Laundry

Today is laundry day. We are in Oak Bluffs at the Washashore
laundrymat. Fortunately, there is a bar across the street.

Biking

The boys toured on bikes, while the girls went shopping. We had a fine
lunch at Zephrus, sitting next to the street. The weather is good, 70s
and no humidity, with a steady breeze.

Tomorrow's plan is to do laundry and the take the boat to the fuel
dock for water. We had a near disaster with the holding tank this
morning. It was filled to the top so we called in the mobile pumpout
boat. Empty holding tanks are a very good thing.

Maintenance

We noticed that the engine is overheating when we idle, but not when
running at cruising speed. This happened about 5 years ago and that
time it was caused by some kruft in the heat exchanger. I opened up
the exchanger end caps this morning and found some grit and some
calcification, so its all cleaned up now. We will monitor the engine
closely to make sure we have cured the problem.

Vineyard Haven

We decided early to make a run at Vineyard Haven, so we departed
Newport at 9:00 AM under gray skies with modest winds around 7 knots.
We sailed downwind in lumpy, rolly seas, but made progress. At first
we weren't making our course, but the wind shifted to the left and we
began to be able to sail directly to the mouth of Vineyard Sound. When
we arrived at the Sound, the wind obligingly shifted left again,
allowing us a beam reach up the sound and to Vineyard Haven. Near the
end the wind picked up to 15-18 knots and we saw boatspeeds as high as
8.5! We are moored now, preparing for dinner aboard.

Martha's Vineyard

We just arrive in Martha's Vineyard. Had an excellent sail, all the
way from Newport. More later...

Cutty Hunk

Since we don't plan to leave Newport until this afternoon, and
Martha's Vineyard is about 45 miles away, we are looking at stopping
at Cutty Hunk for the night. I'm not sure of cell service there, so
there's no guarantee that I will be able to post from there. Cutty
Hunk is the first island in the Elizabeth chain that separates
Buzzards Bay from Vineyard Sound. We were there once, 11 years ago,
and it is a small, quiet place.

Touring Newport

We went the Newport museum today, and then took a walking tour of some
of the residential areas. There many grand houses and then, of course,
there are the palatial mansions along the cliffs.

Later, we joined up with Frank's friend at the Newport Yacht Club for
cocktails. We then went to a seafood place in Middletown, just to our
north. We had excellent lobster, the first of this trip. We hope to
eat a few more of these tasty crustaceans before our trip is done.

We plan to have breakfast at the yacht club in the morning, and then
head out for Martha's Vineyard.

Newport Boats

We had a pleasant walk through town today and have returned to the
boat for dinner. In the harbor there are more, bigger, nicer boats
than anywhere else on the east coast. I have heard that Lauderdale
rivals this place, but I haven't seen that yet...

Just a few minutes ago the private sailing yacht of Jim Clark, of
Netscape fame, went by in the channel. "Athena" is 155 feet, with 3
masts, and unbelievable woodwork apparent everywhere. It must be good
to be a captain of industry.

There are hundreds of lesser, but extraordinary yachts here. There is
a very fine Little Harbor here, about 65 feet. My boat lust is at full
throttle now.

I just feel lucky to be in the scene.

Newport

We just arrived in Newport, and were shown to our mooring by the
dockmistress. Frank has connections up here, so we got the royal
treatment.

We plan to go ashore after lunch aboard.

Leaving Block Island

This morning we are preparing to leave Block Island. We will stow the
dinghy, go to the fuel dock, and then head out for Newport. We expect
5-10 knots from the NE this morning, then 10 knots from the SE.

Bicycling

Today we rented bikes and toured the island. Lots of quaint buildings.
We had an excellent lunch at Harry's Place.

Tomorrow we plan to sail over to Newport. Frank has a contact who is
going to hook us up with a mooring.

Storm story

This is a blog so things get posted backwards. Scroll down to "Details
of Tuesday Blow" and work you way back throught the 4 parts of this
story...

Tuesday Blow (part 4)

The thunderstorm came in fast with lots of lightning, breeze and rain.
Torrential rain! This only lasted a short while, and we could see the
storm cell's progress on our radar. The winds abated some, then
resumed, but the worst waves became rarer. We continued pressing along
on ourcourse, rolling constantly. By dawn the conditions were very
manageable, though still rolling. The waves became gradually smaller
and we had a beautiful day by the time we sighted Montauk and then
Block Island. We were tired but happy when we pulled into Block and
took a mooring.

--
Sent from Gmail for mobile | mobile.google.com

Tuesday Blow (part 3)

During the night the weather service issued severe thunderstorm
warnings for the NYC and LI area. We could see the dark clouds and
lightning on our port side. The storms eventually closed with us and
brought heavy rain and winds from a new direction. We struck all sails
just before the storm and rode it out just motoring at slow speed. The
seas became confused as the wind shift started to effect them. After
the storm the winds moderated somewhat, and became hopeful that things
would settle down. We were down to about 30+ miles off the LI beach.

The big waves became fewer and were able to steer closer to our
course, but we had to watch for the big waves and steer down when they
came, every minute or so. This required very active steering, with one
crew facing aft to call waves for the helmsperson. This went on for
hours!

Another thunderstorm came a few hours before dawn as we continued to
motor on our course. We were about 10 miles south of LI. (To ne
continued)

--
Sent from Gmail for mobile | mobile.google.com

Tuesday Blow (continued)

All afternoon Tuesday the winds continued to build from the SE. We
reefed in sequence, first the main then the jib. We took the main in
entirely a little later, and made the jib smaller still. We were still
making 6 to 7 knots with minimal sail area. The winds built to 20+
knots, not usually a problem, but the waves built to 6 feet or so and
became steeper. The waves began to roll us when we steered our course
to Block, so we frequently had to bear off, steering due north to keep
our footing. Later there were so many waves like this that we could
only steer north.

During the late hours of Tuesday we began to talk about what to do
about the lee shore of Long Island. The forecast had been upgraded to
10-15 from the south. Conditions steadily worsened on Wednesday
morning, and we turned the engine on at low RPMs to hellp make the
steering more respomsive. The following seas kept trying to turn the
boat sideways to the waves, causing some ugly rolls. The distance to
LI was decreasing all the time and we were locked on our course due
north. The tough thing about LI as a lee shore is that it is over a
hundred miles long with no harbors. If we didint find a solution soon
we would be sailing right up the beach.

Sleep isn't easy on a boat sailing in these conditions, but we all
managed to get an hour or so here and there. Imagine sleeping on a
roller coaster, the flesh of your body constantly shifting against
your bones as the boat lurches through the night. (To be continued)

Details of the Tuesday Blow

For those who might be interested I will give some recollections of
the blow that we experienced on Tuesday. The forecast on Monday as we
rounded Cape May was for light winds for 4-d days. We thought that we
might end up motoring all the way due to the light winds.

We set sail in a light breeze and were making 3 to 4 knots. Later the
winds filled in and we were making a solid 5 to 6 knots of boatspeed,
beam reaching in a mild swell. All through Monday night we could see
the lights of the cities of NJ as we made our way up the coast. With a
full moon and clear skies this was great sailing. Atlantic City was
beautiful in the early hours of Tuesday, with a slight haze to diffuse
it's hard edges.

Dawn on Tuesday and we were all feeling great about our sail and our
progress. The winds were steady and we were making 6-7 knots. We
checked the forecast from NOAA and the predictions were for 5-10 from
the south. By noon we were seeing 15 or so knots and were touching 8
knots of boatspeed. We started talking about plans to reef.
(To be continued)

Arrival in Block Island

We have arrived! We are on a mooring in the harbor. Time to get
cleaned up and eat a late breakfast.

Block Island

Block is in sight, we should be in the harbor in an hour or so. We
have light winds from the north, cool temps (the water temp is only 63
degrees here), and sunny skies.

Passing Montauk

This morning we are passing Montauk, at the easternmost. End of Long
Island. Winds are light and we are motoring towards Block Island. It
is a beautiful morning in contrast to the last 24 hours. We went
through very rough seas and two big thunderstorms. All is well with
the crew and the boat.

Long Island

We are off Long Island, about ten miles offshore, and 25 mules west of
Montauk. We have had a rouygh ride for the last 12 hours, 20+ knots of
wind and large following seas. We had some concerns of being trapped
with a lee shore, and unable to steer away. The seas have subsided
somewhat and we are making our course for Block Island. We should make
landfall in the late morning. All is well with the crew, though it has
been a hard day and night's work.

Sweet Sailing

Silence is currently sailing along at 7.2 knots on a beam reach. We
are pointed directly to our destination. This is very sweet sailing.
Dinner is coming up from the galley, calzone tonight.

Sailing

We are now sailing off Cape May in a light SE breeze, making 3.5
knots. Very pleasant conditions, though we hope for more breeze to
carry us north.

Passing Cape May

We are passing Cape May and heading out to sea. We expect light winds
for the next day or so, so this might be a slow passage. Next contact
will be from Block Island.

Delaware Bay (middle)

The winds are light, from the north today, so we are motorsailing.

Jim's Blog

If you want pictures, check out Jim's Blog: http://jimgannon.com/blog

Delaware Bay

We were up at 5:30 this morning and just cleared the C and D canal. We
are now heading south, down the Delaware Bay. The weather looks fine
for the next few days, so we will not stop in Cape May. Tonight we
head out into the Atlantic. Our first stop will be Block Island in
about 3 days. This might be our last communique for a while. Everyone
is healthy and in good spirits.

Aground!

We ran aground in Chesapeake City at the entrance to Engineer's Cove.
We were able to back off, but there were already two other boats
aground by the time we left. We stayed flexible and we specialized in
recovery (thanks Raul) and we headed to the marina at Summit North. We
will head out into the Delaware Bay tomorrow early.

Sassafras

We are just passing the Sassafras River, in the upper Bay.

Annapolis

Silence departed Annapolis right on time. We went through the bridge
at Spa Creek at 8:00 AM. Our friends Valerie and Raul took pictures of
us from the bridge, and wished us farewell. We are motoring north at 5
knots, against the tide. Next stop is Chesapeake City, tonight.

Ready

We loaded all of the food on today, and the freezer is fuller than it has ever been. No worries about getting hungry on this trip. Suzan brought two bags of shoes onboard, which I will tease her about for the duration of the trip... We plan to leave in the morning at 8:00 AM.

Ship Shape

I scrubbed the decks this afternoon, and Frank came by and helped me stow the dinghy on deck. I changed the fuel filter for the main engine and we also loaded a bunch more food on board. The boat is getting steadily heavier, and judging by the waterline we are just about ready to go. Tomorrow we will load our clothes on, and the food that needs to be refrigerated. If we get all of our work done, we might even be able to watch the fireworks!

Weather for Sunday

Right now the forecast for Sunday indicates that we will have light winds, sunshine, and 85 degrees. The first two days of our trip are most likely going to consist of motoring up the Chesapeake, then down the Delaware Bay. The Delaware can be hideous if there is wind against the tide, so I don't mind having a couple of no-wind days.

Water and Stove

On Saturday we took the boat out for a sunset sail with my coworkers,
Ellen, Danielle, and Josh. We had a short sail, then went over to
Cantler's for some crabs. Josh suffered rope burn during our sail, but
it turns out that a cold beer in the hand is a good treatment!

Suzan cleaned the oven yesterday, while I took on 150 gallons of
filtered water. This week we will load on provisions and clothes for
the trip.

Nearly Ready

After replacing batteries in our personal strobes we have completed
our boat checklist. We just need to work on provisioning and doing
some cleaning to prepare for our guest crew. Two weeks to go...

MOB Pole

Will and I installed the new MOB Pole on Monday evening.

Liferaft

Over the weekend Jim helped me get the liferaft onboard and into its
cradle. We also brought a spare genoa onboard, and set up the dinghy.
We ran the outboard for an hour around the creek to make sure that it
is running reliably.

To Do List

The to do list is getting shorter each weekend. This weekend we bent
on the high cut jib (good in waves and higher wind ranges), rigged the
inner forestay, and repaired the mainsail furler electronics. I also
built a new emergency tiller to replace the rusted out one that came
with the boat. Phew, that was a big weekend!

Hatch Gasket

Another little issue popped up over the weekend when I was laying in my bunk. We had a rain shower in the morning and I was awakened by drops of water hitting my forehead (after I had closed the hatch). Our hatches are made by Bomar, so I looked them up on the web, and I was able to order new gasket material. Hopefully, replacing this gasket will cure the leak.

In Mast Furler Problem

A few weeks ago we noticed that our electric furler for the main sail was only working in one direction. Last weekend I checked the control switch, which turns out to be working fine. Next I checked the control box to see if I could hear the solenoids clicking. I only hear the click when we actuate the system in one direction. Next, I opened up the control box, and traced the problem to a potted board which accepts the signal from the switch, performs load limiting, and sends the signal to the solenoids. This system is about 25 years old, from Hood which is no longer in the furler business. Getting a part is pretty unlikely, so I am looking into a way to just drive the solenoid directly from the switch. The only issue is that we have to be careful to avoid overloading the system, because there won't be any protection.

Dinghy Lift

This week I replaced the dinghy lift lines. The old ones were at least 11 years old, so it was time! Tomorrow we are taking the liferaft off the deck to be serviced by USA Services. The plan for the weekend is to attend to some odds and ends: replace fuel filters, purge the side tanks of antifreeze and run some water through. (We only de-winterize one of the three tanks for cruising around the Bay, but with a full crew we will want as much water aboard as possible. It's nice to take a shower once in a while...) We also hope to sail with our out-of-town company... which will be a good time to try out the new autopilot.

Pilgrimage

This summer we are planning a trip up to Cape Cod, on a quest to watch whales in their summer range. We are busy preparing Silence for the trip. Lot's of maintenance, checking safety gear, and spring cleaning...

Start your engines...

We went over last weekend and turned over the engine and generator and
all is running fine. Now it's time to get the boat ready!

The Season is Close

Yesterday we saw boats racing in the harbor, near AYC.

GFCI

When I went over to the boat on Sunday to check on things, I found
that the de-icer was not running, and there was some ice around the
boat. I checked the electrical panel, the breaker was still on, then
checked the outlet where it is plugged in and found that the the GFCI
mechanism had popped. I reset it and plugged it in again, and it
popped immediately. Out on deck, I pulled the de-icer out of the water
and found the problem: the cord had gotten into the fan blades and
been cut. Drat!

Luckily, there is a guy local to Annapolis that services Kasco
de-icers, so I called, and he was actually working in his shop on a
Sunday. I took the rig over to him to drop off, expecting that it
would be a week or so before I could get it back. When I arrived he
checked it out, and determined that everything was OK (sometimes after
cutting a cord, water can wick down into the de-icer housing, ruining
the unit), and he replaced the cord on the spot. I made a quick trip
back to the boat and re-installed the de-icer, turned it on, and all
is well again.

Checking...

I went over to the marina to check on the boat tonight. The de-icer has done it's job, and all is clear. It was warm today, but we return to cold weather tomorrow, according to the weather man. The slip next to me was empty for the last couple of months, but they have put a Bay workboat in there now. He's a little bit big for that slip, and sitting close to us. I adjusted our fenders to help keep us apart if it gets windy.

Ice

We had some very cold weather over the weekend, so I went over to the
boat on Monday to put the de-icer in the water. There was skim ice on
the creek as I flipped the switch to keep the water moving around the
boat.

Sails are Stowed

We took the sails off the furlers on Saturday. With very light wind it
was easy to flake the sails on deck and get them bagged. Now the long
wait for spring begins.

Volvo Ocean Race!

I have been following the Volvo Ocean Race. My hometown favorite is
Puma, but they did some damage to their boat this leg, so they have
fallen behind. Here is the link if you want to follow along:
http://www.volvooceanrace.org/

Winterizing

It's that time of year again, and Silence is gradually being put away for the winter. She has antifreeze in all of her freshwater systems now. The sails are still up, with still a small hope of one last sail, but it's probably not meant to be. We will likely pull the sails down this weekend.

Cruising Cats

After sailing a 40 foot cruising cat for a week, here are a few
thoughts: the cat didn't perform any better than our cruising
monohull. In 15 knots of breeze we saw 7-8 knots on a beam reach. This
cat pointed better than expected, probably due to the largish keels on
each hull. However, the keels brought the draft to 4.5 feet. The
really great thing about the boat was the privacy and space afforded
by two pontoons. Anchoring is trickier in a cat, when the anchor rode
gets taught, the cat tends to spin and the chain ends up under the
boat. Our solution was to keep the chain slack until the bridle is
hooked on and taking the load.

Ali in all, I prefer sailing a monohull, but for a cruise with friends
in the islands, the cat is a fine choice. It was fun learning how to
sail a new type of boat.

DC

We made it. On the way to our car now...

Delayed in Miami

We are still in Miami, our 5:30 flight has been delayed for mechanical
problems. The airline is being cagey about the prognosis.

Snorkeling

Our best snorkeling sites were No Name Cay and Sandy Cay. We saw every
kind of reef fish that I have ever heard of. We also saw a 6 foot
Nurse shark and a ray. Lots of coral, and clear water. My favorite was
the Parrot Fish.

Back in the U.S.

We just arrived back in Miami. We will be home later tonight...

Hopetown Today

After a week on the boat, we are back in Hopetown harbor. We will be
turning in the boat tomorrow, and then fly out of Marsh Harbour on
Monday. It's been a great week of sailing and snorkeling and visiting
with friends. We covered all the distance from Green Turtle Cay in the
north to Little Harbour in the south. We are relaxing this afternoon
at Dick and Libby's place, and we plan to all have dinner together
tonight. See you all soon.

Nippers!

Today we rented a boat and went through Man-O-War Cay, then on the
Guana Cay where we had lunch at Nipper's. (Power boats are fast!)
We had Conchy Burgers and fries, and a very potent frozen Nipper's
Juice. Then we swam off the beach, then raced a thunderstorm home. We
got wet from the storm, then did some snorkeling off Porgies Rock,
near Hopetown. There is a wrecked truck on the bottom which attracts
more fish than I have ever seen on a single dive before. Tomorrow we
will go back to Marsh Harbour and will pick up our Moorings charter
boat for the week. I don't know if I will have any internet access
after that, so this just might be our last entry for a bit...

Conch

Yesterday we went to lunch (by boat, of course) at the Sea Spray
resort, down near the south end of the island. We at fried conch for
the first time. The taste is very similar to calimari, very tasty.
Later we motored up to the north end to see if we could find some
conch near the beach. We didn't have any success with the conch, but
we did find the skeleton of a sea biscuit which was in good shape, so
we collected it. We also stopped by the Hopetown museum to see some of
the local history. We were a little rushed to get to lunch, so I hope
to get back and look at some of their books on the local Bahamian
sailing craft.Today we plan to take a boat up to Johnny's Cay for some
snorkeling.

Lighthouse

Today we took the dinghy to the other side of the harbor to the
Hopetown Lighthouse. The view from the top was excellent! This
lighthouse is one of the last that still uses kerosene for
illumination, and is hand-wound using a descending weight attached to
a clock like mechanism. It's nice to see old, simple technology still
working and doing something useful. This afternoon we are relaxing,
and we plan to have several of Dick and Libby's friends over for
dinner. Tomorrow, maybe a little more snorkeling...

Bicycling

Today we rented bikes for $10 (which might be more than these bikes
were worth!), and pedaled our way to the south end of the island.
There we swam at Tahiti Beach, and waded in tidal pools where we saw
urchins, a 6 pointed starfish, several small conch, and an enormous
hermit crab. We skirted thunderstorms on the way back, but found
enough time for ice cream at the Snack Shack. Tonight, we are off to
dinner with some of Dick and Libby's friends at a local watering hole.

Snorkeling and Bingo

Yesterday we went out to a reef next to Man-o-War Cay, and saw coral,
lot's of fish, including yellowtail and maybe baby baracuda, and lot's
of others that we couldn't identify. In the evening we went to Captain
Jack's for Bingo night. Suzan won the first round and made $50, then I
won the next two rounds at about $150 each! After picking up the check
we still cleared a couple of hundred dollars... Today we are going to
work on Dick's balky outboard, take a walk, and then see what we feel
like doing next...

Hopetown!

We arrived safely in Hopetown yesterday, and we are enjoying warm
(hot) conditions. Light wind today, but it's cool in the shade. Dick
and Libby's house is a beautiful island home, right on the water. We
get into town by using the dinghy from their dock. We are planning to
go out for a little snorkeling this afternoon.

Miami

We arrived in Miami with a bang; one of the tires blew on landing. Not
a big problem, but a small delay. We are sitting on the tarmac now in
a turboprop, waiting for some weather to clear. Marsh Harbor is the
next stop.

July Wind

The breeze on Saturday was blowing 20 knots. We went out for a sunset
sail and headed across the Bay, close hauled into the south wind.
After a picnic in Lake Ogleton we sailed downwind, back to the harbor
for the 8:30 bridge opening.

Hobie Cat!

My friend Jim bought a Hobie Cat 18 this week, so we were eager to
spend some time sailing it. We entered a catamaran race last night,
down on the West River. The winds were light and eventually failed
altogether, so we ended up paddling about a mile to get back to the
ramp. It was a DNF for us, but we got the boat working properly and
got some good practice. Now we are looking for a good 15 knot day!

Daysail

We went out for a quick daysail yesterday. It was blowing 20+ knots,
so we elected to reef as we headed across the Bay on starboard, up to
the Bay Bridge. Coming home was an easy downwind run.

Memorial Day Weekend

We enjoyed fine weather this weekend, as we sailed on Saturday to Broad Creek off the Magothy, to meet our friends aboard Mainiak. We had 10-15 knots from the north coming out of the Severn, but the breeze faded within an hour, and we motored through the bridge, and into the Magothy. We noticed that there were very few power boats out this weekend, so perhaps the fuel prices are really keeping people at the docks. It felt more like a weekday on the Bay than a big holiday weekend.

On Sunday, we sailed out of the Magothy on a close hauled course, a single tack right through the entrance gate of the river, but once outside in the Bay, the wind faded, and so we motored south to the Rhode River. We hoped to position ourselves for a downwind run on Monday. Our friends aboard Cinnamon rafted up with us and we enjoyed a fine meal at sunset.

On Monday morning, the winds were strong from the south, 15 knots and more. The forecast was for gusts to 25 later in the afternoon. We enjoyed a sleigh ride downwind, running along at 8+ knots of boatspeed, all the way to Tolly Point. Near 1AH we gybed over to port, and made our way into the harbor. The run from the Rhode took less than two hours.

Spring

Last weekend, I started the engine and generator, and everything is running fine. I was hoping to have crew this weekend, and to go out and hoist the sails. Unfortunately, all of my crew went awol, and I had to content myself with swabbing the decks. At least she'll be clean for her maiden voyage of the season.

I had some trouble today finding the big oil filter that is used for the engine. (It's a Fram PH977A, a tall boy.) I did a google query, and found it on Amazon. It seems odd to buy oil filters from a bookstore...

I also ordered some PoliPrep, the stripper for Poliglow. This year we are stripping and starting over, after about 8 years. Poliglow has been great for us, and I highly recommend it if you have a chalky, oxidized hull. So many people in the boat yard stop and ask about what we are doing, that I should get a commission for selling this stuff.

Spring

Well, the vernal equinox has passed, and April 15th is coming up. This can only mean one thing: it's time to get the boat ready to sail! If the weather is good, I plan to go over this weekend and start the engine, and bend on the sails.

Fall

Silence is put away for the winter, the pink stuff is now in her water tanks.

Meeting Sir Knox-Johnston

A couple of weekends ago, I went to Norfolk to see the racers in town for the Velux 5 Oceans solo around-the-world race. The rain held off and I was fortunate enough to meet Sir Robin Knox-Johnston on the dock. I offered my congratulations on his race, and he told me "I don't deserve any congratulations, I'm not winning the thing!". (He's in 4th place at the moment.) I asked him if he thought he could make up the time on the 3rd place boat, and he said he thought it would be tough. I checked today, however, and he is roughly 12 hours ahead, so he needs to put more distance between him and his competitor if he hopes to beat him out for 3rd.

I also briefly met Koji Suraishi, in second place. It was great to see the skippers and their boats. Best of luck to all of them in the third, and final leg, back to Spain.

The Mast is Out

Last Wednesday, Bryan and I took Silence around to Jabin's to unstep the mast. We had already unhooked all the electrical connections at the base of the mast. The guys from Chesapeake Rigging did a very professional job of unrigging all the standing rigging and preparing for the hoist. After about an hour of work, we were ready, so we spun the boat around and brought it up close to the bulkhead. The crane was brought up to the edge and stabilized, then one of the riggers rode the crane up to the spreaders. A sturdy strap was wrapped around the mast, just above the spreader and secured against slipping by running a line down to the winches near the deck. Once the crane was ready, the forestay and shrouds were released, and crane lifted the mast out easily. The mast is lying in the yard now, awaiting new paint.

Velux 5 Oceans in Norfolk

All of the racers, save one, are in Norfolk, and will be restarting the race this coming Sunday. The last racer, Graham Dalton, has been struggling with damage to his boat, and is racing against time to make it to Norfolk in time to avoid disqualification. I plan to drive down on Saturday and see the boats and, hopefully, the sailors.

Dismasting

That headline may have gotten your attention. However, the dismasting of Silence will be intentional, and will happen next week. We plan to have the mast hauled out, painted, and rewired. This will be our biggest project to-date, but we're looking forward to having a working anchor light, working deck-lights, and a new radar. Not to mention, no more snagging halyards!

5 Oceans Race

I've been following the 5 Oceans race for the last few weeks. So far there has been one abandonment, and one dismasting in the Southern Ocean. If you are curious, and like an adventure (which a friend once quipped is when someone else has a bad time), check it out at: http://www.velux5oceans.com/

End of the Season

As of last week, Silence is put away for the season. We have run the "pink stuff" through all of her water systems.

Now it's time to start thinking about next season. We are planning to have new canvas made for the dodger and bimini. I've taken the teak treads off the ladder for refinishing, and I really need to make a centerboard insert for the dinghy, so that I don't have another near sinking... I've had enough bailing in the middle of the Bay!

Maintenance and Sailing

Well, we got the batteries in place back in August, in time for the Labor Day weekend voyage to Oxford. Thanks to Bryan, my brother-in-law, for coming out and helping me to heft them aboard.

The sail to Oxford came the day after Ernesto passed through. He brought 50 knot winds to our slip, with gusts of up to 60 knots! Four headsails in our marina were destroyed, unwrapping and shredding in the wind. Fortunately, Silence rode out the storm with no problems. The wind for our sail to Oxford was 15-20 knots from the NW, which made for a downwind romp, with Silence hitting speeds of 8+ knots. This was great, except that we were towing our dinghy, Silent Partner, which began leaking water through the centerboard trunk at these high speeds. We've had this problem in the past, and we jam a piece of foam rubber and some rags into the trunk to stop the water. There was just too much pressure and so the dinghy took on water and began to sink. This required us to stop the boat, take in sails and I had to get into the dinghy and bail her out. This can be very exciting with 3 foot waves. This happened twice before we decided to shorten sail and keep the boat moving at less than 6 knots.

We came up with an even better fix on our return trip, we lashed an oar on top of the trunk with our foam and rags. The oar kept everything in place, so no more trouble.

The winds were light the rest of the weekend, and we passed a pleasant couple of days in Oxford. The day before we departed, the refrigeration pump gave up. I replaced this pump about 8 years ago, so I guess that's about how long a pump lasts. I've now owned the boat long enough that I'm starting to replace things that I've already replaced once before. I have to tell you that there is no one more unhappy than Suzan watching food go bad in a dead refrigerator. But we had plenty of ice, and the fridge was at 40 degrees when the pump failed, so we made out just fine.

When I pulled the pump out of the boat, I figured that I'd have to order one from the manufacturer. I stopped by West Marine just to see if they might direct me to a supplier, and the rep there said that he thought he had one in stock. Unbelievable, they actually had the exact pump! I was able to get the fridge back up and running in one day! (This rarely happens.)

Two weeks ago, we moved the boat to Annapolis for a week, while our friend Tom renewed the Armada on the teak. Silence is looking very fine now, ready for our annual trip out to watch the Schooner Race. Hopefully, we'll be seeing some of you out there!

Batteries Not Included

I've noticed recently that each time we return to the boat, the house batteries are low. I went over to the boat with a voltmeter last Sunday, and took some measurements. The voltage was 11.5 on both batteries, and under load, the voltage started falling rapidly. Not good. So, it looks like I'll be buying some new batteries this soon... these are big boys, 4Ds, about the size of two car batteries joined together, it takes two guys to lift them into place. Who feels strong today?

Splashed!

Silence went back into the water yesterday morning, after a week on dry land. She has a nice clean bottom, and freshly applied poliglow (special thanks to Joe for his help on Saturday).

We were lucky to be in Annapolis yesterday, since it was also the day of the Blue Angels rehearsal flight at the Naval Academy. We anchored in the harbor for the show, then sailed down to the West River late in the afternoon. We had 15 knots of breeze from the NW, so we saw all points of sail, mostly on starboard. We peaked at 8.2 knots of boatspeed, and spent lot's of time in the mid 7s. Excellent sailing!

Silence once more...

Silence has her name on once again, this time with a new layout. Also today, the mechanic was by and is working on the raw water pumps for both the main engine and generator. The generator pump is in a location that makes it impossible to replace the impeller with out removing the pump, so I generally leave that work to the mechanic. The main engine pump is accessible, but the bolts looked likely to shear off due to rust. I decided to leave it to an expert to extract these old bolts.

It looks like we are on target for relaunching next Monday!

On the Hard

Silence was hauled out yesterday. While she was in the slings, Ted, from Seaside Boatworks checked out the centerboard pendant. The pendant is in great condition, no burrs, no corosion. Pretty amazing for a 10+ year old piece of hardware which spends all of it's time under water.

I stripped off the name and port on the transom, preparing the way for re-lettering. If you ever need to remove old adhesive residue like that left behind after peeling off vinyl lettering, check out Goo Gone. It's magic stuff! The old letters were looking worn and we want to reorganize the transom layout. Accent Graphics will be installing the new letters sometime this week.

This evening I went over to check on the progress of the bottom work and found the bottom already painted. The most important of the maintenance work is already taken care of.

Haulout

The forecast for today was not very promising, however, we managed to dodge the rain and had a nice sail from the West River up to Annapolis. Silence is now at the dock at Jabin's waiting to be hauled out tomorrow. We will be painting the bottom, renewing the poliglow, greasing all of the through-hulls, and checking the centerboard pendant. The pendant is probably 10 years old or more, so we wonder how it's doing.

Volvo Restart from Annapolis

Silence left the dock for only the second time on Sunday, to head out to the Volvo restart. The day began with big breezes, but, by the time of the start at 1:00 PM, the breeze had fallen off to around 10 knots. No worries, these boats still make 10-12 knots of boat speed in these conditions!

We were positioned south of the starting line, which also served as a downwind gate before the racers headed down the Bay. We got lucky with our position and the boats came through the spectator fleet not far from our location. It was a great day for everyone aboard.

Signs of Spring

I went over to the marina this weekend to visit the boat and begin the process of recommissioning for the season. It was a sunny day, in the 60s, with winds from the West at about 20 knots. It felt good to be on deck.

I re-installed the compass, and polished the binnacle and the wheel. Then I moved on to add some coolant to the engine and generator, opened the seawater intakes, and started them up. They both sprang to life immediately, awakening from their winter slumber.

The Volvo is Coming

The Volvo Ocean race is coming to Annapolis in April, and will restart on May 7th. We have social obligations during the time of the inshore race, but we plan to be out for the race restart. These boats are fast, (40+ knots in the right conditions) so we don't expect to see much of them as they head south, down the Bay.

Haulout This Year

We plan to haul Silence out this year for bottom painting and maintenance. We checked into hauling at Hartge's, but the problem there is that they won't let you do any of your own work. So, we plan to haul at Jabin's in May. In addition to painting, we plan to have the centerboard pendant checked and maybe replaced, renew the Poliglow (it's not a wax) on the hull, and replace the lettering on the transom.

Polarity!

Of course, where LEDs are concerned, polarity matters. I discovered that I wired the connector backwards when I plugged it in at the boat. I had a 50/50 chance of getting it right, but Murphy's Law prevails in these instances. I've rewired the connector and it works fine now.

Compass Light

Since I have the compass binacle opened up, I figured I might as well replace the old incandescent compass light with an LED. Ritchie makes a replacement kit, but it costs $16 dollars + shipping, which seems like a lot to pay for a couple of LEDs and a resistor.

So, I went to Radio Shack, and bought two LEDs for $2.00 (which is exorbitant), a a package of 560 Ohm resistors for 99 cents, and a small perf board for $2.00. First I cut the perf board to shape and drilled mounting holes which will use the same holes as the old light. I mounted the LEDs, and one resistor on the perf board. Then I wired the LEDs and the resistor in series. I tested it with 12v, and it works great. I put it next to the compass and turned out the lights. Ooooh, pretty. And it only draws 18 mA!

End of the bubble...

...well, almost. By now I figured that any air inside the compass would have worked it's way to the top. The bubble grew the first day, but since then it's been the same size. This evening I put the compass back on the bench, opened the filler hole, leveled the hole to get the bubble as close to the hole as possible, and injected a small amount of oil to top it off. I ever so carefully put the filler plug back in place, and returned the compass to it's upright position. There is still a really small bubble, about the size of a pencil point. I'd like to get it out, but it might be too much trouble.

Light Crude

The new compass oil arrived today, and I replaced it tonight. It was just as tedious as the first round, but I was rewarded with a working compass. The compass card stays perfectly aligned with North as I rotate the body of the compass. There is still a very tiny air bubble which I intend to try to remove tomorrow. Presumably, any additional air in the compass will work it's way to the top in 24 hours.

Bilge Pump

I went over to the boat on Saturday to install a new bilge pump. The winds were howling over there, and the boat was heeling in the slip. The new pump is a flexible vane type (Water Puppy), which worked perfectly once it was wired in and hooked up to the bilge hose. It's quiet too. Almost too quiet, as I won't be able to hear it running from on deck, which is how I used to keep track of any excess water coming aboard.

No ice in the river yet, it's been way too mild here for that. Maybe we can get through the winter without the de-icer.

The new compass oil should be arriving at my office today, according to the UPS tracking system.

Prospecting

I went looking for mineral oil last night. First I went to the hardware store, but they had just discontinued carrying it. Then I went to the local CVS. They had it, but it was about the same viscosity that I found in the grocery store. (BTW, I found out the medicinal purpose of mineral oil. It is used as a laxative. It's good to know that we will have a lifetime supply on board, stored conveniently in the compass).

So, I caved in and bought "official" compass oil from an online site. Cost: $30.00/gal. I don't need a full gallon (I need 66 oz.), but a half gallon wouldn't be quite enough. I'll have plenty to spare for refills down the road. At this point, my total repair cost is $100, including the cost of the oil that was too thick.

Compass Oil

The compass has a very small fill hole, so I decided to use a syringe to insert the oil. The compass holds 66 oz., so this turned out to be a tedious procedure. It took me about an hour last night to fill it up.

A friend told me that I could use any type of odorless mineral oil for this purpose, and not to bother buying expensive "compass" oil. I went to the grocery store and found some in the first aid section. "For intestinal use" it said on the bottle. (Someday I'll have to investigate what the medical condition is that requires such a use.) One thing that I noticed right away is that the new oil is more viscous than the oil that came out of the compass. I didn't think that would matter too much.

After filling, I noticed that the compass is almost unresponsive to rotation. It takes forever for the card to respond to a 90 degree turn. So long in fact that I got tired of watching it and came back this morning to see if it had found north. It had. Anyway, my conclusion is that viscosity matters a lot. I'll have to see if I can find some thinner oil at the drug store or hardware store. If not, I'll be buying some of that "special" compass oil from the compass manufacturer.

Compass Work

Over the weekend I removed to old dome and gasket and replaced it with the new one, carefully torquing down the screws in the retaining rings. It looks like I have a good seal now, so I should be able to replace the oil next. My only worry is whether I got the retaining rings back into the correct orientation for the attachment of the binacle cover. There are several holes where the screws will go, and it isn't obvious which holes are the important ones. I should have done a better job of marking the alignment. If I got this wrong, I'll have to disassemble the dome again, which means draining the oil and starting over.

Parts are in!

The parts for the compass have arrived. Now I have to get busy...

Compass

I took the compass out of the binnacle a few weeks ago to explore why the oil has leaked out. It turns out that the plastic dome has fractured around the joint to the bowl. The compass is a Ritchie D-615 which lists for around $1800 new. Soooo, I called the factory for replacement parts today. Cost so far: $55.

Bilge Pump Update

At this point I have replaced all of the bilge pump hoses and fittings, and rebuilt the pump with new gaskets, and cleaned everything up. The pump still won't prime. The pump in question is a solid vane type, and it's probably too high above the water level for it's specs (it's only rated at 20"). My next plan is to get a Water Puppy flexible vane pump which is reputed to prime up to 4 feet above the water level. This is the type of pump that was installed before I replaced it 3-4 years ago. Now I know why...

Bilge Pump

I checked out the bilge pump on my workbench this week, and it seemed to be working OK, but a little weak. I took it over to the boat today to reinstall, suspecting that that the real problem lies elsewhere. While I was attaching the pump to the bulkhead, one of the hose fittings broke off. The fitting is actually a garden hose that was cut up years ago to rig the pump. The fitting was corroded at the joint where it was hard to see. It might have been leaking air, so this might be the problem... off to West Marine for some new parts...

Silence is winterized as of last weekend. We've run the pink stuff through all of the systems and the sails are stowed away. The electric bilge pump isn't working right, so I've brought it home to work on. Another winter project...

As of April 6th, Silence is in her new home, down on the West River. We have a great view of the river from our slip. Last weekend, I took the boom off the mast, in order to service the furling motor which isn't working at the moment...

I went to check on Silence yesterday and noticed that the new rub rail has been installed. It's a beauty. There is still some work to finish the scarf joints and then there is the metal rubstrake to reinstall, but it's very close to being done.

Silence will be moving to her new home in a months time, down to the West River. We're looking forward to some fresh sailing adventures departing from our new home port.