Life jacket, whistle and a light. How simple it can be?

From sailworld via Rhode Island Yachting:



US Sailing awarded the Arthur B. Hanson Rescue Medal Saturday, November 5th to Sociable’s skipper, Robert Arzbaecher (Brookfield Wis.), and his crew at the race’s awards dinner at the Chicago Yacht Club for their rescue of six sailors from the yacht WingNuts which capsized on Lake Michigan in the midst of a storm during the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac.

Sociable skipper Robert Arzbaecher said, "A life jacket, a whistle and a light. My God, how simple it can be? But that’s what it was," on receiving the Hanson Rescue Medal this week. During the awards ceremony Arzbaecher marveled at how effective basic mandatory equipment was, including the simple Lifesling that many yachts carry hoping they will never have to use it.


I'll be adding whistles and lights to my PFDs this year.
Let's stay safe out there.
Sitting on the hard, already dreaming of spring.

We made it through Hurricane Irene

Almost every boat on the Barrington River was well prepared for Hurricane Irene with sails and canvas removed. I removed my sails and dodger and secured the boat with a second mooring line. The Yacht Club was emptied into safe storage and boarded up.

We were fortunate the wind diminished to Tropical Storm force before Irene passed to our west. I was pleased that I didn't see or hear of any boats damaged in the river after the storm. The water reached the front door of the yacht club during high tide, but the surge was not catastrophic.
The wind was sustained over 50 knots for nearly four hours with peaks over 70 knots at the nearby Conimicut Point weather station.

My home was without Power from about 8:30 Sunday morning until 4:30 am on Tuesday. Many in the area remain without power. I was surprised it was restored so quickly. In Hurricane Gloria and Bob, it took 5 to 7 days for power to be restored.

Heart of Gold 2011 shakedown cruise on Narragansett bay

Yesterday I remembered why I do all that work to maintain the boat, when we had our first cruise of the season on Narragansett bay. Beautiful day. We got off to a late start, but caught the end of the Blue Angels performance at the airshow. 6 jets in formation made one pass directly over us, but I couldn't get my camera out quick enough to get a photo of them. (another one that got away.) I did get a few nice shots of this J 22 sailing from Warwick Neck into Greenwich bay. If you happen to know the owner, I am happy to share the photos.



slide show is here.

J Class Racing in Newport today Ranger vs. VELSHEDA

I took a day out of work today to take advantage of the weather to get my boat ready for launching next week. Sanded the bottom this morning, painted the bottom in the late afternoon/evening. In between I took a quick drive down to Fort Adams in Newport and snapped a few photos of the race. Traffic getting to and from Newport was heavy, but it was worth the ride. I arrived just as the boats approached Ft. Adams coming downwind to the Gybe mark. i didn't stay for the upwind leg, but Ranger (sail number J 5) bested VELSHEDA (sail number JK 7) finishing clear ahead by 79 seconds, but only by 1 second on corrected time.



spectators:

At Ease of Aquinnah MA - seen at the Anchorage

These pretty 29s were photographed June 10 at the Anchorage in Warren RI, home of Dyer boats.

Not a good night to be on the water

Look what rolled through here at 6 PM Thursday night. The first few minutes were intense, after that the wind calmed down pretty quickly, but the thunder and lightning lasted a while with some strikes close to home.

Photos along the Waterfront Warren, RI - May 1 2011

Spring fitting out.


click here for slide show

Resources for troubleshooting marine VHF radio

Marine VHF Radio FAQ

Shakespere Automatic Radio Tester ART-3 ART-3 tests receiver function as well as output power and VSWR (antenna efficiency).

VSWR = Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR) meter ( build your own )

Wooden boatbuilder and his apprentice build a sailboat - Laurie Schreiber - Bar Harbor - MDI - Hancock - Bar Harbor Times

This is a nice article in the Bar Harbor Times about a young apprentice working at Great Harbor Boatworks. He is one very lucky kid!

Wooden boatbuilder and his apprentice build a sailboat - Laurie Schreiber - Bar Harbor - MDI - Hancock - Bar Harbor Times

I've enjoyed following Great Harbor Boatworks on facebook for about a year. VJ & I visited their yard last summer during Maine Boatbuilder's open boatyard days. Lorraine is a great photographer, and Richard was very generous with his time showing us around the yard, telling us about their boats and projects. They are preserving a rich piece of American folk history.

Here is Richard in one of my photos taken during the Aug. 2010 Open Boat Yard days

Sloop Providence to sail after 3-1/2 years

From the projo news blog:
Captain Thorpe Leeson, who purchased the 110-foot sailing ship from the city of Providence in February, said he will launch the vessel around 2 p.m. Friday April 15. At noon Saturday, he plans sail down Narragansett Bay -- the first time the Providence will have sailed in 3 ½ years -- and to moor her at Bowen's Wharf in Newport, where visitors will be free to visit over the weekend.

He spent "tons of money." repairing and restoring the replica Providence. The original was built in 1768 then purchased by the colony of Rhode Island after British attacked Rhode Island's shipping and the General Assembly ordered two ships to defend the sea lanes.

The original ship, which at one time was under the command of John Paul Jones, considered to be the father of the American Navy, went on to participate in 60 battles and to capture 40 British ships

He said that starting next week the replica sloop will return for the purposes for which it was built -- tall ships education and training, and for charter trips.

I wish Capt. Leeson success in his venture.

read the full story here:

P28-1 window seals

http://poolio.net/120/sailing/pearson-28-1-window-resealing-and-cleanup/

Thinking of Summer

I put a deposit down to have a new dodger made for Heart of Gold this morning. Canvas guy said business is strong, he has a substantial backlog. A positive sign for the economy.

Points East sponsors "The Golden Pastime: Icons of Classic Yachting" 3/24 at Hereshoff in Bristol

Thursday, Mar 24 sailor-writer John Rousmaniere will present an illustrated show "The Golden Pastime: Icons of Classic Yachting" from 7 to 9 pm at the Herreshoff Marine Museum in Bristol, R.I. Admission is $5, free for museum members. Refreshments provided by Cisco Brewers of Nantucket. More info here.