27 August 2011 Last Log

A word of warning: this is my last blog entry for the summer, and it is a long one.  The plan was for Amy to spend this week ashore prepping for the wedding, while groups of my friends filled in for her on the island.  These plans changed to a certain extent on Wednesday, when I found out not only was a predicted low pressure system on its way for Thursday, but Hurricane Irene had decided to come marching straight up the coast with a high probably of landing in New England as a Cat 1 or Cat 2 storm as early as Sunday.  This changed a leisurely week with buddies into a slightly frenetic (albeit fun) few days where I pressed them to work with me closing up the island.   

Ben, Ashley, Jason, and I rose on Thursday to a sunny day, with 10-15kts of SE’ly breeze, and the seas stacking up into the 4’-6’ range, as predicted.  We began the mission of emptying the refrigerator & freezer of food before moving to the Whistle House to clean & begin stowing the staging & lawn furniture in advance of Irene’s approach.  This chore was finished in short order, so we headed down to the Cove to perform the same tasks, except this time in the Boathouse.  While down in the Cove a beautiful wooden sloop named Fiery Jubilee sailed in and picked up a mooring.  Her captain, Nick, had pulled in with the intention of taking a nap, but decided to stay the night after he & I had conferred about the weather.

The low moved in after lunch, bringing gusty winds up to 25kts, fog, and a line of rain squalls.  We retreated inside for an afternoon of music, cards, and eating.  Jason is an accomplished banjo player, and my mandolin skills have become adequate enough to play along, so we used the stereo very little, enjoying our own tunes instead.  Not wanting Nick to be cold, wet, and alone, down on his boat, I had invited him up to dinner, which he accepted.  Fueled by some adult beverages, we had a lively discussion about climate change over dinner, as well as general chat about work & life.  We very much enjoyed his company, and when he headed down to his boat, we cleaned up and carried on with the tunes until late.

Friday was a beautiful day from the start- light breezes and very sunny to dry the island out.  With Irene still tracking up the coast, there was a huge amount of boating activity as people shuffled to hurricane harbors, or to haul their boats out, ahead of Irene.  With the Seguin Ferry blocked on Thursday, we were expecting visitors, so did short projects to fill the time before the tours started.  We cleaned the museum and dwelling, than Jason & Ashley tore up the garden, while Ben & I boarded up the Donkey Engine House & Oil Shed.  We accomplished all of this just as the visitors came flocking to the top of the island, dropped off on the belated Seguin Ferry.  I took care of the tours while Jason & crew prepped lunch.

After lunch was finished we spent the afternoon working.  Ben & I mowed the lawn one last time; Ashley did some more cleaning & stowing small things, while Jason painted the last window that needed attention.  Work completed we took advantage of the low tide to harvest mussels for dinner- aside from the one dinner we shared with Nick, we didn’t really cook any meals, we just laid out a smorgasbord of vegetables, cheese, bread, dips, and other leftovers.  Along with additions like fresh mussels, the food couldn’t fail.  Having emptied the fridge at dinner, we moved along to finishing the fermented barley liquids, while playing a rousing game of Liar’s Dice, for the rest of the evening.

Saturday morning was intense, to say the least.  Up early, Ashley made us delicious egg sandwiches for breakfast, while Ben, Jason, & I, packed up the rest of the gear and began loading it on the tram, while the foghorn droned on in the background.  The visibility was down around 50 yards, which surprisingly did not stop a wedding from happening, with about thirty people in attendance.  Ethan brought them out on Leeward, and I helped transfer the group ashore.  While the wedding was happening I ran the tram down the hill, boarded up the last couple of windows, and trooped up the hill to begin shutting down power.

By 1015, the wedding party was gone into the mist, Jason, Ashley, & Ben, were headed out on Larry Gustav’s boat (THANK YOU Larry!), and Darcy Dog & myself were left to finish securing the island.  It was not long before Ethan had returned to pick me up, bailing off the island early, so I wouldn’t miss Amy & my wedding date, if Irene proved to be a big storm.

I knew the summer had to end at some point, but I did not expect it to end in quite this fashion.  It was an inglorious end to what I felt was quite a season on the island.  Ready to let it go or not, my fantastic time on Seguin is over, I could not have pulled off the summer as a whole with Amy, Darcy Dog, my parents, a huge number of friends, and the help of the On-Island Committee.  It was a great three months, the best I’ve ever had, and Irene or no, I couldn’t ask for a better one.

NATE POWER      

18 August 2011 Picture Perfect Retriever?

In true August fashion, there was a decent bank of fog surrounding us this morning while we ate breakfast. Amy & I are hosting our friends Mike Dudley & Shannon Levesque for a few days, and after we ate Mike & I went down the hill for the morning check of the condition of The Cove.  As is usual on foggy mornings, our moorings were almost completely full, with the skippers waiting out the fog in the comparative safety of our harbor.  I was concerned by one gent who had anchored about forty feet off of the rocks on the NE side of the Cove, who also was clearly not securely anchored.  As it was low tide I walked out to on the rocks until I could almost spit onto the deck of this sailboat, and offered a polite salutation to the owner, and pointed out we had moorings available still.  He looked around, and replied “Nah, I think I’m fine”.  I blinked, responded “roger that” and left.  If someone wants to do something goofy after they’ve been warned, it is not my problem.

Visitors to the island get a good laugh when I command Darcy Dog to “stop being a nuisance”.  He generally speaking is a well behaved pooch, he just rarely does anything useful other than provide cheap entertainment.  Imagine my surprise this morning when he waltzed by me on the main trail, with a camera case dangling out of his mouth, looking rather smugly satisfied with himself.  I have no idea where he found it, there had been no visitors to the island at that point, but find a very nice camera & case he did.  He certainly got a Scooby Snack when we got to the top, and although he didn’t know why he got a treat, he was satisfied.

I was also satisfied this morning, as I made more huge strides working on Dory.  Amy & I are hosting our friends Mike Dudley & Shannon Levesque for a few days, and I took advantage of another pair of capable hands to help me fit the port gunwale onto Dory.  With Mike’s assistance, I managed to complete the work in a few short hours, making me think there is still hope to launch her once before the summer is over.  My last task is to steam & fit some stiffeners in place; stay tuned for further developments.

Mike & I had just finished our chores with Dory when the Small Point Summer School assaulted us for the second time this summer, with their Army of Darkness.  In all seriousness, they had called ahead so we were expecting them, and the kids are pleasant enough.  They tried to provoke me into letting the throw things off the tower again.  I out-smarted them this time round however.  I had gotten rid of all the balsa wood planes & other toys prior to their arrival, and thoroughly confused the younger kids by denying that they had ever been there.  They have their fun, and I have my fun.

Everything became reasonably peaceful when they departed.  Amy & I mowed the lawns while Mike & Shannon wandered the island a bit, enjoying their explorations all the more for never having been here before.  The fog had lifted around 0930, and stayed out, although visibility remained reduced throughout the day.  It cooled down fast tonight, so we made dinner & retired to the living room to play hearts for the duration.

19 August 2011

By this point in the summer I should pretty much disregard any weather forecast provided by NOAA.  I believe those scientists know what they are talking about; I also believe that Seguin lives in its own little bubble of uncertainty.  Based on the predictions, I had all but promised Mike & Shannon a quiet Friday of mostly fog & rain, with few visitors.  Long, intense games of Scrabble seemed to be imminent when we went to sleep last night.  Imagine our disappointment then, when we rose early this morning, to find the weather was foggy, but otherwise warm & sunny.  I knew then and there, as I was cooking sourdough pancakes, that our laid back day was doomed. 

I discovered shortly after breakfast that “doomed” was too mild of an adjective to use for our day.  I carried a cup of coffee out onto the porch to see five boats loaded down with people zipping towards the island out of the thinning fog; indeed, the Southport Yacht Club had returned.  For the second day in a row our peace was shattered by fifty loud kids.  I managed to get them in & out of the tower in reasonably short order, and they had just left when a clutch of forty people came up the hill, some from the Leeward, and some from their own boats.  We tied our record for busiest day by the time the fracas ended around 1500; the main difference today was that Alicia & Rich (a very nice couple from Westport) brought us an unlooked for gift bag of wine, cheese, and other snacks.  Thank you Alicia & Rich!  If you’re reading this, it lasted about two hours after you delivered it to us.  We put it to good use.

Aside from the huge amount of tours Amy & I gave, Mike & I managed to get three more windows painted, and I managed to get Phase II of Darcy’s physical therapy started.  The vet wanted us to begin attaching a weight to his lame leg in order to encourage him to use it.  Let me just say, our poodle puppy did not fancy having a 1lbs sand bag lashed to his leg with an ace bandage.  I got to hear all kinds of new disgruntled whining noises from our hound.

We finished today much like yesterday, playing hearts with Mike & Shannon, eating, drinking, and making merry.  It is a good end to another good day, for sure.  The weather is still holding steady, no rain, a steady gentle S’ly breeze, but with the high clouds definitely starting to shape up.  I (yet again) have full expectations for a relaxed day on Saturday.         

20 August 2011 Socked In

Mike & Shannon discovered what a good Seguin Fog looks like this morning.  The horn tripped on between 0430 and 0530 this morning, heralding the solid wall of grey I crawled out of bed to see an hour later.  It was thick enough that I was doubtful my father would be able to get out to the island to pick up the Dudley clan.  I should never doubt my intrepid dad and the Lovely Linda however; we had to scurry when his voice came booming over the radio that he was passing Pond Island heading our way.

Fortunately we had already eaten breakfast at this point, and I think we only delayed him about five minutes while we finished getting everything down the hill.  We chatted with Dad, said our goodbyes to Mike & Shannon, and they headed off into the fog, while Amy & I went back to the top to clean up & prepare for the next round, which began when Ethan brought out a tour group a few short hours later.  While the visitors were all duly impressed with the tower and the Fresnel Lens, but that was all they could see.  The fog persisted through their entire visit, denying even a view of the Whistle House at times.

Ethan’s crew departed at their accustomed time, leaving us, and Judy & Chuck Reeves, with the island to ourselves.  Judy (who is our office manager) and her husband are making use of the guest quarters tonight; we had only one other visitor tonight, Capt Ralph Ferguson & his wife.  Captain Ferguson & I graduated from Maine Maritime 40 years apart from each other, he in 1965 and I in 2005, and had a good time chatting and looking at the light.  The Fergusons got to enjoy the view from the tower, as the fog had finally lifted around 1500.  After the Fergusons left, we invited Chuck & Judy over for dinner.  I made a batch of sourdough pizza, while Judy provided the beer & the dessert.

The evening has come to a peaceful conclusion.  I am writing this while Amy finishes the dishes, and Judy & Chuck are stargazing.  The fog has not rolled back in, and while the setting sun silhouetted a beautifully formed anvil cloud, the gentle SE’ly breeze and steady barometer is not indicating any treacherous weather approaching.  The forecast is calling for a cold front to disrupt the streak of good weather tomorrow, but I am thinking it may hold off until the evening.  We’ll see.     

21 August 2011 Alone At Last

So after I finished writing the blog last night, my intention was to practice my mandolin.  I played through two songs just fine, had large amounts of trouble playing the third piece, and had fallen asleep before I could try to play the fourth.  This was at 2030.  Clearly cooking all that food and playing host had pretty much tapped me out.  I only got up long enough to slide into bed from the couch, and slept the rest of the night through. 

When I finally woke up this morning, it was to the sound of the foghorn going off yet again (big surprise) although today it only last to about 0800 before the visibility cleared up.  We never had great visibility today, but I could at least pick out Popham Beach and Sheepscot Bay for the better part of the day.  This made the folks Ethan brought out slightly happier, as they see more than a wall of grey.  The only visitors we had today at all were from Leeward; Judy & Chuck left when they did, leaving Amy & I to ourselves on the island for the first time since Tuesday.

After our guests left Amy & I again began cleaning things up, we played a game of cribbage, and I had every intention to do some minor work around the Quarters.  This was not fated to be, as a severe thunderstorm warning was broadcast for our area, so instead performing work, I had to scurry around closing windows and doors, battening down the proverbial hatches.  I had everything closed up by 1630, and had a couple of hours before we finally got slammed by some thunderstorms around 1830.  There wasn’t anything really exciting like hail, but the winds & rain were enough to keep my attention.

Clearly we were spending the remainder of the evening inside, so we heated up leftover pizza for dinner, played some cribbage, and hung out until it was time for me to type this up and head for the rack.  There are more severe weather alerts being broadcast via VHF as I’m wrapping this up, so I’m expecting an unsettled night. 

22 August 2011 Know Nothing NOAA

Yet again today I am annoyed with the weather forecast.  While the 90% chance of overnight thunderstorms delivered (a particularly violent one woke me up at 0515 this morning) the rest of the day’s predictions were wrong.  Normally this isn’t too big of a deal, today however the folks at the National Weather Service called for winds to die this afternoon, and planned on ending a small craft advisory at 1400.  Accordingly, I saw no one, and I mean no one, out on the water this morning, but by noon there were quite a few pleasure craft out, expecting conditions to moderate.  Except they never did moderate until around 1700, and in the meantime, the wind veered all the way from SW’ly to NW’ly, and freshened, churning up some beautiful seas, and wreaking havoc on the stomachs of the boat crews.  I am not impressed with NOAA and NWS at the moment.

Aside from the winds and seas, it was a beautiful day.  We had sun almost all day, and it the temps remained cool, primarily due to the wind.  I got the outhouse cleaned, moved stuff down the hill for Wednesday, scraped the windows Mike & I painted, sealed one window frame that needed it, and with Amy’s help mowed all the grass.  I also gave a few tours; four people on their trimaran braved the seas to get here, and USCG Helo 6002 from Air Station Cape Cod paid us a visit so her crew could make a head call.  For those of you counting, the USCG has been here three times, twice in Helo 6004 and once in 6002.  All have been pleasant visits.

I spent the remaining time in the day with my ear glued to my new cell phone (dammit Amy), preparing for real life to start up again in a few short days.  I coordinated getting friends back & forth to the island during my last week here, set up appointments ashore, contacted my office & my ship about my imminent return to duty, and generally put myself in a funk thinking about the world outside of Seguin.  Helping Amy, who is leaving on Wednesday, pack her stuff up did not help my mood.  I am going to leave ten furrows in the beach with my fingers when they finally pull me off of here.

Enough moping about something that isn’t happening quite yet.  I made dinner, Amy & I played cribbage, I practiced mandolin, did some editing on the job description for future caretakers, and now am finishing up this entry.  The weather has finally settled out, I think (hope).  The breeze has moderated to a gentle NW’ly, the seas are dying, the sky is nice and clear, and the barometer is rising.  This all bodes well for the morning, when I am expecting a visit from a former caretaker who is rather dear to me.

23 August 2011 Salty Lady

I set out to Seguin with one goal in mind: to become a little salty.  Though I will probably never be referred to as the saltiest dame alive (that honor goes to our guest tonight, Ann Luken), the saltiest lady around, nor even one who can ring salt from her socks, I like to think that this summer seasoned me well with a little bit of salt.  

My last evening on the island of course lends itself to reflection on what I’ve learned.  I am happy to report that I can now differentiate between a sloop, a yawl, and a ketch and I finally know what a Hinckley is.  I can determine which direction the wind is coming from, identify what different cloud patterns indicate for weather to come, know how to read a chart, know what a freshening wind is, know what the barometer indicates, and can communicate correctly on the VHF radio.  I also know a little bit about waves, swells, how to row, and of course the difference between oars and paddles.  For the moment we will ignore the fact that the one time I set foot on a sail boat this summer I became ill.  Moral of the story: I’m pretty pleased with my increased level of salt.

In addition to reflection, this evening also shows potential for proving epically fun.  As mentioned we have a house guest, the Salty Ann Luken, in addition to Nate’s sister and former Keeper, Kate Power, Stephanie Manning, and Matt Farmer. Ann, Stephanie and Matt are all former MMA class mates of Nate, and Kate… is well… Kate. 

In preparation for this evening, Nate rowed nearly a mile off Seguin’s shores this morning to procure lobster for our festivities. He also provided one of the most delicious risottos to ever pass my lips (Nate makes a mean risotto). Moreover, our bevy of company hauled enough fermented joy to appease an army. They also provided ample “Rom Noms” in the form of crackers, brie, goat cheese, olives, summer sausage, and many other delicious delicacies that my gastro-intestinal tract will remember that my mind does not. All I can say is THANK GOD my wedding dress was slightly too loose at my last fitting.

So off I go to frolic with friends and I leave you, and Seguin, happy to be here, but excited to see what comes next.