Cap'n Mike's Neighborhood

[T3]

A couple of sights seen during a brief in-and-out of P'town this past weekend:

A short distance from Mike's summer home was Grey Power, an Open 60 sailed by a true icon - Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first man to complete a solo nonstop circumnavigation back in 1969 aboard his 32 foot ketch, Suhali... in 2007, at age 68, he circumnavigated solo again, this time aboard the Open 60 in the Velux 5 Oceans Race, a single-handed race sailed in stages... now 76, he will be sailing Grey Power in the upcoming 2015 Transatlantic from Newport to Cowes that also features the stars of this year's Les Voiles - Phaedo 3, Comanche, and Rambler...

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With Sir Robin in town, it seemed fitting that the Juan Sebastián de Elcano, the 371 foot tall ship that the Royal Spanish Navy uses for training, could be found anchored a bit off the tip of the Cape... she is named after the man who led the first circumnavigation as captain of Magellan's fleet and carries de Elcano's coat of arms with a globe and the motto Primus Circumdedisti Me - first to circumnavigate me.

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(apologies for using iPhone photos)

[MIke R]

Have you seen where I ve moved to in the harbor????

boats look great...I ll be there tomorrow ....for good

[T3]

Have you seen where I ve moved to in the harbor????

boats look great...I ll be there tomorrow ....for good

... right in Grey Power's foretriangle in the picture, if I remember... quiet area after Tea Dance...

[MIke R]

I love it.....no boat traffic.....very quiet at night....calm in south westerlies.....under the protection of the Coast Guards security camera ..... directly off my old house......and I own it...no more begging to sit on someone's unused mooring ....and its an ex Coast Guard mooring so over kill on everything....7000 pound block...7/8ths chain...big honkin swivels and shackles ....

i I ve been waiting three years to get this mooring

[MIke R]

Yeah you re right I zoomed on the pic and that's me.....

[T3]

I love it.....I ve been waiting three years to get this mooring

and not downwind of these guys...

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[MIke R]

Yeah and that too .....

[MIke R]

My commute to work is s little longer though ...,,7 minutes compared to what was 4....,,

[MIke R]

The hood looks good tonight


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[davesmom]

Gorgeous photo! Hope your weather is getting better! Come to SD and enjoy the sunshine!! (OK, beer, too!!!) Happy summer to you, Wendy, and Lena!!

[T3]

Nice having the Coast Guard Pier between your 'hood and the largest of the stray boats today...

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[MIke R]

I wasn't on my mooring I went into the marina last night ....what a sh*t show ...we registered a transient 53 foot sailboat and put him in our heaviest mooring ...told him TO PUT CHAFFING GEAR ON THE MOORING LINE for the storm .....he didn't AND he left the boat uncrewed...,so the 53 footer parted it's mooring line this morning at the height of the storm ( I saw it happen and reported it ) due to no chaffing gear and started screaming towards coast guard pier where it hit and hung up on another boat flipping it over and sank it before US Tow boat arrived to get a line on her and tie her to the wharf .,. What a mess ......top five worst summer storms in my years here ..,...I couldn't get a slip because they were sold out but I got in tight to the building on a mooring and STILL got the living crap beat out of me from 3 AM to 8AM ......one of my worst nights ever in this harbor ..,,water went over the breakwater at high tide effectively rendering the break wall ineffective and then the fun really started .....the boat on the right in your pics is the one the 53 footer hit and sunk

[amyb]

Glad youcame through the prdeal safe. What a horrible experience.

[MIke R]

Thanks Amy

you must have shot those pics late this afternoon as I see I'm back on my mooring in the pic and I didn't go back until around 4

[KevinS]

T3, I spent the weekend in Mike's 'hood. Lowlights were last night's blowing like stink weather. Highlights were dinner at Front St with SBH friends, and two new-to-me restaurants, Devon's Food Bar on Bradford, and Mac's on Shank Painter. If you haven't tried it, the homemade corned beef hash at Devon's is excellent. Likewise, the Flounder BLT at Mac's is worth a try, as are their outstanding fries. There are many things on their menu that looked good, so I'll be back there whenever I'm in town.

[T3]

Pics were taken around 5 - well after things had calmed down and I saw your boat on the mooring... I think 1 or 2 small boats got free on your side of the pier so you were still better off getting behind the breakwater... these winter storms are bad news...

[T3]

T3, I spent the weekend in Mike's 'hood. Lowlights were last night's blowing like stink weather. Highlights were dinner at Front St with SBH friends, and two new-to-me restaurants, Devon's Food Bar on Bradford, and Mac's on Shank Painter. If you haven't tried it, the homemade corned beef hash at Devon's is excellent. Likewise, the Flounder BLT at Mac's is worth a try, as are their outstanding fries. There are many things on their menu that looked good, so I'll be back there whenever I'm in town.

I have been to Devon's on Commercial Street but not the Food Bar on Bradford - it is getting excellent reviews this year... Mac's is very reliable - the prior restaurant there (Clem and Ursie's), although quite different, had been a favorite so I was happy that Mac's had success last year... Front Street is always great...

[MIke R]

I miss Clem and Ursies ....I loved Clem and When I had my little cafe in the west end , Clem was open there and we would go to food buyers shows together

abd your last tongue in cheek comment "these winter storms are brutal".....bang on ...this thing had all the characteristics of a typical cape cod winter easterly....it sucked but yes as bad as it was behind the breakwater I was still better off but I have NEVER SEEN rollers like that behind the breakwater

[MIke R]

Btw that's Flyers wife's boat the 53 footer hit and sunk

[davesmom]

I am very sorry to hear that things have been so rough out your way, as it is so beautiful there. Worst 5 is serious business and I can't imagine riding it out on a boat. The storm sounds like the one where DD got hit by lightning on his computer about 15-20 years back, which was truly a mess. Hope everyone out there is OK and that the weather becomes less volatile.

[T3]

we registered a transient 53 foot sailboat and put him in our heaviest mooring ...told him TO PUT CHAFFING GEAR ON THE MOORING LINE for the storm... Btw that's Flyers wife's boat the 53 footer hit and sunk

Flyers posted a pic and video of the 53' Swan towing on their facebook page...

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...the power boat that made it to land in the pic I posted had an anchor on the bow... a fine recipe for disaster in pitching conditions... that configuration is a pet peeve - I don't entirely blame the owners who may not realize that the way the trusted manufacturer has the boat set up may work fine for a slip but not in harbors with a fetch to build waves... most of us learn by disasters - fortunately more often by seeing or hearing of someone else's than our own...

[MIke R]

That's flyers son Noah running the towboat ....the fact remains we told him it was going to be a real bad storm and to chaff up and that it was s bad idea to leave the boat unattended .....he listened to neither piece of advice .....most of these guys know nothing and what makes them dangerous is they think they do....not all but most ....it's an endless battle with some of these idiots ....it's no coincidence the guys who work on the water for a living had no problems that night

[davesmom]

That's flyers son Noah running the towboat ....the fact remains we told him it was going to be a real bad storm and to chaff up and that it was s bad idea to leave the boat unattended .....he listened to neither piece of advice .....most of these guys know nothing and what makes them dangerous is they think they do....not all but most ....it's an endless battle with some of these idiots ....it's no coincidence the guys who work on the water for a living had no problems that night

Time to write the book, MikeR...

[JoshA]

Sounds like quite a storm, Mike. Why weren't you on your mooring? Did someone else take it?

[MIke R]

Sounds like quite a storm, Mike. Why weren't you on your mooring? Did someone else take it?

no Josh my mooring is great in every wind direction but East and we typically don't get Easterlies in summer, so seeing that was the case I simply slid over to a mooring in our marina behind the breakwater to get some protection ....I wanted a slip but we were sold out.....my mooring is my mooring..I own it so no one can take it

what pisses me off is the fool whose 53 foot sailboat crashed into and sunk a locals boat, is back on our moorings with just a few dings and scratches ......and no remorse

[Rosemary]

I miss Clem and Ursies ....I loved Clem and When I had my little cafe in the west end , Clem was open there and we would go to food buyers shows together

abd your last tongue in cheek comment "these winter storms are brutal".....bang on ...this thing had all the characteristics of a typical cape cod winter easterly....it sucked but yes as bad as it was behind the breakwater I was still better off but I have NEVER SEEN rollers like that behind the breakwater

It was humbling. I've never seen water over the top of the breakwater - looked like no protection at that point. Your boat was riding nicely. Waves were breaking against the inn I was staying in beginning around 3am. It felt like I had a sea story. When things died down a bit around 8 am, I went for a walk and ran into Kate and Kevin who were out exploring. Moments later, there was Martin, with whom I spent the morning shopping. :).

[amyb]

You were in good company, Rosemary. Friends and body guards both.

[MIke R]

. Moments later, there was Martin, with whom I spent the morning shopping. :).

Yes they re still talking about yours and Martin s antics in the Marine Specialties store

[Rosemary]

Well, they have many specialties, and we were thorough.

[MIke R]

Well, they have many specialties, and we were thorough.

next week is Lena s birthday and half the gifts I will pick up for her will come from that store .....so much cool stuff there