Ahhhhh...!

A good night's sleep on a secure mooring. One of life's under-rated pleasures.

There is another tornado warning for the area so we are keeping our eyes peeled. In the morning it's raining and overcast but almost no wind at all so I'm not sure what to make of the predictions. On a really plus note the long range forecast has Wednesday, Thursday and Friday as a good window to cross the Gulf of Maine which means we have to be at Cape Cod by Wednesday AM. This should be doable with either three day time jumps starting on Sunday, or one overnighter beginning Monday morning having us arrive at the west end of the canal on Tuesday AM. We could then tuck into Onset for fuel and water and go through the canal at the first opportunity for a favourable current. The choice will be dependant upon the weather for the trip up Long Island Sound. As of right now it looks like Sunday night there will be a moderate blow (20-30kts) out of the W-WSW) during the night. I'm sure there are a number of anchorages along the way that would suit us for those conditions but only one or two that we have actual experience with and those aren't far enough along from where we are here in Port Washington to make them attractive options. I am leaning toward an overnight run beginning on Monday morning. The first time I transited the Sound was way back in 1980 when I did it with a Tancook Island Schooner that I had built and a crew of misfits that I had gathered in a town called Nyack on the Hudson. By misfits I don't mean anything negative, rather just that they had little or no experience but were chock full of enthusiasm and interest. I did it then and I'm sure I can do it now with the experienced and enthusiastic Admiral at my side.

In either case our plans are to stay here in Port Washington until we depart and to stage for the Gulf crossing at Onset.

And speaking of the Admiral, being the project manager that she is, she has been making up a spreadsheet of projects for Nelleke that is beginning to take on the proportions of a best selling novel. Our work over the next 18 months is cut out for us.

I didn't realize that the Manhasset Bay has a pump out service that is free to anyone who asks, so we asked, and a very pleasant fellow came out and removed "cargo". That's the smart way to get people to use the holding tanks and pump out properly rather that doing a stealth pump out at night with your macerator pump. If it's free why wouldn't people use it.

We took the water taxi into town and shopped at the local Farmer's Market which was being run right at the town dock and then poked around in a bookstore/cafe before wandering down the road to the grocery store to do what we hope will be our final re-provisioning for this trip. The walk took a lot longer than expected since we kept bumping into people who wanted to chat. We have found that asking folks if we can say hi to their dog is a great way to meet people and today was no exception. We bumped into one couple who lived here in town but had been all over Canada including Halifax and Baddeck and were looking forward to coming back again. Then, walking a little farther down the road we met the Mayor who was full of smiles and politico gladhanding. We made sure he realized we were visitors and that we really appreciated the effort that the town was making for cruisers.

Getting back to the boat was more of an adventure that leaving as the wind had picked up considerably. However, the skill of the fellow operating the water taxi was more than up to the task and we, plus all of our purchases, were safely aboard. This is a situation that we really appreciate something like the water taxi as it would have been a wet trip in the dingy.

Then Barb and I got busy and pulled up the floorboards near the forward staircase from the pilot house down into the forward cabins so I could get at the hoses for the holding tank. For the last couple of weeks there has been a faint but noticeable "Eau de digestive Turney" wafting out. I discovered that a couple of the hose clamps were slightly loose, by which I mean that I could put the screwdriver on them and get a turn or two. There were no obvious leaks but maybe they were loose enough to let out a little pong.

As I thumb this we are enjoying a well earned beer each and relaxing before I get the BBQ cranked up for a steak we bought today.