I decided to layover a day in Sandwich, MA. I used the time to acquire some septic treatment and clean up the boat a little. The boat stays pretty clean when you're cruising it, but it needed a little rust removal from the constant exposure to salt water, an exterior soap wash, and some interior cleaning as well. It was not a good day to be underway in Buzzard's Bay, with 20kt winds in the teeth on an already rough piece of water. Thunderstorms were also predicted for the afternoon.

On Monday morning, I decided to move on despite the fact that the weather system had proceeded slowly through New England and the weather was still very windy. The tide turned fair in the Cape Cod Canal about 0411 hrs, but I waited until 0600 to get underway. I had until about 1000 of ebbing tide, which would put me well through both the canal and Buzzard's Bay before the tide would flood and set the current against me. I exited my sip, motored out into the canal, and I was making 9.5kts of speed over ground in no time with the tidal flow of the canal pushing me along.

At this point, it's relevant to discuss Irene. She is a hurricane that has developed in the Atlantic and she is increasingly behaving like she will come up the east coast. As I made my way southward in the Cape Cod Canal, I called Dave & Brad Simeon (my assisting crew) to discuss how we should handle the approaching storm. Two things were clear: we would not make it home before Irene came up the coast and I will very likely have to deploy in the wake of whatever Irene does in the southeastern US. The bottom line is that it was time for a change in plans. I did some research underway and located a marina in Rhode Island that would be able to take care of the Song in my absence. I went with New England Boatworks because they are a full service yard and they have what appears to be a very sheltered location. They are located up in Mt. Hope Bay, between Prudence Island and Rhode Island proper. They are inland a ways and they have a sheltered marina which is protected by land on all sides and served by one narrow entrance. I resolved that we would stand down on this journey for now and try again later. I cancelled Dave & Brads flights and made plans to secure the Song and head home to work a storm.

Never the less, I continued on my way to Newport, RI and soon I was approaching the western end of the canal. The wind was blowing 15-20kts from the SSW. those of you that are mariners who have transited the Cape Cod Canal, will quickly see the NTDF (not too distant future) of these circumstances. I am running in the Cape Cod Canal, with about a 3.5kt current pushing me along. The exit of the canal into Buzzards Bay faces SW and the winds are coming from the SSW. That means that the winds are going to blow against the out flowing current and are going to push up some seriously square and short-period trichoidial waves. As I rode the current out, the wave action began to increase, but the ride was decent. As I got into the narrows past Onset Beach, where the current is very focused, the waves got very steep and close together. The Song was pitching so hard that the bow was completely buried under green water and wash many times. Three or four times, the water came over the bow, ran down the length of the deck, impacted the dodger, and drenched the entire cockpit, including the Captain. The waves would be so steep, that a series of them would almost completely check my way. Luckily, this was a local condition and soon there was sufficient soundings to the sides of the channel that I was able to bear off and get out of the major current flow, including the square waves.

I set my course to run down Buzzard's Bay and hoisted the main to stabilize the boat during the run. The wind was blowing stiff right up the bay so I was looking at an uphill climb on this leg and I chose to motor sail. As the morning progressed, the wind settled in slightly more west and I elected to hoist sail. I was just able to make my course sailing close hauled. The wind was fresh and very gusty as well, so I hoisted a single reefed main and full jib to start. The wind would gust frequently and the weather helm would become extreme during the gusts, so I experimented with shortening the jib various amounts until I found the optimal trim. For you land lubbers, reefing is the act of reducing the amount of sail area aloft commensurate with the wind conditions. If you have too much sail aloft when the winds are higher, then the boat will be overpressed and will not perform properly. You always have to adjust the sail plan to the conditions of the wind and sea. So there I was, reefed down and sailing close hauled down Buzzard's Bay. It was a fun and peppy sail, in which the boat heeled between 25 and 30 degrees the entire time. Imagine taking your world, tilting it by 30 degrees, and living in that for 8 hours. I could have reduced sail further or changed my point of sail to reduce the heel, but I intended to sail the boat slightly hard in order to make time. I was easily able to average around 6kts under sail during this passage.

It is true that all this fast paced sailing was a lot of fun, but it was also a lot of work. The winds changed speed and direction constantly and I was constantly busy. I was constantly changing course, trimming sail, and absorbing wave action, all of which leads to one tired sailor. By the time I rounded Sakonnet Point and began again to motor-sail directly into the wind, I was beat. It was good to set the course and to be able to sit down for a spell while Ray and Otto brought her into Newport Harbor. By now, my nice clean Song was completely covered in salt from stem to stern. The sun would bake off the water and leave the salt on the surfaces in such amounts that I could scrape it into a container and cook with it. After some research, I determined that there was no rain in the forecast and that I would need to rinse off before taking a mooring in Newport Harbor. I stopped by and tied up at Goat Island marina to use their hose. Those land sharks charged me $30 to use the hose, can you believe it? But there was not other option and the Song needed a fresh water rinse down. After the work was done, I picked up a mooring from Old Port Marine and squared away (that's sailor talk for putting everything back in it's place so that it is seaman-like, orderly, and ready to be used later). The Song again lie among the literal sea of masts that make up Newport Harbor. After dinner and a few drinks, this sailor was done and asleep between feet leaving the deck and the head hitting the pillow.

Cap'n Monty
s/v Song Of The South
Moored in Newport, RI