October 20 -23 -- Three Work Days And Covered

Three 0f the four days in this period were work days, totaling 13 hours by me plus four more with Mendy, who was great for the heavy lifting jobs, plus I enjoy his company and conversation. The two yard men needed my help to get the forestays reattached and tightened. The remaining two sails were stripped, transported, folded and stowed in the upstairs locker. (Mendy, my weight- lifting heavy-lifter, estimated the main weighs 75 pounds and it is bulky even when folded neatly.) Also, the dodger is removed so its zipper can be replaced at Doyle Sails. An innovation: I used the topping lift to raise the aft end of the boom so the dodger's stainless frame could be arced forward under it and removed one screw on each side. Now it lays flat on the coach roof and is no longer a hazard of head bumps. Also, I removed six stanchions and four lifelines, labeled them and stowed them in the anchor locker and removed the steering which I moved to the forward head for the winter. Then the framing for the winter cover was placed, i.e., the whisker pole, the boom and the wooden extension and its support beam. And all remaining running rigging was moved so as to not interfere with the winter cover. The electrical cord is placed for shore power and the salon table removed for access to the bilge. This picture, (photo credit: Mendy) was before the cover was tightened:

October 19 HAULED: End of the Fun Season And What Was It Like?

Fouled communications led to the "wrong" time to go to the Huguenot -- but no harm done. I was told to be there at nine for the high tide and expected to leave the Harlem at eight to motor there. But I had not checked the tide tables and upon arrival at the Harlem, which has essentially the same tides as New Rochelle, it was near low! And I had failed to note that the Harlem's launch service had been cut back so as to only start at nine AM so I had an hour to wait. I chatted with Jack who had taken his beloved stiff-hipped 15 year old pooch, Boots, for his morning constitutional. We reminisced about our passage, together and with others, on "Thai Hot" from Bermuda back to the Harlem, in about 2008. 

Once delivered to ILENE by the launch, I chased a gull, standing on the foredeck -- away from his breakfast -- two dead fish. not eaten enough to make as big a mess as usual. The gull flew circles around ILENE until I got underway. Then passing through Hart Island Sound, I put her on auto, threw the fish back into the sea, put up the dock lines and fenders and got out the air horn -- because the Huguenot does not normally answer on VHF. Entering through the western channel (past the NYAC) at near low tide I saw the many rocks that line it. But the lowest I saw on the depth meter, heard its beep actually, was seven feet, briefly.  Orlando and Gus were right in place to help with the lines so the air horn was not needed.   

From ten to two, after scrubbing off the fresh fish blood I took off the jib and the main, except for removal of the battens from the latter, and got ready for the lads to remove the headstays. I also took off the dodger for repair (replacement) of a zipper and staged the ladder and tarp in the area of the yard where ILENE now sits -- the same spot as last year, convenient for water and electricity. The actual hauling process was done easily and flawlessly but the best news of the day was that the power washing (Gus did the best job ever) showed that the bottom paint I had applied in the spring looked almost as good as new. I will put on another coat before relaunching, but except for the prop, there will be very little bottom work needed this winter. In fact, it looks like very few winter chores will be on my list for 2020-21 once ILENE is covered and winterized.  And for the first time, I left the boat before she transported from the launch pad and blocked. I took the two busses back to the Harlem and got home in plenty of time for showering, dinner and the evening's Zoom book club meeting.

                                       WELL WHAT SORT OF SEASON WAS 2020?

Having launched on May 27, ILENE spent only 145 days afloat, a relatively short season. (I note that including this one, I will have made only 40 posts to this blog so far this year, compared to the next least, for the entire 2016, 53 posts.

Nineteen of the 145 days of the season were work days, leaving 126. Six of the 126 were "Other" days, leaving 120.  Of the 120, only 74 were sailing days. Three of the 74 were day sails on Bennett's Ohana and three were on David's Hidden Hand, leaving only 68 days sailed on ILENE.  Adding back in the six days on friends boats gets us back to the 74 sailing days, which I've divided into three categories:

First comes Cruising days -- those on which ILENE began, or ended (or spent the whole day) away from her home mooring. There were 26 of these, some with Sammy and Mendy, were to Sheepshead Bay, Oyster Bay and Ziegler's Cove. and the rest were our two cruises, first, east, to the Shelter Island area and later, north, up the Hudson, almost to Albany.

The second category of sail days are Live Aboard Days, during which ILENE spent the whole day on her mooring and we lived, ate and slept aboard her with various ashore activities during parts of the day. There were nineteen of these and we would have had more except the intense heat drove us home to air conditioning.

Finally are the Day Sail days, 29 of them, 17 with Lene but all with friends: we drop our mooring in Eastchester Bay and return to it several hours later. The friends added up to 35 different individuals, some days with only one person and others with as many as four. So in retrospect, we took risks and made our bubble a big one. Most of the friends who sailed with us this year did so only once but several had more than one excursion. This year's prize winning guest was Mendy with a total of eight days aboard, three cruising and five day sails. Many such guests have sailed with us in prior years but for fifteen it was their first ride on ILENE.

So for a Covid truncated season, not too bad overall. I'm particularly pleased to have had the pleasure of my boat's namesake for all except twelve of the 74 days. 

And oh yes: We put 129.5 engine hours on the Yanmar (about 19 of them for refrigeration during the live aboard days) and 905 nautical miles under ILENE's keel plus enough more, during the six rides on other boats, to have had approximately a 1000 nautical mile season.

And now dear readers, the work season has begun.

Oct 7 - 14 -- Season's Last Two Sail Days, Two Work Days and ILENE Is Ready To Be Hauled

The two sail days could not have been more different. 

First, on ILENE in LOTS of wind (20 with gusts to 25 knots) with David of "Hidden Hand". We were only underway two hours and part of that was a delay near the start while I corrected the reefing of the main: (I had connected at the cringle for the third reef by accident and had to slack the halyard to reattach for the second forward reef point. I'm going to find a way to indelibly mark the three sets of rings. Once that was straightened out we were very fast --  to Ex. Rocks and back in less than two hours. Seven or more knots, peaking at 8.4; exhilarating!  David is good at electronics and both erased my track and recalibrated the wind speed instrument. He also saved the day when, on the way home, through inattentiveness I was heading for maybe 150 feet inside Big Tom's R 2. No harm done. I also gained a greater appreciation for Lene's skill in bringing the boat to very slow AT the mooring. I had criticized her for how she did this but it took me three tries to get it right. 

Next day I was with Lene and Bennett on his "Ohana". I "used" Bennett as bait -- to get an extra day afloat with Lene; she would not have come out for a day sail with me alone, but with Bennett.... And after sailing a good dinner at their home in Alpine cooked by Harriet whose broken leg is recovering.

 The wind was very light and we had problems with the sails. First, we could not unfurl the in-mast mainsail. I think it may have had to do with not releasing the vang which we had used in the race the week before, which changed the angle of the boom relative to the mast. Or it may have been that our other crew member during the race had furled the sail too far into the mast. Just theories. Bennett has purchased a brand new mainsail and the sailmaker will know how to get the old one out.  Without a main, we used his code Zero which is a rather powerful sail and I learned a little better how to rig it up.

Ilene liked the colorful and powerful nature of the big sail but using it is complicated and we ended up with one of the sheets captured in the furl; It can be fixed, by unfurling it on the Club's ballroom floor during the winter. Anyway, we rather drifted south to the north coast of Great Neck, east of Kings Point, and had to use the engine briefly to turn the boat for the drift back to the mooring. Not exiting sailing but good fun with good friends.

The first Work day was frustrating. My primary plan had been to winterize the water maker but an error symbol had come up saying 'check prefilters". Having replaced them I tried again with the same non-result. I gave up. I did use the new velcro dots that Zarcor sent to me, for free, to reattach the "CloZure" sliding shutter to the aft cabin port. Zarcor stands behind its products. I wish I could buy their cafe companionway doors, made of starboard, but no need because ILENE came with beautiful wooden ones. 

I consoled myself from the frustration of the day with a meeting of the Harlem Yacht Club, held outdoors, overlooking the water. It was the shortest (60 minutes), most productive and least acrimonious Club meeting I have ever attended. Literally, no one disagreed with anyone else about anything and reports were made on all of the progress that our Board is making on so many fronts. I  feared that the Treasurer's report could have a lot of red ink but while revenues this Covid year were down, so were expenses and we seem to remain afloat.

Next day involved a lot of time on the phone: with the insurance broker, and an email to the underwriter to explain, with pictures, that the keel modification made the boat safer rather than less safe, with the hope that they would relax the need for a full survey. The jury is out on this issue. And to Bryan of Headsync, up in Newport RI. They installed ILENE's water maker in 2010. He told me to let the work on the winterization go this year because the propylene glycol I put in two years ago is still good. But after ten years, I have to stop in Newport next summer and he will put in a new "membrane". 

My next day on the boat, was very satisfying. I took the winter covers, their cords and pads and the ladder and ground tarp from the locker to the boat. Then after scrubbing off the fish remains left by the birds (I think ILENE becomes a more popular dining spot for them in the fall when there are less alternatives.) I stripped off the genoa and bundled it coarsely for later transport to shore. A round trip motor drive to the fuel dock on the north side of the City Island Bridge to top off the tanks to avoid introduction of water to them by condensation during the winter was next. I cranked up the diesel as high as I could but after 2600 rpms, the rpms and speed did not increase when I pushed harder on the throttle. Enroute we passed the small orange death ferry transporting the remains of the unclaimed poor across Hart island Sound (The River Styx).

I screwed down the cabin sole and the board under my berth (over the watermaker). Ashore, after a restorative beer with the guys to rehydrate and rest, I laid the genoa out flat and folded and rolled it into a smaller neat package, tied it up securely and two of the guys helped me carry it up the stairs to its winter home. 

And in the evening, thanks to a tip from Sid, I watched "Second Wind: The SNOEK Refit" a PBS documentary on the life and accomplishments of Onne van der Wal, a noted boater and boating photographer, who has a photography gallery in Newport RI. There were many scenes in the New England waters and ports that we have come to know. It celebrated Onne's lifetime of accomplishments not least of which was his almost complete rebuild of a 1972 Pearson 36, a boat with "good bones".  He clearly spent more time and money than the beautifully restored boat is worth, but it was a labor of love and he took pride in it. Available on  You Tube. Thanks, Sid!

Sept 25 to October 6 -- Five Nice Sails in Summery Conditions

Usually by this time of year the air is cold and the winds strong. Reefing time. But none of the five excursions reported on were white knuckle sails. We never used the genoa but no need for reefs and easy sailing. Long sleeve shirts but not heavy winter coats.

1. Rhoda and Lloyd joined me for a sail to Execution Rocks. Both going and returning we went through Hart Island Sound, an unusual occurrence. We ran through outbound and  beat back on the return. Lloyd, who is the less sailing oriented partner of the couple, had the helm sixty percent of the time and all the way back. I think that for him, this may have been the most enjoyable sail of his life; I hope so.

2. I joined Bennett and his friend Jeff on Ohana in a Club race. Slow going, including a 90 minute delay while there was no wind as seen on the surface behind Jeff.

Due to Covid, instead of the traditional beer party on the Club's deck after the race, each boat was provided with a goody bag containing a bottle of wine and a lot of snacks. We had a pleasant day despite being completely out of the race from the start. The course was shortened due to light wind and involved going from the start at the Cuban Ledge buoy to the green can just before the Whitestone Bridge and back. Bennett had removed his dink to lighten the load, but not his dodger and bimini. And we forget to appoint a stopwatch equipped starter so we had only a general idea of when the start would occur. The other boats ranged from avid racers to those who race a few times a year. But they all crossed the starting line within a few seconds after the gun, trimmed and going full speed. We had a slower start and during the first few tacks we taught Jeff, who had raced sunfish several decades ago in his youth, how to release a loaded winch. But the biggest problem was that Ohaha's jib is too small for such a race compared with the genoas on the other boats. We had a great time sailing together but while all the other half dozen boats finished, on corrected time, within between 60 and 100 minutes, our sail lasted 160

3. Lene joined me and our friends, Sid and Jan, for a sail in winds that kept us in the five knot range. We went to the moored boats at the south end of Little Neck Bay and then out through Kings Point Channel and continued all the way to Larchmont on the same tack. On the return we had one tack on the south side of Execution Rocks and a couple more to home. We would normally have had dinner with our friends of 30 years or so, but we had to retrieve Cruiser from the Vet's office where his final remaining 14 teeth were extracted. Our orange tabby is literally a toothless tiger, poor guy, and had pain for the next few days which we sought to relieve. But once his perpetual toothache is removed, he will have a happier life.

4. With David, the Club's House and Locker Chairman (left), and Phil and Diane, a couple of brand spanking new social (non-boat owning) members who I had met and worked with at the Club Work Party that Dave had organized and led for three hours in the morning on the dock after sailing. My tasks included pulling monstrous weeds in the storage area we call "The Farm", enough to fill a dumpster!, and then consolidating toxic wastes from the hundred or so small containers of waste oil, diesel, paints, polishes etc. into a few large ones to facilitate transportation of the stuff to the County's hazardous waste disposal depot in Valhalla New York. We work for the benefit of the Club, for the fellowship and for the "free lunch" that the Club provides us worker bees. Very light winds so my crew did not experience the thrill of ILENE at eight knots. Phil used to sail and Dave has his own boat and those two shared the helm.

5. Lene (her second outing of the five), our friend Jeff and nephew Mendy joined me. Jeff had never sailed west toward the City and with wind from the NNE and tide timing adequate, we gybed (a very perfectly controlled gybe if I do say so myself) on the way to the Throggs Neck Bridge and then a starboard reach to the turning basin just to the east of The Brothers and long tacks, about five of them, beating back out to the Sound. We had favorable tide outbound which diminished when we beat back into it. The only excitement was the crash of a seaplane announced by the Coast Guard as a POM POM via VHF channel 16. The location was announced: between the Throggs Neck and Whitestone Bridges, where we were heading on the way back. We thought we might have been able to render assistance.  But we saw a cluster of boats with lights flashing off the Queens shore and heard the Coast Guard ask the police to keep pleasure boats away so they could do their rescue work. Later came the Coast Guard's all clear of the POM POM. We were just a bit too far away to be able to render assistance. The NY Times reported next day that two or three people died after the plane hit a concrete pier.   

ILENE now has a tentative hauling date during the period October 12-16.