October 10, 2010 Winterization - 264 Days To Go

As the weather is getting colder, boating activities turn from enjoyment to work!  Bob is working on winterizing the water systems and generator.  Lynda is putting all the boat linens in space bags and will take home all items that might freeze.  We have found over the years that storing the clean linens on the boat for the winter solves the problem of where to store everything at home!  During the week, Bob and his friend Vinnie will move the boat from our summer dock in Mystic, CT down Long Island Sound, up the Connecticut River for winter storage in Portland, CT.  Portland is only about 15 minutes from our home and we decided that it would be more convenient for getting all our "stuff" on board in the spring in preparation of leaving on our Loop adventure.  So we are signing off for now as our season is drawing to a close.  Be sure to check back in the Spring and join us as our adventure begins!

October 2, 2010 Dock Party - 271 Days To Go

As the season is quickly coming to an end, "B" dock had a Farewell to Summer get together.  Who would have known that our dockmates decided to take this opportunity to bid us an early Bon Voyage!!   Great food and a great surprise.  Thanks to all who helped make this a day to remember.  We hope that you all follow our adventures and share experiences with us!

    

September 1, 2010 to September 5, 2010 - Hurricane Earl - 299 Days To Go!

Wednesday, September 1st - Cast off from the Herreshoff dock at 10:30 am, traveled past Newport and Point Judith, RI.  The seas were a little lumpy with a swell that would rock us side to side.  Once we rounded Point Judith, the seas smoothed out and we enjoyed our lunch that we had purchased in Bristol.  We are now in familiar waters as we head through Watch Hill Pass, past Stonington and on up the Mystic River.  We arrived  at our home port around 4 pm after a pleasant, uneventful sail.

Thursday, September 2nd - Hurricane Earl is supposed to arrive in the area tomorrow night.  Boat owners have begun to arrive and tie extra lines on their boats.  The marina has begun to make preparations for his arrival.  They have hauled a boat or two, removed and stored the dock carts and umbrellas that are usually on the picnic tables throughout the yard.  We will be staying on board for the duration of the storm unless it gets to rough and unsafe.

Friday, September 3rd - The day started sunny and little wind, but as time went by, clouds began to form and the wind picked up a little bit.  Hurricane Earl is scheduled to arrive around 7 pm as a category 2 hurricane.  We sat on board all day, read and watched the Weather Channel for updates on his progress.  Bob and I took a dinghy ride up the Mystic River.  We had seen a number of very large boats go up the river during the day to take refuge from the storm and we wanted to see where they were.  There were three large (over 120 feet) yachts that had been tucked into slips at Mystic Seaport Marine.  One of them, Bayou, even had an amphibious car on the upper deck!  We decided to have an early dinner, so Bob went picked up a pizza at Angie's.  Once the pizza was finished, again, we sat and waited, still not much happening.  We briefly lost TV satellite reception, so I decided to go read some more in bed.  I was waiting all night for the wind to start to howl and the waves to begin slapping on the boat, but nothing materialized.  We may have wind gusts of only 15 mph.

Saturday, September 4th - woke up this morning to find a much cooler day and that Hurricane Earl had been downgraded to a category 1 hurricane and  had passed the Mystic area with not ill effect!  Today, a front from the west had arrived, which brought the much cooler, less humid weather, but strong winds.  One of the folks on a sailboat here at the marina clocked wind gusts at 42 mph!  The wind today was much stronger than during the hurricane.  Here is a picture of the swells that rolled through the marina

August 28, 2010 to August 31, 2010 North Falmouth, MA to Bristol, RI

Saturday, the 28th, we are still at Brewer’s Fiddlers Cove in North Falmouth, RI.  It was a good day to do some laundry, so Lynda gathered up the towels and clothes and went off to do the wash.  The marina has one washer and two dryers, so while the wash was being done, Lynda sat, relaxed and did some reading in the marina clubhouse.  Before long, the clothes were washed, dried, folded and brought back to the boat.  In the afternoon, we (Bob, Lynda, Willow and Tucker) went for a dinghy ride to explore Fiddler’s Cove.  We traveled up a narrow inlet, and were surprised to find the inlet lined with beautiful privately owned homes, each with their own dock and boat tied up to it.  Later, for dinner, we enjoyed swiss steak for dinner that had been cooking all day in the crockpot.  Tomorrow we will travel a short distance up Buzzards Bay to Red Brook Harbor and stay at Kingman Yacht Center in Cataumet, MA.

Sunday, August 29th, we left Fiddlers Cove around 10:30 am and headed up Buzzards Bay.  There was a small swell on the Bay, but other than that, it was a pleasant, short trip to Kingman Yacht Center.  Along the way, we noticed a large plane that had just taken off from a nearby airport.  Bob said it was one of the presidential planes, if not Airforce One.  President Obama had been vacationing on Martha’s Vineyard and we figured the plan was on its way back to Washington.  Kingman Yacht Center is a fairly large, well protected marina.  Our slip was tucked around back and was very quiet.  Just a short distance from our boat is a popular local restaurant, The Chart Room.  The Chart Room is a former covered barge that was built around or before 1900.  The ceiling is still the original curved beams and the floor is made of old railroad timbers.  We noticed a sign on the wall that marked the high water line of Hurricane Bob from 1991.  The restaurant is approximately 15 feet above sea level, and the mark on the wall was about waist high!  We watched another beautiful sunset and tomorrow it’s off to Hadley Harbor on Naushon Island.  From Hadley Harbor we will head to Cuttyhunk Island.  We won’t have any internet access until we leave Cuttyhunk, so I won’t be able to post any updates until we have access.

Monday, August 30th, traveled to Hadley Harbor. We hadn't been here in about 20 years. We were surprised to find a number of moorings in the harbor. Some were marked private, others were not. Other folks in the harbor indicated that if the mooring was not marked private, it was available to use. We located an empty, non-private mooring and settled in for a quiet, peaceful afternoon. Since it is after the weekend, the harbor was quiet. During a weekend, the harbor can become extremely crowded with anchored boats as it is a very popular spot. The mooring we were attached to was right behind a boat with an AGLCA looper burgee. The boat was Potest Fieri, a Nordic Tug from Ontario. We chatted with Dan & Susan for some time and they gave us a lot of helpful info for our upcoming trip next year. Tomorrow we will head to Bristol, RI to the docks at the Herreshof Maritime Musuem.

Tuesday, August 31st we said goodbye to Potest Fieri, wished them a safe journey and left Hadley Harbor around 10:30 am. We headed west on Rhode Island Sound, traveled up the Sakonnet River and arrived at the Herreshof Museum around 3:30 pm. They were closed today, but we had previously received a dock assignment. Bob and I got the boat docked safely, washed the salt off and took the rest of the afternoon off! Later on, we walked into town and had a nice Italian dinner at Roberto's restaurant. After dinner, we walked a little further into town and picked up a grinder for lunch tomorrow. Because of the impending arrival of Hurricane Earl later this week on Friday, our reservations at Brewers Wickford Marina were cancelled. We decided to head back to Mystic on Wednesday, rather than try to find another place to stay on Wednesday and then try to hurry home on Thursday. The trip from Bristol to Mystic will be just a bit longer than we like to travel, so we thought we would be prepared with a pre-made grinder for lunch!

Next Destination - North Falmouth

Countdown = 308 Days To Go

Awoke early, 6:00 am, took the dogs to shore, packed up and headed out for our next stop, Brewers Fiddlers Cove, North Falmouth, MA.  Had a great travel day, waves of only a foot or so and very light wind.  We had purchased sandwiches at Dutch Harbor yesterday so that we could eat them today, while underway.  They were terrific!  We arrived around 1:00 pm and will be here for two days.  After washing the salt off the boat, we both sat down and enjoyed the view off the back deck.

Here is a picture of the marina

And another great sunset with a promise of a warm, sunny day tomorrow.

Finally!!

Countdown = 309 Days To Go

The weather report for today, August 26th is for SUN! We woke before dawn to the sound of rain falling on the cabin top and thought, Oh no, not another day of rain! But we waited a bit, the rain stopped, sun came out and we were able to get underway and leave the dock by 9:00 am.  As we were leaving the dock, a boat with an AGLCA burgee went by, Potest Fieri! We heard another boat call them on the radio and heard they were tavelling to Newport.  We were headed for Jamestown, so they were in sight for some time.  We had snacks for lunch and arrived at our destination, Dutch Harbor Boat Yard in Jamestown, RI around 1:30 pm.

The sunset was beautiful, but it was rather rocky, rolly all night and we didn't sleep very well.

Still in Mystic

Countdown = 310 Days To Go

It's Wednesday, and we are still in our homeport, waiting out the weather. It isn't raining much anymore, only misting every now and then. The wind has died down quite a bit and things are looking good for leaving tomorrow. Mystic Seaport, a recreated seaport village, is just up the river from us so we spent some time there this afternoon viewing the new exhibits on tugboats and canal building.

As the skies clear

And the sun sets

There is hope that tomorrow will be a good travel day. After all, as the saying goes, Red skies at night, sailor's delight!!

Weather - More of The Same

Countdown - 311 Days To Go

The wind is still blowing, gusting to 20 mph at the marina and off and on drizzle, so we will wait yet another day before we head out. We took a car ride to Watch Hill, RI which dates back to the 19th century when it was a summer resort to the rich and famous where access was achievable only by water ferries. Today it is easily accessible by car or boat. It offers many quaint shops, restaurants and is home to the oldest and only continuously operating flying horse carousel.

The Ocean House was a post-Civil War resort destination for the rich. The 1916 silent movie "American Aristocracy" with Douglas Fairbanks was filmed at the Victorian hotel, known for its yellow facade and striking ocean views. But the 135-year old hotel, in need of extensive repairs and upgrades, was closed in 2003 and razed. Here is the new, rebuilt Ocean House that  just reopened June 2010. Total cost to reconstruct was over $140 million!!

A Summer Nor'Easter

Countdown - 312 Days to go

Vacation time has arrived on Sunday, and so had the bad weather!  Our plans were to leave on Sunday and head to Wickford for two nights, then on to Bristol, RI and then to Cuttyhunk, MA for two nights.  Unfortunately, the wind was blowing from the direction we wanted to go and it would not have made for a comfortable ride.  To make matters worse, it was predicted to continue, blow harder and rain for the next three days.  Although somewhat disappointed that we would not be heading out, we decided to stay in our home port and wait out the weather.  At least here we had the advantage of having our car available!!  Here we are, safe and snug in our slip as the wind is howling around us outside.  Will let you know when the weather has cleared and we can head out. 

Enjoying Our Time on the Water

Countdown is at 314 days to Looping!

The past few weeks work on boat projects has slowed slightly as we have been enjoying our boat, weather and time with friends.  Below are pictures of some of the friends we have shared good times with.

Ever since we first got this boat, the table on the fly bridge has been slanted toward the stern of the boat. Anything you placed on the table would slide toward the edge of the table!. We have solved the problem by putting a shim under the table hinge and raising the back edge of the table. Now we can enjoy food and drink and not chase the items around the table!

Earlier this year, we had replaced the chair at the inside steering station. We soon discovered that we needed to install foot rests, since when you were sitting in the chair, your feet would just dangle, they would not reach the rung on the chair. Voila, we now have foot rests!

Here is Bob installing the new hailer speaker. The VHF radio we installed earlier is connected to this speaker. The radio has a couple of interesting options, in foggy conditions, it can be used as a fog horn. It can be programmed to emit a fog signal a specifically timed intervals so other boats in the area will know you are there. It can also be used as an intercom between the person working on the foredeck and the captain at the helm. Pretty neat!!

Birthday celebration.  All three ladies have a birthday on consecutive days!

More time with friends

Mystic River - 334 Days To Go

August 1, 2010
Having your boat on the Mystic River is always an enjoyment. There is always a stream of boat traffic going up to and coming from the Mystic Seaport.  You never know what you'll see!

This weekend a wedding party arrived at our marina, complete with a bagpiper, and boarded a beautiful old sailboat, "dressed" for the occasion and then headed upriver to the Seaport for the wedding ceremony.  Then there was the beautiful blue sailing yacht, the 156 foot "Mitsea Ah".  You, too, can charter this boat and bring 10 of your closest friends and enjoy the hot tub on the foredeck!

 And every evening there is always a sunset to enjoy

Up and Back Down the Connecticut River - 340 Days To Go

July 17, 2010
Today, we traveled from Mystic, CT up the Connecticut River back to Petzold's, the Mainship dealer where we had purchased our boat.  Our friends, Vinny and Diana came along for the trip.  We made this trip to have some interior canvas work done and an inverter installed in preparation for our loop adventure next year.
The following Saturday, July 24th, we traveled back down the Connecticut River to Mystic.  My sister Nancy, my nephew Justin and his girlfriend Megan joined us for the return trip.  Below are pictures taken along the Connecticut River.

And finally, at the end of the day, a lovely sunset

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Today is the Annual Mystic Seaport Antique Boat Parade.  The parade down the Mystic River began around 1:30 in the afternoon.  So Bob and I took our lunch up to the flybridge of our boat and enjoyed the boats as they went y the end of our dock.

Almost forgot!  To add some storage space in the master stateroom, you can never have enough storage space if you plan to live aboard for a year, we had some canvas pouches made for each side of the bed.  There are three on Lynda's side and two on Bob's side.  I'm sure we will make good use of these!