Day 293, Year 10: Happy Birthday, Coco
Date: Thursday, July 30, 2015
Weather: Most Cloudy and Windy, Rain in the Evening
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, MA

Happy 3rd birthday to our granddaughter, Coco Annabelle. We talked to her tonight and she demonstrated her skill at riding on her new ZUM balance bike that we gave her as a present. She was three today, but Justin says she is already talking about getting her own apartment. She is one of a kind! Happy Birthday, Coco.

150730 Day 293a Cape Cod, USA–Coco on Her ZUM Balance Bike

Windbird is also one of a kind. She is one tough old bird. She was hauled out of the water this morning, and upon first inspection, she looked great. She had a huge amount of growth on her bottom and the bottom paint and a little fiberglass were rubbed off the bottom of the keel and rudder, but there were no major problems to be seen. That is, until Mark took a closer look. The back edge of the keel is actually split from the pressure of grounding on a rocky bottom. Otherwise, she just needs bottom paint. We might be underestimating the amount of work it will take to repair the rudder, but we are thinking we might be able to do the repairs ourselves and not even file an insurance claim. We will get an estimate from the yard here tomorrow and make a decision on what we will do after reading that. But we are greatly relieved that there was not more damage.

150730 Day 293b Cape Cod, USA–Windbird Haul Out

Sam, Jonah, and Ollie loved being here at Fiddler’s Cove this morning to see the boat hauled out of the water. We were three minutes late getting Sam to class at noon as the boys really wanted to hang around to watch the bottom being power washed. But I finally pried them away and left Mark to do the inspection. Poor Ollie and Jonah were in the car for an insanely long time today as we drove Sam to class in Woods Hole (about 20-25 minutes from here), turned around and drove back to pick up Granddad, drove back to Woods Hole to pick up Sam, and then drove into Falmouth to get some lunch. But they were troopers and there were no complaints. We had dinner at Heather and Jed’s tonight and then drove back to Fiddler’s Cove to spend the night aboard Windbird on land. Sleeping aboard is not a problem, but doing anything that requires running water is a no-no until Mark gets a drain hose connected to the thru-hull from the galley sink. When he gets that done, we can drain up to five gallons of water before having to empty the bucket. So we’ll only run water when absolutely necessary. We’ll eat out some evenings and eat at Heather and Jed’s some evenings. The bathrooms in the clubhouse here are great, so all ablutions will be done there. The biggest problem is going up and down the ladder. But it is only for a couple of weeks, so we’ll survive quite nicely.

150730 Day 293c Cape Cod, USA–Windbird's New Home

Day 292, Year 10: New Temporary Address
Date: Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Weather: Beautiful Day with Just Enough Wind for a Great Sail
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, MA

At the end of a very busy day, Windbird has a new temporary address. We had a great late afternoon sail up Buzzards Bay from Quissett Harbor to Fiddler’s Cove. Tomorrow morning the boat will be hauled so we can assess the damages from our collision with the wind about a month ago.

I had just about finished writing tonight’s log when my computer turned itself off—out of power. And I lost the entire log, so this second edition will be a short one. We started off with breakfast with friends Jon Greenberg and Connie Rosemont.

150729 Day 292a Cape Cod, USA–Jon and Connie Visit

I then had a marsh explore with Sam, Jonah, and Ollie and good friends Bruce and Jane Woodin who were there with their grandchildren, Aurora and Jasper. We took Sam to class, delivered Heather and Jed’s van to Fiddler’s Cove, stopped by Heather’s work for a little video session of the boys with Heather, and got back to Quissett just in time to get ready for our sail. Heather and Jed arrived and off we went. Once we arrived in Fiddler’s Cove we all got into Heather and Jed’s van to go to dinner at the Beach House and then drove back to Quissett to pick up the other cars. Ollie had a mini-meltdown as he had thought he and his brothers were sleeping on Windbird tonight. So we packed the boys in our car and they are now sleeping soundly here on Windbird. I was going to go get them early in the morning so they can watch Windbird being hauled out of the water, so Ollie’s idea of an overnight was perfect. But if Oma is going to be ready for another busy day, I’d better get to bed!

150729 Day 292b Cape Cod, USA–Woodneck by Day; Windbird by Night

Day 291, Year 10: Last Day in Quissett Harbor . . . for a Bit
Date: Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Weather: Sunny Early, Then Overcast; Rainy Late Afternoon
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, MA

Today was our last full day in Quissett Harbor for a bit . . . maybe two weeks, maybe more. We’ll know more about a return date on Thursday once Windbird is out of the water and the damages from our grounding can be assessed. So we had one last morning of fun here with the boys. Today’s big activity was filling the dinghy with water to try and sink it. And then, of course, getting the water out of the dinghy and back into the harbor.

150728 Day 291 Cape Cod, USA–Quissett Harbor Beach Fun

Mark joined us on shore for part of the morning and then the boys and I took off on an explore down the beach, through the woods, and across to the beach on the other side of The Knob. Sam wanted to snorkel off that beach as Heather has told us that it is a bit of nursery for baby fish. Sam didn’t see any babies, but he swears he saw a very big fish. Whatever, it is great to see him snorkeling and free diving. Jonah, Ollie, and I just enjoyed the beach and then we returned to the other side and back to Windbird. The boys were hungry and they ate and ate and ate. It was overcast this morning, so it felt cooler than usual. They wanted chicken noodle soup, so I heated one can, then two, and then three. Three boys ate three cans of Campbell’s chicken noodle soup, ate crackers with cheese and bacon. Sam had to leave for class at that point, but Jonah and Ollie continued by eating more bacon, drinking Kefir, and then eating fruit. The boys had decided to go home for the afternoon to ride bikes. We went home but the bike riding never happened. And by the time Mark and I left, it was raining. The rain was preceded by some serious rumbling, but the thunder settled down once the rain started to fall.

Tomorrow morning we are meeting friends from our days in Concord, NH at The Fishmonger Café in Woods Hole for breakfast. Jon Greenberg and Connie Rosemont now live in the DC area, but when we all lived in Concord, Jon worked at New Hampshire Public Radio with Mark. He is now with PolitiFact, a fact checking organization, in the DC area. We haven’t seen Jon or Connie since 2005, so we have lots of catching up to do. After breakfast, Heather will deliver the boys to Woods Hole to meet up with me and then we will be off to Wood Neck for a low tide morning explore. In the afternoon, Heather and Jed will join us in Quissett and we will sail north to Fiddlers Cove.

Day 290, Year 10: Rainy Day Activities
Date: Monday, July 27, 2015
Weather: Rainy Morning, Clearing in the Afternoon
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, MA

Rainy day activities were the name of the game this morning. Mark and I didn’t hear the thunder in the wee hours of the morning, but thunder and lightning woke Heather’s crew at 4 am and there was not a lot of sleeping to be done from then until time to really get up. Ollie was the problem as he was scared and just could not get back to sleep. Heather has to be out of the house by 8:00 am on Monday mornings as she is on the air at 9:00. By the time Mark and I arrived at 9 am, Ollie wanted to immediately show us the fantastic wooden block castle he had built with his dad. All of the boys had already been out playing in the rain, so once we arrived, they were ready for an indoor activity. They all headed to the basement to work in their wood shop. Jonah brought the little boom box to the basement so they could listen to music while they worked. We got everything set up and there was a lot of hammering while listening to one of their favorite CD’s. Then all of a sudden, all three boys were making music with their tools. The Home Depot 5 gallon buckets that they were using as stools all of a sudden became drums and the long pieces of wood they had been nailing together became drum sticks. Sam discovered that he could hit the heads of two hammers together making a great sound to keep the beat while Ollie and Jonah beat their inverted buckets. Jonah was the conductor and at some point he ran upstairs to get real drum sticks. The result was quite impressive and I joined in by clapping my hands. That is, until I realized that I really needed to document this on video. So I got my camera and tried to capture the moment. We probably played music for more than 15-20 minutes and then decided that they the rain had stopped enough to allow us to ride bikes.

150727 Day 290 Cape Cod, USA–Rainy Day Fun

Unfortunately by the time we got the bikes out and went upstairs to get shoes on, it was raining harder again. Oh well, by now it was time to get lunch for Sam and head out with the gang to take Granddad to work at West Marine. I didn’t expect Mark to make it for more than an hour today as he was really weak, but he actually made it from 11 am to 7 pm. Thankfully for him, this was his last scheduled work day for a while. Sylvia, the manager, is having to cut back and this will work out great for Mark. He loves his work at West Marine, but this new chemo regimen is taking its toll and he needs more rest.

The boys and I dropped Mark off at West Marine and we headed to the Woods Hole Aquarium, trying to catch the 11 am seal show. No go. I forgot that the aquarium is closed on Mondays, so instead we went to the Buzzards Bay Coalition and played in the touch tank until time to walk Sam to the 12 noon class. An hour and a half later, Jonah, Ollie, and I picked Sam up and headed home for more bike riding and a nap for Ollie. So despite the rain, we had a fun day. The afternoon cleared allowing us to play outside. Tomorrow might be another rainy day, but we are going to hope for weather that will allow us to have a fun day here in Quissett Harbor. On Wednesday afternoon we sail Windbird from here to Fiddlers Cove and on Thursday morning, Windbird will be hauled for bottom repairs. So tomorrow is our last day on this great mooring in Quissett’s inner harbor. When we return in late August, we will once again be in the outer harbor. So we’ll make the best of tomorrow.

Day 289, Year 10: Happy Birthday, Olivia!
Date: Sunday, July 26, 2015
Weather: Overcast
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, MA

Tonight we went to Olivia White’s 78th birthday party. She is an amazing woman and we wish her the happiest of birthdays. I can only hope to be as healthy and happy as Olivia on my 78th.

Mark went to work today but couldn’t make it all day. His energy level is really being affected by the chemo treatment. I was supposed to be on Windbird, but I ended up at Heather’s with Jonah and Ollie while Heather, Jed, and Sam went to Hyannis. Luckily I was headed to downtown Falmouth to a Car Show with Jonah and Ollie when Mark sent a text asking where we were. We ended up meeting him at the Car Show and bringing him home with us. Sam came home from Hyannis with a brand new bicycle. He was one happy little boy.

150726 Day 289 Cape Cod, USA–Car Show; Sam's New Bike; Olivia's Birthday Party

Day 288, Year 10: Messing About in Boats
Date: Saturday, July 25, 2015
Weather: Sunny, Windy, Cooler—High Temp 72 degrees F
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, MA

Today was all about messing about in boats . . . breakfast in Windbird’s sunny cockpit, early morning kayaking and “dinghying” around the harbor, and just generally enjoying life on the water. The morning got off to a good start thanks to me and to Jed. Sam is notorious for getting up EARLY and when you are in the confines of a 42-foot sailboat, keeping an eight year-old early riser quiet while everyone else sleeps can be quite a challenge. Add a six year-old brother who sometimes gets up early as well, and you have double trouble. Last night I told Sam and Jonah that if they got up early this morning they could play Minecraft on our phones if they were very, very quiet. This is a video game that is very popular with the young ones. Sam and Jonah are allowed to play it once in a while, and since they love playing it so much, it is a treat to get time to do this. So I figured this morning was the perfect time. They were up sometime between 6 and 7 am and were fairly quiet for over an an hour without any adult intervention. I got up just before 8 o’clock and started fixing breakfast. Shortly after that, Jed got up and he ‘policed’ the crowd while they were eating. Heather and Ollie slept in a little longer and finally, just before 9 am, Mark got up. By this time Sam was off to the beach in the kayak and Heather and Jonah swam to shore. At least I think that was the order of events. Whatever, Ollie wanted to go in the kayak, so we took the dinghy to shore for the big boys and Heather and we took off in the kayak. It was a beautiful, quiet ride and Ollie really did hold his own paddling. We paddled to the rocky islet in the middle of the harbor that the Goldstone boys claim as their very own island (only visible at low tide) and we watched three strikingly beautiful birds, American Oyster Catchers, using their long, bright orange beaks to feast on clams for breakfast. The last time I saw oyster catchers was in New Zealand, so this was a special citing. Sam and Jed went to the dock in the dinghy to do a little fishing while Jonah and Granddad played chess and ate pretzels in the cockpit. As I heard Heather saying at this point, it was a most civilized morning. But it had to come to an end as the whole gang was invited to an 11 am birthday party. The Goldstones took the dinghy to shore and left Granddad and I on the boat. They were having such a good time that they wanted to return after the birthday party. Mark and I both actually took naps and then regrouped for the afternoon. Heather and Jed had offered to do the work if Mark wanted to go out sailing, but he really didn’t feel up to it. This new chemo treatment is much harder on him and he just needs more rest. So when H, J, and boys returned, we headed to the beach, leaving Granddad to rest. The temperature today was only about 72 degrees F, a good 10-15 degrees cooler than the past few days, so Ollie and Jonah eventually got cold and wanted to go back to Windbird. Jed and I stayed on the beach with Mr. Energy, one Samuel Goldstone, who moves so fast that he wouldn’t know if he was cold. And just as I was thinking of going back to the boat, Brian Keefe, H & J’s next door neighbor, arrived on the beach with his two little ones, Molly and Joey. Eventually we all ended up on Windbird for an impromptu party of sorts. The five kids were a bit rambunctious at times, but I thought they played amazingly well together in such a small space. At one point they were all on deck and Jonah started singing the sea shanty, “What Shall We Do with a Drunken Sailor?” Heather had just said something that prompted Jonah to sing, “Put her in the brig with the captain’s daughter”—and Sam immediately retorted by saying to Jonah that she (mommy) WAS the captain’s daughter. We all got a good laugh out of that one and then the pirates continued marching around the deck singing the shanty. Before the Keefe’s headed back to shore, Molly was doing some art work with Jonah and she wrote a thank you note to Mark and I—totally on her own. She and Jonah are the same age and I was pretty impressed that a six year-old would think to write a thank you note just for having her onboard the boat. And four year-old Joey hugged me when he was ready to leave. I see him almost every day at Heather and Jed’s, but this was my first hug. Good kids.

So it was a delightful day in Quissett Harbor messing about on boats. Many of the smaller classic sailboats that call Quissett Harbor their home were out and about this afternoon, so we enjoyed watching them as well. All in all, it was just a good day.

150725 Day 288 Cape Cod, USA–Sunday in Quissett Harbor

Day 287, Year 10: Enjoying Quissett Harbor
Date: Friday, July 24, 2015
Weather: Yet Another Beautiful Day
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, MA

It is 10:30 at night and all is well on Windbird. Heather and Ollie are asleep in the v-berth. Sam and Jonah are asleep on the settees in the main saloon. Jed is in the cockpit reading. I am in the bed in the aft cabin writing this log while Mark is sleeping beside me. It was a great day. Heather and Jed dropped the boys off this morning and then they headed to work. Mark stayed aboard Windbird to rest while I went to the beach with the boys. We played on the beach until time for Sam to head to Woods Hole for his School of Science Class. While he was there, the rest of us went into Falmouth to the supermarket and then went to Belltower Park to have lunch and play until time to Pick-up Sam. We then returned to Quissett for more afternoon fun. Sam can now take the dinghy across the harbor by himself and Jonah can steer the kayak alone. Ollie desperately wants to be able to do everything his big brothers can do, but unfortunately he has to rely on them to take him along for at least another year or two. Thankfully, they are willing to take him along. When Heather arrived in the late afternoon and Sam took the dinghy to shore to pick her up, I think she was amazed at his ability to handle the dinghy alone. And then Jonah swam with Heather from the beach out to Windbird. He had on his ‘swimmies’ but just the fact that he was willing to be in water over head was amazing. He has always had more than a healthy fear of water, but this summer he is getting over that. We had a great evening, even fit in a little fishing at the end of the day, and will start again tomorrow morning.

150724 Day 287 Cape Cod, USA–Jonah Swims to Windbird from the Beach

Day 286, Year 10: Low-key Day with the Grandkids
Date: Thursday, July 23, 2015
Weather: Another Beautiful Day—Sunny, Windy, Not Too Hot
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, MA

Since everyone was up later than usual last night due to our County Fair visit, today was low-key. Two of the three boys voted for staying at home and doing nothing in particular. So we did just that.

I dropped Mark off at the oncology center early this morning as today was his cancer treatment day. I then went to Heather and Jed’s to find Jonah still asleep, Sam reading in the living room, and Oliver already dressed and in the backyard playing construction worker. He had on his Bob the Builder vest and he was in prime form. Can’t figure out how a three year-old can go strong long after his big brothers at night and then get started earlier in the morning. I guess I’ll just chalk it up to him being an energetic three year-old. I became part of his pretend play in the backyard this morning while Jed was in the house with the other two. Jed had to attend an 11 am funeral this morning, so he was around a little longer than usual. Just after he left, I started getting Sam’s lunch ready. At 11:30 am, Sam, along with Jonah and Oliver, piled into the car to head to Woods Hole to drop Sam off at class. We dropped him off and returned home to have our lunch. And just as we were finishing up, I got a text from Mark letting me know he should be ready for a pick-up around 1:30 pm. Heather was picking Sam up from school and had offered to pick up her dad, but I decided the quickest way to get Ollie down for a nap was to go for a ride in the car. He was fast asleep less than a mile down the road, so going for another ride was a good decision. Heather took Sam and Jonah to a 4 pm Frisbee demonstration at the public library in Mashpee while Ollie and Granddad napped and I worked in the garden.

Tomorrow Heather will bring the boys here to Quissett early in the morning and they (the boys, not Heather) will spend the whole day here except for the time that someone will break away to take Sam to class in Woods Hole. It’s only a couple of miles from here, so that is an easy one. We have invited Heather and Jed to stop by here on their way home from work tomorrow. They will have dinner and spend the night. Unfortunately we can’t go sailing on Saturday morning as Jonah has a birthday party to attend. It is his very good friend Luke’s birthday and he wouldn’t want to miss that. Since the boat comes out of the water next Thursday morning, the only chance for a sail will be to deliver Windbird to Fiddler’s Cove next Wednesday afternoon. Maybe Heather and Jed can leave work early and join us for an afternoon sail on Buzzards Bay. If not, it might be September before they can sail with us again. Summer is flying by way too fast.

Day 285, Year 10: Perfect Cape Cod Summer Day
Date: Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Weather: Clear Skies, Temp in the 80’s with a Breeze–Perfect
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, MA

It was just a perfect Cape Cod summer day. It was a good 10 degrees cooler than yesterday’s temp in the upper 90’s, and it didn’t feel hot because there was a wonderful breeze blowing all day. Mark went with me to Heather and Jed’s and we started our day by inflating the backyard pool they have. The boys had some of their Lego boats in the water and invented ways to have a dry dock and testing pool for their ships. Before we knew it, it was time for Sam to have lunch and head out for his School of Science class in Woods Hole. Jonah, Ollie, and I decided to have ‘recess’ before lunch, so we went to the elementary school playground. Jonah wanted to practice some of the acrobatics he saw at the circus last night and the playground equipment gave him the perfect place to practice. Just before heading home for lunch and Ollie’s nap, Jonah found some insect parts in the wooden mulch on the playground. There were quite a few sets of pincers, some wings, and some leg parts. It was a strange find, but the boys insisted on taking the parts home to try and reassemble the insect so we could identify it. We left them on a tray on the kitchen table. They’ll make interesting breakfast conversation!

Mark took Sam to school and went to get a hair-cut while waiting to bring him home. Sometime in the late spring, Mark’s hair started getting kinky curly. We are assuming this is due to the cancer treatment, but for whatever reason, he looks very different with his new hairdo as he has to keep it cut really short. Ollie took a nap and when Mark returned with Sam, I took the big boys to the beach that is a couple of miles from their house. We only had an hour, but they had a great time playing in the water. Once we got home, it was time to get ready for going to the Barnstable County Fair. As soon as Heather and Jed got home from work, we all jumped into our cars to go to the fair. And we all had an incredibly fun evening. It helped having at least one adult for each child because we could split up and let each child do their own thing. We started out together by walking through the Petting Zoo where the boys rode on small ponies. We then advanced to the big rides and this is when we needed to divide and conquer. Ollie immediately went for a motorcycle on a merry-go-round type of ride. He rode all by himself with no problem and went on to ride on a fire truck and then on a bumblebee. He was upset that his bumblebee didn’t go up high, but I was thankful that it didn’t. Jonah chose the Fun House and then a bungee trampoline ride. This is the first year he has been tall enough to qualify and he was so, so excited. Sam went with his dad and I’m not sure what he rode, but he then met us at the bungee trampoline and did that as well. When 7 o’clock came, we went to see the Demolition Derby. Some of us sat on the hillside to save seats for those who went to get food. We then sat on the hill and ate dinner and watched the destruction. I have never seen a Demolition Derby and all I could think is that we haven’t advanced much as a civilization since the days of the gladiators fighting lions. About the time I was thinking this, Ollie decided that he really didn’t want to watch the cars smashing into each other. He wanted to go back to see the animals and Mark and I quickly offered to take him. As we were walking away, he summed it up just right. “They (the guys driving the demolition cars) don’t play nice.”

150722 Day 285 Cape Cod, USA–Barnstable County Fair

Day 284, Year 10: Hot, Hot, Hot
Date: Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Weather: Clear, Sunny, and Hot–Temp in the mid-90’s F
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, MA

It was as hot today as I ever remember it being here on the Cape. Temps in the mid-90’s are not the norm! But it is not that hot everywhere. The high in Woods Hole today was 10 degrees cooler than in East Falmouth. So it wasn’t until after we returned to Heather and Jed’s in East Falmouth from having lunch in Woods Hole that the heat became unbearable. I insisted that Sam and Jonah do some sort of water play in the backyard, and once Ollie woke up from his nap, he joined them. Heather and Jed came home from work early and they were off with the boys to see a performance of Circus Smirkus tonight. This is an international traveling youth circus with kid performers from age 10 to 18. They do all the things that are normally associated with a circus—highwire and trapeze, clowns, jugglers, acrobats, and more. I can’t wait to hear about this tomorrow.

Mark and I came home and enjoyed the cooler temps out here on the water and we started making plans for time that Windbird will be out of the water for repairs. Once out of the water we won’t have this wonderful respite from the heat. We will move Windbird a couple of miles north to Fiddler’s Cove next Wednesday and she’ll be hauled out of the water on Thursday, July 30. Hopefully this heat will have subsided by then, because then we’ll be living on land. Actually we’ll spend most of our time at Heather and Jed’s and just come back to the boat to sleep. We’re hoping we will be out of the water for no more than 3 weeks and then we hope to do a little local sailing. But we will just have to wait and see how the repairs go. We also got word today from The Boat Guy that our dinghy engine is not repairable. Hopefully our insurance will cover the cost of a new one. We love our current Yamaha 15 hp motor, but I guess we’ll just have to learn to love another motor. Rowing while being moored close to shore has been delightful, but when we return to the water after repairs, we will once again be moored out in the hinterlands. Rowing against current and wind then will not be fun. So the motor will be necessary. Mark is not scheduled to work weekends in August, so once Windbird is out of the water, we hope to visit with out-of-town friends on the weekends. So lots to look forward to.

Note: The photos attached show some of today’s activities not mentioned in the log. There is a photo of Granddad with Jonah and Ollie looking at the boats being built at the Woods Hole Museum. What a nice way to pass the time while waiting for Sam to get out of his School of Science class. The next photos are of a pair of juvenile osprey we have been watching from the time they were hatched. Their nest is on Surf Drive, the road we drive everyday between Quissett and town. How wonderful that we get to see the wonders of nature right along the road. Today we watched them eating lunch. And then there are photos of our old Avon dinghy that has been at Heather and Jed’s for years. It needs a lot of repairs before it is usable again . . . maybe it will just go to the Swap Shop at the dump.
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150721 Day 284 Cape Cod, USA–Woods Hole Museum