Log

10/18/07

I'm writing most of this entry in late October. We've had an interesting year.

5/3/07- "Iris" launched for the season a little light on the bottom paint according to the ship's log. Judging by the barnacles now growing on the rudder, I need to get some more paint on there next year.

We continued our "exploration" of Buzzard's Bay. It looks like we spent most of May and June sailing around with a reef in the sail. Most of the entries detail wind and waves.

7/22/07- We went for a sail to Penikese Island. About 3/4 of the way there the wind started picking up and we decided to turn around. We were sailing close hauled into a choppy sea on the way back. Wind increased to 15-18 knots. We heard a loud clang and our whole rig fell into the sea. Lynne broke out the life preservers and I scrambled around, attempting to get things sorted out. Iris immediately went beam to the sea so there was a lot of rolling around. We both grabbed hold of the sinking sail and hauled most of it aboard. I then managed to get a line from the bow to the mast and another from the stern. With much effort, we hauled the whole mess on top of the boat. Every thing lashed down... check for lines in the water... start outboard.... It was a wet ride home, due to unusual boat movement, without the steadying action of the mast. We felt like celebrities upon entering the harbor. Many boats were pulling along side to see our little disaster area. We tied up to a mooring in the outer harbor as it was going to be another hour before the Padanaram swing bridge would open. Eventually, someone in a Boston Whaler came over to chat with us about the whole ordeal. It was pointed out to me that we need not wait for the bridge, as we could fit under due to our lack of a mast. I felt a bit foolish at the time. We promptly started our motor and went up harbor to our mooring. What an exciting day. Over the next few weeks Marshall Marine installed a new mast and we purchased a new sail. During that time we received the "Fender Bender Award" at the Padanaram Catboat Rendezvous. According to the ships log we were back out on the water 8/5/07, all ship shape.

Around this time in the year we started fooling around with anchoring and had lunch and swimming breaks here and there. There are a lot of entries in the log. I will try to point out a couple of the more memorable ones.

8/12/07- We did some poking around West Island. Went into the harbor. Sailed around Angelica Rock.

8/14/07- Sailed out to Kettle Cove on Naushon Island. Had lunch. Went up the coast along the Elizabeth Islands.

8/29/07- Sailed out early (9:00 AM bridge opening). Lynne did some navigating. Light winds, flat sea, and sunny. We decided to head out to the islands. Sailed for a bit but eventually started up "the iron wind" to make better time. Went to Cuttyhunk. Had lunch onboard Iris. Saw some cows sunning themselves on the beach at Nashawena. (Pictures in the gallery) Then headed over to Penikese Island. We saw seals bathing on the rocks over there. That was the first time either one of us have seen seals in the wild. We had a 2 hour beam reach back with a good steady breeze.

9/7/07- Through the bridge at 10:00. Winds around 15knots. Sailed out under 1 reef. Went toward the Radome but things got too rough. Sailed down into Clarks Cove (good run). Picked up a mooring, had lunch. Tied in the second reef on the main. Sailed home with winds over 25+knots. Very rough sea. Radio went dead. Had to yell at the bridge to get back in.

 (This was the first time we used the second reef. I had a real hard time getting out of the Cove do to sailing upwind and very rough seas. Though this was a fairly short log entry this was a very challenging day for Iris. I don't think there is any other 18' boat that would have handled the situation as well.)

9/22/07 -We went on our first overnight trip. Loaded Iris up with gear (Camp stove, plenty of food, portable shower, booze, all of the comforts of home). Took Iris around Mishaum Point. 2:00- Sailed around for a bit and headed up the Slocum River. We went over the sandbar at the mouth of the river at high tide. Navigated up the river, by GPS, over some very thin water. Found a nice cove to anchor in (near Great Neck). Had cheese, crackers, and wine. A little later had burgers and chowder for dinner.  It was a beautiful, quite spot. Lots of fish jumping all night.

9/23/07 -We slept well. The captain got up several times to check the anchor. We woke at 6:19 (I think we were supposed to get up at 5:00). We cleaned up and I decided I wanted to brew a pot of coffee before leaving (bad idea). We picked up the hook around 7:15. At 7:45 we made it down stream and slammed the boat into a sandbar. I tried to push her over (the bar wasn't on the chart). Lynne stood up forward by the mast. I moved the gas and water tank. I also made the heroic effort of transferring most of the lead ballast into our dingy. Well, I managed to push Iris around 30 yards before giving up. Unbeknownst to me, I was trying to push her across, what seemed like, a small island. The tide kept running out and we had a nice day at the beach. Water warm and clear, plenty of food and libation, who could ask for more. We met several people who stopped by out of curiosity. We also met a group of people whose power boat was stuck on a sandbar near ours. Iris was able to float free by 3:00pm and had a good run home. (pictures of this trip are in the gallery)

Click on a picture for the full sized version.

So far (as of Oct 18) there are 31 log entries for this year. That works out to around 35 sailing trips. We're not done yet. It'll be long johns and foul weather gear for us.