Santiago a hot day and were travelling tonight

Today Howard and I have been walking the town looking at the sights, there are some very grand buildings, lots of parks and fountains.  

 Its a seriously hot day by my standards, probably around 35 deg C, and while the humidity is low its warmer than Im comfortable with.  Id have given a lot to be able to strip off and sit alongside these two, but that guy leaning on the pole in the background though that it might not be the best idea.

 One of the many ornate and imposing buildings here, theyre well lit up at night and this part of the city is well worth a walk just to see them.

 There is a park with walk and cycleway right through the city, it runs alongside the river below which is carrying the last of the summer melt from the mountains you can ( just, look hard and youll see them) see in the background.  

Weve changed some money, got packed up and checked out of the hostel BellaVista ( recommended by the way, good place if you like hostels) and are shortly off to catch the overnight bus to Porto Montt. That’s way south, about a 10 hour drive so we’ve booked on an up market bus with lay down seats and more space per passenger.  Yes it has a restroom!

 While walking the town we met some very nice gentlemen, mine is a policeman, Howards was sitting in what might have been a barbers shop.  While his friend was better dressed mine was a bit more active.

In the morning we’ll pick up a Chevy Spark rental, actually a Kia Picanto with a Chevy badge on it, and from there we drive to Punta  Arenas to do more toward the “expedition “  that will happen next Southern Summer.  We need to find storage,  sort things out with customs, find accommodation and check out things like launching and docking facilities for the boat. 

We’ve been told that the drive is something special, there will be pics!

Its really hot today, so I’m in the hostels upstairs courtyard where there is a little breeze, looking over toward the mountains and the cablecar that runs through the zoo.  We’ll check that out when we get back on 23^rd,  its not until 26^th that we fly out so there will be time to do some tourist things after the government things are done.

My big day

Today was quite the day. Im over my cold, as in, I dont feel like super-crap anymore, but my head and chest are still congested to hell and back. However, since Im slowly on the up and up, off to the basement for a little R+R.

Last night I realized that I had beveled the bottom of BH1 in the wrong direction. Today I fixed this by re-beveling it flat, and just leaving it as such until later. If I have to bevel it in the correct direction, so be it. Its only 2mm so its not too tricky.

Second, I found this:

Delamination in the ply on my Starboard bow, inboard. Approximately 4"x6" or so. Nothing on the "mated" side, the Port stern, so Im assuming it is only this piece that has the problem. I sounded it out with a pencil, and Ive got a good idea of its shape. I poured straight epoxy into the hole, then squashed it with bricks.

Third, I discovered this:


Thats my finger pointing at where the bow SHOULD be. OOPS. Im slowly coming along with the dreaded stem, and I went to match the stem to the bow and it came up a couple of cm short. Either my stem was wrong or my bow was wrong. I busted out the lofting map for the sides and for some damn reason, I measured 55mm from the end of the ply to the point of the bow rather than 55mm from the last 300mm mark. Damn, bro, good catch! So I re-marked the bow and cut them anew on both sides. The stem fits perfectly now, with room to spare for the bow knee.

Then, I got gutsy and ripped two of my cedar planks and and scarfed them for the chinelogs:

This is my scarf. Some of you are really going to hate this, but I eyeballed it on the table saw, and then planed them to match. Not perfect, but close enough for this amateur! I used a 1:6 ratio, so that would be 1 1/2" : 9".

THEN, I cut out the buttstraps and glued my scarfed chinelogs and my side together!


Here we are now in the garage. The buttstrap gluing kinda blew, I was by myself and I rushed it. I was sure I put on enough glue, but very little actually oozed out from underneath the straps. Im actually a little concerned I may not have put enough, but maybe I put just the right amount, I tend to go overboard with the glue. So well have to see about this.

Finally, I glued on a little piece of ply for backing on the transom for el rudder. Thats Spanish. That in itself was a mini-adventure, because the ply I chose for it initially starting sliding around after I glued it up on the old epoxy from the frame and the seat cleat. WOOPS. So I pulled it off quick, tore apart the garbage for an old jigsaw blade, and holding the jigsaw an inch above the ply ripped a small piece of one end so it could sit better between the frame and the cleat. Of course I got wood dust all over the backing, and I scraped it off, threw on some thickened epoxy, and called it good. I thought this would have been a simple operation, so I didnt wear gloves and holey moley my hands got sticky.

On a blog-related note, I am deleting the timing scoreboard from the blog. Its beginning to get inaccurate and more difficult to keep up with. Today I did a million things and Im not keen on attempting to figure out what was what. So maybe from now on just a tally total.

Market Day in La Cruz

Every Sunday local growers, artisans, musicians and vendors of all sorts of foods and clothing gather on the malecon in front of the La Cruz fish market to sell their wares. Its a festive and colorful occasion that really brings out the eclectic culture of this pretty little town. In the years since I was last here, the town has grown and prospered. When it started, the open air market was a small affair, but now its a pretty big deal, and people come from miles around to sample and buy fruits and vegetables, breads and exotic sauces, clothing and art. Its a lot of fun to wander among them and enjoy it all.

The bread girl sells delicious baguettes.

Fresh foods abound

Basketry made of pine needles

Dolls are a big deal in Mexico

This dancer looks pensive before the start of her routine....

Her partner looked more confident.

Plenty of Excitement in La Cruz

We stayed in Marina Riviera about three weeks, which is a week longer than planned. My first priority was to get all the maintenance and repair items on the boat finished. There was not a lot to do, but here in the land of Manana, simple things can take longer than you expect. For example, I needed a replacement belt for the alternator on the engine, a simple part that should be available anywhere.  But after visiting about a dozen refaccionarias (auto parts stores), it had become more like a treasure hunt. I finally located one with the help of my Bolivian/American buddy Ed, in an Autozone store just outside of Puerto Vallarta. You may be wondering why I didnt bring my own spares with me from the US. Well, I did but it turned out that the belt specified in the engine manual does not fit on my particular engine because the standard alternator was replaced with a high output unit.

Lisa updating her Facebook page in her new Bumfuzzle shirt. For more info go to www.bumfuzzle.com

La Cruz is a gathering point for boats waiting out winter storms before heading north to the Sea of Cortez or the US. Boats heading south to Central America or the South Pacific also gather here. It is a perfect place to reprovision, repair and upgrade your boat before heading out to more remote destinations so its a great meeting place for friends, old and new. Of course winter brings lots of Canadians, some by boat but many by plane. Among them are our good friends Judy and Wolf, who we have met in various Mexican ports in the past. They invited us to join them for the Southside Shuffle in Puerto Vallarta. This is a bi-weekly art walk in the heart of the "Zona Romantica". We wandered through the many shops and galleries, sipping free wine and marveling at the surprisingly (to me) high quality art on display.

Map of the Shuffle

A few days later friends from the States, Tom and Mary Ellen flew into town. Veterans of Mexico cruising themselves, they were ready to party and visit old haunts in town. In the evenings we listened to Latin Jazz at Philos and Sax virtuoso Bryan Savage at Osos or played Mexican Train aboard Finisterra. One day we drove into the town of Bucerias for a horse show. The Mexicans do them with lots of pageantry, LOUD music and Big Sombreros. We wandered around the grounds and watched the pageant that preceded the actual competition. Unfortunately, the event was delayed and we had to leave well before it was over.

Young Girl with proud Poppa. She was one of about a dozen girls in the show. Notice she is wearing a spur on her left boot. This is because she and the rest of the girls in the show rode side-saddle.

The show began with a pageant of sorts, when a dozen or so girls ranging in age from about 6 to 16 rode to the center of the ring and each was called out by name and awarded a big sombrero and a bouquet. Later the men rode out but were not rewarded with any gifts.

Young rider with a brand new sombrero and a bouquet.

Mexican horsemen are called Charros. Notice the young rider on the far left, his hat is almost as big as him. In Mexico, kids learn to ride early in life.

The youngest female riders horse was led by her mom.

Another day we went out for a sail on a friends sailboat and got dismasted. A dismasting is always a lot of work but we had a good, experienced crew and quickly secured the broken mast and rigging and got back into the marina in time for cocktails.

A dismasting is always serious, but this time there were no injuries and quick work by the crew prevented more serious damage to the boat.

A couple of days later we took a cruise out to Islas Tres Marietas aboard Finisterra and were treated to lots of up-close sightings of whales. Before we knew it, another week had flown by and it was time to say goodbye to our friends.

A few weeks ago the autofocus on my trusty Olympus C-740 camera stopped working properly. It would only focus on things it wanted to instead of what I wanted. Im not sure if its fixable, but it was time for a new camera anyway. Ive had the Oly for over ten years and during that time it has traveled over three continents and many thousands of miles with me. Some of the hardest on it were the sea miles, where it occasionally got hit with salt spray or worse. So I ordered a new Olympus Stylus 1 to replace it. The photos you see here were taken with it. As you can see, Im still on the steep part of the learning curve with it.

A double-ender slipped out of La Cruz at sunset

Yesterday we moved to the anchorage outside of La Cruz. Well hang out here a few more days before moving out to Punta de Mita.

A nice day for a picnic

Is it a good sign when your friends take pictures of your boat?

TWO HEARTED and IAZ P

This is going to be a brief post, but it is very important that I prequel the upcoming week with exciting new developments here at Amateur Style!

Goat Island Skiff I Am Zinea, Pterodactylus now has a fellow partner in somewhat-high-seas shenanigans!  I present Capn Jons meticulous and spectacular Two Hearted, a Ross Lillistone Pheonix III.

HUZZAH!

HUZZAH!

Two Legends and Capn Jon-- cool guy who doesnt look at explosions

HUZZAH I say!

Filling stem gap w a fillet

Yesterday I glued the boat together and was stymied at the end with a gap that had appeared between the sides of the ply and the stem. See picture in previous post. My wife came in and suggested using an icing pipe thing-a-ma-jig, much like many people use ziploc bags. Ive used ziploc bags in the past and found them somewhat cumbersome to use, but most importantly, I really wanted to get epoxy deep into the crevasse to maximize bonding.

So she jigged up a icing pipe and lined it with packing tape so we could re-use it, and then, using the patient steady hand of a culinary expert, she filled in the voids around the stem and made a nice fillet. Damn! What a woman!


In other news, I crawled underneath the stem to cut away some epoxy and saw this:


When I was dry-fitting the boat last week for the first time I heard some ***crack***ing noises, and since I didnt see anything, I figured it was some epoxy somewhere settling or what-have-you. NOPE it was the chine logs right where they abut the stem. Youll notice the taper I put in to give them some room to fit together, and youll also notice where the wood actually separated from itself. The glued face stayed firm to the plywood, which makes me feel like my gluing jobs are satisfactory. Im bummed the wood split, but again, this whole area will be filled with epoxy and all will be good with the world again.

A good day today

Today I had a small job to do in Whangarei,  I knew it was only about a 10 minute job, had tried to talk the owner through the procedure but he just could not get it right.  He was frustrated enough to be happy to pay me to drive for two hours each way to do the job and get his machine back into service, so off I went.

Whats special about Whangarei?  Cruising yachts, hundreds of them, up in boatyards being worked on,  lived on, modified and repaired.  Same with the moorings, lots of boats with character, flags from all over the world and I kid you not, I saw flags from England, France, Netherlands and Germany,  South Africa, Uruguay, USA and Canada, plus a few I did not recognise.

But the really interesting thing about Whangarei is that my friends Annie Hill and Marcus Raimon live there.

Marcus has just bought a Flicka 20 and makes his home thereon,  Annie has taken over Marcus’s shed in Norsrands boatyard and has started building a replacement for Fantail, her 26 ft liveaboard.

I’ll get back to you on that. Next post, its interesting stuff.

But home as must, and I was sitting in my bunk at about 8 this evening, there was still a little light left from a spectacular sunset, it was slack water low tide and the wind that had been a pest all day had run out of puff, and---- well, it only took about two minutes to slide SEI off the  dock and into the water, and I was on my way.

She left a glossy flat wake with twin whorls each side from the oars as I stroked along, she moves very sweetly and leave hardly any waves at cruising speed, and the work is just enough to bring on  the “runners high” the gentle endorphin rush that moderate exercise can engender after 15 minutes or so.

That makes an hour go past very quickly, the mind aware and functioning but in a state of mild bliss.

While in Whangarei I’d had an hour or so before Marcus would be home from work on lunch break,  so I’d driven around the waterfront suburbs with an eye out playing a favourite game. It goes so, “If I could afford to buy it, would I live in it?”    There were very few that ticked the boxes,  and it was as I hauled SEI out of the water with my little dog sitting there telling me that he’d been a good  guy and waited patiently for me to come back, that I realised just how lucky I am to live here on the water.

It was a good day. Hope yours was too.

 Friend Blair Cliff took this, or Emma, same camera, either way this pic was taken a week or so ago so youll have to imagine that its low tide and dark rather than high tide and daytime. Same me, same boat though. 

Bulkhead 2

Yesterday and today I worked on BH2. This went smoothly, with no problems. I spent some time shaping the side frames down to match the curved bulkhead. I was pleased with the result, though my plane is not working as well as I would like. Ive got a sharpening problem I have to deal with-- as in I have to learn how to sharpen my blade iron better.

During the construction of BH2 I realized that I screwed up on BH1, cutting a 19x19 mm piece for the bottom frame instead of the 45mmx19mm piece that the plans call for. I have not decided yet if I want to keep the original piece or put together a new one. The question is pending on the Storer forum. Im OK on wood, but I dont have a lot of extra, and cedar is pricey.

On the road for the next 8 days.

A Month in Banderas Bay

Banderas Bay Sunrise

Finisterra has been in Banderas Bay for about a month, and it looks like well be here a few more weeks. Weve decided to spend the season cruising in Mexico instead of hurrying south to Panama this spring. Reasons for this are multiple, but the primary cause is that we had planned to leave California in November but were delayed a couple of months due to health issues. We considered various schedules for getting to Panama before the wet season starts, but they all would leave us without enough time to explore southern Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Costa Rica. So instead, well hang out here a bit longer, then head north into the beautiful Sea of Cortez. When hurricane season begins in late spring, Finisterra will be safely tucked into a slip in La Cruz and well go back to the States for a couple of months.

In the meantime, life here could scarcely be more relaxing and tranquil. We loved having guests aboard Finisterra and enjoy the friendly hustle and bustle of life ashore, but out here on the hook we have time to relax. You might think cruising in Mexico is one big vacation, but believe it or not, there is always work to be done, people to see, and places to go. But here in the anchorage on a peaceful morning all of that seems faraway, at least for a while. Here is typical morning aboard Finisterra:

I woke up around 6:00am. Sunrise isnt until well after 7:00. I fix a cup of coffee and go on deck and look around. The first streaks of dawn appear over the mountains to the east and I settle down in the cockpit to watch the show. The boat is gently rocking and the only sound is a few gulls in the distance. A few minutes pass and the sky is brightening, sending streaks of light through the morning clouds that are reflected in the water. I hear what sounds like a sigh and look over to see a couple of dolphins lazily passing by less than 40 feet away. Off in the distance I hear the sound of an outboard motor and see a panga with a couple of fishermen heading out for a day of fishing. By now the sun is about to burst over the mountains and the dinghy traffic begins as people aboard the sixty or so boats in the anchorage head for shore. A few minutes later, Lisa emerges on deck with a plate full of sliced fruit, and the day is in full swing.

Americas Cup Day Four Removal of Doubt

It was no surprise that Kostecki got the hook. Team Oracle has nothing if not a lot of depth on their bench and Ben Ainslie is certainly a qualified tactician. But it was also no surprise that they achieved the same result with the new guy. Oracle is sailing scared. If they get ahead of TNZ they are nervous that theyll get passed. If they get  behind, they have no confidence that they can pass. This sets them up for mistakes, and they have certainly committed more than enough to send the Cup back to NZ.

In race 6, Oracle won the start and the first run. But then they were so concerned about getting rolled that they failed to stick to a winning strategy. They went around the wrong mark at the leeward gate and that pretty much sealed their fate. Out of phase with the tide and their competition, they struggled to get back over to the right side of the track only to have TNZ pummel them all the way to the weather mark. By then it was over.

It was only a matter of time before TNZ would win a start. In race 7 they did that and simply never looked back. I dont know exactly how many practice days team Oracle has had, with or without Ainslie, but its pretty clear that they have not had the same amount as the Kiwis. It looks to me like the Oracle crew is still on the steep part of the learning curve while TNZ is certainly well beyond that stage. Perhaps Oracles crash last October took too much of a toll in terms of sailing days for the crew. Perhaps there is too much internecine friction within the command structure at team Oracle. Whatever it is, this team is not living up to its potential. The betting now is whether Team Oracle can win even one more race before the Cup is shipped to Auckland.

Americas Cup Day 3 Disaster for Oracle

It was a beautiful day on the Bay, with plenty of wind and lots of current at the start of the days racing. These were perfect conditions for the local boys to show the Kiwis about racing on San Francisco Bay. It was TNZs turn to enter the starting box first and they should have had the advantage, but Oracle was able to maneuver into reasonably good position just to weather of TNZ when the starting flag dropped. They accelerated faster than TNZ which was not able to establish an overlap at the first mark. Oracle looked good on that short reach, showing better straight line boatspeed and rounded clear ahead of TNZ. They maintained their lead all the way to the leeward mark. They came in on starboard tack with a comfortable lead and should have simply rounded the mark and hardened up onto a starboard beat and left it to TNZ to tack, and then keep a loose cover on them. Instead, someone in the back of the boat decided to round the mark and tack immediately. Disaster!

Anyone who has ever sailed a catamaran knows they are slow to tack. When you round a leeward mark you want to at least get back up to speed before you throw the helm over. Somehow, the brain trust aboard Oracle forgot this basic rule. So they rounded the mark and tacked all in the same maneuver, and in that moment they gave up their lead, Their thinking was that it was better to stay on the right hand side of the course to avoid the adverse current of the flood tide. Bad thinking. The first rule of yacht racing is to stay between your competition and the next mark. In a colossal brain-fade, the afterguard aboard Oracle ignored this rule and suffered the consequences. TNZ rounded the mark, hardened up on starboard tack and made short work of Oracles lead. At the first cross they were on port tack and ducked. On the next cross they were well ahead. After that there was no doubt as to who would win this race.

Ive sailed many thousands of miles as tactician and made more dumb moves than I can count, so I know how the crew of Oracle feels. In match racing it can be one bad move and your day is over, and if you still have several legs to race, that feeling of self inflicted wounds only grows. Oracle served this race up to the Kiwis on a silver platter and they knew it at the first cross, if not before. I can imagine the crew muttering under their breath as the were grinding in the sheets on that tack. Im sure the Kiwis were only too glad to snatch this race from the faltering grasp of the Yanks. It was so bad that Team Oracle decided to use their "postponement card" and skip race two today. Watching the body language on that boat, it was clear that this crew was demolished today, and it was probably a good decision for them to bail. Another pounding like that would have been devastating.

So the question is whether Team Oracle has it in them to come out on Thursday and make a race of it. I think this goes to the psychology of the game of yacht racing. Their boat is fast enough. Ive heard talk that its more complicated to sail than the Kiwi boat. Actually, all boats are more complicated to sail until the crew has practiced enough to make all the maneuvers look easy. If Oracle had another six months to sail the boat, all the maneuvers would go flawlessly. However, its possible that a demoralized crew can start thinking they are riding the slower horse and that can become a self fulfilling prophecy. If they dont fix that now, the crew will begin to expect the other guy to beat them. So the gang at Team Oracle needs to do three things if they want salvage this regatta:
1. Stop going the wrong way.
2. Keep the psychology of the crew from surrendering to defeat.
3. Make sure their strategy is one that can win, and make better tactical decisions.

Once again, I have to say that I am surprised at how tactics rather than simply nailing the start have been the deciding factor thus far in the regatta.

Little Chebeague and Fort Gorges

AHOY

Last week I was in need of escape to spend some time on the water.  With just a two days off I quickly loaded the boat and got myself back to the clear waters of Casco Bay for a short and dirty one-night jaunt.  First time the Goat Island Skiff has been in Casco Bay since 2010!  Initially I had planned on going out to my favorite little island, Bangs, scene of many an adventure in IAZ,P, but when I landed on the clear sandy beach of Little Chebeague I was hard pressed to find a reason to continue onwards.

Not only did the nice beach attract me to Little Chebeague, but I saw this little piece of awesome anchored.  Note clear water.

Sweet lines

This is an Atkins XLNC, white cedar on white oak frames.  Please check out the Atkin & Co. page for XLNC here.  You will notice that in the pictures, this boat if featured.  XLNC was also featured in the 2012 Small Boats by Wooden Boat Magazine.  She is powered by a Palmer Model #27 complete with required Pabst Blue Ribbon beer can on the exhaust manifold to prevent water from dripping into the carburator.  This is called Yankee ingenuity and if you are rolling your eyes you are not from New England.

The boat is currently under the care of Bill and Jennifer who were enjoying a week cruising the Maine coast from their summer retreat.  With a setting sun and a falling tide Bill and Jennifer shoved off for home.  For all of 100 yards the boat made cute chugging noises as its bow seamlessly split the water, and then some engine fiddling was required.  Engine fiddling is a very important part of maritime experiences.  If you are not fiddling with the engine, something is wrong.

"This beer can is a fine solution"

After Bill and Jennifer left I set up camp as the tide continued to drop, stranding IAZ,P for the night.  I was alone on the island, on a beach, watching the sun set and the ferries go by.

Im pretty sure this is the same ferry that almost ran me down during VisionQuest/ManQuest2010 at this very spot!

My evening was spent in quiet reflection as I enjoyed lheure bleue  some rice, carrots, and hummus, and a swig or two of rum.  There was no wind, just the gentle lapping of water on the beach and the kaleidoscope of stars and Milky Way spinning slowly overhead.

As I was snugged down in my sleeping bag an ugly plastic motorboat showed up  and disgorged several 20-something guys.  Their self-importance was reflected in their constant braying, bottle rockets, frenetic music selections, and general indulgence in noise which totally shattered any optimistic feelings I was having about the world and humanity.  We truly are a pathetic and primitive creature, afraid of the dark and the silence that accompanies it, always insistent to fill the few sacred times with the profanity of our repugnant self-worship.

The next morning I was awakened by a hot needle boring into my nose into my brain.  I swatted at my nose to find a red ant at the tip of it.  Wake-up calls from red ants biting my nose does not figure high on my pleasure list.  I couldnt stop the tears streaming from my left eye.  I was awake, before the dawn, but her rosy red fingers were already streaming over the coast of Maine.

I had a little bit of a breeze from the northwest.  Since it was supposed to shift to the south later in the day, I supposed a period of calm would fall between the two.  A high pressure dominated.  Even though the ebb had begun and I would be fighting all of western Casco Bay to get back to South Portland I decided to shove off and use the wind while I had it.

It turned into a frustrating sail with the current against me, I made barely sufficient headway.  Time to strategize.

Little Chebeague is (A).  Fort Gorges is (D).  Bug Light Park is southwest of the fort, and that is where my vehicle and trailer are.

Purple = wind
Red = nasty currents
Blue = heroic path of jaunty skiff (approx)

Leaving Little Chebeague I usually go west of Diamond Island (marked McKinley Estates) into the broads of Casco Bay.  However, the ebb was on, and the flow was pushing out to the Atlantic (east-southeast of the island group-- to the right on this map). This made getting around Diamond difficult, since the current is rather forceful around the northern tip.  With the wind from the west, I made a gamble, and decided to allow myself to get pulled into Hussey Sound (B).  My hunch was that I would get pushed towards Peaks Island.  The channel on the northwest side of Peaks would also have a strong flow against me, but I hypothesized the westerly wind would be compressed between the islands, like a venturi.  This would give me the thrust needed to overcome the current and get halfway down Peaks Island to (C), where the flow would be reversed in the other direction.

I sped through Hussey Sound (B) worked my way towards the gap between Diamond and Peaks and sure enough, the wind velocity was much higher!  I had a spirited sail through the gap, keeping to the southeast side where the current was least and the wind highest.  I made it to (C) and the current reversed and the wind died, but now at least I was being pushed to my destination.  I was elated!  My strategy worked.  On the backside of Peaks I broke out the oars to row towards Portland harbor and the breeze that awaited me there.

Mastermind

About this point a very nice couple in a powerboat swung by and asked if I was OK.  I affirmed I was. They asked if I wanted a tow.  I politely declined.  They asked again, as if I was a bit muddled-- I was rowing and I didnt have an engine after all-- and I declined once more.  They sped off and I rowed on.

I made landfall at Fort Gorges on the beach.

Fort Gorges is a pretty sweet place.  First, its a bad-ass fort.  Second, its publicly owned which means we, as citizens, can enjoy nice things together for enjoyable picnics and family outings.  Third, its a thumb in the eye our litigious society.  Its a fort.  There are dark places.  There are high places.  There is water!  In short, I love Fort Gorges.

Entry way.  Two massive doors.  Arrow slit windows to gun down the invaders.

Walking into the fort.

Entry way is on the left.  Powder Magazines are straight ahead, the giant wall in the shade

 I explored the officer quarters, which had nice plaster and blue paint on the walls, and then walked up to the third sod-covered roof level where bigger guns were to be placed.  This is a place to wear shoes FYI, there are lots of rusty bolts from the gun placements.  The dark areas and powder magazines are pitch black nighttime dark, so bring a flashlight if you want to go in them.  And bring a friend.  Spooky abounds.  This fort is massive by the way.  Everything about it screams indestructible.

I went up to the third floor to find the 300 pounder rifled Parrott gun that was hoisted aloft but never mounted.  Interestingly, it is on the northwest corner of the fort, with a great view towards the city of Portland as opposed to a southwest corner which would offer a better view out to sea...

Note rifling and beer cans.  This is one of those pictures that you take with a hand that is quickly removed from dark tube lest the beasties eat your fingers off.

Some scale.  I am a size 13 foot.  Note "U S" stamped on metal.  This is genuine US Military Grade weapons technology for the taking!

I spent some time wallowing in the sun and the nice water on Fort Gorges, and then I made a short leisurely sail back to my trailer.

On the way back, I got passed by the legendary "Free Candy go-for-it-this-guy-seems-legit Van" which we Capn Jon and I saw back during the Portland Boatbuilder Show this spring.  It was moored off Long Island that morning.

Fenders down and everything.

Until next time Intrepid Readers!  (exciting episode in the works for next week!)

 I love summer.