Fall Racing Series

Race #3

Peter puts out the email:

Wednesday night 6:30 PM start at the bridge with two courses, one short and one longer.  Boats with a rating above 200 sail to Red 52 (a distance of 4.5 miles).  Boats with a sub 200 rating sail to Red 54.  We should all finish at roughly the same time(theoretically).

The only takers:  Al & Patty on their way back home from a week's sailing trip plan to meet us at the bridge at 6:00.  There is rain and a good deal of naysaying.  Would they even get there on time?  Finally we see the beautiful Westsail pause briefly at the bridge.  By the time we hop in the cockpit and begin to back out of the slip, they are in the marina.  It is 6:15 and we face the start line alone.

The wind was non-existent and I took many photos.

View Full Album

Rainbow!

View Full Album

Fall Racing Series

Wednesday Night Race #2

(forgot camera)

Many beautiful moments captured only in my mind. 

That blue and white striped tattered headsail fluttering in the slight evening breeze, the moon just beginning to wane rising on the horizon, the pilot boat slowing down to reduce his wake and wave to us.

The captain’s meeting was the setting of the plan—for the boat with the slower rating to go 'round the closer mark, for The Moon to go 'round the further mark and for all of us to meet up at the finish line.

A fun night for all followed by a late night long chat.

September's Full Moon

It’s been five moons since we first saw our Moon.

View Full Album

Fall Racing Series: Wednesday Night Races begin!

Race #1

We put the word out to get a fall racing series underway.  Often the only way to motivate everyone to get out at the same time is a little healthy competition.  Short-lived though the races are, they are the fodder for years of banter


The race began like most, under the Ben Franklin bridge.  Only two boats, us on The Moon against a friend’s Hunter 37 with a crew of two No Libs boys and Peter’s brother Andy.  After a few near misses, a run in with a tug boat, a slow drift down river the winning boat pulled over the finish line a boat’s length ahead.

More details later when time allows!

View Full Album

Labor Day Weekend

At the close of the term on Saturday, we began planning some fun for the weekend.

Sunday Sail Upriver

Sailing north of the Delair Railroad Bridge, one sees a side of the Delaware River that is reminiscent of Lake George.  We sailed a few hours and as it neared time to drop the hook, we looked into Dredge Harbor to find a spot next to what we call Heron Island.  This has been a favorite spot since one Easter Sunday a few years ago when we were the sole witnesses to the nesting herons flying back and forth carrying twigs and passing them beak to beak like relay sticks as the mates built their nest together.  Unfortunately Dredge Harbor was already packed with power boats and sailboats who got there first this holiday weekend.  We continued looking for a place to take cover from the wakes of the tankers, tugs and barges that know no holiday.  With waning light, we tucked behind the sandbar that has snagged us one too many times and found a quiet place to watch the sunset and have dinner.

The next morning, it was hazy and humid with the sun filtering through. We sailed back toward Philadelphia past the stately homes lining the river.  This quiet stretch of the Delaware makes me feel transported to another place.  We love to sail past the charming Riverside Yacht Club and look at the many sailboats bobbing in the mooring field or the lasers up on the racks ready to be put in for their chance at Wednesday night races.  The Merit, an old sailboat Peter and his brother Andy owned years ago, is tethered to a mooring ball there and each time we go by, we check to see if it's still there.

View Full Album

Sailing to Philadelphia

Once under the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge the industrial side of the Delaware River becomes apparent.  Tugs stand by to escort tankers in and out of docks or churn the water as they pass us on their way to the next job, reminding us that this is very much a working river. 

View Full Album

As we move down the river, closer and closer to Philadelphia, the history of the city blends with the new development of the riverfront. Penn Treaty Park peaks out from behind the old PECO building with its rusting coal car railhead jutting out in the river.  The park pays homage to the legend that William Penn stood here and met with the Leni Lenape to purchase land (not sure of the accuracy of this, but so the story goes).  Nowadays the park serves as space for picnics, running, fishing and of course the Shad Fest every spring.  Just past the trees, the year-old Sugar House casino recalls the sugar industry which once thrived on the river; sugar is a not-so-subtle theme in the casino’s architecture.  The two tall reflective condo buildings built a few years ago mostly serve to get in the way of seeing City Hall (located west of the river by 15 blocks) where the statue of “Billy” Penn is dwarfed by the giants around him:  the Comcast Center, both the Liberty Place towers, the Bell Atlantic building, and the Mellon Center stand out among the older stooped skyscrapers of earlier decades.  Old and new commingle as my own history is written here and added to this city.

Post-Irene

Weather is important—especially when it’s in the North East, it becomes a major media event.  Also the coverage area of our local media includes communities that had good reason to prepare for a hurricane.  In Philadelphia, we were only expecting a Tropical Storm, but multiple forecasts threatened sustained winds of 40-45 knots per hour with gusts up to 60-65.  For peace of mind we prepared for the worst and hoped for the best.

Friday

Although the sun was shining Friday afternoon, our office closed early as a show of support for Mayor Nutter’s preparedness plan.  Knowing all that we had to do, I was happy to take advantage of the extra hours.  Stopping at the market, I stocked up on staples.  The grey clouds had set in by the time I got across the Market Street bridge.  I ran into a marina friend, baby strapped on, and asked what their plans were.  She told me she and the baby would wait out the storm in the safety of a friend’s house while her husband tended to the boat in the storm.
The men in the marina had spent the last few days denying any concern, shoving their hands in their pockets.  “It’s just another storm.”  That they happened to be right in the end is happenstance and little more.
Once home, I began working on the sailboat.  The marina guidelines said “remove all canvas” which matched my Dad’s advice.  He warned that even a slight gap in the roller furling could create windage.  I took off the dodger and bimini which prompted Peter to grumble that he would have just tied them down.  Together we took off the mainsail and headsail and stuffed them into the sailboat.

Saturday

The next morning clouds hung heavy in the sky.  By afternoon the rain began and the wind picked up.  Gusts were now predicted at 55 kph.  Friday evening’s argument was resolved:  if the value of staying was the ability to respond to any problems, then being over-prepared to deal with them quickly and safely was paramount.  We spent the next several hours cleaning up anything that might blow and eventually moved our plants inside. I had an evacuation bag ready, life jackets and a flood light on the boat, extra lines a hand’s reach away. We took stock and decided that everything was replaceable except our laptops and my teaching portfolio which I moved to storage.  We settled in for a night of wind and rain, ready to respond to trouble, fix a broken line or evacuate if needed.

Sunday

Thankfully we only saw sustained 20 kph wind with the highest gust getting up to 37.  We were fine.  The wind and rain continued through morning and we saw sun late that afternoon.  The worst part is the inconvenience of having to hank back on sails so we can get out to enjoy the beautiful weather that always follows a hurricane.

View Full Album