Weekend in Newport

We got a late start on Saturday because we finally had to give up on our dinghy outboard motor and take it to a shop in Newport.   "I'll do my best" is all we could get to the question of when we might ever see our motor again.   So for a while, any dinghy travel will be with row power.

Despite starting late, we thought we might try to get out of Newport Harbor and out into the main sound - possible for a trip to Point Judith, RI. 

The wind was pretty brisk when we started and it picked up more and more as we started out the channel.  We were doing 7kts with both sails reefed and having a pretty wet and wild ride.  We had asked our friends Lori and Todd in Newport if they would join us today.  Once we got out there, we realized that today was not a good day for someone's first sail.

double-reefed

The further out we went, the bigger the rolling waves got and a few big ones broke near the Bow.  I wanted to turn around but Linda (Ms. "I just got back from the BVI and we sailed in worse than this for 5 days") wanted to go a little further.   So we did and it was great and the boat did just fine

crash

After some of that fun we turned around and headed north under the bridge where things would be a little more protected.   Even up in there it got pretty windy.  Right after I took this video with my phone, Linda noticed that the dinghy had flipped upside down and we had been dragging it that way for a while.  I guess without the engine attached they can get airborne pretty easily.   Luckily both oars stayed attached through all that punishment.

A couple of J/30s racing new Newport Bridge

The weekend forecast was for some great wind but temperature in the 50s both days.  We bundled up for this.

After that great sail, we rowed the dinghy to a dock we had no permission to be on and walked around the town.  Linda used her excellent Networking skilz to get permission to leave our dinghy near Fujin during the week.  It only cost us a bottle of Rum (how appropriate).

The very first night we ever spent on Fujin was in Newport Harbor three years ago when we brought her home for the first time from Bristol.  It was cold then, but not quite as cold as this time.  We brought extra blankets and we were fine.

First breakfast on Fujin for 2012

The next morning, we got up and had our breakfast right on the boat.  It was so nice out, we didn't even bother taking the dinghy to shore.  We went out right away for a sail.  We even sailed off the mooring ball.  I chucked a PFD overboard so Linda could show me how good she was after her BVI class.

Newport Morning

First charter
It was so nice out today that we thought maybe we would try again and see if our friends would join us.  They agreed so pulled up to the fuel dock (with no permission again) and they boarded.  We took them out the channel toward the sound (where we had so much fun the day before) and things started picking up again a little.  We wanted to take it easy on our first-timers so we turned around and we all learned how to Gybe.  At one point, the breeze totally died and then picked up again very fast from about 40 degrees different direction than it was last time, so we also got to experience an accidental Gybe.

First (for Bob) Sail, 2012

We arrived in Bristol around 10AM, swore at the dinghy motor for a while and then eventually got out to Fujin for final set-up for the first trip of the year.

Putting the "engines" back on
We prioritized getting the sails on first.  We figured if we ran out of time, we could do other stuff while underway.   Newport is only 13 miles to the south but the wind is coming directly from... the south so it was going to be a long trip for an afternoon. 

Putting the Jib on the first time (2nd time we did it correctly)

And the Main

First Docking
Linda drove us to the dock.  We wanted to flush and fill the water tanks and of course Linda wanted to clean the decks.  It was about now that we started to realize how hungry we were.  But we decided to leave anyway and subsist on crackers and tomato soup.   

Tied up long enough for water and to clean the decks a bit

And we're off
We had to tack the whole way to Newport but we didn't care.  We had the time and we're SAILING!   Wow was it great to be out there again.

We were sailing into a nice strong wind right on our nose.  We decided to be conservative and reefed the main from the start.  We were still making over 6 kts.   

Fog ahead
The whole way down, we kept noticing that we could sometimes see Newport Bridge, and then NOT see Newport Bridge.  It was looking quite foggy around Newport.

Newport Bridge in the fog

First trip with Radar...
... and it was nice to have.  As we approached Newport bridge, it got very thick.  I followed a Lobster boat for a while and could see him on the radar but not visually at times.  About the time we got near the bridge, the fog moved off and we had a pretty clear approach to Newport. 

Newport Bridge from about 2 miles

Passing under the bridge.  no fog now

And... we're here
We found our mooring pretty quickly and tied up.   Now - where to tie up the dinghy?

 A quick (hack) repair

Our new float switch for the bilge pump has a habit of not turning off once the water level drops.  I crazy glued a nut to the thing to give it a bit more weight.   Hopefully it will be ok for the week.

Lonely Newport Harbor
In the peak season, Newport is crazy busy.   Here is Fujin out there all by herself.

Putting her back together

Fujin was splashed on April 13 (Friday, the). I had a chance to get to Bristol on the 15th in the late afternoon while there was still a little light left. Next weekend is the maiden voyage down to Newport where she'll stay until May 11 when we sail back to Boston. There's a lot of work to do first.

And there she was - my first view of her in the water for 2012!

It will probably float

No Launch service today and we realized that the foot pump for the dinghy is onboard Fujin. Not much help. So I inflated the dinghy with some cheep-o air mattress pump and lung power.

Got the boom back on and the topping lift adjuster and reefing line fed through it

Radar Range
The new radar dish from the bottom

Handling Damage

Unfortunately, the topping lift was left swinging in the breeze the last few days the pulley put a nice gouge in the mast where it had been striking it.

Rowing ashore

Spring Prep

It's that time again.

At the end of 2011, we sailed Fujin back to Bristol RI so that Kyle Medina could do some more work on her (plus it's just an awesome place to sail anyway).  

Here is Fujin in the yard at Bristol, getting her bottom painted.

We did the paper suits, sore backs and expensive paint thing.

Freshly Painted Bottom

A few small repairs


Down the drain...  Kyle replaced a bad thru-hull opening for the galley sink drain with a nice new one.  The one in there would not open fully.  Since it's a hole in the boat way below the water line, I feel better about making it very reliable.

Shiny new Thu-hull for the sink drain

My new favorite thing
The seals on a few of our Lewmar Portlights have developed some leaks.  There is a bit of damage to the woodwork already from these leaks so I ordered some replacement seals.   After reading a bunch of articles online saying how miserable of a job this is, I can definitely say that everything you read on the internet is true.

Attempting to replace the Lewmar portlight seals.  fun fun

And the main task for Kyle in Bristol is to install the new Raymarine Radar.  That's Fujin's mast in the foreground with the new platform for the antenna installed.  Notice the light with the disconnected wires sitting on the mast.  That light was above where the platform is so Kyle is re-installing it below the platform.

The platform for the new Radar attached to the mast

Inside Job

Linda decided to splurge on her lovely ship and have Bristol Marine re-do the nonskid surface on all the decks.   Bristol brought the boat inside for this part.  Here are some pictures taken on the weekend before this work started.  This delays our launch date by a few days but due to other obligations, it won't really affect when we can start sailing.  The good news is that it's a few less days that the boat will sit on a mooring in Bristol Harbor with the meter running.