Benjamin River

We have arrived at our friends place on the Benjamin River. This is the apex of our trip. In a week, we start the journey south.

Casting

I can never get too many of these.

Getting Around

This is how we get around. Today we took the dinghy ashore in Castine for a walk and some ice cream.

Schooners

As we approach Castine, we realize that we're in schooner territory! We sighted three schooners on this short sail.

Current Conditions

The current conditions in Stockton Harbor: fog and light drizzle, light winds. It's a bit chilly today, so we are below, running the heater.

Camden

Today we toured Belfast, Camden, and Rockland. It was a whirlwind tour down Penobscot Bay with our friends Karen and Tom. This view is of Camden harbor and gives a look out over the Bay.

Stockton Harbor

Penobscot Bay

We're having a fine day heading up Penobscot Bay. The winds are light and against us of course, but that doesn't hurt the view!

Scenes From a Boatyard

Repetition. 

Cruise Lines

This "small" cruise ship was departing Rockland as we dinghied ashore. We politely waited for her to maneuver before driving in. (Tonnage rules!)

Fog and More Fog!

This image was taken as we finally emerged from the fog, as we entered Rockland harbor. Today we used all our nav skills and every bit of our electronics onboard to make our way here: Radar, AIS, GPS, and our eyes and ears. It was a bit nerve wracking, but also good practice.

Today’s Weather

The conditions in Boothbay today: calm and foggy. We plan to head out for Rockland later this morning, after some of this fog burns off.

After the Rain

After a rainy day, the sun dropped below the clearing clouds, giving us this. #nofilter

Life Onboard

Since it's still raining, why not make some tasty black bean soup…

Lobster Feast

This was the place where we enjoyed a feast of lobsters last night. There was live music and the crowd was in good spirits on a fine night.

Boothbay Harbor

It's gray and rainy today, so we are hanging out below decks. We are doing some engine maintenance tasks and reading our books. The rain should clear up later this afternoon, so we hope to go ashore then.

Booth bay

We arrived in Boothbay harbor today. No wind, but crystal blue skies all day.

Glass

When the wind quits, the sea turns to glass.

Storm

A storm is coming in. We dodged these all day, but this one is finding us at our anchorage.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow we plan to make a long run to the Casco Bay area.  We're targeting Chandler Cove, next to Chebeague Island to anchor. The winds are forecast to be light, so we'll probably be motoring. The distance is about 75 miles, so we expect a 12 hour day… but our reward will be arriving in Maine, finally!

Gloucester

Another beautiful day in Gloucester. The harbor is full of fishing boats and schooners!

Fishing

In Gloucester, it's all about the fishing…

Arrived in Gloucester!

Leaving Boston

We'll be leaving Boston this morning, next stop Gloucester for two nights. We have enjoyed the city and some fine meals, but now it's time to get moving north again.

Pastries

Go here for great cannolis!

Wet

Today in Boston: low clouds and some drizzle. We're hoping it clears soon! In the foreground you can see the new bridge under construction near us. 

Full Crew

Suzan arrived yesterday afternoon, so Silence has a full crew again!

Constitution

That's the USS Constitution, berthed just next to the marina where we are staying. 

The Trip So Far

I'm sitting in Boston, tied alongside a dock in Constitution Marina. There are thunderstorms in the area, and Suzan is stuck in Baltimore, unable to get out on her flight due to the weather tonight. The weather tomorrow is also in question.

My crew, Josh, left the boat this morning, for a train ride back to Virginia, and he's probably getting home about now.

In the mean time, I'll be spending some quality alone-time here in Beantown. So, it seems like a good moment to write a bit more about how things have gone so far.

If you just look at the pictures, you might think everything went perfectly well, but of course that is not how sailing works. I've heard people say that in sailing and cruising, the highs are higher, and the lows are lower. If you want to do this, you need to accept a larger range of emotions than you might expect. Not that I'm complaining. I chose this trip because I want the good stuff, so I have to expect some of the difficult times too.

But, to keep things realistic, let me list some of the things that have gone wrong on this trip. First up, was Tropical Storm Elsa, which was scheduled to intersect our position somewhere halfway between Cape May and Block Island. If that had happened, it would have been more than just uncomfortable. It would have been dangerous to be caught in 50 knot winds on the ocean, with big seas. So, we stopped in Cape May for a couple of days to wait it out, and while it wasn't unpleasant, we were all anxious to get on with our trip, and we felt like we were just killing the time.

Once in Block Island, while I was checking the sea water strainer for the engine, to make sure that it was flowing freely, I broke the hold down bolt on the cap of the strainer. As it snapped in my hands as I tightened it, I had a sinking feeling. Without that bolt, it would be impossible to secure the cap, and we could not run the engine. 

In Block Island, there is no boat hardware store, so there was no way to replace the broken part locally. We found a household hardware store, and did an Apollo 13 style assessment of what parts we could cobble together to get the engine operable again. We tried different kinds of screws, and we tried a very large hose clamp strapped around the whole strainer to hold down the strainer cap. Those approaches didn't work and the cap still leaked, so that was a no-go. We had one additional solution available, since we were able to find a 3/4 inch hose to hose bib adapter. With this we bypassed the strainer, and we could run the engine again, leak free, albeit, with some risk of sucking something up further into the system than we would like. But we were operational again. This whole episode in the harbor was an example of a low point, followed by the high of realizing that we had "McGyvered" our way out of the problem.

The other frustrating thing about "sailing" trips, is that if you are on a schedule, you often don't get to actually sail. From Annapolis to Boston, we sailed perhaps 14 hours total, versus probably 60 hours of motoring. This is pretty typical, and it's just something you have to accept on trips like this. 

And so, the low point today is that Suzan won't be able to get here today, and we'll have to see about tomorrow. It's a hardship, and it delays our plans, but fortunately, everyone is safe, and we'll recover whenever she gets here.

And despite some of the negative things I've listed here, don't worry, we'll be fine. We'll be looking for that next high, when we're sailing in a beautiful spot, somewhere off the coast of Maine.

Good Morning, Boston

Boston

We had a great sail from PTown to Boston today. Now we're in the big city! Where should we go for a lobster? Or, should we wait for Maine?

Clear Night

Last evening we had clear skies and we could see stars, the first time in several days. We have fog again this morning. In an hour or two we will set sail for Boston. We have 10 to 15 knot winds from the SW, so we're hoping to sail, not motor.

Visibility

The visibility report from P-Town this morning: about 100 feet. Humid, but cool today with light winds. It's a good morning to cook breakfast and wait for the fog to lift.

Provincetown

Provincetown is a great place for people watching! 

Provincetown!

Fog

We'll, this might make today more challenging… fog this morning for our canal transit.

At Anchor

Tonight we are at anchor in Phinney's cove. Tomorrow we will leave early to catch the tide through the Cape Cod Canal.

Buzzards Bay

It's a gray, bouncy day as we enter Buzzards Bay. The waves settled down as we pushed further into the Bay. We're currently making about 5.5 knots with a 1 knot adverse current.

Bike Ride

We rented bikes and rode around the island today. Andrew leaves the boat tomorrow for home, and Silence will continue north to a harbor near the Cape Cod Canal.

Windmills

Looking south from Block Island there are 5 windmills helping to power the island. We saw these at night on our approach as 5 red lights, flashing synchronously.

Dawn, Block Island

The Oar

Andrew enjoying a Mudslide in the Oar bar. For sailors, this bar is a tradition not to be missed.

Block Island

We are safely moored in Block Island. We are preparing to go ashore and enjoy the day!

Block Island

We have sighted the entrance to the Block Island Salt Pond, and we're are going slow while we wait for sunrise. Almost there!

Heading Out

The weather is clearing and the breeze and waves are decreasing, so we will depart from Cape May this afternoon. See you in Block Island!

All is Well

After that 44 knot gust, I decided to double the stern line to be safe. Soon after that the winds began to decrease, and Elsa was finished with Cape May. This morning the winds are down to 20 knots and have shifted to the west. We'll be monitoring the conditions to see how soon we can depart.

Gusty!

We just had a gust to 44 knots. We're in the thick of it now.

Elsa

It's 1:30 AM and I'm awake, checking conditions outside. We just had a gust to 32 knots in the marina. I'm grateful to be tied to a dock while Elsa makes her way past our position.

Elsa Approaches

We're seeing the first hints of Elsa's approach.

Packed In

When I said that we're "tucked in" at Cape May, I should have said we're packed in. Quite a few boats are stopping here to wait out the storm. We expect to see 40 knot winds tonight, peaking around midnight. Today we're double checking our lines to make sure we are secure.

One other issue we're dealing with is jellyfish. Yesterday, the air conditioning system sucked one in, so water isn't flowing through the system. We'll be working to unclog that before we have to close all the hatches for the rain.

Cape May

We're tucked into Cape May for a couple days to wait out the storm… what should we do?

Motorsailing

We're motor sailing with the mainsail down Delaware Bay today. Boat speed through the water is 7.2 knots, but speed over ground is just 5.8. There are strong currents in the Bay, and for a while they will be against us. We expect to make Cape May this afternoon where we'll wait out the approaching storm.

The Crew

Thanks Andrew and Josh for making this adventure possible!

C & D Canal

Today we transited the C&D canal, and are anchored for the night. Tomorrow we head south down the Delaware Bay… 

Departure!

We'll, it's finally departure day. We're currently motoring up the Bay with light south winds. And it's really hot. Can't wait to get to cooler weather. We're keeping an eye out for Elsa, and we'll wait her out in Cape May.

Provisions

Provisions are going aboard! Tomorrow is departure day, leaving the dock at 08:00.

A Date with Elsa

One more thing to consider... we are planning to leave the Delaware Bay and head offshore by Wednesday evening, but this could change that plan. We'll be watching this carefully!