Thursday, September 30, 2010

Solomons Island – Nicole Time

Wet Captain, Wet Dog
Nicole pushed rain ahead it so we had that all day long with the maximum gust registering 33 kts. The wind averaged 20 kts throughout the day. Adjusting fenders for a fixed dock with pilings was a new experience. I finally wound up tying the fenders to the piling itself to ensure that it was always cushioned against the boat. Also, lots of lines!
If it rains continuously all day long, how do you take Hoolie out? Well, you dress in full raingear and let the dog get soaking wet. On top of that, he seemed in no hurry to do his business. Being at a dock has its advantages like running the ceramic heater while running the A/C at the same time. With the combination, the cabin humidity was under control while the wet raingear and Hoolie’s towel dried.

Meanwhile, the tide keeps risingg and tonight they may have to turn off the electricity if it rises another 4 inches since it would then cover the electrical outlets on the dock. Presently, we’re waiting for part II of the storm, Nicole itself is due at 8:30 for another round of rain, oh joy. It should all be over in eight hours, in other words, all night long. I’ll do dock duty tonight to ensure the fenders are in place when the winds shift around from southeast to northwest with the passage of Nicole.

According to the projections, Nicole is due to pass directly over us around 9:00 or so. However, Friday is supposed to be a sunny, nice day although very breezy with a small craft advisory still in place until Friday night. We’ll stay through that and plan on a Saturday departure.

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