Memorial Day Weekend

[Cruisingdad]

Well, if you are reading this you survived another Memorial Day Weekend!

We had an interesting weekend. Anchored out Saturday and Sunday. Mom and dad followed in their boat too. Came home Monday.

I spent Saturday night from about 130-330am in the cockpit as a 10% chance storm came howling through (as usual). Some of the worst storms of my boating life have come on Memorial Day weekend... and at a 10% chance!!!

But it amazes me the number of drunks on Memorial Day. I had a guy in a pontoon boat come over and ask me how to find a particular cove. He was lost (and drunk as a skunk). He could hardly even speak. He came within inches of hitting my boat at full throttle (no exhageration). Incidentally, his cove was WAY away from our anchorage and it was getting dark (just hours before the wind and storm would roll in at 30kts plus gusts). We then had countless skiiers and boaters buzz our rhode. How they kept from cutting it I could not tell you.

All told, I heard on the VHF or was aware of:

1) One boat catching fire and having to abandon.
2) One boat sunk (supposedly from a collision).
3) Counltess tows from breakdowns.
4) Two boats in our marina with anchor lines clipped, one of them by a speed boat that they luckily found.
5) Many, many people hauled off or written up for DUI. I witnessed one, and also understand that the TPW followed a boater in our marina in with the wagon waiting on his arrival (at which point they hauled him off). I heard about many others.

All in all, though ti is a great and long weekend for boating, we will stay marina side from now on during Memorial Day Weekend. We might go out for some sailing, but we will be back before mid afternoon to hopefully avoid most of the drunks.

I am curious how many others have this feeling? Is it even worth going out on Memorial Day Weekend?

- CD

[swadiver]

I spent the whole Memorial Day tucked away in my slip putting the final touches on my two new rope clutches. However, I was monitoring CH. 16 the whole day. I feel so sorry for the CG and Harbor Patrol dealing with DUI people and general idiots. I thought I had heard it all when a PB called a mayday on CH. 16 because he was turning circles in front of his slip because a trans on one of his two engines went out. Nice...

[teshannon]

Where were you? It sounds like you went to boaters hell for some past deed. In Longport/Great Egg Harbor Inlet things were very quiet this weekend with a lot of sailboats out and only a few power boats. None of those little gnats (jet skis) buzzing around even. I did hear of some issues a couple of inlets down but they did not sound too serious and even the rado was calm. Maybe up the bay it was different but off the coast and in the marina it was great. Maybe I'm in a seniors marina!

[Cruisingdad]

Originally Posted by swadiver

I spent the whole Memorial Day tucked away in my slip putting the final touches on my two new rope clutches. However, I was monitoring CH. 16 the whole day. I feel so sorry for the CG and Harbor Patrol dealing with DUI people and general idiots. I thought I had heard it all when a PB called a mayday on CH. 16 because he was turning circles in front of his slip because a trans on one of his two engines went out. Nice...

HEHEHEEHEH!! Funny.

[Insails]

Stayed in port was far to many motor heads out there with six packs,fishing poles and mother -in-laws....so the sailing would have been dangerous,the drunks many and the scenery a little hard on the eyes))...

[sailortjk1]

We had a great weekend.
Replaced the main sail on Saturday morning. It was a bit of work getting the old one out. Had a great sail on Saturday evening.
Nice slow sail on Sunday afternoon followed by an impromptu party/BBQ with most of the dock on Sunday evening.
Lots of boat chores mixed in along with helping out the neighbors with various projects. Cleaned the boat on Monday to get ready for next weekend, than spent the afternoon lounging around poolside and in the hot tubs.

Memorial day weekend around here does not sound as crazy as your Memorial Day weekend. I would have to guess that it is due to the fact that our season is not quite yet in full swing. Lots of boaters are just getting started now. In fact, our lake water temperatures are still in the mid forties. In the marina on Sunday it was warm, in the eighties, people were in the pool, but on the lake, we were in sweaters and jackets. It was very cold.

Fourth of July around us is when it gets crazy like that; Still too early here.

[kwaltersmi]

I hear ya' CD. There are plenty of nuts on the water, and not just on Memorial Day weekend.

We had cool temps all weekend but spent four nights (Thurs - Sunday) at the marina on the boat. We got in two long day sails and generally had a great time meeting new marina neighbors.

We also weathered a strong storm system on Sunday evening with thunderstorms and 20kt winds gusting to 30kts. We didn't sleep too well with all the noise and rolling about.

On Monday some drunkard motored in to the marina hugging the wrong side of the 100 ft. wide channel and slammed his stern into my dad's stern (still in the slip). Luckily the davits on my dad's boat protected the boat from any damage but the drunkard received a 10" long x .5" deep gouge in his gelcoat. The a-hole never even slowed up or said a word...just kept motoring to his slip.

[SEMIJim]

We had a great weekend. Worked on Abracadabra Friday and Saturday. Sailed Sunday. Attended a memorial service and fleet review at our sail club on Monday, followed by bbq, beer and swimming in the heated pool at the home of some close friends. Great weather each of the four days. (I took an extra day off. And a good thing I did, too, or we wouldn't have been sailing by Sunday!)

Once we got out of the marina/beach areas, and out into the middle of the lake, proper, the PBs just kind of faded away. There was just us, other sailboats and the occasional freighter over in the shipping channel. It was beautiful .

I think I may have gotten Abracadabra's standing rigging right. Going to weather in 10 kts or so, flying the #3 (accidentally - I meant to fly the 155, but oh well), we hit up to 6.8 kts and the helm was so neutral you could let go of the tiller and she'd just very >< slightly want to head up. (This was with the old, somewhat blown sails.) Mast stayed in column on both tacks. Main and forward lower shrouds felt and looked good on both tacks. Rear lowers on the leeward side got slack, but not "flopping in the breeze" slack.

The local news was all about an unfortunate incident Saturday night. A PBer headed out across the lake in the dark and collided with a big ol' dredging barge that'd been there since last winter. Of the five people aboard: Two were dead at the scene, one died the next morning at the hospital, and another was critically injured. The boat driver was in good enough shape to get on the VHF and call for help.

Jim

[lbdavis]

One benefit to the short sailing season in Maine is the lack of traffic this time of year. We cruised up the coast to a wonderful anchorage with only a couple of other sailboats in sight. Sunny, breezy, beautiful and quiet.

Er, I mean the mosquitoes were awful, the fog was pea soup, and the waters were lousy with lobster pots. Don't bother coming up here.

[uspirate]

I stayed away from the marina as i got a nice preview over the last few years. kind of like new years eve i tend to stay away from the chaos. just spent time with the family and grilled steak & shrimp. i dont mix well with crowds anyway