Hurricane Irene - One Giant Flush!

We are heading from Block Island over to Long Island today and every time we cross a tide line we have been forced to slow down and dodge giant tree trunks, branches, garbage, etc. No dead bodies yet!

Looks like the effects of Irene will be with us for a while!

Jim
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Still no wind off Block Island!

Maybe we should have come here for the hurricane...
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We are out of here!

3rd star to the right, and straight on 'till morning!

Morpheus being launched post hurricane

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Morpheus - still in one piece post hurricane

So happy!!!!
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Hurricane Irene Update: Things are a bit better

So we are looking around...
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Hurricane Irene Update: Wow...it's windy

Glad I took Morpheus out!!!
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Huricane Irene Update: Wind Increasing, just lost power

We've been watching a 25+ foot sailboat all morning. The boats jib unrolled hours ago and slowly beat itself to death. It split into at least two pieces and then the main started to get free and we thought things would get interesting. Well, I guess they did because the next time we looked out, the boat was missing both sails AND its mast!
The storm center is somewhere between here and NYC. Winds really starting to come on now. Puffs must be 50+, I wonder where they will top out?
Water level dropping but not as much as you would expect. High tide this PM will be interesting!!
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Hurricane Irene Update: High Tide!

Looks like we had about a foot to go before the water reached the dock and a bit more before it started making it's way up the yard towards the house!!  High tide has passed and the water level is now dropping!!

Hurricane Irene Update: 0730: All's Well

High tide is right around the corner.  Looks good so far.  Winds are "ok".  Computer says 45 is the highest so far.

All ok for now.

-Jim

Hurricane Irene Update: What do the animals know?

There are NO birds in Newport! They have all gone away. Strangely quiet now. Weird...
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Hurricane Irene: Things should ramp up from here....

Morpheus - Out of the Water

Well, she's on dry land with her back to the expected wind direction and all we can do now is hope that we have prepared as much as possible.  The winds should come out of the SE, S, SW and finally the West.

Deb and my Mom are heading for high ground, I am dumb enough to stick around and think I can help the Comforts at home or the boat.

-Jim

Hurricane Irene - Lots of Company!

The boatyard is buzzing with activity. Boats are being hauled out as fast as the yard can make it happen, and everyone is working hard to secure their boats and equipment.
Its a beautiful day. Hard to believe that something really ugly is right around the corner!
Jim
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Hurricane Irene - She's Out!

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Hurricane Irene - The Calm before the Storm?

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Morpheus and Hurricane Irene

Thanks to everyone for your calls and emails regarding our safety.  I think we've got things pretty much under control.

It's sort of a good news bad news thing right now.  The Hurricane projections are shifting West so the chances of a direct hit seem to be fading.  However, that puts us on the Eastern side of the Hurricane which is much worse than the Western side.  It will mean stronger winds and more of a storm surge which will increase an already significant tide given the New Moon on Sunday.

The balance of the American Yacht Club cruise was cancelled this morning.  This is good news for me as I had already decided to bail and head for Newport.  At least now, I will not have to worry about everyone thinking I blinked first!

We are on the list at New England Boatworks to be pulled out of the water tomorrow.  I called my insurance agent and suggested that they might want to split the fees with me.  Guess what?  They agreed!

Deb and I have spent the afternoon, taking the sails off and clearing the decks of everything possible to reduce windage.

Prior to being lifted we plan to fill our fuel and water tanks.  After getting out of the water, I will probably fill the bilge with water.  All this to keep the affect of windage on the mast from blowing our boat over on the stands.  I will also look to take halyards from the top of the mast to strong points on the ground to help with the same thing.

This is all my Mothers fault!  Or, so I will have fun claiming when I see her soon.  She was scheduled to join us Monday and apparently she dragged along this hurricane in her luggage.  It's a big disappointment as we had been looking forward to a week of cruising to Block Island, Long Island, and Edgartown.  Now the boat is probably out of the water until Tuesday best case!!

Keep your fingers crossed for Morpheus! 

Most recent weather forecast below....

Eastern Long Island and Newport

1) Strongest winds, likely hurricane force (70-90 mph) around Long Island, tapering down to 50-70 mph around Newport and southern RI

a) the brunt will occur later Sat night over Long Island and Sun Newport

2) A big storm surge expected and will be a problem (maybe 9-12 ft)

3) Rainfall amounts up to 3-5'' possible

Possible winds - time is EDT and wind speeds in kts

Sunday/Mon

	Newport	Marthas Vineyard and Cape Cod	Western LI sound
0500	060-080/15-25	060-090/15-25	050-080/20-25, gusts 30
0800	070-090/20-25, gusts 30	080-100/20-25, gusts 40	040-060/22-30, gusts 35
1100	090-110/25-35, gusts 40	100-120/25-35, gusts 45-50	060-090/25-35, gusts 40
1400	120-140/30-40, gusts 50	130-150/40-60, gusts 50	060-090/35-50, gusts 60
1700	140-160/35-45, gusts 55	160-180/30-40, gusts 50-60	060-090/40-60, gusts 75+?
1900	180-200/40-60, gusts 75+	190-210/40-60, gusts 70-75+	Variable 5-15 close to Eyewall
2200	190-220/30-40, gusts 50	200-220/30-40, gusts 50	180-210/30-40, gusts 50
Mon
0200	220-250/20-30 g40-45	220-250/25-40, gusts 40-45	230-250/20-30 gusts 40
0500	230-250/20-30	230-250/25-35	230-250/20-30

Hurricane Irene - Is this our future??

Hurricane Irene Projection

My Mother is scheduled to join us this Sunday on Morpheus for a week of cruising around New England.  Guess what she's going to see??

7PM this coming Sunday evening!

AYC Cruise - This seat has my name on it!!

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AYC Cruise - Back on the Battleship!

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Day 3: American Yacht Club Cruise - Battleship Cove, Fall River

Morpheus and the Battleship Massachusetts

Peg and Cameron Jackson

Morpheus and the Battleship Massachusetts

Following her shakedown period Battleship Massachusetts went into action on November 8, 1942 as part of Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. While cruising off the city of Casablanca, Morocco, the Battleship engaged in a gun duel with the unfinished French battleship Jean Bart, moored at a Casablanca pier. In this battle, Massachusetts fired the first American 16" projectile in anger of World War II. Five hits from Big Mamie silenced the enemy battleship, and other 16" shells from Battleship Massachusetts helped sink two destroyers, two merchant ships, a floating dry-dock, and heavily damaged buildings and docks in Casablanca.

Another Sunset

I know that we post a bunch of Sunset photo's but this one, taken on the way back from Maine, is fantastic!!

Collection of photo's from Maine

Camden Harbor

Camden

A seriously large boat!

Full Moon Rising

Grog Island

Grog Island

Cabot and Heidi Lyman's beautiful home on Maple Juice Cove

Boothbay Harbor

Classic Foggy Day

Boothbay Harbor

Lobster Pots Everywhere

Back in Newport

Sunrise @ Winter Harbor

Morpheus - Winter Harbor

Deb and I have just finished a 28 hour delivery from Camden, Maine back to Newport, RI.

We had a great time over the past two weeks in and around Maine.  Not much access to the Internet while there so not too many posts.  

Will try to get some catch-up material posted tomorrow, but for now it's time for some sleep.  

Here are a couple of favorite photo's to hold you over until then!!

-Jim

NYYC Cruise in Company - Grog Island

Nice!
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NYYC Cruise in Company - Grog Island

Visiting Sandy's family island in Maine - Grog Island!!!

What a great day!

Today was my sister Sally's surprise birthday party. We spent the morning riding on the beach and the afternoon at a party with friends and family. What a great day! All that was missing was my husband and my dog!

NYYC Cruise in Company - I "Fixed" the Autopilot!!

Anyone want to guess how??

NYYC Cruise in Company - Boothbay Harbor, Maine

Great Harbor

Beautiful Boats!

Andrew?  Are you here?

Downtown Boothbay

Dodging Whales. If only...

If only, the memory card on my camera had not been full, this is what the photo's would have looked like. 

It was amazing and a bit terrifying at the same time!!  I had the camera going, but found out later that the memory card was full.  All I had in the end was this little bit of video.  Sorry....I was just a bit distracted....

Maybe not this close, but we saw alot of this going on!

Had two whales pass this close going the opposite direction

One whale was on its back flapping it's "flippers" for 10 minutes!

We were almost this close to one!

Another whale was slapping its tail 20 - 30 times before he got tired!

Ho hum, just another whale leaping from the water!

Provincetown, Mass.

Nantucket one day, Provincetown the next.  Is it possible to travel to two ports in one day that are more different than these two places??

Nantucket - playground for the rich, preppy, white, and straight.

Provincetown - playground where anything, and anyone goes.  Especially popular with starving artists, and those with shall we say "non standard sexual preferences".




 I know this is NOT politically correct. But, coming from San Francisco we thought we'd heard it all.

That was until a good friend suggested to us that "it is local custom to back into the harbor when arriving!!"

We are still laughing about that today!!