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May 30, 2009
Fishers Island
Chis' colleague, Luke, invited us to his home on Fishers Island for dinner. So we sailed there, enjoying a lovely downwind sail with the genneker. Luke and his family came for drinks on the boat, anchored in West Harbour. We then hopped in Half Moon for a quick motor around the corner to Hay Harbour. We thoroughly enjoyed dinner with them, and hope to do so again soon.
Posted by dave at 07:21 PM | Comments (0)
May 29, 2009
Thimble Islands
Chis' bosses suggested strongly that he take a vacation. Bonus! So, we provisioned the boat and off we went. Here are some photos from the Thimble Islands. It was a long 8 hour motor into a 10 knot east wind. We arrived in time for the sun to arise and the winds to subside.
Posted by dave at 07:12 PM | Comments (0)
May 28, 2009
Young at Heart
Many thanks to brother-in-law JM for this one. Click HERE to see a video of a 90-year old couple who stumble on a piano in the lobby of the Mayo Clinic and start to play a duet. I hope that at 90 I will be dancing, running, sailing and practicing yoga! But not playing a duet - I don't think I remember how to play chopsticks!
Posted by dave at 08:48 AM | Comments (0)
May 26, 2009
Memorial Day Weekend 2009
On Friday morning, before leaving to catch the train to Stamford, I checked the weather. I do this throughout every day, almost as often as I check my email. The forecast was as follows: Saturday east 5-10 knots. Sunday southwest 5-10 knots. Monday northwest 5-10 knots. Almost perfect (we like 10-15 knots). But the changing winds laid out a plan for us - Saturday to Oyster Bay on Long Island, Sunday to Port Jefferson, then back to Stamford on Monday.
We woke Saturday morning to 20 knot winds. I checked weather. Nothing about the forecast had changed. At 10am, the National Weather Service updated the forecast. East winds 20 knots gusting to 30. This complicated our plans. We were joining Sirena and Impulse on the voyage to Oyster Bay. Sirena had the wind on her nose at the dock, making her exit relatively uneventful. Impulse was on a mooring in the harbour, making their exit casual. We had the wind on the beam, pushing us off the dock and onto the boat next to us.
So we helped Sirena get away, then the Impulse crew helped hold us to the dock while we got away. The wind was phenomenal! We put two reefs in the main, and two in the genoa and flew across on a beam reach doing 7.5 knots. We all rendezvoused in Oyster Bay in the anchorage.
Sirena and Impulse returned to Stamford in the morning, and we carried on to Port Jefferson. Despite the ferries and obnoxious water tubing, skiing and otherwise unaware power boaters, this is a favourite anchorage of ours because of the bluffs and beaches. There was less than 5 knots of wind and we motored almost all of the way. We settled in around 5, I had a snooze in the hammock, and we had a lovely dinner of barbecued salmon. We both fell asleep in the cockpit. The chill drove us below at some unknown hour.
Monday we set out early, again with no wind. So much for the forecast. We motored back to Stamford, did a few chores around the boat, and headed into the city around 5.
On the train returning home, I developed a wicked headache. I drank lots of water and some electrolytes, which didn't seem to work. When I got home, I noticed in the mirror that I had a ton of sun. Not a burn, but a lot of sun. My hair was brighter by a few shades, my nose was red, and my neck was dark brown. The headache was obviously the result of too much sun.
Oh my goodness! The season is just beginning.
We leave Friday for 10 days on the boat. Our plan is to sail Friday to the Thimble Islands, then dinner Saturday with friends on Fishers Island, then into Mystic for a couple of days, then to Block Island (a favourite of ours). From there, we may go to see some friends in Mauntauk, then start to make our way back to Stamford. All this is weather permitting, of course.
Posted by dave at 07:51 PM | Comments (0)
May 21, 2009
Block Island Race Start
Steve, Kevin and I went our on Steve's powerboat Ariel to watch the start of the Block Island Race. Here are a couple of the dozen photos I took.
Posted by dave at 05:55 PM | Comments (0)
May 20, 2009
Wind?
I checked the marine forecast this morning. At 6:15, sipping Mulligan Brew. (Mulligan Stew, our dear friends in Vancouver, introduced me to stovetop espresso in a Bialetti coffee maker. Hence, Mulligan brew). This coming weekend is a long weekend for us "displaced-in-America-Canadians". The forecast? No wind. Good gravy.
The weather today was awesome, and with the long weekend, followed by a 10-day journey out Long Island Sound to Block Island, maybe Nantucket, Cuttyhunk, Martha's Vineyard. It was time for a major provisioning. So I reserved a car and hopped on an early train to Stamford.
I picked up the rental, went to the boat to fetch canvas bags and unload the junk I brought from the city (organic spelt pretzels, organic sumatra coffee, etc which I simply cannot get in Stamford). Then to the storage locker to drop off gear (bottom paint, etc which we won't need until spring 2010). Then to Home Depot in Norwalk. Then to the wine store. Then to West Marine. Then to the grocery store. Then back to West Marine because I forgot to get silicone grease. Then to the boat.
I ate sushi in the car on the way back to the boat. Swerved to avoid unfortunate pickled ginger mishap.
I unpacked, unpackaged, portioned meats, loaded the fridge and freezer, and stowed wine wrapped in bubble wrap. I discarded the waste (no cardboard on the boat - bugs lay eggs in the glue).
A rope clutch that I did my best to install on the mast required my attention. The screws I had used were too long, and my search of virtually every hardware store south of 23rd Street turned up the right length. I finished this little job, used the spinnaker halyard to support the boom, and ran the topping lift through the rope clutch. In English? I did a bunch of fiddly stuff that really didn't change much and spent money doing it. Welcome to owning a boat!
We think we had a twist in the mainsail halyard, so I lowered it, raised it, lowered it and raised it again to see if I could work it out. I think I got it, but it will take come load on the sail this weekend to see if I got it right.
In Oyster Bay last weekend, the anchor jumped off the bow roller. Chis did his best to use the boat hook as a lever to get the anchor back on the roller. The anchor was simply too heavy. I climbed in front of the bow pulpit and heaved the thing back on the roller. Everything was covered in muck (to be clear, it smelled like shit). When we cleaned everything up, the telescoping boat hook would no longer retract. There was a pretty significant bend in it.
So I got back in the car, and returned to West Marine to get a new one. I left the old bent one at the top of the dock in hopes that someone will use it. For something.
I returned the car, hopped on the train and am home. Sunburnt (again). Tired (too much fresh air?). I checked the weather forecast (it is my home page). South 10-15 knots on Saturday and Sunday makes me giddy!
Posted by dave at 08:04 PM | Comments (0)
May 17, 2009
Stretching Prana's Legs
Mothers' Day weekend was a weather washout for us. Saturday was pea soup fog and no wind so we did boat chores. Sunday we woke up to 30 knot winds, so walked the park next to the marina and headed into the city for a run along the Hudson.
This weekend wasn't much better but we got off the dock finally. We had a late night Thursday at the Jazz Foundation fundraiser at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. Amazing! Then a late night dinner with friends Friday night in Jersey City. I worked with my friend Toby on his First 46 over there (the hull is covered in blisters), then met the gang for dinner. I was a little bedraggled with fiberglass in my hair, etc. Oh well.
Normally we spend Friday night on the boat but it was so late we stayed in the city - got up early for a run, then hopped on the train. We left the dock around 2, sailed past our friends in the Stamford Yacht Club annual boat parade, then headed out for a sail. Despite the overcast skies, we had south 10-15 knot winds - perfect!
We pulled into Oyster Bay on Long Island around 5, just as the intense cold front approached. The winds were gusting to 25. We dropped the anchor just off the beach. We have 150 feet of anchor chain, and let almost all of it out. Two other boats joined us. It's always nice to have company. We anchored alone in Dominica on Platina and I slept with my righing knife and our high intensity spot light- to blind a burglar.
I woke this morning to heavy rain and no wind. The front was over us. At 6 I rolled over to fall back to sleep. By 6:15 the winds picked up to 25 knots, now out of the northwest. The front had passed. We will linger here this morning. The rain stopped by lunch, and the winds dropped to 10-15 in the afternoon. Perfect!
We beat back to Stamford into the wind.
I can't imagine a more precious way to spend a weekend - quality time with the love of my life, doing something we love to do, together, with an overwhelming sense of respect for nature's unpredictability.
Next weekend is the long weekend here. We plan to sail out to the Thimble Islands off the Connecticut shore. May 28 to June 7 we are sailing, hopefully to Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and Block Island. Chis' first vacation since last August (except for three days in Miami).
Life is beautiful.
Posted by dave at 07:46 PM | Comments (0)
May 01, 2009
Middle Age?
Weekend before last, Chis and I disappeared to Miami Beach for a little chill. I posted some photos shortly after we returned. But I didn't tell this story, and I am finally ready to reveal. The reason I have held back is because I felt really stupid, but because the story ends on a wonderful note, I have to tell.
We no longer take cabs to the local airports, which means we don't fly in or out of Laguardia, because public transit is difficult. It's not just the cost of the cabs, it's our commitment to lowering our carbon footprint by taking public transit.
The usual and unexpected happened on our subway ride to JFK. To make a long story short, the 40 minute trip took almost an hour and a half. It squeezed our time to get to the gate to catch our flight. And security was a mad panic with delays and people yelling and hollering.
On the jetway, I notice that my napsack seemed light. I dropped to my knees, zipped it open, and quickly determined that the missing weight was my laptop. I sprinted back to security, and it was gone. I asked various security agents, all whom said they didn't see it. They checked the places where they normally put valuables, but nothing. I sprinted back to the gate. I explained what had happened to the gate agent, who called over three TSA agents who wrote a report. The American Airlines agent took my name and cell number and said she would check after her shift.
I got on the plane. My heart sank. Photos, tax returns, condo files, personal stuff, the two books I was writing. No backup. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
I fretted the whole way to Miami. Made lists in my head of the things I would need to do. Cancel online banking, credit card passwords, etc, etc.
We landed in Miami, and I turned on my phone. Laura, the gate agent, had left me a message to say that she had found my laptop. She gave me instructions on how to retrieve it when I got back to New York.
I got my laptop when we returned. I was thrilled. And Laura got a $50 Starbucks gift card for being so thoughtful. Good karma. Laura deserves good things in her life.
And finally, a great airline story!
Posted by dave at 07:03 PM | Comments (0)