Starting a New Year

 First off Happy New Year!  Let's all hope that 2021 is a better year then 2020.

We were waiting in St Augustine for a weather window and we finally got one.  Forecast was for moderate winds out of the northwest clocking to northeast putting the wind behind us for a downwind run.  So on Thursday 12/17/20 we pulled anchor and motored out of the entrance working our way around the dredge that is deepening the channel and aimed for the offshore sea buoy. Once at the buoy and clear of the shallows we turned south.  We motored for several hours until the winds picked up and we shut down the engine to enjoy a quiet sail.  Overnight the winds continued to build and when we were off of Cape Canaveral the winds had climbed into the 20's but still behind us.  The seas had continued to build from the 2-3 feet when we left to 6-8 foot but still from behind.  At one point while Cori was on watch a succession of waves combined with a strong gust lay the boat over until the rail was in the water and directed a lot of water into the cockpit getting everything, including Cori, soaking wet.  So much for trying to keep the cockpit salt free.  That was the only excitement for the trip.  We continued on changing shifts regularly.  Saturday morning just after sunrise we sailed past Miami and turned into the cut that lead us to what is called No Name Harbor on the southern tip of Key Biscayne.  We dropped anchor just outside the harbor and settled in.  We had traveled 295 miles in 50 hours, almost all of it under sail.

The southern tip of Key Biscayne is a State Park and Sunday we put the dinghy in the water and went in to see what was available.  There is a nice trail along the shore that brings you around to a lighthouse and several trails that took us back to the harbor.  When we got back from our walk the Tiki bar was open and several beers were calling out to us.  Monday we took a walk to the grocery store to once again stock up on fruits and vegetables.  We met a couple, Mike and Sharon on Monarch and stopped to pick their brain on places to go in the Keys and later had a phone call with our SSB radio friends on Kismet who are in the area for their input.  We are planning to travel around in the Keys and are looking for suggestions since the area is all new to us.

Tuesday morning we pulled anchor and motored up to a marina to top off the fuel and water.  Once that was completed we set out the headsail and made a downwind run through Biscayne Bay to Boca Chita, a small island in the Biscayne Bay National Park that has a protected harbor.  Being s couple of days before Christmas we hoped that it would not be busy.  We were very wrong, it was packed, there was no place to tie up and there were too many people.  We turned around and moved further south, maneuvering through a very shallow cut, and anchored off of Elliott Key with several other boats.  The next day we pulled anchor and sailed down to Pumpkin Key, a small island that we could hide behind with the forecasted winds.  We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas day riding out winds from the northwest and north.

Saturday morning we pulled anchor and motored down to Card Key, about five miles and took the dinghy in to check out Alabama Jack's.  We had been told that they had the best conch fritters in the keys and wanted to try them.  We are not sure if they are the best but they are certainly the largest, almost a meal in themselves.  It was still windy in the evening and due to the shallow water we were almost a mile off from shore so we did not get the protection we had hoped for.  Sunday we moved further south and once we cleared under US Highway One we anchored off of Key Largo.  We were within listening distance to Gilberts Resort and Tiki Bar so we dinghied in for a couple of beers and to see what they had to offer.  They are situated just as you cross into the keys by car and is very popular promoting themselves as "the first and last stop in the keys".  We also met a couple from Virginia that are on their first year cruising.  In the morning we pulled anchor and moved further down to a more commercial part of Key Largo to access a laundromat and a Walgreens that had my Diet Coke on sale.  We used a restaurants dock to go ashore so it was only polite to stop and have a drink and a very unusual but good tuna nachos.

Tuesday morning we pulled anchor again and motored down to the next key, Tavernier, and anchored in what is called the West Tavernier Harbor.  Here we launched the dinghy and put on the 15 horse outboard to do some exploring.  There is a cut that leads through the island and we took that out into the ocean.  Once there we maneuvered around the shallows to find our friend Pete's house.  Several years before going cruising we spent several Christmases at his house and wanted to see if he was there.  We were in luck and got to spend some time with him getting caught up.  He tells me that he reads this blog so here is a shout out to Pete.  Hi Pete! Hope to see you again in the spring.

The Christmas winds have kicked up so we have been spending the last couple of days on the boat with winds in the 20's.  The anchorage is well protected so we have just been kicking back and relaxing.  We have a clear view of most of the island and on New Years Eve were treated to several fireworks displays beginning around 8:00 pm until after midnight.

We have one more leg of this trip on the inside of the keys and it may be our most difficult.  It is very shallow, most time we are traveling in 8-10 feet of water and we draw five and a half feet.  We have had a couple of white knuckle moments but so far it has been good.  The next stretch has several spots that are reported to be too shallow for us to pass but a call to the local Towboat US office gave us some reassurance that we should be able to make it.  At that point we will move out to the ocean side and continue to move down the keys.

Our trip so far this season.

The Next Adventure

The next adventure has started.  After spending some time in our old stomping grounds it was time to move on to warmer temperatures.

On Friday, the 20th, we pulled anchor and started off.  The day was going to be a motoring day.  We motored out of the creek, down  the Neuse River to Adams Creek to follow the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) to Morehead City.  At Morehead City we pulled into the Yacht Basin and topped off our fuel and water tanks.  From there we moved out into the turning basin and anchored near the Coast Guard Station.  From here we were staged for an early exit in the morning.  Morning came early when we were getting rocked by the fishing boats heading out of Beaufort Inlet.  We pulled anchor and headed out.  There was no wind so we set course to go around Frying Pan Shoals and motored on.  Just before midnight as we cleared the shoals we had enough wind to sail.  Later in the morning the wind died and we were back to motoring.  This continued the entire trip.  The wind would die and later come up from a slightly different direction.  During the first night we watched the lightning flashes in a storm out in the Gulf Stream.  At one point we even tried flying the spinnaker but it would collapse when the boat rolled.  Eventually the winds settled at about 10 knots from behind and we were able to keep sailing but only at about 4 knots.  This wasn't a problem since we had decided to sail to St Augustine and if we picked up any more speed we would arrive at night.  Arriving at night is dangerous and we try to avoid it whenever we can.  Monday at sunset we were treated to one of the most spectacular green flashes we had ever seen.  Yes, green flashes do exist.  The effect is caused when you have just the right atmospheric conditions just as the last of the sun goes below the horizon.  It is usually quick and can be missed if you blink.  This time due to the rolling we were treated to an extended flash.  Tuesday morning we approached St Augustine and were glad we had not pushed it and arrived in the dark.  The harbor entrance is not as well marked as it was in the past and our charts are not accurate.  Once into the harbor we maneuvered to the anchorage near the old fort and dropped anchor at noon.  It was a 393 mile passage in 77 hours.

We have been hanging out in St Augustine taking care of some projects and maintenance.  We know a mechanic in the area who has done some work on the boat in the past and we scheduled some time for him to check out the engine and drive train since it had been some time since they had been looked at.  We took the opportunity to spend a couple of days in a marina, something we seldom do.  It gave us a chance to give the batteries a good deep charge and run an equalize cycle on them and change out the fluids in the engine, transmission and v-drive.  I wanted to be at a dock while doing these things in case something went wrong.  I have this fear of having the engine out of commission and the anchor start dragging or for some reason we need to move and can't.  Cori did some sail repair and sorting and reorganizing on the boat.  Once that was all complete we moved back out to the anchorage.

Now we are waiting for a good weather window to move down the coast.  We could take the ICW but it would mean we have to motor and would be a longer trip having to find a place to stop each night.

We have come to the conclusion that we will be skipping the Bahamas this season unless the Covid restrictions are lifted.  It looks like we will be exploring Florida, the Keys and the Florida west coast this year.  The west coast has been a place we have wanted to explore and this year it seems like a logical choise.

We Have Once Again Closed the Circle

We have closed the circle and are once again back in Clubfoot Creek off the Neuse River in North Carolina.  More on that later.

It was Thursday, 10/22/20, and we are ready to move on.  We dropped the mooring and started down Mt Hope Bay crossing under the bridge into Narraganset Bay and motored down to Newport.  Once there we pulled up to a fuel dock to top off the fuel and water tanks.  From there we moved over to the anchorage and dropped anchor for the night.  Friday we spent getting the boat ready for the next leg.  We have two options, we could go up Long Island Sound and go through New York City and wait for another weather window there or we could make the passage to Cape May or to Norfolk.  We opted for the shorter of the two and after waiting out some weather in the morning we headed out.  Our first waypoint would be Block Island and if conditions were not right we could stop there and wait it out.  When we left on Saturday the wind was on the nose so we chose too bypass the island by tacking east of it then tacking west when we cleared the island.  The winds were forecast to clock around from southwest to west then to northwest and finally from the north and dying out.  By this point we should be close to Norfolk.  We were sailing with 15-20 knots of wind and holding a steady 5-7 knots.  We got hit with a few rain showers as the front moved through but we were comfortable in our enclosed cockpit.  By Monday morning the wind died and we motored for a few hours until it came back up.  Several hours later it was too light to sail and we continued motoring.  Tuesday morning, about 4:30 am, we arrived Hampton VA where we planned to anchor.  We normally try to not arrive at a harbor at night but the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay is well marked and with the chartplotter and our radar we made our way up to Hampton.  We chose to drop anchor outside the anchorage but out of traffic and wait until daylight to go in.  Mid-morning we moved into the anchorage and we spent the rest of the day resting and organizing.  We had traveled 385 nautical miles (443 statute miles) in 66 hours.  The next day Cori's brother picked us up and we made a run to Sam's Club to restock.  Thursday we pulled anchor and moved to Hospital Point in Norfolk to wait out some weather.  There were strong winds forecasted and we would be better protected there.

Friday we spent on the boat riding out the windy condition and listening to the chatter on the radio.  About six miles up the river there was a barge that broke loose from it's moorings and drifted down on a railroad bridge.  We watched a number of tugboats rushing by to go get it under control again.  The downside of this is that we would have to go through that bridge when we leave.  It ended up that the bridge was damaged and closed for the next two days stopping all train traffic and boat traffic on this part of the river and Intracoastal Waterway (ICW).  Sunday they had the bridge partially repaired and they were able to open it to allow boats through and trains to cross slowly.  We pulled anchor and headed out.

We have three options when going south from Norfolk.  First we could go outside and sail down around Cape Hatteras, second we could motor down the ICW (the most common route) or we could take an alternate route following the Dismal Swamp Canal and joining up with the ICW down in North Carolina.  We had done the Dismal Swamp route one other time and decided to go that way again.  It is a lot prettier trip then the regular route.  After clearing several bridges we made the turn towards the Dismal Swamp and continued up to the first lock.  There are two locks controlling the water level and they are on a set schedule.  We dropped anchor for a bit until they opened the lock for us to maneuver in.  There are a lot of stories about this lock, all centering on Robert the lock operator.  He was a legend among cruisers for his outgoing personality and the way he treated the people passing through.  This included his blowing of many conch shells that he had been given over the years.  He was also the first one to call Cori "Admiral" and letting her know that she ranks above the Captain.  We had heard the reports that Robert had a heart attack and died this summer.  We wanted to pass by and pay our respects.  Now a little history of the Dismal Swamp Canal.  It dates back to the 1700's when they were looking for an inside route to move goods up and down the east coast.  George Washington was one of the first to survey the route.  Currently there is a highway that parallels it and near the North Carolina border is a rest stop and welcome center that both the canal and the highway share.  There is a dock so that the boats can stop and spend the night if they choose.  That is what we had planned.  Once we were locked up we continued down the canal being aware of staying in the middle to keep the mast from hitting the overhanging trees.  When we arrived at the Welcome Center we found the dock was full and no-one was offering to let us raft up to them.  We continued down the canal for about another mile before it got too dark to continue.  We dropped the anchor in the middle of the canal and turned in for the night.  We were up at sunrise to move on so that we wouldn't be blocking the way for anyone that got an early start.  We arrived at the next lock early and dropped anchor to wait for the 8:30 am scheduled opening.  We were the only boat to lock through and anyone coming behind us had to wait for the 11:00 am opening.

Once through the lock we continued down the Pasquotank River to Elizabeth City.  We were planning to continue just a bit further then Elizabeth City and anchoring for the night but since it was just mid-day we continued down the river with 20 knots of wind behind us and we sailed across the Albemarle Sound to the Alligator River.  We had such a fast sail, 6-7 knots, that we were able to continue up the river until we reached the drawbridge.  We pulled in the sail and motored through the bridge.  Once through the bridge we turned off the channel to anchor for the night near the west shore just as the sun set.  In the morning we joined several other boats continuing up the river and into the Alligator-Pungo Canal.  Once out of the canal we moved down the Pungo River and crossed the Pamlico River to anchor in Goose Creek for the night.  In the morning we continued up Goose Creek to the Hobucken Cut and moved into the Bay River.  We motored down the river to where the Neuse River joins Pamlico Sound and started up the river.  Just a point of interest: at this spot the Neuse River is the widest river in North America measuring seven miles across.  We continued up the Neuse to Broad Creek where we turned in and moved up to our where our friends, Jerry and Donna, on Bluejacket have a home and a dock.  With the long days and some favorable winds we had arrived a day earlier then we had expected.  Also spending time on their dock was Persephone and Ada, two other boats we had been quarantined in the Bahamas with.  Jerald and Karen were waiting for a weather window to make the passage to the Virgin Islands and Brandon and Dustyn are working on projects before they make the jump to the Islands also.

We were close to closing the loop but we decided to stay for several days visiting and taking care of some projects while we were tied to a dock.  The very same dock we had left four months before and the only dock we used on this trip.  After a week we bid everyone a good-by and headed off to Clubfoot Creek, about a five hour trip.  Once we made the turn to head up the river we had 20-25 knot winds on the beam pushing us in one long tack to the creek.  Along the way we were passed by another boat that sounded familiar.  We called them and it turned out to be Akka, a German couple we had met two years ago while in Trinidad.  The cruising world is a small community.  We motored up Clubfoot Creek, pass the marina we lived in for ten years and dropped the anchor.  We had closed the loop we started when we left the creek in June.  We launched the dinghy and headed ashore to catch up with old friends.

This is the end of our Summer of 2020 cruise.  We traveled 2077 nautical miles or 2390 statute miles in a little over four months.  About the same as driving from New York to Los Angeles except we do it at 6-10 miles an hour.  We got as far north as Northern Maine, stopping about forty miles short of the Canadian Border.  We stopped and visited many friends and made a number of new ones along the way.

What's next? We are not sure.  We will be leaving to start the winter cruise in a week or so.  We intend on staying warm.  We don't know yet if the Bahamas are on the schedule, it will depend on what their rules are for containing the Covid-19 outbreaks.  If not the Islands then we will spend the time in various parts of Florida.  Once again all we know for sure is that plans are written in sand at low tide.  You never know what will happen after the tide washes them away but there will always be a plan B and plan C.

Maine to Rhode Island

 We are in Rhode Island, sort of.  Actually Fall River Massachusetts.

We left Rockland with a clean bottom and fully provisioned.  It was foggy in the morning but when it cleared we motored out and continued motoring to Allen Island, which is right next to Burnt Island.  The appeal was that there is a protected cut with free moorings available.  The island is owned by the Wyeth family and is private so no going ashore.  We planned to continue on the next day but the fog was thick and didn't clear until late in the day.  It still surprises us when we have a combination of fog and wind.  We are accustomed to the wind clearing the fog quickly, but that doesn't happen in Maine.  From there we motored to Seguin Island and again picked up a free mooring, anchoring is not allowed.  There is a very pretty lighthouse here and the foundation that runs it provides the moorings.  Cori took the kayak to shore to check out the lighthouse.  With light winds again, we motored to the Saco River, bypassing Portland this time.  Again, we picked up one of the free moorings that the city provides.  The next day we left early, the winds were forecast to die out in the afternoon and we wanted to sail as long as we could.  We made our way to Isle of Shoals and picked up a mooring.  The forecast is for high winds in the next couple of days and we felt we would be protected here.  We spent the next three days here waiting out the weather.  The first day it was calm but overnight the winds kicked up and blew all of the next day 30-40 knots.  We stayed an extra day to let the seas calm down, there is no sense getting beat-up if it's not necessary.  We were now officially out of Maine, the Maine-New Hampshire border runs through Isle of Shoals and depending on which mooring ball you are on you are in one state or the other.

We had looked foreword to going to Maine all winter and we were not disappointed.  It is an unbelievably beautiful area.  There were some places we had wanted to go but due to the pandemic we made other plans.  We stayed out on the less populated islands and limited out interaction with other cruisers and the locals.  This often meant that when hiking we would have the trails to ourselves and never ran into any crowded anchorages, usually having them to ourselves also.  We have plans to return next year to revisit some sites and to explore many more.

On Friday, Oct. 9th, we left Isle of Shoals planning to stop at Gloucester to wait out another blow.  We left early and caught favorable winds and were able to sail ant a consistent 7-8 knots until late in the afternoon.  This meant that we were going to arrive in the early afternoon.  We chose to continue on to a harbor just past Boston Harbor.  We arrived in the late afternoon and set the anchor to settle in.  This anchorage would protect us from the winds that were forecast until they shifted from the northwest, when it would get rough.  On the way we had two little birds stop and ride with us to rest against flying into the 20 knot headwind.  After several hours they took off in the direction of Gloucester.  Saturday the winds kicked up as a front went through so we sat out the day in Cohasset  Harbor.  In the morning the winds had died somewhat but were now coming from the northwest making our anchorage very rough.  Just after sunrise we pulled anchor and headed off.  We planed to stop in Plymouth to stage for the Cape Cod Canal but with the early start and favorable sailing we headed instead to the canal.  There is a very strong current running through the canal and it is important to time it so you are riding with the current instead of fighting it.  With our change in plans we arrived several hours before the tide change and had to motor against the current.  We had about two knots against us as we motored along at about three and a half knots.  We could have gone faster but it would have burned a lot more fuel.  The canal is about seven miles long but it took us a couple of hours to transit it.  There are walking and cycling paths on both sides and it became routine to see the bicycles passing us.  At one point a power walker also passed us.  It is a good thing we don't have a schedule.  Once out of the canal we moved over to a mooring we used on the way up and settled down for the night, it had been a nine hour day.

We awoke the next day to overcast and light rain.  We motored down the channel and raised  the mizzen and the headsail for a trip down Buzzards Bay.  We had considered stopping at Cuttyhunk Island but with the favorable winds, 20-25 knots we continued on, we turned the corner and continued to the Saconett River.  Once turning the corner we felt the 4-5 foot seas we had been running with but we were soon in the calmer waters of the river.  We stopped at Fogland Point for the night and were surprised in the morning when it was foggy and raining.  Who would have thought?  The fog thinned out and we made a run up the river to Fall River MA.  We were back in Massachusetts.  Fall river is know for a number of things, including a lot of former mills being converted to new uses, the home of Lizzy Borden who it is said killed her parents with a hatchet (the home is now the Lizzy Borden B&B), and for Battleship Cove.  We picked up a mooring ball in Battleship Cove and had the largest World War II ship museum as our neighbors.  Included is the battleship Massachusetts, a submarine, a destroyer and several other smaller ships.  Unfortunately we arrived in the off season and they are only open on weekends.

We had now not been off the boat for two weeks.  We had a lot of things to take care of so we didn't check them out.  We will next year.  There were two reasons to stop here, our generator was not running and Cori has relatives here.  Mike and Marietta loaned us a car so we could get around.  We ran the Honda generator to a service shop hopping to get it back by the weekend.  We also did a lot of running around restocking provisions, sorting out phone issues and restocking some other supplies.  Mike and Marietta also had us over for dinner several days and included us in a clambake at the Ragged Island Brewery.  That was a fun day!

The shop was able to get the generator running, taking care of some other issues and we had it back on the boat Friday evening.  Saturday we hooked it up and ran it, for about an hour and it quit.  After that we could start it and run it for five to ten minutes and it would die again.  With lots of phone calls we tried diagnosing it and finally gave up and returned it to the shop Monday morning.  The next day they called us and reported it fixed.  They were nice enough to deliver it to the boat since we had given the car back.  The first time they had it they replaced the fuel pump.  The second time they found the pump was putting out very little fuel, not enough to keep it running.  On checking the fuel filter, I didn't know it had one, they found it clogged.  It seems that when I topped it off I put in dirty fuel.  This is the first time we have had a fuel problem and now we have to filter all of the gasoline we have on board to clean it out.

Now that we have the lockers full and the generator running we are preparing to move on.  Our plan is to move down to Newport tomorrow and get ready for the next leg.  We need to decide whether to make an offshore passage to Cape May or Norfolk or to make the run up Long Island Sound and go through New York.  It will depend on that the weather does.

Just a final not to give Mike and Marietta a big Thank You for your hospitality.  The use of your car, your showers, your laundry machine and your outstanding hospitality is greatly appreciated.

Maine But starting Back

We are still in Maine but are starting our way back.  The weather has cooled off and it's time to move to a warmer climate.

We were hanging out at Mistake Island, which by the way was not a mistake, enjoying the scenery and solitude but we had one more group of islands we wanted to check out.  The weather had different plans for us.  We were socked in with fog for four days.  At this point we decided it's time to start back.  We motored and sailed down to Little Cranberry Island, which is just across from Mt. Desert Island better know as Acadia National Park.  We checked out the small community (approx. 60 people) and hiked the only trail that our app showed.  It took us along the beach which is not sand but rocks that have been rolling for so long they are round.  Once off the trail we encountered what the island is best known for: mosquitos.  The guide tells us that some years back they drained the bogs  and "the cranberries never came back but the mosquitos did."  From there we moved to "Hells Half Acre" next to Devils Island.  The area has a reputation from back in the early days when the state was "Dry" but you could get liquor and other "adult pleasures" out in these islands.  We spent one night there and moved further up the bay to Southeast Harbor.  The appeal of this anchorage is that it had access to several hiking trails and was protected from all sides from a storm.  We took the dinghy to shore and used an old granite dock to access the trail.  We spent several hours hiking and came back to the dinghy for a surprise.  The tides here run 9-11 feet.  When we tied up the tide was going out but I thought we would be fine.  I was wrong, the dinghy was high and dry with the tide still going out.  We had two options, wait until the tide turned and came back in, in about five hours, or drag the dingy through the mud until it was floating again.  We opted to drag through the mud.  Several times we almost lost our shoes and at one point the mud was knee deep.  We were a mess, once we were floating we then paddled out to where we could drop the engine and motor back to the boat for showers.  The photos is on my phone so I can't upload it now but now we are able to laugh about it.

After several days in Southeast Harbor we moved to Vinalhaven Island planning to stop in Winter Harbor.  When we got there the winds were blowing into the harbor and it would have been unsettled so we turned into Seal Harbor, one of several Seal Harbors.  Hurricane Teddy was blowing down by Bermuda and sending it's outer wind bands and kicking up big seas in the area as it made it's way to Nova Scotia.  We were forecast to get those winds but we had good protection.  When the winds did hit several days later they we only saw gust into the 30 knot range.  We did take a day to go out in the dinghy to check out the area.  We had been to the island on a previous trip but had not been to this area.  It is an amazingly beautiful place.  We contacted our friends Lauren and Brian who we had met in the Caribbean when they had their boat Nightingale Tunes who now live in Vinalhaven.  They were able to come pick us up so we could spend the evening with them.  Lauren and Brian, thanks for your hospitality and a great meal.  We especially appreciate the invitation to bring our laundry.  We spent Tuesday, September 22, on the boat out of the cold north winds brought to us by Teddy.  It was also the Autumnal Equinox, the beginning of Fall.  We spent the next day on the boat wanting to give the seas a chance to die down after the winds.

We then moved on to Rockland, where we are now.  We have a number of things to take care of after this much time traveling.  We were running low on provisions, we needed to fill propane tanks, I needed to pick up a prescription, drop off some mail and we had scheduled a haul out.  The propane refill was accomplished by walking a mile to the supplier with each of us having a tank strapped to our backs.  Fortunately we use a small tank that hold about six pounds of propane so they are easily transported sticking out of a backpack.  Provisions were accomplished by taking the dinghy to the yard we were going to hauled out at and using there dock to get us closer to the store.  We still had a mile hike to get there and another mile back with the groceries, again in backpacks and carrying the extra bags.  I had also made an extra trip to the post office and to pick up some boat parts.  Sunday we made another trip into town for necessities such as wine, rum, and diet coke that we had not gotten on the previous trip.

Monday we were scheduled to be hauled out.  With the location of the boatyard and the tides we could only be hauled out at high tide.  We planned on having them power-wash the bottom to see how much was growing on it, the condition of the bottom paint and for me to check and service the propeller and zincs.  We arrived at our agreed time of 9:30 but had to wait until they finished hauling out three other boats before us.  What we had scheduled was what is called a "quick-haul" which is where they haul you out, leave you on the lift, perform the work and drop you back in the water.  This usually takes about an hour if all goes well.  Our problem was having to wait so that we would be the last ones to be hauled out since we were going to occupy the lift.  They decided that we would spend the night in the lift and be relaunched in the morning which was just fine with us.  Everything went as planned, the bottom was cleaned and surprisingly had little growth on it.  The propeller had very little growth on it, it is painted with a different paint then the hull, and I quickly got it cleaned and greased.  We had time in the evening to get a couple loads of laundry done and even a nice long hot shower.  The two drawbacks were that it rained in the morning and we were tracking mud all over the boat as we came and went and that I was not able to get plugged into power like I had hoped.

This morning we were relaunched and moved out to a mooring ball to finish putting everything back together.  We have looked at the weather forecast and today is forecast to be foggy and then a front coming through tomorrow that will kick up the winds and seas.  We have decided to hang out on the mooring to let that pass.

Still in Maine

We are still in Maine.  The temperatures are dropping, we have had many days where it doesn't get out of the 60's and nights in the 50's but we are hanging on.  This is a big shift from being in the islands and having 80's every day.

We left Portland and with little wind we motored up the coast to Quahog Bay then tucked into Hen Cove.  We wanted to go here because our friend Randall has a mooring here that he is not using and offered it to us.  We met Randall in the Caribbean and last saw him in Trinidad.  He was also gracious enough to pick us up and take us out for dinner and a provisioning run. Thank you Randall!  We spent a quiet week going for hikes to the next town to buy lobsters and to explore the area in our dinghy.  We left Hen Cove and continued on to Burnt Island.  This is a small island with some summer cottages and a secure anchorage that we had been to before.  We stayed for three days with never more then two other boats anchored around us.  We hiked the main trails and just hung out, staying an extra day because of fog.  We left Burnt and proceeded to Isle au Haut.  Isle is another island with a small year round community with a small store and a post office.  The appeal of this island is that about half of it is part of Acadia National Park, but without the crowds.  There is an extensive trail system and we spent several days hiking some trails trough the forests and along the shores.  We came across wild blackberry's and picked enough, after eating a lot, to add them to pancakes several mornings.  We had several days of fog and one day with rain and a serious thunderstorm but otherwise the temperatures are perfect for hiking but a bit cool at night.  

After a week we moved on.  We had planned to go to Acadia National Park for more hiking but we learned that the buses are not running due to Covid 19.  The buses were going to be our transportation getting to the trails so we decided to bypass and save them for another year.  Our next island, Long Island, had been suggested to us so that was our next stop.  There is a small community and an active lobster fishing fleet.  There are also some well maintained trails so we had another day hiking.  We stayed two nights on a mooring due to there not being much room to anchor and moved on to Eastern Harbor.  It was foggy in the morning but cleared up and we headed out.  About an hour later the fog formed again.  We have radar so the only downside of fog is that it is hard to see the floats for the lobster traps so we don't pick one up and get it wrapped in the prop.  We pulled into Eastern Harbor and were able to get one of the guest moorings.  Again, this is a harbor for lobster boats and in the morning and afternoon there is a lot of them coming and going.  The next day we were fogged in so we just relaxed on the boat.  Our main reason to stop here was because our next destination was further then we wanted to go in one day, breaking it into a two day trip.  We had another day with fog in the morning but it burnt off quickly and we headed out again.  Once again, after about an hour the fog rolled in.  We motored on, weaving between lobster floats and arrived at Mistake Island, set the anchor and settled in for the night.  In the morning we dinghied to the town of Jonesboro to hit the grocery store.  Once in the town harbor we got the OK from a family to use their dock to tie up to while we walked to the store.  Once we had our groceries we walked around the town for a bit stopping and having pizza for lunch.  While we had been out the winds had picked up a bit and it was a rough ride back to the boat, a twelve mile round trip.  Several of the lobster men we talked to were surprised we made the trip in such a small boat.  We then went ashore on Mistake Island to check out the lighthouse.  The Coast Guard maintains the light and fog signal but the lighthouse was sold and a young couple are trying to refurbish it.  We were lucky enough to be able to climb to the top and check out the view.  The next day we dinghied across to Great Wass Island to hike the trails there.  This being Labor Day Weekend we expected and met a number of people on the trails, otherwise we have been having the trails to ourselves.

At this point we have one more island we want to visit before we turn around and start heading back.  We had talked a lot during the past season about getting back to Maine and have not been disappointed.  The Covid Pandemic has not effected us much since we are staying out in the more isolated islands.  One of our goals was to spend a lot of time hiking and we have really been enjoying that.

Here are some photos:

A friendly seal checking us out as we were checking them out.

One of the interesting bridges in Quahog Bay built with the locally quarried granite.

Wildlife on Burnt Island, we don't usually see much because we are noisy hikers.

Hi Flite at anchor at Burnt Island.

Part of the hiking trail on Isle au Haut.

Debris on the beach.

The beaches are rock instead of sand.

The view back to the mainland from Isle au Haut.

Rocky cliff shoreline.

Rocks rounded off by centuries of water and ice rolling them around.

Part of the trail on Long Island runs along the shore.

Another part of the trail on Long Island.

The trail on Long Island ended next to a small cemetery.  This marker simply read "Unknown Soldier."

Moose Peak Lighthouse on Mistake Island.

Looking up inside the lighthouse.

The view from the lighthouse.

One last shot of the lighthouse.

Maine

 We are back in Maine!  It's been four years, we were here before we made the jump to the Caribbean and now we are back.  One of the appeals of Maine is that it reminds us of our time sailing on Lake Superior.  Now, how did we get here:

We left Annapolis on a Monday, stopping first to top off fuel and water.  We tried sailing up to the C&D Canal but with little wind we ended up motorsailing.  We stopped at the end of the canal for the night and in the morning we caught the current to go through the canal.  Once out of the canal we turned to go down the Delaware River to Cape May.  We had an uneventful trip motoring down the river fighting the current most of the day.  Eventually the tide and current changed and we continued on trying to make Cape May before dark.  We made it to the anchorage about 7:00 pm, dropped anchor and had a quick dinner.  We were anchored just behind Andy and Charlie on Avalon.  We had checked in with our weather advisor about the conditions going to Newport RI and it was a toss-up whether to go now or in the morning.  We chose to go.  We pulled anchor, motored out the entrance and set our course.  The forecast was for a storm around midnight but shouldn't be too bad.  With light winds we continued motoring.  Around midnight the winds picked up to 20 knots and we set the sails.  That was the extent of the storm, however there were a number of storm warnings on the radio so we were in just the right place to avoid them.  The winds only lasted for three hours and we were back to motoring.  The next night we could see lightning west of us and there were a lot of storm warnings on the radio for the coast of New Jersey into Long Island.  Again they missed up.  On Thursday at 4:00 pm we dropped anchor in Newport Harbor.  We had gone 241 miles in 44 hours, sailing just three of them.  Rum drinks were refreshing.  The next day we found an excuse to go into town and treated ourselves to ice cream.  On Saturday we moved to a mooring and Cori's cousins, Mike and Marietta, came out for a sail.  After the sail they took us home for a lobster dinner.  Thank you very much Mike and Marietta, it was delicious.  After an evening of visiting we were back on the boat for the night.

Sunday, the 26th, we dropped the mooring, pulled up at the fuel dock and topped off the fuel and water.  Instead of staying another night we decided to leave and headed off for Martha's Vineyard.  Our friends Lee and Cheryl had told us they expected us to stop by.  We sailed to the lower end of the Vineyard and picked up a mooring at Menemsha.  Anchoring would have been questionable with a lee shore and questionable holding.  In the morning we sailed up and around the island to Edgartown using our spinnaker.  Last time we were here we anchored out of the harbor and dinghied in.  This time we were able to use Lee's mooring.  We had a great time, we spent time with Lee and Cheryl, some time sightseeing in Edgartown and saw a bit of the island on their electric bicycles.  Electric bicycles are awesome!  Our last night Cori's cousin Pamela and her son Zack, treated us to dinner.  Thank you Pamela, it was great catching up.

Sunday, the 2nd, we dropped the mooring and moved over to the Elizabeth Islands to Hadley Harbor.  This is one of our all time favorite anchorages.  Since it was Sunday all of the mooring balls were taken so we anchored until they started to open up, then moved over to one to prepare for the hurricane.  At this time it was still off of the Florida coast but the track showed it moving up and hitting our area, just not sure where.  We took time to dinghy around and collected clams and mussels.  Thursday morning we finished our preparations and waited.  This harbor is protected on all sides so we didn't expect it to get too bad.  In the afternoon the winds started to pick up and around 4:00 pm we had winds of 30 knots, a lot better then we had expected.  The storm had taken a turn to the west and we were on the edge of it.  We had a couple of quick rain showers and everything calmed down.  It was something of a non-event for us but people in the path of the storm got hit real hard.  Once again we were lucky.  The next day it was still windy but we were able to get everything back to normal and Friday it was calm again.  Cori took the opportunity to explore the area in her kayak and I did a little maintenance on the 3.3 outboard.  The carburetor had gotten clogged and needed to be cleaned.  Fortunately while in the Raggeds when this happened Jerry from Persephone showed me how to disassemble and clean the carburetor.

On Friday we dropped the mooring and sailed up to Cape Cod Canal.  This canal cuts across Cape Cod and saves boats and ships from having to go all of the way around the Cape.  We picked up a mooring near the end of the canal and spent the night.  In the morning we stared out and rode the current through.  The current runs strong and it works better to time it to ride with it then to motor against it.  Once through the canal we were going to go up to Plymouth but what wind we had was on the nose.  We decided to go to Provincetown instead since we would be able to sail there instead of motoring.  We arrived in the afternoon, anchored and then went to shore to see if we could find an ice cream shop.  P-town is a very touristy place and it being a Saturday the place was packed.  We found our ice cream and wandered around for a while checking out some of the shops.  We will be back someday but maybe not on a weekend and after the pandemic has calmed down.  In the morning we pulled anchor and headed out for Isle of Shoals, a group of islands off of Portsmouth NH.  The winds were forecast to be 10 knots climbing to 20 in the afternoon which would make for an enjoyable sail.  Once again the forecast was off.  We ended up motoring the entire way, 12 hours and 66 miles.  The highlight was seeing a whale, the best sighting yet.  The next morning we took the dingy out for a ride but with the pandemic the islands that we are able to go ashore on were marked as closed to visitors.  We did get to watch a group of seals and then back to the boat to relax.

The next morning we got a late start hoping that the winds would pick up and we were off.  After about an hour of motoring the winds picked up enough that we could fly the spinnaker and we sailed up to the Saco River and picked up one of the cities free moorings for the night.  In the morning we headed off for Portland, but again we didn't have enough wind to sail.  We are now definitely in Maine, we could tell from the number of lobster pots that we have to be constantly vigilant about and maneuvering around.  We motored past the city and dropped anchor just past the mooring field sharing the anchorage with one other boat.  Today we dinghied to a boat ramp in a park and walked the park paths to downtown Portland to play tourist.  Tomorrow we will continue up the coast with plans to visit some friends.