by Judy Handley | Apr 18, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 180, Year 9: What Cruisers Talk About
Date: Friday, April 18, 2014
Weather: Overcast and Cold—Simply Miserable
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
It is evening and I am sitting here listening to Mark talk on the phone to Ed and Lynne of Constance. These are the folks we sailed with across the Indian Ocean. Like us, they have basically been land-based since returning from their seventeen-year trip around the world. They did make it to the Bahamas last winter but, otherwise, Constance has been on land in Georgia and Ed and Lynne have lived with family in New York and Michigan. We talk to them often but I am chuckling tonight as I listen to the conversation. Mark, Ed, and Lynne are talking about the same things we talked about when we were sailing . . . What navigation program are you using now? How does that sync with the old Max Sea program we used while sailing around the world? What are your planned cruising destinations for this summer? What are your long range cruising plans? These are the same things that Mark talked about when he spoke to cruising friends Peppe and Bob just yesterday. And they are same things cruisers always talk about. It is quite comforting to know that some things never change.
Mark worked at West Marine today and I stayed at home with Sam and Ollie. Public schools here started their week-long spring vacation today. But Jonah felt better and was able to go to pre-school today in Woods Hole. He really wanted to see his friends and was very excited to go and show-off his brand new Captain America sneakers. Sam, Ollie, and I had a laid back day that we mostly spent inside. There was no sunshine today and it felt downright cold outside. The forecast looks like it might warm up a bit tomorrow. I’m certainly looking forward to that.
by Judy Handley | Apr 17, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 179, Year 9: Migration North
Date: Thursday, April 17, 2014
Weather: Sunny, Cold, and Windy
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
It is the time of year that birds and cruisers start their migration north. On Saturday morning when I was out with the boys while they were biking, we heard quite a commotion of honking geese and then shortly we saw them flying overhead in their V formation. We then assumed they landed somewhere else close-by to gather more geese when we heard another noisy commotion. Since that time we have not seen a single goose and nor have we seen our little bufflehead duck friends. So we think they all chose Saturday, with strong winds blowing from the south, to head north for the summer. And today we talked with cruising friends we met in the Indian Ocean and they are in Florida getting ready for their ‘flight’ north. So it is most definitely time for the migration north.
The friends we talked with today were Peppe and Bob, formerly of sailing vessel Far Niente. We met them in Chagos in the Indian Ocean and spent time with them in South Africa. They left South Africa after we did and their circumnavigation ended abruptly off the island of Vieques in Puerto Rico when Far Niente went on a reef and was not able to be rescued. Bob and Peppe were fine, but they were boatless. They returned home to the state of Washington and just a few weeks ago they bought another boat and are now in Florida getting ready to launch her. This weekend they will rendezvous with Chris and Geoff of Shambala (Australia) and Ed and Lynne of Constance (USA) who are all in Florida as well. We will miss being a part of this reunion, but it was great to catch up with Peppe and Bob today. They are going to be heading up the eastern coast of the US and hopefully we will see them later in the summer. We sure do miss cruising and our cruising friends, so it was great to connect today.
Mark and I spent our day at Heather and Jed’s taking care of Jonah and Ollie. Jonah still had a bit of a fever this morning and couldn’t go to school. He has no other symptoms other than a bit of congestion and he seemed to be much better by the end of today. So he might be able to go to school tomorrow. Sam is now officially on ‘spring break’ and has tomorrow and all of next week off school. Mark goes to work at West Marine tomorrow, so Sam and Ollie and I will hold down the fort at home.
by Judy Handley | Apr 16, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 178, Year 9: Cold . . .
Date: Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Weather: Clear and Cold with Winds from the North
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
Just as I headed to bed last night, the strong winds from the south stopped and the rain started falling. It rained hard all during the night and just about the time we got up this morning the rains stopped and the strong winds returned—this time from the north. And when the wind blows from the north at this time of year, it feels icy cold. This wind will continue coming from the north on through the weekend giving us days with temps in the 40’s F and nights with temps in the 30’s. So we are once again wearing our winter coats. Ugh!
The Honda Civic that Heather and Jed purchased in January developed a very noisy brake problem on Monday, so today Mark, Heather, and Jonah headed to Hyannis to the Honda Service Center. They drove two cars just in case the Civic’s issues couldn’t be dealt with in one afternoon. But luckily the problem was dealt with quickly and everyone returned home at the end of the afternoon. I stayed home with Ollie and then picked Sam and his friend Sebastian up from school. Nothing interesting to report today—just another day in the life.
by Judy Handley | Apr 15, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 177, Year 9: Windy, Windy, Windy
Date: Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Weather: Rainy and Windy All Day
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
It was another day in the life. Mark worked at West Marine and I had both Oliver and Jonah today. Jonah spiked a fever with a cough yesterday and the fever was still with him this morning. No school for Jonah today. Despite not feeling great, we had a fun day together trying to dye eggs using natural dyes like red cabbage, turmeric, and beets. Tomorrow we are going to try dying eggs with onion skins and old silk ties. The projects were fun, but the wind was the dominating factor today. It was and is windy, windy, windy. There were times today at Heather and Jed’s that I was sure a train was coming through the house. But Jonah assured me that it was just the wind. The strong winds today were coming from the southwest bringing warmth. Tonight the winds are clocking to the north and the temperature will drop overnight. The forecast still calls for a wintery mix of rain and ice or snow for early morning. My mother, who married my father 91 years ago today, would call this the Easter storm. She swore there was one every year. And if you are trying to do the math to figure out how my mother would be if she were still living, she would be 106 years old. She married my dad in 1923 when she was only 15. So it might be Tax Day to some, but April 15 is always a time that I remember my parents and celebrate the love of family.
by Judy Handley | Apr 14, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 176, Year 9: Wind Blowin’ in a Full Moon
Date: Monday, April 14, 2014
Weather: Mostly Sunny, High Temp in the 60’s F, Windy Tonight
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
We’ve had three warm, beautiful days, but tonight the wind is blowing strong. Mark was just saying that the moon is happening right now, but I told him that actually the full moon occurs in the wee hours of tomorrow morning. So we joked about this wind blowin’ in the full moon. And at the same time that the moon is full here on the east coast between 3:00 and 4:00 in the morning, we will be experiencing a total lunar eclipse. Unfortunately, most of us will not witness it as we will be fast asleep. I envy those sailors who are out there on passage and might actually get to see the eclipse. A lot of people really don’t like overnight passages, but I love them because they put you right out there in the elements. You get to watch the night sky as it changes during the night with the rotation of the earth. You get to watch the sun go down, the moon rise, and then the sun rise again. You see falling stars, satellites, and constellations. And if you were out there tonight, you would get to witness the full lunar eclipse.
This wind is bringing in a new weather system. Tomorrow evening we might get rain and overnight going into Wednesday morning we might actually get a little snow. After that things start to stabilize a bit, but I don’t see warm days and nights like we have had for the past three days in the 10-day forecast system. Mark works at West Marine again tomorrow and Ollie and I will hang out together for the day.
Tonight at sundown was the start of Passover which is observed in the Goldstone household, but not tonight. Jed had a Board of Health meeting that he really needed to attend. So like many modern day households, they will hold their Seder—the elaborate ritual meal that is the heart of the eight-day Passover period—on another night this week. I just read an article in the online Washington Post that talked about this very thing. Evidently more American Jews are holding their Seders on nights other than the traditional first two nights due to busy work and travel schedules. Heather, Jed, and boys also celebrate the spring part of Easter. So beginning tomorrow, Ollie and I dye eggs using natural materials. We’re going to start by boiling red cabbage to make a dye. We’ll let you know how this goes.
by Judy Handley | Apr 13, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 175, Year 9: Work and Travel Day
Date: Sunday, April 13, 2014
Weather: Partly Cloudy, High Temp in the Upper 60’s F
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
Mark went to work at West Marine again today and I traveled to the Boston-area to visit with my niece Lynn. We had a nice visit and then I went shopping at Costco on my way home to do a little food shopping. It was supposed to be cooler today than yesterday, but it actually ended up to be a few degrees warmer. However, it was partly cloudy and just didn’t feel as warm to me as yesterday. And even though the forecast calls for ice pellets early on Wednesday morning, it looks like the daytime temps for this week will stay in the 40’s and 50’s. I’m afraid to say it out loud, but I think spring has decided to come to New England.
