21 March 2024 | St. Marys, GA
01 March 2024 | St. Marys, GA
23 February 2024 | St. Marys, GA
15 February 2024 | St. Marys, GA
11 February 2024 | St. Marys, GA
06 February 2024 | St. Marys, GA
26 January 2024 | St. Marys, GA
14 January 2024 | St. Marys, GA
09 January 2024 | St Marys, GA
23 December 2023 | St Marys, GA
10 December 2023 | St Marys, GA
25 November 2023 | St. Marys, GA
17 November 2023 | St. Marys, GA
17 November 2023 | Somers Cove Marina, Crisfield, MD
03 November 2023 | Somers Cove Marina, Crisfield, MD
26 October 2023 | Somers Cove Marina, Crisfield, MD
17 October 2023 | Somers Cove Marina, Crisfield, MD
11 October 2023 | Somers Cove Marina, Crisfield, MD
04 October 2023 | Alice B. Tawes, McReady Pavilion, Crisfield, Maryland Eastern Shore
03 October 2023 | Alice B. Tawes, McReady Pavilion, Crisfield, Maryland Eastern Shore
2001/2002: Day the One
09 July 2011 | Leaving Stamford, CT
Captn Andy/ cold
I got underway the first day of winter 2001. There were many delays loading the boat up like a pack rat hoarding cast off objects. Then I left. A few people in the marina acted surprised that I was leaving, even though I had been discussing it for months. The weather was clear and chilly. The twin hulls left two tracks out of the harbor past the breakwater on water that was smooth as glass. The picture "tracks" shows Stamford as I departed.
I proceeded directly west to New York City and entered the East River at Throggs Neck. I motored under the bridges connecting the city to Brooklyn and Queens, then emerged into New York harbor, dodging ferry boats on my way to the Narrows and the Atlantic. It had gone from noon in Stamford to dusk in New York Harbor and as night fell I headed out to Sandy Hook and the turn south down the Jersey coast. Dinner was tuna fish sandwich whipped together in about 3 minutes, followed by an Isahi Super Dry. It began to rain off and on, but I was dressed warmly and spent time in the pilothouse when the rain got heavy. At some point I noticed the boat was listing to port. I took a peek into the port hull and and saw water sloshing around and my groceries floating around with numerous other debris. What had happened, had I hit something or did something come loose? I took a 6 gallon bucket and started bailing the icy water out. It didn't seem to make any difference in the water level.
I looked on the chart and saw there were long stretches of beaches but few inlets to come in out of the ocean. I found Shark River Inlet and headed there, but it was blocked by a bridge that I could never fit under. I headed out again and stalled the engine when a surf wave washed over it. It wouldn't restart. I launched the inflatable and towed the cat away from the inlet and the beach which had large rocks just offshore. I wondered how much fuel was in the tiny outboard. Surprisingly it did the job but the port hull looked like it had taken on more water. A boat came out from Shark River Inlet and it was the Coast Guard. I explained my perdicament and they suggested I try one of their 200 gpm pumps. We hooked it up and ran it for a while, but the water level was dropping very slowly. It turned out there was an additional through hull behind a vanity sink that was drilled but never installed. It must have been behind the cradle vee brace when I was working on the boat. After launching it was above water and never leaked any water until I loaded the boat up and drove it into rough water.
Once the water level in the hull was brought down and the hole plugged we pulled into Point Pleasant Beach. The rest of the day was spent getting more water out and sorting out all the soaked items. It will probably be a couple of days before I get under way again. It's the off season here and the streets are empty. It looks like a nice place to stop in warmer weather. Only two towns away from Tom's River!