Ruf Seas: Riding Out the Storm

2 November 2014

Our first snow storm of the year blew through the region today. It did not bring much accumulation here along the coast, but the winds were pretty strong. My neighbor, Jolly Jack, was a bit anxious about my boat, since it was still in the water. Jack takes his Grady White powerboat out of the water after Labor Day, but I did not want to haul out Piao quite so early. It is my first year with the boat, and I have had such an enjoyable time, so I was hoping for some pleasant autumn sailing.

Back in the spring, I was required to have my mooring inspected. I had purchased the mooring gear from my next-door neighbor, who used to own a powerboat. He sold me a 250-lbs mushroom anchor, mooring chain, mooring ball, and a "tall boy" pendant (buoy) for $250. He also wrote a letter to the Marion Harbormaster, offering to turnover his mooring spot to me. Since the mooring is on the Weweantic River, this was not a problem -- moorings in Sippican harbor, for the million-dollar sailboats of the Marion Blue-Hairs, have a waiting list that can take years.

When the diver came to inspect the mooring in May, however, he discovered that the chain was worn dangerously thin. "I don't know how your boat is still there," he told me. Of course, he had new chain with him and offered to do the replacement for a modest fee of about $150. When he showed me the old chain, with several shackles worn and rusted as thin as a credit card, I was a little less annoyed and a little more appreciative.

Then came the November blow, and I became VERY appreciative. Piao weathered the storm nicely.

Piao in the storm. Yeeha.

The following Monday, when I drove down to work at Stony Brook (Long Island -- yes, it is a rather long commute), I came across a sailboat that had broken from its mooring and drifted downwind to wash up on the rocks of the lee shore. Very dramatic. Also very heartbreaking.