| Dear Friends:
September sailing in the Pacific Northwest is beautiful.
The colors seem to become bolder as the sun scurries
ever southward, the waters smoother and anchorages less
crowded as summer holiday makers return to their homes.
The cooler, longer nights also drive any last mosquitoes
out of our sailing life and ashore, trees begin show
their autumn colors, though never in a match for the
stunning shows of the eastern seaboard of the USA. Even
though we had a schedule to meet, with our promise of
having Taleisin at the boatshow in Lake Union, we were
unhurried as we had allowed three weeks to get us from
Friday Harbour to Seattle, a distance of only 60 miles.
Since Port Townsend and a dozen other inviting anchorages
lay along that route, we knew we could easily fill the
time.
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Whenever we are at our New Zealand home during November,
our friends have come to expect an American Thanksgiving
dinner. This year was no exception. We expected
about 22 guests, but at the last moment another
6 showed up. The weather was horrible, storm force
winds and rain so we all jammed in to the front
room of my 600 square foot cottage and devoured
two 18-pound turkeys. Couldn't have been more fun. |
We did learn a few things along the way; for instance,
commercial traffic heading south towards Seattle, Tacoma
and the ports around them can set up a tremendous wake.
When the daily breeze faded away just as the tide began
to flow against us an hour before dark, we decided to
work inshore and anchor in 4 fathoms just offshore of
the eastern shore of Whidbey Island. After a comfortable
dinner hour, we turned in and ignored the occasional
wakes that sent Taleisin rocking and rolling as big
ships passed about a mile away. Then the tide went out
completely and we had only about a fathom of water under
our keel, the shore - which had been almost half mile
away from us at high tide, dried out and now lay only
100 yards away. The wakes of passing ships began to
break heavily on this shore and send a backwash that
turned the rolling into bucking and prancing. Not dangerous
but darned uncomfortable. As soon as daylight came we
got under way and vowed to make sure our next anchorage
had protection from ships wakes.
Craig and Kay had, with permission from Ernie the laid
back chocolate lab who is their constant companion,
invited us to sail alongside their dock on Bainbridge
Island on our way to Seattle. What a treat. Taleisin
was going to be front and center at the show and we
wanted her to look sweet. With lots of fresh water,
a wide clear dock space alongside, encouragement and
cool drinks from Kay and Craig, and under the ever seeing
eyes of Ernie, I put some fresh varnish on hatches,
Larry painted the bulwarks and inspected the sails for
any chafe. (It may be a cliché but as far as
sails go, a stitch in time saves nine.) An interesting
aside here, we decided to try testing different types
of varnish. Since all the top professionals seemed to
rave about Epithanes, I put some on one cabinside. I
then used Captains (at about half the price) on the
other. After four months there was just a bit of crazing
on the Epithanes, the other two seemed to have no change
at all. Remember this is not a true test, just one experience.
I do know I had to add brushing thinner to get the Epithanes
to lay on somewhat smoothly so that may have caused
the difference. So I decided I'll stick to my old affordable
friend Captains. (I figure I have used over 75 gallons
of that stuff in my life - should be getting some sort
of rebate by now.)
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Craig and Kay made it their job to introduce us to
their island haunts, and to the special work they both
do. Craig designs and builds wooden furniture with the
eye of an artist. In fact the workshop he built for
himself is almost too beautiful for the job and the
view through is windows could slow down production in
a less determined soul. Kay is an architect and responsible
for mind boggling projects such as the Seattle Federal
Court House. Both love sailing and arranged a great
treat for the weekend when we had to sail in to Seattle.
As members of the Seattle Yacht Club they registered
all of us for the cruise and race regatta, but with
a difference. Since their boat is a Bristol Channel
Cutter and of very similar design and only 1'6"
shorter than Taleisin, the club agreed that we could
sail Little Wing on Saturday from Seattle to the Bainbridge
Island Outstation, then sail Taleisin back on Sunday.
The winds were great, the sailing excellent the company
just right. (See October Newsletter for sailing photos)
Had I known how many bridges and locks there were between
the Puget Sound and Lake Union and how much current
flowed out through them, I might not have been so eager
to go to the boatshow. But Craig set to work solving
the problem of getting Taleisin safely locked up. His
friends from the Seattle Yacht Club escorted us, with
the club launch secured alongside acting as our motor,
four boats from the club acting as protective fenders
as we locked up, Taleisin arrived in Lake Union in style.
We then spent an hour sailing around Lake Union enjoying
the views before securing to our assigned place at the
show.
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One of the important reasons for coming to this show
was to work with Bob Ewing and his sailing friends from
Footloose. This is one of three Sailors with Disabilities
groups we enjoy helping raise their profile and some
funds. I was reminded of the importance of a sense of
humor when the first members of this group sailed alongside
Taleisin in one of their specially adapted boats. Larry
and I took their lines then I said, "Can I give
you a hand," as I noticed one sailor working hard
to get out of the cockpit. "How about taking mine
instead," he said handing over his prosthesis.
If you happen to be anywhere near the Footloose Base,
or in Oakland, CA near BADDS, or in the Chesapeake where
CRAB have a base, go in and meet some of these folks,
these are real tough sailors and if you like to get
out on the water and don't have your own boat, they'll
get you sailing in exchange for a few hours of volunteer
work.
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I enjoyed the hustle bustle of the days we spent at
the boatshow. I really liked the local fish restaurant
but best of all was the almost constant stream of friends
who showed up. We reconnected with folks we hadn't seen
in ten, fifteen years, folks we'd met in ports on the
far side of the world, even old school chums. By the
time we cleaned up after the last day of the show and
Craig came to help us lock down, both of us were tired
from 15 hour days of talk, laugh, eat and talk some
more. Unfortunately, as we sailed back towards Craig's
home it became clear Larry was tired from the limp that
had become more noticeable over the past weeks and the
pain he was feeling in his hip that, unlike other pains
of leading an active life, was not going away. A few
days of rest didn't solve the whole problem and, though
autumn sailing would have felt great, we decided to
put Taleisin away for the winter and fly to our home
base in New Zealand.
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This is Christopher Miller - an American cruising
sailor and computer whiz who happened to sail in
to North Cove 6 years ago. He and Catherine came
to dinner and met some folks from New Zealand's
Americas Cup program. He and Catherine bought a
home in this cove. He is now Team New Zealand's
computer genius - watch scuttlebutt for more about
what is called Millervision. We are honorary grandparents
to his lovely daughter Lexi. |
Long and short of it is, Larry's left hip needed urgent
repairs. We had the choice of a hip replacement or the
newer sports version - a hip resurfacing. Larry choose
the resurfacing which is almost impossible to dislocate
(compared to a 1 in 20 chance with normal hip replacement.)
Now, only four weeks after surgery he is pain free and
walking without crutches and today is down on the jetty
removing part of Thelma's hatch combing so she will
look even nicer for the Mahurangi Regatta in two weeks.
Thank God for modern Medicine - appears Larry damaged
his hip either skiing or boatbuilding. An aside for
those of you thinking of cruising; we made a choice
many years ago to save money by not carrying medical
insurance as we cruised. Our medical expenses during
those 38 years were far less than the cost of medical
insurance. Then when I turned 60 we decided we should
reconsider the situation, as medical problems that could
overburden our savings and earnings, would be more likely
to occur. We decided to buy hospital and specialist
insurance to cover major costs. You can see a discussion
of the choice we made under cruising tips 2002, Health
Insurance and 2003 Medical Insurance.
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Though Larry could not get around in the boatyard
very well before his surgery in early December,
at Thanksgiving he was still able to hold his own
against Christopher and other challengers at the
downstairs pool table after everyone else was slowed
up by lots of wine, turkey and fine conversations. |
So today I am trying to decide what wonderful things
we should do to celebrate the southern summer, which
regattas to join and how to keep the new edition of
Care and feeding of Sailing Crew on track so it is ready
by June. Larry is working through the Thelma list, Taleisin
is damp and cold but well cared for in her winter berth
and we hope all of you are enjoying the first of your
new years resolutions.
Smooth sailing,
Lin and Larry
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