sv Abake: Weathering Sandy

As you've probably already seen, Sandy blew through one-third of the lower 48 and hit the East Coast hard. Luckily, the 70 mph winds we saw here were not as damaging as they could have been. Both the house and Abake came through the storm safely and in tact. One of the piers at our marina was flooded but for the liveaboards, it was no worries -- they had all the comforts of home. However, just a little bit further up the coast in New Jersey and beyond were others who weren't so fortunate. Our hearts go out to them.

While Abake was out of the water, we didn't go on board during the stormy days. Once it calmed, Mike was able to replace a cockpit drain hose and clean the transducer (so we can have accurate depth readings again), jobs that are much easier with the boat out of the water. She went back in on Wednesday. So while she was at the bulkhead, we took the opportunity to move 3 "4D" batteries (each weighing about 120 lbs) on board. With that weight, it would have been difficult to get them on from the finger pier. We staged them in the cockpit when one of the yard workers spotted and took pity on one-handed Jenny and her pink cast and helped Mike get them down the companionway steps. We were grateful for the assistance (and the strength)!

After Sandy at the bulkhead

So the past week or two Mike has been doing his carpenter gig. He's finished the storage area in the galley under the gunwale, and he has almost finished the shelving behind the stove. We're still waiting for the slats to arrive to cover the hull area behind the stove. They should be here any day now.