflated. Then Heather, Ollie, and I worked in the garden while the big boys played in the pool.
When Mark and I got back to the boat, Mark spent time preparing for strong winds. He wrapped the headsail and the staysail, but I don’t think he did anything with the mainsail. We shouldn’t start getting the heavy rains until tomorrow afternoon, so we still have tomorrow morning to complete the preparations. Tomorrow afternoon our friends Kevin and Claire come to visit. We could have quite a bit of rain and wind tomorrow night, but they are sailors and should weather the storm with us just fine. We are looking forward to their visit.
by Judy Handley | Jul 2, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 254, Year 9: Staying Cool on a Hot Day
Date: Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Weather: Sunny and Windy, High in the Upper 80’s
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, Massachusetts
The weather report tells us it was 87 degrees F here today. But we spent a great deal of today in the water and in the shade, so I guess we just didn’t notice. Mark has a couple of annual doctor appointments today (ophthalmologist and cardiologist) which complicated things a bit, but with Jed’s help, we worked things out. Mark’s first appointment was at 9 am in Sandwich which is about 35 minutes north of here. Heather had to go to Boston today, so Jed kept the boys until Mark and I returned from Sandwich. We met Jed at the Woods Hole Library where the boys were attending a folk music/puppet show. After the show, Jed went to work and we headed to the beach in Quissett to enjoy lunch in the shade along with a little water play. Mark’s next appointment was at the Falmouth Hospital at 1 pm, so the boys and I drove him there and then went to a nearby playground to wait for him. The drive to the playground gave Ollie a chance to go to sleep, so he slept while the big boys played on the equipment. Then it was back to the hospital to pick up Granddad. We decided to go to the freshwater pond in town rather than to the beach to play for the rest of the afternoon. We did a little extra driving around to give Ollie a chance to sleep and then we all enjoyed the pond at Goodwill Park. We staked out a shady place at the water’s edge and Sam and Jonah started excavating a huge hole and building walls of sand around it. Once they had a little pond within their walls of sand, Ollie put one of the body boards in it and practiced jumping off it into the water. We had a great time digging in the sand and floating about the pond until late afternoon and never even noticed that it was hot. So it was the perfect way to spend a steamy afternoon.
We are now on weather watch. With Tropical Storm Arthur (soon to be Hurricane Arthur) headed our way, all sorts of 4th of July activities are being changed. Boston has moved its fireworks and Boston Pops concert to tomorrow night (July 3rd) instead of having them on the 4th. And Falmouth has postponed their fireworks until Sunday night. Whenever, we will enjoy them.
by Judy Handley | Jul 1, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 253, Year 9: A Typical Summer Day
Date: Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Still Windy, High in the 70’s
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, Massachusetts
Today was just a typical summer day . . . if there is really such a thing as typical. We are trying to get into some sort of schedule with the grandkids for the summer, but there always seems to be something that changes the plans. As our friend Lynne, who was here this weekend, always says, “You make plans and then life happens.” And we seem to have lots of ‘life’ happenings. The basic plan for the summer is that Heather takes Sam to Woods Hole for his science class each morning by 8:30 and then she goes to work. Jed stays home with Ollie and Jonah and then meets us in Woods Hole at The School of Science at 10 am. This is when Sam’s class is over. Mark and I then take all three boys to the beach for a couple of hours and then head home for lunch and Ollie’s nap. Heather comes home around 2:30 pm and Mark and I are then “off-duty”. The plan is to follow this general schedule for the rest of the summer. But already it is evident that there are more exceptions to the schedule than there are ‘normal’ days. But we’ll work through that and soon we’ll get into a rhythm that works for all of us. At the same time, I’m still trying to figure out this low-fat diet and do the shopping and cooking required for that. Things are busy, but life if good. The weather has been just beautiful and Mark continues to get stronger each day. Hard to ask for more. But on second thought, the gosling swimming around in the harbor with his mom and dad is awfully cute, so maybe I could ask for just this one more thing.
