07/02/2009, Portsmouth NH
Wildflower field in Cuttyhunk (photo by Gerard)
REST OF TODAY
E WINDS 10 TO 20 KT WITH A FEW GUSTS UP TO 25 KT.
SEAS 2 TO 4 FT. SHOWERS WITH A CHANCE OF TSTMS. WIDESPREAD DENSE FOG. VSBY VARIABLE TO LESS THAN ONE QUARTER MILE.
TONIGHT
E WINDS 5 TO 15 KT...BECOMING S AFTER MIDNIGHT. SEAS 2 TO
4 FT. SHOWERS LIKELY WITH A CHANCE OF TSTMS IN THE EVENING...THEN A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIDESPREAD DENSE FOG. VSBY VARIABLE TO LESS THAN ONE QUARTER MILE
That's the forecast for today and tonight. But the chance of rain part is way off. Its pouring! We arrived here yesterday after deciding we didn't want to spend another day motor-sailing through dense fog. Isles of Shoals are just 8 miles off Portsmouth harbor so we motored in and picked up a mooring from the Portsmouth Yacht Club. We went in for lunch and walked around, finding a very attractive downtown core. Then back to the boat for the evening.
Today when we finally got up, we knew that we were here for another day, and the forecast confirmed it. So when the rain lets up we'll head ashore for lunch and to buy a few things necessary due to our extended cruise.
Hopefully tomorrow we'll be off again. It will probably still be foggy, but with no rain and with a southerly breeze for sailing.
Changing Lanes is still with us. They came in to a local boatyard to have some work done on the engine to find out why it kept dying. The diagnosis was... out of fuel!!! The boat is brand new to them and all boats take getting used to so now they have sorted out the fuel system and found the fuel guage.
So a rainy afternoon in Portsmouth for us. Based on what we have seen, the local flood warnings should be taken seriously!
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06/30/2009, Islas of Shoals
Outdoor restaurant, Cuttyhunk
We left Block Island like we arrived, in the fog. We arrived about noon, in time to head ashore for a walk and lunch. "Changing Lanes" (John Lane and Ev Price from Newfoundland) arrived about an hour later. We had a greasy lunch, deep fried everything... shrimp, fish & chips and clam cakes. Delicious, but stayed with us for a long time. Gerard did some shopping, painful to watch, so I wandered ahead, and then we bought some groceries and back to the boat. Supper was sesame tuna steaks with a wasabi/soy sauce.
In the morning we filled up with fuel and water (it's been a motor-sailing trip) and headed out into the fog. We motored north up the west side of Block Island, about 3 miles, then hoisted the sails and enjoyed the cool north breeze as we sailed through Rhode Island Sound to Cuttyhunk. The fog cleared by noon giving us a nice afternoon sailing. Cuttyhunk is a small island with a few houses, a small store, some nice walking trails and little else. But its a convenient stop and very nice.
"Changing Lanes" picked up a mooring beside us and in the evening we became the first official visitors aboard! Celebrations were appropriate for the occasion.
Monday morning dawned as usual, foggy. We had a late start as we had to wait for the small yacht club (mostly a junior program) to open for more shopping. By 0930 hrs we were off. In calm air and thick fog we motored up Buzzards Bay with one person constantly on the radar watching for targets.
As we approached the Cape Cod Canal, we our speed picked up, being pulled by the tidal current rushing through. By mid-canal (in clear air, as the fog again lifted at noon) we were motoring at 10.7 knots. We hoped to time it so that the video camera would record our passage, but missed it. Out in Cape Cod Bay we hoisted sails and enjoyed a nice afternoon sail across to Provincetown.
In Provincetown we picked up a mooring and headed ashore. Because it was late in the day, we just headed for the grocery store then back to the boat. With a stop at the excellent Portuguese Bakery. The sights in Provincetown are always entertaining.
This morning dawned... you guessed it, foggy. Thank goodness we have a good heater to warm and dry the boat. But the warmth contrasted by the cool dampness outside caused us to be slow in getting underway. And with a long day's run to Isles of Shoals, we needed to get going. So we were off, in company with Changing Lanes again, shortly after 0800. From Provincetown on the tip of Cape Cod, we headed north, our course of 65 miles taking us out across Stellwagen Bank, a feeding ground for whales. We have never crossed it without seeing them and today was no exception. However today the fog never completely lifted. It would close in to less than 100 yds visibility then go up to a mile then back down again. So we again kept someone on the radar constantly. At noon, we had lunch of pasteries from Provincetown and the whales arrived. Gerard was excited! The only other excitement was dodging a high speed whale-watching boat bearing down on us. We saw him on radar and altered course, but on he came until he appeared out of the fog and came to a halt to let us pass.
But that was it. The rest of the day was spent in motor-sailing in the thick cold fog, arriving at Isles of Shoals at 1930 hours. Approaching the isles, we were paying very close attention tyo navigation as the entry between the rocks and granite isles is not large. Passing safely between the unseen White Island Ledge and Star Island, we rounded up and dropped the main then wove our way in to the anchorage between Star and Cedar Islands. Picking up a vacant mooring, we settled in for the night. Just 50 yards from the islands, Gerard was convinced we had anchored in the middle of the ocean as there was not a sign of land. But we were comfortable and coached Changing Lanes in until they picked up a mooring beside us. Down below for a hot meal and a night in the cabin!
The weather forecast continues to look poor later in the week, so tomorrow we'll do another long day to get us up to the mid-coast of Maine, where we can slow down.
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06/27/2009, Great Salt Pond, Block Island
Lightning at sea
Well, our trip up the coast to Barnegat never quite happened. Through the night the winds remained light from the south so that we alternated between motor-sailing and sailing. By dawn we were opposite Cape May, about 25 miles out and the wind shifted north on our nose. I called Chris Parker, our weather guy on the SSB radio and he told me it would stay like that until noon when it would swing back to the south. So with that, we bore off and sailed in to Cape May where we anchored to await he wind.
In Cape May we met a boat from Newfoundland. At least its headed there. John Lane, from St John's, just bought a Caliber 38' "Changing Lanes" in Chesapeake Bay and is headed home with it. They too had just come in waiting for the wind. There were comments about not repeating last night's experience, but I'm not sure what that referred to.
When the wind shifted, about one o'clock, we headed out again. But it was now too late to make Barnegat, so we headed for Atlantic City. It was again a nice sail, interrupted from time to time by some motor-sailing, so that it was 7 pm when we finally anchored in a 3 knot current off Herod's Casino where we spent the night (in the boat, not the casino). Changing Lanes anchored next to us, but as it was late and we were all tired after our trip from Norfolk, we had dinner and headed to bed early.
Friday morning we were up and off by 7 am heading for Block Island, 177 miles away, meaning another overnight run. The forecast was for 10-15 south-west winds, but they didn't materialize, so we motor-sailed again. Passing the first of three shipping lanes into New York Harbor, we met our first commercial ship of the day.
All was quiet for the day until evening... as usual. Then all hell broke loose. We received an updated weather forecast around noon warning of severe thunderstorms in the evening. They were right. From out of nowhere, just at dark, the sky turned black, the heavens opened up and the rain teemed down and we slogged through 4 hours of intense thunder and lightning. The sights and sounds were indescribable. And just to throw in something different, we met and altered course for two commercial ships as we crossed the last of the shipping lanes. Even at 3 am after seven hours the lightning was still visible on the horizon. But we got through unscathed. And this morning we woke to dense fog. And finally, just to keep us amused, we have been attacked by a horde of small black flies with a sharp bite. So all day yesterday one of us was constantly swatting. The only good thing about the squalls was that it got rid of the flies! A bit of everything.
But we sailed on through the rain and fog using the radar and the charting program, Jeannie pleased to have an excuse to get out our ships bell. She spent this morning polishing it and ringing it whenever we approached a unknown radar contact.
We finally arrived off Block Island shortly before noon. For all our trials and tribulations we were right on our original ETA. Safely moored, I took our portable electronics (GPS, VHF, Computer, cell phone) out of our "Faraday Cage", the oven.
The plan is a lunch of Clam Cakes, a Block Island special which has never been available when we've been here. Then a walk to stretch our legs. It has been four days since we have been on dry land. I'm expecting some "Land Sickness" from Gerard. Its just a mild sensation that the land is moving like the boat. Kind of fun to watch people.
We'll spend the night here before, weather permitting, heading up Buzzards Bay and through the Cape Cod Canal to Provincetown. We also expect to see and finally meet Changing Lanes here. We chatted throughout the day and night, but after two days of chatting have not yet met them, so are looking forward to it. It seems that now they have had two exciting nights in a row!
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