Rarely does the weather cooperate with our boating plans, but during the past two weeks it has served our needs perfectly.
Just before they hauled us out, it rained so much we were forced to rest a lot. Same for the day of the haul which had been a tense time because it was our first ever haul with this boat. But after that, it stayed dry almost the whole time so we could sand, repair, and paint outside all day, every day. We worked to exhaustion and were grateful to do so.
The day we launched again, it stayed dry just until we got all our equipment back aboard and the anchor set properly at high tide in a nearby mud flat. Then it rained hard and Peace scrubbed herself nearly clean of the yard dirt and refilled her water tanks too.
Yesterday and today it has been warm and sunny again so we have moved the boat to deeper water and begun tightening the foremast rigging, bending on sails, and tidying up tools etc. I do not think I could have ordered up a better weather schedule.
July 16
We stopped in Portsmouth last night and boats were sailing in and out past our anchorage. That harbor has more than its fair share of yawls, gaffs, and generally well restored classic yachts and even speed boats. We were out on deck working a new method of tightening the rigging even more which has resulted in much better support for the foremast, and people came by to chat so it was a pleasant stay.
This morning we are heading south again but our company is the famous right whale population around Stellwagon Banks. We saw several on our way north here, but visibility is better today.
Another thing that is better since painting the bottom is our hull speed under power in calm conditions we get over 7 knots now. So Nev and I have decided not to change the carburators on our 9.9 Yamahas after all. That would have made them into 15 horse motors, but it is not needed now.
With all the repairs done to mast and mast case, we were finally able to raise the foremain sail with it's recut luff minus the luff pocket which had chafed through in several places from the halyards. We now have rope lacings as per the John Leather Gaff Rig book and it raises and lowers with ease and still sets well. When we can afford it, we will have the main done the same way. We are just too old to struggle with the luff pocket sail cut which always bound up on us. If there is a trick to operating that luff sleeve, we never found it, and we did try!
A special request..
Recently, at a pig roast, I met a professor who teaches about the literature of the sea at university level. Laughing and joking around, I told him about my sailing letters and recent articles in Multihull Review. Then he wanted to hear all about us living aboard, and our cruising life. Well, he was not laughing or joking around when he suggested that I should write a book! But maybe, I thought, maybe he was just nuts.
So I asked the editor at Multihull Review - the guy paying me money for those articles I have been writing. He might also be nuts, but it is nice that hepays me for doing writing which I enjoy. He took the book idea seriously, offered to edit my work, and was encouraging too. So...
I am starting to consider this idea of actually writing a book and would be pleased to have some feedback from you readers of my cruising letters. I would start with my years of solo saling on my old 28 foot monohull and go right on to this boat's build and cruising life.
There is one problem though. I have terrible handwriting and only have this tiny pocketmail gizmo and it is too wimpy to write a whole book. I need a laptop that can run on 12 volts or that I can use with my small inverter. I do not need a new or very powerful laptop though because I never go on line and do not need a lot of fancy bells and whistles. I just need to be able to write and down load onto a floppy disk or CD. It would be fantastic to also be able to make telephone calls using it while we are in the Bahamas too. The phones there are incredibly expensive.
If anybody has such a laptop that is not being used and needs a good home, please contact me. I am told that some folks even throw them into the garbage after a few years of use! Due to recent heavy expenses, I am really looking for something ultra cheap.
Invitation!
There will be a Polynesian (Wharram) Catamaran Association gathering at our mooring in Rhode Island over the weekend of August 4, 5, 6 (2006) and attenders are requested to bring simple but healthy food to share. Remember that we do not have refrigeration on Peace. Please email if you will be there. Phone 401 261 7816 after 7pm or all day week ends.
All the best,
Ann and Nev
© Anne and Neville Clement, 2004