Off Again

We are excited! We took off two full weeks of work for our summer ‘cruise.’  The plan is to reach Nantucket and visit wherever the wind blows us more or less between Mamaroneck, New York and Nantucket, Massachusetts.  I had spent the week prior to our departure date working like a fiend and panicking about all the usual stuff (Michael falling off the boat, sharks, storms, sea sickness, what if something happens to the kids and we can’t get back and sharks.  Did I mention sharks?) Then I signed off the electronic medical record at work and my stress evaporated like the morning dew from the cockpit on a sunny day. I packed my ‘fun’ clothes and provisioned. I met Michael and we drove to McMichael’s Boatyard to pick up Gerty.  Her deck needed repair (defect under warranty), but the job had been completed that morning. We were off on our great adventure!

It was a struggle to watch Michael try to keep his spirits up after he discovered that epoxy resin used to repair the deck had leaked through the head hatch, across the ceiling, down the wall, onto the countertop and into the bathroom sink.  (We would later discover the epoxy went down the drainpipe, clogging the through hull, making the sink inoperable) Uggh.

A repair that leads to more, bigger repairs is most certainly an inconvenience, not to mention a mood breaker. That said, Michael filed his complaint and with a half-smile on his face, we were off.

First stop was a waypoint anchorage in Port Jefferson. Thankfully the wind lifted Michael’s spirit with 12 gusting to 25 knots on the beam. We ate, we slept, and we woke up at 3 am to sail with the current to Three Mile Harbor in East Hampton. 

This was an uneventful fast motor until we got to Plum Gut and let out the Happy Sail for a lovely finale. Of note, is that I had remembered Plum Gut from last summer as a torrential tidal flow area that made my stomach turn. I was downright afraid to feel that nauseated again, but we literally sailed right through it without a problem (and one tablet dramamine.) Phew! 

When we arrived, Michael donned his wetsuit for the first time with a plan to investigate the bathroom sink through hull problem.

He jumped into the 68 degree water and shouted, “I can’t even feel it! I’m so warm! This suit works! It really works!!!” I was not convinced, but I was happy to see him so excited about his new second skin. I handed him a bung and he disappeared under the boat to plug the through hull.  Then he futzed around in the bathroom and came out with a through hull thingy that was completely occluded with epoxy. (Yes I was quietly relieved that my hair had not clogged the through hull).

He drilled a hole right through the epoxy and replaced it. Then he dove back under the boat to free the bung. Voila! The sink drains and we can use it. 

With fewer worries, we visited our friends John and Stacey and Stacey’s parents in East Hampton. Beach time (New Yorker’s bathing suits never disappoint), swimming and tuna on the grill made for a terrific day with great company!