Lucy's view

Life seems to mean I never know WHAT human I am going to be with. Cynthia disappears often, sometimes for days, and I'm often alone for a morning or afternoon. For the longer periods, I have Kim and her family... or Skip.

Cynthia and I flew from Michigan to Cape Cod about a month ago. I don't know if you have flown recently, but the seating sucks. You have to get into a little bag made of screening and it is too darned hot under the seats. You would think they could provide more headroom. I complained about the heat and headroom for the whole flight, but did they fix it? NO! I even tried some improvements myself (Cynthia had covered my prior work with duct tape) and ended up with bits of duct tape embedded in my hair. Anyway, this is why I am now here with Skip in his boat instead of traveling with Cynthia: air travel is just not worth it!

Being here started out kind of crazy. I mean, when I had Cynthia on the boat, things were pretty normal

...although I'm always a bit nervous when she catches fish: she just gets so excited I'm afraid that something will happen. And, of course, there were strange people and dogs,

but mostly people I knew... and I love the beaches, having grown up on Cape Cod.

But after Cynthia left? Well, things got kind of chaotic.

First, Peter and Alex and Rory (humans), Bailey (dog), and Margarita (CAT!) arrived. The little humans, Alex and Rory, aren't very well trained, so I had to hide until they learned not to rush at me and grab me. Frankly, I LIKE people... as long as they sit still and scratch my back (well, who wouldn't?), but even the nicest ones can hurt you if they step on you or kick you and it is SO hard to figure out their intentions when they are rushing at you! Bailey needed me to shout at him a few times before he respected me... although as time went on I realized his attacks were simply feints. Margarita fascinates me and she often stretches out on the carpet, eyes closed, where I can carefully tiptoe up and sniff her. WOW!

Then Paul and his little human, Sara, arrived. MORE scary new humans! *sigh*. Well, I got used to them, too...

although I still hide behind Skip or behind furniture if the little ones get too wild. But Rory and Sara are pretty great when they are calm and quiet and they cuddled and petted me a lot!

And when I go for a walk with Skip there are so many new people and dogs! Skip greets most of them, so they are clearly friends and I don't need to bark: thank goodness or I'd be completely hoarse! I get to sit in laps while we sail, too, and the people often scratch my back or my ears.

And, when we walk, some of the dogs are crazy and I need to tell them off, but LOTS are surprisingly friendly and calm and I get to say hi! I love saying hi to new dogs!

And I've been running on beaches with Bailey,

found a nest of dead rabbits, found squashed toads on the road, dug for clams and other stinky stuff, saw scary coyotes playing, and swam next to Skip on Monomoy and out to a sailboat when it was anchored near shore. And I have sat in SO many laps on the sailboats! And Skip cooks bluefish for me!

Things aren't perfect, of course. Bailey sometimes ambushes me and that is scary... or at least startling. Skip keeps taking me out to the sailboat when I would prefer to continue hunting under boats on shore for mice and other cool things.

And sometimes I'm just tired or bored, but that is not really a problem...

And Skip is not nearly as good off-leash as Cynthia is. SHE will wait for me while I check out interesting scents and, if I need to go after a rabbit in the bushes, I can be sure she will be right there waiting for me. She even makes sounds, calling my name, so I know exactly where she is at all times and this is great for my peace of mind. Skip, however, seems driven and just keeps walking. I mean, if I stop to sniff something and look up after a few seconds he will be down the street and I'll have to run to catch up! And I can only dash in and back when there is an interesting path into the bushes: Skip just does not let me relax and take my time when he is off-leash. Perhaps I should keep him on leash except when we are in areas I can count on him sticking around.

*sigh*. I really miss my Cynthia: I hope she'll come back soon.

Making it to Cape Cod

First of all, I ended the last post with hopes for clear and easy sailing. That is NOT what happened... we had wind dead behind us, wind directly ahead, zero wind, heavy fog, flat calm, ten-foot waves....pretty much every weather (including beautiful weather) except rain.

The boat, with it's newly painted bottom, new cutless bearing on the propeller, and new AIS (Automated Identification System) went back on the travel-lift and into the water as planned on the morning of Monday June 3rd

and, by 10:30, Paul and I were sailing and motoring south on the ICW.

"South? But Cape Cod is north", I hear you wonder. We had a choice: motor for three days north on the ICW to Chesapeake Bay, sail a few hours east to a harbor entrance in shifting sand, marked as too shallow for my boat, or motor/sail south four hours on the ICW, south another half day in the ocean, then turn north. I find motoring the ICW stressful enough that going south seemed better...as well as likely being a bit faster.

Sailing through busy shipping lanes we were SO happy to have had my new AIS purchase on board to tell us what boats were coming and at what speed: VERY helpful for safety as they could avoid us as well as we avoid them.

We expected Wednesday night and Thursday AM to give us rather high winds and large (10') waves and that definitely came true. Unpleasant, but planning, preparing, and and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches saw us through this unscathed and we could see any other ships in the night on the AIS two hours before they came near us rather than ten minutes. Many times the wind and waves sped us along so the propeller shuddered and rattled: yes, the propeller seems to be unbalanced and I have now ordered a new one, hoping it arrives before the nice new cutless bearing is destroyed.... if it is not already.

After a windy Thursday, the wind died overnight and the Friday sun rose (apparently) on glassy waters and thick fog.

I unzipped one of the cockpit windows and it smelled like Cape Cod and Maine: briny, seaweedy, and fishy... I love it. We motored along, keeping an eye on the AIS rather than needing to sound our horn for collision prevention. And dolphins or porpoises visited, a different species than we see in North Carolina and points south.

Saturday night we crossed busy shipping lanes east of Long Island, VERY glad of the AIS as we essentially were crossing a maritime freeway and those vehicles, even though mostly spaced ten miles apart or so, come near deceptively fast.... and really have trouble slowing or turning much. And the AIS tells us exactly what the paths are likely to be and how close we will pass.

Sunday, with a sometimes favorable wind and much motoring, we reached Monomoy, the spur of sand south of the elbow of Cape Cod and dropped anchor at sunset. I had cooked dinner as Paul kept and eye out for lobster pots, so we sat down to a tasty meal of rice/lentils with pasta sauce, enjoyed the sunset, and REALLY enjoyed a full and uninterrupted night of sleep for the first time in a week in calm seas, starry skies, and light breezes.

We sailed into Stage Harbor in the morning where we rented a rather pricey but welcome mooring for a few nights.

Cynthia was due to arrive at the Cape about 9pm. but thunderstorms delayed her flight and she came in in the wee hours Tuesday morning. This morning (June 12) I drove Paul to Hyannis where he rented a car and is driving home to North Carolina.

The only breakage I can recall on our trip?... well, that must have been the loud "BANG" on day 4 when I looked out the portlight and found a section of the bronze traveler suspended from the jib sheet.

Examination later showed the (corroded) bronze bolts broken and the screws pulled from the (slightly rotten?) wood.

The temporary fix saw the car moved to one of the still sound sections of traveler, where it remains still while I consider options.

The cutless bearing and propeller concern me, but the new propeller should be built and delivered by late July and then we shall take a look.

SO...
For many years, I have imagined having my boat here. And the night Paul and I spent at Monomoy and the sail I took yesterday with Cynthia and my cousin Lisa surely fit those pictures.

And I love good times with friends and family.

Still, I doubt I will be as bold as I imagined: bringing my boat into Pleasant Bay seems a really good way to run aground, so it probably won't happen. But other things I had not really thought about, like fishing for bluefish (Cynthia caught three yesterday and several in NC) work well and foraging for food brings me even closer to the natural world I love.

Hot, hot, hot... and here I am, on the hard in North Carolina

Here I am, in the boat in the boat yard, up on stands, in incredible heat. The prior couple weeks was much nicer.

Cynthia flew in to Wilmington, NC on the 16th and I picked her up at the airport in the marina courtesy car. Very nice of them and we gratefully took advantage of it to go shopping for fishing gear and groceries. Our trip up the coast to Cape Lookout took about twelve hours and, since we didn't get started until noon-ish (better to catch the outgoing tide rather than fight it), we stayed out for the night.

In the morning, we wended our way through a thicket of boats fishing for cobia and anchored in Lookout Bight, surrounded by national seashore. Beautiful area: we all loved walking the beaches (Lucy most of all) and the shells lay in great windrows.

The weather stayed cool enough to cuddle at night and windy enough to sail well. Cynthia, although disappointed to have missed out on fishing the Gulf Stream, really enjoyed the little bluefish and Spanish mackerel that schooled in abundance in the bight. And, of course, there were sunrises and sunsets...

On the 22nd we made our way up the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway) from Morehead City

to the Neuse River and, in the morning of the 23rd, squeezed into the creek at Sailcraft Services where I, adjusting to the situation, unexpectedly told Cynthia to take the helm as we attempted to back the boat into the lift bay.

Now, although this sounds mad (and left her rather "uneasy" to say the least), I needed to run about and fend us off from other boats and, with no wind to push us about and nearly no boat movement, the fellows on shore could push us with boat hooks and tell her what to do with no great rush or repercussions. And all was well.

Cynthia departed the next day, sad to leave but glad to avoid the oncoming heat wave. The boat sits on stands as we (my friend Paul, various neighbors, and I) work to set her back in the water Monday 6/3. In addition to the bottom paint I'm applying,

we discovered several issues that are being addressed: the cutless bearing (a bearing that helps prevent vibration of the propeller) needed replacing, the rudder turns 15 degrees one way and 45 the other (should be equal!), scars show that the propeller has been "cleaned" with a grinder and it also shows corrosion, and salt water leaks from the rudder. I'll deal with the rudder tomorrow, the cutless bearing is now installed in the housing and bolted into place,

I'll probably order a new prop in a couple weeks, and the rudder is a bigger project I'll tackle in a year or two when I pull the boat next. And, of course, there is a multitude of other little jobs to work on...

So... I plan to splash the boat Monday 9am, motor down to Morehead City and into the open, sail around Point Lookout, and head north to Cape Cod. I cross my fingers that water will be high enough to motor out of here into the Neuse River, that all our repairs and improvements will delight us, and that we will have fair winds and kind seas for the 500+ miles of sailing.

Underwater photos: basket star

Cynthia really enjoys her underwater camera, but has found that the best way to spot new and interesting things is often to read about them. I, too, found in my youth that this worked: if one is prepared to see something, one will see it.... and if one is not, the eyes and mind will entirely miss it. So, Cynthia read her reef creatures series of books and then sees these cool creatures.... like the basket star.

This critter feeds at night, crawling about and snagging little animals from the water and dragging them into it's mouth: a definite candidate for a horror film! During the day, it crawls onto a gorgonian and curls up into a tight knot, looking like a bit of rotten netting or plant material tangled in the plantlike animal.... and this is exactly what Cynthia spotted. Very cool.

PS: these pics were taken when we visited the Exumas back in February, I believe.

Heading north from Bahamas to NC.... and getting another visitor

My visa ran out and, given that it was about that time anyway, I headed north. I anchored a couple days at the very north-westernmost point of Grand Bahama to wait out a strong blow, then set out. A couple days into the sail, this little critter visited. I suppose it must have seen the "welcome aboard" plaque given to Cynthia and me by her sister and thought correctly that it applied.

The bird checked the boat, including inside the cabin and various perches outside..

..including my big toe

and an insulated mug,

took a good nap,

and disappeared.

I had a few good blows on this trip, including one in which I simply heaved-to for the night with a bit of jib up and all other canvas tied down...

and was about a hundred miles from shore when the bird arrived. I hope it just needed a rest and then continued and survived the spring migration north.

I am currently anchored at Wrightsville Beach, NC, working on fixing and improving the boat (painting, electrical work, fixing leaks in the deck), cleaning up, and otherwise preparing for Cynthia and Lucy to arrive on the 16th. Cynthia wants to go fishing and sailing and soaking up sunshine and I think Lucy wants to bite any fish Cynthia catches.

On May 23rd I am scheduled to pull the boat in Oriental, NC and then Cynthia heads home on the 25th...I think. I hope to put the boat back in the water on the June 3rd and head north for the summer.

Kapok!

Kapok! It sounds like a noise made in a Batman fight in the 60's, but is, in fact, the name of a tree and the fuzzy material it produces. I've heard of kapok for years, used in old-fashioned life jackets and in couches and never knowingly saw one, but noticed this tree when walking through Current Settlement in North Eleuthera, Bahamas. 

The oily fuzz seems to act as a way to help the seeds blow around and become dispersed.

Big thorns resembling those on a rose or blackberry adorn the branches and trunk and make me think there must be some part of the tree tasty enough to require protection from browsing animals. 

Whatever: I'm simply delighted to have come across this tree from my childhood in real life. 

And no, I will not try to grow the seeds or use the fuzz.