Potters Need Not Apply

July 12, 2009, Potters need not apply

Since the official school doesn’t start until about 5:00 in the afternoon, I went cruising this morning. Actually, I was on a mission to go to Badaduce for lunch. It one of the top 10 places in Maine to eat. It is just a shack on the side of the road that has been in existence since the 1940’s. If you are ever in the area it is adjacent to the reversing falls at Brooksville. I did find one location that my cell phone works on the top of Caterpillar Hill. I might have to go back there and check in with Carole later in the week. It is about 20 miles away but the closest thing to cell phone coverage around here.

Speaking of Carole. Carol was in this morning to clean up the building. She has been working here for years. It was good to see and talk to her. Her accent is about as Maine as mine is Alabama. (I know all of you who live in the south don’t think you have an accent but believe me you do.) I love to listen to her. We got caught up on her kids, grand kids, her new husband, (the previous one died of cancer a few years ago), her sisters husband passing with cancer a few weeks ago, etc. I told her about our garden. She has never seen or tasted okra. You would have to wonder what she would think if we set her down in front a big plate of boiled okra.

There are a lot of places for sell here. Carol said that many are in foreclosure. If you want to buy, a house in Maine now is the time to do it. If you do, don’t think you are going to come up and do hand thrown pottery for a living. If a house doesn’t have a “For Sale” sign in the yard, there is a sign for hand made pottery. I guess all the hippies from the 60’s have retired to Maine and think they are going to make a good living selling pottery. I have actually heard this is a good place to buy art “stuff” because some many people have moved here to do their art. Because of the quantity of stuff available, everything is cheap.

The small boat regatta was canceled this morning because of rain and fog. About the time they all hooked up and headed out the sun broke thru and it has been a beautiful day ever since although it is a little warm. Must be about 70 in the sun. One thing I observed on my drive is how people put their lawn chairs out in the sun here. Now, no self respecting person in Alabama would put out a lawn chair that wasn’t under a good shade tree.

5:00 is the time for dinner and orientation. I have been orienteated again. I think Rich (the school director) had one new joke this year. The instructor for the course is Geoff Kerr. This is the 2nd time I have taken a course taught by Geoff. He is a great instructor and a lot of fun. With only 6 of us including him I am not sure how far we will get. This boat has a lot of planks to put on. I think it will be a great learning experience.

I will try to start posting some photos as soon as I get a chance.

Damn it is cold

July 11, Birmingham to Brooklin

I tried to blog the trip to the Virgin Islands and that just didn’t work. The days were full and we were having too much fun to stop and write. Besides some of it, you couldn't write about anyway. What happens in the islands stays in the island. Anyway, I am off to the Wooden Boat School again. It is my vacation from reality. There are no TV’s and cell phones. Internet is available but you have to sit on a bench outside in the cold without any lights to access it.

This was supposed to be an easy day with a 9:30 flight from BHM and a drive up the coast of Maine. Well Mr. Delta screwed with me again. They changed the flight to 6:00, so the alarm went off at 3:30 to make it to the airport on time. My luggage is full of planes, saws, and other tools. I am sure I will get one of those tags inserted saying that TSA need to look inside my bags. I will probably get some kind of star by name saying we need to watch this guy he is weird.

One casual observation. I was following two “older” women thru the line in Birmingham to get some coffee. You have never seen such disorder. They couldn’t figure out how to get a tray (just pick it up), how to work the coffee machine (just put the cup under it and push the lever), were the cream was (with all the other condiments), etc. Yet with all of this, they had no problem in telling the guy serving the food where to put the eggs. Don’t touch the eggs and gravy. That isn’t enough gravy. And, the poor girl at the counter got a lesson in why cream should be beside the coffee. Why can’t some people just accept the way things are and not try to boss everyone around.

At Portland, I picked up a rental car for the drive to Brooklin. I was trying to find the “best” place on the coast for clams but when Katherine (our GPS) told me I was there, I didn’t see anything that looked like a place to eat. If I had seen it, I am not sure I could have got back in traffic. Highway 1 can be busy this time of year. Someone told me that they were having a jazz concert in Rockland and had the streets closed for the party and I need to avoid that area. There is a cut off road around town but it misses the Maine Prison Store and I wanted to stop by to see what they had. For those of you who haven’t been, it is a real treat. It is full of woodworking “things” made by prisoners in shop. It resembles the stuff that came out of shop class when I was in high school. Although some of it reminds me of things that Bro. Owens would have the boys in Vacation Bible School do when I was a kid in Sycamore.

I “had” to stop at the Lincolnville Lobster Pound. Carole you could get two 1 ½ pound lobsters for $30.00. There were a couple of kids swimming in the water at the beach near the restaurant. I don’t know how they could even wade into the water as cold as it is.

I stopped at the grocery store on the way in to Brookin. It is about 20 miles from the school to the main grocery store for the area. There is a local “Shields” type market at the intersection but that is it. While I was waiting in line, the people in front of me bought some yellow squash. It was a $1.00 for each squash. I took Julie and Larry 20 of those things yesterday out of the garden. If anyone wants, $10 or $15 worth of squash, I am sure Carole will be more than happy to share crop with you. She is going to have her hand full with the garden over the next couple of weeks. We are getting about 2 grocery sacks full every day of it now and the okra is just starting to come in.

There are few people at the school who are staying over to take the 2nd part of a class or who are taking back-to-back classes. The farmhouse is about half full. Kim was nice to me and I am staying in the room normally reserved for instructors. Apparently, the attendance at the school is way off this year. The course I am taking only has 6 people in lieu of the normal 12. The fundamental course under Greg is about 3 short of a full class.

There is a small boat regatta going on this weekend at the school and there were about 40 boats signed up to participate. Maybe I can get some good photos as they leave out tomorrow morning. Most of those people are camping out in tents. It looks like a tent city over the top of the hill toward the waterfront. Which brings up the discussion of weather.

My body had acclimated itself to the 90 degree temperatures. When I left the house this morning and pulled out of the garage the temperature on the car was 76 degrees. On the way to the interstate, it cooled down to show 70 degrees. Right now, it must be in the upper 50’s with about a 20-knot wind blowing. It didn’t take long to unpack the jacket. I may have to head up to the Bean Outlet tomorrow and get be a sock boggin for my head.

I will probably go exploring for part of the day tomorrow. I have to explore far enough to get something to eat. The local breakfast and lunch place is closed, I heard the waitress was sick and they didn’t have anyone to take her place.

A New Adventure! Off to the BVI

And so the next adventure begins. We are off tomorrow to the BVI with friends Tony, “K”, Don, Peg, Lynn & Marsha for several days of sailing and relaxing. Carole and I are excited about our friends being on the trip. None of them have sailed it the BVI before. We have been scrambling to get everything ready to go. Grass cut, garden hoed, garbage taken to the dumpster, finding all our “island stuff” and packing our bags. We are turning in early for a 3:00 am wake up. Our flight leaves the airport at 5:30 in the morning.

Epilog

According to the FYC book, we did about 1300 miles. I actually think it was closer to a 1000 miles. FYC has a strange method of calculating distances. We burned about 150 gal of diesel fuel. We have very few days of good sailing, most days we spent motoring. We hit the bottom almost everyday we were in south Florida. We never had to get towed off by TowBoat US.

The yacht clubs were definitely the highlight of the trip. They were unique, very nice, with great facilities and most had very good food; the rest just had good food. Of all of the clubs Tampa Yacht and Country Club is the one I would love to go back to some day. I hope my buddy Buck is still there.

The boat did great. At times during the sea crossing, we were tired and fatigued but we could trust the boat to get us there. Of course, the equipment on the boat makes all of this almost easy. I can’t imagine doing what we did without the on board electronics so you always know exactly where you are and where you are going. The Autohelm steers a straight course between points regardless of the sea state. It would be hard to picture standing at the wheel for hours at a time steering a straight course. The Sirius radio or the Ipod were on the whole time providing music. It isn’t required but it makes the trip better.

The ability to connect back to home thru cell phones and email is wonderful. Most of the clubs had WiFi so attachment to the internet was easy. My computer has a Sprint Card that gave me broadband access everywhere we stopped. With access to the internet and the onboard satellite weather system, we sometimes had too much weather information. With all of this information, we were able to make informed decision.

One of the things I have enjoyed is doing the Blog. It has been fun sharing adventures and thoughts each day with close friends.

The key to making a trip like this is to have compatible crew. After almost 41 years, Carole and I can still spend extended time together and enjoy each other’s company. Michael making the sea crossing with us was a big plus. We could have probably done it without him but it would have been much more tiring and not as much fun.

Will we do it again? Will the next trip be to the Keys? The Virgin Islands are nice this time of year. How about a trip to Maine? You will just have to check in every now and again to see.

Carole’s Comment

I agree with what Bob has said. I found it hard to be gone from family, especially on Easter. However, at the same time, I am finding it hard to imagine going back to real life. I know you out there have no sympathy for me, I don’t blame you. Final note. I went back to Starr Booty for one last trip. Get prepared, Pell city. I have my “Florida Do” and it is different!

I doesn't get any better than this

Thursday, April 23, 2009, Pensacola, Florida (Home Port)

Yesterday was a near perfect sailing day. Winds 110 to 90 degrees off the port blowing about 10 knots most of the day. Skies were cloudless, temperature in the mid 70’s, a gentle 4’ swell in the Gulf; it just doesn’t get any better than that. I guess if had been like that the whole time we had been gone we might still be gone. It was Paul’s first time for a long sea passage. Of course, by now Michael is an old salt.

It is about 85 miles sea buoy to sea buoy. We left the marina in Panama City about 7:00 and cleared the sea buoy about 7:45. The winds were light and out of the north and as the day progressed; they swung around behind us and moved forward. The majority of the day the conditions were about perfect. Late in the afternoon they winds moved to the southwest and built up to about 15 for about an hour, before shifting back south. We came in the pass at Pensacola just before sunset and arrived (in the dark again) at the marina about 8:30. We slid into the slip with all our dock lines in the correct place tied to the perfect length, all we have to do is loop them on and we are secure. After we attached the power cables, we head to the “Oar House” for the “Forklift” and cold beer. If you are ever this way it is highly recommended. We actually got there a few minutes after they closed the kitchen. We must have looked rough and hungry because they opened the kitchen back up to cook our supper. Thanks Oar House.

Today has been cleaning and getting ready go home. There was a lot of salt on the boat that had to get cleaned off or you get little rust spots on everything.

Tonight we had dinner at Sam’s. The Po-Boy would put the stuff in south Florida to shame. If they only knew how good we have it here. I guess home is always the best place.

Light and variable winds, gusting to 25 knots

Tuesday, April 21, 2009, Panama City Marina

We like Panama City Marina. It is operated by the city and they do a good job. Michael has observed however, the marina is not quite up to the standards of the Yacht Clubs. Itis clean, the people are friendly and we can understand them. They sound like us, not like some guy from New York. It is one of our favorite marinas to visit. Since I am cheap, one of the better features is it is actually less expensive than the yacht clubs. Since the yacht clubs are significantly cheaper than the other marinas in south Florida, it is quite a bargain.

The marina is right at the end of the street in downtown. It is an easy walk into downtown with lots of neat little shops and good restaurants. Michael and I did our best to keep Carole from spending her monthly allowance from the retirement system. We failed! Most people head to Panama City Beach and never see the downtown area. It is quite a shame. Then again, maybe it is a blessing that the beach crowd doesn’t make it to downtown.

Norma came for a visit and lunch. Norma and I worked together for 25 years or more. It is always great to see her and catch up on families and happenings. After she retired, she left Pell City and became a beach bum at Panama City Beach.

We are checking with NOAA to see what they are thinking about heading back. Yesterday they were saying 30 knot winds on Wednesday, this morning they are saying winds out of the east early and shifting to southwest later building to about 15. I guess we will just go out there and see what happens. To quote Cap’t Ron “If is going to happen, it is going to happen out there”. You have to remember; these are same people who gave the forecast last week of “light and variable winds, gusting to 25 knots”. I am still trying to figure out what that meant.

Paul is coming to join Michael and me for the trip to Pensacola. Carole will driving Paul’s car. She is planning to spend part of the day with Norma and the rest of the day at the Outlet Mall. There goes the rest of the retirement allowance. We should be out at daybreak tomorrow for a late night arrival. Either wish us luck or say a short prayer for southeast winds at 8 to 10 and 2 foot seas. I know that is a precise request. Well if you are going to say prayer, you might as well ask for exactly what you want.

Michael this cockpit isn’t big enough for the both of us

Monday, April 20, 2009, Panama City Marina

Sea buoy to sea buoy in 31 hours. I forget what I write so it is easier to repeat myself that to go back and look things up. It must be an age thing. We were not able to stay in Clearwater on Friday night because of a big fishing tournament, so we camped out at Treasure Island Yacht Club.

After a thorough checking of the weather early Saturday morning, we make the “go” decision. We are out of the yacht club around 7:30 and headed up the ditch to Clearwater. Five bascule bridges later, we pull thru the pass at Clearwater at 10:00 for a course of 309 degrees and 175 miles to Cape San Blas. The wind is right on our stern and we veer off about 10 degrees north to make the sails fill. Being off by that amount doesn’t concern us since the winds are supposed to clock to the south. As the day goes on, we will be able to correct back to our course. What was I thinking! I know better than to trust NOAA (National Weather)! The winds move around to the northeast and then north, dying the whole time. Actually, they are doing exactly what Sailflow.com said they would do. We roll in the jib and pull the main in tight to stop any roll. That was pretty much the tack until mid morning on Sunday. Because of the wind and the sea, we get a nice drone of the engine and a comfortable trip. Around mid morning, the winds shift back to the southeast and start to pick up force slowly. All of the models showed the winds out of the south by this point and blowing 10 to 15. Because of the direction, we still aren’t able to use the sails to help us any. We turn the corner at Cape San Blas around 12:00 for the next 45-mile leg. Then a miracle occurs as we turn to get a little more wind angle the wind shifts a little more south and we still have it on our stern. Oh yes, did I mention the waves. Five footers by this time. Because they are on our stern, it is sill a semi-comfortable ride. Looks like about the same waves we were pounding into going south. We say a little prayer of thanks for the semi-comfortable ride. We are watching the front develop to the west on the satellite weather system and we can be either go to Port St Joe or Panama City based on the weather system. I check again about the point we would have to make the turn to Port St Joe and based on what we are seeing looks like the storms won’t get to Panama City until we are snug in the harbor. Actually, we never had any of the storms here.

You remember my docking experience in Florida where I did the perfect maneuvers and impressed everyone. You should never brag, it will come back and haunt you later. The docking maneuver here took 3 of us on the boat and 4 people on the dock plus hanging the anchor on about 3 different piles with a lot of screaming, yelling. I was damn glad for those 4 people on the dock.

Michael was a tremendous help with the trip. We alternated 3 hour watches. He would be in control of the boat for 3 hours while I napped and then we would swap. During the night, both of us were on deck sleeping (if you can call it that) in the cockpit. Carole was chief cook and alternate watch stander so at least two people were on deck all of the time. When Carole was available, Michael or I would go below to get our nap. It looked like Michael and I weren’t on speaking terms, since as soon as one of us would come on deck the other one would get up and leave. It was like the old western movies “Michael this cockpit isn’t big enough for the both of us”.

Good hot showers and cold beer (not in that order) made us a feel better. I got a good 10 hours of sleep in lieu of my normal 7 and now we have to start looking for the weather window for the next leg. It ain’t going to be today.

Carole’s Comments

Compared to the trip down back at the first of March, this one was much easier. But I can’t say it is the most fun of anything to do. It is very much like any long car trip on the interstate. The monotony of this trip comes from the lack of a change of scenery. I get very interested when a plastic jug floats by and we have conversation of what it could be, trash? A fish jug gone missing? Of course, the occasional dolphins visit is truly fun. The real highlight of the first day was the little bird that joined us. It was a little brown finch in need of a tree. The winds had been howling back in Clearwater from the east so we figured it had been blown off shore. It was so happy to have something to land on that it was quite friendly. I should have gotten a picture of it hopping around on Bob. It settled down tucked in beside me. Bob said it knew who the mom was. Bob told us by the next day it would be gone or dead and unfortunately, it was the latter. At least it had some rest. When night came that is when it really gets different. It was dark, no moon but the stars were out and fun to see. All you could see in front of you was the anchor. I told Michael the night is disconcerting to me because I couldn’t see anything. He made the astute observation that well there wasn’t anything to see after all but it is comforting to see it. Imagine driving down the interstate at night and you can’t see. Of course, we have radar and we know if anything is out there for 24 miles. We did encounter a boat in the middle of nothing that necessitated we actually had to change course. I will let Michael tell that story. Well, we made it just fine but I will say that passages are not my favorite part of sailing. It just has to be done to go anywhere. We are heading home. We have been gone a while, we have seen many sights and had some good times. Bob and I are still talking to each other but it sure is good to have Michael here to give us somebody else!

Log Supplemental, Crewman Michael:

Apparently, I have a bizarre propensity to find the one other boat in the middle of Gulf of Mexico and run directly for her. On my last western passage of the gulf aboard the Sea Cloud in the middle of the night the captain, Tony, and I spotted a distant light on the horizon. As we approached the light, we had no radar contact and assumed it a weather buoy. The closer we got we questioned our assumption and once within visual range we were able to see that we were about to pass within 50 ft of a commercial fishing vessel. At that point, the radar finally made contact in time to sound collision. A quick change of course averted disaster. While on this crossing, we avoided a collision alarm but shadiness abounded.

Shortly before sunset, we spotted the boat on the horizon directly ahead. Dad went below as the sun lowered into the western horizon leaving me at the helm with Mom as my most excellent deck companion. Radar made contact and I began tracking the boat. It appeared to be a commercial shrimp boat circling in a very small area at about 2.0 knots. As we approached, the boat stopped and I decided to pass in front of her to avoid her nets. The captain of the Padre hailed us to say hello as we crossed about 50 ft of her bow. A friendly sort of fellow wishing us a good evening, he was quickly called away by the hail of the Carole Anne. It was the later events that got shady. I pointed out to Mom that it was odd that the Padre would be that far out at sundown without her nets out just circling around. Mom pointed out that the captain appeared to be alone on the vessel. Then it all clicked for me and I decided that it had to be a drug runner waiting for a delivery from the mysterious Carole Anne that was apparently far more important than we were as we passed the Padre. About thirty minutes later, we heard the hail from the US Coast Guard. “Fishing vessel at 28d 11m, this is the US Coast Guard Cutter one mile off your port.” There was no reply. The hail was repeated and again no reply. Apparently, the Coast Guard thought it was a little suspicious as well and was probably out there anticipating something was going to happen.

So even in the wide expanse of the Gulf, excitement happens and you can always run directly across another boat.