Good Night Irene

[RicM]

Well it's the end of August, we have scheduled, provisioned, & left on vacation and guess what? There's another freaking hurricane coming up from the bowels of the Caribbean, a huge weather fart heading my way. For those who have read my posts about previous cruises on Time after Time (TaT, from here on in)
the theme will be familiar, this will be hurricane #3 spent on board, join us for our adventures as we search for a hurricane mooring tomorrow in Cotuit Bay. Join us ( and chime in) on the prep for hurricane day. Stay glued to your mobile device and follow my posts throughout the storm. See if I CROAK! Where else can you have this kind of fun?

[jcollins]

Well Ric,
I am ready to grab a beer and once again, vicariously, follow you on yet another journey. From the looks of my very amatuer forecasting you will be on the eastern edge of it, out of harms way, around 2:00 PM Sunday.
Good luck and hang on!

[RicM]

Irene appears to be heading to the west, so returning home at this point would mean heading toward an area where there is a higher chance of damage. Although instinct is to return home when danger threatens, it's never wise to run toward the danger. I will be spending Sunday on a "hurricane mooring" in North Bay, a very protected area north of Cotuit Bay, away from the ocean. These hurricane moorings are extra heavy anchors in particularly protected coves. Local fisherman would store their boats there before the days of marinas and boat lifts. One of the great things about boating is that we are the darlings of the village, wandering waifs, dislocated unfortunates. Everyone wants to come to our rescue. We've been offered a half dozen moorings, free, each one better than the last guys. Everyone wants to be associated with our adventure, without actually sitting on the boat for 24 hours in a 60 mph wind, bored to tears until the moment something breaks and panic ensues. If nothing breaks, no problem, it was a piece of cake. Something breaks, you have about 15 seconds to get it right before you go in the water. Fortunately, North Bay is small, protected and shallow. Directly to the North, the direction a boat that breaks free or a man in the water will travel is a soft, sandy beach. I was in the water today and it was a pleasant temperature and not too many jellyfish.

This will be our 3rd hurricane/tropical storm on Time after Time. We have spent hurricanes aboard in Essex CT, and Onset, MA. 40-60 mph wind is Ok. 125... That's a little freaky. Looks to me like closer to 40-60 out here. I'll keep you posted...

[RobS]

But what about your patio set and potted plants sitting helplessly at Elm Dr...

[RobS]

Just realized you started this thread after my call to you Friday night. I'm sorry for prompting you to check the weather and put a damper on your trip!

I'm like, what, half your age? and you make me feel sooooo old!

[RicM]

Took a tour around Cotuit and Osterville to determine the best place to ride out the storm this morning. The hurricane mooring offered by Bruce's friend EJ was mighty,  a 6000 lb anchor and tackle for a 60 footer, easy, but the concern was the all to close for my taste, lee shore, a solid 6' stone sea wall. IF anything went bad, it would be, indeed, goodnight Irene. The house behind the sea wall, the former home of actress Lee Remick, looked like a nice place to visit, I just didn't want to be ship wrecked there.  It was also in the north end of North Bay, so with wind from the S and SW it would have been a rough ride with plenty of fetch to get the waves going. The next stop, Prince Cove, was the ideal H Hole, so much so that it was REALLY crowded. All the moorings were filled and there were boats anchored cheek by jowl. All you needed was one of those sceevy sailboats to break free and it would have looked like candle pin bowling as the rogue yacht would take out a dozen others in its path. Seriously considered but pass, thank you. Last stop was the mooring at the SW corner of Cotuit Bay belonging to the wonderfully named King Lowe whom we dined with Thursday evening. The mooring is sturdy, and right up to the windward shore with a large windbreak of trees. We are at the head of the mooring field in a S-SW wind with no boats in front of us to do us damage. So, here we sit. It's 5pm Saturday as I write this, and we have had 2 rain squalls blow through, but the wind is minimal at this point. We'll be heading in to shore in the dingy for an H party at Cousin Ron's in a while. The real party will start later this evening...

[jleonard]

Stay safe. The good news is the storm is weakening.

[RobS]

Stay safe. The good news is the storm is weakening.

But it's big and slow, like a trawler I guess

[RobS]

Here's a cut/paste from the Commander Weather Update from 5PM tonight for your area:

Cape Cod and the Islands

1) Winds will back into the E this evening and then veer thru the SE and into the S later Sun

morning

a) winds will gust to 50-60 mph Sun morning

b) could be another period of 60-70 mph of wind as winds shift thru the S into the SW and W Sunday

afternoon.

c) there could be an extended period of strong W winds on the back side of Irene – winds will

diminish Sunday evening.

2) A few bands of showers this evening with some heavy showers overnight ending daybreak Sunday.

b) total rainfall 1-2 inches

3) The storm surge will be a big problem with up to 6-10 feet possible from Buzzards to the S side of

the Islands

a) 3-6 ft is possible Nantucket Sound.

4) Irene will pass well W of this area, but still have a big impact, especially the surge!

[RicM]

3am and the wind has started a low howl from the East. This should be the roughest part for us as we are somewhat open to the east. Rocking and rolling a bit. The ropes are groaning in a theatrical manner. I have run additional lines from the mooring shackle to the bow cleats then the spring cleats on both sides and that's what I hear making noise at the moment. I have a vision of the squid man from Pirates of the Carribean. Will try to go back to sleep. Maybe.

[RicM]

7am

First light shows everything is fine, sort of. There is a lot more wind from due east than we expected, making for a lot of rock & roll at this stage. The wind should start to shift around toward the south soon which will be better for us. Ground tackle is functioning well. There are still a fair number of boats on moorings and we can judge our situation well by watching them. The dock lines I put onto the mooring ball have stretched a bit and now all three lines are taking strain. I confident in that department. Wind is still increasing. I uploaded 2 cell phone videos to YouTube but they haven't shown up in my account yet.  Will post a link when they do.

Had a great dinner at Cousin Ron's last night, fresh fluke caught by grand daughter Abbie along with lots of laughs. Ron says he's going to look at a 31 TE in FL in Sept. He's been "buying" a boat for 3 years now.

Wind is freshening, waiting for it to start turning...

[RicM]

Ok got some YouTube links for y'all:
Cotuit Skiffs sheltering:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAgZmuqu ... ata_player

View from my window :

http://youtu.be/odE-LGq-8jY

[RicM]

11AM

The main line on the mooring chaffed through just now. The wind has been very strong, with the boat tracking back and forth spiritedly. The the dock lines I tied yesterday are all that's holding us now. They are fairly heavy and show no signs of chaffe but the main pendant went awful fast once it started. We will have ton stay on watchnand be ready to motor to Prince Cove if the lines part.

[RicM]

The wind has finally turned to the SW and we are in a better position than anytime in the last 8 hours. The two West Marine 5/8" docklines are holding well, look to be in good shape, and will definately get retired to a place of glory when we return. I guess the larger question was is it worth it to subject ourselves and TaT to this level of danger and abuse? The answer? A qualified yes. I have learned an awful lot these many hours, seen a couple of boats carried away, one behind us has capsized. I have learned that the thickest ropes are not always the strongest. That wind and waves can wrap around a point of land in very interesting ways, and not always in the same ways, meaning you could end up pointing into the SW wind but be broadside to waves wrapping around the point, not very comfortable for crew. I have learned my limits, which are about 50MPH winds, and thankfully not learned TaT's and do not wish to. I have learned that I am blessed with an excellent crew. While I did see Miss K's eyes widen a few times, she has remained calm and of good humor. I now realize the hurricane hole in Prince Cove would have been a better choice, less work, less worry. While it appeared claustrophobic yesterday, I was ready to run there today if the dock lines parted and I would be taking a nap right now and then cooking steaks on the grill. In a hurricane, enclosed is better.

The acquisition of knowledge usually entails some risk, and while this did not entail risk of life and limb (well maybe a tad), I will consider it a worthwhile experience that I will probably seek to avoid in the future.

Perhaps  this one, storm number 3, will end the hurricane curse on TaT and her crew. I have thought about renting her out to drought stricken parts of the country. I could ship her to Kansas in late August and just about guarantee 7 inches of rain.

[DougSea]

Ric, as always a well told tale and I'm so glad you guys came through with no more than additional "experience"! My best to Miss K.

Safe journeys!