Fall 2012 Delivery of Thalassa The Start

Delivery of Thalassa - a Triton 28 - Oct 2012

Day 1 - Sat Sept 29,2012 

The plan was to depart LCYC by 1100.  Normally departure times tend to slip as the list of "need to do" items seems to grow rather than shrink, but since we all woke up early, we had Thalassa packed, had picked up the last of our things from Antares, we managed to leave a few minutes early of our plan.  It was a gray, dreary drizzly morning, not exactly what we'd hoped for weather wise, but it certainly kept the weekend boaters off the lake.  Our goal was to anchor off Fort Ticonderoga for the night, which would put us within a few miles of Chipman's Point, where we planned to have the mast stepped Sunday morning.  We were anchored before the sun went over the yardarm, tucked in under the fort with two power boats for the night.  Two long boats were pulled up on the shore at Fort Independence, with another rowing along the shore by the fort.  It looked to be a cold, damp night for camping.  We were glad to be settled in under the dodger and bimini, out of the weather and somewhat warmer than those hardy folks camping ashore.

Captain Deeter and Leonard leaving LCYC

Hauling anchor off Ft Ticonderoga

Day2 - Sunday Sept 30,2012

With only a couple of miles to go in the morning, we were Chipman's Point by 0900, and began the chores of removing the sails and gear in preparation for taking the mast down.  While there is less to do than on Antares (no solar panel for one thing).  Thalassa's radar, perched on a pole on the back stay presented a problem Leonard and I hadn't dealt with before, but Deeter had.  With the three of us working, we managed to lower the radar pole, get the fitting attached to the back stay off, and everything stowed without losing anything to Davey Jone's Locker or damaging the radar.  The mast was stowed on the deck, secured, the sails put on deck and we were on our way shortly after 1200.

Approaching Chipman's Point Marina

Figuring out the radar mount

Tying up loose ends

We chatted with Ken  Bushee, a friend we've gone south with in the past, who came down to their boat before we left.  He and Francie hope to head south on Release some time next week.  They had taken their boat down to Chipman's Marina which is closer to home while they got her ready to go.

Low clouds leaving the lake

The weather had not improved from the day before, more rain and sprinkles, with only a few brief glimpses of the sun poking through the clouds as we approached Whitehall.  Don't know if it was because we were a bit earlier than normal or the weather, but boat traffic was sparse on the southern reaches of the lake.  We enjoyed having the water to ourselves, and not dealing with wakes from passing boats.  We cleared Lock 12 at Whitehall and were tied up on the free town dock around 1600.  We were the 3rd boat to arrive at the dock, so there was plenty of space.

Thalassa tied up at Whitehall

One of the boats there was Tarwathie, a Westsail 32, owned by live-a-boards Dick and Libby Mills.  Leonard has been following Dick's daily blog for several years, and although we were in Marathon at the same time last March, we never met them.  Tarwathie experienced engine failure before reaching Whitehall almost 2 weeks earlier.  They managed to get her into port towing her behind their dinghy after 2 Canadian boaters refused to give them a tow.  This is a serious karma offense, and falls well shy of the Corinthian rule of always lending a hand to those in need (unless it's some one who may be a pirate, not an issue on Lake Champlain).  Leonard walked over  to meet and talk with the Mills, and Deeter and I followed after picking up things below decks.

The Mills were gracious hosts, inviting us aboard (this is their home), and offering us wine and snacks.  We had an enjoyable time chatting with them about their experiences, and had to laugh we we learned that one of the vessels that refused to help them, had limped back into
Whitehall after a week, with problems of their own, chalk it up to karma.  The Mills hoped to finally get back underway by noon on Monday, having diagnosed and fixed all their engine woes, and the last of their parts arrived.

Libby makes beautiful pine needle baskets, one of which Deeter purchased to carry aboard Thalassa.  Unfortunately by the time we left Tarwathie, the free public restrooms and showers were closed for the day, so there would be no hot showers for our crew, and Leonard planned on being underway by 0700, when they reopened for the day.

Day 3 - Monday Oct. 1, 2012

Deeter doing chart work underway

Approaching Lock 9 - lock doors are open

Interesting barn and silo along the canal

Captain Deeter at the helm

We were indeed underway by 0700, with the weather showing no improvement, having rained much of the night.  Listening to the NOAA forecast, little to no sunshine was mentioned for the foreseeable future, so we were delighted to have the rain stop and see a few rays as we made our way through locks 11 to 3.  I'd called Mary and Chuck Finn while we were in Whitehall to see if we could get together if we managed to get as far as Lock 3.  Chuck said he'd pick us up at Mechanicsville and take us home for dinner and showers.  They'd also offered beds for the night, but we wanted to continue our streak of early morning departures.  Dinner was wonderful, as was the tour of their property and home.  We spent several hours visiting before Chuck returned us to Thalassa for the night.

Thalassa being tied up at Mechanicsville

Rowing sculls at Mechanicsville

 Leonard inspecting the cockpit engine access

 Relaxing after a great dinner and showers at the Finns

Day 4 - Tuesday Oct. 2, 2012

We slept in a bit, not departing until 0720.  Looks like we'll need to start setting an alarm clock, but these gray mornings make it harder to wake up as the days grow shorter.  At Lock 2, the lock tender was some what brusk, asking to see our canal pass.  Apparently some folks have been taking major advantage of the 2 day canal pass, and turning them into 4 day passes.  The cure was closer control on the computer system, and the day's grace we've enjoyed for years after arriving late at Whitehall no longer exists (currently the locks are operated from 0700 to 1700, making it difficult to clear Lock 11 before they close).  It wasn't so much the idea of paying another $15 (there are no 1 day passes) as much as his somewhat rude demeanor, not exactly what we needed first thing in the morning.  Not only that, but after telling Deeter she'd need to pay for a 2nd pass, he waited until she got the cash to pay before telling her they only collect fees at Locks 1 and 12.  The  Lock master at Lock 1 wasn't much more pleasant.  We were hoping things would get  more positive the remainder of the day.

Locking through the Troy Lock

It wasn't until we got to Castleton on Hudson that things got better (the dock hand at the Albany Yacht Club           wasn't all that friendly when we stopped to refuel).  A call to the yacht club at Castleton informed us the hoist was available, and we should tie up at the dock at get ready to step the mast before pulling into the spot by the hoist.  In the still drizzly weather, we untied the mast and boom from the mast cradle in short order, had moved under the hoist and were busy stepping the mast.  Thalassa's mast is deck stepped and considerably lighter than Antare's mast, so Leonard figured the three of us were up to the task (we'd go to Riverview and have Mike and his crew step our mast). 

Deeter up the mast attaching the wind instruments

Birds eye view of Thalassa and crew

As we were working, a Canadian master mariner pulled in behind us with a sail boat he'd just purchased in Baltimore.  After lending him a hand docking, he walked up to watch us and then lent a hand with the fore stay and turn buckles.  With the mast and radar re-installed, we decided to spend Deeter's money and spend the night at Castleton (maybe the chance of another hot shower had something to do with the decision).  We turned the boat at dock to be facing into the wind to make putting the sails back on, sent Deeter up the mast to attach the wind indicator instrument and Windex vane, scrubbed  the decks, pumped the holding tank, and  refilled the water tank, before heading to the showers and doing a load of laundry.  We would have lent a hand to the Canadian, but a yacht club member claimed the hoist to step his mast.  A good ending to a very busy day.

Day 5 - Wed Oct 3, 2012
Knowing we'd have the current with us early in the morning, we were underway before 0700.  It was another gray dreary morning with the clouds hovering on the hill tops.  I was below working on breakfast when I thought I smelled something hot and electrical.  I asked Deeter if the gauges were normal, and they were, so I figured it possibly was something not on the boat.  When the smell persisted, I asked Leonard to come below for a minute.  He confirmed it was onboard, and took the companionway steps and engine hatch off to look at the engine. The engine looked fine, but the alternator was hot to the touch, not a good sign.  After checking it, Leonard decided we should head to Catskill some 15 miles further, where we could pull in at Riverview and take a more thorough look at things.

Tugs and barges maneuvering  and blocking our way

Oops!

We were going great guns - 6.2nmph with the falling tide when the smell got worse.  Another look at the engine, revealed a cloud of smoke when Leonard pulled the hatch, and had us shutting down the engine immediately.  With the falling tide, we were still doing over a knot, just not with the best maneuverability.  There was no wind, so sailing wasn't an option.  We had a tug with a triple barge tow that we'd past a bit earlier when he picked up the barges from a wharf approaching us.  A call on the VHF alerted him we were disabled.  He said he'd avoid us (rather than ruin his day) and that told us we were well out of the main channel.  After a quick discussion, Deeter called Boat US since she'd paid for unlimited towing before leaving the lake.  Unfortunately they couldn't find a record of her payment and told her they'd send a boat, but she'd have to pay and get reimbursed after they straightened out the paper work.  It would be at least an hour before the tow boat would arrive.  They wanted us to put on life jackets and drop an anchor.  Not something we really wanted to do since we were still going in the right direction.

Thalia (the dinghy) on the hip, moving us toward Catskill

I looked at the dinghy, which we've been towing due to lack of deck space and the out board fastened on the stern rail and said if Dick an Libby could tow their boat, why couldn't we?  After bit more discussion, the motor was mounted on the dinghy, the dinghy tied on the port side hip of Thalassa and we were off doing 3 kts over the ground.  Not bad!  A subsequent conversation with the tow boat put his price at $300/hour, which looked to be a 3 hour minimum under the best of circumstances, so we said "no thanks".  We did up to 4.1 kts with the dinghy lashed on Thalassa's hip and arrived at Riverview Marina before 1130.  Mike had been alerted to our dilemma, and said there was a guy who repaired alternators in town.  With a bit of work, Leonard was able to remove the alternator (which had cooled by then) to see if it could be repaired.  It appeared several things inside got fried, but it could be repaired, a much less expensive option than replacing     it.

Deeter and I walked into town to get some lunch.while we waited to get the verdict on the alternator.  (The galley area was being used to store the various engine pieces and parts the Leonard had removed to take the alternator.)  After lunch Mike told us we could expect the repaired alternator to arrive at  mid day Thursday.  Meantime, we'd hang out at Riverview.  Catskill is not a bad place to spend time - much more happening and to do here than Whitehall!  All we could ask for was some sunshine, but that wasn't in the forecast.

It looks like Leonard and I have lucked out once again in choosing cruising mates.  In spite of the less than great weather and small space, we're enjoying spending time aboard Thalassa with Deeter.  The amount of storage space that has been fitted into every nook and cranny is surprising.  Miraculously, we've been able to stow all our gear and food.  The vee berth is comfy, and big enough to accommodate the two of us nicely.  Deeter gets the bunk in the main salon, and if there was a 4th person, they'd either be in the cockpit or on the floor!  Sometimes it pays to be small - larger crew members would have a harder time.