Tehani

[CharlieJ]

Tehani is a whole boat again :D :D Today was mast step day, tomorrow, splash.

The crane truck came to lift the stick



And here she is all back together. No pics of the process, since I was pretty busy attaching stays ;D



Still have to re-load all the "stuff" into the cabin. That'll happen in the morning. Launch is scheduled for afternoon.

Ya'll will have to wait a bit to see pics of the launch, cause I'm gonna go on a short cruise :D

Be back Monday.

Maybe ;D

[skylark]

looking good, have a great trip

[jotruk]

Have fun Charlie. Have a great trip.

[Frank]

Congrats CJ. As always..."lookin good"  ;)  Enjoy your lil cruise!!!

[Jim_ME]

Yes, congratulations.
Fair winds on your cruise!
Take photos.  :)

[CharlieJ]

Tehani is IN THE WATER!!. Launched Friday at 1630. Motored to Port Aransas Marina, for final set up. I spent the last two nights aboard. Had planned to start homeward today, but we had a front come through.

Winds gusting 25-30, Temps at 61 degrees, raining, course would be dead to windward, and nothing aboard but shorts and tee shirts ::) No thank you.

Brought the vehicle home, tomorrow I'll park it at the home marina, and a neighbor is driving me back to the boat. I'll take the next few days bringing her the rest of the way home- WITH long pants and long sleeve shirts aboard!!

But here she is, afloat, at the Port Aransas, Texas city marina. About 60 miles south of here

[lance on cloud nine]

Good job! Way to make it happen Charlie!

[Jim_ME]

It IS uplifting to see your photo of Tehani in the water again, and to see you with the flexibility to work with the weather. Appreciate the easy-does-it approach. If you're out there and you get this kind of weather, you make the best of it--but why go out in it if you can wait a day or two and enjoy the cruise more?

In Downeast Maine and farther up the Bay of Fundy there were big tides and sometimes fog. After awhile when sailing you just learned to work with the weather and currents. There were two fair tides a day and planning an outing around the fair tides, getting out the tide charts and working the plans and schedule around the natural cycles seemed to make me feel that much more connected to nature. You see a full moon and know that meant the bigger tides.

It was mid 60s here in Southern Maine today, but that is slightly unseasonably warm now. It rained and we had similar winds--the first since the leaves have changed. Many colorful leaves and needles on the wet roads as I drove to Mom's for dinner and a visit, and then home. Fall is definitely here...the foliage at or nearing peak color in my area. We're nearing the end of the local sailing season for many--past it for others...

[CharlieJ]

Tehani is in her home slip. Here's a paste of the write up I did on TSBB on the last two days of bringing her home. I had originally planned to start back on Sunday, with a friend along, and had moved my vehicle to Rockport Tx so I could drive from there. But a strong front came through- gusting north at 20 to 25 knots, and temps at 60 degrees. That put the winds on the nose, and I was at the downwind end of a 15 mile wide shallow bay!! I had no long pants, or warm shirts aboard, so drove to the home marina.., This picks up on Monday

Paste starts here--


Since I had previously positioned my vehicle in Rockport, and was unable to get there by boat due to the frontal passage, I had a friend bring me to the Jeep on Sunday, and drove on home, leaving the boat in Port Aransas.

Then on Monday morning, I drove the Jeep to the Port Lavaca marina and a nice neighbor drove me back down to tthe boat- 65 miles each way- she claimed she had shopping to do in Rockport- it's an artists town.

At anyrate, I finally left Port Aransas at about 1030 on Monday, heading for as far as I could get. Bays were still churned from the front, but nothing serious- just a lot of spray from punching into the seas.

Crossing the 15 miles of Aransas Bay was uneventful, and running the land cut north of that bay was too, EXCEPT that one pin in the autopilot plug was corroded, and I couldn't make that work. So hand steering was the order of the day. Now, Tehani will hold her course unattended for a good while- 2 -3 minutes at least. But that's really not long enough to fix a lunch. grin. So yesterday's lunch was a slab of cheese, a few pears and an A&W Root beer.

Made it across San Antonio Bay (another 15 miles)and the only tricky navigating, just as the sun was setting, and got back into the ICW. Finally at about 2030, found a small fish camp and eased over toward the lights As I was nearing the lights, I hit a mud bank out on the ICW, which slowed us terribly, but I pulled back towards deep water and she came free-JUST as a big, black piling sailed past my port side, about a foot off the hull. Looking back, heart in mouth, I saw a whole ROW of pilings extending from shore and about 1/4 of the way across. Put there apparently to stop boaters from ramming the small docks. If not for hitting the mud at the end, I would have punched at least one of them. Totally unlit, and almost invisible to tired eyes in the dark.

Eased on in, tied up to the deserted docks, secured the boat- had a Clif Bar and a beer for dinner (at 2100) and crashed. Woke this morning at 0700 to the sound of outboards. Fishermen launching- already 15-20 trailers in the lot. Nice guy running the place wouldn't let me pay anything, so I bought gas from him and shoved off for the final leg. Or tried to. Engine refused to idle. Got it running with choke partly out, and headed out. Ran just fine at cruise. Idle jet trouble again-time for SeaFoam

The run up the ICW (13 miles) was uneventful, and the entry into Matagorda Bay likewise, although quite lumpy right at the jetties. Once out into the bay proper, things smoothed out, and I had a very pleasant run up the bay-still dead upwind though. But by the time I made the next bay up (Lavaca Bay) I was peeling out of the jacket. Closer I got to the marina, the flatter it got, til I was motoring in glassy water- and wishing I had a short sleeve shirt on. Jetties to marina is another 13 miles of open bay.

That's a total of 4 bays by the way

Finally at 1400 on the nose, Tehani and I slipped into our slip. I closed the boat, and went for a Burger!!

16 hours total tiller time, and about 75-80 miles by water. I have a new plug already for the autopilot AND a can of SeaFoam

Tomorrow I'll go clean her up a bit, but she's home. And I'm very happy about that

[CaptMac]

It's always a good feeling to be tucked in at home

[Jim_ME]

As I was nearing the lights, I hit a mud bank out on the ICW, which slowed us terribly, but I pulled back towards deep water and she came free-JUST as a big, black piling sailed past my port side, about a foot off the hull.

Charlie, Appreciate the report of your trip. Gives me a reason to check out the route, bays, and area on Google Map satellite view. Interesting twist the way what seemed to read as a untoward event (the mud bank) ended up saving you from hitting the piling. With the sun setting earlier in the fall one misses the visibility that evening daylight offers earlier in the season, against unlit hazards. From your sharing it, we all gain some experience from your close call.  :)

Reading about the sound of the fishing boats waking you early reminds me of being at my sister and brother in law's cottage in Down East Maine and waking to the low droning of the diesel lobster boats as they head out into the bay and haul their traps as the sky lightens and then the sun rises over the islands.

Congrats again on getting Tehani repaired, in the water, and back in her home slip.