Weather rules a good part of our life in cruising season and we spend an inordinate amount of time looking at forecasts. (I’ve learned that our cellphone data spikes just before a long run or a major storm, most likely from all the radar maps I download).
Elsa was working her way up the east coast as a tropical storm after hurricane status. It’s early in the season for a storm like this, but we’re always prepared. We knew the storm would be weakening as she passed through Maine, but forecasts for gusting winds ranged from 10 knots (barely noticeable) to 40 knots (time to tie off the wind generator blades and stand watch to make sure the anchor doesn’t drag).
We had spent the previous few days rafted up with friends Lawrence and Viviane, but opted to move to a guest mooring at their club. Luckily the storm brought more rain than wind and we only saw gusts of 22 knots. Whew.
Remember those choose-your-own-adventure books that we read as kids? That sums up this off-shore run to Maine. We looked at all the options based on distances, weather, winds, and personal preferences, and then constantly changed our minds. Not for the newbie cruisers, but we have been doing this a while.
Wing on Wing for 24 Hours
We left Bristol early Monday morning, heading for the Cape Cod Canal. The sail up Buzzards Bay was great, the only scary thing being the radio reports of a boat on fire just to the east of us in Martha’s Vineyard (we could see the smoke). We had the option of stopping in Onset, but we were so close to the canal we had time to get through (the current is strong enough that we can only go through riding the tide, not bucking). Our next option was to anchor just on the other side of the canal, but the winds were so nice and the bay so calm we decided to sail an extra 13 miles up to Plymouth for the night. Within 5 minutes of setting sail again we realized that we were adjusting course and going straight for Maine.
Why the changes? Any of the anchorages we picked would have been great for the night. However, major thunderstorms and a massive heat wave were forecasted for the Boston area the next two days, followed by Tropical Storm Elsa. The anchorages would have been safe enough. But the forecast was winds from the south 10-15 knots, the best possible forecast for running to Maine. We could escape the heat, the storms, and get there sooner.
Storms on Radar
When the conditions are right, and they were, overnight runs are incredible. You have the night sky with no light pollution and the bioluminescence in the water trailing the boat is amazing. Because we were under sail all you could hear was the sound of the wind and the waves.
We didn’t completely escape the weather, but our radar did help us identify one morning squall in time to reef (shorten sail). We still managed to make a ‘Mae West’ out of the jib (tangled lines and fouled sail) which we were able to eventually untangle.
Mae West Jib
The seas were pretty big but well-spaced so it was a tad bumpy, but averaging 5.3 knots made for a not too bad ride. We even managed to get up into Harpswell Harbor and drop anchor before the sun set. A wildly successful run and we were back in Maine.
Despite the quick fix on the fridge (we had originally feared that it might take us till July 4 or beyond if they had to order parts), we were now facing weather issues. We need two days of good south or southwesterly winds if we want to head straight from Narragansett Bay to Maine. We had missed a good southwesterly the weekend before when the Keats were visiting and there was nothing in the immediate future. In fact, a weak nor’easter was going to settle into the area for two days. Everyone raves about the Independence Day celelbrations in Bristol (oldest one in the country), so we decided to head back to Bristol for the long weekend, seeing family members again (plus a good southwesterly was setting up again early the following week).
Mega Yacht Neighbor and Rainbow
Mark and Minda invited us to their house for dinner Saturday and to spend the night, and as usual we had a fabulous time despite the torrential storms all around us. We got lucky and the sun started peaking out by the the time we got back to the boat on the 4th. Despite having been warned of how crowded the anchorage would get, there were only 20 boats or so at anchor (room for another hundred). Britt came out, followed by Mark and Minda, and we had a fabulous holiday evening watching the fireworks from the cockpit.
While we normally anchor, sometimes it’s just easier to get a mooring. With our friends the Keats arriving along with some stronger winds (and a potentially choppy harbor which would make for a long wet dinghy ride) we decided to pay for a mooring to take advantage of launch service and showers.
The Keats arrived Saturday afternoon loaded down with peaches from their farm share, blueberry muffins and coffee cake from Jeff’s mom, and hot dogs from a local Boston butcher. After lunch ashore Leslie and I decided to visit Linden Place, the mansion built by the DeWolfs with connections to both the Colt and Barrymore families. Cute as the town is, Bristol is a sobering reminder that they were the center of the slave trade at one time. Bristol produced some of the best rum which was brought to Africa on some of the fastest, locally crafted ships, where the rum was traded for slaves brought down to the Caribbean.
Keats & Co.
Early evening we went back to the yacht club, took the launch out to the boat, and settled in on board to catch up and to watch the ospreys hunt. Leslie and I got up early the next morning to go explore Colt State Park. Though the Colt family is probably most famously known for firearms manufacturing, Samuel Colt was more famous for buying and running local companies (ie. a bank that was later merged with Bank of America and another company that became United Rubber). The park was once part of a local cattle farm and the stables and grainery (a most amazing stone building) is now park offices.
A heat wave had arrived and it was too hot to do anything too physical, so Leslie found a local vineyard down in Portsmouth to visit. Neither Jeff nor Emily nor Trip were too impressed, so, to compensate, we stopped at a local brewery on the way back. After a late lunch, we again headed back to the yacht club to enjoy showers and drinks on the back deck before going out to the boat. The next day was more heat avoidance, with another trip to Colt State Park and Bristol’s town beach, followed by a run up the road to the local Audobon Society for some hiking trails and and aquarium. Of course that was again followed up by showers at the yacht club and a round of drinks from the bar before heading back out to the boat.
Once we said goodbye to the Keats it was off to Warwick to see if we could get the fridge fixed. The fridge crapped out Memorial Day weekend and we had been relying on ice to keep things cool. Trip had been attempting to troubleshoot for weeks on end and was finally at the point where we needed professional help. Luckily one was available just a couple of hours away. Though we had been assured that our 6 foot draft would not be a problem, the shallow water in the inlet did make us hold our breaths a bit and were happy that we were coming in at high tide. We got to the marina’s fuel dock and topped off fuel and emptied our holding tank, and got directions for where we’d be berthed. Two of the guys on the fuel dock gave me a map of the marina (yep, it’s that big), then took a golf cart off to our new dock so they could help bring us in.
Storms on the Horizon
The marina is under construction (recently acquired by Safe Harbors) and is absolutely huge. We discovered that it was faster to go by dinghy from end to end, only to snap the spring on the recoil of the outboard. More bad luck was to follow – we were hungry and the irish pub on the property was closed on Tuesdays. One of the fuel dock guys recommended a tiki bar at one of the other marinas, and Trip decided he was game to row, only for us to get down there and find out that bar was closed on Tuesdays as well. We snagged a bag and block of ice on the way back to the boat and I made drinks in a hurry as Trip set out to study the outboard problem. With a little bit of ingenuity, he figured that we could heat and rebend and set the spring for the outboard. I had mentally been pricing out new outboards and what it would do to our cruising season, so this was a welcome reprieve!
The technician showed up first thing the next morning and I went off to get some laundry done and to give them room to work on the boat. More good news – there were no serious problems with the fridge, the technician had vaccumed it out and pumped new refrigerant in so we were good to go. There were some pretty serious storms in the forecast, so Trip called the office and they agreed to let us stay another night free of charge. In the end, we were only ever charged for the technicians work – they let us stay at the dock for free (normally $3/foot per night). We celebrated by heading off to the air-conditioned irish pub where I had one of the best orders of fish and chips ever and several drinks to cool off before heading back out into the heat.
As more and more boats came into Block Island for Race Week, we headed north. The wind was on our back and we had the most lovely run, first by spinnaker and then wing on wing. It all made up for the lousy need to motor the first part of our trip.
We had never been north of Newport by boat, but decided to try Bristol for a couple of reasons: Trip has family in the area and we also had friends from Boston coming to visit. Bristol turned out to be the perfect spot. They have a maritime center right on the waterfront with free wifi, clean showers, and cheap laundry. The Harbormaster was incredibly informative. A nice little town with lots of historic buildings, parks, restaurants, shops – a great spot to walk around and enjoy time ashore. Trip’s family: Mark, Minda and Britt met us in town for dinner at a local pub and it was a blast to catch up with them over an early dinner. Britt was kind enough to lend us her car to run local errands and re-provision.
Finally Sailing Again
One day we decided to head down to the waterfront Herreshoff museum – home to designs and boats of one of the US’ most famous sailboat designers. This is the kind of place that sailors can wander through and study details for hours on end.
When we were done with the museum we decided we had enough time to try out the 14 mile paved path from Bristol to East Providence. We had brought a folding bike and rolling blades ashore, or so I thought. To my chagrin, and a tad embarrassment (when two local fishermen witnessed this), I pulled ski boots out of the bag rather than my rollerblades (coincidentally made by the same manufacturer and looked the same from the top of the bag when I packed). Trip wound up going biking by himself, while I sulked off to the maritime center and made myself feel better watching cheesy reality TV on the free wifi.
It turns out Trip had a problem with the bike, as it wouldn’t smoothly switch gears. I had had this problem last summer and he thought he had fixed it but no such luck. To make matters worse, when we got back to the boat the batteries (despite full sun for solar and wind for the wind gen) indicated that they were not charging properly. Don’t forget our broken fridge that constantly needed more ice as the temperatures climbed. Trip attacked the bike first, and got the gears fixed while I hid the ski boots in a dark hole to be found and put away in the fall. Next he synched up the battery display and cleared up the battery charging issue. Finally, he got a hold of a marine fridge technician and made arrangements for us to bring the boat in for inspection the following week. Suddenly things didn’t seem so bad.
There aren’t alot of restaurants in Bristol, but the ones that we visited had really good food. Top of our list was the Hope Diner. Belly up to the counter and sit and wait patiently for home made chorizo hash and eggs. I wound up sitting next to a local fisherman who filled me in on the local industry. Bristol is more of an oyster farm as they seed the beds right in the harbor (and they are fanatical about boats not dumping waste overboard – free pumpout docks and boats available everywhere). However, there are a couple of commericial fishing boats in the harbor and it is still a viable career (probably since it’s not all huge industrial boats like you see in most harbors).
Britt & Nicole
The wind kept fluctuating between none and too much, so we didn’t do any day sails while in Bristol, but we did get Britt one afternoon and Mark and Minda another out for cocktails onboard.
I hitched a ride back home with Natalie as I had to finish my teaching job, and Trip spent the week doing boat projects & trying to fix the pesky fridge. I was back on Kalyra the following Friday.
We had a lovely last day, wandering through town, getting a drink at the local pub and learning even more about the local island community, and then meandering back to The Oar for a final lunch and Paynes for a final mudslide. We even stopped by friends on s/v Blue Highway, who had just sailed up from the Chesapeake and were also on their way to Maine this summer.
Boats poorly anchored and subsequently dragging is a regular phenomenon on Block. I enjoy watching bad anchoring attempts with a coffee or cocktail in hand, especially when those bad anchoring jobs do not jeopardize us. The few boats in the anchorage and the number of experienced cruisers led me to believe that this wouldn’t be an issue this season. Wrong.
A small boat (25 feet or so) came in late afternoon and dropped anchor pretty much where we needed to up anchor. Trip went to the bow to explain the situation and was surprised at how little scope they had out. (We tend to put out 4-5 times the depth we were in; in this case we had 140 feet out for a 30 foot depth). The little boat had maybe a few extra feet out beyond the depth, a sure sign they would drag anchor later on. They upped anchor and re-dropped away from us, but again with the short rode. Sure enough, as the winds picked up and a squall hit us, that boat (now with no one aboard as they were ashore) began dragging through the anchorage toward the mooring field. Trip was able to reach the Harbormaster and he and another boater stayed on the radio until the Harbormaster could get the boat on a mooring (luckily the boat had reanchored itself and did not hit anyone). In the meantime we heard the sickening sound of fiberglass hitting fiberglass and knew other boats were now dragging & colliding with each other. One sailboat dragged and re-anchored much too close to us and was nearly hit by a crazy-expensive power boat driving way too fast through the anchorage in a storm, repeatedly trying to re-anchor. Things finally settled down, and I went to bed while Trip stood watch.
The storm and dragging on Saturday night reminded us that it was definitely time to leave Block Island and head to Bristol.
Courtesy of the pandemic, 2020 was not an exciting year for sailing. We were limited to NJ and NY waters during the season, and while it proved to be a wonderful getaway, there wasn’t much blog-worthy.
On the other hand, 2021 is already off to an exciting start. I’ve made jokes in the past that all of our drama happens early in each season, and this year is no different. We launched at the end of April, and Trip and Lawrence decided that winds in the 30’s (gusting to 40 knots) would make a great day to move the boat from the marina to our mooring. They had a great day and reminded each other that neither of us will see wind like that the rest of the season (mostly because we sit at anchor when the wind is blowing that high!).
But the big excitement was our first sail together a couple of weeks later. Something was wrong with the way the main had been set up, so I took the helm after we left the harbor so Trip could go forward to address the problem. Once he hoisted the main, I put the engine in neutral, ready to sail. Trip killed the engine and went below to switch the batteries. A few seconds later he yelled up that the automatic bilge pump was running non-stop. A few seconds after that he yelled up that water was pouring into the boat—–whaaaaaat?
Block Island Sunset
I’m rather proud to admit that in the next couple of hours that involved sailing back into our harbor, sailing up to the mooring, pumping water out manually the entire time, and diagnosing the problem, we didn’t scream at each other once. I guess we’ve owned the boat long enough that we know how to slide into emergency mode without too much panic.
It took Trip a couple of hours to get stubborn hose clamps and hoses off to get to the piece surrounding the shaft (the shaft log) that had cracked and was allowing water in, but he managed to get a temporary fix in place so well that the water ingress was reduced from several gallons a minute to less than a gallon over the next 48 hours. Lawrence and Viviane arrived for what was supposed to be a leisurely raft up only to join in the pump out and to consult with Trip on the whole situation. I had saved a nice bottle of champagne for the meet up and we decided that pumping water out of the boat was no reason not to carry on with celebrating. (Trip can’t really drink much champagne because of migraines, so we didn’t feel too bad for leaving him out).
Long story short, the boat got hauled three days later at a local boatyard and Trip was able to complete the repairs within a week.
Then the refrigerator went on the fritz. Trip tried to solve the problem before we left, but to no avail. Though he continued working on it over the next two weeks, the fridge became a cooler instead for the first three weeks of our cruise and we kept supplying it with ice until Trip decided that it was time to call in a pro.
Our next bit of excitement was leaving for Block Island, our normal first stop every summer. We needed to leave Tuesday afternoon as a front bringing easterlies was arriving Thursday. Unfortunately a short but massive line of thunderstorms came through early evening Tuesday. We made it out to the boat and got our gear down below just minutes before the skies opened. We sat out the storm on the mooring and left a bit later than we originally planned. Unfortunately, the storm took all the wind with it, and we were left with a windless, 24 hour motoring run up to Block. We did score a beautiful rainbow at dusk, and the next morning we had a dragonfly that rode along with us for a few hours, as well as a pod of dolphins that decided to hang out with us for a short while.
Nicole, Trip & Natalie
Block Island was the first feeling of normalcy after a year of masks and social distancing. Our usual bars and restaurants were back in business. Natalie came to visit for the weekend and other than a morning of light rain, we had absolutely beautiful weather.
It’s been the usual crazy start to each season, but we’re looking forward to what’s to come!
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