Despite the threatening weather, Spirit of Buffalo departed Wardell's in N. Tonawanda today at 10 AM and arrived at RCR Yachts this afternoon to a small but very welcoming (and welcomed) party! The vessel is sporting her shiny, newly-sprayed masts and booms, gaffs and sails will go on over the next few days. Maybe you caught a glimpse of her headed down the Niagara River while driving on the 190 today? It was so fun to "sail" along the stretch of road I so often drive, while daydreaming of bringing the boat that way.
Photos of the mast stepping will follow soon!
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Friday, May 8, 2009
Home!
After 1,500+ miles - from Georgetown, SC to Buffalo, NY - the vessel and crew finally made their arrival in Amherst, NY on Wednesday, May 6. Much of the family was able to join the boat in Lockport, NY to finish the long voyage with Capt. Rich and his canal crew, Chris and Nicki. It was a wonderful reunion.
Currently, the rig is being prepped and painted thanks to our friends at Hadley Exhibits and our hope is for it to go up by mid-week. At that point, look up for Kate and Rich, as we will be spending many hours rigging, replacing hardware and rigging, bending on sail, checking fairleads, splicing splicing and more splicing.
BUOE and Buffalo Sailing Adventures continue to confirm bookings and make final preparations for our respective programming seasons. BUOE in particular continues to build on its long wishlist of materials and equipment; if you think you have some items of use, give us a call!
Currently, the rig is being prepped and painted thanks to our friends at Hadley Exhibits and our hope is for it to go up by mid-week. At that point, look up for Kate and Rich, as we will be spending many hours rigging, replacing hardware and rigging, bending on sail, checking fairleads, splicing splicing and more splicing.
BUOE and Buffalo Sailing Adventures continue to confirm bookings and make final preparations for our respective programming seasons. BUOE in particular continues to build on its long wishlist of materials and equipment; if you think you have some items of use, give us a call!
Monday, May 4, 2009
Lake Crossing
The Spirit and crew (now comprised of Rich, Chris and new crewmate Nicki) crossed Oneida Lake this morning and are in fine shape. Greenhand Chris is Rich's permanent "bow man", having mastered the art of line-tending through the lock system. We thank him for his documentary skills, as well. Nicki, a family friend, is very excited to be aboard and reminisces of travels in Central America as they traverse the Canal. (That might be a first.) And Rich looks forward to smooth sailing as they get closer to home.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Up, Up and Away!
On a rainy Monday, April 20 we pulled the Spirit's entire rig with the capable help of Chris and his waterfront crew (Chris is the one swinging through the air on the crane).
Check out the photos of the process. It was most impressive and went off without a hitch. We found very little in need of attention; the rig is currently in Buffalo being sanded, painted and welded in preparation for its stepping (translation: reinstallation) next week.
The boat is currently in Troy, NY, north of Albany and south of Waterford (mouth of the canal). After participation in the Canal Opening Ceremony press event tomorrow morning the boat will begin its final leg of the voyage home.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Kings Point Maritime Academy, Land of Milk and Honey
Greetings from Kings Point, LI, home of the Kings Point Maritime Academy. We arrived mid-day Saturday, bleary-eyed and exhausted, after a relatively uneventful but sleepless 36-hour transit from Lewes, DE. The weather was fine with a light westerly breeze and small sea swell that paled in comparison to our previous day underway! Setting the fores'l and the stays'l, the boat was rolly but stable and we were able to push the rig a bit while identifying some rigging kinks to address in May's uprigging endeavour.
We received a warm welcome by fast-boat from two of Kate's best friends, Chris and Tiffany. Chris is the Sailing Master and Waterfront Director here at the Academy and has graciously offered to help with the pulling of the Spirit's rig as well as supplying a quiet, protected place to get some maintenance done before continuing north to the Erie Canal. After travel arrangements, showers and a couple of relaxing beverages we headed over to a wonderful, gut-stuffing barbeque held in our honor by our friends.
Sunday was spent downrigging and logging some quality time with friends as well as saying farewell to some crew who have headed home to Buffalo. Today has brought rain, wind and cold. Needless to say, we've been cooped up down below all day, on the phone, arguing about business tactics, marketing and scheduling, taking things apart in preparation for the rig-pull, chowing on junk food and trying not to kill each other! (just kidding...). Dennis and Ric arrived yesterday with the spar trailer that will allow us to transit without the masts and yards clogging the deck. Joey arrived early this morning to assist with rigging, as well.
While it's tough to stop mid-stream like this, Kings Point couldn't be a better place to lay up for a few days and we are grateful for their hospitality. A private maritime academy, Kings Point has what I like to call a "playground" of vessels, almost all of which are utilized for cadet training. We'll be out on one tonight, getting a taste of being on the water and staying dry...what a concept!
The Spirit of Buffalo phone continues to ring off the hook and word continues to spread of our impending arrival. Kate returns to Buffalo by Thursday to move along with the BUOE Foundation and will continue to report on the Spirit of Buffalo's northward progress as news arrives!
We received a warm welcome by fast-boat from two of Kate's best friends, Chris and Tiffany. Chris is the Sailing Master and Waterfront Director here at the Academy and has graciously offered to help with the pulling of the Spirit's rig as well as supplying a quiet, protected place to get some maintenance done before continuing north to the Erie Canal. After travel arrangements, showers and a couple of relaxing beverages we headed over to a wonderful, gut-stuffing barbeque held in our honor by our friends.
Sunday was spent downrigging and logging some quality time with friends as well as saying farewell to some crew who have headed home to Buffalo. Today has brought rain, wind and cold. Needless to say, we've been cooped up down below all day, on the phone, arguing about business tactics, marketing and scheduling, taking things apart in preparation for the rig-pull, chowing on junk food and trying not to kill each other! (just kidding...). Dennis and Ric arrived yesterday with the spar trailer that will allow us to transit without the masts and yards clogging the deck. Joey arrived early this morning to assist with rigging, as well.
While it's tough to stop mid-stream like this, Kings Point couldn't be a better place to lay up for a few days and we are grateful for their hospitality. A private maritime academy, Kings Point has what I like to call a "playground" of vessels, almost all of which are utilized for cadet training. We'll be out on one tonight, getting a taste of being on the water and staying dry...what a concept!
The Spirit of Buffalo phone continues to ring off the hook and word continues to spread of our impending arrival. Kate returns to Buffalo by Thursday to move along with the BUOE Foundation and will continue to report on the Spirit of Buffalo's northward progress as news arrives!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Lewes, Delaware: A Port in the Storm
Greetings from Lewes, Delaware, an adorable sea-side town at the southern point of the Delaware Bay entrance. We arrived late yesterday afternoon after a very dramatic voyage down the Delaware Bay. Unfourtunately, picture-taking was impossible due to the heavy winds and seas but other photos will follow soon.
We departed Chesapeake City at 5 AM yesterday with a basic weather forecast for our region (thanks to cell phone calls home to people adept in navigating the NOAA website - thanks Dad!). Exiting the C&D Canal we were surprised at how tame the Delaware River was at that point and our spirits were high.
Over the following 10 hours the wind, rain and seas only continued to increase. We made the decision to duck into the Maurice River, home of a familiar schoolship, AJ Meerwald, out of Bivalve, NJ. A dock was secured after a few phone calls but alas, upon rounding the final buoy to get up into the bay we discovered the impossibility of beating against the building swells. We turned on our heels, making a 180 degree course change and ran downwind toward Lewes, our original goal for the day. At this point, visibility had decreased to approximately 1 mile, wind was gusting over 40 knots (more than gale-force) and the waves were combining with incoming sea swells to reach heights as high as 15 feet. Rich and I were soaked through and shivering and it took all of our strength to keep the boat in control.
Some technical info for some of you: The Delaware Bay behaves just like Lake Erie. It's shallow depth means that a sustained wind will cause large waves to stack up, creating high, choppy seas. A sustained NE wind, such as what we experienced, is particularly nasty as there is little land to break the wind but lots of surface area in the Bay for waves to stack over. On the ocean, a NE wind will travel over hundreds of miles of water, creating huge swells that, when combined with conditions in the Bay, make for a bad day at sea. Further, the way our vessel is constructed makes her prefer to always round into the wind, keeping wind and seas to our beam. This is an uncomfortable and potentially dangerous angle to maintain in such weather, which made our trip that much more ... "interesting" :)
Finally, we could make out the faint outline of the Lewes Harbor of Refuge breakwall and carefully surfed and corkscrewed the boat around the wall. Two miles later the harbor entrance emerged from the rainy fog and we surfed on through that, too. 20 minutes later we were tied up alongside the Lewes Town Dock and set to putting ourselves and the boat back together.
Three cheers to our brave crew who, as sick and miserable as they were, never complained and simply picked up the boat and themselves with nothing but a laugh and some forward momentum. Today brought nothing but sunshine, affording great weather for drying clothes and gear and throwing some more oil on the hatches.
And the funny thing is that Lewes was this vessel's original homeport from back 15 years ago. It wasn't just us that got her here. She definitely helped.
Tomorrow morning we head north to NYC. Weather reports call for light southerly winds and calmer seas. Check back for more info soon!
We departed Chesapeake City at 5 AM yesterday with a basic weather forecast for our region (thanks to cell phone calls home to people adept in navigating the NOAA website - thanks Dad!). Exiting the C&D Canal we were surprised at how tame the Delaware River was at that point and our spirits were high.
Over the following 10 hours the wind, rain and seas only continued to increase. We made the decision to duck into the Maurice River, home of a familiar schoolship, AJ Meerwald, out of Bivalve, NJ. A dock was secured after a few phone calls but alas, upon rounding the final buoy to get up into the bay we discovered the impossibility of beating against the building swells. We turned on our heels, making a 180 degree course change and ran downwind toward Lewes, our original goal for the day. At this point, visibility had decreased to approximately 1 mile, wind was gusting over 40 knots (more than gale-force) and the waves were combining with incoming sea swells to reach heights as high as 15 feet. Rich and I were soaked through and shivering and it took all of our strength to keep the boat in control.
Some technical info for some of you: The Delaware Bay behaves just like Lake Erie. It's shallow depth means that a sustained wind will cause large waves to stack up, creating high, choppy seas. A sustained NE wind, such as what we experienced, is particularly nasty as there is little land to break the wind but lots of surface area in the Bay for waves to stack over. On the ocean, a NE wind will travel over hundreds of miles of water, creating huge swells that, when combined with conditions in the Bay, make for a bad day at sea. Further, the way our vessel is constructed makes her prefer to always round into the wind, keeping wind and seas to our beam. This is an uncomfortable and potentially dangerous angle to maintain in such weather, which made our trip that much more ... "interesting" :)
Finally, we could make out the faint outline of the Lewes Harbor of Refuge breakwall and carefully surfed and corkscrewed the boat around the wall. Two miles later the harbor entrance emerged from the rainy fog and we surfed on through that, too. 20 minutes later we were tied up alongside the Lewes Town Dock and set to putting ourselves and the boat back together.
Three cheers to our brave crew who, as sick and miserable as they were, never complained and simply picked up the boat and themselves with nothing but a laugh and some forward momentum. Today brought nothing but sunshine, affording great weather for drying clothes and gear and throwing some more oil on the hatches.
And the funny thing is that Lewes was this vessel's original homeport from back 15 years ago. It wasn't just us that got her here. She definitely helped.
Tomorrow morning we head north to NYC. Weather reports call for light southerly winds and calmer seas. Check back for more info soon!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Rainy Run-Around
Today, Rich and the crew are swirling within a rainy whirlwind of final preparations. Baltimore friends have arrived to help with finishing touches, Joey's bending on sail and finishing ratlines, the paint rep showed up to calm fears of rust and primer issues, Corey's parents are provisioning and cleaning and the list goes on and on. The bar repairs are finished (thank god...gotta have the bar!!) and last communication they'd run out of coffee and Shawn was making an emergency run to Daily Grind to keep everyone going. The midships hatch is almost done, with some tweaking left with the skylight and the glass to set. Once that's finished the last cover can come off, the foresail can go on and off we go (with a new supply of coffee, of course)! Many many many thanks go to our good friend, Bruce, who has provided guidance and reassurance through this entire process. Can't wait to have some farewell Natty Bohs with Bruce and the Baltimore gang on Monday night.
Stay tuned!
Stay tuned!
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