Finally!

Vessel Name: Katahdin
Vessel Make/Model: Cambria 44
Hailing Port: Cape Elizabeth, ME
Crew: Larry and Cathy Clough
About: We have been cruising Maine waters for 30 years on a Pearson 26, an Ericson 34, and now a Cambria 44
Extra: On our first journey south we left Maine in early September of 2011 to travel to the Caribbean and back over 9+months. Now we've begun our second trip, taking it at a bit more leisurely pace.
18 May 2016
25 March 2016
09 March 2016
21 February 2016
26 January 2016
05 January 2016
18 December 2015 | Jolly Harbor, Antigua
06 December 2015
21 November 2015
17 November 2015
13 November 2015
19 June 2012 | Portland Harbor
16 June 2012 | Provincetown, MA
12 June 2012 | Great Salt Pond, Block Island, RI
Recent Blog Posts

No blog posts yet...

Around Cape Cod

16 June 2012 | Provincetown, MA
Cathy/very cool and moderate northerly breeze
We're almost home. Currently we are at anchor back in Gloucester, MA where we spent 2 nights waiting out some nasty weather, way back in early September. One of our more interesting observations about this sabbatical is that we can recall how we spent the in-between day here but our recollections of how we passed our time in, for instance, Guadeloupe are a little hazier. Put it down to our senses being overwhelmed by all that was new to us. A quick look at all our photos will be the remedy for any forgetfulness, and there are over 3000 of them to help us along. (Note to self - weed them out!)

After 284 days away from Centerboard Yacht Club, we think we are ready to take back our Maine lives again. It took us months - perhaps 4 or 5 even - to feel that we had finally "dialed in" (Larry's term, and a good one) to onboard life, and now we will be separating ourselves from what has been our reality. Obviously we can't wait to see our friends and to re-establish at least a semblance of our daily routines. However, we know that there'll be for us again an adjustment period, but certainly not months this time. Change is good, but we will miss the fulltime boating life.

After Block Island, we stayed overnight at Cuttyhunk and met up again with the owners of another Cambria, Sophie. We had first seen George and Christina on our first visit in mid-September, once again in Little Creek, VA while our rudder issue was being fixed, and now back in their home port. We can see ourselves always stopping in to visit with them on future journeys south, and we hope they'll reciprocate when they come north. This is an example of friendships formed with a common denominator - the love of sailing - which has occurred throughout our trip.

Next we passed two nights at a rolling anchorage outside Vineyard Haven, Martha's Vineyard. We might have bypassed this island but we wanted to see our former CYC sailing friends, Paul and Diane, whom we visited with on our way south, and to share some of our adventures with them. They have a new puppy, an Aussiedoodle (mix of Australian sheepdog and poodle) who is absolutely adorable. There's a picture of Rosie in the gallery. For all the old time CYC members, I wished I had taken a picture of Rosie's owners as they look fantastic and, more importantly, are in very good health. On the in-between day we also rented bikes to go to Menemsha at the southwest edge of the island and back, a long 35 mile roundtrip. A good ride, but too much road traffic for our taste.

We planned to pull into Hadley Harbor, just south of Woods Hole, after leaving Martha's Vineyard. But, as we asked ourselves later, how could we expect to finish this sabbatical without another major mechanical misfunction, and right in the middle of a heavily used and high current area? We couldn't. We were mostly motorsailing with a partial jib out when the raw water stopped cooling the engine. The exhaust coupling had broken off and raw water was instead going into the bilge and - thanks to all the work Larry has done on bilge pumps throughout this trip - out the back end. But, without that water the smoking engine was definitely overheating. We quickly throttled back the engine, eventually cutting it out, and ghosted toward the shore just north of Hadley Harbor entrance, putting down the anchor without a motor assist on backing up. It all worked out, but it was a bit traumatic for a while. Not only were we fortunate that the current was edging toward slack and that watercraft and lobster buoys were sparse, but that Larry had enough spare parts aboard and the know-how to repair the break. Thank goodness for his foresight and his ability to fix just about anything that breaks!

After another overnight in Onset we motored through the Cape Cod Canal and over to Provincetown. [Note: no sails can be hoisted in the canal, even if the motor is assisting the sailboat.] P-town, known for the alternate lifestyle of some of its inhabitants, is quite cute and was festooned with gay street banners as this was the beginning of the P-town Film Festival weekend. It was too windy to ride bikes so we joined others in jamming the streets, window-browsing, eating, and climbing to the top of the Pilgrim Monument (252 feet high, though the use of ramps and not stairs made the climb so much easier). The views from the top were fantastic. My brother Geoff, now Brother Benedict, with his fellow brother Matthew made the journey up from Orleans to dine with us at a lobster restaurant on the main street. We had a great time and gave them a tour of the boat with the last light of the day. Thanks, Benedict, for making the long drive to join us - it's wonderful to start seeing my siblings again.

Yesterday we finally had a decent sail, though a close-hauled one with ragged seas, from P-town up to inside the yacht club point in Gloucester. Today the wind is unfortunately again from the north to northeast but shortly we will leave and try to get a mooring at the Isles of Shoals off Portsmouth, NH, just 25 miles away. However, given that it's a weekend, it's more likely that we'll have to go into Portsmouth and find a spot there. And then tomorrow, back to CYC and home where our son will join us in celebration of Father's Day. Happy Father's Day to all you dads!
Comments
Katahdin's Photos - Main
We spent most of the last month of our cruise in Mt. Hartman Bay on the southern coast of Grenada. There is a wonderful community of cruisers in this and nearby bays, and we found plenty to do and new friends to make. What we particularly enjoyed were the hashes and hikes we did each week. Do ready the blog of the same name if you want to discover what a hash is.
19 Photos
Created 25 May 2016
Grenada is, if not our favorite, at least in the top three. It is a large island, the people are fantastic, and there is so much to see and do that we were too busy to consider posting a blog. But, now that we're back in Maine, we have no more excuses.
11 Photos
Created 6 May 2016
Petite St. Vincent (PSV) is part of its namesake, while Petite Martinique belongs to Grenada. They are both considered part of the Grenadine archipelago and are separated by perhaps 1/2 a mile. In fact, they are so far off the normal route that a boat can travel from one to another without having to clear customs on another island.
9 Photos
Created 6 May 2016
Carriacou is one of the Grenadine islands; St. Vincent owns most of them but not this one or Petite Martinique. It is an interesting island, hilly with a shipbuilding heritage. We especially liked it because of the large number of cruisers who anchor for a while in Tyrell bay on the southwestern coast.
9 Photos
Created 6 May 2016
The Grenadines are a group of tiny to small islands just south of St Vincent and just north of Grenada. With a few exceptions they are wonderfully welcoming and quite beautiful, though, because there has been a consistent drought throughout the past 10 or so months, there's not much greenery.
17 Photos
Created 25 March 2016
From Rodney Bay to the Pitons, and nothing in between.
9 Photos
Created 9 March 2016
On the way to our current anchorage at St. Anne at the bottom of Martinique we visited 3 other delightful bays along the way. We've been doing our usual hiking and swimming activities, but this blog also reveals what a "typical" day for us is like.
15 Photos
Created 21 February 2016
During our first visit to St. Pierre we didn't go far afield. This time we did and have a new appreciation for this area.
13 Photos
Created 21 February 2016
We had a fabulous time on this island, one of the poorest in the Caribbean. It has been blessed with fantastic beauty and we did our best to take it all in.
21 Photos
Created 7 February 2016
After visiting the Pigeon islands and La Soufriere we were looking for places not so popular, and we found them.
21 Photos
Created 26 January 2016
The photos are from two distinctive and well-known locations on this island. First, from the Jacques Cousteau underwater preserve at Isles des Pigeons on the west coast, and then from the hike up to the tallest mountain on the island, La Soufriere, a still semi-active volcano at almost a mile height.
16 Photos
Created 16 January 2016
The photos are from two distinctive and well-known locations on this island. First, from the Jacques Cousteau underwater preserve at Isles des Pigeons on the west coast, and then from the hike up to the tallest mountain on the island, La Soufriere, a still semi-active volcano at almost a mile height.
6 Photos
Created 16 January 2016
We spent most of the past few weeks in English Harbor which was an idyllic spot to celebrate the holidays with our family
20 Photos
Created 5 January 2016
These were our last stops in the Virgin Islands where we spent a whole month. It's a great place, and lots of people know that as there are lots of other sailors such as ourselves.
13 Photos
Created 18 December 2015
We're spending a few weeks lazily navigating around the numerous islands here, looking for great snorkeling and sunsets.
12 Photos
Created 6 December 2015
7 Photos
Created 21 November 2015
Katahdin ended up here after being a "passenger" on a freighter. We joined her on 11/15/15.
5 Photos
Created 17 November 2015
Katahdin makes her way south to St. Thomas, piggy-backing atop a freighter.
2 Photos
Created 13 November 2015
We arrived in Fernandina Beach on 4/11, and hope to be back in Maine sometime in the latter part of June.
1 Photo | 9 Sub-Albums
Created 12 April 2012
We expect to meander slowly northward through the Bahamas before we cross the Gulf Stream again.
1 Photo | 13 Sub-Albums
Created 17 March 2012
We overnighted to Luperon from Gilligan's Island in Puerto Rico, and spent a wonderful 5 days, having adventures out of the town.
26 Photos
Created 17 March 2012
We took our time in the Spanish Virgin Islands, but sped along the southern coast of Puerto Rico
1 Photo | 1 Sub-Album
Created 1 March 2012
We took our time traveling from Portland into the Chesapeake, enjoying some beautiful stops along the way
1 Photo | 8 Sub-Albums
Created 8 February 2012
Martinique is quite beautiful, and we've enjoyed our stay here. However, we will start heading back north in the next day or so.
20 Photos
Created 7 February 2012
These include Anguilla, St. Martin, St. Barts, down to Guadaloupe and Dominica.
1 Photo | 12 Sub-Albums
Created 18 December 2011
We arrived in Nanny Cay in the BVI on November 21, and will travel around the BVI and the US VI over the next month.
1 Photo | 7 Sub-Albums
Created 21 November 2011
The rudder leakage issue shadowed our first two weeks in Virginia; after the repairs, even the sunsets were more spectacular.
1 Photo | 2 Sub-Albums
Created 8 November 2011
An album of many of the places we visited through Chesapeake Bay on our way to Virginia
1 Photo | 7 Sub-Albums
Created 18 October 2011