We Have arrived in Maine

 We have arrived in Maine but just barely.  We are on the Kittery Maine side of the Piscataqua River looking across to Portsmouth New Hampshire.

We waited a week at Norfolk and Hampton VA for a weather window to allow us to go offshore to Buzzards Bay MA instead of traveling up Chesapeake Bay and down the Delaware River then jumping off at Cape May.  This route would be shorter and require less travel time.  We spent several days with fellow cruisers in the Hampton area and were able to attend the Blackbeard Pirate Festival which commemorates the defeat of Blackbeard the pirate.  It was very entertaining and educational.  I was able to watch a demonstration on how rope is made and there were several canons of various size being shot off.  Once again we were able to get together with my Great-nephew for dinner and a visit.

The forecast was favorable for a Monday departure and at 6:30 AM we pulled anchor and started motoring out of the Chesapeake Bay and into the ocean.  Once clear of land we turned North-northeast for Buzzards Bay.  The winds were light and we had to motor but there was a promise of the winds increasing.  Unfortunately the winds that we got were from behind us and we did not have enough apparent wind to sail.  The apparent wind is the actual wind on the sails when you factor in the boats speed.  For example, we had ten knots of wind from behind and the boat was moving at five knots we would have five knots of apparent wind not enough for us to sail.  Because of this we continued to motor on.  The forecast was for the winds to shift from the northwest but when they did they were under ten knots so we continued motoring.  This continued through the night and in the morning we were able to sail for a short time before the winds dropped off again.  We continued motoring.  Wednesday, day three, we had about four hours of favorable winds and we were enjoying the sail when once again the winds died. During the night we passed by Block Island and continued up Buzzards Bay.

On day four we arrived at the mouth of the Cape Cod Canal in time for the tide change and had a favorable current to go through the canal.  Last time in the canal we did not have a favorable current and had to fight a two to four knot current making the passage much longer.  Once out of the canal we set course for Gloucester MA.  Once again we didn't have enough wind to sail.  We arrived at Gloucester and attempted to anchor in a small bay rather then go into the main harbor.  We were unsuccessful in getting a good set so we continued on to Thatcher Island.  The cruising guide said that there were several guest mooring there.  We arrived and picked up a mooring and shared the harbor with one other boat.  We had not been here before and the two lighthouses were so interesting I had to look up the history.  Very interesting island with the first lighthouses built by the British before the Revolutionary War all the way to the island used to hide someone in the Witness Protection Program.

This was our first stop in four days.  We had motored/sailed 461 miles in 84 hours, most of it motoring.  We carry 80 gallons of fuel and another 15 in jerry cans on deck.  I have always calculated that we could motor around 400 miles before adding fuel.  When we arrived at the anchorage the fuel gauge was getting very close to empty.  By not pushing too hard and maintaining our speed round five knots we were able to conserve fuel.

The next morning as the fog cleared we were getting ready to continue.  We added the fuel from the jerry cans, checked the engine and v-drive oil and the transmission.  Here we had a big surprise, instead of bright red transmission fluid we had a dark grey sludge.  I suspected water had gotten into the transmission, possibly from the transmission oil cooler.  I pumped out the sludge and refilled with fresh fluid, started the engine and did a quick test, the transmission worked shifting forward and reverse.  After completing our preparations we restarted the engine and continued on, hoping to sail instead of motoring.  I did notice that our exhaust had some oil in it telling me that the transmission oil cooler was most likely the problem.  We tried sailing for several hour but the winds were shifting and too light, so again we were motoring.  By mid-afternoon the winds came up and we were once again a sailboat.  We were heading to Kittery Maine to visit friends we made in the Bahamas and we were able to sail all of the way into the harbor dropping the sails just before we reached the anchorage.  After three tries to get the anchor set we finished off the day with adult beverages.  During the day we had been calling different facilities to find a mechanic and where we could keep the boat for the duration of the repair.  Checking the transmission we again found the grey sludge.  No matter what the cause is I am sure the transmission will need to be rebuilt, it's not designed to run with salt water.

This being the weekend we are spending time on the boat and will be visiting our friends.  Monday we should have a better idea of what our options are.