Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Thoughts and prayers

So sorry for fellow sailors, the Andersons.


Sail on Jan.
Her last words are here.

Both Deb and I will have a quality harness before we sail next season.
Sailing Anarchy has some words.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Safety in numbers?

The NARC rally for cruisers ran into some extreme weather on their way to Bermuda. Unfortunately a life was lost, and three vessels abandoned. I have read where the organizer is blaming the weather guru they hired, and the weather guy is blaming the organizer. I had thought of going on one of these rally's at one time, thinking there is safety in numbers, and I guess that's true if you had a breakdown, or were taking on water etc., and were in relatively calm conditions. When the weather gets really bad, as it did, I imagine it's every man for himself. As much as you would want to help someone, you have to consider the safety of your own crew and vessel. Not sure how close the other boats were to helping the distressed vessels, but how could they possibly assist in those horrible conditions? There is coverage of the NARC here, and a Boat Bits has something to say about rally's.

I mentioned we went on a cruise to Bermuda, well, we were out there at the time these boats were in trouble, and I can tell you that the view from the port in our cabin was humbling. There was no way in hell I would want to be out there in that mess in anything under 200 feet long. The video from our cabin  does not give you a true feel for the conditions. You really need to hear and feel the boat shudder, and this was one big ass ship. Imagine a 35-45 foot sailboat out there.



We were in 50+ knot winds, and 25 foot seas. I sat in the cabin, looking out at the sea wondering how I might react in conditions like this. Well, I better buy a really good autopilot, and some adult diapers.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

We've been framed.



Tomorrow, I expect there will be a cover up.

I wanted to run the engine for a while, in order to change the oil, so I went looking for a water source. Around the marina there are water spigots, that tap into a natural spring down the road. The nearest in one direction was about 300 feet away. Too far. How about the other direction?

While looking along the shoreline, I saw this:



Scared the hell out of  me! I did not see it until I was pretty damn close. I stared at it for a sec, wondering if it would move. Just hanging out tryin to dry off bub. Whatchu lookin at?
Deb wanted to know if it was sleeping. Yep, I  heard it snoring. They all do that about mid-day.

On the walk back to the boat, a feral cat walked up to me crying, and acting very unfriendly. Creepy times in the boatyard. We packed it up, and I'll be back tomorrow to party with the sleeping groundhog, or beaver, but I'm avoiding the attack kitty.