Wow, sometimes things just go perfectly. Breeze 5-8 and flat seas means it's BOXCAR's night to shine. It wasn't even close. Smooth transitions at the corners and no holes to venture into. Wx looked a little dicey around 4pm, but I think I could count the drops of rain we got on one hand. Spectacular night!
Century Club: Tim Ford
Friday, August 25, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
New and improved design
beautiful late august light
waterskiing weather
Got the new, improved bunk installed on the floating dock and it makes for a much easier job of getting the boat back on deck. Rewarded with a nice long paddle afterward.
Thursday, August 24, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
modeling the new bunk after this design
rain delay spot
Went down to take a few measurements on the bunk I had collapse on us last time out and maybe a brief paddle if the weather held off. Of course it did until I was 10 minutes away from the dock and then the rain started. I forgot a hat. So I swung into some shelter provided by a stunted oak tree on the tiny Blackhole Creek island. I stayed dry.
Thursday, August 17, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
Yeah, well, I gave it a shot. Waves were crap and the big foamy is like steering a battleship. Plus it's not smooth enough to get up without a lot of friction. I think a well waxed glass board would be a lot easier.
Still, it was fun! The good thing about being a geezer is no one has any major expectations, including present company.
Surfs up!
Wednesday, August 16, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
Interesting day! North wind wiped out the outrageous northern set of the previous day, but set up a confused wave train unattached from normal offshore swell. I was going to go with the full size foamy big board and try to stand up and do what the locals call "surfing." But the prospect of short rides into close-outs seemed dull. So back to the bodyboard. A few great rides, but the post break rebound was punishing and a clump of sand straight to the left eye had me give it up sooner than I'd have liked.
Tuesday, August 15, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
Tuesday Aug 16. Oh man, what a frustrating day. Probably the gnarliest sets of the week and I could not get outside! A fierce inshore northern current, approx 3-4 knots, would push me out of the approved "bodyboard zone" before I could get past the breakers.
I even started 10 yards south of the flags on the southern end and still never made it without entering lifegaurd whistle hell on the northern end. Four or five separate attempts on three different splashes during a 7 hour day.
Tomorrow a full-on big board attempt instead of this stupid bodyboard nonsense.
Monday, August 14, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
Better day! Smaller waves but still some good ones, and almost got into the green room for a second or two. Skills thought long dead are improving! Board rash getting worse though....
Sunday, August 13, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
getting outside
I haven't really done a whole lot of wave riding in the past few years, due to covid and sailing trips taking priority over beach trips. So I avoided the big board (a foamy) and choose a hard bodyboard instead.
Good thing, as the break here is a lot different than in Maryland. It's nice to actually be at a spot where there's a decent outside break. Couple of decent rides and one very good one, but didn't get a barrel...waves were big enough (estimated 3-5 feet in the larger sets) but skills were insufficient. Also, I forgot how hard it is to duck dive a short board due to the buyancy, so getting outside was a struggle initially.
Friday, August 11, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
add 2 hours to the motor hours log
I hadn't run the O/B for a couple of months so we launced and took a long-ish ride (for the i550) and then anchored, ate and fished. Then we headed back and that's when the fight started. The starboard bunk on my spot on the foating dock collapsed when we had the boat about halfway up....hmm. Luckily there are some unused 2x8 PT boards laying around and we eventually leveraged the bunk back on up on a makeshift repair. Hot, sweaty and exhausted, we retired to the car's AC and water supply. Add one more project to the boat list.
Tuesday, August 1, 2023 to Sunday, August 6, 2023
Number of days:
6 days
Off Wooden Boat campus
Camden to Brooklin conditions
Castine to Camden condits
Clean up and chute drying
Delivery to Castine
Two classic woodies
Fishing spot way right
IOD start in 2 kn breeze
I had my little travel rod in the car and noticed fish feeding close to, well, not exactly a PIER, but a long riprap causeway out to the lighthouse and I took a few desultory casts. It was more to get the lay of the land around Portland Harbor.
The next day was meet up at Brooklin Boat Yard and take the boat about 2-3 hours up to Castine. Gorgeous day and a terrific sail. Next day was the race from Castine to Camden and that too was in perfect conditions. I think we took 2nd.
Then on Friday was the race from Camden to Brooklin. Ugly conditions with rain and a lot of breeze, but we were able to shake the reef out when we got to the Stonington Thoroughfare, and it ended up being a pretty nice sail.
Last race was Eggemoggin Reach, starting in no wind but building a lovely Southerly that topped out at about 12-14. Fantastic racing with 104 other classic wooden sailboats.
Next day was bring the boat back to BBY and clean up a bit. Dry out the chute and repack it, wash the rest of the mud off the anchor chain and so some more odds and ends. I was sad to leave Brooklin but did get a chance to scamper up Blue Hill Mountain! Outstanding trip