Odalisque - 2005 Log

Log 2005

Spring 2005
“On the Hard in Glen Cove Again”
The big problem we had last year was the stuffing box leaking which has been addressed by several visits to the boat where the packing material has been replaced with new high tech Teflon impregnated line. read more

Wednesday April 27, 2005
“Spring Overhaul”
Today was Wednesday and the boatyard would not be crowded. I overslept for the job I was doing at Noah's house of dust and went to LI instead. I changed the spark plugs, hooked up the new batteries (yes I cleaned the terminals with sandpaper), set up a fresh water cooling supply and started her up. read more

Sunday May 1, 2005
“Sacrificial Zinc”
It was a day of clearing and nice weather after raining all of Saturday night into Sunday morning. The boatyard was messy with mud and puddles and boats piled everywhere. I began my work by trying to get my sacrificial zinc anode collar to fit around the collar of my propeller shaft. read more

Saturday May 14, 2005
“Mooring Drop”
The forecast was for rain at some point in the afternoon so I took my foul weather jacket with me on the trip up to Nyack from lower Manhattan. The only event worth noting on the trip up was the view of the collapsed retaining wall to the north of the George Washington Bridge above the Henry Hudson Parkway in Manhattan. read more

Friday June 10, 2005
“Launch”
We had done quite a bit of planning to figure out when we wanted to sail down the East River and up the Hudson using the Eldridge Tide and Pilot book (not to mention the NOAA website). The East River current would start going south in the afternoon on Saturday around 1330 and we wanted to catch it. read more

Saturday June 11, 2005
“Sailing Down Hell Gate”

accounts by Jean Marien and Caleb Davison

I had been waiting for this day for some time. As a landlocked ex mariner I always feel the pull of the sea when the weather turns perfect and the days grow longer. I was disconnected with boats and to a greater extent disconnected from old friends from Sea Cliff. When Caleb had asked me to sail around Manhattan on a repositioning cruise from Hempstead harbor to the Hudson River I was ready, willing and able. read more

Sunday June 12, 2005
“Sailing From the Battery to Nyack, NY”

accounts by Jean Marien and Caleb Davison

After a brief sleep on a cockpit berth I felt cold so I moved to the empty starboard salon berth across from Matt, leaving Jean in the port cockpit berth. In the morning I found a body in the V berth (Jean) and a body (Matt) out on the cockpit berth. read more

Sunday June 19th, 2005
"First sail on the Hudson for Noah and Isaac"

Air temperature: 70 or less
Crew: Caleb, Jessica, Matt, Jackson, Noah, Isaac
Noah arrived in Nyack before us and had a chance to see the Schlanger’s new house. We arrived a little later at 1045 under cloudy skies and little wind. Between waiting for the launch and for everyone to get organized and down to the Nyack Boat Club I bought some ice to cool a few drinks and just in case we got lucky and caught a fish.

Friday July 2 & 3, 2005
“An overnight and back on the Hudson”

Crew: Jean and Robert Marien, Caleb and Jessie Davison
Wind: NW, NNW 10 – 15 with a Canadian high moving in.

We had beautiful weather under a blue sky with dry, slightly cooler air of a Canadian high pressure system which was chasing the clouds away. We were hoping to get as far upriver as possible but since we had the wind in our teeth so we had to tack the 10 or so miles upriver to Haverstraw where we had a slip reserved. read more

Saturday July 8, 2005
"Couples on Hudson"

Forecast: 8-10 w, n/w and thunderstorms.
We ended up being a foursome after all. Matt, Laurie, Caleb and Jessie. It was Laurie’s first sail on Odalisque since moving to Nyack. After her glass was filled with wine she admitted that Nyack was pretty good, maybe even better then Brooklyn. The land around Nyack is pretty from the water and this was her first time seeing it from this vantage point. read more

Wednesday July 20, 2005
"Full Moon after Tarrytown"

Crew: Caleb, Charlie, Jessie, Laurie, Matt
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. I made a plan with my lovely wife to pick her up with the sailboat at the Tarrytown marina around 6pm, which she could get to via Metro-North straight up the river from Grand Central Station, which was near her office in midtown. The trouble was, I had to drive up to Nyack from lower Manhattan to make it happen. read more

Saturday July 30, 2005
"Late day sail"

Crew: Caleb, Jessie, Matt, Neal (7-9pm)
Depart: 1530. Arrive: 2100 – 5.5 hours of being on the Hudson.
Wind forecast: ENE 5. Actual: ESE to S at 5 – 10 and variable.

I had been a little worried about the smoke that came out of the engine the last time I was out so I checked on the engine while Matt checked the mast electronics with his tools upon arrival. Our mast and spreader lights have been out and need some electrical debugging. Our last outing at night had triggered an alarm with me when a powerboat came speeding up the river at full speed under the full moon alone. Even with the light of the moon he could not see us from a distance and managed not to hit us by 70 yards or so. The tugboat incident was equally compelling to improve our required night lighting. read more

Saturday August 6, 2005
"Family Sailing 101"

Crew: Matt, Laurie, Jackson, Julian (6-8pm)
Not enough food but a family day sail nevertheless. No furthur log of this trip exists except in the participants memories. Some good memories may exist as well as perhaps some not so good.

Sunday August 7, 2005
Down to the Palisades and back

Crew: Caleb, Jessie, Jean M.
Mileage: approx 20.
Depart: 1400 Return: 1945

The forecast wind was typically mild for summer with S SW winds at 5 –10 knots. We experienced some mild whitecaps on the surface so the wind might have approached the 12 –15 range by cocktail hour. With the wind blowing up the Hudson and the canyon created by the towering Palisades we tacked SE towards Tarrytown and the Tappan Zee bridge channel where the current was flowing up river we intended to sail down. We got up close and personal with the abutments of the bridge, identifying cormorants and other waterfowl taking a rest on the pilings a hundred feet or so below the busy, roaring roadway above us. read more

Thursday August 18, 2005
"Full moon on Hudson, again"

Crew: Caleb, Jessie, Matt, Laurie
We set out around 1845 for Odalisque and were motoring (<5 min) against a stiff upriver current, trying to clear the mooring field. Once clear we unfurled the 150% genoa and sailed. read more

Saturday August 27, 2005
"High Summer day sail"

Crew: Caleb, Jessica, Jean M.
Air temp: 82
Wind forecast: SSE 5 - 10
Actual wind: SSE 10 – 15 with gusts near 20

We all arrived at Nyack Boat Club around 1430 and were greeted by some whitecaps on the river, which were being whipped up by the SSE wind. Whitecaps are usually only visible unless the wind is in the 12 – 15 knot range. It is important to be able to gauge the speed of the wind by the sea state (Beaufort scale, Force 1 – 12 etc). This particular crew has been out together before and therefore has a good rapore and today would be no different. read more

Sunday September 11, 2005
"Reliving and remembering"

Crew: Caleb, Jessica, Jean M.
Air temp: 80
Winds: light ESE SE 5 –10

The beautiful high summer weather that plagued us 4 years ago on this date has been in control of the northeast coast for weeks now. We had been to the Ocean beach in East Hampton and Jessie had spent an extra night over on Block Island with a friend as the weather was so glorious. There would be a half moon rising up in the afternoon. We set sail around 1430 uner very little breeze at all.
Outside the mooring field we unfurled the jib and cut the engine (<10 mins) and bobbed upriver with the current and what little wind there was in our sails. Due to Odalisque’s weight we plowed nicely through any wake or waves that came our way. We tacked back upriver from green can #11 buoy as the wind freshened from the South. The best wind showed barely a whitecap on the waves as we admired the half moon in a blue afternoon sky. As the sun lowered on the horizon we made out a beam of light to the south going up to the heavens. It was the lights from the 9/11 memorial service in downtown Manhattan and we could see it from 25 nautical miles away on the Hudson.
Our sail finished off with nice breezes up to 12 knots under peach and rose colored patches of high clouds with half an eye from the moon looking down on us. We made our mooring and enjoyed the last of the afterglow of sunset. The launch came up and we departed under darkening skies (we had removed the dodger as this was still prime hurricane season and we were going away for a few days).
It had been and inspirational sail. The light on the river from both a half moon and an afterglow was glorious under clear skies. On our drive home to Manhattan we had only to follow the beacon of the memorial lights heading straight up to the heavens.

Saturday October 1, 2005
"First fall daysail after visiting Bermuda"

Crew: Caleb, Jessie, Matt
Air temp: 75
Wind: 10 – 15 S and diminished
Time: 1530 – 1830
Engine time: < 30 minutes charging battery 1

This was to be my first sail in Odalisque in almost a month and it was a wonderful, warm, early fall day. There was a slightly different hue to the leaves on the trees since I was last here; probably due to the little amount of rain and heat over the last sever weeks (several hurricanes had passed south of us with little precipitation and of course Katrina had wreaked havoc on New Orleans and the Gulf Coast). read more

Saturday October 15, 2005
"College friends; Alls well that ends well; Barnacles on prop"

Crew: Bob K., Caleb, Jessica, Matt
Air temp: 70 in the sun
Wind: Quite windy. 10 knot steady, gust to 25 from the NNW

Today was the first sunny day in the northeast after ten rainy, overcast days and we were determined to get on the boat and did. Jessie and I noticed the wind as we drove along Kenney Boulevard through North Bergen, NJ. The land rises up to form the ridge we call the Palisades and there were plenty of W, WNW gusts that I could feel in our Honda Accord. Fall has finally arrived; I could smell it in the air. read more

Sunday October 30, 2005
"Propeller groping on Hudson/A last hurrah"

Air temp: 65
Water temp: 58 or so
Wind: WNW 5 – 15
Crew: Caleb, Jean M. Jessie, Laurie, Matt

Our intention was to clear off a few barnacles that had built upon the prop in a few minutes. I had heard that ocean water temps were around 58 degrees or less so I assumed the temperature would be similar up the Hudson and I was not going to take any chances, so I brought my light wetsuit, gloves, booties, hood, mask and snorkel, even if it felt like overkill to a real sailor who would just dive in with a knife between his teeth and just do it in 20 seconds or less and bound back onboard. read more

Monday October 31, 2005
Halloween

Air temp: 67
Water temp: 58 or so
Wind: SW 5 – 10
Crew: Caleb, Jessie, Matt

This trip was supposed to be a retrieval mission to get my cell phone off the boat, where I had left it yesterday. I knew that the weather was supposed to be as good as the day before so maybe I subconsciously left it there on Odalisque. I should have checked my voicemail from another phone as Jean had left a message that he was up for another sail. I checked my messages with my cell phone while under sail. It was too late for Jean be we enjoyed another sunny afternoon tooling around the Hudson on Halloween. read more

Saturday November 12, 2005
Last sail ’05

Air temp: 58
Water temp: cold
Wind: S 5 – 10
Crew: Caleb, Jean M. Jessie, Matt

Amazing as it was to have both light winds and sunny warm weather in early November I was startled by how soon the sun set and it got dark. We set out at 1500 with official sunset somewhere around 4:46 so we could only take a short sail. Once aboard we had everything ready for the modest but real wind. I sailed us over to Tarrytown and tacked and let Jean take the tiller back towards Nyack. We were almost the only boat on th river. The cliffs of High Tor, Little Tor and Pynygyp were set in shade while the outlines of ridges where cheerfully lit up by the lowering sun.
It was exquisite to be sailing this late in the season for me. Extra clothing (more layers) is no bother but I always wanted to remain in the sunlight on all points of sail. We were lucky this day as the wind was steady but can blow its head off.
Matt requested the tiller once we had reached the Nyack side. The sun was getting over western hills so we ran back up to the mooring field from the south and then did a quick reach out and back. On the way back we radioed the launch to see if he was still there. We found our mooring in the depleted field of boats and quickly made fast our vessel. We stowed, departed and found our way back to dry land again under a 3/4 moon. Marvelous.
High water would be early next morning so I agreed to stay over at Matt and Laurie’s house for the night in Nyack. Jean graciously drove Jessica home to NYC and Tribecca and then himself back to Yonkers. Tomorrow is haul out day and I have to be here early.
-CD

Sunday November 13, 2005
"Haul out"

Crew: who the hell writes this stuff anway? And who reads it???
Air temp: 60, nice minimal wind S 5-10

Matt and I had fun the previous night playing guitars together. But we needed to get to the boat club early and get Odalisque ready to meet the club’s 5 ton crane and so had to leave the musical instruments alone this morning.
Odalisque was safely plucked from the water by the crane and nestled into her new cradle by the competent hands of the members who ran the operation. The top of the crane touched our aft stay but this did not seem too violent or dangerous.
Previously we had taken down the roller furled jib at our mooring and motored with a tin boat in tow to a mooring that was closer to the dock. Matt wanted us to pull into a finger slip with the tin boat in tow but I was against that. Instead we grabbed the closest unused mooring and we took down the mainsail with all it’s rigging and detached the boom. With the 2 sails and boom stowed in her cabin she was a mess. Only then did we drop the mooring we had grabbed and maneuvered into a slip with the tin boat in tow (we were lucky that the tide was going out).
Matt then went and spoke to the committee members who were running the procedure. We were cleared for a spot along the wharf so I motored Odalisque to her appointed spot where she would be subsequently pulled out of the Hudson.
When Odalisque’s turn came up the straps from the crane were worked into place under her hull. With a little lifting on the part of the crane we could see how the straps needed a little adjusting to keep her as level as possible. Down again and with readjusted straps she rose up out of the briny. The crane was pivoted and she was lowered very carefully into the awaiting cradle that was set up on the lift trailer. Once snug in the cradle the crew moved her into her spot for the winter and lowered the cradle down to the pavement.

Saturday November 27, 2005
"Winterize engine/Wally"

I had asked Matt to check the gasoline level in our tank and pick up the fuel stabilizer and he was unable to do either. So I picked up the stabilizer at Autozone in Nanuet and bought a half gallon of cheap vodka for the water tank.
When we got down to Odalisque it was already 1330 so we had only about 2 1/2 hours left of daylight. We topped off the tank having added the stabilizer before it reached the top. Next was to run some water through the cooling system. I had to get a 5 gallon bucket of H2O at the clubhouse because the hoses were turned off (we already had freezing temps of 18 degrees or so). I am glad I have figured out how to run the engine with cooling water without a pressurized hose. We quickly ran the water through the engine on this 50 degree afternoon.
We had not run the engine long enough to heat up the oil so it took nearly an hour using the battery powered oil sucker while we offloaded books, canvas, supplies and even linens. At some point I wandered close to the river and saw a red-hulled sailboat anchored off our sea wall (34’ Dufour with Canadian ensign). This pretty ship dangled on its anchor as its owner prepared to row to shore in his tender. He was met onshore by a few interested members who took his line and secured his tender.
We all met Wally from Canada and chatted while our engine oil and batteries were draining. I found a couple of Heineken cans in the pantry and gave Wally two as a welcome gift, which he accepted graciously. Matt invited Wally to dine at his house close by. Wally was bound for the Bahamas for the winter with his next stop being NYC to visit his girlfriend and pick up his crew for his next leg. He had come quite a ways by himself down the canals and into the Hudson and I was a little jealous of his impending voyage although it was pretty late in the season for sailing, or so we are told. But he is Canadian and presumably not bothered by a little cold air.
While we were running the marine antifreeze into the engine Wally reminded us that the thermostat should be open when winterizing which means that the cooling water should get to over 140 degrees or you should remove the thermostat altogether so the antifreeze gets into the “water jacket” of the engine. I learn something every year about how I should have been taking care of Odalisque.

Saturday December 4, 2005
"Shopping for a tent"

Matt, Julian and I went to Home Depot to purchase things like tarps, line, conduit (for a framework), duct tape and the like. We stopped by the club to admire the various stages of winterization most of the other cruising boats were in. Most had begun or even finished building some kind of tent or boat cover but we were by no means the last to do so.
After shopping we decided that because of the hour, Matt’s back bothering him, and Julian being sick that we would not attempt to put the tent together. We missed the first snow but I know that Odalisque will be all right. We shall tend to her soon.

Saturday December 10, 2005
"A tent is born"

This is the season when all our plans start to get quite busy but we wanted to put a winter snow tent on Odalisque. So we cleared the nearly 8 inches of snow and ice off the decks, which was a dangerous and slippery job. It would have been great to have the tent up before the snow fell but that was not to be and there is no point being angry about things you cannot change.
We removed our tool drawer and batteries and lashed down our tarps as best we could. The result was a satisfactory tent made of two separate tarps, one over the bow the other over the stern. We will see how Odalisque fares over the winter in Nyack.