Going With the Wind

While Kalunamoo is undergoing some M&R in Trinidad, our Northeast Road trip took us to see family and friends. The first stop was at our daughter and son-in-law’s summer home in the Adirondacks. As a bonus, our two oldest grandsons and their girlfriends were also there. It is always fun to visit the mountains of New York State. As long as it is in the summer!

Their house is on a picturesque lake between Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake, deep in the heart of the Adirondack state park. We didn’t get to sail on the lake this time, but we have done it in the past. Their little Sunfish keeps our sailing ability tuned during the time we are away from the Big Boat. True, salt free and shark free water is something we need to get used to, but it is manageable. Favorable winds are always present, if a bit swirly off the surrounding hills, and not as consistent as the Trades. But besides sailing, the topic of wind was never far from our lips. Major hurricane Beryl passed directly over the small Grenadian island of Carriacou with devastating effects only a short time days before.

Carriacou was our last port of call before sailing to Trinidad in May. We have been there many times and would never think of being there in a hurricane, not to mention one with 120 knot winds. The small “hurricane hole” of their mangrove cove is not what I would consider safe. Boats hauled in both marinas in Tyrrel Bay, Carriacou were extensively damaged as seen in drone videos. But, considering that Beryl was a major category 4-5 hurricane, few places would survive a direct hit. Damage extended from Bequia, St Vincent in the north to Prickly Bay, Grenada in the south. This is the reason why we keep Kalunamoo in Trinidad during this time.

After our visit with Melanie and Dave, we headed to Massachusetts to see some CODs. Cruisers On Dirt – they either swallowed the hook and moved on from cruising or, like us, take a vacation from Paradise. We visited with Nada and Polda (ex-s/v Nada) at their home, Lee and Cheryl (ex-s/v Hippocampus who now have a trawler), Lee and Sharon (s/v Allegro), and Cathy and Larry (ex-s/v Katahin). It’s great catching up with cruisers we met years ago as cruisers usually form bonds and friendships that last many years. As usual, Nada served a delicious lunch that can’t be topped.

We then stayed two nights with Lee and Sharon in their recently purchased summer home away from Allegro. Just outside of Plymouth MA, it will keep Lee busy while Allegro summers in Trinidad.

Heading south we stayed a few nights with Bob and Brenda (s/v Pandora). Pandora is also in Trinidad, this season for some major work. While up here, Bob puts a lot of work into the gardening and bird feeding at their home. Brenda weaves and teaches weaving, while Bob is also the driving force behind the Salty Dawg Sailing Association (he is the president). He concedes that the association relies on many talented volunteers, but come on Bob, as president you have done a great job. Their plans of sailing to Europe next year will put a dent in his landscaping! 

On our drive back to Long Island we elected to use the Cross Island Ferry from New London CT to Orient Point LI. It was good to get back on the water again! But this takes me back to the subject of the post: going with the wind.

The ferry from New London is not a wind powered craft but just past the General Dynamics Electric Boat Yard facility (that makes nuclear powered subs), lies the staging area for a wind farm. The massive towers and blades of the wind generators are being loaded onto a ship which will transport them off-shore south of Long Island. These wind farms are sprouting up in many places ashore along with the solar farms that feed the local electric grids. Whatever you think about these renewable energy sources, cruisers and sailboat owners have been successfully harnessing this energy for some time. The New World would never have been “discovered” without sailing vessels! Fossil fuels may only be a blip in the long history of the world. As I said many times, the stone age didn’t end because they ran out of stones – something better came along.

Other wind powered crafts abound. From old clipper style cruise ships to modern luxury mega yachts to the future of sailing cargo ships. The answers may be blowing in the wind but going with the wind seems like a direction many will follow. Now if we only could harness a hurricane’s energy!