ALL HANDS 5/11/91
Last All Hands covered to my departure from Porto Real. I turned back once more at the NW corner of PR, after the jib got loose and was slatting violently on its tack & sheet. Put into Aguadilla to get it all straightened out. At that point I was thinking of aborting the trip, putting the boat on the market, crawling into my hole in Guaypao and waiting to die. But the first 24 hours at sea have cured me. I'm happy to be going and delighted with 100 miles progress. A lovely day of fast sailing, self steering too. Good snoozes last night and promise of ditto tonite with the seas a bit gentler, a trifle less wind than I'd like, but restful. Morning repairs to jib, which apparently got torn when it was snapping around. I had checked that all corners & edges were OK, but missed a tear near the tack - apparently it had got caught on the anchor. I couldn't sew it, but put sticky tape on and hope it will be enough. There's very little strain across the tear. Fixed a coupla three lines that were chafed and did two shoots. Second came out beautifully. Chart measures indicate about 1400 miles to New London. If I keep up 100 miles per day that's 14 days, gives me some cushion. After lunch. Don't seem to be going very fast, but nave so far looks pretty good. No ships, no porpoises, no whales. Even the sunrise, for it was welcome was an unremarkable pinko. Sunset will probably be no better with the very few clouds we've got.Midnight 5-11-12I'm up to do Nav and run the engine. Sat Nav locked on with three arrows, 4th coming. We are moving comfortably, self steering. I'd like a few degrees more Easty, but this isn't bad at all, and I haven't steered the boat all day. Tended, adjusted, tuned now and again, but not sat and steered, captive to the helm. Smooth sea. Is this the 5-miles deep part? I think we are north of that already. Still wet, soaking rain in Porto Real wet the beds, and there is the usual slop of 1/2 of water on the cabin sole. One burner of my new stove seems partially stopped off by water that slopped in the port above it. Air is clear, many very bright stars in the moonless night.5/12There has been a delicate slender moon rising late, and a gentle lightening of all the sky, a few scattered clouds, and suddenly it's more day than night. A line of pink with an orange cast on the East horizon, growing stronger and fading into yellow a bit higher, then into the pale blue that has seeped into our star lit black. Beginning to hit the high blue clouds above with pink frosting. The main act may well turn out to be hidden by a heavy bank of cloud working its way across from the N. A NS vapor trail shows bright pink. A concentration of pinks, flowering at the edges of distant low clouds, and a brightness almost luminous, nosing up over controlled fire - very steady, bright beyond looking at - apparently pushing a little of the sea down to make room for its brightness. The tremendous whole of it showing for only a couple three minutes as the top shelters behind low cloud.5/131700 - A slow day. A little excitement when the fresh water sink pump failed. Out of water? Impossible, maybe the plunger disconnected. See if I've got a spare. Yup and right where it's supposed to be in the pump dept. It's unlikely but possible for me to do something right! Reassembled and put gunkum on the gasket. Got my decrepit old Bod under the sink and removed the fastening holding the old one into the system and out came the old one easy as shit out of a goose. New one 1n, Bod under the sink and fasten up - awkward, dirty, uncomfortable, but I have fresh water! Had to prime it with Battery water caught in the Porto Real rain. Midnight chores - run engine 1/2 hour, post navs, pump out. Now we have wind again and sailing fast in lumpy seas. Not enormous ones, but enough to keep my boat whomping around.
A very sober sunrise with overcast, some holes. SatNav is doing funny things, telling me things I know and secreting the wanted ones. Give it a rest and start over. Plenty of room here anyway. Beds out 1n the sun all day, a little drier. Boat doesn't feel soggy any more, but it's not really dry. There's a trickling leak somewhere below, about 2 gallons a day. And the deck leaks still somewhere up forward - one drip right of the Satnav cover, about a drop a minute when it rains or sprays on deck. Drips on my belly or butt depending on which way I go to bed. Chinese water torture. Midnight, clear, dark, no moon, no ships, not even phosphorescence.5/140700 It's just not the same ocean that Stan and I spent a stormy 6 months on in the course of 3 to 4 weeks! Gentle Easterly is pretty steady, sea has a long roll that gives ample opportunity to climb this one and get down off it before the next one catches us, straightening our skirts. Nothing hurried, but not fast either, 6 or 8 kn of wind, 3 kn top boat speed. Disaster of the night was loose main luffing at the leach (back?) of all things. I let it down at daylight, a line had chafed through, 2nd one this trip! I should have inspected more carefully. The mizzen halyard has been respliced so it won't go, but there's another dozen on the mast. All the really critical ones have been at least inspected. Most are new. End of bread at breakfast today. Apples are poor, 3 little bananas left, a few stalks of celery, may have to be thrown out. I hope there's a vegetarian fish following me for my cast off food.5/151030 two sights to get the morning line of position. Wind is up to 15-18 kn, and we are bounding along again after a very slow but pretty steady morning. About 400 miles done, less than a third, but more than a quarter of the trip. Potatoes, onion, cheese & a couple of small bananas are all that's left of fresh stuff, so I'm into the 2nd half of the provisions already. Hadn't been much choice of fresh stuff in Porto Real. I have plenty of canned stuff (short of losing a mast in mid ocean) and I will start on my vitamin C.5/16Great victory, tainted with coincident disaster. Victory is getting Apogee to steer herself down wind, three hours today, about 24 degrees off straight down, easy sea, but nowhere near quiet. Jib partly shadowed by main wrung all the way to the shroud, and the mizzen put to bed. I'm sure it's been done before, but it was quite a surprise to me, I was working for it, trying every position I could. Next would have been to reef in the main (which I'm sure now wouldn't work) but reefing the mizzen came so near working that I tried without mizzen, and it's lovely. Another night in the sack for me! Disaster is that I can't make SOME of the shoots work out. Not too serious when I have Satnav to check me out, but I will I know WHICH to put credence into when my electric is dead. I guess careful and constant dead reckoning track is the answer, which is what the Satnav is supposed to replace. 5 shots today and all the longitude ones make sense, but none of the latitude ones are possible. Back to the books I guess. The downwind self steering is glory!
2150 - But NFG when the jib pennant parts! Middle of nowhere with (thank God) barely any wind at all, and it let go, dropping both sheets. I got up there as fast as I could after rolling it 3/4 in, dragging the sheets still tied into the piece of the old pennant? I jumbled it together with any old knot - square I hoped - but too harrowed to look back, even though there was still some light at that point. Down below to splice up a new pennant, and clamber out there to stand on the end of my milelong bowsprit, take all the old crap off, tie the new stuff on with bowlines and don't let go of anything, especially me. I thought of the safety belt, decided against it, better off and safer without.
1500 Another gorgeous peaceful day, I think it's the third in a row. Clear and sharp after a dozen drops of rain out of a threatening cloud midmorning. Surprised to see a freighter and a container ship today, not a shipping lane. Didn't speak to either of them. Little life showing on the sea - flying fish on the deck in the morning, and at least a dozen tiny squid. I suppose they are feeding near the surface and get tossed up on my washboards, with breaking waves. No fancy sunrise either, little color in the sky at sundown. OK, if that's what brings this peaceful ocean and gentle wind, I'm all for it. The jib disaster last night could have been godawful in just a little rougher weather. The pennant is a 3' link between the sheets and the tack because I can't reach the tack when it's rolled up. Anyway it looked very hairy, and feeling it stretched out tight in an iron bag made me real doubtful if it would survive another night of chafe. I splice up another and crawled out on the bowsprit, easy. Stand up on the end of it, not too hard with the rolled up jib and stay to hand onto. Then comes the hard part - put the new one on and cut the old one away 6 inches beyond reach. One good shinny gets me up to touch it tippy fingered. Rope steps? Bosun's chair to stand on? 4th try made it, gripping with knees, ankles, armpits and both ears. Eye (?) through the cringle and both ends in my hand - temporary short line held them while I cleaned up the ends of the sheet. One needed sewing after I'd cut away some chafe. Back out on my jerky platform to finish the job in a couple of minutes. The sea seemed much rougher the 2nd time out. I was twirled around the forestay twice unwrapping some job. Not enough to hurt, but confusing. If I fasten now, will it still unroll? I had to count turns to be certain. Yup. Ok, done, and not even wet feet, but happy to set below for a few minutes before trying the jib.5/16There's not quite enough to do when the weather is so easy. Self steering works with a touch now and then. My celestial is beginning to tick now. Today I brought in 4 shots within my 10-mile circle. Good enough to find BDA, but I've pretty well decided that I'll skip right by, keeping to the west of it to avoid fighting these trades. Light fair winds, smooth sea, gorgeous weather, but slow. I'm doing about 3 kn on average and maybe not quite that. So don't complain, the wages go on exactly the same. But they've cut off the good sunsets and sunrises. Caught a fish last night, scooped him right out of the top of a wave with my port deck! Actually he probably caught me - a bigish flying fish, 9 . I cleaned him scaled him and fried him for lunch with potatoes and carrots. ALL FRESH. No doubt my last all fresh meal. Slow easy sea and very little wind, apparently 3 kn over the bottom on an acceptable course, a trifle W of what I'd planned. There's a westerly current of 1/2 to 1.7 kn according to the Pilot Chart, it us up to a fat knot (1.3) at leaving PR. I have to keep reminding myself that I have nothing better to do and no way to do it if I did. At least it's comfortable, and I'm getting dry all the stuff that got wet in the Porto Real flash flood. If days go on like this perhaps I'll get up enough piss and vinegar to tear down the stove and clean it or dry it whatever that one burner needs. After coming close to losing my jib t'other day, I've now got it rigged with 2 pennants and 3 sheets. Any one can go without a complete loss of control. I might have to roll up and wait for easier weather, but at least I could.5/17Wind is nearly dead, but the old sun is keeping up his schedule behind a distant cloudbank. Sea is black and silver as the sun rises above the clouds and real direct light flows over all my world It is mine too. Nobody to share it. No sign of the existence of another person, bird or fish, and a very gentle breeze too. There's more Up and down than forward motion, but at least the boom is not bouncing laterally against lines, jerking, jouncing and damaging. At 1500 next near disaster. I saw a strip of sky THROUGH the mainsail. It's torn 6 near the luff but below the 2nd reef. Not actually parted, threats exist back and forth across the opening. The strain on the sail is in line, rather than across. Now what? I've taped it up with my best duct tape. It might take me home. Better I should try for BDA, more or less 250 miles NE, repair it properly & get some fresh food.5/18Multiple cumulus clouds gave a bit of a show at sun-up. I'm not ungrateful, but so far I've not had a really glorious sunup with this trip. And what great beast has swallowed up the wind? Top speed the last few days has been 3 kn, and far more 2 than 3. This am a scan 1. We are moving. My last day is over 50 mi, which is USArmy marching maximum I think, blushing poor for a seaboat. The wind monster has swallowed all the wind. Sails to bed, and we're lying to the old round swell. I can burn a match open in the cockpit. Most of the day we've kept steerage, but probably not more than a dozen miles on course. Bad time with celestial too, only 2 of 5 shots worked out acceptably. Plenty of exercise though, sails up & down, cleaned out the sail locker and found another boat! The white one. Probably had it on board all the time I was struggling with that toy in Venezuela! Had a bath yesterday. Now to think up something real exciting for supper. Lack of wind is depressing, boring, acid making. Porpoises today, and a pintailed gull.5/19OK, wind in mid am, NW and still pretty light but we are moving almost N on it, self steering, and feeling better about life. Satnav seems to be doing fine - good series, now and then off on interlocking signals, but that's expected if not actually advertised. But my celnav is in a superdisaster, I'm sure the actual shots are OK - ideal conditions - but all shoots are off a whole degree. I had better do a series this pm to be sure of myself. Fact is I'm bored. Open sky, not sun, and now a flat sea, no swell, so that with this gentle 5 - 7 kn, I'm going right along 2 1/2 - 3 kn, perhaps more, comfortably without strain or chafe.5/200230 wind died, flurry of rain, sails slatting, boat tossing. Get them in and go to bed. Main is funny, but I can't see what's wrong. Gaff won't fall, too much exposed main to expect the mizzen to keep the bow up. Yank & hassle, peak up and down, throat moves a little at a time. 1/2 or 3/4 hour got it down to where I could shine a lite on it. Yup, STUCK, tight too. The jury rig holding the gaff jaws onto the mast has screwed up and cocked very tight, caught the peak halyard in too, in the last couple of heaves, so now that won't go up or down. 1/3 of sail exposed and now very full of a fresh NE breeze, which is also building up a sea. Try this and that. Engine on to get her up to the wind. Pick up and poke at the jammed line with dink oars. Nope. Lash a kitchen knife onto the oars, and cut the down line. Tip of reach, hard. Got half way through it, tried to get the blade under, and snapped the blade off. A trifle down though. Hung all my weight on the luff. Got a couple of inches, jammed again. Too rough to climb the ratlines, but standing on the boom, I could just barely reach it. Sawed away with a longer kitchen knife, making progress. Realized that if it came free, the jaws would descend on my head with my best pull assisting. Transferred some of my weight to the throat halyard & finished cutting. No free fall, but diligent wiggling got it free & down. Hard rain now & wind picking up. Set up the crotch, got the swing and sway of the rig under control. Tied down, gathered in sail in a rude bundle and stopped. In a mess but not flogging any more. Now what? WIND you silly bastid, use it. So up the jib, and take off like the proverbial great white bird, jib and jigger and wind increasing to do very well with it, NE 18 or 20 kn and we bound along, self steering into the new day. I collapsed in wet clothes as soon as I felt sure all was well - 2 1/2 hours, coupla three peeks to see what went on. We are close to desired course and still pounding along at 0811. The blow continues under heavy o'cast, and I'm cogitating what to do about the gaff while we finally make a little progress under the jury rig. [1330] It felt like flying after the doldrums I've been in, lots of bounce and slop, but less than 3 kn, and the briskness seems to be fading. I've fixed the gaff jaws (I hope) with new 1/4 dacron. Doubt if it lasts very long. I have wire for a permanent repair (is anything ever permanent?) but it will need dry and o'night for epoxy to bind it. I haven't really straightened out the mess that the sail is in - separated the bottom & tucked in #1 reef - was about to tuck in #2, but the wind seems to be lightning so a nap instead. It was a hard night.5/211830. Mama, pin a rose on me! I hand steered all day after a quarter of the night. Now a slight wind shift, and near exhaustion (let along VAST boredom) convinced me to try the down wind rig. It's not dead down, but it worked. On course, too. Look Ma, no hands. Steering is fun & fulfilling when it's around the buoys and shoals, but with nothing to see, nothing to point at, nothing to avoid, who needs it!5/22Quiet night, clear sky;, light NE wind and steady, self steered with down wind rig (main out, jib fore and aft) and slept with occasional peeks. No lights anywhere. Checks on oil & fuel indicate only 5 gallons used, and I guess I've done about 1/2 the distance. Slow motion again.5/23No air moving, heaved to most of last night. Hoisted the dimity for tiny vagrant breezes at sunup and we moved gently for a while, on course and self steering. New life - a red tanker shortly after sundown last night, but wouldn't answer my VHF greeting. Another BDA gull, a few well separated Mother Carey's chickens. New Today, Portuguese Men of War. They do sail, currently East about half as fast as I'm going N, which is less than a knot. Noon sight WORKED. A couple of days off seems to be just what my nav needed. 1600 sight worked too. Next step is to find out what I was doing wrong. Another flatass calm day and I will. Average speed today 1.2 kn. Lousy, but better than hove to. I don't really think being bored to death is possible, but maybe this trip will prove it.5/24The wind eater is still at it, but there's now about 10 kn SE and we are self steering, though we go a little faster for the attention I pay to the helm. Looks as if I sleep in the cockpit tonight in 5 or 10 minute snatches. One jumping fish, 12-14 , another 5 or 6 seems to live under my stern, white and dark bands running vertical - remora? a black gull, a pair of petrels.5/250700 winging along at least 4 kn. Usual am chores, pump the bilge, coffee & oatmeal, change out of night gear, bring charts & nav up to date, consider what to do about the chafed gaff whenever the mainsail is down and its quiet. [1940] No engine. Tried to start it at 1800, caught, faltered, died. Fuel lines, filters OK, pump gives good squirts. Feels like fuel difficulty - don't give up the ship yet!5/26Bags dry, good breeze and we self steered at 4 KN or better. All sail while I fiddled with the engine. It now starts, runs, but has no power. Has to be fuel, and may be a filter. Wants daylight to work on it and no heavy sea. Engine fixed as far as I could see then. Batteries up. Real disaster this pm, chafed a hole in the mainsail. Struck all, and buggered up the jury rig on the gaff, got it caught in the ratlines. Finally got it out by hoisting the peak extra high. Now it's rolled rough on the boom, and I've been working all pm on a wire retainer. Done now. Epoxy setting to hold it onto the jaws. W111 need screws too. Jib & jigger self steering were jogging us along on course, with frequent interventions from me dropping what I was doing. OK we'll be underway some time tomorrow, I think, single or double reefed to save the main. Quite a hard rain going on.5/271115 hours, I'm writing with an eye on the compass, which tells me I'm a lousy helmsman. Gulf stream seems to be with us, and the wind eating monster has come back for more. So we are powering for a few miles of Northing before we get swept out into the eastern Atlantic. The drift avoided by power will tell me about the current's effect on my course. Power back to normal after 4 hours of frigging with fuel supply, one new filter, and a fuel lift pump. And I'm about wrung out! Hazy sun, after heavy overcast, water is warm, and I'm sure it's the Gulf Stream, but there are no street signs, and it could be a meander off of it. About as calm as one would expect the sea to get. What little wind there is is dead ahead on this investigative course. All three of yesterday's shoots turned out well. 3 more coming up. Batteries are topped off 100X, fuel check this am shows more than 30 gals left. Bread is what I miss most. Eggs may well be a loss, showing mould inside the shell. Not worried about starving, but it may be a strange diet. Big red freighter a couple miles across my stern this am. Black bird, looks more like a hawk than a gull. Portuguese Men o'War seem to have lost their battle. (1845) Since midnight we've made about 6 miles. If I'd been laboring greatly, I'd feel bad about it - The Gulf Stream is adverse, because I've made too much Easting and it's drawing me off the rhumb line. So rather than buck it - maybe as much as a 1 1/2 kn - I'll cross it howevber I can and suit my landfall to what I guet. Right now? I'm going for 4 or 6 hours of power, though I don't think it will be very significant. Watching the satnav fixes will tell me whether it's worthwhile. OK Power on.5/28I shoulda turned west long since, so I didn't have to cross the Gulf Stream. Up to a grey day after a 3-hour sleep. Pale sunrise all white. Last night's long power session seemed to do no good at all. But if they hadn't be available, we'd have been way out to sea, fighting a head wind and maybe breakfast in London. Water cold, what happened to that bath I promised me? [2120] I'm about dead on my feet. Everything has gone wrong today. Rigged the cotton main on top of the old main. Worked OK, but it won't point any better. Went to take it down and found 'd hoisted it with halyards fouled. Can't get it down. Have decided to cut the halyard, get it all in and use the peak to hoist. OK, twice up the mast though and that's rough duty. Another tomorrow. Fog too, 200' circle for most of the pm, cleared a little overhead, but no horizon. Mizzen starboard forward turnbuckle snapped off too. I may have spares. OK, to bed. Bed wet too!5/29Very calm, the windmonster must have a windeating tapeworm! So calm this evening that I went up the mast again and got everything loose, down and in order, to hoist the jury mail with the second healthy breath of air. Much power ahead, get a good night in when I can.5/30Breath of air at 3 am, and I rushed out in skivvies, shivering in seconds. Came in dressed, coffee, and the breath was over. The wind came back after my oatmeal and another coffee, light but southerly, which iis fair. Kept up all day too, 8-12 kn. Porpoises again, big ones this time. The dark gull too, shearwater? and always Mother Carey's chickens. No boats though since the big red tanker. Main sail torn badly enough so it needs professional repair. Jury main doing fine, hangs like a dishrag, goes up and down hard, probably won't point worth a dam. But I'm hoping for this SW wind to carry me into New Bedford. Satnav says 130 miles from noon positiion. At least 2 days and only then if the wind-eating monster doesn't haunt me. New disaster with the engine that I don't understand. It starts, peters in a couple of minutes, beels like fuel starvation, but the pump is fine. It must be air, but I can't find it. Try again tomrrow. Batter1es in good shape at least.5/31I'm wore out and no mileage! Wind died last night, up and down once. Wind again at 3:40, sails up, wind died before I could get turned around. Struck all and it came up with a good turn of power. Tried to turn on the mizzen, only to find that it was so soft and weak from the busted turnbuckle that I didn't dare hoist. Gathering daylight as the moon set, somewhat more than moderate sea. Dug out the rigging spares, deep aft, had to move a mass of stuff out and in again. Found a turnbuckle, but had to unfreeze it with heat & penetrating oil. Difficult to get it on and pinned, but on and made up. By now the wind so weak that I couldn't turn the boat. We lay in the troughs of waves so deeply that the trifle of moving air wouldn't turn the boat either way. No engine of course. Wait. Big trawler fisherman circled me and waved. No way we could communicate. My radio wouldn't pick him up. It was working before. OK, set it up ready, have breakfast and wait. Had another try at the engine too. No good. 8:30 a little more air. Get go1ng. Still not enough to turn her on the Mizzen, so get all sail up. Main up 3/4 and it stuck. One of the lines hung up on a block that's upside down. Same error as yesterday's disaster. How can I be so stupid and so quick about it! Wind dying gradually all day. I climbed the mast again for this crzy snarl, easier to unsnarl than yesterday, but up and down the mast was worse, even in the very gentle swell, at the masthead it felt like 20' of swinging back and forth & violent at each change. Hlps ache, caudal area in dull patn too, bruised about the upper arm & shoulder. At 1540 we are moving gently west, when I'd rather be northwest, but good enough for today and tonight.6/1Lat. 40, lon 70, been here forever. The book says we are in a compass round drift, so drift is not in one direction but goes all around and should be about even for every 12 1/2 hours. No power, no mainsail, I've repaired the broken scotch block, replaced a broken turnbuckle, fixed more chafed lines than I could find names for, and I'm sitting in a 100' circle of fog, moving at barely swimming speed. Can't use the jury main till we get more wind because the swells rock it back & forth so violently that it will sooner or later bust something more, and I may not be able to fix it. No horizon for 2 days. Everything on board is wet. Mustn't use any electric except for Satnav.6/2I'm waiting in mid ocean. There hasn't been wind enough to blow out a match. That's not as bad as a hurricane, but ranks just below it on a negative scale. The sea continues to rock the boat and no sail to keep it steady, so every bit of rigging is bing bang, bing bang, constant irritation and deadly hard on lines and fittings. The really hard bit of this leg of the trip has been the snafu of hoisting the main and jury main, damage to the sail, and almost complete loss of me. Almost is no cigar, but it's no loss either.6/8The Hetty Brown, a lobster fisherman has volunteered to tow me into Newport, after I radioed the Coast Guard in Woods Hole. Have been here since the 28th of May, drifting around n a 10-mile circle out of wind. Just to enhance the Hetty Brown's delay due to some gear trouble, I ran out of propane yesterday. I feel better than yesterday, but still very delicate about sudden weight or twist of left leg. Going to have to get used to wearing a hearing aid again, and shoes. Maybe even clothes. Cannon out here too, scary the first time, I suppose it's the double boom of supersonic aircraft. HettY Bremen (not Brown after all) a sturdy 55' vessel with plenty of power but only 8 1/2 kn of speed, just about perfect for me, got to me in early evening. I had set up tow rig well ahead, and we got under way about 1900. Much faster than Apogee ever could go under own power, which raises bow. sinks the stern & floods the cockpit through its drains, so I plug them as well as I can, and bail out every hour. Engine compartment needs a pump every coupla hours, as the drip from the stuffing box is multiplied. At 0840, we are in sight of land.
I have been mercilessly excized by my scrivener for forcing her to edit my pearls f wisdom. OK I'll keep my sacred prose simple and straight forward, which is more than I can do with my life. By now you've got the All Hands covering the voyage from PR to Newport. It's clear that the atmosphere of Newport is expensive, nevermind space ashore or at the wharf. Emergencies and disaster abated, my friend who runs Oldport Marine suggested - not rudely - that I clear out and leave space for boatmen with more money. So onward and up(north)ward to New Bedford, where prices have not skyrocketed quite so high.6/3Diesel lined up by Oldport mechanic. Left Newport close after noon, fuel and water topped off. Stuffing box tightened by a passing diver, but still leaking some from the imperfect bottom. Rate is not constant, it leaks more under way than anchored in still water, but so far never at an uncomfortable rate, or needing more than pumping twice a day. So out of Narraganset Bay under power, directly into the southwester blowing freshly, maybe fifteen knots and gradually easting too, a little before the Texas tower that replaces the old lightship. Got the jury main and jib working, but kept the engine on for about an hour to get a good start and a bit of freedom from the upwind limits. OK engine off past Sakonet point, and a full reach in lightening wind along the beginnings of MA, Horseneck Beach, Barney's Joy, Dumpling Rocks, where the monster that eats wind caught up with me. A very faint adverse tide showed by the pot buoys that we were moving half a knot or so by the din and the galloping seas, but were losing the race with the pot buoys. Engine on into the great bay of New Bedford, and anchor at dusk outside the breakwater to avoid any possible threat of an argument about whether I owed for the wharfage. Very quiet. Commercial fishermen in and out all night, but their wake didn't disturb my sleep after nearly eight ours at the helm.6/10/91.Made a happy contact with my sister, who'd been in Boston for a 50th Radcliffe reunion, and she agreed to come down en route back to NY. Drove me about for groceries and fresh eatables, walk ashore, scare myself to death riding in a car that goes more than twenty times as fast as my average speed at sea, which is very slightly more than two and a half miles an hour. Fed me a fancy meal.
New Bedford prices are better (for me) than Newport, but still pretty rich, and the killer is a daily charge of S65 after the third day ashore. I need to dry out the wet wood under the skin of plastic that is in tatters on my keel and in a few other places. Minimum weeks. But I found a man with a boat carpenter business, who can haul me without removing the mast. Works off season , which in this case is the midsummer slump for S30 n hour and no charge for storage;. That's a challenge for the Mainiacs.
Refridge is fixable, the technician got through today, and it's cold. The sails went off to Smitty who made my first set of sails, and with whom I had fierce arguments about what computers would do to sailmaking. They are gradually proving to be right - the art can be numbered, and the computer primed to do its numbers faster and more accurately than any human - anyway he's putting patches wherever they need to be. I may end up looking like a Tibetan priest. but better so than a grainbag.
Could leave here tomorrow, but not really likely. Want to get together with Jared, Sukey and Stan in Boston; Dick Ross in Portland; all my people in Round Pond, Camden, Lincolnville and finally Belfast. Minute-to-minute scheduling. At some point pick up a great old chevy that's now in Burlington, MA, and not properly registered. So this may reach you from only the edge of the sea.All of which brings me to the real crux of this appeal to all of you who are my extended Family. I have cut off my shanty in Louds Is. I do need to go one more time to clean out my personal stuff, but I won't be in ME enough to keep it properly serviced, even by my very rough standards, and I'm sure Mrs. Meyer will find an appreciator. This would get me out of that frypan into the fire of having to make up my bleeding mind what to do with the boat rest of my life. Help, help!!
My sister has pointed out a few things, none of which has grabbed me so hard that I jumped on (or off). I feel I have nothing to offer any more. It is surely true that I have less than I had, and that it will be less each year from here on. And cantankerous as ever too. I'm wide open to suggestions. Dearly hope that each of you will put forth at least two.
The body seems to be holding out fairly well, knees perhaps the poorest, but I get around in PR on a moped sort of thing, and can walk gently a mile or two. I think I get along very well with people in general. I can cook, keep house very poorly, sail noncompetittvely, navigate (barely). My hand skills diminish but have been very high. Innovative has often been applied to the things I've done and my attitude toward getting them done. [Ingenious was my word - PK] Most of my working life has been spent in supervisory positions, but I'm a lousy executive (good leader?).
My income has not kept up with inflation so that eventually I'll have to give up the boat - and that may be very soon. It's probably not saleable, and perhaps not even giveable! I passed the three quarter century mark on the 18th of June.