It’s been more than a year since Pandora has been in tropical waters and I am raring to head south again. I have to admit, however, that I am a bit overwhelmed with the prospect of how much has to happen between now and next Saturday the 5th, a week from now when I head to Annapolis for the boat show, the beginning of my south migration.
I’ll be there for several days before putting Pandora in a slip at a friend’s house and heading home until late October when I take her to Hampton VA to prepare for the Salty Dawg Rally to Antigua.
I decided, last minute, to put a windvane steering system on Pandora and that should be here later today. I have been thinking about this for several years now and finally decided to push the button and order it from the UK late last week. I’m excited about this it as it will provide for a non-electrical steering option which will save a lot of battery power and also offer an independent rudder on case my primary steering or electric autopilot fails. The unit I chose is Hydrovane and I’ll be writing more about that as I do the install early next week.
I have heard that the unit is very simple and powerful and will solve a problem of steering failure that I have had over the years and worry about constantly when I am on passage. I’ll admit that loosing my steering keeps me up at night and memories of the quadrant linkage on the autopilot breaking while surfing down 20′ waves two years ago is still a memory that is all too fresh.
I also decided to order a new jib, something that I have been putting off for a few years. My jib still has near perfect shape compliments of the carbon tapes that hold things together but the dacron covering is showing real signs of sun damage and I am fearful that it might fall apart on passage which would be a big problem.
I did consider doing something to stabilize the fabric so I could get a few more years out of it but everyone that I spoke to said that it just wasn’t worth the expense so new sail it is.
While we were in France Pandora was in Stamford having a bit of work done on her waterline which wasn’t done quite right when she was painted a year ago. When I picked her up last week I noticed that it was mostly right but that the aft section of the boot top on the starboard side is still a bit off, drooping slightly, 3/4″ low from where it should be. It’s hard to see in this photo but is more obvious in person than in the photos. When I went over it with the guy who did the actual painting, he confirmed that one side was indeed lower than the other. 
On the port side, it’s fine. 
Anyway, I had the boat launched, correct or not, as I didn’t have time to leave her for another week. I don’t know what will happen, but I still owe a small amount on the original job which can probably get it fixed elsewhere if required.
My friend Dick and I took the train to Stamford to pick her up and headed over to Northport for a few nights. I had not been there for many years and still recall a time when Brenda and I, probably there on our 20′ Cape Cod sailboat, visited this restaurant for dinner and as we left, discovered that we didn’t have any money to pay. 
I can’t recall if we had a credit card as it was over 30 years ago and we hadn’t even had kids then. Anyway, we were mortified and expected that we’d be in the kitchen doing dishes to work off our debt. However, they released us and we sent a check. Dick and I had dinner there and this time I had no problem paying my bill.
Northport is a lovely town with a huge waterfront park. On Saturday morning the town was jammed with several thousand runners in a 10k run, less peaceful than this photo suggests. 
We also had a very nice visit to the Northport Yacht Club and a beautiful sunset.
The next day we headed over to Oyster Bay, another spot that I haven’t visited for more years than I can count. It’s a beautiful harbor lined with huge homes.
Perhaps the most famous of these huge residences, is this one, owned by Billy Joel who purchased it in 2002 for $22,500,000 and famously got into a years long fight with the harbor commission as they would not allow him to build a dock. As of 2007 he had decided to sell the house and put it on the market for $37,500,000 but I guess it didn’t sell as Zillow says that it isn’t on the market and was last sold when Joel purchased it. 
While there are a lot of docks on the harbor, there has been a moratorium on new dock construction due to the establishment of a nature conservancy that took place before Joel moved in. In spite of his best efforts for years, he was not able to get the dock approved.
On Sunday Dick and I headed to Essex where Pandora will be for about a week before heading to Annapolis. She looks good sitting on her mooring in the harbor. 
My brother Bill, who lives in PA recently purchased a runabout and brought it to Essex earlier this week. We spent a few hours running around on the river which was great fun. In particular, we headed to Selden creek, a favorite spot of mine, as we have been visiting the spot since the 80s. The only boat we haven’t visited on is the current Pandora as she’s a bit too long to fit in the narrow creek.
The spot is lovely and Bill and I had a nice time sitting and watching the world go by. 
I can’t believe that summer is nearly over and it’s time to begin the migration south to warmer climes.
I’ll admit that the whole process of getting Pandora ready to make the run is a bit overwhelming but I guess everything will get done. However, last fall I was also pretty confident and we ended up here for the winter. Hmm…
Well, I’d better get cracking. Let the migration begin…
However, their design is clearly dictated by function and as passengers have to see everything there’s glass on the sides and top for maximum viewing suggesting more of a floating greenhouse than boat.
Tour boats aside, loads of lovely boats, or should I say houseboats, some private homes and many serving as sort of B&B mini hotels rented out to tourists. In some areas they were moored three deep.
Often quite colorful.
Loved this blue one. My favorite color. 
Wonderful details. 
Interesting dinks including this one welded from steel. 
Beautiful lines but she could use a bit of paint. 
What a great spot to tie up. Many were moored in locations that offered with a great view of the Eiffel tower, like this one.
This houseboat featured another landmark from France although now in NY Harbor. 
There was an active police presence and it seemed that they were always going full tilt and leaving a big wake. This was one of their more sedate moments. 
You can get all the way from the English Channel to the north and the Med to the south via the extensive canal system. This is the entrance to a canal that heads all the way up to The English Channel. A good part of this particular stretch of the canal is fully underground beneath city streets. I saw some ventilation grates along road medians. I wonder if they are lit? I guess there must be some sort of canal traffic control as I doubt that there are any passing lanes.
There is a huge amount of commercial traffic. 
And the barges, all low enough to fit under the city bridges, often sport a vehicle and crane to help the crew get around, two in this case. His and hers? His and other his? 
This one was on the back of a houseboat and it even has a cover to protect it from the elements. Not sure how they’d get it on shore though.
This upscale tour boat had particularly beautiful lines. Love the stern. 
The views along the river were spectacular and that makes sense as when the city was built, water was the simplest way to get around.
And speaking of getting around. This beautiful runabout featured two passengers in period clothing and a film crew. Wonder what movie they were filming or was it just a sophisticated selfie stick. “Frank, FRANK, put that stupid thing away. We ALREADY have enough pictures! And, WHO is that creep in the back of the boat anyway?”
And, where there is water there are bridges.
Each more spectacular than the last. 
And, some really nice fountains. 
Complete with fleets of small boats. 
And this guy nearby feeding pigeons. Obviously someone they knew and loved. 
And speaking of love, a custom in Paris is to purchase a lock, put your name, and that of your lover on it and “lock” your love to something. Some places are so packed…
You can’t believe so much love, I guess. 
And speaking of love. The whole idea of the trip to France was brought up by Melody, our son’s partner, as they were invited to a wedding and asked us if we’d like to come along. Oh boy, was Brenda on that idea. I was the official photographer of Chris and Melody outside the church where the wedding was held. We lurked outside waiting for the crowd to let out. 
The reception, we learned, was in, no kidding, a castle with a real live mote. It was the family home of the bride’s grandmother who was too infirm to join in the party but watched from an upstairs window.
We finished up our trip with a few more days in Paris and spent time in many cafes, actually more than one each day. So much food to sample. 
Actually, so much food everywhere and beautifully displayed. 
Places to eat aboard. 
So did we. Loved the hat on the chef who served us. Our last dinner together in Paris before heading home Note the list to starboard in this photo. The waiter too it seems. After all that wine, and it’s cheaper than soda so why not, I had a bit of a list as well. 
Yes, in Paris wine costs about the same, sometimes less than soda so why not have wine? And there are so many types to try we had a tough time deciding which to have.
While she looks pretty big in that photo, she looks positively diminutive in this one, next to the big cat. 
I was told to leave Pandora in a slip near the lift and she was out of the water before I even called the next morning. Here she is on the hard. I sure hope that they put more supports under her and also add chains to keep them from slipping out. 
After nearly two years, I can’t believe that it’s nearly time to head to Antigua again. Let’s hope that there isn’t some sort of catastrophic hurricane that gets in the way.
While Pandora is in good shape to make the run to Antigua and crew is in place, I sure hope that nothing happens in the next two months to change the rules like Dorian is doing in the Bahamas as I write this post.