We did it...we're on our way...opps pit stop!
18 October 2011 | Booth Bay Harbor, Maine
Jan
It's TUESDAY...after 3 days of weather delays, the winds FINALLY died down last night and the seas, while a little high (5-8ft) this was our weather window to drop that tether to mooring #2398 and head SW to Boston, then on to Newport after the rain storm predicted for New England Wednesday pm & Thursday...
We finally left P.C. under sunny, skies, 56 degrees, waving a teary yet excited adios to John & Jane D, we were pleased with only 1-2ft swells but breezy winds...where you ask? ...yep...18-20 mph on our nose...but the "iron jenny" was humming. Once we got out of Hupper Island eye shot, the seas picked up to be pretty lumpy and we were going only about 2.5 knots!!!!! It almost felt like the Hupper Spirit wasn't quite ready for us to leave. We took the sails in (main was already reefed) as straight on the nose, they really weren't helping... It took us almost 2 hours just to get to Monhegan as the seas were now easily 6-8ft with an occasional BIG one that just slapped us right on the port side of the nose! Getting past the red can by Monhegan, Rob was increasingly concerned of the smoky exhaust and thought...hmmm bad impeller, as well as the line holding the boom slipped and it "bounced" on the solar panel...so we secured the boom to deal with it at a later time. After about an hour, we decided to head to Booth Bay, as our speed was still only holding at 2.5 knots...HALF OF WHAT WE HAD PLANNED...and needed to get to Boston by noon on Wed, before the really heavy rain was forecasted.
We arrived here at Booth Bay about 2:15, an hour and a half longer than it normally would have taken...BUMPY! Miracle worker and cracker jack mechanic, Captain Rob, discovered a HUGE blockage in the intake thru hull, which took care of the engine issue, he put a better knot in the tie off for the boom, so that should be fine and the alternator, well now it's working!!! Unfortunately it is now 4:15 and NO WAY are we leaving tonight, and by Thursday noon it "should be blowing like stink" (in the words of the Island Packet Yacht sales owner here, whom we had met at the Rockland boat shows and a rendezvous back in 2009. SO we will sit here for yet another weather window...with any luck it will be Friday?!?!?! So NO BOSTON... and it's 20 hours (at 5 knots) just to the mouth of the Canal from here.
We have now poured ourselves a cold one and will have our soup for dinner and turn in early tonight, we are both beat.