Bay Head NJ: Wed 16 Jun - Clouds and Light SW

Departed deRouville’s Boat Shop on the Toms River at 1245 16 Jun 2010 bound up to Bay Head. This is a 3 hour motor boat ride through the shallows of northern Barnegat Bay passing, along the way, Mantoloking, one bascule bridge, and some very pretty coastal scenery and real estate (photo at left).

We arrived at Bay Head, a rather posh NJ shore town inhabited by folks from Princeton and a few CCA members, at 1545. To my knowledge there are few if any SCA members in residence, yet I was able to anchor securely near the Bay Head Yacht Club without causing too much fuss. This time the Posh Patrol did not try to enforce the local Italian quota. Good thing, too, since even though I was the representative of that group in town, that’s one above the limit.

Sailing ... Finally!

Two months and eight days later, we go sailing! Having launched on 02 April 2010, yesterday we finally did what we're supposed to do and put wind in the sails. Nature cooperated with a light westerly that gently ruffled the waters on the Toms River and Barnegat Bay, and I was able to check out the new mainsail under sail. It looked fine and performed well in light air conditions, thanks to the efforts of Judy and Skip at Moorhouse Sails (http://www.mhsails.com/). Other systems also performed well and this first sail of the season was encouraging. Yet, boats being boats, this is hardly the time to lower one's guard.

When I step back and click on "pause" it becomes clear that even a simple daysail on local waters is a small miracle that only happens when many different people contribute to the effort. The list of individuals who gently nudged Kerry Deare along yesterday includes local boatyards, the sailmaker, many suppliers, the "Feds" (charts come from somewhere), and many friends and family members. I may be sailing solo but they're always on board.

Photo by Sherri deRouville of deRouville's Boat Shop (http://www.derouvillesboatshop.com/).

Schmoozing Club of America

Many are familiar with The Cruising Club of America (CCA burgee at right). This club consists of elderly white men who decide the right thing to do on the water. In fact walking on the water is an important requirement for membership. While it is true that some CCA members have made praiseworthy passages in small boats*, the majority spend most of their time congratulating other members on their membership. What time is left is devoted to casting excoriating glances upon those who sink during initiation.

Many Americans, quite a few Canadians, and exactly 13 Brits don't fancy behavior like this even though these same folks would love to participate in it. Sadly I am one of these, having spent the first 65 or so years of my life waiting for that sacred phone call or letter admitting me to candidacy. I'm still waiting but 2 years ago I decided to take things into my own hands and established The Schmoozing Club of America (SCA burgee at left). Membership is tightly controlled with the single current member performing all the administrative tasks that keep the club going. It's a lot of responsibility, but worth all the hard work.

If you can't join 'em, lick 'em.

_____________

* "Small boat" in CCA-speak means 60 to 90 feet LOA.

Cruise Preparation (Well, Sort Of)

There's The List, of course. This year's version was 8 single-spaced pages, and that on top of the 15 page list for a 2008 Bermuda cruise. Then there's The Other List.

I no longer cruise full time having done so for about 8 years in the 1990's. Yet from time to time I'm away from home sailing for extended periods. That will happen shortly if our cruise to the Maritimes works out, and this means The House List needs tending. The current version included exterior work (set up for summer fun, clean and stain the deck, break out the outdoor furniture, prune the trees and shrubs, set up the hoses and irrigation devices, rake away last winter's remains, and more), interior work (touch up the paint, do spring cleaning, arrange finances so Sonia won't fret the details, stock up on provisions for home and afloat, and more), and so on down the line. If one isn't careful, this sort of silliness can cut into sailing time.

Next there are those special projects, and that's what today is about. I'm just now awaiting the arrival of the insulation technicians who will add enough insulation in the attic spaces to double the "R" value to approximately R60. This is the last year that improvements like this will qualify for a federal tax credit, an incentive of much interest to us. The job is also an admission that some home repairs are best left to the professionals. I thought about blowing insulation into the attic spaces myself using rented equipment, but eventually I came to the same realization I'd had concerning the light at the top of the sailboat mast: that's why they call them "experts."

A Gentleman's Bosun's Chair

The plastic base on my masthead tricolor sailing light cracked 2 years ago and I managed a quick fix while in Bermuda using sheet metal screws, electrical tape, and a climbing device called the "Mast Mate." This jury rig made the light operational and got us home but did not address the basic task of replacing the defective part. Without unstepping the mast this repair proved beyond my abilities considering the small parts, intricate fasteners, and close tolerances involved. Therefore I called in the experts.

Ocean Gate Yacht Basin on the Toms River in New Jersey (http://www.oceangateyb.com/) is a family business and perhaps one of the best operations of its type. Gary, son of the founder and one of the principals, is an old friend and agreed to the job. At the time I had no idea how he would do it but I found out a few days later (photo at left).

The solution not surprisingly was a "cherry picker" type truck, but one of impressive proportions. He simply backed up to the dock behind the boat, set the various supports that stabilize the long arm of the work platform, and shortly thereafter we were back in business. While he was up there Gary, a past master of boat rigs, also gave the rig the benefit of a quick check. Now that's a bosun's chair.

"Sailing Off Into The Sunset"

I sometimes get asked about this and in my opinion there's a bit more to it than meets the eye. Here are a few suggestions.

"Sailing off into the sunset" is hard these days even for people with tons of money. One of the first things to consider is where you live. For example if you live anywhere on the US East Coast, "sailing off into the sunset" is a very difficult technical accomplishment. In fact it may be impossible. You will either crash into the dock at the west end of your marina, or run aground along some sandy coast. Either way you'll probably need costly repairs to the boat, and that will cut into the old nest egg. Some of the above comments will not apply if you have an amphibious vehicle.

Until a month or so ago it was possible to "sail off into the sunset" from the West Coast of Florida. Unfortunately the activities of Big Oil and some of their fully-owned subsidiaries in DC and Crawford, Texas, have curtailed a lot of this activity. Most of this sailing destination is now closed and will remain closed for what is called "the future" as far as marine life is concerned. According to the Federal Register "sailing off into the sunset" from western Florida is now under the control of the Department of Homeland Security and is regulated using armed USCG vessels. Be careful with this. It may be safer to just head for Cuba and suffer the consequences.

US West Coast sailors are luckier when it comes to "sailing off into the sunset." The only problems they encounter (besides racial profiling by the INS and Tea Party vigilante groups) are earthquakes and the accompanying tsunamis. I haven't personally experienced one of these but I'd guess that a set of sturdy drop boards and some good oilies are a good investment if you're thinking about this.

Happily these problems do not exist in many other parts of the world. If you live on the west coast of Ireland or in the Hebrides, you're good to go. Just don't forget to release all the docklines. The same is true for a lot of Portugal and western Spain. Western Africa is another possibility if you don't mind your typical bloody revolution every 3 weeks, genocide once or twice a decade, and bad drinking water. Do not (I repeat: DO NOT) enforce "close pack" on your crew. This leaves a bad impression with local authorities.

Right now we are not recommending Thailand, and in fact I'm not even sure they have a western coastline. I hear there are some bargain slips in Greece though. I don't want to give the impression that things are terrible everywhere, but you must admit that life used to be a lot simpler.

Good Old Little Boat

About 20 years ago my friend Jean Marc was cleaning out his garage and offered me 2 small derelict boats if only I would haul them away. I countered his offer of "free" with a $100 bid and took both beasts down to the boatyard. The first, a 14 foot wood rowing pram, was reconditioned and awarded to my goddaughter to encourage her explorations of the salt marshes around Brigantine NJ. The second, a Howmar 8 footer, became my knockabout hard dink. I have never looked back.

Initially the Howmar was a total wreck. I had to rebuild the transom, the motor mount, reinforce the gunwales, fit "new" hardware (actually old bronze parts lying around the yard), etc. I cruised with this dink for over 17 years when, preparing for Kerry Deare's re-entry into polite society, I decided her tender needed a face lift. The picture tells the story.