My new - if somewhat flighty - friend!
|
Comments [0]
I've been busy - that's my excuse and I am standing by it.
Clearly, some miles have passed under the keel since Provincetown and moving the boat always takes time and energy. More importantly, there has been great time spent creating memories with friends - which always takes precedence over creating blog posts.
Skiing friend from Colorado, Ted, drove over to Provincetown from Orleans (where he was visiting his parents) on Friday. It was a clear, bright blustery day. Our day sail together had KR's rail well buried at times and large amounts of (mostly) spray coming over the bow. She was a bit salty when we were done - as was the crew. A wine, cheese and fruit cocktail hour quickly cured all ills. We were still salty and the boat was a crusty mess but we no longer cared. I don't go out for day sails by myself often, getting plenty of sailing time when moving the boat from place to place. Thank you, Ted, for joining me for a great afternoon of sailing.
Rich and Tim, long term Denver friends (I hesitate to use the term "old friends" as they are my age and we all are getting sensitive about the word "old"), arrived that same afternoon. We enjoyed some touristy time together and a great lunch (complete with excellent flan) in town on Saturday afternoon. That night, new friends (and R &T's Ptown hosts) Paul and Tom, hosted a wonderful swordfish dinner at their home in the east side. They do swordfish the right way - thick steaks grilled - just like my Father used to do it.
The next day was perfect for our planned day sail together. The skies were crystal clear, the winds moderate (this was not a "rail down - salt spray in the face" type of crowd) and the seas calm. We had a lovely sail out to the outer beach where we anchored, swam and walked the beach. Cheeseburgers back on board helped refuel us after all of the very tiring cruising that we had done. We even had fair winds for a gennaker sail back into the harbor.
It was apparently my turn in the sailing world to be the entertainment that day. When I had rigged the lazy sheet on the gennaker, I had inadvertently wrapped it around a lifeline. I learned this the hard way while jibing around the buoy at the end of Long Point. The friction on the lazy sheet (which becomes the active one during a jibe) would not allow me to sheet in. The gennaker reacted by wrapping around itself and the headstay several times while I was figuring all of this out and dealing with it. All of this was accompanied by large amounts of noise, trauma and drama. Not my finest hour.
Monday I was under way at first light towards Onset. I woke up to almost fair winds (which the forecast had not predicted) for the 20 mile sail to the Cape Cod Canal. The winds did not quite get the job done, however, as they died when I was still 8 miles the canal entrance - unfortunate but at least I got to sail part of the distance.
As planned, Onset was mostly a blur of boat projects, laundry and provisioning. It is a great place for cruisers like myself. Onset Bay Marina is very capable and friendly - which can be very helpful when diving into repair projects. You never know exactly what you will find or what parts or support you will need to get things fixed and back together. The projects all got done, including repairing the knot meter which had decided not to work on the trip from Ptown. It had been working perfectly. The knot meter has been an on-going problem child throughout my cruising life.
The highlight of my Onset time, however, was the arrival of my oldest friends (I can say that because they are actually younger than me), Sue and her husband Chris. Our timing was perfect. They drove down (in my Jeep) and met me at the check out at the Stop and Shop just as I was completing my provisioning. I had taken the bus over from Onset but knew from prior experience that the bus drivers (and some fellow riders) are not always happy to see a boater show up for the trip back to the harbor with 25 bags of groceries. I was very happy to have a ride back.
We had lunch together (there was beer involved) before heading back to the boat for an afternoon on board spent "catching up" (there was beer involved in that too). It was great to see them. They are one of my many caretakers - cruisers are so needy. They brought my mail and all of the various packages that I had had /purchases that I had had shipped to them in the previous couple of weeks. I don't actually need to tell my friends that I will be visiting. They know that when mail and shipments start to arrive, I won't be far behind.
Thursday was mostly a motor-sail all the way to Cuttyhunk at the west end of Buzzard's Bay. I like Cuttyhunk, and did take the time for a walkabout, but was there primarily to stage for the next leg of the journey south. I spent the afternoon getting the dinghy on deck and rigging the boat for sea. A large Canadian high was to fill in after a front passage Thursday night. The forecast left no doubt that it would be potent with winds of 20-25 gusting to 30 predicted. More ominous was the note in the synopsis that "gusts could approach gale force". However, the winds were fair and should be on or behind the beam for the sail across Rhode Island and Block Island Sounds.
The question was whether to make landfall at Block Island or continue on to the Atlantic side of Long Island for the passage to NYC. I kept my options open.
Under way at first light, I motored the first mile directly into the NNW winds (already blowing 20) before falling off and setting sail. The forecast was dead right. The winds started on the beam and slowly clocked to a broad reach. The gusts did "approach gale force" with my wind gage showing 33k at one point. It was a fast and wet sail. By the time I was in the lee of Block Island, now on a broad reach with winds topping out at 20-23k, it was clear that my landfall should be in New York City.
The boat kept moving well although the winds clocked around, eventually becoming a run dead down wind under full prevented main and poled jib. Running before the wind is always rolly at times but I was happy to have fair winds and 6k of boat speed for most of the night.
My little bird friend showed up soon after first light, flying into the cockpit and landing on a bronze cleat under the dodger. He eyed me for a few minutes before stuffing his head under his wing and settling in for a nice rest. Apparently a bit of a ham, he pulled his head out just long enough for me to snap a picture before stuffing it back under his wing and going back to sleep. He flew away a couple of hours later as I was dealing with a back winded jib caused by an unexpected wind shift. I think my swearing offended him.
The last bit of the approach to New York harbor was rolly and slow with fluky, puffy winds. My Reed's told me that the currents under the Narrows Bridge would not be fair until after 11:00. The fast passage had gotten us there early. I now believe that the definitive "Chinese Water Torture" is to be approaching the Verranzano Narrows Bridge with 1.5k of foul current and flaky winds. I started the engine to warm it up just in case but with the dying ebb tide and a few good puffs was able to finally gain New York Harbor. I sailed up the harbor dodging sailboats, anchored barges (as well as the moving kind), the multitude of Staten Island Ferries, tour boats, Coasties roaring around looking important etc etc. All the while the winds would die then puff up to 15-20kn from a constantly changing direction. Those big buildings really mess up my sailing winds.
The engine wasn't started (and put in gear) until I was 50 yards the mooring. Nice.
Erik and Katy came over last night for Pizza Night on the boat. A relaxed and quiet night with my best friend (I've known him all of his life!) and his much better half was a perfect way to wind down from the passage. The pizza was good, the conversation fun and the wine (A nice Zin the kids had brought - it was in a bottle with a real cork. Amazing) excellent. I slept well last night.
I am settled in for a week here in the city (which may be a bit rainy for a couple of days). I see some good paddles, roller blade expeditions and general exploring in my plans. Needless to say boat projects are on the To-do list also.
Plans for the next leg of the journey south can wait.
Best to all.
|
9/16/2009
I am settled in to Provincetown now. I arrived on Monday just after noon - a 145 mile 24 hour passage. The first hour and the last two hours used the "iron jenny" - the noisy, smelly beast which rattles and vibrates under the cockpit (and which we love in a troubled, co-dependent sort of way - at least when it is not causing too many problems). The rest was a fast, wonderful, but seldom "set and forget" sail. I was busy much of the time. Puffy, clocking winds need to be adapted to - especially true when you are trying to beat the clock.
Following are some notes that I typed out while on passage. My intention to write something every 3 hours was quickly cast aside as the front passage, larger winds and seas and Captain fatigue all set in. Still ....
9/13/2009 1500hrs
I'm at sea - just passing Monhegan Island - with nothing but Atlantic Ocean ahead. I said to Glenn this morning that it would be AT LEAST Tuesday before I would head out for my passage to Provincetown. However, my first task on getting to the dock at Moxie Cove was to fire up the computer and start looking at the weather patterns for this week. The broadcast forecasts for individual areas had been baffling me. By downloading a 3 day wind and wave Grib file and looking at things in a graphical format, the patterns quickly became more clear. An hour later, after hoisting the dinghy on deck and rigging the jack lines, and after a hurried good bye to G & C, I slipped the mooring and headed out. Rigging the wind vane and other misc "Get Ready for Sea" projects were done while motoring down Muscongous Bay against the SW winds which had filled in.
By 1400 the rocks, ledges and other navigational pestilence of Muscongous Bay were behind me, the sails set and pulling, and the wind vane doing the steering. The two best points of the beginning of a passage are when the engine noise and the annoying motor whine of the electric autopilot are silenced.
The winds are SW right now - pretty much exactly the direction that we want to go. However, the winds are forecast to clock to the NW tonight which will eventually allow a wonderful beam reach with eased sheets. I am not sure when , exactly, that will occur. But we will be well out and away from land effects sailing the gradient winds by the time it does.
I've started a re-read of Tony Bailey's book "The Coast of Summer", one of the books in the permanent library on board. I am between reads right now and it is difficult to start a new book on passage. There are many distractions and I get tired. A re-read is easier.
2100hrs
I had intended to type a bit around 1800hrs but things got a little busy. The storm front picture shows my view around 1730 when I was having some dinner. It was a fast dinner as there were things I needed to do. By the time the front arrived a half hour later, the sails were both reefed and I was fully garbed in my best foulies and sea boots.
As majestic as the front appeared (the picture does it justice but cannot hope to give an idea of the scale), it was clear that there were no towering thunderheads ready to pounce - and there was no sign of lightning. Still - these things can come in with some punch. This one didn't. It did rain a bit and the wind clocked 30 degrees as soon as the front arrived. I was instantly laying a rum line course to P-Town. I love it when a plan comes together!
The punch arrived when the NW winds filled in about an hour after the front passage. We were seeing sustained 20-25kn winds on the beam. I kept reducing sail and reducing sail until the boat finally balanced out. That lasted about an hour and I have been adding and occasionally reducing sail periodically ever since.
In addition to the clear understanding of the wind progression that the Grib file provided, it also showed that the winds would mostly die off and back to the west sometime Monday morning. With a rum line distance of 120 miles, less than 24 hours of solid winds to sail it, and the chance of having to beat into light winds for the last miles the need for speed was clear. I needed to keep KR powered up or face a long motor sail Monday morning.
The sky is clear again and there is no moon. The stars are putting on quite a display although they are competing with the lights of Portland and Boston for attention on the western horizon.
We are now seeing around 15kn just behind the beam - still holding a direct course and averaging around 6 kn through the water. Nice. The earlier winds did stir up the seas a bit so it is somewhat bouncy but nothing serious. A great sail by any standards.
9/14/2009 0000hrs
It has been a fast few hours. The boat has been averaging 6-7knots - really fast for KR. She likes a broad reach.
The winds have moderated though - to around 10-14kn apparent. I'm hoping that they don't fall too much lower or it could become a rolly, heavy slog in the still bouncy seas.
The sailing is easier now. The main is fully out again and the jib nearly so. The night has been spent rolling in sail and letting it back out again. I have managed to close my eyes once or twice and nod off for a few minutes but that is only a temporary help.
A very orange sliver of moon is just rising in the east.
0300hrs
Winds still solid, boat still moving fast, stars still brilliant. The moon is there but not large enough to be much competition for the stars. I dodged a few fishing vessels and a cruise ship about an hour ago but have seen nothing else.
The 0300 to 0600 watch is the tough one for me - particularly now that nights are getting longer. I really just want to go below and curl up on the berth. The remaining few hours until first light will go fast, however. New energy will come with the sun.
When on passage, I set the timer on my watch to go off every 15 minutes. When it does I stop whatever I am doing, scan the horizon for ships, check course and speed and make any adjustments to the wind vane or sails required. Sometimes I will go below and lay down when this is done, making sure to put my watch wrist close to my ear - it is not a loud alarm.
0600hrs
The first glow on the eastern horizon was around 0500. There has been a glow on the western horizon all night. I scrambled a few eggs a little while ago and had a nice breakfast in the cockpit with the growing light. According to the celestial data on the GPS, the sun will poke over the horizon at 0618. It will be welcome.
I am purposely holding a course that is west of the rum line - trading some time and distance for a better point of sail if the winds do back to West as predicted. No sign of it yet, though.
The Pilgrim Monument in P-Town can be seen from a long ways out at sea - but is not yet visible. I am still 30 miles from Race Point with the boat speed holding 5.7-6.3k. My mind keeps calculating the time remaining. I really need to think of something else. Now that it is getting light, I will be able to read in the cockpit again.
0900hrs
The Pilgrim Monument is in sight, winds still solid, boat still moving well. It is a beautiful, sunny day.
Two sailboats are in sight to the East on converging courses and moving faster than we are. They are much bigger than KR although I can't see any real details.
Keeping my fingers crossed that the winds hold up. Listening to the NOAA weather broadcast a while ago confirmed that I am still fighting the clock. The winds will die - and soon.
1300hrs
The anchor is down and the passage is over.
The winds died when I was still 4 miles out from Race Point while I was fighting a foul current from the ebbing tide. I could have spent the next few hours drifting backwards towards Maine - a purist would have. I, on the other hand, started the engine and motored through the tide rips around Race Point and on to the harbor.
After a bit of downtime, I'll get the dinghy back in the water and stow all the sea gear. It will be a quiet afternoon and evening on board. I'll wander around P-Town (one of my favorite places to visit) tomorrow. Rich and Tim will arrive here on Friday and I will enjoy some time with them this weekend before moving on.
Best to all.
|
