Hurricane Sandy's Rampage

It is now weeks since the hurricane hit us, most the towns have power back nd are business as usual.  The DPW trucks are still out taking care of branches and such, the Police are back to normal patrols, the fire departments have all the trucks back in their building, most are back to work, but the residents near our shore waters are still dealing with many problems and some without a home.  Then there are those that had their love of the water damaged, wrecked, or gone.  It is ll a terrible loss and I believe this has caused many to join together in order to deal with this disaster.  My heart goes out to those that lost their home, belongings, or just damage from the storm.  Excuse me, was it Super Storm, Mega Storm, hurricane, tropical storm, but the consistent fact with all the names was SANDY.  She hammered us like no other storm with damages exceeding billions of dollars.  It is the storm we will all remember.

What happens going forward?  Will they stop the rebuilding of those homes along the coast? How many years will it take for us to rebuild? Though we will never be the same due to the loss of many landmarks along the coast, it did teach us a very valuable lesson about respecting Mother Nature when building.  In Mantolokin they used a steel bulkhead after the storm to stop the ocean from passing through to the bay. How many other places had to go to these extremes?  Now we have a huge challenge coming next spring.  It is the challenge of sunken vessels that have not been found.  Most wouldn't think too much about this, but those of us who have a keel hanging below our boats must think about this.  Raritan Bay is a shallow body of water with a few channels for larger vessel traffic.  In speaking with many officials over the past few weeks, most advised the changes that took place in the depths of water along our coast.  They have changed!  Going forward we will all need to tread lightly until we feel out our sailing grounds.

Hurricane Sandy Ravages Raritan Bay

I left for Asia on October 28th, a day before hurricane Sandy hit the New Jersey coast.  I was in Seoul Korea  when the hurricane hit.  With the onset of the storm I was able to get a call in, but the worse had not hit yet.  Thereafter, I had no communication with my friends or family.  Feeling helpless I sat and worried about what could be happening at home.  I finally returned on November 2nd in the early AM hours.  The devastation seen on my way home was truly shocking.  Being there was no electricity, the areas I knew no longer were familiar. It appeared as if we entered a war zone.  My home and boat were pretty much okay.  The Jersey shore was changed and will never be the same.  Thousands of boats wrecked, sank, or damaged.

There were bridges with boats hanging on the,, businesses destroyed, houses wrecked, debris all over the place. The dame was billions and billions.  The boat yard where I kept Lil Provo survived with minimal damage.  They did have about 30 boats pile up, but most boats above the 15' bulk head survived.  It made out much better than others in the area.

You can also find videos on my Youtube Channel http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=UUBJz56-QPaQCyJ-iPCxgCag .  There is also the Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/ashworthsailing.raritanbay and our website www.ashworthdive.com.

I took many pictures this day, but they were all the same.  The biggest surprise was that 5 boats decided to hold out on their mooring and survived the storm.  Amazing is the word I would use for such a feat.

Lil Provo sits home in the back yard and will be ready to sail another season.  We will keep the blog going through the winter as we work on some projects. 

The Season has Ended

Every year I get to this point and it seems like it came faster than the year before.  I so enjoy the sailing on the bay that I find myself preparing my weeks 5 days before they get here.   Planning is half the fun of a day on the water.  Just running down to the boar yard and out to our boat in the dinghy without any plan seems to just be a waste of good time.  Don't get me wrong, I have done it may times, but you really don't get much out of the event except more time on the water.  Having a destination or trip planned is very important to you and your family.  Having a float plan is important as well.  Yes, even while sailing in Raritan Bay!  Who knows what could happen while you are out sailing. I have been knocked down, got caught up in the wind to where we could not turn back or even lower the sails with the two of us on deck to lower the sails while almost getting knocked off and into the water.  Man over board drills are not a good thing when it is rough and windy. But we survived and it does open your eyes.  So in the past weeks prior to leaving home I would post my float plan on the refridge, just in case.  I think this is a good practice to get into for everyone going out in the bay or anyplace for that mater.

I am saddened by the fact that Lil Provo is on the hard for the next 7 months.  But my way around this is to work on her all winter to make her a better vessel the next season.  And boy, do I have plans this winter.

Being out off of Long Island on a calm day is great, even if you can't see the shore. But when the weather cooperates with you it is amazing the sailing you can get in.  Call it the little kid inside of all of us.  It is just down right fun.

Getting close enough to shore is always a comforting feeling  and gives you the feeling of a little more control.  Out in the ocean, you must roll with the punches mother nature throws at you, so planning good weather for a ocean trip is important and comforting.

 This past weekend was the end of our sailing season.  Yes, I have John Olsen pull out Lil Provo and prepare her for the half hour trip home.  The first step to this ritual is to load up the dingy on top of the truck and get that all secured.  Our dinghy is the larger dinghy bottom up.  This is an old fiberglass dinghy that is from the late sixties or early seventies.  It has to weight about 150 pounds and all the repairs over the years maybe another 25 pounds.  So it is not something you can throw around like the one on it's side next to ours.  The new plastic dinghies are really light.  Gary and I loaded up the dinghy and then moved on to secure Lil Provo, remove the motor, secure the mast, remove the rudder, and strap her down to her trailer.

This dinghy has paid for itself more times than I can imagine.  I rebuilt the small keel on the bottom from IPE wood.  All that dragging onto the concrete ramp every time you sail really takes it toll on the small keel.  This year we had minimal wear but still wore right through the fiberglass.  This winter we will add an aluminum plate along the bottom of the keel for longer life.

With the dinghy secured on the roof of the truck it was now time to get Lil Provo ready for her ride home.  It was great the way John had her sitting there very accessible for us.  I backed up opened the rear hatch to the truck and loaded the rudder and outboard.  We then added my mast supports used for transportation and tied down the mast securely to the boat.  I have a bunch of cargo straps that we use.  Yes some of them are made for really big things and I feel much more secure with a 3-1/2" strap ratcheted down than I would one that is only an inch. While we were securing Lil Provo we hear a lot of yelling and when we walked out into the parking we saw John's pickup in the water, but hold it, John was not home and no workers were in the yard! 

It seems someone decided to use John's truck to pull their boat out of the water and not familiar with truck they slide right down into the bay. They had their boat on the trailer and the weight pulled the truck and trailer down into the water.  When we got close enough to take a look, the truck was floating nose down as the trailer was still hooked to the nose ball on the truck.  This was not a good thing as this is the truck that is used to pull the boats out of the water and to move them around the property.  This time of year it is essential to have this truck working.  One of the guys who allowed the truck to make it to the water was now scrambling for the old international pickup to pull the other pickup and trailer from the water.  The roar of that old flat hear firing up is a distinguishable sound and after years at the yard, you just know when the have to start the old tank up.  Actually the old International is still the workhorse of the boat yard.

 The hooked a cable to the rear of the truck from the winch in the back of the International.  They had a hard time getting the cable to lay right when they began pulling it up and had to use their hands to guide the cable.  At least they smartened up and used the ground tackle secured into the parking lot to make sure another pickup did not make it's way to the water.

 This old International has fenders of such heavy steel, you could hit them with a hammer without making a dent.  There are many people who would like to get hold of this old truck, but it has been in the family for a long time and John will not part with it.  

 What a great piece of nostalgia!

 With Lil Provo all secured, it was time to head on home to her resting spot for the next seven months. To the left in this photo is an old Olsen wooden boat that is still used.  The yards has quite a few of these hanging around and they are really a great riding boat with plenty of room.

We got the boat home without any problems and placed her in her winter home.  I still need to jack up the trailer and take the load off the springs and tires.  This will be done over the next month.  She also will be stripped clean on the inside so I have a clean slate to work on.   She will be ready come next May. 

During the next few months we hope to share some of the things we have planned for Lil Provo this winter.

Where has the summer gone?

This year has been so much different than the others. I have not been able to take full days off so I have had to work a half day and then run down to the boat to have some fun. We have done some really great sailing this year and traveled man miles. We seem to find ourselves in New York waters much more than New Jersey. Long Island and Staten Island just seem to have so much to offer. There are harbors, inlets, islands, amusement parks, and just better sailing due to the way the wind comes in. We have had one of the best years yet fishing and some of the most challenging sailing as well. To date we have over 47 days in on the water and we easily break the 50 mark this year. The maintenance has been minimal with only replacing the float on the bilge pump this year. We set our own standing rigging and have been going all season, non stop. The interior has had more cleanings than I care to note, but that is only because the boat has mainly been a guy boat all season with only two trips with women on board. Not that we don't want women on board, it's just that the fishing has been so damn good this year. I really have to make it a point to get here weekly to enter things. We will have to add a lot of pictures once we have time this winter.

Time to head for the water

It is mid May and all that is left before Lil Provo can head for the bay is to finish the bottom paint. I expect to finish that one evening this week. A quick trip to west Marine for a new trailer winch cable and new gas tank will have Lil Provo in good shape. Due to the lack of help preparing the boat this year I have had to put some things on the back burner. This would be varnishing the teak, polishing the stainless, and finishing the wood sole floor in the cabin. Maybe I can finish these while on the water. I expect to bring her down the shore either Sunday or one day during the week. In any case she must be in the water for Memorial Day. I will keep you posted.

Moved to the Driveway

Lil Provo has been moved to the driveway where we can work on her more easily. After uncovering her I realized I did not do as good a job as I thought on removing the water stains from last season. I will have to take the buffer out and work on the hull to get her nice and clean. I have three pages of things that must be done before she is placed in the water for the summer. Most are really cleaning items, but there are a few construction projects, a couple convenience items, some electrical, a flag line, and to replace the water pump in the engine. This gives me seven weeks to get everything done. I will be doing a lot of documentation this year to getting her ready and much more once she is on the water. We will keep you up to date.

2012 Work Begins

I have made lists of the work I would like to accomplish on Lil Provo before we put her in the water this May. There are many things to do to the boat, motor, and trailer. This coming weekend will be the beginning of all of that work. This weekend we will pull all of the things that are still left in the boat out, give all the cushions to the wife to wash the covers, and take some measurements for the new sole wood floor I am planning on installing. This will add more to the nautical look inside the cabin. I am also building a step from the companionway to the sole. When the boat was new, it had a small cooler that was the step. We have had no step for years and think it is about time we make it easier to get in and out of the cabin. Next we will move her into the driveway where I will check all deck mounted items to make sure they are tight and sealed from the weather. That is just a start. We'll keep you posted as we progress.