Two steps forward.....
02 October 2019
• Onset, MA
by Michael and Barbara Turney • Cloudy humid rainy
Wednesday 2 October, 2019
....one step back.
We were up way early for having been alongside last night. We want to have a good breakfast (which the Admiral gets in bed) let her have a shower, and get the number of jobs done that we have been waiting for parts to make the repairs. Let no one doubt that I do enjoy using the BBQ for evening meals, but not for everything. Plus at some marinas you are not permitted to use the BBQ. Going on deck to boil water for tea is not my idea of a rollicking good time. The functioning propane stove is heaven on earth. Also this is the first time that we have been able to try our the new temperature gauge that I fitted to the door of the oven for the lamented trip last fall. It’s really great to be able to monitor the internal temperature without having to open the door and lose the heat. The only thing missing is a window and light inside. I guess you can’t have everything.
Oh! And in case they aren’t following the blog, could someone please tell Henry, Emily, and Amanda that we are busy marketing Boxing Rock here in Massachusetts? We had a few of the bottles of Temptation Red left from our last gathering at home and we passed them out to the dock crew here, specifically the manager, Barry, who has been great. We made sure he knew where it came from and who made it. I know there are hundreds, if not thousands, of micro breweries in this state, but you never know, from little acorns mighty oaks do grow.
Also, the Dockmaster, Barry volunteered to go up the mast to free the roller furling car if I did the winch cranking. Hello?! Guess how fast I said, “Yes, please!” He had a little trouble freeing it up as we had it wedged up there pretty good but after some banging and thrashing he succeeded and we can bend on a jib once again.
Hurrah!
It turns out that the propane sensor that we had been waiting for did not control the solenoid. Instead it merely gives warning that there is a buildup of propane in the bilges. So, in the interest of completing something and being safe, we will have both the old system which I have jury rigged to just open and close the solenoid and the new one to give us warning that there is a propane buildup.
So, that’s two.....
Also, when I was installing the propane sensor I had to drill a new hole in a cupboard bulkhead to get the wires through. When I did that two things happened: I caught the drill in some other wires and wrapped them up in the drill, and somehow a couple of the cabin lights stopped functioning. So, that’s a small step backward.
We were looking with hopeful eyes on a departure tomorrow but the forecast has changed......again! It now is increasingly looking like we should only try for a 24 hour trip time. Every time we see what looks like a good 48 hours starting the next day, when the next day comes they are only offering 24 hours. So, almost a step back but more likely a dose of realism. Tomorrow and Friday will be seriously crappy or so the weather witches are claiming and Saturday will be nice. I don’t believe them totally. We will stay here another day and take the opportunity to fix the wiring and Barb will repair our damaged sail. Then we will set out on much shorter and manageable jumps.
Finally, and I will probably be repeating it every day that we continue us to stay here. Point Independence Yacht Club is a great place to stop. If you are coming across the Gulf from NS or clearing the US to return to Canada this is a wonderful spot to wait for a weather window, to fuel up, to provision, to....whatever. It is the shoulder season so we have ever only met staff and one or two members but they have all been wonderful. I wish that there was some way that I could convince them to visit us in Shelburne so we could return the hospitality but most of the members here have power boats and those are small sport fishermen so they would not be happy with the Gulf crossing at all, even less than we were. Still it would be nice. SHYC is doing a burgee exchange with them so that might be a start. The staff have been wonderful as I have already mentioned and the little breakfast cafe Pier View with the retired airborne grandpa owner in attendance and the staff-his extended family is an absolute delight. He latched on immediately that I was ex-military and we had a wonderful chat.
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