Is it Spring yet?

The weatherman is still predicting snow showers. Snow showers are NOT April showers in my book even though they happen to occur in April. Though the crocus and daffodils shoots are beginning to poke through the ground and it actually hit 50F (10C) yesterday, it doesn't really feel like Spring yet at all. The nighttime temps still dip into the 20's (-3C) and puddles are still frozen over with skim ice in the early mornings.  

I read that a lawsuit was filed against Punxsutawney Phil this year by a winter-weary lawyer. For non-Americans, Phil is a groundhog that resides in Punxsutawney, PA and is the official prognosticator of Spring. On February 2nd each year (Groundhog's Day), he peeks his head out of his borough and if he sees his shadow, there's six more weeks of winter. This year, he did NOT see his shadow and predicted that Spring was just around the “corner”. Unfortunately, the “corner” has been covered in snow drifts lately and though Spring has officially arrived on the calendar, you certainly can't prove it by me. Phil, did get off the hook because his handler admits to misinterpreting “groundhog-ese”.

I did see my first robin the other day, a sure sign that Spring has sprung. I haven't, however, felt like hauling short sleeved shirts out of the closet nor have I given up wearing warm socks. Springtime in New England is a beautiful time of year. I just wish it would get here.

By the way, American robins and Australian robins are very different looking. Do robins signal the arrival of Spring down under? I don't know. And speaking of down under, is it starting to feel like autumn there?

Days and Ways to Celebrate

A daily list of mostly obscure holidays and fun ways to celebrate them.

No Housework Day

No explanation needed. Just say "NO!"

Just Give Us a Good Night's Sleep

We're looking forward to a good night's sleep. We haven't had one since we left Triabunna several days ago. Our first night at sea was a tumultuous one off the east coast of Tassie and Flinders Island as you'll remember. Our second night, anchored in the little notch of Inner Sister Island was great until about 0230 when a swell found its way into the previously calm cove and rocked us gunwale to gunwale in awkward jerks and lurches for the rest of the night. By morning, with a change in the wind, we were happy to head to Deal Island, only 35 nm away.

We remembered our calm nights (and not so calm nights) at Deal Island. The forecast (need we say more?) was for calm weather from the S/SE and the anchorage at East Cove off Deal Island is perfect for that. We arrived to find five boats already anchored and two more coming in right behind us. It's a large enough bay and everyone had plenty of room. We could see the current churning in the Murray Passage behind us, but the anchorage was calm and peaceful. The only problem with the anchorage is its grassy bottom, sometimes tricky for holding. We set the anchor well, let out plenty of scope and headed to bed around 2230.

The wind was variable, coming from all directions alternating in short 20-25 gusts and then calms. We had swung around with unpredicted fresh westerlies and all boats were now on a lee shore. We checked our position before heading to bed, set an anchor alarm and felt relatively secure that we were holding in place. Ah, a full night's sleep ahead and we were definitely ready for it.

We heard a radio hail around 0200. Another boat in the anchorage had dragged and was nearly on the beach before being able to weigh its anchor and motor off. In the process, however, the anchor chain jammed, causing the windlass to pop a circuit breaker. In trying to reset the breaker, the switch broke leaving them with no windlass and an anchor hanging from the bow that could not be deployed.

David chatted with them on the radio and promised to help at first light. But now we were awake and aware that they were circling in the anchorage, round and round for the four long hours until daylight. We had a cup of tea, played a game of gin, chatted. We were only too aware of their predicament, having been in similar situations ourselves in the past. The nights are never so long as when you're waiting for the dawn. With each gust, we wondered if another boat would drag … maybe Cups?

Finally, morning came. A crew member picked up David in their dinghy. He had the problem sorted out and the windlass working and unjammed within an hour … at least until it could be properly repaired and the circuit breaker switch replaced. They happily anchored close by. We're invited for cocktails. That's how it is with cruisers.

Now...maybe tonight we'll get a full night's sleep? Tomorrow...Deal Island magic!

Days and Ways to Celebrate

A daily list of mostly obscure holidays and fun ways to celebrate them.

Homemade Soup Day

It's February, homemade soup will taste good tonight for dinner. Here's a good recipe.

The Furneaux Island Group - just a glimpse

 

Fighting a west wind to get further west into the Bass Strait was certainly not reasonable. We consulted the cruising notes/guide we'd received from Jack and Jude on Banyandah. We'd met them in Kettering and spent some time chatting. They're knowledgeable, experienced sailors and we trusted their input. Their guide proved to be an excellent resource. We were not far away from Inner Sister Island and it looked as if a little notch of a bay on its south coast would make a reasonable overnight anchorage and allow us some time to catch up on our sleep and assess repairs to be made.

The wind managed to find our nose no matter which way we turned. The seas were still confused, but the swell had lessened, making the going much more tolerable though we had to motor now. The Furneaux Group, named after British navigator Tobias Furneaux in 1793, is comprised of 52 islands (I personally would have called them the Weeks Islands, but that's just me). It was Matthew Flinders, for whom the largest island in the group is named, and who explored and charted these islands in 1798.

As we neared Flinders Island, the largest island of the Furneaux Group, we were reminded that this island was the home of the last of Tasmania's Aborigines. They had been rounded up by order of the government and relegated to this isolated, barren, windblown island from 1828-34 where most of them died of disease, maltreatment and broken spirits.

We slid down Sister's Passage between Inner Sister Island and Flinders, a light marking the craggy shore. The water roiled in the passage, but as we neared our proposed anchorage, things calmed down significantly. Something hopped on a white sand beach...a wallaby or two maybe. A rusted tin roof on an old deserted building stood in contrast to the dun-colored bush on the hillside.

Under different circumstances, we would have been anxious to get ashore, but this night, we just wanted to lick our wounds and get some sleep. Tomorrow's another day.

A little Tassie trivia: During the ice age, a land bridge joined Tasmania to the Australian mainland through Furneaux Group of islands.

Days and Ways to Celebrate

A daily list of mostly obscure holidays and fun ways to celebrate them.

Super Bowl Sunday

What can I say? Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans.

The Day the Music Died

On this day in 1965 the plane in which Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper were flying, crashed killing three of America's rock'n'roll legends. After the Super Bowl, give Don McLean's American Pie a listen.