Oahe Trip Day 5, Thursday, May 19 (Layover-Weather)
0645-53F/54F. Solar at 81%. Heavy dark overcast. Looks like rain!
0820-Checked weather and it seems about as forecast: NW windy and mostly cloudy. Made some coffee cake to have with my morning coffee and study time.
1050-Finally finished my morning study and prayer time. 68F/66F. Solar 87%. I will make a late breakfast of an omelet, toast, with jam and some OJ.
Wind is still down so I probably could have moved. Wind is scheduled to come up by 1 pm to 19 mph and 22 mph by 3 pm. We'll see how that plays out?
1320-I knew I was unlikely to move today, so I made a huge breakfast and generated so many dishes between the steak dinner last night, baking coffee cake this morning, and then a big breakfast today, that I could not get all the dishes in the rack so I took out another towel and put them on top of the heater grate. Nice to have that extra counter space!
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| Cooking Up A Storm On A Stormy Day! (Click to Enlarge) |
Wind from the NW has arrived and the hill is blocking most of the wind, but some gusts come down or around the slope. Lines and anchors are holding so far. Need to send out a "check in" message via Zoleo to let folks know I won't be moving today.
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1400-Gusts are getting stronger so I folded up and secured the forward Bimini so wind doesn't get under the canvas and create a lot of force that could pull me off my anchors.
First water jug is low so I pulled out another container from under the aft deck stowage, along with a couple of beers and some LaCroix waters.
Hooked up the fuel to the engine and started it just in case my anchors pull out and I have to respond quickly. Tried to read a book but wind gusts are so strong they rock the boat. It is hard to relax!
1440-Washed the windows since the outsides were dirty due to dust on the road on my way here. Cleaned the solar panels as well. They were not too dirty but best to get to them while I'm already on the roof. Had to do the side windows from the roof since I have no side walkways. I nearly took a dive overboard in the process of trying to reach to the very bottom of the window by the dinette, which is quite a reach from the roof!
I went ashore and checked the anchors since the gusts were often severe and sudden. I tightened them a bit since the bow was working out from shore and threatening to pull the gang plank off the boat. But I didn't want them too tight either since I need some slack to minimize shock loading to the anchors.
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| Screw Anchors Holding |
I'm still stuffed from breakfast so dinner will be late tonight.
Note: Consider longer augers for soft soil. Currently 18", may need 30".
1523-Went to gather some firewood since it is cool, now down to 64F/59F, and collected enough wood for a nice fire.
I noticed on return to the boat that boat was trying to shed the gang plank due to the bow slowly moving NE along the shore. Wind was slowly pulling the anchors out of the soft mud, but not completely out yet!
Cloud cover is 100%, but solar is 100%, which is great performance considering!
Not sure what to do about wind tomorrow. It's supposed to be similar strength and for a longer period. I may have to consider anchoring away from shore if these anchors continue to slowly move, either that or reposition the anchors further up the shore to drier soil.
1716-Wind dropped, but there is still a few gusts that hit from time to time. I made it thorough this day without pulling the anchors out so far! Still cloudy. 69F/57F. Cooled off a lot a outside. Wood is stacked for an evening fire, if it calms down, and isn't too cold. Still not hungry enough to make dinner. I've been reading the novel "Assassin" by Bell.
1905-Tried to play Pandora on my phone but it will no longer open the app. Very strange and no reason is given?
Went ahead and listened to my audio book "Blood Hollow" by W.K. Krueger while I made dinner: spaghetti, salad, hot roll, and red wine for dessert. Also prepared my shore kit to take up to the evening fire. Wind has dropped enough to make a fire feasible.
1940-Went up with my Swede saw to cut up some of the firewood and then reset all my anchors in higher and firmer ground for tomorrow's wind. I'm really unhappy about not being able to play music. Should have loaded some MP3's and not relied solely on Pandora downloads. Maybe they shut it down because there were too many days since I last used the app online? Though I would expect a message in that instance. It just says it is trying to connect, but there is no cell service here!
2300-Just came back from the fire. It worked out great and the wood was very dry making a hot fire. No stars out due to the cloud cover but enjoyable just eh same. Disappointed having no music. I intend to have backup in the future. Or, may have to move to Spotify if Pandora is going to pull this trick. I will listen to my audio book and hit the sack. 57F/49F, solar 93%.
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