LOG OF PEGASUS - enter at your own risk!

[MKBLK]

Pegasus Log 08/19/2016 - Pegasus has been cleaned and washed, gear checked out and stowed. Readied for the 50 mile tow to Forked River, NJ on the Barnegat Bay. The day dawned clear and comfortable with favorable weather predicted for the weekend. Towing Pegasus behind the 1990 Volvo wagon with barely 275,000 miles on the odometer was uneventful (as one would hope). Arrived at Southwinds Marina shortly after 1300. Allen had already been there the day before and was out on the bay exhausting himself. Soon I spotted him and "Madame Z" (or was it the glare from the anchor) coming around the gas dock and helped him tie up. First order of business was a nice cold Heineken that needed to be drained before the ice melted! We then saunted over to "Latitudes" for a light lunch.

Bob arrived sometime later and we rigged Pegasus and slipped her down Southwinds' nicely maintained ramp. Having raised the mast (not that hard on a CP16) Bob noticed the little snap securing the forestay (More on that later). A little turn around the gas dock under MinnKota power and into her berth for the night. Soon, Mike K. arrived with his 92 year old ex Navy (WW II) dad.

We then headed for Latitudes for dinner. Boy, that place was packed! We were looking at 90 minutes minimum to be seated. By some stroke of good luck, we had been standing at just the right place and a very nice hostess took pity on us and sat us almost immediately. The food was delicious. I like to eat light when sailing and ordered a burger that was more than filling. Everyone enjoyed their meal, especially Allen who consumed a luscious steak (evidently Allen is on a steak diet... really!). Kevin arrived and we enjoyed our meals.

I had planned to spend the night sleeping under a boom tent in the cockpit (CP16's cabins are a bit tight) but NJ humidity hit like a monsoon and made the cockpit uninhabitable. So, it was a somewhat less than comfortable "sleep" in the cramped cabin. But, dawn came soon enough and I had managed to grab a few hours of appreciated rest... no complaint.

Pegasus Log 08/20/2016

The facilities at Southwinds Marina are excellent. After a nice shower and shave I was ready for a hearty breakfast. Bob and I hopped into Allen's Toyota with Kevin following. On our way to the Colonial Diner, Allen spotted a sailboat in tow going in the opposite direction. Turned out to be Larry with his family and Eclipse. We were able to contact him and he dropped the boat off at Southwinds and they joined us for an enjoyable breakfast.

While getting ready to leave for Tice's Shoals, Brian arrived to say 'hello' and introduce himself. He couldn't sail with us today, but was nice enough to take the time to come down and see us off. We all then cast off for our destination - Tice's. And the 500 stink-pots and boom-boxes awaiting our arrival.

The Johnson 2hp fired up (it had failed on BBB-2014 after about 10 minutes due to overheating) and smartly moved Pegasus toward the bay. But, once again after about 10 minutes it quit. This after having received a new water pump kit and impeller. But, I did have the MinnKota "back-up" which valiantly bucked the NE wind and in-coming tide. Finally, we got into the bay, hoisted the sails and headed for Tice's. Took a N course to maximize the NE wind and was cruising pretty well... and then it happened. Remember Bob's observation regarding the "little snap" securing the forestay? Well, the "snap" snapped! There was a "crack" and I noticed the port shroud go limp... uh, oh. I looked up and if I were a lumberjack would have called out "timber"! And down she came, in slow motion. Kevin later asked if it really was in slo-mo or was it my life flashing before my eyes? Nah, just slo-mo with the starboard rigging, the jib and pulpit offering resistance.

On the VHF I hailed Koinoia: "Emergency, emergency. Lost my mast. This is Pegasus. Koinonia do you copy (or something to that effect... more like HELP!)? Well, the response was electric! Tow Boat US was on the scene quicker than flies on you know what. The "rescuer" was very helpful and moved Pegasus a bit out into the bay so I wouldn't get caught up in the marsh. In the meantime, Kevin was on his way in Tetra but couldn't see me in the chop. I said that I could fire off a flare, and even quicker than the flies, the US Coast Guard (GBT) radioed a "Sir, please don't fire your flare unless you are in danger of sinking!" Since I didn't think I'd be sinking any time soon (and could probably walk away anyway) I held my fire... literally. Then the NJSP Patrol happened on the scene and kindly turned on his strobe to aid Kevin. By that time, Kevin was on a heading dead at me, circled around and threw me a tow line (several times, but we did connect). Kev towed me back to Southwinds Marina to the delight of many, many spectators. Tetra (and Kevin) did a fine job of getting Pegasus (an me) to safety. As it turns out, the damage wasn't too terrible and as Kevin stated, "she'll sail again!"

[MKBLK]

Pegasus Log 08/31/2017 - Finally... Pegasus has gotten her bottom wet. No. 2 son, David and his two kids, Ava and Maddy, spent the day with me on Lake Nockamixon in upper Bucks County, PA. Although not very far from home (about 30 miles) it is a brutal tow. Up and down hills (too many to count!) in 90 degree + heat that 2 years ago cost me a pair of fuel pumps along with a tow $$$. Those hills had been the final straw for the Volvo's 29 year old fuel pump. I've decided to retire the old 1990 Volvo 760T towcar with over 280,000 miles on it and have replaced it with a (new for me) 2001 Volvo V70 T5 wagon. This one ought to handle the hills with ease (197hp). On this trip, we used David's 2013 F150 EcoBoost so hardly knew that Pegasus was back there.

Back to the sailing - We had a beautiful sail on a beautiful day on the lake with just the right amount of breeze. Ava 11 and Maddy 8 handled the jib sheets pretty well considering their age and the fact they've only been on a sailboat once before. Only got blown into the weeds once! David opted to ride before the mast on the foredeck to avoid "boom bang". There were better than a 1/2 dozen other sailboats out (no ComPacs - although we did come across a previous ComPac owner who gave us a "thumbs up") all of which were having a good time. As usual, lessons were learned regarding the CP's resistance to sailing close to the wind. I believe the "newer" CP16's were available with a swing keel which I would think would make a noticeable difference. Anyway, I paid a lot of attention to the wind vane. The day ended well and the girls would like to go again, well, at least Maddy would.

Marty K.
81 CP16 Pegasus

P.S. Forgot to mention - Son David, very handy with tools, had repaired the leaking scupper tubes. Total cost: $1.50!! He had to re-glass the underside of the cockpit and insert two couplings. A project that intimidated me for years!