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Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Tropical Rock n" Roll

It'd be nice to say that this was a new variation on rock n' roll dancing, and I guess in some ways its very much a dance, but not a fun one.
You know those north swells I was mentioning in my last post . Well they arrived in the middle of the night and turned our idyllic little anchorage and our boat into a milkshake machine.
Is it possible for a 55 ft structure that is 16 ft wide to roll side to side. end to end and corner to corner , ALL at same time?  You bet! Try sleeping in that! Impossible! 
Boats are amazing things in that the design of the hull and keel usually mean that at anchor or a mooring the boat will point into the wind giving a nice gentle moving motion  as well as a cool breeze down the hatches . And trust me I need that breeze.
But, those nasty north swells have a tendancy to bring in rolling swells that are stronger than the breeze. The swells hit the keel sideways and start the boat a rockin' side to side and it doesn't point into the wind. Sending us and the boat into that new Rock n' Roll dance.
Mr Disney must have been a boater when he came up with the concept of some of our modern thrill rides, but man has not yet mastered that impossible motion that nature can produce on a whim. If it could be duplicated I'd dub it "The Milkshake"

Now, you ask! How do you fix that? Boaters have 2 solutions. First try a stern anchor that will pull the boat into the wind the way man intended and nature fights. Second, Move to a quieter anchorage and at first light that's exactly what Dream Maker and Ocean Wings did.  Back to Leverick Bay for a " Good Days" sleep. 

1 comment:

  1. Hi Sue and Gord, I am a friend of your Mom, Marie. Richard and I are getting married 4-17-2010 and we are doing the same thing you are doing. except we are on land in our 38-J Winnebago Motor Home. We are leaving april 19th for the next 6 months to travel the USA. We have just put together a blog htt://mundayontheroad.blogspot.com/ and when I sent it to Marie she sent me yours. Wow.. what a beauty you have.. This is fun and cain't wait to get started. Sue I think I met you once at bingo with your Mom. My Mom was Ruth Bee and a good friend to your Mom. She passed last September and I miss her. I still keep in touch with your Mom once in a while. Have a blast.. we only come this way once and better to enjoy life while we can.
    Bonnie and Richard Munday

    ReplyDelete

Sailboat owners Gord and Sue aboard their 55' Whitby Ketch "Ocean Wings" share their adventures and travels as they start their retirement, living their dream of seeing the world from oceanside.
Ocean Wings is a recent purchase and our first foray into the Sailing Lifestyle. We're excited and a little scared. Join us in our adventure.