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December 03, 1987 - The Last Rough Ride Of AutumnThe Last Rough Ride Of Autumn By PAUL STOUTENBURGH We recently thought it was time to take our boat out so we called the fel- low who hauls it and made a date. Years ago this would have been no problem but today it's like going to the doctor. You have to make an ap- pointment not only with the hauler but the yard as well. Should you miss the date or time, you have to go through the same procedure again. As we watched the extended wea- ther forecast things didn't look good. A cold snap and even snow were pre- dicted for our date of haul -out. Know- ing the problem to get on the list, Barbara and I thought it best to keep the date in hopes of beating the wea- ther. Ominous clouds started to roll in and the wind picked up out of the northeast but we had made the deci- sion to move so packed up what was needed and headed for the boat. By the time we arrived the wind was really blowing. Since the boat Focus on Nature was offshore by a friend's house, we asked for a lift in his inflatable boat. This he obligingly did. The only prob- lem was that rubber boats have a re- latively low freeboard and we had let Barbara in first to sit in the bow. She took the brunt of the waves as they came gushing over the tightly stretched, black- rubber hull and there was no way to change places once under way. It didn't take long though to see she wasn't the only one getting wet. My friend and I soon were sharing the waves with her. By the time we reached the boat there were at least two inches of icy cold water slopping about in the bottom of the rubber dinghy. Needless to say, our start was slightly dampened and chilled by our trip out. More Fun Indoors Once aboard the SeaWind we could move about and feel a bit more secure. We waved goodbye to our hearty friend, who I'm sure was glad to leave the cold and miserable wea- ther and sneak back to the warmth of his home and watch those crazy Stoutenburghs from his window. �� mug �� • -..,. The Suffolk Times /December 3, 1987 /Page 9A Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh BOTTOM CLEANING - -One of the tasks made toms. Here you see high - pressure water blowing easy by modern equipment is cleaning boat bot- slime and growth off a boat's bottom. We'd given second thoughts to not moving after the wet trip out but knowing we'd have the wind with us all the way and it would only be an hour's sail, we stuck true to our plans. The wind was so strong reef- ing would have been called for if we were going to use all our sail so we decided to stick with the jenny and save the bother of working with the main. We'd dressed warm but wet feet and pants made us rather uncomfort- able, particularly when you sat down, so for me it was to be standing all the way. It's always good practice to start the auxiliary motor just to know you have it in reserve even though you plan on sailing. The only problem is some diesels are anti -cold and put up a real fuss. To help with her cold start I'd brought a bit of starter fluid to whiff into the intake and this seemed to do the trick. She coughed, knocked, sputtered and died a few times but finally with my breath steaming and a few well chosen nautical terms she slowly took off. I'm sure it resented having to be started on such a cold and dismal day but it did start and as Barbara took the tiller and put the boat in gear, we slowly moved up on the anchor line. We had anchored our boat in front of our friends' house after we'd taken our last trip and I must have had 50 feet of anchor line out just to be safe. Now it came in, hand over hand, cold and dripping as it coiled on deck OPEN 7 DAYS SEAFOOD AND PASTA PLACE The 1/2 Shell Republic ■ Main Road, Mattituck, New York • 298 -4180 Illii� IIIIIII� � Ilit• (FORMERLY THE COACH STOPPEI ACCEPTING RESERVATIONS FOR HOLIDAY PARTIES E 0 below me. The long time the boat was anchored and the strong winds had buried the plow anchor deep into the good - holding sandy bottom and now was refusing to come up. As each wave lifted us up and drop- ped us in its valley, I took up on the line. Slowly but surely we worked the boat right over the deeply buried anchor. The line was as tight as a bow string. Waves would try to lift the boat and her bow would be buried in foam as I snubbed the line. Then down it'd go and I'd gain four or five more inches. The tension on the an- chor line finally did the trick and out she came. As I pulled the anchor up and lifted it over to the bowsprit where it was to be cradled I could see some of the black- colored sand on its flukes. That anchor never would have pulled lose no matter how strong the wind blew. Some Dumbfounded Ducks In no time the furling jenny ran out and were barreling down bay. Even with just the jenny we heeled 25 -30 degrees in the gusts that blew out of the stormy northeast. We traveled so fast and silently that we came upon ducks that were dumbfounded to see us. Oldsquaws in their handsome black- and -white winter plumage took off into the wind from both sides of the boat as we charged down bay. The little horned grebes bounced from wave to wave trying to get airborne. Some did. Some didn't. Those that gave up, dove and were lost in our wake as we sped along. As we approached the red buoy off Nassau Point we scared up a dozen or so common loons. Usually, like the grebes, they too have difficulty get- ting off the water but today one bounce from atop a wave and they were off. We rounded the buoy and headed on a broad reach for the shipyard. I could see by now Barbara was freez- ing. She sat huddled in the corner of the cockpit out of the wind -- her feet wiggling to restore circulation. By now rain had started to fall and its cold drops peppered the stormy sea about us. I moved closer in to take advantage of the dodger that Bar- bara huddled under. Outside Schoolhouse Creek we started the motor, this time with no hesitation because it had retained some heat from the earlier start in its huge cast -iron block. With the jenny rolled in we putted into the narrow channel. Once inside we were told we were to be next after they finished the boat they were hauling. Once again we'd pushed ourselves and made it. We got to appreciate just a bit of how it must have been years ago when sailing year -round was routine. We also found out they must have been pretty rugged people in those early seafaring days and perhaps we're lucky to have been born when we were. MBJ� �RESTAURANTL 34 FRONT STREET, GREENPORT, NY 477 -9883 FRESH LOCAL SEAFOOD STEAKS 6 CHOPS Plus Daily Blackboard Specials 7 Days•LunchODinner•Cocktails Try Our Selection Of Local Wines All Major Credit Cards Accepted 10% Senior Citizen Discount (food only)