The Sea Wyf's Guide to Sailing

Fair Winds...Following Seas..and Follow the Sun, dear friend...

2015-04-25T17:32:00.000-04:00

"Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing—absolute nothing—

...half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats." ~Kenneth Grahame

It’s over-quoted for sure, but the most aptly fitting line for today. We heard news of our dear friend Russ passing after a brave battle with ALS. He made us all laugh and was a true friend. Russ was there the day I met Peter and I can hardly imagine a world without him, but we are glad that his suffering is over.

This is how I will remember Russ: fixing something on his boat or the countless races when we’d sail too close to each other's boats and some fool would yell, “STARBOARD!” just for fun, or sitting around after a race and arguing about time-on-distance vs time-on-time and who really won the race under the bridge.

The world will be a lot less fun without you, Russ. You will be missed.

Sharing these photos for all Russ's friends...so we can all remember him well.

In the summer of 2008...

A view of Pier 3, back in its heyday, looking west toward Philadelphia. Our first sailboat* Montserrrat in the foreground, headsail still hanked on (means we must have just come in, or we think we are going back out shortly.)

*well together anyway.

The view across the Delaware River to Camden. We often sat on the patio looking across the river to the sunset reflected in the glass rectangles.

Our friends Russ and Mike on Russ's sailboat sailing by the marina. Note the Customs House--familiar skyline site in Old City--squatting in the background. BTW: I think Russ and Mike won this race.

Same race night probably. Andy's boat with Al as crew and Russ/Mike again.

The race is over. Russ was having bow issues. Andy and Al are coming up on the scene.

Anchored out in our favorite cove for dinner with friends. Peter is on our sailboat grabbing some wine and snapping the moment. (There were always arguments about who had discovered the cove first. It’s no matter any longer, the cove is silted in. I think this very night Russ ran aground—his boat draws almost six feet—and we tried to lead the familiar way out, we got out and radioed back. I think he said his boat was taking on water and he was cussin up a storm.

Peter, taking a much-needed work break in mid-September. Russ sails his spinaker in the background under the Ben Franklin bridge.

I found one album from July 2009. Intro: As we all watched the big July 4^th fireworks on the river, talk turned to racing the next day and it was settled. No matter that there was NO wind...we had plans to get to Cattails for dinner and race back!

So this is Russ’s sailboat, “Crash Pad.”

Russ sails by the Ben Franklin Bridge in preparation for the race. It's been determined that the race will run down river to the Walt Whitman Bridge and back.

Russ's crew: Jonathan, and (Terry & Ron’s son) Justin & his wife Emmy. Everything's still friendly--until the race starts! Still, I let them know, I'm setting the time stamp as proof. (We often spent hours back on the patio disputing corrected times and actual finishes.)

We decide that the wind is so light and it's taking forever to get to the start line that we'll just start where we are.

Russ looks over to check if Peter & I are ready.

See that look on their faces?

They're checking those luffing sails!

Hey--what happened? They're so smug!!

Shouts go out about right-of-way. The tension is thick. STARBOARD!

Plans for Cattails have been abandoned over the phone, but they don't believe it till they see us tack and head back. We don't have enough gas to motor and neither of us have working lights right now so we've gotta be back by sunset.

It took us til 5:24 to get under the Ben Franklin. I was wishing we were out for a bike ride instead of the torture of racing in light wind. But I have never known Peter to quit a race. Not even mutiny (or an empty wine bottle) can make him turn the engine on!

Hmm...Russ already has his sails down...very suspicious!
We'll cut him some slack this time--his crew got him to turn the engine on. There's a reason he usually sails solo!

Arriving in Block Island

2012-06-25T23:00:00.000-04:00

We made good time, making up for any veering off-course to arrive at the entrance to Great Salt Pond with an hour or so of daylight to spare. The anchorage was blissfully unpacked. Despite loads of room to anchor, we found ourselves following Mike’s lead and took a mooring ball. We’d talked to him about an hour or so before we were coming in the entrance and he told us the mooring ball behind Bent was still empty. By the time we got there, it wasn’t and we picked up mooring ball number 37 and tidied up to meet our friends at The Oar.

Arriving in Block Island

VIEW SLIDE SHOW

DOWNLOAD ALL

Text messages

2012-06-25T17:05:00.000-04:00

When we turned our phones on again, we were able to catch up with some of our friends via text messages.

· Sun Jun 24 12:55 p.m. Moon to Bent: How you guys making out? Are you there yet?! We are just north of ac. Al had an alternator issue but is fixed & they are ~25 miles behind us. What about you?

· Mon Jun 25 12:33 am (delivered Mon Jun 25, 2:15 pm), Bent to Moon: 25 miles from entrance buoy at block. Lined it up from 70 miles out and Laying it. Expect some turbulence in the straight. Keepin an eye on the weather.

· 9:52 am, Full Circle to Moon: I HOPE YOU GUYS R OK. We r in ac anchored near harras.
· 2:21 pm, Moon to Liz: We ran into some rain last night & storms this am but all’s well. We r 25 miles from marker & expect to be in Block by evening. Hope all’s well there.

o 2:28 pm, Liz to Moon: I was hoping all was well with the storms last night and this morning…we had some intense thunder…glad to hear you are ok. I’m enroute heading to New Haven CT where I’ll get train to New London 4 ferry! My ferry arrives around 8 p.m.! Can’t wait to toast our first g&t!

§ 2:36 Moon to Liz: Sounds like we’ll get there about the same time. Mike & Andy got in middle of the night so they will be around. Al & Patty are way behind us. See you soon. Can’t wait!

· 2:27 pm, Moon to Dad: Hi dad! We ran into some rain last night & storms this am but all’s well. We r 25 miles from marker & expect to be in Block by evening. Xo

o Dad to Moon: Sorry about the rain. Sounds like you’re making good time. Once I resigned myself to a storm and realized there wasn’t anything I could do about it I found it interesting. Remember, try & stay off the noon news on tv.

· 2:40 pm Moon to Bent: Liz just texted. She is enroute: ferry to arrive at 8 pm. Keep a lookout for her. Al & Patty stayed in ac last night. See u guys soon. En shallah.

And then there were two…

2012-06-25T17:00:00.000-04:00

One of the hardest things about putting together any race, rally, raft-up is getting everyone’s schedules to mesh and then hoping nothing goes wrong. Unfortunately even the best-laid plans go awry and all the boats we thought were coming on the rally dropped off one by one before we left the dock on Saturday morning. Finally, by Monday afternoon, Al & Patty texted to say that they were not going to continue on the way to Block Island. After alternator issues, and seeing the storms, they opted to stay put in Atlantic City for the rest of their vacation.

· 2:20 pm, Moon to Full Circle: We ran into some rain last night & storms this am but all’s well. We r 25 miles from marker & expect to be in Block by evening. Hope all’s well there.

· 2:42 pm Full Circle to Moon: Thank god. We were worried the storms looked so bad.

· 4:04 pm Moon to Full Circle: Yeah it wasn’t too bad. What about u guys? How far did u get? Everything still working? Be safe!

· 4:07 pm Full Circle to Moon: We r anchored in ac and the storms just stopped some were bad. We are not coming to block island we r going to hang out here. Have fun be safe.

· 4:22 Moon to Full Circle: Totally bummed to hear that. Put Al on! Just kiddin’! If that works for u guys…Just have fun~ that’s all that matters! Keep us posted if u change yr minds!

· 4:26 pm Full Circle to Moon: I know. Sorry we will let you know if things change. This is happening for a reason. We love you guys.

· 4:34 Moon to Full Circle: Right back atchas! Peter is napping~ when he wakes up he may try to work on Al! In the end u gotta do yr own thing! Just make sure to have FUN!

The thing is, they couldn’t have known it then but they actually wound up experiencing weather far worse than what we encountered on the way up. We missed having them there at Block Island and we all would have had a lot more fun if they’d have made it…hopefully next time…

THE STORM

2012-06-24T16:53:00.000-04:00

That Sunday afternoon found us sailing up the New Jersey coast to Block Island. As afternoon turned into evening, I took my watch at the helm and about an hour into my watch, the rain began. Just a soft rain, but I threw all the cockpit cushions down below and ducked out of the rain. Perched next to the computer with the AIS-assisted plot charter, I was listening for alarms, popping my head up in the companionway every 15 or 20 minutes to look out, and trying to stay awake.

Peter took over his watch sometime around four am and unlike the previous night there were no emergencies—no boat flooding with water, no bilge and auto-pilot switches accidentally bumped off. No incidents to report whatsoever.

A few hours later when I woke up, it was light out and it was still raining. I looked out at Peter. He was having fun. He had on his yellow rain jacket, his old one from West-Marine with the rip in the shoulder showing the navy blue lining, yellow hood pulled up to his steel-rimmed square glasses, cinched under his beard. He was wet, but smiling. I stood on the companionway steps to look out and saw how windy it was. The wind was blowing the tops of the waves off! It looked like the waves were raining on themselves. I struggled to remember the Beaufort scale and where lopped-off waves fell on that scale. I kept pointing to everything like the flag flap-flapping and snapping in the breeze. At sea, a storm of any degree always instills awe and I was amazed and a little scared of the power of the wind and waves.

With the flag blowing to the port side of the boat, I knew the wind was coming from the east as we close-reached on a starboard tack to Block Island. We were feeling pressed for time—we wanted to be in Block well before sunset to be able to see to navigate the opening and also to anchor. Peter always says it’s no good going into a place at night—it’s part practical know-how, part superstition on his part, but I’ve learned to trust his instincts. With friends awaiting us, we knew if we didn’t get in there by nightfall, we might not get in until the next morning and we’d be missing out on fun. Although we didn’t have cell phone service out there, we guessed Mike and Andy were probably already in Block Island and Liz was due to arrive by train that evening. We were still five or six hours away if everything went to schedule.

With our time schedule dictating the course north east, and the wind coming from the east, and the swell pressing in to shore from the southeast, the angle of the waves was making the ride uncomfortable.

Peter recounts his watch saying that as we closed in on Long Island the breeze was building. The closer to land we got, the rougher it was because it shoals up and the seas stack up, making for steeper waves. The wind getting bigger and bigger and bigger. It was not a dramatic sky at that point—the clouds were even showing signs of breaking up over toward the East and we were hopeful that it would clear up before long.
Gradually, the sky got greyer and greyer. It didn’t feel like a big system (to Peter!), but the breeze was building. As we closed in, 60 miles down Long Island, 15 or 20 miles off shore, Peter, ever the quiet, stoic captain, did not share what he later said he was thinking: “Fuck, this is big.”

The wind was blowing hard from the east. Peter shouted over the wind, “Which way you think that’s blowing?” pointing to the mass of black clouds. I shouted back with a laugh, “I don’t know! I was just thinking the same thing. The wind is blowing…that way,” I motioned to the flapping flag, “…it should be blowing it away from us right?” But within minutes, we had the answer—it was coming fast towards us and we knew we were in for a bit of an uncomfortable ride. We later admitted that we were both thinking, “Oh shit that’s coming right at us.”

I ducked down below and flipped the knob on the VHF radio. We heard lengthy weather warnings including: “Small craft advisory in effect” and “Mariners should seek safe harbor immediately.” Following were the warnings telling when the storm would arrive to Ocean, Monmouth, Suffolk counties, and so on. But not knowing the geography of Long Island's counties, it was hard to know which storm we were looking at, how many storms there were, how fast this one was moving and where it would be next.
We talked about running into Shinnecock Inlet—it was between that and standing off shore. Maybe it was better to go into Long Island than to spend all night running off shore in the opposite direction, putting more miles between us and our friends in Block Island.

As I reached for the cruising guide down below, Peter considered the big questions from the helm: How long is this gonna last? Is it a series of small storms or a series of big ones, or one big one and after it passes, we can run up to Block Island? I located the South Shore of Long Island section of the cruising guide and paging through it found, “Shinnecock Inlet shoals every time a strong storm blows through and is subject to extreme tidal currents. Don’t attempt passage without up-to-the-minute local knowledge.” I continued reading until I saw “look for the deepest water between the inlet’s east and west breakwaters.” I shouted up to Peter, “I’d rather be out here and uncomfortable than bust up the boat on some jetty.” He nodded at me wordlessly. The thunder storms were still about 40 miles west of us, moving East down Long Island at about 15 mph. We still had a couple of hours til it got to us. We still had a couple hours to get out of the path and run out.

It was becoming clear that it was more important to be comfortable, to be safe than to get to Block Island on time. We turned and ran south on a broad reach away from land, away from the storm. Each passing minute feeling good that we made the right choice. Our boat, The Moon, loves to sail into the waves and she felt sturdy, doing what she was built to do, riding each wave up and down, the wind chasing behind us.

Now the only thing to consider was how long this storm would last and how long we would have to hold this course. If it’s a huge system we stand off shore all night, or a cell and we run to Block Island.
I left Peter to ponder that in the cockpit. The reading down below made me feel sea sick and this newly familiar pattern of queasiness followed by pounding raw headache threatened. I ate saltines, sipped a rum and ginger ale and tucked into the sea berth for a snug little nap.

It’s hard to capture that feeling of a summer storm, a cloudy day, on the boat, the apprehension of what might come. Time becomes totally irrelevant. All that really matters is Peter and me and the boat and nothing really exists outside of that world. You feel so all alone floating on the sea—getting knocked about by the waves—and yet strangely secure.

Peter reports that it wasn’t that bad in the end. There was one big cell that blew through. After a bit the clouds blew through. We turned around and pointed toward Block Island.

Status updates via texts

2012-06-23T21:03:00.000-04:00

Keeping tabs either by cell phone texts or on the VHF radio when distance allows...

The Moon:

· 4:43 pm I text to everyone, “Hey all. We got a late start. Shaking things out here. Prob about 3 to 4 hrs behind al & patty. What time did mike & andy leave? We’ll monitor 16, 13 & 69.”

Bent:

· 4:48 p.m., Mike writes, “We r off Avalon. Picked up spin run in lower bay went close around cape may jibed once went to genoa currently close reaching on way to Atlantic city 23 miles away. Probably will go in if wind dies. Currently doing over 7 in 14 apparent.”

Full Circle:

· 6:53 p.m. Al and Patty text, “We are in cape may for the night.”
· 7:02 p.m. mike and andy are in atlantic city or they may have kept going. Where r u?

The Moon:

· 8:11 pm I write to all, “We stopped in DE City for some hose & ice. Ran into Terry & Ron there. Had a great visit! Hope you are all having a great night! Where is everyone?

Bent:

· 9:54 p.m. Mike reports, “We were going to go into ac but it was such a nice night we decided to push on. looks about 150 or so to go. Had a great sail all day today. Rounded cape may w/ breeze and chute jibed once and eventually went to 150 close reached in 12 to 14 w/ gusts to 17 in flat water.”

On the importance of ice and other essentials

2012-06-23T19:52:00.000-04:00

As we left Philadelphia, we decided that despite our stores of dry ice and block ice and all our frozen items, we didn’t have a single cube of ice for a soda or a gin & tonic.

Over the past few weeks, as we discussed preparations and new improvements to the boat, finally realizing we wouldn’t get them all done, we needed a solution to our sans-refrigeration Tartan. As a classic sailboat from the 70s, refrigeration was not an option and previous owners did not make the upgrade. The Tartan does have a nifty cockpit ice box compartment in which we keep a few cases of soda cans and usually load up with six or more bags of cube ice, but exposed to sun and air, it isn’t very cool. We battled the quick-melting ice cube method all last summer and decided we needed a smarter approach this year.

After doing some research, we decided that we would try the DRY ICE approach. Our friend Mike offered to pick up a block or two for us on his way over from New Jersey along with block ice which is hard to find here in Philadelphia. Mike picked up our coolers on Thursday and returned them on Friday afternoon, full of dry ice and block ice. In fact there was little room for any food in the coolers! We turned one cooler into a freezer—the critical point about dry ice is that it evaporates with exposure to air so the less often you open the cooler, the longer the dry ice will last—and in that cooler we sandwiched in all the vacuum packed frozen meat packets (chicken, steaks, fresh chorizo, pork chops) next to a big chunk of dry ice and a block of regular ice. The other thing I’d read about dry ice is that it will freeze everything in the cooler. So in the smaller cooler, we had just one block of dry ice but no room for anything else at that point. The nifty cockpit ice box compartment is not a good place for dry ice and unfortunately we had not planned a stop for bags of cubed ice. With the departure already delayed by storms and oversleeping, we just ignored it.

After getting underway and realizing the warm sodas, the lack of ice cubes and the next stop 50 hours away would make for some disagreeable crew, Peter conceded to plan to stop in Delaware City.

After getting everything stowed away in its proper place…

I tackled the formidable quarter berth in order to organize our little home away from home…

Once I started moving tools, life vests, sail bags and the swim ladder, I discovered a small problem. Without panicking, I called to Peter in the cockpit to say that something seemed amiss, not wanting to admit that I’d found hoses spraying from all sides somewhat resembling a fountain in both looks and sounds—wshhhhhhh!

After checking out the source of the leak, Peter said we had so many stores on-board that the stem through-hulls were below the water line for the first time, forcing the seldom-used hoses into service. The hose proved to be old and spongy—Peter could put a finger through them. We moved the cases of water and gin to the bow of the boat and were able to get the through-hulls above the waterline, but a fix would be needed before too long. Good thing we had a stop planned!

As we motored into the infamous Delaware City Marina (we’d all spent too much time there a few years ago salvaging a friend’s sunken boat and had sworn off a return at any price…except ICE oh and a hose leak that matched Love Park’s fountain!), we thought we saw a familiar mast, then it was the hull, could it be….yes, we saw the blonde head pop up out of the companionway and we knew it was Terry and Ron on Golden Echo! Terry and Ron had been our dock neighbors for years until they retired and moved on. It was great to run into them unexpectedly—they were there doing some work on their boat, getting ready for their next trip.

Delaware City was hot, buggy and the electricity was out, but the staff of the marina treated us like old friends. Somehow our arrival there marked the beginning of vacation and we felt the cruiser vibe take over, foretelling the pace of our whole vacation. We pulled up to the dock, hopped off, hugged Terry and Ron and then all went hose shopping in the marina store. After jokes from the harbormaster about charging Philadelphia prices since the computerized price checking system was not working in the electrical outage, Terry and Ron offered to put the equipment on their bill (the credit card machine was out of order too!) so we could be on our way.

We bought five bags of ice and invited Terry and Ron back to the cockpit for gin & tonics. The salon was in total disarray now that we couldn’t store anything in the quarter berth, but there’s one thing about sailboat friends: they never see the mess and instead focus on the gimbaled mechanism on the stove and tell stories about mishaps and hard won solutions. Over cocktails, we caught up on tales from our honeymoon sailing in the Grenadines and their winter cruise through the Chesapeake (these are not the usual in-search-of-tropics sailors, instead they both prefer cooler temps and dream of cruising as far north as they can go). As the drinks ran low and the gossip slowed down, we knew we had to get going. We were off again, motor-sailing to get out the mouth of the bay and head up to Block Island.

Meal #1:

2012-06-23T15:35:00.000-04:00

Spanish-inspired tapas with a bit of Italian bubbly

This is one of the meals that has the longest shelf-life but is always one of our first meals because it’s so irresistible.

Our usual boat tapas line up: Jamon de Serrano, marconi almonds, cheeses, artichoke hearts, a can of olives preferably stuffed with anchoas (which Peter likes but you can’t tell him they’re anchovies in English because he doesn’t eat anchovies!), and any other little extras you feel like adding. If I have stale bread, I make pan con tomate out of it by rubbing garlic on the bread and then smooshing tomatoes and drizzling olive oil. If not, a nice cheese cracker will do.

Here, the Italian flare is accentuated by pecorino romano cheese (a very nice hard cheese that would last a long time if we didn’t use it for salads and dinners and…) as well as some arugula. If you’re feeling more Italian, prosciutto and regular olives would make fine understudies.

Wait…we forgot the cherries! They went nicely with the manchego.

Bring out the Bubbly

All this is accompanied by cava if we’re being strictly Spanish or in today’s case, a leftover bottle of prosecco I didn’t want to leave sitting in the fridge at home.

Any bubbly helps make it feel like a celebration and we always save a little for The Moon, a nod to the seafaring tradition of sharing libations with the boat and the sea.

When we opened up this very bubbly bottle (the cork read “Life is a Bubble”) it spilled out so Moon got her sip first!

Cruising up the New Jersey Coast

2012-06-23T12:00:00.000-04:00

Peter’s watch saw us past Cape May in the early morning hours and all morning we cruised north-east toward Block Island, past all the seaside towns marked by amusements, water towers and the high rises of Atlantic City.

Off-shore Preparations

2012-06-22T11:53:00.000-04:00

The best time to get something done on a boat is when you’re getting ready to go on a trip. Somehow the motivation and the timeline kick us into high gear.

Getting Ready

VIEW SLIDE SHOW

DOWNLOAD ALL

After a busy spring, and sailboat chores supplanted by Day Sailer chores (yes, we’ve increased our fleet to three boats, not including dinghies!), we had a lot of work to do before going off shore, before spending any quality time on the sailboat.

When school got out, I spent the first several days catching up on house chores while Peter got started on some of his projects. Peter’s list: rebuild v-berth, uninstall old holding tank, install new one, install AIS system, install refrigeration, the list keeps growing. My list: clean the sailboat inside and out, provision and get all the little “necessities” that make a trip feel like vacation.

I write this as we motor-sail to Block Island with Peter still finishing his list!

We decided not to rush the refrigeration as it’s an involved job so that was off the list early in the week. That meant provisioning would have to be either items that do not require refrigeration or another solution.

Items that work well on a sailboat without refrigeration: apples, oranges, cabbage (not lettuce), potatoes, onions, garlic, hard boiled eggs, beef jerky, hard cheeses (Gouda, Manchego, Pecorino…), those cured meats that Europeans have on their counters or hanging from the ceiling (Chorizo, Jamon de Serrano, Prosciutto…). And of course, there’s dry grains and canned goods (chili, tuna, artichokes, tomatoes, beans...). Canned goods are used after fresh foods, but I’ve come up with some pretty tasty combinations that are my go-to meals on the boat: Mediterranean Tuna & Chick Pea Salad and my chili always get high ratings.

Because we love to have good fresh meals, at anchorage and while moving, and because fishing seems like such a violent way to have dinner--at least in theory as we've never actually caught one!--I decided to experiment with dry ice this time. I asked the butcher to put meat items in vacum sealed bags and then froze them. The dry ice is in one cooler which is acting like a freezer—you only open it once or twice a day and everything in there is still frozen solid. I am defrosting chicken breasts now for dinner.

Provisioning also means enough fresh drinking water—I figure on a gallon a day and then know I’ll pick up some along the way if need be. (Hint: individual Nalgene bottles help us monitor water intake to ward off dehydration!) Soda is not normally in my fridge at home, but on the boat, a ginger ale or coke is a welcome treat. Other drinks include: Gin & Tonics and Rum & Ginger ale (w/ a dash!)—for cocktails at anchorage—and wine in red & white for good meals.
The necessity of ginger ale cannot be overstated! In addition to ginger ale, any boat I’m on needs saltines. I’m not plagued by actual seasickness but it’s peaked up the companionway at me a few times and as a result I always stock these two items. This trip, I found Trenton Oyster Crackers and as long as the horseradish lasts, we feel like we’re at the Oyster House in Philly! Any plain dry cracker will do a lot to chase away the queasies. On a recent tip, I also stocked ginger chews, just in case.

So with everything well-stocked, we left the dock and have been working ever since to get it all stowed away before we hit big waves. Everything is now in it’s place—the cans in the galley locker, the fruits and vegetables on the shelf, the coolers tucked under a comforter…Oh! and there’s a watermelon in the chain locker—thanks to Lin Pardey’s hint. I plan to read her book while I’m out here for more good ideas about stowing away provisions (wine in the bilge?) and general cooking underway tips.

I think part of being a good team on the boat is being a good team for preparations. Peter builds, installs electronics and fine tunes sailing hardware, while I look for the sturdiest cheeses and prewash produce. It works!

Summer Solstice Rally to Block Island

2012-06-21T10:03:00.000-04:00

The Plan

Meet in Block Island for drinks at The Oar.

The Rally Defined

A rally by definition is not a race, but rather “a get-together of hobbyists or other like-minded enthusiasts, primarily to meet and socialize (dictionary.com). In sailing circles it often indicates a group of sailors who plan to go to the same place at roughly the same time. The energy of the group keeps everyone on target.

There’s a truism that I’ve seen and experienced first hand: you’re never ready, you just have to go. I’ve seen people work on their boats and work on their boats and never leave the slip. I’ve argued heatedly with Peter about leaving our slip with the boat in total disarray. But it’s true, you just have to leave and you can do some of the work on the way and some of it just doesn’t matter. It’s important to just GO!

Click here to listen to this great SUMMER song!

“Don’t you think it’s high time that you sailed away? Leave today, don’t fall behind!” (lyrics from “Summertime” heard Thursday on WXPN).

Our Rally Lineup

Peter and I in The Moon; Mike and Andy on Mike’s boat, Bent; Al and Patty on their boat, Full Circle; Liz by train and ferry; and Pat and Jim, a few sailing friends of Mike’s possibly joining in their boats

Go Time

We all planned to leave sometime Friday evening at first, but then violent storms delayed the start for all. Peter and I, exhausted from the surge of work done in preparation for the trip, decided to get a few hours sleep. We planned to wake up at 3 and leave, but at 7 a.m. when the sun woke us up, we knew we'd overslept and we still had a few things to do.

We got off about 9:30 to get to the fuel dock and then started down the Delaware River. We guessed that Mike and Andy had left as soon as the storm cleared. Al and Patty left a message around 6 a.m. saying they were leaving so we knew we were not far behind them. We passed Pat’s boat on a mooring in Essington, letting us know he would not be coming. We were down to three boats and seven people on our way.

Updates were posted via text messages, phone calls and VHF radio chats. We were all looking forward to getting into Great Salt Pond in Block Island.

Daysailing through Spring

2012-05-25T10:55:00.000-04:00

This spring, Andy found a new toy. It wasn't long before Peter had to have one too!

First, we helped Andy & Julia bring their O'Day Daysailer down from Reading, PA. A few weeks later, we found one in New Jersey and they helped us bring that back. A few weeks later...

Photos of Daysailing through Spring

2 boaters rescued from Delaware River | Video | 6abc.com

Peter and Andy went sailing, racing their toys, one Friday in May. When I spoke to Peter on the phone from work, he didn't sound quite himself, but when I asked if everything was okay, he very non-chalantly told me "we flipped the boats" and I'm thinking like they did it intentionally or at least that they were playing around to find out how much it would take to flip them.

I later heard the story: they ran into a wall of wind--later reported to be 26 kts. Not gusting to 26 but just a wall of wind that they hit coming back up the river. They said next time they see this, they will turn the other way!! They both capsized at the same time. At least they were wearing their harness/life preservers.

Here's some footage from the noon news--my Dad never lets a chat or email go by now without ribbing us to "stay off the noon news" rather than what he used to say, "Remember to keep water under the keel."

2 boaters rescued from Delaware River | Video | 6abc.com

Montserrat—a final farewell

2012-01-20T08:08:00.000-05:00

St. Vincent & The Grenadines

2011-12-13T08:11:00.000-05:00

Still working on the story for our wedding and honeymoon. In the meantime, here's some photos:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150523126981357.432046.721021356&type=1&l=46ec3ddfae

Philadelphia Cup Regatta

2011-10-02T18:13:00.000-04:00

View Full Album

The Sea Wyf's Guide to Sailing: Making the most of summer

2011-09-26T11:54:00.000-04:00

The Sea Wyf's Guide to Sailing: Making the most of summer

Fall Racing Series

2011-09-23T18:00:00.000-04:00

Race #3

Peter puts out the email:

Wednesday night 6:30 PM start at the bridge with two courses, one short and one longer. Boats with a rating above 200 sail to Red 52 (a distance of 4.5 miles). Boats with a sub 200 rating sail to Red 54. We should all finish at roughly the same time(theoretically).

The only takers: Al & Patty on their way back home from a week's sailing trip plan to meet us at the bridge at 6:00. There is rain and a good deal of naysaying. Would they even get there on time? Finally we see the beautiful Westsail pause briefly at the bridge. By the time we hop in the cockpit and begin to back out of the slip, they are in the marina. It is 6:15 and we face the start line alone.

The wind was non-existent and I took many photos.

View Full Album

Rainbow!

2011-09-15T18:44:00.000-04:00

View Full Album

Fall Racing Series

2011-09-14T23:54:00.002-04:00

Wednesday Night Race #2

(forgot camera)

Many beautiful moments captured only in my mind.

That blue and white striped tattered headsail fluttering in the slight evening breeze, the moon just beginning to wane rising on the horizon, the pilot boat slowing down to reduce his wake and wave to us.

The captain’s meeting was the setting of the plan—for the boat with the slower rating to go 'round the closer mark, for The Moon to go 'round the further mark and for all of us to meet up at the finish line.

A fun night for all followed by a late night long chat.

September's Full Moon

2011-09-12T21:25:00.001-04:00

It’s been five moons since we first saw our Moon.

View Full Album

Fall Racing Series: Wednesday Night Races begin!

2011-09-07T23:46:00.002-04:00

Race #1

We put the word out to get a fall racing series underway. Often the only way to motivate everyone to get out at the same time is a little healthy competition. Short-lived though the races are, they are the fodder for years of banter

The race began like most, under the Ben Franklin bridge. Only two boats, us on The Moon against a friend’s Hunter 37 with a crew of two No Libs boys and Peter’s brother Andy. After a few near misses, a run in with a tug boat, a slow drift down river the winning boat pulled over the finish line a boat’s length ahead.

More details later when time allows!

View Full Album

Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-06T14:42:00.003-04:00

At the close of the term on Saturday, we began planning some fun for the weekend.

Sunday Sail Upriver

Sailing north of the Delair Railroad Bridge, one sees a side of the Delaware River that is reminiscent of Lake George. We sailed a few hours and as it neared time to drop the hook, we looked into Dredge Harbor to find a spot next to what we call Heron Island. This has been a favorite spot since one Easter Sunday a few years ago when we were the sole witnesses to the nesting herons flying back and forth carrying twigs and passing them beak to beak like relay sticks as the mates built their nest together. Unfortunately Dredge Harbor was already packed with power boats and sailboats who got there first this holiday weekend. We continued looking for a place to take cover from the wakes of the tankers, tugs and barges that know no holiday. With waning light, we tucked behind the sandbar that has snagged us one too many times and found a quiet place to watch the sunset and have dinner.

The next morning, it was hazy and humid with the sun filtering through. We sailed back toward Philadelphia past the stately homes lining the river. This quiet stretch of the Delaware makes me feel transported to another place. We love to sail past the charming Riverside Yacht Club and look at the many sailboats bobbing in the mooring field or the lasers up on the racks ready to be put in for their chance at Wednesday night races. The Merit, an old sailboat Peter and his brother Andy owned years ago, is tethered to a mooring ball there and each time we go by, we check to see if it's still there.

View Full Album

Sailing to Philadelphia

Once under the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge the industrial side of the Delaware River becomes apparent. Tugs stand by to escort tankers in and out of docks or churn the water as they pass us on their way to the next job, reminding us that this is very much a working river.

View Full Album

As we move down the river, closer and closer to Philadelphia, the history of the city blends with the new development of the riverfront. Penn Treaty Park peaks out from behind the old PECO building with its rusting coal car railhead jutting out in the river. The park pays homage to the legend that William Penn stood here and met with the Leni Lenape to purchase land (not sure of the accuracy of this, but so the story goes). Nowadays the park serves as space for picnics, running, fishing and of course the Shad Fest every spring. Just past the trees, the year-old Sugar House casino recalls the sugar industry which once thrived on the river; sugar is a not-so-subtle theme in the casino’s architecture. The two tall reflective condo buildings built a few years ago mostly serve to get in the way of seeing City Hall (located west of the river by 15 blocks) where the statue of “Billy” Penn is dwarfed by the giants around him: the Comcast Center, both the Liberty Place towers, the Bell Atlantic building, and the Mellon Center stand out among the older stooped skyscrapers of earlier decades. Old and new commingle as my own history is written here and added to this city.

Post-Irene

2011-08-30T07:55:00.001-04:00

Weather is important—especially when it’s in the North East, it becomes a major media event. Also the coverage area of our local media includes communities that had good reason to prepare for a hurricane. In Philadelphia, we were only expecting a Tropical Storm, but multiple forecasts threatened sustained winds of 40-45 knots per hour with gusts up to 60-65. For peace of mind we prepared for the worst and hoped for the best.

Friday

Although the sun was shining Friday afternoon, our office closed early as a show of support for Mayor Nutter’s preparedness plan. Knowing all that we had to do, I was happy to take advantage of the extra hours. Stopping at the market, I stocked up on staples. The grey clouds had set in by the time I got across the Market Street bridge. I ran into a marina friend, baby strapped on, and asked what their plans were. She told me she and the baby would wait out the storm in the safety of a friend’s house while her husband tended to the boat in the storm.
The men in the marina had spent the last few days denying any concern, shoving their hands in their pockets. “It’s just another storm.” That they happened to be right in the end is happenstance and little more.
Once home, I began working on the sailboat. The marina guidelines said “remove all canvas” which matched my Dad’s advice. He warned that even a slight gap in the roller furling could create windage. I took off the dodger and bimini which prompted Peter to grumble that he would have just tied them down. Together we took off the mainsail and headsail and stuffed them into the sailboat.

Saturday

The next morning clouds hung heavy in the sky. By afternoon the rain began and the wind picked up. Gusts were now predicted at 55 kph. Friday evening’s argument was resolved: if the value of staying was the ability to respond to any problems, then being over-prepared to deal with them quickly and safely was paramount. We spent the next several hours cleaning up anything that might blow and eventually moved our plants inside. I had an evacuation bag ready, life jackets and a flood light on the boat, extra lines a hand’s reach away. We took stock and decided that everything was replaceable except our laptops and my teaching portfolio which I moved to storage. We settled in for a night of wind and rain, ready to respond to trouble, fix a broken line or evacuate if needed.

Sunday

Thankfully we only saw sustained 20 kph wind with the highest gust getting up to 37. We were fine. The wind and rain continued through morning and we saw sun late that afternoon. The worst part is the inconvenience of having to hank back on sails so we can get out to enjoy the beautiful weather that always follows a hurricane.

View Full Album

Irene

2011-08-26T11:10:00.002-04:00

All anyone is talking about is Hurricane Irene.

Updates

As of 11:00 a.m. The National Weather Service (NOAA) issued the latest bulletin. As the Bahamas discontinues their warnings, we on the East Coast, particularly places near the water, are on alert as watches and warnings are extended. A Hurricane Warning has just been extended northward in the Chesapeake to Drum Point.

Defining the Terminology

According to the NOAA website:

Hurricane warning
Hurricane conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area.

Issued 36 hours before the anticipated first occurrence of tropical-storm-force winds...conditions that make outside preparations difficult or dangerous. Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion.

Tropical storm warning
Tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area within 36 hours.

Hurricane watch
Hurricane conditions are possible within the watch area.

Issued 48 hours before the anticipated first occurrence of tropical-storm-force winds...conditions that make outside preparations difficult or dangerous.

Preparing to Ride out the Storm

The closest I’ve come to a hurricane so far was when I first arrived in Trinidad and Hurricane Ivan brushed by east of Tobago—of course it hit Grenada, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cuba and Alabama—but we were lucky to only see high winds and some rain. Nothing too dramatic. Peter witnessed Arlene passing right over him as he returned to the US after a year long sailing trip. These experiences make us a little less nervous than most people, but we still plan to be fully prepared.

After a close eye on the NOAA and Weather Underground websites, the prevailing prediction for Philadelphia is that we will see more of the Tropical Storm conditions considering that the Hurricane is predicted to be downgraded to a Category 1 by the time it reaches the Delmarva Peninsula and we are a good 50 miles inland.

Peter will take all our sails and canvas off and secure everything outside that might be carried away by the winds. Our emergency readiness is something I maintain on the sailboat at all times: flashlights, batteries, first aid kit, canned foods. We probably have enough to bug-out at a moment’s notice and live for three or four weeks!

We’ll prepare for the worst, but hope for the best. Updates in the next post!

In the meantime…Dark & Stormy anyone?

Here’s my version of Rum & Ginger Ale

Squeeze juice of one lime into a 1 Qt pitcher Add Sailor Jerry’s or a good dark Caribbean Rum (Cruzan, Appleton’s, etc. Pyrat is too good for this drink!)
Dash or two of Angostura bitters (this makes the drink—don’t even attempt it without!)
Fill pitcher 1/2 way with ginger ale, stir allowing bubbles to mix and infuse the drink. This is essential to a good drink!
Fill pitcher with remaining ginger ale Serve over ice; garnish with either a lime slice or a bing cherry (as shown) if they are in season.

Block Island: Andiamo!

2011-08-23T07:46:00.016-04:00

Having heard about Block Island numerous times, I was prepared to love it, but nothing prepared me for the magic!

Getting There

View Full Album

Our 2010 trip from Philadelphia to Block Island, down Long Island Sound through Hell Gate to New York City and back home was my first time offshore. We left Philadelphia July 3^rd and motor-sailed down the Delaware River and Bay rounding Cape May lighthouse entering the ocean the evening of July 4^th.

That evening as the waves rolled and the last blue-violet light of day clung to the horizon, I looked up at the sky and began to see stars emerge. There were so many they looked like fireworks standing still. They glowed and shone in twinkling rhythm, the vast blue sky steady behind them. As darkness fell over the ocean, I could barely make out the lights of land. Then fireworks flashed like brake lights in traffic. They flashed up and down the Jersey coast in all the seaside towns where people went to celebrate Independence Day. The vastness of that night, my first night offshore cannot be captured.

By evening of the second day, we had Montauk in sight and shortly after, Mohegan bluffs on the south shore of Block Island.

Arriving at anchorage

View Full Album

Coming into Salt Pond, the Coast Guard Station on the right stood watch as the sun set. Looking for a place to anchor, I was astounded by the number of boats anchored. We motored past row after row finally finding a place to set down the hook. It was late--we were happy to sleep.

To Do

View Full Album

It was late morning when we woke. Around noon we took a water taxi up to The Oar for a lunch of gin and tonics and seafood. There we met a man who began describing the place where he’d recently bought his sailboat and we realized he was describing our home marina! We had that small-world coincidence feeling that told us we were in the right place at the right time.

We began to wander the two miles into town, stopping to take pictures and pick up a few supplies. We found Block Island Depot, a grocery with some choice provisions. Looking for propane tanks, we stopped next at Island Hardware store. Then we worked our way into town finally reaching Sachem Pond.

Only on Block Island

The next morning, I awoke to a voice far off calling out. As it neared I heard An-di-AHHMMM-OOOOO, An-di-ahhmm-o! It was Aldo’s Bakery boat motoring up to those who hailed him either on the VHF or from the cockpit. As the boat approached our cockpit, we saw a spread of danish, muffins, breads, coffee and juices. I pointed to peach muffins which were carefully handed up to us with coffee. We also stocked up on bread: Challah and Italian.

It was time to go, but with plenty more to do in Block Island we have good reason to return.