Radar and Chart Plotter install, Passage Galesville, MD to Block Island, RI

July 4th weekend was delightful and relaxing in Galesville, MD, just a littel south of Annapolis.  We shared it with our friend Pat, just hanging out.  Saw lots of fireworks of the local variety as they are legal and for sale everywhere in Maryland.  Sunday, we moved the boat over to Hartge Yacht Yard in order to be ready for a new chart plotter (GPS) and radar install.

Next morning at 8am the guys showed up to start the work.  The first and greatest challenge was getting the old radar wire out of the mast and the new one in.  (For you regular readers, remember the trouble we had in February with the cell antenna wire?  We ended up pulling the mast after a day of failure - a real headache and huge expense.)  We didn't want to spend the money on radar earlier this year when we upgraded other instruments, so we knew this was going to be challenging.  The radar cable is very think, about as thick as your finger.  It had to fit through a 3/4 inch plastic conduit with three other, thinner wires.  Challenging is putting it mildly.  After many tries the techs decided to take all of the wires out, run the radar cable, then put the others back in.  It worked.  It took them all morning and several attempts before they finally got the radar cable all the way from under the floor of the cabin to near the top of the mast.  Greg was right there, pulling wires with them to help make the project go faster.  At one point he said to the lead tech that mast makers should install the same system of pulleys at the bottom of the mast as they do at the top.  Those at the top serve all of the halyards on the boat.  When new wires are needed, it's a very difficult chore to get them through a small hole in the mast, under the floor boards, while pulling the wires in a downward direction (pulling them down to get them out). With a pulley, one could pull up, like raising a halyard. The next day the lead tech arrived with a tool he made overnight: a pulley on a stick that he could insert into the hole to duplicate the fixture at the top of the mast.  It worked great!  Greg told him to patent it!

You know how you hate it when workmen are in your house?  Well, try having them on your boat for four days.  It means everything gets pulled out of those cubbies where you store extra parts, tools, supplies...and all this has to land somewhere.  (We wish we had taken a photo of the mess it makes).  And every project gets done on your hands and knees, contorted to fit into some small space where the electronics and wires are hiding. Lots of work lights, magnetic tools, holders of screws, and little pullers get used regularly.

By the end of the day Monday, the radar cable was pulled and everyone's attitudes readjusted to friendly again.

Richie working - a more convenient way to get there - nice crane

Our view at the yard

Hartge Yacht Yard

The old radar was pulled down and the new one installed.  Then came the chart plotter.  We had to disassemble the whole binnacle stand to be able to get the new wires through narrow stainless steel tubes.  Guy, the lead tech, spent most of his time in the lazarette - a space just large enough for him to get in and squat down to reach forward where the instrument controls and connections are.  That project took another day with Sharon running back and forth to West Marine three times (an hour trip each time).

Cables and wires are running all over this boat - in cubbies, under the floor, through the floor - it's a regular warren.  The actual installing of the "radome" and chart plotter were the easiest part - it's all the connections that have to be made, running cables and wires through tiny openings you can only feel, but not see.  And then when it doesn't work the first time, you have to diagnose the problem and start over.

Anyway - three and a half days later - we had new digital radar and a cool new chart plotter.  Thanks again to Luke, Guy and Richie, our team at Hartge Yacht Yard.  After a couple hours of cleaning, the boat felt like home again.

Since no one would let us leave a car in any lot for a couple months, we toted it down to Fenwick, left it in the garage there, and rented a car to get back.  By this time, it was Sunday afternoon.  After watching weather for a few days, and considering Greg's work constraints, we decided to get moving right then.  We headed out around 5pm and went north up the Chesapeake.  The plan was to get to the  Chesapeake & Delaware Canal and drop the hook for a short rest while we waited for the tide to turn.  However, as we went, and continued to study tides and currents, we realized we would hit the entrance to the canal right at slack tide.  So we entered the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal at around 3am.  We were kind of bummed because we were planning to stop at Schaeffer's Canal House and have dinner with our friends Lori and Tom.  Since we passed Schaeffer's at 3:30am, they weren't open.  We promised to catch them on our return trip.

We popped out the east end of the canal (Delaware side) going 9 knots over ground (that means we had 2.5 knots of current with us) at around 5am and turned right to head south through the Delaware River and Bay.  Just as we neared the eastern end of the canal, a 900 foot ship, all lit up like a skyscraper, passed by, heading south on the river - wow!  The trip down the Delaware Bay was uneventful, then we cut the corner around Cape May motoring close to shore, dodging several shoals, but saving a couple hours.

Crossing Cape May-Lewes Ferries - note the haze

Cape May

The conditions were great with waves less then two feet as we made our way north about 5 miles offshore.  We plotted a straight shot towards Block Island running at about 50 degrees, moving us about 60 miles offshore, changing course only to dodge fishing trawlers and fish havens.  The day was overcast, but sun poked through now and then.  By the time night fell, we were east of Atlantic City.  Through the night, the ship traffic picked up and Greg had to slow for a large ship heading right for the New York shipping lanes, which we were crossing at the time.

Tuesday dawned with a mix of clouds and sun and another fishing trawler to dodge.  By now, the sea state had risen and the waves were coming broadside out of the southeast.  Not as comfortable a ride as it had been.  We were making very good time.  There were rain squalls around but so far we had dodged them.  By this time, the fatigue had set in, due to only getting a couple hours sleep at a time.  We are still figuring out our watch rhythm.  This time we did two on/two off and then by the third day we did three on/three off.  But by then, there was little traffic coming up the south side of Long Island, and we could be a bit lackadaisical.  Greg was on high alert as to weather and proactively got the vinyl enclosure up to keep us dry just in time for a passing squall.  The windometer clocked up to 54 and we both looked at each other like "WHAT?"  We think it was wrong.  We had the genoa out and it was pushing along quite nicely, so not sure what was up there.  You can see the squalls coming at you and pretty soon,  Greg said, "We need to get the jib in, this one looks much worse."  Again, it was here and gone before you knew it.  It had dissipated before it reached us.  The enclosure kept us nice and dry.

We finally had Block Island in our sights.  Our initial plan was to go all the way to Newport, but we figured it would be better to get into a safe harbor during daylight hours and we were ready for a rest.  So, we motored into Salt Pond around 7pm on Tuesday.  390 miles and 50 hours later, we felt good about this, the longest passage we have done just the two of us.  We enjoyed a shower, a light meal and nine hours of restful uninterrupted sleep.

Greg's planned appointment in Boston for Thursday was changed!  So, we're now in Block Island and don't have to hurry to Newport or anywhere!  Wahoo!  Soon as the weather improves we'll decide where to go next: Newport, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket?  We'll let you know.....