Whales and Dolphins at Outer Brewster (leg 2)

We had a simple daysail for relaxation and to test systems. Our first surprise was that the main propane tank ran out Friday evening. But we thought all was well as we have a second tank for the BBQ which we could switch out. 5am Saturday with a chill in the air, we tried to switch tanks only to find that the physical nature of the second tank prevented it attaching to the main tank system: the pressure meter on this system mechanically obstructed the connection. So we delayed our 9am departure for me to go and find liquid propane. Unfortunately boat tanks are not standard sized tanks so it's not possible to get propane through a tank switch as one can do at stores such as Home Depot. Instead we had to find a store which fills propane tanks. By 10am, all was accomplished and we set sail. The weather forecast had been for a sunny day, but the sun did not break through until evening, resulting in a chilly sail. However, we had spectacular sightings. We saw three dolphins, and whales. We have never seen whales so close to Boston before. Previously we have only seen whales on Stellwagon Bank. Saturday we saw whales as close as outer Brewster Island. In total we had six sightings over the course of three hours. We are not certain whether there was one whale that kept coming back to look at us or whether there were multiple whales.

We sailed out the north channel of the harbor towards Lynn, then turned south and entered the South Channel, up through The Narrows then back to Constitution marina. Winds were reasonable as we sailed to the outer harbor but then calmed. After we passed through the Narrows on our way home we got out the asymmetric spinnaker and enjoyed her beauty as we sailed at about 3kts in 5kts of true wind.

SPOT Messenger on Prairie Gold

You can now follow the tracks of Prairie Gold online due to the acquisition of the SPOT messenger system. Dan bought this for Phil on his birthday. By following this link you will connect to the Prairie Gold SPOT website where you can check in to see where Prairie Gold is located as well as follow her sailing tracks.

First Sail of the Season (leg 1)

Today was the long awaited day to put sails on and bring Prairie Gold to her summer home back in Constitution Marina. We had seen that there were low winds of 5-7kts predicted, which would make adding sails in the marina an easy job. By the time Yolande and I finished putting sails on, winds were gusting to 25kts off the beam. As you can imagine this made life a little difficult. Also, low tide was at 11:05am and in Marina Bay, we had only inches to spare so we went to Capn Fishbones for a leisurely brunch. By the time we returned to Prairie Gold we decided it would be difficult to navigate slowly through the marina with the cross winds (especially since some reversing was needed) so we waited to a couple of hours. Eventually the wind died to 11 kts gusting to 20, so we decided to disembark. This had given several hours for the tide to come in and for there to be some depth going through the narrow channel, which at one point is reported to be 4ft at low tide. As we approached Spectacle island we decided to check if the sails were attached properly. We had a great sail back around to Constitution Marina. We saw only two other sailboats the whole time leading to the feeling that we had the harbor to ourselves.

New Cup Holder installed

Rachel and Julia purchased a new cup holder for Prairie Gold because I keep spilling drinks. Set up beautifully and need to get the wine bottles on board.

Test of Bilge Pump

We turned on the hose pipe at full force directly into the bilge to test the system. Not a problem. The new modifications passed with flying colors.

Moving in line Check-Valve in Bilge Pump

In our catalina 350 mkII an in line check valve was installed at the outlet of the bilge pump. We have had problems with the pump being able to pump bilge water out of the boat. After reading several articles and talking to the local distributor we decided to move the check valve to a different location in the bilge system. We chose to move it to close to the output of the bilge, which we accessed at the starboard stern of the boat (above) Installation of the check valve was simple (black component in the white tube and now the system works flawlessly (fingers crossed).

In-line check valve

Barbeque installed

A few steps closer to sailing

This afternoon we added the barbecue, life sling, overboard pole, and the Bimini. Winds were over 20kts so sails are still in their bags. Engine ran on first attempt. The re-commissioning list is getting smaller. It looks like a beautiful day in the picture, but images can be deceiving. with a strong crosswind and temperature of only 40F it was mighty chilly out on the deck.

Boat on the water at marina bay