Home Port; on the Delaware River at Fox Grove Marina Essington PA.

Friday, September 30, 2011

September 2011

September 30, 2011
Late Septmber sail 5 to 10kt gusting to 15, mid 70's F

September 29, 2011
Two weeks of rain finally coming to an end, maybe, time to plan a trip for October.
Ordered a very small plastic clip for the outboard starter/shift cam lock. The clip snapped and created a condition limiting reliability of shifting into neutral or reverse.

Ophelia gained strength but is projected to turn NNE away from the US east coast. Philippe is projected to turn ENE


September 26, 2011
Ophelia falls apart and Philippe continues to turn north.




September 25, 2011
Ophelia and Philippe


September 24, 2011
TD 17 after Ophelia

Philadelphia Navy Yard Warehouse

September 23, 2011
And another one after Ophelia just forming


September 22, 2011
Another day without wind, adjusted furling head sail leech, moved clutch on boom vang to boom end for ease of use from cockpit, installed new Plastimo radar reflector on shroud at spreader, then had a beer. Measured for new companionway door, after two beers, maybe I should measure again?

Next up Ophelia


September 19, 2011
A day with minimal breeze. Fixed a snagged spinnaker halyard and wanted to to do a test run, but not even enough air movement for the spinnaker. An afternoon of controled drifting on the Delaware and watching aircraft land at PHL.

Last time I used the spinnaker I was changing windward side so frequently, carrying the spinnaker forward around the forestay and furling jib that I tangled the halyard with forestay above the furler. Attempts to untangle made the problem worse. At dock today I used binoculars to view the mess I created and walked the sheet out of its tangle checking with binoculars at each untwist.


Mariners' 1-2-3 Rule;
The Mariners' 1-2-3 Rule, or "Danger area", is indicated by shading. The 1-2-3 Rule, commonly taught to mariners, refers to the rounded long-term NHC forecast errors of 100-200-300 nautical miles at 24-48-72 hours, respectively. The contour defining the shaded area is constructed by accounting for those errors and then broadened further to reflect the maximum tropical storm force (34 knot) wind radii forecast at each of those times by the NHC. The NHC does not warrant that avoiding these danger areas will eliminate the risk of harm from tropical cyclones.


September 16, 2011
Slow day-sail on the river still air with a few puffs and gusts, but water is now clear to about 2ft visibility on the rudder. Still some Irene and Lee debris clunking against the hull and collecting in the slips.

Minor fiasco;
Single handed approach the slip at just under half throttle to overcome the current, bow enters the slip, motor to neutral, I go forward step off at the shrouds as the fender nudges home, spring line in hand ready to drop onto the dock cleat. The boat starts to gain speed reversing out of the dock, closest cleat is now at the end of the finger pier.

With spring line on the end cleat the boat swings around to form a perfect tee with the pier, just missing neighbors both sides. Step back on the now stationary boat and with longer dock lines and power get the boat back into its slip.


September 14, 2011


September  13, 2011
Sailing today with Pepe: to Billingsport and return, gentle breeze just under 5kt with some welcome gusts. Lots of debris on the river. A light wind spinnaker day, but time to get a new spinnaker pole.

September 12, 2011
Katia is visiting the British isles now, but Maria is building strength north of Puerto Rico and may follow same the same NNE path of Katia east of 70w or NNW of Irene west of 70w.



September 9, 2011

September 8, 2011
Nate is growing in the Gulf, Lee and Katia are dropping rain on the NE and Maria is on her way?


September 7, 2011
Hurricane Katia should miss the east coast and be just a coastal storm. Tropical Depression 14 is growing and looks like same path as Katia.
Update TD14 is now a named storm "Maria".

September 4, 2011


September 3, 2011
Sailing after Hurricane Irene silt clears from river, but still some small and large chunks of debris.

Ulladh

Ulladh pronounced "ul-la" (null lad).





Uladh the gaelic spelling for the territory of the U-Nail chieftains in the ancient Irish province of Ulster (English/Norse), originally the counties of Down and Antrim, but now including Derry, Armagh, Tyrone, Fermanagh, Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan, also referred to as Ulidia (Greek/Roman),.



Uladh was the home of a pre-celtic, cruithne (crew-en-ya) pictish tribe, who may have been descendants of prehistoric tribes indigenous to the British Isles since the retreat of the last ice age.



Evidence from cut marks on deer bones from more than 30,000 years ago found in the karst formations of the Burren probably from hunters suggest a homonid precence. Archeological finds date first inhabitants (DNA evidence suggests dark or black skin and blue eyes) to about 6,000 BC and trade goods from Rathlin Island, County Antrim off the northeast coast of Ireland made from porcellanite stone appearing in Egypt and Crete by 2,500 BC.



The early tribes of Ireland where displaced by later waves of migrants from mainland Europe; about 1700 BC by bronze age tribes, celtic tribes about 500 BC, and in the past two millenia; Roman trading posts, Viking settlements, English plantations... and in the 21st century a welcome increasing diversity from the European Union and the world.



SV Ulladh (for vhf clarity I use "sailing vessel ul-la") is named for the territory of the first peoples to settle in Ireland after the retreat of the last ice age.



Fisksatra

Since 1949 Fisksatra Varv in the coastal town of Fisksatra Sweden, built fiberglass boats from dinghies to a 300 ton minesweeper for the Swedish Navy.

The Havsfidra 20's were built between 1968 and the late 1970's to Swedish Navy and Lloyd's certification standards.

The Havsfidra 20 and a larger version the Storfidra 26 where sold in the United States by Continental Yachts and Trawler Agency of Atlantic City NJ.

Havsfidra; sea-feather?
(fidra; to touch or tickle with a feather -Icelandic-English Dictionary, Clarendon Press 1874)