To every Veteran 
THANK YOU 
for your service & 
dedication to our great nation!

Storm Preparation

Hurricane Jose is moving North but is expected to weaken to a Tropical Storm before having any impact on our coast. Even though sustained winds will be moderate, gusts could be as high as 50 kts. With the forecast I decided to prep Nauti Dog in case  Jose swung West.

Motoring the dinghy out I was greeted by a flock of bird on the deck, boom, rails and the brand new Lifesling. Other boats nearby were hosting flocks of birds too. I have never seen this many birds in the mooring field before. No idea if the storm pushed the birds up along the coast???

Other boats were preparing for Jose too. Before any prep started I cleaned the deck, sail cover,etc. Afterwards  I started with the following: Charged the batteries, tied safety knot on mooring cleat, secure mooring pennant float, removed and stow spinnaker pole below deck, de-sailed, secured halyards to the outer most points, secured & bundled lines to large winches, ops-checked bilge pump, secured/removed any loose gear below deck (brushes, grill, bucket). Then when I was ashore removed outboard from dinghy. Total prep time was less than 2 hours and most of that time was cleaning.

Lifesling2 "Installed"

It took me longer to remove the old horseshoe buoy mount than “installing” the new Lifesling2. All I had to do was hang the Lifesling2 on the stern rail and secure the flap with velco on the vertical and horizontal rail section. Then tied the retrieval line to the stern rail base. One key note from the manual is to “mount the bag inside of the stern railing or pulpit”. I have seen several creative mounting location and methods on various boats. Next is practice! Then we can decide if the Lifesling Hoisting Tackle is necessary. 

Summer is not over yet

The temperature might be cooling but Nauti Dog is still out on the water! We raced out of the harbor with only the main hoisted while meeting increasing waves. From the distance a similar sized sailboat was charging towards us. After they passed us port to port it continue a ways before turning back to chase us. They slowly closed the distance between us but when there was a chance of them catching us we unfurled the jib. Nauti Dog immediately jumped forward. Speeding away and increasing the distance between them they gave up their pursuit and turned back towards the harbor. We continued pass a few more governments marks before returning to the harbor for the evening. Unfortunately there was some bottom growth of the speedo so we never knew what our speed was. Also we accidentally erased the track on the plotter so didn’t a total distance either.

 

Evening Practice

We made quick time leaving the mooring. Sky has been awesome at the helm holding heading like no one’s business. Tonight, were practiced tacking and sail handling. We made countless tacks out before surfing back in.

Race Practice

With the Small Craft Advisory ending in the morning we hit the bay again! The goal was practice tacking and rounding marks. Steve took the helm for most of the sail guiding us out of the harbor. Finding a low traffic area we looked at the chart to setup a course. We sailed a simple 1.43 NM windward/leeward legs rounding the marks four times before heading back into port. It was a great sail to close out the long weekend! 

Bending Sails

Waiting for the weather for to clear we made a trip to Buzzards Bay Brewery. While listening to the band play under the tent the clouds started break! We headed back to the harbor but low clouds rolled back in. We hoisted and furled the jib and bend the mainsail. Also, a general organizing and tidying up the of boat from yesterday’s race. 

2017 Buzzards Bay Regatta Dick Fontaine Distance Race!

Our first major regatta! Crewed by a 100% veteran team of three, Nauti Dog competed in the 2017 Buzzards Bay Regatta Dick Fontaine Distance Race.

The Dick Fontaine Distance Race is its own standalone trophy race within the Buzzards Bay Regatta (BBR) held on the first day of BRR in memorial Dick Fontaine. Points earned during distance race are carried over too day two and three of BBR. BRR is a total of three days starting on a Friday and concluding Sunday afternoon.

Approaching the yellow racing circle late we watched Class 1 start from a distance followed by Class 2 and 3. Thinking we missed the start of the Distance Race only Class we saw the 50 and 53 boats doing circles. So we waited and circled too. Finally we saw all three classes return to finish. Later the Race Committee broadcasted the Distance Race start would start 12:45. Also that Distance Race boat were combined with the other Classes. The course and Lat/Long of the W drop mark were broadcasted and noted in hieroglyphics on the cockpit side. We were assigned to Class 3 thankfully since we only has our homemade Code 3 signal flag. Class 3 started at 12:55 and Nauti Dog crossed after what felt several minutes.

Watching a fog bank rolling in, W mark was nowhere to be seen. Hearing other boats requesting visibility status at the mark and also another boat “guiding” two other boats using their radar I made call to RETIRE given our position was close to our home port than the finish. Changing course we motor sailed straight to the harbor barley beating the fog.

COURSE: U-W(p)-K(p)-H(p)-W(s)-U

DISTANCE: 18.05 NM

CLASS START: 12:55 at Mark U

RETIRED: approaching Mark W

2017 Buzzards Bay Regatta Dick Fontaine Distance Race

2017 Buzzards Bay Regatta Dick Fontaine Distance Race!

Our first major regatta! Crewed by a 100% veteran team of three, Nauti Dog competed in the 2017 Buzzards Bay Regatta Dick Fontaine Distance Race.

New leash

With Gale Warnings, Small Craft Advisories Thunderstorm forecasts Nauti Dog has been tied up on the mooring for a few days. So, I have been using the time to learn how to splice. Using 3 strand nylon braided line and an old swivel snap hook I made new leash. For my first project it was a little messy but works.

R&W Rope field trip turned into towing bridle project!

I was not planning on making a towing bridle for the dinghy but stumbled upon a good piece of line at R&W Ropes. If you have the chance, make the trip there. You never know what you will find in their clearance isle and also the team there is wicked helpful! Finding the piece of line with eye splices at both ends was the perfect start. After talking with the crew there about the now new project, they recommended a Suncor 2in stainless-steel ring. Using a cow-hitch in the middle the line the two pieces will run to the tow loops on the dinghy.

Next, I have to dig up 2 stainless-steel snap hooks and it will be complete. Also, it will a whole lot cheaper and none of components will be stitched together so if I a need snap hook, ring, etc I can easily dissemble it or replace any rust parts.

 Components so far:

12’ of ½” Nova blue line with eyes splices at both ends

2” Suncor stainless-steel ring

Sunday Sail

Saturday's small craft advisory has lifted but still left winds and slop for our Sunday afternoon sail. 

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY from the crew of the NAUTI DOG!!!

2017 PHRF CERTIFICATE SUMMARY

We received our N.E. PHRF certificate today! Thankfully no surprises. Racing handicap: 138 Cruising handicap: 144

Becoming Official

We almost have our official PHRF N.E. rating! Pending the local fleet receiving a check. The PHRF N.E. application we very easy through their website. Everything was drop-down menus. Thankfully the boat was previously rated so all I needed to do was copy the original specs. 

First After Work Sail

Tonight was our first after work sail for 2017! A strong a West wind gusting to 20kts pulled the main out of its track before we could even hoist it so we decided to just sail with the jib. The course was straight down the channel and back. On a course around 180 we were able to hit over 5kts with just the jib. The return was about half that.

Not much dinghy or boat movement

Checked on the dinghy today to pump out the rain water.  Also remounted the outboard, hopefully tomorrow I can do a test run with the dinghy.

From the crew of Nauti-Dog we are all forever grateful for our fallen heroes who will never return home. Thank you for your sacrifice and blessing our families, friends and us with the precious gift of Freedom.

The countdown has started

Nauti-Dog is 9 days from being launching and is still wrapped up. With a storm approaching that could bring flooding and high winds I choose to leave the wrap on for few more days. The day’s goal was to install the batteries, test run the engine, check the bilge pump and lights.

After connecting the batteries and filliping the bilge pump to manual there was compete silence. Switching over to automatic did not turn the pump on either (there was rain water in bilge).  When I inspected the pump and wiring the splicing looked iffy. I disconnected the pump and connected it directly to the batter and it worked. Without a multi-meter, I could not troubleshoot any further.

I turned my focus to the engine.  I had no idea when the engine zinc anode was inspected or replaced. Last season I when rebuilt the water pump I bought a new anode, rubber washer, and gasket. It was slow removing the anode but It came out. The anode was due for replacement and thankfully did not break apart inside the engine! The nut that hold the anode was extreme corroded too so I decide to hold off re-installing a new anode till I can get a nut for the anode. The local Yanmar distributor does not open till Monday. 

Boat Prep has Started!

Boat preparations have started! Before the shrink wrap is removed hull work is first on the list. The day started scraping away the remaining barnacles. Next was sanding the base of them. There were several spots where the original paint is beginning to separate from the keel. For those spots I flared the edges so I could building the paint back up. 

2017 Sailing Resolutions:

With every new year comes new resolutions. Nauti Dog’s are below:

1. Sail more

2. Practice safety & crew procedures

3. Share our story!