The Voyages of s/v Lucky Bird

21 August 2019 | Straits Marina, Mackinaw City
06 August 2019 | Village of Brockport
30 July 2019
27 July 2019
21 June 2019 | Wickford Cove Marina
20 May 2019 | Antlantic Yacht Basin
13 May 2019 | Homer Smith Marina, final Salty Dawg Destination
21 April 2019 | Frenchtown, St. Thomas V.I. Easter Celebration
20 April 2019 | Brewers Bay, St. Thomas VI
11 April 2019 | Nanny Cay Marine, Tortola, BVI
28 March 2019 | Green Cay Marina, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands
25 March 2019
24 February 2019 | Jolly Harbor Marina, Antigua

Back In The USA!! Hurray!!!!!!!!!

02 September 2009 | Cape Cod Canal, Sandwich Marina
Bob, Just simply marvelous
Hello America we are home!!!

Sitting in Shelburne Harbor N S waiting for Danny was a bit of a dichatomy; we wanted to get on with our journey and yet the people we met touched us in so may ways we wanted to stay and share in their experiences. Rich, a single-handed sailor, Peter and Andrea, cruisers, Kelley waiting for crew and the local yacht club members who were genuinely interested in our story and so willing to share theirs. By Monday after Danny it was time. I spent severel hours downloading GRIB files checking wind patterns and forecasts. It seemed to be getting better and better so we decided to "get out of Dodge" Monday afternoon around 16:30. Our friends were all there to send us off with this look of "are you sure, it's still pretty rough out there" in their eyes and a sense of hopefulness on their faces.

Our plan was to try and reach Ogounquit, ME where Alice's family is vacationing. There are no safe harbors nearby so Portland became our objective; then we studied the weather maps again and it seemed Mother Narure was telling us this is our chance to get across the Gulf of Maine with minimal difficulties.

I can say that sailing down Shelburne Harbor, late in the afternoon not knowing what we might find out in the Atlantic was unsettling for me. We needed to get going but Cape Sable, Seal Island and Brasil Rock were waiting. Once we rounded Cape Roseway the sea swell was tolerable and there was a west wind allowing us to sail out to sea with a forecast for a shift to the north and north east. So if the forecasters were right we would be lifted around the bad stuff at the SW corner of N S. So out we went and sure enough the wind held and did start lifting. By midnight we were sailing more SW and by 03:00 we were lifted up to west and we were on our way. Hallajah!! We were leaving N S and heading 270 degress, USA bound.

For sailors familar with Cape Sable, the Bay of Fundy current is the key issue. For most of the night our trusty chartplotter reminded us that we were sailing against the current. We were sailing seven to eight knots through the water and yet only making three to four over the bottom; that is the reality of current with a sail boat. This means slow going, I mean slooooow going.

Picture yourself watching a light in the distance, you know what it represents and you know you want it to disapear over the horizon. Such were the lights of Cape Sable and Seal Island, they just wouldn't go away. Finally the Bay of Fundy decided to refill and all the current arrows on our chartplotter turned west, just where we wanted to go and it started helping push us away from N S.

So to make the story of a fantastic passage shorter, two and 1/2 days later around 0:600 Alice saw land. It was the tip of Cape Cod and we were rapidly closing another chapter in our journey. She saw two whales and yes even I saw two, unblievable more than the Saint Lawrence. We were home having just spent two months in Canada.
Comments
Vessel Name: Lucky Bird
Vessel Make/Model: 1990 Moody 425 cc
Hailing Port: Kenosha, WI
Crew: Robert & Alice Smith
About:
Alice and I have spent considerable time together on the water; cruising and racing on the waters of New England, the Caribbean and Lake Michigan.

Sailing is our passion and together we've been fortunate to experience the thrills, the camaraderie and the enjoyment boating provides. [...]

We seek the freedom, excitement and challenges of voyaging.

Lucky Bird's Photos - Main
This is our second journey south to the Caribbean. This time we've chosen to exit Lake Michigan and proceed south through the in-land waterway system to Mobile. We'll start around Labor Day and take our time exploring the history of middle America.
207 Photos
Created 28 July 2017
30 Photos
Created 12 July 2013
101 Photos
Created 17 July 2012
Bob and Alice return to Lucky Bird after spending the summer in Addison.
31 Photos
Created 4 December 2010
Heading into the Windward Islands and further south
108 Photos
Created 22 February 2010
121 Photos
Created 11 June 2009