Sound Advice - sent September 24, 2008


As we left you, Hanna had been hard hearted, but not hard to
take, as her energy was sapped, apparently, by the trip up the
east coast and down Long Island Sound.

We're hoping to pick up some of that energy as we move in the
other direction, toward New York City, but first we have to get
to Long Island Sound. As we sheltered in Three Mile Cove on the
south end of Gardiner's Bay, there's a bit of a trip involved,
but nothing much.

Undoing all the storm preparations took a while, and our usual
sloth and indolence in the morning prevailed before that, so we
didn't get off our very kindly-offered, very secure mooring,
before about 2:30. You may recall from the last that there's a
very defined channel, and a lovely anchorage, surrounded by much
shallower water. On the way out of the anchorage, Lydia, not yet
quite awake, got on the wrong side of the red buoy, and ran very
hard (as in, firmly, but not in any way damaging or permanent)
aground on a sand bar, throwing me to the salon floor by way of
the mast on the side of my head.

That reinforced the saying of "one hand for the boat, one for
yourself" - a safety mantra - you never know when the boat might
suddenly move in an unexpected direction. Of course, we weren't
really under way, so I'd not taken that precaution, and, in the
end, the biggest result was a lozenge-shaped bruise with a slight
skin split on the side of my head, quickly becoming nothing but a
discoloration. All our misadventures should end so quickly and
easily! Our MaxProp reversed us out of the sand in very short
order, and we proceeded out of the harbor under sail.

NOAA had, in all the areas available to us, been saying that the
wind would be, of course, different than we found in reality.
We've come to rely more (not ignoring NOAA, but looking for other
inputs as well) on local detailed forecasts, so, before we left,
we'd checked and found that the wind would be nearly ideal for
our passage.

Our trip from Three Mile Cove up to Orient was a close reach in
10-15 knots of wind, helped by the tidal current which, instead
of the usual set to the leeward side, actually pushed us to
windward, and we made great time through the rip out into Long
Island Sound.

Once we got on the Sound, not only did the wind and waves pick
up, but so did, as forecast, the wind, moving to 15-20. Due to
our angle of attack, it was a beat to get high enough to tack
down to Mattituck, and still make some westing. However, our
sloth in the morning made it such that it was apparent we'd not
make it to Mattituck until well after dark. So, we headed up the
Connecticut River, anchoring in Saybrook Shoal in plenty of
water, less than 2 miles from the entrance.

As the currents were against us, we didn't leave for Mattituck
until nearly noon, taking advantage of the enforced time to do
some minor chores around the boat. Forecast winds were very
light, but at least, early, supposedly to our advantage. We
pulled up our very firmly stuck anchor around 11:30 and set sail.

The trip down the river was fairly fast, as the current and the
tides helped, gaining 8+ over ground. As our prior entrance to
the area was back to the east, we elected to turn west but not go
so far that we'd have to deal with the shoal. Wind was such that
we had to beat the entire way, but our marvelous ship took it in
stride. About 30 degrees of apparent wind, on a great sailing
day, we tacked our way up the Connecticut shoreline, then turned
south when we could clear the shoal.

Winds were very consistent, 10-12 knots, once we got into the
sound, and we were making about 5.5-6 knots very closely hauled.
Our tacks look like someone drew them with a square, and we
tacked several times to get to the point where we could be on a
line with the opening at Mattituck. Just before our last tack,
we hooked a bluefish, which, darn him, tangled in our other line,
so it wound up cutting it, losing a lure we'd just bought. In
retaliation, I killed and fileted him as soon as the wind died on
our last tack!

With the wind dead, we reluctantly motored the last couple of
miles, as we'd timed our travels to be on the hook before dark.
The inlet looks very scary on the charts, but the reality is much
more benign.

We came in at about high tide, which, of course, helped, but
rarely saw less than 5' under our set-for-7 feet sounder, and
frequently were over 10'. The inlet is pretty clearly marked,
with one anomaly of a red without its little hat, which in
marginal light might have been confused for the
otherwise-all-cylindrical greens. No lights on any of them, but
easy to see and follow.

A couple of 3's had my attention, but the anchorage proved to be
consistently over 6' deep everywhere we motored around it, and we
got the hook set in hardpan grass on the second try. When we
arrived, there were two boats here already, and just before dark
a 4th boat pulled in. In entirely flat water, with the gentlest
of breezes, we enjoyed our fresh fish dinner, looked at the
internet provided on a strong signal, and rejoiced in another
enchanting, invigorating, marvelous day on the water before we
took an early bedtime.

Tuesday we took a relaxed approach to getting up, as we'd not
leave until the full tide tomorrow, and the weather and wind
would have been iffy Tuesday, anyway. A quick check revealed
that Matt-A-Mar had gas, diesel and water, so we'll fill up when
they open and leave on Wednesday's (10th) high tide.

We went for a walk around the town, enjoying Love Lane, and found
the local plaza without too much excitement, obtaining our very
few supplies, and headed back to the boat to another blissful
evening aboard. It doesn't get much better than this!

I'll leave you here for another time; stay tuned!

L8R

Skip

Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig KI4MPC
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its hands. You seek problems because you need their gifts."
(Richard Bach, in The Reluctant Messiah)

On Sep 23, 8:11*pm, "Skip Gundlach" wrote:
Sound Advice - sent September 24, 2008


*On the way out of the anchorage, Lydia, not yet
quite awake, got on the wrong side of the red buoy, and ran very
hard (as in, firmly, but not in any way damaging or permanent)
aground on a sand bar, throwing me to the salon floor by way of
the mast on the side of my head.


Skip,

you are ****ing idiot to have that person on the boat. This is the
second time, at least you are willing to write here, Lydia had ****ed
up. If she can keep the boat in the right lane she has no business
driving your boat. But maybe your into that sick care taking a loser
relationship. As my Polish gradmother said, Life is too long to live
that way.


Tuesday we took a relaxed approach to getting up, as we'd not
leave until the full tide tomorrow, and the weather and wind
would have been iffy.......


Skip,
BIG mistake Skip. NEVER leave on a full tide in thse conditions. Leave
enough hours BEFORE high tide to get yourself CLEAR of the shallows.
That way WHEN Lydia ****s up and drives off the end of the world you
can wait a while as the tide comes in to float you off...........

But since you are a Licensed Captain Im sure you already know
that..................
as a last note, why on earth are you still with that woman? She cant
be much fun and certainly stupid as a post. Oh, I know...... shes like
a drunk or a dog. You cant leave them alone or they will ruin the
house and nobody else wants them.
Bob

On Sep 23, 8:11 pm, "Skip Gundlach" wrote:
Sound Advice - sent September 24, 2008
On the way out of the anchorage, Lydia, not yet
quite awake, got on the wrong side of the red buoy, and ran very
hard (as in, firmly, but not in any way damaging or permanent)
aground on a sand bar, throwing me to the salon floor by way of
the mast on the side of my head.

Skip,
you are ****ing idiot having that person on the boat. This is the
second time, at least you are willing to write here, Lydia has ****ed
up. If she cant keep the boat in the right lane she has no business
driving your boat. But maybe your into that sick care taking a loser
relationship thing. As my Polish grandmother said, Life is too long to
live
that way.

Tuesday we took a relaxed approach to getting up, as we'd not
leave until the full tide tomorrow, and the weather and wind
would have been iffy.......

Skip,
BIG mistake Skip. NEVER leave on a full tide in thse conditions.
Leave
enough hours BEFORE high tide so you get CLEAR of the shallows
without
risk of grounding with a receding tide.
That way WHEN Lydia ****s up again and drives your precious pig off
the end of the world you
can wait a while as the tide comes in to float you off...........
But since you are a Licensed Captain Im sure you already know
that..................
as a last note, why on earth are you still with that woman? She cant
be much fun and is certainly stupid as a post. Oh, I know...... shes
like
a drunk or a dog. You cant leave them alone or they will ruin the
house (sink your boat) and nobody else wants them.
Bob

On Tue, 23 Sep 2008 23:54:38 -0700 (PDT), Bob
wrote:

....
Skip,
you are f....g idiot having that person on the boat.
.....
Bob


Bobby, you know you have been told not to wander
into the adult area while waiting for your Mommy
to pick you up. DO be a good boy.

Brian W

"Skip Gundlach" wrote in message
...
Sound Advice - sent September 24, 2008


snipped some

Undoing all the storm preparations took a while, and our usual
sloth and indolence in the morning prevailed before that, so we
didn't get off our very kindly-offered, very secure mooring,
before about 2:30.

Stupid to get such a late start because of laziness. Your departure time
should be planned the day before to take maximum advantage of wind and tide
and to make your destination before dark.

You may recall from the last that there's a
very defined channel, and a lovely anchorage, surrounded by much
shallower water. On the way out of the anchorage, Lydia, not yet
quite awake, got on the wrong side of the red buoy, and ran very
hard (as in, firmly, but not in any way damaging or permanent)
aground on a sand bar, throwing me to the salon floor by way of
the mast on the side of my head.

Not quite awake at 1430 hours? Then slap her a few times. If she can't
follow the channel markers she has no business at the helm and you, as
captain, have no business allowing her there. Stick her in the galley where
she belongs and let her hand strong black coffee to you out the
companionway. Do it before she causes to break your fool neck next time.

That reinforced the saying of "one hand for the boat, one for
yourself" - a safety mantra - you never know when the boat might
suddenly move in an unexpected direction. Of course, we weren't
really under way, so I'd not taken that precaution, and, in the
end, the biggest result was a lozenge-shaped bruise with a slight
skin split on the side of my head, quickly becoming nothing but a
discoloration. All our misadventures should end so quickly and
easily! Our MaxProp reversed us out of the sand in very short
order, and we proceeded out of the harbor under sail.

Sad that you can't commence even a short trip without a typical, ludicrous
mishap. One of these days you two Rubes are going to have to get serious.

snipped some
Once we got on the Sound, not only did the wind and waves pick
up, but so did, as forecast, the wind, moving to 15-20. Due to
our angle of attack, it was a beat to get high enough to tack
down to Mattituck, and still make some westing. However, our
sloth in the morning made it such that it was apparent we'd not
make it to Mattituck until well after dark.

Like I said already, stupid, stupid, stupid.


snipped some more

We came in at about high tide, which, of course, helped, but
rarely saw less than 5' under our set-for-7 feet sounder, and
frequently were over 10'. The inlet is pretty clearly marked,
with one anomaly of a red without its little hat, which in
marginal light might have been confused for the
otherwise-all-cylindrical greens. No lights on any of them, but
easy to see and follow.

Stupidity yet again. You should arrive on a rising tide in case you do go
aground you will have a chance of being lifted off. If you go aground at
hight tide you're likely to be stuck for a long time unless you can get off
before the tide falls. It seems like you learned little to date about
working the tides and timing your trips.

more snipped

Just when I give you some credit for having learned a thing or two you write
something that makes me wish I hadn't.

Wilbur Hubbard

On Tue, 23 Sep 2008 23:54:38 -0700 (PDT), Bob
wrote:
[Snip garbage]

NEVER leave on a full tide in thse conditions.Leave enough hours BEFORE
high tide so you get CLEAR of the shallows without risk of grounding with a receding tide.

All that venom for one nugget worth reading. Better than most posts,
that lack even a shred of boating content. Run aground at high tide on
the wrong day of the lunar month, and you can be there for two weeks.
They call that getting 'neaped' and big ships have done it.

Casady

Richard Casady wrote:
They call that getting 'neaped' and big ships have done it.

Neaped? That's new to me, thanks Richard.

Now how the hell am I going to work that into a conversation?

Cheers
Marty

On Wed, 24 Sep 2008 20:27:08 -0400, Marty wrote:

Richard Casady wrote:
They call that getting 'neaped' and big ships have done it.

Neaped? That's new to me, thanks Richard.

Now how the hell am I going to work that into a conversation?

Cheers
Marty

If youy pay attention to tide tables, you won't need to. G

On Wed, 24 Sep 2008 20:27:08 -0400, Marty wrote:

Richard Casady wrote:
They call that getting 'neaped' and big ships have done it.

Neaped? That's new to me, thanks Richard.

Now how the hell am I going to work that into a conversation?

Be bold.
Very easy when approaching a potential new lady friend.
It would go something like this.
"Hello. Those are lovely shoes. Did you make them yourself?"
Wait for her response, and if she hasn't walked away, innocently ask,
"By the by, have you ever been neaped?"
You have now moved the conversation into the nautical.
This all must be done with panache, of course.
There are other methods.
For example, if during a conversation somebody should utter the word
peep, leap, seep, deep, weep, etc, pounce at once with,
"My God, you have called to mind the term neap. That is so
interesting! Has anyone here been neaped, by chance?"
So it's really a simple trick if you are bold, creative, and turn on
the panache.

--Vic

On Thu, 25 Sep 2008 05:37:35 -0500, Vic Smith
wrote:


Be bold.
.....

--Vic

Bold is good: ...weird is double bad however...

:-)

Brian W