Sail Pandora

On Friday, as I headed from Wickford RI toward the CT River, where Pandora will be hauled for the next few weeks prior to beginning my run south to the Caribbean for the winter, I was passing New London and heard something on the radio about a sub passing a tug in The Race.  Before I knew it, I saw this approaching me from port.   Or, was I approaching him?  Hmm…  In case you are wondering, he did show up on AIS, cruising at 9kts.   However, no info about size etc.   I guess the Navy doesn’t want their “silent service” guys to show up on everyone’s chart plotter.   It just wouldn’t do for a multi billion dollar sub to be spotted on a $400 AIS receiver, would it?Anyway, I turned to port and luffed to let him pass.   I surely didn’t want to head in front of him, pint size sailing boat right-of-way or not, and besides, the guys on the support boats looked plenty serious as they approached.  They weren’t smiling or waving HI as they passed, flack jackets, machine guns and all. I couldn’t believe how close they came to me, or was it me to them?   I would guess about 100 yards.  I am used to 1,000′ exclusion zone for military ships.   To get a shot of the whole boat I had to zoom my lens all the way out.  She was REALLY close. Just how close?  This close…I was wondering why a sub would sport a yellow “Q” or quarantine flag and when I posted some photos on Face Book I learned about that and more.  I got an amazing number of responses and someone noted that it was the state flag of New Mexico and that the sub, only the second warship in the history of the US Navy to be named so, was the USS New Mexico.  Someone else sent a link to the New London Day, with an announcement of the boat’s arrival.  Here’s a story and pictures of her arrival to an enthusiastic crowd.  She was just back from a tour of the North Atlantic covering 36,000 miles.  One of her “port” stops, about a year ago, on a previous tour, was at the North Pole.  They surfaced through the ice near where the Nautilus, the first atomic sub did so years ago.

This is a short video of her surfacing in March of 2014 at the North Pole.   The weather that day was a lot different than it was when she steamed by me on Friday off of her home port, New London.   With the North West Passage more open to shipping each year, compliments of global warming, I guess that the USA wanted to make it clear that we plan to be active in the Arctic.   While they were on the ice, they flew a New Mexico state flag that was later presented to the Medal of Honor Award recipient Hiroshi Miyamura, who received the recognition in 1951 for his valor in a battle during the Korean war. This moving description, which I have repeated below, of the actions that earned him the award is from the Congressional Medal of Honor Society website.

“Cpl. Miyamura, a member of Company H, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. On the night of 24 April, Company H was occupying a defensive position when the enemy fanatically attacked threatening to overrun the position. Cpl. Miyamura, a machine gun squad leader, aware of the imminent danger to his men unhesitatingly jumped from his shelter wielding his bayonet in close hand-to-hand combat killing approximately 10 of the enemy. Returning to his position, he administered first aid to the wounded and directed their evacuation. As another savage assault hit the line, he manned his machine gun and delivered withering fire until his ammunition was expended. He ordered the squad to withdraw while he stayed behind to render the gun inoperative. He then bayoneted his way through infiltrated enemy soldiers to a second gun emplacement and assisted in its operation. When the intensity of the attack necessitated the withdrawal of the company Cpl. Miyamura ordered his men to fall back while he remained to cover their movement. He killed more than 50 of the enemy before his ammunition was depleted and he was severely wounded. He maintained his magnificent stand despite his painful wounds, continuing to repel the attack until his position was overrun. When last seen he was fighting ferociously against an overwhelming number of enemy soldiers. Cpl. Miyamura’s indomitable heroism and consummate devotion to duty reflect the utmost glory on himself and uphold the illustrious traditions on the military service.”

Amazingly, Miyamura survived that day and was presented the award by President Eisenhower.   It was fitting that the flag, flown in the frigid North Pole winter be presented to Miyamura as he had endured a harsh winter as a POW, following his capture.  He survives to this day and is in his 90s.  I am sure that there are other MOH recipients who’s story is as compelling as this one but to see the New Mexico steam across Pandora’s bow, and to learn of this story, only improved what was a moving moment.

The USS New Mexico was commissioned in Newport News and is said to be the most advanced member of the Virginia Class of subs.  This is an interesting time lapse video of her being brought out of the shed and launched in Newport News.
One of the best parts of spending time on the water is seeing things that are totally unexpected and my “encounter” with the USS New Mexico certainly tops the list.  It was a treat for me and Pandora, thanks to some serious looking but tolerant guys with machine guns and flak jackets in fast black boats,  to spend some “quality time” with such a remarkable vessel.  For inquiring minds, like yours. Here’s  link to the “official” USS New Mexico site. 

It won’t be long until Pandora heads into Hampton Roads, near where the sub was built as I join up with other Dawgs preparing to run in the Salty Dawg Rally to Virgin Gorda in early November.

As I write this I realize just how short the time until Pandora begins her 2015-2016 “tour” so I’d better sign off and get to work.

It’s Friday morning and Pandora is heading from Wickford to Deep River to be hauled for a few weeks while I work on her to get ready to make the trip south. While most folks are just about ready to haul their boats for the winter, now that the iron doors of summer are about to close (this weekend is Labor Day), I am trying to get everything ready for our run south and a winter of sailing.

My list, and it’s a long one, includes painting her bottom and finishing up a lot of little details like adding more LED lights as well as trying to settle on the proper propeller.  The one that is on the boat is very nice if a bit over pitched for the engine.  That means that I can’t get a lot of RPM out of it when I am in a pinch.  Yes, it makes for good speed and fuel economy but I can’t get extra HP out of her when I need to.  Anyway, the boat once had an Autoprop but the previous owner took it off because he says that it damaged not one but two transmissions.  I put one on my last boat and was really happy with it so I’ll have to see what I can do.   Fortunately, the owner still has the Autoprop and agreed to send it to me.  Of course, I don’t want to risk a wrecked transmission but it’s something that needs to look into.   I should have the other prop soon and will consider what to do next.  The good news is that I can always take the Autoprop off and put the old one back on, if I decide that I don’t want it, even when the boat is in the water.  It’s not simple but can be done.  More to come on that.

I am also having the backstay split with isolators so that the stay can serve as an antenna for the SSB radio.  I am really looking forward to having the SSB back in service.  I miss hearing the weather router Chris Parker and also participating in the morning nets.

As I write this I am approaching PT Judith and will soon turn west toward the CT River and home.  The wind is from the NNE and blowing between 15-20kts so it will be behind me for the whole run and I should make good time.   The current at Watch Hill won’t be with me when I arrive there but at least I’ll be going fast and should still make decent time and get home today in time for dinner.

We are really making time and moving along at better than 8kts with just about 10kts apparent wind on a dead run, wing and wing with the main and jib, a good speed by any measure.   And that’s with a slimy bottom as things foul up pretty fast in August in Wickford with warm still water.

Yesterday I visited Rodger Martin, the designer of Pandora, at his office at Newport Shipyard and enjoyed hearing about some of his current projects.   He’s a very nice guy and clearly loves talking about boats.   I particularly loved hearing his South African accent. I was interested to learn that he designed the newest Outward Bound open boats that we have seen up in Maine.  They are open boats and clearly not comfortable like Pandora.  However, they serve the program well give the “find yourself” and “getting back to nature” focus of the Outward Bound programs.    It was fun to see a computer rendering of one of the boats on the wall in Rodger’s office.We talked a bit about the process of designing the Aerodne 47 and I was surprised to learn that it has the smallest sail to displacement ratio of any boat that he has designed.  In spite of having a modest sail plan, the boat is very fast and stable.  That’s good and particularly appealing to Brenda.

This launch has a gas turbine which weighs about 1/3 of a diesel of similar power.   That, combined with carbon fiber construction, makes for a very fast launch.  The bad news is that it sucks gas at a horrifying rate.  Well, if you have to ask, you can’t afford it.  And, as the launch is a tender to a big yacht, he’s probably not asking. Rodger has a passion for fast sailboats and has a long history of designing ocean crossing racing yachts.  This prototype, designed to show proof of concept for a larger version to challenge the clipper ship record from New York to San Francisco, sure looks like it can make tracks.  Look at the keel canted out to weather.  I wonder what happens if the wind suddenly shifts or dies?   With all that weight out on the end of that long keel, the result would surely get your attention.After my time with Rodger I couldn’t resist walking the docks at the shipyard to enjoy the view.    Bolero, the iconic ocean racer, is always a head turner.  What nice lines.  Pandora has at least one thing in common with her.  They both have inflatable dinks.
I asked Rodger why he felt that folks were moving away from sailing and into power boats.  His answer was interesting as he thinks that the designs today have moved away from boats that can sail well in light air so most find themselves motoring everywhere.  That’s an interesting perspective and I expect that there is some truth to that.  It’s clear that Pandora doesn’t suffer from that problem.   NIce design Rodger!

Speaking of fast, this sleek cold molded ocean racer, quite a contrast to Bolero, looks like it’s screaming along, even while she’s tied to the dock.  The carbon mast and boom are a deep burgundy.  Take a gander at the port holes cut out in patterns.  It’s like a floating piece of art.   However, Brenda would notice right away that there isn’t a dodger, a non-starter for her, self described “sailing cream puff” that she is. Love the open transom. I saw Crossbow sailing off of Newport the other day. This isn’t a boat for a casual afternoon sail.   I wonder where she will be headed when they finish fitting her out. Don’t loose your balance or you’ll slip right out of the open transom.The carbon bow sprit seems to be adjustable.  What a piece of engineering.A lot of hardware for the 1% folks moored here.To cap off a great day in Newport a friend treated me to lunch at the NYYC Harbor Court.  This was the long time home of the Brown family, of Brown University fame.

There are amazing gardens out back.  Love the lotus growing in the pond.   The flowers are as large as a basket ball. These water lilies have leaves that are about 2’-3’ across. Love the view from the reflecting pond to the club house.  Can you imagine living here when it was a private home?As I finish up this post, I have rounded Pt Judith, with 15-20kts on my beam and am moving along really well, at almost 10kts.  It’s pretty amazing and I don’t even have a reef in and the heel is only about 10 degrees.    At this rate, I should be to Watch Hill Passage in less than two hours.   Amazing.

Anyway, things are going to get very busy with Pandora on the hard for the next few weeks.  With the summer sailing season drawing to a close and winter just around the corner, there’s lots to do.

End of  the season or the beginning?  Sunny Caribbean, here I come.  Well, that’s if I can get everything done.

I think I can, I think I can…

It’s Tuesday morning and Pandora is all alone up in Wickford.  I’ll be rejoining her later this week for a run back to Deep River where she will be hauled for a few weeks.  I’ll be getting her ready for the run to Annapolis then to Hampton VA and ultimately on to Virgin Gorda and our winter of sailing in the Caribbean.  I am getting excited about the coming months but have to say that all the details of getting ready to go and prepare a “new” boat for such a run is a bit daunting.

Crew is lined up already so there will be four of us running Pandora south from Hampton in early November.  So, how would you like to be near Cape Hatteras in early winter?  Hmm…

Anyway, it’s too early to be talking much about warmer climes when it’s still plenty warm here in New England.

Since Brenda and I returned from our week long run up to Nantucket we have been aboard again for a weekend with my old college friend Tom and his wife Lisa. We just spent only a short time together but it was a lot of fun and nice to catch up again.

I also hosted some folks aboard Pandora for an afternoon sail around Newport recently as part of a fund raiser for the CT River Museum.  I have been volunteering there for the last year and am enjoying it a great deal.  Here is a shot of my friend Rodney, able crew, at the wheel as well as our guests for the day.  We had a great time.  I have mentioned that Pandora has AIS, both a receiver and transponder, and I am still getting used to knowing that she shows up on other folks plotters as other AIS equipped boats do on mine.  It’s a nice feature and a great way to increase safety.

It’s nice to be seen.  As an added feature, you can see me on any service that tracks AIS, even on your smart phone.  I chose to install “Marine Traffic” on my iphone and.  So, as I write this post, this is a screen shot of Pandora in Wickford Harbor. Pretty neat.
If that’s not cool enough, how about the track from my day of sailing with Rodney and the gang.  It’s the first time that I have ever “day-sailed” out of Newport.  We had perfect wind and covered a lot of ground, over 40 miles in an afternoon.The program has some nice features including “my fleet” where you can choose to track specific vessels anywhere they are, world wide.  Pandora is in my “fleet” and I signed up to get an email message when she leaves or arrives in a harbor.  As we sailed around Newport my phone was buzzing “Pandora has arrived” and “Pandora has departed” all day long.  Anyway, I thought it was pretty neat.

Speaking of Newport, Brenda and I visited Newport Shipyard,  THE home for megayachts in Newport, on our last visit and walked around the yard enjoying the sights.  I particularly enjoyed seeing Vendetta, Billy Joel’s 57′ commuter yacht.   She’s a beauty with her barrel back stern.  She’s been for sale for a number of years and is listed at a cool $1,295,000.  Pocket change…  Speaking of singers. I’d like to listen to the VHF radio and hear “Elvis has left the room” no make that the harbor.  I wonder what the owner was thinking when he or she decided to name their cat “Elvis”.  She’s a regular fixture in the marina as we have seen her here before. There’s no end to the beautiful yachts in Newport.  Most are huge but some, like this small Carriacou sloop, are just beautiful, if not big.  These sloops, most not nearly as yachty as this one, are natives to the island in the Caribbean near Grenada.  Perhaps we’ll see some of these boats over the winter. Brenda and I also visited this wonderful little print shop in a residential area of Newport, “The Third & Elm Press.  The owner, who’s been there a really long time, makes prints and cards the old fashioned way using equipment that’s well over 100 years old.  There is nothing “modern” about this place.   I don’t think that she takes “Apple Pay”.You don’t see printing presses like this every day.  Not a great picture but you, well, you get the picture…I have walked past this spot hundreds of times over the years but never entered.  The Seamen’s Church Institute.  This place has a long history of helping seafarers in Newport.  These days “help” is in the form of showers and a spot to sit and reflect or at least relax away from the bustle of downtown Newport.   I understand that they also have rooms for rent.  Neat spot. They have a wonderful area to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee. And a really nice library. There’s even a modest collection of ship models.  All of vessels associated with Newport.  How about this torpedo boat?  I always like cut-away models. Even though I have been to Newport many times over the years, I never tire of seeing the sights.  I won’t be back to Newport by boat again till next summer but I will surely enjoy yet another visit soon as it’s surely Pandora’s kind of town.

Speaking of soon, soon will come soon enough as I am visiting with Rodger Martin at his office in Newport later this week.  Rodger designed Pandora so it will be fun to to learn more about his work and hopefully get some good info for a post.  Stay tuned.

Well, time’s up and the day is not getting any younger.  Time to wrap this up.

More to come…

Having a locked jaw, or what experts call temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ), can be a real pain, quite literally. It’s when the joint right in front of your ears, on either side of your head, decides it doesn’t want to open or close smoothly. It can happen for various reasons, like stress, grinding your teeth, or even an injury. But don’t worry, there are ways to ease the discomfort and unlock that stubborn jaw.

I started by giving my jaw some well-deserved rest. No more excessive chewing, gum, or tackling foods that demanded too much jaw action. Instead, I stuck to softer foods like soups and mashed potatoes to avoid straining my jaw. One of the things that brought me relief was a warm compress. It works like a charm in relaxing those tight jaw muscles and reducing the pain. Just soak a clean cloth in warm water, then press it against your jaw for about 15-20 minutes a few times a day.

To help loosen things up, I tried some gentle jaw exercises. I started with slow and controlled jaw movements, like gradually opening and closing my mouth or gently moving my jaw from side to side. No forcing, though! When things got painful, I turned to non-prescription pain relievers like ibuprofen or acetaminophen. They were a temporary but welcome solution to deal with the pain and inflammation.

I also made it a point to figure out what triggered my jaw pain. Stress, teeth clenching, or even habits like nail-biting were big culprits. So, I explored stress-reduction techniques like meditation and yoga to keep those triggers at bay. Then, I paid a visit to my dentist to rule out any dental issues linked to my locked jaw. They suggested a dental splint or mouthguard to curb teeth grinding and clenching, common causes of TMJ.

In more severe cases, I consulted a physical therapist. They gave me exercises and techniques to boost jaw mobility. Sometimes, they’d use TMJ and TMD treatments like ultrasound therapy or manual manipulation to ease the tension in my jaw muscles. When things got really tough, my doctor or dentist prescribed muscle relaxants or corticosteroid injections. These helped reduce inflammation and gave me some relief.

In addition, braces are one of the most common and effective treatments for TMJ. If TMJ is caused by issues with your bite, straightening your teeth and aligning your jaws with braces can be the solution. Orthodontic treatment with the help of an orthodontist can adjust how your teeth are aligned relative to each other on both of your jaws, eliminating TMJ pain.

If nothing else worked, there was surgery, although it’s usually a last resort. Procedures like arthrocentesis or arthroscopy could be considered for more severe cases of locked jaw.

I learned that keeping up with good oral hygiene can prevent conditions that lead to TMJ disorders. Regular dental check-ups, addressing dental issues promptly, and maintaining good oral habits go a long way in reducing the risk. If you’re facing persistent or worsening symptoms of a locked jaw like I did, it’s crucial to reach out to a healthcare professional. They can help pinpoint the cause and recommend the best treatment plan tailored to your needs. With a little patience and consistent care, you’ll likely be on your way to unlocking your jaw’s full potential and finding relief from the discomfort.

It’s Thursday morning and Pandora is anchored, for my second visit this summer, here in Nantucket.  Brenda and I arrived on Monday after a two day run from Stonington CT with a stop in Cuttyhunk.   As I mentioned in a recent post, Brenda and I have not been to Nantucket together by boat for many years so it’s good to be back. On our first visit, back when we were, shall I say “less mature” and boat was oh-so-much-smaller, our only way to get ashore was in a pathetic inflatable canoe we not-so-affectionately called “the green bean”.    Now, with our Caribe dink and powerful outboard, we can make it all the way to town without getting wet.  That’s a big improvement over our first visit here so many years ago.

Speaking of wind, there wasn’t quite enough wind for our run from Stonington to Cuttyhunk and the bottom was pretty nasty after two months of inattention, so under power Pandora was pretty sluggish and acted more like a heavy SLOW cruising boat than what I am getting used to.

We anchored in the bight outside of the harbor in Cuttyhunk and spent time with friends with them on their boat nearby.  It was a lot of fun.  I was particularly amused by this sight of “two men in a tub”, a very small and LOW TO THE WATER dink that went by.  They were getting soaked and the guy in the bow was pulling furiously on the painter with the hope of keeping some of the water out. Brenda wouldn’t have liked that at all.    It reminded us both of our “green bean”, only ours was even worse. Anyway, Pandora’s slimy bottom was calling, so I bit the bullet on Monday at Cuttyhunk and went for a swim to clean the bottom.  WOW!  What a mess.  It’s hard to say exactly how much slime there was but I’d say that there she was sporting an 1/8” to ¼” of “nasty” over her entire bottom.  The first layer was fresh water slime from her short visit in the CT River and after a few weeks in Wickford, salt water slime grew on the now dead FW slime.  Yuck…

I normally use a coarse Scotch Brite Pad to clean but that didn’t work as it just loaded up and pushed around the slime without actually taking if off.  I ended up using a scraper and then the pad, for two hours.  I was bushed.  Thanks to the hooka compressor, I was able to do the entire job without stopping.

Anyway, after that cleaning, even though it wasn’t a perfect job, we caught the tide past Martha’s Vineyard and on to Nantucket.  We carried the flood most of the way to Nantucket but were bucking about a knot of tide by the end.  However, with nice 15 kt breeze on a close reach, against the tide, we were still doing better than 8kts, over the bottom, for much of the trip.  It as a great ride.  And, as this was the first long run that Brenda’s done with me, she was very happy that Pandora’s heel was a comfortable 12-15 degrees.

As we approached Nantucket in the afternoon, some lovely old wooden boats and a few old 12 meter America’s Cup boats passed us heading west after participating in the Opera House Cup, a race for wooden and classic boats, that previous weekend.  I particularly liked seeing this Herreshoff NY30, a classic designed as a one-design class for the NYYC back in the 30s, I think.There is a lovely Friendship Sloop that gives rides in the harbor, several times a day. We enjoyed watching her sail by in the evenings.I particularly enjoyed this beautiful expedition yacht anchored nearby.  What lovely lines. We walked around town PLENTY on this visit.  At the end of the day my “dogs were aching”.  It was fun to see the sights.  I enjoyed watching this gentleman painting on Main Street.  We also visited the “oldest house”.  How old? Well, it was really old and to live in it would have been as rough as heading across the harbor in our old green bean dink.  Pretty though.  On a mooring nearby was Linx, a lovely schooner from Portsmouth NH.  She fired off an impressive cannon at sunset.  Quite a sound and lots of white smoke.  Fun. Speaking of sunsets.  We were treated to several wonderful ones while we were here.  After so many years of sailing New England waters, it is fun to be back in Nantucket.  And, with their hugely expensive mooring fees, we can now anchor and make it ashore dry and comfortable with our good dink and 15hp engine.  It’s nice to have “arrived” with at least a dink that can get us there without getting soaked along the way.

Today we will head to Edgartown for a day and then begin in earnest our run to Wickford by the weekend.  Happily, the winds remain favorable for the run back with SE forecasted for the next few days.

I guess that I’d better wrap this up or we won’t make it to Edgartown in time to enjoy the sights today.

It’s Sunday morning and Brenda and I are aboard Pandora here in Stonington Harbor.  Last evening we were both so bushed from rushing around for our son Rob’s wedding last weekend and then catching up on everything that had fallen behind at home from being away for nearly a week and working on “the big event” that we both went to bed really early.  It was barely dark.  I slept like a log.  Or, as someone once said, “like a bowling ball, you toss it into the bed, it rolls to the middle and doesn’t move”.

Yes, we were pooped.  It’s funny, but even though we didn’t do all that much to prepare for the wedding, it wore both of us out.  Was it the food prep, long drive to MD, Brenda making her “mother of the groom outfit”?  Whatever it was…

Aside from the Mother and Father of the groom stuff, our part was the “morning after” brunch which did take a lot of prep but turned out swimmingly.  A good number of revelers came to Rob and Kandice’s home for the “after the event, event”, looking none the worse for wear, in spite of the festivities, and it was fun to see all the 30-somethings, although they were a lot less dolled up after a day of partying.

Never the less, Brenda and I, she still in her “upper mid 50s” and me a newly minted 60 something, were feeling plenty worn.  However, no rest for the weary as we were to spend a week on Pandora for a mini-cruise in Eastern LI sound and perhaps Martha’s Vineyard.

Some weeks ago, my good friend Ken told me that his mother had died and that it was her wish as well as his father’s, who had died some years back, that their ashes be scattered along the way on a line running from Watch Hill Passage to Great Salt Pond, Block Island, a path that they had sailed so many times over the year that they had “worn a divot” in the waters over the years.   Here’s a note from his will that Ken showed at the reception yesterday at the Stonington Harbor Yacht Club.So, when I heard about it the plans, I just as quickly volunteered to bring Pandora down from Wickford RI to help do the honors.  So, yesterday, family arrived, urns and flowers in hand, and off we went.

What a beautiful day and likely one very similar to the many that his mom and dad had enjoyed on their countless sails in Block Island Sound over the years.  We headed down the rhum line toward Block and when we crossed the 3 mile limit, the moment came.   Ken hoisted pennants, including his Dad’s private signal, from the starboard spreader.  Then he raised his dad’s American flag that had been flown over the White House and given to him in recognition of his service in WWII aboard the Coastguard Cutter Taney (the very same Taney that I saw in Baltimore last weekend and wrote about in this post)  Ken had also written an article about his dad’s time in the service.  The flag was then lowered to half staff.  The “crew” assembled on the leeward rail (note to self:  never, never sprinkle ashes from the weather rail).  Flowers were tossed into the water as the ashes were slowly spread over the waters that meant so much to their family.The flowers and ashes left a lovely soft trail behind Pandora. We tacked to head back and Ken’s brother, Harold and his wife, trailed off of Pandora’s stern as we sailed slowly homeward.    The “kids” had done this countless times when sailing with their parents, many years ago in these same waters and it seemed fitting to do so again as we passed through waters carrying their parent’s ashes.It was a wonderful trip and one that I was pleased to have an opportunity to share with Ken and his family.

The weather was perfect, with gentle breeze to draw us along…  Two brothers paying last respects to parents who’s actions had earned it.   Ken had told me years ago, perhaps when we were sharing watch aboard, that he had “chosen his parents well” and I guess that he had indeed meant it.

The experience was moving and reminded me of burying my own father’s ashes just about a year ago at the cemetery of the church in Weston CT that my parents had loved.

I can only hope that our own sons will someday be so moved when the time comes to do the same for us.

Forgive me but at the risk of carrying the “end” theme too far but it seems fitting to close with a photo of the sunset that I enjoyed as I rounded the point of Watch Hill with Pandora here to connect with Ken and his family on Friday night. 

I am writing this post as we head home to CT from Baltimore after a weekend visit to our son Rob and his new bride Kandice who got married over the weekend.  We had such a great time.   Yes, I know that this is a sailing blog but trust me, I’ll get to that soon, I promise.

For the moment though, a few photos from the wedding in downtown Baltimore.

The happy couple.How many weddings have you been to that included a dog in the wedding party, tie and all?A good time was had by all, even in the elevator on the way to the ceremony.Anyway, great weekend.  It’s going to take a few days to recover from all the festivities.  Forgive the major digression.  Ok, thanks for staying with me.  You’re still there, I hope.  Now, back to boat stuff.

Along the way, I was able to steal a few hours to walk around the inner harbor waterfront.  Interestingly, along with a number of marinas around the harbor, there is room to anchor in the small basin downtown.  However, the restrictions on where you can drop the hook are significant and I understand that there is only room for a boat or two.  It would be pretty annoying to schlep all the way up from the bay only to learn that there is already someone in “your spot”.

However, once you are there, by land or sea, it’s quite a hopping place.  With many inner city waterfront areas developed over the years, Baltimore was one of the early ones and remains a popular spot.

Of course, Pride of Baltimore II is good for a look.  Pride I sank years ago, with the loss of several lives.  Pride II incorporates safety features that Pride 1 did not have, as a result of the tragedy.  She’s a good looking ship.The “dragon” boats are a bit different and very popular. The lightship Chesapeake, one of the surviving manned lightships from along the East Coast, is there. She’s not in quite as good shape as Nantucket, now a B&B but fun to see, never the less.“Screw pile” lights were once common on the shifting sands of the Chesapeake Bay. With the exception of Thomas Point Light, near Annapolis, those remaining have been moved to waterfront parks and museums like this one in the inner harbor.There’s also a WWII sub, the Torsk, that is credited with sinking the last Japanese vessel in WWII. And a retired US Coast Guard cutter, the Taney an the last American vessel floating that saw action in Pearl Harbor. I walked around the waterfront with my friend Craig, who was also in town for “THE WEDDING” and along the way we found our way up Federal Hill, an earthworks built during the Civil war and used to protect the harbor then and in the War of 1812.  It’s an impressive pile of dirt and affords a remarkable view of downtown Baltimore.  The panoramic view on my phone tends to distort things but, with a little imagination, you can get a feel for the spot.Well, with the festivities behind us I’ll again focus on Pandora and some of the remaining projects including the new glazing that I am fitting between the bimini and dodger.  Last week I prepared a template aboard.  It was a bit annoying to do as the wind picked up to 15+kts as the day progressed, making it hard to keep everything in place.  I had to use extra masking tape in the wind.Once home I transferred the measurements and did some of the preliminary sewing in Brenda’s studio.This week I’ll head up to Wickford again to see if it fits (I’ll have my sewing machine in case it doesn’t) and install the zippers and final panel attachment points.  It will be a nice addition to the boat when we are out in unpleasant weather.  Without it, anyone at the helm when it’s raining gets pretty wet.  I prefer to stay dry and I KNOW that Brenda feels that way.

The last remaining project, not including painting the bottom in September, is the swapping of the watermaker so that we have more production capacity.  I don’t know if I am going to tackle that this year but I’d like to.  We’ll see what the next few weeks bring.   I have to be sure that we have enough water on hand to keep the washer going.  You know how girls like their jammies clean.

It’s hard to believe that I’ll be in Hampton VA in less than two months preparing to run Pandora to the Caribbean.  Wow, time flies when you are having fun, going to weddings (that’s great fun) or are at least busy and busy I am.

Whew… I need a nap.

As Brenda and I have progressed over the years from our humble beginnings sailing a 20′ Cape Cod catboat to larger vessels  I have often wondered when or should I say IF, we have made the transition from boating to the blue blazer yachting set.

Some say that the definition of a yacht is “any boat that is bigger than yours?”  That rings true for me but I expect that there are other, perhaps better definitions.

Webster’s Dictionary has a wholly unsatisfying one….  “A large boat used for racing or pleasure.”  Sorry Webster but that’s just not doing it for me.

Perhaps a better, more descriptive definition, such as it is, comes from  a recent article at www.boat.com  The author offers several categories that a boat must fit into in order to even be considered for “yachtiness”.

They include:

“Size and Price:”  As far as size is concerned, in an informal poll of those who should know the answer to such things, the minimum size that will qualify as a yacht is 33′.  I don’t know where that particular size comes from but have seen that referenced before.  Well, Pandora is 47′ so “Check” on the S&P scale.

“Yacht Attitude:”  Well, I’d say that Pandora, with her muscular profile and hard dodger, qualifies on that score.    She certainly turns heads based on the number of questions I get about her.

Next is “Time and Money:”  This question assumes that you are willing to spend the considerable time and money required to keep your yacht from slipping into the obscurity and decayed state of “boatiness”.  Well, I sure qualify on those scores. However, he goes on to suggest that for the owner to do the work themselves will lead to a large discount on the yacht quotient.

Oh well, I’ll have to think about that a bit.  But wait, all is not lost. I could sell Pandora and trade down to a 33 footer and hire someone to work on her with the money I save but that’s a real non-starter for Brenda so I guess the problem remains.

Finally, a key in all of this is about the attitude of the owner.  He says, “If you are more Grey Poupon than French’s mustard, more monogrammed than markdown, and more Topsider than sneaker…” This means that you are a yachtsman.

Well, I own several jars of Grey Poupon, use them up regularly so I have to buy more and have many mogrammed shirts, bags etc .  However, I can not tell a lie and I do LOVE getting stuff on sale.  I also have Topsiders. but they are a bit shabby.

So, how does all this add up for Pandora? Is she a yacht of a lowly boat?   Such are the pressing questions of the universe.

Still confused?  All is not lost and to sum this up in a more scientific way, he offers five questions to confirm, or not, your status.

Of course, not to put too fine a point on it,  but all yachts are indeed boats but not all boats are yachts.

So, is Pandora a yacht?    According to the author, “If any more than three of the following five items are true, you pass the test:”

“1. You refer to your boat as “she” rather than “it”. ”  I pass on this one.  Note that “she” is repeated often in my posts and several times in this one.
“2. Maintenance and upgrades are done by someone else.”  Oops?  I pay for those things that I can’t or won’t do.  If I had more $$ I’d hire EVERYTHING out. Promise…  However, I am not willing to trade down to be able to afford to have someone else do the work for me.  Besides, when I am cruising I have to be able to fix stuff as there isn’t anyone else there to do it for me. boat or yacht.  And, I hate being aboard a broken boat er: yacht.
“3. You deduct the loan payments by considering the boat as a second home.”  Hmm… That seems like a very materialistic way to look at it and in direct conflict with the “if you have to ask how much it costs, you can’t afford it” set.   However, we spend half of the year aboard, so she’s a yacht on that point, deduction or not.

“4. Etiquette and clean feet are more important to you on board than on dry land.” Yahoo!!! A big win for me on this!!!  How may “yachties” do you know who have been dubbed “the nicest anal retentive person I have ever met”?  That would be me.

“5. Gawkers from the dock often say “Nice yacht,” with a straight face”   Hmm…  I guess you’ll have to stand on the dock and listen.

So, there you have it, I think.   Is Pandora a yacht?  Hmm… Well she seems pretty yachty to me and besides, when I am close to a dock, she seems HUGE too.

I guess that yachty, like beauty, is in the eyes of he beholder so I’ll have to ask you, dear reader, what you think.

Is Pandora a boat or yacht?

Before you blurt out your answer, this is Pandora, lest your memory is short. Still unsure?  Want more information?  You can go right to the source and read the full article.

I rest my case.

After the last 500+ posts I have somehow convinced myself that my blog is pretty entertaining.  Well, it is entertaining for me to write and my mom likes it.  But then, even though I am “vertically challenged” she says that I am big.  Anyway, doting mother set aside, I have been pretty sure that my posts are more interesting than most, at least.  This is what I imagine I look like with a halo and all.   Mom agrees.I can say with confidence that some of my posts are more interesting than those who just put down a lot of waypoints that prove that they were somewhere and write something about what speed and compass course they were traveling.

However, today that warm feeling of superiority was all but shattered when I was reading FaceBook and stumbled on the blog of Cygnus III, written by a couple, well perhaps by the guy, or bloke as a true Brit, which he is, might call himself.   Now, with my blogging self image shattered, I feel more like I am marooned on a desert island with all hope lost.   “Bob, give us a break.  Stop it… NOW!”   OK, OK, yes, perhaps I’ll live and muddle through another day.  However, it’s apparent that the site of the travels of Mark and Angelina, a couple that live aboard their Oyster 45 sailboat Cygnus III. are setting the bar a bit higher for me and my lowly site.

They mostly dispense with the we-went-there sort of coverage and dig down to the “marrow” of what it’s like to live aboard and cruise, and they do it with flare.

In their own words, I give you…

So what’s this Cygnus III website all about?

Well, in 2010 we decided to sell our Dyson hoover and the house we kept it in to buy a sailing yacht called Cygnus III to live aboard.

We wanted to go sailing into a striking sunset, visit paradise and get free coconuts.

It was all pretty simple really. If we got lost along the way we could just pull in somewhere and ask directions.

What no one told us was how bleeding scary the sea is! There’s, like, rocks and storms and shit!

So these are the tales of our hapless voyage on our sailing yacht Cygnus III and the places and predicaments we have found ourselves in.

Well put, and as I read excerpts from their site aloud to Brenda, we found ourselves chuckling and sometimes laughing out loud at their observations about what it’s like to spend months together on a small boat and to live to tell the tale.

Often, when we are talking to fellow cruisers about what it’s like to live aboard, there seem to be a few basic truths about the questions we all get from those who have never left the dock or, ye gads,  slept aboard OVERNIGHT.

Here’s what the Cygnus crews have to say that and more…

How will you know when you truly become a live aboard?

If your living on a boat these descriptions may ring your ships bell?

1. When staying in a house you always come down stairs backwards
2. You find yourself bleeding from random places at random times.
3. You and your wife define “taking a break” as moving about six feet apart and looking in opposite directions.
4. You avoid telling people you live on a boat just so you don’t have to explain to them you actually sleep on it as well… again.
5. You think butter only comes in soft or liquid form.
6. You only have 3 cooking pots.
7. When invited to dinner at someone’s house you spend all night turning unnecessary lights off.
8. When invited to dinner at someone’s house you ask if you can do your laundry.
9. The doctor assumes your body covered in random bruises is a sign of physical abuse.
10. You are the only one who doesn’t want to win the big screen TV at the charity raffle.
11. You think “Game of thrones” is something you do when two people need the toilet at once.
12.  Kids think you’re the coolest person on earth. Adults think you have lost your marbles.
13. When you don’t like the neighbourhood you just move.
14. You are content knowing that sailing is code for boat repair in exotic places.
15. You can assemble a gourmet dinner using only one pot and mouldy cheese.
16. Doing laundry involves a net bag, a moving boat, and 50 feet of line.
17. When asked for a piece of paper, you ask if they want course or fine.
18. You don’t want anything for Christmas that isn’t on a Kindle.
19. Cardboard boxes, wrappers, and packing are thrown away before getting onto the boat.
20. You define a good anchorage as one where you can get Wi-Fi.
21. Your wallet contains more boat cards than business cards
22. You know what a boat card is.
23. When visiting ashore, you wake everybody at daylight screaming “We’re aground “when you open your eyes and don’t see water.
24. You define an easy chore as one where you don’t have to pull everything out of the locker first.
25. You covet new solar panels more than a new car.
26. You can identify boats by the sound of their halyard slapping against their mast.
27. Removing things from the refrigerator is like playing Jenga.
28. In shoe shops you go straight to the flip-flops.
29. You accidentally put your life jacket on when you get in a car.
30. You walk in the rain all the way back to your boat, carrying a backpack, a load of laundry,  groceries destined to fall out of their bag at any second… all while thinking how lucky you are.
31. Filling the water tanks is a full day’s work.
32. The only thing you do religiously on Sundays is wonder what day it is.
33. The first thing you do after setting the anchor is to see what other boats you know.
34.  You talk to your boat and give parts of it stupid names.
35. You understand and pay attention to the entire weather forecast.
36. You spend weekends sitting in your cockpit with a boat hook beside you, waiting to fend off the next holiday charter boat.
37. Every time you consider buying something you have to decide what you’ll get rid of to make room for it.
38. When visiting ashore you look for instructions on how to use a push button toilet.
39. A three minute hot shower is pure indulgence.
40. You covet your neighbour’s engine more than his wife.
41. Ice cubes are the ultimate luxury.
42. You have to strap a bag full of water to your boom & wait a few hours before you can take a hot shower.
43. You’ve googled to see if there are any companies that make triangular bed sheets.
44. You know that duct tape was invented by God.
45. You only bring out real cups for fancy occasions.
46. Trying to find a partner to sail away with you isn’t being romantic, it’s kidnapping.
47. Your computer homepage is the Weather Service
48. You’ve spent mornings standing naked on the deck of someone else’s boat, adjusting halyards, lashing lines & freezing your ass off.
49. You have given up trying to defend your lifestyle and are content with smugly thinking…..they don’t know just what they are missing.
50. Having sex always rocks your boat.

You can read the entire post here.

So, there you have it.  Whatever SailPandora is lacking, I can’t be accused of trying to hide those who do the “blogging thing” well.  You go Cygnus… Thanks for making us laugh.

It’s Friday morning and near the end of July (where do the days go?) and yet another beautiful day here in CT.  Last night Brenda and I went down to the CT River Museum to enjoy one of their “Thursdays on the Dock” concert featuring the USCG Dixieland Jazz Band.  These concerts are held on Thursdays in July and August and are a terrific bargain, free to members and $5 for non-members.   It was a beautiful evening with a great turnout and wonderful music.   The last time I spent any time with the USCG they wanted to see my fire extinguisher and documentation.  It was more enjoyable last night. A very nice group of guys.  One of the guys even had his mother visiting.  HI Mom!I tried to find a video of them performing that doesn’t take an hour to watch but no luck.  This one was filmed in nearby New London and features the same guys that performed last night.  You should at least watch a few minutes.

Seeing them brought back memories of many visits to New Orleans, back in my days as a “worker bee”.   They were terrific and attracted a great crowd to the museum.  I have enjoyed spending time volunteering at the museum over the last year.  The director, Chris, is a great guy.

Brenda and I will be spending the winter in the Caribbean  and I have begun planning my run to the Caribbean and the BVI and am getting pretty excited about it.  Making a 1,500 mile ocean run is a bit daunting as it will be the longest that I have made to date.    Just over 1,000 miles is the longest so far and I was never more than a few hundred miles from shore.   A few hundred miles is still WAY to long a swim to shore but on this run I’ll be much further out on this run and too far to be picked up by helicopter, speaking of the USCG, if things decide to go badly.

Anyway, we plan to make landfall in the British Virgin Islands, Virgin Gorda, home of the Bitter End Yacht Club, and the destination for the Salty Dawg Rally.   Not a bad spot.  Getting excited!Still lots of details to work out to get Pandora ready for the run south.

Oh yeah, I think I mentioned that the bow thruster wasn’t working properly and had feared that a major repair was in the offing.  Well, I went up to Wickford and Pandora this week, tools in hand, ready to perform surgery.  Good news, nothing more than a loose wire.  And, to make it even better, I found, and fixed, the problem without bringing in the professionals.  Well, not yet at least.  Let’s hope that the “thruster gremlin” doesn’t show up again any time soon.

Still need to do some canvas work to put a connector between the top of the dodger and the bimini so I’d better get going on ordering some supplies and quit it with this post.  That’s all for now.