Month: September 2017

Newport Maritime Center

Newport is one of those places where despite the millions and billions of dollars spent on yachts they still welcome the average sailor.   A decent anchorage that’s not completely crowded out by moorings, several free dinghy docks spaced throughout town, two centers that offer showers/wifi/lockers/laundry, and a great town for walking cannot be beat.

sanding the butterfly

So what do we do in a fabulous place like this?  Scrape, sand and varnish.  Yup – it was time to stop procrastinating and get a coat of varnish on the cap rails, cockpit combing, turtle, and companionway hatch.  It was hot and sticky work, but definitely made easier when done by two.

Once that was done we decided to enjoy ourselves.  Our friend Dave was coming in for the day for the Newport International Boat Show, so we headed into town to catch up with him over tuna tartine sandwiches at the Clark Cooke House.

Fort Adams

We have a bit of time before we need to get home next week, but we also know the storm Jose will be moving up the coast and bringing heavy winds, rain and big seas with it.  We decided to stay one more day and then move on Saturday, giving us a few days to move down Long Island Sound and hole up in a protected harbor before the storm hits.  Which meant we spent Friday, our 5 year wedding anniversary, in town.

We started the day with a tour of Fort Adams.  It’s a fascinating place to explore and the only disappointing fact was that the fort never saw action and had a chance to prove its ability to repel an attack.  If nothing else it’s now a great place to host music festivals and of course can be rented out as a fabulous setting for weddings.

heading in to the boat show

We then headed into town to check out the boat show.  I love the boat shows because it’s mostly a chance to talk to vendors of products you already own and confirm that you don’t really need the newest shiniest bangles.  And the boats.  Much as I love Kalyra, she was built in 1986 and it’s always fun to go on board the newest boats to see what $500,000 will get you!

Oliver Hazard Perry

One added bonus of attending the boat show was the chance to board the Oliver Hazard Perry.  It’s a magnificent replica of a square rigger that’s now used for Outward Bound- like programs for both kids and adults.  We saw her several times this summer in Maine and it was fun to have a chance to explore.

Newport ‘bling’

We’re finishing off the day with an anniversary dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant in town and then heading back to the boat to clean up and get ready to move on again.

New Bedford fishing fleet

We did a short run over from Marion to New Bedford to make for a shorter sail to Newport with company.  New Bedford at first glance is not your usual sailing grounds, being the New England harbor that supports the largest commercial fishing fleet.  We stopped a few years ago on the recommendation of a new friend and were happy to come again.  Going in through the hurricane gates is always an experience – makes you think how great a place this would be to hole up in a big storm.  Then you start seeing all the fishing boats.  They’re particularly intimidating when you’re in the dinghy heading through the fleet into the dinghy dock.  We didn’t have time to go to shore this visit, but Fairhaven is home to the best rigging shop (Rigging Only) and New Bedford has come a long way to rebuilding the city as a desirable place to visit and even live.  The whaling museum alone is worth a visit and the restaurant/bar scene is improving all the time.

New Bedford hurricane gate

Beck, Zoe & Argos

Relaxing at the bow

Trip’s nephew Beck and his girlfriend Zoe joined us the next morning with their dogs Argos and Gimlet.  The last time we saw them was 2016 in Shenzhen China where they owned & operated a bar (it was Trip’s first visit to Asia – a very memorable experience).  Unfortunately the northerly breezes disappeared quickly and the southwesterlies set in sooner than we had hoped.  We had to motor most of the way, but at least we had sun the whole time.  The dogs proved to be true sailing dogs and I was sooooooo tempted to kidnap both.

The winds were building – blowing around 15 knots and gusting into the low 20s.  We suddenly noticed a regatta taking place and all the boats setting spinnakers – a bit surprising for a Tuesday (most weekly races are Wednesday or Thursday) and somewhat surprising for light weather sails.  Turns out it was the posh New York Yacht Club’s International Invitational, sponsored by Rolex.  The fleet was a single design – the Swan 42.  Please note the mainsail for each boat probably cost more than our entire boat fully loaded…..  : )

Rolex Invitational

We did manage to sail the last bit into Newport so everyone got to enjoy the quiet of the water without the noise of the engine.  We dropped anchor with just enough time to drop sail, clean up, and partake of cocktails and hors d’oeuvres as the sun set.  We then dinghied/launched into town for dinner.  At first we were disappointed that the only place available that was open and take dogs (mid week, post season) was an exorbitantly priced Miami Vice themed deck grill at a marina called 41 North, we were forced to eat our words when we realized how tasty the food was.  Newport never disappoints.

Nap time

We only made it as far as Warren Cove in Plymouth after leaving Boston.  It was a bit of a rolly night with the seas, but it was the most convenient place to drop anchor before the Cape Cod Canal, whose entry needs to be timed with the tides due to the current.

One of these homes owns the mooring we’re sitting on – high rent district

We still had a good northwest wind, so we set half the jib and still managed to make 5 knots to the canal.  You have to motor through the canal, where we topped 10 knots at one point (this is not uncommon – the current is that strong).  The jib got rolled out again as we left the canal and we sailed around the bend into Marion.

Marion is not a huge harbor and it’s loaded with moorings, but this is a sailors community.  The Beverly Yacht Club has moorings for only $25 which include launch service and showers and wifi at their clubhouse.  We cleaned up quickly, grabbed the launch and headed into town to catch up with the Salander clan (Trip’s cousins, etc) – Mark & Minda, Beck & Zoe (just back from China), and Britt.   We never seem to have nearly enough time with anyone for a proper catchup but I love the effort that our friends and family are willing to make on the fly to see us!

Whew.

We knew it was going to be a bit of a crazy sail and we were prepared, but whew.  To take advantage of winds, we decided to do an overnight off-shore run from Tenants Harbor to Boston.  A triple reefed main plus a staysail, and we still managed to hit 8 knots a few times.  I won’t pretend that these are my favorite sails, but Trip was grinning ear to ear, so I left him at the helm unless he needed a bathroom break or a nap.  The boat can certainly handle the big seas, and luckily I don’t get seasick.  Trip wasn’t so lucky – but we’re blaming that on an overly sweet Luna bar.

Catching some zzzzz’s

Emily’s new hermit crabs

Juniper and Emily ready to roll

We got to Boston Saturday and dropped anchor in Peddocks Island (part of the Boston Harbor Islands) to clean up and rest.  Sunday we headed to the Inner Harbor and took a mooring at the Boston Waterboat Marina, one of our favorite places.  Then it was non-stop:  lunch with Viviane and Lawrence (caught up with them one last time), Labor Day BBQ at Jen’s, hanging out with Leslie/Jeff/Emily, lunch with Deb, and a final al fresco dinner with Mark/Traci/Juniper, Jane/ Karl & Jeff/Leslie/Emily.  The week blew by much too fast, and suddenly the winds were in our favor again.

Boston Harbor at night – my favorite view

We were facing a couple of days of high winds and big seas before we could head south, so we decided to stop in Tenants Harbor to wait out the weather.  We lucked out and got a mooring ball just off the dock at the Tenants Harbor Boatyard which got us wifi out to the boat.  Bonus:  we got to stream episodes 1-3 of the latest season of Game of Thrones over dinner!!!!!!

There’s not much to the town but it’s a pretty little walk.  The general store had just the right amount of basic provisions to load up and the Happy Clam up the street offered up our last taste of lobster over mac & cheese.  Ironically they also have an incredible German menu thanks to their chef.   The Quarry Tavern was also a great little space to eat – and the bar manager was a local whose husband sails, so we had all sorts of sailing stories to trade.

Tenants would normally be a busy little harbor as it’s completely packed with lobster boats.  However we only saw two braving the big seas so it was a couple of days to rest up before the offshore run.

The dreaded day finally arrived – time to turn back west.  We weren’t sure if our anchor would dislodge after sitting in that wonderful thick Maine mud for two weeks, but a couple of extra tugs on the windlass in low gear and she popped.

We headed down to Southwest Harbor to top off water tanks and do laundry.  Unfortunately the dryer was on the fritz (hardly any heat) and I had three loads to do.  While waiting and waiting, we happened to meet a fellow cruiser who was on the hard at the boatyard having his rudder repaired.  He was waiting for laundry as well and invited us up for cocktails in his cockpit to make the wait more tolerable.  Cocktails turned into homemade pizza and a completely lovely evening aboard Promise with Mike from Annapolis.  Mike – hope the rudder repairs went well, looks like you’ve been able to move on again per Marine Traffic!

Then it was off to Burnt Coat Harbor again to have one final rendezvous with James and Jenny during their summer vacation.  They came aboard with their pup Maggie (who ran laps up on deck while we had dinner down below).  It was a little bit bittersweet having that one last dinner with them but it was time to move on.

And then we hit the motherload.  Fellow cruisers Keith and Ida had not only mentioned how much they loved Maine, but one particular spot called Seal Harbor in Vinalhaven.  It’s a series of coves that you wind your way through until you get to just the right spot to drop anchor.  The particular cove we picked is called Outer Inner Seal Cove and there’s only room for one boat.  Though you could see other boats in the distance we had this little space all to ourselves.  A few homes dotted the shore, but it was all Maine granite ledges, pine trees, and seals.  Ah, the seals.  The first one that popped up was so big I thought he was a walrus.  We later found the rock where they sun themselves, unfortunately couldn’t get close enough for a good shot!

Unfortunately we only had one night in this magical place, so it’s already been added to the list of ‘return to’ next summer.