Winter Storms of November 2009

We thought that the years excitement would end, upon reaching our destination in Ilwaco. That ended up not being the case. The Fall rains prevailed before we had an opportunity to re-caulk the teak decks (making the lower staterooms rather damp). We made weekly trips to Ilwaco from Aberdeen to work on the boat, run equipment and check that all was secure. The photo to the right is of Dave in his engine room.

To work on the decks we would need to haul the Sea Crest out of the ocean and have her inside a large shop, out of the elements. We were debating if the Sea Crest would fit in the shop with her mast up, since she is rather tall with it upright. While Dave was contemplating how to go about lowering the mast in the most straightforward fashion, it became a moot point when our first big wind storm arrived!

We were in Aberdeen, comfortably nestled in our bed, when a call arrived. Our neighbor, Chuck in Ilwaco, phoned that our flybridge had been "blown off" during the nights wind storm. We could hardly imagine how the entire upper deck of our vessel could have come loose in the the wind. We figured the canvas had tore off with it's frame, but we had not expected the entire HOUSE to come loose!

It is an hour and a half drive from Aberdeen to the Port of Ilwaco. Made eve longer by the circumstances. We hurriedly dressed, hopped into the truck, and made a beeline for our boat. The following photo is what we found upon our arrival to the docks...

We need to get the boat to the lift to place the flybridge aright. Since operating the boat from the flybridge was obviously NOT an option. We would have considered operating the boat from the inside helm, however there was NO visibility with the flybridge was blocking the view!

The Port crew came to our rescue! They towed us to the Port's lift facility (the proper name of the contraption escapes me now), and with the assistance of the Port Crew and the lift operator we were able to place the flybridge back in its rightful place. We were EXTREMELY fortunate that this occurred where it did. If we had been hit with high winds while at sea, the results could have been fatal.

Typically, the flybridge is fastened securely, however that was not the case with the Sea Crest. A flaw in her construction, although just another series of projects for Dave to tackle! This following week, she will be hauled out and we will begin the needful work on her decks, propellors, through-hull fittings, and anything else that is warranted. We will only have 2 weeks with her in the shop, so will be working round the clock. Happy New Year!

The next post will be of the haul-out and deck work. Stay tuned!