Oyster Cove? My old home!
Yeah I gots tips..
#1 TIP : Three Blade Max prop, if your a sailboat that is. Why is this? Because if you can't reverse, under control, againsed 30kn. You won't sail all summer. This is the reason my boat has a Max prop on it. 'Cause it works in reverse just the same as forward. Without it, I would have been stuck.
When its howling, and it does all summer, the trick is to back out of your slip, let your nose blow down-wind then WOT backards up the fairway to the sea wall. Once you get to the sea wall, it will shield you so you can turn nose to
weather and run out the channel.
I've seen it literly raining boats there as people loose control and go spinning tward the parking lot (And sometime rocks) Ugly ugly! But you gets used to it. And after a year or so you get better at it. And
docking remains a lot easier everywere else for the rest of your sailing life, believe me! :-)
They used to have Tuesday night races at Oyster Cove. They were really laid back
beer can kinda' races. No one scored them or anything but a big portion of the live aboards would
race their homes every week. Real popular event. We had all sorts of fun doin' that. But, that ment the every week we -had- to get the boat out of the slip without crashing it. It was tough!
Living in Oyster Cove you will get really good at tying off your halyards so they don't slap. (Or they will drive you and everyone around you insane) If you have a tiller boat, you will learn the subtile art of tiller tiedown as well or the banging will keep you up at night.
Another thing you learn at Oyster Cove is how to
dock your boat like a fighter jet doing a carrier landing. Bring it in fast, aim for the slip and at the last second, 1/2 way into the slip, slam it in reverse wide open to stop. You don't dare ever slow down in the marina 'cause if you do, you might stall and loose control of the boat. If that ever happens in the fairway, your in really -really- deep doo. At least thats the way I always did it.
Dock skids on -every- landing.
The harbor master Dick Timothy was a riot. "The Burgermiester". He was there last year, maybe he's still there? If so, ask him about the kid and the Magnifying glass.. {Chuckle}
Had a lot of good times there. First child was born while living in Oyster Cove. One time Dick, The Harbormaster, brought a Keg out to the dock and we had a impromptu(sp?) party. The only non-windy hot day of that summer ('92). About 40% of the liveabords ended up jumping in the marina and swimming about. My wife was one of them and I've teased her about it for over ten years. About two weeks ago I jumped into Grand Marina Harbor 'cause it was just so hot out. I guess I can't tease her anymore. Sigh..
Gate 3? Slip? I don't remember any more. Found the key to the gate just this afternoon in the basement...
Gettin' all nastalgic, I better shut up now.
-jim lee
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