October Winds

[David VanDenburgh]

As tough as it is to admit the season's over, it's days like today that slap you in the face and make you thankful the boat's hauled and sitting safely on her cradle.
We've had a steady WNW wind at about 30 knots for more than a day, a recipe for a nasty ride in harbor as big, boistrous waves roll down the channel and surge into the marina. We had a taste of our fall storms early this year as a similar storm blew through in September and tossed Ariel around enough to part one line, threaten two others, and convince me to spend at least one night aboard tending to lines and chafe protection. Fun but not fun, if you know what I mean.
Stay warm and dry!
David

[CharlieJ]

Awesome photo though.

I'm going kayaking in the morning- supposed to be dead calm and mid 50s for a low, warming to near 80.

[MikeD]

Wow! Great pic! Nasty today in Maine too. Sometimes it's nice to have your feet and your boat on solid ground. :)

[Mark.Wilme]

Nice picture !!

Normally at this time of year we are doing our last sail of the season, the halloween sail is normally a memorable one.

Of course he last 3 weekends have been gorgeous fall weather down here is southern New England and we (I) were really looking forward to bringing the 'new' boat back to RI this weekend, as you can imagine I put those plans on hold - Forecasted 50 knot wids and 9-14ft seas put a stop to that.

Both my boats are still in the water -

I took a run down to RI last night after I put my daghter to bed and doubled up the lines on the 'old' boat and added some additional fenders. I also stripped off the last of the canvas (bimini, mainsail and sail cover), she gets hauled next week. Fortunately with a SSE wind today the marina is extremely well sheltered by land and I know she will have faired well.

Then this morning I drove down to Hingham, MA to check on the 'new' boat. She's fuly rigged (did thatlast Wednesday) and ready to go. Again I doubled up on lines and checked fenders, but between 12pm and 2pm the maximum recorded by the masthead instruments was 26 knots - she must be sheltered where she is. (I know they work because they recorded gusts of 33 knots when I was putting up the 135% genoa on Wednesday !).

It was really pouring though today (reminded me of England),but when it stopped it felt almost tropical - I was outside in t-shirt. very odd.

So my options for delivery now are :
Tue-Wed
Wed-Thur
or next weekend

'the plan' (Hingham to Marion and Marion to Portsmouth) will have to change though because of the current times for the canal. Both of the two mid week options will require us to stay the night at Sandwich marina at the east end of the canal and catch the ebb in the morning.

As I was just chatting with someone in a PM, my regular crew is pushed for the mid week delivery though (work commitments) so I am waiting to see if they can change or if any of my backup crew can make it.

I'll be sure to get photos provided it's not raining.

BTW - love having the dodger so far, at the marina today it was pouring and I was going in and out with the hatch slid fully open and the rain kept out ! I'll see what it's like to sail with (shelter behind) soon.

[Figment]

It was really pouring though today (reminded me of England),but when it stopped it felt almost tropical - I was outside in t-shirt. very odd.

not almost tropical, POSITIVELY tropical.
I too was reduced to bibs and a tshirt, and it was friggin MUGGY in the shed. By noon beads of condensation were running down the hull. I took the opportunity to do some wetsanding.
By the end of the day everything was coated in moisture. I spent an hour just walking around spraying things with WD-40.

[David VanDenburgh]

...and doubled up the lines on the 'old' boat and added some additional fenders.... Again I doubled up on lines and checked fenders, but between 12pm and 2pm the maximum recorded by the masthead instruments was 26 knots - she must be sheltered where she is. (I know they work because they recorded gusts of 33 knots when I was putting up the 135% genoa on Wednesday !).

Oh, yes. We began doubling the lines in late August when the weather shifted, producing several days of 30+ knot winds out of the west. Eight-ten foot waves surged directly down the channel for three days.
In terms of access to Lake Michigan, our marina is ideally located - no railroad or drawbridge to contend with as there is upriver. As far as shelter goes, we're fine unless the wind does the W, NW thing for any extended period. Then it's double the lines, beef up the chafe protection, check on the boat at least twice a day. Pretty ridiculous. One of these days I'll get a slip in the municipal marina, which is pretty protected. I've been on the waiting list for four years; another two and maybe we'll be in business.
All the best with your delivery, etc.
Here's what the channel looked like today. I'm standing on our marina's breakwater, the marina to my left but out of the frame.

[Tim]

We've had more days of strong winds this fall (and late summer) than I recall in the past--it's a very winter-like pattern we've been in.

Yesterday's "southeast nor-easter" (winds from the SE, but otherwise the storm was very much like a winter nor-easter) was very strong, with gusts over 70 recorded on some of the peninsulas reaching out into the sea. Sedgwick, ME, located on Eggemoggin Reach between Penobscot and Jericho Bays, recorded 79 MPH.

This is the only picture I could find showing the sea state--this is Kennebunk Beach in Maine.

[dasein668]

I was down in RI this weekend for a wedding, staying at a B&B just inside Watch Hill, overlooking the Atlantic. It was s-e-r-i-o-o-u-s weather.

[Tim]

I spent an hour just walking around spraying things with WD-40.

Note to self: buy stock in the company that makes WD-40.

[Figment]

oh, ok fine, ya got me. That hour was also spent drinking double bag and cleaning tools that were showing the ill effects of general family access. and drinking more double bag.

[windrose]

Double bag?

[Duncan]

Sounds like a nasty storm, reports of boats coming loose all over. Some pictures of them here.
Apparently, most of them chafed their pennants, and I've seen that:

... trend down here is to replace the three strand nylon rope pendant with a Polydyne mooring pendant made by Yale. The pendant has a nylon core which is sheathed in a polyester jacket that has urethane coating for UV protection.Also some folks are using dual pendants to the bow cleats to cut down on chafe.

[Figment]

Double Bag: A rather tasty brew by Long Trail. Perfect for this Windy October weather, I think.

This malty, full-bodied double alt is also known as Stickebier , German slang for "secret brew." The secret is that this brew is so smooth, you'd never believe it has an alcohol content of 7.2%...indulge in moderation!!!

[Figment]

Now that I think of it, Long Trail might not be readily available beyond new england. Sorry for the tease!

[Eric]

Sedgwick, ME, located on Eggemoggin Reach between Penobscot and Jericho Bays, recorded 79 MPH.

I wouldn't be surprised if we saw that in Blue Hill Bay also. Sophia has taken a solid thrashing on her mooring in Seal Cove over the past 24 hours or so. I was over checking on conditions yesterday am and could barely stand on the bluff overlooking the cove.

I wish I had remembered to bring the video camera on one of my trips over yesterday as it would have made a good study of the performance of the Triton under these conditions. She was doing quite a bit of sailing back and forth and I think the next pennant will be shorter.

So far there are no signs of stress, but, even this morning I decided not to risk the row out to check on her as it was gusting to something like 40k and her motion was still pretty lively.

She has usually had to take one or two on the chin in the fall, but this has been a different sort of beastie with all the qualities of a tropical hurricane. It was a good reminder of why I try to keep her (and the mooring) strong and ready.

-- Eric

[dasein668]

Padanaram didn't fare too well...