tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16451360005784492622024-03-07T19:29:10.435-05:00Avi Rubin's BlogWelcome to my blog. Here, I will post items of interest to me most likely focusing on:
<ul>
<li> Security in Healthcare Information Technology
<li>Electronic Voting Security
<li>Computer and Network Security
<li>Sailing
<li>Poker
<li>Sports: Soccer, tennis, golf, football, Michigan sports
</li></li></li></li></li></li></ul>Avi Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727241711132643386noreply@blogger.comBlogger174125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1645136000578449262.post-42037733610937608372021-06-27T08:14:00.001-04:002021-06-27T08:14:20.019-04:00Is Stack Size More Important than Position, the Cards or Your Opponents?<p> My latest article on <a href="https://www.888poker.com/magazine/author/avi-rubin">888 Poker </a>is now live:</p><p><a href="https://www.888poker.com/magazine/strategy/impact-of-stack-size-on-hand-selection">https://www.888poker.com/magazine/strategy/impact-of-stack-size-on-hand-selection</a></p><p>Avi</p>Avi Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727241711132643386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1645136000578449262.post-41802581347858480982020-04-16T09:29:00.003-04:002020-04-16T09:29:44.930-04:00The upcoming election in the face of COVID-19I <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3wEcPcQLnE&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">was interviewed</a> by David Troy of TEDx MidAltantic about the issue of the upcoming election in the face of COVID-19. We discussed the options of "vote by mail" and electronic voting (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3wEcPcQLnE&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">link to interview</a>). Here's a summary of my thoughts:<br />
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Voting by postal mail is an increasingly attractive option for the upcoming November election. While “vote by mail” systems have several drawbacks, in the face of COVID-19 and the need to keep a safe distance among people, this option may be the least unattractive. It is important to note that a state that planned on having a poll site election may not be able to automatically and easily switch over to a mail-in system overnight. There are many logistical issues that need to be addressed. One of the challenges faced by election officials is that at the moment, it is not clear if the pandemic will subside before November. Given that it could take months to switch from the current plans to a mail-in system, state officials would have to start planning the change now, without knowing for sure if they will need to switch.<br />
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"Vote by mail” provides opportunities for vote selling and voter coercion. For example, a spouse or employer may have the ability to pressure someone to vote a certain way. Furthermore, the postal system is not immune to tampering. Still, wide scale wholesale fraud is probably more difficult to achieve in a mail-in system than in many other systems such as fully electronic or Internet based ones. In the current crisis we face, we may need to give up on the perfect for the sake of the good (or the least bad) and switch the country over to mail-in voting for this upcoming election. We still have over 6 months, and hopefully that is enough time for states to take the steps that they need to achieve this change. Several states already vote by mail, and those states’ officials can provide guidance to states who want to switch over for this coming election.<br />
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There is a risk that if many states switch over to vote by mail, that they will make the switch permanent. It would be a shame if future elections eliminate poll site paper-based voting because of this one-time necessary adjustment we have to make this year. However, we should focus right now on November, 2020. We’ll have plenty of time to worry about future elections. Hopefully, we will be rid of this pandemic and will be able to focus on providing the best possible election system in 2022 and 2024.<br />
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Avi Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727241711132643386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1645136000578449262.post-82434669440389320552020-02-26T16:17:00.001-05:002020-02-26T16:17:18.631-05:00Testifying in Annapolis in the Senate and then the House about IoT SecurityLast week I testified at a hearing in Annapolis in the state senate finance committee on SB 443 Consumer Protection - Security Features for Connected Devices. Today, I testified in the state House of Delegates in the Economics Matters Committee on the house version of the bill, HB 888. The two bills are identical, and my written testimony is <a href="https://avirubin.com/HB888.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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The bill is very simple. It requires that connected devices, IoT devices, either have a unique, per-device key/password, or that the owner be required to change the password at first usage. The idea is that there would no longer be default passwords in use for a particular model of IoT device. In general, I think that this is a very good idea. Personally, I would like to see the bill go further. There could be some guidelines for strong passwords and other security features such as delays after a certain number of incorrect password attempts. But, I'm thrilled to see that Maryland is following in California's footsteps and introducing this type of legislation.<br />
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I found the experience of testifying in the Senate Finance Committee starkly different from that in the Economics Matters Committee in the House. The senate committee heard 13 bills that day and took almost 3 hours before they got to ours. I was on a witness panel with Joseph Jerome, Director of Multistate Policy at commonsense.org, Katie McInnis, Policy Counsel for Consumer Reports, and Holly Jacobs from the state attorney general's office. All of the panelists were well spoken and compelling. Not surprising considering that we were just saying that there should be a minimum baseline of security in connected devices. I found the senators to be engaged but not very knowledgeable about technology. In particular one senator who dominated the questioning seemed particularly clueless and slightly hostile to the bill.<br />
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The House Economics Committee heard 6 bills today. Ours was the fourth. I found the testimony on the first three bills incredibly interesting as they dealt with consumer privacy. One bill addressed breach notification. The other two dealt with storage of biometric data and location information. There was some minor opposition to the bills, mostly procedural, as the opposing witnesses requested that the efforts on these bills be merged into a comprehensive privacy and security law that would address all of the issues, rather than having piecemeal legislation. This seemed perfectly reasonable to me.<br />
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There were only two of us on my panel today, Katie McInnis from Consumer Reports and me. Katie spoke about the importance of protecting IoT devices as consumers are adopting more and more of these. She spoke about 19 documented hacks in December. The delegate who introduced the bill, Ned Carey, showed a video from the evening news of a hacker speaking to a little girl through a compromised Ring doorbell. I basically summarized my written testimony, but I also had received a <a href="https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/02/flaw-in-billions-of-wi-fi-devices-left-communications-open-to-eavesdroppng/" target="_blank">link to a story</a> earlier today about a major WiFi compromise, and I included a summary of this and how it relates to the current bill in my testimony. These IoT compromises are so common that there was a major story the very day of the hearing.<br />
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I was pleasantly surprised by the level of discussion in the Q&A. Unlike their colleagues in the senate, the delegates were very knowledgeable about technology, IoT and security and privacy. They not only got it, but they chimed in with anecdotes of their own, and it was clear to me that this bill is very popular with the committee.<br />
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I always find it interesting to see how laws are created. While there is currently tremendous partisan gridlock in Washington, and I'm sure at the local and state levels as well, I was fortunate to not see any such issues in the two hearings. At least everyone seems to be in agreement that we need to do more to protect online connected devices.Avi Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727241711132643386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1645136000578449262.post-54947460517015848592019-08-23T22:11:00.001-04:002019-08-23T22:11:31.826-04:00Day 2 - Long 12 hour run from Manteo to SolomonsIt was cool enough out that we kept the generator off last night and slept with fresh air. I was so exhausted that I went to bed at 9:00 and was up and ready to go this morning at 5:00 a.m. Eating breakfast on the flybridge, I saw several fishing boats leave our marina for their early morning ocean trips. At around 5:45, I saw Jim get up, and we decided to get ready for an early departure. We cranked up the engines, removed the lines and headed out of Pirates Cove in Manteo, NC at exactly 6:05 a.m., just as dusk was breaking.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDT5s17GV4KhLLmpru8l2WzYedEumMJcZfYfNpWL9vMjSnpkvKtzpKy-XaTwSsZfayikZX5ONsdBj6PN990zArfLOMxACEcXKWI5F5Z7dkKzdspHkJhyphenhyphenCDI94EukLh9-0zj2pfYoU8sznS/s1600/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_da47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDT5s17GV4KhLLmpru8l2WzYedEumMJcZfYfNpWL9vMjSnpkvKtzpKy-XaTwSsZfayikZX5ONsdBj6PN990zArfLOMxACEcXKWI5F5Z7dkKzdspHkJhyphenhyphenCDI94EukLh9-0zj2pfYoU8sznS/s640/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_da47.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Manteo at dusk</td></tr>
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It took us about 30 minutes to get through the narrow channel leading out to the Albemarle Sound. The channel curves around and gets really narrow in spots, and after my recent experience on the way to Charleston (which we shall not discuss) I was as vigilant and careful as can be, if not a little anxious.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Channel markers leading to the Albemarle Sound</td></tr>
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We hit the Sound around 6:30, and it was pretty rough. Waves were at least 3 feet and hitting us almost directly on the nose, and the winds were head on and strong. Made for a bumpy ride. At one point, Jim noticed that our flag had gotten loose and was almost breaking off, and I stopped the boat to retrieve it. Well, when you are in rough 3+ waves (possibly more like 4), it's not a good idea to stop the boat. We started rolling pretty intensely, and everything on the boat flew from side to side. Once I got up some speed again, things straightened out, but it was still an unpleasant ride.<br />
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Happily, in less than an hour, the sun was up, and we were out of the Sound and into the river that makes up the ICW. Much more peaceful and relaxing. We were able to go full speed (today around 26-27 knots) in many portions, but anytime we saw houses, another boat, or marinas, we were required to slow to no wake speed, or 6 knots. The boat is running much better since the repair. My engines are synched perfectly, and I'm getting faster speeds at 90% load. I guess there's a silver lining to my mishap.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheSvWe5oyyCJztMNDYNnWQ94Ax5e7Hf9I6SGgDr2E8GMfHEaVeqibj6sz4kpjSXoXfBj4vM210njJTBGi0x9Zl1AgdmAUNILWT6qYAlu3Kn_a30-IHZcBo4vYj1DXl8t6gVLe5wvcoJCmV/s1600/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_da29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheSvWe5oyyCJztMNDYNnWQ94Ax5e7Hf9I6SGgDr2E8GMfHEaVeqibj6sz4kpjSXoXfBj4vM210njJTBGi0x9Zl1AgdmAUNILWT6qYAlu3Kn_a30-IHZcBo4vYj1DXl8t6gVLe5wvcoJCmV/s640/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_da29.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cruising past Coinjock on the ICW</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNaqlFk-enh7TLMYwHtzqh5HvJDAClB0wkXbcFgJqqvwemTGew7so4vdD4JT2_ULGaWP3WgcYbPQDVhyphenhyphent4PPpI7ju90ye_q-9UWmrWqQ1o6lwkr2RoebGPeC9wIllrslfz-fLEWzMET4Hj/s1600/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_da24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNaqlFk-enh7TLMYwHtzqh5HvJDAClB0wkXbcFgJqqvwemTGew7so4vdD4JT2_ULGaWP3WgcYbPQDVhyphenhyphent4PPpI7ju90ye_q-9UWmrWqQ1o6lwkr2RoebGPeC9wIllrslfz-fLEWzMET4Hj/s640/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_da24.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful Intercoast Waterway views</td></tr>
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We were mostly alone in the portions of the ICW that winds around. However at one point, I was cruising at about 26 knots and caught up to a large sailboat doing 6 knots. There's a protocol for passing a slower boat, and I radioed to the sailboat. The name "Obsession" was written in large letters on the side of the boat, and Obsession and I executed the pass starboard to port, with him slowing down, me passing, and then him turning straight into my wake. It's a pleasure when someone actually knows what they're doing, and he gave me a friendly wave and a thumbs up. We sped back up and left Obsession way behind.<br />
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We were running great, and the boat was fantastic, but our timing was really off. We got to the first bridge and radioed for an open and were told it would be 16 minutes to open. So we sat and waited.<br />
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We went as quickly as possible to the next bridge but had to wait 20 minutes for that one. Once we cleared that bridge, we arrived at Great Bridge bridge (not a typo) at 15 after the hour, and that bridge only opens on the hour. So, we fueled up at the fuel dock with the best possible captive customer base in the world. I assume everyone who arrives early would rather fuel up than sit around waiting for the bridge to open. (I almost suspect the previous bridges timed their openings so that we'd have to wait and buy fuel and then the fuel dock pays a kickback. Never mind, getting off topic.)<br />
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Finally, we were ready to go through Great Bridge bridge and into Great Bridge lock. As we were waiting, a sailboat pulled up behind us, and we were shocked to hear them announce themselves to the bridge as Obsession. Seriousy?!? We passed them almost 90 minutes earlier at 26 knots, and now they caught up to us? They must have timed every bridge perfectly. While we wasted fuel running at 25 knots and then waiting for each bridge to open. Talk about the tortoise and the hare.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jim and I tended the lines in the lock</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leaving the Great Bridge lock - Obsession is in the back</td></tr>
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We took off out of the lock at full cruising speed, and pretty soon we were making good time again. Only a couple of bridges left, and after that, our pace was under our own control. We had booked a slip in Norfolk at Tidewater, and I was looking forward to eating in one of the restaurants I like in town there.<br />
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The ICW is full of all kinds of boats. Here we saw a tug boat pulling some very long cables, and I had to speak to the driver over the radio to make sure I was staying out of his way.<br />
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After losing a bunch of time on all the bridges, we were unfortunate to arrive at a railroad bridge that was closing. Strangely, there was no train. We radioed and tried calling, but nobody answered us. We sat there frustrated, waiting for the railroad bridge to open. After a while, a sailboat approached. You have got to be kidding. It was Obsession. Seriously, was there no way to shake these guys? As soon as Obsession radioed to the bridge to open, they opened it, and still no train every came. I had to test my radio to make sure it worked. Was this antisemitism? Anti-powerboatism? We will never know.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Railway bridge is closed - Ugh</td></tr>
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Jim and I pulled through the bridge determined to leave Obsession behind once and for all. Ironically, I was becoming obsessed with this sailboat and its ability to catch up with us going 6 knots. I was starting to understand the boat's name.<br />
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After we made it through this bridge, I knew there were two more railroad bridges left. One of them was bridge #5, the one that was closed for 3 days of maintenance the day that Tony and I and the girls were trying to get to Charleston and ended up having to turn around and take the ocean. If that happened today, we'd be up the creek (were actually were up the creek) without a paddle. No turning to the ocean. We would really be stuck there with no options. Fortunately, both bridges were open, and we made it to Norfolk!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yippee! The bridge was open</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Downtown Norfolk</td></tr>
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Well, we had arrived at Norfolk full of fuel from having filled up at the Great Bridge bridge waiting area. And it wasn't even 1:30 pm yet. It was a long day from 6 a.m., but hey, we decided to motor on. I wanted to get to Solomons, which would take about 4 hours, and then leave us only 3.5 hours tomorrow to get home. Jim was game, although probably a little less enthusiastic than I was.<br />
<br />
We checked the weather, and it was questionable. There were thunderstorms in Solomons, but looking at the radar, we were pretty sure they'd be gone by the time we got there. Just North of Solomons, it was really bad, but those storms were not going to come South (we thought). Thunderstorms were projected for Norfolk, but not until evening. It looked very likely that we could squeeze in between weather patters and get to Solomons without too much risk of getting hammered. And after all, as the pillow my mom made me says:<br />
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So, we passed Norfolk and set the chartplotter route to Solomons. As I was leaving Norfolk Harbor and got passed the no wake buoy, I pulled up on plane to 24 knots. I saw that a huge, massive cargo ship was in the channel, and those things make me nervous, so I pulled parallel to the channel to run alongside the ship until I passed it. As I was trying to figure out how to get through this very busy harbor area at speed, I saw a police/military boat with a machine gun on the bow flashing its lights and blasting a siren coming towards me very fast. It went past me, and I turned to look and saw it turn quickly and head towards me from behind. That indicated to me that I was the subject of their interest, and I quickly stopped my boat.<br />
<br />
The policeman admonished me on the radio that in front of the military base, I was required to stay inside the channel at all times. I explained that I was trying to avoid the massive ship, but he would have none of it. I apologized an assured him I would stay in the channel. And I did.<br />
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Once I passed the harbor area and entered the Chesapeake Bay, I set course due North and pointed Sababa towards Solomons. We had 3.5 hours left. The weather forecast was a little scary, but Jim and I were convinced that we could avoid the worst of it. I was learning a lot about dealing with and navigating in weather from Jim. For the first 90 minutes, the seas were flat, and we were going about 25 knots. I was loving life. I'd like to see Obsession catch us now!<br />
<br />
About 30 minutes later, I noticed the air temperature drop about 20 degrees. I was actually feeling a bit cold all of a sudden. I figured this cannot be good. But, the weather still looked okay. Behind us, Jim and I noticed some serious rain was going on. But we were well past that. Ahead, the sky was getting dark. Uh oh. But, we were in the middle of the Bay, and with bad weather behind us and unknown not so great weather ahead, we really had no choice but to move on. Still, the radar indicated that we would be okay.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix7Okr-192EePSDxrSrOtRzvwXGIwueIADNTnGRi8apG5d-EKY14y2Co50WqEuP5C33xFtBqdmSpK21__Q2OKKqcWiS4S3Uf93LXwVVqSFq4qQCckK2xgypiTEyJz1zVWwSu1cfH6HmpmL/s1600/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_da5a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix7Okr-192EePSDxrSrOtRzvwXGIwueIADNTnGRi8apG5d-EKY14y2Co50WqEuP5C33xFtBqdmSpK21__Q2OKKqcWiS4S3Uf93LXwVVqSFq4qQCckK2xgypiTEyJz1zVWwSu1cfH6HmpmL/s640/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_da5a.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Raining behind us</td></tr>
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<br />
We decided to drive from inside instead of on the flybridge because it was starting to rain, and the sky was looking ever more ominous. The waves were now getting bigger and hitting us straight on the bow. I slowed the boat to 18 knots to match the period of the wave and we stopped slamming into the water, except occasionally.<br />
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It then started raining very hard. I had learned how to make good use of the radar in low visibility in my Radar and Electronics course at the Annapolis School of Seamanship, and this came in handy, as I was going to rely on my radar and chart plotter now to supplement my dim view of what was going on outside that I was getting through the windshield.<br />
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Our biggest fear was that we would arrive in Solomon with a massive storm with 40-50 knot winds and thunderstorms. Radar did not indicate that was likely, but that did not stop that from being my biggest fear. As we approached the river towards Solomons, the rain got more intense, and visibility was lower, and for the first time today I wasn't entirely happy. I decided that if conditions were too intense to dock, I would pull into the harbor at Solomons and anchor. We would ride out the storm on the hook until it passed and then pull up to the fuel dock to tie up. That was our backup plan.<br />
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The turn towards Solomons was very good. The waves were much smaller inside the river, and they were hitting us on the beam instead of head on, since we had changed direction. I was worried about crab pots, since we had no visibility there, and I know that area is full of them, but we could only worry about so many things, and we hoped we wouldn't get unlucky. Furthermore, I was back up over 20 knots, and I think hitting a pot at that speed would probably just snap the crab pot line rather than wrap around the prop. Luckily, we never found out.<br />
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Amazingly, as we pulled into Solomons Island, the rain let up and practically stopped. Jim secured our lines, and I docked in very light to nonexistent wind. As soon as we were tied up, it started raining again, but not too badly. We needed fuel, and I expect us to leave tomorrow morning before the fuel dock opens. So, I used an umbrella to protect the tank as I filled it with diesel. You do not want water in your diesel. Bad combination.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fueling in the rain after a 12 hour run</td></tr>
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As I was fueling, I looked at my watch, and it was a bit after 6pm. We had run for 12 full hours. What a day.<br />
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Our reward was a great dinner in town followed by my favorite dessert: key lime pie from the island's specialty:<br />
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So that's it. Tomorrow, we'll head home, and Jim has a flight home from BWI in the afternoon. We are looking forward to an awesome dinner with great friends, and I'll be thrilled to have Sababa back home in Baltimore!<br />
Avi Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727241711132643386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1645136000578449262.post-41431642186311099532019-08-22T20:35:00.000-04:002019-08-22T20:36:23.134-04:00Day 1 is in the booksWhat a crazy day yesterday. First it looked like I had nobody to travel with, then I met Jim at the marina with his wife Denise, and he jumped at the opportunity to travel with me with about 12 hours notice. See full story <a href="http://avi-rubin.blogspot.com/2019/08/crew-change.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Avi and his new crew mate Jim getting ready to depart Wrightsville Beach</td></tr>
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Jim and I arranged to meet at 6:30 a.m. at Sababa. He owns a similar Prestige flybridge boat, and I was happy to have someone aboard who knows the boat and is very experienced at traveling up and down the coast.<br />
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I went to bed after 11:00 pm last night after straightening out the boat, cleaning up, writing my blog, of course, and unpacking. I could't sleep because since the shore power on the boat is not working, I had the generator on, and it was really loud. Finally around midnight, I got up and turned off the generator and quickly fell asleep. I woke up around 4:00 all covered in sweat because without the generator, there's no air conditioning, and it got very warm on the boat. Not a great start for what I knew would be a very long and at times challenging day. By 5:00, I gave up lying in bed and took a shower and got the boat ready for the voyage. Turned on all the instruments, fired up the generator again, turned on the nav lights since we'd be traveling at dusk, had something to eat, and then sat around waiting for 6:30.<br />
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Jim showed up with Denise right on time, and we were on our way.<br />
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As we pulled out of Wrightsville Beach and headed to the ocean, I had some concerns about how rough the seas would be. The forecast was good, although it called for possible thunderstorms in the afternoon at Manteo. We had decided to go to Manteo rather than push all the way to Coinjock. As it was, this would be our longest and most difficult travel day, covering 183 nautical miles.<br />
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Driving in the open ocean is exhilarating. As long as the waves remain calm, you are there alone with nothing but the sky, the water and the boat. It's one of my favorite most peaceful places to be. Of course you know that at any time a squall can pop out of nowhere and ruin your day or worse. More on that later.<br />
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The waves actually got slightly big as we approached 2/3 of our way towards the Beaufort inlet. They were around 3.5 feet high, and some quite a bit higher. However, they were SouthWesterly waves, meaning they were going in the same direction as us, so we were basically surfing on them. The winds were about 15 knots also from the SW, so it made for a mostly pleasant ride. A little rough at the end, but nothing too crazy.<br />
<br />
The inlet was a bit of an adventure as a very strong wind on our port side beam intensified. However besides taking off our hats so they wouldn't blow away, Jim and I had no real concerns. As we pulled into Beaufort and the canal of the northbound ICW, we saw several dolphins, which made my day.<br />
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We decided to stop for fuel despite Dennis's advice that we could easily make it to Manteo on one tank. I don't like to cut it close, and besides it was pretty calm in the ditch (slang for ICW).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our fuel stop in the ICW</td></tr>
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<br />
After fueling, we headed up towards the Neuse River and from there into Pamlico Sound. The sound can be very intimidating and quite nasty. We dealt with that head on (literally) on our way South a month ago. However, today, we were going with the waves and the wind in our favor, and so it wasn't too bad. At least most of the way.<br />
<br />
As we turned left and headed North to the final stretch where Pamlico meets the Croatan sound, I suddenly noticed a sharp bolt of lightning in the distance. There was a clear outline of a bad storm to our NorthWest, and it was moving East, as we were moving North. We were going 24 knots on a collision course with this storm.<br />
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On the rader, we could see that this was an isolated storm, but it was headed exactly to the same place we were. Jim had the very clever suggestion, which seems obvious but actually did not occur to me, that we slow down and let the storm pass. To me it was counterintuitive to see a lightning storm while out on a boat and to do nothing. I wanted to run for cover, but there was nowhere to go that made sense. Slowing down worked great. We could actually see the storm moving from left to right, and when it passed us, we made our way. Meanwhile, another storm developed to the West, and we saw it coming. We decided that we could beat that one, so we worked our way between the two storms (I kid you not) and got the Pirates Cove marina with no harm done.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pirates Cover marina - lots of big charter fishing boats that I did not want to crash into</td></tr>
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Docking was quite intimidating as it was extremely windy in the marina, and I felt myself drifting into the large fishing boats that line the marina due to a strong current. The marina was not picking up on the radio, and I had left my phone down below, so I had no way to reach them. Luckily, someone saw us coming in, and a dockhand was waiting for us. Using every ounce I had of experience, guts, and mostly a complete lack of any choice, I managed to pull off one of the scarier dockings I've done without a hitch. Jim was extremely helpful in talking me through it as I backed up, and the dockhand jumped aboard to help with the lines. Jim is a real pro and got us tied up expertly. We set the fenders, and I felt really good and relieved. I fueled up the boat for tomorrow's run.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiySkBLR6wBwz3KnNWZapbn2uADNW6JYaL-juc_4yK6_BSjaO7z2kAhHZi9h1NfhTnpwRuLQVMDDQb9T5zYAfhoPg54fUOZnS40lm5eJXOmkLDWrNLgOmPzCt-YV8YihvKSYpLUc3-xiEi9/s1600/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_da16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiySkBLR6wBwz3KnNWZapbn2uADNW6JYaL-juc_4yK6_BSjaO7z2kAhHZi9h1NfhTnpwRuLQVMDDQb9T5zYAfhoPg54fUOZnS40lm5eJXOmkLDWrNLgOmPzCt-YV8YihvKSYpLUc3-xiEi9/s640/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_da16.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sababa tied up safe and sound in Manteo</td></tr>
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Jim and I rewarded ourselves for a great first day with pizza and beer at Nags Head Pizza Company, the same place that the girls and Tony and I had planned on visiting but did not end up going to because of the bridge that was closed on our way down and our reroute down the ocean.<br />
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Here was the view from our table at this great pizza place.<br />
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With no shore power, we've decided to try to sleep without the generator tonight. I found the screens that go in each window and set them up for the evening. It's cool outside, so we'll open the windows with the screens in and turn off the generator, and thus the A/C. We'll use the inverter to power the 110 on the boat to charge our devices off the house batteries. And in the morning, we'll go back on generator power. If this proves to be uncomfortable, then tomorrow night we'll try to sleep with the generator. Basically the choice is noise, uncomfortable temperature, lack of darkness (shades can't close with windows open), or some combination of these. Without shore power those are our choices.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The small window in the master bedroom with a screen (not my most interesting photo ever)</td></tr>
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I'm very excited about tomorrow's run. We're going to stay inside the ICW. It is just a gorgeous trip, and we'll have several bridges and a lock to deal with, but the trip is pretty laid back with lots of no wake areas to just take in the sites and relax. I expect us to leave at first light at 6:30 am and to arrive no later than 2pm, depending on our luck with the drawbridges.<br />
<br />
It's calling for 35% chance of rain and scattered thunderstorms in Norfolk tomorrow around 4pm, but otherwise, our weather outlook for the rest of the trip all the way to Baltimore on Saturday looks very good. We'll try to time it so that we are in Norfolk well before the potential storms. Today, I learned how to be patient and let the storm pass you by. A very valuable lesson.Avi Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727241711132643386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1645136000578449262.post-38096502186369100732019-08-21T21:53:00.000-04:002019-08-21T21:53:58.155-04:00Crew changeYou can't make this stuff up. It seems that every boat trip is just nuts.<br />
<br />
So, I land in Wilmington and Uber to the marina. Dennis meets me at the boat and generously offers to drive me to the grocery store so I can buy provisions for my upcoming 3 day boat trip. Dan had said he ate everything, so I just bought enough food for breakfasts and lunches for a few people for two days. Lots of fruit, lunch meats, peanut butter and jelly, yogurt, snacks and tons of water bottles.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, I get a text from a guy named Jim who says he has a Prestige boat too, and that he was walking by mine today and got my number from Dennis, and he'd love to meet me. Sounds great, but I know I have a ton of work to do.<br />
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I say goodbye to Dennis and start unpacking on the boat. I realize that it's several hours of work ahead of me, and the boat is not in the shape or condition I need to go out on the ocean. There is stuff everywhere. I need to fill the water tanks. Unpack the food, and start putting things away. As I begin working, I realize I'm starving, so I write the guy Jim and suggest having dinner at the marina restaurant if he's up for it. He and his wife Denise come over, and I get a nice break from my work.<br />
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As we're eating and getting to know each other, I get a text form Dan. His flight is delayed, and he can't make his connection. UGH!!!! All the work I did to get here, and I only have a very tight time window to get home. Not just that it's a good weather window, but we have plans with close friends Saturday night that I'd like to get back for, and I'm hosting a big poker tournament at my house on Sunday. Also, next week, I can't possibly make the trip due to work commitments. And I'm already here! This really messes things up.<br />
<br />
Sitting in the marina restaurant, I look up at Jim and Denise my new Prestige friends, and half jokingly say to Jim, "do you want to come with me on the boat trip tomorrow morning?" Denise jumps in and says that he should. He says, sure, why not? And so after a couple of minutes of planning, we decide that Jim will come with me tomorrow at 6:30 a.m. and then he'll fly back to Raleigh on Saturday, and Denise will pick him up. Just like that. If only all my problems could be solved that way.<br />
<br />
The boat seems in very good condition physically except it's pretty dirty, and there's no shore power. I filled the water tanks, put all the cushions back on, took the covers off, and put a million things away into storage that were scattered around the boat. I'll have to run the generator for 3 straight days, but it's designed for that.<br />
<br />
Jim and I discussed different options for tomorrow. We'll run outside to Beaufort and then the Pamlico sound to Manteo. Then, we'll probably run inside to Norfolk the next day, and then to Baltimore on Saturday.<br />
<br />
Crazy day.<br />
<br />
<br />Avi Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727241711132643386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1645136000578449262.post-62983583373027064232019-08-21T13:08:00.000-04:002019-08-21T13:08:07.914-04:00Bringing Sababa homeTomorrow morning, exactly a month to the day I lost my pods and ran aground, I'll be leaving North Carolina on Sababa for a 3 day adventure home. This is not the way I expected to return, but given how much I've missed the boat and the hassle I've had to deal with managing the repair remotely, I have to say I'm very excited and happy to have this chapter over and to start the new adventure.<br />
<br />
I'm sitting in the airport at BWI. I did not know until this morning if we were a go because the boat had to have a sea trial today to test that the repair worked, and that there was nothing wrong that couldn't be tested on land. Dennis Smith, perhaps the nicest person in the world, the same person who met me in Hampstead, NC the first day of our problem after reading my blog, once again came to the rescue. He came to the boatyard this morning and captained the sea trial. Once Sababa passed, he took her down to Wrightsville Beach where he docked the boat at a marina. Unfortunately, the shore power does not seem to work. I was struggling with that quite a bit on my trip down, and so Dennis called an electrician who will check things out and hopefully fix this problem once and for all. Shore power is nice but not a deal breaker. Will run either way.<br />
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I land in Wilmington at 5:35 pm, after a connection in Charlotte, and then I'll Uber to the boat. I have a lot to take care of. Moving all my gear from the deck back to the crew quarters, checking all the systems. Affixing cushions and removing covers. Plotting my final route for the morning, and checking the weather again. Uber to grocery store and shop for provisions, and then Uber back to boat. Need food for 3 days for 2 people, and plenty of drinks. Have to fill the water tanks. Thankfully the last thing I did on Sababa before leaving was pump out the holding tanks, so those should be good for our entire trip. Dennis is taking care of fueling her up.<br />
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Joining me for this trip is my great friend Dan. Dan owns a marina and has owned boats and is experienced in the boating world, so I'm sure he'll be a great crew. Dan is also my business mentor, and so I'm looking forward to lots of great advice under way, and I'm sure we'll have a great time, as he is one of the most fun people around.<br />
<br />
Right now, the weather looks good for our first leg to Beaufort tomorrow at first light. It will be an ocean leg. Waves are supposed to be 3 feet from the SouthWest with a 4-5 second period with Winds 10-13 also from SouthWest. Since we're running Northeast, I'm not that concerned about the waves and expect a relatively smooth ride. It'll probably be rougher in Pamlico sound later in the day. My plan is to get to Manteo and dock at Pirate's Cove. However, if I decide to run outside the next day, I may stop at Wenchese marina near Oregon Inlet, because that's closer to our ocean entry, saving me about 45 minutes each day. One issue is that Wenchese only has dockhands until 5pm whereas Pirate's Cove has them until 7pm. Also at Pirate's Cove we can fuel in the slip, and at Wenchese we'd need to fuel first and then dock, meaning we really need to be there by 4pm to get help docking, which I'm sure we'll need.<br />
<br />
My flight is boarding soon, so I'm signing off for now. Hope I'll have time to blog on this adventure and that it will all be good news!Avi Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727241711132643386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1645136000578449262.post-57532138054736252142019-07-30T07:41:00.002-04:002019-07-30T07:41:59.116-04:00Boat Trip EpilogueI ended my last post from the boat trip, <b>"the only question is whether the boat has any propellors or pods</b>."<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, the answer to that question was no. In the morning, two divers showed up and after about 20 seconds underwater, came up to give me the bad news. There were no pods. No props. The boat was completely immobile.<br />
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I spent most of the next few days on the phone with the insurance company, boat mechanics, a boatyard, etc and handled other logistics. Sababa was towed to a working boatyard and hauled out where she will sit until we can get new pods and props and get her going. I was told to expect around a month. I had to cancel some boat outings that I had planned back home.<br />
<br />
We rented a car and drove 3.5 hours to Charleston where we met up with Ann and Benny, and Tony flew to Denver where he had a business meeting. Ann rented a couple of rooms at the Marriott Courtyard in the Historic district, and we spent a week doing the typical Charleston tourist things - a land-based vacation. Saturday night, we flew back to Baltimore, and I continue to work on logistics to get the boat fixed and the repairs paid for. I'm impatient by nature, so it will seem like a long time until Sababa is back. If things go really badly and it takes several months, I think I'll leave the boat and even take her further South for the Winter to avoid winterizing. If she's ready sooner, then I'll either hire a captain to bring her back to Baltimore, or I'll go get her myself.Avi Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727241711132643386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1645136000578449262.post-32231171358041402822019-07-22T08:18:00.000-04:002019-07-22T08:18:54.542-04:00Summer 2019 Boat Trip! Day 3Day 3 was an experience that really put my love of boating and this lifestyle to the test. It's now 6:30 a.m. on Day 4, and I'm writing this because I did not have an opportunity, nor the cheyshek (it's Yiddish - means desire) to blog yesterday. It was really tough.<br />
<br />
So, the day started out pretty well. Woke up around 5:30 in Ocracoke, and I decided to let my crew sleep. Had breakfast and sat around restlessly. By 7:00, I was ready to go, and the marina people were around, so they cut me loose, and a wobbly, tired Tony hobbled out of his cabin to collect the lines and fenders. The channel is narrow, and there was a lot of wind and current, so I was glad to have a high speed auto ferry in front of me to guide me out to the Sound.<br />
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We ran for about 90 minutes. It was calmer than the day before, but the wind was still strong and on our nose, and the ride was a big bumpy. Nothing crazy though. We go to Beaufort after a nice 40 minute canal ride.<br />
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So far so good.<br />
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Along the way, we saw several shipwrecks. I couldn't help but think of this as the worst case scenario. Little did I know these images would haunt me later in the day.<br />
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No, we did not sink yesterday, but hang on, and I'll get to it.<br />
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We had a decision to make in Beaufort - go out in the ocean for a 63 mile direct run, or hit the ICW for a slightly longer route, with hazards such as shoaling, logs, bad channel markings as well as bridges that open once an hour, slow boats and stupid boaters. We decided that our ocean run was pretty sweet the day before, and the forecast app I was using indicated that if we hugged the shoreline, the waves would only be 3 feet with a 5 second period. That seemed manageable on Sababa. So, we took the fork in the river to the left and headed out to sea.<br />
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Right away, I could tell that it was rougher than I thought it would be, and pretty uncomfortable. Still, we drove around a large reef and back towards shore. I pulled parallel to the shore about 1/3 of a mile out and tried to run the boat South. It did not take long (like 1 minute) for me to realize that this was a huge mistake. I couldn't run more than 8 knots, and we were getting thrown around pretty badly. I would say probably 5-6 foot waves, maybe a little more. We turned around with our tail between our legs and made for the ICW. Who knows what would have happened had we kept going. We might have been better off, but I can tell you that we would have arrived pretty ragged, and my crew would have probably mutinied.<br /><br />
I was apprehensive as I followed the magenta line of the ICW on my chart. On past trips, I had always carefully plotted my routes. I noted areas where we could fuel, potential emergency spots, and basically spent hours familiarizing myself with the navigation and charting every step of the way. Now I was heading towards what I assume was the ICW, despite several forks in the road. I had purchased an ICW guide, which I studied for the legs we planned on taking in the canal, but this was not one of them. My bad. In hindsight, my contingency plan should have been covered more thoroughly. Next time I plan a trip with a backup plan, I'll study the backup plan as carefully as the main one.<br />
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As we continued on the ICW, I started feeling a lot better. While the channel was narrow, we were able to run at full cruising speed, and although we had to slow down for other boats quite a bit, it was not as bad as I thought it would be. We even got very lucky with our first swing bridge. It opens once an hour, and we approached it just as it was opening. We could not believe our good fortune. Probably should have saved some of that mojo for later...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaY5J7Q0-VK4RZ3KDm-4IpbftVrhntP9hCCGUQ3ijnL0N1W1zkWhUVaRvDo_D7Ozv5D2FK7ZpjJqVkrhDKPeSAuBVB7f-MCLtR4d71i4GsRsGQekbI8pHI0VafeSzrfvYnytcZUJm9zY09/s1600/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_d8d0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaY5J7Q0-VK4RZ3KDm-4IpbftVrhntP9hCCGUQ3ijnL0N1W1zkWhUVaRvDo_D7Ozv5D2FK7ZpjJqVkrhDKPeSAuBVB7f-MCLtR4d71i4GsRsGQekbI8pHI0VafeSzrfvYnytcZUJm9zY09/s640/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_d8d0.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We approached the swing bridge just as it was about to open</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYEDvn6jS3OG3xtWOoo3EUMPO8y9YibriNwN68BgpY9eqeJXaUYL5wCey3PK7T5BiQepzT-FbqgmoZBPfuypTnihKP9ErFSR174pVS6mAHQcbpqJ4vKQg08MYuqNfLbge2JbMYkWtnbNzr/s1600/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_d8dd.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYEDvn6jS3OG3xtWOoo3EUMPO8y9YibriNwN68BgpY9eqeJXaUYL5wCey3PK7T5BiQepzT-FbqgmoZBPfuypTnihKP9ErFSR174pVS6mAHQcbpqJ4vKQg08MYuqNfLbge2JbMYkWtnbNzr/s640/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_d8dd.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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So, this is where our luck really ran out. I was approaching a complicated intersection of channels, at New River Inlet, which goes out to sea. Our path on the ICW was perpendicular to the path that led out to the inlet. In the middle of our channel, there was a red marker. Instead of moving to the left of it, I assumed it belonged to the crossing channel (stupid mistake in hindsight), and I took it on my port bow (went to the right of it). My depth sounder read 3 feet, which is too shallow for Sababa, and I cut the throttle. We gently hit bottom, and were unable to move. I tried using the bow thruster to twist ourselves off, but to no avail. We were stuck on a sand bar. A very strong wind was coming from the sea and pushing us harder onto the sand bar, and the tide was going out. It was around 1:30, and low tide was at 5pm, so I had visions of the sunken boats we had passed earlier in the day. We were already about 9 inches out of the water, and in some places you get 2-3 feet of tide, which would have left us in a very awkward position. This was actually our second grounding of the day. We got out of the first one pretty easily, but not before sucking up sand in the generator intake, which resulted in the gen set shutting down, leaving us with no air conditioning.<br />
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So, we're in the middle of nowhere, completely grounded, being pushed up against the sandbar, with the tide going out, no generator, 95 degrees without air conditioning (requires generator), and somewhat unhappy.<br />
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There is a reason that sailors are the standard bearers for cursing. Lots of not so nice words popped into my head during that time.<br />
<br />
As we are sitting there, trying to figure out what to do (Tony jumped in the water with a paddle to try to dig us out, despite my protest - try moving a house with a toy tractor.), we see three guys coming over towards us, presumably to help. As a security person, and generally someone who is paranoid, I couldn't help but feel that we were somewhat vulnerable here in gun country, with nowhere to go, and a boat that all but advertises that we probably have lots of money on board. As they approached, my fears were amplified, as one guy had tattoos over his entire body including his shaved head, and the other two looked like they were from some prison movie. They were carrying beers. I was glad we had Tony who is 6'5" and a half (he always points out the half because his brother Joe is 6'5" - personally I think if you're over 6', you should drop the half. It trivializes it for people my size who really need it.)<br />
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The three stooges come up to us with their North Carolina twang and say that it looks like we've found ourselves in a mess of trouble. They ask to come aboard. Tony, who is in the water brushes them off and says no. Then the one who seemed the least stupid of them starts giving us advice. Run the thruster this way or that. Just wait because the tide will be high at 5:00 (actually 5:00 was low tide), and he tells us he has a 70' and a 60' boat so he knows what he's doing. At this point, I think he's just trying to get his friends to laugh. Tattoo comes over and tries to get under my bow as I'm running the thruster. (the bearded one actually referred to him as Tattoo) His buddy yelled at him to back off, and I cut the thruster and waited until he moved away. They told us they would be back and headed back towards their boats. Can't say I was sorry to see them go. Tony later told me that he was already thinking about where we stored our sharp knives and what we might do to defend Elana and Tamara who were on board and did not seem to impressed with our new friends.<br />
<br />
Anyway, I had already called Boat US tow services, and they said they were going to be about an hour and a half, and that it would cost a minimum of $1,500 for them to just come pull us off the sand bar and send us on our way, assuming everything was in working order. I did not feel like I had any choice, and he took my credit card number over the phone. If we required a long tow, it would cost a lot more. I have a BoatUS membership, and it includes up to $50 in towing, which I don't think gets you very far, especially considering the $1,500 charge for the guy to even show up.<br />
<br />
I have to say that although we were in a predicament to say the least, the girls later observed that they were surprised that I stayed composed and pretty much dealt with it in a logical fashion. Although I was stressed and unhappy, I did not feel any panic, which I guess is surprising. I can get scared to death in an elevator (claustrophobia) where there is no danger, but sitting on a sand bar with a gang of hooligans nearby and an outgoing tide, I seemed relatively calm.<br />
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Tony and I were on the phone with my mechanic, Justin, from my boat dealer, and he had some suggestions as to how to fix the generator. Since we were stuck there anyway, and Tony had not made much progress digging us out with the paddle, instead, we turned our attention to the generator intake. We had sucked in sand, and Tony went under the boat with a long knife and started cleaning out the intake. He said he got a lot of sand out. The generator system is water cooled. Water comes in from the outside, runs through some hoses and into the generator. If the gen set detects that there is no good water flow, it shuts down. Since we had a blockage on the intake we were unable to use the system. However, once the system loses its prime, you have to get water in. That involved a pretty simple series of steps which we tried and which failed. Justin suggested that we need to clear the pump of sand, and we decided that this was a task for later, when we are docked. Anyway, we weren't going to be able to run the generator sitting on a sand bar because it would just suck up sand. Note for the future if I'm every stuck again, turn off the generator immediately.<br />
<br />
After about 90 minutes from when I called, a tow boat showed up. Captain was named Tom, and he was extremely helpful and nice. His idea was to tie up alongside us, facing away, and to run his props hard to push the sand out from under us. Sounds crazy, but it was working. We could see sand being pushed out on the other side of the boat. After about 20 minutes, he said we had dropped 9 inches.<br />
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It took about 45 minutes, and then Tom got us loose and pulled us back into the deep water of the channel. The engines fired right up. Yay! But when I pushed the throttle, nothing. Nada. Zip. Oy.<br />
<br />
So, I had no way to move the boat. I spoke with Tom over the radio, and he made some calls. There was no option but to tow us to a marina where we could figure out what to do the next day. Tom convinced me that the best place was Harbor Village marina in Hampstead. Both Tony and I thought he said it was an hour and a half away. Perhaps by chopper, but it took us just under 4 hours to get there, since we were going by tow boat.<br />
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The girls took it surprisingly well, considering that they were stuck without air conditioning, with no idea how we were ever getting to Charleston, and the overall situation.<br />
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I think we got into the marina around 8:00, although everything is kind of a blur. It might have even been quite a bit later. It was getting dark, I remember that. I spoke with Ann, who was already in Charleston with Benny, and we started going over options. There are basically three scenarios. First is that a diver goes under the boat today and discovers that everything is fixable, and somehow miraculously gets everything working, and we're golden. We head to Charleston today on the boat. Second scenario is that the props can be tuned, and that would take 2 days. In that case, Tony will rent a car and drive the girls to Charleston, where Ann will get hotel rooms, since she had planned on being on the boat tonight. I would stay behind and when the boat is fixed, hire a local crew person to come with me to Charleston and pay for them to go back home.<br />
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The third scenario is that the diver will discover that the props and/or pods are just gone. Worst case scenario. So, in that case, the boat could be in North Carolina at a repair facility for a month. I guess we would all drive to Charleston and have our planned vacation at some hotel there and then fly home. I'll deal with bringing the boat back later, perhaps will hire my friend Captain Bob to bring her back.<br />
<br />
Our problems were not over yet. The electricity from the dock cut out, and so we did not have air conditioning. It was so hot on the boat. We opened up windows, but there were all kinds of huge bugs flying around. We were miserable. Without a generator working, and without shore power, we not only had no AC, but I wanted to conserve power and was reluctant to let the girls use the microwave. However, given the circumstances, I turned on the inverter to run AC off the house batteries and let the girls heat up their dinners. We've been having power problems all trip. We hook up to power, and it works for 20 minutes, and then it cuts out.<br />
<br />
Everybody had some food after we arrived, except me. I did not seem to have an appetite, and was feeling overwhelmed and a little depressed. So, we decided to get to work on the generator. Tony got on his hands and knees upside down in the engine room and managed to remove the pump that feeds water to the generator. I took the dock hose and forced high pressure water through both ends. A bunch of sand came out, which gave us hope. We primed the water system. The generator fired up, and it worked. We had air conditioning. At this point, it was past 11 pm. I had been up a long time and was completely wiped out. But, I did not want to sleep with the generator on. Even though diesel engines don't produce much carbon monoxide, and although I have CO detectors in every cabin, I'm still paranoid about it. I figured we would run the AC until all the rooms were cold, and then go to sleep and hopefully fall asleep and wake up sweaty in the morning. However, when I was ready to turn off the generator after midnight, I tried the regular 220 power, and miraculously, it was working. I turned off the generator and also turned off the battery chargers, hot water heater and everything else on the 220 circuit except the air conditioning, hoping that the reduced load would keep the power from going out.<br /><br />I'm up now on Day 4 (woke up at 5:45), and the power is till on, and the air is running, and I even turned on the battery charger and all is still good. I've been in touch with the dock master. He'll be here at 9:30, and we can get our much needed pump out. Also, a local diver has canceled his morning appointments and is headed here and will be here by 9:00 a.m. Then we'll find out which scenario we're dealing with, or perhaps another. My current theory is that we got a lot of sand baked into the props, and perhaps the diver can clear it out, and we can be off and running to Charleston. Either that, or I won't have a boat for the rest of the summer. I guess I'll know soon.<br />
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Here we are, docked at Hampstead for an unscheduled stop. At the moment, electricity is working, generator is working, air conditioning is working, and the only question is whether the boat has any propellors or pods.<br />
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Avi Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727241711132643386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1645136000578449262.post-19639975799519014522019-07-20T22:47:00.000-04:002019-07-20T22:47:06.384-04:00Summer 2019 Boat Trip! Day 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Norfolk to Ocracoke<br />
155 Nautical Miles<br />
Departure from Norfolk 8:00 a.m.<br />
Arrived in Ocracoke 4:45 p.m.<br />
Weather: Hot, windy, choppy seas in the afternoon<br />
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When boating, one must be flexible. I'm not talking about the ability to stretch your limbs further than others, although that probably helps - I'm talking about not being married to your plans. Because sometimes, things don't turn out the way you expected, and when you're boating, improvising is the norm. We were tested today.<br />
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The morning started out glorious. My companions, the two munchkins and their "uncle" Tony stayed out late at the concert at Waterside near our boat while yours truly wrote his blog and fell asleep before 11:00. Apparently they were out late partying because when I woke up at 5:00, they were all asleep. I went for a walk, filled up the water tanks, took out the garbage and recycling, cleaned up the boat, ate breakfast, and basically ran out of things to do. So, around 7:45, after going stir crazy, I woke up Tony and decided we would leave early, despite having promised everyone we could leave at 9:00 today.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sababa, early morning right before departure</td></tr>
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We set out, thinking we were leaving Norfolk behind, down the peaceful river, heading down mile 0 of the Intercoastal Waterway, otherwise known as the ICW. The world was at peace. I was so happy. It seemed like everything was under control. But it was not.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leaving Norfolk and heading down the ICW</td></tr>
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Tony was becoming useful. He learned how to coil lines (although sometimes they ended up with knots in them), and is good at putting away the fenders and getting the boat ready for our sail.<br />
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We saw amazing naval sites. Boats under repair, and even a few aircraft carriers.<br />
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The day seemed almost too perfect.<br />
<br />
I had prepared. Charting out our course for each day, reserving slips at marinas, and practically memorizing the orders of the bridges that we would have to wait for. Bridge #5, which is less than 3 miles from downtown Norfolk was the first one. A railroad bridge that goes up and down, and which the guidebook said is almost always up.<br />
<br />
As we approached Bridge #5, I noticed to my chagrin that it was down, and in fact there was a boat on the other side waiting to go North. I tried to raise the bridge tender on the radio, but got no answer. After about 10 minutes, a police boat approached me. I leaned over the rail, and he yelled up at me. The content of his yell hit me pretty hard. One of those "uh oh" moments. He said that the bridge was down and broken and would be closed until Monday. (Today is Saturday, and I'm supposed to be in Charleston on Monday.) What?!?!?!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bridge #5 was down, not up as I had hoped</td></tr>
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I called up my trusty friend Captain Bob. Bob has delivered Sababa a couple of times and knows his way around the ICW better than anyone I know. He checked around and said there was no information about this bridge closure. Nonetheless, I was finally able to get the bridge on the radio, and it was confirmed that this bridge was closed until Monday, in effect shutting down the ICW for two days. No traffic was going to pass in either direction. Holy crap.<br />
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So, what to do. My first thought was that I was in big trouble. Not going to get to Charleston as planned. Maybe spend a couple of days in Norfolk? I didn't like the idea. Captain Bob suggested going around and taking the ocean route. I had considered that in my planning but decided that I did not like the possibility of rough seas, and the inlet I needed to take was unfamiliar to me and has a reputation of being treacherous. <br />
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Bob walked me through what I needed to do, and I decided that it beat spending the next two days doing nothing in Norfolk. So, we headed out to sea. Backtracking towards Norfolk, we passed our marina from last night at 9:00 a.m., about an hour after we left, and at the original time I had promised everyone we would leave. At least I kept my end of the deal.<br />
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As we headed towards the inlet at Virginia Beach, I noticed that my depth sounder was not working. This would have been disastrous had we taken the ICW as planned. In the ocean, depth was not an issue, but still, you don't want to be on a boat trip without an accurate depth reading at all times. After some time on the phone with my mechanic and some fancy rebooting of my electronics, I was back in shape.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMfPXfsVEicRWx3taiq5l30StXaq4ISENWIoQp0mn3hYItgqGaZrXwPD9F-RIsQGpa1dkE3XI2VSEPnJEvcE4EL7HRTXYD_P3drDpB4VGoSuhgNdfHhI0lStafkM9KF7uYzNwjAZj9I39P/s1600/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_d8bc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMfPXfsVEicRWx3taiq5l30StXaq4ISENWIoQp0mn3hYItgqGaZrXwPD9F-RIsQGpa1dkE3XI2VSEPnJEvcE4EL7HRTXYD_P3drDpB4VGoSuhgNdfHhI0lStafkM9KF7uYzNwjAZj9I39P/s640/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_d8bc.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The depth sounder was not working this morning</td></tr>
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With my depth perception back, I pointed us out to sea. We passed Cape Henry, and turned towards the open waters, spotting many dolphins. Too bad the girls were still asleep.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cape Henry Lighthouse</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heading out to see, you can't quite see Europe</td></tr>
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The ocean was relatively calm, and we took in the sight of Virginia Beach and all the waterfront hotels from the water. After a while, we saw nothing but coastline to our right and open ocean to our left. It's a surreal calm you feel when there is nothing but open water in front of you. I couldn't help but feel how much better off we were here than navigating the treacherous ICW with all it's shallow areas, tight curves, shoaling, slow boats who don't know how to drive, and numerous other disadvantages to the ICW. Although I wanted to give Tony and the girls the ICW canal experience, this sure was easier. Auto pilot engaged, radar on, and now kick back and relax. Well, at least for a little while.<br />
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As we approached Oregon Inlet, I started to feel nervous. I had read about the dangers of this inlet, and furthermore, I noticed that the markers in the channel and my chart did not match up. I assumed I should follow the markers rather than the chart, but it was an uneasy feeling to see myself heading towards 2 feet of water as marked on my chart. I raised a working dredge boat on channel 13 and asked, and he was very friendly and reassured me to take the markers and follow them in.<br /><br />Aside from some pretty sharp turns and 2-3 feet of water all around the channel, there was a heavy current and over 20 knot winds, and the 3 miles of tight channel I had to navigate really frayed my nerves, something that was noticed by my crew and pointed out to me by my daughters. Well, I get very tense in these situations because the consequences of screwing up are pretty severe, and any way, I'm a worry wart.<br />
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We got through the channel and into Pamlico Sound. Oh man was it getting rough out. The waves were 3-4 feet, the wind had to be over 20 knots, all pounding us from the front. All 3 of my crew got pretty nauseous, and I felt terrible about that, but there really was nowhere to stop. I had decided that rather than hit our original destination of Manteo, where we had picked out a great restaurant that we had been to on our Outer Banks trip last summer, Nags Head Pizza, instead we would continue South to Ocracoke, which would shave a couple of hours out of our day tomorrow and would avoid us having to go the wrong way for an hour today and then backtrack tomorrow.<br />
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As the boat was taking a beating, all our stuff was flying around. I noticed that one of the paddle boards that I had attached to our dinghy was breaking loose. I didn't want to lose the paddle board, and furthermore, if it fell out, the other one would no longer be tied down tightly, and we'd lose it too. Every time we took a big bump, I looked down, and it was further out. I stopped the boat and went to the platform to try to fix the paddle board. However, I hadn't realized how rough the water was, and we took a sharp wave that tilted the boat badly. I was holding on, but still it was scary to be standing on the swim platform in the back of the boat and get tilted like that so I hopped right back into the boat and closed the small door to the swim platform.<br /><br />I was at a loss at this point. So, I had Elana drive the boat at about 6 knots straight into the waves. This way, we stayed in a stable position and didn't rock back and forth. I then climbed into the crew quarter and retrieved my boat hook. I was able to latch onto the coil connected to the paddleboard, and then I tied it to the boat. I knew that would hold for the next hour while we made our way through this junk to Ocracoke.<br />
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The total time in the rough stuff was about two hours, but it seemed a lot longer. I played with different speeds to try to relieve some of my crew's discomfort with little success. Finally I decided that going fast wasn't really worse than going slower, and it would end this more quickly, so I kept us at around 20 knots until we got to safety.<br />
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Navigating Ocracoke was a bit scary. It was very windy, and the current wanted to push me out of the channel. However, Sababa is great and handled beautifully, and we were never in any real danger. My biggest concern was that even in the harbor at Ocracoke, it was blowing over 20 knots, and I had to dock at a fixed pier to buy fuel. We had used up the same amount as on day 1.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The entrance to the harbor at Ocracoke. Was a lot rougher than it looks</td></tr>
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The fuel dock at our marina was about 35 feet long. Sababa is 59 feet 10 inches long. Behind and in front of my boat, there were other boats and piers sticking out. A 20-25 knot wind was pushing me towards the dock, and the entire town seemed to be standing around watching my attempt to safely land my boat there. It was quite hairy, but I used every bit of my driving instruments and thruster to somehow manage a soft landing. Not since SpaceX landed a rocket on a boat have I been that excited about a safe landing. I don't think I would have tried this a couple of years ago.<br />
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Next, we had to get into a fixed pier slip with very short finger piers and the same wind I just mentioned. It was pretty scary, but with my awesome crew who were becoming more adept by the minute, we pulled it off. One of the dockhands joined us on the fuel doc, and we invaluable in getting us situated. All was good in the world. Well, not really. The power didn't work. I had several guys from the marina trying to help. They even worked on the main junction box and hooked me up to 4 different pedestals, but nothing. I was hungry and tired and frustrated, and eventually just gave up.<br />
<br />We went to dinner and had a really awesome meal and a good time, but I left early to go back to the boat and try to fix the electric. After removing an access panel in the crew quarter and crawling into a space that was just slightly smaller than me, I found some breakers, but they were not tripped. I reset them anyway. I then reset every possible breaker on the boat in the engine room and in the main cabin. Somehow this worked. So, now we have power, and we are safe and sound, docked in Ocracoke.<br />
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Tomorrow, we are traveling a route that I did not plan out in advance because I had no idea we would be in Ocracoke instead of Manteo. I just spent some time with my charting software, and we're all good. We'll run in Pamlico again for about 40 minutes. Hoping it's calmer than today, but probably won't be. Then we have a nice peaceful 40 minute canal ride. After that, back out to the ocean for around 4 hours. If it's really rough, we'll turn around and take the ICW for about 6 hours. I guess we'll play it by ear and will be flexible, because that's the boating life.Avi Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727241711132643386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1645136000578449262.post-22321170169951212932019-07-19T22:18:00.000-04:002019-07-19T22:18:09.323-04:00Summer 2019 Boat Trip!!! Day 1Baltimore to Norfolk<br />
162 Nautical Miles<br />
Departure from Baltimore: 5:15 a.m.<br />
Arrived in Norfolk 1:30 p.m.<br />
Weather: Gorgeous day, flat seas, hot<br />
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Our annual family boat trip!!! I've waited an entire year for this, and the last few weeks were busier at work than I've been in a long time, so it's even more exciting than usual to get on the boat and set sail. This year, we've decided to go to Charleston, SC, where we've never been. Ann was not crazy about the two open water legs of the trip where it can get rough, and Benny did not want to miss too many days of his summer internship at APL, so the plan is that I'm heading down on the boat with Elana and Tamara and "uncle" Tony from New Jersey, and Ann and Benny will fly down to meet us in Charleston.<br />
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Yesterday, Elana and I spent most of the day getting the boat ready. We split the bed in the front cabin, turning the queen bed there into two single beds for the girls to use - first time we've done that. We put bedding on all the beds, and loaded up enough food for our trip, stocked up on such essential items as marine toilet paper and bought a new flag, as the old one was in tatters. Tony arrived at 7:30 pm by train from New Jersey, and we picked him up and brought him to the boat.<br />
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Ann brought Tamara down to the marina and hung out with us on the boat until around 10 pm. After she went home, I taught Tony some knots and worked on them with him and the girls so I would have a well trained crew.<br />
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We bid Ann farewell, and got ready for bed - although I knew I would have trouble sleeping in anticipation of our trip this morning.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The night before our departure - an excited captain and crew</td></tr>
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I woke up around 4:20 a.m. and could not sleep any more. I am normally an early riser, but not this early. I was so wired and eager to get moving that I did not stay in bed long and by 5:15, I had gotten us off the dock and on our way. A groggy Tony came upstairs to the fly bridge to join me, and I had him drive while I put away the lines and fenders. Tony went back to bed, and I drove alone in the early morning calm. There really is nothing better as far as I'm concerned than boating at dusk with nobody else out there, just you and the water on a calm gorgeous morning. I was in heaven.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pulling out of the slip just after 5:15 a.m. in Baltimore</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Passing under the Key bridge as the sun rises</td></tr>
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Everything was going smoothly, and when I got to open waters, I decided to start using the radar and encountered my first glitch of the trip. Radar did not work.<br />
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I was frustrated and tried a few different things, but to no avail. Today, I knew I wouldn't need it, but if it ever got foggy on our trip, I would not want to be without radar. After several failed attempts, I had one more idea. I ran down below and rebooted the chart plotter breaker. When it came back up, I turned on the radar and voilà, I had radar! I wish all problems could be solved this easily.<br />
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I was still the only one awake at 6:40 a.m. when I arrived at the Bay bridge. Very few boats out meant I could stay on auto pilot and just enjoy what was turning out to be a glorious day.<br />
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When I'm on a multi-day boat trip, I am fanatical about checking the weather. I use several different apps which utilize different weather data sources, and I check and double check. Today, day 1 of our trip, as I cruised under the Bay bridge and into the more open and deeper portions of the Southern Chesapeake Bay, I checked my radar app one more time, and could not have seen a more perfect image.<br />
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When Elana woke up, she joined me up top, and I had her take over a few times so I could go down to the bathroom or get food. Glad I taught her how to drive this boat! Tamara showed up around 11:00 a.m., just in time for us to see some dolphins!<br />
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As we pulled into Norfolk, the girls taught Tony how to attach the docking lines, and we pulled into Tidewater marina to fill up on fuel.<br />
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Although it was a gorgeous ride on an idyllic day, the one thing that was nagging me all day long was our fuel consumption and whether we could make it to Norfolk in one shot without refueling. After consulting with several other Prestige 560 owners, I was convinced that we could do it. I started with two full tanks, totally 581 gallons of diesel. My calculations were that we would arrive with 111, and amazingly when we were ready to refuel at Tidewater, that was almost exactly our fuel level. After fueling, we drive across the river to Waterside, and tied up on the bulkhead. I prefer floating docks, but with my well-trained crew, we had no trouble adjusting lines and fenders for 3 feet of tide and fixed pilings.<br />
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As we got into Norfolk early, thanks to our 5:15 a.m. departure, we had time to visit the Nautica museum and the US Wisconsin battleship.<br />
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Inside we discovered that there are some height distances among us.<br />
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Especially inside the battleship. One of the few times that I had an advantage for being short. Poor Tony kept hitting his head.<br />
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Oh wait, now I'm taller!<br />
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We were able to raise and the lower the battleship's anchor (not really).<br />
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After a nice dinner in town, and of course, bubble tea, we went back to the boat. There is a band playing right in front of our slip - not the ideal spot. Tony and Tamara went to listen to the music close up, as it's not loud enough already, and Elana and I are on the boat on our computers. I think she's watching Netflix, and I'm writing this blog.<br />
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Tomorrow is our canal day. We'll go through a lock and wait for some bridges to open, and otherwise it should be a relaxing peaceful run through the Intercostal Waterway as we head to the outer banks of North Carolina. Good nigh!<br />
<br />Avi Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727241711132643386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1645136000578449262.post-86329201240103381312019-04-01T01:33:00.000-04:002019-04-01T01:33:08.033-04:00I hacked Jared Kushner's WhatsApp messages!<div class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 13px; text-size-adjust: auto;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">A few weeks ago, I read that Jared Kushner was using WhatsApp for White House business. My first thought was “Lock him up!” My second thought was, “I wonder if I can hack his account.” Since I do not have the power, resources, nor connections to lock him up, I went with the second option.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Upon careful analysis, I discovered that WhatsApp message encryption uses a flawed key generation algorithm that suffers from a probabilistic bias in the keyspace due to the modular reduction often resulting in a key that is less than the order of the group. Knowing this, I launched a RowHammer attack on the server DRAM, flipping target bits, which allowed me to expose the RSA keys after a few million chosen plaintexts. From there it was almost trivial to crack Kushner’s account. I’ll spare you the details, which I’ll be submitting to an academic conference, but the gist of it is that I was able to recover about 65% of his communications. What I discovered is highly troubling. Here are some excerpts. (Apologies that I was not able to recover the full text. I’ll use XXXX to fill in where the text could not be decrypted yet.)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><u>Partially recovered transcript:</u></span><span style="font-family: Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;">Kushner:</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span> Dad, (can I call you Dad?) you cannot sell sponsorships for sections of the wall. It will not look good.</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;">Trump:</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>This will be huge. Think how much money we can get for this XXXXX (incomprehensible) bigger than China’s wall. XXXX (incomprehensible) I mean China barely making money XXX tariffs XXXX their wall. believe me XXXXX huge</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;">Kushner:</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Ok, I’ll look into it, but I highly recommend that you drop your idea of having your name in neon lights on every other section of the wall, especially the side that faces Mexico.</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;">Trump:</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span> XXXXX (incomprehensible) XXXX huge. Any way we can get Mexicans to pray at my wall like your people pray at the Western wall? XXXX (incomprehensible) XXXXX huge XXXXX Trump XXXXX biggest ever XXX they love me.</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;">Kushner:</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Oy vey.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><u>Partially recovered transcript:</u></span><span style="font-family: Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;">Kushner:</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>We’ve got a problem. I think he’s gone off the reservation again.</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;">Putin:</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Focus. You need to get him to focus. I’m not paying you for these distractions.</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;">Kushner:</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>He wants his name on the wall, all over it. And he wants to sell naming rights to sections of it.</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;">Putin:</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span> Jared, you are starting to piss me off. I told you XXXXX (incomprehensible). If I knew I would have to deal with this XXXX (incomprehensible) I would have chosen Hilary.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;">Kushner:</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Listen, I’ll bring him down from this. I talked him out of nuking North Korea, didn’t I?</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;">Putin:</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I’m not so sure that was a good idea. Listen, I need you to XXXXX or else I’ll XXXXX and that will be the end of XXXXXX</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;">Kushner:</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I hear you. I’ll deal with it.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">As I type this, my team of white hat hackers at Harbor Labs is working on deciphering the missing sections. We have about 200 megabytes of communications, and some of it is very revealing. I’m beginning to suspect that our current administration does not have the country’s best interests at heart.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Among the revelations we have uncovered so far are the following:</span><span style="font-family: Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 11pt;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">After helping Putin finance a social media campaign to stir up Brexit fever in the UK, Trump wanted to try to get California to vote to leave the United States, but Jared talked him out of it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 13px; margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; text-size-adjust: auto; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 11pt;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Jared also convinced Trump not to appoint Stormy Daniels to the Supreme Court, but they both agreed to stick with the theme of a party animal for the position.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 11pt;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Ivanka messages Jared about 35 times per day. They love sending each other heart emojis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Hold on, I’m getting a message from Julian Assange ... Oh man, he wants the WhatsApp messages. How did he even find out about my hack? Is he reading my emails as I compose them? I never liked that guy. This is crazy!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Okay, so I have to go figure out what I’m going to do with all of this. Maybe I’ll release all the deciphered messages right before the next election. Nah, I better not. I wouldn’t want to turn it into a circus.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Happy April Fools Day!</span></div>
Avi Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727241711132643386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1645136000578449262.post-56130885555735788212018-11-11T11:55:00.000-05:002018-11-11T11:55:22.965-05:00A review of Mossad 101Ann and I are always looking for new shows to watch on Netflix or Prime as we've mostly watched all the well known ones and are excited when we find something new that we like. For example, we loved both seasons of Fauda. I felt the last season of Breaking Bad might have been the most entertaining TV ever, and we recently binged on the new season of Ozarks.<br />
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So, we learned about a show called Mossad 101 on Netflix a couple of weeks ago. The show, like Fauda, is in Hebrew with subtitles. Here is my review.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwoKeTeXbUEEoIlmzTD7-92qCbiQOkLkHsRDcsclZIxC8OYxg-jfbrpRaxgBKWgGwgtwoktdYpY_r92RaLXgEkygw7eAyD4VINDkCetuE12YwMMTqblbdTXUUBGLc2uEVW8x8KRkYe-uwy/s1600/MV5BNzRkMzM0YjMtYzE4Zi00ZjAzLTllZTMtM2I1NDQwNzMwZmQxXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjMyMzI4MzY%2540._V1_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwoKeTeXbUEEoIlmzTD7-92qCbiQOkLkHsRDcsclZIxC8OYxg-jfbrpRaxgBKWgGwgtwoktdYpY_r92RaLXgEkygw7eAyD4VINDkCetuE12YwMMTqblbdTXUUBGLc2uEVW8x8KRkYe-uwy/s400/MV5BNzRkMzM0YjMtYzE4Zi00ZjAzLTllZTMtM2I1NDQwNzMwZmQxXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjMyMzI4MzY%2540._V1_.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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Season 1 took some time to grow on us. My all time favorite Israeli singer, Yehoram Gaon, who was very popular around the time I was born, and who stars in Israel's version of West Side Story called Kazablan, is in the show, and I was excited to see him. However, I was disappointed to realize that he is a much better singer than actor. He is clearly the weak link in the show.<br />
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If you've ever seen the below average show Quantico, based on a group of FBI trainees, you'll appreciate that Mossad 101 season 1 is very similar. A group of elite Mossad up and comers undergoes a series of exercises and in-field test that challenge them on every level. Those who fail get eliminated. The plot is slightly less hoaky than Quantico's, and the acting is better, but initially, we were not sure that we were watching a winner. In fact, some of the early episodes are slmost painful to watch in their absurdity. That changed towards the end of the season. Some major plot elements came together in a very exciting and surprising way, and the last episode was phenomenal.<br />
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Season two is where Mossad 101 really started blowing us away. The show had a completely different feel to it as though they hired a new team of incredible writers. We watched the last five episodes in one sitting. I don't want to give anything away, but the biggest shock of all was the two star rating on Netflix for a show whose second season was in the league with the last season of Breaking Bad, and just as gripping, interesting and exciting as Fauda. Yehoram Gaon was smartly left out of season 2, and the acting was world class. It was fun to see that one of the major characters in Fauda has a starring role in Mossad 101 season 2.<br /><br />If you can sit through the first half of season one, you will be treated to an amazingly good show that seems to have gone under everyone's radar. I had not heard of it until I saw a list of Netflix shows in Hebrew and thought we would try it out. All I can say is five stars for season 2 - one of the most entertaining and exciting shows I've ever seen.Avi Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727241711132643386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1645136000578449262.post-30458878273471693392018-04-16T12:23:00.000-04:002018-04-16T12:23:41.149-04:00A change of venueI arrived in San Francisco last night for the RSA conference, tired from a long 6 hour flight and having just barely gotten over the flu. After a nice dinner with my cousins who live in the area, getting to bed quickly became the priority, as I was fading fast.<br />
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Last year, I came to this conference at stayed at the W hotel, very convenient, right next to the conference venue, but unreasonably priced. I took a lot of flack from Hopkins for the $700+ per night room. So, this year, I opted for a budget option recommended by JHU's automated online travel site. Yes, it's about a 1.2 mile walk to the conference, but exercise is good, and how bad could it be for $250/night?<br />
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My cousin Shaina drove me from the restaurant to the hotel, and as we pulled up, she exclaimed, "Are you really staying here?" I saw her point. Neighborhood was really seedy, and the facade was uninviting. I shrugged because it was too late now - San Francisco has been sold out for months. RSA is huge!<br />
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Checking in at the front desk, I asked if I could get a quiet room, and was assured I would be on the 6th floor, the highest for this hotel. The elevator was rickety and small, and for someone as claustrophobic as me, not a fun time. The ride was slow and squeaky, but I would be able to lie down soon, and I took consolation in that. As I approached room #603, I couldn't help notice that it was very loud. Someone nearby was watching TV. I might have to ask for another room because it was too early West Coats time to complain, but it was approaching midnight for me, still on Eastern time.<br />
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I put the key in the lock and opened the door. Oh, it was my TV that was on. I guess they make you feel welcome that way. I walked in, pulling my suitcase behind me. With a strange chill up my spine, I noticed a large pair of men's shoes in the middle of the floor. As if in slow motion, I panned the room and saw clothes everywhere. Someone was living here! And then I saw a change in the shadow of the light from the bathroom from under the closed door, and heard a sound. The bathroom was occupied! I grabbed my stuff and bolted out the door. Breathing heavily, I practically fell back into the elevator and made my way down to the lobby, slowly, very slowly, and squeaky.<br />
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When I got down to the front desk, a line had formed, and the single person working there was attending to others. I walked to the front of the line, to the looks of consternation from the other customers, and the hotel clerk asked if everything was okay with my room. I replied that everything seemed fine, except that someone was living there. He gave me a puzzled look and said he would look into that as soon as he finished with the other customers. It took about 10 minutes for him to check them in, and he came back to me and said, sorry about that, here is the key to room #605. I asked if he was sure that nobody was in that room, and he said he was.<br />
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I had to wait for the slow, squeaky elevator to come back down, and then I took it up for my 3rd ride of the evening. I got into the room, and was pleased to see that the room was completely empty. I started unpacking and felt really cold, so I called down to the front desk and asked where the thermostat could be found. He informed me that there is no heat in the rooms except a small radiator that is manually controlled, by the window.<br />
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As I leaned over the bed to check out the radiator, I heard a rustling from behind the bed. What the hell was that?!? I looked to the side of the bed by the window and was stared back at by what looked like a cross between a large rat and a guinea pig. It had a lot of fur and a big tail. It ran back behind the bed, and then came out again as if to check if I was still there.<br />
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I was surprised at how calm I remained. I grabbed my phone and my keys and left everything in its place and jolted out of the room. For someone who was sick from travel and tired and just over the flu, who knew I could move that quickly? As the elevator descended for ride #4, with all my stuff still in the room, I had a sinking feeling that this evening would never end. I had been at the hotel for 45 minutes already, and no closer to getting to sleep than I was when I arrived.<br />
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The guy at the front desk got a real kick out of my report. "Shall I go up and kill it?" he asked? I must have had quite the expression on my face because he quickly reassured me that he was kidding, and that I could have another room. I indicated that I was not going back into the room with "that thing". So, he came up with me, and I stood in the hall while he packed up my stuff and handed it all to me. We went down to the 4th floor, to probably the loudest room in the hotel. Below the window was a crowd of homeless people in an endless battle. They literally were yelling at each other all night. As emergency vehicles pulled up to my window, their sirens blaring, and as large trucks with their backup horns were working through the night, I lay in bed in my vermin-infested hotel wondering if it was really worth getting a budget hotel for RSA this year.Avi Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727241711132643386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1645136000578449262.post-55755831381649489222018-03-01T09:17:00.001-05:002018-03-01T09:17:14.811-05:00FIrmware Upload ContestI'm working on a new security research project. We need to collect firmware files from IoT devices. To crowdsource the collection, I am running a contest through my company with great prizes, including an iPad mini 4, Nintendo Switch, Apple HomePod, Apple Watch, Chromebook, PS4, and more.<br />
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See <a href="https://harborlabs.com/contest">https://harborlabs.com/contest</a> for details.<br />
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Finding and entering proper Firmware is a great project for high schoolers in the STEM field. The prizes are potentially life changing for a 16 year old!<br />
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Please spread the word. The contest runs until April 15.Avi Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727241711132643386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1645136000578449262.post-37706283079630807462017-07-30T19:20:00.000-04:002017-08-12T16:45:53.662-04:00HOME!!!We woke up today as excited to head home as we were to leave Baltimore at the start of the vacation. Cape May is nice, but three days, especially when we planned on one night, was more than enough.<br /><br />As we pulled out of our slip in Cape May at 8:30 a.m., we felt completely physically and mentally exhausted. We drove our boat through the peaceful Cape May Canal at an easy 10 knots, and then we hit the open Bay, just on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. The wind was pounding at around 15 knots, and the waves were 3-4 in my estimation. Nothing too scary, but also not exactly comfortable. Even up on the flybridge, we got splashed quite a bit, and so Ann decided to take cover inside and left me alone up top. I could have driven form inside, but this was my last day on the boat for a while, and I just love being up there, so I remained cold and wet and happy.<br /><br />As we moved further North, the wind died down, and the waves came down to 1-2 feet, which was hardly noticeable. We reached the tranquil C&D Canal in 2 hours, and Ann rejoined me on the bridge. After we arrived at the no wake zone in the canal, we made lunch as we putt putted at an easy 6 knots. Then, we opened her up, caught a nice current, and did 25-26 knots into the Chesapeake.<br /><br />We were so eager to get home, that I skipped the shipping channel (longer route, but no pots), and decided to cut across the Bay and deal with the crab pots. Dodging them from the flybridge is pretty easy, and we shaved 15 minutes off our trip.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEVVFnhyphenhyphenljbEw5-49B9ryslo67jnx5Dw2yFX3_wU5d96I2CZGWZz4lwRX7LZUE2SZ7u-3GFKv-gMjcv03CrtgcUt6lGr7l6b3FHj6WT0wG6BVBGyoR_EXswqx9v702ieyN0BNYIzNC7jq9/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-07-30+at+6.57.47+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEVVFnhyphenhyphenljbEw5-49B9ryslo67jnx5Dw2yFX3_wU5d96I2CZGWZz4lwRX7LZUE2SZ7u-3GFKv-gMjcv03CrtgcUt6lGr7l6b3FHj6WT0wG6BVBGyoR_EXswqx9v702ieyN0BNYIzNC7jq9/s640/Screen+Shot+2017-07-30+at+6.57.47+PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The last leg, from Cape May to Baltimore - finally!</td></tr></tbody></table>Just before 2:30 pm, we arrived in Harbor East Marina. We decided not to call for dock help, and I easily backed into our slip, while Ann and Benny adeptly tied us up. We are pros now! Before this trip, I hesitated to go stern in, and had only docked bow in, and even then I was nervous. After this 3 week trip, traveling most days and docking in all kinds of situations, our home slip seems like a piece of cake. Nothing better than first hand experience to build confidence. I'm ready for my 75' boat now! (just kidding, Ann!!)<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAAci5EZNnKGXWivSh1lloH8pCpbY9jzzIrPrQ3-03ASTle9QPwVRauYHptj7aDgPM3WZHb1bNup3f8n4E73HZrgpCT6urAwbLOAh7cpmHp4Fpa8tcqscpiUaQoxnVuLiq-EVcqINv_We/s1600/IMG_2823.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAAci5EZNnKGXWivSh1lloH8pCpbY9jzzIrPrQ3-03ASTle9QPwVRauYHptj7aDgPM3WZHb1bNup3f8n4E73HZrgpCT6urAwbLOAh7cpmHp4Fpa8tcqscpiUaQoxnVuLiq-EVcqINv_We/s640/IMG_2823.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Home sweet home - our permanent slip at Harbor East Marina</td></tr></tbody></table>We spent the next couple of hours packing up our things, washing down the boat, putting on all the covers, and closing down everything. Unfortunately for Ann, during her car's three week stay in the Legg Mason Garage, somebody swiped the rear and side and left a nasty scrape without putting a note. While she was dealing with that, I ran into my friend Eric Yospa with his daughter. He had just texted me to ask if we were back from our trip, and here we were, packing up the car in front of the Four Seasons hotel. Nice to be back in Smalltimore, where you always run into someone you know!<br /><br />I thought it might be interesting to reflect on our trip and some lessons learned about cruising. These are in no particular order. I will revisit these before our next big trip.<br /><br /><ol><li><b>Always have a backup plan, and a backup for that backup plan.</b> In boating, it is impossible to predict the challenges that will come up. One day your anchor will get stuck. Another day, the generator will stop working, or one of the engines won't start. The most common delays will be due to weather. It is a good idea to study the marinas along the routes you will take and to know where you will seek shelter if weather hits. It's a lot easier to deal with an emergency situation if you already have a backup plan than to try to figure out what to do in the heat of the moment. As our trip progressed, we got better and better at writing down our backup plans, and even calling ahead to ask marinas if they could take our boat, and if they were willing to hold a spot for us in case we needed it. Many marinas were surprisingly cooperative and understanding as well as accommodating.</li><li><b>Keep at least 2 days worth of food and water on the boat at all times.</b> You cannot possibly predict when you will be stranded somewhere. If you have to take cover from weather, you may very well end up at anchor somewhere, and you do not want to run out of food or water. We were good on food, but we had a close call with water. Keep those tanks full and bring bottled water. A super idea Ann had was the 2 gallon cooler that we filled with fresh water from the hose each time we pulled into a new marina. Also, we got sick of eating out all the time, so we were glad we had purchased some cookware specifically for the boat and always had food that we could make. Don't let yourself run out of food. Whenever you are near a store with provisions, restock everything. Be proactive.</li><li>I<b>f you can pump out the waste, do so.</b> Don't delay just because you think you will be fine. It is not the most pleasant task, but you get used to it. This follows the same logic as food and water. If you get stuck somewhere, you do not want your waste tanks to be full. At a couple of points on our trip, we started rationing our flushes, and that's probably enough detail for my readers.</li><li><b>Plan activities ahead of time.</b> Traveling can be exhausting, and the last thing you will feel like doing after you arrive in a new port and get settled in, fuel up, pump out, fill water and wash the boat down, will be to then figure out what there is to do here. Ann was great about researching all of the interesting activities ahead of time. She even booked us some tours and had reservations in restaurants. This definitely enhanced the amount of fun we had and gave us something to look forward to on some of the longer and harder travel days. Of course, we were prepared to ditch our plans if the weather had other ideas, but it's great to have a default.</li><li><b>Bring stuff to do on the boat.</b> There is a lot of down time. Most days we only traveled 3-4 hours on the water. After cleaning the boat and other details, that left over 16 waking hours. Some places were very busy because we had water sports such as the dinghy or the paddle boards, and on shore activities. But, other times, especially when we were stranded, we had to keep ourselves busy. Even though it's a really big boat, it can feel cramped when 4 people are confined to the boat all day. We had Benny's video games, Netflix in most marinas, books, and my work from Hopkins and Harbor Labs, so we were able to keep busy. Make sure to bring laptops, iPads, etc. It's tempting to say that this is a nature vacation, and that you should enjoy the outdoors, but trust me, you will have plenty of time to enjoy the outdoors, and sometimes you will need to keep yourself from going crazy.</li><li><b>Stay calm in crisis.</b> That is easier said than done, but it's important to try to remember that. We had several situations on this trip that were quite serious. Whether it was deciding to leave NYC early because of weather (good decision), or to leave Boston in questionable weather (bad decision), we had lots of important decisions to make. Ann and I are a great team, and we were able to make these decisions together amicably and take the consequences together. It's important that all parties in a big decision that involves safety and whether the goals of the trip are met have ownership of the decision. No important decisions should be unilateral. Utilize whatever skills each one brings to the table. At one point, we were in the midst of a storm, in an unknown cove, having just broken off our mooring, and we had to figure out whether to dock at the private yacht club and how to deal with the remainder of the storm. I think the best thing that we did that night was remain calm. Ann and I were in crisis mode, but we did not yell or freak out or lose our composure. We considered our options deliberately, and then mutually agreed on what to do. Then we executed to the best of our ability. If you can stay calm, you can accomplish much more than if you let the situation get the best of you.</li><li><b>Don't forget that the whole point is to have a good time.</b> A boat trip is much more taxing than I realized. We are physically bruised all over. My back gave out early in the trip, and now I have an issue with my leg and can barely sit down. It is exhausting and physically draining. The good news is that being so active feels good at the end of the day. I found it important to remind myself that I was living the dream, and even if one or two days were not fun or enjoyable, the opportunity take a trip like this makes me the luckiest guy in the world. I pushed myself to take the dinghy out even when I did not feel like unstrapping it and performing the 10 or so steps required to get it up and running, not to mention putting it away which is even more work. Don't shy away from the work on a trip like this. Getting the paddleboard down from the flybridge and then putting it back up seems like a huge chore and a pain, but I resolved to always use it whenever we wanted to, and the memories will be of paddleboarding on peaceful rivers and beautiful open waters and not of putting the board away and tying it up afterwards.</li></ol><div>Anyway, many of my friends and family sent me fantastic feedback about the blog. It was a huge part of the trip for me and occupied most of my evenings. I'm sure it will be a living memory of the trip for years to come, and for those of you who actually read what I wrote, thanks for taking the time, and I hope you found it interesting.</div><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 72pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">THE END</span></div>Avi Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727241711132643386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1645136000578449262.post-73189809428052010502017-07-29T16:47:00.000-04:002017-08-12T16:45:53.710-04:00Day 21: Still in Cape May...Our trip was supposed to end in Baltimore yesterday, but we are getting ready for our third night on the boat in Cape May. Amazing how the weather for the first two weeks of our trip was just about perfect, and we only had to make one minor adjustment, leaving NYC a day early and spending that extra day in Mystic - a tradeoff where we came out ahead. Similarly, the past week was a weather fiasco.<br /><br />On Thursday, as we were nearing Cape May, we seriously considered continuing on to Baltimore, but the waves got pretty nasty, and the skies darkened, and we realized that was a foolish idea. I forgot to mention in my last blog entry that as we neared the area just North of Atlantic City, we saw a huge whale. Right by the boat. Amazing - truly breathtaking. We also saw lots of dolphins.<br /><br />Yesterday morning, we came within about 30 seconds of casting off. The generator was running, we were off shore power, and I had the engines going. I asked Ann to come release the dock lines, and wondered if we should wake up Benny, when Ann expressed that she would not be happy if we hit unpleasant waves, and asked me how sure I was that it would be smooth sailing. There was a reasonable risk of bad weather, although I felt we could handle it in our boat. But that did it. I do not want to risk upsetting my crew, especially since I hope to convince them to take boat trips with me again in the future.<br /><br />So, we stayed in Cape May, where it rained pretty hard all day. Before the rain started, Benny and I hit the pool where we swam and tossed the football around for about an hour, while Ann did laundry in the marina. We have a washer/dryer on the boat, but Ann decided that our machine is okay for towels and linen, but not her choice for clothing.<br /><br />Later, we cooked dinner on board - Ann made falafel with fresh baked pitas that we had purchased uncooked at a vegan place in Boston, and which were frozen until now. Pretty, pretty tasty. Then, we got a ride from the marina staff to a movie theatre where we saw Spiderman. We all 3 loved it. Uber back home, and it was time for bed. The wind and the rain were intense, and I got up during the night to check on everything. The lines were holding, and the fenders doing their jobs. Love being in a marina in a storm as opposed to at anchor!<br /><br />We woke up this morning again thinking about going home, but a quick look at the weather forecast, and a discussion with the marina manager on duty changed our mind. He said there were "monsters" out there, referring to the waves, and even the 60-75 foot fishing boats next to us stayed home. Waves offshore were purportedly as high as 12 feet, and although the Delaware Bay was surely not as rough, we did not even consider messing around.<br /><br />Keeping ourselves busy today was a little harder than yesterday. It was too cold and rainy for the pool (which did not open today), and I think we had had just about enough of being in this boat in one spot for 3 days, not to mention living on it for 3 weeks. I spent most of the day working on one of my consulting projects, while Benny played video games, watched shows in his iPad and read his book. Ann mostly read her book. We started preparing some things for our return - packing up and putting things away. Benny and I deflated the paddleboards and stowed them in the crew quarters durning a break in the rain. At times the winds were unbelievably strong, and I had to move one of our fenders to protect our stern.<br /><br />As I write this, our plan is to take our raincoats and umbrellas into town, walk around a bit, and then hit this restaurant for dinner that Ann found, which of course has great vegan and vegetarian options. Fortunately, looks like they have some regular food as well. After this trip, I feel I am owed a major steak dinner, and I will definitely arrange something with some friends. Big, thick, juicy steak, dry-aged to perfection. That's what I need.<br /><br />The forecast for tomorrow could not look better. Good thing, because we really do need to get back home. I love my boat, and I love boat trips, but even good things must come to an end.Avi Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727241711132643386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1645136000578449262.post-73851739920634991542017-07-27T20:53:00.000-04:002017-08-12T16:45:53.733-04:00Day 19: Brooklyn to Cape MayThe night in Brooklyn was rough on Ann. The water was choppy, and Sababa was rocking back and forth, at times almost jumping out of the water. Our marina was on the East River, close to where it meets the Hudson, and the large commercial boat traffic had no speed restrictions. Some of those ferries literally fly. (Okay, that's actually the use of "literally" that I hate because they did not actually fly in the air, but they went very fast, over 30 knots.)<br /><br />The rocking and bouncing do not bother me, and in fact, I find them soothing, but they made Ann's nausea from the day before even worse. She did not sleep all night, and in the morning felt like she needed to be on land. We walked to a Rite Aid pharmacy that was 0.8 miles from our marina, and we picked up some dramamine and ginger ale. She took the medication, and we waited about 40 minutes before she came back on the boat, so that the anti-nausea would kick in. In fact, it worked really well, and she felt a lot better.<br /><br />Note to self: don't ever go on a boat trip without dramamine or bonine on the boat. The drugs are not useful if you take them once you're under way, but if you know that the day will be choppy, they can be taken on land, and then apparently, they are quite effective.<br /><br />Pulling the lines off in that marina was very tricky, so we woke up Benny so he could help. The boat was bouncing all around, and I regretted not calling the office for a dockhand or two to help us. I ended up hitting the dock ever so slightly in the back, enough to make me very unhappy.<br /><br />The trip to Cape May was slated to be our longest run of the entire vacation, but it was surpassed by yesterday's long run from Falmouth to Brooklyn. Still, it was a good 6 hours. As we pulled out of the marina, I took one last glance at the Brooklyn marina, where I vowed never to stay again. We'll find something more sheltered next time.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlph4w0hhKdU_actTDyFpKR6kDYU18oDrureLkbKQbDTeN-K1X7aNFi7RYTaoYH-fBWZBWzy_ZoD9-zcbyqmacOtG0LnAwJBjZCfeC0zyuefjIPponodCAKO3tdgj8Up3_DxG3B9ibTV6g/s1600/IMG_2754.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlph4w0hhKdU_actTDyFpKR6kDYU18oDrureLkbKQbDTeN-K1X7aNFi7RYTaoYH-fBWZBWzy_ZoD9-zcbyqmacOtG0LnAwJBjZCfeC0zyuefjIPponodCAKO3tdgj8Up3_DxG3B9ibTV6g/s640/IMG_2754.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brooklyn Marina looks peaceful enough, but it is not</td></tr></tbody></table>While we did not like the marina one bit, the views could not be beat. As I pulled out and headed to the left of Governor's Island, I took a quick shot of the Statue of Liberty, and then turned and photographed the Manhattan skyline again.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ30sYhceBNV9HyEHtIiT_yojFoDyVIVaz0sPuJ8qe88lUVmt5jb3-V17j_30zjz1PwcSVoBX5mJTUem37rplrrbuLt1PzYQcdztuyYP9J_Q16kFZaiSY2O7pqoLV9TiJe-BiDJ1hK4O4d/s1600/IMG_2756.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ30sYhceBNV9HyEHtIiT_yojFoDyVIVaz0sPuJ8qe88lUVmt5jb3-V17j_30zjz1PwcSVoBX5mJTUem37rplrrbuLt1PzYQcdztuyYP9J_Q16kFZaiSY2O7pqoLV9TiJe-BiDJ1hK4O4d/s640/IMG_2756.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view of lady liberty as we were leaving our marina</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeVcV_FoY3njGMLQ-GcQJsiud1XWGuRbIYAlS2jcKNKZrcgiHDIBlOLLVGObo_vFlflKXjVzJ7y7eBRP35c6glqWyYJ6SOAawH9CTDjubq98TVPFO_uf37-2iaNX0KPLUPSzNEq3dYLQXQ/s1600/IMG_2767.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeVcV_FoY3njGMLQ-GcQJsiud1XWGuRbIYAlS2jcKNKZrcgiHDIBlOLLVGObo_vFlflKXjVzJ7y7eBRP35c6glqWyYJ6SOAawH9CTDjubq98TVPFO_uf37-2iaNX0KPLUPSzNEq3dYLQXQ/s640/IMG_2767.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our view of Manhattan before heading South for home</td></tr></tbody></table>Today's run was one of our easiest. A straight shot along the coast with my waypoints set about 60 miles apart. I turned on the radar, set tracking to the waypoints, and I had very little to do. The seas were relatively calm, but towards the end of our trip, they grew to the point of discomfort, probably around 4-5 feet for the last 10 miles. We got out just in time. To our amazement we saw all kinds of small fishing and other recreational boats heading out the inlet as we came in. I don't see how those guys could survive in those waves. Good for them. (or not)<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE2V-v1dRrieKII-iEGw0OfJ5kOSWVg4Vd-jMl8-ckcIfKRovP0Uk5QZ2CIPzly-VBDT0kHfc4OIMS-51BjwKyx-okJwD46RIDoV6JY6t7Fp6HfDVJ5SivSM4Mby3KlT6lV8pl-faegExQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-07-27+at+8.22.04+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE2V-v1dRrieKII-iEGw0OfJ5kOSWVg4Vd-jMl8-ckcIfKRovP0Uk5QZ2CIPzly-VBDT0kHfc4OIMS-51BjwKyx-okJwD46RIDoV6JY6t7Fp6HfDVJ5SivSM4Mby3KlT6lV8pl-faegExQ/s640/Screen+Shot+2017-07-27+at+8.22.04+PM.png" width="280" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Very easy navigation day</td></tr></tbody></table>Since I did not have to focus on navigating, I spent the day looking at the weather forecast for the next two days. Our itinerary called for leaving Cape May for Baltimore tomorrow. However, the forecast at Cape May, halfway in between at Chesapeake City, MD, and in Baltimore all looked horrible. In fact, thunderstorms were listed as possibly severe, and there was a gale force wind watch in Cape May with waves potentially 6-10 feet scheduled for tomorrow. It did not look possible to get to Baltimore on time. I called the marina that I had reserved in Cape May and asked if we would be able to stay a day or two extra to ride out the storm, and they agreed.<br /><br />Then, we had the idea of pressing all the way to Baltimore today. We did not have nearly enough fuel, so the plan we considered was stopping at the marina in Cape May, taking one last look at the weather, fueling up, and heading home - an 11 hour boating day. Crazy. But we would be home.<br /><br />At one point, we decided that this was the plan. However, I kept tracking the forecast, and the best we could do would be a 40% chance of getting caught in a thunderstorm. Benny really wanted to go for it, despite being the one who gets the most seasick. I think Ann could have been persuaded either way. I suggested to her that there was a 60% chance we would get home okay, and a 40% chance that we would have to improvise and find cover, which might involve dropping the anchor in some cove somewhere. Given the forecast for the next 2 days, that could include being on the hook for 2 days with no access to water, food, pump out or any amenities. That did the trick, and we decided to stay in Cape May for the evening.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlYHkiboMcdVqcOkUXPIzQTlrDxYcnIjP1OzCIo6_s1RJGXbsbz1y8AfttVBnyG9iaNjTw-J-izLE9scGgOxWVC7bZwy1auVgNNe3TPkNCSC_soVEZR_PrpDvIIDbatN3EOaywG1cj5_QS/s1600/IMG_2813.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlYHkiboMcdVqcOkUXPIzQTlrDxYcnIjP1OzCIo6_s1RJGXbsbz1y8AfttVBnyG9iaNjTw-J-izLE9scGgOxWVC7bZwy1auVgNNe3TPkNCSC_soVEZR_PrpDvIIDbatN3EOaywG1cj5_QS/s640/IMG_2813.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tied up in Cape May, might have to bunker down for 3 nights here</td></tr></tbody></table>We have been looking at the weather forecast every 10 minutes. Would absolutely love to go home tomorrow, but I cannot see that happening. The forecast would have to change drastically, and that rarely happens in your favor. Unfortunately, Saturday doesn't look great either. I'd say Saturday is 50-50. Sunday looks good. I have to be at work on Monday, so having to stay here beyond Sunday would be a bit of a disaster, and we'd probably go out of our minds stuck here on the boat in Cape May in storms for 3 days.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsOJ2eyMQ3ouTuhhJTs8UZdVhjXeJRp8j9icm1bz0pFJhFxVWUk12uvXqIbgUn_BXQnVCQR89ChAThf-YQCfU5fURUYmumvG7C7a4qAvPg6VUp8hRrQGZSqypufg-e4ys0h6ZC4sKedIVx/s1600/IMG_2815.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsOJ2eyMQ3ouTuhhJTs8UZdVhjXeJRp8j9icm1bz0pFJhFxVWUk12uvXqIbgUn_BXQnVCQR89ChAThf-YQCfU5fURUYmumvG7C7a4qAvPg6VUp8hRrQGZSqypufg-e4ys0h6ZC4sKedIVx/s640/IMG_2815.PNG" width="360" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The radar picture looks scary - storm is coming</td></tr></tbody></table>I have several apps that we are using to track the weather. We tap into the NOAA database directly to see alerts. Weather Underground is an extremely useful and information-rich app, and it's our primary one. I also use Dark Sky, which has surprisingly accurate short term information about rain wherever you are, and MyRadar, pictured above, which gives real time radar images. You can see we are the blue dot, and the storm is moving from West to East, so in the next 12 hours, I expect we'll see some action, not the good kind.<div><br /></div><div>Anyway, vacation is just about over, and I'm going to spend whatever time we are stuck here getting caught up on work. Ann has a book, and Benny has his video games. There are also movie theatres here, and perhaps some indoor shopping areas, so we'll survive the waiting period, and the only thing I don't know is if we'll be able to go Saturday or not. We are okay with rain, but we want to avoid heavy seas and lightning. </div><div><br /></div><div>So we wait.</div>Avi Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727241711132643386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1645136000578449262.post-38569415701870557202017-07-26T22:36:00.000-04:002017-08-12T16:45:53.759-04:00Day 18: Back on track - making up lost timeWe woke up this morning at 7:30 and made up some of the sleep we lost the night before. It felt great to be in a nice marina with full water tanks and calm sea waters. I went to the service office, and they immediately sent out a very friendly mechanic to look at our generator issue. He found seaweed and grass in the water hose that led to the pump, as well as similar debris in the pump itself. After about 20 minutes, he was able to clear everything, and we once again had a working generator!<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic1lBlMOLpIWzmuboChzgB6ZTUdKQjC2fOx7e-_I3ejOZ-jjGsGi8tTydfde8sj50nVWgTUTTZqs5V4nzasJU5mZjHNRNOjCU3-Q7elkQk2AnGwEkYT4d8_eDxJdvpOCA5rzOXHzxxEslT/s1600/IMG_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic1lBlMOLpIWzmuboChzgB6ZTUdKQjC2fOx7e-_I3ejOZ-jjGsGi8tTydfde8sj50nVWgTUTTZqs5V4nzasJU5mZjHNRNOjCU3-Q7elkQk2AnGwEkYT4d8_eDxJdvpOCA5rzOXHzxxEslT/s640/IMG_1920.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Once again, leaving Falmouth in our rear view mirror</td></tr></tbody></table>With our boat in full working order, we set out for Milford, where we were scheduled to arrive yesterday. The trip to Milford would be about 5 hours at 23 knots. We had great clear seas, and I sat on the flybridge thinking that life is good. I reflected on the surprise we had when we arrived in Falmouth yesterday docking the boat.<br /><br />As I was backing into the slip, the dockhand told me to be careful because my swim ladder was sticking out. Ann and I both exclaimed at the same time "We have a swim ladder?" That was news to us. In fact, when we were out in Baltimore before the trip, I looked for a swim ladder, and concluded that since the swim platform goes up and down, there must not be a ladder. But, there it was, on the port side, sticking all the way out. It must have come out in the storm we were in, and the poor thing was hanging out in the water with 23 knots of pressure against it the whole way to Falmouth. It is surprising that it was still mostly in tact. However, it was bent out of shape, and we were unable to get it stowed. Not sure of what to do, I got it in as far as I could, and then I secured it with bungie cords and a fender line. Doesn't look great, but it will hold until we get home and get it fixed.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsslXfz8aJrtcMZbBN49MAwTQRH4kBuLfmJo5CG6ZT0dvuiKckrZTfJj927xjmZiuLBw0wpg7d5eHON9AP7k3l7UT9jLzBZ_jSYS1Ii29TFFfqD7_KGh4hlJE_nPsfufTyquM6C7I6la6f/s1600/IMG_1928.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsslXfz8aJrtcMZbBN49MAwTQRH4kBuLfmJo5CG6ZT0dvuiKckrZTfJj927xjmZiuLBw0wpg7d5eHON9AP7k3l7UT9jLzBZ_jSYS1Ii29TFFfqD7_KGh4hlJE_nPsfufTyquM6C7I6la6f/s640/IMG_1928.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turns out, we do have a swim ladder! Who knew?</td></tr></tbody></table>Since there were no boats around and no waves on our trip to Milford, I decided to use my time to look at the weather for the next few days. It appeared that today and tomorrow would be calm, but there would be thunderstorms along our entire path on Friday. I dreaded the thought of getting caught in more weather, and I also did not want to get home any later than we already were. I looked at our itinerary and realized that tomorrow's trip to Brooklyn was only about 3 hours. So, I asked Ann how she felt about skipping Milford and heading straight to Brooklyn today for an 8 hour ride, longer than we ever planned on traveling in one day.<br /><br />Ann was a bit under the weather today, and I think a bit nauseous from being on the boat so long. But, she agreed that this was a good plan. So, I canceled the slip in Milford, which we were able to do without having to pay, and I contacted the Brooklyn marina to ask them to ignore my request for a one day delay, and that we were coming today. It really was a long ride, but it was a pretty one. We saw great lighthouses on the way, and nice scenery and bridges.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt4G3Yxpusl2O3mPrWco0ukt6jNDu53Vrj5bpulOolUkD_R6IDZjMuAQBSrvwftIdu5Igr4jS2ZVQURdWsrRObm2NubfNwvvok3WhGrsNmGrY1qV7GQVXQD_8LNaR3n6CQWKxh_SJHS8SV/s1600/IMG_1921.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt4G3Yxpusl2O3mPrWco0ukt6jNDu53Vrj5bpulOolUkD_R6IDZjMuAQBSrvwftIdu5Igr4jS2ZVQURdWsrRObm2NubfNwvvok3WhGrsNmGrY1qV7GQVXQD_8LNaR3n6CQWKxh_SJHS8SV/s640/IMG_1921.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lighthouse on Long Island Sound</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUZjb4gKWwcfn2h6ASCqvVK6GGJhAs8YmeeJNTViAHsEQ_ujkPXzFu88CUkGOZNVuB8-sygdwjrb5bK5Vo6NaCYeDT4eXznxjT6dFHHKpZ8Oe8rzv4hEDn-UYwGpnwWuMw58biGUNP7sCu/s1600/IMG_1924.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUZjb4gKWwcfn2h6ASCqvVK6GGJhAs8YmeeJNTViAHsEQ_ujkPXzFu88CUkGOZNVuB8-sygdwjrb5bK5Vo6NaCYeDT4eXznxjT6dFHHKpZ8Oe8rzv4hEDn-UYwGpnwWuMw58biGUNP7sCu/s640/IMG_1924.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another pretty lighthouse closer to Brooklyn</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1jy2UPP5tBg8QFC1TEjp8sfKrakwZ7t7T8uK06Y8HcXhlwqsJMILgqtO8CWpStMmiRw0Kc4MucC4V81Jrla1TwWj9ptF1P-2bGqeQ4FxSZ9QRbZMgvIkfZY1ZvQqI-7TzoQ85A-pbxytF/s1600/IMG_1925.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1jy2UPP5tBg8QFC1TEjp8sfKrakwZ7t7T8uK06Y8HcXhlwqsJMILgqtO8CWpStMmiRw0Kc4MucC4V81Jrla1TwWj9ptF1P-2bGqeQ4FxSZ9QRbZMgvIkfZY1ZvQqI-7TzoQ85A-pbxytF/s640/IMG_1925.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption">Getting closer to New York</td></tr></tbody></table>I called the marina in Brooklyn to see if they had fuel because this long travel day used up almost our entire supply, despite having filled up last night in Falmouth. It turns out that they do not. It took me a while calling around to find a place where we could fuel up. There was no option not to because tomorrow is our run to Cape May - another long trip, and it's on open ocean, so we need to be full for that. Finally, I found a great place in Port Washington in Manhasset Bay. It was an absolutely stunningly beautiful cove, just outside NYC. Once we entered, we got a view of the houses, really mansions, right on the water. The dockhand told us that Chris Rock and Adam Sandler were currently renting houses there, and that he had seen them in town. Nice to see how the other .000001% live.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFoa5ZnUwv4d5hZH79biHsYuKGNC1MpJyeL5HsIEotEHvhyEruPtDjO8hm6xcVrvGhpYr_oShwXhFTXo10K6TvV6MwIry0JPtIaRYM8-IQo6WH8HldL-NJ9EJn0fi6kEH3VjxeUAA-HK2K/s1600/IMG_1923.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFoa5ZnUwv4d5hZH79biHsYuKGNC1MpJyeL5HsIEotEHvhyEruPtDjO8hm6xcVrvGhpYr_oShwXhFTXo10K6TvV6MwIry0JPtIaRYM8-IQo6WH8HldL-NJ9EJn0fi6kEH3VjxeUAA-HK2K/s640/IMG_1923.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nice little shack on the water</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0YnNa18RJMjZ86RTRPsHff5EKPSWBP6WsdfXx6CNJkFhxmFRDIKz53nyKWI9zIf5pkd1evypSrrJOF3iCu5ICLGNmtqPiyBBrq8Y7QY7fYRdJ3vCsrMyfB3FDeF9-hNc7KBAFFqAISNJm/s1600/IMG_1922.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0YnNa18RJMjZ86RTRPsHff5EKPSWBP6WsdfXx6CNJkFhxmFRDIKz53nyKWI9zIf5pkd1evypSrrJOF3iCu5ICLGNmtqPiyBBrq8Y7QY7fYRdJ3vCsrMyfB3FDeF9-hNc7KBAFFqAISNJm/s640/IMG_1922.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This one had a boat as big as Sababa docked in their private pier</td></tr></tbody></table>Maybe next time, I should buy diesel fuel in a more run down area. The bill was almost $1,200. My most expensive fill up ever. Ann and Benny were no longer the only ones who felt like puking.<br /><br />We arrived in Brooklyn around 6:00 pm, and amazingly, that put us right back on the original schedule. Ann wasn't feeling great, and Benny was pretty worn out, and I was completely pooped, so we skipped washing down the boat. After all, we're just going out on the ocean again tomorrow. Really needed a break. I took a shower while Benny scoped out the soccer fields next door and Ann checked us into the marina.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxROMgLZE2GtYwBhd3eY_EKvlRRyd9KvZi7Nt-wkhzgCGcqYNxyiwRBc02pf0-s1oFsSRESeC6zFCVvWYO-Sp8y-1a1K3b1cbAhyIn2c52vTXkOptmtluNThMFeUa8tsK_t_Go-l09KEOD/s1600/IMG_1927.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxROMgLZE2GtYwBhd3eY_EKvlRRyd9KvZi7Nt-wkhzgCGcqYNxyiwRBc02pf0-s1oFsSRESeC6zFCVvWYO-Sp8y-1a1K3b1cbAhyIn2c52vTXkOptmtluNThMFeUa8tsK_t_Go-l09KEOD/s640/IMG_1927.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tied up in Brooklyn</td></tr></tbody></table>This place is really wavy and busy, but I have to say, it's not every day you have a view of the statue of liberty from your boat to the left and NYC up close to the right. What a location!<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPODNX8Lo-kwBsmdGRjBY3CQzz14RJsxaNhybJBI_cU3URsVFd6qq2TgdEtTQ1ntNp9dER4azfVTT-CttBii2GzHQZp8uXXRz_QoPpCArF7bDYWDPZXIn3nKjGbSO6tAr_gtbojK7yMeyL/s1600/IMG_1926.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPODNX8Lo-kwBsmdGRjBY3CQzz14RJsxaNhybJBI_cU3URsVFd6qq2TgdEtTQ1ntNp9dER4azfVTT-CttBii2GzHQZp8uXXRz_QoPpCArF7bDYWDPZXIn3nKjGbSO6tAr_gtbojK7yMeyL/s640/IMG_1926.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the flybridge in our slip</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzDNepAg5qFpgewh9Aa9wHDWPo6ek3fF2xwUmCRu7sIu9XKBb9nPzNWZyw3sJ9iKMkORAZl_xzKLpNQCpHV34bpw97RaNhqub7yNCDaQCDfYNVVQJltrRPy3DI1Mrv4Ytq_-5yaQkKFaDR/s1600/IMG_1930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzDNepAg5qFpgewh9Aa9wHDWPo6ek3fF2xwUmCRu7sIu9XKBb9nPzNWZyw3sJ9iKMkORAZl_xzKLpNQCpHV34bpw97RaNhqub7yNCDaQCDfYNVVQJltrRPy3DI1Mrv4Ytq_-5yaQkKFaDR/s640/IMG_1930.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the cockpit, a 90 degree clockwise turn from the picture above</td></tr></tbody></table>After cleaning ourselves up and tidying the boat, we headed out for a nice dinner in Brooklyn, aided by Yelp. It was not Peter Lugars, but it was pretty good. Ironically, if I had not told Cousin Kenny that we were running behind schedule, tonight would have worked out great at my favorite restaurant in the States, but once I told him I couldn't come, he canceled the reservation and made plans with his brother who was in town from Hong Kong, and so it was impossible to get the reservation and the plans back on track. I'll have something to look forward to next time.<br /><br />The weather forecast for tomorrow is great. Seas should be 1-2 feet, which is basically flat, and the temp around 80. Ideal weather. I was able to book a slip in the same marina in Cape May where we stayed almost 3 weeks ago on the first night of our trip. We may have some challenges on Friday, as the forecast is not nearly as good, but there may be a travel window for us. We'll deal with that tomorrow night. For now, we're happy to be on schedule and ready to be home again soon.Avi Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727241711132643386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1645136000578449262.post-50682094030292153112017-07-25T22:10:00.000-04:002017-08-12T16:45:53.785-04:00Day 17: part 2We were not bored at all stuck on our mooring ball in Cohasset Cove, MA. In fact, we were super busy calling around to all the marinas between there and Newport, RI to see who could take us, assuming the seas were favorable enough for us to travel. The predicament was that some marinas said they had space, but only if we would commit and pay for the slip. Slips range from around $250 to $400 a night for a boat like ours, and we did not know where we would be able to get to, so we did not want to shell out the money, and thus, we could not guarantee anything.<br /><br />We were able to find a slip in Sandwich, MA, right at the entrance to the Cape Cod canal, but when we called back a couple of hours later, they said that someone snagged the slip from under us, since we did not pay. Given our lack of water and Ann's general feeling that she wanted to get off the boat, we decided to at least make a run for Scituate around 3pm. If the seas were really scary, we would just turn around and anchor again in Cohasset. If it was uncomfortable but not scary, we would make it to Scituate where we had a slip on hold. That would be an unpleasant hour to go 6 miles, but worth it to be on a dock with water and security. And, if the waves were not too bad, we would go as far as we could.<br /><br />The problem was that by 2:30, I was not able to find a single place past the Canal that had any availability for tonight. I must have made a dozen calls to all the different marinas. Then it occurred to me to try the Kingsman Yacht club in Falmouth where we stayed on our way up. They remembered us, and they told me it is against their policy, but they could hold a slip for us, and if we could make it there, it was ours, and if not, we would not have to pay.<br /><br />As we left Cohasset Cove behind us, Ann commented that she wanted to forget that place as quickly as possible. Pulling off the mooring ball and raising our anchor, I had to agree.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuNoFGX964VA9XplCm5WdXSzoVh-xXfpSElnUrEQwnDTahxXyQgXhJYSlNOW3psJDfr52kIpxFgP_YpYpxXqTb5MXLYfbDNePHhVSVDpAbBk5GwemKpwRsbMHV1uX_6_Mskk6Hh-MUAR26/s1600/IMG_2669.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuNoFGX964VA9XplCm5WdXSzoVh-xXfpSElnUrEQwnDTahxXyQgXhJYSlNOW3psJDfr52kIpxFgP_YpYpxXqTb5MXLYfbDNePHhVSVDpAbBk5GwemKpwRsbMHV1uX_6_Mskk6Hh-MUAR26/s640/IMG_2669.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from our ill-fated mooring ball at Cohasset Cove</td></tr></tbody></table>I decided to drive from the flybridge despite the cold air. It was 59 degrees and very windy when we pulled out. Initially, the waves seemed pretty manageable, but then we hit some big ones. Benny came up and told me we needed to go to Scituate because he did not want to travel in these waves. I had a sinking feeling that we were not going to get far today. I implored with him to see how he felt when we turned South, because the waves were coming from the East, and I thought that taking the waves on sideways would be less dramatic than head on. In fact, that was correct, and pretty soon we were surfing on top of the waves going in the same direction, and that is actually fun and not at all scary. Benny agreed. We clocked in at 26 knots for a while with engine load at 85%. That is extremely good for this boast! I spoke with Ann, who was down below, over the radio on channel 73 (Lady Ann, Lady Ann, this is Sababa, over - yes, that's really how we communicate - using the marine radio and a portable that I keep inside), and we agreed to push on to Falmouth.<br /><br />Pretty soon, the waves dropped to 2-3 feet, and when we reached the canal about 75 minutes later, the water was still and calm, and we were so happy.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI32z8Qm3nL8jUlj5Y9RVvcjdr2K3VoV_IE0PvLwsU2zPx_0NAsYj6vf-dMX-jmoHqGiweM3EebERNim6mFYwVgEjLKJDZnrTBrfJQc_7Fz3feqrtsH1P6BBqgaTAYjW2H4cvZkij7stYY/s1600/IMG_2677.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI32z8Qm3nL8jUlj5Y9RVvcjdr2K3VoV_IE0PvLwsU2zPx_0NAsYj6vf-dMX-jmoHqGiweM3EebERNim6mFYwVgEjLKJDZnrTBrfJQc_7Fz3feqrtsH1P6BBqgaTAYjW2H4cvZkij7stYY/s640/IMG_2677.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cape cod canal was our first calm waters in 2 days</td></tr></tbody></table>Although it was still chilly out, we felt like the nightmare was over, and excited to tie up in Falmouth soon. We arrived just in time for a beautiful sunset, and I felt nostalgia for Elana, who was so into the sunsets on the trip with us. Lucky Elana managed to miss all of our adventures with the storm.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYlZFGSfqaVjOY-Yk4rxvuH6IiZlyoxY4RXfWdjKiBmEOmhUc9y7-U1-uOkZeAQIUUIEV1PUAawgTFLppTEuoeywe1csXUsCbWAVIlV2qNLK9YFBrwVjDLATSFnH7JcjL_PZRwfkSXpvf_/s1600/IMG_2688.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYlZFGSfqaVjOY-Yk4rxvuH6IiZlyoxY4RXfWdjKiBmEOmhUc9y7-U1-uOkZeAQIUUIEV1PUAawgTFLppTEuoeywe1csXUsCbWAVIlV2qNLK9YFBrwVjDLATSFnH7JcjL_PZRwfkSXpvf_/s640/IMG_2688.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A peaceful evening at last</td></tr></tbody></table>After arriving in Falmouth, we could not fill our water tanks fast enough. Ann was already in the shower as the water was coming in. I washed down the boat while Benny excitedly hooked up his video games. Without the generator, we did not have enough power for him to play video games on the mooring ball, as I did not feel that was a good use of our inverter and house batteries in a crisis situation. Call me old fashioned.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpf4hfBZeA5jiR3y5ADxzT22Ebn9-1dbmSThmW6mPO5wfg4FuTJVtgfOxuNYTmg5heSy8q5W1MeiL6It9tMRVcWefxF7wIhzh2_p7O2p6ZxqOmQFPGgNFjF5QWmF7444L1frTCTy_bhMLY/s1600/IMG_2690.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpf4hfBZeA5jiR3y5ADxzT22Ebn9-1dbmSThmW6mPO5wfg4FuTJVtgfOxuNYTmg5heSy8q5W1MeiL6It9tMRVcWefxF7wIhzh2_p7O2p6ZxqOmQFPGgNFjF5QWmF7444L1frTCTy_bhMLY/s640/IMG_2690.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tied up in Falmouth. The pleasure of a full service marina with floating docks</td></tr></tbody></table>Tomorrow morning, we have an appointment with a mechanic at 7a.m. to look at the generator. If he is able to fix that, we will be at full strength with empty head tanks, full water tanks, food, drinking water and power. No stopping us now.<br /><br />Hopefully, we will be able to get to Millford, CT tomorrow. I'm trying to get a slip at the original marina we were booked at, and if I am successful, then we will be exactly one day behind our planned schedule. Unfortunately there were two bits of collateral damage because of our storm delay. The Geva boys can no longer come with us to Maryland and instead will be taking a bus, and sadly, I will have to miss Peter Lugars with my cousin Kenny that was planned for tomorrow night. My vegan family even agreed to come with me if we could find something for them to eat because they knew how much it meant to me, but the restaurant is sold out. In fact, Kenny tried to convince them to let us have a table, but was unsuccessful. This is definitely one part of the trip I will have to make up some other time.<br /><br />So, hopefully we'll have good weather the rest of the way. The next 2 days look good, and that should get us to Brooklyn, and if all goes well, we will get home on Saturday instead of Friday. But, of course, this is a boat trip, so anything can (and usually does) happen.Avi Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727241711132643386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1645136000578449262.post-66018842643276000482017-07-25T13:42:00.000-04:002017-08-12T16:45:53.813-04:00Day 17: Cohasset CoveI suppose this blog got a lot more interesting the last couple of days. Nothing like a little drama to spice things up.<br /><br />When I left off last night, Ann and Benny were lying down in the salon because they did not feel comfortable in the bedrooms with no heat and greater rocking motion. It was warmer upstairs, and this way Ann could keep an eye on things. Neither of us slept much. Every time I started to fall asleep, we would get hit by a big wave or something, and I would jump up and check our bearings with respect to the channel lights. I don't think I ever slept for a full hour. At 5:15 a.m., Ann was concerned that the mooring ball was banging into the hull of the boat, and she asked me to go take a look. I walked out to the bow and adjusted the anchor a couple of feet, and noticed that this new setting was bad because the anchor line and the mooring line could get tangled. So, I put it back the way it was. It was wet, rainy and 55 degrees, and I was in my pajamas, so not the happiest camper in the world.<br /><br />I tried to go back to bed, and I think between 5:30 and 8:00 the three of us must have slept a bit. The biggest concern I had was our supply of drinking water. We were down to just a few bottles with minimal prospects for leaving here today because the forecast was not very good. Four to seven foot seas in the morning, going down to 3-5 this afternoon. I was also worried about power. The generator needs a mechanic, and our inverter would not turn on.<br /><br />I called our home mechanic, and he walked me through getting the 2000 Watt inverter working. With that in place, we can run the outlets to charge our devices, and even use the microwave and the toaster, but not at the same time. My plan was to run the main engines periodically for a short period of time just to keep the house batteries charged.<br /><br />We are also just about out of water in our tanks. So, I asked our mechanic about using raw water from outside the boat - the water we are sitting in. There is no mechanism on the boat to pump in that water, but we can scoop it up and drop it into our toilets to flush. I will say this about Prestige in Baltimore, their customer service is amazing. Their main mechanic has been on the phone with me throughout the last two days, and he's always proactive friendly and patient!<br /><br />After we ate breakfast, Benny and I took the dinghy to shore and filled up our two gallon cooler and about 10 empty bottles with fresh water from a hose. Now, with a working inverter and plenty of drinking water, we feel better, but we would also like showers, and Ann commented that she really wants to get off the boat.<br /><br />We spent the rest of the morning making tentative plans for today. We checked on the availability of marinas ranging from 6 miles away all the way to Newport where we have a paid slip that will not be refunded. We also canceled our reservation in Milford where we were supposed to be today, and postponed our reservation in Brooklyn. We also checked on the availability of mechanics to fix our generator water pump at various places.<br /><br />At the moment, the dockmaster here thinks that there are 6 foot waves out there. We saw a crabbing boat go out and then come back about 20 minutes later, apparently giving up on their outing. Not a good sign. So, we are staying put for now. If we get any indication that the weather is improving, we are hoping to take the boat over to the next town over, Scituate, MA. It's a 6 mile run, which will take us an hour if the waves are really bad, but could take as little as 15 minutes if we can go fast. We have a slip on hold there, and that would mean power, water tanks full, showers, and even possibly going into whatever town there is to find food.<br /><br />As I type this, a 36 foot sailboat passed us on the way out and we overheard their conversation with the dockmaster on channel 10 saying they are deciding to brave it. The dockmaster told them to come right back if it's too rough, so we'll see if they come back. Our 59' boat can handle so much more than a 36' boat. In fact, I don't think 6 foot waves are much to worry about on our boat, but there is the comfort of my crew to consider, and Ann has been a little queazy today, while Benny is prone to seasickness with extreme bouncing of the boat.<br /><br />If we head to Scituate, and we find the water to be manageable, then we also have a slip available to us at Sandwich, MA, which is 35 miles away, just inside the Cape Cod Canal. However, if we make it to Sandwich, then we might as well push onwards because the canal should be relatively calm. Our Newport, RI slip is a long-shot, but I suppose if the seas are not bad, we can push that far and arrive before dark. We have until 5pm to notify them that we are coming, and they will make our slip available however late we get there.<br /><br />Thus the life of the boater in questionable weather - we really have no idea where we'll end up tonight, but we will make safety the first priority. I'll try to write again this evening if there are any interesting developments. I hope I won't write that we left Cohasset at 3pm, and returned to Cohasset at 3:30 pm with our tail between our legs... But even if we do, at least we have plenty of water to drink for now.Avi Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727241711132643386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1645136000578449262.post-5956703535878450872017-07-24T23:29:00.000-04:002017-08-12T16:45:53.840-04:00Day 16: part twoThis is a continuation of <a href="https://2017boattrip.blogspot.com/2017/07/day-16-boston-to-newport-ri-route.html" target="_blank">an earlier blog post that I wrote today</a>. I left off where we were attached to a mooring ball, and everything was finally okay.<br /><br />Well, that was what we thought.<br /><br />So, around 6pm, the dockmaster comes whizzing by on her small boat and gesticulating wildly. I run up to see what's going on, and she yells through the pouring rain that one of our lines to the mooring ball has chaffed and torn completely off, and the other is about to go. By some miracle, she had decided to patrol and come by and see how we were doing. We had been keeping a close eye on the swinging boats around us, but had not looked at the lines on the mooring ball, and we were minutes away from completely breaking loose, without knowing it and without our engines running. A real near disaster. We would have charged right into the moored boats behind us, and according to the dockmaster, taken out all the boats in the marina. Probably a slight exaggeration, but it would have been seriously ugly. My god.<br /><br />The wind and the rain were pretty fierce, and the current was very strong. Even in this cove the waves were high. I immediately started the engines, and we began quickly thinking about what to do. We had some back and forth yelling with the dockmaster about whether to set our anchor, to go back to Boston and what other options did we have? We asked about tying up to the private yacht club dock, and she insisted that we could not go there because it was private. Ann yelled back that this is a serious potentially life or death situation, and the dockmaster said that we just couldn't do it.<br /><br />Ann and I talked and decided that at this point, with our boat about to break free, and under these conditions, we were just going to head to that dock and tie up and fight with the yacht club people if we had to. Would they really kick us off the dock and send us into the rough seas? I'd rather deal with the problem of an upset yacht club manager than this storm.<br /><br />I started up the engines, but immediately something did not feel right. The joystick control gave a warning that I only had partial power and control. What the hell does that mean, and why now of all times? The current brought us really fast towards the dock, which seemed small as we approached it. I did not have the power to fight it with the joystick, so I grabbed the main thrusters and the bow thruster and tried to slow our approach. As the bow would not come around, Ann suggested that I switch our orientation and go port side in. That was a great suggestion, as I would not have made it to the starboard side in time. Benny had to move the fenders to the other side with lightning speed, which he actually accomplished. He was amazing.<br /><br />I actually don't know how I did it, but I managed to get the boat lined up nicely with the dock and to stop it just right. I don't think I could do it if I tried ten more times. The port side engine was reading zero load, and the starboard was working hard. Later, in my thinking about this, I decided that I probably had just not started the port side engine, which is why the joystick wasn't working. It was a very hectic time when I was starting them, and I must have just not turned the key hard enough.<br /><br />Anyway, Benny jumped off with a stern line, and I managed to keep the boat close while we got a spring line and a bow line tied up. Sure enough the marina manager came rushing over and in a very forceful voice told us we could not tie up on his dock, and that this was private. I came off the boat and in as calm a voice as I could muster I said, "Look sir, I understand your position. I am just trying to keep my family safe right now. We can't go back out because of the storm, and we can't attach to the mooring because we came off of it. I am tied up here to catch my breath and figure out what to do."<br /><br />He insisted that the dock could not hold our boat which was too heavy and had too much windage. He said that the tide was out, and when it came back in, the winds would be fierce, and that our boat would tear their whole dock out and all the boats with it. And that no matter what, we were not sleeping there. He became a bit more cooperative when he realized that we were trying to solve a problem together, and that I was not insisting on staying on his dock. I believed him that the dock would not hold us. The cleats looked very small, and the dock was floating, but connected to the shore with chains, and it was clearly designed for small boats to tie up. They did not even have 50 amp power connectors.<br /><br />The marina manager called over to the next town over that had an inlet, to see if they could take us. They are 6 miles away, and I figured it would take us at least an hour to get there, and by then, there were probably 90 minutes of "daylight" left. It was pretty dark anyway due to the storm. Luckily, I guess, the other town said that they could not accommodate us. I don't know if it was because we are too big, because they are full, or because they didn't want to deal with us the way this place had to.<br /><br />So, we had to find a solution. The dockmaster and another woman who joined her to help suggested that they could bring some new, thicker lines to tie us to the mooring ball. The plan was for us to drive about 80 feet past the mooring ball, drop our anchor, and drift back past the ball. Then, while anchored, we would tie the lines as safety lines to the mooring ball, and set them up in such a way that they would not chafe like the other ones did. All this during a storm.<br /><br />I killed the engines and restarted them, and I was thrilled to see that this time everything looked good, and the load was even on both. So whatever problem I had before was gone, and I was much more confident in my ability to pull off our plan with full joystick and throttle control. We set out, and I could tell the marina manager was relieved to have us off his hands. Getting the anchor set was quite an adventure itself. Our anchor winch was loose, and the anchor did not hold well on the boat, but it set nicely in the mud. The two dockmaster women were yelling for me to go this way and that, and I started to worry about the depth. I got the anchor dropped and drifted back, but not towards the mooring ball. So, it took all the skill I had to get us over there, and by some miracle, Ann was able to get the mooring lines attached to our cleats. Benny was up there helping as well. I seriously do not understand how they pulled this off. We kept both lines on the starboard side to avoid the chaffing problem.<br /><br />Finally, we were connected with a belt and suspenders. The anchor as the primary hold, and the two lines to the mooring ball as pretty good backup. For some reason, we found it a lot harder to relax, given our earlier experience, and we decided that we would keep watches throughout the night.<br /><br />I called our boat mechanic who explained to me where to find a tool to tighten the anchor winch, and how to test it, and that worked like a charm. I also took some fender lines that I had and created an anchor safety that should provide some backup. When we get home, one of the things at the top of my list will be to get a better anchor safety system in place.<br /><br />So, just as it seemed like things were under control, except for, of course, our water shortage, suddenly the heat turned off, and the generator died. I tried restarting it, and it would not stay on for more than 5 seconds. I called my mechanic, and he suggested I check the water strainer. It was full of debris, but I could not get it open. Ann and I brainstormed ideas for getting some leverage, but nothing worked. We alternated trying to open it. Finally, we gave up, and just as we were going up, out of the engine room, I decided to give it one more try with all my strength, and I got it! It was so filthy that I was sure this was the problem. We emptied it out, and I put the strainer back in and started up the generator - and it died 5 seconds later. Ugh.<br /><br />I called the mechanic back, and he said to close the seacock, fill the strainer with water, start the engine, and quickly open the valve, and that this has worked in the past and might do the trick. I poured in some of our precious water, and tried what he said, but it did not work. The mechanic concluded that either we have a bad impeller, or that debris got into the water pump that feeds the strainer (seems like a bad design to have the pump in front of the strainer, but I guess it's above the water level so there may be no choice), and so the generator engine could not cool.<br /><br />The consequence of having no generator is that we have to conserve a bit on our power usage, and we are without heating or cooling. We will charge all the batteries again in the morning when we run the main engines, so it's not really a problem, just an inconvenience. I also have a spare impeller on board, so if we find a mechanic at our next marina, hopefully he can fix this and the generator will work again. It's really the least of our problems.<br /><br />So, now it's 11:15, and Ann and Benny are trying to sleep upstairs in the saloon where I am sitting nearby and recounting the last few hours. It was exhausting, but we don't want to all sleep at the same time. We are keeping an eye on the anchor and the mooring lines and the boats around us. Need to make sure we aren't dragging or moving. The storm picks up periodically, and that is a little scary. We're pretty concerned about the mooring ball hitting our starboard hull because we are close to it, but the wind and current are pushing us away from that direction, and at the moment, having that safety backing up the anchor is the most important thing for us.<br /><br />Tomorrow, we will probably be pretty tired from lack of sleep, but we will have to use all our judgement and resourcefulness to get to a marina somewhere. We're no longer very concerned with timing, just with safety and getting some water. If the seas are too rough for travel, we will stay put, but I will call the dockmaster and figure out how to get some drinking water on the boat. Maybe use our dingy to get to shore if it's calm in here. Also, if our tanks run dry, we won't be able to flush the toilets, so we need to get to a marina in short order.<br /><br />So, here we are. It's 58 degrees out. I believe we are secure with our anchor and the mooring backup. The weather tomorrow should be better. But, we will be smart and nimble and flexible, and we will figure out how to get through this. I'm sure of that.<br /><br />It would be nice to enjoy all of the pleasures of boating and that's it, but that is not reality. We have to learn to be problem solvers, to be handy, and to keep our wits about us. Boating is fun and exciting, but it's also challenging, complicated and hard. As my friend Michael Rosman likes to say, "from bad decisions come good stories". If we had stayed in Boston today, it would have been so much simpler, but I would have had nothing to blog about. We went to some museum, and we had lunch and blah blah blah. Isn't this more fun???Avi Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727241711132643386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1645136000578449262.post-33225064218887302002017-07-24T17:31:00.000-04:002017-08-12T16:45:53.878-04:00Day 16: Boston to Newport, RI - route interruptedEverything on this trip was going great and on schedule, until today.<br /><br />Yesterday, we had a very nice visit with Tamara at Camp Young Judaea in New Hampshire. She has a lot of friends and is extremely happy there. We took her out to lunch and the to buy some supplies. After a few hours meeting her friends and some of the other parents we headed back to the boat in Boston.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKYgC92XI4qwPZxDRW64gS7Z0VzY0V_79_T-oDHzXRUKpcokjh4XKb-KFLj-7dXqdGRk1g7QDHxGS0zHThcD0rPlnoYKRn_HhYlXQiLSIi2U4og5_xJDghdmQajIc2L6fnXdeD5QP3BneB/s1600/IMG_1919.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKYgC92XI4qwPZxDRW64gS7Z0VzY0V_79_T-oDHzXRUKpcokjh4XKb-KFLj-7dXqdGRk1g7QDHxGS0zHThcD0rPlnoYKRn_HhYlXQiLSIi2U4og5_xJDghdmQajIc2L6fnXdeD5QP3BneB/s640/IMG_1919.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The whole family finally together again</td></tr></tbody></table>The forecast for today called for lots of rain, but no thunderstorms. I checked the marine forecast last night, and it predicted 2-3 foot waves - nothing we couldn't handle easily on Sababa. Unfortunately, I did not check the waves forecast this morning. Bad move.<br /><br />It would take us about 4.5 hours to get to our marina in Newport, RI. Elana left for the airport around 8:30 a.m. She was going to take a water taxi to the airport, but it was raining, so she took a Lyft and texted us when she got there. We will miss having her on the remainder of our trip home. I was a bit displeased with today's forecast because it meant I would have to drive from the lower inside helm while still dodging the crab pots that littered the route to the Cape Cod Canal. It's not as easy to spot the pots from below as it is from the flybridge. Little did I know the pots would be the least of my problems today.<br /><br />Before we got under way, I decided that despite the rain, I wanted to fuel up. We probably had enough fuel for the whole trip, but "probably" is not the best practice for a boat trip. When we got to the fuel dock, it was raining pretty hard, and I was concerned about getting water in the fuel line, so I held an umbrella over Benny who opened the tanks and filled them with diesel. Up to now, I had been the one fueling, and Benny was not familiar with the burping of our tanks, which spit up diesel if you let the fuel flow too quickly. So, he learned the hard way. After about 35 gallons in the starboard tank, all of a sudden fuel shot up everywhere and hit him in the face and covered his body. Luckily it did not get him in the eyes or mouth. He was not a happy camper, but he did finish the job for a total of 150 gallons between the two tanks.<br /><br />Despite the rain, which was increasing in intensity, Ann and I decided that we should pump out the heads. We had enough capacity to get to Newport, but it seemed silly to travel with almost full waste tanks if we were already at a fuel dock. While Benny and I dealt with the fuel, Ann opened the tanks, and then I brought over the hose from the dock, and we pumped out the good stuff. Pumping out proved to be the best decision we made all day, and arguably the only good one.<br /><br />As we got out of Boston Harbor, we encountered several challenges. The waves were starting to get bigger. More pressing, my starboard side windshield wiper got stuck, and independent of that the windshield fogged up. As I was trying to get the defroster working, I noticed a huge ship coming towards us from the port side. I pretty much had no visibility at this point and was barely moving at a crawl, and in fact, the strong waves and current were pushing me backwards. We had all just dried off and changed from the fueling in the rain experience, and none of us wanted to go out and manually try to get the wiper working, but I resigned to doing it. Just then, it started moving again, and the defroster began working, so that was lucky. We got moving with all systems in order, went around the big ship, and I got us on a plane at 22 knots. Let me emphasize (especially since my parents are reading this) that we were never in any danger, and it was just a big stressful inconvenience.<br /><br />As we got further into the sea, the waves became much bigger. We had a few huge jumps and hard landings, and everything on the boat started flying around. Lamps, wine glasses, iPads. And we heard crashing sounds from below. I slowed to about 8 knots, and we were able to handle the waves better, but they were still quite impactful. We later learned that the waves were 5-8 feet, meaning that was the average, and some waves were bigger. We could not go faster than 6 knots, and at that speed, I had trouble maneuvering around the crab pots that we were able to see. Benny was getting sick, and Ann started talking about turning around or finding refuge somewhere.<br /><br />I was still determined to get to the Cape Cod Canal, because once there, I expected that things would calm down, and despite the big waves, I did not feel like the situation was unmanageable. However, some simple calculations indicated that at 6 knots, we would be in this for almost 6 hours before reaching the canal, and the waves were getting worse, not better. So, while trying to keep the boat straight and avoid pots and 8 foot waves, and while bouncing several feet in the air on occasion, I pulled out my iPhone and explored the area around us on the map. In the meantime, Benny started throwing up, and I knew that Ann was questioning my judgement and the wisdom of being out today without her needing to say anything (that would come later).<br /><br />Feeling some urgency, but also surprisingly calm given the situation, I found a protected area called Cohasset Cove with a marked channel about 4 miles ahead. I discovered that it had a yacht club, so I assumed there would be somewhere for us to tie up. I was unable to reach them by phone. Getting to the cove was tricky, as there were rocks and shallow areas in the approach, but everything was marked on the navigation charts and with markers in the water, and I was confident that I could navigate through it, even in the bad conditions.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtMY3Lrz3SRxVLe2TaxvrXlk_vB_Nfht3tvLUn38F0rSsxqQEPbd4Y2usNTQg4grd8VanmvmUBe3A3IoV0qGXSBsTmayzS1AHyida705El882odc3D-3qMn0UlxRvQqBA19w2ueol7mzK3/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-07-24+at+3.15.39+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtMY3Lrz3SRxVLe2TaxvrXlk_vB_Nfht3tvLUn38F0rSsxqQEPbd4Y2usNTQg4grd8VanmvmUBe3A3IoV0qGXSBsTmayzS1AHyida705El882odc3D-3qMn0UlxRvQqBA19w2ueol7mzK3/s640/Screen+Shot+2017-07-24+at+3.15.39+PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not the route we planned, but the one we ended up taking</td></tr></tbody></table>When we got to the cove, the water was a bit calmer, and I radioed to the yacht club. They told me that their dock was exclusive to the yacht club members, and there were no exceptions for transients. I told them that I was escaping a storm and really bad waves, and that I couldn't go back out there, and they told me to talk to the harbormaster. So, I spoke to the harbormaster on the radio, and she asked me to hold tight because she was having an issue with her boat.<br /><br />Sitting tight in this marina proved to be impossible due to the tremendous wind and current from what was now a full fledged storm. Unhappy, but determined not to panic or let my spirits get down, I headed out of the cove. We decided that we would have to anchor just outside the channel and ride out the storm at anchor.<br /><br />However, after we were just outside the channel, the harbormaster got on the radio and told me that she had one mooring ball in the harbor that was big enough to hold me, and that it had a sailboat on it, which she was going to move to another ball so that I could have it. Amazed at this good fortune, we stayed outside the channel, moving back and forth against the current and staying away from all the trouble spots. (Did I mention that I had to pee for the last 2 hours but did not dare leave my station??) Moving a sailboat off a mooring and onto another ball in these conditions was very impressive, and the willingness to do this to help a stranger with a pretentious 59' yacht was surprising to us.<br /><br />They radioed us when the mooring was ready, and three of them were on a workboat waiting for us when we got back into the channel. At this point the storm was really upon us. Ann went up front with the boat hook, and it took me several tries to get her close enough to attach the mooring with the dockmaster's help, without hitting the ball, the dockmaster's boat or anything else. The whole scene was kind of crazy. We finally hooked up. I thanked them profusely, and could tell they were slightly annoyed by the whole situation. They asked me why I didn't go back to Boston when I noticed it was bad, and asked me if I didn't know how to look at weather forecasts. I felt a bit humiliated to be in this position. The harbormaster was very concerned because my anchor was rubbing hard against the mooring lines each time the boat would swing. I suggested dropping the anchor so it wouldn't be in the way, and she agreed to that. So, the anchor is down, but not doing anything, just sitting on the ground in the water below me out of the way of the mooring lines.<br /><br />I asked the dockmaster if I could pay them for their help and what I owed for the use of the mooring ball until tomorrow, and they would not take any money! Before I was able to go back in for my wallet, they were gone and told us to tune into channel 10 if we needed anything. My faith in humanity is restored.<br /><br />This all happened around 1:00 pm today. Now it's just about 5:00, and we've had time to reflect on our situation. It's really not that comfortable. Even here in the cove, the water is quite active, and we are swinging back and forth and constantly amazed that the mooring ball is holding, and that we haven't hit any of the other boats that are also swinging quite a bit out of rhythm with ours. I'm not sure I'll be able to sleep tonight without keeping watch on those other boats. So far, though, in 4 hours, everything has held, and no boats have hit. Also, things are supposed to calm down by 9 pm tonight. We'll see what happens tomorrow.<br /><br />Wish we had filled the water tanks before we left Boston. Elana and I showered this morning, and Benny had to shower to remove the diesel from all over his body. We are left with about 1/4 tanks, which is plenty for our regular needs, but no more showers until we find another marina. We're also down to 5 small bottles of water, so I will have beer this evening, and OJ for breakfast, and Ann will have iced tea, leaving the lemonade for Benny. We actually bought 24 bottles of fresh water in Boston, but managed to leave them in the shopping cart when we unloaded, a mistake that may haunt us if we're still stuck here tomorrow.<br /><br />The storm continues, and it's 58 degrees out, so we have the heat on for the first time on Sababa. Thankfully, it works great, and we are nice and comfortable with the windows fogged up all around us. I keep having to clear them with my hand to keep an eye on the boats moored near ours, which still worry me with their swinging.<br /><br />In the meantime, Newport marina, where we were supposed to stay tonight says they will not refund us because of their 72 hour cancelation policy. We're not sure we will even go to Newport anymore. I'd like to make up the day, and perhaps we can do some longer runs to stay on schedule. That said, the forecast for tomorrow is not perfect. The seas are showing 3-5 foot waves. That's a lot more manageable than 5-8. Forecasts like that change by the hour, and we'll see what it is tomorrow morning. The forecast for tomorrow actually improved while I was writing this blog post. We will not go if it's not safe. Not sure we'll enjoy 2 full days sitting on this mooring in a cove in Cohasset, MA, but at least we pumped out our head tanks!Avi Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727241711132643386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1645136000578449262.post-90931976448390256952017-07-23T09:34:00.000-04:002017-08-12T16:45:53.908-04:00Day 14: Falmouth to BostonWe left Kingsman Yacht Center at 8:30 a.m. at high tide. The water level was more than 2 feet higher than when we arrived, which was very helpful here because of the narrow, shallow channel. It was about a 20 minute no-wake ride, as peaceful as can be, but a little chilly up top.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBLB-iIhyphenhyphenvMnbnqM2QCkpieRbAE5AaUD2TMfyk44cg-UzW-amlaPXUztlqL8V57_2GTW_s1iJIqVCE3d1cN-TKvNftJzC_n9YY9_3tF3PKyv-Zte2JV6e-H_yyrxBbKN8KVlM4HgDus3mh/s1600/IMG_2583.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBLB-iIhyphenhyphenvMnbnqM2QCkpieRbAE5AaUD2TMfyk44cg-UzW-amlaPXUztlqL8V57_2GTW_s1iJIqVCE3d1cN-TKvNftJzC_n9YY9_3tF3PKyv-Zte2JV6e-H_yyrxBbKN8KVlM4HgDus3mh/s640/IMG_2583.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leaving Falmouth behind</td></tr></tbody></table><br />When we got to the Cape Cod Canal, our cut-through to Boston, it was just 70 degrees, and moving at 23 knots felt cold, so I put on a sweatshirt and was still a little uncomfortable. We had a 65 nautical mile trip ahead of us.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEIDHjJcuOT9R6zUvFOCRSK3HbE1EF7Rwi26TTPL_WK3ZMBuHmeWN5rBy8CE5tnMTBNdAmL1DMjpSw1EkNiinwJUeb9Owi5kdpKqwxD6wln3uFzQd6XvwDhyphenhyphen1A1s3-jRkPtq9O5Cc-4QOL/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-07-23+at+8.19.42+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEIDHjJcuOT9R6zUvFOCRSK3HbE1EF7Rwi26TTPL_WK3ZMBuHmeWN5rBy8CE5tnMTBNdAmL1DMjpSw1EkNiinwJUeb9Owi5kdpKqwxD6wln3uFzQd6XvwDhyphenhyphen1A1s3-jRkPtq9O5Cc-4QOL/s640/Screen+Shot+2017-07-23+at+8.19.42+AM.png" width="464" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our trip from Falmouth to Boston, through the Cape Code Canal</td></tr></tbody></table>The canal is seven miles long, and stunningly beautiful. There were a few picturesque bridges along the way.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc0NOXAv-UUyNtIc-qj8wHNy5p830v9Gt2EtaHyaVltFCx7KI2BC9k6DUfsjVOktBvVuciAj5PlMd7JQdIKlCigINSJvchM-Ydi0_y32z2vvFm0HbSL_j0abjhDvBxmHFQPtckHMkeReZM/s1600/IMG_2590.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc0NOXAv-UUyNtIc-qj8wHNy5p830v9Gt2EtaHyaVltFCx7KI2BC9k6DUfsjVOktBvVuciAj5PlMd7JQdIKlCigINSJvchM-Ydi0_y32z2vvFm0HbSL_j0abjhDvBxmHFQPtckHMkeReZM/s640/IMG_2590.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sababa's wake with a cool bridge behind us in the Cape Cod Canal</td></tr></tbody></table>We were traveling at our cruising speed when a coast guard boat in the canal radioed me and asked me to switch to channel 13, which apparently you are supposed to monitor here. He asked me if he was pronouncing my boat's name correctly, and I could tell he had a sense of humor. He then admonished me that the speed limit in the canal is 10. Since I was doing 23, I quickly slowed down, and we took the rest of the canal at a leisurely pace. Ann went up front and sat on our bow benches, which we hadn't used yet on this trip.<div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ4cLsioc4U3OYpBy-ah7NS0XgBnQo7BTQF8jLCPb6GSm8sWxMNysLQ5NejPGU_C-8dw0lgnR02pojPLMNhiljD5zjCGTEL1W_BAey245QJ7c3VET_rpycH9wbHeve-FRQiNhdgX4shVW5/s1600/IMG_2594.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ4cLsioc4U3OYpBy-ah7NS0XgBnQo7BTQF8jLCPb6GSm8sWxMNysLQ5NejPGU_C-8dw0lgnR02pojPLMNhiljD5zjCGTEL1W_BAey245QJ7c3VET_rpycH9wbHeve-FRQiNhdgX4shVW5/s640/IMG_2594.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ann loved the ride from up front in the canal at a calm 10 knots</td></tr></tbody></table>After the canal, we entered open ocean, which on that day was as calm as the canal. No waves at all. Flat. As I revved up to planing speed, aiming for 23 knots, the air felt colder than before, but I had to stay up top because for the entire 90 minutes that we were out in the open, the water was littered with little buoys marking some kind of trap. In Maryland they are crab pots. I don't know if here they are for crabs or lobsters outside Boston. The water was over 80 feet deep at times, and yet we could hardly go 250 feet without seeing a series of pots. It is much easier to spot them from up top, so I stayed up despite the chilly temperature, and I had to pay attention and dodge the pots the whole time. I was not able to use auto pilot or auto tracking the rest of the way.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibLj-FpqdmhEChHUD0h6rTFAHy7aJse5pDIWS76f4gBV6pxffkXZFgVcDiyAeVSfN7WoX9o5vdrCmDtzLsXOxXNRS7kwbnBKPwbwsuHSdn4swZxFJpECv1BGPorLFL5FrogKh2NCo0cRyb/s1600/IMG_2595.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibLj-FpqdmhEChHUD0h6rTFAHy7aJse5pDIWS76f4gBV6pxffkXZFgVcDiyAeVSfN7WoX9o5vdrCmDtzLsXOxXNRS7kwbnBKPwbwsuHSdn4swZxFJpECv1BGPorLFL5FrogKh2NCo0cRyb/s400/IMG_2595.jpg" width="363" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These annoying pots filled the entire route to Boston</td></tr></tbody></table>As we approached Boston Harbor, the city skyline came into view, and everyone joined me up top for the magnificent landscape. We passed one of my favorites, a tall ship that was coming out of Boston.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6JORObD0FDz6u2bI4MYzRHvtQNeEEExvsBbpB71jeSkCfAzFOLKc4YKmj5TkfA1a12-M1q1iiCTzULH16hjHgharMc0UoOxWJAVnnZs03jGujX4zZsBW_vlJX5Sir7V1XAD-w71n9FE1k/s1600/IMG_2610.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6JORObD0FDz6u2bI4MYzRHvtQNeEEExvsBbpB71jeSkCfAzFOLKc4YKmj5TkfA1a12-M1q1iiCTzULH16hjHgharMc0UoOxWJAVnnZs03jGujX4zZsBW_vlJX5Sir7V1XAD-w71n9FE1k/s640/IMG_2610.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amazing tall ship leaving Boston Harbor</td></tr></tbody></table> As we turned towards our home for the next two days, Constitution Marina, the buildings all came into view. After two weeks of travel we reached our furthest point of the trip. Very exciting!<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmHcA47XxPYdEc9l-OTLqw2UNBXFKiwC78WpZpQc2EnnjgFHDj5WnOcvLCUmxw_Xa-IK5D09LbhSgvj8fKr5_4d8Tph8zZdEcvZCXGIKhd4f-9sF3oW7DhtSJeQirW99mJBbagEkYxwD4y/s1600/IMG_2621.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmHcA47XxPYdEc9l-OTLqw2UNBXFKiwC78WpZpQc2EnnjgFHDj5WnOcvLCUmxw_Xa-IK5D09LbhSgvj8fKr5_4d8Tph8zZdEcvZCXGIKhd4f-9sF3oW7DhtSJeQirW99mJBbagEkYxwD4y/s640/IMG_2621.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We finally arrive in Boston</td></tr></tbody></table>I was surprised and disappointed to learn that Constitution Marina (so named because it hosts the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Constitution" target="_blank">USS Constitution</a>) did not sell fuel, so we will have to make a stop on our return on Monday to fuel and pump out. I backed down the alley at the marina and tied up along a long T-head dock.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_z7gySl3lyssExfiN9mqhFqHGg1J9BiCPk_a-rExj3PghrQgrp4SuKGXrCsL5KkKT3YyahHB4OFkW9GsEA7mKKo7aAJPPNREg66t56SuHpvJD2WgnNzdLKpCiKqKkty984LQbwRIPeCSq/s1600/IMG_2628.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_z7gySl3lyssExfiN9mqhFqHGg1J9BiCPk_a-rExj3PghrQgrp4SuKGXrCsL5KkKT3YyahHB4OFkW9GsEA7mKKo7aAJPPNREg66t56SuHpvJD2WgnNzdLKpCiKqKkty984LQbwRIPeCSq/s640/IMG_2628.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tied up in downtown Boston</td></tr></tbody></table>Benny did a great job washing down the boat from all the salt water that splashed when we were at sea. Next, I want to teach him how to run the entire boat so that next season I can relax while he takes over.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI5NR0D5SzzRZsmDbJmDdG5qvViXPKm8OwO77iBJ_JjRfQjy2BnvTZbV_F3mUrWVRmSW4ewcA2TPOpGP2W9XpdFLvWD9-xTqdd2GGggM7DVg3W_noTWliO3fSqHEUrI-gBO_HQ7UZfDy4F/s1600/IMG_2627.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI5NR0D5SzzRZsmDbJmDdG5qvViXPKm8OwO77iBJ_JjRfQjy2BnvTZbV_F3mUrWVRmSW4ewcA2TPOpGP2W9XpdFLvWD9-xTqdd2GGggM7DVg3W_noTWliO3fSqHEUrI-gBO_HQ7UZfDy4F/s640/IMG_2627.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The kids were very helpful</td></tr></tbody></table>Once we were settled into our slip, it was time to explore Boston. We visited Faneuil Hall Marketplace, and Quincey Market, where we saw a wonderkid musician performing, and the kids and Ann had some bubble tea.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnAR998V3xI76eLcDcXFg5bZkmxormAccMkMU92-meoJUQpnwL23JJ7ICzTEY-4j0qvWxYuCqR20SIq7eLPqMjJyyBH6fHU-X6XX9LJKMyw9Gttf4uaMnzL5Mme9GplVS8VnTArNO23gOE/s1600/IMG_2632.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnAR998V3xI76eLcDcXFg5bZkmxormAccMkMU92-meoJUQpnwL23JJ7ICzTEY-4j0qvWxYuCqR20SIq7eLPqMjJyyBH6fHU-X6XX9LJKMyw9Gttf4uaMnzL5Mme9GplVS8VnTArNO23gOE/s640/IMG_2632.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The market area is always hopping</td></tr></tbody></table>We explored the waterfront area, and Benny and I took a long stroll among the fancy mega yachts in the harbor, while the ladies shopped for sunglasses (Elana's shades broke when one of us landed on them in the dinghy while getting back in after swimming). Then, we met up again and had dinner at a vegan/vegetarian restaurant that came highly recommended called Clover Food Lab, which even I enjoyed. Next, we walked through Boston Commons where a Shakespeare in the Park performance of Romeo and Juliette was scheduled. Although the performance was an hour away, the lawn was already packed. We decided that time was short for us here and skipped the show to continue walking. We found a really nice public garden with a lake and beautiful flowers and a statue of George Washington.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsQklJc58owrwiImsRGIvbT8LguymcEo0ABcAYGrfSo8Y2Ame2m741pRo7R80FVSMuUmJZ1YkcKmhSChcwQvTgBYeo3P6zKRp8bpipxYook8qN0OvY3CSLrnzN_19sb-QKZRRefb62MbYU/s1600/IMG_2642.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsQklJc58owrwiImsRGIvbT8LguymcEo0ABcAYGrfSo8Y2Ame2m741pRo7R80FVSMuUmJZ1YkcKmhSChcwQvTgBYeo3P6zKRp8bpipxYook8qN0OvY3CSLrnzN_19sb-QKZRRefb62MbYU/s640/IMG_2642.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the public gardens in Boston</td></tr></tbody></table>From there, we walked along Newbury street, with its fancy cars, movie stars (well we didn't see any, but that rhymes, and I assume they were there), and sidewalk cafes. When we reached <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copley_Square" target="_blank">Copley Square</a>, we had walked enough (over 20k steps!), and we took an Uber back to the boat. By then it was already 8:30 pm. My friend Matt Berntsen and his girlfriend Becky who live here in Boston visited us on the boat, and we opened a bottle of champagne to celebrate the new house they are moving into on Tuesday, as well as getting together with friends on a trip like this.<br /><br />By the time Matt and Becky left, it was after 10:30, and I was too tired to write my blog, so I'm writing this Sunday morning, before we head out to visit Tamara at Camp Young Judea.<br /><br />On the way to the boat, we saw a good omen. In Brooklyn, we are picking up Liam and Ben Geva to bring them to Baltimore, and this license plate pulls up in front of our Uber car.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_DhlrU921_BdrpRq7QpmYX2AjgdG8BXojq1G2duMA2ynFVAHNISOMkjiGoRfLf7BvgvhKMVKqSnwdXzZ2AbaGV3anMXnadt-9vka1N7vh7GbV_djgdyQhQEnoLgmRxbSGODziBSpzHULW/s1600/IMG_9691+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_DhlrU921_BdrpRq7QpmYX2AjgdG8BXojq1G2duMA2ynFVAHNISOMkjiGoRfLf7BvgvhKMVKqSnwdXzZ2AbaGV3anMXnadt-9vka1N7vh7GbV_djgdyQhQEnoLgmRxbSGODziBSpzHULW/s640/IMG_9691+copy.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">License plate Liam1. It is a sign!</td></tr></tbody></table>If there was any doubt about the Omen they were soon put to rest. As we were sitting with our friends on the flybridge drinking champagne, this water taxi pulls up behind our boat and drops someone off!<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQameqNUmE_mOx48o0AKUGPj_8WQ-z-I9NqqE_A0cN5NlalZ5vezp9APxhtxxTJlDJZcBvS0esJOfTzopeo1JZte3s3b74N9WoVL1Kp2BImQpapfzwE7JAlFAZpik0Zio-I5pITzZ_YjYj/s1600/IMG_2645.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQameqNUmE_mOx48o0AKUGPj_8WQ-z-I9NqqE_A0cN5NlalZ5vezp9APxhtxxTJlDJZcBvS0esJOfTzopeo1JZte3s3b74N9WoVL1Kp2BImQpapfzwE7JAlFAZpik0Zio-I5pITzZ_YjYj/s640/IMG_2645.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Did this boat really just show up the day before we visit Tamara???</td></tr></tbody></table>Case closed. We are heading up to camp after we pick up our Enterprise rental car.<br /><br /><br /><br /></div>Avi Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727241711132643386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1645136000578449262.post-20925112389604042312017-07-21T20:50:00.000-04:002017-08-12T16:45:53.940-04:00Day 13: Nantucket to FalmouthYesterday, we spent a full day on Nantucket. Getting to shore involved using our dinghy, and tying to a very busy dinghy dock, usually two boats deep, and having to walk on other people's boats.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikVAaGbHOqSEhrXdvAlSZvBDcfp5lVkpPnXYVf1FqGpK88cwGkY4n5qpLFuPZFOvAQfU6iUKRl0D1Rc5U3lstkPKB1vBP8hmwxG1bP3dgCpTzR8RCzNnR5rF-p0i_4pXzSe6hwyqbTcgdj/s1600/IMG_2483.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikVAaGbHOqSEhrXdvAlSZvBDcfp5lVkpPnXYVf1FqGpK88cwGkY4n5qpLFuPZFOvAQfU6iUKRl0D1Rc5U3lstkPKB1vBP8hmwxG1bP3dgCpTzR8RCzNnR5rF-p0i_4pXzSe6hwyqbTcgdj/s640/IMG_2483.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our dinghy MD 8790 CS bunched in with all the rest.</td></tr></tbody></table>The town is lively in the evenings with lots of bars and restaurants. There are no chain stores allowed in Nantucket, so even the car dealership (yes there is exactly one) is family owned. We spent a good deal of time walking around the various streets around town. We saw this woman on her balcony painting a gorgeous scene.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFYSkjUxl6Yr4R4u8NikjNWP_m0fIzqxmFx3PdY4u4Um9XQLcSEW-dpSCLM0wCFhTbKoXxFYdSCKJbNyX9I1MxGbe_qTZFjqkL6uK2pE-ZBhcHnYcY5U2gsHZD5p8lILBgp1ked0CQKEa5/s1600/IMG_2484.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFYSkjUxl6Yr4R4u8NikjNWP_m0fIzqxmFx3PdY4u4Um9XQLcSEW-dpSCLM0wCFhTbKoXxFYdSCKJbNyX9I1MxGbe_qTZFjqkL6uK2pE-ZBhcHnYcY5U2gsHZD5p8lILBgp1ked0CQKEa5/s640/IMG_2484.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A nice place to paint</td></tr></tbody></table>Starting at 1:00 pm, we took a 3 hour nature and history tour of the island. Our 4x4 van stopped before we entered the beach area and let out air from the tires, down to 15 PSI. We then drove on the sand of the beach for quite some time. There, we got out and walked towards a lighthouse. On the way, we saw seals in the water, and a couple of unfortunate looking seals who seemed to be stranded on the beach. We were told that regulations require not approaching within 150 feet of the seal. We followed the rule, but some other bozos got right in its face taking pictures.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvzRmHSxncS10NESwPwh-ef1MYhmWkl4KKTySbTA0WYpEWviC-iZkNSkf2OXvNi2H0JQ94uZZYQcLdwOX3p0ltxP8ZVy5yNcXT5f72tXz05E7o7NfsYqUl8a9zKnU3MYCo9hrCf2OjjYim/s1600/IMG_2489.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvzRmHSxncS10NESwPwh-ef1MYhmWkl4KKTySbTA0WYpEWviC-iZkNSkf2OXvNi2H0JQ94uZZYQcLdwOX3p0ltxP8ZVy5yNcXT5f72tXz05E7o7NfsYqUl8a9zKnU3MYCo9hrCf2OjjYim/s640/IMG_2489.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This guy did not seem happy to be here</td></tr></tbody></table>On the side of the road, outside the beach area, there was a lone air pump that our guide used to inflate the tires back to 40 PSI.<br /><br />After the tour, we came back to Sababa, and I grilled veggie burgers for the vegans, and then a real hamburger for myself! It felt nice to eat our own home made food for once, since every other dinner on this trip was in a restaurant. For the most part, we eat breakfast and lunch on the boat and dinner out, although if we're in a town for the day, we might eat lunch out too. Most days, though, we are under way on the boat at lunchtime.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW9iSuZYD7aTQTbmqFbHldWIMvJxnZnxCKrNOZcQPdunEd8huez7o_PzlLJIqkBjiS9i3CaFyWjs13tTUcnubBIv5NFGx8v_n25G-6bKNN7q7LNOCsQTCSt0MnX9QCMC49aOHRpxSgSLkH/s1600/IMG_2494.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW9iSuZYD7aTQTbmqFbHldWIMvJxnZnxCKrNOZcQPdunEd8huez7o_PzlLJIqkBjiS9i3CaFyWjs13tTUcnubBIv5NFGx8v_n25G-6bKNN7q7LNOCsQTCSt0MnX9QCMC49aOHRpxSgSLkH/s640/IMG_2494.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grilling the lone meat burger once the veggie ones are done</td></tr></tbody></table>After dinner, we took the dinghy back to shore and walked around taking in the sites of the town. Here are a couple of pictures that sum up the views in Nantucket.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzmDybV8xbLDp5auzb2uvjAm2q6JC53wA5-hFLFETgu_T2dzA7hC3ysZjjYoPpQjDSHUrCfflck78OoZM-N7wzcTM2VFNPOhuAfx36Wa2-7CzK3IoQrYliC2Lb0uZ7hXeFBstL_762tSUZ/s1600/IMG_2496.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzmDybV8xbLDp5auzb2uvjAm2q6JC53wA5-hFLFETgu_T2dzA7hC3ysZjjYoPpQjDSHUrCfflck78OoZM-N7wzcTM2VFNPOhuAfx36Wa2-7CzK3IoQrYliC2Lb0uZ7hXeFBstL_762tSUZ/s640/IMG_2496.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By ordinance, all the houses have the same siding</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjORyv5eMkdsmnAaYTKnUb89zbwIIOUP-MnQFUVeMl_8jkSKSS36BdgSj4U_GIRuaFqhBOYzEE4vgOadeI7zPGra9iY_d9pf_HpDzvlhLQoYmbKnWqthPKuD65jGyvWmJb0MMAByaIaKMYA/s1600/IMG_2497.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjORyv5eMkdsmnAaYTKnUb89zbwIIOUP-MnQFUVeMl_8jkSKSS36BdgSj4U_GIRuaFqhBOYzEE4vgOadeI7zPGra9iY_d9pf_HpDzvlhLQoYmbKnWqthPKuD65jGyvWmJb0MMAByaIaKMYA/s640/IMG_2497.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The definition of peaceful - dusk on Nantucket</td></tr></tbody></table>It took 11 days, but I finally discovered something I don't like about this boat. The last 2 nights, on the mooring ball, we did not have shore power, so we used the generator. It is a fantastic machine and produces more amps than even our 50 amp shore power connection. But, as it turns out, the generator is on the other side of the wall of the master stateroom, just inches from our heads when we sleep. Luckily, it was cool enough that we did not need the air conditioning at night, so I turned off the generator before bed and ran the boat's fancy blue lights off the house batteries. By my calculations, we burned 40 gallons of diesel running our generator for the two days on the mooring, excluding 8 hours each night while we were sleeping. All the fuel came from the port side tank. At first I was puzzled when I noticed this morning that the starboard tank had substantially more fuel than the port one, and then I realized that the generator had been drawing from the port side fuel tank since Wednesday.<br /><br />Today, we woke up early as usual, and I was glad to see that the previous night's forecast of a beautiful sunny day was correct. Getting off a mooring ball is so easy. We just take the mooring lines off the bow cleats, toss them in the water, and we're done - on our way. No lines or fenders to secure; no dock to depart. So easy. I charted our trip to Kingsman Yacht Club, just North of Falmouth at about 50 nautical miles, a quick and easy run. We left Nantucket Harbor at 7:45 a.m., and set course for Nantucket Sound.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy5gMIwMflFhYLNrtYsScf7Zucv5omagpM5H7n7RLPcsAASVAeqVfH0O21ujsSD3R_DcffJJO4ZK5cChv6aCOyQJH0X-gmmRjqXjamQXABLyUEEzQDrPLbWYhvkJr-aCW9U1LjF1FXrimD/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-07-21+at+5.35.27+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="558" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy5gMIwMflFhYLNrtYsScf7Zucv5omagpM5H7n7RLPcsAASVAeqVfH0O21ujsSD3R_DcffJJO4ZK5cChv6aCOyQJH0X-gmmRjqXjamQXABLyUEEzQDrPLbWYhvkJr-aCW9U1LjF1FXrimD/s640/Screen+Shot+2017-07-21+at+5.35.27+PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our route today from Nantucket to just North of Falmouth</td></tr></tbody></table><br />I ran Sababa at a comfortable 22 knots, with a strong wind from 10 O'Clock. I was alone up top on the flybridge most of the way while the kids slept and Ann had breakfast and read her book in the saloon below.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZGuScIMHo6o3A0zH08KxmK3NLSjSS0BjszmP0SJUhvIVrKLE9T50yVkkMY-1TpBN6cQ-NwLFG37wOXsGwmDuROte6KfQ1wd4h4SICn2kiIAbLr5oqnvzVSp5qVZnYHdVDiethyqvsrBMN/s1600/IMG_2508.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZGuScIMHo6o3A0zH08KxmK3NLSjSS0BjszmP0SJUhvIVrKLE9T50yVkkMY-1TpBN6cQ-NwLFG37wOXsGwmDuROte6KfQ1wd4h4SICn2kiIAbLr5oqnvzVSp5qVZnYHdVDiethyqvsrBMN/s640/IMG_2508.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last look at Nantucket Harbor</td></tr></tbody></table>On this early morning, with no boat in sight and land barely visible in any direction, I felt about as happy as I can remember. This really has been the trip of a lifetime, and I can't believe that a week from today, we will be back in Baltimore (weather permitting). I really don't want it to end. In particular, I was thinking about the fact that in our normal lives with our typical routines, I am lucky if I get to spend 15 minutes with Elana or Benny. They are either holed up in their rooms doing homework, out with friends, or otherwise occupied. For almost two weeks now, I have had the chance to really spend quality time with them. We eat our meals together, explore new areas, ride paddleboards and the dinghy, and live in very close quarters 24 hours/day. It is the kind of quality time that I haven't had in years with my kids, and which I sorely missed from the days of our sailboat trips on the Chesapeake years ago, when I would drag the family out for a week of sailing that resembled camping, but on the water. Our circumstances have changed, and this trip is much more luxurious and comfortable, but at the core it is still the same forced togetherness, an immersion in each other's lives that does not occur in the real world. It is priceless. I will surely miss these days dearly when Elana goes off to college and Benny gets back into his school routine in the Fall.<br /><br />As we approached our destination, I slowed to no wake speed in a channel so as not to overturn the other boats. Ann showed up next to me, and we marveled at how peaceful it was at the slower pace. The channel to our destination was extremely narrow and somewhat complex, and I worried about the depth a couple of times, but we made it, and once we pulled in, we fueled up, pumped out (Elana did the pump out, as well as chemical toilet treatment after), and found our slip. There, Benny and I immediately hosed down the boat, which hadn't been washed in 3 days, and we filled our thirsty and just about empty water tanks. Tie up was easy on the outside of a long floating dock, and all systems were back to normal.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjST9lRT1VOg5l9TnFCs8JxSWybRgZI08Dz3uf_pKBYD8j8ZrK2Jsp_0y5dNq5phlTKXD0bG0nxNY3snUYC36bK18jZ4wMUjL8c5l-fqVmEdj2sS2VqGRT6o0Ti0E46zOYrYuTg5vCYoFDa/s1600/IMG_2513.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjST9lRT1VOg5l9TnFCs8JxSWybRgZI08Dz3uf_pKBYD8j8ZrK2Jsp_0y5dNq5phlTKXD0bG0nxNY3snUYC36bK18jZ4wMUjL8c5l-fqVmEdj2sS2VqGRT6o0Ti0E46zOYrYuTg5vCYoFDa/s640/IMG_2513.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting to the marina was tricky, but it was a very easy tie up.</td></tr></tbody></table>I hadn't done any maintenance since we left home, and it was time for me to check on a few things. I went down below in the engine room and checked the oil on the main engines. Perfect levels, although the oil looked a bit dirty, but I'll wait to have it changed until we're back home. The oil was fresh when we left and that's more than enough to last this trip. The oil level in the generator, however, was low, so I added some. Next, I closed the A/C strainer seacock, pulled out the metal filter, washed it on the dock, and put it all back together so it was good to go. Now, Sababa is completely ready for the trip up to Boston tomorrow.<br /><br />After a quick lunch on the boat, we set out to explore on the dinghy. I let Benny do all the driving, as he was extremely helpful in washing Sababa and prepping the dinghy. I've been teaching both kids more and more of the chores and responsibilities of boating, and it has made life much easier. I'm hoping they'll remember it fondly and that it will be useful to them if they decide to be boaters when they grow up. Not too sure about Elana, but I think Benny is hooked.<br /><br />We dingied over to a mile long beach island across the way, and when we got close to shore, Ann jumped out and pulled us in. We beached the dinghy and hung out on the sand for a while, skipping rocks and collecting some shells. We then dingied some more, until we found a great spot to swim. There was an unused mooring ball, so we tied the dinghy up for a short while there hoping nobody would mind, and three of us jumped in and swam while Ann stayed on the boat and took pictures.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSbualxbqLykPAqbEpYYAEcn3CtDzgQTBK448MfAAeZXrMeOYZ8aeUs34qZxLmjDMpjnd7z0JC_ckJgbcP6yCwQlGlt02YYtIusD4k-4aKD5R54LH9jvqGtn4L6GhsWxb7K5yBWb3tIvZR/s1600/IMG_1916.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSbualxbqLykPAqbEpYYAEcn3CtDzgQTBK448MfAAeZXrMeOYZ8aeUs34qZxLmjDMpjnd7z0JC_ckJgbcP6yCwQlGlt02YYtIusD4k-4aKD5R54LH9jvqGtn4L6GhsWxb7K5yBWb3tIvZR/s640/IMG_1916.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The water was great, and we enjoyed a nice swim</td></tr></tbody></table><br />After we returned, we mounted the dinghy back on Sababa, and Benny strapped her in the way I had shown him. He also washed down the dingy, applied the tilt lock, closed the gas vent, flushed out the motor, put away the life jackets, and earned another chance to drive the dinghy at our next destination! After we showered, we decided to do another homemade meal, and Ann cooked pasta, which we ate up top.<br /><br />A recurring theme on this trip is that Elana wanted a picture of the sunset. However, every place we went either faced East or the weather was bad, and on Day 13, she still had not managed to photograph a sunset. That changed tonight! Kingsman Yacht Center advertises their amazing sunsets, and they even post the time outside their restaurant. We had a front row view from Sababa, and it could not have been more beautiful.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0uTJDocvSPDz0hyy39tlHlfeXrGHveNoH3FRU0Q2f3vx3kw9SOOhSSCODNIkwTmSIr3Tymua08UJQ9XLgd8-zOrEe_TIoFu8CMqTcjh-e6Tw5BfwSA2y09m9Gy54V5jS9f3VSjcY1QuM9/s1600/IMG_1917.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0uTJDocvSPDz0hyy39tlHlfeXrGHveNoH3FRU0Q2f3vx3kw9SOOhSSCODNIkwTmSIr3Tymua08UJQ9XLgd8-zOrEe_TIoFu8CMqTcjh-e6Tw5BfwSA2y09m9Gy54V5jS9f3VSjcY1QuM9/s640/IMG_1917.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elana finally got her sunset</td></tr></tbody></table>Tomorrow, we head to Boston, our furthest destination and our last two-night stay. The weather looks great, although the forecast for our return on Monday is iffy, but we'll deal with that later. Very excited to see Tamara during visiting day at camp the day after tomorrow.Avi Rubinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727241711132643386noreply@blogger.com