Issuma: Why I am hugging the coast of Brasil

Richard Hudson in Issuma is single-handed now, 2000 miles up the coast from Montevideo.

He explains the currents and conditions that led him to take the risks of sailing quite close to the coast, with its hazards of high traffic, and the lee shore if the wind shifts to the east.

Volvo: Across the Equator - a tight pack

All 7 boats have crossed the Equator. Telefonica Blue, which did the last 4000 miles of the epic Qingdao to Rio leg without a headstay, showed its speed by being first at the Fernando de Noronha scoring mark - the equatorial island off the Brazil coast. The next 5 boats were separated by only 14 miles DTF across a stretch of the South Atlantic as they passed over to the north. 3500 miles to Boston.

The usual silly celebrations occurred at the crossings.

Here's the 2-D graphic showing race position.

Whales and Lobsters

Whales and lobster don't have much to do with each other, what with one scurrying along the bottom grabbing anything they can and the other scooping up mouthfuls of krill shrimp and zooplankton salad. The Right Whale about whose survival marine zoologists worry is the species about which Melville waxed in Moby Dick , Chapter 75 : " the Right Whale I take to have been a Stoic; the Sperm Whale, a Platonian, who might have taken up Spinoza in his latter years".

But the lobsters ply the same waters as the giant mammals and so, to avoid entanglement, the lobstermen have been forced to buy sinking line, some of which which we see coiled up here at the base of the traps stacked up on the dock at Simmons Wharf in Friendship during the off-season.

The Gulf of Maine Lobster Fishermen's rope exchange program helped many lobstermen with the replacement of old - perfectly usable - line with new - whale-friendly "sinking line".

One might get the impression driving the coast that lobstermen have an idyllic life, picking up lobster traps here and there about the rivers and bays, on sunny summer afternoons. That would be wrong. October, November, December are big months and the crustaceans lie in deep water 25 miles out to sea where lobstermen (and they are nearly all men) bait, set, tend, and haul the traps, band, and finally sell the product of 500 - 800 traps per license holder.

Images: drawing - Bowsprite; Photos: line exchange - Gulf of Maine Lobster Fishermen.org; Simmons Wharf - Friendship, ME - gwc

What we call our boats: our virtues, vices, dreams, and fantasies

Prodigal (Maple Juice Cove, Cushing), Red October (Port Clyde); Monhegan; Outlaw, Addiction, Bad Company (Friendship); My Girl (Hathorn Point, Cushing); Suspicion (Friendship); Dreadnought (Monhegan/Tenants Harbor)

Volvo: Rio to Boston - underway - 16 days - 4,900nm

That's an estimated average boat speed of 12.76 kts, in case you were wondering. That includes dodging squalls and light air in the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone, called The Doldrums.

The fleet headed out on Holy Saturday and is stuck in fluky air, sails striking rigging as the big ocean swell bounces them around. Lots of sail repair, little progress two days out.

April 27 - eta Boston.

The Henry Hild

The Henry Hild is, I believe, the only active wooden workboat in New York harbor. A WWII vintage Navy boat, it was bequeathed to John Barron by the late sailmaker, Henry Hild. It is seen here on a mooring at Barron's boatyard on the east side of City Island.

Barron's is one of the handful of yards to which you can entrust a wooden boat - like my North River 2 - an L. Francis Herreshoff-designed Buzzards Bay 14 built in 1985 at The Boat School in Eastport, Maine.

Lighthouses of New York Harbor

Here's an audio slideshow from the Times, narrated by a Coast Guard petty officer, describing the lighthouses of New York. Particular mention is made of Stepping Stones off City Island and Execution Rocks off Sands Point.

Here's the link to the NY Times

Issuma: underway north from La Plata, Buenos Aires

So it's sunrise for Richard and crew as they head north from the La Plata River/Buenos Aires and Montevideo.  The current course hugs the east coast of Brazil  - see the graphic.  Issuma's blog link is in the blogroll at the top of the page.

Good time of year to be heading north.  It would be great to see Issuma in New York in May.  And Labrador in June??  Just guessing, but knowing Richard's yearning for high latitudes, it could be in the works.

A Foggy Day - Part 2 - Rowing to the City Island Bridge

It was a misty day, high of 45 as a big low pressure system moved up the coast. A steady 10-12 mph breeze blew right out of the east. Visibility of 1/4 mile kept me a couple hundred yards off shore as I rowed my 8 foot injection-molded plastic dinghy the mile from City Island YC to the City Island bridge.

I hope the City stays broke for a while - and does not implement the Department of Design & Construction's plan for a modern bridge to replace it. It is a steel swing bridge, rotating on a central pedestal. At least it did. It doesn't open any more.

And I hope they take down that ugly cyclone fence. Why do they want to obstruct fishermen? They do no harm and can be easily found if they get out of hand. They'll be waiting at their favorite spots hoping a fish will bite.

Here is the photostream for the day. It was a landmark: I have rowed my boat at least once in each month of the year!

A foggy day - Part 1 - Hunter Island

Today the tide was high - a predicted 8.6 feet flooded the marsh at Pelham Bay Park, Hunter Island preserve. I think dogs bred as hunters are part of the natural environment.

James was in his native environment and happy, as you can see.

This is the Bronx!