 The weather was good for trip home.
(Jul. 25) |
Monday, July 25, 2011; 6:00 am
On a mooring, Scituate outer harbor
A single cup of teabag coffee this morning, then I’ll
stow away the stove and coffee pot, shut down the laptop and put all the
electronic and electrical gear away in the laptop bag, organize the
cabin and cruising gear, and last take down the pup tent. I just started
the outboard without problem, left it running while I finish up on the
laptop. Yesterday I swapped gas
tanks, was surprised to find that the used tank still has a good two
gallons remaining since launching Chip Ahoy. Well it has a full six
gallons for the trip home, way more than enough if necessary.
I’ve got a weak Wifi signal, but enough to get the NWS
weather forecasts and the day ahead looks good, at least until late this
afternoon, by which time I should be back on the mooring in Marblehead.
ANZ250-251915-
COASTAL WATERS EAST OF IPSWICH BAY AND THE STELLWAGEN BANK NATIONAL
MARINE SANCTUARY-
345 AM EDT MON JUL 25 2011 TODAY
E WINDS 5 TO 10 KT. SEAS AROUND 2 FT.
TONIGHT
SE WINDS 5 TO 10 KT. SEAS AROUND 2 FT. PATCHY FOG. SHOWERS LIKELY. VSBY
1 NM OR LESS. Point
Forecast: Marblehead MA
—
Today: Increasing clouds, with a high near 74. East wind between 6 and
11 mph. Tonight: A chance of
showers and thunderstorms before 10pm, then showers likely and possibly
a thunderstorm between 10pm and 5am, then a chance of showers and
thunderstorms after 5am. Patchy fog after 9pm. Otherwise, cloudy, with a
low around 63. South wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011; 10:00 pm
Marblehead, MA I dropped the
Scituate mooring and began the trip home yesterday at 7:30 am, half an
hour ahead of my schedule, better to get off early and home sooner than
later. I was conscious of the channel out of the mooring area –
determined not to follow Whisper’s experience. Outside the breakwater
and heading out to the sea buoy I hoisted sails, though there wasn’t
much wind, and got on course for the Minot Light sea buoy then the Boston
Harbor buoy beyond. Again I
noted that I can’t get the main sail high enough on the mast, entirely taut
at its tack at the boom. The halyard’s splice is jamming at the mast truck. I
noticed some bagging at the gooseneck on the way down, but once I got
the pup tent up it was difficult to get at. When I could, I found I
couldn’t budget the boom against the boom vang.
There’s a thumb screw locking a stop pin in the sail slot
on the mast which keeps the boom from lifting any higher, and another
stop pin and screw beneath the boom that keeps it from dropping any
lower. I was able to loosen and lower the bottom pin a couple of inches
– all I think that is necessary – but unable to budge the boom downward without disassembling and removing the
boomkicker. I can adjust the boomkicker at
the boom back two slots aft, and lower it at the mast an inch, maybe two if
there’s enough clearance with the solar panel – but out on the ocean I
was afraid of losing too many moving parts overboard if I tried. Better
to get home intact, I decided, deal with it then. It annoyed me most of
the trip home. [Subsequent
adjustments] After playing
with sails alone, moving at 3 mph for about an hour, I fired up the
outboard again and motor-sailed for another hour or two. According to
the GPS, at 3 mph under sails alone I wouldn’t arrive in Marblehead
before the expected bad weather. The
weather was good, mostly overcast with some breaks of sun and cool;
high-70s. I started the morning in socks, jeans, and a t-shirt (with
life vest over it). By late morning I was in shorts and sandals,
comfortable. What I hadn’t thought about was the sun coming through the
overcast; didn’t think to put on a hat. I got quite a sunburn on my face
and head. Somewhere while
approaching the Boston Harbor shipping channel the breeze slowly shifted
from northeast to more easterly, just as I began heading more to the
northwest, great timing. The man-eating flies arrived, but the breeze
kept them more manageable and fewer in number.
I learned a new trick that cut down my use of Raid:
Instead of smacking them with the flat of my hand (which gives them too
much opportunity to avoid being squashed), I began using a cupped hand,
and nailing them. By the time they gave up, I had a satisfying body
count on the cabin sole alongside me. Cup and swat – the trick! There
goes the stock price on Raid. It
was a good sail the rest of the way into Salem Sound, past Marblehead
Harbor and a couple committee boats (a major regatta of some hundred
little sailboats full of kids) to Salem Harbor, where I dropped sails
and motored the rest of the way into Chip Ahoy’s mooring. I tied up to
it at about 2:30, began packing up for home. I called Barbara, let her
know I was back, then continued closing up the boat. All packed up and
ready for home, I decided to take a short nap aboard, but it wasn’t
short enough. Just as I called for the launch to the dock, the rain
showers began. I had to dig out the foul-weather jacket; by the time I
got up to the house the rain had arrived. Next time, I’ll nap when I get
home. All and all, it was a very
nice week’s short cruise to a single destination, much different than
past endurance trips. It was relaxing to arrive at a destination, set
everything up for a stay, not have to rush off the next morning day
after day. Getting home in a day was a much simpler process than being
stuck by weather for days in ports along the way far from home. I’ve
done the distance cruises over the years as far north as way up to
Downeast Maine and south through the Cape Cod Canal to Buzzard’s Bay and
Onset. This was a pleasant change of pace, a chance to get away for a
while on cruise, live aboard again, and relax on the water. |
 The Boston Harbor entrance buoy, with
the Boston skyline barely visible on the horizon. |
