George Town, Bahamas - Part 3

Not much has changed since the last time I posted.  We are anchored back over by the Monument.  (I guess they call this Hamburger Beach.)  On Tuesday, New Year's Eve, we went over to a bonfire and potluck at Flip Flop Beach - which is about a mile dinghy ride north of where we are anchored (everything is really spread out here!!!).  A mile isn't really that far if you have a good dinghy and it's daylight.  We headed over there in daylight, but of course, it was dark when we left.  I mean, come on, it was New Year's for goodness sakes! We had to stay out late.  (BTW, this was only the 2nd time we've been out after dark.)  We thought our dinghy was pretty decent.  We bought it right before we went cruising 4 years ago.  However, after realizing that mice got at it in our garage, we had to have it repaired a couple of years ago.  Now one of those patches has a very slow leak in the inflatable floor, and we have to keep pumping it up.  When the floor isn't hard enough, it's difficult to get the dinghy on a plane (which avoids getting wet), and keep the dinghy on a straight course. Blah, blah, blah.  At least now the engine runs great - yeah Steve!

It was pretty funny trying to find our boat in the dark.  Even though we have lights in the cockpit, it was still difficult to distinguishing which boat was ours.  There weren't even that many boats over here at the time either.  We did manage to get home safely after the ball dropped at 9:00 p.m. - cruiser's midnight.  The ball was a volleyball decorated with lights and strung up a tree.

Wednesday, we cleaned the boat a little in the morning, and went to a Bahamian Regatta in the afternoon.  This was an even longer dinghy ride across Elizabeth Harbor to the Fish Fry (probably 2 miles or so).  We ate lunch at one of the little shack-type restaurants and hung out with other cruisers.  To be honest, we didn't pay too much attention to the race.

On Thursday, making water turned out to be an all-day affair.  Since the tank was so low, we ended up running the water maker about 5 hours (that's about 100 gallons of water).  This pretty much filled our tank 3/4 of the way since we have a 145 gallon tank.  Since my ear was still in the infected stage, I ended up going ashore for a swim and to pump up the dinghy since the noise of the generator and the high pressure pump was getting to me.

Ok since I wrote this draft two weeks ago, I'm trying to remember everything else that happened after this.

I learned how to bake bread (and pizza dough).  Steve sewed the headsail. We went to the beach almost every day.  We snorkeled.  We hiked.  We went into George Town for errands.  We went to Chat N' Chill's Pig roast (which was just ok).  We attended beach church.  We had people over for drinks, appetizers and guitar playing.  Other than that, not much else to report.  We are planning to leave here on Thursday for a trip to Long Island and the Ragged Islands.  After that, we will probably head back here for the Regatta or continue south to the Aukland Islands and then Turks and Caicos.  We are just not sure what we feel like doing yet. We are getting quite comfortable here!!

George Town - Part 2

Ok, so where was I??  Oh yes, the dinghy engine.  Since leaving Titusville, the dinghy motor hadn't been running well at all.  If you remember from a previous post, Steve was working on this issue in Miami.  Without a dinghy, you're pretty much dead in the water - unless you want to travel around in a big sailboat everywhere and then swim to shore.  Without a dinghy in George Town is most difficult.  There are several anchorages throughout Elizabeth Harbor and different activities happen at different places.  For instance, on Christmas Day, there was a big cruiser's dinner at Volleyball Beach.  We're anchored at Monument.  The dinner consisted of 11 different tables and each table had at least 10 people.  A table captain coordinated the dinner at their table.  Jerry and Barbara, from Kumbaya, were our captains.  They bought and cooked a turkey, Steve and I brought string beans and a pumpkin bread.   Other people brought mashed potatoes, stuffing and cranberry sauce.  We also had chocolate cake and pumpkin pie for dessert.  After dinner, everyone mingled, and we got to sample left over food from other tables.  It was a lot of fun.  Anyway, back to the dinghy engine problem.  The engine worked; however, it kept bucking and stalling.  It didn't always want to start back up either.  Finally, Steve went ashore and John (Sam the Skull) followed him and they took the engine apart.  They cleaned out the carburetor and voile', it works great now.  One less stressor.

Since Christmas, we've just been hanging out and exploring the area.  We usually go for a dinghy ride and find a beach to hang around for a while.  While at the beach, we find a trail that leads to the ocean side of the island and watch the crazy surf beating against the amazing rock formations.  Many times, we have the beach to ourselves.  We'd like to go snorkeling or diving, but my ear is still not better.  So I just swim with a float and keep my head above water.

On Saturday night, we went over the the main island for George Town's big Junkanoo Parade.

Def. from Wikapedia - Junkanoo is a street parade with music which occurs in many towns across The Bahamas every Boxing Day (December 26), New Year's Day and, more recently, in the summer on the island of Grand Bahama. The largest Junkanoo parade happens in Nassau, the capital. 

The whole island attends this big event.  Although Wikapedia states that the event is usually on Dec. 26th, it was actually on the 28th.  We took the dinghy over to Volleyball beach while it was still light out, and took the water taxi over to GT.  It was our first time being out at night!  So exciting.  We're usually in bed by 8:00 (well Steve is anyway).  Pictures and a video can be seen at:

http://www1.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=5908493012/a=102133856_102133856/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/


Today, Monday, the 30th, we took John Ray over to Kidd Cove - the anchorage right outside of downtown George Town.  I had to go to the clinic again, since my antibiotics are gone and my ear is still infected.  Until the ear is cleared up, we are reluctant to go anywhere else where there may or may not be medical facilities.  Steve topped off the diesel and we restocked some groceries.  Armed with a new antibiotic, I'm hoping my ear will be good by the end of the week so we can go exploring further south.  We're looking to head either to Long Island or the Jumento's Cays - or both!

George Town, Great Exuma, Bahamas – Part I

We’ve been in George Town now, for a week and a half now - so let me catch up.  As planned, we left Great Guana, our anchorage south of White Point on Wednesday, December 18^th.  We had a great sail all day, until late afternoon when a squall moved in on us.  We heeled over pretty quickly with a 30-knot gust, so we reefed the headsail.  However, in the process, the sacrificial sunbrella fabric on the outside/edge of the sail got ripped.  So, while it looks a little ghetto, at least the headsail is still in tact.  It’s on our agenda to sew, but we haven’t had a really calm day to take the sail down.  The wind sure likes to blow around here!  I’m not complaining though – our wind generator keeps the batteries charged, and it doesn’t get too hot or buggy!

After the squall hit, we didn’t have much further to get into Elizabeth Harbor where we would anchor for the night.  There were more squalls threatening the rest of the way in though. “Sam the Skull” and “Pura Vita,” the two catamarans we were travelling with, were well ahead of us, and already checking into customs.  Although we were also required to check-into the country, we weren’t sure of the harbor, there were many shallow spots, it was getting close to dark, and more squalls were threatening.  We stopped at the first anchorage we came to at monument beach.  We figured we would check in first thing in the morning since it was a long day, and we were a little frazzled.  That night, the sky opened up and torrential downpours and crazy winds hit.  The next day, the rain stopped, but the winds continued to blow 20-25 knots and gusts to 30 all day.  Needless, to say, we stayed put. We didn’t realize there was a water taxi which couldn’ve picked us up – we’re newbies to George Town.  On Thursday afternoon, John (Sam the Skull) came over in his dinghy to check on us, since he hadn’t heard anything from us.  (They had also anchored at the monument - way ahead of us though. Apparently we were out in the wilderness). We told John we were keeping a low profile since we didn’t check into the country yet.  On Friday, we called Elvis’ Taxi, and went into town to officially check into the Bahamas.  We walked around town for a while, since we hadn’t been off the boat in almost a week since leaving Miami.  We also enjoyed a nice meal of conch fritters and a huge burger at Eddie’s Edgewater. 

The wind continued to blow pretty good for the next few days.  We started to relax and get the lay of the land.  We listened to the morning “net” on the radio and found out about some activities for Christmas.  John also told us about a bon fire and “pot luck” on monument beach for Friday night.  We went to that shindig, had some good food and drink, met some new people and enjoyed some good music and singing.  Gradually, we started to like GT. 

On Sunday morning, the day of the ladies’ Christmas luncheon and Yankee Swap, I awoke with a swollen, painful ear infection.  I took a Motrin, and went to the luncheon.  By the end of the Yankee swap I was in excruciating pain.  On a positive note though, I drew #1 for the Yankee Swap, so I got to pick the first and the last gift.  The gift that I picked first, ended up being the gift that I chose last (it did get stolen from me during the swap).  It was 2 insulated carrying pouches – great for bringing dishes to potlucks.

On Monday, my ear was pretty bad.  We had found out about a clinic in town on the main island.  Since it was a long dinghy ride, we decided to take the sailboat.  We also had errands to run - groceries and laundry.  The clinic was very efficient.  We were in and out of there in about an hour.  With 3 medications plus the visit, it was just $100.  The laundry proved to be a lot more tedious.  It was very busy and the lady running the place was bossing us around on which driers to use or not use.  Yes, I did have a mini meltdown.  In my defense, I was in a lot of pain and we hadn't eaten yet!  With the clinic, groceries and laundry, it was a very long day.  Steve was also having his own issues trying to figure out why the dinghy engine kept dying on us - and always at the most inopportune times!  

To be continued . . .

Miami to Bahamas

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Today we are anchored south of Black Point and White Point off on Great Guana Cay.  Here is the story since we left our anchorage in North Miami (near Oletta Park and FIU).  On Saturday, December 14^th we hoisted the anchor. However, before we did this, we acquired local knowledge of the ICW channel across from Baker’s Haulover Inlet (since there is significant shoaling and we already went aground there!)  Since we subscribe to Sea Tow (the equivalent of AAA), we called them.  They actually had a boat stationed right outside of our anchorage as this is a popular place to hit bottom.  The guy from Sea Tow was kind enough to came right into the anchorage. He showed us on an alternate route how to the leave the anchorage avoiding the Baker’s Haulover canal shoaling and get us back into the ICW.   We followed his instructions exactly and had no problem. 

Our plan was stop at a Marina to get fuel, water and a pump out, and then to an anchorage that would leave us in a good position to head out and across the Gulf Stream into the Bahamas.  We actually contemplated staying at a marina for the night.  However, we ventured into the anchorage at the Venetian Causeway Bridge, which Steve had anchored at on a previous boat delivery trip.  We were so happy to be there when we realized that there was a boat Christmas Parade of at least 100 boats passing 50 feet in front of our bow all decorated and blasting cool music.  There was also an awesome fireworks display following the parade.  It was a great, unexpected surprise.  If we stayed at the Marina, we would’ve missed it all! 

In the morning we headed back down the ICW, past Government Cut (GT) to Fisherman’s Channel, since we couldn’t go out GT with the cruise ships that were docked there.  Once outside of Miami, we lifted the sails and cut the engine.  We had an awesome sail all day crossing the Gulf Stream, passing North Riding Rock (North of Bimini) and into the Bahamas’ Banks.  After sunset, the wind shifted and fell off as squalls formed to the north of us while a cold front was passing.  We watched lightening creeping up on us, but managed to stay ahead of it. At around 10:00 p.m., we started the engine and motored sailed through the night.   Michele took the first watch, until 1:30 a.m.  Then she woke up Steve when she thought a squall was coming at us.  The squall didn't manage to hit us though, thank goodness.  We were in radio range of several other sailboats as we crossed the Banks.  Along with us, most boats decided to go straight through the banks and onto Nassau.   As we were nearing Nassau, we started hearing radio transmissions from Sam-the-Skull (John and Barbara Anderson) that we knew from Titusville.  After contacting them, we opted to follow the same route as them, staying on the outside of Nassau Harbor, past Rose Island and into the Yellow Banks towards Norman’s Cay.  However, instead of entering Norman’s Cay in the dark, we decided to stay with John and Barbara and another catamaran Pura Vita, and head towards Shroud Cay with a more straightforward entrance in the dark.   As the sun was setting in the west, the moon (which was full) was rising in the east.  It was quite a site.  After anchoring and admiring the full moon with a small glass of wine, we had an awesome night sleep - since we each only had 4 hours sleep. 

The next morning, today, Tuesday, December 17, 2013 we headed out of Shroud Cay at 9:15 a.m.  We motor sailed all day past Cambridge Cay, Warderick Wells, Staniel Cay and Black Point – all places where we stopped on our last cruising trip.  We are anchored just south of White Point on Big Guana.  Our plan is to head out early to reach George Town on Great Exuma Island.  John Ray is now officially the most south she’s been since we’ve had her!

Here are some photos to check out too:  http://www1.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=5879231012/a=102133856_102133856/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Enjoy!  Miss you all xoxo

Need to Work Out Some Kinks!

We left Lake Worth (West Palm Beach) early morning yesterday.  We decided to head offshore instead of staying in the ICW with the many bridges that we would have to go through.  It was also meant to be   a shakedown sail since we hadn't done in a while.  When Michele headed south down the ICW instead north to go out the Lake Worth inlet, we should have taken this as an omen and either kept going down the ICW or returned to the anchorage.  However, we banged a U-ie and went out the inlet.  The easterly winds that were predicted were more westerly and then southerly.  The seas were only 1-2 feet, but every second and on the beam.  With the opposing current, it was very choppy.  Michele was a little nauseous all day.  Steve was also uncomfortable, but not sick.  We motor-sailed all day.  We stayed close to the shore among lots of company - sailboats, small craft, big craft, dive boats.  It was like the southeast expressway!

Originally, we were going to leave port at night to get a morning entry into a Miami port.  However, the wind and seas were worse the night before.  So we knew leaving port early morning from Lake Worth was going to be iffy getting in before dark - unless we could maintain a decent speed.  With the wind direction and current, it was impossible to go fast enough to make it to Miami.  We knew we would have to enter Port Everglades (Ft. Lauderdale).  We made it into the inlet with plenty of light left.  Then we had to decide where we were going to anchor - not many choices around this area.  We could go north and try to anchor in Lake Sylvia.  We had never been there, and weren't sure how much room there would be to anchor.  There were several sailboats that were ahead of us which made us think that it would crowded in there (along with the local weekend traffic).  In retrospect, we should have taken our chances since we still had enough light to figure things out.

We opted to go south and try another anchorage that we saw on the chart (bad idea) or maybe continue south to an anchorage that we had been to before.  The problem with the 2nd choice was that we didn't have enough daylight to make it. But . . . we took the chance because it was a known anchorage.  Again, bad idea.  First problem was traveling down the ICW at night.  The channel markers were not lit and very difficult to see until we were right on top of them and nearly hitting them.  Luckily, we didn't hit any, but we had a few close calls.  The next problem was that, apparently, there is significant shoaling in the area of the anchorage that we were going to, due to the Haulover Canal inlet from the Atlantic.  The area is dredged every 4 years (and must have been dredged the last time we were here 4 years ago and is due again now).  The channel here is very skinny.  If you miss it, you're screwed.  And in the pitch black, it's not that hard to due.  In fact, we were in the channel, but too close to the marker where there is significant shoaling.  We hit bottom, but were able to get off.  When we turned around to get off the shoal, we ended up on another shoal.  When we shined the spotlight on what we thought was a marker, it turned out to be a danger sign!  After bouncing back and forth, a tow boat approached us, asking if we wanted help - for a small fee of $100 or course. (This is a popular spot to go aground, so this tow boat just sits there waiting for it to happen to make money.)   Even though we have a tow boat service, it was late and we didn't want to deal with it.  So we let him pull us off the shoal and lead us into the anchorage.    All in all, a fun day of being a cruiser!  Living the dream, ;-), ;-).

Today was a chill day.  Hanging on the anchor, going ashore and walking around Oletta State Park, and drinking wine at sunset :-D.

But Hey . . . We're in Miami!!!!

It’s been over two months since we left Boston, and I’ve only really posted once.  I will really try to get better at keeping you all informed.  It will also help us to remember what we’ve done when we look back on our journey.

On Sunday, December 1, we left Titusville.  We motored down the ICW since the wind was coming from the south and that is, of course, the direction we are heading.  We anchored near Eau Gallie Bridge in Melbourne the first night.  It was an uneventful day – but that is always a good thing.  The next morning we got up and did the same thing.  We went into Vero Beach City Marina and snagged a mooring for the night.  Since we got in at a fairly early time, we decided to put the dinghy down and try the outboard motor.  The fuel line connector had a crack in the o-ring, and the engine wasn’t getting enough fuel to start.  We were going to row ashore early, get the part we needed, and hopefully move on our way quickly.  However, Michele’s Mac was dead.  It wouldn’t boot up at all.   It was still acting funky once in a while, even though we had it looked at 10 days earlier at a place in Viera (near Melbourne - when we had a car and could drive there).  So, luckily we found a place in Vero that was a Mac authorized dealer who was willing to look at it for us – but not until 3:00 p.m. that day.  They were able to fix it for now – we’ll keep our fingers crossed.  So, Vero ended up being a two-night stay. 

During the time that we dropped off the computer and picked it up, Michele managed to drop and crack her phone, AGAIN.  The first time, the damn phone gets run over, the screen is cracked to smithereens, but still works fine (except for getting glass in my fingers)!  This time, the screen is barely cracked, but the display no longer works at all.  So frustrating.  Since we really are going to be suspending our phone service within the next week, we are not going to bother to fix it until we return.  (I’m already having withdrawal.)

We left Vero Beach early Wednesday morning and again motored south down the ICW.  While cruising past Fort Pierce, we took pictures for Steve cousin Karyl who has a townhouse in the area.  Still the winds were on the nose, so no sailing.  We anchored at Jenson Beach Bridge and had an uneventful day/evening.  (Again a good thing.)

After leaving the anchorage, we motored south down the ICW on Thursday, hitting many bridges that we needed to request openings.  After a while, we finally ended up in West Palm Beach and anchored for the night.  It’s weird being here without our friends the Murrays on Tranquility (now back in New Zealand). 

We were planning on leaving the Lake Worth inlet this evening to head south to Miami overnight, but again the wind will be on the nose.  We want to raise the sails!  So we decided to wait until the morning to go offshore.  The winds will be coming more from the east, so we should be able to sail.  It will also be good to have our shakedown sail during the day instead of at night when it’s harder to see what’s going on.

You can always see our current location at:  http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=08TU8OspZn1uAsEAyoPKqarpMd7Ei1qzs

Cruising 2013-2014

Moving the Blog

What to do???  I created a website at http://www.papile.net/JohnRay.  However, after doing all this work, I realized it had a few shortcomings using iWeb on the Mac.  For one, this program is no longer supported.  Two, I can not really add all the features I want.  So, should I re-do everything here on blogger.com???  I'm thinking yes.

So, here are my previous posts   . . .


Tuesday, November 5, 2013

The boat has been stored at the Westland Marina in Titusville, FL since Steve brought it down here single handedly in 2011.  As you all know, he’s been wanting to cruise again since the last time we did this in 2008-2009 - because he HATES the cold weather in Boston.  However, he just missed his lovely wife too much (and she him).  So after patiently waiting, and commuting back and forth to Quincy every winter, he finally able to head south this year with his bride in tow.  

What we didn’t anticipate, is that we would be here, in Titusville,  for so long.  We arrived on October 5th, and have been working diligently getting the boat ready ever since.  Many projects have been completed, and we are almost ready to leave!

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Much to Steve’s dismay, Michele was forceful about getting the house painted one color before leaving Quincy.  When I say forceful, I am using the term very lightly.  I was very tolerant for approximately 10 years on this matter.  I’m not the type of wife that complains or badgers about house matters.   However, I did show a very strong displeasure with leaving the house in its current state.  So, here is the result of my “forcefulness!” After finishing painting the fence, I did help as much as I could with the house painting, but I could only reach so far on the step latter.  We still need to finish the trim, but it is definitely an improvement.  We were finally ready to leave Quincy on October 4th - just a little behind schedule.  Steve, YOU ROCK!

Before

After

With 2nd Floor Windows done.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Today we went to the Newport Boat Show hoping to find some good deals on some equipment we needed/wanted for our trip.  Some $6000 later, we were successful!  We purchased a water maker so that we’ll be able to make our own fresh water from salt water.  Yeah!  We also bought a Globalstar satellite phone so that we’ll be able to get weather data when we need it or make phone calls and send texts as needed.  We also bought a spot tracker, so that if either one of us ends up overboard, someone will find us - hopefully before we’re shark food!

Mile Marker 0, waiting for a front to pass

Left the anchoage at Willoughby Bay to seek better protection from the strong westerlies expected Friday and Saturday. Once again we dodged a few thunderstorms getting here, set the anchor in the rain and now we are now drying out. The cockpit enclosures are a great addition.
Our current location is http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/find.cgi?call=kb1nan

I am looking for crew to join me. E-mail steven@papile.net if your interested.

Under Way at Last!

John Ray has finally left the dock after being idle for a year and half. Steve and his crew member, Daz Jenson left at 0700 this morning from Hingham, MA heading south to the Cape Cod Canal. They arrived at the canal and got through it just in time for the current to change against them. Since the winds and the weather were favorable, they decided to sail through the night - through Buzzards Bay, past Block Island and then past Montawk Point to the south of Long Island Sound. Their current destination is Cape May, NJ, which will take them at least two overnights to get there.

Daz and his wife, Judy are hoping to buy an IP 38 so Daz is sailing to Oriental, NC to look an IP for sale there. He will continue to Hilton Head, SC with Steve to see another IP 38 for sale there. After that, he may or may not continue on to Melbourne, FL with him. But for now, the pair are happy to be travel companions heading south. Stay tuned for more exciting news from the John Ray.

The John Ray is currently being provisioned for another southern voyage. The plan is to leave when the weather permits during the first week of October. We will probably stop somewhere between here and Block Island, then sail from there to Cape May or Norfolk depending on the conditions.
Once at Norfolk we will stay inside the ICW stopping in Oriental and then heading outside at Beufort and comming back in at Charleston or Hilton Head.

Anyone looking to crew or visit during any legs of the trip is welcome so send me an e-mail if your interested.

Current location link :
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/find.cgi?call=kb1nan&terra=4

Getting Ready for Another Trip South!

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Somes Sound to Camden, ME

Somes Sound turned out to be a very long stay. However, it was a very nice stay even though we had to solve our engine problem. Every day consisted of taking the LLBean bus to Southwest Harbor where there were all kinds of amenities, to try to find the right screw to close up the leak. Finally, we decided to bring the boat down to Southwest Harbor to have the diesel mechanic look at it. We were running dangerously low on water and we needed to get diesel too. On our last night at Somes Sound though, Ray and Helen from Rigamarole came into the Sound and we finally met up with them. They joined us on John Ray for dinner. We had chicken cacciatore a la Michele and dessert courtesy of Helen. Good fun was had by all. Even Ray was happy because he got to have meatballs too. Actually, he told me that my meatballs tasted like his Italian grandmother's meatballs. So I was quite pleased with my bad self.

We finally got the leak in the engine plugged up. After we finally found the right size set screw/plug or whatever you want to call it, it wouldn't fit in. Everyone we talked to at Yanmar and other diesel mechanics told us what it should be, but it just didn't want to work. So we travelled down to Southwest Harbor and had the diesel mechanic at Down East Diesel look at it. He had it fixed up in an hour. The problem was that the mechanic who did the install plugged it up with a metal screw and it had rotted out leaving pieces behind. Obviously, we couldn't fit the same screw in there when pieces of the old screw were still there. While Steve and the mechanic futzed around with the boat, Michele met Robb and Terri Lukens (and Eli and Casey) for lunch. Robb is a teacher at Michele's school and his wife teaches at Thayer Academy. It was very nice of them to drive down from their cottage to meet with us, and it was extremely nice of them to treat for lunch! Thanks guys.

So, with our boat in no danger of sinking, we headed to Swan Island and anchored at beautiful Mackerel Cove. The anchorage was very peaceful and scenic. The next day we reluctantly left Mackerel Cove and headed to Seal Harbor at Vinalhaven Island. We arrived fairly early in day, but the anchorage was already slightly crowded. There was still plenty of room for us though. We had the choice between Seal Harbor or Winter Harbor and chose seal. However, at high tide you're able to dinghy all the way around from Seal to Winter. Winter Harbor is where we saw the seals though. Both anchorages were beautiful. Again, very scenic and very peaceful. It was so peaceful that we decided to stay another day. We went ashore to a little island in the middle of the harbor and Steve collected a couple dozen muscles which he cooked up for dinner with garlic, butter and linguine. It was delicious!

This morning we left Vinalhaven and we arrived here at Camden Harbor this afternoon where we are doing much needed laundry. Domenic is meeting us here for a couple of days so we will be exploring the area around Camden.

Mt. Desert Island, ME

After leaving Cranberry Island, we headed over to Northeast Harbor on Mt. Desert Island. Even though it was only 3 or 4 miles, it took well over an hour trying to sail there without the engine and very light winds. You see, we got this new engine back in May, but it seems to have a slight problem. There is water coming in! Long story short, a set screw came out of a drain plug and we can't seem to find the right size to replace it. So whenever we run the engine, we take in water which really isn't such a good thing. We stayed at Northeast Harbor on a mooring for one night. While we were there, we took the free LLBean free bus to Bah Habah. Neither of us had been there before so it was a very nice take.

The next day, we sailed up Somes Sound, the only natural fjord in the contiguous United States. A fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides, created in a valley carved by glacial activity. Alaska is the only other state that has one. Anyway, we have been here at Somes Sound since Sunday. We are planning to stay here another night as we are still trying to fix the engine.

We have been taking in the scenes of Somes Sound and Southwest Harbor since we've been here. Ray and Helen from Rigamarole will be joining us tonight for dinner as they just left Northeast Harbor. Nothing else is new. The time is going by very fast though. The end of our cruising is getting close!

The Cranberry Islands

We left McGlathery Island after one pleasant night. However, when we left the fog started to fill in heavily. Most of the 20 miles stretch to Great Cranberry was spent in heavy, heavy fog. It was an extremely stressful sail. We had the radar on the entire time, and it was nerve wracking to see huge objects in or near our path and not be able to see them. We passed islands as close as 1/4 mile away and couldn't even make out the shore or trees or anything. At one point, a very loud fog horn sounding like it belonged to a huge ship blew practically right next to us. We didn't see anything, but half expected a ship's hull to come crashing into us. We circled around and kept an eye on the radar. A few minutes later, the horn sounded again, but behind us this time. We made it through that, but still had another hour or so to get to our destination. At one point the fog just lifted, but it was very short lived - only for about 15 to 20 minutes before filling right back in. We finally made it to Great Cranberry Island and snagged a free town guest mooring. What a huge relief. That night we stayed put on the boat, but the next morning we went ashore for exploration. Since our Verizon Internet card is broken, we first went to the library to check email and update the blog. After that, we explored the tiny town and walked on a really cool trail behind the museum. The trail looked like we going through an enchanted forest. At the end we wound up on a pretty neat beach where we walked along the rocks and sat for a while to have a snack.

We had a quick lunch at the general store and chilled out overlooking the harbor. It was a great day. The next morning we took the dinghy to Little Cranberry Island or Isleford. We heard quite a bit about this island from our neighbor who raved about it. However, our expectations exceeded our experience. The island seemed much more populated with locals, summer residents and visitors. We walked one trail that was extremely buggy. The horseflies were huge! We walked all the way to the other end of the island to visit the Coast Guard Station, only to find out that it is a private residence - with no trespassing allowed. After much about the Dockside restaurant, we decided to try their lunch. The service was horrible and food was terrible, not to mention expensive. The portions were tiny as well. We discussed our experience with the manager, and she gave us break on the sandwiches. With just sodas and chowder, it still cost us $20.00. Oh well. The weather started picking up while we were at the restaurant with the winds coming right at us on the way back in the dinghy. It was a very uncomfortable, long ride back. So suffice it to say, we like Great Cranberry Island much better than Isleford!

McGlathery Island to Great Cranberry Island

On Tuesday morning we left Isle au Haut and headed northeast to McGlathery Island which is a favored spot in the Blue Hill Bay area. McGlathery Island is just south of Stonington on Deer Island. Getting to this anchorage was challenging since we got socked in with fog. Actually, it has been foggy up here since we arrived. Travelling in the fog is very stressful. There was only about an 1/8 of a mile visibility. While we almost at our anchorage, we ran into a couple of kids in a dinghy. They were following their own sailboat and ventured off to a beach when they got socked in and couldn't find their own boat. The girl was about 17 and the boy was only about 11. They had no radio or cell phone or any means of communication on them. After talking to them for a few minutes, we realized that their sailboat had just passed us going in the opposite direction. It was already lost in the fog. There was no way they would be able to find them. We couldn't leave them alone with no radio, charts, warm clothes or anything. We used our cell phone to call their crew. We informed them that we would tow the kids into the northern anchorage at McGlathery and they said they were going to the same place. Well, they didn't. They went to another anchorage on the western side of the island - we were at the northern anchorage. The kids had to dinghy to them, but at least the fog had lifted somewhat and they could follow the shore along to the other anchorage. Weird!


Our anchorage was quite nice. We went ashore, but it was difficult to find a trail to hike so we walked along the rocky shore - more exercise rock climbing! It was pretty neat though.

We had an excellent pork chop dinner and we were able to pick up the Red Sox game (too bad they can't seem to win at the Trop). On Wednesday, we planned to head out towards the Cranberry Islands which are south of Mount Dessert Island (and Bar Harbor). I'll post that part of the trip a little later.

Hingham, MA to Isle au Haut, ME

(Sorry it took so long to post. We haven't had Internet since we left. Our Verizon Internet card is not working and this is the first time we've had access to a library!)

On Saturday morning, we left the dock at Hingham Shipyard Marina. It’s been a while since we’ve been cruising, so it was exciting to be heading out again. We left at approximately 10:00 a.m. and motored sailed all day and into the night. During our travels on Saturday afternoon – WE SAW WHALES! Steve mentioned that there were reports of whale sightings around Stellwagon Ledge, so we started looking. After about a half hour or so, Michele spotted the spray shooting up from the water as the whales came up for air. They were at least a mile away from us, so we didn’t get too good of a look, but we did finally see them. We could see fins and tails coming up out of the water, but we weren’t close enough for a picture. Then they were gone. We spotted them again, but this time they were behind us. But at least we finally saw whales.

Michele took the first watch at 8:00 p.m. Although, Steve was below, he stayed awake reading until at least after 9:00 p.m. which would only give him 3 hours of sleep. Michele started a new book and was very much into it. The time passed quickly so she stayed up until 1:00 a.m. so that Steve could have close to 4 hours sleep. He then took the watch until almost 5:00 a.m. At 8:00 a.m., Michele got to go back to sleep for another couple of hours.

The fog started rolling in around 8:00 a.m. and we were pretty socked in by the time Michele got back up around 10:00 a.m. Thank goodness for radar and chart plotters (GPS). We managed to avoid all the rocky ledges and get into our anchorage at Duck Harbor, Isle au Haut, okay despite the fog. We chilled out on the boat for the afternoon deciding to spend the next day going ashore to explore. And that we did!

When we rowed the dinghy ashore, we found a campground with trail maps. So we started off on an innocent hike. Well, 5 hours later, we were exhausted. We circled the entire island which was probably about 13 -15 miles. We enjoyed a nice hike through woods and trails, waterfalls, ocean views and then into town. The way back was mostly on paved and unpaved road - which was an 8 mile jaunt back to Duck Harbor where we wer anchored. Since we ran out of snacks and water, we sssooooooo happy to get back to the boat. Next morning we planned to leave to McGathery Island. More to come later.

Hingham, MA

Home sweet home - well for some of us. Michele is excited to be home, but we're not so sure about Steve. We're still living on the boat in a slip at the Hingham Shipyard Marina. We've added a new crew member though, Chuey. He didn't seem to skip a beat going from Jessie back to us. She dropped him off at our house where we had already re-united with Junior. Junior will still stay at the house with the Papile's as he is way too big to be on the boat. (Boston Light) Junior was a little skeptical of us when he first saw us. He shied away at first, not sure who we were. Then once he realized who we were, he was very happy. Chuey just went right by me and into the house to sniff around his old digs. Then he came over to say hi to me. We're very grateful to the Papile's and Jessie for taking good care of the dogs while we were away. Without them the trip wouldn't have been possible.

We're staying on the boat because we're not quite ready to be land lubbers. The house needs some work and Steve just isn't ready to deal with it. We'll be here for at least a month and then head up to Maine sometime in July. If anyone wants to go out sailing, give us a call. :-) (father and son reunion)

Sandwich, MA - Almost Home!!!

Hi all. We finally left Sandy Hook, NJ yesterday at 0600. We motored sailed the entire way along the southern shore of Long Island Sound. Our first destination was going to be Block Island, but plan B was to go to Cutty Hunk - the Elizabeth Island chain near Martha's Vineyard. Plan C was Onset, and depending on time/current through the Cape Cod Canal to Sandwich, plan D. When we arrived at Block Island it was 0200, so we just kept going. When we were going by Newport, RI, it was 0500. Cutty Hunk was at 0800. We kept going and decided since the current was good to go through the canal, we went for it. Since the next anchorage after Sandwich would be Plymouth, which is a long way into the harbor, we decided to get a slip at the Sandwich Marina. We would have kept going all the way home (plan E), but tonight is supposed to get down into the 30's. The winds are also supposed to be blowing around 20 knots tonight. What the heck!!!

So here we are, hunkered down at a marina. Michele's parents are coming down to go to dinner with us. Tomorrow we'll head up to Hingham, and probably get a mooring at the Hingham Shipyard Marina (formerly Hewitt's Cove). We're very excited to be home, well almost home. Jessie is going to bring Chuey home on Tuesday and we'll go home to see Junior. We'll spend more time this summer cruising - if we can still get dog sitters - but that might be pushing it. This is not the end of the post yet. There will be more to come as we get home and continue cruising this summer. Michele doesn't need to be back to work until September!

Waiting for Weather

We are still in Sandy Hook waiting for the weather to clear up. It has been rainy, foggy, cold and sometimes very windy. We're not really having too much fun :-(. More to come later.