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

Sailing Season ‘09 has arrived

- Page 58 -

Description

Over the winter of 2007-08 I refinished all the teak trim. I'd heard a lot of good about using Cetol, so I'm gratified to report that it's still standing up splendidly. I touched up a few minor dings and scratches, applied a coat of wax, and the trim looks as good as it did last spring!  (Jun. 13, 2009)

-- More Photos --

There was a question this morning among the discussion group about drink holders, so I took a couple of shots of mine, a pair of "Bar-Buoy" 'No Tip' Drink Holders by Outers. I just replaced the pair I bought in 2003 due to UV drying out of the foam coolers and corrosion. The gimbaled metal frame is chrome-plated steel, not stainless; the old ones had reached their cosmetic lifespan.  (Jun. 18, 2009)

They're especially handy as the drink holders are removable for stowage when not in use; the foam cooler, what Outers calls a "coaster," conveniently comes out of the "caddies," keeping your drink insulated and portable. My coasters are red, but they come in a variety of colors. I have a second Bar Buoy located on the starboard side, for a guest to use. (The black ring at the bottom right is the mount for my GPS unit.)

We had our one day's weekly ration of sunshine yesterday since the last stretch of raw, cold, gray and showers: Today's (Thursday) forecast calls for more rain through the weekend. Yesterday I got the boat almost completely loaded. Now everything's got to be stowed away where it belongs -- something I can do on the usual rainy day. This photo is of sunrise this morning as the sun again retreats, as the latest of "multiple rounds of rain" move in from the west. Less than an hour after I took it, the sky is completely overcast, again.  (Jun. 18, 2009)

The workbench is covered with things ready to go: Gas tanks to be loaded, the IdaSailor rudder and the Honda 8hp 4-stroke outboard, to be mounted after trailering Chip Ahoy to Riverhead Beach hopefully next week, weather-permitting. The way things have been going, that's a mighty big "if" unless I grab the one good day a week if lucky that we've been getting.

Hoo hah!  This morning with no-rain at last, we brought Chip Ahoy down to Riverhead Beach, will launch on tomorrow's tide -- weather-permitting!  (Jun. 25, 2009)

-- More Launching Chip Ahoy for Sailing Season '09 --

Chip Ahoy, its first day back on its mooring.  (Jun. 27)

The new shinguard didn't last very long, a casualty of yesterday's launching. I'll replace the foam gasket the next time I'm aboard. It appears to have done its job though, saved somebody's shin from a lot of pain!

Saturday (above) was our last day of sun in an ongoing historically miserable spring-into-summer period, an extended monsoon season. June didn't have even one single day of mostly-sun (definition: 30% more sun than clouds) and July isn't starting out any better.  (Jul. 2, 2009)

This morning I ventured down the street to the dock just to see if Chip Ahoy was still out there on its mooring. This is another one of those sailing seasons when this is called "boating" (see: The Monsoon Season of '06), but this one is the worst yet, breaking even more records.

See:  Weather-Spring of '09

Yep, it's still out there.  This is the closest I've gotten since last weekend when the next band of weather quickly and permanently moved in -- thanks to a 300 mm zoom lens on my Nikon D50. The forecast is for better to good this coming Independence Day holiday weekend, starting Friday maybe.  We'll see . . .  (Jul. 2, 2009)

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