Leg XV New York to Maine
(Logs are posted with the most recent entry first)
Well here we are at the end of leg XV and as far north as we will go. It would have been fun to go on to the Canadian Boarder but the last 67-miles from here are not good cruising in the sense that the coast is not hospitable for little boats…thirty-foot tides, no pleasure boat facilities of any kind, few harbors of refuge with only one offering any real protection from a blow or serious waves and not much to see once you get there.
Between hurricane Bill and the prospects of more bad weather coming, we are just out of time too. As it is, we only have three weeks to get WS all the way back to the Chesapeake and her “beauty” appointment with the boatyard. Her crew needs some time off too. Our business commitments and family duties are calling as well as a much needed “vacation” in Bali.
I had intended to stop updating these logs here but due to a steadily diminishing number of requests, I will keep reporting on our adventure all the way back to the Chesapeake so I hope you will continue to join us on this the final (I promise) leg of this going on three-year voyage.
Northeast Harbor to Southwest Harbor
8/24 Monday
From: Latitude: 44:17.73 N Longitude: 068.17.04 W
To: Latitude: 44:16.45 N Longitude: 068:19.52 W
Weather: partly cloudy Wind: 3600 at 5-10 kts. SEA: 5
Barometer: 1007 Passage time: 1.5 hrs.
Start Engine Hours: 2203 Fuel used/on board: 5500/502
End Engine Hours: 2205 Fuel used/on board: 5506/499
Distance trip/to Date: 10/13,879
We set out today on WS with the best of intentions to explore the east side of Mount Desert Island and perhaps cruise across the sound to Winter Harbor for an overnight stay. Once we cleared the protected confines of Northeast Harbor it soon became apparent that this was not such a good idea and it is still to soon after Hurricane Bill to do any outside, unprotected voyaging.
While to winds were light, the waves were something else again. By the time we got to the southeast end of the island and the place where the seven-year old girl was swept away yesterday, it was obviously not good seamanship to proceed. Giant sets of waves, as tall as I’ve ever experienced in a boat, where still rolling into the sound and pounding the rocky cliffs so we did an about-face and headed back to Southwest Harbor instead. For the record, we’ll call 44:18 N/068:11W at the mouth of Otter Cove the official end of our journey north.
Southwest is a nice big cove with a full service marina but lies completely unprotected to the east and vulnerable to wind and waves from east to northeast. Today, it was flat calm and an easy matter to find our reserved spot in Dysart’s Great Harbor Marina. We’ve been assigned to a side tie along the main dock and soon have WS secured for our last night on the island.
With a whole unexpected and unscheduled afternoon before us, Jo and I decided to take one last trip on the free bus and cover the rest of the interior and eastern shore of Acadia National Park. The park bus travels all the way down the seashore on this circuit and it was fun to hop off and walk along the cliffs to see the same monster waves crashing on shore we had just been riding up and over on WS. The rest of Acadia Park is very nice with lots to do, hiking, biking, kayaking, camping etc. but it still can’t touch our western mountains for shear rugged beauty.
Tourist fever duly quenched, we stopped in Southwest’s little town to do some provisioning for the trip west before returning to WS for dinner on board and preparations for a first light departure in the morning.
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Northeast Harbor - Hurricane Watch
8/21 - 8/23
Just when we thought we’ve had all of the excitement we could wring from one trip, Hurricane Bill comes on the scene heading straight for us. Thankfully there’s a pressure ridge currently in place (as of noon on Friday) keeping old Bill out to sea where he would miss us by 130-miles…still way to close for comfort.
After some negotiating with Northwest’s Harbor Master, we are allowed to raft up along side the huge steel, 98-ton Maine Missionary Society trawler; Sunbeam V. We are about as close in to shore and protected as we can get in this perfect hurricane hole - reported by locals to be the “Safest” harbor on the New England Coast! For Jo and I, we’re just thinking you can’t go too far wrong when things get dicey tied to a church ship so here we are snug as a water bug, waiting till Bill arrives with his 17-foot seas and 30+ mph winds on Sunday afternoon.
We had a nice fun day Saturday while waiting for Bill. Jo went off in the morning to join a charity walk while I gave WS a bath and filled her tanks. It was interesting to watch the other boats around us get ready for the predicted high winds; taking in their canvas and loose cushions, tying down their dingys, and doubling or tightening up their dock lines.
In the late afternoon, we took the bus for our second trip up to Bar Harbor for another look around. Bar is not a harbor for little boats, much to our surprise, so we won’t be bringing WS up here like we had thought. There is no marina, just a very rickety old town dock and a few scattered moorings without much appeal. As a town though, it has lots of unique shops featuring local artisan talent rather then just selling T-shirts.
We then took another one of the free, constantly circulating, park buses over to Southeast Harbor, our original destination before wild Bill headed our way. It is very exposed to the east and not a good hurricane hole at all but a pleasant little village with a good market and gourmet/wine shop. While walking the dock there, we met up with Bruce Kessler, the guru of trawler cruising (he’s been around the world on his) and the leader of the FUBAR cruise we joined from San Diego to La Paz, Mexico in ‘07. We made plans to get together when we move here on Tuesday.
The highlight of the day was the cabaret dinner show at the Deckhouse Restaurant right on the dock at Southwest’s marina. This show featured aspiring college kids studying for Broadway who did double duty as our wait staff intermixed with their performances of song and dance. A great show with lots of interaction with the players, all combined with excellent food and service made for a very memorable night indeed. Even our pre-arranged taxis home (the park buses stop at dusk) was right on schedule so we were back on WS before eleven.
Sunday morning we awoke to the promised wind and rain from our visit with Bill who was now directly offshore. Fortunately, he has lost much of his vigor and is down to a Category I (winds of 95-mph) while still headed Northeast far out to sea. Down in our protected cubby hole, the wind barely clocked gusts of 18-20 mph but we can see the much higher winds on the surrounding hillside trees and fast moving clouds.
It’s out at sea and along the exposed coast where it is really happening. The waves today are over 17′ and the winds are hitting 39-knots - not the place for little boats! All we feel in here is a little storm surge now and again as WS tugs at her mooring lines to Big Sister. The rain, while heavy at times, was intermittent by noon. By afternoon, the sun was shinning so all in all we really dodged what could have been a very hairy situation.
Tomorrow we will make one more move to the east and the beginning of the Bold Coast before we must turn around and start to make our way back to southern waters.
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Bass Harbor to Northeast Harbor
8/20 Thursday
From: Latitude: 44:13.95 N Longitude: 68:20.95 W
To: Latitude: 44:17.73 N Longitude: 068.17.04 W
Weather: sunny and warm Wind: 1800 at 5-10 kts. SEA: 1
Barometer: 1008 Passage time: 3 hrs.
Start Engine Hours: 2200 Fuel used/on board: 5497/509
End Engine Hours: 2203 Fuel used/on board: 5500/502
Distance trip/to Date: 18/13,869
We did some sightseeing today on our way the 6-miles to Northeast Harbor. If you look at a chart, you will see that Mt Desert is a large, round Island with a fjord running north to south almost splitting it into two halves. Named Some’s Fjord, it is the only true fjord on the east coast so we traveled up its entire 5-mile length to have a look and were rewarded with deep, still water and pine covered mountains (east coast size) on both sides. Interestingly, there are three small boat yards up in its upper reaches and John William’s yard is well known up here for making a line of top quality line of picnic boats. Also, a few nice homes can be spotted among the tress and not much else.
Once we are back out of the fjord, it’s just a quick left turn and we are in the small. Compact hurricane hole of Northeast Harbor where we would like to hang out till Hurricane Bill passes on Sunday afternoon if they have room. Once secure in a slip, we take a quick reconnaissance trip through the village, didn’t find anyplace that grabbed us for lunch so we came back to WS for it and the rest of the afternoon.
Thursday night is “Stroll the Village” night in Northeast Harbor’s town where there is music on the street, stores stay open late serving appetizers with wine, and most of the locals turn out to enjoy their town so we headed back to join the fun. We do something very similar in Big Bear too and it’s a great way for the town folk to get together and support their small businesses.
By seven PM, we’ve revisited most of the shops, met lots of nice people, and had plenty of wine so we settle in at the Bassa, Casino de Tape’o (small plates) restaurant for a nice dinner on their porch before heading back to WS and calling it a day.
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Buck’s Harbor to Bass Harbor, Mount Desert
8/19 Wednesday
From: Latitude: 44:20.32 N Longitude: 068:44.11 W
To: Latitude: 44:13.95 N Longitude: 68:20.95 W
Weather: hazy but sunny Wind: 1950 at 5-8 kts. SEA: 1
Barometer: 1003 Passage time: 3 hrs.
Start Engine Hours: 2197 Fuel used/on board: 5489/517
End Engine Hours: 2200 Fuel used/on board: 5497/509
Distance trip/to Date: 21/13,854
Well, we are really in cruising mode now. Lazy morning departures, short day trips, and afternoons hiking about on shore at a new port each day with the occasional pub visit thrown in before heading home to WS for a sunset happy hour, dinner for two on board and some sort of video entertainment before early to bed. Life is good!
We left Buck’s sometime after nine, cruised 21-miles/3-hours down the glass smooth Eggomoggin Reach, along the north shore of Deer Island, through Casco Passage, and across Blue Hill Bay to tonight’s stop in Bass Harbor. Bass is our first port on the fabled Mount Desert Island, home of Acadia National Park. Here, at last, is said to be the best cruising New England and perhaps all of the East Coast has to offer. Dozens of pristine coves and anchorages, sprinkled with working lobster towns and full service marinas. This is a truly a boaters paradise.
While beautiful scenery is everywhere we look, Maine is not as dramatic as Alaska with her snow capped mountains forming a background for much the same looking seascapes. The foreground is still awesome and with the hint of constant fog, we probably couldn’t see the mountains anyways. Weather is in the forecast for Sunday, not from hurricane Bill which won’t affect us till early next week, but we have red flags from Buoy weather predicting up to 29-knots of wind with 13-foot seas offshore so naturally we’ll be laying low back in these protected islands.
Once we picked up a mooring from Morse Services and rowed ashore, it didn’t take us a half-hour to walk the length of the waterfront part of town. We did find a really neat, old time nautical store specializing in ship models and I found the kit of a New Bedford whaling skiff I have been looking for months. Once built, it will go perfectly with the model of the Charles Morgan whaler I am just rigging back on land. Looks like I’ll have something more to do once we get done cruising.
Typical of how it goes out here, we met locals Michael and Maria when we stopped for a brew on our hike. Within minutes, they had invited us to use their cabin front mooring free of charge should we need a place to tie up while in the area. We just keep meeting the nicest, most generous people everywhere we go on WS.
Back on our mooring ball for sunset and to watch one of the local, 100′ charter schooners maneuver in and drop her hook for the night just like they did at the turn of the century…very cool! Jo and I are really enjoying our quiet nights on board at this point but know things will get much more social again tomorrow when we hit the main cruising community of Southwest Harbor.
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Camden to Buck’s Harbor
8/18 Tuesday
From: Latitude: 44.12.55 N Longitude: 065.03.75 W
To: Latitude: 44:20.32 N Longitude: 068:44.11 W
Weather: hazy but sunny Wind: 1900 at 8-12 kts. SEA: 1
Barometer: 1009 Passage time: 3 hrs.
Start Engine Hours: 2194 Fuel used/on board: 5482/524
End Engine Hours: 2197 Fuel used/on board: 5489/517
Distance trip/to Date: 18/13,833
I got WS ready to depart while Jo took the Enterprise car back so by 10AM we were ready for the 18-mile jog across Penobscot Bay to the tiny, well protected bay called Buck’s Harbor (often confused with Buck’s Town further up the coast).
The 3-hour crossing from Camden went smoothly with little wind and flat water as we passed the many small interesting looking islands heading north. The harbor entrance is wide, free of shoals but has a large, pine covered island right in the center of the bay with plenty of moorings available on its opposite side between the island and the Buck Harbor Marina’s dock . A quick call on VHF10 and we are assigned a vacant buoy just off their dock It is an easy, few minute row for us to get ashore and look around.
The small town here of Brooksville just up the hill from the waterfront consists of a store, restaurant, church and community center and that’s about it. After doing our best to support the local economy at the store and a brief walk on the narrow windy main country road with no sidewalks, we headed back to WS for an afternoon of working on the photos and our logs. Our BBQ dinner on board was followed by a DVD from the archives of unseen movies we carry for just these occasions.
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Camden
8/17 Monday
We took a nice day off here to rent a car and really see the country side. Our afternoon trip took us from the towns of Rockport to the south to Belfast to the north and to the top of Mount Battie in Camden Hills State Park for the view of all of Camden Harbor and even to the islands offshore. Had it not been for the afternoon haze, I’m told we could have seen all the way to our next destination of Desert Island and Acadia National Park.
Tenant Harbor to Camden
8/16 Sunday
From: Latitude: 43:57.50 N Longitude: 069:12.38 W
To: Latitude: 44.12.55 N Longitude: 065.03.75 W
Weather: clear & sunny Wind: 1900 at 8-12 kts. SEA: 1
Barometer: 1013 Passage time: 3 hrs.
Start Engine Hours: 2191 Fuel used/on board: 5475/531
End Engine Hours: 2194 Fuel used/on board: 5482/524
Distance trip/to Date: 19/13,815
It was a nice Sunday morning to do some boating so after our special Sunday morning omelet breakfast on board, we were off of our mooring float and on our way to Camden, some 19-miles further up the reach of Penobscot Bay. It is still beautiful weather for cruising with absolutely flat calm seas, little wind, and bright sunshine as we wound our way between the many islands and shoals that make up most of “Down Eastern” Maine.
The town of Camden nestles around a tiny cove in the back of the larger Camden Bay and is every bit as picturesque as we had heard. Using a unique system of short floating docks in rows across the harbor, these folks have found a way to crowd in more boats per foot then even possible with mooring balls. The docks around the shore are lined with all manner of classic, gaff rigged schooners (we counted ten) and mega yachts while we little folk fill up the floats in the middle. The village itself has nautical looking shops and restaurants around the entire cove with church steeples and homes perched on the hills behind. And everywhere, you get the sense of motion from the circling gulls to the constant coming and going of a flotilla of watercraft.
It is here we finally became aware of the huge tidal range that this area is known for in the lower 48. One hour, your boat is down in a hole with the entire town high above and several hours later, you are 20-feet higher and level with the streets and wharf tops. I understand it even gets more dramatic the further up this rigged coast you venture to the point that even anchoring becomes a real challenge or you will wake up with no water under your boat.
Once we are settled on our float, right in the middle of things, we decide to pump up “Twinkle” our little 8′ back-up dinghy for the short row ashore. The two streets of town don’t add up to a mile in length so even after taking our time stopping in most of the shops is still doesn’t take long to see it all. After our look around, it was back on board for an afternoon of reading in the sun on the top deck, a glass of wine at sunset, and then dinner ashore at the highly recommended Waterfront Restaurant. I had a really good Tuscany Fish Stew which was very similar to my all time favorite Cioppino from San Francisco. After our post-dinner walk around the now quiet village, it was late by the time we were back on board WS.
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Boothbay to Tenant Harbor
8/15 Saturday
From: Latitude: 43:51.03 N Longitude: 069:37.59 W
To: Latitude: 43:57.50 N Longitude: 069:12.38 W
Weather: clear & sunny Wind: 1900 at 8-10 kts. SEA: 1
Barometer: 1013 Passage time: 4 hrs.
Start Engine Hours: 2187 Fuel used/on board: 5466/540
End Engine Hours: 2191 Fuel used/on board: 5475/531
Distance trip/to Date: 27/13,796
We had one last walk around the town before pushing off the dock for the 27-mile run to Tenants Harbor on Muscongus Bay. We are getting spoiled by these easy, 3-4 hours of on-the-water travel per day…so different from the 50-60 mile runs with the many overnights we had to do to get here. This really feels like we are on vacation at last!
This morning’s challenge is all about the lobster traps again. They are getting so prolific now that I can’t even use the auto pilot but must hand steer for hours at a time constantly maneuvering our 25-tons so we don’t run one over and come to a grinding halt. I will say this though; there are so many different color combinations (each boat has its distinct set of color patterns on their buoys so them can recognize their own quickly). When the sea is smooth and calm, as it has been, it is a virtual flower garden of buoys as far as we can see in all directions.
We pulled WS into tiny Tenant Harbor around 1PM and called one of the four listed dockside “companies” pot luck for a mooring ball assignment. The harbor is so small there is no room to anchor so they have just divided it up with the balls and we are directed to any yellow one that is available by the very casual shore staff. Once secure, its pump up the dingy again (it seems to be having trouble hold air in all three chambers now), get her launched, and then head to the dock with the name of our mooring company to pay and take a quick look around. It is quick too since there is little more than a library, convenience store, two take-away restaurants and a fuel/lobster dock to see anyways. The big event for the week is a self guided tour of all the local homes that have decided to be “green” and live off the grid with solar/wind power and self grown food etc. Lacking in much of a fun factor we decided to pass.
Dinner of fresh, just caught this morning, haddock in hand, it’s back to WS for a relaxing afternoon followed by great dinner which was delayed a couple of hours while we tried to figure out why the shower sump (pump that drains the showers and head sinks below the water line over the side) is no longer doing its thing. We can hear it running but the grey water in not going anywhere. After determining that the drain hose must be blocked upstream somewhere, we decide to disconnect the darn thing and just let the bilged pump do the job till be can get dockside again to try and clear the obstruction. Where is my crack plumber when I need him?
Dinner was to a nice sunset anyways as they last quite late this far north.
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Portland to Boothbay
8/14 Friday
From: Latitude: 43:39.25 N Longitude: 070:15.05 W
To: Latitude: 43:51.03 N Longitude: 069:37.59 W
Weather: clear & sunny Wind: 690 at 12-16 kts. SEA: 3
Barometer: 1010 Passage time: 4 hrs.
Start Engine Hours: 2182 Fuel used/on board: 5453/552
End Engine Hours: 2187 Fuel used/on board: 5466/540
Distance trip/to Date: 34/13,769
The march to the Canadian boarder begins in earnest today. Sure, we’ll stop to have some fun and hopefully meet up with some old friends from down island along the way but the underlying goal is to get to the end of Maine by next week and then pace ourselves more slowly on the return trip south.
It is only 34-miles east to Boothbay, our next port of call so we plan on a 0900 departure to take advantage of the ebb out of Portland Harbor and the flood into Booth. The seas today are mostly on the beam but not tall enough, 1′- 2′ to cause much of a roll. What is different is the marked increase in the number of cruising boats we now see heading in all directions. We must be one of the last boats arriving this far north as most everyone seems like they have been here for awhile already. While it does make the anchorages and marinas a bit more crowed, it feels good to be back among our own in the cruising community again.
Boothbay, like most of these ports, lies back up a long entrance bay. The closer we get to town, the more it seems like the authentic Maine we remember and you always see on travel brochures. Rocky shores covered with thick stands of pine trees mixed with dozens of islands are everywhere. The town itself is off to the right hand side of a small bay where it is protected from the wicked winter wind and seas. Boothbay Marina, like the town, is small, and compact. It is at the far edge of town just before a pedestrian bridge closes off the rest of the bay. Dockmaster Judy is there at our side-tie dock waving us into a tiny spot between two bigger boats that looks to be much too small for WS but with lots of direction from her and the other skippers, we manage to parallel park her with a foot to spare on each end. Whew! The last time we tried this tight a fit in Alaska, we punched a hole in the Nordic Tug just in front of us with our anchor.
We only have an afternoon here so as soon as we are cleaned up, Jo and I are off to see the town. The old replica square rigger “Freedom” from Salem is in dry dock here being refitted so that is our first stop and she is grand. She was built in 1996 as an exact copy of the original to every detail but with diesel engines you would never know she had until she is high and dry. From there we spent the afternoon visiting the many art galleries and shops till we were too hungry to go on another step. Thankfully and just in time, I found the old Seafarer Pub that had a Guinness/raw clams special so I stopped in to imbibe to get my strength back while Jo went back to WS to start dinner.
We spent a quiet evening on board enjoying the solitude, our direct TV, and the internet while the neighboring bars rocked out to the usual Friday night festivities as folks gear up for what promises to be a great summer weekend. Sometimes it is just as nice to know you could go party if you wanted too but enjoy the chance more to just stay home.
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Portland
8/12 Thursday
Our very active sports minded crew was up early to jog, walk, exercise on deck, and even pro-level jump rope on this, there last morning on board. I made the WS traditional French Toast breakfast for all hands while they packed up and then we started doing some boat clean-up chores. Later, we had a final lunch ashore before Ted & Heather caught the train back to Boston where they will take an advanced fitness training class before heading back to the California on Sunday.
Jo and I spent the rest of the day finishing up on our boat chores, doing some provisioning before catching a new movie and having a late, farewell to Portland dinner, on the DeMillo’s very nice ferry restaurant.
Kennebunkport to Portland
8/11 Wednesday
From: Latitude: 43:21.32 N Longitude: 070:28.44 W
To: Latitude: 43:39.25 N Longitude: 070:15.05 W
Weather: cloudy becoming fog Wind: 900 at 12-16 kts. SEA: 3
Barometer: 1010 Passage time: 4 hrs.
Start Engine Hours: 2178 Fuel used/on board: 5443/562
End Engine Hours: 2182 Fuel used/on board: 5453/552
Distance trip/to Date: 27/13,735
With newest crew member Ted on board, we set off at 0930 this morning for the 27-mile jaunt across up the coast to Portland. While it was clear and sunny as we left, it soon became foggy in spite of the freshening wind now out of the east for the first time since we left Cape Cod. Lobster traps aside, it still was an enjoyable passage with everyone excited about arriving in the “Big City” of Portland. We even managed to work in short marketing meeting about H & T’s new business, The Mountain Fitness Center in Big Bear Lake while at sea.
I don’t mean to harp on the lobster traps but they are a constant pain to navigate around. There are just so many of them and they go so far out to sea, in depths from 50 to over 100 feet, it is almost impossible to go out far enough to get around them if you are coastal cruising. I do have some empathy for the lobstermen who own them and try to make a living when faced with the short season, lobster prices at a paltry $3.50/pound, sometimes downright ugly weather and competition with their fellow man for the best locations. The papers up here are full of articles about lobster poaching, buoy cutting, and even a shooting or two. Some of these two-man lobster boat teams maintain over 800 traps and at two traps to a set of buoys that means they need to haul up empty and re-bait 400 a day to keep them working.
The entrance channel to Portland Harbor is very straight forward with a wide, easy to find and hazard free opening. Once past the welcoming Portland Point light, the channel expands into a wide bay that we just needed to follow around to the right to the city’s bustling docks. Here we encountered all manner of sea craft from local ferries for the bay to the huge international variety headed for Nova Scotia. Added to the mix of dozens of sightseeing and whale-watching boats, day sailing charter schooners, and the usual sword and lobster boats are the occasional ocean going cargo ships found in all major sea ports. So it is a busy harbor and the most northern of all US shipping ports.
As we make the final turn towards the city, DeMillo’s Marina is apparent dead head. The large ferry they have converted into a floating restaurant is their distinctive landmark. A quick call ashore and we have directions to our slip where a dock hand is waiting to take our lines and tie us up. While expensive at $3.95/foot, they are the only game in town that has immediate, walking access to the city and all of the other amenities we want and need (showers, laundry, wifi, security, the restaurant). In a half-hours time, our crew has merged on main street with the hundreds of other tourists out seeing the sights and enjoying this sunny, summers day.
The evening finds us back on board for a late BBQ dinner and early to bed after a very full, but enjoyable day.
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Portsmouth to Kennebunkport, Maine
8/11
From: Latitude: 43:03.44 N Longitude: 070:43.57 W
To: Latitude: 43:21.32 N Longitude: 070:28.44 W
Weather: cloudy becoming rain Wind: 2400 at 5-10 kts. SEA: 2
Barometer: 1002 Passage time: 3 hrs.
Start Engine Hours: 2175 Fuel used/on board: 5435/570
End Engine Hours: 2178 Fuel used/on board: 5443/562
Distance trip/to Date: 22/13,708
Off the dock at 0930…stuck firmly in the mud at 0935 due to one of those senior moments when you forget which side of the red buoy you are supposed to be on but with my excuse of just passing the fuel dock which was in deep water. Thanks to the rising tide and the passing wake of a lobster boat we were able to slip off within a few minutes and minimal embarrassment. By now the bottom of our keel must be nice and shiny - certainly all of the bottom paint is gone. I’m looking forward to hauling the old girl next month to see the results of two mud groundings and thumping over the log strewn bottom on the Dismal Swamp.
Substantial rain was in the forecast for today but with the Doppler weather radar it is easy to time our travel between the approaching storms. There has been little wind making the 22-mile passage smooth and flat. We stayed close to the shore so we could enjoy the scenery in spite of the pain dodging so many traps and were rewarded with close passes by two outstanding lighthouses. We even had some sunshine around noon as we approached the breakwater lined entrance to the Kennebunk River.
Chick’s Marina, our stop for tonight, happily is just a mile up this very windy, narrow waterway that is only 5′ deep controlled depth. Coming in on a flood at about 4′ above MLW certainly helps reduce the SPF (sweaty palms factor). Two dock boys are already standing by to catch our lines as we reach our spot on the long face dock of this small, but well organized marina and we are quickly secured and ready to go ashore for the first time in Maine, 13,708 miles since we began in April of 2007.
A short walk to town and the crew is soon enjoying the quaint ambiance of Kennebunkport along with a surprising number of other tourists on this rain threatened Tuesday. The shops are interesting and varied, lots of tempting restaurants and good things to eat, even the brew pub home of Old Shipyard Ale are all on our very walk able tour. I also managed to work in a quick haircut along the way without even being missed by rest of the Wandering Star gang.
Tonight, it’s off to the casual elegance of Mabel’s at the Old White Barn Inn. A favorite, we are told, of George and Barbara’s (Bush) when they are in summer residence just up the road.
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Newburyport to Portsmouth, New Hampshire
8/10 Monday
From: Latitude: 42:48.78 N Longitude : 070:52.16 W
To: Latitude: 43:03.44 N Longitude 070:43.57 W
Weather: cloudy becoming sunny Wind: 2400 at 5-10 kts. SEA: 2
Barometer: 1002 Passage time: 3 hrs.
Start Engine Hours: 2172 Fuel used/on board: 5429/576
End Engine Hours: 2175 Fuel used/on board: 5435/570
Distance trip/to Date: 18/13,686
We were able to take our time getting away this morning while waiting for slack water to go out over the river’s bar. I spent my free time at first light taking a 12-mile bike ride across the bridge to the beach town of Salisbury and back while Jo took her walk and Heather took up the bike once I returned. We were all back on board and ready to shove off on the 0951 slack water for the 18-mile harbor hop to Portsmouth.
In talking to the locals, we discovered that the Merrimack River Bar can be the most dangerous harbor entrance on the east coast. It compares nationally as only second to the Columbia River Bar on the Oregon coast in nastiness under the right conditions and many ships have met their fate in its grasp. But thankfully those conditions occur most often during a Nor’easter in the winter and today it was a smooth as Golden Pond.
While cloudy enough to look like rain was eminent all morning, the sun broke out just as we turned the corner and made our way the short run up the Piscataqua River to our new home for tonight at the very deluxe, Wentworth by the Sea Marina. It comes complete with pool, a grand old historic hotel were we have full privileges and, most important, the courtesy car we needed to pick up Ted at the bus station as well as doing some provisioning. While there is a city dock right in the town of Portsmouth, our reconnaissance later showed it to be, as rolly and miserable as promised in the cruising guide so we made the right, but expensive choice ($3.50/foot).
Once we had Ted and our groceries in hand, it was back to WS for an afternoon of settling in, resting up, and BBQ dinner on board followed by a marketing meeting about H & T’s new business, The Mountain Fitness Center in Big Bear Lake.
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Gloucester to Newburyport
8/8 Saturday
From: Latitude: 42:36.63 N Longitude : 070:35.33 W
To: Latitude: 42:48.78 N Longitude 070:52.16 W
Weather: clear Wind: 2700 at 15-20 kts. SEA: 2
Barometer: 1014 Passage time: 4.5 hrs.
Start Engine Hours: 2168 Fuel used/on board: 5419/586
End Engine Hours: 2172 Fuel used/on board: 5429/576
Distance trip/to Date: 27/13,668
A beautiful morning as we steamed out of Gloucester Harbor, except for the boy waving goodbye from the lighthouse rocks, it was identical to the final morning of the long-line boats as they left here in Perfect Storm. Our passage, thankfully was a bit milder than theirs with 1-2 foot waves and little wind as we rounded the often turbulent Cape Ann. Thacker Island sits just off the eastern most end of the Cape and features two identical lighthouses dating back to the British that are less than a quarter mile apart and line up directly with True North. We are told that this was done so departing ships could check their compasses for accuracy for a safe return.
Once around the point, it is a straight run across 10-miles of the Gulf of Maine to Newburyport, our last stop in Massachusetts. This little known town has a rich history dating back to when it was the major east coast port for all the clipper ships that made the cargo runs to Europe and beyond. Now it is a very popular tourist town with some of the nicest shops and restaurants we’ve seen anywhere since Annapolis. It has that same feel, steeped in nautical traditions of the sea, as well. Even our Coast Guard was originally started here.
The town is located a couple of miles up the Merrimack River and like so many river entrances on the northern west coast, we must cross over a bar of shallow and sometimes rough water to gain admittance. At half a rising tide, it holds good for our 5′ draft but I wouldn’t try it on anything less. As our good fortune would have it, we found space that just had been vacated on the long city dock that is part of their waterfront walk and right in the heart of the downtown scene.
We had an excellent lunch ashore, followed by a look around town before we settled in back on board to be part of the scenery for the hundreds of tourist walking the waterfront well into the evening. Dinner on board and a few games of Rummy Cube finished off a nice summers day.
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Salem to Gloucester
8/7 Friday
From: Latitude: 42:51.25 N Longitude : 070:52.91 W
To: Latitude: 42:36.63 N Longitude 070:35.33 W
Weather: clear Wind: 2800 at 15-20 kts. SEA: 2
Barometer: 1007 Passage time: 2 hrs.
Start Engine Hours: 2166 Fuel used/on board: 5415/590
End Engine Hours: 2168 Fuel used/on board: 5419/586
Distance trip/to Date: 12/13,641
Today was our lucky day…we finally ran over a lobster trap buoy but didn’t get it caught in the prop! Besides being hard to see and so prolific, this happened because we had to evade a crossing boat under sail and a red harbor buoy so the only choice was to go over it or hit something else much bigger and harder. We could hear it clunk all along the keel but somehow it missed getting tangled up in our prop spinning at 1520 RPMs. We do have a line cutter fixed to the prop shaft that spins with the shaft against a fixed blade as the last hope but the buoy didn’t come loose so I assume it was fine after our encounter.
Otherwise it was a beautiful day for the short, 12-mile run over to Gloucester Harbor. The sky was clear and the winds were offshore at less than 20-knots for the passage. The harbor entrance is well protected form the dreaded Nor’easters but wide open for us to enter from the south. Once inside, we easily picked up our pre-assigned mooring ball right in the split between the north and south inner harbor channels and were quickly secure for our over night stay.
Without a public launch service, we launched our dinghy, had a bite to eat for lunch, and then were off to explore this famous little fishing town by 1:30 PM. After a quick stop at the Harbormasters Office, we roamed the streets in search of an authentic Sou’wester hat for me. These beauties were developed in the 1800’s and made of sail cloth covered in linseed oil (waterproofing) and lampblack for their dark color. They kept the water out of your eyes with a turned up front gutter and from going down your neck with a wide brim down the back. They are called Sou’wester’s because that would be the direction you needed to face when a Nor’easter was blowing.
Besides finding my hat we visited the well known statue of the “Gloucester Fisherman” and the memorial to the over 8,000 from this town who have been lost at sea, met the mayor, had a beer in the old Crow’s Nest bar of Perfect Storm fame, and a great lobster dinner at Capt Carlo’s on the pier. All in all, it was a great day on the waterfront as we headed back to WS to secure the dinghy before dark and get to bed early for tomorrows passage around Cape Ann, the last sometimes treacherous cape of our voyage.
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Boston to Salem
8/6 Thursday
From: Latitude: 42:22.22 N Longitude : 071:03.57 W
To: Latitude: 42:51.25 N Longitude 070:52.91 W
Weather: partly cloudy Wind: 2650 at 5-10 kts. SEA: 2
Barometer: 1007 Passage time: 4 hrs.
Start Engine Hours: 2162 Fuel used/on board: 5407/598
End Engine Hours: 2166 Fuel used/on board: 5415/590
Distance trip/to Date: 22/13,628
Time to leave Boston at last. Don’t get me wrong, it’s been a great stay here but we are anxious to get north and complete our goal, to establish “The Big-U” as a very doable trawler experience (more on that later). Now that Heather is on board, we are ready to go. Heather and Ted have been able to join us in all four corners of our 3-year odyssey. They were with us in Alaska, Mexico, St Lucia, and now here for the final leg to Maine.
Our nav system indicated that 0822 was the best time for time and tides to make the short, 22-mile hop over to Salem so everyone had some time to do their early morning activities - Heather took a run, Jo her walk, and I got WS ready to leave port. By 0820, we were all on board and ready to push off.
If you recall from coming in, it takes a good half hour just to get clear of Boston Harbor. Inbound traffic was light this morning so exiting went easily and soon we were back to dodging lobster traps as we made our way up the coast. Aside from these nuisances, working our way around the east end of Marblehead Neck with its shallows, shoals and rocks was the only thing worth mentioning in the way of a boating experience. Once inside Salem Harbor, it is just a matter of finding your way through a very full mooring field with hundreds of boats to get to the Hawthorne Cove Marina, our stop for tonight.
Since Boston we have started to experience the effects of the extreme tidal changes common to many northern latitudes. In Salem, the present 10-foot difference between high and low can easily make the difference between being in the mud and cruising in 12-feet of water to where you want to go. This morning, we arrived at near high tide so we had the luxury of room to maneuver as we waited for the dockboys to assign us to a space and tie WS up. It would have been much more difficult at low tide in the tight quarters of these small marinas, especially with the crowed moorings covering all floatable water space in the harbor.
Once WS is secure, it did not take us long to have lunch and be off to explore the witch crazy town of Salem. The locals, to their credit, have taken a very dubious past incident from 1692 when they hung 19 “witches” and turned it into a major area tourist attraction. There are stores named Broom Closet, Crow Haven Corner, Old World Wichery, and even an Angeles Landing just to balance things out I guess. There are witch museums, witch villages, witch dungeons, nightmare factories and a popular, long running stage play every night about the famous Salem witch trials of that era. Added to the witch mania is a nice, but small maritime park featuring the old square rigger Freedom (out of town for refitting during our visit) to amuse the less witch inclined so they do a nice tourist business here during the short summer season.
In about four hours, we were able to see most everything of interest to us, spend some time in at a local farmers market, and be back on board for dinner and a movie. Tonight’s feature was the epic “Perfect Storm” which was based on the rugged life of the long-line sword fisherman of Gloucester, our next port of call.
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Boston
8/1 Saturday to Wednesday
If you’ve never been to Boston in the summer, you’ve really missed something. This place is alive with people. Last night, we walked around Little Italy in North Boston. The sidewalks were so busy with folks out having a good time you could hardly get by without stepping into the street. Of course, you won’t want to miss the Freedom Trail, one of the most historical 2.5 mile walks you can take anywhere. The passionate sports fans have their lovable Sox conveniently reachable from anywhere by subway. Then there are the hundreds of great places to eat, second only (perhaps) to NYC All of this served up against a backdrop of life on the water and sea lore. If only the friendly locals wouldn’t talk with a mouth full of marbles it would be perfect!
I even found a guy that makes the most exquisite model ships (a long time passion of mine) that lives just over the bridge from our marina and he lets me stop by anytime to watch him at work. A former MIT prof, Pat has on display the most detailed collection of old ships I have ever seen…it rivals even museum quality, all made by him to scale from the original blueprints or drawings right down to the individually placing of the copper plates that often covered their wooden hulls.
We like it so much here, we’ve decided to stay for a few extra days, $3/foot/day dock fees be damned, to wait for our daughter Heather to join us for the ride north. She gets in on Wednesday night so we will have plenty of time to soak up all there is to see and do and even get in some work on WS if fun time allows. Then it is off to Salem, followed by Gloucester, Newburyport, and, Portsmouth (Ted will join us here), before our first port in Maine; Kennebunkport, then on to Portland where we will drop off Heather and Ted before we continue to march up the coast another 140-miles to our ultimate destination of Bar Harbor.
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Plymouth to Boston
7/31 Friday
From: Latitude: 41:57.67 N Longitude : 070:39.69 W
To: Latitude: 42:22.22 N Longitude 71:03.57 W
Weather: clear to stormy Wind: 1750 at 10-14 kts. SEA: 2
Barometer: 1007 Passage time: 6 hrs.
Start Engine Hours: 2156 Fuel used/on board: 5392/613
End Engine Hours: 2162 Fuel used/on board: 5407/598
Distance trip/to Date: 40/13,606
A beautiful day’s passage to Boston was spoiled, at the end, by a rain storm that was not supposed to hit till later in the afternoon. We woke to a clear, sunny morning, left our mooring ball right on schedule at 0650 and made our way out though the long circuitous channel to the first waypoint by 0730. Then it was just a matter of dodging hundreds of lobster traps the entire 40-miles to the entrance to Boston Harbor.
We seem to see a pattern developing here. All of the harbors are a long ways back in a bay or up a river so it takes a fair amount of time at the beginning and end of each passage just to get in and out of port. With Boston, it was just about an hour after it took over a half hour to leave Plymouth. Then we had perfect weather the whole 4-hours at sea only to watch with frustration as the approaching rain on the Nexrad radar beat us to our marina while we were still on the long approach into Boston Harbor.
By the way, we get the Nexrad images through http://www.wunderground.com after entering the zip code for the area we are in and marking as “favorites” the cities in our future. Next to Buoy weather, http://www.buoyweather.com, which we have relied on for wave heights since are early days of cruising the Channel Islands in California, we like Wunderground’s versatility, good 7-day forecasts, and ease of use. Offshore and down island other factors come into play like an absence of internet access so phone in/fee for services like Commanders Weather (1-603-882-6789) help make the tough go or no-go decisions when all else fails.
The Boston Harbor approach involves working your way around or through a dozen off shore islands that are great for day cruising from Boston but stand right in the way of a clean entry. Today we used the end of the South Approach, after taking a shortcut across water too shallow for the big boys, to get to President Roads (the big ship entry channel) and the entrance to the Charles River. By the time we passed Boston’s City Docks, it was really coming down so we knew a wet landing was not going to be avoided.
Constitution Marina is ideally located just before the bridges and locks that guard the entrance to the Charles and we had our slip assignment by phone before we made the final turn and spotted two very wet dock boys waiting to help with our lines. As it turned out, the first slip was two small for our girl’s broad beam so we had to do a180 in very close quarters and take a wider slip on the opposite side. Once secure, we just battened down the hatches and waited about an hour for the first wave of the storm to pass through the area.
We like this marina for it’s proximity to North Boston, location on the “Freedom Trail” and friendly, helpful staff with out the much higher slip rates (a $1/foot more) just across the water. Umbrellas in hand, your crew is soon off between storms exploring our Charlestown side of the city with a walk up to the top of Bunker Hill and a visit to the old historic “Warren Pub” where the likes of Jefferson and Washington stopped in for a brew to plan the Revolution so many years ago. A much damper forecast for the evening, kept us on board tonight where we began to make plans for touring the city in sunshine tomorrow and the rest of our voyage up the New England Coast.
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Woods Hole to Plymouth via the Cape Cod Canal
7/29 Wednesday
From: Latitude: 41:31.50 N Longitude : 070:41.23 W
To: Latitude: 41:57.67 N Longitude 070:39.69 W
Weather: overcast some fog Wind: 1950 at 10-14 kts. SEA: 3
Barometer: 1004 Passage time: 6 hrs.
Start Engine Hours: 2150 Fuel used/on board: 5377/627
End Engine Hours: 2156 Fuel used/on board: 5392/613
Distance trip/to Date: 42/13,566
Today is all about timing as we transit the Cape Cod Canal that cuts across the long arm of Cape Cod and saves 135-miles of open ocean exposure (see the “Chart of Voyage” map website section). The tidal driven current gets flowing so fast through this canal that we must arrive at the beginning of the flood to have a chance of getting through its 17-miles of waterway. East bound boats can expect a 2 to 4-knot push when transiting on the flood while the ebb would be 2-4 knots against them - not a reasonable alternative when you only go 7-knots at cruise speed.
Our magic moment for the start of the flood this morning was 0953. Taking into account the couple of hours it will take us to get out of Woods Hole and across the remainder of Buzzard Bay and into the canals long approach channel, we needed to be off the dock in time for the 0800 bridge opening out of Ell Pond. Thankfully, there was not any fog to slow us down so we made it to the canal entrance on time just as the current switched from ebb to flood. Here we were joined by a small armada of other cruising boats who have been waiting in the canals western anchorage to do the same passage.
The canal itself is wide and beautiful as it gently snakes across the Cape Cod peninsula. With very little oncoming traffic, we can spread out and WS passes the smaller sailboats with ease and is leading the charge by the exit onto Cape Cod Bay. From here it is just an and easy, 16-mile putt up the Bay to Plymouth where we take a mooring just off the Mayflower II overlooking this historic town. The oldest street in North America is just off our bow and with the complementary shuttle launch from Plymouth, Jo and I are soon out for an afternoon walk with all the other tourists the length and breath of the town.
With rain looking eminent, we head back to WS for the evening deciding to stay an extra day for the Yacht Club’s dinner tomorrow night and a chance to meet some of the members and take in more of the hospitality. Tonight it will be BBQ steaks on board WS with a wonderful DVD program on classical music Dottie & Ken gave us last Christmas.
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Block Island to Wood Hole, Massachusetts
7/28 Tuesday
From: Latitude: 40:11.42 N Longitude 071:34.68 W
To: Latitude: 41:31.50 N Longitude: 070:41.23 W
Weather: fog sunny late Wind: 1900 at 8-10 kts. SEA: 3
Barometer: 1007 Passage time: 7 hrs.
Start Engine Hours: 2143 Fuel used/on board: 5361/637
End Engine Hours: 2150 Fuel used/on board: 5377/627
Distance trip/to Date: 49/13,572
Pulled up our well buried anchor this morning in the densest fog yet. We don’t like traveling in fog, especially when one needs to thread their way out a narrow breakwater entrance, but up here in the Northeast, it sometimes just can’t be helped if you ever need to move the boat early in the AM. Today’s 49-mile, 7-hour journey to Woods Hole was such an occasion so off we went, basically flying by instruments.
Once we were free of the Great Salt Pond on Block Island, it is just a matter of not running into another boat or over the hard to see anyways, crab traps. It just takes constant vigilance by the crew to do both for 7-hours or until the fog lifts which today did not happen till after lunch. The seas and winds have backed down considerable from yesterdays more trying crossing so all in all it was a nice passage up Buzzard Bay to the Hole entrance.
Woods Hole is world renowned for its oceanographic Institutes. Harvard, Yale and many other East Coast Universities all have a presence here. It has always been a favorite vacation spot or summer home refuge at the end of the road just down the peninsula from Cape Cod. For us boaters, it offer access from Buzzard Bay to the Atlantic, through a very current dominated channel as well as a small, limited access back bay, called Ell Pond where we were able to score one of the only open slips at the 26-slip Woods Hole Marina. To get into the Pond, we had to pass through the smallest bascule bridge yet - just 20′ wide (WS is 16″) and only 4′ of clearance when closed.
Once inside, marina manager Buzz directed us to a tiny slip which was wide enough but only 25′ long so WS stuck out a good 20-foot into the channel. Fortunately, it is quiet enough water back in here so the lack of bow cleats was not a problem. Soon, we were off to explore the Oceanographic (the exploration of the Titanic originated from here) and the local Historic museums, just two of the many this town is known for, and to see the sights. Dinner was dockside at a Hawaii Fusion restaurant of all things, overlooking WS. The annual WH Film festival was going on too so we sat in on a screening of “American Casino, a depressing film about the recent crisis in our financial system, before heading home.
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Mystic Seaport to Block Island, Rhode Island
7/27 Monday
From: Latitude: 41:58.18 N Longitude 071:58.18 W
To: Latitude: 40:11.42 N Longitude: 071:34.68 W
Weather: sunny some clouds Wind: 1900 at 15-20 kts. SEA: 4
Barometer: 1008 Passage time: 4 hrs.
Start Engine Hours: 2138 Fuel used/on board: 5351/647
End Engine Hours: 2143 Fuel used/on board: 5361/637
Distance trip/to Date: 24/13,525
We were able to delay our departure this morning long enough to get in a nice last bike ride around old Mystic and for Jo to take her long walk. Around 1015, we finally dropped the dock lines only to be delayed another 20-minutes for two passing trains which kept the railroad closed till 1035. Once we do get going, it still takes a good hour just to get down the Mystic River, out through Fishers Sound, and then finally into the Block Island Channel.
It’s a 24-mile run over to Block Island in 3-6 foot swells off the starboard bow…not all that comfortable but doable for WS. The real surprise came as we entered The Great Salt Pond breakwater on Block Island. The wind immediately picked up to 30+ knots with gusts as high as 40. We had thought about grabbing a mooring for our overnight stay but the Harbormaster was not ready to bother to find us one till after 3 o’clock, a half-hour wait so we decided to drop the anchor and save the $40 instead.
After one practice drop, which wound up two close to other boats, we got it right and settled back on 200′ of chain in the 35′ of water. With our anchor rode bridle in place, it will be the equivalent of 250′ of scope which should hold us secure even in this wind. As the afternoon past, the wind did back down to a more reasonable 15 to 20-knots but still it was hardly conducive to launching the dinghy and going ashore.
While disappointed not to be able to see Block Island up close and personal, we did have a nice evening on board just relaxing and getting back in our cruising mode…BBQ dinner followed by a little TV and early to bed - all without a party - what a concept!.
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Mystic Seaport
7/24 - 7/26 Friday to Sunday
Lot’s of fun here so I want to share some of the highlights. Cousins Bob & Paula Walker, sister Audrey & brother Don along with niece Lexie were all here for a long weekend get together including a dinner party at Bob’s Yacht Club, an old fashioned New England style beach BBQ (steamers, saltwater soaked corn on the cob, salmon, tuna, & steak), touring the quant shops in the town of Mystic, and Jo & I spending Saturday at the Mystic Seaport Museum.
It was the antique boat show this weekend at Seaport with vintage sail boats gong back to the turn of the century as well as the beautiful early wood Chris Crafts runabouts and Trumpy luxury yachts. They also have the Charles Morgan (early whaling ship) out of the water for a three-year refit. I’ve been building a scale-model of her for a couple of years when at home so it was especially great to be aboard her in person.
When you throw in some provisioning, Jo’s hair salon visit, boat chores, touring the countryside with my cousin’s borrowed car, breakfast at the historic old Stonington Village just east of here and a farewell dinner with Bob & Paula at the S&P Oyster Co on Sunday night, it has been a very full weekend indeed.
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Threemile Harbor to Mystic Seaport, Connecticut
7/23 Thursday
From: Latitude: 41:00.86 N Longitude 072:11.52 W
To: Latitude: 41:58.18 N Longitude: 071:58.18 W
Weather: fog Wind: 0900 at 10-15 kts. SEA: 2
Barometer: 1011 Passage time: 4 hrs.
Start Engine Hours: 2134 Fuel used/on board: 5341/657
End Engine Hours: 2135 Fuel used/on board: 5351/647
Distance trip/to Date: 24/13,501
We woke up this morning floating suspended in a “pea soup” fog. At times, I could hardly see the front end of WS let alone the few boats around us. Fortunately, by 0830 it lifted just enough for us to make out the shore across the bay so we could up anchor and feel our way out of this peaceful place. The hour delay in our departure allowed the incoming tide to be in full race against us at over 2-knots as we threaded our way out the narrow, Threemile Harbor entrance.
Once out at sea, the current settled back down to a knot on the beam but the fog would open and close all the way across the 20-miles of sound to Fisher Island just off Mystic River. At Race Rock, on the south tip of Fisher, we experienced the full effect of the incoming tide as it rushed to fill the 100-miles of Long Island Sound. At times, the auto pilot had to point WS a full 40o more to the east just to stay on the course line and we still would have lost ground if I had not increased the throttle to full speed ahead.
Fortunately, as we rounded the North Dumpling lighthouse, it cleared enough for us to make an easy entry into the Mystic River and find our way up stream to Seaport Marina, our home for the next several days. A quick call on VHF13 to the operator of the railroad bridge just before Mystic let us know a train was coming so we had to crank up to top speed again and race thru the bridge opening before the train came…very exciting.
Seaport Marina is located right in the town of Mystic so once we were tied up, your crew was off to see the sights and find the S & P Oyster Company for lunch. We stopped in Mystic on a road trip when Heather was just five. We loved it then and it has always been on our bucket list to come back again by sea so here we are at last.
Rain was on its way any minute as we took a quick look around town and made it back to WS just as the clouds finally let go. Evening was quiet time on board with the back ground sound of rain on the overhead decks of WS - a very nice day indeed and great to be back in Mystic on our own boat after 30-years.
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Threemile Harbor at anchor
7/21 & 7/22 Tuesday - Wednesday
We decided to take a couple of days off in this perfectly protected, uncrowded anchorage after the fast paced, but fun week it took to get here. Probably a good thing we did too because it rained on and off all day Tuesday - the first serious rain we have had in a couple of weeks. Jo and I have always enjoyed rain days to catch up on our writing and just to lazily lay about and read. What a treat!
On Wednesday, it was sunny and warm, a perfect day to dinghy ashore, rent a car and tour the Hamptons so off we went by nine AM. This area is best known for its huge, multi-million dollar estates but you get no sense of this just driving around. The only things you see are the modest homes and quaint villages the locals and tourist enjoy. The big estates are simply not visible from the public roads. It is only when you stop and check the listings in a real estate office window that all start at several million and head upwards of 30 and 40 million that the true cost of living out here apparent.
We had lunch in Montauk (the far east end on Long Island), shopped in East Broughton and drove through Bridgehampton in just a few hours time before turning our car back into Enterprise and getting a ride back to our dinghy at Threemile Harbor. Of the three villages, East Hampton is the most up-market mostly featuring dozens of designer dress shops. Montauk, somewhat to our surprise, was just the opposite. It was a very modest beach town that seemed to cater to mostly vacationing, blue-collar families from the rest of the state.
By five, we were back on board WS, the dinghy was stowed and we settled in for another nice quiet evening at anchor.
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Sag Harbor to Threemile Harbor
7/20 Monday
From: Latitude: 41:00.15 N Longitude 072:17.49 W
To: Latitude: 41:00.86 N Longitude: 072:11.52 W
Weather: sunny Wind: 0900 at 8-10 kts. SEA: 2
Barometer: 1014 Passage time: 2 hrs.
Start Engine Hours: 2133 Fuel used/on board: 5339/660
End Engine Hours: 2134 Fuel used/on board: 5341/657
Distance trip/to Date: 9/13,477
Friends Jim & Pam caught the noon train back to JFK so after a quick trip to the market, we said goodbye to Sag Harbor and continued east. Our next stop is just around the corner in an almost completely enclosed bay with an excellent anchorage. After a several weeks of dock fees and the hustle bustle of marinas, it is good to out on the hook again. It’s only 9-miles from Sag to Threemile Harbor so by 1:30 we were already circling the 12-foot deep bay water looking for a likely spot to anchor and settle in for the night.
At the far, south end of this bay up another narrow cut is the access to the town of East Hampton touted as “America’s most beautiful village.” We may stay another day to check out what all the fuss is all about and use this opportunity see at least some of the famous “Hamptons” along the southern shore of Long Island. But for tonight, it’s just the two of us for dinner and a movie again as we spend a quiet night on board our great little ship that neither of us would trade for a mega yachts even if we could afford any one of them.
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Greenport to Sag Harbor
7/19 Sunday
From: Latitude: 40:06.02 N Longitude 072:21.60 W
To: Latitude: 41:00.15 N Longitude: 072:17.49 W
Weather: sunny Wind: 2600 at 8-10 kts. SEA: 2
Barometer: 1011 Passage time: 2 hrs.
Start Engine Hours: 2131 Fuel used/on board: 5335/664
End Engine Hours: 2133 Fuel used/on board: 5339/660
Distance trip/to Date: 11/13,468
Just a short harbor to harbor hop this morning so we are in no hurry to leave Greenport. Our crew got up to our traditional Sunday morning custom omelets on board then walked over to the local Starbucks and the grocery before finally getting underway at 1110. Today 11-mile passage will take us another third of the way around Shelter Island to the very popular (and pricey) Sag Harbor Yacht Club Marina.
The several bays we pass though are very busy today with local boaters enjoying the beautiful weather and their wakes provide the only waves for most of the journey. Once we are backed into our assigned slip for the night, we are off to do a quick tour of the town and to pick a place for our farewell dinner tonight. Jim and Pam will be jumping ship here to take the train back to JFK and Los Angeles in the morning.
Sag Harbor is a nice town that has worked very hard to develop a tourism industry which is about the only industry that remains this far out on Long Island besides real estate. It has plenty of cute shops and the typical tourist attractions but we felt Greenport was better setup for boaters and more convenient. Still Sag remains the place to be seen if you are in the mega-yacht society.
Jimmy Buffets “Continental Drifter III” was just leaving the other dozen mega yachts parked here as we were pulling into the harbor. Once we were docked, Jim figured out the 102′ Broward yacht from Daytona just behind us named ‘Hi Banx” belongs to the Francis family, the owners of NASCAR. Unusually, you have no idea who owns any of these huge yachts as it is a well kept secret so it is fun to identify two owners in a row.
Dinner was at the old American Hotel restaurant on Main Street which was probably the most up scale place in town and was quite good by any standard. The wine list, while huge (30-40 pages), was shockingly expensive which seems to be the trend we are seeing as we move around the northeast and divinely discourages that second bottle unless you bring your own which we did tonight. After dinner, it was a final stroll though town back to WS for a nightcap before turning in by midnight. Jo and I will be sad to loose our guests in the morning as it has been really fun having them on board for the 100-miles to get here from New York City.
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Greenport
7/18 Saturday
Our crew took a much deserved day off today after four mornings at sea exploring the harbors of South Long Island Sound. It did seem a little strange to start off what was supposed to be a day on shore by immediately taking the ferry over to nearby Shelter Island. Here we walked a mile to a rental bike shop and then did a 10-mile pedal tour across this island of beautiful homes and rural, wooded roads. All this exercise led to a nice lunch at the quaint Dory restaurant before heading back on the ferry to Greenport.
Next it was off to the movies for the afternoon matinee before returning to WS for the happy hour concert we could enjoy right from our fly bridge from nearby Claudio’s Clam Bar. Dinner was on board tonight made up from all the leftovers from yesterdays abundant dinner ashore. Not much energy left in the old crew after the full day so Jo & I had a last walk through the very active Saturday night town while our guests relaxed before turning in to the less than gentle strains of the evening’s rock band at the clam bar.
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Mt Sinai Harbor to Greenport
7/17 Friday
From: Latitude: 40:02.30 N Longitude 073:02.30 W
To: Latitude: 40:06.02 N Longitude: 072:21.60 W
Weather: sunny Wind: 0950 at 8-12 kts. SEA: 2
Barometer: 1002 Passage time: 7 hrs.
Start Engine Hours: 2124 Fuel used/on board: 5318/680
End Engine Hours: 2131 Fuel used/on board: 5335/664
Distance trip/to Date: 49/13,457
We are off to Greenport today, the longest leg of our voyage. It took us just 7-hours to cover the 49-miles in calm seas and light winds to the end of Long Island and make the turn through Plum Cut into the large bay surrounding Shelter Island and Greenport.
To get in early on what promised to be a busy summer weekend for boating, we had to be off the MSYC docks by first light and clear of their breakwater by 0600. Even so we didn’t get into the Greenport City Docks at Mitchell Park till 1230 just as a visiting Yacht Club from Connecticut were starting to arrive. Luckily we were still in time to get a good, inside the breakwater position, on the long fixed dock.
The marina is in a great position for a walking tour to most everything in town and handy to the Shelter Island Ferry as well. Greenport has a long boating tradition going back to the original colonies and then then early whalers that were based here. Things haven’t changed much today as now it is now the crossroads for pleasure boats of all sizes looking for a good time place to stay on the water.
Our crew spent the afternoon touring the town before enjoying happy hour on our top deck followed by an memorable dinner at Caudio’s, the oldest single family owned restaurant in the US dating back to 1870. The food was good too as was the service which is nice to find in an obviously tourist based business. Then it was early to bed for all hands after the long but well rounded day of boating and exploring our new port.
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Huntington Harbor to Mt Sinai Harbor
7/16 Thursday
From: Latitude: 40:53.80 N Longitude 073:25.30 W
To: Latitude: 40:02.30 N Longitude: 073:02.30 W
Weather: sunny Wind: 1780 at 9-12 kts. SEA: 2
Barometer: 1002 Passage time: 3 hrs.
Start Engine Hours: 2121 Fuel used/on board: 5311/687
End Engine Hours: 2124 Fuel used/on board: 5318/680
Distance trip/to Date: 21/13,408
This morning was another easy passage of only 21-miles but with just a touch more wind and an increased chance of rain that never materialized. The sound is as flat as a pond and I’ve seen more waves on Big Bear Lake than we’ve experienced on Long Island Sound so far. I’m sure it must kick up quite a bit during a Nor’easter but it’s hard to imagine under these conditions.
The trip between the two well protected harbors takes only three hours but they are as different as they are interesting. Where Huntington has more activity, more obvious affluence and more to do, Mt Sinai is more peaceful, remote and serene. The Huntington Harbor Yacht Clubs is impersonal and business like, Mt Sinai’s club is friendly, down to earth, and interested in just having a good time. The members also went way out of their way to be sure we felt welcome and even sent a committee down to offer a Burgee exchange and our Ventura Yacht Club flag now hangs proudly in their club house.
Our crew joined a very animated group of members for tasty lunch on the Club’s deck overlooking the marina which was busy even on a Thursday. Then the crew had a needed afternoon off from touring and sightseeing just to enjoy the cool afternoon on WS. Our evening BBQ salmon dinner with fine wine was on board and was followed by a rousing game of Rummy Cube till lights out. It will be an early departure tomorrow with a 50+ mile final run to the east end of the sound to the boating town of Greenport at first light.
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Manhasset Bay to Huntington Harbor
7/15 Wednesday
From: Latitude: 40:50.15 N Longitude 073:43.36 W
To: Latitude: 40:53.80 N Longitude: 073:25.30 W
Weather: sunny Wind: 2700 at 6-10 kts. SEA: 2
Barometer: 1012 Passage time: 3 hrs.
Start Engine Hours: 2118 Fuel used/on board: 5304/694
End Engine Hours: 2121 Fuel used/on board: 5311/687
Distance trip/to Date: 21/13,387
Another short, easy passage on Long Island Sound. This cruise so far is such a leisurely pace compared to the grueling, 50-plus miles a day it took to get here. We left our marina side tie at 9AM and were secure in are new slip in the Huntington Yacht Club by noon. With virtually no wind, the Sound was smooth as glass and even the sun was out to make it an ideal morning to cover the 21-miles. The harbor itself is one on the best protected on the north coast, not that we need it today, and is chocker full of boats of all descriptions on mooring and the several marinas. Obviously, we have found a very popular spot with boaters.
After lunch on board it was off on foot for the 2-mile plus walk to the town of Huntington and while far, it was worth the effort. This town reminds us of the small, water oriented communities we found on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan on WS I back in 2000. It has unique, mom & pop shops and not the usual redundant franchises that have become the norm most everywhere else. After a couple of hours we have covered it all, had our ice cream, and hired a cab to take us back to the Yacht Club to rest up for the evening activities.
Tonight is our night to eat out and we have selected “Prime” as the restaurant of choice out of dozens that abound in the area. While the food was decent, the extensive wine list was extravagantly overpriced which took the fun out of ordering anything new. We did find a somewhat decent Australian Shiraz at $45/bottle that worked for us.
In talking to the locals, this town is still basically a bedroom community for NYC and most of the residents have high-end jobs on Wall Street and need to commute by train into the city the hour and a half each way each day…ugh! But you can see why the boaters make this choice, to live by the water close to their boats in this ideal setting and, at least, they don’t have to drive.
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New York City to Manhasset Bay, Long Island Sound
7/14 Tuesday
From: Latitude: 40:43.54 N Longitude 074:01.88 W
To: Latitude: 40:50.15 N Longitude: 073:43.36 W
Weather: sunny Wind: 3150 at 6-8 kts. SEA: 2
Barometer: 1016 Passage time: 3 hrs.
Start Engine Hours: 2115 Fuel used/on board: 5298/700
End Engine Hours: 2118 Fuel used/on board: 5304/694
Distance trip/to Date: 21/13,366
It was a much more leisurely departure this morning than in recent memory. We had time for a walk to the nearby Starbucks, a nice breakfast on board and then finally got underway by 0845 heading for the Battery end of Manhattan before turning up the East River. The navigation planning objective here is to time the boats arrival at the Battery exactly two-hours after the tides low water (today’s was 0712) so that you can catch the flood up the River and all the way through Hell’s Gate right into Long Island Sound.
Traffic on the East River
After dodging a fair number of ferries, tugs with tows and work boats on the waterway, we make the turn into Hell’s Gate right on schedule. We have a 1.5 knot current push, hitting speeds of almost 10-knots as we zip up this narrow connection joining NYC and to the Sound. We are not going far today, just a total of 21-miles to the Brewers Capri Marina on Manhasset Bay. This gives us most of the afternoon to take the dinghy ashore in the small town of Port Washington, have a walk around, and then a beer at the local pub before heading back for relaxation on board for the afternoon.
Tonight, we spend our evening on board WS having a steak BBQ dinner, enjoying some fine wines and the great company as we celebrate the beginning of this weeks adventure.
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New York City
7/12 - 7/13 Sunday & Monday
After a nice couple of days refreshing WS, getting Jo over a chest cold, and seeing some of NYC Sunday life in Greenwich Village, we are ready to resume our cruise north to Maine.
We have really enjoyed our dock location here in Newport Marina on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. It has excellent spot close to shops, a major mall, ferry terminal, a subway stop to NYC and Michael Anthony’s, an excellent new restaurant right at the end of our gangway. Its only disadvantage is a bit of roll you get during the weekday commuter hours from so many passing ferries but even that can be mitigated by taking a side tie on the long dock (for a slight increase in dock fees) further up the marina’s channel instead of a slip.
Jim & Pam Truran
On Monday, long time friends Jim & Pam from California, join the WS crew for this next week of exploring Long Island Sound. Once they are settled into their crew’s quarters, we all head off to the handy super market to do a major provisioning followed by the usual happy hour on board and ending up with a great dinner at Michaels were we are treated like honored guests by the friendly wait staff.
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