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.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

August 2011

August 28, 2011


August 26, 2011
Waiting for Hurricane Irene


August 13, day sail with a return to gentle breezes and occasional gusts.



August 4, 5 & 6 Cape May to Essington (write up in progress)

Depart Bidwell Creek Cape May Thursday August 4 at about 8:30 AM in light rain just after low tide when my keel could slip enough in the mud at the marina entrance to get out.

Winds out of the ENE 10 to 15 kt gusting to 20+ with reports from mid bay buoy at 17kt sustained,

Left with main on second reef sailed across to Egg Island Flats at speed over ground (SOG) 4.5 minimum and 6.5 maximum. Sea state was a short period chop 2 to 3 ft and some beam breaking waves about 4 ft.

Egg Island Flats to the Cohansey River entrance, wind and chop was building but the boat was happy and charged up the lower bay as if its skipper knew what he was doing.

With good speed I over shot the turn into wind for the pylon entrance markers at the Cohansey, which then resulted in a jib to close haul with wind just off the bow and charge to the entrance, rather than drop sail and motor into the wind. In retrospect that is what I should have planned to do, again the boat was leading the skipper.

Sailed through the entrance into the wide winding Cohansey, rolled in the heads sail, motor on and wait for a long section between serpentine bends to head into the still strong wind to drop sail.

Motor on, go to the mast and drop sail, the current and local eddies swing the boat around as I tend to sail but all secure and motor to Hancock Harbor, dock at 2:30 PM. 30 nm in 6hours including the winding Bidwell Creek and Cohansey River, a 5kt SOG average.



Depart Hancock Harbor 8:30 AM Friday August 5. light winds out of the south, clear sky.
Motor out the winding Cohansey and hoist sails just before passing through the entrance pylons. With the gentle breeze from the south on port beam the boat glides along at 2 to 3 kt past Arnold Point and crab pots to deeper water.

Jib to a heading for the Salem cooling tower with the breeze directly on stern, try wing on wing but progress drops to about 1 knot. I ahve 28nm to cover and need to make at least 4kt with  favorable current to reach Delaware City before the tide turns.

Motor on, head sail furled, mainsail sheeted tight and motor sail to Delaware City.

Arrive Delaware City 2:45 PM with the flood tide propelling this little craft at 6kt with the motor on idle from the lower end of reedy Island to the old canal entrance.



Depart Delaware City about 11:00 Saturday August 6. Alex bike 45 miles to join me on the sail/motor sail to Essington.

Motor out to the main shipping lanes in disturbed and confused water, 2 to 3 foot short chop without consistent direction. Alex at helm,  I had reefed the mainsail before departing with winds 15kt + and gusting. Turned NE up river, the wind now directly on the stern and weakening.

We motor sail with main only to Cherry Island Flats, then with a SE wind 10 to 15 and gusting we sail to Marcus Hook, then through Commodore Barry Bridge and race with the the flood tide to Essington in a building wind.

The concern is when to turn to wind for the mainsail drop, we have a short distance between the marinas and Little Tinicum Island that will be windward then we will be in mud flats. Just before Fox Grove the gust change direction, Alex turns the boat 45deg off the marinas into the gust, I drop the sail and tie.

Motor into the slip with Joe of Bonnie Blue standing ready to help dock.


More photo's to come.

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.