Getting Married Is A Lot Of Work

Pamela was a beautiful bride yesterday.

The only photos I have are people's cell phone pics, but you can see how lovely she looked.   Everything went without a hitch and everything was perfect.  Well, except for the cold and rain and having to drive a 1956 Thunderbird with no heater or defroster for an hour to get back to the boat.  But it didn't really matter.  I was smiling all the way.

So our plan was to leave today for Kingston.  That ain't happenin'.   This morning we drove my truck and the 'Bird (through the pouring rain AGAIN!) to Johnstown for winter storage and Pam's mom drove us back to the boat.  We ate lunch and then realized that we're both whooped.   Even though the rain has stopped, the sun is shining, and the tide is ebbing, our energy level is at mean low tide.  We'll leave tomorrow and get as close to Annapolis as we can for Saturday's party. 

Besides, we're really, really enjoying the warm hospitality of the Castleton Boat Club.  What a nice group of people.  When we drove up in the T-Bird yesterday, Pam in her gown and me in my monkey suit,  the door of the clubhouse swung open and a lady waved us to come in.   They were expecting us and had made a large pot of Italian wedding soup.  We told them we'd be right up as soon as we changed and walked the dogs.

"We already walked the dogs, twice.   But bring them up with you!"

So we did.

Our future plans are up in the air, but I inquired about membership here.  This would be a nice place to summer on Drift Away.   We'll have to give it some thought.  It's a working club, meaning that the members have to put in hours.   I certainly have no problem with that since I belonged to a working club for forty years, but as we are now snow birds Pam and I would miss the most important work parties, the Spring and Fall dock work parties.   They said it's not mandatory to attend those, and I could certainly get in my hours during the summer since we'd be living on our boat here.   

And they'd have the added bonus of having two guard dogs.   ;-)

I'm Getting Married In The Morning!

I'm getting married in the morning! Ding dong! The bells are gonna chime. Pull out the stopper! Let's have a whopper!  :)

About to don the tuxedo and then hop in the T-bird and head to Saratoga to marry my best friend, my lover, my soul mate!  My Dad passed away last summer.  Even though it's pouring rain, I'm driving his '56 Thunderbird up to the wedding in Saratoga Springs as a way of including him in this big event in my life. 

My mom passed away over ten years ago.  Long ago, I had mentioned to Pam that her favorite song was Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers.   As a kid, I listened to her play it over and over again, so many times that she would wear out the record and have to buy another.  Pam chose it as the processional song as a way of including my Mom in the wedding.   I'm so lucky to have met such a warm, loving, and caring person.  I don't know how I'm going to be able to get through the song without bawling like a little girl.

On Sunday, we put the cars in storage, get driven back to the boat and head south down the Hudson to Kingston.   We'll be riding the ebb tide so it should be a quick trip.  We hope to get to NYC on Monday, Manasquan on Tuesday, Atlantic City on Wednesday, Cape May on Thursday, C&D Canal on Friday, and Annapolis on Saturday to make a party with friends.  That's a really big hope, and I hope the weather and tides cooperate.   If not and we can't make the party by boat, we'll rent a car and drive there.

On yet another note, I have to say once again that I love living on a boat.  This is my view as I eat breakfast and write this blog.

Chevy Gets Even With Gertie

I've posted before about how Gertie terrorizes all the other animals aboard Drift Away.   When Charlie (the three legged cat) walks by, you can bet that Gertie will pounce on him, holding him around his neck knowing that if he lifts a paw, he will fall over.   If one of the dogs is happy and wagging its tail, Gertie views it as toy and grabs it with claws and fangs.   Chevy, the big male pit bull, is especially afraid of Gertie, and any attempt to assert himself as the alpha male resulted in a swat on the kisser.  Well, last night Chevy got even.

We got back from a long, hectic day of running errands.   Pam cooked up a nice meat loaf dinner, and afterwards I suggested we go up to the Castleton Boat Club's clubhouse for a cocktail and some socializing.   Halfway there, Ruby started whining at us.   The two dogs were sitting on the bow watching us heading up to the club.   Pam went back to lock them inside and I went up to the club to order the drinks.  Upon arrival, one of the members asked "Are you the guy who was just walking the two pit bulls?".   Yes, that was me.   "Go get them!   We love dogs here!".    Ummmm....  I dunno if that's a good idea.  They're very playful and...   "We don't mind.  Go get the dogs!".   Bugsie, a very nice beagle/terrier mix looking dog was in there and it looked like it might be OK.   Well... Okaaay...

I met Pam part way as she was coming up the docks.

"They say to bring the dogs."

"What?  Our dogs?"

"Yep."

"You know what they're like."

"They don't care. The people in there are all dog people and they want to meet the dogs."

So we got the now very happy dogs and brought them into the clubhouse.   Ruby and Chevy saw Bugsie and all hell  broke loose.   There was running and playing and wrestling and prancing.   I started to yell at them, but was told in no uncertain terms that it was just fine.   They all like dogs.  The club doesn't even have a leash requirement.  So the dogs played and we relaxed.

We did the usual boater thing of "where are you from" and "where are you going".   We also told them that we were getting married on Saturday and that we would be gone most of Friday and, of course, Saturday.   "Don't worry about the dogs.   We'll come get them and take them off the boat."   Wonderful!

We had a very enjoyable time.   I've only been here a few times, but every time I've met only very nice people.   What a great club.

It was getting late and we had much to do, so we excused ourselves and walked the dogs down to the boat, off leash.   We were getting close, and then Chevy saw Gertie on the dock, exploring as she likes to do in new places.   For some reason known only to Gertie, she turned and ran towards the boat.   To a dog, anything that is running away is prey, and Chevy took off like a shot after her.   Gertie must have paniced and timed her leap to the boat wrong, because we heard a KERSPLASH!  

DAVID!!  GERTIE FELL IN THE WATER!   QUICK, DO SOMETHING!

We both looked and didn't see her.   Was she under the dock?   Under the boat?  Pam ran aboard to get a flashlight.   Which way was the current flowing?  Even though it's a river, it flows both ways depending on the tide.  I ran up to the bow and got on my hands and knees, but no Gertie.   Then to my left I saw a paw come over the dock and set claws into the wood.   Then another, and then Gertie was on the dock looking like a... well... a scrawny wet young cat.

SHE'S OK.  SHE'S ON THE DOCK...  not for long as she scampered up the steps and onto the boat, and inside and dove under the sofa.   A pool of water came oozing out from underneath.   Pam was laughing hysterically.   She pulled the sofa out and managed to grab Gertie and wrapped her up in a towel.   Gertie looked very angry.  

Chevy, do NOT chase Gertie!

Chevy smiled back at me.

Kingston to Castleton- Dodging Logs and a Rant on Wakes

Yeah, I know.  This dodging logs thing is getting old.  Try actually being on the boat!  One must have constant vigilance and watch for what lies ahead.  Luckily, most of the debris is small, chewed up by the commercial traffic with their steel hulls, but there is still plenty of big stuff to contend with when you're in a plastic boat.

We also passed a couple of more sunken boats.

I've seen little recreational traffic on the Hudson on this trip.  In the past, I'd see dozens of boats headed south.  On this trip, I've seen only a handful.  I suppose it's because the Erie is closed due to the severe flood damage it incurred and the only way out for the Great Lakes boats is up the St. Lawrence and down Lake Champlain and the Champlain Canal, a really big detour.  When we got close to Albany we started seeing more southbound boats though, mainly Canadians on sailboats.  They have their masts unstepped to travel through the canals and then step them either here at the Castleton Boat Club, where there is a do-it-yourself crane, or to one of the marinas in Catskill.

I'd like to add a note here about wakes and slow passing.   We've all seen the clueless idiot powerboaters who pass other boats and docks with their bows pointed skyward, tossing the biggest wake possible.   This is a real problem for a sailboat with its mast down and on stands.  With its mast down,  a sailboat will rock violently when waked because of its low ballast and because the damping action of its standing mast isn't there.  Some serious damage and possible injury could occur if the mast were to fall off its stands.  Take a close look at the following boats and you can see the problem.  Imagine these boats rocking violently, snapping side to side like a wet dog.  No matter how well it's tied down, a big heavy mast has a lot of inertia and can come loose, especially on the pointy end where there isn't much side to side room for the legs of the supports.

And here's a note to you sailboaters.   You're not blameless here either.  If you're motoring along at five or six knots and being overtaken by a powerboat,  he will have to pass you at seven or eight knots to get by, hitting you with a large wake.   You should  slow down to a crawl so the powerboat can also slow and pass you at a no wake speed.  

Even Drift Away, a 50,000 pound 46 foot trawler, has been waked pretty good by passing boats.   I actually turned on my Naiad stabilizers (fins on each side of the boat hooked up to a gyroscope that kick when the boat starts to rock to keep it level) on the Hudson because of boat wakes.

There, I've said my piece.   I feel much better now.  Thanks.

We'll be here at the very nice Castleton Boat Club until Sunday when Pam and I will beat feet for Annapolis and the boat shows.

Newburgh to Kingston- Dodging More Logs

Tuesday was not the best of days.  We intended to leave early but thick pea soup fog and a heavy debris field kept us on the dock.  All  the fancy electronics we have on board are useless in detecting logs and other hull and prop damaging debris and we needed at least 500 feet of visibility to negotiate our way.  Finally, around 10:30 the fog lifted enough that we could leave.

The problem now was the tide.   It was rising fast and we had a two knot current pinning us against the dock.   We were broadside to it.  Pam really wanted to go and I decided to give it a shot, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get us off.   We finally left a little after noon when the current slowed enough for us to back off and then turn into the current.  

Once underway, it was more of the same... dodging logs and the worst of the debris, running through the small stuff.   Once the sun came out and it got warm, it was very nice to be sitting on the flybridge and watching the world go by at seven knots (about 8 MPH for my non-boating friends).  We soon passed the old railroad bridge at Poughkeepsie, no longer used as such and now a pedestrian walkway.

If you look closely, you can see four people on the bridge watching us pass.  Or maybe trying to see if they could time it perfectly to spit on us.

There are train tracks on each side of the Hudson.  The east side is for passenger trains, which are many.   The west side is for freight trains.   There was a problem up above Poughkeepsie.   A freight train was stopped, and we saw many odd vehicles on the tracks headed north to fix whatever was wrong.

The Esopus Lighthouse is one of my favorites, and it looks like it is being restored and well maintained.

It was a beautiful day and Pam and I were loving being on the water and appreciating the tranquility of it all.   Just before entering Rondout Creek we passed this...

It was a sobering reminder that it can end as quickly as it began.  Many boats were lost due to Hurricane Irene and then Tropical Storm Lee.  An entire club's boats were destroyed when they were washed over the Troy Dam.

The Rondout Lighthouse marks the entrance to Rondout Creek and Kingston.

We met Pam's dad, Ted, in Kingston.   We stayed at the Kingston Municipal Marina, had a fine dinner in one of the many restaurants on the waterfront, and turned in early.   Tomorrow, Pam drives the truck north for a couple of appointments and Ted and I will make the final run to the Castleton Boat Club.

I'll probably jinx it, but I have to say that running this boat is very enjoyable, when it stays running.  The problems we had were brought on by myself.   I should have inspected the tanks had had them cleaned before we left.  I would have saved the price of 200 gallons of diesel, but more importantly we would have saved a whole bunch of time and wouldn't have felt so pressed to get here.  

Ossining to Newburgh- Dodging Logs

In my previous post, I wrote about the starboard engine quitting just north of the George Washington Bridge.  I spent the next three hours changing filters and cracking bleed screws in the 110 degree engine room to no avail.   We limped into Westerly Marina in Ossining on the port engine and yesterday morning a young mechanic named Greg looked the situation over.  In no time, he discovered that the fuel tank pick up tube for the starboard engine was above the fuel level in the tank.  He bent it down and the problem was solved.  I marked my fuel tank dip stick at that level and marked it "empty" so that I'll know when I'm getting critically low.  Greg also opened and closed the gate valve that opens and closes the pipe between the two tanks.   I think what I'll do the next time I get diesel is to fill the tanks and then close the valve, keeping the aft tank as a reserve.

We left Ossining about 3:30 yesterday after taking on 200 gallons of fuel. Heading north up the Hudson, the only marina that could accomodate a boat our size would be in Newburgh (besides Haverstraw which was only five miles above Ossining).  We had three hours of daylight left, and about a half hour of twilight to make the 25 mile trip so we revved the Ford Lehmans up to 1800 RPM to beat feet.  

As we pulled out of Ossining, we saw the Java Sea, a tug that passed us in the East River.

Check out these fenders!

The Java Sea was going the exact same speed as Drift Away, so I kicked the RPMs up to 2000 to get by her.   It took forever but we finally did.  

The Bear Mountain Bridge is always a beautiful sight to see, except for all the debris in the river this trip.

The Java Sea was now about a half a mile behind us.   As we rounded a sharp bend in the river, we saw this coming our way.   Pam headed for the east side of the channel.   This barge and the Java Sea would meet at the bend.

The two tugs met at the bend and there was much revving of engines and each turning hard to starboard.   I can only imagine the language in the pilot houses.   Dang it!  Cripe!  Stuff like that.

Pam is doing a great job dodging all but the smallest stuff.  The debris fields come in big ribbons. I think what happens is that the debris winds up on the banks when the tide drops, and when the tide rises it all floats off at the same time. Pam basically runs parallel to each debris field, looks for an opening between logs, and then cuts through.  There are also numerous stray logs to avoid.

The light was fading fast, but the scenery was beautiful.

The last five miles was tough because of the fading light.  You can almost see Newburgh five miles in the distance in the above pic.  The island in the middle of the channel is Pollepel Island, home of Bannerman Castle.  It has an interesting history which you can read about at this link- http://www.bannermancastle.org/history.html

The last few miles in twilight made it difficult to see the flotsam.   We arrived in total darkness with logs floating all around the marina. I used reflections from lights at the marina and the restaurant next door to see the bigger logs. I went in dead slow pushing the flotsam aside and shifting into neutral when I figured the bigger stuff was close to the props.  With an audience at Billy Joe's Ribworks watching, we went in right towards the restaurant, executed a 180 degree turn (port engine forward, starboard engine reverse, full right rudder), and made a perfect Captain Ron landing at the dock.

We leave today for our first leisurely cruise, going as far as we can go before stopping for the night.   We're now awaiting the pea soup fog to lift so we can get underway.  We could leave now and use the chartplotter with radar overlay to find our way, but we'd miss the scenery.   Where we wind up today isn't that important.  Pam's father, Ted, will drive down to meet us where ever we wind up, and tomorrow Pam will drive north for a couple of appointments and Ted will crew on the final leg to Castleton, and Pam will meet us there tomorrow night.

A new record! Six hours without a breakdown.

Unfortunately, we were on the water for eleven.

City Island was a nice little stop.  We walked the dogs up and down the main boulevard, marveling at al the large number of restaurants for such a little place.   Back on Drift Away, drinks on the back porch were made better by the nice sunset.  Note that boat behind us.   The owner is very meticulous, and spent several hours washing it while we were there.

We left City Island at 6 AM.  That was a fiasco.  I thought we had no current, but apparently some current had us pinned against the dock.  As soon as I started to pull away, some unseen force would push us right back against it.   We eventually got off, but only with some help from the guy on the boat behind us that we hit and then scraping the starboard side of our boat along another dock as we left.

It was dark, but the Simrad chart plotter and radar made it easy.  The new Simrad NSS12 allows us to overlay the radar right on top of the chart, so it's simple to tell the difference from a buoy and a fishing boat. 

Soon we were under the Throg's Neck Bridge and on the East River.  The trip along the East River is always enjoyable.  There's the Riker's Island prison boat and other oddities of interest.  The critters didn't seem too interested, and were in their now chosen spots for the boat ride.

Riker's Island prison boat.

We needed to hit Hell Gate at slack high tide, which yesterday was 8:39 AM. We were the only boat on the river, which caused this lake sailor some concern. Did I read the Eldridge tide tables right? Soon though, I took comfort when I saw a tug pushing a large raft up of barges, three wide coming up behind us. Pam was driving and I was navigating, and I decided to take a wrong turn into a channel that leads to La Guardia Airport to let him pass.  Pam thought I had made a mistake, but I assured her it was a brilliant strategic maneuver.   She didn't buy it.

As we got near Hell Gate, I could tell we were arriving too soon.  Current was pushing us faster than I figured.  I was considering slowing down and waiting, but was I being a wuss?  Then I noted that the tug pushing the barges (now ahead of us) had practically stopped.  I suggested to Pam that we should too, and we did.  I was watching my watch, and with only a short time until the ebb started at Hell Gate I saw the prop wash from the tug.   He accelerated and we followed behind him, allowing his three-barge-wide load to clear a path for us.  We arrived at Hell Gate only twelve minutes early and it was a  piece of cake.

You can see the radar overlay on the chart in the pic above.  The big red blobs are boats or buoys, and with the chart underlay it's easy to see which is which.

After Hell Gate, it was a piece of cake.  Pam followed our barge buddy down the East River.  He's on the right in this pic, with another barge passing him to our port.

The rest of the ride was uneventful, and I'll spare you the usual photos of South Street Seaport, the Battery, and the Statue of Liberty.  Yes, of course we took the photos.  It's obligatory.

We took a right at the battery and headed north up the Hudson.  There was a fire boat there to greet us, shooting big plumes of water everywhere.  

How did they know we were coming?  It will be one of those mysteries that we'll never have an answer to.

The trip up the Hudson was also very nice, and I will again spare you the photos of the cruise ships, the Intrepid aircraft carrier which is now a museum, etc.

We had just passed under the George Washington Bridge.  It was about noon, and Pam asked "Can we run the generator at the same time as the engines?"   Of course, said I.  "I'll make hot meatball sandwiches for lunch." said she.   Sounded good.   Down into the engine room I bounded and I fired up the small generator.   As I was headed up the stairs, I heard Pam yell "DAVID!  WE LOST THE STARBOARD ENGINE!". 

Huh?

Yes, we did.  It stopped dead.   Crap.  We continued on the port engine which would only push us along at 3 knots against the foul current.  I spent the next three hours in the 110 degree engine room where I changed all the filters and bled the engine.   I restarted the engine four or five times, and after running through the fuel in the filters, it would die again.   Further investigation showed that the small generator's fuel line is tee'd off the starboard engine's fuel line.  Somehow, starting that generator screwed up the starboard engine.  I'd reached the end of my mechanical ability, and to make a long story short (I know, this is already too long) we're now sitting at Westerly Marine in Ossining awaiting yet another mechanic.



Pam was very tired and I was exhausted.  We took the dogs for a quick walk and then went to the Boathouse Restaurant next to the marina for dinner.  We met the Harrisons, a very nice couple who belong to the yacht club next door.   We chatted for a time, as boaters often do.   We enjoyed very fine food, fine conversation, and a beautiful sunset.   The Harrisons left before us and after our meal, we were told that they bought us dessert.    How nice is that?  Pam had cheesecake and I had a hot fruit cup with a crumb covering.   It was gooooood.

This morning's email contained a sunset photo that Pam Harrison sent to me, since I didn't bring my camera last night.  One of those sunsets to remember.

Pam also took a pic of Drift Away.  We had to navigate through a narrow entrance in the breakwater and make a tight 90 degree left hand turn onto the dock.  Not a bad job considering I had only a port engine, eh?

Thank you for the pics and the hospitality, Mr. and Mrs. Harrison.   After a rough day, it was a perfect ending.