I HATE SHOES

There were 50 knot gusts yesterday in the inner harbor, where Winchelsea  and I live. There were also 25 foot waves in Massachusetts Bay, as a low pressure system came around and parked itself over Boston. It's not supposed to leave until Monday, which means more rain and snow with less intense wind. I went back to the Winchelsea  at lunch time yesterday and made sure all the dock lines were secure, the bilge was pumped out and that everything looked in order. When I returned later, after watching a really good IMAX movie at the aquarium, the winds were very, very strong. Boats were bouncing around the marina and it looked to be about 1-2 feet, after the waves were dissipated by the outer docks, which you can see in the picture below, to the left of the end of Long Wharf. The winds were supposed to increase until about midnight. I went below and started watching a movie and having a little night cap. Around 11:30 I noticed things started getting a little more rolly and t...

I woke up this morning to about a half inch of water at the base of the companionway steps. This may not sound like a lot, but it covered a large area and included about 3 inches below the floor to the bilge area. The water was spilling in from the cockpit, and every time the boat pitched or rolled, another large mouthful of water would wash into the cabin. It rained heavily throughout the night and with the cockpit drain clogged, the water had no other place to go and decided to cause me some grief. After spending 30 or so minutes in the rain that was only slightly above freezing unclogging my cockpit drain, I turned my attention to the water that had made its way into my home. I went to the electrical control panel and flipped the switch for the bilge pump. Nothing. Flipped it again. Nothing still. I checked the batteries next, since the pump runs on the DC power system and not the shore AC system, and they were both at nearly full charge. The damp feeling on my forehead t...

But sadly no pictures, I totally forgot :( I really need to get better about that, I know pictures are a lot more popular than text. It all went very well though. Maria made two "loaves" of beer bread using the toaster oven, which we had with decadent black truffle butter . We also had some decent Brie that just so happened to be on sale. Scott, Jeanine and Elena brought a salad and some great white wine. For the main course, I decided to use haddock instead of cod (it was on sale, and I thought would probably hold up better in the stew). I would highly recommend this recipe. It is nearly fat free, very healthy, flavorful, and best of all: its cooked in a single pot. Winchelsea  Haddock Stew (thanks to Miss Maria for putting this together from other recipes for stews) 1/2 cup vegetable stock 2 red bell peppers, seeded and sliced 2 medium zucchini 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces 2 celery stalks, sliced 2 onions, chopped 2 cloves garlic, c...

As promised...enjoy! Oh, and comment if you so desire, please :)

On the heels of the last post, where I mentioned that every day poses a new challenge, I awoke Wednesday morning to the discovery that my companionway hatch had completely frozen shut. I was on the inside, trying to slide it back, and it just would not budge. I slammed my fist against it to try and break it free from the billions of hydrogen bonds trapping me below, but to no avail. I escaped through the forward hatch above the v-berth, which can be seen in the background of the first picture, the foreground is the unmovable companionway hatch. The second picture is turned around 180 degrees, my view for the morning. I think that makes it worth a little inconvenience from time to time :)

My friend Kate found this gem in the Boston Globe online this morning, its about liveaboards in Boston! The photo (which is actually a video if you click on it) is of Jarrett, he lives 4 spots down from me! A port in stormy times The video has inspired me to do my own video tour of the Winchelsea , so look for that pretty soon. Saturday looks sunny, so look for it around then. As far as my commentary on the article, I think it catches a good angle as far as living on a sailboat, and specifically, in Boston Harbor in the middle of winter. It's not always easy, but most of the time its pretty fun, and there is always something to do. I don't have shrink wrap on my boat (and given the small amount of snow here, knock on wood, I think I made the right decision), but it is far from a derelict.  “The people who live on boats share a sense of adventure and get to live on the water, where they love to be,’’ said Linda Ridihalgh, editor of Living Aboard This is one quote ...

I have been reviewing many books on proper outfitting for a sailboat like mine, and I have compiled a list of items/repairs/upgrades that the Winchelsea  needs. They range from simple checks and calculations to confirm that she is "sea worthy" to the purchase and installation of a self-steering wind-vane gear system, later down the road. I have ranked them from 0-9, with 0 being the item or task that recieve attention first. The rank is a product of the priority and cost. These are qualitative numbers, with 1 having more priority than a 2 and a cost of 1 being less than a cost of 3. The cost of 0 means it is a check to make sure what exists is within acceptable limits (which could lead to more repairs or upgrades if it is not). I plan on starting the 0 ranked items immediately, with those ranked 1-3 following before the start of the sailing season. Those ranked 4 and above will be tended to as money and time become available, with a preference given to items concerning sa...

I am down in Florida this week, for a variety of reasons. The Daytona 500 is next weekend, and although I am not huge fan of NASCAR, I went last year and its just an experience you have to have for yourself to understand it. Gas fumes, loud cars, the beach, and some of the best people watching on this continent. Secondly, I'm in Sarasota for most of this week to visit Mother and do some fishing. I got hooked (ahh, puns) on shark fishing in December on the Everglades trip I took with Mat and his dad. Four days of fishing and kayaking. Oh, and we caught this big boy to your left, a hefty 6' bull shark. I got myself a Penn Senator 9/0 with a nice custom rod and brought it with me down here to be strung up with line. We'll be hitting the beaches for some shore fishing tomorrow night. On to the free boat. There are a couple of derelict boats in the bay just across the street from where Mother lives. One happens to be a sailboat and, despite being half full of water, she looks t...

When everything aboard is frozen solid, it takes a little getting used to. It is always dark by the time I return to the Winchelsea after work, which means the temperature has dropped and there is usually a stiff wind. It has not broken 32 degrees in almost a week here, even during the day, and it looks like that will continue until at least mid next week. I try to spend as little time on board as possible, and occupy myself in the evenings by either hitting the gym, sitting in the Starbucks in the Marriott Long Wharf lobby with my laptop for a few hours, or going to a local dive bar to watch a game, have some conversation, and slug a few cheap pints. I spend an evening on board every once in awhile, and I keep myself occupied with learning the different systems of the boat. I know this will be useful when it finally warms up. In order to cook on the Winchelsea I have to rip open one of the frozen water bottles I have in the galley, chip away a few large chunks of ice and throw them ...

Everything is frozen on the Winchelsea . I mean, everything. It all started on Thursday night though, when I got up to use the head in the middle of the night and realized, after I had relieved myself, that the holding tank and all of the associated hoses had frozen solid. I decided to sleep ashore the next two nights. It got down to a mere 4 degrees Fahrenheit both Friday and Saturday nights, and luckily I have friends who are sympathetic to my life in general and let me crash on their couch. When I got back to my boat Saturday all of my freshwater was frozen. The pee from Thursday night that I was unable to flush was a solid yellow block. I'm also pretty certain my Y-valve is broken (the valve that leads from the black water holding tank to the discharge/pump out) from liquid freezing inside of it (I won't go into details as to how I figured this out as you may be close to eating lunch). Any moisture that had been in the air was now ice on the walls and ceiling. Even my onion...