On to Charleston

River Dunes was a welcome visit since we were able to plug the boat in and ensure we had a couple of warm nights.  Oriental is a pretty small town, but we shared a great meal at MandM's with our boat friends, other "Island Packeteers" traveling south.  After a couple days, we continued on the waterway and made our way to Beaufort, NC.  We enjoyed this little town immensely, both last Fall and this past Spring, and were happy to stop by again.  We tried the Blue Moon Bistro and were very impressed by the food and service at this chef-owned restaurant.  We both got some work done and headed out again onto the waterway a couple days later.

Our travels took us past the Marine Corps base Camp Lejeune.  All of a sudden, there was a huge helicopter 100 yards away, idling on land on the side of the waterway with a bunch of guys hanging out.  One of them, in his flight suit, walked straight into the water up to his neck!  What!  Then, he walked back out - guess he just needed to cool off?  Around the bend, we pulled into an anchorage with several other boats and dropped the hook for the night.  But, instead of being a nice quiet anchorage a military "Osprey" was doing touch and go maneuvers.  An Osprey is a plane with very large propellers on wings that tilt so that it can land and take off like a helicopter.  It was flying in, landing, hanging out, flying out, flying back in, hanging out, etc, etc, etc!  It stopped around 5pm and we figured they were done for the night, but it started up again around 9pm.  It was pretty loud and we hoped it would stop soon so we could sleep - which it eventually did.  We were familiar with the Osprey because a small squadron of them delivered President Obama to Martha's Vineyard directly over our boat in Lake Tashmoo last summer.

A more noisy "Osprey" then the bird

Up early the next morning, we continued on our way to Southport, NC.  By this time, we were traveling again with "Cutter Loose" and we anchored near one another in Dutchman's Creek.  (just south of Southport).  Again, up early and off to North Myrtle Beach and Barefoot Landing Marina.  Here there is a large outlet mall right at the docks, with a man-made lake and lots of shopping and restaurants.  We shared a great Italian meal at Umberto's.  Yum!

Off early the next morning, we enjoyed the ride through Myrtle Beach - golf heaven and beautiful homes lining the waterway.  Somewhere in here, Greg decided to re-program the "smart" regulator because he was not happy with the charge level from the engine's alternator to the batteries.  When he opened the compartment to do this, he found that saltwater had infiltrated this area (in the engine room).  The sound insulation was wet, the pads below the engine to catch any oil drips were soaked and you could see signs of salt dried on parts of the engine.  What!  The good news is that Greg has been a motor head (just like his brothers!) ever since he was a teenager, so he knows engines - which is great since Sharon is totally clueless in this department.  He finally found out that it was a tiny drip coming from a vacuum switch on a device called a "vented loop" and when the engine was revved beyond 2600 rpm's it became a quick drip.  He was able to do a temporary fix and immediately went online and located the manufacturer in Florida.  The owner is a boater and was very helpful.  He sent two new replacements for the vacuum switch that was bad (the piece of the vented loop), to arrive at the marina in Charleston in a few days, where we had plans to stay.

We navigated the Waccamaw River, which is very beautiful, and were deciding whether to stop in Georgetown or continue on.  We talked about going offshore from Georgetown to Charleston, but the weather was deteriorating and we were not comfortable with our engine situation, so we stayed inside.  Another beautiful anchorage at the South Santee River got us within a day of Charleston.

A Great Blue Heron and a Kingfisher - Ha!  What are the odds?

We got an early morning start from the Santee and motored along at a good pace keeping the engine running at 2500 rpm's, slightly slower than our normal 2700 RPMs (we didn't have the new part yet!)  We navigated the inlets and creeks as we got close to Isle of Palms and Sullivan's Island, just north of Charleston.  We were happy that we stayed inside as winds were up.  When we got to the Ben Sawyer Bridge - the last bridge that you have to wait for an opening before Charleston - the bridge tender wouldn't open due to winds that she was apparently clocking at 26 - 30 knots.  So - we hung out just north of the bridge awhile, kept calling and asking if she would open, kept getting a no, she couldn't open, and finally decided to drop the hook in a nearby creek.  That was interesting!  The currents are strong in that area with the five foot tidal range and the currents were fighting with the winds. Dream Catcher kept spinning in circles!  "Cutter Loose" was nearer the mouth of the creek and the wind was keeping it in place.  Before night fell, we decided to move Dream Catcher and went back out into the waterway and dropped the hook.  There is very little, if any, night traffic on the waterway, but we lit the cockpit up pretty brightly as a precaution. There were three other boats anchored with us, so we felt relatively safe for the night.  Plus, Greg has this cool anchor alarm app that will tell you if you are dragging anchor.  We both got a better sleep than expected.

A cool shot of ""Cutter Loose" at anchor

We saw three Bald Eagles this day!

The next morning, we had to wait until at least 9am to call the bridge since they stay closed for rush hour.  We got the same report - "No, sorry, I can't open due to high winds."  So - we relaxed, hung out, tried to get some work done and called her every hour.  Finally at 1:45pm, she called and announced, "To all the sailboats north of the Ben Sawyer Bridge, I will have an opening."  By this time, there were about 10 of us.  Of course, we had to scramble, stop what we were doing, get the anchor up in the rain and get close to the bridge opening.  Fifteen minutes later we were through the bridge and motored the last two miles up the harbor to Charleston Maritime Center.  We pulled in just at slack tide and tied up next to three more Island Packets.

After a boat wash and shower, we buddied up with Eric and Pat on "Cutter Loose" and headed into town for a long anticipated meal.  First night was a beer at Craftsman Kitchen and Tap House and then dinner at Hank's Seafood.  Second night was a treat at 167 Raw filled with oysters, crab claws and shrimp - washed down with some great beer!  Last night was a French/Sushi restaurant (crazy combination) called 39 Rue de Jean that was very good!  Only two nights left to eat our way around Charleston with friends.  It has been a blast!

Galesville, MD (Annapolis) to Oriental, NC

Boat Show weekend in Annapolis was very fun!  We reconnected with our sailing friends, Jim and Cynthia on Neverland, Eric and Pat on Cutter Loose, Hayden and Radeen on Island Spirit and met new folks as well.  We shared time with our land friend Pat and checked out a lot of gear and boat stuff.  Our favorite purchase was a set of pots made of silicone with a metal base to use on the stove. These collapse to become 2 inches high, and will better fit in the cabinet.  Greg also bought a bucket that collapses.  More space saved (and very cool stuff)!  See Nautical Scout cookware!

The warm trend we had for a couple days brought a way-too-close thunderstorm, rain and cooler weather.  Monday morning dawned sunny and we cast off the dock lines in Galesville (Annapolis suburb) and headed south down the Chesapeake Bay.  The first day was a long day of motoring as there was very light wind, right on our nose.  We left early so we could reach and enjoy a favorite anchorage in Mill Creek off the Great Wicomico River.  Seventy five miles later, we dropped the hook and settled in for a nice night.

Early the next morning, we pulled the hook up again, and headed out.  Seeing 12 knots on the windometer before we were out of the harbor, we decided to raise the main in preparation for a good sail.  As we motored out into the Bay, past the point of land that shielded us from the south, we felt the full force of the south wind - a steady 18-20 knots with higher gusts.  We unfurled the jib half way and moved along very quickly, but it became difficult to head in the direction we wanted - south.  So, we started the engine to give us a little push and we were able to point south.  This meant we sailed at hull speed, near 8 knots, with wind and three to five foot waves coming directly at us.  The apparent wind became 25 knots or more.  The waves became more of an obstacle.  The result was that we bashed into the chop for hours and saw more water over the cabin top than we ever have before.  In fact, the water splashed into the dorades (those funnel like things on top of the deck designed to bring fresh air into the cabin) and we ended up with a wet floor and slightly wet bed.  Yuk!  We bailed as soon as we could find a spot to hide and went into a calm bay.  Inside the bay you never would have guessed the wind was blowing and waves were crashing outside.  Whew!  A welcomed relief.

The next morning, it was back to calm waters and light winds.  We motored the rest of the way down the Chesapeake and grabbed a free dock for the night at Hampton Public Pier (thanks to our kind friend Radeen who nabbed a coupon for us).  We shared a beer with friends Eric and Pat at the Taphouse followed by a lovely meal with eight other Island Packet owners at Venture.  What fun!

Sunrise on Godfrey Bay
(remember you can click on all photos to enlarge)

A day on the Bay

Wolf Trap Light - kind of a funny looking light

Leaving Hampton the next morning we headed south down the Elizabeth River through Norfolk and onto the intracoastal waterway.  Within the first two miles we got stopped by two railroad bridges that are "usually open" with trains slowly crossing.  And so it begins.  The waterway is beautiful.   Challenges along the way include: assuring you pay attention all the time so as not to leave the channel and run aground, or run into anything else; negotiating bridges all along the route by speeding up or slowing down to meet their scheduled openings; slowing down so large motor yachts can pass you without sending you rocketing to shore from their wakes; and finding suitable anchorages along the way.

Cypress roots in the Waterway 

Birds!! We think Storm Petrels - click this one!

Just in case you think we are the only ones doing this!

Waiting for the train to get by

Friends on "Cutter Loose" dwarfed by carrier

Tonight, we are anchored off Buck Island in North Carolina, about 10 miles north of Albemarle Sound.  It is a quiet spot and we are the only ones here.  Our friends Pat and Eric are anchored on the south side of the island.  We will catch up with them on the water tomorrow morning for a long
70 mile day across the sound, down the Alligator River, through the Alligator/Pungo Canal and into another picturesque anchorage in the Pungo Creek.

Sunday we will do a short day and reach River Dunes in Oriental for two days, where we will meet up with three other Island Packets.  The added bonus is that we'll spend Sunday and Monday evenings there for the weather forecast of 40-45 degrees at night!  We'll have the benefit of heat while plugged in at the marina - excellent timing!

'Til next time -

Joaquin Scare and Time in Fenwick, DE

Two weeks on land, a hurricane, a nor'easter and lots of manual labor - what have you all been up to?

We had a plan to spend two weeks at Sharon's family beach house in Fenwick Island, DE before departing for our trip south this season. Time off the boat is nice once in awhile!  The treats include your own laundry and land showers (nice when it's not 90 degrees out). The Fenwick Island house even has an outside shower (in addition to the bathroom showers) which we always look forward to using.

We buttoned up the boat in Galesville, MD (near Annapolis), plugged in so the A/C dehumidifier would keep things dry, then we headed to the Delaware coast on the 23rd of September.  We had a few major projects to accomplish at the house, as well as sharing fun with family and friends.  But, a few days later we were back in Galesville, taking sails and canvas down, stowing dinghy and solar panels, and preparing to have Dream Catcher hauled.  We were very uneasy with the forecast of hurricane Joaquin, and didn't want to wait until the last minute to ask the boatyard to haul Dream Catcher (we waited too long once and the boat stayed in the water through another hurricane). We worked quickly and Dream Catcher soon sat happily on the hard while we hopped in the car and headed back to Fenwick - a bit tired and with slightly sore muscles.

This meant, however, that we could stop worrying about the boat, and shift our attention to the house.  The house had suffered in Hurricane Sandy and we are still picking up the pieces from half a foot of water in the lower level.  This time, there was talk of a 3 - 4 foot tidal surge in the bays, on which our back yard sits.  As the nor'easter brewed and Joaquin got closer we walked daily to see the ocean, which turned into raging waves lapping at the dunes, steady 20-30 knot winds with gusts over 50 (for four days straight), and a promise of a lot of rain.  Friends had planned to visit that Friday and actually drove down from upstate Delaware.  They had to divert inland when they hit Dewey Beach because Rte 1 was flooded north of Fenwick.  In spite of the weather we had a wonderful two days with them.

Fortunately, the high water level stayed about a foot below the lower level.  All we lost was a patch of roof shingles.  When the winds calmed enough we carried new shingles to the roof and replaced the lost ones.  This is Greg's least favorite thing to do - he hates working on a roof!  Whew!  But, we were much more fortunate than those in the Bahamas and the Carolinas.

Normally the beach is twice as wide, about 30 yards from the fences; here, the surf is pushing at the dune fence

We are fortunate to have pretty high dunes that are well planted and fenced three times,
but the ocean has moved a lot of sand up onto the dunes.

This is our backyard - the gray stone leads to a boat ramp (which is underwater here) into the lagoon
which takes us out to the Bay; Greg says Sharon is standing on sinking ground - he is right!

By Monday, we were back in Galesville, happy that Joaquin had taken a right turn, and we took the opportunity to polish and wax the hull and change the propeller shaft zinc.  The zinc is the sacrificial metal that corrodes instead of the propeller.  Normally, (in warm, clear water) Greg dives down to replace this, but this was a welcomed opportunity to be able to stand next to it and do it in 10 minutes instead of 30 (while trying to hold his breath with tools in one hand and the prop in the other!)  But, just as Greg wasn't thrilled with his roof work, polishing and waxing the hull are Sharon's least favorite boat chores.  Why?  Well, think about hand polishing, then hand waxing your car about five times.  That's about the surface area the boat's topsides are (waterline to deck).  So, a few hours of "wax on", "wax off", most of this at eye level or higher, and you'll understand what shoulder pain is! Greg said he could hear his joints grinding!  He's odd, because he actually likes this job!

We are floating once again and are getting ready to leave Monday morning to head to Florida.  So, while we're at the dock we are taking advantage of local markets and boat stores to prep.  Sharon hit the markets for paper goods and other needed items.  (Love the coffee selection at Fresh Market!) Greg filled our #2 propane tank today.  Then he dismantled the top of the windlass (the motor to haul the anchor...there will be a test!) to install a new control arm (a piece of stainless steel that guides the anchor chain into the anchor locker when retrieving the anchor - another test question!)  This little item is spring loaded (like a clothes pin spring, only much stronger), and you have to tension the spring while assembling it.  One part of the windlass wouldn't come loose, so he had to tension the spring and push it into the slots in a way that was not intended. The spring snapped back many times before he was able to get it into the correct location.  Four finger cuts later he succeeded.  Ouch!  But, it works!

One year ago we purchased a cellular amplifier to improve our cell reception, especially in remote areas.  We've been disappointed that it never seemed to work.  The antenna sits atop the mast (remember when we had the mast pulled?), so it should have a much better reach than a phone inside the boat.  So, Greg took all the components to Fenwick, set it up there, and got the tech support guys on the phone...for an hour.  The result was that the unit was bad!  So, ship the old one back, wait for the new one.... today Greg reassembled the components on the boat and, voila - five bars!  It works!  Cool!

Tonight, we are relaxing on board, plugged in with a little cabin heat if we want to keep the chill away.  Tomorrow, we head over to Annapolis to attend the boat show and see a bunch of sailing friends.  Sunday, we do the rental car shuffle (drive to Salisbury, pick up a rental, drive to Fenwick, leave our car in the garage plugged into a trickle charger, come back and drop rental in Annapolis, get cab to boat).  Monday morning, we head south.  It will be an interesting trip given the amount of water and flooding the middle Atlantic states have had.  We will need to watch out for debris all along the way.

We are excited to be on the water again!  Woohoo!  We look forward to our travels south.  Hope you will travel with us.

Newport, RI to Annapolis, MD

Newport to Annapolis!

It went really well!  We left Newport with the main sail up at 6:15am on Wednesday morning, September 16 (Sharon's brother-in-law Alec's birthday!)  Wind was very light and a bit out of the Northwest.  We motor sailed out of the Narragansett Bay, past our friend's Roger and Chrisy's Jamestown house, past Beaver Tail Light, past Point Judith.  We passed Block Island three hours later, and then we sailed by Montauk Point two hours after that.  It was a sunny day and the seas were very calm.

Interesting sights included the sun shadows of jet streams as they traveled high past the sun's rays and a pod of small dolphins.

Beavertail Lighthouse

Jet stream shadows!

The winds were no more than five knots the entire trip and seas were one foot or less.  Though we had to motor all the way, we were happy not to have big rolling waves.  We took turns napping all day, banking our sleep, as Greg calls it.  By 5pm, 80 miles into the trip, we began to cross the first of three very large New York shipping channels, the first being the Nantucket Channel.  The sun set at 7pm and we saw a beauty of a crescent moon hit the horizon soon after.  A very bright Venus hung out next to Orion from 4am until dawn. 

A very calm sea 

Sunset

Dawn Breaking

We passed the last of the NY shipping channels by 6am the next morning - 13 hours later!  We could see the tall buildings of Atlantic City by 10am Thursday.  Greg had an exciting night when a fishing vessel decided to leave the place he had been hanging out five miles away and head straight for Dream Catcher.  Greg changed course a few degrees at a time until he was 60 degrees off the course we had been heading since we left Newport, to hopefully avoid this guy.  He kept coming straight at us, which meant he had to be continually turning toward us as we were continually traveling South.  Greg radioed him twice and got no answer.  Finally, only a few hundred feet from us, he turned away and his bright lights showed his team working his aft deck preparing to deploy fishing nets.  He finally called on the radio and said he always found sailboats were trying to bump into him and he  was just checking to see if we were awake!  A shout out to Greg for not losing his temper - he was so ticked that there was nothing we could do.  Greg said it was like a semi-tractor trailer coming toward you in the middle of a narrow two-lane road and turning away at the last possible moment.  Playing chicken for fun - being the larger vehicle.  This all happened 60 miles from shore where even the coast guard can't be contacted by radio.  (As Billy Currington says, "People Are Crazy")

Then, later that same morning, Greg was at the helm again and saw an AIS signal showing a vessel directly in Dream Catcher's path and traveling toward us - at 268 knots!!  Just as it was getting close, it turned around, now traveling at 232 kts, until it approached the Delaware shore and disappeared from our chart plotter (GPS) screen!  Very weird!  We guessed it must have been some sort of military plane - but we will never know.  There were no other details on the AIS signals.  For those not familair with AIS it's a system that allows us to see icons on our chart plotter/GPS screen that represent commercial ships and pleasure craft.  Each icon can show the speed and direction of the vessel, as well as much more information so that ships can safely avoid each other.  So, we were able to watch this very fast moving vessel come toward us on our screen, but we never saw the actual thing.  When it turned, it did so extremely quickly.  It could only have been a jet of some sort.  And commercial jets don't do this.  AIS is based on VHF radio signals, which reach a limited distance. This signal disappeared approaching the Delaware shore probably because it left our range.  But, while it was within range it was crazy!  As far as we know planes do not carry our form of AIS.

At about 2pm on Thursday, we dropped the mainsail and motored the rest of the way to the breakwater and into the anchorage in Cape May, NJ.  We covered 238 miles in 33 hours - wow!  Once at anchor we were heartened to hear the Coast Guard cadets doing their regular drills at the training center just on shore.  A light meal and a great night's sleep came early.

Friday dawned clear and we headed out around 6:30am to make the trek up the Delaware Bay and into the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.  

A beauty of a sunrise coming out of Cape May, NJ

We have to time this part of the trip right so as to catch a favorable current in the canal.  A little tension was felt as we navigated the shoals around Cape May (without hitting them) and up into the bay.  About two hours into the trip, we discovered that, though the engine was chugging along at 2700 rpm (a sweet spot), it wasn't charging the batteries.  This is not good.  We need the batteries to keep the engine running!  The solar panels can keep up the electricity up fairly well, but maybe not when we have an engine, navigational instruments, radios and a refrigerator running all at once.  Greg was able to get an internet connection and started studying furiously to troubleshoot the issue.  Several checks later, he found a broken wire connecting the regulator to the alternator.  So - everything was shut down - engine, electronics, batteries.  Sharon had to hold the boat as steady as possible, assuring no drifting into objects or shoals, given little steerageway.  The wind was a blustery 2 kts!  It was very handy to have an iPad with the navigational app open to at least let us know if we were drifting into dangerous territory.  Fortunately, current was with us.   (Later at dinner with our friends Lori and Tom, Lori said when she checked SPOT, it looked like we were in the same place for about an hour - yes Lori - you are correct - we were!)  After about 30 minutes, the wire fixed, engine turned back on, alternator was charging away like it is supposed to.  GO GREG!!  

We continued up the bay and into the canal.  By 3pm, we pulled into the fuel dock at Schaefer's Canal House and came to rest at a spot where there was an electrical pedestal in front of the restaurant (we wanted to be certain if we couldn't fix the charge issue that we had electricity to charge the batteries through the night).  A welcome hug from Lori and Tom and we enjoyed a fun meal on the deck at Schaefer's.  Thanks for making the trip you two.  Always great to see you!

Saturday dawned with thick fog, enough to keep all of the boats on the dock until 8:30am.  Though we wanted to head off the dock by 6:30am to catch the last of the favorable current, we stuck close.  Finally it began to lift enough to feel confident, and using radar and fog horn we made our way through the last few miles of the canal, down through the Elk River and into the Chesapeake Bay.  By noon, the sun was out and the wind came up, allowing us to raise all three sails and enjoy a wonderful sail across the bay - one of the best sails we've had for awhile!  We found a new anchorage spot off Back River, just north of the Patapsco River that leads to Baltimore, and we joined the 25 other vessels enjoying the sunny afternoon at anchor.  By nightfall there were only four of us left.  All the others went home after their weekend on the water.  

Sunday morning, we left the anchorage with a brisk North wind of 18-22 knots, pulled out the large genoa and sailed downwind 20 miles to Annapolis.  We poked up into Spa Creek and found a town mooring to hook onto.  We got lucky and were able to watch the second half of the Patriots/Buffalo game at a sports bar in town.  As we launched the dingy, three little green frogs appeared.  They had hitched a ride from somewhere!  Two of them went in the water as we prepared to take off, but one other little guy stuck around for the ride both ways.  He was still hiding under the outboard this afternoon!

Tucked safely on the motor mount

Tomorrow, we head back to Galesville, MD, where we will leave Dream Catcher at a dock at Pirate's Cove Marina for a couple of weeks.  We plan to head over to Fenwick Island, DE where we will accomplish some house chores, have all the packages sent that we have been holding, waiting for an address to send them to, and enjoy the last of summer at the Delaware seashore.  We will be back in Annapolis for the annual Sailboat Show over Columbus Day weekend and then begin our trek south for the second year.  

'Til then - 

Narragansett Bay, Newport, RI and our daughter's visit

We had a fabulous weekend due to the visit of our daughter, Courtney, and her boyfriend, Paolo.

Courtney and Paolo 

We sailed, had great meals at our favorite restaurants, watched a polo match, and cycled around Newport's coastline and historic mansion district.

Cycling around the Newport coastline

After they left we fueled up for our transit to the Chesapeake Bay.  Pete Townshend's yacht, the guitarist for The Who, was docked in front of us at the fuel dock.  This is a 126 foot schooner with lots of varnish.  Beautiful!

Pete Townshend's yacht Gloria

Close up of PT's Gloria

So, we are preparing for another offshore passage.  Heading south again!  We've had a lot of enjoyable times this summer in Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, Long Island, Boston Harbor (and the North End!!!), Portsmouth, NH, and our sailing soul home, Newport, RI.  We have cherished our visits with family and friends (including Greg's mom's 91st birthday).  And we have loved our family and friends visiting us.  Courtney and Paolo just left.  We all had a fabulous time together!

So, what does one do to prepare for an offshore passage?  And, by the way, what the heck is an offshore passage?  Well, an offshore passage is usually a sail of a full day or longer (24 hours+) in the open ocean - as compared to coastal sailing, which is often a few miles from a land mass and shorter durations.

Preparation? Really?

Here's the short list...

The obvious:

Top up water and fuel tanks.
Fill the reefer (aka refrigerator) and cupboards with fresh, frozen and preserved food.
Make sure belongings are secured.  You don't want cameras or laptops sailing through the air to the other side of the boat due to wind and wave action....or an anchor coming undone 50 miles from land.

The not-so-obvious:

Pay very close attention to weather.

Waves - look for a time when ocean waves are benign and/or flowing in the direction you are going (more or less).  Avoid leaving when waves are high and/or against you.  This would make for a very difficult and slow ride.  Imagine 48 hours in a washing machine moving ever so slowly toward a destination hundreds of miles away!  Really, it's sorta like that on a bad day!

Pay equal attention to wind conditions - look for wind that is in any direction other than opposite, or near opposite, your intended route.  Sailboats like to sail.  So, wind from behind or across the boat will give you a lift that you can use to deploy sails, turn off the motor and have a very enjoyable ride. This is what it's all about!

The trick is assuring that if offshore for several days in a row, the wind and waves are still predicted to be favorable.  Our 340 nautical mile sail from the Bahamas to Charleston, SC was true bliss.  We didn't go until the storm, Anna, was working her way north, leaving a "high" in her wake.  A barometric high usually means very nice, settled weather with mild winds.  We were lucky enough to have beautiful weather and enough wind to sail much of the way...and a sea state (height and mix of waves) that was very calm.  It was a perfect two-day offshore sail.

On the other hand, things can change. A weather disturbance can develop or dissipate.  So, we always look at many sources of weather information in order to understand the weather for several days in advance.  And, knock on wood, so far, we have been fortunate.

As of this writing there is the seed of a possible hurricane leaving NW Africa, which is where all north Atlantic hurricanes start.  This one is called 93L until it develops further.  If it reaches storm status, it will be called Tropical Storm Ida.  Later, if winds rise to hurricane force, it will be Hurricane Ida.  We hope it doesn't!  See http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/tropical-system-atlantic-depression-tropical-storm-ida/52379971

OK, so we filled the tanks, stocked the cupboards, checked the weather...ready?  Not quite.

Remove the outboard motor from the dinghy and secure it to the aft rail so the dinghy isn't too heavy in large wave action.

Secure anchors so they don't move constantly and break something.

Check engine oil, antifreeze, alternator belts.

Make sure instruments (wind speed and direction, water depth, boat speed, compass and course) and radio are working.

Fasten jack lines along side decks and cockpit floor.   These are to clip your harness onto when offshore so you can't be thrown overboard.

Charge and make sure cell and satellite phones work.

Check that all hatches and ports are closed tightly so no sea water gets into the boat (particularly on your bed).

Check all shelves and bureau tops so that nothing can fall over, drop to the floor, or fly to another location.

Make sure all cabinets, drawers and closets are latched shut.

Deploy water bottles, quick snacks, binoculars, sun lotion.

Chart course to destination (well in advance - then recheck), taking into account shorelines, shoals, shipping lanes, tides and currents (especially canal tides and currents, such as the Chesapeake and Delaware, or the Cape Cod Canal, where currents can reach five knots - you want them with you, not against you!)

Time your departure so as to maximize weather, canal transits and arrival times (avoid arriving in deep night, although not always possible).

Then go!

At this moment, if weather forecasts stay reasonably steady, we will haul anchor early Wednesday morning, head South out of Narragansett Bay, turn southwest past Block Island and continue along New York's Long Island for 260 miles to reach Cape May, NJ.  The plan will be to reach Cape May Thursday late afternoon.  This gives us an opportunity to sleep at anchor and continue on the next day.  Once rested we will head North up the Delaware Bay, through the C and D canal, into the Chesapeake Bay and reach Annapolis a few days after leaving Newport.

We'll let you know how it goes.

Portsmouth, NH to Boston, MA, to Narragansett Bay

If you are keeping track of us on SPOT, you will see we have made some tracks!  Wentworth Marina in Portsmouth, NH was delightful and we pulled out of the dock around 7am last Tuesday to head back south.  It was a gorgeous day.  Our chart plotter (a boat's GPS) lays a track as we travel, so we followed it back to Boston.  Along the way we spotted a few whales, dolphins, more Northern Gannets and a couple seals.

Yes, that is a whale - there were three, just tough to capture with the camera

We decided to head back into Charlestown Marina and get one last fix of the North End before we departed for southern life.  The next morning, it was off the dock by 6:30am and more southing.  No wildlife to speak of except a lot of lobster boats and the traps to which they were making their way to haul.  This day, the wind piped up the closer we got to the Cape Cod Canal so we were able to sail almost all the way.  As we headed into the Canal, the chop was pretty interesting - strong current colliding with a narrowing waterway.  It was a sleigh ride through the Canal, hitting it at the fastest current, and we pretty much raced through at 11 knots over ground.  The shoreline sped by.  Just at the west end of the Canal, you can turn off into the west and there is a sweet harbor at Onset, Massachusetts.  Since we were there during the week and school has started, it was a quiet harbor.  We picked up a free mooring ball and enjoyed a quiet night.

Next morning, it was off for just a short hop to a place we had heard about from work friends.  Quisset Harbor is a quiet throwback to gentler times.  A small working boatyard sports an old marine railway that allows them to haul smaller boats out of the water to work on them.  A walk up the hill gets you to a main road where you can flag down a trolley to take you into Wood's Hole.  Wood's Hole is famous for the Wood's Hole Oceanographic Institute.  We took the opportunity to check out the Exhibit Center.  If you are in the area, this is well worth a visit.  We got to see and enter a replica of "Alvin" a deep submergence vehicle, and learn about some of the discoveries and research they do with this.  It is all quite fascinating and we encourage you to check out the website linked here and if you are in the area, visit. Evidently the US Navy owns Alvin and WHOI manages it. We learned that it just went through a $41 million refit! 

After a quick stop at the market in downtown Woods Hole (after waiting for the drawbridge to go back down), we hopped back on the trolley and headed home.  Another quiet night on a mooring was delightful and this is a place we hope to return to again.

Quisset Harbor

Friday morning dawned cool and damp with a North wind.  We decided to head out around 8:30, let out the big genoa and headed West.  When you head down Buzzards Bay towards Newport, it is always a surprise to look at the compass.  You feel certain you are heading South, but in fact, you are heading almost directly West.  Our course didn't divert much, except to assure we missed some rocky, shallow areas on the Western shore of Buzzard's Bay and we made our way nicely at about 6 knots toward Newport under our 130 genoa.  There was only one moment of panic when Sharon was at the helm, drawing a direct line to Seal Ledge buoy, and large white floats and flags loomed directly in front.  There are several areas along the coast that are set aside as "fish trap areas".  At the very last minute, she turned hard to port (that is left for you non-sailors), started the engine to gain ground and was thankful to only have the jib out, allowing her to skirt the area with no damage.  Whew!  (Greg had a rude awakening from his nap, spouting something like OMG!)

One of the beefiest tugboats we have seen

With the north wind, we decided to try a coveted anchorage that is not typically tenable with prevailing southwest winds in the summertime, and pulled into Mackerel Cove, on the island of Jamestown, Rhode Island.  This is a sweet spot with plenty of water and beautiful homes lining the Maine-like rocky shore.  A bit of roll through the early night finally gave way to quiet waters and we had a good sleep.  Up anchor the next morning, we took advantage of the east wind and sailed around Beaver Tail Point and up into Dutch Harbor, still part of Jamestown Island.  It was a lazy day, involving hanging out and enjoying the sunshine.  

As Greg's mom turned 91 on Labor Day, we decided to get to a place where we could rent a car and go spend the day with her.  That led us to Greenwich Bay - in the northwest corner of Narragansett Bay (but not quite to Providence).  There are several marinas and lots of boat traffic in this area (especially Labor Day weekend), but we found a quiet spot to anchor and, though a bit rolly with boat traffic, allowed a lovely night at anchor.  Distractions were the planes taking off from Providence's T F Green Airport, the Amtrak commuter train that runs right along the water, and the slight rush of traffic heard from I95 (we are not in the tropics anymore).

Monday, we used "Uber" to get us to the airport to get the rental car, and then headed to Massachusetts.  After a stop at the Lowe's, the grocery, and liquor store we descended on Greg's mom and enjoyed her backyard pool, a barbecue by the water and lots of family.  We forget how hot it can get on land.  There is usually a light breeze on the water and with cooler water, the air temps tend to be 10 degrees cooler as a result.  We were happy to have a refreshing pool to ease the heat.

We kept the rental car overnight and took the opportunity to shop at our favorite market in this area - Dave's.  There are six Dave's Markets, only in Rhode Island and only on the western side of Narragansett Bay. They are much like a Whole Foods or Fresh Market, but with their own local character (and not as expensive). We have missed shopping here!  When we were docked in Wickford, years ago, this was our favorite market.  Anyway - we drooled our way through our shopping, took the car back and dingied back to Dream Catcher to stow our finds.  After a quick run into a neighboring marina for water, we headed around the bend to Potter Cove on Prudence Island, another fav spot when we were weekending in the Narragansett Bay.  Often a very busy place on summer weekends, it was quiet enough for us during a September week.

Each dingy ride to and from shore, and even at anchor, we have seen  huge schools of fish very near the surface churning up the water and jumping out for what must be flies.  There are hundreds of them - most about 10-12" long.  After trying to see them clearly enough to identify we still are not sure what they are, but they are plentiful!

Prudence Island is one of two larger islands that sit in the middle of the Narragansett Bay.  This one is served only by ferry or private boat.  We have never stepped foot on land and decided to do so yesterday.  A very sleepy spot, it put us in mind of many Caribbean islands we have visited over the years; dirt roads, overgrown foliage, grassy paths, old vehicles, weather worn homes.  Except here we found an oyster farm run by Roger Williams University and a research weather station.  We didn't walk the entire road into "town", but did see modest homes lining the shore and wondered how life was for those who live here year-round.  We also spotted a Common Loon sitting on the beach.  It seemed that it may have been injured as it tried to walk into the water.  It was unusual to see a loon in these waters.

The camera has spent a lot of time in the bag these last few days.  We will try to do better next time.  Tonight is the Patriots season opener at home.  We wish we could be there, but will find a sports bar to check out the action.  This will help us stay awake for when our kids arrive around 11:30pm.  Courtney and boyfriend, Paolo will be spending the weekend with us.  We are looking forward to it.

'Til next time - 

The Vineyard, Nantucket and Boston, MA

What a delight to share a great few days with our friends Nancy and Ted.  Fabulous weather gave us a great sail from Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard to Nantucket where we enjoyed two days walking around town, hanging out on board, and sharing wonderful meals on the island.  In celebration of Nancy's 60th, we enjoyed dinner at Brant Point Grill and the next night at American Seasons.  Both fabulous meals and great companionship.

Passed this beautiful schooner on our way

Brant Point Light

Good friends Ted and Nancy

After another great sail back to Edgartown, we waved goodbye as they headed back to Cape Cod, where their car was parked, on the Falmouth Ferry.  With a wind shift to North, the anchorage at the Chappy Beach Club became uncomfortable, so we immediately headed back to Lake Tashmoo where we knew we would find quiet water.  Ah - relief!

Tashmoo is famous for poor internet and cellular access.  For those of you needing to get away from it all, especially for a week, this is sweet.  For us, who have come to rely on communication with everyone, it's more than a little frustrating.  So, as beautiful as Tashmooe is, we headed out the next morning across Vineyard Sound and through Woods Hole.

Woods Hole is a tight waterway between two bodies of land: the southern part of Cape Cod and the northern portion of the Elizabeth Islands (Naushon Island, in particular).  Every tide brings a new 10 feet of water through this small passage; and tide changes occur every six hours.  Tidal changes create currents.  In Woods Hole currents can run as fast as 4 knots.  If your boat motors at 6-7 knots you can imagine the challenge going two miles, effectively, at 2 knots; as opposed to 9 or 10 knots if you choose the right time.  It's important to know that tides and currents are well documented and available in books, online, and on our GPS/chartplotter.  But, for some reason we often hit Woods Hole at the wrong time. This time, we hit it right at slack (no current) and slid through behind the ferries with no effort.  We decided to duck into Hadley Harbor on Naushon Island, located near the west end of Woods Hole behind two smaller islands and protected from the currents.  This is an iconic harbor for sailors.  We enjoyed a Sunday afternoon on a free mooring and watched boats come and go.  It is a beautiful spot.

Hadley Harbor and Herreshoff H-12 1/2

A sailboat is made comfortable and livable partially through battery power.  With our new batteries and our solar panels, we can survive for days at anchor while the solar panels replenish our electric power.  We have been doing just that since July 12th when we left the Chesapeake.  However, as time goes by, it is often necessary and prudent to plug into shore power to bring the batteries back up to full again.  By August 20th, we were feeling the need to do this, so started to seek out a marina.  On the Vineyard and in Newport, fees for dockage are pretty high.  They charge by the foot, so at $5.00 per foot, it would cost us $200 per night, plus the meter for electric.  We began a more extensive search on Active Captain (a social media site for cruisers that rates and reviews marinas, anchorages, moorings, services, etc).  We found a brand new marina in Charlestown (the north end of Boston Harbor) that was $3 a foot and decided Boston was our next destination.

So off we went, North to the top of Buzzard's Bay and through the Cape Cod Canal.  When we popped out the other end, the wind was enough to throw out the jib and motorsail to Plymouth Harbor.  We found a quiet, out of the way spot to anchor, bothered only by the little boats out to find dinner.

Railroad Bridge at West end of Canal with Bourne Bridge in background

Mural along canal

Motoring underneath the Sagamore Bridge

Plymouth Light

Duxbury Pier Light

Once the fog lifted the next morning, we headed out of Plymouth and continued North to Boston.  Sailing into a city you love is thrilling.  To see it from the water is so different and wonderful.  We took hundreds of photos.  Here are a few.  (Click on any photo to make it larger)

Zakim Bridge

Boston Custom House

Rowe's Wharf and the Boston Harbor Hotel

Old and new Prudential buildings and John Hancock Tower

Boston Light

Right in the flight path

Duck Tour boat

We docked at Charlestown Marina, a beautiful new marina right in the heart of Charlestown and a mile walk from the North End.  We accomplished lots of chores while there and rejoiced in full batteries.  Laundry, food shopping, barber shop, propane tanks filled, washed boat, all topped off by gastro delight in the North End, two nights running.  A classic Italian scene and great meal at Antico Forno, followed by treats from Bova Bakery, and a more upscale Artu with more treats from Bova on night two.  We balanced the treats by walking to and from along Harbor Walk and the Charlestown Navy Yard (Old Ironsides).  We were able to see parts of the city we had never seen before and enjoyed it all immensely.

Friday, we pulled away from the dock by 7am and motored out of the Boston Harbor.  The wind was brisk enough to raise all the sails and we motorsailed East along the coast, passing Salem, Gloucester and Beverly, then around Rockport and Cape Ann with great views of Thacher Island.  We turned North and a bit West and headed straight to Portsmouth, NH.  Even in 200 feet of water, we had to dodge the lobster traps.  Then, it was past Isle of Shoals and into the Piscataqua River to grab a mooring ball at the Portsmouth Yacht Club.  The current in the river, as the 10 foot tide goes up and down, is rather brisk and there is a lot of boat traffic in and out of Portsmouth.  We were happy to be on a mooring in 25 feet of water with two knots of current racing by the hull (rather than our anchor).

Thacher Island

A Northern Gannet

Whaleback Light at entrance to Piscataqua River

We enjoyed a long walk into town, a visit from Greg's brother Jay and friend Kathryn, a yummy lunch at Popover's (yes, their popovers are amazing!) and a light dinner at Gas Light, a favorite haunt.  Sunday, we moved over to Wentworth Marina for a couple days to make it easy for the delivery guys to bring us our newly purchased mattress - Yippee!  Wentworth By the Sea Marina is a lovely spot, adjacent to the Wentworth By the Sea Hotel.  We had a deposit here for years, even before buying our boat, thinking it might be a good spot to keep the boat in the summer. It's picturesque, the people are great, and the amanities are first class. One great service that we sometimes find at marinas is a loaner car for transients (like us).  It was a real treat to learn they had two!  We immediately signed up to borrow one and headed off to the food markets and West Marine.

Today, day two here, we were fortunate to have friends Jim and Barbara join us for a lovely lunch at Lattitudes Restaurant overlooking the marina. Lobster salad, fried fish and great local beer - Sea Dog Sunfish!

Since we're at a dock here, we are "plugged in" to electricity and air-conditioning.  Plus our new mattress arrived today - wahoo!  We ditched the one that is as old as the boat (1995), along with the egg crate foam and memory foam we've added in our attempts to make the old one comfortable. But, our backs no longer agree. We'll let you know how we sleep tonight.  :)

Tomorrow, we begin to make our way back South - first Boston again, then on to the Cape, Islands or Newport.  'Til next time -