We did not do much boating this summer. We did not plan to. No cruise. No daysailing. No nothing. We did go to our annual Waterbury Power Squadron Rendezvous at Hamburg Cove off the Conn. River for the Memorial Day Holiday weekend. This was just a few weeks after arriving home to Mystic. Heather and Michael joined us and the weather was good. Squadron attendance was down a bit as several boats had 'issues' and were not ready for prime time yet. After that Infinite Improbability did not move off her mooring again until the end of July.
This does not mean we had an uninteresting summer, however. Mystic Seaport Museum gave us some wonderful opportunities to be at very interesting events. America, a replica of the boat that sailed to England to win a trophy that would be named after her, America's Cup, came to Mystic Seaport and I got a chance to board her and ask questions of the crew. Because of Instagram hashtag skills in my photo postings I got to meet a crew member (Tasha) online and then in person aboard America. We now follow each others blogs and Instagram accounts. Who knew that hashtag skills would become something needed in my life? How did it become a 'skill'? And where did 'hashtag' come from? Hmmm, something to ponder on our next night watch... or not.
In this spot would be photos of America and Tasha but somehow my computer ate them. They're gone. Probably forever.
Another very interesting event at the Seaport was the arrival of the "Hokule'a". Hokule'a is a native Hawaiian canoe. This traditional Polynesian canoe was launched in 1976 and is now on an around the world cruise that started about two years ago. Although it is called a canoe it is a sailing catamaran about 62 feet long and 20 feet wide. It has very limited crew comforts, canvas covered deck berths and external (to the vessel) toilet facilities. It has a very basic food cooking set-up and navigation is by the ancient, no instrument, methods developed by the Polynesian cultures called wayfinding. When Hokule'a arrived it was met by one of our local Native American tribes, the Mashantucket-Pequots. Yes, the Foxwoods Casino tribe. The ceremonies, dances, and presentations were very interesting. And moving. The Navigator of the Hokule'a spoke at length of "Malama Honua", caring for island earth. I also got the chance to attend a talk by Keala Kimura about traditional navigation, the spirit of Malama Honua and stories about events on this cruise. Fascinating.
Sadly, this is the other batch of photos that disappeared. Sigh.
The Seaport also hosts the Wooden Boat Show and I visited the show a few times. I got the chance to chat with the assistant editor, Bob. It helped that I had an article in the current edition at the time. July.
One of the coolest things our Seaport membership did for me was getting me aboard the USCG vessel "Eagle". It's open to the public at times when it's in port but I had an escorted, private tour of the entire deck with about 16 other members. I spent about an hour roaming the decks and asking questions of the young cadets. An honor and a privilege.
We got out on the water in July as Heather came for her vacation cruise. It was interrupted by doctor visits so we spent three days at Block Island one week and three days at Montauk another week. A brief daysail in August with Mike and Heather and another short one during the Labor Day Weekend wrapped up our summer boating. Labor Day Weekend was marred by the approach of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Hermine. It was forecast to come close and hit much sooner than it actually did. We could not plan an escape due to the variables so we stuck it out on our mooring. As I write this it's still in the neighborhood but the 40 knot winds that came Labor Day overnight seem to be gone. It didn't get too rough but it was gusty with many direction swings.
We are now less than two weeks until our southbound departure but before that we have a wedding to attend. And prepare for. And fret over. And run errands for. A build stuff for.
Heather is getting married at Mystic Seaport Museum and we're taking Infinite Improbability to their docks for two nights. It ought to be interesting.
My next blog post should be from the Annapolis area and include wedding details.
No comments:
Post a Comment