Almost finished with the maintenance

I (Dale) had to make an emergency trip back to Minnesota for a week.  When I got back it was time to bring Hi Flite to the boatyard.  We had an appointment to be hauled out earlier but the storm caused us to postpone that.  Once i got back we brought her to the boatyard and she was hauled out.  We had just had the bottom cleaned while we were in Annapolis and the diver told us that the paint was no longer working.  Once out the crew gave her a good scraping and power wash.  The paint looks good but the antifouling is no longer working allowing slime and barnacles to grow.  We also have a problem in that the bootstripe is in the water.  The bootstripe is the white painted surface just above the waterline.  When we got fully loaded for our trip south the bootstripe was partially underwater.  We had talked about how to raise the waterline but it is a little complicated when you are dealing with curved surfaces.  Once she was out of the water I came up with what I thought was the correct solution.  I marked along the stripe every foot and made a measurement of the width at these marks.  I then divided the measurement in half.  After two and a half days of sanding off most of the old stripe we remarked both sides measuring down from the top of the stripe with the new widths. After taping we applied four coats of barrier coating to keep the water out of the fiberglass and then primed and painted the new line.  Since the white that was on there was so hard to keep clean we decided to change the color to match the gold stripe just below the toerail.  After two coats of primer and two coats of Awlgrip epoxy paint the new line is finished.  Next was painting the bottom.  We applied two coats of VERY expensive bottom paint.  The final step is for Cori to buff the hull to remove waterspots and oxidation making the blue really stand out.

We have completed a few other projects while we are on the hard but these are the big ones.  We should be back in the water tomorrow and tied up to our old slip at Matthews Point Marina.  The next step is to shop ofr provisions and then we are off south again.

No hurricane but...

Hurricane Joaquin took a more easterly route and did not make landfall but it was still ugly.  The storm that had devastated and flooded South Carolina was moving slowly up  the coast.  Eastern North Carolina had received several days of rain before we arrived and then the front really hit.  It was a classic Nor'easter with winds in the 30-40 knot range.  What happens next is the wind blows the water in Pamlico Sound south, building up in the creeks and rivers as all of the water from the rain is trying to make it's way to the ocean.  This causes the water in the creek to rise, and rise and rise.  By Sunday it was causing flooding in the low lying areas and rose above the docks.  There are several problems with the water over the docks: the lines are pulling up instead of laterally, the boat rises making it hard or impossible to get on and off and the electricity gets shut off.  If we had followed our first plan to anchor out for the storm it would not be such a problem.  At anchor the nose turns into the wind and rises and falls with the waves.  Tied to a dock she bounces like a hobby horse and heels left and right with the wind gusts, not a comfortable ride especially if it will last for several days.  We were having a hard enough time getting on and off before the water came over the docks and when we were told the electricity was being turned off we called our good friends Bill and Helen to see if we could stay at there house here at the creek.  We packed some clothes, the computers and a couple of days of food, shut most of the systems down and became dirt dwellers for a couple of days.  The winds continued until Monday evening when they slacked off and the water dropped to just below the docks.

Tuesday the water was still high but we were able to get back on board to continue putting things back together.  With the electricity off I wanted the solar panels mounted to keep the batteries up if the sun came out.  We spent another night ashore since the boat was still a mess with all of the laundry ready to be put away, one of the sails still off and the cushions below deck.

It is Wednesday and the sun is out, the electricity is back on and the water has dropped about a foot, still high but better.  We are in the process of straightening everything out, checking for locations that it may have leaked and gotten things wet and putting the last sail back on.  We were scheduled to be hauled out on Monday but with the weather that could not happen so we have rescheduled.  I am having to make a run back to Minnesota for a week so we will wait until I am back.  Cori is staying to take care of the boat and work some of the projects while I am gone.

We closed the circle

It is Wednesday, 9/23/2015, and the diver is late.  He had told us he would be over first thing in the morning.  I gave him a call around 10:00 and he said he was on his way.  Once he got there it didn't take him long to clean and inspect the hull.  We planned to leave as soon as he was done but agreed with him that it was a little late and the weather was not the best.  We stayed another night.  In the morning we dropped the mooring ball and headed out.  Once we were out into the bay we raised the sails and started sailing.  The wind was a little too much from behind us and the main sail was blocking the wind for the headsail causing it to flog as the boat rolled.  We dropped the main and used our spinnaker pole on the headsail to keep it from collapsing as the waves would make the boat roll.  Not the most comfortable sail but it sure beat motoring.  We arrived in the early evening at the Patuxent River with intentions of going into The Solomon's for the night.  We decided to skip that and picked out a spot on the river that was protected from the waves and anchored there for the night.

In the morning we caught the 7:30 weather forecast and headed out again. The wind had shifted from the northeast to east giving us a better angle to the wind and less rolling from the waves.  We were able to sail again instead of motoring.  Our one problem was that when I set a waypoint to go to I didn't notice that it went through a Navy target area.  Usually that is not a problem unless they are doing some target practice. As we approached the area we were hailed by the range boat asking us to alter course since they were "working on a project."  Not wanting to be shot out of the water we were happy to comply.  The wind and waves kept building all day until we were in 3-4 foot waves and 15-20+ knot winds.  We made it past the Potomac River and anchored in Mill Creek.  We had been there on our last trip to the Chesapeake and were familiar with how protected it was.  We spent the weekend there as inclement weather moved through.  There was a lot of wind and it rained off and on Saturday and Sunday.

On Monday the weather had cleared and we left our anchorage.  Once out in the Bay we set all sails and headed South. Teh winds died off for a little while so we had to motor for about an hour then the winds came back at about 10-15 knots pushing us along at between 5 to 8 knots.  8 knots is about as fast as this boat will sail so it was a good ride.  By evening we made it to Hampton Roads and dropped anchor just before sunset.  We spent the evening going over charts trying to decide how far we could make it the next day.  Our goal was Coinjock NC but that was assuming a good start, no delays and we would be pushing it to make it in one day.  The only option for us would be to just go as far as Chesapeake and stay at the Great Bridge again.

In the morning we listened in on the weather forecast for the east coast on our single side-band radio and got the news that tropical storm Joaquin was expected to form into a hurricane and possibly make landfall in North Carolina.  It was time to get moving.  We pulled anchor and made plans for Coinjock.  As we motored through Norfolk and approached our first bridges, two of them railroad bridges that are almost always open.  They were both closed causing us about 15 minute delays at each.  We were late for the Great Bridge locks and had to wait about 40 minutes to be locked down.  We had three more bridges to clear and made it on time for the openings at the first two but had to wait about 15 minutes for the last one.  Once done with the bridges we continued on to Coinjock arriving about 6:00 pm.  We stopped long enough to top off the fuel and fill the water tanks.  We chose to continue to an anchorage we knew about.  As it got dark it was harder to pick out the markers to follow the channel.  With a spotlight we were able to locate them but also attracted a lot of bugs.  Then it decided to rain.  We arrived at the anchorage and dropped the anchor under pouring rain and crashed for the night after traveling 62 nautical miles.

We were up early the next morning and continued on pushing at 7 knots.  We made it down the Alligator River and through the Pungo-Alligator canal and dropped anchor near the exit of the canal at sundown.  A 67 nautical mile run.

Thursday morning we were up at 6:30 to be ready to leave at first light.  The forecast for the day was rain so we decided to remove the mainsail and store it below deck so it wouldn't be wet when we had to store it.  Once underway we got a call from Kindred Spirit as they were leaving Belhaven.  We had met them while up in New London.  We pushed at 7 knots again and made good time arriving at Matthews Point Marina about 2:30 and got tied up in our old slip.

After saying hello to old friends we started getting the boat ready for a hurricane.  This involves removing the sails, the dodger and bimini canvas and the solar panels.  Anything that can catch the wind needs to be removed or tied down.  It din't help that it was raining and everything was wet.  We got the dinghy and motors off and stored onshore and called it quits.  Bill and Helen invited us over for a late supper and she had picked up a cheesecake for desert.  She knows how much I like cheesecake.  We were planning to finish in the morning and take Hi Flite out to anchor for the storm.

This morning, Friday, 10/2/2015 we checked the weather to see the proposed path of hurricane Joaquin and learned that it had shifted east and would no longer make landfall.  The marina was no longer making the boats anchor out so we were able to relax.  It has been raining off and on today and when it is not raining we have started putting things back together.  We are planning to be hauled out next week to take care of some problems and to paint the bottom.

Annapolis MD

We are in Annapolis MD getting ready to continue down the Chesapeake Bay.

We hung out in Atlantic Highlands doing exciting things like shopping at the farmers market.  We got some of the best fresh tomatoes and after a quick run to the store for bacon we have been eating a lot of BLT’s.  Cori had an opportunity to catch up with one of her co-workers and I got to do problem solving with the outboard.  After bringing Cori to shore I was on my way back to the boat when the outboard just quit, sort of like running out of gas.  It would restart then kill.  I knew I had at least a half tank of gas so that couldn’t be it.  I was lucky to get a tow back to the boat then started thinking it through.  For some reason if the tank was more than half full it would run.  We had a problem with the fuel pump last winter and had not replaced it since it was running fine.  I decided that it was a pump issue and started to look for a pump.  I finally got connected with Gateway Marine.  They had what they thought was the right pump but the part number was different.  Their top mechanic verified that the new part replaced the old one and it was the correct part.  Next problem was they were about 5 miles away and we had no transportation.  Richard Ketchow, the owner drove over to the marina to pick me up and bring me to the shop.  After verifying with the photo I took of the part on the outboard we had a match.  They also made sure that I had a replacement O ring and a replacement screw and washer in case one went overboard.  Then they gave me a ride back to the marina.  That is OUTSTANDING customer service and I greatly appreciate it.  If you are in the Atlantic Highlands area and need help with an outboard five them a call, 723-787-2212.  I am rethinking all of the nasty things I have said over the years about New Jersey.  We had a couple of days of intermittent rain while we were there waiting for a favorable window.  We had a group of boats traveling from Canada come in and anchor around us when unexpectedly a boat that had been there for several days started to drag it’s anchor.  I would like to say thing happened but it and one of the Canadian boats got together and caused some bent parts on both.  The marina was able to contact the owner and bring him out and he got his boat re-anchored securely.  That is one of the big worries, no matter how well you do your job you are under the mercy of other boats around you.  We have spent more time here then we had planned but traveling by boat is all about choosing your weather window.

Monday morning and two things happened: the forecast was favorable for a trip south and it was 56 degrees.  It was time to move south.  The winds were forecast to be 15-20 with winds out of the west to northwest with gusts to 25.  This put it on our beam or slightly behind us with the wind coming off the land and only building 2-3 foot waves.  We pulled anchor motored out of the bay and set sail.  We had several inlets that we could duck into but we were planning to go all of the way to Cape May, the mouth of the Delaware River, in one shot.  We had a great sail all day and during the night we fired up the motor when the winds dropped.  We continued to motorsail through the night and arrived at Cape May at sunrise.  As the sun came up we motored into the harbor, passed through and caught the Cape May Canal into the Delaware.  Going up the river the winds were light and on the nose so we motored up the river and anchored near the entrance to the D & C canal.  In the morning we slept late to catch up on sleep and to wait for a favorable current.  At noon we entered the canal and motored through into the Chesapeake Bay and anchored for the night in the Sassafras River riding a favorable current all of the way.  In the evening we got the charts for the Bay out and started planning the next couple of days.  We planned to stop another night before going into Annapolis but once we were underway we decided to continue on.  We need the boats bottom cleaned and we started making calls to dive services to find someone available.  We found one that could “maybe” get to us on Monday.  We planned to stay over the weekend so that was not a problem.  We arrived in Annapolis and motored up the river to Weems Creek.  We had heard that the cost of the moorings in Annapolis had gone up so we were looking for a place to anchor.  It turns out that the Navy has moorings in Weems Creek that they use for hurricanes and they are available for use.  We tied to one of their moorings and settled in.

Saturday morning we walked to Enterprise to pick up our rental car and as we walked by the stadium we discovered that they were playing ECU that afternoon.  Once we had the car we made a run to Bacon and Fawcett’s, two marine supply stores, Trader Joe's and then to Red Hot and Blues for ribs.

Sunday, the 20^th, we planned to make a trip into Washington DC.  September 20 is the anniversary of my brother’s death while serving in Vietnam.  Being this close to Washington I wanted to make a trip to the Wall.  I have visited there many times when I am in the area but this was the first time to be there on the day.  It is always a moving experience.  We walked over to the WWII Memorial then back to the car and drove over to Georgetown for lunch then back to Annapolis.

Monday Cori took the rental car to Glenn Burnie to pick up a replacement solenoid for our starter.  The present one is causing a problem.  It is a hard part to find and we have found prices run from $50-300.  Obviously I am not going to pay that high of a price.  One shop we called looked it up and said there was no way they would sell it to me for that price.  An honest dealer, he knew that what his catalog showed him was far more then it was worth.  He did give me the name of a shop to call.  They have the part, just under $50 but they are not open on Saturdays.  The diver was going to try to make it later in the day and clean the bottom.  We didn’t hear from him until the end of the day and he will put us on the list for first thing Wednesday.  Cori got back at lunch time and after lunch I started on the starter problem.  I was able to get the solenoid loose from the starter but not off of it.  Next I tried removing the starter.  There are three bolts and one is just about impossible to reach.  By adding extensions onto the socket wrench I was able to get to the last bolt and remove it.  Now that the starter was off life was going to be better.  When I compared the two solenoids side by side there was a difference. One had three connections and the new one had four.  I called the dealer and he explained that that particular solenoid came in two versions, if my old one had three connections I just had to use those connections and didn’t need the fourth.  I decided to trust him and reinstalled everything and made the electrical hookups with only one bright flash when I shorted the battery cable.  We gave it a try and it all works.  The real test will be when we try starting with a less than full battery charge which is when we were having the problem.

Tuesday and it is overcast again with a threat of rain later in the day.  We took the dinghy to shore and walked up to the coffee shop to use their WiFi.  The forecast is better for traveling on Wednesday so we are planning to continue on once the diver has the bottom clean.

Atlantic Highlands NJ

We are in Atlantic Highlands NJ, just inside an area called Sandy Hook.  We are staged here to wait for a weather window to take us offshore to Cape May and the Delaware River.

We left the Thimble Islands on Wednesday 9/2/15 with plans to stop for the night at Port Jefferson on Long Island.  With the winds on the nose we decided to change our course and move further west to Huntington Harbor.  If we have to motor we might as well get as far each day as we can.  This is the payback for the leisurely downwind sails we had going east, now we need to go against the prevailing winds.  Last time we went all of the way into Huntington Harbor to anchor but this time we stayed at a nice pond off of the entrance with about 12 feet of water and protection from all directions.  We saved several hours by not going into the harbor and we had better protection.  In the morning we took our chances with the tide and motored out of the pond, with about 3-4 feet of water under the keel and headed back to Port Washington.

The trip to Port Washington was uneventful, no wind and flat calm water.  Once into the Bay we picked up one of the moorings and settled in.  Friday we were planning to take the train into NYC but just as we got ready to get into the dinghy it started to rain.  We called off the trip and spent the morning on the boat.  In the afternoon we went to town for groceries and then back to the boat to relax (nap).  I wasn’t too sure about going into the city on a holiday weekend but Saturday morning we decided to go anyway.  We caught the train in then took the subway to the South Side Seaport.  There is a ship there called The Peking which is rather famous.  It is one of the last of the steel hulled clipper ships.  We had seen a movie about the ship and took the opportunity to go aboard for a tour.  Once we finished there it was pass lunch time and I wanted to go back to Katz’s for another pastrami sandwich.  Instead of catching the subway we walked there.  This took us through Chinatown and the Bowery.  I really like walking around in Chinatown, everything they sell there is so interesting.  At Katz’s there was a long line but it moved quickly and we got to know a nice couple from Boston and had lunch with them.  From there we went to the 911 memorial and then down to Battery Park to see the new carousel.  We have seen a lot of carousels this trip since many towns have them but this was the firdt with fish instead of horses.  From there it was subway to Grand Central and a walk to Times Square to watch people.  From there we walked to Penn Station for our trip back to Port Washington.  A lot of walking but there is a lot to look at.

On Sunday morning I took the dinghy to a marina to buy some gas and get advice on where to anchor.  Port Washington offers free moorings for 48 hours and we were beyond that.  We needed to move off the ball or start paying.  This is a no-brainer for me, I am a cheap sailor.  We dropped the mooring and moved up the bay and anchored.  We had a lot of company, this being a holiday weekend, and a lot of locals take their boats to the area and anchor and raft up for the day and play in the water or just kick back on their water loungers.  The entertainment at the end of the day was watching a sailboat drag their anchor.  Normally this would not be funny but these guys deserved it and they didn’t cause any damage.  When they came in he chose the spot, told her to drop the anchor, backed up and at some point yelled for her to cleat it off.  I doubt very much that he actually knew how much rode he had out and what his final scope was  (how much anchor line in relation to the water depth).  Then three friends came out to tie up with him and spend the day.  Mid-afternoon the wind shifted 180 degrees and the tide came in, an additional 7 feet of water.  The wind shift meant that the pressure on the anchor was wrong and it would have to either hold as is or turn itself around and reset.  The extra weight from the boats rafted together and the extra depth from the incoming tide caused the anchor to come loose and could not reset.  Four boats tied together floating away.  It was quite the fire drill watching them scramble to get everything disconnected and the floating toys brought aboard.  Karma will probably get me for laughing but I’ll take the hit when it happens.

Monday was a quiet day, Cori took the Kayak to town and I chilled out on the boat.  We planned to leave on Tuesday but stayed another day to give us better currents while going through NYC.  We went to town to send off some mail, do a little shopping and have lunch.  Then it was back to the boat to get ready for the next day.

We got up early get started, we had a schedule to keep if we were going to make the trip down the East River.  The currents in the area called Hell Gate are severe, running over 4 knots at its highest and there are only a couple of times a day when you want to pass.  We made it through Hell Gate with only one problem, the autopilot locked up and would not let me steer when we had to make the dog-leg turn.  Quickly dropping down below to turn it off solved the problem.  What caught us by surprise was the current and sea-state after that.  The river splits when it gets to Roosevelt Island and with the wind on the nose we had 2-3 foot waves to beat through, not something I was expecting.  Going with the current pushing us an extra 1.5-2 knots it was a rough ride.  Once past the island things calmed down again and we had an uneventful passage down the harbor and across to Sandy Hook.  We proceeded down to Atlantic Highlands and dropped anchor behind the seawall.  Since we got such an early start we still had a lot of the day left so we took the dinghy to town.  After wandering around for a while and nothing else to do we stopped at a barbecue place for a couple of orders of ribs.  Once out of the restaurant we hurried back to the boat to get things closed up before the rain arrived.  It rained most of the evening and off and on during the night.

This afternoon we took the dinghy back to town for lunch at the bagel shop, bought some fresh roasted coffee from the coffee shop (fresh out of the roaster) and a trip to the grocery store for some eggs and a few other provisions.  It has been raining off and on during the afternoon and evening and is supposed to continue into the weekend.  We are staying here until we get a good forecast for the trip offshore to Cape May and the Delaware River.

In the Thimble Islands

We stayed a couple of extra days in Greenport.  While at Shelter Island I found that the service station next to the docks would refill our propane tanks so on Monday I brought two over to be filled.  I got what I think is a real good deal in that they filled two for what I had been paying for on back in Havelock.  On Monday evening we went back into town for dinner and a free concert in the park.  The return trip to the boat in the dark was uneventful, even when the ferry was shining its light on us.  We decided to leave on Wednesday so on Tuesday we made another trip into town for some special provisions.  I had bought some fresh tomatoes at a farm stand in the town parking lot and we needed to go back for more and a trip to the grocery for bacon and lettuce.

On Wednesday we headed out.  The currents here are strong and I am getting a better handle on timing them so we had an option of leaving at 7:00 am or a little after noon.  We chose noon.  After our BLT’s we headed out to an area called Plum Gut.  If we timed it right with the current we would have an easy pass through, if we got there too early we would be fighting the current and the waves.  We hit it just about right and had an easy passage, then turned to New London.  We had a real nice sail across the sound and tied up to the yacht clubs mooring again.  Dan and Marcia and Sandy and Chuck were excellent hosts taking Cori to stores for provisions, including us in the Friday evening cookout and going walking.  We returned the cruising books we had borrowed and spent our three free days on the mooring.

On Sunday we dropped the mooing line early to take advantage of the currents and headed out again.  We made an attempt at sailing but the wind was not favorable.  We had to tack either out into the middle of the sound or towards shore, neither in the direction we wanted to go.  We ended up motoring most of the way but we were able to charge the batteries and make water along the way.  At the Thimble Islands we had to make a decision on where to anchor.  The cruising guides listed several, the first spot I wanted to check just looked too small for us to have adequate swing room, the second looked good until we hit a rock going in.  This caused some raised heartbeats.  We ended up going into the anchorage area that is reported to have a lot of moorings which makes it hard to anchor among since we swing different when the wind shifts or current switches.  We tried finding a spot at the far end of the anchorage but since it was low tide we went aground, fortunately moving very slowly.  The chart showed more water there then what we found.  As we backed off and started looking for another spot something did not sound right and we had a lot of vibration.  We moved back a little and dropped the anchor.  Things were running and sounding alright until we put it in gear, then it started again.  Something was wrong with the propeller.  It would have to wait until the next day, we had covered 38 nautical miles and it had been a long day.

Monday morning, and it was another beautiful day.  I put on my mask and fins and dove down to check the prop.  I have a buoyancy problem and have to work at diving below the surface instead of just floating.  This makes it hard for me to get under the boat and stay for any length of time.  What I found was a cable wrapped around the propeller and shaft.  We picked it up when we were aground.  I tried several times to dive down and cut it off but was not able to stay under very long and only got a couple of pieces and it was wrapped tight.  Plan B: hire a diver.  We made a number of calls, including one to a marina that told us then could take care of it if we came in.  Unfortunately that was not going to happen since we couldn’t use the engine until the cable was removed.  After several more calls we got the name of a diver and gave him a call.  We explained the situation and got his assurance that he could make it out to us later in the next day or the next.  When he showed up he explained that he had just broken two ribs over the weekend and was not supposed to be working.  He was able to cut all of the cable off, it turned out to be an underwater phone cable, and also cleaned the growth off of the propeller and shaft.  I will upload photos to the gallery later.  If you are in the Stony Creek and Branford CT area and need a diver give Edward Say a call.  We took the dinghy out for a tour of the island and then hung out for the rest of the day.

The Thimble Islands are granite outcroppings uncovered in the last ice age and all but one is privately owned with a variety of houses on them.  According to Ed there is a lady that owns a number of them and is building reproductions of Victorian homes on them.  Some of the housed are spectacular.  According to the Internet, and you know it has to be true if you find it there, Jane Pauley and her husband Gary Trudeau have a house here.  One of the islands has been given to the government and has been converted to a National Wildlife Refuge.

This morning, 9/1/15, we made a run to the refuge and walked the trails.  Now we are back on the boat running the generator, making water and defrosting the freezer.  We plan to leave in the morning when the currents are favorable.

Elizabeth Islands, Block Island and Eastern Long Island

When we last left you we were still in Hadleys Harbor.  We spent the day with Lee and Cheryl just relaxing, clamming and had a nice dinner on Shalaylee.  In the morning they left but we stayed since it was forecast for rain and for once they were right.  It was a quiet day with the high point being when we baked a cake.  It was nice to have a treat for several days.

Wednesday, the 12^th dawned bright and clear, it is time to move on.  We raised anchor and left the harbor and headed into Buzzards Bay.  On the way we were passed by the three masted ship “Mystic”.  I would love to sail on one someday.  We motored down the bay to the Island of Cuttyhunk since everyone said we needed to visit there.  We stopped here on the way to Martha’s Vineyard but only anchored out not going ashore.  This time we moved into the inner harbor and anchored off to the side of the mooring field.  The first to hail us was Patrick who was next to us at Hadley Harbor.  We got the local information: where to get water, drop off trash, where the dinghy dock is and so on.  Several people had told us it was a nice stop but one day would be all it would take to see everything.  We stayed for four days.

We took a walk around the small village checking out the market and following Tower Hill Road to the top of the island to check out the view.  We made the mistake of not bringing cameras.  We came back the next day to take pictures.  The summit has a WW II bunker that has been turned into an observation platform.  There are trails leading to several other bunkers that were built during WW II as observation posts for subs and ships at the mouth of Long Island Sound and Buzzards Bay.  We also took the dinghy out of the harbor and went ashore along a sand spit that leads to the cut opening from Buzzards Bay to Vineyard Sound.  We didn’t find shells but a lot of variety of rocks.  On Saturday we took the hike down the island to the south end.  Here there is a pond used for raising shellfish and is also the location of the Gosnold Monument.  History has always interested me but there is so much that we are not told.  For example: Jamestown settlers landed on the James River in Virginia.  How did they know to go there and what was going to be there when they arrive?  It turns out that five years earlier Bartholomew Gosnold traveled the area, charted the islands, built a small fort and stayed on Cuttyhunk for about a month, traveled the coast extensively and was one of the captains that brought the settlers to Virginia.  Basically, historians need to pick a starting point to begin their records and gloss over what happened before.  From the monument we followed the shore back to town, climbing along a rocky shoreline to get back traveling about a third of the island in the process.  My poor knees, thank goodness Cori thought to pack us a lunch.

Sunday, 8/16/2015, it was time to move again.  We had received word from Dan and Marcia on Cutting Class that they were on their way to Block Island.  We made plans to meet up with them.  First we decided to make a stop at Newport again to provision and get cleaned up.  It was a motorboat ride until the wind came up and we could put out the headsail and motorsail.  We learned a lesson; don’t come into Newport Harbor on a Sunday afternoon unless you want to deal with traffic.  We dodged everything from small sailing dinghies to big sport fishers moving up, down and across the river.  Once anchored we were ready to launch the dinghy.  On our previous stay we had always gotten wet from the chop splashing into the dinghy.  We decided to stay dry this time and called for a launch to come pick us up.  At $3 each we thought it was a good deal.  They dropped us off at the Maritime Center; we stashed our stuff in a locker ($3) and walked up to the grocery store.  Once back from the store we hit the showers ($1.75).  Once we were all cleaned up we called for the launch to pick us up and return us to the boat.  For dinner we had the fish that Cori caught the day before while we were in Cuttyhunk.  That’s it, our entire stay in Newport; we left first thing in the morning.

We were off to Block Island.  Every sailor has heard of Block Island, it seems to be every east coast sailor’s destination.  There is a large natural harbor that is filled with boats and as we entered Dan came alongside in his dinghy to give us the lay of the land.  There are a lot of moorings here both private and public.  The public moorings were full (and expensive) so we moved to the anchorage area to choose our spot.  The anchorage gets as crowded as the mooring fields.  We found a spot we felt comfortable and dropped anchor, let out a lot of chain and set the anchor as hard as we could.  The bottom is not the best and boats are known to drag anchor and go for a walkabout.  The wind was kicking up and the harbor was getting rough so we chose to stay on the boat.  In the morning we launched the dinghy and headed to shore to check out the island.  From the marina that has the dinghy dock to town is about a mile walk.  Once ashore the breeze was not as noticeable and it was HOT.  We walked around town checking out the shops, watched people, and had lunch.  Block Island has been a vacation spot since Victorian times and it still is.  The ferries arrived regularly discharging their passengers heading to the beaches.  There are some very nice beaches but the town is very touristy.  We were back to the boat in the early afternoon then went to Cutting Class for a visit.  After drinks, snacks and advice we were back on-board for the evening.  We were planning to leave in the morning but by then the winds had died down and the harbor was not as rough.  Cori launched her kayak and paddled to shore to check out a beach.  I stayed on-board and took care of a couple of maintenance projects.  One of the features of Block Island is the coffee and pastry boat in the morning and then returning in the afternoon to sell fresh fish.  We had cinnamon rolls in the morning and bought some swordfish steaks for dinner.

Thursday 8/20/2015.  Time to move on, we pulled anchor to be surprised by a clam that had attached itself to one of the wire ties I use to mark the chain.  That was a first.  We headed out early since there was a forecast for rain but none of it materialized.  We tried sailing to Montauk on the east end of Long Island.  While crossing we were taking the waves on our side causing a lot of roll.  The wind died to less than 10 knots and everything was taking a bad beating so we fired up the engine and motored across.  The advantage of motoring is that I can also run the water-maker but we are burning fuel and not sailing.  Once in the lee of Long Island the swell decreased,  the wind came up 15-20 knots so it was back to sailing.  We bypassed Montauk Harbor and chose to anchor for the night in Old Fort Bay.  Next time we will have to go ashore but for now we just spent the night and moved on in the morning.  During the night we saw a bright yellow anchor light across the bay that looked unusual.  In the morning we saw that it was a Coast Guard cutter.  They are a little more armed with bigger guns then the smaller CG boats so we gave them a lot of space as we left.  We were on our way to Greenport.

We bypassed the Greenport harbor and its mooring field and marinas and dropped anchor in Pikes Cove.  Marinas and moorings are extremely expensive in this area so we choose to save our money and anchor out.

Saturday 8/22/2015.  We took the dinghy to town and hit the farmers market for some fresh vegetables and eggs then walked around to check out the business district.  Greenport is a very old town with a long history of shipbuilding, whaling and oyster harvesting.  Had we been here over the 4^th of July we would have seen the tall ship rendezvous and the arrival of the Hermione, a replica of the ship Lafayette took to the Colonies to aid with the Revolutionary war.  As we were leaving the harbor we were flagged down by a small sailboat that could not get into the harbor.  It was powered by an electric motor and something was wrong.  We hooked a line and towed them to their dock.  Our good deed for the day.  After lunch we headed back to town to check it out some more, visiting more shops, a museum and Cori’s favorite, the local microbrewery tasting room.  Before leaving we made a run to the marina to buy gas for the outboards and the generator.  While there the attendant gave us the schedule for the Monday night concerts in the park so I guess we will be here for a few days.

It is Sunday 8/23/2015 and we are spending the morning with the generator running and the water-maker pumping out fresh water.  We are able to make about three gallons an hour.  What doesn’t sound like much but it is helping us avoid stopping at a marina.  We have not been to a marina to charge batteries and take on water since the beginning of July, our longest stretch yet.  Usually we try to stop about once a month to let the batteries get a good deep charge.  Since then we have been relying on solar, charging while we motor and the generator.  For water we are making our own, filling jugs when we go ashore or as we did in Edgartown, pull up to the water raft and fill the tanks.  We are staying as self-sufficient as we can.

We plan on staying here a few more days taking the dinghy on excursions to check out the area then head back to New London to return borrowed cruising books then continue back towards New York City and points South.  We still do not have good Wi-Fi service so pictures and map updates will have to wait.