Gryphon IV Ship's Log - 2012 Season

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Tracks may be viewed using Google Earth; The Google Earth (GE) *.kmz track path files were created by transferring (Garmin) GPS tracks to Maptech Offshore Navigator (5.08E), exporting the corresponding *.rtf file, and using GPSbabel 1.4.3) to convert the *.rtf to a *.kml.  Since the data are read as waypoints, the GPSbabel option of transforming the data to tracks is selected .  After loading the resulting *.kml file to GE, the path component alone is saved to a *.kmz file.

01/07/2012 - 01/14/2012

Unlike last year, this Winter has been very mild; so far.  OTOH, 2011 was very long year; dealing with aging parents and a corporate takeover.  To revive from the holidays, Sheila, Chris and I winged our way South the the British Virgin Islands.  Here is the link to BVI 2012.

Sunny, 70F.  Wind 5 -10; gusts to 22.  Mom joined Sheila and I for an afternoon jaunt in Narragansett Bay.  Nice trip down the bay to Bristol.  Westerly picked up for a sail in and out of Bristol Harbor.  Pleasant tour around Hog Island; close hauled around the light and out into and back up the bay.  Closed the afternoon with a fantastic Mother's Day dinner at Traf Ford on the water in Warren!  Seared Sea Scallops, and Cod Pan Roast.  Really good.  Track

05/20/2012 [aboard Sou'Wester]

Sunny, 74F.  Wind 5-10 knots.  Jean invited me once again to help the BYC Race Committee with the Pret Gladding race; around Prudence Island.  This year, 14 boats participated including some from Bristol and Newport.  Jean was race PRO; also helping were Teresa, Carol, Sam (in Retriever) and John.  The start is near the Ohio Ledge nav aid.  After a 30 minute delay, race on!  Once the boats were all started, we enjoyed a sunny afternoon on the bay.  For the first time in three years, they had a winner, Curlew, a vintage Pearson!  Winds were light but favorable, great sun, fine company and tasty lunch to boot.  What's not to like!  Already looking forward to next year. <no track>

05/25_28/2012 [BYC Spring Cruise]

Day 1 - Cloudy, 70F.  Wind 0-5 knots; fog.  We left one day ahead of the  BYC fleet for the Memorial Day Cruise to Wickford.  Sheila and I provisioned the boat and departed just after lunch.  Almost as foggy as last year!  Approaching Ohio Ledge the AIS alarm sounded several times; two ocean going tugs with a tow.  We could not see them, but glad to have the AIS and radar!  Slowed down to let them pass our bow and over the top of Prudence Island going down the west side.  Just caught a glimpse of the second tug.  Fog cleared up a bit by Quonset Point.  Into a snug slip at Wickford Marina; tidied up and relaxed.  Sheila made us a nice steak dinner after Happy Hour.  Track

Day 2 - Sunny, 80F.  Leisurely breakfast; a few boat chores, mostly cleaning.  BYC boats now arriving; walked to town for lunch.  Late afternoon cocktails and the appetizer contest; lots of yummy treats to share.  As last year's winner, Sheila was one of the judges.  Lamb chops,  tomato feta salad, Toscana back aboard.  Early to bed!

Day 3 - Sunny, 82F.  Another relaxing day; only a few minor boat chores. Nancy and Ed (S/V Moondance) drove down from Barrington to join us for the party over at the Wickford YC.  John and Tony did an outstanding job (again) serving up pork tenderloin, rack of lamb and swordfish!  Dessert - the famous BYC bread pudding with bourbon sauce.  Nice party; Great meal; Excellent company!

Day 4 - Sunny, 85F.  Wind 2-5 knots.  Late morning departure from Wickford; sadly no wind; motored back.  Hot and humid back in Barrington.  Unloaded the boat at the dock which made things much easier.  Dinner at Stella Blue in Warren.  Great weekend.  Track

06/03/2012

Partly sunny, 80F.  Wind 15-22 knots.  Steve visiting for our 35'th Stonehill College reunion!  Great day for an outing to Potter's Cove.  Fast downwind sail over.  Picked up a mooring and christened the grill for the first time this season; burgers.  Sorry to leave mid-afternoon but Steve had a flight home to catch.  Track

06/15_17/2012

Day 1 - Sunny, 75F.  Wind 12-18 knots.  Sheila and I heading for Newport for the evening.  Thanks to a favorable wind and tide, we had a fast run down the Bay to Brenton Cove.  The pendant on Ed's friends mooring had turned into a mussel farming project.  Sheila tried to pick it up three times but could not lift it; we didn't figure out why until I tried; the line weighed about 60 pounds!  Grabbed a free mooring close by instead.  Took the Avon over and cleaned about half the growth off the mooring pendant using a hammer and scraper!  Ed will have to deal with the rest. Launch ride in; always a great Happy Hour and relaxing dinner at the Mooring (salads, lobster salad, fried clam sandwich).

Day 2 - Sunny, 80F.  Wind 16 - 22 knots.  Nice to sleep in for once.  Took our time with breakfast and putting things in order.  Sadly, wind direction (NE) not very favorable for trip home up the Bay.  Just E of Gould Island, we were motor-sailing hard on the wind and making our way through a sailboat race when the diesel coughed and quit!  Drat!  Turned the boat downwind for a slow run SW towards Potter Cove (just NW of the Newport bridge).  No fuel to be had from the secondary filter bleed ports.  Tank was half full, so left wondering if hard on the wind motor sailing (30 deg heel angle) stirred up some sediment to plug the10 micron  primary or there was an air leak?  Dropped the hook in about 30 feet of water in Potter Cove.  Called Tow Boat US for assistance.  Decided to take a tow back up the Bay to Barrington.  Glad to have the insurance to cover this one.  While underway, changed out the primary filter.  Had a hell of a time re-priming the system; turns out the primer pump on top of the Racor 230 housing had broken.  Had to prime the system "the old fashioned way".  After bleeding the system, finally got the engine restarted.  By this time we were in sight of Rumstick Point.  Dropped the tow off of the beach in Warren.  Once on the mooring, it took some effort to put everything back together in the cabin since I had emptied the starboard lazarette to access the engine compartment.  We made it just in time to the BYC tent event dinner after getting spruced up over at Stanley's.  Tony and the Social Committee did a great job at the America's Cup themed surf and turf dinner.  We were exhausted and turned in a bit early.  Track

28 June.  Sunny, 80F.  Wind 15-20 knots.  We had loaded block ice and started the refrigeration the previous Sunday, as well as placing most of the dry goods and clothes aboard.  It was supposed to make getting off the mooring easier, but we lost an hour running to West Marine for a pump to keep the Avon afloat!  Just as we were getting aboard, Phil spied one of the clam diggers coming in; two dozen little necks now on-board.  Despite the Tohatsu 3.5 acting up, we left Barrington ~ 12:30 PM expecting to stop at Third Beach.  Motor-sailed to the Sakonett River to catch a very favorable change in tide.  Made such good time getting down river to Sakonnett Light, we decided to press on for Cuttyhunk.  With a strong Westerly, we had a pretty fast run over.  Very surprised how few boats were in the mooring area as we were expecting a big crowd ahead of the holiday.  Some of the BYC group in faster boats had already departed for Hadley's.  Enjoyed Happy Hour, sunset and vegetable quiche and grilled sockeye salmon for dinner!  Yellow Track

29 June.  Sunny, 85F.  Lay day at Cuttyhunk.  Nice to be off the grid.  Despite the BYC group being at Hadley's, we were tired and glad to enjoy a day of rest.  Nice sunset.  Patty and Leeds (SV Cythera) showed up, so we decided to stay another day.  Sheila made the clams in red sauce with garlic and shallots.  Fresh bread and a merlot; just perfect.

30 June.  Sunny, 88F.  Another beautiful day but really hot in Cuttyhunk.  Another good day to hang out and take a swim, which is what we did.  Helped Patty and Leeds repair a cheek block up Cythera's mast.  Just happened to have the spare parts to re-rivet the block aboard Gryphon.  Homemade chorico and potato burritos for dinner; very spicy, but tasty.  OK, accompanied by cold Heinekens. 

1 July.  Early start to Hadley's Harbor at Naushon Island to join up with the BYC group.  We formed a mini-flotilla with SV Cythera for the ride over.  Easy trip up the Elizabethan Island chain.  We both rafted with MV Escape.  Pat and Walter hosted Happy Hour.  One too many T&T's for me!.  Very impressive thunderstorm passed over.  Rain came down in buckets for about 30 minutes.  Once again, we had the nail biting dinghy ride around the small islands.  And of course, the tide had turned which made getting back under the little bridge almost as exciting as last year.  Anne and Lou (SV Edelweiss) had me transfer to their inflatable for balance; except that I nearly lost mine given the effects of Happy Hour.  I also managed to drag about 10 pounds of seaweed into their inflatable when stepping in.  What a mess; both me and the boat.  No wonder they were calling me "Seaweed Man".  We barely made it under the bridge to get back!  Just like last year.  Again!  Exhausted and over served, I crashed early!  Sheila had to fend for herself.  Green Track

2 July.  Sunny, 80F.  Wind 8-10 knots.  Great day for a sail to Edgartown despite my still suffering the after effects of last night's overindulgence.  We left early with SV Cythera to take advantage of both wind and tide.  The current going past Woods Hole was very strong; much stronger than anticipated.  We missed a red nun at the end of Broadway by about 10 feet and were crabbing about 45 degrees off course to compensate for the current!  It could have been really ugly, Gryphon's SOG was 7.9 knots at the time!  Rewarded with a beautiful broad reach over to the Vineyard.  Met Anne and Sergei for dinner at the Harbor View Hotel.  We had a great visit and meal at the Water Street Restaurant accompanied by a full moon over the lighthouse at the harbor's entrance.  Spectacular.  The swordfish was delicious too.  Blue Track

3 July.  Sunny, 80F.   Good to sleep in.  We made a foray ashore for breakfast and to do some laundry, despite Sheila coming down with a cold.  Taxi ride to the airport where the only laundromat is located! Clean clothes are expensive; next year, I will do laundry in a bucket on deck!  Decent omlettes though at the airport restaurant.  Picked up a few groceries on the way home, relaxed on the boat for the afternoon and dressed ship in preparation of holiday.  SV Cythera rafting with us.  We joined the group at the Edgartown YC for drinks and a nice dinner buffet.  Strolled around Edgartown with Patty and Leeds for an ice cream afterwards.

4 July.  Sunny, 84F.  A bit of a rainy start for the holiday, but clearing mid-AM.  We had Gryphon all dressed, as was Cythera.  Even decorated the Avon for the BYC dinghy parade.  Scott (our Commodore) and Elizabeth  (SV Pegasus) led the parade around the harbor with a special salute at the EYC, our hosts.  Lots of thumbs up, waving and whistles.  Lunch ashore; Sheila making a run at the shops.  Roasted corn on the cob and ribs from Lowes made for an afternoon barbeque.  Really great fireworks over the harbor at dark.  Enjoyed helping Leeds fire his 10 gauge cannon several times for our own finale!  Wow, that sucker is LOUD!

5 July.  Sunny, 86F.  Wind 10-12 knots.  Going back to Cuttyhunk.  The tide was not very favorable, so we waited and made a mid morning start over with SV Cythera.  The timing was anything but good.  Going over the top of the Vineyard, the opposing current was 4.9 knots!  Good thing we had wind otherwise we would have had to turn back.  Very impressive current coming over the top of West Chop!  The shoal to the North of Middle Ground was just boiling with the tide change.  A few of the club powerboats stopped to fish the shoal but alas no luck.  We otherwise made pretty good time to Cutty and glad to land a mooring.  Invited over to SV Neerlandia for drinks later in the afternoon. My BVI style rum punches were a big hit!  Sheila's buffalo tomato salad and sirloin tips for dinner.  Red Track

6 July.  Sunny, 82F.  Another relaxing day in Cuttyhunk; hanging out and watching movies.  Kathy and Cathy showed up on SV Quest mid-afternoon.  They came over later for Happy Hour and dinner; Sheila's crab pasta.  

7 July.  Sunny, 86F.  Still pretty warm at Cuttyhunk.  Breakfast at the Fisherman's Club with Cathy and Kathy; then hanging out.  Finally had to deal with a slow leak in the Avon; brought it over to the beach to apply a few patches.  SV Quest came over at noon to share a mooring and raft with us.  Clean up night in our galley; dinner aboard Quest; leftover pasta and grilled chicken.  A great trip so far, but we are looking forward to sleeping in our bed at home!

8 July.  Sunny, 84F.  Wind 5 knots.  Sadly, all good things must come to an end.  Up very early for a 0630 departure  Cathy joined us for the homeward leg.  Not much wind so we motorsailed back to catch a favorable tide to go up the Sakonett.  The timing was perfect, and we made Barrington about 1PM, just behind SV Charisma.  It was much hotter than we expected, so we brought Gryphon into the dock to unload.  You would have thought we were Lewis and Clark; there was barely enough room in the car for Cathy with all the offloaded gear!  We were all tired.  To beat the heat, we stopped at Eskimo King for ice cream on the way to dropping Cathy off in Marion.  We were exhausted when we got home but delighted ti see Christopher who had been off on his own study abroad adventure in Vienna.  Orange Track

07/16/2012

Partly sunny, 85F.  Wind ~ 5 knots.  Helping Sheila with the BYC Women Teaching Women course.  Delayed getting off the dock as rain passed over.  Fortunately, the squall dropped the air temperature from almost 95F to a more comfortable 85F.  The crew motored Gryphon downriver practicing some basic maneuvers.  Canvas up; ghosted around for awhile.  Everyone seemed to enjoy the experience.  <no track> 

07/22/2012

Sunny, 82F.  Wind 15-20 knots.  Sheila and I at the club the night before for a lobster dinner under the tent!  It was great.  We stayed on the boat and slept in.  The forecast looked good; decided to head over to Potter's Cove for R&R.  Made a quick run over to the closeout discounter Ocean State Job Lot for a bathing suit.  Scored a pair of flippers as well.  Off the dock mid-morning, and motored over to Potter's Cove with a SW in our face.  Not as busy as we expected; nice to pick up a free mooring!  Water temperature 82F, over the side I went to cool off and scrub the waterline and underwater running gear.  Mid-afternoon happy hour and repast; roasted eggplant dip, fresh bread, grilled lamb chops and couscous!  Merlot of course.  We left reluctantly late in the afternoon for a very fast downwind wing on wing sail home.  Need more days like this.  Track

07/29/2012

Cloudy, 70F.  Wind 5-15 knots.  Anna and Christopher aboard.  Quick run downriver with the tide and an Easterly.  Sailed out past Rumstick Point and up the Bay to Conimicut Light.  Turned around for a dead downwind run to Prudence Island.  Wing on Wing for a time with a poled out head sail; at least it looked nice.  Picked up a mooring at Potter's Cove for Sunday afternoon supper (grilled chicken and vegetable kabobs, couscous, pinot grigio).  A few club boats still in the cove from the previous nights outing.  It had rained very hard overnight; some poor soul must have broken loose from a raft; their dual I/O powerboat was high and dry on the beach!  By the time we left, it looked like they were close to re-floating.  The sky was darkening so we headed back after cleaning up after supper.  Track

08/04/2012

Sunny, 89F.  Wind 0-5 knots.  Sheila and I aboard to do a few chores.  Motored downriver for a ride; too hot, no wind.  <no track>

08/05/2012

Partly cloudy, 83F.  Wind 18-25 knots!  Cold front coming in from the South bringing a nice breeze to help beat the heat.  Ed aboard for what promises to be a fast ride.  With the brisk Southerly, we headed downwind towards Providence.  Fast ride; poled out wing on wing part of the way.  Just North of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse, dropped the pole to allow for a turn to port off of Riverside.  We were moving right along!  Got the pole to the deck, but the sheets fouled the head sail and were wrapped around the fore stay!  Fired up the diesel for control and slowly turned back upwind; into 20-25 knots and 2-3 foot waves.  Few choices given the narrow channel.  Not too excited about being soaked while working up on deck, but I had to deal with the mess.  First, release the lazy sheet stopper knot, unwind that fouled sheet from around the genoa.  Re-position that line to the inner track.   Use the repositioned sheet to try and relieve some of the load on the active sheet.  Had to cut the stopper knot off of the loaded sheet, unwind that one from around the tangled sail at the fore stay, and clean up the mess of lines on the foredeck.  Furled the jib, re-rove the sheets, killed the diesel and started sailing again; hard on the wind.  I was drenched.  Despite the excitement and drenching, we had a great upwind run down the Bay, over towards Warwick and finally back up the Warren River.  Over to Nancy and Ed's for Happy Hour, and a fantastic lamb chop and Pinot Noir dinner; Sheila helping in the kitchen.  Happy Birthday Ed!  Track

2 Sept.  Sunny.  80F.   Slept in; mostly lazing around; Kathy left early for Onset.  Cutty was in the beginning of shutdown mode; even the little store was closed.  Stowed the blade and rigged the 135 for the ride home.  Happy Hour on MV Escape rafted to MV Agora with Walter, Pat, Jeannie and Mark.  We were then off to the Fisherman's Club for a lobster bake!  It was really a good one; much better than last year.  The lobster was delicious.  Back to Escape/Agora for more libations afterwards!  Big party.  Lots of happy faces.  Too bad the summer is almost over. 

3 Sept.  Sunny.  75F.  Winds 5-10 knots.  No need to rush home; Sheila made breakfast and we were joined by Pat and Walter.  Favorable currents at the head of the Sakonnet River in the afternoon so we departed late morning.  Not much wind so mostly motored.  Back early enough to get the boat cleaned up, offloaded and topped off the fuel and water.  Track

09/14 - 16/2012

15 Sept.  Cloudy morning; sunny afternoon.  65F.  Lay day in Cuttyunk.  Cold front coming through; rain showers in the AM, breezy and overcast.  Holed up aboard.  Clouds cleared up in the afternoon for a nice albeit cool day.  Too late ashore for lunch at Bart's Cart but a good day for a walk on the beach.  More boats coming in.  Beautifully crisp evening.  Sheila served up shrimp and crab cakes from the galley accompanied by a Gavi di Gavi.

16 Sept.    Partly Cloudy.  68F.  Wind 18-23 knots.  Decent wind behind the cold front.  The Fisherman's Club was closed for the season, so no breakfast ashore.  Sheila served up one even better.  Despite an unfavorable Northwesterly, we wanted to get back home.  Long ride home; mostly motor-sailed given the wind.  Cleaned the boat up at the dock.  Stopped by MV Escape for a libation with Pat and Walter.  Nice weekend; snug night ashore in Bristol  Track

09/23/2012

Partly Cloudy.  70F.  Wind 10-15 knots.  Taking advantage for a rare westerly, Ed and I sailed down the Bay and back up around Prudence Island.  The 12 Meter yachts were out just north of the Newport Bridge.  Took a bit of tacking to get around the island.  We even managed to retrieve Ed's hat blown overboard just off of Conanicut Island.  North of Ohio Ledge, Ed carefully timed our course to just scoot through the Swanson Cup fleet as we passed by the southerly mark.  Great day on the boat.  Thanks Ed for bringing lunch!  Later learned that teams from Barrington Yacht Club won both the Swanson Cup and the Bay Cup Challenge.   "Team Captain Steve Thurston in MIGHTY PUFFIN guided the Swanson Cup team of Matt Asaro, in CEPHEUS and Ian Hopkins in BOMBALOO To a come from behind win over the teams from East Greenwich Yacht Club and Bristol Yacht Club."  Track

10/07/2012

Sunny.  55F.  Gryphon hauled and on the hard at Stanley's.  Took rest of the gear and cushions home.  Time to start planning for next year.

10/29-31/2012 [Hurricane Sandy]