Sept, 21, 2008

I'm back at the boatyard on Gibson Island now. It's been almost a month since I've updated this so here goes.

On Aug. 29, I went to Belfast to do some provisioning and spent one night on a mooring at the city docks. Belfast is a pretty good place to provision except that the grocery store is about 1.5 miles from the dock. I did laundry and made a trip to the grocery before leaving and going back to Holbrook Island for a rest.

I left Holbrook Island on Sept 1, after a couple of days of loafing. It was nice to sit and do next to nothing for a while. I had talked to Dan Huber and decided to stop and see them in Casco Bay. I worked for Dan for a while in Lexington and hadn't seen him for many years. I planned on sailing down Penobscot Bay and anchoring at Seal Harbor. It's the last well protected anchorage before going out into the Gulf of Maine. From there I thought I could make it to Casco Bay in one day and not have to do an overnight sail. I don't like doing overnight sails around here because of the lobster traps. Seal Harbor is behind a group of small islands that give good protection but make it a little difficult to get in. The channel in is narrow with lots of rocks along both sides. I sailed down the Bay in light winds but with enough to have a very enjoyable sail. As I got close to Muscle Ridge Channel, the way to Seal Cove, I was going right into the sun. That along with a light chop made it almost impossible to see the floats for the lobster traps. I was doing OK until I realized my speed had dropped from about 5.5 knots to about 1.5 knots. I had hooked a trap line on the keel. The front of my keel is vertical enough that the float won't slip under it and the line will trail along behind the boat going right along the keel and the propeller. My speed through the water had dropped to about 0 and the current was pushing me along and right toward a large group of rocks. I had to get the trap off quickly or I would be driven on the rocks with the tide going out. I couldn't even see the line but I could tell it was in between the blades of the prop because I couldn't turn it. With the rocks getting closer, the only way I could see to get loose was to use the prop to cut the rope. I had done that once before by just turning the prop shaft by hand. I tried that but couldn't get enough torque on the shaft to cut the line so the only thing left was to start the engine and use it to drive the prop and hope that it would cut the line and not wrap it around the prop. So I started the engine and just bumped it into gear and back to neutral. It cut the line and I was free. I still had the glare from the sun masking the floats so I turned 180 degrees and went back to the bay. I gave up on anchoring there and decided to go on to Casco Bay. My GPS said I would get there about 1:00 AM so I changed my route and headed west. The wind had picked up to about 15 knots, with a few higher gusts, so I had a nice sail. The wind was from the north so as I went past the little fingers of land sticking out, the wind would die and my speed dropped from 6 knots to about 3. But I still had a nice sail and was getting close to Casco Bay when it got dark. Casco Bay is about 100 miles wide at the mouth and Harpswell, where Dan and Chris live, is about the middle. I made it into Harpswell Harbor about 1:30 AM and anchored about 500 feet in front of their house.

The Huber's house is right on the water overlooking Harpswell Harbor, one of the better anchorages I've seen in Maine. I spent a couple of days there enjoying their hospitality and a tour of the area. Across the river is the historic Baileys Island Bridge. It is a cribstone bridge that was built by stacking large blocks of granite and building a road on top and a short bridge joining the two sides and is the only bridge in the world built this way. It was built in 1928 and is now being rebuilt in a 2+ year project. They are building a temporary bridge beside it, that's part of it to the left in the picture, and then will dismantle and rebuild the main bridge.

I left Harpswell on Sept 4 headed for NYC again going close to the Halfway Rock lighthouse. Halfway Rock is halfway across Casco Bay. Somewhere in the Gulf of Maine I came across a pod of whales. They weren't real close to me and they didn't seem to come out of the water when breathing but I could see the spouts. It looked like there were at least three of them.

Hurricane Hanna, actually just a tropical storm by now, was predicted to be heading northeast from where it went ashore in South Carolina. When I left Maine, I thought I could be back in Rockaway Inlet before she got there but the winds were light and by the time I got to the Cape Code Canal, I could see that I was not going to make it. There are few anchorages, or marinas, near the east end of the canal so I went ahead and went through the canal. I got to the east end early in the morning, about 4:00, and caught the tidal current going my way. There was little traffic but about half way through, the fog set in. By the time I got to the railroad bridge, near the west end of the canal, I could hardly see the sides of the canal. I was navigating almost entirely by the chartplotter. By the time I exited the canal, the fog was so thick that I could not see more than one marker light at a time. The current was still pushing me through the canal at about 4 knots and I was motoring at about 4 knots to maintain steerage. Those lights were going by pretty fast. Heading south to Buzzards Bay from the canal, I started looking for a place to anchor until the fog lifted. There are few places until you get a few miles along so I had to keep going. There was no traffic so that wasn't a problem although I kept expecting to see a tug and barge appear out of the fog. By the time I got to a spot where I could stop, the fog was lifting and visibility was up to at least 1,000 feet so I kept going.

Once I was safely through the canal, I started looking for a place to ride out Hanna as she went by. There were no anchorages that I knew and I didn't want to anchor somewhere unknown if I didn't have to so I started calling marinas. I tried Point Judith in Rhode Island, where John Byrne and I had stayed once, but they were full. Bristol looked like a well protected spot but they were full also. Fairhaven Shipyard and Marina had one slip left. He said it was not going to be comfortable, because it was the first one nearest the river, but I should be secure there. I took it and was motoring up the Acushnet River when the fog set in again and lasted until I was almost to the harbor. The New Bedford-Fairhaven harbor has a hurricane barrier across the river. If the storm surge is getting too high, they can close two gates and shut it out. The gates leave an opening of about 150 feet and weigh about 400 tons each. I got tied up at the marina OK and went into town for a pizza. That was Fri. and the storm was now predicted to hit there late Sat night so I had plenty of time to kill.

The wind started to pickup just before dark on Sat. I checked my lines and decided that I should have them doubled up. I had two dock lines at the front, one at the rear and fore and aft spring lines. The wind was going to be hitting me at the left rear and would be pushing me away from the dock so fenders weren't a problem but if a dock line broke, I would be driven into the boat in the other side of the slip. I doubled up on the lines and went inside to get my foul weather gear ready in case I needed it. The forecast was calling for gusts up to 70 mph and hitting us about midnight. I was waiting and watching TV to keep track of the weather forecast. The winds were picking up pretty good, I'd guess about 25 to 30 knots, when I heard a loud snap outside. One of my dock lines had chaffed through. I sure was glad I had doubled up on them. I got the broken line replaced and put anti-chafe gear on the dock lines. About midnight, the Coast Guard announced that the hurricane gates were going to be closed. I heard one of the marina operators asking on the radio if they were going to be closed. He said he had about 1.5 feet of left on his piers before the docks would be loose and he had an 85 foot motor yacht tied up there. I guess it survived since I didn't heard anything about it on Sunday. The winds didn't go much higher and as the storm went past, the winds shifted around so they were pushing me against the dock. This meant the lines weren't so critical but I needed my fenders then. They were out so I went in and got some sleep.

I left the marina Sun morning. The forecast was for moderate winds, 15 knots, from the NW. I was planning on going to the Harbor Of Refuge at Point Judith and spend the night there. The winds were nice and seas calm as I left the harbor and sailed done the Acushnet River. It was a great sail as I went by Cuttyhunk Island and into Rhode Island Bay. About then, the wind went around to the west and picked up to about 20 knots. I was now going right into a strong wind with about 30 miles to go. I had to drop the sail and motor the rest of the way. It was the worst trip I have had for quite some time and I was beat by the time I got to the Harbor of Refuge. That is a big V shaped breakwater that was built about 100 years ago outside the Point Judith harbor. The cruising guide said that the protection from the seas is great but there is no protection from the wind and the holding is not real good. By the time I got there, the winds had dropped somewhat and the swells had built to about 4-5 feet. As I approached the harbor entrance, it got shallow and the swells got steeper. They were hitting me right on the beam and would break soon after they went by me. It wasn't much of problem but was a bit tough steering as the swells would lift and drop me. As soon as I got into the harbor, the waves died completely and I was soon anchored and comfortable. The breakwater walls are not real high but sure stopped the waves.

The next morning I got up and went into Point Judith to buy some diesel fuel. It was then on to NYC. I was going to go down Long Island Sound and through NYC but when I checked the tides I saw that I would be going against it as I got close to the city. The tides there can be as strong as 6-7 knots and I could not power through it. If I waited, I would get to the yacht club too late to get on the mooring so I decided to go south of Long Island. As I was going past the east end of Long Island, a sub came by going into New London. You have to stay 500 yards away from them and it looked so close I slowed down to let it pass. It went about 1/2 mile in front of me but they are so big, it still looked pretty close. That's the east end of Long Island in the background.

It was a pretty nice trip although the wind was really light and I had to motorsail the whole way. I got into Rockaway Inlet and ready to get on the mooring just as a strong squall came by. The Coast Guard said it had really strong winds, 40+ knots, and recommended taking refuge immediately. There was no place to go so I stayed out in the bay and motored into the storm. There wasn't time for the seas to build up so it really wasn't a problem. I just motored into the wind just fast enough to maintain steerage and it was over in about twenty minutes. I went over to the mooring and Pete met me there to help me get tied up. The yacht club does not have lines on the moorings so you need to use your own and as high as my boat is, I could not reach the ball to get my lines connected.

I was again the guest of Pete and Laura. We did a nice bike ride along the beach to the west. It was windy and a little chilly so there weren't many people at the beach. That's New Jersey in the background in the picture to the left. The picture to the right is the bathhouse at Rockaway Beach. The outside of it was just refurbished and it looks really nice. Unfortunately, they didn't do the inside so it is still not usable.

I stayed there a few days waiting for the winds to change from the south and be a little more favorable for the trip south. I left on the 13th and headed for the Chesapeake. Winds were not real strong so it was more motorsailing all the way. I could sail but was only able to do about 3 knots and I didn't want to be offshore that long in a congested area. As it was, I got into the Chesapeake on the 14th and went on down to the Sassafras River to anchor. The wind was still from the south and it looked like there was a nice anchorage that should provide a good nights rest. As I got close to the anchorage, I saw a few of the fast noisy speedboats there. I figured they would leave well before dark so I decided to stay. They left as I was approaching so I went forward to get the anchor ready. I looked up and two more of them had appeared. It was like they just appeared from nowhere. There was a very small and well hidden entrance to a small bay behind the trees. Apparently, the fast boats meet there and party on the weekends. They were all gone well before dark and it was a very nice anchorage. By the next morning, the winds had picked up and were coming from the west. This anchorage was wide open to the west so I decided to move to a better protected spot. I ended up at Back River just north of Baltimore.

I came into the boatyard on the 16th and have been doing some work on the boat and loafing some. The weather has been really nice this week and yesterday I went out on the boat in the next slip for a while. It is a Lord Nelson Victory tug and owned Natalie from Washington, DC. She had several friends here for a cruise and then go to the after race party at the yacht club. We were going to watch the yacht club races but we got out there too late and just went out in the bay and around the Baltimore Lighthouse and then back for the party. The lighthouse is one of the ones that was sold, for about $250,000, and is now private. She had several friends here for a cruise and a party at the yacht club. We were going to watch the yacht club races but we got out there too late and just went out in the bay and around the Baltimore Lighthouse. The lighthouse is one of the ones that was sold, for about $250,000, and is now private. The owners are trying to raise money to restore and improve it. They are sponsoring a party in Annapolis on Oct 1, 2008, 100 years from the day it was first lit.

I'm not sure how long I'll be here but am planning on going back to St John for the winter, leaving the Chesapeake sometime in early Nov.