We're Back To Work!

Ted and I took advantage of the one of the last warm weekends to move all our boats to their winter homes. Which means blog season is about to begin again! If you want to see us this winter it means you better book in with Ted... he is currently busy organizing our weekends for boat work. I have requested two weekends off. But I don't think I am allowed to take anymore time away!

Ted thought it would be a good idea to do a little write up of the sailing that we have done this summer. We did a lot! And we'll need to do some more boat work this winter to do that again next year. Our plan is for this year to be the last big push for boat work, and then we'll scale back significantly to maintenance tasks for a while - I worry about what we will do with all our time in those winters if we have free weekends! I think I should teach him how to bake. 

The wind caught us off guard during the last week the boat was in the water and I received a slightly frantic phone call from my mother saying that one of the mooring bridles had let go. I left work and Restless (still with her full cover on) was sailing sideways. Some how we manage to row out to the boat in 40kts (we wore life jackets). We stripped her down and tied another line to the mooring and tied it around the mast and then another safety to the winches. On our row back in we though we might go out to sea, there was a lot of rowing with no movement! 

After that adventure, I made arrangements to take Restless around to her winter home so that I did not have any repeats. Besides, after looking at Ted's boat work lists the sooner the boat comes out the better.

But before the blogs about work and sub-zero temperatures begin, it is nice to reflect on the sailing.

Our last race, the Fowl Run, on Restless happened to be the same weekend as my birthday so we had a little celebration!

Restless, the IOD and Rondo, the Nordic Folkboat

As many people know, we qualified to compete in the IOD Worlds championship in Sweden. We raced on the west coast of Sweden in August and had a great time (there will be photos below). Ted and I really liked the Swedish Pennant and decided that we need to get one for Martins River. I took this photo after we returned and I hoisted the flag. The couple that hosted us in Sweden had a pennant just like this one and one of our hosts was the Folkboat Champion a few years ago! (the 60s)

                                                             

After Sweden Ted and I made our way up to Norway before heading back to Canada. Of course we stopped in at Fredrikstad to have some drinks in the boat yard where the first IOD's were built and where ours was built. It was nice being shore peasants for the day. Ted decided to wash his hair with the bottle I labeled "S". It was soap. He couldn't figure out why his hair looked so bad. 

Ted saw an IOD tied to the wharf and needed to touch the tiller

He also tired of my company and made a fluffier friend. Boat cat!

Bjarne Aas, the designer and Builder of the IOD

But let's get back to sailing in Sweden during the IOD Worlds! This was the Norwegian IOD team. Everyone was okay but I think they needed a stiff drink after racing, especially the bow person... they must have suction cups for feet. 

We had a variety of different conditions during the regatta as you can see from the photo above. There was a bit of wind on some of the days and then zero wind on the others. It really mixed up the results, we did well in the windier days but on the fluky days we did not. We ended the regatta in 6th place, not bad for our first Worlds in an IOD and being the youngest team. IODs have been around for over 80 years and Ted only started sailing them 4 years ago. 

The following photos are from the first day

From Aft to Bow; Ted Murphy, Jonny Seller, Dave Wedlake, Jamie Blunden, Me, and Minette Murphy, Ted's sibling... in case you didn't know!

Minette and Jamie always posing for the camera

On the first day we managed to explode the shackle that was part of the vang system on our last downwind leg. "Luckily", two weeks earlier we had a similar situation during Chester Race Week. As the fine oiled machine we are... we managed to fix it just in time for Ted call 'gybing!'  

We raced in some seriously light winds. That is Ted on the back of the boat sleeping as he waits for wind - we are actually racing in the picture. There was nothing to do as the entire fleet sat like painted ships upon a painted sea. In times like that it is good to have a sense of humour. The race committee took pity on all the boats and they towed us in after the race and gave us beer. 

 

 This was us finishing in first place in a nice sea breeze. They have an interesting tradition in Sweden, when you get a bullet they say you 'nailed it' and the prize for this is a piece of a plank from a ex-IOD with a nail hammered into it.

Mandatory couples selfie with the bridge to Tjorn (the island we were staying on)

Sailing back after the last race. If you think we look cold... we were! At the beginning of the regatta we arrived back at the docks frozen. My parents had come along for the trip (they had never been to Sweden and they thought it was the best time to go!) and I asked my mother to get me socks if she came across any... she did... she bought socks for all of us! 

All the boats that we sailed on had these shot holders (I can only assume for the sub-zero temperatures at that time of year)... I am determined to make one for Restless this year. You will notice that there is only enough room for 5 shot glasses... so we are going to have to make a slight modification! 

So that was IOD Worlds 2018. We sailed against some really amazing sailors and we learnt a lot from the event and for me it was my first Worlds event so that made it even more exciting. I should also mention that the hospitality that they entire crew received from our different hosts was amazing and the hot tub at our little house saved all of us!

The view from the hot tub!

Before Worlds we had two local IOD regattas; the Indian Point Yacht Club One Design Regatta and Chester Race Week.   

Sitting on the leeward side is our good friend Hugh that sometimes sails with us and visits us while we are working on the boat. He is the reason that my blog posts are not as tardy as they could be. He always asks when the next one is coming and I always promise him it will be out soon! 

Those photos are from the event at IPYC, I don't have any of us sailing during Chester Race Week because they were all done by a professional photographer and I don't want to get into trouble for using photos that are not mine!

What I have are a few photos that sum up Chester Race Week pretty well I think.

A great photo of Ted after our yearly IOD party. His blanket is the cover from the boat; he stayed there until we left the mooring and refused to open both eyes at the same time. 

It rained a lot and a boom makes a great clothes line! 

And here is one of people that made my day on the last day of racing. In the morning I sent Ted out to the boat with the lunches and my bag with a towel, a hat, a phone, and a wallet while I collected the battery we had charged over night. When I got to the boat, my bag was not there and I asked Ted where it was. A frantic search ensued for thirty minutes before we had to leave the mooring and head to the race course. I pushed this out of my mind - what did I care if we were leaving for Sweden in 10 days and I had no Visa or debt card or Driver's Licence - that was land Dayna's problem. 

The race ends and I begin frantically phoning it again and nothing. My mom and I decided that it has been stolen so I cancel all of my cards. But as soon as I do that a ping shows up on find my phone and the search is on again. ( I have to thank the young man that sat with me and showed me how to use the find my phone website as I quietly sobbed). The people in the picture above found my bag floating in the water. I guess when Ted got on Restless he flung my bag into the sea! After several dark 'n' stormies I decided to talk to him again and inform him that because I did not have a Visa he would be paying for all my wine during the entire trip.  

But there is more!

Here are a few photos from the July Series that happened in Chester 

It's really easy going around the mark when you are the only boat. I think we are launched in this photo

On the odd occasion we use Restless for fun and we take all of our land loving friends out to sea! To get to your classic yacht you must also travel in a classic Tender as seen below...

A few of my friends being taken to the boat by Ted in my parent's tender Alla Turca, my mother's boat is called Rondo and she was named by my grandfather that because he loved 'Rondo alla Turca' by Mozart. This tender was designed in the 1930's. 

The saga of Dayna and Ted in a dinghy continues! 

This will be my album cover after my friends and I start a band. 

When one takes their friends sailing they are obliged to walk to plank. 

The Skipper 

Our private classic yacht raft up, Rondo turned 50 years old this year and Restless will be turning 60 in 2019.

When I first met Ted over 4 years ago he promised to take me to a place called Rogues Roost it is along the coast of Nova Scotia between Halifax and Peggy's Cove. This year he finally took me away on a romantic weekend. 

This is what romance looks like on a J 24

We actually had a great time. We left on a Friday in very little wind and dropped anchor in a little harbour. Woke up to wind and rain and headed out. We were met with 2+ meter sea and dinghy spent the better part of 2 hours trying to sink. I had a knife handy to cut the tow line if it came to it, we were not able to pull it on board underway because of the amount of water it took on. We decided to take shelter in another cove and dragged the dinghy on board and lashed it to the bow. We used Ted's phone for navigation as we could hardly see beyond the bow of our boat. We decided to 'thread the needle' in some areas to hide from the waves. I think that Ted and I found a new form of trust in one another after I navigated him in 20+ knots through a 3 meter passage between rocks in one of his race boats. It is much nicer to run aground in a a full keel boat then a fin keeled boat (so I am told). We sailed by Rogues Roost and went to the PB Yacht Club so Ted could get a very special burgee. 

We also went to Nantucket -  But I already did a post about that. When we are not sailing on the IOD, we sail on the J24 or my parent's Folkboat. Sometimes we like the simplicity of a dinghy and we sail his 29er or my sister and I take off in our paperjet. I think we took one weekend off from sailing and only 3 from racing... a lot of rum consumption happens during the summer! 

My favourite photo of Jamie and Ted EVER! 

We are, however, still trying to get Slocum as enthused as us!  

Splish-Splash! I Was Taking a Bath!

Finally I have time to sit down with a glass of wine and think about the rest of the story! When you work and play in the marine environment this time of year can be a little jammed-packed with everything boat and not necessarily yours. It was very nice to hear from some people asking where the next post was. My answer was always 'next week!' and I really tried, but it is nice to hear that people have been enjoying reading what we have been doing.

Since the last post, Ted and I have been to Nantucket and back again (that is not an innuendo for anything). Once we finished the planks we did not have a lot to do, we were down to the every year maintenance for the most part. I spent most of the last weeks hiding power tools from Ted so that he would stop removing parts from the boat and we could get her in the water. And I can say with confidence that the boat did not make me cry this year! I may have cursed her and her ancestors at certain points but overall we got along... that's me and Restless, I cannot speak to the relationship between Ted and the boat.

In Nantucket sailing in after the last race. After the first day we were in 9th place; we had some kinks to work out. After two more days of racing we managed to tie for first with the top three boats, on a tie breaker we ended up in second! We always have such a great time racing there. 

If you ever get the chance to visit Nantucket it is truly a magical place.

But back to our boat! We wanted to put a garboard plug in the boat this year and as luck would have it after hours suspended down in the bilge I felt an indent. In the case of an IOD the bilge giveth and taketh away! Meaning that for all the tools, screw, nuts, washers, and my soul that we have lost down there in the past three years it finally gave us something back! When Ted sanded the bottom we were able to find her old plug that was perfectly inset and then filled over. After a little digging we were able to unscrew the old plug and after a rain storm this was the result.

Ted always wears a respirator when he sands bottom paint but he wasn't wearing any other protection. And all of a sudden appeared on deck looking like a smurf. 

So I rummaged through my car and was able to put together a more suitable ensemble. I am sure that he is smiling at me. 

Bottom and the water line all sanded. For reference this photo was taken on May 5th. I Also think that was the last time Ted had a hair cut.

To move Restless in and out of the shed we were using this tractor. I was shown how to use it and don't get me wrong I could drive it no problem. But I am the first to admit that I am awful with trailering boats, especially when it is a tight fit between two other boats. Ted, sensing my fear suggested I show him how to shift gears. Ted does not know how to drive a manual... but if you ask him he will tell he can. After driving around the yard with him for awhile he got the hang of it. But I still think he could use a bit more practice before anyone trusts him with a new gear box!

More varnishing... This was on a Sunday and I tried to let Ted know subtly how I felt that day. I think he knew but pretended to be unawares. 

We enjoyed that for the last week or two we were surrounded with two other wooden IOD's. La Diva and Ibis. 

We also enjoyed our evening entertainment! 

As we were finishing up the last work on our classic wooden boat we got to see something a bit more modern! I 100% walked up to Hugo Boss and whispered 'I touched it' as a tentatively put a hand on the deck.

  

The funny thing is that Ted and I were talking about the launch of Restless and neither of us can remember what weekend it was. It could be because after we launched her we had to take her out again. As some of you may know we have a new fiberglass rudder and a new fitting at the top. When we put that in we thought we had used enough 5200, BUT. apparently in that case an entire tube was the answer! Maybe not that drastic, but the advise that was given to me was to 'gloop the hell out of it' and that is what I did. I will tell you that it does not leak anymore. And if Ted and I out live the boat and someone decides to put another rudder fitting on it they will be cursing me and my ancestors. 

I guess most importantly, did the new planks leak? We have been in the water since about the end of May and so far so good! We still have some issues, on starboard tack we have a river running into the boat from the bow. We know what the problem is and we tried to put a bandaid fix on it for the season and it is better then last year but not ideal!  

The boat sat for a few weeks without a mast and in that time it tried to sink. I decided to go down and check on her one fateful Sunday to find water up to the floor boards. I moved the water line up this year, because I found when she sat on the mooring she looked she was sinking. So when I saw the water line halfway submerged I knew there was an issue. I don't think I have ever had a more patient tender boy, he drove me out countless times as I tried to solve the problem. The switch had gone in the boat, but I tested everything before looking into the switch! Always check the switch!

Finally leaving! There is nothing like sailing this boat for the first time every year. We left mid June and as you can see Ted was so excited he lost his shirt. 

Happy Days!

Just a man and his boat

Ted has a special fondness for this boat

This boat is an ongoing project. We are still doing different tasks, the holes you can see in the companion way are now finished with jam-cleats. We know we have a lot of work in front of us but we are working to maintain this boat. Every year we are able to keep this boat going and if you ever get the opportunity to sail her, don't panic, we probably already know where that leak is or where that broken part is. 

I Spun the Threads of Life

It is nice to look at photos of boats and people working on them but that does not get the work done on ours! All of April, save for one weekend due to the flu, we worked on Restless. I cannot say that anything drastic happened compared to before I went gallivanting off across Europe other than now the boat will not sink when we put it in the water. We seem to be getting into the more mundane year to year maintenance which gives us hope that the boat will be in the water before June. But hope is dangerous and I don't trust it! 

After we fit the planks, we had to caulk them. My dad, lucky enough, had some caulking cotton left over from a project and had no future plans to use it. He also let us borrow a caulking iron. After reading our gospel, The Boatwright's Companion: Repairs Below the Waterline, the saying 'lift and tuck- lift and tuck- lift and tuck' rang through my head. We also watched a really good video on how to caulk. I did all of the caulking as I felt that Ted would not have the tender touch to place the cotton into the seams and then the sudden 'THWACK' to get it in. When I was doing it the greek myth about the threads of life with Moirai sisters was replaying in my head; power can be an addicting substance. 

I can honestly say that by the second plank I was getting into to it, but I think I need a bit more practice before I can be as fast as some of the people I watched! In the time I took to caulk two planks, professionals can do half a boat!

The pattern that you make with the cotton reminded me of my Raggedy Ann dolls hair

It is very important that you smell the cotton before using it. It will rot if it gets wet before you whack it into place. 

This is not a a caulking mallet. I nearly finished the first plank with this one. Once I got my hands on a real one it made a world of difference! There is a lot more weight behind a proper caulking mallet. My thumb can tell you call about it. 

This is not all the way in, I pushed a lot more of that further in.

This was clearly our artsy photo shoot! The lighting was perfect

Finding a comfortable position to do this was a bit challenging. I set up various buckets to sit on and when I could I would lean against the trailer. 

In this photo you can see my attempt at keeping the cotton clean as well as the actual caulking mallet laying on top of my bucket with several pieces of wood for the perfect height. 

I did have fun doing this! This is right before I THWACKED all that in

All caulked and ready from some plugs! 

Ted made and put in most of the plugs. (One of our smaller caulking mallets in on the trailer)

Ted and I have been talking about a garboard plug since the boat became Restless. Last year I noticed that she had the fitting for one and then this year I found the hole on the inside. So Ted did some exploring and we found we had a plug! Someone had put filler on top of it and it appears to be a stripped slot head screw head... great... But it is a start, we will try to take what ever plug is in there out, but if that doesn't work we will take the entire fitting out and get a new one. We have a 50/50 shot in my opinion! 

You can hardly tell which one is the new plank...right? We will be sanding the bottom soon and painting so I hope you wont be able to tell! 

We got a coat of varnish on this past weekend. It was nice to spend sometime on deck and we had a very nice weekend to do it.

We are certainly in a different place than last year. We don't have to deal with a baby blue deck and the boat is looking really good. We are feeling the pressure now because the weather has been so nice and we don't want to let her dry out. But it can never be as bad as last year when we were running Henry the heater full time and lights below. The boat has also not made me cry yet, but we still have some work to do so I say I still have a 50/50 shot!