Enjoying Maine

We've been n Maine over a week now and it has been very eventful. We came here for a rendezvous of Island Packet yacht owners by the New England dealer for IP, Norm Pierce and his wonderful wife Mary. Norm is a legend in IP circles and a Godfather to IP owners in the Northeast. Every other year since back in the early 80's he has sponsored the rendezvous to promote the brand and help IP owners.

Norm Pierce in he lower photo and Norm helping me bend on the sails.

At the rendezvous we got to meet and chat with many other IP owners. We also got to eat a lot of lobster. But more importantly we were able to share in Norm's vast experience trove to help build our own knowledge base. Beyond that, Boothbay Harbor was a wonderful place to visit. Many people from throughout the Northeast region of the country come to Boothbay to spend a week in the summer. So we were just another tourist couple enjoying the village. We had all the excursion boats pass us 3 or 4 times a day taking loads of tourist out to see the ocean.

Yesterday (Thursday) Norm helped me tune the rig. Last Fall when we stepped the mast and set up the rig we set all the stays to factory settings using the Loos gauge. But, sailing and time cause the rig to change. On Sunday I checked all the stays and most were way off. The worst were probably the backstays but tightening them caused the mast to bend. In race boats that is common but in a boat with in-mast furling it is not good. So we examined the forestay and decided to replace the tangs that held the furler to the deck fitting. The ones on the boat were 8" and we replaced them with 7" ones. That gave us more room to work the other fittings. After numerous adjustments we finally got the rig where all the stays were giving us good readings and the rig was tuned.

Today when we sailed to our current berth the boat sailed well and the rigging felt good. The wind was very light but we saved a few gallons of diesel and enjoyed the sea as we always do. When we turned up into the bay tat led to the St George River we popped the spinnaker and slowly sailed through the ocean of lobster pots as thick as fleas on a dog. Are there really that many lobsters or is every lobster fisherman in town trying to keep the others from catching the one lobster down there?

On the way we caught up with one of our friends from the rendezvous, Jim and Carla from Denver in their IP 380 Shadowfax and we did a photo shoot of each other's boat.

Well the end to another day of enjoying this beautiful country and the sea. If it weren't so cold we might stay here longer.

Our missing week and trip to Cape May

This post goes back a week or two in time to finish the discussion of our trip from Oxford.

We were finally able to get out of Oxford, MD on Saturday afternoon the 18th about noon and made it to Worton Creek about 1900. We had a very pleasant evening that was discussed in an earlier post.

The next morning we got up early and left Worton Creek at 0600 so we could catch the tide beginning to flow eastward in the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and into the Delaware River. We had to slow for about an hour enroute as the canal was closed due to fog. But, it eventually burned off and we were able to enter and transit the canal with the current. Being early on a Sunday morning there was little traffic and we were running about 9-9.5 kts.

We got to the River end of the canal and out of nowhere a powerboat that had lost its engine drifted in front of us and I didn't see it coming. We hit it. The powerboater called the Coast Guard and we waited for the authorities to arrive. After they arrived and began their investigation we returned to Summit North Marina which was about 7 miles back on the canal to assess the damage. The other boat was towed back to its home port in New Jersey.

Having hit the boat with probably the hardest point of our boat we had minimal damage. Some gelcoat scratches, our 73# Rocna anchor was bent, the bow roller was bent and the bow pulpit was bent slightly.

I inquired at the Marina about local services that could do the repair work and contacted our insurance company. The marina provided the name of an onsite firm who came by and then proposed to do an extensive amount of unnecessary work. So after consulting with our insurance company I proceeded to do the work myself. So for the rest of the week we got busy and got the work completed.

Some scenes going down the Delaware.

We were then able to leave Summit North one week after we were forced to land there. So in order to catch the optimum current flows we planned to leave at 0600 about an hour before the end of the incoming tide which would give us good support in the canal and then with the out going tide we would get a good lift down the River to Cape May.

The trip down the River went quickly and we reached the ocean about 1300. But we had several miles to go fighting currents and then we got to the channel that was filled with sport boats, jet skis and fishing boats both coming in and gong out. Inside the channel there were several dredges working that helped make the channel even more confusing as many of the small craft zoomed around.

We found our way into the Utsch's Marina where we were going to spend the night but first refuel.We finally got into our slip and secured before 1500. A nine-hour run from tie-up to tie-up.

Amekaya in Summit North after the repairs were completed.

After cleaning up we went for a walk in town and then later grabbed dinner across the street and prepared for our departure to Block Island the next morning.  So here we were with 5 days to travel over 400 nm to make the rendezvous. We made it in 4 with an overnight stop in Block Island.

Now back to our adventures in Maine.

Our strategy for getting to Boothbay Harbor on time

Well we made it all the way to Boothbay Harbor, Maine in probably one of the quickest trips up the coast. From Oxford, Md to Boothbay Harbor is close to 600 miles. We left Summit North Marina on the C&D Canal last Sunday morning and made it into Boothbay Harbor and on our mooring before noon Thursday. A distance of over 500 miles. We spent a night in Cape May, Block Island and stopped for fuel in Sandwich, MA. We beat the bad weather which was our intent but as it turned out up here the storms weren't so bad. But as I understand they were ferocious elsewhere and I didn't want to get caught offshore in a violent thunderstorm or massive fog. So we pressed on and made the trip quickly and safely.

Boothbay Harbor is quite the quintessential coastal Maine town. A beautiful deep-water harbor full of boats with lots of quaint stores, inns and of course restaurants featuring Maine's star attraction-lopsta.  On our first night here we had to go to the Lobster Deck for dinner of a full cooked lobster, corn on the cob and a dinner roll. Not the kind of food we usually eat but we celebrated our arrival after dodging lobster pots for the past 300 miles.

The weather reminds me of the Florida Keys in January. Daytime highs have been in the low 80's, nighttime about 60 (or less) and the water is about 62 degrees. We plan to be here through Tuesday which will give us a chance to update our blog for all that has happened and plan our adventure wehn we leave here.

Our trip here from Block Island was unplanned. Our plan was to travel from Block Island to Sandwich, MA on the Cape Cod Canal and spend the night covering about 70 miles. Then we would leave there Thursday and do an overnight up to Boothbay Harbor covering about 130 miles arriving on Friday. But Tuesday night while we were on Block Island severe weather hit the coast and we were glad where we were. The forecast for Thursday night looked ominous with a cold front coming through. Predictions were that it would not be that severe further north but would result in morning fog. The reports were continuing to report worsening conditions.

Sunset over Boston. We were about 20 miles east just entering the shipping approaches to Boston harbor.

We had left Block Island about 0700 and were approaching the Cape Cod Canal about 1500. We figured that we could get through the canal before 1700 and have benign conditions all night and be in secured in Boothbay Harbor before noon before any storms hit. As a plan B we thought we could stop in Sandwich and get an early start but only go part way and get secured in a harbor before the storms hit and still make it by Friday afternoon to Boothbay Harbor. But, not knowing the area and what we would find in any of the harbors we didn't want to risk getting caught in an exposed location so we opted to enjoy the benign conditions and move forward.

Sunrise off the coast of Maine to totally placid water.

Next blog about the trip and then another one on our adventure in Delaware.  But I thought for other sailors they might want to understand how we got here.

Linda by the harbor with Amekaya in the background after a nap and exploring this wonderful port of call.

Well on our way

We have finally made  big progress in our trip to New England. We expected to be here a month ago but one thing after another kept us from leaving and then some other issues along the way slowed us down. But here we are now. We just made some big steps and with luck by Friday we will be in Boothbay Harbor Maine for an Island Packet boat owners rendezvous. Our original plan was to work our way up there and then work our way back. But at least we can work our way back.

Since I try to keep our blog entries readable I will relay much of our story in more than just this one report. Unfortunately much has happened that hasn't been reported and the articles will be out of sequence.

An early morning view of Wildwood from the sea.

We made it to Block Island just off the New England coast below Newport. We got here today after a 28 hour motor from Cape May. The trip was about 205 nautical miles which was an average of over 7 kts.We had to motor the entire way because there was very little wind. It was mostly 5-10 kts from directly behind us so we could have sailed but it would have taken twice as long to get here. There was one period when the wind was blowing 10-15 behind us but it didn't last.

View of Montauk Point at the end of Long Island.

Our plan was to leave Cape May about 0700 on Monday so we could catch the outgoing tide and get an early jump on the trip. Something we've learned around these waters compared to the South is that on weekends the small boat and personal watercraft traffic is immense and many of the operators have no regard for the consequences of their actions. As a result navigating around them especially when operating space for us is limited raises the difficulty in  close quarters so by leaving early we could minimize the amount of other traffic.

Well, about 0630 a thunderstorm came through and we decided to let it pass before leaving. So about 0730 we started to get ready and finally got out about 8. It was raining but that ended quickly and in a few hours the clouds passed as well. Our course was a straight line from the end of the channel at Cape May to the entrance of the channel into Block Island so we set the cruise control and watched to ensure there were no obstacles as we went.

Another hazard to navigation being built. The bases for a wind farm being developed off Block Island.

We passed the south Jersey resort towns of Wildwood and Atlantic City and then began to get farther offshore as the land fell away. Many fishing boats along the Jersey coast. We also had a pair of dolphins swimming with us for a while as we passed Atlantic City. The Atlantic City skyline.

As the day got later we moved out into the New York shipping lanes and watched thunder storms develop onshore and move away. Fortunately our weather was clear and there was a beautiful moon lighting up the sea. We had one close encounter with an inbound freighter from Germany that we had to slow down to stay back away. As it was we came within a half-mile of it and the wake really rocked us.

A Monday evening storm over North Jersey.

On my midnight watch I saw some dolphins swimming with us and the only other exciting thing was the autopilot alarm going off shortly after I had fallen asleep. Then later Linda awoke me to tell me the steering wasn't holding. But after looking for causes I decided to reboot the autopilot and it worked fine.

We came into Block Island with abundant sunshine and a nice breeze. We were planning to anchor but decided to get a mooring as it would be easier to get on and off in the morning. So after an overnight passage we relaxed and napped this afternoon. Tomorrow will be an early departure as we need to make it through the Cape Cod Canal before high tide at 1715 a distance of about 60 miles.

This evening we had some heavy weather move through. We watched severe weather on the mainland during the evening newscast on the Providence TV station. There was even a report of a tornado which is really unusual in New England but none of the weather made it here.

Tonight there is a cool breeze and a beautiful sunset. So long as there's no fog in the morning we're good to make our cruise tomorrow.

The Eve of Departure

The time has finally come that we can move on from Oxford after 7 weeks of boat work and personal medical catching up.

A beautiful sunset over the Chesapeake Bay.

On the boat we added some things that we either knew we needed but didn't add before or that we found we needed along with repairs for the stuff that broke. On our medical side we took care of regular periodic stuff  we needed and fixed the stuff they found. Our objective was to get ready to go cruising.

Looking at the Bay shore.

Tonight we celebrated with dinner out to toast our last night in Oxford. Oxford is a beautiful town and we could stay here until winter but we have places to go and people to meet!

We came in with a list of 41 things to accomplish on the boat and we got most of them done. The big things were to get a new windlass motor to replace the one that broke, we got the autopilot replaced because the old one moaned too much, we got some leaks fixed, replaced hinges on 2 hatches and added a WIFI booster along with some periodic services.

A car carrier heading to Baltimore with a load of imported cars. The Chesapeake has many busy ports that see many ships every day.

At this point we have only 2 items on the boat to resolve before we head south in the Fall and go off on extended cruising.

We have also started reworking our insurance to match our sailing.

A view of Annapolis Harbor.

We got the charts for the summer and investigated the ones we need for gong forward.

As busy as I was when I was working I think I am busier now! But everything is different. Being here and falling into things we did in our previous life has sort of sucked us back into the way we were before.  But when we leave here tomorrow we're back into cruising mode which is much more fun.

To you folks still working: give it up and hit the trail. You will never regret it!

It doesn't get any better than this.

Almost there

It's really hard to believe that the year 2015 is more than half over. It's also hard to believe that we've been here in Oxford for about 7 weeks but in those 7 weeks we have accomplished a great deal. We came here with a "to do" list with 46 items on it and we have completed all but a few that should be completed this week. In addition to the boat work we've been getting a year's worth of medical appointments completed. As usual everything takes longer than expected and several of the medical appointments required follow-up actions all of which should be completed this week.

Some views of the Annapolis waterfront where we've had to go to get things and met friends.

We have also been using the time to provision for our future and packing things into the boat that will be used. So with all this our weeks have been very busy.

Working through the weeks has almost seemed like a throwback to our previous life. We drove into DC rush hour several times for early appointments and came home in the evening rush. After having been where we have it is now hard to imagine we lived in that life for so many years. Falling back into so many of our old places and routines at times made it feel like we never left. But once we get moving again the enjoyment will return.

But the busy weeks have been surrounded by fun weekends getting out with friends and spending a few hours out on the water. Hasn't been much wind but we've had opportunities to test out repairs and adjustments that we've made in preparation for continuing on to new places.

As we are getting closer we will try to return to more frequent comments since there will be more new places and things to report.

Getting ready for what's next

We've been in the Oxford Boatyard for about a month. Shortly after we got here we went to Chicago for a week+ to visit Linda's family. The cold weather reminded us of why we went south. Since we returned we've been doing boat maintenance and repairs with the yard. Additionally, we've been getting a years worth of medical tasks completed.

Among the boat chores we're completing is replacing the windlass motor and we've replaced our prop. We removed the Variprop back in January in Daytona Beach and replaced it with the OEM 3-blade fixed prop. We have now replaced it with a 3-blade feathering prop that is properly pitched hopefully put to rest the prop issues that we inherited from the previous owner.

Having the Boatyard resources we can do some of the maintenance items that we've been putting off. But between the running around to appointments and getting down on chores there has been little time for refreshment. Driving from Oxford to northern Virginia through rush hour traffic almost seems like being back at work. Hard to believe we went through that every day for years!

The weekend of the 13-14 of June we sponsored a cruise for our sailing club the Herrington Harbour Sailing Association so we could connect with many of our old friends. It was lots of fun and always good to see old friends. Unfortunately, there is never enough time to spend with good friends.

At some point all this will end and we can get back on the trail. We still plan to head north to New England this summer once we finish all we need to do here.