Hurricane IRENE - Anchored in Hudson River

We weathered hurricane IRENE while anchored in the Hudson River.  There won't be many photos of this event because it's tough to take pictures when the rain is horizontal,and the winds a buffeting the boat at gale force velocities.

We left Hop-O-Nose (HON) Marina before the hurricane approached.  We left on Saturday around noon.  The major winds started about 0330 on Sunday morning.  It's still blowing now on Sunday night, as we post this... 20 to 25 knot gusts... but no rain now.

Creek rising over 8 feet; now above dining patio. Soon
six feet higher than you see it here!

It's a good thing we left the marina, because it's basically gone now... and our cars are literally floating in the parking lot.    Here we set, at anchor, near Athens, NY, in the Hudson River,  hearing all this news about the devastation at Catskill Creek (with water 10 to 12 feet above normal... flooding the parking lot, the restaurant, the office... and washing away the docks that was our summer "home").  Surreal...

Waterline at roofline of our Honda Element - Totalled!

We'll have to leave the AB in the Hudson River... and dinghy into HON to see how we can replace the cars...and whether or not we'll ever be able to return there. 
Not good thoughts.... any of them...  BUT the important thing is we're safe, and insurance will hopefully cover all the losses of cars...etc.

Boats that were on Jack stands floating on dining patio.

Fuel tank floated out of saddles and tipped over... crane
putting it back in place.

Dean cleaning tables inside Creekside Restaurant -
Water was five feet deep inside restaurant.

Friends power boats leaning against new flagpole 
Props bent - Rudders OK.

Marina Swimming POOL filled with muddy water,
and debris... YUCK!

UnKnown boat stuck under dock - All dock fingers -GONE!

Large Tree debris - stuck on our anchor chain in Hudson River.

Group of three trees stuck on anchor chain.
hit during the night.  - moved us 800 feet down river.

about three feet in diameter - BIG TREE !!!!!

more later.

Food Shelving (Starboard) Finished

The food storage shelving for the starboard midship area is finished! Yeah!
See PHOTO.  
I'm working on the next project now...battery box (new); and aft berth storage areas.

Food Shelving finished and stored! 

Summer 2011 Vacation in WNY

Our vacation at Lake Erie in Western NY is over, and we're back at the AB.  We rented a house with a pool, and a fenced yard... (photo).  We had lots of company, and lots of time for music.  The Herd (friends from our youth, and college years) came at various times to play music and catch up "on the things we've tried to do".

Cottage on Lake Erie - 2011

Vickie and Mike (fellow cruisers)

The HERD getting a NEWS fix!

The guests seemed to come linearly.... in that we never had more guests than beds... Neat! We had grandkids, nieces, and nephews, and all sorts of guests.  Susan worked as 'teacher' for some (math, algebra, etc.)

grandkids watching TV

We had phenomenal weather while we were there, and lots of beach time.  The pool in the back yard was great for the kids, and to cool off the adults before bed-time as well...

Grandkids listening to music

cottage ladies

Ruth (our daughter) came with her dog, Savannah...and as per usual was on her way to somewhere (this time Toronto for an international rugby tournament).   :)

BUT.... there was time for RELAXATION

Just some photos - from old hard drive



AB under sail (Southbound) with C-NOTE

Just thought I'd post some old photos from an old hard drive...  Just happened to be 'thumbing' through 'stuff'.

Sydney welcoming us home!

Miami Beach Anchorage to Dinner Key (Coconut Grove)

AB motoring past Miami, on way to Dinner Key

Autumn Borne sailing the Hawk Channel

AB in Gulf Stream with "Bone in her teeth"

Cottage on Lake Erie - Project weeks on AB

The cottage in Angola NY this year is new to us... (about 4 doors down from last years house), but has a number of great features for us. The top of the new features is a fenced in yard for Sydney, and pool for anyone. NICE!!!

Obviously the Lake (Erie) is still there and is very warm right now (78F). The pool is now at 80+F, but is still refreshing in the heat of these days.

Varnished Cockpit Coaming

I've been playing a lot of guitar (something I fail to do on the Autumn Borne during "project" time). That's nice... I need the practice... Fingers get stiff...

Reading is another pass-time that's being enjoyed here at the cottage.... Friends will start to arrive shortly.  

 Back at the AB, and before this cottage time, we accomplished a few (or at least started) the projects of this Summer (2011):  (photos):  1) teak work - new finish;  2.) Food Storage areas;  3.) Doubling House Battery capacity;   4.)  new WaterMaker membrane

Unfinished New Food Storage area

Lot's of 'frog tape' used to mask off boat from varnish and paint work.  :)

New knee pads made the work along the deck bearable on the knees (Gel Filled pads... NICE!).

Cap Rail now finished

Wild night off NJ Coast

What a Wild Week... Ruth left us on Monday, flying back to Albany after sailing 2/3 of the Chesapeake with us...

Then, Tuesday we had a relaxing day, ending with dinner, and drinks with our friends Morina, and Owen Ware.

Wednesday we picked up the ground tackle in Weems Creek, and caught the flood tide perfectly, assisting us north, toward the C&D Canal.

We got to the mouth of the Sassafras River (intended anchorage), and were still "flying"... so we decided to scoot through the C&D and onto Reedy Island. Which we did...

Nice anchorage at Reedy Island for the night. 

We picked up the hook before sunrise and hit the very start of the ebb tide down the Delaware River (Bay). We, again, were making nearly 9 knots (SOG) on our way south toward the Atlantic. NICE!!   The weather was hot and very HAZY!!  

We did loose the "tidal pull" to the Atlantic just short of the Prissywick Inide passage at Cape May... but we slogged our way through and into the Atlantic, with the idea that we could 'make' Atlantic City (absocom inlet) by about 1800 hours.  WELL... we did.... sort of....

WE made it to the way-point off Atlantic City well before sun-down, and the water was 1 to 2 feet (waves), and the wind was decent from the SE... SO...............a decision was made to do the 'all-nighter' to NYC.  The weather was gorgeous!

The weather forecast mentioned that "conditions were right for severe T-Storms" (it being HOT, and HOTTER for days, and days)....

Anyway... they mentioned NO existing storms in the area at the moment.... SO... we sailed on past Atlantic City...

Our normal watch schedule for passages like this is that I catch some sleep after dinner, while Susan helms, then I (dean) take the night watch from about 11PM to 5 AM (dawn)...

We were into this schedule... with me below decks in the berth (zonked).... when the sunset, behind a huge wall of clouds... Susan noticed this, but it had been so hazy all day... (we were sometimes using radar to find the Delaware Bay buoys....) she didn't think more about it...

We had just about every piece of sail we had up.... (mistake #1)... when I retired for the shut-eye. The boat behind us was even running his spinnaker....

Then...just after sundown...the front hit !!!!...Susan yelled for me... Groggy I came up into the cockpit.... sails flapping like crazy, and the the boat heeled over...

First we took the autopilot off and ran down wind.... but the wind was so strong (46.3 knots max. we saw on the wind instrument after it was all over) we couldn't hold course....the first time... and had one crash jib... NOT good !  (mistake #2). ...

The wind was so strong it came in the open sides of the Bimini/Dodger and literally ripped the port top zipper apart, leaving the Bimini top hanging into the cockpit....Not GOOD. (Obviously, the state of the boat all windows, and Bimini sides open) was indicative of the great weather we HAD been having for two days... ).

While we were running downwind we did manage to get the Yankee (foresail) rolled up so that was Good!

We did manage to come about,then, and heave-to, which gave us a few minutes to take stock of the situation... BUT the full main, and stay'sl isn't the ideal combination for Autumn Borne to heave-to... (it likes a double reef in the mains'l, and the stays'l to keep a nice 60 degree angle to the wind).

We couldn't stay hove-to on this azimuth anyway... the bow was pointing toward the NJ coast, so we didn't have that much sea-room.

 

After we caught our breath for a few minutes... and took a look around the boat (which was then quite the mess, after the coming about, and a crash jibe).... we powered up the motor, and Susan took AB into the wind... I hitched onto the jack lines, went forward and took the sails down... noisy, and wet, but successful... Quite the job in over 40 knots of wind...

We had seen fronts come in on us before... but this one came in a super stealth mode... out the land haze.... Wow !!!

So.. now that the sails were down and we were motoring into the wind, with the seas building the boat began to take some blue water over the bow... (some which gave me quite the soaking while tying up the stays'l). We decide to run off (south, from where we came) for a while.... that was much better...ride wise...

Then, I took a good look at the long radar.........24 miles out... UG!@!!! This storm (or series of cells), was massive, and we were running back into it... HUMMMM... OK... let's take our lumps and go north (crashing and bashing or not)... maybe we can let these things pass to our stern...

The lightning coming out of these cells was impressive.... (aka scary!!) we could watch the multiple strikes on the NJ coast.... UG !!!

The Good thing.... we actually did run away from some of the more scary cells.... they would rain on us... then the center would pass to our stern....

We did manage to get the Bimini pieced back together enough for some rain protection... and lowered most of the bimini sidecurtains... that helped.... especially me... as I still had on only a bathing suit, PFD, and harness....and was soaking wet.

In that configuration, we ran all night to NYC.... getting here, and anchoring by 0930 hours. I went below a few times to take stock of the damage...(things we hadn't taken care of because of the phenomenal weather we had been experiencing - Mistake #3) Cupboards opened spilling contents... tools spilled, books tossed off shelves (not secured)... etc. THEN... we started to notice the real damage... WATER...

In our complacency (with all the good weather) we had left a lot of the ports open (Mistake #4).... The extreme heels, and crash-jib must have put several of these open ports under water... because we had sea water in things that shouldn't have sea water .... like the wastebasket under the aft head sink... How the heck did it get in there? .... As we looked around we began to find wet books, soaking wet charts, tubs that held batteries full of water... My bolt/nut box in the engine room was full of water... and that was under the inverter... OH OH....the inverter...

I'm sure we'll find more things.. that need attention over the next few days....

Slowly...today... all day...we dried out, here at anchor... the boats topsides covered in books, boxes, rugs, mouse pads, pillows, etc.

I think we're 80% back.... I did get the inverter working...by disconnecting it and letting it reboot....

The generator may have taken a bath, but it still works... and the main engine never missed a beat !!!! nice!

We were lucky... I was hoping that the sailors behind us didn't get caught with that spinnaker still up.... this storm came out of nowhere!!!    Wild night....

The good thing... the boat did well, and we didn't break the boat.. or ourselves.

WELL... that's not entirely true... the wind-vane, at the top of the mast, was carried away in the blow.... and is now somewhere at the bottom of the Atlantic, and two water jugs came loose from their tie down straps, and went overboard. 

 

We're modifying our "go to sea-list" now!!   :)    "close the ports; dog the hatches; and never sail at night with more sail than you're comfortable heaving-to with !!! "    ;)

 

Annapolis - Ruth's Visit

We made the trip from the Keys, to Great Bridge in our normal time... several weeks.  In fact we were ahead of schedule.  So, we 'lolly-gagged' around Great Bridge VA for a week; trotting around town, shopping, and eating out with cruiser friends (The Strutts from s/v Moonshadow).

Then it was time to move up to Portsmouth, and wait for Ruth to join our crew. Actually BE our crew, for the trip from Norfolk to Annapolis.   

We met some really nice cruisers while anchored at Mile Zero (Portsmouth)... We had dinner, and drinks...at the DECK, near Tidewater.   (photo below).

In the photo are George & June (m/s Fathom This), Dean & Nancy (s/v Pegasus), Dean & Susan (s/v Autumn Borne).

Ruth flew into Norfolk Internat. airport, and had a nice cab ride to the Norfolk waterfront.
We left Mile Zero the next day, bound for Deltaville, VA.  

Dinner with Deb and Lili in Annapolis

Arrival Drink at the DECK - mile Zero

We met our friends, the Perkins in Deltaville, and had a great visit with them....   We stayed an extra day, because of weather... and were so glad we did...  It was very nice spending time with Ed, and Nancy again.  (We had sailed with them from Marathon Key, up through Florida Bay, to the Everglades, and then up to Fort Myers Beach.  after that they went south, and we continued North to Punta Gorda, and Charlotte Harbor, so we lost track of them. )

Smootch from Nancy for Ruth

Birthday Sunday for DEB

Anyway... nice visit!!!
Sydney loved the sand bar that nearly blocks the entrance channel to Deltaville.  (photo).

Our visit to Annapolis included a Birthday dinner for Deb Taber.  We had a wonderful visit with Deb, and her daughter Lili.   Ruth flew home from BWI, and Susan and I continued the rest of the trip up Chesapeake Bay by ourselves.