Monday, March 8, 2010

Blake Island Raft Up

With Saturday's forecast calling for sunny skies and temperatures near 60 degrees, Blake Island seemed like the ideal spot to spend a spring winter weekend.

And that we did, tied to a mooring buoy and rafted up next to our good friends Marty & Deborah on Three Sheets, their gorgeous new-to-them Island Packet 38.  Their first mate and kitty, Lily Winston Churchill, adores boat life and came along for the trip.  She bounced here and there, checking out all the unique sights and smells, and even perched on the bowsprit for a moment before Marty put a stop to such risky behavior.  She's even trained to use the head, if you can believe it.  But no, she doesn't flush.  As Aaron aptly put it, "she has people for that."

Before Three Sheets arrived, Aaron and I spent a couple hours walking the beach and trails, and thanks to a low tide, we were able to walk from the west side of the island all the way to the marina via the beach.  The tiny marina used to be an easy place to tie up and plug in, but word has evidently gotten out, as we watched a steady stream of sailboats, trawlers and power boats wind their way around the breakwater into the marina--and then right back out again.
Aaron had the camera when we saw the little guy who made these prints pawing for low-tide delicacies, but he only managed a blurry raccoon butt shot.

We knew we needed to be back to the boat before Marty & Deborah arrived, but we were having such a great time poking around the beach, we lost track of time.  When we spotted what we thought was their boat rounding the corner by Blakely Rock, we decided we'd better hustle back.  We hopped on the trail and ran as fast as our hiking boots would take us, through the woods and mud (pausing as a deer bounded across the trail in front of us) back to the other side of the island.  From our vantage point up on the trail, we caught glimpses of them through the trees.  It was a race!  As we hit the sandy beach, they were gaining on us, and we watched them get closer and closer as we ran (okay, at this point it was more of a run/walk) down the beach to our waiting dinghy.  Dude, I need more gym time.  We made it to the dinghy, heaved it down to the water's edge, pushed off and rowed back to Bella Star--just as they were approaching.  Phew.  We decided that workout burned enough calories to earn us three free drinks. :)
Here they come!

It was an awesome weekend trip, and although we've been to Blake Island many times, each trip reminds us just how lucky we are to have this little gem in our backyard--and to have great friends to share it with.  We even met the future crew of s/v Hello World and Ms. Jack Tar here!

Spring has sprung on Blake Island.

3 comments:

  1. Hi there, we just found your blog! Looks like a great adventure! Keep posting!

    cheers,
    Captain and Crew
    www.sailingtrainingwheels.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am new to sailing, so I know this question is really diagnostic of my ignorance, but can you tell me what "s/v" means. Seaworthy Vessel? Slightly Svelt? Sadly Void?
    thanks, mate,
    Lauren

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey we're all learning. I think it's one of the great things about sailing - you can never know everything, and you'll always be able to find new and sometimes better ways to do things.
    The SV is for Sailing Vessel. I just did a quick check, and there's a lot more vessel type abbreviations than I thought :)

    ACV Air Cushioned Vehicle

    AHS Anchor Handling and Supply

    AHT Anchor Handling Tug

    AHTS Anchor Handling Towage and Supply

    AHTSV Anchor Handling Towage and Supply Vessel

    AHV Anchor Handling Vessel

    Blkr Bulker

    Bulker Bulk Carrier

    Cat. Catamaran

    Chem. Chemical

    Cont. Container

    Crn Barge Crane Barge

    CT Combined Transport

    CTU Cargo Transport Unit

    CV Commercial Vehicle

    DD Dry Dock

    DP Dynamic Positioning

    Drk Barge Derrick Barge

    DSV Diving Support Vessel

    FCC Fully Cellular Containership

    FDD Floating Drydock

    FPSO Floating Production Storage and Offloading

    Gen. Cargo General Cargo

    Grd Geared Ship

    HGV Heavy Goods Vehicle

    HHDW Handy Heavy Dead Weight

    LASH Lighter Aboard Ship

    LNG Liquefied Natural Gas

    LO - LO Lift On - Lift Off

    LPG Liquefied Petroleum Gas

    Ltr. Lighter

    M/T Motor Tanker:

    M/V Merchant Vessel

    MOPP Mobile Offshore Production Platform

    MS Motor Ship

    MT Motor Tanker

    MV Motor Vessel

    MV Merchant Vessel

    OBO Ore Bulk Ore

    OSV Offshore Support Vessel

    PANAMAX Panama Maximum

    PCTC Pure Car/Truck Carriers

    PV Pilot Vessel

    PWC Personal Watercraft

    RORO Roll On Roll Off

    ROV Remote Operated Vehicle

    SD Self Discharging

    SELFD Self Discharging

    Semi Sub Submersible Platform

    SS Steam Ship

    ST Steam Tanker

    Sub Submarine

    SUBC Self-Unloading Bulk Carrier

    SWATH Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull

    Tnkr Tanker

    TW Tween Decker

    UBS Universal Bulk Ship

    ULBC Ultra Large Bulk Carrier

    ULCC Ultra Large Crude Carrier

    VLBC Very Large Bulk Carrier

    VLCC Very Large Crude Carrier

    ReplyDelete

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