Aug 3-19 -- Two Work Days Around a Hurricane, One Other Day and Two Lovely Day Sails.

ILENE was spared by Hurricane Isaaias; it damaged several boats in the Harlem mooring field and nearby. Hidden Hand lost its 135 headsail which was caught by the wind, unfurled and shredded. She also almost lost her anchor which was held in place only by a safety loop of Dynema after the pin in the special swiveling anchor shackle gave way. Several Harlem boats stayed on their moorings but the moorings dragged, some more than 100 feet north when the winds were from the south! One of these was Thai Hot, otherwise unscathed. Another boat was hit by another  boat which break it off its mooring and then be blown north and under the bridge from the Bronx to City island which broke off her mast. So ILENE was lucky. A jar of dried marjoram leaves fell out of the spice rack and rolled around on the counter atop the refrigerator and freezer which caused its top to come off and its contents to make a pretty little mess to be vacuumed up. One auxiliary jib sheet worked loose and was whipped around into a crazy quilt pattern; I simply straightened out and retied it. Considering what could have happened nothing happened. 

The two work days were to install safety chafing gear on the new bridle where it passes through the chock, and tying extra lines around the main in its stack pack on the boom and around the head sails. I put a few extra turns of the genoa sheets around the genoa by reattaching the genoa furling line so that it was more tightly wrapped and put a piece of shortstuff around the furled small jib, above the tack. And I secured lines inside the cockpit sole rather than leave them mounted on the rails and removed the American flag and its staff. The thing I did not do, but will do next time, and with the increasing frequency and severity of big storms caused by global warming there will be a next time, is to remove the dink from the boat and mount it tied down securely atop the Club's dock. So just lucky.

The "other" day was a dinner we brought to Bennett's house to share with them because Harriet recently broke her leg.

The two day sails on ILENE:

First with David of Hidden Hand for about three hours of good wind. David is strong and a knowledgeable  sailor: he had no difficulty learning ILENE's somewhat complicated headsail arrangements. He wanted to use both of my headsails which we did in the course of the passage. He was interested in my secondary small jib sheets (barberhaulers), thinking he might need them when he puts on his new larger genoa. I don't think they will be needed or useful for him and suggested he not go to such trouble until he has tried sailing without them. He is naturally cheerful but was sadly a bit demoralized by the damage done by the hurricane to his boat; he had done so much work this season to improve her and was seeing light at the end of the tunnel when the new problems were created. The one problem we had during the sail was that I had forgotten the line I'd tied around ILENE's furled small jib above the tack to protect it. I was reminded when, after furling the genoa and unfurling the jib it got stuck at the ring of cordage. Unfortunately the attempt to unfurl it caused that ring to ride even higher up the partially furled sail. He suggested the boat hook and after refurling I was standing on the foredeck with the hook fully extended over my head, hooking it on one side and then the other of the loop, each time lowering it an inch until I could grab and untie it, all while he steered us on a  close reach up Hart Island Sound 

The next day Lene and our friends, Christine and Heather joined me for four hours in southerlies. This photo is on the launch so the bright smiles are masked. We used only the main and small jib but made good speeds, first, deep into first Manhassett Bay, then Little Neck Bay and to the shadow of the Throggs Neck Bridge before transiting the King's Point Channel and heading for home. Once on the mooring we shared food and drinks. The two young ladies have sailed with us for about ten years, including spending several days and nights aboard with us in Miami in 2015.

And if you are wondering why there was so little sailing in such a long period of time, it is because  unfortunately I was in hospital for four days with an obstruction  in the alimentary canal followed two days (so far) at home waiting for a severe spasm in my arthritic neck to subside. I was able to avoid the  need to cancel the Hudson River Cruise during the hospital stay, but the neck did it in. And I spent yesterday calling nine marinas and five families to tell them it was off. But if my neck loosens up we can restart it because the plan is written down. One spot on the return was to anchor off Athens, NY, near where a marina used to be, and dink over across the Hudson River which is narrow there to meet Lianne and possibly her son and grandsons in Hudson NY. Unlike the LongIsland cruise which was almost all anchorages, the river requires marinas.

Well, I have been lucky so far to have my maladies hit me at times when they did not interfere with the watery life I love. Getting old gives you senior discounts but one pays the price with more and more "preexisting conditions."