5pm view from Charlestown Bridge

Winds have picked up and its difficult to stand on the bridge. The marina staff have been out during the afternoon looking after the boats - checking dock lines and finger piers. Hurricane Sandy is still hundreds of miles away but its blowing here!

Marina evacuated because of Hurricane Sandy

The storm is starting to get real. Although we are hundreds of miles from the eye of the hurricane, the storm is in fact ~1000 miles wide and affecting most of the northeast of the US. We are now feeling 30-40mph winds and expected to get gusts to 70mph.

I just went to the marina to check the dock lines and all looks good so far. You can see even in our marina, which is considered to be highly protected, we are getting significant wave action. At the entrance to the harbor 20 foot waves are expected.

New York City and New Jersey are going to be hit hard. Although winds are lower than with Katrina, the width of the storm, the density of population, the surge of water, a full moon tonight together with the fact that the hurricane will join with the jet stream will make this a "perfect storm".

Predictions

If the latest models are to be believed this is going to be an awful storm hitting numerous large population centers in the US. Currently Boston is forecast to get sustained wimds of 30-40mph with gusts to 70mph. Models show the storm heading to land in the New Jersey area, but funny things can happen. We wait and see. It is anticipated that the Hurricane will join another storm crossing the US at the moment which will make for one of the worst coastal storms in many years. Although the winds may not be as high as in other hurricanes, the storm is moving slowly and is spreading over hundreds of miles. There will be lots of rain, flooding and downed trees.

She is stripped and ready for the storm. 12 docklines and the marina is being tied together in a web. The marina staff are doing a great job of looking after everyone. When we arrived today they had already added extra docklines on all boats

Preparations for sandy begin

85

We just made the season's goal of 85 leg. It was a beautiful autumn sail. Winds were high and gusting. We sailed most of the time with both sails reefed and winds were gusting to over 30 knots. At one point the gust was so high that I was standing on the seatback holding on to the helm. I assume we were heeled over more than 45 degrees and I have no idea what the wind speed was. It was awesome.

Leg 82

Its getting chilly in Boston. It was in the 30s last night, but we set sail towards Salem. When we were halfway there we decided to turn around because it was really chilly. Lots of action on the way back. Still coastgaurd calls about the dead whale and then there was radio traffic about a sailboat aground in the narrows. As we sailed past we saw it - a beautiful boat. They couldn't tow it off and it was still 3 hrs until low tide and they had to wait for the tide to rise to get her free. Hopefully there won't be too much damage.

Today was leg 82 of the season. The goal is 85 this year.

Columbus Day

Although there was no work today, I went to the boat and worked. Its great to have an internet connection in the marina. I also cleaned the fridge and started the overall cleaning process in preparation for the winter. Fuel is full and treated. Bow water tank is emptied and bilge is cleaned. But of course I had to play too. Winds were low but I set out and sailed at between 2 and 3 knots. Yesterday and today there were reports of a 50 foot whale carcass in the harbor. Initially it was at President's roads, then Deer island (yesterday), then on the news today it said Long Island, and when I was out sailing it was by George's island. Its being carried around with the tidal currents.

Apparently its a finback whale and nobody knows what to do with it. I think they are waiting for it to wash up on shore, and then will inspect it. But nobody wants to take responsibility for disposing of it. What do you do with a 50 foot dead whale? How much does it cost to dispose of?

Today was Columbus day - winds were low and there was little sailing activity. Last year we saw a boat named Columbus, this year we heard about a whale - next year?

Naval scenes in Boston harbor

We took a leisurely Friday morning sail in Boston harbor (by leisurely I mean there was little wind) and saw a lot of naval activity. First a battleship came into the harbor and was followed by a fireboat making a welcoming display of water shooting in the air. Then as this battleship arrived a naval vessel left dry dock. We think this latter ship was a fueling ship. Two examples of the ever changing scenery in harbor. BTW - when these naval vessels are around you make certain that you stay your distance. They have intimidating fast boats traveling in convoy with them and they are not messing around.