Dragon Lady, Ruff Times and High Times
 

Knock yourselves out, guys :{))

Dragon Lady, Ruff Times and High Times - posted September 30


When we left you on September 7th, we were sleeping blissfully in
Mattituck Harbor, a hugely protected, tiny anchorage next to
Mattituck, Long Island. Because we expected to be doing short
hops, we left the dinghy on the painter (the line from the front
of the dink to tie up with), but brought the engine aboard, to
minimize towed weight. We eventually towed the dinghy all the
way to Atlantic Highlands over the course of the next few days.

Waking (early for us) in time to get to the opening of the fuel
and water dock at 8:30, we received no response to our several
hails as we approached, and then tied up at, the Matt-A-Mar
marina. Walking up the hill, we raised someone to come unlock
and turn on the pumps and we filled with diesel, gasoline and
water. It turned out that we were right under their VHF antenna,
and we'd created only noise on their office base station...

Backing smartly away from the dock on a favorable wind, we
promptly wrapped the painter in the prop. Oops. Hurry and throw
out the anchor, and hope we didn't permanently foul it. A bit of
forward rotation bumps on the prop to unwrap it, and a bunch of
passing the free end under the tight end attached to the boat,
and we were able to feed it out successfully. A close
inspection revealed that the line had not been damaged, and we
got under way at 10, taking advantage of the falling tide to get
a lift out to the entrance, and the currents on Long Island Sound
(it's a real nuisance to beat into a contrary current of a couple
of knots, and worth the falling-tide risks). Where we'd
previously seen more water, as we came in at nearly high tide, we
saw less, but never got to where we'd be nervous, let alone
touch, and the trip was uneventful. NOAA's forecast suggested
we'd have a great run down to Port Jefferson, arriving well
before dark, taking advantage of the current for a lift and the
expected winds.

As I wrote this, Kyle was on his way to Maine and northeastern
Canada, but that would have been a great hurricane hole. The
hardpan grass, once penetrated, was extremely secure holding.
Getting the anchor up was quite an exercise, having backed down
on it aggressively before deciding we could leave the boat.
Putting out a multiple anchor system would have been very
effective in a blow, so we'll remember this spot, along with our
two prior ones off Gardiner's bay, should we return to the area.

Once out, we headed due west at 270 degrees, in very light air.
By noon we'd set the spinnaker in 5-7 knots of wind, but by
12:30, the wind died entirely, so we dropped it on deck,
expecting to reset it with the NOAA forecasted 10-15. Instead,
the wind clocked, and we struggled to beat at 30 degrees apparent
wind in the howling gale of 2-5 knots. As we'd learned from
several sources, NOAA is notoriously inaccurate in Long Island
Sound, and the wind died entirely by 3PM. There was no way,
José, that we would make our destination of Port Jefferson, under
any circumstances.

As it would be dark soon, we elected to motor the 12 miles to New
Haven, just for an overnight. However, chatting up TowBoatUS for
local knowledge revealed that we'd be far better off going
slightly East, to Branford to anchor, as New Haven was heavily
commercial, without easy anchoring. Accordingly, we diverted,
and wound up anchoring off Indian Point in Branford at 6PM in
comfortable holding in a sandy area, with exposed rocks at low
tide all around us. We were in an area of mostly summer homes,
and thus most of them were unoccupied, as were most of the
private moorings. However, there were several great internet
connections, so we could check our weather and look forward.

Being exposed to Long Island sound made for a somewhat rolly
night, and the weather wasn't expected to be conducive to going
onward. That, combined with a very long dinghy ride to not get
to anywhere we could go ashore, Branford shoreline being entirely
residential, led us to decide to just hang out for a day. We
noticed a fishing boat setting his nets before we retired, as
well as seeing the massive rocks which were hidden at high tide.
Good thing for all our charting and paper and chartplotter
references, as that would not be nearly as comfortable an
encounter as we had on the way out of Three Mile Harbor!

The next morning, we saw the fishermen pulling in their nets,
with some sizeable fish noted, and I jumped in the dinghy and
rowed over to ask what they'd caught. Bluefish, just like we'd
caught, but they used bait and hooks - apparently the nets were
just to corral them on the current. They tossed a couple of very
sizeable fish (both much bigger than either of the ones we'd
caught) on the bottom of the dinghy, and the master instructed
his helper to toss me a couple of his bait fish as well, since
I'd replied that we did, indeed, have hooks aboard. All of $5
later, they towed me back to Flying Pig, and I set to fileting
them, cutting up the bait fish for later.

No sooner did we finish, and sitting out on the aft deck enjoying
our coffee, but up paddles a guy in a kayak, who wants to know if
we anchored there every year. Seems there's some similar boat
which does - but, as we find out in conversation, it's really
just that he's enamored of our boat, and wanted to get a closer
look. We don't get swelled heads very easily, but we surely
could have as he went on about how he admired the boat and just
paddled out to get a closer look at it. Of course, we invited
him aboard, to his delight.

Without bragging any more than we always do about our fantastic
home, he was thrilled to have come aboard, and we had a lovely
chat with him after the tour. It started out with his revealing,
of course, immediately on arrival, his name, Willie Ruff (thus
the Ruff times). He teaches at Yale, and has rented a summer
house during the off-season for many years. More conversation
showed a common interest in music, and we heard a very little bit
about his travels which led him Yale, how he got involved in
music, and many other very interesting things. Lydia said, "You
should write a book!", to which he replied, "Well, I have,
actually."

He offered to paddle back to his digs and bring us one, but when
he returned, he apologized for having apparently run out of them,
save the one he'd autographed for his landlady, but brought back
a book *about* him, "Willie and Dwike." HOLY COW!! This man is
an absolute legend in Jazz, introduced both Russia and China to
Jazz, and a noted educator to boot. At 77, he looks younger than
I, obviously very fit, and so excited about what he does he
scarcely can stand to go to bed, for fear he'll miss something.

Like so many people we've met in the last few years, he's among
the ones we wish we'd known many years earlier. I'm humbled and
privileged to have been in his presence, and while I'd love to
send him one of very few the pieces which were recorded of my
playing (trombone, in this case), I'm sure it's pedestrian at
best compared to all the legends he's played with. Do a Google
on Willie Ruff and you'll get some flavor of what I mean.

The good news is that he's a sailor, which is what attracted him
to our home, and so's his lady, so we may have the pleasure of
having them aboard sometime in the future. Nothing would please
us more than to have this sprightly, brilliant, man as our guest.

That evening, we ate some of the bluefish we'd been marinating,
freezing or refrigerating the rest, and set out some hooks of our
own. This time, NOAA was pretty on-target as to direction, but
the fishermen were too optimistic, and our baits remained
unexplored, let alone taken. So, taking our lumps on the fish,
we sailed off our anchor the following morning at about 9AM,
tacking and beating our way to the southwest in 15-20SSW winds.

Because we were so tightly pinched (going nearly upwind), the
growing winds had us reefed after our level of heel (how far over
the boat leaned) reached a consistent 20-30 degrees. Flying Pig,
as do all Morgan 46 boats, prefers to remain - and goes faster in
the same amount of wind, but with less sail up - more upright,
and as the wind built, we reefed a second time at 1PM, rolling in
our genoa somewhat as well. The hard beats and strong winds made
our tacks less attractive this time, only 120-135 degrees instead
of the beautiful right angles or less we'd done before, and we
made slow progress. As time wore on, the current changed,
slowing us further, and we reluctantly motorsailed the last bits
to Port Jefferson, getting our anchor down at 5PM.

Port Jefferson was the least cruiser-friendly location we've
visited in our entire time aboard Flying Pig. We'll spare you
the details other than to say we remained aboard that night and
were plenty glad to get out of there on September 12, bound
either for Port Washington or Oyster Bay. Unfortunately, again,
NOAA got it wrong, and there was no wind to carry us. We
reluctantly motored, but the good news was that we made it all
the way to Little Neck, in a very protected anchorage. Our first
cedar plug catch ever, a bluefish honored us with his presence as
we approached Little Neck, and I quickly fileted him in our
stable seas, cleaning the platform before we'd made it halfway
down the entrance. We sailed onto our anchor at 5:30, letting
the tide do our setting for us, and enjoyed another bluefish
dinner with our salad, checked our internet for the weather and
our charts for planning the next day's run and retired early,
content and blessed with another day's meals from the sea.

The charts showed that we'd have a slack tide on our approach to
the infamous Hell Gate if we were to leave by 9AM, so that's what
we did. Sure enough, we had very little current all the way
there, what current there was helping us, and instead of the
up-to 7 knots of current in Hell Gate, we were aided by about 3
knots. We were the first of a long train of boats transiting,
and we'd seen several very large boats which had taken advantage
of the lift going the other way a while before we headed down the
channel.

Our lift stayed with us all the way to Sandy Hook, as we sailed
on a beam reach over Lower Bay after passing the Statue of
Liberty and Staten and Coney Islands. The lift was strong enough
that we had to be careful of avoiding buoys and the lighthouse,
as it was fast enough that if we didn't give it sufficient
room, the current would have carried us into them.

Unfortunately, the wind died just as we were crossing the channel
north of Sandy Hook, right in front of a massive freighter and a
tug under tow. Oops. On comes Perky, and we boogie out of the
way. The wind revived, but had shifted significantly by the time
we got inside the hook, so we tacked our way to our anchorage in
Atlantic Highlands, where we'd spend a couple of weeks. High
times ahead in the Highlands, home of my brother, Paul :{))

Well, actually, just enjoyable times in Highlands. Atlantic
Highlands, our anchorage in the lovely municipal harbor, was
varied, ranging from friends, relatives and neighboring boats'
visits, and our "1-2-3's" - boat chores... We had several sets of
visitors aboard, some of them providing sensory alterations (thus
the High Times), others rollicking good memories and revelations
(more High Times), and still more visual treats (see below)...

It's where my brother lives (Highlands, NJ), and we were
privileged to have the use of Mary's car for our time here. We
got to do lots of running around for boat chores' stuff. We took
advantage of our time to address many things aboard. Early on,
the best of them was the redo of our lazy jacks (the lines which
guide the sail to stay on top of the boom when you lower it), and
restitching and (required by the redo of the lazy jacks)
regrommeting of the MackPack sail cover.

While the cover was off, I took advantage of the improved access
to redo our battens to help reduce the @#$%^&* botch that was
inflicted on our new sails by our US outfitter. They were
delivered to him as ordered from the factory/loft in Hong Kong,
but in the course of luff (the part of the sail toward the mast)
finishing made necessary by our purchase from him of a new track
system for the mast, he made changes to both the battens and luff
without our instruction or permission (and charging us for them,
of course, but we didn't learn about the unauthorized changes -
and resultant charges already put on our credit card - until the
sails were delivered later).

The changes in the battens caused them to catch on the lazy jacks
virtually every hoist, and the luff change from our specifications
makes lowering the sail greatly more difficult, beginning with a 20
and slowly tapering to about a 15" fold as it flakes (only one
intermediate slide between battens, instead of the 2-3 I'd ordered)
and. I'm thrilled to say that the alterations were very successful. My
changes to the battens minimized the catching of the battens on the
way up, and the changes to the lazy jacks also made lowering and
covering the sail much more effective.

While she had the sewing machine out, Lydia repaired everything
else which we could think of, as well as sewing a line bag to
corral the main sheet excesses as well as store it when the boom
was parked in the crutch. A great improvement, it also adds
color-coordinated accent to the cockpit. We may make others for
various other lines which are in the cockpit, but this one was
the most vexing, and we're well pleased.

During our time here, there have been a couple of blows. The
anchoring here, perhaps similar to in Annapolis, where the
Harbormaster hands out info packs which include that Annapolis
anchorages are so highly used that all the bottoms are very
churned up and not very good holding, combined with the glue-y
mud bottom, is a bit suspect. So, we put out more than 100' of
all-chain rode on our 55# Delta anchor.

On our first night here, we woke at 1:30 to the realization that
we were moving, in 20+ knots of wind. Yikes! Dragging Lady
(boats are conventionally thought of in the female, thus Flying
Pig became the Dragon Lady for a few minutes!); on with Perky, up
with the anchor, and off to a more roomy spot to re-anchor, this
time with 150' out. There we stayed, but we were rather more
exposed than in our prior location.

Thus, when folks started leaving after the weekend, we moved back
in closer to the mooring field, and behind the breakwater's reach.
First, though, we had to get up all that chain. YUCK. A few inches
at a time, constant running of the salt water washdown hose, and the
chain was clean enough to go back in the locker, albeit not yet free
of all the mud. As the excitement had died down, we only put out 100',
having chosen a shallower spot, with only a couple of feet under our
keel.

As we watched the weather over the intervening nearly-two weeks,
and planned our jump to Charleston, a nor'wester moved in, and
the wind was continually higher every day. Unfortunately, I'd
been gradually shortening the chain, letting the bobbing in the
water, off the bottom, clean a few feet at a time. With all the
other boat work going on, I'd neglected to let more chain back
out, and at about 1:30AM (what is it about that time, anyway??),
we awoke to slight bumps on our keel.

Not like the Gilbert O'Sullivan "Alone Again, Naturally," we were
"aground, again" - but not so naturally. The increasing waves
had caused the chain to tighten and raise, loosening the anchor,
and we'd slid back to the sand shelf we'd nestled up to earlier.
Here we go again, Dragon Lady! The winds continued to build,
eventually reaching nearly 30 knots, so our reanchoring took two
times trying before the Delta set well enough to make me happy,
and blew us around enough that it took twice before I was happy
with the 75# CQR's location as well. With over 200' of primary
chain on the Delta and 100' of secondary chain on the CQR, while
we could sail around on our anchor with wind to starboard a bit,
when it went back the other way, it was brought up short by the
CQR, and we didn't move an inch. There we remained until we
left.

However, we didn't leave as expected, or even a day later, as the
weather picture on our route got worse instead of better. 25-35
knot winds, gusts to 50 knots, and 18-25' seas, while certainly
within the capabilities of crew and boat, aren't stuff we'd do if
we didn't have to. Since we didn't have to, we didn't. Instead,
my brother came out to shoot interiors, and also a few exterior
shots, of Flying Pig, and made it look just gorgeous. It's a
fairly big file, but for those interested or curious enough to
pull it, you can fetch the zip file he created for me at
http://www.mediafire.com/?xdjwjwhtfjm and you'll get a very good
view of Flying Pig, and even a few of us.

Our major boat chores ended with my engine room excursion to
change the oil and top off the battery water, and to clean up the
engine room a bit. We relaxed a couple more days waiting for the
right weather window, making new friends at our anchorage,
sharing breakfasts aboard each other's boats, and visiting the
last couple of times with Paul and Mary.

Final boat chores included inspecting and resolving an annoying rudder
clunk - all the attachment points for the hydraulic ram assemblies had
worked loose, as well as the part which attaches to the rudder post,
so I tightened that and centered our electronic rudder indicator as
well - and tightening up the packing gland.

Future chores when we're on the hard again will include my trying to
do something about the pitting which has resulted in the shaft over
its 30 years, as that provides not only a better path for the water to
seep by, but abrades the packing material, shortening its life. I
finished my 1-2-3's today with a trip up the mast to replace the
wiring for the hailer (the thing which makes a foghorn, or a
loudspeaker) and the burgees (the small flags we fly to let folks know
of our affiliations) halyard, refilling one of our cooking propane
tanks, relashing a turning block for the dinghy, and making the boat
shipshape for passage.

I'll leave you as we head south - our delays have made it such that
we'll try to do a jump all the way to Miami, as our "window" for
family in Charleston has closed. We finally made sufficient SSB radio
contact with our weather guru, Chris Parker, to get good information
about our trip. It looks very good all the way around Hatteras,
naturally of concern in general, but of particular concern to the
Admiral. Lydia's very nervous about Hatteras in any event, but
especially in the case of nasty weather!

Of course, we may well stop in Charleston, or in any of many other
safe havens, if weather doesn't suit on the way down; the Gulf Stream
is pretty close to shore in southern FL, and to the rhumb line (the
straight point between two points at sea) on the way to Miami south of
Hatteras, but we may well be able to do a two-line trip for that leg.

We'll have to stick very close to shore once we get to about West Palm
Beach, making our maneuverability for tacking while staying out of the
Gulf Stream, our previous benefactor, with its 2-4 knots north
progression, somewhat suspect. Because we're going all the way to
Miami, even though we're starting from the NY area, it's only 100
miles shorter than the trip to Maine - but we won't have the Gulf
Stream's lift to help us. We're figuring 10 days, best, to as much as
3 weeks, for the trip.

As I send this, we're expecting to depart either Wednesday
afternoon/evening, or Thursday morning. The next log entries will
come via sailmail, meaning that only the log and the newsgroup will
see them until we've again achieved normal internet connectivity,
where those en-route postings will be put up after we arrive, wherever
it is we land :{)) You can also follow us at our SPOT shared page,
which puts up 10-minute intervals of where we are, at
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/f...PLcZGvSb3 nMe

Stay tuned!

L8R

Skip

Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig KI4MPC
See our galleries at www.justpickone.org/skip/gallery !
Follow us at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheFlyingPigLog
and/or http://groups.google.com/group/flyingpiglog

"You are never given a wish without also being given the power
to make it come true. You may have to work for it however."
(and)
"There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in
its hands. You seek problems because you need their gifts."
(Richard Bach, in The Reluctant Messiah)

Dragon Lady, Ruff Times and High Times
 

On Tue, 30 Sep 2008 10:37:46 -0400, "Skip Gundlach"
wrote:

Backing smartly away from the dock on a favorable wind, we
promptly wrapped the painter in the prop. Oops.

Many people make up painters too short to reach the prop.

A bit of forward rotation bumps on the prop to unwrap it,

If foreward unwraps it, then you caught it while backing. Good trick
fouling it, I didn't know you could do it that way.

Casady

Dragon Lady, Ruff Times and High Times
 

"Skip Gundlach" wrote in news:gbtdju$2gu$1
@aioe.org:

It turned out that we were right under their VHF antenna,
and we'd created only noise on their office base station...


Wrong channel. FM doesn't overload like AM or SSB that way. Someone was
on the wrong channel, one or the other.

Dragon Lady, Ruff Times and High Times
 

"Skip Gundlach" wrote in
:

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/f...lId=0sKGa9AJRC
F45FaX5L5g6PLcZGvSb3nMe

No spots here......

Dragon Lady, Ruff Times and High Times
 

wow...great trip report....thanx...


On Sep 30, 8:37*am, "Skip Gundlach" wrote:
Knock yourselves out, guys :{))

Dragon Lady, Ruff Times and High Times - posted September 30

When we left you on September 7th, we were sleeping blissfully in
Mattituck Harbor, a hugely protected, tiny anchorage next to
Mattituck, Long Island. *Because we expected to be doing short
hops, we left the dinghy on the painter (the line from the front
of the dink to tie up with), but brought the engine aboard, to
minimize towed weight. *We eventually towed the dinghy all the
way to Atlantic Highlands over the course of the next few days.

Waking (early for us) in time to get to the opening of the fuel
and water dock at 8:30, we received no response to our several
hails as we approached, and then tied up at, the Matt-A-Mar
marina. *Walking up the hill, we raised someone to come unlock
and turn on the pumps and we filled with diesel, gasoline and
water. *It turned out that we were right under their VHF antenna,
and we'd created only noise on their office base station...

Backing smartly away from the dock on a favorable wind, we
promptly wrapped the painter in the prop. *Oops. *Hurry and throw
out the anchor, and hope we didn't permanently foul it. *A bit of
forward rotation bumps on the prop to unwrap it, and a bunch of
passing the free end under the tight end attached to the boat,
and we were able to feed it out successfully. *A close
inspection revealed that the line had not been damaged, and we
got under way at 10, taking advantage of the falling tide to get
a lift out to the entrance, and the currents on Long Island Sound
(it's a real nuisance to beat into a contrary current of a couple
of knots, and worth the falling-tide risks). *Where we'd
previously seen more water, as we came in at nearly high tide, we
saw less, but never got to where we'd be nervous, let alone
touch, and the trip was uneventful. *NOAA's forecast suggested
we'd have a great run down to Port Jefferson, arriving well
before dark, taking advantage of the current for a lift and the
expected winds.

As I wrote this, Kyle was on his way to Maine and northeastern
Canada, but that would have been a great hurricane hole. *The
hardpan grass, once penetrated, was extremely secure holding.
Getting the anchor up was quite an exercise, having backed down
on it aggressively before deciding we could leave the boat.
Putting out a multiple anchor system would have been very
effective in a blow, so we'll remember this spot, along with our
two prior ones off Gardiner's bay, should we return to the area.

Once out, we headed due west at 270 degrees, in very light air.
By noon we'd set the spinnaker in 5-7 knots of wind, but by
12:30, the wind died entirely, so we dropped it on deck,
expecting to reset it with the NOAA forecasted 10-15. Instead,
the wind clocked, and we struggled to beat at 30 degrees apparent
wind in the howling gale of 2-5 knots. *As we'd learned from
several sources, NOAA is notoriously inaccurate in Long Island
Sound, and the wind died entirely by 3PM. *There was no way,
José, that we would make our destination of Port Jefferson, under
any circumstances.

As it would be dark soon, we elected to motor the 12 miles to New
Haven, just for an overnight. *However, chatting up TowBoatUS for
local knowledge revealed that we'd be far better off going
slightly East, to Branford to anchor, as New Haven was heavily
commercial, without easy anchoring. *Accordingly, we diverted,
and wound up anchoring off Indian Point in Branford at 6PM in
comfortable holding in a sandy area, with exposed rocks at low
tide all around us. *We were in an area of mostly summer homes,
and thus most of them were unoccupied, as were most of the
private moorings. *However, there were several great internet
connections, so we could check our weather and look forward.

Being exposed to Long Island sound made for a somewhat rolly
night, and the weather wasn't expected to be conducive to going
onward. *That, combined with a very long dinghy ride to not get
to anywhere we could go ashore, Branford shoreline being entirely
residential, led us to decide to just hang out for a day. *We
noticed a fishing boat setting his nets before we retired, as
well as seeing the massive rocks which were hidden at high tide.
Good thing for all our charting and paper and chartplotter
references, as that would not be nearly as comfortable an
encounter as we had on the way out of Three Mile Harbor!

The next morning, we saw the fishermen pulling in their nets,
with some sizeable fish noted, and I jumped in the dinghy and
rowed over to ask what they'd caught. *Bluefish, just like we'd
caught, but they used bait and hooks - apparently the nets were
just to corral them on the current. *They tossed a couple of very
sizeable fish (both much bigger than either of the ones we'd
caught) on the bottom of the dinghy, and the master instructed
his helper to toss me a couple of his bait fish as well, since
I'd replied that we did, indeed, have hooks aboard. *All of $5
later, they towed me back to Flying Pig, and I set to fileting
them, cutting up the bait fish for later.

No sooner did we finish, and sitting out on the aft deck enjoying
our coffee, but up paddles a guy in a kayak, who wants to know if
we anchored there every year. *Seems there's some similar boat
which does - but, as we find out in conversation, it's really
just that he's enamored of our boat, and wanted to get a closer
look. *We don't get swelled heads very easily, but we surely
could have as he went on about how he admired the boat and just
paddled out to get a closer look at it. *Of course, we invited
him aboard, to his delight.

Without bragging any more than we always do about our fantastic
home, he was thrilled to have come aboard, and we had a lovely
chat with him after the tour. *It started out with his revealing,
of course, immediately on arrival, his name, Willie Ruff (thus
the Ruff times). *He teaches at Yale, and has rented a summer
house during the off-season for many years. *More conversation
showed a common interest in music, and we heard a very little bit
about his travels which led him Yale, how he got involved in
music, and many other very interesting things. *Lydia said, "You
should write a book!", to which he replied, "Well, I have,
actually."

He offered to paddle back to his digs and bring us one, but when
he returned, he apologized for having apparently run out of them,
save the one he'd autographed for his landlady, but brought back
a book *about* him, "Willie and Dwike." *HOLY COW!! *This man is
an absolute legend in Jazz, introduced both Russia and China to
Jazz, and a noted educator to boot. *At 77, he looks younger than
I, obviously very fit, and so excited about what he does he
scarcely can stand to go to bed, for fear he'll miss something.

Like so many people we've met in the last few years, he's among
the ones we wish we'd known many years earlier. *I'm humbled and
privileged to have been in his presence, and while I'd love to
send him one of very few the pieces which were recorded of my
playing (trombone, in this case), I'm sure it's pedestrian at
best compared to all the legends he's played with. *Do a Google
on Willie Ruff and you'll get some flavor of what I mean.

The good news is that he's a sailor, which is what attracted him
to our home, and so's his lady, so we may have the pleasure of
having them aboard sometime in the future. *Nothing would please
us more than to have this sprightly, brilliant, man as our guest.

That evening, we ate some of the bluefish we'd been marinating,
freezing or refrigerating the rest, and set out some hooks of our
own. *This time, NOAA was pretty on-target as to direction, but
the fishermen were too optimistic, and our baits remained
unexplored, let alone taken. *So, taking our lumps on the fish,
we sailed off our anchor the following morning at about 9AM,
tacking and beating our way to the southwest in 15-20SSW winds.

Because we were so tightly pinched (going nearly upwind), the
growing winds had us reefed after our level of heel (how far over
the boat leaned) reached a consistent 20-30 degrees. Flying Pig,
as do all Morgan 46 boats, prefers to remain - and goes faster in
the same amount of wind, but with less sail up - more upright,
and as the wind built, we reefed a second time at 1PM, rolling in
our genoa somewhat as well. *The hard beats and strong winds made
our tacks less attractive this time, only 120-135 degrees instead
of the beautiful right angles or less we'd done before, and we
made slow progress. *As time wore on, the current changed,
slowing us further, and we reluctantly motorsailed the last bits
to Port Jefferson, getting our anchor down at 5PM.

Port Jefferson was the least cruiser-friendly location we've
visited in our entire time aboard Flying Pig. *We'll spare you
the details other than to say we remained aboard that night and
were plenty glad to get out of there on September 12, bound
either for Port Washington or Oyster Bay. *Unfortunately, again,
NOAA got it wrong, and there was no wind to carry us. *We
reluctantly motored, but the good news was that we made it all
the way to Little Neck, in a very protected anchorage. *Our first
cedar plug catch ever, a bluefish honored us with his presence as
we approached Little Neck, and I quickly fileted him in our
stable seas, cleaning the platform before we'd made it halfway
down the entrance. *We sailed onto our anchor at 5:30, letting
the tide do our setting for us, and enjoyed another bluefish
dinner with our salad, checked our internet for the weather and
our charts for planning the next day's run and retired early,
content and blessed with another day's meals from the sea.

The charts showed that we'd have a slack tide on our approach to
the infamous Hell Gate if we were to leave by 9AM, so that's what
we did. *Sure enough, we had very little current all the way
there, what current there was helping us, and instead of the
up-to 7 knots of current in Hell Gate, we were aided by about 3
knots. *We were the
...

read more »

Dragon Lady, Ruff Times and High Times
 

"Larry" wrote in message
...
"Skip Gundlach" wrote in
:

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/f...lId=0sKGa9AJRC
F45FaX5L5g6PLcZGvSb3nMe

No spots here......


haven't left yet :{))

--
L8R

Skip

Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig KI4MPC
See our galleries at www.justpickone.org/skip/gallery !
Follow us at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheFlyingPigLog
and/or http://groups.google.com/group/flyingpiglog

"You are never given a wish without also being given the power to
make it come true. You may have to work for it however."
(and)
"There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its
hands. You seek problems because you need their gifts."
(Richard Bach, in The Reluctant Messiah)

Dragon Lady, Ruff Times and High Times
 

Let Lydia write the next one, please.

She's less PC and more to the point. But, caution her about discussing
geriatric sex. It's disgusting to think about. . .

Wilbur Hubbard


"Skip Gundlach" wrote in message
...
Knock yourselves out, guys :{))

Dragon Lady, Ruff Times and High Times - posted September 30


When we left you on September 7th, we were sleeping blissfully in
Mattituck Harbor, a hugely protected, tiny anchorage next to
Mattituck, Long Island. Because we expected to be doing short
hops, we left the dinghy on the painter (the line from the front
of the dink to tie up with), but brought the engine aboard, to
minimize towed weight. We eventually towed the dinghy all the
way to Atlantic Highlands over the course of the next few days.

Waking (early for us) in time to get to the opening of the fuel
and water dock at 8:30, we received no response to our several
hails as we approached, and then tied up at, the Matt-A-Mar
marina. Walking up the hill, we raised someone to come unlock
and turn on the pumps and we filled with diesel, gasoline and
water. It turned out that we were right under their VHF antenna,
and we'd created only noise on their office base station...

Backing smartly away from the dock on a favorable wind, we
promptly wrapped the painter in the prop. Oops. Hurry and throw
out the anchor, and hope we didn't permanently foul it. A bit of
forward rotation bumps on the prop to unwrap it, and a bunch of
passing the free end under the tight end attached to the boat,
and we were able to feed it out successfully. A close
inspection revealed that the line had not been damaged, and we
got under way at 10, taking advantage of the falling tide to get
a lift out to the entrance, and the currents on Long Island Sound
(it's a real nuisance to beat into a contrary current of a couple
of knots, and worth the falling-tide risks). Where we'd
previously seen more water, as we came in at nearly high tide, we
saw less, but never got to where we'd be nervous, let alone
touch, and the trip was uneventful. NOAA's forecast suggested
we'd have a great run down to Port Jefferson, arriving well
before dark, taking advantage of the current for a lift and the
expected winds.

As I wrote this, Kyle was on his way to Maine and northeastern
Canada, but that would have been a great hurricane hole. The
hardpan grass, once penetrated, was extremely secure holding.
Getting the anchor up was quite an exercise, having backed down
on it aggressively before deciding we could leave the boat.
Putting out a multiple anchor system would have been very
effective in a blow, so we'll remember this spot, along with our
two prior ones off Gardiner's bay, should we return to the area.

Once out, we headed due west at 270 degrees, in very light air.
By noon we'd set the spinnaker in 5-7 knots of wind, but by
12:30, the wind died entirely, so we dropped it on deck,
expecting to reset it with the NOAA forecasted 10-15. Instead,
the wind clocked, and we struggled to beat at 30 degrees apparent
wind in the howling gale of 2-5 knots. As we'd learned from
several sources, NOAA is notoriously inaccurate in Long Island
Sound, and the wind died entirely by 3PM. There was no way,
José, that we would make our destination of Port Jefferson, under
any circumstances.

As it would be dark soon, we elected to motor the 12 miles to New
Haven, just for an overnight. However, chatting up TowBoatUS for
local knowledge revealed that we'd be far better off going
slightly East, to Branford to anchor, as New Haven was heavily
commercial, without easy anchoring. Accordingly, we diverted,
and wound up anchoring off Indian Point in Branford at 6PM in
comfortable holding in a sandy area, with exposed rocks at low
tide all around us. We were in an area of mostly summer homes,
and thus most of them were unoccupied, as were most of the
private moorings. However, there were several great internet
connections, so we could check our weather and look forward.

Being exposed to Long Island sound made for a somewhat rolly
night, and the weather wasn't expected to be conducive to going
onward. That, combined with a very long dinghy ride to not get
to anywhere we could go ashore, Branford shoreline being entirely
residential, led us to decide to just hang out for a day. We
noticed a fishing boat setting his nets before we retired, as
well as seeing the massive rocks which were hidden at high tide.
Good thing for all our charting and paper and chartplotter
references, as that would not be nearly as comfortable an
encounter as we had on the way out of Three Mile Harbor!

The next morning, we saw the fishermen pulling in their nets,
with some sizeable fish noted, and I jumped in the dinghy and
rowed over to ask what they'd caught. Bluefish, just like we'd
caught, but they used bait and hooks - apparently the nets were
just to corral them on the current. They tossed a couple of very
sizeable fish (both much bigger than either of the ones we'd
caught) on the bottom of the dinghy, and the master instructed
his helper to toss me a couple of his bait fish as well, since
I'd replied that we did, indeed, have hooks aboard. All of $5
later, they towed me back to Flying Pig, and I set to fileting
them, cutting up the bait fish for later.

No sooner did we finish, and sitting out on the aft deck enjoying
our coffee, but up paddles a guy in a kayak, who wants to know if
we anchored there every year. Seems there's some similar boat
which does - but, as we find out in conversation, it's really
just that he's enamored of our boat, and wanted to get a closer
look. We don't get swelled heads very easily, but we surely
could have as he went on about how he admired the boat and just
paddled out to get a closer look at it. Of course, we invited
him aboard, to his delight.

Without bragging any more than we always do about our fantastic
home, he was thrilled to have come aboard, and we had a lovely
chat with him after the tour. It started out with his revealing,
of course, immediately on arrival, his name, Willie Ruff (thus
the Ruff times). He teaches at Yale, and has rented a summer
house during the off-season for many years. More conversation
showed a common interest in music, and we heard a very little bit
about his travels which led him Yale, how he got involved in
music, and many other very interesting things. Lydia said, "You
should write a book!", to which he replied, "Well, I have,
actually."

He offered to paddle back to his digs and bring us one, but when
he returned, he apologized for having apparently run out of them,
save the one he'd autographed for his landlady, but brought back
a book *about* him, "Willie and Dwike." HOLY COW!! This man is
an absolute legend in Jazz, introduced both Russia and China to
Jazz, and a noted educator to boot. At 77, he looks younger than
I, obviously very fit, and so excited about what he does he
scarcely can stand to go to bed, for fear he'll miss something.

Like so many people we've met in the last few years, he's among
the ones we wish we'd known many years earlier. I'm humbled and
privileged to have been in his presence, and while I'd love to
send him one of very few the pieces which were recorded of my
playing (trombone, in this case), I'm sure it's pedestrian at
best compared to all the legends he's played with. Do a Google
on Willie Ruff and you'll get some flavor of what I mean.

The good news is that he's a sailor, which is what attracted him
to our home, and so's his lady, so we may have the pleasure of
having them aboard sometime in the future. Nothing would please
us more than to have this sprightly, brilliant, man as our guest.

That evening, we ate some of the bluefish we'd been marinating,
freezing or refrigerating the rest, and set out some hooks of our
own. This time, NOAA was pretty on-target as to direction, but
the fishermen were too optimistic, and our baits remained
unexplored, let alone taken. So, taking our lumps on the fish,
we sailed off our anchor the following morning at about 9AM,
tacking and beating our way to the southwest in 15-20SSW winds.

Because we were so tightly pinched (going nearly upwind), the
growing winds had us reefed after our level of heel (how far over
the boat leaned) reached a consistent 20-30 degrees. Flying Pig,
as do all Morgan 46 boats, prefers to remain - and goes faster in
the same amount of wind, but with less sail up - more upright,
and as the wind built, we reefed a second time at 1PM, rolling in
our genoa somewhat as well. The hard beats and strong winds made
our tacks less attractive this time, only 120-135 degrees instead
of the beautiful right angles or less we'd done before, and we
made slow progress. As time wore on, the current changed,
slowing us further, and we reluctantly motorsailed the last bits
to Port Jefferson, getting our anchor down at 5PM.

Port Jefferson was the least cruiser-friendly location we've
visited in our entire time aboard Flying Pig. We'll spare you
the details other than to say we remained aboard that night and
were plenty glad to get out of there on September 12, bound
either for Port Washington or Oyster Bay. Unfortunately, again,
NOAA got it wrong, and there was no wind to carry us. We
reluctantly motored, but the good news was that we made it all
the way to Little Neck, in a very protected anchorage. Our first
cedar plug catch ever, a bluefish honored us with his presence as
we approached Little Neck, and I quickly fileted him in our
stable seas, cleaning the platform before we'd made it halfway
down the entrance. We sailed onto our anchor at 5:30, letting
the tide do our setting for us, and enjoyed another bluefish
dinner with our salad, checked our internet for the weather and
our charts for planning the next day's run and retired early,
content and blessed with another day's meals from the sea.

The charts showed that we'd have a slack tide on our approach to
the infamous Hell Gate if we were to leave by 9AM, so that's what
we did. Sure enough, we had very little current all the way
there, what current there was helping us, and instead of the
up-to 7 knots of current in Hell Gate, we were aided by about 3
knots. We were the first of a long train of boats transiting,
and we'd seen several very large boats which had taken advantage
of the lift going the other way a while before we headed down the
channel.

Our lift stayed with us all the way to Sandy Hook, as we sailed
on a beam reach over Lower Bay after passing the Statue of
Liberty and Staten and Coney Islands. The lift was strong enough
that we had to be careful of avoiding buoys and the lighthouse,
as it was fast enough that if we didn't give it sufficient
room, the current would have carried us into them.

Unfortunately, the wind died just as we were crossing the channel
north of Sandy Hook, right in front of a massive freighter and a
tug under tow. Oops. On comes Perky, and we boogie out of the
way. The wind revived, but had shifted significantly by the time
we got inside the hook, so we tacked our way to our anchorage in
Atlantic Highlands, where we'd spend a couple of weeks. High
times ahead in the Highlands, home of my brother, Paul :{))

Well, actually, just enjoyable times in Highlands. Atlantic
Highlands, our anchorage in the lovely municipal harbor, was
varied, ranging from friends, relatives and neighboring boats'
visits, and our "1-2-3's" - boat chores... We had several sets of
visitors aboard, some of them providing sensory alterations (thus
the High Times), others rollicking good memories and revelations
(more High Times), and still more visual treats (see below)...

It's where my brother lives (Highlands, NJ), and we were
privileged to have the use of Mary's car for our time here. We
got to do lots of running around for boat chores' stuff. We took
advantage of our time to address many things aboard. Early on,
the best of them was the redo of our lazy jacks (the lines which
guide the sail to stay on top of the boom when you lower it), and
restitching and (required by the redo of the lazy jacks)
regrommeting of the MackPack sail cover.

While the cover was off, I took advantage of the improved access
to redo our battens to help reduce the @#$%^&* botch that was
inflicted on our new sails by our US outfitter. They were
delivered to him as ordered from the factory/loft in Hong Kong,
but in the course of luff (the part of the sail toward the mast)
finishing made necessary by our purchase from him of a new track
system for the mast, he made changes to both the battens and luff
without our instruction or permission (and charging us for them,
of course, but we didn't learn about the unauthorized changes -
and resultant charges already put on our credit card - until the
sails were delivered later).

The changes in the battens caused them to catch on the lazy jacks
virtually every hoist, and the luff change from our specifications makes
lowering the sail greatly more difficult, beginning with a 20 and slowly
tapering to about a 15" fold as it flakes (only one intermediate slide
between battens, instead of the 2-3 I'd ordered) and. I'm thrilled to say
that the alterations were very successful. My changes to the battens
minimized the catching of the battens on the way up, and the changes to
the lazy jacks also made lowering and covering the sail much more
effective.

While she had the sewing machine out, Lydia repaired everything
else which we could think of, as well as sewing a line bag to
corral the main sheet excesses as well as store it when the boom
was parked in the crutch. A great improvement, it also adds
color-coordinated accent to the cockpit. We may make others for
various other lines which are in the cockpit, but this one was
the most vexing, and we're well pleased.

During our time here, there have been a couple of blows. The
anchoring here, perhaps similar to in Annapolis, where the
Harbormaster hands out info packs which include that Annapolis
anchorages are so highly used that all the bottoms are very
churned up and not very good holding, combined with the glue-y
mud bottom, is a bit suspect. So, we put out more than 100' of
all-chain rode on our 55# Delta anchor.

On our first night here, we woke at 1:30 to the realization that
we were moving, in 20+ knots of wind. Yikes! Dragging Lady
(boats are conventionally thought of in the female, thus Flying
Pig became the Dragon Lady for a few minutes!); on with Perky, up
with the anchor, and off to a more roomy spot to re-anchor, this
time with 150' out. There we stayed, but we were rather more
exposed than in our prior location.

Thus, when folks started leaving after the weekend, we moved back
in closer to the mooring field, and behind the breakwater's reach. First,
though, we had to get up all that chain. YUCK. A few inches at a time,
constant running of the salt water washdown hose, and the chain was clean
enough to go back in the locker, albeit not yet free of all the mud. As
the excitement had died down, we only put out 100', having chosen a
shallower spot, with only a couple of feet under our keel.

As we watched the weather over the intervening nearly-two weeks,
and planned our jump to Charleston, a nor'wester moved in, and
the wind was continually higher every day. Unfortunately, I'd
been gradually shortening the chain, letting the bobbing in the
water, off the bottom, clean a few feet at a time. With all the
other boat work going on, I'd neglected to let more chain back
out, and at about 1:30AM (what is it about that time, anyway??),
we awoke to slight bumps on our keel.

Not like the Gilbert O'Sullivan "Alone Again, Naturally," we were
"aground, again" - but not so naturally. The increasing waves
had caused the chain to tighten and raise, loosening the anchor,
and we'd slid back to the sand shelf we'd nestled up to earlier.
Here we go again, Dragon Lady! The winds continued to build,
eventually reaching nearly 30 knots, so our reanchoring took two
times trying before the Delta set well enough to make me happy,
and blew us around enough that it took twice before I was happy
with the 75# CQR's location as well. With over 200' of primary
chain on the Delta and 100' of secondary chain on the CQR, while
we could sail around on our anchor with wind to starboard a bit,
when it went back the other way, it was brought up short by the
CQR, and we didn't move an inch. There we remained until we
left.

However, we didn't leave as expected, or even a day later, as the
weather picture on our route got worse instead of better. 25-35
knot winds, gusts to 50 knots, and 18-25' seas, while certainly
within the capabilities of crew and boat, aren't stuff we'd do if
we didn't have to. Since we didn't have to, we didn't. Instead,
my brother came out to shoot interiors, and also a few exterior
shots, of Flying Pig, and made it look just gorgeous. It's a
fairly big file, but for those interested or curious enough to
pull it, you can fetch the zip file he created for me at
http://www.mediafire.com/?xdjwjwhtfjm and you'll get a very good
view of Flying Pig, and even a few of us.

Our major boat chores ended with my engine room excursion to
change the oil and top off the battery water, and to clean up the
engine room a bit. We relaxed a couple more days waiting for the
right weather window, making new friends at our anchorage,
sharing breakfasts aboard each other's boats, and visiting the
last couple of times with Paul and Mary.

Final boat chores included inspecting and resolving an annoying rudder
clunk - all the attachment points for the hydraulic ram assemblies had
worked loose, as well as the part which attaches to the rudder post, so I
tightened that and centered our electronic rudder indicator as well - and
tightening up the packing gland.

Future chores when we're on the hard again will include my trying to do
something about the pitting which has resulted in the shaft over its 30
years, as that provides not only a better path for the water to seep by,
but abrades the packing material, shortening its life. I finished my
1-2-3's today with a trip up the mast to replace the wiring for the hailer
(the thing which makes a foghorn, or a loudspeaker) and the burgees (the
small flags we fly to let folks know of our affiliations) halyard,
refilling one of our cooking propane tanks, relashing a turning block for
the dinghy, and making the boat shipshape for passage.

I'll leave you as we head south - our delays have made it such that we'll
try to do a jump all the way to Miami, as our "window" for family in
Charleston has closed. We finally made sufficient SSB radio contact with
our weather guru, Chris Parker, to get good information about our trip.
It looks very good all the way around Hatteras, naturally of concern in
general, but of particular concern to the Admiral. Lydia's very nervous
about Hatteras in any event, but especially in the case of nasty weather!

Of course, we may well stop in Charleston, or in any of many other safe
havens, if weather doesn't suit on the way down; the Gulf Stream is pretty
close to shore in southern FL, and to the rhumb line (the straight point
between two points at sea) on the way to Miami south of Hatteras, but we
may well be able to do a two-line trip for that leg.

We'll have to stick very close to shore once we get to about West Palm
Beach, making our maneuverability for tacking while staying out of the
Gulf Stream, our previous benefactor, with its 2-4 knots north
progression, somewhat suspect. Because we're going all the way to Miami,
even though we're starting from the NY area, it's only 100 miles shorter
than the trip to Maine - but we won't have the Gulf Stream's lift to help
us. We're figuring 10 days, best, to as much as 3 weeks, for the trip.

As I send this, we're expecting to depart either Wednesday
afternoon/evening, or Thursday morning. The next log entries will come
via sailmail, meaning that only the log and the newsgroup will see them
until we've again achieved normal internet connectivity, where those
en-route postings will be put up after we arrive, wherever it is we land
:{)) You can also follow us at our SPOT shared page, which puts up
10-minute intervals of where we are, at
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/f...PLcZGvSb3 nMe

Stay tuned!

L8R

Skip

Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig KI4MPC
See our galleries at www.justpickone.org/skip/gallery !
Follow us at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheFlyingPigLog
and/or http://groups.google.com/group/flyingpiglog

"You are never given a wish without also being given the power
to make it come true. You may have to work for it however."
(and)
"There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in
its hands. You seek problems because you need their gifts."
(Richard Bach, in The Reluctant Messiah)

Dragon Lady, Ruff Times and High Times
 

On 2008-09-30 13:56:35 -0400, "Wilbur Hubbard"
said:

Let Lydia write the next one, please.

She's less PC and more to the point. But, caution her about discussing
geriatric sex. It's disgusting to think about. . .

You obviously haven't seen her -- or Skip for that matter.

Then again, you're so *into* solo sailing....

--
Jere Lull
Xan-à-Deux -- Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI trips & tips: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

Dragon Lady, Ruff Times and High Times
 

"Jere Lull" wrote in message
news:2008093015410716807-jerelull@maccom...
On 2008-09-30 13:56:35 -0400, "Wilbur Hubbard"
said:

Let Lydia write the next one, please.

She's less PC and more to the point. But, caution her about discussing
geriatric sex. It's disgusting to think about. . .

You obviously haven't seen her -- or Skip for that matter.

I haven't seen them but I recall she said she was a single mom of four grown
children. That would make her 45-50. That's not quite geriatric sex but
close, IMO. True, some women that age I've seen can still look pretty good
provided they take the time to get and stay very physically fit. But, that's
very rare.

Wilbur Hubbard

Dragon Lady, Ruff Times and High Times
 

"Skip Gundlach" wrote in news:gbtp2a$mat$1
@aioe.org:

haven't left yet :{))

--
L8R

Skip


Sorry, I didn't read far enough. Typing got ahead of reading...(c;

Dragon Lady, Ruff Times and High Times
 

On 2008-09-30 15:56:54 -0400, "Wilbur Hubbard"
said:

"Jere Lull" wrote in message
news:2008093015410716807-jerelull@maccom...
On 2008-09-30 13:56:35 -0400, "Wilbur Hubbard"
said:

Let Lydia write the next one, please.

She's less PC and more to the point. But, caution her about discussing
geriatric sex. It's disgusting to think about. . .

You obviously haven't seen her -- or Skip for that matter.

I haven't seen them but I recall she said she was a single mom of four
grown children. That would make her 45-50. That's not quite geriatric
sex but close, IMO. True, some women that age I've seen can still look
pretty good provided they take the time to get and stay very physically
fit. But, that's very rare.

Exactly! I expect that when she's out with her kids, she's mistaken for
their sister.

And if you think 45-50 is near-geriatric.... You just ain't been with
the right women.

Experience and skill will trump childish enthusiasm every time.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-à-Deux -- Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI trips & tips: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

Dragon Lady, Ruff Times and High Times
 

On Tue, 30 Sep 2008 10:37:46 -0400, "Skip Gundlach"
wrote:

As I send this, we're expecting to depart either Wednesday
afternoon/evening, or Thursday morning. The next log entries will
come via sailmail, meaning that only the log and the newsgroup will
see them until we've again achieved normal internet connectivity,
where those en-route postings will be put up after we arrive, wherever
it is we land :{)) You can also follow us at our SPOT shared page,
which puts up 10-minute intervals of where we are, at
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/f...PLcZGvSb3 nMe

Looks like you've got a good weather window coming up as of Thursday
morning. Should be stable but light north westerlies going NE
further south after 2 or 3 days. Be prepared do do lots of motoring
in light following seas. If it were us we'd be looking to duck in at
Norfolk, VA towards the end of the weather window, get some rest, get
some relatively inexpensive diesel at Portsmouth, VA, and wait for the
next break in the weather before heading around Cape Hatteras and the
OBX.

Dragon Lady, Ruff Times and High Times
 

On 2008-10-01 14:04:34 -0400, Wayne.B said:

On Tue, 30 Sep 2008 10:37:46 -0400, "Skip Gundlach"
wrote:

As I send this, we're expecting to depart either Wednesday
afternoon/evening, or Thursday morning. The next log entries will
come via sailmail, meaning that only the log and the newsgroup will
see them until we've again achieved normal internet connectivity,
where those en-route postings will be put up after we arrive, wherever
it is we land :{)) You can also follow us at our SPOT shared page,
which puts up 10-minute intervals of where we are, at
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/f...PLcZGvSb3 nMe

Looks

like you've got a good weather window coming up as of Thursday
morning. Should be stable but light north westerlies going NE
further south after 2 or 3 days. Be prepared do do lots of motoring
in light following seas. If it were us we'd be looking to duck in at
Norfolk, VA towards the end of the weather window, get some rest, get
some relatively inexpensive diesel at Portsmouth, VA, and wait for the
next break in the weather before heading around Cape Hatteras and the
OBX.

????

We live between the two spots, and I don't consider what I see a
weather window.

At best, the predicted conditions allow local movement.

And the weather produced by "Harass" this time of the year will prove
every prognosticator a lier.

I really don't like to be so boringly conservative about Hattarass, but
I do not believe you understand how unpredictable and destructive that
area usually is. Most who know the area feel lucky when they pass
unnoticed by Momma/Poseidon.

Boring as the ICW is, I will not jump out north of Beaufort, NC because
I respect Hattarass's rep too well, have heard too many friends'
personal stories.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-à-Deux -- Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI trips & tips: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

Dragon Lady, Ruff Times and High Times
 

"Jere Lull" wrote in message
news:2008100120303075249-jerelull@maccom...
On 2008-10-01 14:04:34 -0400, Wayne.B
said:

On Tue, 30 Sep 2008 10:37:46 -0400, "Skip Gundlach"
wrote:

As I send this, we're expecting to depart either Wednesday
afternoon/evening, or Thursday morning. The next log entries will
come via sailmail, meaning that only the log and the newsgroup will
see them until we've again achieved normal internet connectivity,
where those en-route postings will be put up after we arrive, wherever
it is we land :{)) You can also follow us at our SPOT shared page,
which puts up 10-minute intervals of where we are, at
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/f...PLcZGvSb3 nMe

Looks

like you've got a good weather window coming up as of Thursday
morning. Should be stable but light north westerlies going NE
further south after 2 or 3 days. Be prepared do do lots of motoring
in light following seas. If it were us we'd be looking to duck in at
Norfolk, VA towards the end of the weather window, get some rest, get
some relatively inexpensive diesel at Portsmouth, VA, and wait for the
next break in the weather before heading around Cape Hatteras and the
OBX.

????

We live between the two spots, and I don't consider what I see a weather
window.

At best, the predicted conditions allow local movement.

And the weather produced by "Harass" this time of the year will prove
every prognosticator a lier.

I really don't like to be so boringly conservative about Hattarass, but I
do not believe you understand how unpredictable and destructive that area
usually is. Most who know the area feel lucky when they pass unnoticed by
Momma/Poseidon.

Boring as the ICW is, I will not jump out north of Beaufort, NC because I
respect Hattarass's rep too well, have heard too many friends' personal
stories.


I've sailed past Hatteras about five or six times going both north and
south. I've always used the yacht channel through it and not the outside
route. The yacht channel is surrounded by shoals and shallow waters. It's
always been easy to locate and sail through. I've never had rough weather in
that area but I've never attempted it except with a fair winds forecast.

http://ocsdata.ncd.noaa.gov/OnLineVi...iewerTable.htm

Here is a good list of charts and you can view them and magnify them. Chart
11520 shows detail of Hatteras and the inside passage great for small
yachts.

Wilbur Hubbard

Dragon Lady, Ruff Times and High Times
 

On Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:30:29 GMT, Jere Lull wrote:

Boring as the ICW is, I will not jump out north of Beaufort, NC because
I respect Hattarass's rep too well, have heard too many friends'
personal stories.

I couldn't agree more regarding Hatteras but I believe (perhaps
incorrectly), that Skip has a bridge clearance issue with his mast
height. If your mast is over 64 ft, not uncommon with a 46 footer,
there is no choice but to go outside or unstep the rig. I'm seeing a
weather window off the NJ coast and Delmarva Penninsula that should be
sufficient to reach Norfolk, VA. After that it's anyone's guess.

Dragon Lady, Ruff Times and High Times
 

On 2008-10-01 21:14:12 -0400, Wayne.B said:

On Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:30:29 GMT, Jere Lull wrote:

Boring as the ICW is, I will not jump out north of Beaufort, NC because
I respect Hattarass's rep too well, have heard too many friends'
personal stories.

I couldn't agree more regarding Hatteras but I believe (perhaps
incorrectly), that Skip has a bridge clearance issue with his mast
height. If your mast is over 64 ft, not uncommon with a 46 footer,
there is no choice but to go outside or unstep the rig.

Flying Pig has already traversed the area, so that's not a problem for them.

Those who have been there will recognize that monster steak Skip
reported on the Virginia Cut. (Coinjock?)

I'm seeing a weather window off the NJ coast and Delmarva Penninsula
that should be sufficient to reach Norfolk, VA. After that it's
anyone's guess.

That is exactly what I've been saying as an admitted Chicken Little.
Hatarass is a crap-shoot at the best of times.

I will admit to trying to "push" them towards the Chesapeake because
I'd love to see the result of their meeting my lovely lady Pat, and
that's likely only in the upper Bay.

As I write, FP's 24th Spot position put them abreast of Monmouth Beach,
a few miles south of their anchorage though (finally) in the Atlantic.

'Tis a pretty fair distance from there to the decision-point at Cape
May even with the westerly or northerly winds I see forecast.

We'll see which course they take from there in a dozen or two hours.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-à-Deux -- Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI trips & tips: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

Dragon Lady, Ruff Times and High Times
 

On Thu, 02 Oct 2008 01:45:02 GMT, Jere Lull wrote:

Flying Pig has already traversed the area, so that's not a problem for them.

Those who have been there will recognize that monster steak Skip
reported on the Virginia Cut. (Coinjock?)


Good point, I'd forgotten about that. Actually it's prime ribs at the
Coinjock Marina, and the reputation is well deserved. I've never had
better and never been disappointed. We were there 3 times last year,
once going north, again going south, and the last time by car while we
were waiting for engine work at Manteo.


'Tis a pretty fair distance from there to the decision-point at Cape
May even with the westerly or northerly winds I see forecast.

We'll see which course they take from there in a dozen or two hours.

I wouldn't bet a nickel on them going through the Chesapeake after the
big build up we've heard. That's one problem with a too public
announcement of plans.

Dragon Lady, Ruff Times and High Times
 

the pond

Dragon Lady, Ruff Times and High Times
 

On 2008-10-01 22:02:21 -0400, Wayne.B said:

On Thu, 02 Oct 2008 01:45:02 GMT, Jere Lull wrote:

'Tis a pretty fair distance from [where they are] to the decision-point
at Cape May even with the westerly or northerly winds I see forecast.

We'll see which course they take from there in a dozen or two hours.

I wouldn't bet a nickel on them going through the Chesapeake after the
big build up we've heard. That's one problem with a too public
announcement of plans.

That's one reason I keep on pointing out alternatives and reasons why not ;-)

They are CRUISERS! Changes of plan are expected from cruisers. Plans
are suggestions, not the rule to cruisers. That things didn't work out
as planned a trivial problem, as they're cruising.

Stuff happens, Momma disagrees with their plans. Don't cross Momma if
you value your life.

So what if Mum (as delightful an individual as you'll meet) meets them
wherever they are rather wherever they planned?

I dare say Mum is more interested in being with them than where she
catches up with them.

Mum hasn't seen much of the ICW yet, and that's a magical place.
Florida is boring when directly compared.

And given FP's current position, the current weather, and the schedule
I recall, FP could comfortably duck into the Chesapeake and sail/motor
to Beaufort NC and south while maintaining their schedule.

I really, really don't want my friends challenging Hatteras during its
most unpredictable season.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-à-Deux -- Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI trips & tips: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

Dragon Lady, Ruff Times and High Times
 

On Thu, 02 Oct 2008 05:18:36 GMT, Jere Lull wrote:

Mum hasn't seen much of the ICW yet, and that's a magical place.
Florida is boring when directly compared.


We've done almost all of the Atlantic ICW, and while I'd agree that
there are some great places along the way, I would not trade for
Florida.

How much Florida boating have you done ? There are countless miles
here of the greatest and most diverse boating you could imagine.


I really, really don't want my friends challenging Hatteras during its
most unpredictable season.

We'll see.

Dragon Lady, Ruff Times and High Times
 

On 2008-10-02 02:34:26 -0400, Wayne.B said:

On Thu, 02 Oct 2008 05:18:36 GMT, Jere Lull wrote:

Mum hasn't seen much of the ICW yet, and that's a magical place.
Florida is boring when directly compared.

We've done almost all of the Atlantic ICW, and while I'd agree that
there are some great places along the way, I would not trade for
Florida.

How much Florida boating have you done ? There are countless miles
here of the greatest and most diverse boating you could imagine.

Hmmm. This could be a bit of factor of what type of cruising each of us likes.

I tend towards wild areas that could be what the original explorers
saw. Pat likes to see the pretty houses along the shore, sometimes
likes to visit the historical structures accessible from some
anchorages, but of late she has easily been overloaded and asks to get
away from the modernity.

The stories I've heard of the ICW in FL don't sound real fun with all
those bridges. Sailing down the shoreline gets boring fast, too.
Biscayne Bay was pretty cool, though.


--
Jere Lull
Xan-à-Deux -- Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI trips & tips: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

Dragon Lady, Ruff Times and High Times
 

On Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:16:55 GMT, Jere Lull wrote:

The stories I've heard of the ICW in FL don't sound real fun with all
those bridges. Sailing down the shoreline gets boring fast, too.
Biscayne Bay was pretty cool, though.

The bridges on the Florida (Atlantic) ICW don't get to be a real
problem until south of Palm Beach. Prior to that bridges are
relatively few in number and open on reasonable schedules. There is
also some nice scenery in open spaces along the way, as well as many
areas developed with beautiful homes. It's a mixed bag. Going
outside along the beach can be interesting enough as long as you stay
close in. I prefer less than 400 yards weather permitting.

From Palm Beach south on the ICW you are going through major
population centers. The ICW is dotted with the mega-mansions of the
global rich and famous. It is scenic enough in that respect but
there are lots of bridges, and most are on restricted schedules. The
preferred route south to Miami is outside along the beach.

After Miami lies Biscayne Bay and the Keys, both rich with scenery
and cruising opportunities, too numerous to describe. Suffice to say,
a lot of people have cruised to the Keys and forgotten to leave.

Going back north on the west side of FL you enter the waters of
Everglades Park, one of the truly great wilderness areas of the
country. During January and February you can cruise many miles back
into the interior and see no signs of civilization at all. Nada.
This area is a great test of ability to fend for yourself because you
are out of cell phone and VHF range with the world. The only
communications are via HF/SSB radio or sat phone. If you need SeaTow
they will have to come 40 miles north from the Keys or 60 miles south
from Everglades City. They will charge you dearly even if a member.
If not a member, re-mortgage your house. On the Everglades coast
there are miles of beautiful, totally deserted beaches, typically with
nary a soul within miles. There are a few places where beach camping
is approved but with a little discretion you could camp anywhere.

Going further north up the west coast you come to the Ten Thousand
Islands area, Everglades City, Marco Island, Naples, Ft Myers Beach,
the Okeechobee Waterway, Sanibel Island, Captiva(s), Cayo Costa, Boca
Grande, etc. - some of the finest cruising you could imagine but I
can't talk about it in a public forum. :-)

We have not yet cruised the Panhandle and its ICW but the reports we
get are excellent.

Lest I forget, from the east coast of FL it is an easy one or two day
sail over to the Bahamas and a whole other cruising paradise that
attracts boats and people from all over the world.