If you have been following this since last winter, you know that a lot of my plans and schedule then were determined by the expectation of being involved with the design of a new research vessel for Virginia. Somewhat inexplicably, my company was passed over. It was a bitter disappointment for me but I got to spend this summer in Maine instead of suffering through the heat and humidity of the Chesapeake.
The institution couldn’t reach final agreement with the architect they selected. The wheels have slowly ground, and a contract with my company was signed just a couple of days ago. So, I got both summer in Maine and the job which is something I will try to keep in mind the next time I feel like my teeth have been kicked in.
The upshot is that I need to be in Mystic, CT; preferably on the boat, just as soon in September as I can manage it. There is nothing like ignoring your own best advice. Just before I left for my last cruise downeast, I was standing on the dock pontificating to some new liveaboard cruisers that they shouldn’t leave the great hurricane holes of Maine before the end of September. When I pulled in yesterday, they were back from their first cruise downeast and I had to admit a bit sheepishly that, yes, I’m going to do just what they planned and head south right away.
However, a friend who keeps his boat in New Bedford / Fairhaven has offered logistical support in case I need to shelter there and boats rode out Sandy in Mystic. I have the flexibility to move and set up early for a major storm so I am going to depart Portland just as soon after 29 August as weather permits. It’s always a crap shoot anyway. If I had followed my advice last year, Sandy would have caught me in the NYC area instead of snug at a dock in Oxford, MD.
I’ll be making the fastest delivery style run I can to Mystic. If winds are contrary, lots of diesel will get burned and the spray will fly. With the fall weather patterns beginning though, there is a good possibility of riding a northwest wind all the way down. If anyone is interested in coming along on this trip, please let me know. If I can line up two other watch standers, I’ll probably try for a straight through record run. Duty calls and the tropics look quiet.
The institution couldn’t reach final agreement with the architect they selected. The wheels have slowly ground, and a contract with my company was signed just a couple of days ago. So, I got both summer in Maine and the job which is something I will try to keep in mind the next time I feel like my teeth have been kicked in.
The upshot is that I need to be in Mystic, CT; preferably on the boat, just as soon in September as I can manage it. There is nothing like ignoring your own best advice. Just before I left for my last cruise downeast, I was standing on the dock pontificating to some new liveaboard cruisers that they shouldn’t leave the great hurricane holes of Maine before the end of September. When I pulled in yesterday, they were back from their first cruise downeast and I had to admit a bit sheepishly that, yes, I’m going to do just what they planned and head south right away.
However, a friend who keeps his boat in New Bedford / Fairhaven has offered logistical support in case I need to shelter there and boats rode out Sandy in Mystic. I have the flexibility to move and set up early for a major storm so I am going to depart Portland just as soon after 29 August as weather permits. It’s always a crap shoot anyway. If I had followed my advice last year, Sandy would have caught me in the NYC area instead of snug at a dock in Oxford, MD.
I’ll be making the fastest delivery style run I can to Mystic. If winds are contrary, lots of diesel will get burned and the spray will fly. With the fall weather patterns beginning though, there is a good possibility of riding a northwest wind all the way down. If anyone is interested in coming along on this trip, please let me know. If I can line up two other watch standers, I’ll probably try for a straight through record run. Duty calls and the tropics look quiet.
