Tuesday, June 19, 2018

TIME OF THE SEASON: Eldridge Tide and Pilot Book

As the cold wet spring gives way to warm temperatures I finally start to get on with idea of finally launching BIANKA.  Last minute items like installing the shaft zinc, polishing the prop and grounding plate are done. Telling the boatyard to paint the bottom and take down the mast from it's storage location. One of the final items is picking up the latest Eldridge Tide an Pilot Book. A most useful book of information for sailing the waters of Long Island Sound and the entire Northeast United States. Beyond the tide and current information it is also packed with information about the skies as well as a number of interesting articles of a nautical nature. The latest edition is an example. There is a page with sketches of the various rigs and types of sailboats. I have always described BIANKA as a Catboat.  Though the latest Eldridge describes it quite accurately as a Wishbone-Cat. I always learn something new with an Eldridge on board.

Tuesday, June 05, 2018

FLASHBACK TO A MISSING FLASHLIGHT

I was thinking about flashlights and an incident that occurred several years ago while I was cruising with BIANKA. I had taken the dingy into a dock. Since I did was not familiar with the harbor and it's security issues. I really don't even remember where it was. I decided it best that I secure the dingy with a security cable and a combination lock. I went into town, I think for dinner and came back to the dock where the dingy was after dusk. I went to unlock the dingy but, found my eyes could not read any of the numbers on the lock in the fading light. Try as I might my aging eyes just could not discern the numbers. It was late in the season and the summer crowds had long disappeared and it was getting cold. Did not look like anyone else would be coming to the dock that fall evening. I was a bit in a panic as it was not getting any lighter. I should have had a flashlight in the dingy but, had forgotten to put one in. I looked around and did not see any other boats that might have a flashlight I could use to unlock my dingy. Then I spied the Harbor Police boat tied up nearby. I thought it might have a flashlight I could use to unlock the dingy. It did. But, it also caused a little bit of a dilemma. Getting caught boarding a Police boat and even worse taking something off of it might be hard to explain. But, I was getting desperate as the evening grew darker and it grew colder. I bordered the boat and found a flashlight. I quickly went and unlocked my dingy and replaced the flashlight back on the Police boat without being noticed. I thought about this incident from years ago and how unlikely it would not happen today thanks to advancing technology. These days I would have my cellphone and  use it's flashlight app to light up the dingy lock. Of course one would have to remember to bring the cell phone along. But, I'm less likely to do that since it's usually in my shirt pocket.