Debi and Jack sailing on SV Iroquois

Vessel Name: Iroquois
Vessel Make/Model: Ohlson38
Crew: Jack Markin, Debi Dennis
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21 July 2019 | Belfast Maine
12 July 2019 | Pulpit Harbor, North Haven, Maine
27 July 2018 | Lincolnville Maine
05 July 2018 | Boothbay Harbor Maine
17 June 2018 | Falmouth Foreside, Maine
14 June 2018 | Portland Maine
12 June 2018 | Portsmouth New Hampshire
10 June 2018 | Jamestown CT
07 June 2018 | New Haven CT
30 May 2018 | Port Washington New York
27 May 2018 | Brooklyn New York
25 May 2018 | Atlantic City, New Jersey
24 May 2018 | Cape May NJ
23 May 2018 | Worton Creek
21 May 2018 | Annapolis Maryland
16 May 2018 | Solomons Island Maryland
13 May 2018 | Deltaville Virginia
11 May 2018 | Cape Charles Virginia
09 May 2018 | Hampton Virginia
06 May 2018 | Hampton Virginia
Recent Blog Posts
21 July 2019 | Belfast Maine

Belfast Maine

After Pulpit Harbor we stopped at Warren Island state park for a night before checking into Belfast. Nate came by in his little boat and took us up river which was way cool. We passed some houseboats, one of which was covered in plants. He even had peas growing up the stanchions  and lifelines.

12 July 2019 | Pulpit Harbor, North Haven, Maine

Pulpit Harbor

Iroquois is afloat again! We launched Wednesday in Rockport where we stayed all day readying and organizing. We had a nice get together and dinner in Camden with our Rockport friends then yesterday we did a shakedown sail to Pulpit Bay on North Haven. There was a light wind, 8-15 kts, so we put up the [...]

27 July 2018 | Lincolnville Maine

2018 The End

Iroquois is getting the full spa treatment. Every locker, cubby, lazarette, bilge emptied and cleaned. Varnish in and out. Metal cleaned. Winches serviced. Sails washed and repaired. The engine is serviced and winterized. Even the fuel is polished! The boat is going to enjoy a well-deserved rest in a [...]

05 July 2018 | Boothbay Harbor Maine

Boothbay Harbor

Our apologies for the lack of recent posts. We hung around Portland and Handy Boat -- visiting with family and friends and trying to adjust to a more land-based existence. Lily and Anthony came up for a Saturday dinner (oysters and lobster) aboard then sailed to our mooring at Handy Boat. The next weekend Zach and Maura came and we did the same thing. It was a pleasure to have Zach aboard for the first time. Thank you Maura! Hopefully it was enough fun they will want to come again. This past weekend the Garbers came and we did some sailing around Casco Bay. Lily was a good helmsman. She and Hubbard shared the duties. There wasn't much wind, but also no accidents. We had some great food in Portland, including two excellent meals at Fore Street, which did not disappoint. In between all the family visits we caught up with Stephanie and Brian on Detour. We met them on the OCC Norway Rally in 2016. They crossed over the next winter and spent last summer in Maine. They are just getting ready to take off on their next adventure as we wrap ours up. Hopefully they will have an excellent trip wherever the winds blow them. Handy Boat was very welcoming to us. It was fun to come back and see everyone who took such good care of us before our first Atlantic crossing. We also took in a concert by the  Frank Vignola Hot Jazz Trio, which was really good and a nice break in routine. Yesterday we motor sailed and motored to Boothbay Harbor. We will stay here a few days and visit with John and Ann who live here. We met in the Bahamas when Ann greeted us with a freshly baked loaf of bread. We were hungry and tired after a six day passage from St Thomas and her bread is amazing. It's hard to repay something like that. Anyway, this is our last hurrah for the season. Saturday we'll stop in Rockland. Sunday we move to Rockport and prepare to get hauled out Monday morning. Then we'll start work on the long list of deferred maintenance and repairs. We plan to be home in Wisconsin by August.

17 June 2018 | Falmouth Foreside, Maine

The Atlantic Circle is Complete

We have completed the Atlantic circle. Today we sailed from Portland to Handy Boat in Falmouth Foreside with Lily and Anthony. Almost exactly three years ago we left here on a transatlantic adventure. It's hard to imagine and even to remember all the places we've seen and all the people we've met. We [...]

14 June 2018 | Portland Maine

BacK in Maine

Jack woke me at 4:20 this morning, claiming that it was light, and we left Portsmouth harbor a little while after along with a fishing boat. It started as a slow day of dodging lobster pots. Every time I get annoyed by them I try to think about how delicious lobster is. There are so many of them, either there are a lot of lobsters or there will soon be none. Somewhere between Portsmouth and Portland we heard a sound we haven't heard for a very long time, it was the call of a loon which brought smiles to our faces. The wind did pick up and it turned into a nice sail all the way to Portland Maine. This is only the second place we've been in four years that we have actually been to before. We also stopped twice in Bergen Norway.  Anyway, we have certainly seen a lot of new places and the end of the journey is a little sad. Luckily Jack bought an oyster knife and we are docked near the fish market so we can treat ourselves and enjoy the moment.

Antigua

14 January 2018 | Jolly Harbour, Antigua
I am suffering from reverse culture shock. It really hit me in the supermarket -- everything is from the US and Mexico and super expensive compared to Spain and Portugal. Brands I haven't seen for a long time suddenly familiar again. I wonder how the people here are able to live on the 4 month season service industry wages. Also, socializing with Americans -- they, I mean we, are different and familiar at the same time. There are a bunch of boats here from the Salty Dawg Rally, which leaves from Virginia and usually goes to Bitter End in Virgin Gorda but this year went to Antigua because of the hurricanes. We were invited to a happy hour with them and got some advice on sailing back. Most of them are still heading south before going back, if at all. But they've done it multiple times. We are almost done fixing and cleaning. Yesterday  Jack worked at cleaning the topsides while I tried to clean the rust and salt off the metal. There was so much salt encrusted on the sides that he had to make several passes with straight vinegar to get it off. While we worked we watched a drama unfold across the fairway where a small fishing boat had sunk while tied to shore(there's been a ton of rain). For a long time the one guy worked to free and raise it alone. Then he recruited a guy to help pull and finally a couple of cruisers came over in their dinghy and pulled from the water until eventually they got the gunwales above water and he could bail it out. Sadly it looks like a pretty new engine on the back of it. Hopefully he can get it going again. Most every night we enjoy live music from one of the bars nearby. Tonight it's a little jazzy. The other night was a really good steel drum band. We received our new satellite router. We had to pay a broker $60US to collect it from FedEx at the airport, but we got it and it works. We are still waiting for our boat registration from the US coast guard. It's also Fedex, but they say that an envelope will be delivered to the marina. Once we get that we will head out to an anchorage and then off to Nevis. Today we walked a half hour to a really nice beach. The beach is next door to a very high end resort that is surrounded by a fence topped with both barbed wire and razor wire. The least expensive room is about 1500 US per night, the guy who told us about the beach thinks the villas highest on the hill of the place are in the 5000 range. There is a beach close to us, but it’s pretty crowded probably because it has a bar/restaurant. Anyway walking is good for us after so long on the boat. There was a nice little (5 vendors) farmers market here yesterday where we stocked up on vegetables, got some homemade yogurt and a tropical fruit which neither of us remembers the name of, but we do know it is something apple or vise versa. It was very tart and had an extreme peach like pit. The skin was like a very dry lemon. I think the lady selling it said the besides eating fresh it is used to make chutney. If any one says good wifi is a luxury they are either a luddite or a butt head, and you are not a luddite if you are wearing a suit. The last 9 months have been an exercise in learning to live with poor Internet access. I know that throughout history mariners have been cut off from family and friends, hence the note in a bottle. But it is still frustrating when there is Internet in theory but not in practice. God forbid this is not what the new net neutrality reality will be like.
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Iroquois's Photos - Main
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