Nor'easter Night 1

Here's a few pictures of our boat from last night. We were asked today by the marina if this was our first boat and first time living aboard (yes), to which they replied that our boat was tied up the best and we're riding nicely. They also commented on how calm we were...we can only hope that when/if the situation gets worse we remain calm, do what needs to be done, and most importantly remain safe.

Ok, enough babble, on to the pics. We'll try to have some videos of the storm picking up posted today too.

they moved the boat today on our port (left) side so we added some additional lines connecting us to that finger dock as well today.

 

Tied up to the finger off our starboard side and to the main dock. There were no cleats on the main dock so we tied off to the vertical 2x4s underneath.

As Sandy Approaches - Nor'easter Shows her Fury

Up here in Maine we have been tracking Sandy's path pretty closely. We decided to stay in the water and on board through the thick of it since by the time it makes up to us it should just be downgraded to a Tropical Depression. We did some extra preparations doubling up lines and crisscrossed some lines to the adjacent finger in case anything was to happen to ours.

For us, as of yet, Sandy has not reached her long fingers out to grace us our boat. Up here, we are currently getting the brunt end of a nor'easter. With winds out of the NE picking up speeds it was a rocky night as high tide encroached upon us around 11pm. At low tide we have a buffer ground between us and the channel that the sea can't come over so high tide is when it is at it's worst (as I write this it is just past high tide and still extremely rocky).

There are about 15 boats, sail and motor mixed, here in our Marina with people staying on them through the duration of the storm (most of which are liveaboards like us), it's a great community and everyone is looking out for each other.

Here's some tips if your boat is in the water and you're braving through.

* If you're concerned about your finger, tie lines back to the actual main dock from your finger. We tied to the vertical pillars under the main dock.

* If you happen to have an empty finger next to you, cross lines over to it's cleats. If your finger (god forbid) breaks, you are attached to another finger...i.e your boat doesn't float off!). Also this will help minimize the jerking of your boat. The boat next to us was just moved so we'll be adding another line from our stern diagonally to the cleat on the finger to our port side.

* Put soap or lubrication on your creaking lines on your boat. You will be much happier without the noise reverberating  throughout your boat! If you have line shock absorbers, use them.

* Have a bag with your valuables ready. None of us want to abandon our boats, but your life is more valuable. If the worst was to happen and you need to flee your boat, grab your packed bag with things that are irreplaceable. We also have our foul weather gear, shoes and car keys all in sight.

If you have any other tips you'd like to share (land or water) please add below! We'd love to hear your preparations.

We'll be sleeping in the cabin tonight (one eye open perhaps) until we know the worst of the storm has passed by.

On a sad note, we have been following the sad story of the tall ship Bounty that sunk off the Carolinas and hope the remaining two crew members are found and brought to safety.

That's all for now, we'll keep you all updated on our status as the storm passes through. Stay safe all, mother nature is showing us her strength.

When Nick gets back with the camera we'll put some pictures up :)

T is for Tables and Tomato Soup

Finally! We have built a small folding table to give us some more options for working at and a place to pile more stuff. It is very simple but works perfect.

Fold-up table and yummy food!

Built from a ash tree cut down and milled last year by our friend RJ, this piece of wood was exactly what we needed. We really enjoy recycling and this particular piece of wood had twisted to much for the initial project it was made for so we rescued it from the scrap pile. After some creative cutting, Nick was able to join the two pieces to give us a nice 18" X 12" piece that became the top of the flip up table.

As projects progress you will see more and more completed with wood that we have harvested and milled here in Maine. To test it out dinner was served; tomato bisque with bacon and potatoes served with a sourdough toast slice, mmmmmm.

Anchors, Raft-Ups and Overnights!

Hammock time!

We headed out yesterday into Casco Bay in the later part of the afternoon after getting some errands done and prepping the boat. Our friend RJ jumped aboard and we headed out past Fort Gorgeous and continued around Cow Ledge. Neto Nomad responded nicely to the consistent winds as she carried us along on our adventure.

Chief eyeing Nick's sandwhich

Fellow Cape Dory owner and friend (Captain) Tyler and Chief met us out on the water and we eventually headed to a little island in Casco Bay. We laid out the anchor (for the first time mind you - woohoo!!) and Tyler rafted up next to us (2 boats, 1 anchor).

First Outing in Casco Bay!

I have to say, being new to the boating world I am constantly floored by how nice and helpful our neighbors in the Marina are. From endless tips, to cruising spots, to hidden coves to rigging suggestions....it goes on and on. To say we are thankful is an understatement.

RJ takes the tiller!

A Journey to Patience

I can't believe it has been 10 months since we left California and headed back east to make our dream of sailing and simplifying our lives a reality. There has surely been a lot of ups and downs and obstacles to overcome as would be the case for any undertaking of a life style change. If the journey was not a struggle at times would the reward of obtaining your end goal be so sweet to the tongue?

At times our voyage seemed doomed -- had we made a mistake of leaving the comforts of our California lifestyle? The beach a rock kick away, being around our friends whom we had grown to love and enjoy our time with; the sun, always present, pleading it's case with ease to draw you out to play in its warm rays..... Our boat seemed to resist us at every turn, our plight to save her seemed tedious and at times impossible as our list of repairs grew longer and longer with every loosening of a screw.

Want a piece of us?

Finally the engine is out and now its ready for you to restore! Available on ebay. Get at it:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/280878415200?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
Oh and here is the transmission if you want:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/280878421369?item=280878421369&viewitem=&vxp=mtr

What are we doing?

You have read about our projects but what has our day to day been like?

The Bowsprit

As mentioned in the past our bowsprit, the wooden part the juts out of the front and holds the wire rigging which, in turn holds the mast, is in need of repair. Repair is a generous word in this case not even rebuilding or replacing are strong enough words. At first look the wooden piece, 4 feet by 9" by 1.5", is rotted so much only about half is still present, no good at all. It is held down with nine bolts going through the deck and through a large piece of steel underneath the deck to support it all. This piece of steel is completely rusted and has an additional 12 bolts holding it down, pictured below.
Warning this post may be a rant but it is good therapy to write down your feelings, I have been told.

Up Close and Personal



On the drafting table



  I sat down tonight to sketch out the interior of our boat thanks to a Multi Product brochure I found on the capedory.org site. Now we can start figuring out what changes we want to make to the galley and cabin! With spring right around the corner things are starting to get more exciting and should start evolving rather quickly now with set plans to move up to Maine in May!



Up close and personal with our 30' Cape Dory Ketch interior



A Mess

As Winter pushes forward our engine lies in wait until Spring where it will finally be relieved of its duties. As you can see from above, the old Volvo has seen its fair share of use and is no longer reliable. So what does that mean for our boat? If you know, let us know haha. A few options are replacing the Volvo with a new Beta engine that is smaller, lighter and very expensive or replace it with a less expensive engine that is reliable but from all accounts a whole lot of extra work. We could always just lose it all together and have a lighter boat with less mechanical problems -- people have sailed with no engine for hundreds of years after all.

Purchase

Went up to ME this weekend for the final dealings with the boat. We now officially own a boat and it was delivered to our friends house for the winter.

First night on the boat was rather cold but otherwise pretty fun. Nothing like Yukon Jack for the cold hoary nights.

Birthdays, Boats and a Journey to Tibet.

So we bought a boat! ....but we'll get to that later.

Nothing like turning another year older to make you evaluate what is currently working and not working in your life. Nothing like a trip to a mountain top Tibetan Buddhist Monastary, KARMA TRIYANA DHARMACHAKRA (KTD), to make you feel silly for stressing about it to begin with. Clear your mind, the answers are already there.

"We all have a Buddha Mind", our tour guide explained while we sat upon meditation pillows in the sun bathed Main Shrine room floating with the remnants of incense -- "It's just under all the layers of the ego", she finished.

New Ground

We have finally reached a new point in our boat search, a successful marine survey. Now we are on to final price negotiations then the purchase. The whole buying experience is a lot different than expected. It is much harder than imagined to find an ocean worthy boat, boats capable of cruising around near shore are easier to find than a boat you would risk your life in traveling far from land, in a limited price range even though they are out there. Most boats reach a point in life when neglect catches us and they rapidly deteriorate and become too costly to fix. The steps to buying are also much slower than expected between scheduling appointments to look, negotiating prices, marine survey, re negotiating, working out transportation of the boat… All this before the actual work even starts. At a cost of similar to an old used car this particular boat is in need of work, not everyone can afford the nice newer ones, it needs to be repaired and cleaned and rebuilt. Expect to see months of posts going over all our changes to get it ready to sail.

The boat that almost was

Some visuals on the Vineyard Vixen that didnt make the cut.  Here it is about to get launched.