Windscape II Sail Logs

A quick update: We left the dock two weeks ago today and on the third day we made it out of Boston! We must have whistled on deck or angered the wind gods in some way because we had heavy winds and steep seas left over from what they have now called a "mini nor'easter". The first day we turned back after a three hour roller coaster ride just to clear Boston light. We got back within the protection of the Boston Harbor Islands and picked up a mooring off Georges Island. Day two was met with similar results and we again turned back to Georges Island. Each morning we would hike up to the high point on the island and look at each other and say "yup, looks like it did the day before" and then make another attempt at rounding the light. Our four legged crew member, who is not really keen on high seas and long watches, thought this was really cool because he would spend a couple hours getting tossed about in the cockpit and then have the island all to himself for the rest of the day. The third day was only slightly improved but we decided to bite the bullet and go for it. It ended up being our longest run ever to the Cape Cod Canal, but we finally made it. For a while we thought our strategy was brilliant because the NE winds and seas started to abate, but the satisfaction was short lived as the wind returned even stronger from the south�"directly on the nose. Where, incidentally, the winds have been ever since! So, after a long two weeks we are now in Cape May, the southern most point in NJ, a trip that we have made in the past in three to four days.

After leaving the Cape Cod Canal we made stops, scheduled and unscheduled, in Onset, Newport, Block Island (Old Harbor), Montauk, Clinton, Bridgeport, City Island, and Jersey City. On each leg we were met with steep seas and high winds on the nose! Sara figured if we decided to turn around the winds would shift out of the North! When we got to City Island, the forecast was for even stronger winds of 40 knots, from the south in 24 hours, so we made a quick stop in Jersey City where Bentley jumped ship to go visit Sara's sister, Ellen in NYC. Sara and I then made a run for it, and arrived in Cape May 25 hours later just as the storm was getting started. That weekend Ellen and Norman joined us for a wonderful time sampling the fine cuisine and Victorian architecture of Cape May. We were reunited with Bentley and here we sit. Eventually, we are quite sure, we will get a break from the relentless winds which are now north west�"our exact heading. Our next leg is up the Delaware and two weeks of cruising in the Chesapeake Bay.