CSR Northeast Flotilla 2013

Tman said:

Glad you got the problem identified Todd. Electrical issues are usually a PITA. The white tape looks good but I would have wrapped one of those NY Ranger or Giants apparel around the location just to make sure rain doesn't ingress....then toss the apparel later or give to me and will properly dispose of them as the hazardous waste they are.


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Thanks Tom,

I really appreciate your suggestions and offer of disposal. That is very kind of you. Fortunately I won't need to go the route. I have one of these on hand that I use to catch oil leaks in the bilge and occasionally clean the head when some one has too much Mexican food.



I'll just fold the nasty spots inside and shove this in the hole for now. ; )


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Todd

We had to stay at Block an extra day due to the weather. Left late AM arrived at Greenport about 2pm today. Some nice rollers out of block but was an ok ride. Was great seeing everyone and had an absolute blast. Will attempt to connect with either the inside or outside gang tomorrow.

All I can say is wow what a trip. Flat waters through all the legs heading east. Had an absolute blast at all ports. This was my first time at block and minus the jelly fish. It was absolutely breathtaking. And although I didn't go to newport or greenport. (Sorry tod and the rest of the crew I was just to beat up from leaving and docking and packing and leaving every day for 4 days straight) I was very happy with the trip. The ride west from block to freeport(my home port) today was all of 8hours on a FLAT sea. I mean flat like a lake. Couldn't have been better. Didn't touch the sticks or the auto pilot for 4 hours straight after turning the elbow at montauk. All in all cant wait till next year.
Alex Greg and joe are probably dreaming of cleaning jellyfish out of genny and ac strainers. About one every2hours.
Im sure there will be tons of pics to follow
hope everybody made it home safe and comfortably. Now im going to bed. I'm beat.

We just got back home after a few hours of cleaning.
Had an absolute blast with the gang.
there were lots of adjustments to the schedule and lots of lessons learned from the more experienced boaters.
Only casualty was 2 wet cell phones..
We ran home from Greenport today and like Jon said, the ocean was flat.
It was 3 1/2 hours from the locks to our home port in Seaford
Initial trip numbers for us are 5 ports, [We missed Newport also], 252 miles covered burned 188 Gal of fuel.
Can't wait until next flotilla.
Hope all arrived to their home ports safe and sound.
Can't wait for the pictures and the movie......

Neil & I arrived home from Shinnecock Marina today around 3pm. This time it was totally uneventful! We timed it do that we caught the tides pretty much all the way home. We went into the locks this time as they were closed. That was MUCH better than running through the roaring rapids like last time. We passed Smithpoint bridge at 1:42 with the NOAA high tide predicted at 1:37! It doesn't get much better than that. We remained in plane the whole ride this time only seeing skinny water between buoys 17-20 in Moriches bay again. Otherwise, smooth sailing which is more than I can say about yesterday!
Yesterday we left Newport around 11am as that was when the small craft advisories were set to expire. When we exited Narraganset bay the only say I can describe it is that I now know what it feels like to be inside a washing machine! There were 4 footers scissoring all around us! Once out in the Atlantic we got a steady dose of 4 footers off the port bow as we ran westward. Of course we would see a few bigger ones along the way. I think I was running about 3,000 rpms at about 12-15 knots with full tabs. I burned so much fuel that I had to pull back into Montauk for fuel. In calm seas I should have made it to Shinnecock without refueling. The waters were primarily calm from Montauk to Peconic bay except for the occasional mega-yacht wake! Once we got to Peconic bay it was ripping since the wind was out of the Northwest and we entered the bay at southeast running along the southern part of the bag until reaching Shinnecock.





This is us at the final stop before our home port.

All in all an awesome trip! I'm very happy that I was able to make it this year & I think my motors appreciated running more than 15 minutes at a time! LOL!!! I just wish that I could have seen more of the rafting gang in Block. I was never able to hook up with Greg or Alex on land. I only saw Joe in passing at Champlin's too. I did see Jonathan a bit though and we closed the bar at Champlin's that night then taking the party back to Neil's boat! His wife was very appreciative, at least that's what I remember through the haze! I can't wait to start planning the next trip!


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Todd

Man oh man!!!!! No time for a lengthy post so... What a friggin trip !! My family loved it so much we had such a great time we may need to look for a 480DB ,wife wants a washer /drier now.... You guys are the best hope all is safe and sound.

Sounds like a great trip. Lots of pictures to follow I assume.

We made it home today after stopping for the day in Westbrook CT after we left Block Saturday. Overal, what a great trip! Weather on Block this year was a little on the cool side but very comfortable. My wife and I had a blast hangin with everyone, and what was great is all the kids got along like they have known each other forever! I must say that I think ALL the kids had a great time, and the dynamic of the whole group was fantastic! I will share some more details over the next week as I recover, but as a teaser for the people that weren't there, it was way cool when Billy Joel pulled in to Champlins near our boat!:smt038

For those of u with facebook try this link for some pics. Not sure if it will work tho.https://m.facebook.com/?_rdr#!/medi....1073741828.522676086&type=1&__user=608480658

Someone pissed off the weather Gods, the seas were so rough that half of the group was getting sick, and most of the water activities were cancelled due to the cold weather. All of the planning was a complete waste of time. Most of the people were not willing to socialize and it seemed like they were in their “caves”. The kids argued more than played. The anchors were dragging and turned things in to a complete mess. I would think twice before doing this again next time.

.…This is obviously a sarcastic version.…

As for the real story……….where do I begin? So much was happening, so many events took place with so many wonderful people participating that I’m excited just as I’m typing this. There’s absolutely no way to express the experience on paper, but at least I’ll try to share the major highlights followed by the pix and hopefully a video. So far just between myself and Greg there’s just under 10GB worth of pix. I’ll be posting just few and those will be the mix between mine and Greg’s.

Friday:

After my small accident with the dinghy, the “dust” settled and we (my crew and Lady TAZ) picked up the trays for the party and we set our course to SI (Coecles Harbor).

Here’s a good shot of Lady TAZ underway.



We were slightly delayed and as we arrived to SI, Mike and Russ were already rafted.




Lines and fenders ready...and we’re all set to join the raft. As I drop the anchor, I rafted with Russ. Lady TAZ is all set to join us.



The raft of four was official for Friday night.









We decided not to waste any time and proceeded to set everything for the big raft on Sat. This included the deployment of all the main anchors and 3 stern anchors. As we set the stern anchors, we marked the territory with fenders, to show where the anchors were set as well as the midpoint of the lines. This way it was very clear what was out there for the boats approaching the raft.





After little prep work, we were all set and it was time to enjoy the rest of the day/evening. The sunset was gorgeous that evening.

Taylor’s Island during sunset.




The slushy machine is going, the grills are fired up, and the music is on. We’re ready to party!!!

Saturday:

As Saturday morning rolls in, more and more boats are starting to make their way closer to Shelter Island. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate too much and it was rainy and windy at the start of the day. Despite the weather conditions, everyone was ignoring the small bumps in the road and making their way to SI. Soon enough, the VHF communication was established with the GSB gang (the first half of it) Captains Joe, Ron and Jonathan. Here’s Mirage making the approach to the raft.





Jonathan was lined up next.







Shortly after, the Haverstraw gang made their way and appeared on the horizon, all prepared to raft.







A little bit of team work and New Freedom is all set.





Here comes Ruff Seas.









ValRay is all set to join as well.





And here comes Billy:



The storm cells have finally passed and it was time to take off the rain jackets and start unloading the water toys.







Ladies and gentlemen, here’s the queen of the show “It’s All Good II”.





A quick shot of me getting a lift by “Knot for Sail” crew to execute the “Pilot Approach” for a short handed crew. All kidding aside, IMO this was a very wise call on the captain’s part. All I had to do is to give couple of tips on the approach and handle the lines. This was enough for the captain to have good comfort level to do his part and it worked out perfectly.









“Sea Ya Later” and “Noahs Ark”





Quick sneak peak on the t-shirts:



Jonathan and Joe assisting with setting the additional stern anchors.



Knot Flying crew has arrived.



The raft is forming up nicely.

















Quick line adjustment:






Finally, all the anchors are set and holding firmly.





Taking attendance:










It's All Good II




























Kids are in the water, it’s time to have some fun.








Due to the weather, we had some delays and the water activities for Sat. had to be postponed.

The time flies so fast that before you know it we had to get ready for the feast. Mirage’s crew took the initiative to head out to the Taylor’s Island and start setting everything up.





When we mentioned the portable gennies and slushy machine on the island, we weren’t kidding. The load is on its way:





The gang is starting to make their way to the island:









Taylor's Island is starting to look like a party island.


















































Mirage’s crew is getting ready for the kids entertainment:





The games are on and the kids are having a blast looking for clues and finding prizes:

















Group photos during the sunset:







The raft during the night time:







The feast on the island was a huge success. Everyone had a blast. It was great to see so many different crews, come together as one great group to have an outstanding party.

To be continued….

Alex
Pix look great but seems some didn't post (?)

OK, where do I begin?


This trip was incredible, we all had a great time. I know you all wanted to see some pics, so here they are. I'm hoping others have and post pics of all the other stuff. I didn't take the camera with me as much as I should have. I need to get a go-pro and strap it to my head for the next flotilla.


As Alex mentioned, it started out with a bit of trouble, Here is a shot of the offending anchor.



Then we went and checked out the camera obscura in Greenport. It was closed last time I was here.







The kids loved it so much they did back flips.




It was then off to Coecle's Harbor. The first night was just four of us.



The sunset from our raft, looking out at Taylor's Island, where all the fun would be the next day.



A few shots as the raft began to build.









This was pretty cool, Kenny has a WaveRunner on the platform and a jet boat in the garage.







The Raft




Then we all took the dinghies to Taylor's Island for the feast.



Joe brought the genny so we could run the slushy machine



Got a tour of the house









Then we went up a little staircase to get a view from the roof









At sunset we took a group photo




and one in front of the house




A night shot of the raft




The next day we headed off to Block and Alex set up to have a helicopter take pictures of our boats and the flotilla












Had pancakes for breakfast.




Went horseback riding







Of course we couldn't just jump on the horse and go. Some of us have never done this before, so we needed expert instruction and demonstrations from our Flotilla Cruise Director




This was great too, it was a sunset ride on the beach












After the horses, we got a ride back with this guy. I'll let Jonathan explain the whole story, but this guy had some 'interesting' information about Block, The Beatles, and the Holy Grail I think.




You've heard about the jellyfish, apparently they taste pretty good.




Joe and I were up late one night. The water was so flat I was able to get ok pics with a 1.5 second exposure, while holding the camera. Here's the big dipper.




One evening the weather wasn't so great, so we hung out and watched a movie




The next day it cleared up. A cat pulled in to anchor near us. I broke out the zoom lens to try and figure out what the remote she was holding did.



Our last sunset





That's all for now, I missed pics of all the water activities, the fun in town, and probably a bunch of other things, so hopefully someone else can post. Sorry I didn't have any pics of people standing around on the docks.

Wow guys. HELLUVA raft up! Looks like a great time. Nice work on the write-ups and pix!!

rondds said:

Alex
Pix look great but seems some didn't post (?)

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Hey Ron,

I was doing periodic save to make sure a long session doesn't time out. All pix from Fri/Sat are there now.

Just saw them. Thanks. REALLY NICE!
BTW, the guys in the Pilot's Union are going to come after you now...probably rough you up for taking food off their table ;-)

Well, it looks like all the "spreadsheetin'" (that's a Southern term) got most of your participants in the right places at the right time and it looks like your group had a good trip, even with the weather being less than cooperative on some of your travel days.

Did anyone ask X what his boat name means?

It's Italian..you wouldn't understand ;-)

I am thinking it goes with his pink pee-pee slippers...

Can I have a "spread sheet" on that?

mistercomputerman said:

Well, it looks like all the "spreadsheetin'" (that's a Southern term) got most of your participants in the right places at the right time and it looks like your group had a good trip, even with the weather being less than cooperative on some of your travel days.

Did anyone ask X what his boat name means?

Click to expand...

Rick,
Unless I'm mistaken he told me it means "Sh!thead". It's a pet name his girlfriends mom or grandmother calls him! I don't know why though, he's a pretty cool dude! Lol


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Todd