10.06.19 Last sail of the season

Summer is far too short in New England, at least the sailing season is too short. By the time Mimì is launched it seems like there are just too few good weekend days to sail her. It was quite sad to see her lined up at the dock ready for being lifted out and prepared for winter storage. Maybe I am also not ready for winter!

Last Sunday was a beautiful day to sail. The weather was perfect and so was the wind. A good way to end the season.

Here is my little girl, the small boat with the blue cover.




It was fun to see the sights of all of the different boats in the Boston Harbor - sailboats, tugboats, barges, ferries and motor boats.




Boston skyline.










Port to port or starboard to starboard, but never port to starboard!

"Two ships passing in the day."



Looks like fun.







Did I mention I liked tugboats?! They are hard working little boats!





A favorite landmark to find one's way home. 




And then it was over all too soon. Mimì was taken over to Crystal Cove and is in queue to be lifted out of the water by the crane and placed on her trailer. Here she is, third in line. It was a sad day, the weather was cool and windy and very, very gloomy.  

Took a couple of hours to take down her sails and carry all of the equipment to the car.  See the large crane in the background? Hope they lift her out carefully.

All stripped down and ready for winter storage. Will visit her at least once more to unplug her and empty out any remaining water. Until next Spring, good bye my little girl Mimì.

The gardens, too, are nearing the end of their season.  We have the last of the roses blooming this weekend but the monkshood will be in bloom until a heavy frost. So now I will spend my time on clean-up of the flower beds. With luck my boys will help, or at least encourage me from the porch and yard!

Do you see the bees?

Morning glories still going strong, too.

Gunnarr

Fionnegan

Shorty

The boys are three happy dogs! 

Hope you are enjoying your weekend. Until next time, be healthy and happy.

06/02/19 Launched!!!!!

Yes, my girl is at her mooring. Mimì had her hull sanded and painted, mast stepped and launched. So we sailed her over from Crystal Cove Marina to CPYC on Sunday and securely attached her to her mooring. Every year it gets a little easier to get her ready for the season, good thing. The sail to the club was smooth and we are hoping with a sanded and painted hull so will go faster!


Mimì at Crystal Cove, stripped down. After a couple hours of work, she was ready to sail away from the dock to her mooring.

New gates at Cottage Park Yacht Club. Also a new seawall along the right side of these gates.  Pretty fancy!

Here is my girl, looking pretty lonely out there almost all by herself! She is the little one in the near center of the photograph.  The fog set in rather quickly as we were sailing, with the winds picking up to 20 knots. Always an adventure to find her mooring, it was a bit more of a challenge without her wand and trying to figure out which one is mine. Decided to make it colorful and leave on all of the mooring stickers from the past several years. It is a bit shallow on this side and the moorings were moved further away from shore. Good move as even Mimì has touched bottom at high tide near her previous mooring site.

Hard to resist sharing photographs of the gardens.

Fragrant lilacs by the front door - you can smell them throughout the house.

Can you find the bee?

Three happy boys wishing you all a wonderful end of Spring!

09.16.18 End of summer sails

It was an absolutely beautiful summer day. It was warm, the skies were blue and there was a 15 knot wind. A perfect day to be on the water. But my little girl Mimi had a tough time going against wind and tide along hurricane alley. We had to tack often, made even more challenging by the many motor boats coming and going, creating wakes for her to maneuver.  I am always hoping that the skippers of the motor boats are responsible and mind the rules of the sea. Most of them are. But some create huge wakes as they barrel past us, thinking it is fun to watch the sailboats struggle in the large wakes.

But we made it out after much effort and had to turn around as the afternoon was getting late, and well, the New England Patriots game was going to start!  The trip down wind was exhilarating and we just flew back to the mooring. However, one needs to gibe and pick up the mooring against tide and wind. So after many, many tacks, we finally made it back to the mooring. The force of the tide and wind kept taking us away from  the mooring.  I had taken an indirect route as another sailboat was attempting to pick up her mooring close to mine and I did not want to be in her way if she missed it. Finally - able to pick up the buoy with out problem. Watched one other small sailboat pick up his mooring and he had some challenges just like me. Persistence works, along with a calm approach. The small sailboat with a motor had the advantage, but I like sailing without being dependent on a motor. Am always working on developing my basic sailing skills.

And of course, it seems like summer just started and it is already football season and almost time to have her dry docked for the winter. I need a longer sailing season! Next Sunday is our last Rhodes 19 race, an event not to be missed.

A satisfactory feeling of getting back to the mooring under the power of the sail. Mimi is secure on her mooring as we prepare for Florence (hurricane that hit the Carolinas this week)  to hit us with her rains and winds later this week. In the background is CPYC. Tide is rushing into the harbor.

Cottage Park Yacht Club, Winthrop, MA

Ready for the storms with her cover securely in place. Boston skyline and airport in the background.

09/04/18 Labor Day. Sailing.Racing

Labor Day weekend was quite busy. It is the unofficial end of summer so we have to do all of our summer activities and chores before the weather turns cold.

On Sunday I took advantage of the warm weather and steady winds to sail my girl Mimi. It was a lovely sail down hurricane alley past the airport, past the end of Deer Island and back to CPYC. I love the peace and quiet of a sail. The only sound is typically that of the water rushing past the bow, then of course, the airplanes! The backsplash of air from the airplanes does affect the sailboat and we have to pay attention not to breech! As the sail and day progressed, heavy clouds appeared along with strong winds near the club. So it was another mini challenge to pick up the mooring with 20 knots of wind and a strong tide. But I did it in one attempt. The hardest thing is for me to find the correct mooring! No matter how I try to line up a visual, the mooring always seems to move!

This picture shows the cloudy skies and the flag flying. A bit windy at the end of the afternoon.



Monday was a different matter. It was hot and sunny and humid. Decided to do a lot of chores and prepare for fall and winter. Hence, blankets were washed and rugs were scrubbed and dried in the sun. Everything smelled so fresh!  And it was also time to pull more weeds from the garden and cut back dying plants. The gardens grew wild with the rains and hot weather. Fall clean-up will be a major chore, no doubt. The tomato plant still has a few small green tomatoes, so with luck I will still have some fresh vegetables for another couple of weeks.

Then of course, it was time to barbeque. All in all, a very good weekend, sad with the funeral for Paula, fun with the sail and strong winds in Boston Harbor, and a good tired from house cleaning nad yard work.  Good to get chores done.

The last lily.  This was by the front door and it had such a beautiful scent.




Fionnegan, Gunnarr and Shorty walking down the sidewalk, looking for froggies!



We also took advantage of a relatively cooler morning and went for a walk in their/my favorite park. It was a busy weekend, but I would not have it any other way.




Late blooming roses.



Stuck outside while Momma does chores!



One rhododendron decided to bloom. It has several flowers and is the only one with blooms at the end of summer. A special treat to see as they are beautiful.



Hope you all enjoyed the end of the summer season, or winter season for those of you who live in the southern hemisphere. It was hot and humid many times, but I enjoy the summer nights sitting on the porch listening to the sounds of the peepers and owls and other creatures of the night.