Penobscot 14 ST. JACQUES 19 Oct 20 Row and Sail

19 Oct 20: 

Got out on the water in ST. JACQUES today, we wanted to have a little fun, reclaim part of the bay and see if we could spot any items that were still MIA from Hurricane Sally, like our channel marker number 6 sign. 

But first Skipper had to clean storm debris out of the centerboard trunk, pine needles, bark and tree leaves.  There was so much muck packed in there by the storm surge that the centerboard would not move. She used a knife and a stick to dredge out debris, and poured water into the trunk to flush out the muck. 

Ready to go, I planned to row mostly but Skipper had other plans.

Back from a successful row and sail, 75F with light winds 8-9 mph, coming out of the East which made for a nice broad reach.

Skipper found a rock.

Maybe we should have cleaned out more of the muck and bay residue before we left, but when we were done ST. JACQUES got a fresh water rinse with a little TILEX added for style. TILEX is great to remove mold and mildew, but it is best to spray it on a rag, wipe down the boat then rinse right away. If it is sprayed directly onto some paints it can run and leave a lighter bleached out streak. The streak eventually fades but it is best to apply the TILEX sparingly in small locations, a little goes a long way. Test it out in an inconspicuous area and as always, read the application and health hazard information on the bottle. The Porter Cable cordless Wet/Dry Vac makes short work of sucking muck out of the bilge, 2 1/2 gallons at a time. Nice to not have electrical cords in wet locations.

ST. JACQUES rode out the Hurricane mostly carefree, she did get a little rash on her lower strakes, possibly from the boat next to her or the dolly. 

Very small rub on the gunwale, which was protected by a Sunbrella cover. The cover didn't fare so well, it needs a few repairs, but it did Yeoman's work protecting the boat as no water got inside during the storm. Interestingly enough, the wooden boats in the Sunfish Shack did amazingly well, the fiberglass boats not so much.

In other news we put down 12 tons of #4 crushed limestone along the inland side of the seawall, with help from a Toro Dingo, along with topsoil and sod and. We are going to call restoration of the quay, aka Mini Gun Deck, complete.

Log of ST. JACQUES.

Penobscot 14 ST. JACQUES 16 Jul 20 Voile et Aviron

16 Jul 20:

Air Temp 76 F, Dewpoint 72 F, Wind ENE 3 knots gusting 4.

0714 Launched early in ST. JACQUES to try and intercept the dolphin, they have been coming by just after 0700 each morning. Rowed ENE into the wind for 10 minutes or so, Skipper puts the rudder down so she can steer while I provide motive power. Not much motive power this morning, we seemed to be going uphill against some river current and flood tide eddies. Skipper turned us into the roaring 3 knot breeze, I shipped the oars, lowered the centerboard and loosed the spritsail brail line. ST. JACQUES slowly turned off the wind and Skipper sailed us the 3/4 mile back home on a beautiful run. We played around a bit with moveable ballast positioning.

I think Skipper may have sculled us a bit.

Video: https://youtu.be/jyRslhfis0g



ST. JAQUES telling Sea Stories to SMEDLEY.

Rowed .75/Total 28.75
Voile et Aviron 1h / 15h 0m

Log of ST. JACQUES.

Penobscot 14 ST. JACQUES 15 Dec 19 Mess About

15 Dec 19:

We rigged ST. JACQUES to take some photos of her rigging for an upcoming article in Small Boats Magazine, and since she was rigged and it was a beautiful day, she went out for a nice mess about. Rowed for about 20 minutes, then popped the sprit and did some tacks and gybes. Light wind out of the South, air temp 70F. Bay was smooth.

We shaped the end of the sprit to have a little shoulder for the snotter, a Pete Culler idea.

Breeze supplied by Longleaf Pine, vintage hand shaped mullet boat oars.

SCOUT, CLARK and SACAGAWEA supervised.

Miles rowed 2/Total 27.0

Log of ST. JACQUES

Penobscot 14 ST. JACQUES 11 Nov 19 Veteran's Day

11 Nov 19:

Launched our Penobscot 14 ST. JACQUES for a one hour mess about. Lately we have been experimenting with pushing off the beach stern first and rowing backwards for a bit to get clear of beach obstacles, then making the 180 degree turn and picking up our course. That's saves a lot of maneuvering right on the shoreline and dragging the rudder through the sand. Rowed for a half mile. Dropped the rudder and centerboard, took off the sail tie, let loose the brailing line, sheeted in and sailed back to the dock on a beam reach. Winds 8-10 mph with a few puffs, air temp 74F. At the dock I grabbed a cleat with the boat hook and looped the bow line around it, tied the end of the line around the mast and sat there for a bit, long enough to have a Gatorade.

ST. JACQUES got wiped down and we slipped her under her cover. Wind, rain and cold forecast for tomorrow, supposed to drop to blow 30-40 mph over the bay tomorrow and temp drop to 28F Tuesday night.

Miles rowed 0.5/Total 25.0

Log of ST. JACQUES

Happy Birthday Marines - ST. JACQUES Stormed the Beach

10 Nov 19:

Ventured out to the end of the dock with ST. JACQUES, rowed first then did some tacks and gybes in very light wind. Dropped the snack hook, brailed the sail, enjoyed a Gatorade and a few boat crackers. Skipper Skippervised from the hammock. Rowed back in, uphauled the rudder and centerboard, kissed the beach. One more day or so until the cold weather pushes its way down to Florida.

Miles rowed 0.5/Total 24.5

Happy Birthday U. S. Marine Corps!

Log of ST. JACQUES

Penobscot 14 ST. JACQUES 09 Nov 19 Mess About

09 Nov 19:

A little sail and oar expedition today, thought we'd go out and chase the wind shifts. Summer and Winter are still arguing over who's in charge here, nice day today with light winds on the bay (unusual) and a forecast for overnight temps in the 30s come Tuesday. We pushed off stern first and used the paddle and padook to get out the first 30 feet and clear our sand fences. Spun a 180 and I rowed first into the light breeze, slack tide, Skipper steered. After a bit ST. JACQUES decide it was time to head back so we loosed the main, dropped the rudder and centerboard. We made it most of the way back, had some help from the pine breeze as we got close to the dock. Skipper loosened the rudder downhaul and it popped up as designed, I raised the centerboard. Skipper tried a new strategy to disembark, just moved forward and stepped over the side up by the bow, stayed dry with her Muck boots. Easier than pulling the boat sideways up by the beach, which we had been doing to save Skipper's knees, she had football injuries.

Miles rowed 1.0/Total 24.0

Log of ST. JACQUES