I checked on boat after we got home from NH.

The captains and crews of four boats converged on Tina and Steve Ramano’s house last night for a nice meal and get together.

• Shellerina
• Precious Cargo
• SIMI
• Contingency

Spotted these Brandts today at the mouth of Neguntatogue Creek. Several large flocks actually. These birds breed in the Arctic and winter in the Carolinas. So we see them every spring and fall here on Long Island during their migration.

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Our boat is still in the water at its slip even though the marina has the green light to haul. I spent about an hour aboard today, ran the engine for a while to charge the batteries. The seawater is so cold, the engine never got up to its normal 160F thermostat temperature.

The mouth of Neguntatogue Creek this afternoon. Some boat traffic could be seen. Most all the aids to navigation in Great South Bay have been removed for winter.

We winterized the fresh water systems and head, then removed all the gear that we did not want aboard for winter storage. A very productive day!

78+93+105

78 times getting underway

93 times hanging without getting underway

105 times waking up on the boat this season.

O Mariner, dost thou never feel the grandeur of thine office to control the keel that cuts the ocean like a knife and leaves a wake behind it like a seam in the great shining garment of the world?

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Another…

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State Channel east of Cedar Beach. Approaching Fox Island, southward on the Lindenhurst Cut. Partly cloudy 55F. Nice boating day, especially with the sun warming us under the blue canvas top.