July 11 24 To The Departure on the Harlem YC Summer Cruise

Two days of shopping, cooking and enjoying a dinner at our house. Not a sailing activity except that Bennett and Harriet was one of the three invited couples.  Menu included a cold stewed stone fruit soup, salade nicoise and a linser torte ala mode. And all was delicious; if I do say so myself.

We spent a four day weekend up in the Berkshires during which the only remotely watery related item was during the second half of the Alonso King Lines Ballet Companys performance at Jacobs Pillow Dance Theater. The work was called Biophony and the "music" consisted of the recorded sounds of wild creatures from around the world. The third of the eight sections was called Mare Nostrum (Our Sea, I think) and was danced to the sound of "Ocean waves, humpback whales, fish and killer whales."  A stretch to relate this to sailing but its all I have.

A day of work: featuring the plastic cockpit enclosure panels, which were fitted together with snaps by Junior of Doyle Sails. I have left the aft three panels attached and rolled up at the top of the bimini, out of the way and ready to roll down. The two forward panels, which hang from the connector between the bimini and the dodger, together with that connector, are rolled up and stored in the aft cabin. I also topped off the seven batteries which drank about a quart of distilled water and made arrangements to get the lettering for the "licence plates" for the dink. And some cleaning -- four hours total.

Lene and I sailed one lovely Sunday afternoon for about three hours with Christine and Heather, the young women who were with us in Miami last winter, followed by dinner with them at the Club where I came to appreciate how talented our caterer is. I hope we Harlemites can eat there with guests often enough this summer so Anne can make a living. We actually only sailed back, having motored to off Sands Point where the girls went for a dip in the sea. I did not lower the dink but loosened the band cinching it securely against the ILENEs stern so they were able to climb the ladder and slither up into the boat from the sea from under the dink. This worked fine in moderately calm waters though I do not think it could be done safely in big seas.

I went to the Club for the Old Salts event both Wednesdays, but the first of them we were confronted with the strong threat of rain and no wind. So while I enjoyed the food and the camaraderie, there was no sailing.

 But the other Wednesday was a peak sailing day, clear skies, little traffic and good winds in the teens from the NW. I sailed with Richie, his brother, and three of their friends, while Mark sailed four of the regulars on "Deuce of Hearts." And everyone came over to IWe went out into the Sound to the far end of hart island. And everyone came over to ILENE for the after-sail libation. This was our largest outing of the summer so far -- eleven participants. I will miss the next two Wednesdays, being on  the Club Cruise.

The last day before that Cruise I sailed with Anne and her friend, Janet. I tried a new experiment in dragooning crew or lets call them sailing companions: I put up a poster in the gym in our apartment house (300 apartments) offering a sign up sheet for free sailboat rides. I was taken aback at the underwhelming response and next time will do a better job of advertising. But we had a great afternoon in much the same wind as the Old Salts enjoyed, but a little less of it. My new friends were content to not experience the effect of the genoa so we moved slowly and they had a good time. I would say that we "beat" up Hart Island Sound except that beating somehow suggests stronger winds; so lets just say we "patted" up the Sound, and around. Some wine and then dinner at the Lobster Box because their hearts were set on lobster, which was not on our clubs menu that night.

The Friday before the start of the Cruise was devoted to packing and transporting and loading the stuff for sixteen days away-- including the kitties and their stuff.
Well needless to say, we forgot a few things, including the Wifi device needed to right these blog posts. And the Club wants one per day for the Cruise if possible.

But we were there in the early evening and I was pleased to sail with Mike and Sandy (Old Salt regulars) and their niece, Alissa, aboard "Pas de Deux". We did no worse than and of the other ten boats that circled slowly near the starting line. This is because after a delay to wait for some wind to come up, the race had to be cancelled. But no one seems too upset by that development:

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Our Part in the Harlem Yacht Club Cruise of 2014

Sunday Aug 3 - Work Day on the Mooring

The Club Cruise ran from Aug 1 to 10 but ILENEs part became five nights and five days, with three nights with the main contingent of the Club Cruise in Mattituck and the Seatauket YC on the North Shore of Long Island. I worked four hours the day before we got started. I found the missing green washer for the dinks air pump -- under the dink and made some progress on pumping it up, but it is not right yet. But we will be on anchor, on dock or on a mooring with launch service for this entire mini-cruise so the dink will not needed. So I moved the outboard from the cars trunk, the gas tank from the boat and the air pump from the dock -- all three to the locker with the oars I found located there buried under the winter covers. Also, I am not putting the water maker into service until we leave for the winter -- unless the manual says it cant remain pickled for a whole year. Id hate to foul up that expensive piece of machinery.

Other work included: (1) sawing the three pieces of veneered wood to close up the port aft cabinet to size, though installation requires return of our drill which was lent out; (2) cleaning birds mess off the dodger which needs more scrubbing. Actually is is not guano but fish guts, scales and bones -- birds being such messy eaters;

(3) attempting to knock out the booms thumb cleats, which was not successful, though I did learn that the first reefing line had been led through the forward part of the boom on the wrongside of the thumb cleat, which was what was causing the harm to the line. So by releading and repairing this line I may not have to do the knockout or replace the line; (4) locating and installing the hatch board bag and inserting the boards therein and installing the cafe doors. These doors put me psychologically into cruising mode. Im ready!

Mon August 4 - Prep Day and Sleep Aboard, Anticipating an Early Start

This was mostly a land day for prep, provisioning and packing. We loaded the car, including the cats, and arrived at the Club at 8:30 pm. After getting everything aboard and put away, we slept peacefully in calm water. This was the cats third trip to the boat this season and they did not complain about being locked in their stuffy carrier in the car. I think it is because they have associated the carrier with boating, which they seem to love. So much for my amateur feline psychiatry.

Whitty: "Do I look like Im worried"

Alphie: "Im Captain of all I survey"

Our efforts to keep out flying biting pests at night was thwarted by the cats ability to "break and enter" by pushing in the screens covering the small side opening ports. They want free rein of ILENEs cabin AND exterior, 24/7. But if we close these ports, the screens cannot be pushed through and the cats have to elect between the two sides of the boat: in or out.

Tues August 5 - HYC to Port Jeff Cove

Underway at 7:00 am for six hours. It was eerily still with mist on the water that the sun had not yet burned off but fine visibility. We were the only boat moving. We waved to some fishermen on the Morris YC dock. By nine a.m. there were a few other boats out but far away. We motored the entire way and never set a sail. Normally a sail will stabilize the boat against rocking but the seas were flat calm with occasional 2 or 3 knot winds, so rocking was not a problem. It was a day made for power boaters, who like flat seas, but not for sailors. Perhaps all that great wind in July has blown itself out and we will have to content ourselves with weak weather sailing conditions in August.  

Clouds and Northport stacks mirrored on the water

Our wake, if you can call it that, as if cut through oil

The last time I recall sailing with such views was crossing the Caicos Banks.  See blog: "Judy and Meridel and Turks and Caicos Part 1", April 3, 2012.

 We took someones mooring in the big cove to starboard just past the breakwater in Port Jeff, hoping the owners didnt show up that evening, but there are about seventy private moorings here and only five boats at the maximum. On a weekend its quite different. Lunch, a nap and then chores before dinner, reading and sleep.

My primary chore was removing, repairing and reinserting the first (red) reefing line. The strength of such a braided line is in its core. The outside, which we see, protects the core from chafing and makes it feel better in ones hands. The covering was all bunched around the two ends and about six feet of the white core, where it runs through the boom, were bare. So the first thing I did was to pull on the cover from the ends to the middle, over and over. Gradually the cover moved toward the middle until the bare spot was only about eight inches long. Then I sewed some light thread through the cover and the core, to try to hold things in place. Then red electrical tape was wound around the remaining exposed core. The reefing line certainly carries a heavy load. More experienced sailors who may think this is a bad idea, please chime in. Otherwise, time will tell if this red line parts, and if the storm is severe enough to do this to the red line, there is the second black reefing line waiting to take its load.

My other chore was installation of self adhesive rubber weatherstripping to the underside of the cover of the aft port lazarette -- the propane locker. Practical Sailor magazine told me that this compartment should be locked and watertight, except for a hole in the bottom, through which any propane that leaks from the tank, being heavier than air, could escape outside the boat. We have gotten some water in this lazarette, when heeled in the rain, because it was not watertight. Most of this water escaped through the hole in the bottom but its much better bone dry. The latch went on this past winter and now the weatherstripping.

August 6 - Port Jefferson to Mattituck

We hoisted the main at the mooring at about 8:30 but also used the engine to head north out of Port Jeff, through its wide channel, rather than tack in there. Then northerly winds made the next two hours of our 25 mile eastward passage something of a beam reach and the genoa got to play as well. With full sails, and a bit of help from the tides, we were making speed over ground in excess of two thirds of the apparent wind speed, averaging better than six knots, and without the engines noise. But starting at about 11:00 the winds dropped to behind us and in strength so we had to use the engine the rest of the way. There was a mess in the compartment under the cabinet under the galley sink, which I cleaned up while Lene maintained the watch. She also had the helm from the breakwater up the two mile long bending bayou-like creek to the dock at Strongs Marina. We did this at low tide which made for a nervous time. In the bayou the deep water is not in the center and at times was only five inches below the bottom of our keel. We were on the dock, across from "Blast," Ernie and Camilles big Albin trawler, by 1:30.

This was ILENEs first docking this year except for her initial watering. I worked the afternoon, washing the top of the boat, filling the port water tank and then I caused a very expensive stupid mistake -- by not following the advice I always give to Ilene. "Make sure that the deck fill hole into which you put the water hose says WATER".  Yes, I put the fresh water hose from the dock into the starboard fuel tank. Water being heavier than diesel, it went to the bottom of the tank and pushed a few gallons of diesel fuel out onto the deck and into the water before our neighbor, Bert, yelled that we were spilling fuel. Probably a few gallons, which subjected us to a potential fine and cleanup costs from the Department of Environmental  Protection. I mopped up what I could and did get to the marinas very nice pool to cool off a few minutes before its five PM closure time.

Im sure these guys didnt like my mucking up their home.

I think it was the anticipation of that dip which caused me to not be thinking about the right deck fill. A shower and dinner with our new friends, Bert and Margie of the fast powerboat "Blue Bell" from Mashpee, on the Cape and Florida. Dinner was at Paces Dockside, the restaurant on the marinas grounds. Bert bought a bottle of wine and shared it with me. And another good nights sleep before I had to face the music the next day.

August 7 - Lay Day in Mattituck

The morning was pleasant, with a walk into town to visit the hardware store, post office, book store, grocery, drugstore (for a postcard to send to my granddaughter), cheese store, and wine shop. But the afternoon entailed taking up the entire cabin sole to get to the top opening of the forward fuel tank (where the inoperative fuel gauge is inserted). That hole is inconveniently located directly under the one small piece of the sole that holds all the other pieces together. About 60 1.5" wood screws were removed. John is an excellent mechanic but took three very expensive hours to do what he could have done in a fraction of that time if he had been supplied with a stronger pump attached to larger diameter hoses. Out came the pink diesel fuel and the water, all told about 40 gallons, into five gallon cans which were poured into a fifty five gallon drum that was hauled off to an authorized hazardous waste disposal site. The pumping done, I shooed John out and put the boat back together again myself. Too late for that refreshing dip today. Instead the bitter pill of the bill. Lets just say with the replacement of forty gallons of diesel fuel my mistake cost north of one grand. And I have remarked how proud of myself I am when I accomplish a new task on the boat. So I better fess up about how rotten I feel about a stupid very costly mistake that harmed the environment. I know better and it wont happen again.

Dinner was a pot luck affair at a picnic table in the marina. This would have been better if we had had six or ten boatloads of folks. As it was there was us, Ernie and Camille from "Blast" and Marcia and Mark from "Leeds The Way". 

Marcia is the Clubs current Fleet Captain, a position I held for a few years and that Ernie held for more than 20 years before me.  We love cruising but can do it without the Club, such as our 93 days in Maine last summer. It is sad that those who could benefit from our experience do not avail themselves of this resource. Anyway, there was no shortage of good food and beverages among our tiny group.

August 8 - Mattituck to Seatauket YC, in Port Jefferson Harbor

Underway from 10 to 4:30. We tried to sail and actually did sail a few miles, close hauled, easterly, along the North Shore of L.I. But we tacked to a northerly course and stayed on it too long. Too long because the wind had shifted and we could no longer sail east so we gave it up, keeping the main up for stability and headed directly for the Port Jeff breakwater, with the wind directly in front of us. Turning south to enter the harbor, the wind helped us and we sailed to about 150 yards from the mooring field, headed into the wind, popped the main halyard clutch and expected to hear the familiar "whoosh" of the mainsail tumbling down into its bag. But no whoosh. I went to the mast to tug down on the sails luff. Nothing doing. I told Lene to head back out into the open part of the harbor and watch our depth and for other boats, like this ferry coming out,

while I would get into the bosns chair and she would haul me to the top of the mast (using the spinnaker halyard) where I planned to use pliers to unscrew the shackle and let the sail fall down. Luckily the wind was light, reducing both heeling and our speed. Lene said "Check the mast." Smart girl! Somehow, two loops of the end of the port lazy jack halyard had worked loose from their coil and in fact four lengths of this thinner line had become wedged between the main halyard and the housing of its block at the base of the mast. I managed to get the sail down by pulling the halyard through this block, a few inches and then feet at a time. Once the sail was down and stowed, we were able to take a guest mooring and then came the task of fixing the problem. First I cut the lengths, about 2.5 feet that stuck out from the block. Then I tried pulling the stuck bits out with pliers. I removed the block and its shackle from the base of the mast to make the work easier. Next it was knife, ice pick and pliers, trying to pluck fibers from the errant bits but this was very slow going.

Fluff

Notice how flattened these formerly jammed bits are compared to the width of normal line.

 (If anyone knows how I can get rid of the underlining below, which is unintended, please let me know, thank you.)

I thought to pull the main halyard out of the shackle in the direction I had pulled to get the sail down, to thereby relieve the pressure in the jam. But this would have required use of the snake, to get the line back through its channel under the deck after it was freed. The same snake used earlier on this voyage to repair the reefing line, had been put away in a safe place and could not be found. Lene is the one who always wants things to be put away and I should let her do the putting because she is better at the remembering. In any event, after diligent search, no snake. So another plan was needed. I noticed that the block seemed to be held together with three small Allen bolts and disassembled it. Then everything could be easily removed. A similar jamming had occurred in the block at the clew of the small jib during the passage from Providentiales in the Turks and Caicos to Mayaguana in the Bahamas. Some physicist is going to have to tell me about what force of magnetism draws small lines into the narrow spaces between larger lines and the housings of their blocks.

Free at last.

Roger, Mark, Ernie, Marsha, Lene and Camille -- after ice cream.

Dinner was at La Parilla, good Spanish food, followed by the traditional desert of the Harlem Cruise -- ice cream.

August 9 - Seatauket YC to Harlem YC

Port Jeff waterfront from our mooring; ferry docks to the right.

We got off the mooring at 7:45  and at 8:00. Huh? Well, Lene and I had a "failure to communicate." She did not hear me say "Reverse," to back away form the ball, and took my pointing out where the ball was as a direction to turn toward that side. We drove the boat over the mooring, getting its lines tangled on the propeller. So I got a refreshing early morning salt water dip and got us off in short order, without cutting any lines.  In the harbor we saw about five knots of wind from the north and hoisted the main in anticipation of a beamy starboard reach while we retraced the first days passage, in the opposite direction. We even set the genoa, a couple of times. But the wind died. This time, it being a Saturday, numerous wakes of large high horse-power floating big-ego machines roiled the surface so the main did serve its anti-rocking purpose. A rather boring passage and we were on our mooring at 2:20 and home in our apartment at 4. So, while a lot of things went wrong, everyone got home safely and a good time was had by all.

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