TIS THE END OF THE SEASON

The boom is down the mast unstepped and BIANKA waits at the dock to be hauled out for the winter. I make one more trip out to the mooring to remove the pickup stick. I also winterized most of the systems on board which is basically the boats water system thanks to the conversion to electric propulsion in 2008. I no longer need to spend cold evenings in the boatyard changing the engine oil and running antifreeze through the engine. Being retired I can pick my days to do other winter storage prep like removing the sail and dropping the boom. This makes owning a boat more enjoyable as I get older.

A NEW END TO SEASON

Fall has come and it's time to end the sailing season here on Long Island. I'm trying something different this season. I am taking the sail off and lowering the boom while the boat is on the mooring instead of at the dock. This allows me to do the tasks at my leisure and in the best weather conditions. Starting with the sail and got it off just in time as a Nor Easter is expected to hit the Island this week.

 

 

Only negative was the sailbag was too large to store in the cabin. To help keep the sail dry I wrapped it up in a tarp. Once the storm has passed I'll head back out to drop the boom to the deck.

TWENTY YEARS AGO: SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

 Twenty years ago BIANKA was docked at Chelsea Piers just up the river from the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11th 2001. I was not supposed to be there that morning. I had planned to start a two to three week cruise out toward Marthas Vineyard and Nantucket the day before. But, I had trouble getting access to the Internet to take care of some business. The weather report also called for severe thunderstorms on Monday afternoon ahead of a cold front that would be coming through. So I decided to postpone my departure to the next day Tuesday September 11th. Between the storms and Internet issue I thought well what's the hurry.

On the morning of September 11th there was a beautiful clear sky and nice a crisp wind from the northwest that would be perfect for heading down Long Island Sound. I had about a half hour before departure. I was down below in the cabin stowing a few last minute items when I heard the first plane fly overhead. I had heard planes flying down the Hudson River on occasion but, I thought to myself that plane sounded awfully close. Just as I thought that I felt the impact of the plane as it hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center. The whole boat shook followed closely by the sound of the explosion. I poked my head up out of the hatch and could see a black mushroom cloud flowing up the side of the north tower.

I jumped into the dingy and started to bail it out previous nights rain. While I was doing that the second plane hit and again I felt the vibration of the impact. I rowed out into the Hudson River with my video camera and began taking video and listening to the local news station on the radio I took out with me. All the photos here are screen shots from the video tape I took.

It was a strange feeling being out alone on the river watching the scene. One felt very helpless. The current was trying to push me down the river and I had only the oars to keep me in place. Something told me to make sure I did not drift down toward the towers so I rowed and rowed against the current that was supposed to carry BIANKA and I down toward the Battery for the start of our cruise. I kept rowing and video taping until I heard the reporter on the radio scream: "Oh my God, oh my God the tower is coming down":

I could not see the south tower from my vantage point as the North Tower blocked it. But, I could hear the rumble and see the dust cloud start to expand around lower Manhattan. It made the North Tower look like it was a rocket about to take off:

I kept rowing against the current which was getting stronger but, I could not keep my eyes off what was happening just down the river. I kept rowing and then at some point I heard another rumble and the sound of twisting metal and watched in horror as the North Tower collapsed. With the TV antenna perched on top it seem to come down slowly like a candle slowly burning down. It only took a few seconds but it seemed like a long time until all that was left of the World Trade Center was a huge dust cloud that covered lower Manhattan and soon spread out into the harbor:

I suddenly started to feel the ache in my arms from all the rowing I did. I headed back into the marina and just stared at the river for most of the afternoon. New York Harbor was closed down to all traffic and that night was very surreal as I sat on the bow looking at the river. It was silent and calm as not a single Tug or any other boat was out on the river. I never did get out on that cruise. When BIANKA and I finally left Manhattan in early October I lost that dingy too in a gale heading down the sound. Considering what others had lost on September 11th I consider myself very lucky.

HURRICANE HENRI PREP

 It's been almost 36 years since Long Island suffered a direct hit from a Hurricane. So I spent the the morning on BIANKA doing storm preparation as hurricane Henri approaches.

Added a second line to the mooring.

Removed anchor from the bow roller to prevent it from cutting through the mooring lines.

Finally dropped the sail and cover on deck to reduce windage.

I took a photo as I headed for shore. Hope it's not the last photo I take of BIANKA. Now I can only hope for the best.

OUTFITTING SEASON: VHF INSTALL

 Spring has come and the winter hiatus has released my gumption to the point where I am finally starting on projects that have long been planned. One of them is to install an additional VHF radio in the forward cabin. The radio was bought in 2018 so you can see I'm a little bit behind schedule. Every year I kept reminding myself I'll be able to do the installation during the summer but, never did.  Now is the time and the VHF install is first of the list this spring outfitting season.

First I had to place the flush mounted pattern that came with Standard Horizon GX2200 in the location where it would be mounted. I checked and double checked the space behind it to make sure there was nothing in the way. 

Once the pattern was outlined I drilled holes in the corners to allow for a jigsaw blade to be inserted.

Then using the jigsaw I cut out the the marked pattern for the radio.

Unfortunately, when I was removing the saw from the space I cut my finger on the jigsaw blade when I removed it.

Luckily it was not that major of a cut that I needed outside medical attention. But, still a painful enough reminder to remember to focus when using power tools.  Injury aside the physical install of the radio was completed without further injury:

  

A SOLAR UPGRADE

One of the nice things of having converted from Diesel to Electric Propulsion is the ability to easily upgrade. That includes the auxiliary systems.  Like BIANKA's 48 volt solar controller. I originally installed a Morningstar 48 volt solar controller back over ten years ago.

It has been a real workhorse that has never failed to keep the propulsion bank topped up summer and winter. Since that it was installed new solar charge controllers have come on the market. ones with MPPT tracking that claim to squeeze more watts out of the sun along with on board data collection with Bluetooth connectivity. So in late winter I decided to replace the Morningstar unit with a Victron SmartSolar 100/20 48 volt Solar Charge Controller.

Time will tell if the Victron unit will hold up as well as the Morningstar. But, I'm not going to get rid of the old Morningstar 48  volt controller. It has already proved it's self over the years. Instead it will become part of the boat's spares complement. As the prudent mariner always has a backup.

 

WINTER BLISS AND WINTER REGRETS

 It's been a rough year because of the COVID virus which has continued into a rough winter here in the northeast U.S. I've managed to get some relief from the snow an cold temperatures by hopping onto a plane and getting some place warm every month for the last three months. Which for me is spending some time in the Florida Keys. Mostly in Marathon.  While I am enjoying the warmth I am also aware that the back to back winter storms and snow cover has prevented me from checking on BIANKA in over two months. It does not help that from my balcony I can see the boats anchored outside of Boot Key harbor. It makes me both wishing one of them was BIANKA and I was onboard. It is also a reminder that I need to get back onboard BIANKA to do a winter check as soon as possible.