Strawberries

I planted some strawberry plants a few years ago and they have spread by runners to cover a larger area (3x8 feet). However, my harvest has been limited by the eating habits of local rabbits. Just when the berries were ripe enough I would find a bite out of the sides of most of them. You can see some info about protecting you plants from rabbits and other garden pests at the link ….. http://www.gardenguides.com/pests/tips/rabbits.asp

This year I decided to protect the plants by covering them with netting. However, my wife suggested using some cheese cloth she had. I took the cheese cloth and tried to cover most of the plants and it worked for a while but when wet with rain the cloth squished the plants.

My only other solution was to build some box frames with plastic or wire screening. I had a few pieces of chicken wire and plastic screen leftovers and made myself two boxes (1’H x 2’W x 3’L) to cover the strawberry bushes. After covering them, I got a pretty good first harvest and the berries were nice a sweet and plump. Even those that were still a little white or green, ripened to red in a few days in a bowl at the window sill. See the photos at the link below ……………. http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/Strawberries6509

Strawberries are easy to grow and produce some delicious fruits. There are several varieties that have been cultivated for the grocery shelf which are either June Bearing (one crop in June) or Ever Bearing (several crops throughout season). They are also categories by the flowers into 3 types; short day, long day and day neutral. The day neutral plants flower all the time and produce fruits all season. You can see more info about strawberries at the links below …… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strawberry
or http://gardening.about.com/od/fruitsberriesnuts/a/Strawberries.htm


Comments and suggestions are always welcome. Send email to markryan82@comcast.net

A Camping - "Staycation"

Getting away on vacation has always been a way to relax and have a change of pace from one’s daily life. Whether it be a short trip to a friend’s house in the next town or across the country or around the world, looking at new surroundings and talking to new people rejuvenates the soul. However, with the economy in a recession people have less money to spend and are re-thinking the distance they travel and are vacationing closer to home. These closer to home vacations have been dubbed staycations.

With the price of gas now half what it cost last year, most vacationers are hopping in the family car and driving a few hours to their vacation destination rather than taking a more costly airplane trip. You can reduce the cost even more by taking a camping trip which can vary from sleeping in a tent to staying in a luxury motor home. You can either use your own trailer or rent one at the campground to try it out first.

When I retired in 2003, I bought a camper trailer and used it to travel around New England during the summer months. My wife and I would stay at various campgrounds for a week and then come home for a week before heading out again. This allowed us to vacation and also take care of things around the house. Our favorite places were Wells, Maine, Sandwich, MA and North Woodstock, NH. However, two years ago I traded in the old camper and got a bigger one which can sleep up to eight. We can now take the grandkids with us without being over crowded.

This year we found a campground in northern NH where we can leave the trailer for the entire summer season. The great thing about leaving the trailer at one campground for the summer is that you can come and go as you please. No making reservations, no packing and unpacking and no pulling the trailer back and forth. Our campground is called Crazy Horse and has all the amenities that we need and is close to area attractions that we might like to visit. You can rent a trailer campsite for about $40 per night, $250 per week or $1700 for the 5 month season (May 15 to Oct 15). Rental fees are much higher at campgrounds with more amenities or those near the ocean. You can visit the Crazy Horse web site and see what they offer at the link below …… http://www.ucampnh.com/crazyhorse/default.asp

Another great thing about a trailer camper is that you have a home away from home. You drive the trailer into the camp site, unhitch the trailer and now have the car to use for short trips nearby. You can sleep in your own bed, make your own meals and have most of the amenities you would have at home. In our trailer there is a queen size bed, a sofa couch with a pull out bed, a fold down dining table bed and two bunk beds. In addition, the trailer has a slide out where the side wall slides out making the trailer 4 feet wider which increases the living space to 12 feet x 30 feet. There is also a kitchen area with double sink, gas stove, microwave oven, refrigerator and central AC or Heat. There is a full bathroom with vanity, sink, toilet and shower-tub. There is a dining table, sofa couch and entertainment center with flat screen TV, DVD, radio. In addition, there are plenty of storage cabinets for clothes, games, toys, pots and pans, towels and toiletries.

Most campgrounds offer full hookups for the trailer which means you can connect to water, sewer, electricity, cable TV and WiFi. Although you have all these conveniences, your trailer is in a wooded setting with a pond or stream nearby where you can enjoy mother-nature right at your doorstep.

You can cook meals inside the trailer in a modern kitchen or outside over the rustic campfire or gas grill. We general will eat breakfast inside and other meals on a picnic table outside. At night, we sit around the campfire and toast marshmallows on sticks and tell stories. During the day we can swim at the camp pool or local pond. A large lake is nearby where we can go fishing or boating. The time seems to drift by slowly while you relax and watch the clouds drift by.

You can also visit nearby attractions like Franconia Notch, Echo Lake, the Flume or Cannon Mountain. There is also a shopping center nearby for buying groceries or other forgotten items. For longer stays, you can visit local shops or historical attractions or covered bridges in downtown Littleton, Bethlehem, Franconia, Sugar Hill, North Woodstock or Lincoln. For the more adventurous there is Kayaking, Biking, Hiking, Mountain Climbing or Fishing and Boating.

On a recent week we met my brother-in-law and his wife and spent the day sightseeing the local back roads. As we drove along the scenic routes, we saw majestic mountains in the distance and nearby rolling farm lands with cows and horses. We stopped at Cabot Creamery in Cabot, Vt.; we ate at Anthony’s Diner in St. Johnsbury, Vt., and had pastry at the Rainbow Café in Danville, Vt. On another day we visited the Old Grist Mill and Covered Bridge in Littleton, NH. and walked along the downtown streets and visited the local shops.

In the evening we went back to the campground and walked to the camp office. As we approached, Barbara and Joe, the camp owners, were sitting on the front porch talking to other campers and invited us to join them. Later, they had a “Make Your Own Sundae” activity at the Pavilion for all the campers. The ice cream party gave us the opportunity to meet some of the other campers and share some conversation and laughs.

This is certainly my kind of staycation. A quiet day at your own pace. Do what you want when you want. No long lines, now traffic, no airport delays. “Life Is Good”.

Time To Get The Vegetable Garden Ready

Normally I start planning my vegetable garden about March and then put the plants in the garden after Memorial Day. I try to decide what plants I should buy and which ones to grow from seed. I start looking in the department stores and garden centers at the plant displays and mentally making lists of what I need. However, I also keep seeds from last year’s plants too. To do this, I remove the seeds from the fresh vegetable, dry them out on newspaper, store them in paper envelopes and then label them with name and date and special comments.

In addition, I also buy some full size plants in six pack flats or individual quart size containers. Checking around at the different garden centers the prices have increased this year for the quart size plant containers with a full grown plant. The average price is about $3.49 per container but you do get a full grown healthy plant about one foot tall.

The price of a package of seeds varies from one store to another. I like Burpee Seeds sold at Walmart’s for $ 1.00 per pack. Marketbasket had packs for $0.69 and Christmas Tree Shop had packs for $1.99. I finally decided to buy 15 different seed packs from Walmart, some potting soil mix (with vermiculite), some (2x5) peat pots, some (4x9) planting trays, and some craft sticks to label each peat pot.

I invited my grandchildren over the house at the end of April to help me plant some of the seeds and let them each pick a variety to plants from the 15 choices. I gave them a Seed Info Chart that I had made from the information on the back of the seed packs. See chart at the link ......
http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/SeedInfo5409?authkey=Gv1sRgCNOghL__gKCMpQE#5332153768917807394

I then set out a card table in the basement and covered it with newspaper. I put the supplies nearby and explained to the children how to plant the seeds. The kids quickly chose their seeds, loaded the peat pots with soil mix, made the seed holes with a pencil, dropped in the seeds and covered them with soil. See photos at the link …….
http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/GardenBlogPics5409


We then carried the peat pots outside to a cold frame that I made with wood strapping and clear plastic. I told them that the clear plastic would allow the sunlight through most of the day to keep the seedlings warm. We then watered the peat pots and closed the top of the cold frame to keep the heat in overnight and protect the plants from any frost.

In Wilmington, MA where I live, you generally have to wait until after Memorial Day to be safe from cold nights and frost before you can take seedlings from the cold frame and plant them in the garden. The seeds take about two weeks to germinate to tiny seedlings with two little leaves. I told the grandchildren that I would water them each day and send them pictures by email to see how the plants develop over the next few weeks. However, they would have to help me plant them in the garden at the end of May.

I got the garden ready last week by tilling the soil with my gas powered Honda Mini Tiller. This is a great tool which has four circular blades with tines that dig into the soil and turn it over. The next step is to decide where to put each vegetable plant and how far to space them from each other. I generally make a chart of my garden area which is 10 x 20 feet and pencil in the approximate location of each plant with a designated number. Some of the plants can be placed along the garden fence about one foot apart and some of the others are placed two or three feet apart. See the chart at the link .....

http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/GardenPlotDesign5409#5332151825200309666

That’s it for now. I’ll let you know how the garden develops during the summer. If you have any suggestions, questions or comments, send email to markryan82@comcast.net.

Getting The Yard Ready (Spring Is Here !)

Spring is a beautiful time of year. The birds start singing, trees flower and the days are warmer. To help mother nature, we cleanup the yard, rake the leaves and twigs, till the garden and flower beds and rejuvenate the lawn. To help the flower beds requires cutting new edges and putting down fresh bark mulch. To help the lawn requires dethatching the dead grass and raking up the debris. Afterwards you fertilize with weed control and hope it rains enough to keep the grass healthy. Where I live in Wilmington, MA there are water restrictions with only hand held watering hoses before 9AM and after 5PM.

Before using the lawn tractor to dethatch the lawn, I took it out of the shed and put back the battery which I take out for winter storage. I then changed the oil, oil filter, gas filter and spark plug. This year, I also had to replace the spark plug wire clip that rusted and broke off. See photos at the link below……
http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/Lawnmower141609

I also changed the oil on two lawnmowers and a snow blower while I had the time. You can get rid of the old oil by returning it to a recycle center or wait for your town to have a recycling day. See the web link below to find places that are near you …… http://earth911.com/

Next, I hooked up the utility trailer to get some bark mulch at the garden center. After hooking it up with a trailer hitch, I noticed the tail lights didn’t work. Could it be just a new bulb or were there wiring problems. After replacing a bulb the lights still didn’t work. I then used a wire tester at different places to see if there was a break in the wiring. You can also use a multimeter. It turned out that the wire connector from the trailer to the car was defective. One of the connecting plugs rusted and broke off. I bought a 4-Wire replacement kit at Walmart but found the original trailer wiring had 5 wires going into a 4-wire plug. I looked up the wire diagram online and saw that the brown wire went to both the right and left running lights of the trailer. This is why 5 wires went into a 4-wire connector (1 yellow, 1 green, 1 white and 2 connected brown). See wire diagram at the link below …..
http://www.accessconnect.com/trailer_wiring_diagram.htm

You can also see photos of the trailer wire replacement at the link below ….
http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/TrailerLights42409

I’m glad that Spring only comes once a year !

Send comments to: markryan82@comcast.net

Libraries – The Last Treasure

Library of Alexandria (300BC)
One of the last places that provide free entertainment, services and materials to borrow is the local public library. This is certainly a treasure to take advantage of in today’s economy. Check it out – This is Library Week across America (April 12 -18, 2009).

Besides books, there are discount passes to area museums, speaker programs for all ages, film nights, how to seminars, and free internet access. You can borrow books, music CDs and movie DVDs. The research librarian will assist you with finding all kinds of information.

The online catalog allows you to locate materials available at the local library or at the area library consortium. Books and materials can be ordered from other libraries and shipped to the local library within days. When they arrive you will be notified by phone or email when to pick them up. I access my local library at the web link … http://www.wilmlibrary.org/ Here you can see what new programs are offered and find information from online catalogs. You can also subscribe to the library newsletter which is sent to you by email.

I visit the library at least once a week to pickup books that I have ordered or look for new ones. At the library you can browse the shelves to see what titles or authors may pique your interest. New books are displayed upfront dealing with a current public interest such as Heart Month, Black History Month, President’s Week or even Travelogues to other countries.

I recently picked up some books on piano music from the 1920’s. Another time I saw a book on signal flags used on ships and the how to recognize a ship from their silhouette. After reading an article in the local newspaper about pirates in Wilmington, I got some books about Captain Kid and his exploits along the New England coast which I shared with my grandson.

A few years ago I was doing genealogy research and trying to construct a family tree. I was able to get a few books at the library that provided information on available resources and online genealogy data bases only available at the library. In addition, I was able to attend a special Genealogy Night offered at the Andover Public Library. I have also borrowed audio books for my next door neighbor who is partially blind. Another time, I attended an evening lecture on gardening tips and how to deal with garden insects.

Next door to the Wilmington Public Library is a small house called The Bookstore Next Door. See the link …. http://friendsbookstorenextdoor.blogspot.com/
This bookstore is run by the Friends of the Library and has a large collection of used books, CDs, DVDs for adults and children. Paperbacks are fifty cents and hard cover books are two dollars. This is quite a bargain from the original cost. I usually browse the shelves every few weeks for new items. While I am there, local residents drop off their used books for others to buy. After a few minutes I have found a couple of suspense novels for me and also some children’s books for the grand kids.

If I am looking for special books not available at the library, I try Amazon.com at the link … http://www.amazon.com/ . At this web site you can look up books by title, author and genre with a synopsis or book review. You can select the book to purchase as new or used and have it shipped to your home for a shipping charge of about $3.00. The used books are like new and sometimes cost less than a dollar.

I find reading to be an active endeavor, instead of passive, like watching TV. When you read you have to formulate the words on the page into thoughts, ideas and pictures. You use your own experiences and imagination to construct the scene and the action.

Sometimes the books that you are reading become relevant to current events. I am now reading the book “The Edge of Battle”, By Dale Brown. See Ammazon.com for a review … http://www.amazon.com/Edge-Battle-Dale-Brown/dp/0060753080/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239072320&sr=8-1
The book is about smugglers of drugs and people on the Mexican Border. About immigration, border security and international terrorism. The book describes currents weapons used as well as the politics between local, state and national governments.

Recently I saw another book that piqued my interest while reading the Boston Globe book reviews. See the link … http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/03/31/pearl_returns_to_boston_with_dickens/
It is entitled “The Dante Club” By Matthew Pearl. The author lives in Cambridge and has written several Mystery Novels about the local area. The Dante Club is a murder mystery which takes place in Boston in 1865 and involves Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Oliver Wendell Holmes. They discover the local pastor of the Old North Church murdered in an under ground church crypt. The Globe recently had an article about a local archeologist finding historical evidence in the crypt at the Old North Church. See the link … http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/04/06/resurrecting_a_storied_past/

I looked up some information about Libraries online and found that the three largest libraries are here in the US. The name of the libraries and the number of volumes they hold are: (Library Congress - 29,550,914), (Harvard University – 15,181,349) and the (Boston Public – 14,933,349).

In ancient times the largest library was the Royal Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt. This was built by King Ptolemy II about 300 BC. Carl Sagan in his TV Series “Cosmos” estimated that Alexandria had over a million volumes. The first books were papyrus scrolls. After the library burned during the rule of Julius Caesar, Marc Anthony supposedly gave to Cleopatra 200,000 scrolls taken from the Library of Pergamum for the Library in Alexandria, as a wedding gift. See the link …. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Alexandria

To prevent future catastrophes from destroying great books, statues, buildings and works of art, a digital library has been established called the Perseus Digital Library. See the link …. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/

I recently saw a movie on TV, The Time Machine (2002). The time machine inventor is hurtled 800,000 years into the future where earth has been destroyed along with all books and technology and people must start over again as hunter gatherers. The only thing that survives from the past is a Hologram of a Man that has the entire knowledge of mankind in his digital memory http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1807432839/details

However, back in the year 2009 and I still have my tangible books that I can hold in my hand, which allow me to imagine the past, present and future from the comfort of my non-digital easy chair.

All comments appreciated. email to : markryan82@comcast.net

Learning Life Skills Through Science Fair Projects

I always enjoy attending science fairs and talking with the student participants as they enthusiastically explain there projects. Filled with excitement, they describe step by step the intricacies of their experiments and the startling revelations that they may have discovered.

However, there is a range of projects that span student capabilities from simple to very complex. Some projects are simple and done at home or in school with some teacher guidance. Other projects are done in conjunction with a mentor from the local university or industrial lab. Judging these projects from opposite extremes takes some practice and keeping them on a level playing field.

I especially love the home made projects involving simple ideas with a new twist. The ones where students have made their own instruments to measure the changes in simple variables. I saw one such project last week where a student was measuring the lift on airplane wings of different shapes. She first created the wind power with a leaf blower. Then she constructed a metal stand to support her different wings by soldering short pieces of wire together creating a 15 inch tall structure. A paper measuring scale was the fixed to the back of the structure where a spring supported the wing piece. As the simulated wind from the leaf blower blew across the wing, it stretched the spring by a small increment which could be measured on the paper scale. In addition, changes in static and dynamic air pressure were measured on two homemade water manometers. She then measured the changes in lift and pressure for all her wing designs and graphed all the results. She also kept accurate records of her experiments in a log book and wrote a detailed report of her investigation, literature search, experimental findings with mathematical calculations and graphs. When speaking with her, she was able to explain clearly what she did and made conclusions based on her original work.

On the other hand, there are projects that seem at first glance to be beyond the capabilities of a normal high school student. These are the ones which involve a mentor from the local university or biotech laboratory. Schools are now partnering with local colleges and labs to find mentors to work with their students on science fair projects. The projects that students select are usually a side investigation suggested by the mentor related to current research in which the mentor is now engaged. The student meets with the mentor for a few days a week over several months at the mentor’s lab. The mentor shows the student how to use sophisticated lab equipment and research techniques. The student then performs various experiments and learns to describe the results using cutting edge terminology. Although the projects maybe more sophisticated than the home grown ones, they are judged on the same criteria which involve the following questions: Are there any signs of originality and creativity? Can the student explain the results in simple terms? Were there repeated trials? Did the student keep accurate records in a log book and write a detailed report? Science fair judges need to be careful when scoring these projects and keeping them on a level playing field with all other projects. Although project complexity may range from simple to sophisticated, they need to use the same criteria and not be blown away by the sophisticated cutting edge ideas or lab techniques used by mentored student.

This passed Saturday, March 21, 2009; I attended the Regional IV Science held at Somerville High School in Somerville, MA. See the link at … http://shsscience.org/regionIV/ . You can see some photos of the fair at the link … http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/RegScFair32109
The regional event is where science fair winners from over 40 high schools north of Boston, MA exhibit their original projects and compete for prizes and spots to enter the State Science Fair, to be held April 30-May2, 2009 at MIT in Cambridge, MA. See link at … http://www.scifair.com/ . The state fair has over 200 participants from high schools around the state and the 6 regional science fairs.

I have been associated with the science fair for over 40 years, first as a high school teacher at Medford High School, in Medford, MA, sending students to the local, regional and state fairs and then participating as a Science Fair Judge. Although I have been retired from public education for several years, I still enjoy volunteering as a Science Fair Judge for local high school fairs and the regional fair.

As a judge, I have had the opportunity to discuss with the student participants their projects in depth. Although I have to limit my individual conversation to about 10 minutes per project so I can judge several projects in the time allowed, I get a good idea of the quality of work that the student has performed. To guide the judging process, there is a score card that addresses five areas of performance: 1. Scientific Approach, 2.Original Notebook, 3. Thoroughness, 4. Ingenuity and Creativity, and 5. Advancement in Science. All projects are judged on this same criteria.

When students decide to participate in their local fair and go on to the regional and state, their individual high school teacher carefully guides them through the process of selecting an interesting topic, keeping accurate records, doing repeated experimental trials and basing their conclusions on what they actually observed in their experiments.

Before enter a fair, students need to practice their public speaking abilities and have self confidence when exhibiting their projects. Not only are they asked questions by the judges but also the general public. They must learn to exude enthusiasm in their project and what they have accomplished. They have to be knowledgeable about their subject area and be able to express their knowledge to a range of audiences.

Students who have participated in a science fair program acquire life skills that get them ready for adult lives. Working individually or as a team, students learn how to tackle problems and make appropriate plans to find solutions. They learn communication skills in both public speaking and comprehensive writing. They learn how to make keen observations and keep accurate records. They learn mathematical and graphic skills to calculate and illustrate there findings. Participating in a science fair program prepares young students for the 21st Century, ready to pursue a range of meaningful careers.

Sailing the Ocean Blue

Recently I saw a book at the public library on how to tell different ships apart from their silhouette. The book is titled “What Ship Is That? - A Field Guide to Boats and Ships” by Bobby Basnight. The book also shows the different colored flags flown by ships to let other ships know about their cargo, origin or other information. You can see some of the ship silhouettes and flags at the link …… http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/Ships31009
Can you decipher the flag message above?

I also saw an announcement for the Tall Ships coming back to Boston on July 8, 2009. You can see the info at the link ….. http://www.sailboston.com/home.html

Reading the book and seeing the Tall Ships notice, reminded me of my sailing days as a boy and the unforgettable ocean voyage I experienced. You can read the story below.

Sailing the Ocean Blue
A few years after high school, my friend Jack bought a used sail boat that had been damaged in a storm. He was sure that he could repair most of the damage with a little help from his friends. It was a twenty one foot sloop with one mast that went through a small enclosed cabin space and an open cockpit with a stick tiller and a permanent keel. The repair job took the three of us (Jack, Joe and Me) about a year to fix the giant hole in the hull, get a new mast, rigging, sails and other needed accessories.

Whenever we had the time and a few extra dollars, we would buy needed supplies and make the trip from the inner city to the north shore. We lived in Chelsea, MA in the early 1960’s and kept the boat at Graves Boat Yard, in Marblehead, MA. It was about an hour drive, one way, after work or on weekends.

We finally got the boat in the water by the spring of 1964. We moored it out in Marblehead harbor and used the water taxi to get to the mooring. Although we would take the boat out for short trips to Gloucester or Manchester, we would mostly sail around just outside the harbor or remained at the mooring doing some light chores, cleaning, painting or fixing the rigging.

On sailing days, we shared the duties of raising the sails, manning the tiller or hanging over the gunwales in a hard tack to the wind. As Jack sailed on a long tack with no foresail and just the mainsail, I enjoyed sitting on the fore deck with my back pressed firmly against the mast as the wind and the waves splashed against the bow. Sometimes we would raise the spinnaker and watch it billow out into a giant pillow. The wind blowing against your face was so exhilarating.

Although our short day trips were just great, we decided to take a longer trip to a more distant harbor. Since both Jack and I had attended Maine Maritime Academy, we decided to take a trip to Castine, Maine. The distance by car is about 235 miles and a five hour drive. The distance by boat is also about 200 miles and could take about 20-30 hours with a good 10 mph tail wind.

We made plans for our week long ocean voyage, bought food and provisions and a few changes of clothes. Using current sea charts, we plotted our course along the coast and tried to stay less than 10 miles from land and free of any rocks or sand bars or shipping lanes. We also had a binacle compass mounted near the tiller so we could track our course and bearing.

Although we did not have a communications radio, I used a portable radio with a bar antenna to help with navigation. By rotating the radio, you could null out the radio signal and find its compass direction to the radio station. Using triangulation, I could plot my location on the charts from two or three AM- radio stations that were along the coast from Marblehead to Castine. Sounds crude but it did work

We stored some food in a cooler with ice and the rest in some boxes. We bought frozen TV dinners for a week and planned to cook them in a collapsible oven mounted on a propane stove. The stove was fastened to the mast inside the galley cabin so it was protected from the wind. The enclosed galley had small windows on both sides and only about four foot head room. It also had about six feet of floor space for two people to sleep in sleeping bags while the third could sleep out in the open cockpit.

On the morning of our departure, we checked the weather report which forecasted light winds and some morning fog. We left the harbor in the fog and hoped that it would clear shortly. Although the visibility was only about 5 miles in fog, we made good time out of the harbor and tracked a course slightly NNE. However, the wind died after about 5 hours sailing and we pulled down the sails and switched to an outboard motor that pushed us along slowly at about 5 mph. That was fine for a few hours until we came upon a large area of floating sargasso seaweed. This went on for miles and kept getting caught in the outboard propeller. Luckily the wind picked up again, so we raised the sails and pulled out the outboard motor.

It was now time to cook some dinner so I popped a few TV dinners into the oven inside the cabin and lit the propane burner. While dinner was cooking in the cabin, I went out into the cockpit to enjoy the view with the other two. After a few minutes, there was a giant explosion and a ball of fire wooshed out of the cabin at the three of us sitting at the stern of the open cockpit. Joe quickly grabbed the fire extinguisher and pointed it inside the cabin and was able to put out the fire in just a few seconds.

Luckily, the only thing that burned was the propane gas that had filled the cabin. There must have been a leak in the stove which allowed the propane gas to fill the cabin. The fire ball and the force of the explosion just went directly out the open cabin door without causing any permanent damage. We all looked at each other in astonishment and counted our blessing that nothing else burned and we were still alive. With the excitement over, we had bologna sandwiches and water for dinner and continued sailing. No turning back now.

The wind picked up again and we sailed through night. Since we could only see a few miles ahead, we used the compass to stay on course. The helmsman would scan the red lighted compass, keep the sails full and maintain the tiller. We took four hour shifts, two out in the cockpit sailing and keeping watch for floating debris while the third slept inside the cabin.

The next morning the fog rolled in again and cut the visibility to only a few miles. Although we were maintaining a good compass course, we had no idea how much we were drifting sideways since we couldn’t see any land to orient ourselves. However, a ship appeared way off to the port side about 5 miles away. It looked like a fishing trawler, so we decided to hail it and get directions by lighting a distress flare and honking a load air horn. As the boat got closer, we realize it was hundred foot oil tanker rather than a small fishing boat. Too late now.

The tanker finally stopped about two miles off to our starboard and we headed for it. As we approached, a crewman on the tanker was rapidly taking pictures. He probably thought that we had sailed across the ocean in our small boat.

As we got closer, the ten foot swells caused our small sail boat to bounce up and down along side the tanker so we tossed over some bumpers to protect the boat sides. Seeing our outboard, the oil tanker crew man asked if we needed gas. We said yes but also needed directions and that we were on our way to Castine, Maine. He invited us up to the bridge to help us with the navigation. Since the swells were still tossing the boat around, I stayed onboard to keep it away from scrapping the tanker sides.

However, Joe and Jack went on board and up to the tanker bridge. The captain used his Loran Navigation equipment to fix our present location and plotted a course for us to Boothbay Harbor which was only about 10 miles to our west. He said that the fog was still very thick and it would be safer for us to wait it out in Boothbay. You can see our original and secondary course on the map link ….. http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/CastineMap31009

Using our compass and the charted course given us, we sailed through the fog to the first harbor buoy and then directly to Boothbay Yacht Club. Evidently, the tanker called ahead and some yacht club members were waiting for us and let us tie up right at their dock. They also let us use the club facilities where we showered and shaved. We also called home to let our families know we were Ok.

After getting cleaned up, we walked around the harbor area and found a small pizza shop and had something to eat. We also arranged with the pizza shop owner to use his oven to cook the rest of our fifteen TV dinners so we could eat for a few days. Since the fog was predicted to continue for a few more days, we decide to sail back to Marblehead and try again with better weather conditions. We left early the next morning and sailed back to Marblehead in about ten hours. Although we didn’t reach our planned destination, we certainly had a sea story to tell our future children.

Comments are welcome. Send email to markryan82@comcast.net