Mamals

Cow Island, Casco Bay, Maine

I left Isle of Shoals at 7am dispite a forecast of light winds. The sea was as smooth as glass. As much as I prefer sailing to motoring, a windless day does have one advantage - it lets me spot any ripple caused by sea mamals.

For the first time in my life, I spotted a seal in the wild. Then another and another. As I passed the last rocky islet of Isles of Shoals I was treated to a beach full of sleeping seals. They were much bigger then I expeceted.

Just when the thrill of seeing seals was wearing off, I spotted my first whale of the day. As I progressed north, I saw several others. At one point, I whale surfaced about 25 feet off my starboard bow. It was the closest whale encounter I've ever had. Based on my google research I think there were Minske Whales.

After a morning of motoring, the wind filled in and I was able to sail the rest of the way to Casco Bay. I'm moored a few miles East of Portland and am thrilled to finally be in mid-coast Maine.

Cocktails on Kalyra

Maine and back

Isles of Shoals, ME/NH

A seagull and her chicks

Isle of Shoals is a pretty unique place. It consists of about 8 rocky islands several miles off the coast of New Hampshire out inthe Atlantic. The boarder between NH and Maine runs right through the middle. I spent Monday morning wondering Star Island, NH. There is a big, old, mostly empty hotel, lots of history and lots of sea gulls. The granic shoreline allows one to see Massachusets, NH and Maine from the same big rock. Later that day, I dinghyed over to Smuttynose Island (best island name ever) to see pretty much the same thing I saw from Star Island but from the state of Maine.

The highlight of the sail to Isle of Shoals was seeing a couple of whales along the way.

Kalyra through my galley port

Tall Ships

Rockport, MA

Tall Ships off Gloucester

Another perfect sail from Marblehead to Rockport, MA. The engine was on only for a few minutes when navigating out of the crowded Marblehead mooring field. I could see a few of the tall ships from the recent Boston Harbor tall ship event as they sailed East of Gloucester.

I spent Saturday morning walking around Rockport and liked what I saw. It seems to be the most livable costal town I've visited so far this trip. Later Saturday I was treated to a delicious barbecued halibut dinner aboard Kalyra. Here's one of the pictures we took of Tanqueray anchored in front of the setting sun.

Sunset in Rockport, MA

Kalyra and Tanqueray both plan to set sail for Isle of Shoals Sunday and then on to Portland Maine on Monday - weather permitting.

Kalyra and Tanqueray moored in Marblehead

Thanks to Trip and Nicole for the great pictures.

Fog

Marblehead, MA

After over four days of fog in Onset I was starting to get a little itchy to move on. Onset is a great town to stop in with a protected anchorage, marina, shuttle and shore facilities like laundry and groceries. To get to Cape Cod Bay from Onset, I needed to traverse the Cape Cod Canal. Because the current in the canal is so strong, the tides must be timed carefully. I decided to set the alarm for 4am. If the fog was too thick, I'd go back to sleep. If I had at least 1 mile visibility I'd weigh anchor try the canal.

I popped my head out the companionway at 4:15 and was surprised to see the fog had lifted and I could see for miles for the first time in days so I got everything ready and set out for the canal. I caught the last of the fair tide and passed only two ships on my way East. Just after exiting the canal I looked back and could see the fog had rolled in again. I was lucky to get though with excelent visibility but soon found myself in patchy fog out in Cape Cod Bay. Winds were favorable so I was making good time, but a passing squall left me soaking wet. For the first hour we were in and out of fog banks and showers. In the second hour the rain stopped but the fog thickened. I could see other boats on my radar. Some also showed on AIS. Often, they would pass so close I could hear their engines and even voices but I never saw them.

Once North of Salem, the fog lifted for good and the skies turned blue. I had 14 knots on the beam and averaged over 6 knots all the way to Marblehead. It was as nice a sail as I've ever had. Perhaps the fog and showers early on made the rest of the sail seem extra sweet.

Marblehead has over 2000 moorings. I believe it has the largest fleet in the Northeast (at least). I had reserved a mooring and was soon in town enjoying lobster mac and cheese.

Tanqueray in Marblehead

Close call

Onset, MA

I had originally planned to stop at Cutty Hunk after departing Block Island Thursday morning, but the sailing was perfect and a poor forecast for Friday resulted in a a long day - all the way to Onset.

A distant Kalyra and Noomi in foggy Onset harbor

Onset seems to be a perfect cruiser's stopping point - a protected anchorage and great shore facilities. After doing some laundry and sharing a pizza with Trip and Nicole, I received the frightening news that Tanqueray had dragged her anchor. Fortunately, another boat was able to get her on a mooring. She doesn't appear to be damaged so things could have been a lot worse.

We have discovered that moorings in Provincetown have increased significantly in price. This, combined with a forecast of winds from the South for a few days have resulted in a change of plans. I'm still not sure when and where my next destination will be.

Solitude

Great Salt Pond, Block Island, Rhode Island

I may me singlehandling Tanqueray up to Maine, but I'm not alone. My good friends from NJ on Kalyra are anchored nearby and are headed to Maine as well. I had the opportunity to practice my French with my new friends on Ulysses - a Britsh built catamaran from France. I was thrilled to see another Morris Justine pull into the pond a couple of days ago and had the pleasure of meeting Mike on Shearwater and getting a tour. All four boats are headed north so I'm sure our paths will cross again.

Tomorrow morning I leave early for Cutty Hunk.

Great Salt Pond

Block Island, RI

I set the alarm for 4am and dropped the mooring at 4:40 for the long sail to Block Island. It's a little more than 70 miles and a lot current to deal with. The flow through The Gut is so strong it has to be timed so as not to reach it on a flood tide. The winds were light to start and my attempts to use the sails left me bearly moving at all. I had to motor all the way to the end of Long Island and through The Gut. I was rewarded for all the motoring by a perfect sail across Block Island Sound. I finally unrolled the genoa, set the autopilot and didn't have to touch a thing until just outside the entrance to Great Salt Pond. I was even able to read (Going Postal, Terry Pratchett) for hours - just sticking my head up every once in a while to make sure I was still alone.

Block Island Sounds is fully exposed to the North Atlantic so it gets some rough conditions. There was long swell and about 20 knots of wind towards the end of the sail that made getting the sails down and navigating through the breakwater a little challenging. The winds inside were even stronger than out on the open Sound. Fortunately, Great Salt Pond is pretty empty at this time of year so anchoring was stress free - are rare occurrence here.

By 5:40, I was down below drinking a beer and starting to prepare dinner.

I plan on relaxing in Great Pond for a few days. I expect my friends on Kalyra to arrive Sunday evening after the overnight sail from Raritan Bay.

Washington to Jefferson

Port Jefferson, NY

No wind, so another day of motoring. Arrived in Port Jefferson to visit my parents. It's bad luck to have so many days in a row of East winds, but that will soon change. I should be able to do a lot more sailing for now on.

57 degrees in June

Port Washington, NY

A long, wet, cold trek from Perth Amboy to Port Washington. Dropped our RYC mooring at 11am and picked up a free town mooring in Manhasset Bay at 18:40. Motored the entire way with the wind on the nose.

Small Coast Guard boats with manned machine guns on the bow were patrolling in front of the UN. They held fire as I passed north bound with the strong current at 9 knots.

The Vessel Finder web page appears to be accurately tracking our progress.

Maine or bust

Hillsborough, NJ
I'm planning to leave Raritan Yacht Club early Tuesday morning to start my long slow trip up to Maine. The mission is to have an enjoyable sail and to explore Maine as a possible retirement location. I believe you can track my progress on the Vessel Finder web site. I'm not sure how accurate and up to date it will be.