Robbins Reef Trip Report

Thursday, October 27, 2022

Crew: Andrew Quisling, Carmen Campo, Erin Urban

Weather: Another windy day with plenty of sun and deep-blue rough waters, mid-50s

Access: Left Miller’s at 1:15 PM and returned at 3:30 PM on the Nicholas Miller captained by Abdel Rahmanelmasry.

Purpose of the trip: The purpose of the trip was to install the new redwood Watch Gallery door and to check on the lighthouse.

Tasks accomplished: After taking down the old door, Carmen and Andrew removed the bolts and two iron hinges. The hinges are original and had to be straightened, and Andrew did so expertly. To straighten them out, he leveraged the hinge using a sturdy 2x4 from the basement stash and the bottom rung of the ladder to the Watch Gallery. He and Carmen then hung the new door in place leaving 1/8” gap between the door and jambs.

We will use the bolt lock from the old door. Bye-bye loyal little black rope! We will sell you for $400 bucks to a collector of lighthouse memorabilia…

Erin checked out the Light Gallery; there was water in one sill only; we will check the caulking on that window, as everything else is holding.

She swept the promenade and would like to fill the holes, especially the ones from the Coast Guard bathroom. One long old pipe trough was full of salty, smelly water. We need a jackhammer and cement. We promenade weeders and sweepers would like to address the surface and remove the remnants of iron structures once built upon it. Again this is weather and crew-sensitive work.

Next steps: Andrew will adjust the Watch Gallery and attach a hook for roping it open in the wind and paint the exterior white and probably varnish the inside because is so beautiful. He will adjust the kitchen door threshold, and the doors will be set.

The weather has been against us all season, and lately the humidly and rain have been unpredictable. We have decided to wrap up the exterior painting on the advice of Lou DeBlasi and Pete Battezzato from Armorica Sales, our paint donors; Carlo Giambanco from the Triboro Bridge and Tunnel Authority, and Tony Cucurullo and David Attwood, other engineer in the maritime field. Gus Scott concurs, if reluctantly. We all hoped to get more done this season.

We will bring back other equipment like the generator and grinding hammers, and continue to haul back paint for storage at Erin’s house; Pete said it will be fine there.

Next steps: There’s always maintenance, and we will go out regularly to check on the lighthouse and work on interior jobs. We can now clean up the floors, as Lou gave us a 5-gallon pail of thinner, and we bought respirators and masks for anyone who wants to help. We need a circular floor fan to supplement the breezes in Kate’s house.

On good days, when we can get a crew, we will work on the promenade and clean it up little by little.

We need a 100-volt invertor so we don’t need a generator to run equipment.