Tuesday 8 October 2019

It's Tuesday morning and along with a little rain the wind died down at midnight but it will be a short respite. However if we don't leave now we will be here a week as it is calling for up to 40kts. We would rather hang out on a mooring for that time near NYC than here in New Bedford paying $115/dayUS.

We got away from the dock at 08h00 and are underway heading SSE towards where we want to go. Almost no wind so far so we are motoring. For today I plan to make an initial post and then update it as we progress.

At 09h30 we got enough wind to put up the jib and we still aren't at the spot where my butt caused us the problems. The day is somber and overcast and I am really hoping to make good time towards the west end of Long Island Sound. I can see a dark cloud line about 50 miles ahead but I am hoping that is the front that went past us last night bringing us the rain.

10h30 and we are back at the spot where we had the difficulties, only 3 days and $350US later. Sigh. I hope this place isn't a sort of Bermuda Triangle for the Sound.

The wind is picking up and we are running downwind with the jib drawing. Standing watch has given loads of time to think. The first cruise Barb and I took was 2008-09 and at that time we couldn't go further south than Oriental NC before 15 November for our insurance coverage to be valid. That being the case, our timing this year isn't much off what it was back then. The big difference is the changes in climate. Only 11 years and the weather is more varied and extreme than it was then. Wow! Makes you think doesn't it?

I am also still coming to grips with the various apps that I am running to help plan our trip. PredictWind for instance seems to think that it is going to take us 14 hours to travel 122nm! I can't see that at all. My personal calculations have is taking 20-22 hours so we will arrive at Port Washington tomorrow around noon.

Ok. Yet another change in plans. The weather witches have messed with us again. The most recent forecast is for a three day nor'easter to come through here beginning this evening and I really done feel like being caught out in it. So, we are redirecting to Newport where I hope to be able to get a mooring to ride it out. Lots to do just not what was planned. Already taking aboard spray. Will blog more. Once we get in.

This will be the last update to this blog. Any more will be a new entry.

We are on what appears to be a very solid mooring in Newport Rhode Island harbor. It's a dam good thing that we made a decision when we did as it was Barbara made a phone call and reserve the mooring for us and as we were coming up to Newport there was a regular parade of boats heading in as well and we could listen to the radio traffic of them trying to get moorings or dark spaces and finding out that either they either got the last one or there weren't any left. I was also listening to the fisherman talking to each other and warning each other of the three day nor'easter that was coming through. Interesting! PredictWind is usually an excellent forecaster of the weather but on this trip you can pretty much add 50% to any wins they were forecasting and move the schedule arrival of any storm up by 12 hours. I have to keep reminding myself that the people that develop PredictWind are in Australia so they're building older models from here from the Internet.

Anyway. Looks like we're going to be here for a couple of days. We've been here before and thoroughly enjoy Newport it's a great place to walk around on the waterfront with all sorts of stores and boutiques and restaurants. Maybe I'll get some Christmas shopping done. Also it's not like the list of to do's on the boat has disappeared. LOL!