Skip to main content

Noel's a Breeze

Image
By


Good morning everyone. Noel blew through New England last night
reminding us that although the official hurricane season is over
nature minds no calendar. Mary and I were down at the boat putting
on a few extra mooring lines and checking the chafe gear when the
first of the rain and wind came in just after noon time. It's good to know all the gear and small boats are safe and sound. It amazes me
that the Tropical Prediction Center dropped mention of Noel after 5
PM on Friday. When I checked the Gulf of Maine Ocean Observing
System (aka GoMOOS) website last nite the wind was gusting on
Nantucket at 69 miles per hour with 39.7 foot seas on the Georges
Bank. Here in our modest little neighborhood the Penobscot Bay buoy
recorded gusts at 50 knots.

The cover was still on the schooner last I knew but Jen will have to
give you a more precise report on Tuesday. I am off to Texas once
again this morning. As you may recall we left the tallship Elissa in
Corpus Christi for the week so today we fly back to bring her home.
Windjamming in the Gulf of Mexico only makes next summer seem too far
away. When I return home we will be putting the finishing touches on
the schooner for the winter before heading into the barn and out to
the wood pile. I can't wait.

Have a great day. Be well. Do good.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hail Mary

By
My heart is heavy with sadness as I write this particular blog. Since the beginning of August our dear friend and cook for the last 12 years, Mary Barney, had been struggling with cancer. I have intentionally respected Mary’s privacy and I apologize to you for not sharing any news about Mary’s health sooner. On Monday afternoon Mary passed away very peacefully at home, surrounded by friends and “family”. Her departure was as graceful as the rest of her life. Many people, including Jen, have been doing heroic work to support Mary these last few weeks. Oddly enough Mary was never very excited about transitions though this was about the fastest transition she ever made. And as I struggle to let go of Mary I realize I am terrible with transitions as well. We used to joke about how we liked things just the way they are, thank you very much, so why change what is working already even if it might be less labor intensive. Hard works is its own reward. I used to joke about getting Mary a Cui
28 comments
Read more

Swimming Anyone?

By
Good morning everyone. Winter is still here in New England though it seems to be taking a rest these days. We have enjoyed a little bit of a thaw. We still have snow covering our field but it is thinning out in the sunny patches. Mary Day rests comfortably in the harbor, bilges dry, cover intact, waiting for the crew to return. Another busy week has passed so I will get you up to speed on everything that is happening here at the global headquarters. Jen is putting the finishing touches on year end taxes. Blockfest 2008 is finally finished. The blocks have received quite the massaging. And while we have the off-white paint out we are starting in on the lifeline stanchions, the davits, and a few other miscellaneous parts. Alex asked me last night how we were doing with our pace. We are doing great but in the back of my mind I know that there is never enough time to do it all. Having perfectionist tendencies is a curse. I want to do it all and know we will never have enough time. There se
6 comments
Read more

Fall Maintenance

By
Good morning everyone. The sun has been kind to us these past few days and the crew has been spending much time aloft prepping and painting the mast heads and tarring the rig as part of our annual fall maintenance schedule. They were a little silly on tar fumes by the end of the day hence the rat board dance moves. Am I the only one who is reminded of Willy Wonka's little friends at the sight of the crew in their tyvek suits? Schoona-loompas? The smell of tar, after all, is what we sailors live for. Extracted from the stumps and roots of pine trees through dry distillation pine tar will cure what ails you especially some skin conditions and any emotional maladies from being too long away from the sea. All we know for sure is that Mary Day’s rigging is kept hail and hearty by coats of tar mixed with boiled linseed oil. Notice that I specified boiled linseed oil and not raw linseed oil. Tar mix with raw linseed oil will not “kick”. Don’t ask me how I know this… just take my wo
5 comments
Read more