The never-ending project to fill my hole in the ocean while bailing it out

The 2011 Haul-Out
October 13 – 26

Today officially brought the end of Sailing Season 2012. For over a week I've been planning to get out to Chip Ahoy and begin its unrigging in preparation for hauling out, but the weather and events have been in the way.

A check of the weather forecast this morning indicated that — though cold (it dipped into the low-30s last night; I've had the wood stove burning for a week) — it was the calmest it's going to be for the next week. It is supposed to rain again tomorrow, then the wind will pick up into the 20 mph range with gusts to 30 through the coming week. At least getting the sails down in today's relatively mild breeze (10-12 mph) with a high temperature reaching maybe 50° was as good as it's going to get for a while.

The launch service ends in two weeks, the 30th, and has been running fall hours for a couple of weeks. This includes no service on Mondays — and this coming Monday is supposed to reach a now-rare 70s, though be very windy. The town will take out the docks shortly thereafter, so time is running out.

I dug out my long underwear and put them on this morning, bundled up, grabbed the empty sail bags, and headed down to the dock at 11 o'clock. My plan was to at least get the sails off and bagged before the winds arrived; if I was too cold, I'd go back out on another day and finish unrigging Chip Ahoy; it's supposed to warm up a bit through next week. Getting the sails down and bagged went easier than I'd anticipated and I was much more comfortable than I'd expected, so I kept plugging away until the boat was completely unrigged and ready to haul out. What a relief.

I've gotten better at this every year. This year it took only about two-and-a-half hours to complete, and I left everything perfectly ready to re-rig in the spring. After finally getting the boom adjusted properly over the summer, I marked the mast with its proper position. I tied a knot in the furler line at the drum to keep it correctly adjusted. I left the jib sheets attached to the jib's clew so I won't have to retie the double becket hitch come spring.

I untied the mooring pickup buoy from its pennant and tied it off to a lifeline, removed the shackle and carabineer from the second pennant and put its loop over a bow cleat, took down the radar reflector. I almost forgot to disconnect the mast wiring harness from its deck connector and pull the VHF radio antenna cable through its cableclam and seal it, the final step.

The bagged sails, the main sail battens, the boom, radar reflector, and all the running rigging is now stowed below in the cabin. I took the sleeping bag home to hang on the clothes line and air out. I'll need to unbag and properly fold the sails when I get the boat home.

Mission accomplished. Chip Ahoy is ready to haul out and trailer home.  (Oct. 13, 2012)

Earlier this week I made arrangements again with Fred J. Dion's Yacht Yard in Salem to haul out Chip Ahoy. Dion's yard is very convenient, just a short distance across the harbor from Chip Ahoy's mooring, within sight of the Village Street dock just down the hill from my house.

For a few days I wrestled with the idea of pulling the boat out at Winter Island, also across the harbor — but I just spent some $700 having the Blazer's rear breaks rebuilt, primarily I suspect due to salt water corrosion, and don't want to kill them already. I just had them rebuilt a couple of years ago  even though I thoroughly hose them down with fresh water, along with the entire truck and trailer, whenever launching and retrieving. I decided that it's less expensive whenever possible to keep them out of the sea and let the boatyard haul Chip Ahoy!

Todd Mentuck, the yard manager, told me to bring the trailer over this weekend; they'll go out and bring the boat in when they're ready, haul and drop it onto its trailer, unstep the mast, and have it ready for me to tow home early next week.

Once the rain stopped this morning the temperature rose into the low-70s — a taste of Indian Summer and almost enough to make me regret unrigging the boat last weekend. But at this point, I'll be glad to get Chip Ahoy home and unloaded, then covered for the coming winter. Sailing Season '12 is over.

Getting the boat hauled and home before November will be a first in a long time.  (Oct. 20, 2012)

Looking across Salem Harbor
and Chip Ahoy's mooring
to Marblehead.

The Village Street dock down the
end of my street is on the right.

With Hurricane Sandy (aka, "Frankenstorm") heading our way, due to make landfall on Tuesday (the day before Halloween) and rage into Wednesday, I got the call that Chip Ahoy was trailered and ready to tow home. I lucked out with my haul-out arrangements this year, getting the boat out just in the nick of time — a week or two earlier than in recent years.

I drove over to the boat yard late this morning. After removing the outboard and rudder, the Windex from the top of the mast, packing them into the Blazer, I hooked up to the trailer and brought it home.

I had to squeeze Chip Ahoy between the timber beam and the new concrete stair slabs, soon to replace the dilapidated, loose stone front steps. My buddy and neighbor, Bob Donovan the building contractor, is going to hold off tearing out the old steps and setting the slabs until I get Chip Ahoy unloaded and moved to its winter resting place around the side of the house. I left enough room alongside and behind the boat to maneuver the firewood cart between the firewood racks across the lot and the sliding kitchen door and wood stove within.

With the boat parked and trailer unhitched, I drove the outboard over to Ryan's Marine Service and left it for its annual winterization and tune-up. I'm also having Mark check the tilt lever, which hasn't been working right lately, and replace the gasket between the cover and motor. I squashed it somewhat when putting the cover back on after the starter problem out in Massachusetts Bay early in the season.

Over tomorrow and Sunday I'll begin unloading Chip Ahoy, packing its contents away in the house for another winter. I've got to pull the sails out of their bags, spread them out on the lawn, and fold them properly — but that won't happen until the leaves are cleared away once they stop falling.   (Oct. 26, 2012)

The Salem News
Sandy batters region

"Hurricane Sandy battered the North Shore with wind gusts that peaked at more than 60 mph and 8-foot-high waves that yanked boats loose from their moorings....

On the water, Hurricane Sandy created swells of 6 to 8 feet in Salem Harbor and caused about a dozen boats to break loose from their moorings, Salem Harbormaster Bill McHugh said.

McHugh said the owners of those boats did not heed warnings to move their crafts to safer spots in Pickering Wharf or up the Danvers River.

“There were a lot of boats out there that shouldn’t have been,” he said.

The storm also caused the remnants of the Rockmore, a floating restaurant that closed a couple of years ago, to wash ashore in the marshes off Lafayette Street."

I went down to the dock this morning, joined a group of guys from the harbormaster's office and the town DPW who were gazing out over the dock to boats that had broken from their moorings. One was up on the rocks in the distance at Pioneer Village Park; others were closer nearby, one just off the dock toward the mouth of Salem Harbor.

I drove around to get closer to the other two grounded vessels, reached Driftwood Road, got permission from the owner to climb down through his yard and take some close-up shots of the boats that were further inside the harbor. One was hard against the rocky shoreline beneath a stone wall. The other was just being towed off the shore.

On my way home, I drove to the town cemetery overlook and checked on John Graichen's "Malacass" — was glad to find it in good condition among some other small sailboats. I called John and let him know all was well with "Malacass."  (Oct. 30, 2012)